Personal bio for my readers
Born and raised in Kansas, land of dairy cows and wheatfields. That’s me!
My first home had no indoor bathroom! In winter, my brother and I took “baths” in the kitchen sink. In summer, we trekked to the “wash shed” beside our windmill. My brother and I sat in big, metal washing tubs as Mother poured warm water over us.
I was a shy child, but I had a special affinity for animals. Luckily, my father and his family were farmers. There were always plenty of animals around!
Many Sundays after church, our family had dinner at my Grandparent Krehbiels’ farm. Grandmother, the aunts, and my mother filled the table with fried chicken, freshly baked pies, and more. On those Sundays, I had up to twenty-eight cousins to play with!
My Grandparents Lippincott lived in Colorado. My brother and I visited them every summer. We only had three cousins to play with there, but had great fun riding horses, feeding pancakes to chipmunks, and wading in mountain streams.
From first through sixth grade, I went to school in a two-room country schoolhouse, filled with thirty-five farm kids. My favorite activity was reading. I felt books were my best friends! Later when I attended Kansas State University, I studied English Literature and graduated with honors. At Kansas State University, I met my husband, Fred Arnold, who played basketball there under the legendary Tex Winter. When we married, we moved back to his home in Northern California.
We lived for nearly forty years in beautiful Sonoma County. Our children had an idyllic childhood, growing up in Sebastopol. My daughter grew up to graduate from New York University’s Tisch School of Performing Arts. Today she performs, directs, and choreographs musical theatre. My son grew up to play basketball at the Ivy League school, Dartmouth, and went on to graduate as a Tuck Scholar from the Tuck School of Business.
When my son and daughter were small, full of joy and curiosity, I wrote about their daily adventures in a weekly newspaper column, “homegrown treasures.” It won three Best Local Columnist awards from the California Newspaper Association. Families read the column together – adults and children. I still believe that the best stories are for all ages.
I wrote “homegrown treasures” for 10 years! That experience taught me a lot about writing. I went on to write for children’s magazines, but my dream was to write picture books. As I worked on my first book, Heart of a Tiger, the main character, Little Four, taught me about having a dream and taking action to reach your dream. Heart of a Tiger won many awards, including the Ridgway Award for Best First Book by a New Author. More books followed. My dream had come true!
Today I live in Alva, Florida, with my husband and our dog, Sailor. I belong to the local gardening club and still enjoy yoga, snorkeling, and scuba diving when possible. My daughter’s family lives nearby and my son’s family lives in Connecticut. I’m happy we are all on the same coast! The road trips to see my son’s family takes me through beautiful places. My husband and I love road trips! Maybe someday we’ll come see you.
