Leon Galatoire's earliest memories are that of visiting his father at work at Galatoire's Restaurant. From the time he was a very young boy, Leon was interested in the goings-on at the restaurant and looked forward to the time in his life when he would be old enough to become a part of that family operation.
In 1976, at the age of twenty-two, after having apprenticed in other restaurants, Leon took the opportunity of joining the family and entered the operating group of Galatoire's as cook. Having gained cooking experience from his apprenticeships, Leon was fast to learn the preparation of Galatoire's time-honored recipes—favorites that he was already familiar with.
For the next four years, Galatoire remained in the kitchen, learning the bases, subtleties, nuances, and history of the Galatoire's cuisine. Using his own unique approach to preserving the classic feel of the restaurant's cuisine, he improved upon the originals while maintaining their original intent.
In 1980, Galatoire left the kitchen for experience in the dining room. There he maintained a shared management position with other active family members, while meeting and serving all his regular and visiting clientele. During this period, Leon took time to travel extensively abroad, and spent a great deal of time in the Caribbean, where he was influenced by the cookery of the islands.
Today, Leon has returned to the kitchen of Galatoire's Restaurant to oversee the ever important job of the preparation of the fine cuisine served in one of New Orleans' great restaurants.
Chuck Galey grew up in Greenwood, Mississippi, and always wanted to be an artist. “My parents sent me to private art lessons, but living in the Delta, I couldn’t see painters making a living,” he said. Therefore, he pursued a degree in physics and oceanography; but after working two summers on research vessels in the Gulf of Mexico, he returned to his first love: art. He finds illustrating children’s books to be rewarding because a “picture storybook brings an adult and a child together for a wonderfully shared experience.”
Whether providing suspense and humor in Steven L. Layne’s My Brother Dan’s Delicious or regional detail in David Davis’ whimsical tale of swinging Jazz Cats in New Orleans, Galey’s illustrations certainly enhance text. He created an endearing, magical dinosaur in SantaSaurus, written by Delano Holmquist, and a cotton candy machine that has a mind of its own in The Cotton Candy Catastrophe at the Texas State Fair, by Dotti Enderle. In his latest joint effort with David Davis, Rock ’n’ Roll Dogs, canines of all breeds dance the night away at the Fireplug doggie disco.
Critically acclaimed Jazz Cats was named to the Children’s Book Council Children’s Choice list in 2002 and is an Accelerated Reader Program selection. SantaSaurus received a favorable review in School Library Journal.
Galey graduated with honors in graphic design from Mississippi State University and worked with several advertising agencies and public-relations firms until 1985, when he opened his own illustration studio. In addition to his picture books, he has illustrated more than thirty educational books as well as book covers for the R. L. Stine Fear Street series and several Beverly Cleary titles. He lives in Jackson, Mississippi, with his wife and son.
Sherry Garland has written more than thirty books and won more than forty awards, including an American Library Association Notable recognition and a Reading Rainbow book selection. She enjoys writing about history and created her Voices Series to bring a personal note to pivotal moments in America’s past. Her writing career began as early as high school, when she won first place for her essay entitled “Why I Love Texas.” This essay later served as inspiration for her much-acclaimed children’s book Voices of the Alamo, which was named to the Children’s Book Council’s Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People list and chosen as a Scholastic Reading Counts! selection.
Garland received her BA in French and English from the University of Texas at Arlington and is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Although she began her writing career by publishing adult novels, Garland quickly transitioned to children’s and young adult literature. She has spoken at many schools across Texas and the United States and traveled to Asia three times to speak at international schools.
A fifth-generation Texan, she and her husband reside in Bryan, Texas, amidst the wildlife of the countryside.
Bill Garner attended the Texas School of Fine Arts and the University of Texas in Austin. He then enlisted in the army and spent seven years serving his country. During his military career, Garner was assigned to the Pacific Stars and Stripes in Tokyo, where he was first exposed to the newspaper business.
Once he was discharged from the army, Mr. Garner moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked for the Washington Star—which is no longer in business—as a layout artist and part-time editorial cartoonist. He continued his newspaper career with the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tennessee. During this time, he won the National Headliners Club Award. Yet, he still found himself returning to the nation's capitol and found a job as an editorial cartoonist with the Washington Times. He has won several awards throughout his professional career, including a National Newspaper Association citation for Best Original Cartoon.
He currently lives with his wife, Patricia, in Annapolis, Maryland, where he continues to write his humorous editorial cartoons.
Rosalie Gaziano's two greatest passions include mothering and cooking, both of which she proves to be extremely successful in. She dedicated her life to raising five sons and eight grandchildren. In 2002 she was named the National Mother of the Year by American Mothers, Inc. She says, "It is a high calling for single, working and stay-at-home mothers. I'm here to teach women to treasure the job and the world to respect it." Gaziano is also an expert chef. When questioned about her passion for cooking, she reports, "There is no greater gift than life, and food sustains life."
Gaziano attended West Virginia University and is currently a resident of Charleston, West Virginia. She served as president of the academic honorary Phi Beta Kappa and organized the annual Symphony Sunday fund-raiser and Symphony Summerfest events for the West Virginia Symphony. She is also a member of the symphony board and the advisory board of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University.
Gaziano frequently writes about her two passions, food and mothering. In It's Your Turn, Chikadees, which is part travelogue and part memoir, Gaziano describes her family's adventures and learning experiences during an exciting year of European travel. Gaziano also gathered original Old World family recipes from the villages of Calabria in southern Italy and Aragona in Sicily to produce Seasons and Celebrations (pb F), a cookbook for all seasons (available from Pelican).
Marita Gentry is an award-winning painter whose limitless imagination and love of color shine through in her work. A self-taught artist, Gentry displays her artwork in several galleries throughout Louisiana and participates in many juried shows. She owns her own art studio, Studio Marita, where she combines her artistic talents with her love of teaching. She serves as an artist in residence in many local schools and regularly gives presentations, demonstrations, workshops, and seminars to groups of all ages. Her passion for the creative process has recently inspired her work on surface and pattern designs that will be available for licensing.
Gentry has painted professionally for over a decade, worked extensively in galleries, and illustrated Life in a Few Words, a poetry book by D.C. Arledge. She has also painted murals for fundraising events and served as the director of the Arts Council of Livingston, which voted her Artist of the Year in 2003.
Gentry is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the Artists Roster of the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, and the Louisiana Watercolor Society. As an illustrator, she revels in her role in setting the pace and the rhythm of an author’s story. She experiments with various painting and drawing media on different surfaces but particularly enjoys working with watercolor and oils. Her other interests include sewing, clothing design, and interior decorating. She resides with her husband in Amite, Louisiana.
Kyle Gentry was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. Inspired largely by Disney movies, Star Wars, and Saturday morning cartoons, he began drawing at an early age. “I tend to put humor in everything I do,” says Gentry. Cartoons and classic children's stories are still his major motivation, and the artist admits that his goal is to produce work that is “a little left of center.”
Gentry is an exceptional artist in that he is comfortable working with a variety of mediums. While he performs all of his follow-up work on the computer, he primarily uses watercolor and pen and ink for initial work. He also works with colored pencil, marker, and gouache. Gentry was placed in college-level art classes when he was in the seventh grade. After graduating from high school, he was introduced to the work of a variety of classic and contemporary illustrators at the Ringling College and Design in Sarasota, Florida. He now specializes in posters and cards for children.
Soon after graduating with a B.F.A., Gentry began illustrating professionally. He has illustrated for children's novels and picture books and the medical, music, electronic, and print industries. His clients range from the rock band Phish to Metrowest Magazine. Gentry is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and delights in entertaining people with his imaginative images and characters.
Gentry resides in Orlando, Florida, with his wife and their cat Seuss.
Virginia M. Geraty has spent over fifty years of her life in South Carolina. She attended the College of Charleston, where she earned her doctorate of humane letters. She worked as a librarian in the Charleston County School District before she found her passion with the Gullah language. This interest in the Gullah dialect soon allowed Geraty to achieve the difficult task of not only being able to speak it, but also write it. She still lives in South Carolina where she is known as a Gullah instructor and dialect coach, author, playwright, and producer/director.
In South Carolina, Virginia Geraty has made a name for herself in such organizations as the SC Historical Society, AASLH, SC Retired Educators, Charleston Trident Chamber of Commerce, National League of American Penwomen, Poetry Society of South Carolina, and MLA. She has also been nominated for the Poet Laureate of South Carolina award.
Virginia M. Geraty has written several works with the Gullah dialect in mind, including Porgy, A Gullah Version, Bittle en' T'ing, Maum Chrish' Chaa'stun, Charleston's Highlights, Sidelights and Shadows, and Gullah Night Before Christmas .
Having spent many years exploring the Grand Canyon and surrounding areas, Rudy J. Gerber was inspired to write The Railroad and the Canyon. A departure from Mr. Gerber's usual writing, the majority of which concerns the legal profession, this book charts the history of man's attempts to build railroads through the Grand Canyon.
Mr. Gerber has had a long and successful legal career. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy as well as a J.D. and has served as a professor and skilled lecturer at several universities, including Notre Dame University and St. Louis University. In 1988, Arizona governor Rose Mofford appointed Mr. Gerber to the state court of appeals, where he served for twelve years. Currently, he is a special counsel in Phoenix, Arizona.
When Mr. Gerber is not working, he enjoys staying at his mountain cabin close to the train lines he wrote about in The Railroad and the Canyon. Even more than the Grand Canyon inspired him, he insists that his daughter Jennifer was his ultimate inspiration.
An experienced travel writer, Yves Gerem currently resides in Dallas, Texas, with his wife, Larisa, and two sons. He has traveled extensively, often with his wife, to gather material for travel guides.
As a resident of the city, Yves Gerem offers a comprehensive tour of Dallas in A Marmac Guide to Dallas and includes a list of lodgings and attractions. The book also contains historical data, trivia, and anecdotes to entertain the reader as he or she travels in and around Dallas. A Marmac Guide to Fort Worth and Arlington includes advice to tourists, business people, and new residents as they explore the area. A Marmac Guide to San Antonio features candid descriptions of San Antonio's hotels and restaurants and includes a list of monthly special activities
Mildred L. Covert and Sylvia P. Gerson decided to collaborate on Kosher Creole Cookbook when friends repeatedly requested recipes from their Kosher Creole repertoire. Since then, they have written three additional cookbooks, Kosher Cajun Cookbook, Kosher Southern-Style Cookbook, and A Kid's Kosher Cooking Cruise.
Sylvia Gerson, a self-employed business-woman, was born and raised in Pittsburgh. As a result of a visit to Mardi Gras, she met her husband and moved to New Orleans, where she attended Tulane University.
A wife, mother, and career woman, Mrs. Gerson has always found time to involve herself with her synagogue and community. She has served as President of the Beth Israel Sisterhood, as a member of the National Board of the American Association of Ethiopian Jews, as Chairman of the Women's Division of Jewish Welfare, and as one of the Founders and as a Board Member of Willow Wood, Home of the Aged, in New Orleans. She has been on the Board of Directors of B'Nai Brith, and several other organizations. She is also active in the Friends of the Cabildo and the New Orleans Museum of Art.
David F. Giannetto is an award-winning decoy carver and wildlife photographer. He serves as an apprentice to his father, Vincent Giannetto III, one of the nations most skilled Delaware River decoy carvers. A professor of organizational behavior at Rutgers University, Giannetto is also CEO of the Telos Group, a management and technology consulting firm.
Hunting and carving since he was a child, Giannetto has long been fascinated by the fast-vanishing hunter-carver culture of the Delaware River. In his fathers decoys, he sees the reflection of the natural world he loves and how it has changed. He believes the art form serves as a microcosm for the perishability of American traditions and regional distinctiveness.
Giannetto earned his BA from Monmouth University and his MBA from Rutgers University. Listed as a thought leader by Business Finance magazine and widely acknowledged as one of the most experienced business performance management practitioners in the United States, he worked on the Business Performance Management and Reporting initiative at the United Nations Secretariat. He also served as a regular army officer in the Tenth Mountain Division of the U.S. Army.
Giannetto and his siblings keep the true Delaware River style alive in their own decoy carvings. They are likely the only modern-day hunter-carvers ever to learn the trade directly from one of the old masters. He can frequently be found hunting the Delaware River with his father and brothers. A New Jersey native, Giannetto resides in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
After receiving his bachelor of arts in fine art from the University of New Orleans, Gillard pursued a master of arts in interactive design and game development from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He was the interactive art director and senior visual designer at two different companies before becoming the interactive art director for California Costume Collection in 2010. Gillard is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the Interaction Design Association, and the International Game Developers Association.
A resident of Los Angeles, California, Gillard enjoys spending his time with his twin daughters, who love dinosaurs. He visits family in New Orleans frequently and enjoys non-competitive running and riding his Harley Davidson Sportster in his spare time.
Donald L. Gilmore's lifelong interest in local history, evidenced by his antiques business, his genealogical research, and his Ozark cave exploration, led him to study the Civil War in his region. Despite the fact that Mr. Gilmore is a descendant of Union soldiers, he decided that previous history books judged the Confederate side too harshly and set out to write a more balanced account of the Border War.
In addition to writing articles about the Border War for Journal of the West, History Today, and Wild West, Mr. Gilmore served as technical consultant for Ride With the Devil. That movie, starring Tobey Maguire and Jewel, was filmed in Missouri among the very hills and fields where the war took place.
Mr. Gilmore earned bachelor's and master's degrees in English from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. He taught English at the college level then worked as an editor for seventeen years at the U.S. Army's Combat Studies Institute, retiring in 2001. A veteran of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, he received the Commander's Award for Civilian Service in 1997 and the Department of the Army Meritorious Civilian Service Medal in 2001. He and his wife live in Belton, Missouri.
Rolland Golden grew up moving from one Southern town to another, including Jackson and Grenada in mississippi, Birmingham in Alabama, and finally back to his native New Orleans. His paintings portray the remnants of the much larger but fading South—the post-Civil War and early twentieth-century South of hard times, sharecroppers, and tenant farmers who lived on the edge of survival. His work is filled with symbols of an earlier rural and urban South consumed by change. At times melancholy, his work grips contrasting images brought on by that change. A writer once described Golden's paintings as an “evasive melancholy” that touches on the “faintly familiar.”
Rolland Golden, who studied under noted regionalist painter and teacher John McCrady, is an artist with something to say. When his anger is aroused, as in the late 1960s and 1970s during the widespread demoition of nineteenth-century buildings in downtown New Orleans, his work was biting. When he returned to the clarity of a rural Southern landscape, his paintings were filled with symbols of a simpler but often harsher rural life. M. Stephen Doherty, editor in chief of American Artist, says “he offers a new way of seeing and understanding the places we inhabit.”
Rolland Golden's career as a professional artist began in 1957. He is a three-time recipient of the National Arts Club First Place Award, a two-time winner of the Thomas Hart Benton Purchase Award, winner of the Winslow Homer Memorial Award, and many others. He has exhibited his work both nationally and internationally, including a one-artist show that toured the Soviet Union in 1976 and 1977. His paintings appear in numerous private and public collections, including those of Columbia Pictures, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the National Arts Club, and the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.
Rolland Golden currently resides in Folsom, Louisiana, with his wife Stella. Their daughter, Lucille, runs the Crescent Gallery in the French Quarter.
Known in his South Carolina hometown for cofounding the State newspaper in Columbia with his brother, Ambrose Gonzales (1857-1926) had another passion that occupied him. Born to a former Cuban rebel and a wealthy planter's daughter, Gonzales developed an interest in linguistics somewhat late in his life. His studies of the Gullah Creole dialect prompted the author to pen this original collection of tales.
Though born to a comfortable life, Gonzales did not escape hardship. Indeed, the much-publicized and tragic murder of his beloved brother over a political scuffle must have been devastating. Perhaps this tragedy led Gonzales to throw himself into such diligent work. His frustration with the general public's limited knowledge of Carolina Low Country dialects and the tendency of scholars to leave out certain components of the language prompted Gonzales to collect these stories.
The inadequacies of literature concerning the Gullah dialect in particular provided motivation. Inspired by what he calls the “new and peculiar application of words” that characterizes Gullah, the determined Gonzales set out to record the spoken language as accurately as possible. He believed that, with all their nuances, his stories provide “the most authentic record of Negro myths on the continent.” In his 1922 foreword to The Black Border, Gonzales admits that his glossary is “perhaps the only extensive vocabulary of Gullah that has yet been compiled.”
In addition to this collection, Gonzales has also composed a book of Gullah fables, With Aesop along the Black Border, which was published in 1924.
These four friends from Point Clear, Alabama, spend a lot of their time traveling, each trying to find the most "hidden gems" in an area. For example, these ladies were able to find places with unusual qualities, such as the smallest police station on the North Carolina coast (which happens to be in a phone booth), a place where you can attend a mullet toss, and the history of the only U.S. mail water route in the country. These women have a knack for finding the places less traveled.
Judy Barnes, born in Memphis, Tennessee, attended Memphis State University as well as several other universities. She is married to Dr. Roy J. Barnes, and they have seven children between them. She is driven by her desire to write guidebooks covering all of the wonderful places she has been.
Jolane Edwards grew up in Mobile, Alabama, where she graduated from the University of Alabama. She married Jack Edwards in 1954, and they have two children together. She enjoys painting, sculpture, writing, and volunteer work.
Carolyn Lee Goodloe has spent her life in Alabama. She graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor of science degree in textiles and a minor in journalism. She is married to James William Goodloe, Jr., and they have three children together. She is interested in working with regional leadership programs, gardening, and reading.
Laurel L. Wilson is no stranger to travel, having moved around a lot in her lifetime. She is the mother of four grown children and has worked for charities. A freelance writer, she enjoys photography, needlework, walking, and reading.
From A to Z, Don Goodrum creates a visually exciting array of characters and scenes to depict Cajun culture and language. His picture book, Lettres Acadiennes: A Cajun ABC, provides young readers with a sampling of the French-based dialect. By exposing more people to the Cajun lifestyle, Mr. Goodrum hopes to help preserve their unique culture.
Mr. Goodrum currently lives in Cut Off, Louisiana, with his family. Having spent years as a struggling comic-book artist, he now enjoys teaching reading to seventh grade students. Mr. Goodrum's wonderful artwork is sure to charm readers of all ages.
Hunter and wild-game expert Sam Goolsby created this collection of recipes to quell readers' fears of cooking what they hunt. Despite popular apprehension about the flavor and texture of game such as venison, rabbit, and armadillo, to name a few, he insists that virtually any meat can be properly prepared, cooked, served, and enjoyed.
Mr. Goolsby is president of Cedar Creek Hunting Lodge. Located in the Piedmont area of Georgia, it is one of the most successful hunting lodges in the South. He thoroughly enjoys hunting for its restful and exhilarating properties, and he finds preparing and cooking the food to be equally relaxing. Mr. Goolsby hopes that by sharing his techniques, an increasing number of people will come to share his enjoyment of game preparation.Teresa Gordon's late start as a baker and entrepreneur blossomed from one loaf of Ezekiel bread—one very tasty loaf. So tasty, in fact, that soon friends and neighbors were calling in orders that Gordon could barely fill. When she sent a loaf home with her son's girlfriend, the girl's mother, Gale Green, called and demanded to know her secret. Soon Gordon and Green partnered up and turned out more loaves than ever, expanding to cookies, cakes, and other treats. Gordon's husband had to install a commercial oven in the garage and still the demand rose. Teresa Gordon and Gale Green took the leap and opened Daily Harvest Bakery & Deli in Monroe, Louisiana, in the spring of 2004. Soon afterwards, they opened a second bakery.
Gordon wanted to rise to the growing desire for healthy, delicious foods in her community. What set her bread apart was that she milled her own whole grains and used all-natural ingredients, flavoring with unprocessed sweeteners like sucanat and honey. The bakery's products expanded to include many varieties of muffins, pies, casseroles, and other baked goods, all included in Daily Harvest Bakery & Deli Cookbook. The bakery was featured in the June 2006 issue of Southern Living magazine and won the Small Business Award of Northeastern Louisiana, as well as the January 2007 “Best Bakery” category by Road Trip! Magazine.
The sole owner of Daily Harvest, Gordon collaborates with Gale Green on recipes and ideas for the business. She performs the Friday cooking segment of her local television station and often appears on brief radio spots. She speaks at Louisiana Tech University, health seminars, and church organizations on topics such as organic baking and women in business. She believes not only in the healthy benefits of her business, but also in the community created by good employees and great customer service. Gordon has two children and lives in Monroe, Louisiana, with her husband.
Laura Gosalbo earned a master's degree in food chemistry from the Chemical Institute of Sarria in Barcelona in 1989, followed by a doctorate in chemical sciences and biochemistry from the University of Barcelona in 1995. She is the owner of Gastronoma Activa in Barcelona, which promotes the culinary heritage of different countries. Gosalbo dedicates her time to ensuring that producers and consumers work together to form healthy food habits, techniques, traditions, and new trends.
Crazy About Cherries is far more than an engaging cookbook, it is a complete reference guide for anyone who has wanted to know more about cherries. In addition to the enthralling history, botanical variety, nutritional properties, and growing tips, this beautifully photographed book provides an impressive list of cherry-based recipes.
Jan Gosnell is a commercial artist and editorial cartoonist who is originally from Shreveport, Louisiana. Educated at the University of Texas and at the University of Arkansas, Gosnell has earned a bachelor's and master's degree in art. Over the years, he has acquired a wide background of experience in a variety of graphic techniques. Gosnell is best known for his political cartoons, which appeared regularly in The Baxter Bulletin, Mountain Home, Arkansas; The Star Progress, Berryville, Arkansas; and other local newspapers between 1972 and 1984.
Gosnell has also enjoyed sharing his skills with others. He spent one year teaching at the University of Mississippi at Oxford, and in 1972 he opened The Gallery in Mountain Home, Arkansas. At his gallery he offered instruction in drawing, painting, and modern art history. Gosnell has participated in a number of exhibitions where he entered his other works of art, which include oil paintings, watercolors, pen-and-ink drawings, and photographs.
Gosnell is the recipient of several awards for best editorial cartoons. His writing career took off in 1983 when he wrote The Blue and the Gray, a motion picture about the Civil War. Gosnell is also the author of Shape Makes the Man, in which he uses funny, and often outrageous, drawings to illustrate the possible effects of external physique on internal needs, personality, and behavior.
Luke Graber grew up with a great interest in illustration and graphic design, stemming from his childhood love of cartoons and other animated stories.
He earned a BFA in illustration from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Graber has illustrated a number of children’s books—including three written by Henry Herz, the author of How the Squid Got Two Long Arms. He has also worked as a freelance illustrator and 2D animator for Essence Cartoon.
When he’s not illustrating, you can find him enjoying some of his other interests, such as comic books, graphic design, and game design. Graber lives in Westlake, Ohio.
Rod Gragg is the author of numerous works of history, including The Declaration of Independence, Lewis & Clark on the Trail of Discovery, Covered with Glory, Confederate Goliath, and The Civil War Quiz & Fact Book. His books have won several awards, most notably the James I. Robertson Award, the Douglas Southall Freeman Award, the Jefferson Davis Medal, and the Fletcher Pratt Award. Many of his books have been featured in the Book-of-the-Month Club, the History Book Club, and the Military History Book Club.
Presently he is vice president of DSI Services, a marketing firm in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He also teaches as an adjunct professor of history and has been a political campaign consultant for over sixteen candidates.
A native of Conway, South Carolina, Gragg earned his bachelor of arts degree in journalism and master of arts degree in American history from the University of South Carolina. He and his family live on the South Carolina Grand Strand.
John Remington Graham is an attorney with decades of experience in the fields of constitutional, environmental, and criminal litigation. He served as a federal public defender; special counsel to Brainerd, Minnesota; and Crow Wing County attorney. He has a great many publishing credits in constitutional law and history, and also forensic medicine and science. He has lectured on constitutional law and legal history in the United States and Canada. Graham was also cofounding professor of law at Hamline University in Minnesota.
As a young lawyer, he quickly realized an investigation into constitutional history was necessary to properly defend his clients against the judicial machine. Since then, Graham has been a diligent student of American, Canadian, and English constitutional history and law. He recognized that the American Constitution could not be understood without a thorough knowledge of its foundation in English Constitutional law and history.
He has participated in major cases raising difficult questions of constitutional law, appearing before courts in sixteen jurisdictions within the United States. Additionally, in 1998 he was the advisor on British constitutional law and history for the amicus curiae for Quebec in the Canadian Supreme Court, a position that afforded him the opportunity of shaping Quebec's argument in its case for peaceable secession.
Graham received both a bachelor of arts in philosophy and a law degree from the University of Minnesota. Graham, his wife, and children have lived in Minnesota and Quebec.
Sarah Gramelspacher is a painter, illustrator, and prolific doodler working exclusively in traditional mediums (primarily graphite, watercolor, marker, and colored pencil). She loves drawing frogs, pigs, and an assortment of woodland creatures; and has a penchant for both the absurdly cute and the slightly macabre.
A lifelong resident of Louisiana, Sarah studied art with a focus on painting at the University of New Orleans, and earned a BA with a specialization in painting. After a brief stint in law school, she returned to creating art with newfound enthusiasm. Since then, Sarah has exhibited paintings in group shows on both US coasts, as well as in the New Orleans area. She also works at Fancy Faces Décor, a party rental company, as an artist, designer, seamstress, and webmaster.
She and her husband live in Madisonville, Louisiana with their Yorkshire Terrier. When she is not drawing, you’ll probably find her knitting, cooking, reading, or watching British television.
Robert Grandchamp is considered to be the nation’s leading authority on Rhode Island military history. He is a member of the Rhode Island Genealogical Society, the Rhode Island Civil War Round Table, the Rhode Island Historical Society, the Vermont Civil War Hemlocks, the Vermont Historical Society, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, and the John Russell Bartlett Society, which recognized him with the Margaret B. Stillwell Prize. The award-winning author of multiple distinguished works on American military history, Grandchamp earned his master’s degree in American history from Rhode Island College. For his research and knowledge, he has also been honored with the Order of Saint Barbara from the Rhode Island National Guard and letters of commendation from former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee and Mayor Angel Taveras of Providence, Rhode Island.
Grandchamp was born an eleventh-generation Rhode Islander and later relocated to Essex Junction, Vermont, where he worked as a National Park Service ranger before becoming an analyst for the federal government. A popular historical speaker, he has contributed articles and reviews to many publications, including Blue & Gray, Gettysburg Magazine, Civil War Monitor, Civil War Historian, Military Collector and Historian, Artilleryman, and Civil War News.
Mary GrandPré does not do extensive research when creating illustrations for children's books. Instead, she likes to play with design and style while bonding with the book's characters. Whenever she is able to “really connect with the character,” people take notice. Her claim to fame came when an art director from a New York publisher called and asked her to do one book cover. At the time no one knew that Harry Potter would become so popular. Seven books later, Mary GrandPré was featured on the cover of Time Magazine for her work on the series.
As a freelance illustrator, GrandPré's range is quite impressive. In addition to more than six picture books and a world-wide reputation for Harry Potter, her work has also attracted corporate advertising and editorial clients, including Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation SKG. She helped develop the environmental scenery for the DreamWorks animated film Antz. It is quite unusual for an illustrator to reach so many different audiences and work successfully in multiple genres.
GrandPré's work has received national recognition through awards from the Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, Graphis, Print, and Art Direction. An article about her “conceptual editorial assignments” appeared in Step-by-Step Graphics. Communications Arts magazine has done a “career retrospective” article on her work, and her art was chosen among thousands of illustrators to be on the cover of Showcase 16.
Mary GrandPré's ethereal pastel paintings were accepted into the permanent collection of the Society of Illustrators as part of an exhibition entitled, “Women Illustrators, Past and Present.” Educated at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Mary GrandPré began her career as a conceptual illustrator for local editorial clients. Continually experimenting with media, she developed her expressive visual form into a style called “soft geometry,” which combines her artistic preferences for light, color, drawing, and design. She resides in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Jacqueline Dembar Greene is a widely published award-winning author of thirty books for young readers. She received a bachelor of arts degree in French literature from the University of Connecticut and a master of arts degree in English from the University of Central Missouri. A full-time writer, Greene also has experience working as a French teacher and journalist.
All of Greene's picture books, historical novels, nonfiction titles, and short stories reflect her journalist's passion for background research and attention to factual detail. She painstakingly researches each of her books, travelling the globe to experience the cultures and places she wishes to address in her works. Visits to Russia, France, the Yucatan Peninsula, the Netherlands, and not to mention much of the United States, have provided Greene with much of her material. Two of her historical novels were named Sydney Taylor Honor Books, and her picture book Butchers and Bakers, Rabbis and Kings was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award.
A member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Greene is also an accomplished photographer and a member of the Sudbury Valley Nature Photographers. She is an avid lover of the outdoors, cross-country hiking and skiing, and snowshoeing. The mother of two adult sons, Greene lives with her husband in Wayland, Massachusetts.
Celebrated children’s author Beth Greenway crafts vivid stories inspired by her time living in Hawaii with her family. Greenway, driven by a lifelong love of reading and poetry, published her first book in 2007, launching what has proven to be a prolific career.
Greenway grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and attended the University of Michigan. She has been published in Highlights magazine, with stories featured in the June 2010 and February 2011 editions of the iconic children’s periodical. Sippi Sue and the Cool Cat Blues marks her third collaboration with illustrator Jamie Meckel Tablason.
Beth Greenway lives with her husband, Joe, in Oxford, Mississippi, where they are active in the community and enjoy relaxing on the lake and participating in the local arts scene. The couple has three daughters and three dogs and two cats.
Born and raised in Missoula, Montana, Joe Gribnau is a proud son of his native state. This fifth generation Montanan attended the University of Montana where he earned a BA in elementary education. During his undergraduate education, Gribnau worked at the University of Montana Golf Course and later with Big Sky Outfitting as a cook, guide, and jack-of-all-trades for four hunting seasons.
After graduation, he lived in Utah for a ski season where he worked as a “ski-bum” for a local lodge in Alta. He then moved to Southern California to begin his teaching career. Gribnau completed a Master's program in literacy at Walla Walla College in Walla Walla, Washington, in 2000.
Rocky Mountain Night Before Christmas is Gribnau's first book. The inspiration for the book came after he assigned his fifth-grade class the task of writing a new version of Clement Clarke Moore's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Gribnau wrote his version side-by-side with his students.
Gribnau currently lives in Walla Walla, Washington, with his wife and three children. He volunteers as a Young Life Leader in his community and in his spare time, he enjoys rock climbing and big game hunting with traditional archery equipment.
“Lincoln's assassination has been sort of a lifetime
hobby of mine, and I've always been somewhat suspicious of the official version
of events. I decided, therefore, to begin my own investigation and to follow the
evidence where it might lead me.”
—Dr. John Chandler Griffin
Dr. John Chandler Griffin was born in McColl, South Carolina, in 1936, during the Great Depression, to a seventeen-year-old mother and an unemployed twenty-one-year-old father. When he was a year old, his mother almost died from pneumonia and was extremely ill for months afterward. During that time he lived with his paternal grandmother. When his mother recovered, he refused to go home and lived with his grandmother until he finished high school.
In high school he excelled as a quarterback and was granted a scholarship to Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina. However, in college he focused more on poker than on his studies, and he soon dropped out, joining the Eighty-second Airborne Division. When he left the service—where he discovered he enjoyed writing after penning so many long letters home—he entered Armstrong Atlantic University in Savannah and majored in English. He was granted an assistantship at the University of South Carolina-Lancaster, where he completed his Ph.D. and was offered a job as assistant professor upon graduation. Eventually he became a full professor and retired in 1998. That same year he was awarded the honorary title of Distinguished Professor Emeritus and was named to the Order of the Silver Crescent by Gov. Jim Hodges.
While teaching, Dr. Griffin wrote the weekly sports column “Where Are They Now?” for the State newspaper in Columbia and the Observer in Charlotte and wrote six books about college football. His 1996 biography of Thomas Wolfe won the History Book of the Year Award from the North Carolina Historical Society, and his 2001 biography of noted black author Jean Toom won the Adele Mellen Award. Before delving into his interest in Lincoln, Dr. Griffin's most recent book was A Pictorial History of the Confederacy.
Dr. Griffin is a member of his local Sons of Confederate Veterans camp, and he and his wife are members of the First Baptist Church in Lancaster, South Carolina. They have one daughter and two granddaughters.
Often asked how he got his start in the “business of being Southern,” Michael Andrew Grissom tells the story of when he was in the fifth grade and teachers were beginning to introduce the students to civics and history. He took his books home and started to wonder about the thing they called the “Civil War.” Finally, his mother sat him down and explained very concisely, “Well, let me tell you how it was. Lee was the good guy, and Grant was the bad guy.” And Grissom says “it stuck. I remain solidly convinced to this day that my mother was right.”
Born and raised in South Central Oklahoma, Grissom's first calling was music. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in music education as well as minors in instrumental music and social studies from the University of Oklahoma. He then taught history and music for several years in secondary schools in Norman and Wynnewood, Oklahoma. After serving as a vocalist and pianist in several musical groups ranging from barbershop quartets to jazz bands, Grissom formed “The Rebels,” a country music/gospel band that recorded in Nashville and traveled throughout Dixie.
A die-hard Southerner, Grissom's writing career began when he realized there were no all-inclusive books about the heritage of the South; and most importantly in this age of South-bashing, there were few, if any, modern-day books that presented the South in a positive light. Since he felt that it was high time for a strong defense of the South and that no Southern literary figure would write the needed books, he decided to take on that challenge.
Grissom began researching and writing at the same time and drew from his natural Southern background. He defined his goal as “to reinsure the South so that we don't give up any more of our flags, our traditions, and the celebration of our priceless legacy.” Beginning with Southern by the Grace of God, a celebration of things Southern; followed by The Last Rebel Yell, a call to the defense of Southern life against all those attempting to tear down Southern culture; and finally, When the South Was Southern, a reminiscence of bygone days, Grissom has compiled a comprehensive trilogy on the culture of the South that people have responded to with an enthusiastic, almost religious fervor.
A former member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, he is the recipient of several awards including the 1975 Oklahoma Heritage Award and the Jefferson Davis Medal. Moving from Nashville back to Wynnewood, Oklahoma, in 1994 after the death of his father, Grissom misses his music. But he stays busy with his full-time writing career and radio talk-show interviews, which are his “forte.” Grissom says, “When they start on the Southern stuff, the phones light up.”
Thomas B. Grooms, a long-time resident of Capitol Hill, is passionate about the architecture and history of his vibrant and well-preserved nineteeth-century neighborhood. When not managing the nationally acclaimed Design Excellence Program in the Office of the Chief Architect of the U.S. General Services Administration, Mr. Grooms is busy looking to renovate and restore houses on the hill.
Mr. Grooms has designed private and government projects in the United States and abroad. His love of Capitol Hill began when he was a first-year law student at Georgetown University and especially after he bought his first home there in 1969. He considers the Hill his “spiritual home” because of its rich national history, its exquisite architecture, and because its people have a “love, loyalty, and commitment to their neighborhood.”
The Majesty of Capitol Hill is his first published book, though he writes extensively when he documents federal buildings produced through the Design Excellence Program. He has also written and coproduced short films with his book's photographer, Taylor J. Lednum, including Architecture and Democracy and Of Our Time: Changing the Course of Federal Design.
In addition to his law degree from Georgetown University, Mr. Grooms earned a degree in political science and English from DePauw University, and a BFA in environmental design from Parsons School of Design in New York.
Mr. Grooms' interest in historic preservation, architecture, and landscape architecture prompted his desire to share the uniqueness of his locale. Though he travels extensively, he always looks forward to returning home to Capitol Hill.
Roy F. Guste, Jr. can't remember when he wasn't interested in cooking. In 1969 on his eighteenth birthday, he got a chance to work for the famous New Orleans restaurant Antoine's, owned by members of his family, and he has been involved with food ever since.
He first studied architecture at Louisiana State University, transferring to Tulane University in 1971. He knew that he didn't want to be a lawyer like his father, and architectural design seemed like a career in which one could be creative. However, he soon realized that architecture did not allow the freedom he desired. He decided to make cooking his career.
He moved to Paris to study French cuisine at le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine and language at l'Alliance Francaise, then moved on to Grenoble, France, to continue his studies in language and French culture at l'Universite de Grenoble and l'Institute de Phonetique.
Guste spent the summer of 1972 working in Tours, France, in the kitchen of Charles Barrier's Restaurant, a top-rated Michelin restaurant. In 1973 he studied at le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris, on the Riviera, and in Provence to learn French cuisine and its similarities to, and influences on, New Orleans cuisine. Also during that year he attended Loyola University in New Orleans to major in French language.
For the next ten years, Guste would travel extensively around the world to teach New Orleans cuisine to chefs and gourmet societies, among them the Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Society of Panama. In 1987 he was the subject of a cooking video in which he prepared New Orleans favorites assisted by Merle Ellis, “The Butcher” of syndicated TV fame.
Having moved from cashier, to captain, to cook, to assistant manager, and then to director, Guste finally left Antoine's Restaurant in 1984 to pursue a more creative career in new restaurant development, food and restaurant consulting, and food and culinary history writing.
Guste began to have his books published, beginning with The Antoine's Restaurant Cookbook, in 1979. He has been involved with the development and management of four restaurants. The little boy who remembers being “shooed out of the kitchen” now has people all over the world begging him to come back in. Nancy Madison, the family's Creole cook who was such a major influence on his cooking, would be proud.
Carol Haase is a retired teacher and volunteer at the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When she rose to docent chairman, Haase was frustrated by the lack of information readily available on the building. Her resulting research, however, answered more than just a few tour-guide questions. It quickly amassed to a book-length work—the only complete history of the building.
Haase began volunteering at the Capitol as a tour guide in 1995. Prior to that she taught French for almost thirty years in Mississippi and Louisiana, at both secondary and elementary levels. She is on the Advisory Board of the Old State Capitol Associates and the Board of Managers for the Baton Rouge Woman's Club.
Haase was born and raised in Baton Rouge and graduated from Louisiana State University in 1966 with a BS in secondary education. When she isn't volunteering, she enjoys playing the piano and spending time with her two children and four grandchildren. Haase lives with her husband in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Michael Hacking was born in Britain and immigrated to New Zealand in 1974 after making films all over the world. Having always had a love of natural history, Michael found New Zealand an ideal place to pursue a career that combines filmmaking with the outdoors. Michael has been associated with Natural History New Zealand since 1990, as a director, writer, and producer and was producer of two episodes in the Wild Asia series, Kingdoms of the Coast and Two Worlds. Michael was producer/director/writer for the award-winning production, Kiwi, and director/writer for a documentary on Thor Heyerdahl.
For more than thirty years, Jay Hadley, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, worked as a locomotive engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad. It was during this time that he met Justin Wilson at a convention in New Orleans. Both engineers, the two men became close friends. They often spent days together, fishing, talking, and “passing a good time.”
Wilson, already the author of many successful Cajun cookbooks, decided to collaborate with Hadley to write a children's book. Combining several of Hadley's ideas with Wilson's trademark Cajun humor and flair, the two men produced the delightful Justin Wilson's Cajun Fables.
Although Justin Wilson has since passed away, Jay fondly remembers his friend and the way he helped the famous cook prepare meals for such Louisiana notables as former governor Jimmy Davis and musician Ronnie Kole.
Born in Jackson, Michigan, in 1954, Cathe Hahn vacationed in northern Michigan as a child and developed a lifelong love of Lake Michigan. After college, she landed a job as a seamstress at a sail loft in Harbor Springs, and eventually bought the business. Today she continues her role as sail maker and owner of Lake Michigan Sails & Canvas.
Ms. Hahn sailed the Chicago to Mackinac race several times, and grew to love Mackinac Island. Known as the “hallmark of inland sailing” and held each year by the Chicago Yacht Club, the “Mac Race,” as it is known to Great Lakes sailors, is the longest annual freshwater race in the world. Entrance to the race is by invitation only, and has attracted some of the top international yachtsmen.
Ms. Hanh was inspired to write Step Up! after visiting Mackinac Island with her two daughters. The book is based on their carriage ride tour of the island, and the friends they made with three Belgian draft horses—John, Wayne, and Duke—and their driver Sam.
Ms. Hahn holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Fisheries/Wildlife from Michigan State University. Her hobbies including painting, reading, and cooking.
A former Marine and retired FBI agent, Del Hahn is self-employed as a private investigator; for over a decade, he has been the contract investigator for the Louisiana State Board of Private Investigator Examiners. In the Marine Corps, his military occupational specialty was scout/observer, and he was assigned to the intelligence section of Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. During the Korean War, he spent almost a year several hundred yards from the demilitarized zone, watching the activity of the troops of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
After the 1st Marine Division was pulled out of Korea, Hahn returned to school under the GI Bill and eventually received a bachelor of science in commerce from Ohio University in Athens. After graduation, Hahn was offered a job as an analyst with the CIA, but he and his new bride decided against a move to Washington, DC. He went on to work as a parts expeditor for the Euclid Road Machinery Division of General Motors and then as a revenue officer for the IRS in Toledo, Ohio.
Although he was good at his job with the IRS, Hahn dreamed of working for the FBI, so he decided to pursue a law degree at Toledo University Law School. Before completing his credit hours, he applied to the FBI and was accepted. His first assignment was to a general criminal squad, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. While assigned to Louisiana, Hahn worked on a wide variety of criminal and security investigations in New Orleans. He also became a relief supervisor and worked on a security squad that investigated civil rights complaints and spies.
Later in his career, Hahn was sent by the FBI to a specialized training seminar for the newly enacted Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, and he was the case agent on the investigation of Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture Gilbert L. Dozier. During his last two years with the FBI, Hahn was assigned as the FBI representative to the Middle District Drug Task Force; the target was Barry Seal.
The father of two grown children, Hahn lives with his wife, Carolyn, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Roger Hahn is a New Orleans journalist whose work for large businesses, small non-profits, and universities has taken him from coast to coast. A freelance writer and editor, he has worked as a newspaper features writer, a university magazine editor, a college writing and literature instructor, and a corporate communications manager. For more than four decades, his work has been featured by NPR Jazz Online, Louisiana Cultural Vistas, OffBeat Magazine, Songlines, Rhythms Magazine, and KnowLA. His writing spans many genres, from popular-music journalism and technical business writing to independent scholarship and literary criticism. The most persistent theme in his work is the power and appeal of music.
Born in New York City, Hahn has lived all over the nation. He studied and worked in New York, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, California, and Missouri before falling in love with Southern culture and settling in Louisiana. After Hurricane Katrina, he used his skills as a writer and photographer to help organizations apply for post-disaster grants and documented how the grants helped recovery efforts.
Hahn received a BA from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont, and MFA from Washington University in St. Louis. He currently lives in New Orleans.
James Haile was born in Britain and has traveled extensively, taking part in various expeditions and archaeological excavations. After reading zoology and anthropology at Oxford University, James worked for Partridge Films and the BBC Natural History Unit researching and developing film ideas. In 1996, James moved to New Zealand, where he works as an assistant producer with Natural History New Zealand. He researched and developed the story for the Island Magic program in the Wild Asia series, as well as directing several film shoots for it in Southeast Asia.
Edward Everett Hale wrote this popular short story “for the single purpose of teaching young Americans what it is to have a country, what is the duty which they owe to that country, and how central that duty is.” Though he wrote The Man Without a Country in 1863 at the height of the Civil War, he sought to demonstrate the importance of a country, without including specific references to the war.
Dr. Hale wore many hats during his lifetime. He was a Harvard graduate, a Latin teacher, a minister for forty-four years at the South Congregational Church in Boston, and a chaplain to the United States Senate. He passionately supported the Union's cause as well as public school reform.
He died on June 10, 1909, in Roxbury, Massachusettes, but not before leaving behind a large body of influential writings. Dr. Hale authored more than sixty books, contributed frequently to newspapers and magazines, and excelled in the short story genre. The Man Without a Country is one of Dr. Hale's most popular short stories, and its inspirational message still resonates with readers today.After reading about Indianapolis’s Camp Morton in a vintage magazine he bought on E-Bay, James R. Hall was inspired to write a book outlining the horrors of the so-called model Union prison. “I felt that the stories of the prisoners should be made public in the modern era,” he said, as little has been written about the camp since the late 1800s.
Hall won a full tuition scholarship to Vincennes University, where he earned his degree in journalism. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Trinity Seminary and his doctoral degree in holistic nutrition from Clayton College in Birmingham, Alabama. From 1979 to 1992, he was a writer for the Shelbyville (Ind.) News, an award-winning daily newspaper, and from 1995 to 1999, he was a feature writer for the Indianapolis Star.
As a freelance writer, Hall has published articles in The Saturday Evening Post, Contemporary Christian Magazine, Windstorm Magazine, Indiana Sports Magazine, The Indianapolis Star Magazine, Indianapolis Monthly Magazine, Babe Ruth International Magazine, United Press International, and Civil War Times Illustrated. His poetry has been published in White River Quarterly, an Indiana poetry anthology, and his freelance photography has been published in the Chicago Tribune. An article he wrote on jeep safety appeared on 60 Minutes, and he has written humor columns and opinion pieces for the New York Times News Service.
Hall lived in Shelbyville, Indiana, with his wife and son until his death in 2013.
“Though he had a hunch, Johnny Gruelle didn't know what to expect or whether the buying public would really take to hand-crafted rag dolls,” observes Patricia Hall.
“World War I was in the forefront; people were distracted, focusing on other things. You might expect that dolls would have been the last thing on their minds,” Hall points out.
As it turned out, however, Raggedy Ann, her brother Raggedy Andy, and the storybooks that the P. F. Volland Company introduced beginning in 1918, would be perfect diversions for a war weary public. The dolls and books went on to become perennial best sellers.
Hall's books are illustrated treasure troves of information about the Raggedys, and tell a larger story than just the history of the dolls that escorted their creator to fame. They reveal the story of Johnny Gruelle, the man behind the mop-topped siblings.
Says Hall, “Johnny Gruelle was already a well-known illustrator, cartoonist, and playthings designer when the Raggedys were introduced. But, the dolls and books quickly became an inextricable part of his life and livelihood. By the time he died, in 1938, Gruelle's identity had become defined by his most popular commodities. Millions knew him only as ‘The Raggedy Ann Man.’”
Patricia Hall's Johnny Gruelle collection is one of the most comprehensive in the world, encompassing books, dolls, merchandise, original artwork, correspondence, and photographs. In addition to Raggedy Ann and More: Johnny Gruelle's Dolls and Merchandise, Hall also is the author of Johnny Gruelle, Creator of Raggedy Ann and Andy and Raggedy Ann and Andy Postcard Book, both published by Pelican.
"Christopher Hallowell is a skillful writer on natural history."
—Doris Grumbach, New York Times Book Review
A Massachusetts native, Christopher Hallowell has a special interest in science and environmental journalism. He earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard University, then continued his education at Columbia University, where he received a master's degree in journalism.
A frequent speaker on wetlands and coastal issues, he has authored numerous books, as well as articles in such magazines as Time, the New York Times Magazine, Audubon, and the American Scholar. He has reported from Peru, Panama, the South Pacific, East Africa, and various regions of the United States.
People of the Bayou: Cajun Life in Lost America provides a history of the lower Mississippi marshland region, as well as its geology, the settlement of the Cajun people, and the efforts of oil companies to develop it. The author explores the Cajun culture and its imminent assimilation into the mainstream.
Currently a professor at Baruch College of the City University of New York, Hallowell is also the director of undergraduate journalism. He resides in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife.
Janel Halpern grew up in Brooklyn, New York. A lifelong lover of art, she began her studies at the Brooklyn Museum Art School, where she studied oil painting. Passionate about shaping the minds of the next generation, she pursued a career as an English teacher at high schools and junior colleges in New York City.
In addition to her work as a teacher, Halpern worked as a full-time writer, lending her talents to many non-profit organizations, including Family Health International’s AIDSCAP Project and Montefiore Medical Center. She wrote a weekly column for the Mamaroneck (NY) Daily Times. Her work has been published in Redbook, the New York Times, Westchester Magazine, and Chatelaine, among other publications.
Since retiring from her teaching and full-time writing careers, Halpern pursues freelance projects, focusing on work that combines her passions for art, New York City, and social change. She also spends time painting in the studio at the Art Students League of New York.
Halpern received her master of arts from New York University. She lives in Manhattan with her husband but makes frequent excursions to different boroughs in search of new museums, galleries, and shows.
Marlene Hamilton is the daughter of two ministers. She was given leadership responsibilities at the age of twelve and has never looked back. Her success as a Sunday school teacher quickly led to greater roles in which she continued to develop her skills and style as a leader. Realizing at a very young age she had a calling for women's ministries, Marlene became very active, traveling across the country and speaking at seminars and retreats. Her genuine personality and contagious smile leave women feeling as if they've known her for years.
As a licensed minister, Marlene is currently on the pastoral staff of one of the largest Assembly of God churches in the Pacific Northwest. Over the last two decades, the women's ministry division has flourished to become one of the largest organized women's groups in the country. Her special events consistently sell out, while her annual programs maintain a consistently high attendance rate. She lives in Gig Harbor, Washington with Bruce, her husband of thirty-four years, and her son and daughter, Rex and Roxanne.
Earl W. Hampton, Jr., is a streetcar enthusiast employed by CSX Transportation, a railroad service that transports goods across the eastern United States. In addition to authoring numerous articles in magazines such as Traction & Models, Hampton was also the editor in chief of Open Track, the newsletter of the New Orleans Railway Museum Association, which eventually became the New Orleans Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.
Hampton first indulged his lifelong love of railcars with his work as a tourist representative for the “streetcar named Desire.” As an active member of several street and rail groups, Hampton contributes photography and expertise to such organizations as the New Orleans Street Railway Association, a nonprofit organization whose mission is the preservation and restoration of New Orleans’s historic streetcars; Southern States Traction, a discussion group about transit in the South; and Streetcars Desired Everywhere, a blog about the future of rail transit in New Orleans.
Hampton graduated from Redemptorist High School and attended the University of New Orleans. He enjoys building model railroads, photographing and riding streetcars, and traveling throughout North America and Europe. A lifelong resident of the Irish Channel neighborhood, Hampton lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.
In doing research for a biography of Bill Pickett, Sibyl Hancock came across so many interesting facts about people that she decided to write about their many contributions to our world's culture. This book tells about some black people who succeeded in becoming the first of their race to achieve something unusual and important in the shaping of the destiny of America.
Famous First of Black Americans features short biographies of notable black people whose important achievements helped shape the destiny of America. They are arranged in chronological order and include those who made significant contributions in the fields of science, politics, sports, and the arts—from Estevanico Dorantez, an early Spanish explorer, to Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play major league baseball.
Sibyl Hancock was the author of fourteen previous books, including Old Blue, which was an ALA Notable Book in 1980 and was on the master list of the Texas Bluebonnet Award and the Washington State Children's Choice Picture Book Award.
A free-lance writer, a children's book critic and collector, and a newspaper columnist, Ms. Hancock has been recognized as a leading writer and has been invited to speak and teach for numerous writing groups. She is listed in Contemporary Authors and Something about the Author.
Philip Handleman—producer, director, author, photographer, bibliophile, and pilot—has always been fascinated by flight. As the president of Handleman Filmworks, he has produced and directed numerous documentaries about aviation and warfare, including the Emmy Award-winning Remembering the Holocaust. He is a prolific writer, penning both books and articles, the latter appearing in magazines such as World Airshow News, Vintage Airplane, and Warbirds. He is also an avid photographer, capturing stills featured on U.S. postage stamps, including the 2004 commemorative stamp honoring the fiftieth anniversary of the United States Air Force.
Handleman maintains one of the United States' premier private libraries of aviation books, housing over five thousand volumes. Yet he does not just read aeronautic history—he lives it. As owner of Handleman Sky Ranch, he owns and flies two aircraft of military vintage, a Boeing Stearman N2S-3, an open-cockpit biplane primary trainer from WWII, and a Cessna 180H, which has been restored as a U.S. Air Force U-17C.
He is also a member of more than thirty-five aviation organizations, and has served on more than thirty civic and charitable boards. Additionally, he is the director of the Michigan Air Guard Historical Association, which manages the state's largest military air museum.
Handleman received his bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis. He completed the Executive Academy at the University of Michigan's Graduate School of Business Administration in Ann Arbor. He resides with his wife in Birmingham, Michigan.
Martial arts master, wife, and mother Choon-Ok Jade Harmon leads a layered and fascinating life. She is the highest-ranking female master in the Korean martial art of Kuk Sool Won with a ninth-degree black belt.
Harmon grew up in a poor village in Korea. She began studying Kuk Sool Won when she was fourteen, at a time when few women studied martial arts. As she progressed in her rigorous training, she struggled against traditional Korean gender roles, which dictated that women stop practicing martial arts once they were married. Her desires to have a family and continue training led her to Barry Harmon, whom she met while he was schooling in Kuk Sool Won in Korea. The Grand Master of the dojang (formal training hall) arranged their marriage, and the Harmons moved to the United States and opened Kuk Sool Won of Clear Lake in Houston, Texas.
Harmon continues to run the dojang, teach classes in Kuk Sool Won, and take care of her family. She has been interviewed by numerous publications, including Tae Kwon Do Times; her local media; and Korean newspapers. Harmon lives in Houston with her husband and two daughters.
David Harrington's affinity for art began at an early age, when he enthusiastically drew on floors, walls, furniture, and other inanimate objects. A native of southern California, Harrington pursued a career in illustration by enrolling in the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where he earned a BFA with honors. As a student, his favorite classes were figure drawing and painting.
In his professional career, Harrington has illustrated numerous children's books. He believes that they open a door to a new world, and he admits that he studied books for hours on end as a child. In addition to children's illustrations, Harrington creates advertising images for toys, games, food packaging, educational materials, medical equipment, and various other products.
Bold lines, sharp contrast, and vibrant colors render Harrington’s images stunning and memorable. He portrays real emotions such as fun and excitement through playful and accentuated cartoon images. The clarity of detail that Harrington gives to the page can bring a child's imagination to life. He is the recipient of a WWA Spur Awards Storyteller Award for his illustrations in Pecos Bill Invents the Ten-Gallon Hat.
Harrington lives with his wife and children in Laguna Hills, California.
A pair of worn Levis, a ten-gallon Stetson, an authentic cowboy vest, and a bandana around the neck—could this really be Santa Claus? Leon A. Harris says it is, as he tells the Texas-sized, Texas-style, rootin’ tootin’ Western Christmas classic The Night Before Christmas—In Texas, That Is, a story that has entertained audiences for more than forty years.
A longtime writer, presenter, and speaker, Harris reveals that a Texas Christmas is different. Boots, not stockings, wait to be stuffed with gifts, and faithful "hosses," not reindeer, provide Santa's transportation. Forget the sleigh, too. In Texas, the jolly old elf arrives on a buckboard piled high with presents for good little Texans.
Harris's gift for writing clever and imaginative stories led to the creation of diverse characters and situations, from Russian ballet schools to Peruvian children to a lovable French mouse. In addition to children's books, he wrote for historical journals and contemporary magazines.
Two of the late author's latest publications were featured in Town and Country and Smithsonian magazines. Years after his death, Harris's stories continue to entertain and educate audiences of all ages. When it comes to a Texas Christmas, he was the uppermost authority.
Lois Harris grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where she spent many Saturdays at the Brooklyn Art Museum fascinated by art from around the world. Her fiction, nonfiction, and photos have appeared in Highlights, Hopscotch, Fun For Kidz, and The Friend children's magazines.
When the author first saw Cassatt's paintings during a 1999 Seattle Art Museum's exhibition, she stood in awe, touched by Mary's artwork. Then, “as I read about her extraordinary life, the idea for my story began to bubble,” she explains. On one occasion, Miss Cassatt was asked to paint a large mural for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Having previously never attempted a mural, the artist commented that “It would be great fun to do something I had never done before.” Harris believes that after reading about Mary's life, young children will also find that any dream is possible. Although she had never written a book before, Harris thought it would be an appropriate tribute.
Harris is a member of the University of Washington Alumni, the Society of Children's Writers and Book Illustrators in California and Washington, the Seattle Art Museum, the Western Canada Children's Writers, and the NFforKids international email list. She also enjoys photography, boating, cooking, and occasional gardening. Harris graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in English and Creative Writing.
Lois Harris is “happily retired” and lives with her family and two cats in Anacortes, Washington, where she still enjoys visiting museums and learning about art.
Marilyn Harris is a consultant for the food industry and has appeared in the national media as a spokesperson and culinary expert. Her call-in cooking show on WKRC-AM has had a large and devoted listening audience for thirteen years. She does a daily food commentary on WSAI-radio and writes a featured column in the Cincinnati Enquirer. Her byline appears frequently in brochures, pamphlets, and national magazines.
Born in Mississippi and first schooled in the culinary arts in New Orleans, Harris has studied at the Cordon Bleu School in London, at La Varenne and Bistro d'Hubert academies in Paris, and with numerous chefs in Lyon. She is also a very talented cooking teacher in her own right—as founder of the Fourth Street Market Cooking School at H&S Pogue's in Cincinnati. One faithful student describes her as “a marvelously creative cook with a charming personality, enthusiasm for good food, and a never-ending repertoire of fresh ideas.”
With her solid credentials as an advanced food professional (certification provided by the International Association of Culinary Professionals—IACP) and years of experience advising many of the country's leading food producers, Harris combines impressive culinary skills with a wealth of humor and the stovetop wisdom of a natural teacher. In addition to recipes that really work, she provides a healthy sampling of cooking tips, information on food culture and lore, and advice on ingredients, menus, and entertaining.
Harris believes that cooking should be enjoyable, and her ability to convey knowledge and excitement about creating good food sets her apart from many cooks. She savors variety in people as well as food. She has traveled widely with her husband in Hamburg, Berlin, Marple (Cheshire), and Wolfenbüttel, gathering recipes—and stories—along the way.
She is the author of The Marilyn Harris Cooking School Cookbook, Cooking with Marilyn, and Live! From Marilyn's Kitchen, all published by Pelican.
Listen to her show on Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on WKRC 550 in Cincinnati or worldwide via the Internet at www.55krc.com.
Jim Harris, a prolific illustrator of children's books and freelance artist, employs great detail and often humor in his artwork. His trademark style has earned him numerous awards, including a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators, the coveted Communication Arts' Award of Excellence, the Colorado Children's Book Award, a Western Writers Spur Award, and an Arizona Young Readers' Award.
Best-selling books featuring Harris's illustrations have garnered selection by the Reading Rainbow and Scholastic Book clubs and a nomination for a Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award. His critically acclaimed Ten Little Dinosaurs received numerous awards and was named one of Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products. Harris's wide-ranging array of clients includes National Geographic Books, Children's Television Workshop, the Federal Bar Association, and IBM.
There are now more than two million copies of his books in print. When not working on his next project, Harris enjoys archery and reading books to his children. He lives in Nelson, New Zealand.
Sara Ann Harris was born in Maryland but grew up in New Orleans. She spent countless summers with her extended Catholic family in southeast Louisiana. In 1973, Harris graduated from Tulane University with a BA in Psychology, and earned an MA in English from the University of New Orleans in 1982.
Harris taught persuasive writing at Loyola University and Dominican College, and worked for twenty-two years in the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries as a Communications Specialist and Communications Director. Her wildlife communications projects include published magazine articles, along with news features, educational booklets, a television series, a documentary, and multimedia exhibits.
She has received numerous awards for her features, including a certificate of appreciation from Jefferson Parish Marine Fisheries Advisory Board 1999 for coproduction of the Marine Fisheries Museum installation, Second Place/Television Documentary in 2000 from Press Club of New Orleans, and a Certificate of Excellence for News Feature on Chef Paul Prudhomme, from North American Precis Syndicate in 2005. She lives in New Orleans, LA.
Stacey Harris, a pastry chef and caterer, has been creating diabetic-friendly sweets for several years. While training to be a pastry chef at the Bidwell Culinary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Harris was diagnosed with diabetes. Initially discouraged that she could no longer enjoy her desserts, Harris became determined to find a way to make tasty low-carb and low-sugar desserts.
She is a member of the American Diabetes Association, and her baking techniques have been featured in their magazine, Diabetes Forecast. She works with Bayer Healthcare and Giant Eagle Marketplace Grocery Stores to provide diabetic-friendly recipes. She regularly gives cooking demonstrations in the Pittsburgh area and has a blog, www.diabeticpastrychef.com, that she updates regularly with low-carb recipes and tips on recipe modification.
At thirteen, Harris took her first home economics class and felt a growing passion for baking. In addition to baking, she enjoys interior design, cooking, and gardening. Harris lives with her husband, Howard, in Pittsburgh.
On more than twenty Christmas Eves, Officer Michael D. Harrison has worked to maintain order in the community as a police officer and delivered presents to the doorsteps of underprivileged families as a secret Santa. To spread the Christmas spirit and include others in his Yuletide charity, Harrison founded Santa Cops, an organization that solicits donations to be distributed by uniformed officers. The charity has served to foster a stronger relationship between the police force and the community, ensuring that every child has a gift to open on Christmas morning.
A dedicated public servant, Harrison has taught the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program to elementary-school students and counseled sixth graders on peer pressure and decision making. In capacities ranging from undercover officer for a narcotics investigation unit to deputy sheriff, Harrison has served and protected for more than thirty years.
Harrison studied criminal justice at Western Carolina University. His pursuits include woodworking, skiing, scuba diving, and working to spread Santa Cops mission beyond his hometown. He resides in Taylorsville, North Carolina.
A native of the Ozarks and a descendent of both Bald Knobbers and anti-Bald Knobbers, Mr. Elmo Ingenthron began collecting manuscripts, newspaper clippings, and transcribed interviews for his Bald Knobbers: Vigilantes on the Ozarks Frontier more than thirty-five years before its publication in 1988. Mr. Ingenthron felt “obligated to unravel the confusion that contributed to one of America's bloodiest historical periods.”
Born in 1911, Mr. Ingenthron grew up hearing stories about his brave and proud Bald Knobber grandfather. His interest in pursuing the topic was sparked when he began teaching in rural schools in his hometown; he observed that his Bald Knobber and anti-Bald Knobber students had no animosity toward each other. Mr. Ingenthron was both perplexed and intrigued by the “conspiracy of silence” happening around him.
Mr. Ingenthron used his position as the county school superintendent to gain the confidence of Ozark natives, whom he later convinced to share their stories. Ms. Mary Hartman and Mr. Ingenthron spent several years writing Bald Knobbers, preserving the truth of such a “frightful era.”
Bald Knobbers gives an action-packed account of the notorious eight-year career of the Ozark vigilantes, also called the Bald Knobbers. Mr. Ingenthron and Ms. Hartman trace the roots of the group in the region's border struggles during the Civil War and examine the organization of anti-Bald Knobbers that sprang up to oppose them. This true story is complete with betrayals, violence, brutal murders, but most importantly, it focuses on the zeitgeist of the Ozarks during the post-Civil War time period: fear.
Mr. Ingenthron died in 1988.
Ms. Hartman is a freelance journalist who has written several books.
The daughter of a salesman and a high-school English teacher, Chance Harvey learned the importance of storytelling early in life. As a child, she loved nothing more than sitting on her grandmother’s knee and listening to stories about the past. These moments, coupled with nightly bedtime stories—courtesy of her mother and the Brothers Grimm—fostered a passion for the written word.
After attending Gulf Park College in Long Beach, Mississippi, the budding writer transferred to Millsaps College, where she received her BA in English. She earned her MA from Duke University, taught for a year at Brinkley Junior High School in Jackson, Mississippi, and then returned to Duke, where she worked toward a second master’s degree in education. After another half-year of teaching, she spent six years as a graduate student at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she received her PhD.
It was during Harvey’s time at Tulane that the inspiration for The Life and Selected Letters of Lyle Saxon was born. As a student worker at Tulane’s Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, she came across a collection of letters addressed to Saxon and signed “Yours especially, Rachel.” Intrigued by her findings, the graduate student chose these letters as the focus of her dissertation on Saxon, for which she won the John T. Monroe Fellowship for Dissertation Research.
After living in New Orleans for more than twelve years, Harvey combined her love of teaching and travel and served for two years on the English faculty of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She has taught English at Charleston Southern University, the University of Mississippi, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, and Southeastern Louisiana University.
Harvey currently lives with her husband, Judge Neal Biggers, in Tylertown, Mississippi.
J. D. R. Hawkins has dedicated years of extensive research to telling engaging and informative stories of the War Between the States in her award-winning series The Renegades. A member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Hawkins has participated in Civil War reenactments and has spoken about Confederate commanders’ battle strategies. She also holds memberships in the International Women’s Writing Guild, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and Pikes Peak Writers.
Hawkins earned a BS in journalism–advertising and a minor in ad design from Iowa State University. Her first novel, A Beckoning Hellfire, received both Publisher’s Choice and Editor’s Choice awards, and her second novel, A Beautiful, Glittering Lie, received the 2013 John Esten Cooke Fiction Award and the B.R.A.G. Medallion.
In addition to her love of writing, her personal interests include music, gardening, painting, and volunteering, having previously volunteered for the Colorado Horse Rescue. Hawkins and her husband live in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Having grown up without a television, Alexandria Hayes spent her leisure time reading voraciously. She excelled in school at an early age and, after a brief rebellion in her teenage years, went on to graduate from Loyola College.
Ms. Hayes entered the business world in 1978 with Martin Marietta Laboratories, working her way up to business-analyst status. In 1986 she moved on to become the manager of navy programs marketing at Raytheon's Missile Systems Division. Seeking experience outside of the aerospace industry, Ms. Hayes joined Delta Education as director of catalog development, growing Delta's catalog sales from under $2 million to $10 million in five years. As a result, in 1993, she became vice president of corporate marketing.
In 1996, Ms. Hayes left Delta to start Blue Moon Communications, a consulting firm focused on helping organizations of all types develop and deliver their marketing messages. In 2003, she launched Blue Moon Custom Poetry, a division of Blue Moon Communications that creates commissioned poems for special occasions.
Zydeco Shoes: A Sensory TourTM of Cajun Culture invites the reader to sample a uniquely spirited culture through its art, folklore, recipes, and music. Featuring the paintings of Earl Hébert, and various Cajun recipes, Zydeco Shoes offers a rich sensory experience that will enchant the uninitiated as readily as it gratifies the veteran.
Ms. Hayes lives with her two birds in Stratham, New Hampshire, where she enjoys biking, dancing, yoga, music, and, of course, books.
Charles H. Hayes is an author, editorial cartoonist, and award-winning artist and sculptor. Inspired to create an engaging book for youths, his main goal was to encourage them to look beyond the simplification of the Civil War as a conflict between the virtuous North and the evil South. Captivated by a great interest and pride in Civil War history, Hayes is a life member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the Military Order of the Stars and Bars, and a board member for the Camp Ford Historical Association. He is also an active member of the East Texas Writers Guild and writes fiction books.
Hayes earned his BA from Rice University and MA from the University of Texas, both in physics. After retiring as a systems analyst from Lockheed Martin, where he was also the editor of the in-house monthly magazine, Challenge, Hayes focused on his love of art. He opened an art gallery and became an accomplished sculptor, winning several awards in juried shows with his Western bronzes. He has also contributed editorial cartoons to the Huntsville (AL) Times, the Tyler (TX) Morning Telegraph, and the Citizens Informer. He twice won awards at the prestigious Central South Art Exhibition in Nashville, Tennessee.
Hayes lives with his wife, Natalie, in Tyler, Texas, and has two grown daughters. He shows his art in a virtual gallery on the web and enjoys bass fishing, writing, and chess.
During her more than thirty years in the financial services industry, Kenney has successfully developed and implemented cutting-edge ideas that have stimulated the growth and abilities of the teams she has mentored toward success.
Active in music ministry leadership at a very young age, Kenney went on to serve as a judge for nationwide youth conferences, encouraging high school students to consider Christian education. Today she remains active in various ministries, including women's and music. She continues to write and record gospel music. She lives with Stan, her husband of thirty years, her daughters Kisha and A.J., and grandchildren Bailey and Aly in Gig Harbor, Washington.
Although a Mississippi native, George W. Healy, Jr., made a name for himself in New Orleans. He was a dedicated journalist and served as the editor of the New Orleans Times-Picayune for thirty-six years.
Born in Natchez, Mississippi, on September 22, 1905, Mr. Healy's journalism career began when he was a student editor for the University of Mississippi magazine, The Scream. While on The Scream's staff, he edited some of fellow student William Faulkner's submissions. Just a few years later, Mr. Healy's coverage of the 1927 Mississippi River flood put the young journalist in the national spotlight. He later served as the honored president of the Society of Professional Journalists from 1946-47.
Mr. Healy became a trusted friend of many American presidents, including Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon. He directed Franklin D. Roosevelt's domestic branch of the Office of War Information from 1943 until the end of the war, where he is famous for the balance he set between milliary censorship and the public's right to know.
In this candid autobiography, Mr. Healy recalls the people and events that, during his career, left an indelible imprint on the history of the nation and the world. He offers a journalist's perspective of American history and the zeitgeist of New Orleans and Washington politics.
Mr. Healy died on November 2, 1980. He is remembered for his admirable journalism ethics and his insistence on running a “responsible press.”
Born in Greece to an Irish soldier and a Greek mother, Lafcadio Hearn emigrated to the United States at the age of nineteen. While working as a newspaperman in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hearn married a black woman, which was then illegal, and fled to New Orleans to escape prosecution. Once there, he began to work for the New Orleans Item. During his time in New Orleans, Hearn published several books while continuing his work as a journalist.
As a broke newspaper reporter, Hearn was interested in inexpensive meals, so he assembled a collection of Creole recipes, which he later published. Lafcadio Hearn's Creole Cookbook, the first Creole cookbook ever written, reflects the life and customs of New Orleans during the late 1800s. Asked to write the guidebook for the 1884 Cotton Expedition, Hearn agreed, but only if the publisher would also publish his cookbook. Chita: A Memory of Last Island (F) tells the story of a shipwrecked girl adopted by a Spanish family. Their different languages and cultures collide and blend into a unique way of life.
Hearn was fascinated by the exotic, the quaint, and the unusual. This lead to his studies of the Far East, and eventually, Hearn moved to Japan, where he hoped to escape the materialism of the Western world. He secured a university teaching position and soon married a Japanese woman, becoming a Japanese citizen in 1895 under the name Yakumo Koizumi. He continued writing and published numerous books describing the life and customs of his new home, including Kwaidan, Ghostly Japan, and Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation.
Earl Hébert grew up immersed in Cajun country in the little town of Ossun, Louisiana. He began painting in the late ’70s and early ’80s, and readily admits he knew nothing of it but thoroughly enjoyed the learning experience. “I particularly enjoy the beginning of the painting,” Mr. Hébert says, “when the canvas is blank, and you can tell any story you want, but then you're married to that image for the next week or two, while you're finishing the painting.”
An early mentor suggested using eight to ten standard earthy colors to begin. Mr. Hébert quickly realized this gave his work a muddy look. He then switched his palette to the rich primary colors that have become a trademark of his work. Another signature of his painting is the layering effect produced by the acrylic paints.
Earl's work is full of the colorful world of the Cajuns. His paintings combine images of the past, present, and future and weave a timeless story of a simpler era. They tell of a time when the warmth of good friends and family, a sack of crawfish, and a few cold drinks were all that was needed to make a great day perfect.
Zydeco Shoes: A Sensory TourTM of Cajun Culture invites the reader to sample a uniquely spirited culture through its art, folklore, and recipes. Featuring the paintings of Earl Hébert and various Cajun recipes, Zydeco Shoes enchants the uninitiated as readily as it gratifies the veteran.
Mr. Hébert currently resides in New Orleans, Louisiana. His studio has been located on Royal Street in the historic French Quarter for more than fifteen years.
Sheila Hebert-Collins was born in Abbeville, Louisiana, the heart of Cajun country. She was what you would call an authentic Cajun, since both her mother's and father's lineages can be traced back to Acadia in Canada. Hebert-Collins grew up proud of her Cajun culture, and teaching the lower grades for twenty years instilled a love for children's literature. That passion, combined with her Cajun pride, motivated her to rewrite cherished fairy tales with a Cajun twist. These fairy tales were designed to teach younger children French as well as to develop Cajun pride of their own.
Hebert-Collins didn't start her writing career until she retired from teaching in Louisiana in 1989. In late 1993, her first Cajun fairy tale was published: Jolie Blonde and the Three Héberts, a Cajun Goldilocks and the Three Bears. By 1996 she had four books published and had visited more than 120 schools in Louisiana and many public libraries, reading her Cajun fairy tales and promoting their culture.
Sheila Hebert-Collins' name appears in the Louisiana State Artist Roster as an author and Cajun storyteller. She has made presentations for the Louisiana Reading Association's local and state conventions. She has also made presentations for the Florida Association of Media Educators, Lee County Reading Festival, and Florida Gulf Coast University.
In 1999, Sheila Hebert-Collins became a school librarian, working on certification at the same time. She was certified in library science in 2000 and was hired as a media specialist at Manatee Elementary in Collier County, Florida, in 2001. During that year, her sixth fairy tale was published. Working in such a diversified school has given her more cultures to learn about and, more than ever, more reasons to promote cultural pride. She currently resides in Abbeville, Louisiana.
"...very useful for the tourist who wishes to plan an itinerary to visit these states' landmarks dating from the Revolutionary epoch."
—American Reference Books Annual
Adelaide Hechtlinger is a New York City native and is currently a resident of Island Park, New York. She graduated from New York University and has completed graduate work at Adelphi University. She is considered an authority on life in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and has written books on such diverse topics as science, quilting, paper antiques, and cooking. When not writing, she teaches science at Far Rockaway High School in New York City.
The Pelican Guide to Historic Homes and Sites of Revolutionary America, Volume 1: New England describes the history, location, and other useful information about the landmarks of the six New England states—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
Award-winning author Bill Heller is the racing editor for Thoroughbred Style. In addition to publishing more than twenty books, award-winning author, Bill Heller, has written hundreds of magazine articles for approximately eighty different publications. He contributes regularly to Trainer Magazine and Canadian Sportsman and handicaps New York Thoroughbred racing for the Daily Gazette. The prior national president and chairman of the board of the United States Harness Writers Association, he serves as vice president of the Saratoga Harness Museum and Hall of Fame.
Because of his expertise in Thoroughbred racing, Heller has been the recipient of numerous awards for magazine writing, including the Eclipse Award for magazine writing on Thoroughbred racing, five first place honors in the American Horse Publications awards, and William Leggett Breeders' Cup Award.
Having graduated with honors from the State University of Albany with a degree in political science and a minor in journalism, Heller resides in Albany, New York, with his wife.
Hendon has appeared in thirty-six nations, providing seminars on the subjects of marketing, power and influence, personal development, body language, and entrepreneurship. Since the 1970s, he has written extensively on these topics with his work appearing in more than three hundred publications. Hendon also has taught at universities in the United States and abroad.
He earned his PhD in business from the University of Texas at Austin and his MBA in marketing from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a member of the American Marketing Association and the Henderson Writers' Group.
When he is not jetting around the globe giving presentations, Hendon enjoys poker, chess, motorcycles, and tennis. He lives in Mesquite, Nevada.
Emile Henriquez, a native of New Orleans, is widely known for his artistic skills. An accomplished cartoonist, children's book illustrator, graphic designer, and calligrapher, he has received awards and international recognition for his commercial illustrations. Henriquez had the honor of designing the insignia for the U.S.S. Louisiana, the last Trident submarine built for the U.S. Navy. The design is now housed in the Louisiana State Museum in the French Quarter. As a graphic designer, he has created more than three thousand T-shirts for silkscreen printing.
The illustrator's first break into the art business came through a job with Ad Sales, a local New Orleans printing shop, where his knowledge of commercial art grew extensively. He began perfecting his calligraphic skills and hand lettering with pens while working at an advertising agency. At Boeing Company, Henriquez quickly became the fastest letterer and received a “zero defects” award, an honor given to those who produce an enormous volume of artistic material without any errors. Later he was able to utilize all of his creative and artistic talents with projects at Textron Marine and Land Systems. He bridged fine and commercial art together, creating motivational posters, designing ads for newsletters and magazines, and fashioning kiosks for the company's trade shows.
Henriquez graduated from John McCrady Art School with a degree in fine and commercial art. He attended Tulane University College where he studied drawing, painting, and art history. Though he is retired, the illustrator keeps busy teaching art classes at the University of New Orleans. He also spends his days as a school crossing guard and volunteers his time for charitable causes. He lives with his wife, Mary Ann, in Slidell, Louisiana. They have five children, twenty grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
Col. Don Henry gained a unique perspective as a combat fighter pilot, squadron commander, and psychologist. He has logged thousands of hours in supersonic fighter aircraft and is a highly decorated combat pilot and commander of a first-line fighter squadron. His combat decorations include the Silver Star and three Distinguished Flying crosses.
A native of Charleston, Illinois, Colonel Henry graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor of science in business, a commission as second lieutenant, and an assignment to Air Force pilot training.
After receiving his wings, Don Henry attended F-105 fighter pilot school at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and soon after reported to the 67th Tactical Fighter Squadron in Okinawa. While serving at both Korat and Takhli Royal Thai Air Force bases in Thailand during the height of the Vietnam conflict, Henry flew 129 combat missions into Laos and North Vietnam. Between combat tours on the F-105, he served as an operational test pilot in the F-111 aircraft at Nellis Air Force Base.
Colonel Henry's education and distinguished service to his country did not end with his combat duties. He completed training at the Air Force War College and earned a master's degree in psychology from Troy State University. He went on to work in several Pentagon departments as a fighter aircraft requirements officer and later commanded the 55th Tactical Fighter Squadron, a nuclear task F-111 operational unit. Mr. Henry completed his active duty with the rank of colonel.
Don Henry's first novel, Thunderchief, is a dramatic investigation of the “Right Stuff” and how fighter pilots get it. The war in Vietnam in 1966 remains etched on the memory of all who served there. This thrilling barrel-ride of a novel takes readers inside the cockpit in the heat of modern battle and examines the inner conflict of people serving their country in extraordinary circumstances.
Don Henry is now a full-time writer, investigating the natural link between dramatic structure and psychology. A member of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilot Association, the Order of the Daedalians, and the American Psychological Association, he lives in Laguna Beach, California, with his wife, Dixie.
Determining the qualification for a cookbook author is a process with many variables. It seems best to have someone with skills in cooking and writing, plus a general appreciation for the subject. Considering the various qualitities and talents of Carla L. Henry, she has the perfect combination for writing the low-calorie cookbook Souper Skinny Soups and her new book, Vegetarians in the Fast Lane.
Ms. Henry grew up in a home where food was a part of the family. Her mother, a short-order cook, and her father, a Navy chef, trained her early on to make cooking second nature. A single mother with three children, she learned the value of creative cooking under the time pressures of juggling family and career.
She has been an executive board member of the California Writers' Club. A former advertising copywriter, Henry has writing credits with The New American West and The Probe.
“When you use the Secret and conquer your fear, something happens to you. You become stronger. You become larger than your fear. The fear still exists, but somehow it's less than you are. When you conquer your fear, you prepare yourself for another level, just as when you conquered single-digit addition you prepared yourself for double-digit addition.”
—Mike Hernacki
A constant seeker of intellectual stimulation, Mike Hernacki has never been one to keep this knowledge to himself. After graduating in 1965 with a bachelor of arts degree in education from Michigan State University, Hernacki spent the next few years teaching. He then spent time working in both advertising and sales before going back to school. In 1975, he graduated from the Detroit School of Law with a juris doctorate degree and then practiced law for two years. His next career venture was stockbrokerage, and finally he took up the art of writing. It was not until he began writing that he found the most fulfillment and success.
He presently lives in San Diego, California, with his wife, Wanda, where he continues to write financial motivational books and coaches individuals primarily in the financial services field. He has written several books, some of which have been published in more than one language, including The Secret to Permanent Prosperity, The Forgotten Secret to Phenomenal Success, and The Secret to Conquering Fear, all available from Pelican.
Judith Hierstein believes that “pictures should begin where the written word ends.” She encourages children to share in her love of learning about other cultures through illustrated books. Ms. Hierstein holds a BA in art education from the University of Iowa. A former elementary-school teacher, she now teaches high school graphic and media arts. She sees digital art as “another exciting media to explore when illustrating for children.” Aside from teaching and learning, Hierstein has also illustrated a number of children's books for Pelican Publishing.
Ms. Hierstein resides in Tucson, Arizona.
Much like royalty ascending a throne, Earl J. Higgins had the markings of a Y'at Catholic from the beginning. He began his physical and spiritual life in bastions of New Orleans#9; Catholic culture, having been born October 1941 in Hotel Dieu Hospital and christened in St. Stephen's Catholic Church. Graduating from Jesuit High School cinched the deal. He is an authentic Y'at, an affectionate term for a local New Orleanian.
Armed with a BA in English and a juris doctorate from Tulane University, Higgins compiled an impressive resume of government service. He retired from the United States Navy in 1989 with the rank of commander, U.S. Naval Reserve, and from the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, in 2002 as the assistant director of staff attorneys. When questioned about his seemingly dry government service, Higgins points out that there is much humor and creativity among bureaucrats and military people. No doubt Higgins led the charge, instigating his share of humor over the years.
As for his creative leanings, reading has always been a passion. His interests are eclectic, from the twenty Aubrey-Maturin novels of Patrick O'Brian to the spiritual writings of Thomas Merton. If he had to choose one author as his favorite, Higgins would choose Nikos Kazantzakis. The classics have interested him since childhood, and he has read and reread Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Virgil, Martial, St. Augustine, and others from time to time. Shakespeare fascinates him. Higgins listens to classical music but is very fond of jazz and rhythm and blues. He plays blues and boogie-woogie on the piano.
“I'm a Y'at, so to say that I'm a Mardi Gras enthusiast is sort of redundant,” says Higgins, who is a proud member of the Krewe du Vieux, a satirical Mardi Gras organization known for its parades lampooning the famous and infamous. Carrying on local traditions in post-Katrina New Orleans is important to Higgins, who humorously displays his affection for his hometown in The Joy of Y'at Catholicism.
Higgins is a ranger at the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve and writes a column of humor, satire, and whimsy for the Delta Sierran, a bimonthly publication of the Sierra Club. Higgins is a member of St. Thomas More Parish of Tulane University. He and his wife, Janet, are the parents of three grown children and reside in River Ridge, Louisiana.
“Nature is Hill’s pattern book. She transforms sparsely set countryside elements into concentrated configurations that heighten the experience of nature.â€
David C. Hinze's extensive knowledge of history is seen in his Civil War book The Battle of Carthage: Border War in Southwest Missouri, July 5, 1861, the first book devoted to this influential early-war battle. The book features detailed tactical coverage of the battle and in-depth biographical sketches, with critical evaluations of the major participants of both sides. The author's exhaustive battle analysis contains new interpretations of how and why the fighting evolved, as well as comprehensive original maps, photos and illustrations, a detailed discussion of casualties, explanatory endnotes, and a comprehensive order of battles. Jeff Patrick of Wilson's Creek National Battlefield says of the book, “The Battle of Carthage: Border War in Southwest Missouri vividly brings to life the men of the pro-Southern Missouri State Guard and Colonel Franz Sigel's Union volunteers. Any serious student of the Civil War in the trans-Mississippi theater should read this book.”
Peter Hirsch was born and raised in Vienna, Austria. For many years, he worked as the chief financial officer for an Austrian affiliate of a Swiss company. He met his wife and co-author, Billie Ann Lopez, in Central Park in New York City during the summer of 1981. He is an avid traveler and, in order to create his guide book, visited about three hundred cities, towns, and villages in Germany.
Kevin Hogan is much sought after as both a motivational speaker for organizations and as an interpreter of body language for the media. In fact, Hogan has repeatedly given his expert opinion to the New York Post for articles it has published on the demeanor and truthfulness of such personalities as Monica Lewinsky and President Clinton. His specialized knowledge of hypnosis and neurolinguistics has brought him acclaim as one of America's leading experts in the field of human influence.
Using techniques from hypnosis, neurolinguistic programming, the Bible, and the greatest salespeople in history, Kevin Hogan teaches the psychology of persuasion both during his speeches and in his book. This practical knowledge may be used to save thousands on the purchase of a house, get the best deal on a new car, or determine when someone is lying.
Kevin Hogan holds a doctorate in clinical hypnotherapy from the American Institute of Hypnotherapy and a PhD in metaphysics from the American Institute of Holistic Theology. He is a registered and certified hypnotherapist. He resides with his wife and two children in Burnsville, Minnesota area.
Jeremy Hogarth has specialized in natural history television programs since 1975. After training at the London Film School, Jeremy worked as assistant film editor for the BBC and as film editor on natural history programs for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation before pursuing an independent career as a producer/director and writer of natural history documentaries. He has filmed in many countries on every continent except Antarctica, including Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Thailand, Japan, and Indonesia. Jeremy has won dozens of awards internationally, including wide acclaim for his films Kimberley: Land of the Wandjina and The Big Wet. Jeremy acted as series producer for Wild Asia, as well as program producer for two episodes, The Realm of the Red Ape and A Forest through all Seasons.
A renowned doctor and history enthusiast, Alan Berch Hollingsworth is the author of celebrated works of fiction as well as medical-based texts. His latest nonfiction book, Killing Albert Berch, explores the 1923 murder of his maternal grandfather by a mob over a racial dispute. For his true-crime debut, Hollingsworth delved into his own complex family history through his tireless research of primary sources.
Hollingsworth, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, received an MD with distinction from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in 1975, where he was the First Vice President of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. His work as a breast cancer specialist focusing on early detection has earned him national recognition in the field.
Hollingsworth lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he serves as Medical Director of Mercy Women’s Center.
Chef Ann Hollowell hosts the TV show The Cooking Lady, which she films from Greenville, Mississippi. Her expertise lies in her adjustment of classic recipes for a fresher and healthier twist. The Cooking Lady is broadcast throughout the South and has reached more than 3.5 million viewers.
Hollowell attended Millsaps College, where she graduated with a bachelor of arts in theater. She briefly worked as an actress and was featured in the Robert Altman film Thieves Like Us. In addition to her cooking show, Hollowell is an executive accountant for ad sales, hosts weekly live radio chats, and is a councilwoman for the City of Greenville.
Hollowell’s passion for cooking stems from her joy in bringing family and friends together through food. Besides cooking, she enjoys gardening, fishing, playing tennis, and spending time with her husband, daughter, son-in-law, and grandchild.
Many business leaders give international business advisor Sheila Holm the credit for making them successful. Also serving as a keynote conference speaker, entrepreneurial trainer, and seminar leader, Ms. Holm has developed a “balanced life” approach to business that has proven so effective she is often known as the “Professor of Profitability.” Her client list includes such corporations as Marriott, Blue Shield, the United Post Office, Chevron, and the Sony Corporation.
Her incredible success rate earned Holm the federal contract to provide entrepreneurial training to the defense and aerospace industries, where she trained engineers and top management from General Dynamics, Hughes, and Lockheed. She later developed this program into a copyrighted, credentialed, entrepreneurial training course. Ms Holm also serves as a consultant for small business development centers and is advisor and coach to universities, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and government leaders.
Sheila Holm is also the author of 100% Life: Balanced Life Game, Seven Step Business Plan, and Identity Factor: Closing the Entrance Gates to Identity Theft. She has written numerous articles for Nevada Women Magazine. She is a member of several international and national professional organizations and associations including Rotary International, the National Employers Association, and the Industry and Education Council.
Ms. Holm lives in Encinitas, California, were she is involved in numerous community and charity efforts. She has also been known to enjoy painting, volleyball, and golf, although her favorite hobby is high-speed car rallies, especially on California mountain routes.
Santasaurus
is coming to town, and Delano Holmquist is the one introducing this lovable
character to readers. The official keeper of Santa's “nice” list comes to
life through Holmquist's story SantaSaurus,
a tale about the true Holiday Spirit.
Born
in
While
attending
Holmquist
says that his company's mission is to develop educational programs that will
encourage youth and provide positive messages. He follows this mission with SantaSaurus,
which he frequently reads to young audiences at stores, schools, and libraries.
Holmquist currently resides in
George D. Hopkins, Jr. is a distinguished architect of national renown whose professional accomplishments have received widespread acclaim. Founder and chairman of the Hopkins Company, an architectural firm, Hopkins specializes in the design of upscale residences and urban redevelopment planning. His innovative and unique architectural style, which ranges from historically preservative to creatively contemporary, has been frequently featured in books and national magazines since his career began in 1970. Licensed to practice in twenty-five states, Hopkins has received nearly two dozen awards—among them are the Best Homes in Mississippi award and the President's Commission on White House Fellowships.
He is a member of the American Institute of Architects and the Louisiana Architects Association. Known for his extensive civic involvement in the Greater New Orleans area, Hopkins has served on the Board of Trustees of the New Orleans Museum of Art and as president of the City Park Board of Commissioners. He has also been a trustee of the Lakeview Regional Medical Center, a member of the Dean's Advisory Council of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and the president and founding member of the Board of Directors of Save St. Tammany, Inc. He also was selected by Jack Nicklaus as the chairman of the Architectural Committee to oversee design for the English Turn development in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Hopkins graduated with a B.Arch. from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1969. He went on to receive an M.S. and Ph.D. from Tulane University in 1974 and 1982. A New Orleans native, Hopkins and his wife, Deborah, reside in Covington, Louisiana.
Jerald Horst, a retired fisheries specialist, taught members of the commercial and recreational fishing industries as well as the seafood processing and marketing industry how to use the results of scientific research to their benefit. However, his pursuit of a career in fisheries was not immediate. After graduating from St. Francisville High School and separating from active duty in the United States Army, Horst worked as a roustabout and a roughneck in the oilfields of south Louisiana.
His goal of entering a higher-education institution became short-lived after a lack of funds resulted in his taking a sales job. It wasn't until after he became a husband and father that he gave up what had turned into a lucrative business career to fulfill his dream of studying science. His love of the outdoors led him to Louisiana State University to pursue a master of science in fisheries. Upon graduation, he worked as an extension fisheries biologist in the LSU Agricultural Center and quickly rose to full professor of fisheries.
Originally from North Dakota, Horst was born to Great Plains farmers. When the family moved to St. Francisville, Louisiana, Horst discovered “a whole new world of Southern foods.” Having previously watched his mother turn out traditional German-Russian delicacies, he had now developed new culinary preferences. After marrying his Cajun wife, Glenda, he recognized the superiority of a skilled chef in the region.
Horst is a past president of the Louisiana Association of Professional Biologists, and a member of the Louisiana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. Named the 1997 Conservation Communicator of the Year by the Louisiana Wildlife Federation, Horst has published articles for the Coastal Ecology Institute, the Coastal Fisheries Institute, the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program, and Lagniappe Fisheries Newsletter. He has written columns for the New Orleans Times-Picayune and Louisiana Sportsman Magazine.
Horst published Angler's Guide to Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico with fellow fishing enthusiast Mike Lane, and The Louisiana Seafood Bible: Shrimp gives Horst another opportunity to share his knowledge of marine life. His wife joined him as the book's coauthor.
Glenda Horst was born and raised in Bayou Sorrell, Louisiana, a small commercial fishing community on the edge of the Atchafalaya Basin. The daughter of a commercial fisherman, she followed her father everywhere and helped him repair motorboats, fish, make crawfish traps, and sell his catch. Horst, who learned the basics of Cajun cooking from her mother, includes fresh seafood and crawfish boils among her fondest childhood memories. She enjoys passing those memories and her cooking skills on to her grandchildren, preparing the next generation of cooking enthusiasts.
Horst worked for Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold for nearly three decades in the human resources, accounting, and payroll department. Upon her retirement, she and her “Cajunized” husband Jerald built a home complete with a professional-style test kitchen, where they have personally prepared and tested each recipe in their cookbook. The Horsts live in Franklinton, Louisiana.
William D. Horton is a licensed clinical psychologist who is particularly interested in neuro-linguistic psychology and hypnosis. He is also known as an alcohol and drug counselor, a master trainer of Neuro-linguistic Programming, a certified hypnotherapist, and a veteran of the army and naval reserve. He has been trained for critical-incident stress debriefing by the Red Cross and in crisis/hostage negotiation by the FBI.
In addition to his immense professional training, Horton also holds a bachelor's degree in sociology and theatre, a master of arts degree in psychology, and a doctorate in clinical psychology. He wrote Primary Objective: Neuro-Linguistic Psychology and Guerilla Warfare, as well as several articles published in professional journals such as the Journal of Hypnotism, Unlimited Human, Subconsciously Speaking, and the journal of the International Association of Counselors and Therapists (IACT). He coauthored Selling Yourself to Others: The New Psychology of Sales, available from Pelican, with Kevin Hogan.
Mr. Horton is a member of several well-known organizations, including the California Psychological Association, Indiana Psychological Association, Prescribing Psychologist Register, and International Guild of Professional Consultants, and he is a fellow at the American College of Advanced Practice of Psychologists. He is the founder of the National Federation of Neuro Linguistic Psychology (NFNLP). Horton has won several awards, including the 2001 Educator of the Year Award from IACT, and has appeared on over 200 radio and television shows.
William Horton continues to practice psychology and is considered one of the world's leading experts in neuro-linguistic psychology and subconscious communication.
Maria Willett Howard was “a woman who devoted herself to the scientific and artistic preparation of foods.” A rare success for a woman in the nineteenth century, Ms. Howard, in addition to putting together The Original Lowney's Cook Book and Lowney's Cook Book, headed the culinary department of one of the “most advanced colleges for self-supporting women in the nation.”
Ms. Howard was a shining talent among Mr. Walter M. Lowney's one thousand other employees at a time when his international chocolate, cocoa, and confectionary empire's productivity was unrivaled. Lowney's Cook Book reflects this success as it includes over sixty recipes using chocolate or cocoa.
Originally written in 1907, this is a timeless cookbook, perfect for any kitchen. Offering recipes for appetizers, entrées, cereals, and much more, Ms. Howard's book also reveals the ABCs of throwing a successful formal dinner and provides hundreds of recipes to use for such an occasion. Lowney's Cook Book proves that the basics of good cooking do not change. This classic will provide not only great nostalgic fun, but many savory meals as well.
An accomplished writer, illustrator, teacher, graphic designer, and editor, Virginia Howard worked in education for more than thirty years. She was an associate editor, coordinator of the Office of Publications, graphic designer, and Web designer at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine, where she is well-known for her drawings of the famous LSU tiger mascot. Howard acted as the coordinating editor of six books published by the school.
She graduated with a bachelor of arts and a master of arts in English from the University of Alabama, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the honor society Alpha Lambda Delta. In 1988, Howard founded a literary journal, THEMA, a theme-based publication of fiction, poetry, and visual arts. The project remains close to her heart to this day.
Howard is an active member of the New Orleans chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses. Many of her works have appeared in the literary journal Verbatim. When Howard isn’t conjuring mystery stories or working on the next issue of THEMA, she enjoys traveling the world. She loves Churchill, Manitoba, where she can spy her favorite animals, polar bears. Howard lives in Metairie, Louisiana.
Raised on children's picture books in Temple, Texas, Ard Hoyt remembers the power of his favorite childhood book, The Story of Ferdinand, to take his imagination into a new world. “Although I wasn't allowed to cross the street as a young boy,” he says, “I traveled to that bull fight in Spain and could imagine the aroma of those flowers right alongside the great bull Ferdinand.” A persistent belief in the ability of such books to unlock a child's imagination brought Hoyt from a job at the Phoenix Zoo to a career as the illustrator of ten successful and award-winning children's books.
Hoyt graduated from the Art College Center of Design in Pasadena, California, with a major in illustration. His collaboration with John Lithgow, the children's book I'm a Manatee, hit the New York Times bestseller list, and Say Goodbye to Lulu, which he illustrated for author Corrine Demas, won the ASPCA's Henry Bergh Children's Book Award. As a father of four, Hoyt is excited about his work with Dr. Steven L. Layne. Love the Baby, he believes, holds an important message for new big brothers and sisters everywhere.
Hoyt lives in Bentonville, Arkansas, with his wife who edits his work and his daughters who inspire it. He spends his free time with a dog named Lickerish and a small herd of Texas Longhorn cattle.
As one of Louisiana’s leading historians and a lifelong observer of Carnival and Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, Louisiana and Mobile, Alabama, Leonard V. Huber (1903-1984) authored many titles about the spirit of New Orleans.
As an active member of many local historical organizations, Huber wrote many books and articles on various subjects relating to his love of history, such as steamboats, cemeteries, postal history, Mardi Gras, and New Orleans landmarks. In his prime, Huber was also a businessman and civil leader. He was the president of Victor Huber and Sons, Incorporated, the company which owns and built Hope Mausoleum, a historic New Orleans landmark, as well as Louisiana's first crematory. Huber was also the president of the Louisiana Landmarks Society, the Orleans Parish Landmarks Commission, and the Keyes Foundation. Huber was also a founding member and president of the Friends of Tulane Library, which now holds many of his printed works. Leonard Huber’s love of history made him an expert in his field and a connoisseur of the New Orleans’ rich history.
Dottie L. Hudson's family moved three times while she was a child, first to Atlanta when she was age five, then to Tampa, Florida, and finally to New Orleans. Moving to different cities in the South allowed her to record her travels and experiences in a journal, an activity recommended by her father, Roland Q. Leavell. Her travels were not limited to the United States—her family also made trips to Europe, which were usually dictated by her father's job.
Hudson's retirement from counseling and teaching allowed her the time to research her father's life. She used primary sources from Roland's own diary and conducted interviews with Roland's close friends and former students. Leavell inspired people in his life with his teachings and own personal struggles, and Hudson wanted to give others the chance to experience the same spiritual inspiration that she gained during her research. Hudson's father was a role model to her and she has picked up where he left off, serving those in her community through her talents. He Still Stands Tall serves as a tribute to Roland Leavell, not only as the biography of an exceptional man, but also to the man Hudson knew as a father. This is her first book, and while she decided to write about her father because he offers rich religious wisdom and life lessons, she also wanted to give special insights into his life and personality.
Hudson is the youngest of three daughters born to Roland and Lilian Leavell. She graduated from Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi. She is also a certified teacher with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology and a master's degree in counseling. While in Clinton, she met her future husband, Carl, who became a pastor and professor at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Hudson herself was involved in working with various churches and religious organizations as part of a Summit Counseling Ministry at the First Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi.
Hudson lives with her husband in Jackson, Mississippi, and has three grown children—all married—and six grandchildren. In her spare time, she continues to speak at retreats, youth group meetings, and seminars. She enjoys cooking, reading, swimming, and most importantly, spending time with her family.
A native of Newport, Wales, John Humphries grew up near the site of the Chartist Uprising of 1839. His fascination with this event, the last armed uprising on British soil, which ended in the massacre of twenty-two demonstrators outside Newport's Westgate Hotel, prompted him to write this book. His research sheds new light on the lives of John Rees and Zephaniah Williams, two of the more mysterious leaders of the revolt. John Rees also fought for Texan Independence at the Alamo and Goliad Mission.
Educated at St. Julians High School, Mr. Humphries has been a professional journalist all his life, first in Wales, then as a foreign correspondant based in Brussels. As european bureau chief for thirteen Thompson daily newspapers, he travelled extensively, reporting on breaking news from all parts of the continent. After returning to Britain as London and city editor for Thompson Regional Newspapers, he was appointed editor of the Western Mail in Cardiff, the newspaper on which he began his career. John Humphries lives with his wife—and a very large garden—at Tredunnoc in the Usk Valley in Wales.
A member of his local Sons of Confederate Veterans camp, Daryl Hutchinson explains that his goal is “to create a wider understanding of the South and to perpetuate the memory of our Confederate ancestors.” He strives to accomplish this through his artwork and through efforts such as cemetery preservation. He enjoys traveling to Civil War re-enactments, antebellum mansions and battlefields, and performing genealogical research into his Confederate ancestry.
Hutchinson is an illustrator/designer at Super Duper Publications and a publisher of children's educational products. His artistic endeavors range from creating interactive CDs, working with software for 3D graphics and animation, to traditional pen and ink illustrations.
Hutchinson has previously worked as a senior designer for Ford Motor Company and as creative director for the Tampa Tribune. He has received a first place Technical Illustration Award from MacWorld Magazine in 1989, a Cunningham Award for Most Outstanding SCV (Sons of Confederate Veterans) Camp Newsletter, and in 2005, he received the SCV Alexander H. Stephens Camp #78 Commanders Award.
Hutchinson resides in Travelers Rest, South Carolina.
The Great Art for Kids series: Mrs. Hyde presents a series that contains famous paintings like Picasso's Woman's Head, Van Gogh's The Starry Night, Cassatt's The Bath, Matisse's Christmas Eve, Renoir's Two Girls Reading, and Monet's Waterlilies and Japanese Bridge. These durable board books are designed to introduce young children to the great painters as an alternative to having expensive coffee-table books drooled on.
DreddieLocks & the Three Slugs: Inspired by her walks with her children through the redwoods, this children's book by Margaret E. Hyde is vibrantly illustrated. The tale depicts the sticky situation an ant can get into when he enters the home of three banana slugs. It is a fun re-creation of the classic children's story Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Margaret E. Hyde lives with her husband and three children in Santa Monica, California.
After a decades-long career in graphics, Danlyn is fulfilling a long-standing dream and is excited to be working on her first picture book for Pelican. Iantorno believes that “books are truly the ‘golden ticket’ people need to make their dreams come true. If you can read, the world exhibits no boundaries. I am thrilled to bring words to life through illustration and hope that my contribution inspires children to read again and again.”
Danlyn Iantorno was raised in Arvada, Colorado, graduating from Arvada West High School as a National Honor Society member. From the age of eleven, Danlyn was active in drum and bugle corps as a flag-line performer and went on to teach marching bands and drum corps around the country. She graduated with an associate degree in advertising design from the Colorado Institute of Art (now known as the Art Institute of Colorado). Her graphic design portfolio was selected for honors and she was a member of the elite studio class, where real-time assignments were received.
Following graduation, Danlyn worked for a small ad agency and then opened her first studio, Artworques. The company grew to encompass a full-time staff, warehouse, and offices, which serviced the design and promotional product fulfillment needs for national accounts. She currently owns Painted Olive Studios.
Active in the art community, Mrs. Iantorno belongs to many organizations, including the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, where she serves as an assistant illustrator coordinator, featured illustrator, and seminar speaker. She is also a professional member of the Colorado Alliance of Illustrators and the National Association of PhotoShop Professionals. She is a licensing designer for the Craft and Hobby Association and a featured artist for the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association. Her works have appeared at the ASKU Gallery in Westminster, Colorado, and the Reed Photo-Art Gallery in Denver.
In addition to art, Danlyn enjoys live theater, Japanese-language study, movies, family, and friends. She resides in Thornton, Colorado, with her two children, a canine office assistant, and husband, Lou. Two grown stepsons complete the happy home. To view more of Danlyn's work, please visit www.Danlyn.info.
Randall Ivey is a professor of composition, literature, and English at a branch of the University of South Carolina in the city of Union. His love of teaching has earned him the Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award three times. He has previously published two short-story collections, The Shape of Man: A Novella and Five Stories and The Mutilation of Gypsy and Other Stories.
Born in Union, South Carolina, Ivey received both his BA in creative writing and Renaissance British literature and MA in history from USC in Columbia. While in school, he received many awards for his writing, including the Maxmillian LaBorde English Award, the George S. Walker Waring Award for Creative Writing, the South Carolina Fiction Project Award, and first prize in Portfolio Magazine's fiction contest. In 2007, Ivey won a second South Carolina Fiction Project Award for his work in short fiction.
Mr. Ivey wrote fiction throughout college, but his first national publication was in 1995, when The Xavier Review published his story “The Bet.” He has since published numerous short fiction pieces in magazines and journals such as The Southern Patriot, The South Carolina Review, and The Savannah Literary Journal. He has also written articles and critiques for Southern Partisan, Southern Events, Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture, The Simms Review, The Southern Patriot, and The South Carolina Review.
Aside from his lifelong love of reading and writing, Mr. Ivey's interests include history, traveling, and partisan politics. He has also tried his hand at writing a screenplay and a full-length play. The inspiration for his first children's book came from his nephew, who loves reading and learning as much as his uncle does.