Dianne de Las Casas is an author, recording artist, and professional storyteller. Her CDs Jump, Jiggle & Jam and World Fiesta were named the School Library Journal’s “Audio of the Week” and received rave reviews in Publishers Weekly. She performs arts-in-education programs and residencies at schools, libraries, festivals, museums, and special events. She is a frequent presenter at the International Reading Association, American Library Association, and other literary and education conferences. She co-authored both Cool Kids Cook: Louisiana and Cool Kids Cook: Fresh and Fit with her youngest daughter, Kid Chef Eliana.
Having written several instructional books on the art of theater and storytelling, de Las Casas participates directly in creating artistic tools for children. She is the founder of Story Connection Express, an educational e-zine for parents and teachers, and the Picture Book Month initiative, which was featured in Life Lift: The Oprah Blog, among other media. She was named the International Reading Association LEADER’s 2014 poet laureate and received the 2014 Ann Martin Book Mark Award from the Bishop Byrne Chapter of the Catholic Library Association.
De Las Casas attended the University of New Orleans and Delgado Community College. She enjoys reading and going to the movies with her family and lives in Harvey, Louisiana.
Born in Lockport, Louisiana, Col. Jefferson J. DeBlanc discovered his passion for planes and flying as a young boy. The pressures of World War II and the increasing need for soldiers gave DeBlanc an opportunity to finally become a pilot. In 1942, at age twenty, his dream came true when he enlisted in the Marine Corps VMF-112 unit, eventually becoming a Wildcat Pilot. He shot down two Betty bombers on his first day of action and soon began to lead his own squadron in the air. Within weeks, he was considered to be part of the flying elite, the Marine Fighter Aces, with a total of nine confirmed kills. It was here that he also learned the price of his life, a sack of rice, which he was traded for when he was shot down and captured by natives.
His service at Guadalcanal earned him the Medal of Honor, the military's highest commendation. Harry S. Truman cited him as “a gallant officer, a superb airman, and an indomitable fighter . . . [who] rendered decisive assistance during a critical stage of operations.” For his excellent service during the remainder of the war, DeBlanc was also decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, and the Air Medal with four Gold Stars. In 1972, DeBlanc retired from the rank of colonel from the Marine Corps Reserve.
After the war, DeBlanc continued his education at Southwestern Louisiana Institute, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and earned a B.S. in physics and math. He received two master's degrees in education (physics and mathematics) from Louisiana State University and went on to earn a doctorate in education from McNeese State University. He taught mathematics and science in St. Martinville Parish until his recent death in November 2007 from pneumonia.
Glenn Dedmondt, a lifelong resident of the Carolinas, has spent much of his life in the United States Marine Corps. He has served in, among others, Viet Nam; Okinawa; Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; and Parris Island. He received his bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Southern Missionary College in Collegedale, Tennessee.
He is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and shares his passion for history as a teacher of South Carolina history. He also teaches science at the elementary level. Dedmondt has given several speeches to the Sons of Confederate Veterans organization, discussing such topics as the Carolinas' coastal forts, songs of the South, and South Carolina artillery in the War Between the States.
He has been published in the Confederate Veteran magazine and is the author of Southern Bronze, the history of South Carolina's Garden Battery. The Flags of Civil War North Carolina, The Flags of Civil War South Carolina, and The Flags of Civil War Alabama are all available from Pelican.
Mr. Dedmondt is currently living in Johnston, South Carolina, with his wife, Donna. He has two grown sons and is interested in acoustic guitar, playing classical, folk, and classic country music.
Clement Clarke Moore's ’Twas the Night Before Christmas remains a beloved favorite among families around the world. While nearly everyone knows the story of Santa's Christmas Eve visit, few know the story behind the author of the holiday classic. Set in nineteenth-century New York, The Story of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Gerard and Patricia Del Re tells Moore's story—that of a deeply spiritual father who returned his family's devotion with the gift of a poem.
Born in the New York Foundling Hospital, Gerard Del Re was raised in an orphanage in Syosset, Long Island, New York. After transferring to another school, he worked as a ticket taker at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in New York's Lincoln Center. It was here that he met his wife, Patricia, with whom he wrote over twenty manuscripts. A composer of classical music, Patricia died in 1997 and is always listed as a coauthor on her husband's works.
During their joint career, Gerard and Patricia Del Re wrote manuscripts on diverse topics, such as film siblings and the 1956 World Series. Many stories focused on the Christmas experience for different characters, from a lonely bus driver to a group of aliens who land on Earth in the middle of a blizzard. Four of their books, along with two short stories, have been published.
When not working, Mr. Del Re served as a music critic for a small New York newspaper. He has been featured in numerous publications, including TV Guide, and, being quite the conversationalist on areas of his expertise, he has done numerous radio interviews on his works. He now concentrates solely on his writing and resides in New York.
Gene Del Vecchio is the president of his own consulting firm in Valencia, California. He is the former senior partner, director of planning & research in the Los Angeles office of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, the world's sixth-largest agency network with 1996 billings totaling $8.3 billion. Del Vecchio was Ogilvy & Mather's resident kid expert, having spent nearly twenty years within the kids' arena.
His experience has allowed him to identify one of the key attributes that the most successful kids' products have in common. This quality is what Del Vecchio terms "Ever-Cool." Now, the secret formula for achieving Ever-Cool status is available to marketers everywhere in this, his first book.
Throughout his career, Del Vecchio has conducted hundreds of studies with children and has been called upon to help develop ideas for toys, foods, cartoons, promotions, and screenplays. During his years at Ogilvy & Mather, he has won both the David Ogilvy award and three industry Effies for his contributions toward effective advertising. Creating Ever-Cool: A Marketer's Guide to a Kid's Heart won the prestigious 1997 Atticus Award (strategy category) from the WPP Group in a worldwide competition. He holds a bachelor of arts degree, Phi Beta Kappa, in Economics from UCLA and an MBA from USC.
Gene Del Vecchio is the father of two children, Matthew and Megan. He considers this his strongest credential.
Simone Deléry was a native of France who came to Louisiana and stayed to teach at Tulane University for thirty years. Along with Napoleon's Soldiers in America—originally published in French under the title A la Poursuite des Aigles and a book-of-the-month selection by Le Cercle du Livre de France—she wrote two other books: France d'Amerique, in collaboration with Gladys Ann Renshaw, and La France en Louisiane.
Deléry was a tireless historian and was decorated with the Cross of the Legion of Honor by the French government for her work. She was also awarded the Prix de Langue Franaise by the French Academy and was named Officier de L'Instruction Publique for her contributions to education.
Napoleon's Soldiers in America recounts the saga of Napoleon's devoted officers, who became exiles for their loyalty to a lost cause. Refusing to swear allegiance to the Bourbons, these soldiers left France in search of a new life in the Americas. Louisiana, with its strong French ties, was a natural destination for many of the displaced. Delry drew extensively from documents, letters, relics, and other treasured family heirlooms in the possession of their descendants. Fortunately, there was a great deal of information to be found, as countless Americans today can trace their ancestry to those rugged individuals who made their way to America.
Marshall DeRosa is a Salvatori Fellow with the Heritage Foundation and a full-time political science professor at Florida Atlantic University. DeRosa specializes in American constitutional law & policymaking, international law, law and American society, and the judicial process. He is a traveling speaker who has presented in England, Ireland, Austria, and across the United States. Material from his lectures provide the foundation for his analysis in Redeeming American Democracy.
DeRosa is a member of the Philadelphia Society, the Abbeville Institute, the Federalist Society, the American Political Science Association, and the National Association of Scholars. He has published articles and reviews in scholarly journals such as The Political Science Reviewer, Humanitas, and Perspectives on Political Science. He is also the author of three books The Confederate Constitution of 1861, The Ninth Amendment and the Politics of Creative Jurisprudence, and The Politics of Dissolution and the Rhetorical Quest for a National Identity.
DeRosa received his Ph.D. and M.A. in political science from the University of Houston and his B.A. in political science from West Virginia University, magna cum laude. He has taught at Davis & Elkins College and Louisiana State University.
DeRosa resides in Wellington, Florida, with his wife and four children.
Ron Dickson is a member of the MoonPie Cultural Club, which aims to spread the enjoyment, culture, vast folklore, and honorable traditions of that noble snack throughout the world. A lifelong enthusiast of the treat, Dickson was quoted in a New York Times article on MoonPies and, as a result, was contacted by the inventors son. Prior to the articles publication, the identity of the MoonPies creator was unknown, but Dickson applied his knowledge of the treats background and verified the new information, enriching the nostalgic value the unique marshmallow sandwich possesses for all Southerners.
After serving in the U.S. Navy, Dickson worked as a manager for various corporations. He was inspired to write The Great MoonPie® Handbook while working for a company that employed a strict management policy. Stifled by this environment, he and his Southern coworkers used MoonPies to boost company morale and bring humor into the workplace.
Dickson earned his B.A. in economics from Duke University. Retired since 1993, he enjoys sailing and advocating his favorite treat through the MoonPie Cultural Club. When not vacationing in Hawaii, Dickson resides in Mooresville, North Carolina.
Buddy Diliberto was on the New Orleans media sports scene for almost half a century. A native of New Orleans, Buddy was a graduate of Jesuit High School and Loyola Univerisity, where he majored in journalism. He served in the U.S. Army from 1952-54 and was an Army correspondent for Stars and Stripes during the Korean War and earned the Purple Heart.
In 1998, Buddy was named the “Sportscaster of the Year from Louisiana” for the twelfth time by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He was also named the “Sportswriter of the Year from Louisiana” in 1963, while working as the daily sports columnist for the Times-Picayune, which he did from 1951-1966. He joined WVUE (Channel 8) television in April 1966 and served as the sports director and nightly sports anchor until 1980.
In 1980, Buddy joined WDSU-TV as the sports director and sports anchor and served in that capacity for ten years. He was with WWL radio since 1991 and hosted a nightly talk show “Sportstalk.” He also had weekly football-season radio show with Coach Jim Haslett of the New Orleans Saints.
Buddy won numerous writing awards as a columnist for the Times-Picayune and wrote a weekly sports column for the Bayou Catholic (Houma) and a bi-monthly column in the Clarion Herald, the Catholic paper in New Orleans.
Buddy Diliberto died on January 7, 2005 at the age of 73.
Elsie Dillard was born and raised in London. She moved to the United States in 1957 and married a few years later. In 1961, she moved to Seattle and founded the travel agency Elsie from England, which specialized in arranging bed and breakfast trips to Great Britain. She ran the agency for twenty-five years before it was sold.
After her youngest daughter married and moved away, Dillard thought the house was too lonely and opened her own bed and breakfast called Bay Manor. The bed and breakfast gave her a way to meet new people and to express her own European hospitality in America.
Although Dillard remains in Seattle, she still travels to England and Ireland frequently to enjoy the atmosphere and update her travel guides.
When I was a preschooler, my father was a student at the Museum School of Fine Arts. Sometimes he would bring home a book from Boston for my sister and me. We would study the illustrations for hours and ask my mother to read it over and over. Inspired, my sister and I made up stories and drew pictures to go with them. I knew that I wanted to make books then and there and for all time.
In second grade, my teacher, Mrs. Ann Sullivan Talanian, reinforced my decision. She told us that if she came back from lunch and found us sitting at our desks silently, she would read us a chapter from the Boxcar Children. It was an old book locked in an old glass cabinet behind her desk, an element that added to our appreciation. I would peek at the ecstatic faces of my classmates as she read. They were so interested and so happy. This is when I decided that if I could make people feel this way, a career as an author and illustrator would be as worthwhile as a career as a doctor or teacher.
The inspiration for the illustrations in Upsie Downsie, Are You Asleep? came from perusing photographs of ancient houses in Great Britain. The animal characters have the personalities of people I've met over the years. To illustrate the Lucky O’Leprechaun books, I rented old movies and sketched the people I liked. For example, the characters of Grandauntie Bridget, Uncle Patrick O’Brien, and the body of Lucky O’Leprechaun are based on Michaeleen Flynn in The Quiet Man.
When I both write and illustrate a book, I can have the illustrations do a great deal of the work of telling the story. It's absolutely true that a picture is worth a thousand words. It also takes a thousand times longer to illustrate a story than to write it. When one person gets the chance to do both the story and illustrations, the book takes on the personality, individuality, and vision of the creator, and the reader can truly see inside the author's mind.
Wade Dillon is a professional illustrator and tour guide at the Alamo. He is a member of The Alamo Society, participates in reenactments of the Texas Revolution, and has appeared in historical television productions.
Dillon was introduced to the story of David Crockett and the Alamo around the age of 5 when his father showed him Disney’s miniseries Davy Crockett. Soon after, he acquired his own coonskin cap and Alamo playset. Dillon’s passion for the Alamo and its characters was further solidified when he was able to actually visit the Alamo at the age of nine. Dillon hopes to inspire today's generation by sharing his passion for art and history. He lives in San Antonio, Texas with his lovely wife who shares his passion for Texas history.
“Pediatric dentists will certainly approve of this picture book . . . [It] covers much ground—from explaining why children should not suck their thumbs to illustrating more useful activities for thumbs . . . Bright, colorful illustrations accompany the rhyming text."
—Children's Literature
Wanda Dionne presents the problem of thumb-sucking through the point of view of a child's thumb that must encounter sharp teeth, weird sounds, and other dark, scary things. Little Thumb, illustrated by Jana Dillon, is Dionne's first picture book. It teaches children the importance of not sucking their thumbs, and discourages this bad habit without presenting the topic in a disapproving tone. The book not only teaches children that thumb-sucking is unhealthy, it also tells children how useful thumbs can be, from snapping fingers to fastening buttons.
A native of Port Arthur, Texas, Dionne grew up with her mother and her father, who was a Sabine pilot in Port Arthur. After attending Thomas Jefferson High School, she graduated from Baylor University, where she received a bachelor's degree in journalism.
Dionne has written professionally for various newspapers and magazines and is a former women's editor of The Orange (Texas) Leader and entertainment editor/celebrity reporter for The Tampa Tribune. Dionne's first fiction pieces were books for middle readers, some inspired by creative-writing classes she took while at North Harris County Community College.
A mother of two children, Dionne lives in the Woodlands, near Houston, Texas, with her husband, Bert.
"Deb DiSandro is not slightly off—she is straight on target. Her essays bubble with wit, freshness and ever-so-real life."
—Jacquelyn Mitchard
Supermom will save the day! A native of Chicago, Deb DiSandro has what it takes to balance kids, pets, and a spouse, all with an unfailing sense of humor. Yet, all heroes have to start somewhere. Before her supermom days, she was an undergraduate at Columbia College in Chicago, where she majored in communications. After graduating, she wrote and produced promotional spots for WCIA Channel 3 in Champaign, Illinois.
DiSandro discovered her natural flair for comedic writing when she published her first article in Wisconsin's Milwaukee Journal. This gave birth to "Slightly Off," a weekly humor column created by DiSandro, first run in the Sussex Sun. Currently, "Slightly Off" appears in several newspapers, including the Post-Tribune in Gary, Indiana, and other weekly publications.
As a performer, she has written and produced three one-woman comedy shows, her trademark favorite being "Dr. Deb's Prescription for a Healthy Dose of Humor." First-time listeners and loyal fans alike can tune in to KKAT-FM in Salt Lake City, Utah; WRMN-AM in Elgin, Illinois; or WPTF-AM in Raleigh, North Carolina, to hear her latest slice of humor.
Tales of a Slightly Off Supermom: Fighting for Truth, Justice, and Clean Underwear! features a collection of witty and downright hilarious essays about every aspect of motherhood, from dirty diapers and defiant teens to disobedient dogs and gadget-loving husbands. She resides in Plainfield, Illinois, with her husband, three children, dog, and goldfish—quite the balancing act, but a piece of cake for this slightly off supermom.
Author, illustrator, and culinary expert Ethel Dixon draws on her knowledge and background to share her love for Southern cooking in a multitude of ways. Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Dixon learned the art of cooking at a young age. As one of eight children, she often helped prepare meals for her family. She has cowritten and contributed to a number of cookbooks that are useful and important in additional ways besides providing delicious recipes. Many of them strive to incorporate different cultures and different time periods, addressing important social issues and changes in the ways of Southern life.
Dixon has traveled throughout the world and has prepared delicious meals for a wide range of people with varying tastes. Although she has experimented with many types of food, she prefers recipes that are simple and tasty. Her loyalty to the cooking she grew up with is clear in her recipes, which provide delicious food and radiate Southern hospitality.
Dixon is a descendant of a plantation family that owned slaves. Teamed with Bibby Tate, whose ancestors had been enslaved, Dixon cowrote Colorful Louisiana Cuisine in Black and White, available from Pelican. This work includes more than six hundred recipes, attempting to capture and celebrate the unique cuisines of Louisiana and the cultures from which they derived. New Orleans Showcase describes this book as “meshing” the traditional and the new ways of Southern life and cooking, making it “useful as well as entertaining.”
David Dixon's passion for Louisiana can be seen in what he accomplished not only for New Orleans, but for the state as well. In 1960, New Orleans Mayor Chep Morrison appointed Dixon chairman of the Mayor's Major League Sports Committee. Dixon almost single-handedly initiated and led New Orleans' negotiations with the NFL in establishing and naming the New Orleans Saints. He served as the Saints' first executive director from 1966-72. He later founded the United States Football League and cofounded World Championship Tennis.
For twenty-five years, Dixon and wife, Mary Shea Dixon, were owners of Dixon & Dixon of Royal, a nationally known antiques and fine paintings gallery formerly located in the French Quarter of New Orleans and in the Miami Circle of Atlanta.
Dixon received numerous accolades for his public service. In 1964, the Chamber of Commerce named him Civic Salesman of the Year. In following years was awarded The Order of St. Louis Medal, the Papal Knight of St. Gregory Award, The Times-Picayune Loving Cup, New Orleans' top civic award, and was named one of the Ten Most Important New Orleanians of the Twentieth Century by New Orleans Magazine.
The Saints, the Superdome, and the Scandal is Dixon's first book. Born and raised in New Orleans, Dixon and his wife held enormous pride and great affection for their city. Dixon passed away in August of 2010.
Praise for Cajun Night After Christmas:
“This Cajun tale, written in verse, tells the hilarious story of one of St. Nick’s alligators who was left behind after the toys were delivered one Christmas Eve.”
—Judi Oswald
After a chaotic holiday with friends and family, Amy Dixon and her sister, Jenny Jackson Moss, created Cajun Night After Christmas, a humorous story about what happens to the Boudreau family after St. Nick visits and how an alligator named Pierre finds true love.
A Louisiana native, Dixon attended Newcomb College of Tulane University in New Orleans, where she received her BA in studio arts. After graduating, she studied at the Studio Arts Center International in Florence, Italy, and then returned to the States to work at Dallas Apparel Mart as a sales representative.
In 1984, Dixon started A.J. Designs, a clothing business specializing in hand-painted apparel. She continued with her handcrafted T-shirt line for eight years before shifting her focus back to fine arts. Her work has been showcased in various exhibitions, ranging from a one-person show in Baton Rouge to a juried show at the Galleria Vittorio in Italy. She also illustrated Who’s That Tripping Over My Bridge?, available from Pelican.
Dixon currently resides in Denver, Colorado, with her husband and three children and continues to concentrate on the fine arts, particularly painting. Cajun Night After Christmas is her first book.
Thomas Dixon Jr. was born on November 11, 1864, in rural North Carolina during the Civil War. Educated at Wake Forest and Johns Hopkins Universities, Mr. Dixon was, among other things, a novelist, preacher, lecturer, lawyer, and state legislator. During his lifetime, he published twenty-two novels and several essays, plays, and sermons. He has been named among both the most dated and most contemporary Southern writers.
Mr. Dixon's “Trilogy of Reconstruction,” which included the novels The Clansman, The Traitor, and The Leopard's Spots, was made into D. W. Griffith's cinema masterpiece, Birth of a Nation. The movie was praised for its artistry and vilified for its subject matter even in its own day: romancing the activity of the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction.
In the preface to his book, The Clansman, Mr. Dixon claims to have “sought to preserve . . . both the letter and spirit of this remarkable period” when the “young South, led by the reincarnated souls of the Clansmen of Old Scotland, went forth under this cover” as an “Invisible Empire” into “one of the most dramatic chapters in history.”
Famous as a lecturer in his time, Mr. Dixon was considered a creator of attitudes, an interpreter of Southern history, and a reflector of the biases of his age. His novels and the movie made from them influenced American thought and contributed to the development of the climate of race relations in the twentieth century.
Ann B. Dobie has over forty years of experience teaching at the university level. A professor of English at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Dobie has also directed educational and writing programs at the University of Vermont. She has delivered over fifty scholarly papers at state, regional, and national conferences and is now serving as the state coordinator for the Louisiana Writing Project, an affiliate of the National Writing Project (NWP) of the University of California at Berkeley. A member of Phi Kappa Phi, Dobie is also actively involved with dozens of educational councils focused on writing and composition throughout the country.
An organ player, Dobie holds a bachelor's degree in music from the University of Oklahoma, which she received in 1956. She went on to earn a master's degree in English from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) in 1966 and later earned her doctorate degree in education from Columbia University in 1982.
Dobie was the founder and director of the Acadiana Writing Project and the Rural Sites Network. She devotes her time to speaking to civic groups, church groups, and educator seminars and is an active member of the Lafayette Friends of the Humanities and Avec Souci. She is a resident of Lafayette, Louisiana.
It is often said that the best fiction comes from stories that really happen. Lucy Dobkins found that to be true when she wrote her latest book, Daddy, There's a Hippo in the Grapes. The basis of the story came from a little-heard news report about how the Kenyan government had declared a need for farmers to clear portions of their land to dedicate to the production of grapes. The report stated that despite government orders, the farmers could not produce enough grapes to support the country's thriving wine business because zebras, birds, giraffes, monkeys, and especially hippos were ravishing the vineyards.
Dobkins began considering the story and how it might be entertaining for children. So she checked into the background of the news report and researched the “Kenyan dilemma.”
Everything was going very smoothly and really the book was turning out to be a lot of fun until I had gotten all the jungle animals into the vineyard. Then I hit a snag. Despite all the research I'd done regarding the grapes, the animals, and Kenya, I was not any better at finding a solution for getting the animals out of the vineyard than the government officials and farmers in Kenya.
Eventually she called upon Kent Newton, animal curator of the Rio Grande Zoo. Together they discussed the problem facing the Kenyan farmers. She watched the animals closely and asked questions about their behavioral patterns until she could finally come up with a plausible solution to rid the vineyards of the jungle animals.
Lucy Dobkins always takes an interesting approach to writing her children's books. With titles such as China Run, Murder in Mexico, and The UFO and the Japanese Cowboys, we assume that Daddy, There's a Hippo in the Grapes is the only one she used first-hand research to write.
A former teacher, counselor, and principal for the Albuquerque Public School system, Ms. Dobkins has twenty-five years of teaching experience behind her that account for her creativity and ability to keep children's interest. She holds a master's in guidance and counseling and a doctorate in education administration. She enjoys her retirement in the southwest, where she continues to write for children and is an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and the Mystery Writers of America.
Mary Helen Dohan was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but lived most of her life in New Orleans, Louisiana. She attended Sacred Heart Academy in New Orleans and Newcomb College, where she received a B.A. in English. She earned an M.A. in English from Tulane University, holding the Robert Sharp fellowship. She was also an instructor in English at Newcomb College.
Ms. Dohan's articles, principally on language and history, and an occasional short story of hers, have appeared over the years in numerous publications, including American Education, Smithsonian, Rotarian, Texas Highways, Redbook, and Ambassador. She has also given talks before various groups and acted as guest lecturer aboard the steamboats Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen.
Mr. Roosevelt's Steamboat is a fictionalized account of the historic voyage that opened the Mississippi River to steam power. The family of Nicholas Roosevelt, the owner, made this first exciting trip, living through attacks by pirates and, perhaps, the greatest earthquake ever to hit North America. Ms. Dohan successfully combines a thorough investigation of history and first-hand accounts of events past with a dramatic narrative to produce what Waterway's Journal calls a “well researched, vividly told” book.
Ms. Dohan now resides in Houston, Texas.
“Second to a person's relationship with God is the person's
relationship with himself. Everyone should respect, love, admire, and celebrate
himself or herself. That's not selfishness, that's self-interest. Self-interest
is spiritual—you love others out of the overflow of your own love. Selfishness
is when we want everything for ourselves and nothing for everyone else.”
—Mack R. Douglas
The topics of loving yourself and maintaining a loving relationship with God are central themes in the books of celebrated motivational author Mack R. Douglas. A minister for three decades, Douglas, who held a master's degree from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, first realized this message had not only a voice, but an audience on a mission trip to Eastern Europe.
The year was 1958 and Douglas was behind the Iron Curtain in what was then Yugoslavia, a country notoriously suspicious of Christian ministers at the time. Referring to himself on his passport as an “educator” rather than minister or pastor, he entered the country safely. Earlier in the week, another pastor had been arrested just down the street from where he was speaking. As a result, he hid during the day, leaving his guestroom only for his appearances. This inspired him to bring his messages to print and continue speaking as frequently as possible so that people under these conditions would have the opportunity to live and grow through their own educational means.
Now, more than thirty years later, he has been the author of more than a dozen books, from his initial bestseller How to Make a Habit of Succeeding to his later release How to Win with High Self-Esteem. And during that time, he spoke, conducted seminars, and trained more than two million people around the world. He also worked as a consultant to groups in the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Egypt, and Thailand. Among his corporate clientele were a variety of organizations, from General Motors to Prudential Insurance to the New York Yankees. Before passing away, he served as president of Discovery Seminars International
“Downing has certainly found her niche, serving up New Orleans-flavored tunes.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Children’s singer, arts advocate, and preschool music teacher Johnette Downing, nicknamed the ‘Pied Piper for Louisiana music traditions,’ serves up a mélange of Cajun, Creole, Southern blues, Caribbean, and boogie-woogie influences.”
—EducationWatch, the Grammy Foundation
“This New Orleans native singer/songwriter takes the music of her life—Cajun, zydeco, and jazz—and mixes it into a kid-friendly gumbo.”
—South Florida Parenting magazine
“Downing thinks like a child, but writes like a magician.”
—Julie Kane, former Louisiana Poet Laureate
Johnette Downing uses her love of Louisiana to give her writing a unique kick. Called the “musical ambassador to children” and the “Pied Piper of Louisiana music traditions,” Downing is a musician and author dedicated to sharing her Louisiana roots, music, and books with children. The recipient of twenty-two international awards, Downing has performed concerts and author visits for children, and workshops for educators, in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, Central America, North America, and the Caribbean.
The author of twenty-one children’s books and ten recordings, Downing has garnered rave reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Parents’ Magazine, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Grammy.com, and numerous parenting journals.
Selected by New Orleans Magazine as one of the 2014 Top Female Achievers, and by CityBusiness Magazine as one of the 2008 Women of the Year, Downing, a former early-childhood music teacher, is passionate about combining music and stories to celebrate childhood, culture, and literacy. When not serving her irresistible kid-friendly musical and literary gumbo across the globe, she resides in New Orleans with her husband.
To sign up for Johnette Downing’s Wiggle Worm Fan Club, visit http://johnettedowning.com/fan_club.html. Fan Club members get a free downloadable fan club kit, free song download and get the quarterly email newsletter and news releases.
Barry B. Doyle is an accomplished photographer with a flair for capturing striking images of urban landscapes, people, and nature. His eye-catching photographs have received lavish praise from Joan Walsh, the editor in chief of Salon.com.
In addition to his work in photography, Doyle served as the vice president of a cabinet shop for commercial architectural millwork in Dallas, Texas, before retiring to raise his family. He became actively involved in his community by serving as a PTA president at his child's school. During this time, he was honored as Volunteer of the Year by the Dallas Independent School District. Because of his contributions, Doyle became an expert on the city, the inspiration for his first book, Dallas Iconography.
Originally from San Diego, Doyle received a B.A. from Wheaton College in Illinois and attended a summer program in Oxford, United Kingdom, where he met his wife. A self-described dilettante, Doyle enjoys furniture-making, cooking, blogging, and traveling. He lives in Dallas with his family.
Epicure and Francophile Hedda Gioia Dowd is the creative founder of rise restaurant in Dallas, Texas. In 2008, she opened the premier French restaurant along with renowned chef Cherif Brahmi to bring the French experience to Dallas. Rise has received rave reviews from the New York Times, the Dallas Morning News, Texas Monthly, D Magazine, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, among others. The restaurants light and classic French fare has a few clever twists, but the focus of the menu is on the souffl.
In addition to working in the culinary world, Dowds love of French-style cooking and entertaining led her to found Antique Harvest in 1997, a unique company that collects and sells fine French antiques for everyday living. Dowds endeavor met with great critical acclaim, and she received attention from publications such as Food & Wine, Town & Country, and Martha Stewart Living.
Despite her lack of formal culinary training, Dowds experience and love for the French lifestyle have made her an expert on both the countrys food and culture. Born to an Italian father and a French mother, she has spent every summer since childhood in France and her passion for French food grew with her. Dowd resides in Dallas.
Pastor, program coordinator, and radio host, Jerry Drace has conducted more than one thousand national revivals and crusades nationwide. His international work includes fourteen crusades and missions, which have taken him to Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Scotland, and Wales. Drace's Hope for the Home conferences, which began in 1993, were designed to reach “the most important unit in society—the family.” Questions, observations, and remarks made by the thousands of married couples who have attended the conferences over the years inspired Drace to write his first book, 44 Ways to Strengthen Your Marriage.
Since 2000, Drace and his wife, Becky, have been traveling throughout the U.S. and Great Britain, conducting Hope for the Home family seminars. His daily radio program by the same name now broadcasts to four states and can be heard internationally over the internet. Prior to his speaking success, Drace was editor of Reflections magazine and produced eight videos with Broadman Press and Anchor Productions, including the youth video Finding Heroes in a World of Celebrities (1991) and Rekindle the Flame (1997).
A charter member of the American Association of Christian Counselors, Drace received advanced degrees from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, California. He served as program coordinator for the National Congress for Southern Baptist Evangelists at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1999, and as plenary speaker at the International Congress on Preaching in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2002. He was formerly featured on the International Webcast sponsored by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which reached forty-two states nationwide and seventy-nine countries. In 2007, he led a workshop at the International Congress on Preaching in Cambridge, England.
Since his seminary days, Drace has been recognized by many groups, including Who's Who in Religion in America, Personalities of the South, and International Men of Achievement. He is a former vice president and president of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists, and a former executive board member of Proclamation Evangelism Network. Jerry and Becky Drace live in Humbolt, Tennessee, and have two children, Drew and Becca. More information on Hope for the Home can be found at www.HopefortheHome.org.
Becky Hight Drace is the supporter and cofounder of Jerry Drace Evangelistic Association (JDEA), Inc., with her husband, Jerry Drace. The couple established JDEA, Inc. in 1972 in Jacksonville, Florida, and then relocated the company to their native state of Tennessee. Passionate about sharing their unique message, the couple traveled full-time in 2000 to conduct their original Hope for the Home family conferences.
Becky Drace is a teacher of Bible study classes at Union University and Englewood Baptist Church. She has been a speaker for large church and school youth groups but focuses primarily on women's religious organizations. Her book, Becoming a Woman of Worth, a study of nine Biblical women, is derived from these speaking engagements, which have all used one of these female figures as a foundation for discussion. She has also produced a video with Anchor Productions entitled For Girls Only.
Drace was born in 1950 in Brownsville, Tennessee. Currently completing her B.SW at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, she will pursue a Masters in Social Work upon graduation. The Draces live in Humboldt, Tennessee.
Laura Roach Dragon, a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist. She specializes in working with children and adolescents at River Oaks Hospital in New Orleans. Her extensive work in the field has included opportunities as the executive director of Safe Harbor, a center for victims of domestic violence; an outpatient therapist at Methodist Hospital; and the owner of a private practice.
Although she was born in Missouri, Dragon has spent almost all of her life in the New Orleans area, and she has cultivated a deep passion for the Crescent City. After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Dragon decided to stay in New Orleans instead of moving north, as her parents and sister had done. Her expertise in social work and research enabled her to help her struggling patients through the after-effects of the disaster. She interviewed hurricane victims from all over the city, collected personal stories, and worked with children who had been separated from their families.
After a career as a restaurant manager and owner, Dragon returned to school to continue her education. She received her AA in substance abuse counseling and BA in psychology from Southern University and her MSW from Tulane University. Dragon enjoys writing, watching movies, and swimming at her home in Kenner, Louisiana.
Chance events can create life's path. While popular movies, such as Pay It Forward and Amelie, have focused on the idea that one person's actions can change future events, few individuals have dedicated their lives to studying this phenomenon. Longtime professional speaker King Duncan is one of those few, using his distinctive humor to spread his message about influence and fate.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee's psychology department, Duncan received his master of divinity at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. He also earned his C.T.M. from Toastmasters, International, and is a certified trainer with the Carlson Learning Organization. A member of the National Speakers Association and the International Platform Association, he was the national winner of the latter's prestigious Speaker's Ladder award in 1993.
Duncan is the author of three books, including The Amazing Law of Influence, published by Pelican. This reader-friendly book examines the chaos theory, detailing how small changes can trigger monumental transformations. The Law of Influence states that one life touches another, potentially changing both singular and collective lives. People like John Howard, who once helped a young journalist home, can significantly affect the future. After all, the young journalist was Winston Churchill, and the rest is history.
A member of the Senior Olympics basketball team, Duncan remains an entertaining and inspiring speaker who reaches out to audiences across the nation. The father of four and grandfather of two, he lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with his wife, Selina.
An avid environmentalist, traveler, and gardener, Elizabeth Dunn cultivated a passion for traditional Southern cooking because of its emphasis on fresh garden ingredients, a protein-rich breakfast, and seasonal eating. She has been a collegiate English professor and higher education administrator for most of her career. Dunn received her PhD in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and works for her alma mater.
Raised in Nacogdoches, Texas, Dunn regularly spent time with her paternal grandparents, who grew everything they ate. The experience taught her the self-sufficient practices of raising crops and livestock, cooking, canning, and other Southern living traditions.
She resides in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Marc Dunston is the host and executive producer of The Magic Marc Show, a television program that teaches children manners, giving, kindness, and goodness through magicationa combination of magic and education. Accompanied on the show by his pets Bingo, Showbiz, Wizard, Bubba, and Fluffy, he gives the children of Savannah a place to gather and have fun on Saturday mornings. Such publications as Savannah Magazine, Savannah Morning News, the Skinnie Magazine, and the South have featured Dunston and The Magic Marc Show.
Inspired by Harry Houdini, Dunston began teaching himself magic while growing up in Philadelphia. He has opened for acts such as Bill Cosby and Grover Washington and has performed magic shows for numerous celebrities, including Jack Hanna, Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Clint Eastwood, and Spike Lee. Dunston has performed around the world, with shows in China, Panama, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Canada.
Dunston earned his B.S. in business management and marketing from Philadelphia University. He actively participates in Camp Sunshine, an annual gathering that brings together children with life-threatening illnesses to rebuild relationships and to meet other families facing similar challenges. A member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and a board member of the Junior League of Savannah, he lives with his wife and two children in Hardeeville, South Carolina.
Bruce Dupree is an award-winning artist who has worked at Auburn University since 1999 as a professor of art and art director. With more than twenty-five years' experience teaching art, Dupree is also an expert illustrator, photographer, and graphic designer. He was the recipient of the CASE Gold Award for best illustration, and his work has been recognized by professional organizations across the country, including the Society of Illustrators. Dupree's freelance clients include the National Academy of Sciences, the American Red Cross, the Birmingham Museum of Art, and the Professional Golf Association (PGA). He has six published works, including his first collaboration with The Wild Texas Stampede! author Margaret McManis in Ima and the Great Texas Ostrich Race.
Dupree received an M.A. in illustration from Syracuse University, an M.F.A. in graphic design from the University of Memphis, and a B.F.A. in art from the University of Alabama. He divides his time among his academic responsibilities, artistic ventures, and family life. The father of two teenage children, Dupree teaches fourth-grade Sunday School, enjoys sketching, playing the drums, and spending time with his family. He lives in Auburn, Alabama.
Alice Durio Hughes is a resident of Metairie, Louisiana. She graduated from St. Mary's Dominican College in New Orleans and later received a master's degree in physical eduation from the University of New Orleans. She has worked as a teacher and microbiologist.
Mrs. Hughes's Cajun Columbus offers a slightly revised version of Christopher Columbus's historic venture, one in which a pivotal role is held by an intrepid Cajun named Pierre Lastrapes.
Doug Dvorak is a nationally recognized corporate executive and motivational speaker. He entertains and informs Fortune 1000 companies with his presentations on sales and marketing management skills. Using a unique presentation method that incorporates humor and creativity has attributed to his success. Dvoraks widely publicized approach to stress management and laughter yoga has earned him appearances on television programs such as CBSs The Early Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Spanning the globe, his company, DMG Incorporated, caters to several client types, among them, civic organizations, individual investors, and entrepreneurs. He educates his clients about the quick decision-making skills he attained from whitewater rafting in the Amazon River and mountain climbing in the Himalayas. Serving as a keynote speaker at conferences and conventions, Dvorak has spoken all over the world, from Iowa to South Africa. He is a certified laughter yoga leader and the founder of the Chicago Laughter Club.
Along with holding an M.B.A. in marketing management from Century University in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he is also a graduate of Second Citys Players Workshop. An active member of the National Speakers Association, Dvorak resides with his wife, Cathy, in the Chicagoland, Illinois, area.
Expert paranormal investigator Jeff Dwyer researches ghostly phenomena using highly developed psychic methods such as clairvoyance, remote viewing, and psychometry. He has had a lifelong fascination with and sensitivity to the paranormal, and his investigations have taken him to haunted sites across the country, including battlefields and shipwrecks. His travels and experiences are the foundation of his eight ghost hunter’s guides. He’s also written three novels and two paranormal activity textbooks. Dwyer is a regular guest on local and national radio and television programs, including 30 Odd Minutes, Ghost Adventures, and Paranormal Zone.
He holds master of science degrees in kinesiology and physical therapy and a doctorate in exercise physiology. Dwyer taught at the University of Hawaii’s medical school, Duke University School of Medicine, and the University of Southern California Wrigley Marine Science Center and medical school. His boyhood fascination with ghosts was rekindled after years of clinical practice with terminally ill patients, many of whom witnessed paranormal activity.
Dwyer’s other interests include flying small aircraft and gardening. A third generation Californian, he lives in Fairfield, California, with his wife and three children.
The late John Percy Dyer was a historian and scholar devoted to education. Starting in 1948, Dyer served as a professor of history and a dean of the University College of Tulane University. His history of the school, Tulane: The Biography of a University 1834-1965, won him a Louisiana Literary Award in 1967, which is presented to the author of an outstanding book about Louisiana. A prominent figure in the higher education movement, Dyer served as president of the Association for Continuing Higher Education in 1955.
Born in 1902, in New Albany, Mississippi, Dyer received his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. His involvement in post-secondary instruction for adults prompted him to publish Ivory Towers in the Market Place: The Evening College in American Education. He is also the author of The Gallant Hood and From Shiloh to San Juan: The Life of “Fightin’ Joe” Wheeler, both biographies of Southern Civil War soldiers.
Lorie Kleiner Eckert was born the second of two children to Rose and Morrie Kleiner in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 12, 1952. She graduated from the University City School District in St. Louis, then moved on to attend the University of Missouri, both at the St. Louis and Columbia, Missouri, campuses to eventually earn her degree in education Magna Cum Laude.
In 1973, Lorie married Stefan Eckert. Due to changes in her husband's career, they moved to San Diego, California, in 1975, to Los Angeles, California, in 1976, and to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1983. They had one baby per city. Lorie was now the mother of three.
Before the birth of her children, Lorie had worked as a civil servant. She was employed with the National Personnel Record Center in St. Louis, Missouri, and then for the Veteran's Administration Regional Office in San Diego. Her working days were short because it was both hers and Stefan's desire that she be an “at home mother” for their children. Thus, when her first child arrived, she went into “retirement.”
During those years she did extensive volunteer work, mostly within her children's school district. She spent many years as a representative to the Board of Education. She served on a planning commission committee that studied the facility needs of the district and proposed the building of a new school to the board. She served on the parents' committee of that new school when it was built and designed a major fund raising project for it, a Signature Tile Wall, that was a medallion quilt made of tile instead of fabric. She also did a variety of other volunteer jobs such as serving on the board at her temple, and teaching reading to adults at her local vocational school.
In 1993, she separated from her husband and found herself in need of gainful employment. She decided to turn her hobby of quilt-making into a paid profession. Toward that goal, she designed a series of quilts with words pieced into the design. Her goal was to be a paid lecturer within the quilting community. When she completed her series of quilts, however, she realized that its message, the journey toward self-acceptance and love, was a universal one. Thus she began lecturing to a wide variety of organizations—women's clubs, retirement communities, spiritual retreat centers, colleges and universities, etc. This led to her first book, With This Ring I Journey, published by Pelican.
Laura B. Edge earned a BA in education from the University of Texas at Austin and went on to study at the American Institute of Foreign Study in London, Paris, Rome, and Athens. After retiring from teaching English and college reading and writing, Edge jumped full-time into writing and became an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, as well as a team leader for the Women’s Storybook Project of Texas.
Edge’s hobbies include reading, traveling, dancing, riding horses, and watching basketball games. She lives in Kingwood, Texas, with her husband and two sons.
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.
A famous writer and Confederate Civil War veteran, George Cary Eggleston (1839-1911) was best known for his contributions to newspapers including the New York World, where he worked under Joseph Pulitzer for eleven years. He was the literary editor at William Cullen Bryant’s New York Evening Post as well. At the prompting of William Dean Howells, editor of the Atlantic Monthly, Eggleston began writing about his experiences as an officer in the Confederate army during which time he witnessed Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, the end of the American Civil War, and gave intimate accounts of legendary war heroes such as Stonewall Jackson and Jeb Stuart.
Raised in a family that placed a great emphasis on education, Eggleston began teaching in a backcountry district school at the age of sixteen. This experience became the inspiration for his brother Edward’s best-selling book The Hoosier Schoolmaster. Eggleston, having lost his father at age seven, moved to Virginia at age seventeen after the death of his mother, where he inherited the family plantation. He studied law at Richmond College and became involved in several social and intellectual circles in the South. He practiced law for a short time before entering the Confederate army.
In addition to writing numerous articles, Eggleston authored a number of juvenile adventure books, several novels, and some biography and history books. Eggleston and his wife, Marion, spent the majority of their adult lives in New York City. His books are still a reliable source for scholars and history enthusiasts alike.
An experienced lecturer on the art and architecture of eighteenth and nineteenth century Savannah, historian Jeffrey Eley often uses the city itself as a textbook when teaching others. He says that he enjoys studying the artwork of locals and tourists to “discover wonderful new ways to see the treasures of this special place.”
Eley believes that, unlike photographs, the blurry colors of watercolor art allow viewers to bring their own feelings into a picture. A collection of more than 130 watercolor paintings by twenty-one of Eley's art students, Savannah Sketchbook takes readers on a colorful tour of the historic rivers, streets, beaches, islands, and marshes of this small Georgia city whose beauty has captivated tourists from all over the country. In addition to Savannah Sketchbook, Eley also contributed the foreword to Pelican's title Small Gardens of Savannah and Thereabouts.
A former professor of architecture at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Eley is now the college's vice president for academic affairs. He is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia.
“I had so much fun cooking with you. You are a sweet and wonderful chef!”
“I predict you will be a big success.”
Combining his fascination with math, science, and research with his love of writing, Elliott published his first book, a children’s story about weather. Since his introduction into the writing world, he has published more than twenty texts, ranging from children’s picture books to adult science and math guides.
Elliott is a gifted public speaker, contributing his talents to a variety of radio and television shows to promote his books, give tips about writing and getting published, and raise awareness about the organization Baby Moses Dallas. Elliott has also spoken at the Lions Club, the Texas Chamber of Commerce, and various writers’ groups.
Elliott is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Mystery Writers of America, the Authors Guild, and the Tejas Writers Roundtable. He is also the founder of the Dallas Area Writers Group. He contributes to children’s education by traveling across the state to speak at elementary schools about two of his favorite subjects: storytelling and Texas history.
Since retiring from teaching, Elliott remains active in the community and uses his blog, The Bald Truth about Writing, to extend advice and encouragement to other hopeful authors. He enjoys telling stories from his home in Duncansville, Texas, where he lives with his wife.
Terryl W. Elliott is a writer, historian, and poet, whose work has appeared in various local and regional publications. Born in Independence, Missouri, and raised in the small towns of Grain Valley and Blue Springs, Missouri, Elliott spent his childhood on a farm playing with his dog, Old Shep, and his baby brother, Blake. A former encyclopedia salesman, product manager, and purchasing consultant, Elliott owned his own vending business before selling it in 2000 to pursue his dream of writing.
Elliott belongs to numerous Civil War, history, and writing organizations, including the State Historical Society of Missouri, the Civil War Round Table of Western Missouri, and the William Clarke Quantrill Society. He lives in Independence, Missouri, with his wife, Sharon, and their dog.
John Avery Emison is a distinguished environmental scientist specializing in environmental management and cleanup of radioactive and hazardous materials. Now retired, he was an accomplished technical consultant and senior environmental compliance specialist for many years. In addition to several published technical memoranda on his field of specialization, he has worked as a science reporter for the Oak Ridge (TN) Oak Ridger, as an editor of a business newspaper in East Tennessee, and has presented papers at scholarly conferences in the U.S. and Canada.
A member of the Abbeville Institute and the Sigma Xi scientific research society, Emison actively pursues scholarship in Southern history and constitutional law as an avocation. A sixth generation Tennessean, he has had a keen interest in history and land conservation his entire life.
Emison graduated with a BA in liberal arts from Union University in 1972, an MS in physical geography from Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis) in 1974, and a PhD in resource geography from Oregon State University in 1979. When he is not working, researching, or writing, Emison enjoys tending his pecan grove and overseeing soil conservation projects on the family farm in Crockett County, Tennessee. The father of three grown children, he resides in his ancestral hometown of Alamo, Tennessee.
Dotti Enderle launched her publishing career in 1995, writing for such popular children's magazines as Babybug, Ladybug, Children's Playmate, Nature Friend, Turtle, and many more. In addition to her published stories, articles, and poems, Ms. Enderle has also authored several books. Her Storytime Discoveries series helps teachers tell stories by using science experiments. The Fortune Tellers Club series includes eight mysteries for middle readers.
A native Texan, Ms. Enderle has spent some time as an elementary-school teaching assistant and as an elementary-school library assistant. In 1993, she began a career as a professional storyteller. Since then, Ms. Enderle has entertained children and parents alike at numerous schools, libraries, museums, and festivals. She takes pride in her vast collection of original stories and folk tales and specializes in “participation” stories, which allow the audience to join in the fun. Ms. Enderle is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the Houston Storytellers Guild, and the Writers League of Texas. She currently lives in Houston with her husband, two teenage daughters, and a cat named Oliver.
Mention the name Jim Erskine in some small Kentucky towns and the people there will tell you he's the one that put them on the map. He's no locally-bred celebrity to these people. He isn't a famous politician who revitalized a hometown's dying industry. And he isn't a business mogul who brought fame and fortune to many of Kentucky's tiniest hamlets. Jim Erskine is the creator of "An Honest and True Map of Kentucky." It points out as many of the off-the-beaten-path towns that may or may not appear on traditional maps—places like Monkey's Eyebrow, Bee and its sister city Wax, and Tywhoppety.
It's not enough that he has simply mapped out the rural oddities of the Bluegrass State. Erskine, an artist and humorist, is also a successful author. His most recent work, The Southerner's Instruction Book, is a team effort with his wife Susan. It takes a light-hearted look at living in the South and emphasizes the dos and don'ts of being a proper Southerner.
"This title is meant to be a collection that the reader can identify with. It is realistic and honest, finding humor and wisdom in simple everyday life. It is funny because it is familiar ground and you see yourself in it."
Jim Erskine has published several humor and children's books including Fold a Banana, Throw a Tomato, Hug a Teddy and Lie Down and Roll Over. He began his art career working for Hallmark and left the company to start his own, Arf Arf Studios, which produces and distributes lines of greeting cards and postcards. He holds a degree in folklore from Western Kentucky University and has had artwork published in Cosmopolitan, Campus Life, and other national publications. Erskine also shares the honor of being the founding member of the Kentucky-based Ugly Necktie Society of America.
Mention the name Jim Erskine in some small Kentucky towns and the people there will tell you he's the one that put them on the map. He's no locally-bred celebrity to these people. He isn't a famous politician who revitalized a hometown's dying industry. And he isn't a business mogul who brought fame and fortune to many of Kentucky's tiniest hamlets. Jim Erskine is the creator of "An Honest and True Map of Kentucky." It points out as many of the off-the-beaten-path towns that may or may not appear on traditional maps—places like Monkey's Eyebrow, Bee and its sister city Wax, and Tywhoppety.
It's not enough that he has simply mapped out the rural oddities of the Bluegrass State. Erskine, an artist and humorist, is also a successful author. His most recent work, The Southerner's Instruction Book, is a team effort with his wife Susan. It takes a light-hearted look at living in the South and emphasizes the dos and don'ts of being a proper Southerner.
"This title is meant to be a collection that the reader can identify with. It is realistic and honest, finding humor and wisdom in simple everyday life. It is funny because it is familiar ground and you see yourself in it."
Jim Erskine has published several humor and children's books including Fold a Banana, Throw a Tomato, Hug a Teddy and Lie Down and Roll Over. He began his art career working for Hallmark and left the company to start his own, Arf Arf Studios, which produces and distributes lines of greeting cards and postcards. He holds a degree in folklore from Western Kentucky University and has had artwork published in Cosmopolitan, Campus Life, and other national publications. Erskine also shares the honor of being the founding member of the Kentucky-based Ugly Necktie Society of America.
Susan Erskine is a native of southern Kentucky and is also a graduate of Western Kentucky University. A self-described country girl, she is content with the simple things in life like raising their three children.
Two-time Pelican author Wesley Eure is a veteran actor and co-creator of PBS' number one rated television show for preschoolers, Dragon Tales, now in its second season. His new show for young audiences, Show and Tell Me, will air in 2001.
Wesley's newest title with Pelican, A Fish Out of Water, is the result of a collaboration with the Art Department at Meredith College and is his first book for preschoolers and primary grades.
His first book, The Red Wings of Christmas, illustrated by Ron Paolillo (Welcome Back, Kotter's "Horshack"), has been called "A new American classic" by CNN.
Wesley is best known for his simultaneous roles as "Will" on the Sid and Marty Croft favorite of the 1970s, Land of the Lost, and as "Michael Horton, Jr." on NBC's Days of Our Lives. Recently he has appeared as the host of the game show Finders Keepers on Nickelodeon.
Eure's production company, Games at Sea, creates, produces and directs on-board entertainment for cruise lines. His "Blues Brothers 2000" live stage show at Universal Studios Hollywood has been rated the number one tour show in the park. Eure has also written the screenplay and songs for an animated version of The Red Wings of Christmas, which has been optioned by Artesian Entertainment, which is scheduled for release in 2001.
His rise to prominence began inauspiciously enough—as a cook at Sclafani's restaurant, a local establishment in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie. Quietly launching his career in 1959, Louis Evans soon made a name for himself in a demanding industry where everyone is a critic.
His life began far from the fine dining rooms in which his culinary creations were served. He grew up as one of seven children in a sharecropper's family in rural Mississippi, but Evans' life took a fortuitous turn when his family moved to New Orleans. Local restaurateur Pete Sclafani saw something notable in one of his new employees. Sclafani took Evans under his wing and trained him in the art of cooking.
Having refined his talents with Sclafani for eleven years, Evans stepped up to assume the position of relief cook at the Caribbean Room in the Pontchartrain Hotel. A world-class New Orleans hotel with a renowned reputation, the Pontchartrain Hotel is recognized by the world's elite traveler for spoiling guests with exceptional service and luxuriously regal accommodations. During Evans' tenure the Caribbean Room was a gathering place for some of the most famous actors, writers, and decision makers of the time. Evans' culinary work charmed discerning dining patrons and management alike. In short order, he was named executive chef, a title he would hold for eighteen years. Cementing his standing there would be a pie-in-the-sky wish come true—make that Mile High Pie, a dessert that became synonymous with the Caribbean Room.
When Kabby's restaurant in the New Orleans Hilton wanted a new chef, they chose the man who brought with him delectable favorites such as Oyster and Artichoke Soup, Chicken in Champagne Sauce, and Crabmeat au Gratin. So popular was Evans, that his loyal clientele followed him to the riverside restaurant and continued to delight in his culinary creations.
Evans' success earned him membership in the Order of the Golden Toque, restricted to one hundred members nationwide. He was the first black chef to achieve this distinction and was consistently given four-star ratings by almost every major food critic in the nation. Evans was selected by Julia Child herself as one of thirteen chefs featured in her special PBS series “Dinner at Julia's.” In 1986 Evans was named Chef of the Year in New Orleans, perhaps the finest distinction that can be given to a Creole chef. He died in New Orleans in 1990.
After college, she studied at Hahnemann University, in Philadelphia, and earned a master's degree in creative arts therapy with an emphasis in music. After one year of employment in Philadelphia, she married and relocated to New Orleans.
Growing up, Mrs. Evans frequently visited older relatives who told her stories about their lives. Her writing grew out of a desire to share those family stories as well as the untold and “under-told” stories of other African Americans. Her love for the arts, travels, and experiences with children, including her own two children, also influence her writing. She has traveled to Africa twice as a Fulbright Scholar (Zimbabwe in 1995 and South Africa in 2000) and to Europe (England, France, Italy) on an art study/travel trip with her children. In 2004, she traveled to Japan with the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program.
As an artist, therapist, educator, and administrator, Mrs. Evans has worked with children of all ages and exceptionalities in various public and private settings. Her articles have appeared in local newspapers and her poems appear in several anthologies, including From a Bend in the River: 100 New Orleans Poets.
Mrs. Evans' acclaimed first book, A Bus of Our Own, is about her family and hometown. Based on real events, this inspirational story celebrates the coming together of a community to make life better for children in the 1940s and 1950s. Recognition received for A Bus of Our Own include: 2002 Notable Social Studies Trade Book; 2002 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Book Award; Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee (Association of Indiana Media Educators); 2003 Living the Dream Book Award; 2004 Mississippi Book Award (Mississippi Library Association).
Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, Jules B. Farber attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, where he received a bachelor of literary letters in journalism. After graduating, he worked as a public-relations manager at Bamberger’s New Jersey, the Newark division of what is now Macy’s, Inc. He also served as a special-events officer for the United States Department of State at the American Pavilion during the Brussels World’s Fair.
Farber wrote for various American and foreign publications while a freelance journalist in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In addition to writing, he was responsible for the European marketing plan for an Italian-American textile fashion corporation in Zurich, Switzerland. He has also worked as a freelance communications manager for the Holland America Line and a graphic-design studio in New York City.
While operating a communications office for Dutch and international clients in Amsterdam, Farber wrote and published English and Dutch editions of four books. Since retiring and moving to Provence, France, he has written three more books, all published in French, English, and German. Farber is a member of the Anglo-American Group of Provence (AAGP), an organization that promotes community relations, and enjoys tennis and swimming.
Farber became interested in author and civil-rights activist James Baldwin while visiting Saint-Paul de Vence. He happened to see a picture of Baldwin in the halls of La Colombe d’Or, an iconic hotel and restaurant there. When Farber asked the waiter about the picture, he nonchalantly replied, “Jimmy is in the family here.” This exchange spurred Farber’s research into the life of Baldwin and the seventeen years he spent in Saint-Paul de Vence, the years that “saved him.”
Mark Faust is a growth advisor, professional speaker, and turnaround consultant for hundreds of companies. Since founding Echelon Management in 1990, he has interviewed and worked with business leaders from every way of life—from CEOs of Fortune 500 Companies to number-one sales producers to their customers—on creating long-term and strategic business growth. He has been an adjunct COO, vice president of sales, and advisor on company boards.
Faust was an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati and Ohio University and has worked with big-name companies such as Apple, John Deere, and Bayer, as well as with smaller companies and non-profit organizations. Faust has learned how to help businesses at any level, and his skills have earned him membership in the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Speakers Association. With his lifelong passion for economic awareness, he hopes to educate consumers that sales growth is a science anyone can learn.
When he’s not traveling around the world for lectures, Faust enjoys skeet shooting in his free time. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife and children.
Lisa Fields grew up in Katonah, New York, and was always encouraged to pursue her dream of becoming an artist. She received a BFA in illustration from the Ringling College of Art and Design in 2006 and also attended The Illustration Academy. The illustrator of several children’s books, her work has appeared in Boys’ Life, Highlights, Cobblestone, and FACES. Fields lives in New York City, where she is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Determining the qualification for a soup 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 soup. Considering the various qualities and talents of Yolanda Fintor and Carla L. Henry, they are the perfect combination for writing the low-calorie cookbook Souper Skinny Soups.
Fintor grew up in a family of Hungarian parents and grandparents. A big kettle of chicken soup with vegetables and homemade egg noodles was a Sunday staple of the home. Soup was a regular course of meals during her youth. "Looking back," says Fintor, "I realize what an important staple these filling, full-bodied meals had been in my life. They seemed to nourish my soul as well as my body." Later as a wife and mother of one, Fintor realized the importance of watching calories and fat and spent her days in the kitchen using substitutes approved by Weight Watchers, the American Heart Association, and the Pritikin program.
Both women are published writers from fiction to poetry to special interest articles and were excutive board members of the California Writers' Club. Fintor's work has appeared in Woman's World, the Los Angeles Times, and Our Family magazine.
Ernest G. Fischer spent his lifetime researching the extraordinary life of Robert Potter, a brilliant, nineteenth-century Texas pioneer. Potter served as a North Carolina congressman and signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. However, he is best known for founding the Texas navy. In Robert Potter: Founder of the Texas Navy, Mr. Fischer explores Potter's lifelong interest in the sea as well as his incredible record of leadership and achievement during a volatile period in history. A navy admiral and Texas native himself, Mr. Fischer's life was no doubt influenced by the famous Texan.
Though he was born in Texas, Mr. Fischer later resided in New Orleans. He studied at the University of Texas and then earned his degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. He spent fifty years of his life as a writer and held teaching positions at various universities, including Tulane University, West Texas State University, and the University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Jerid M. Fisher, a forensic neuropsychologist, has dedicated himself to becoming an authority on the psychological and neuropsychological aspects of murder and crime in American twenty-first-century society. A philanthropist, Fisher developed brain-injury rehabilitation programs across New York and founded Neurorehab Associates, Inc. He is the president of Brain Injury Consultants, Inc., and of Forensic Investigative Technologies, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at University of Rochester Medical Center, and an adjunct assistant professor of clinical psychology at State University of New York at Albany.
The author of numerous articles for forensic and neuropsychological journals, Fisher is also an active member in many organizations, including the American Society of Journalists and Authors, AvantGuild, Society for Police and Criminal Psychology, and the International Neuropsychological Society. He is a board member of Help Us Give Smiles, the Humane Society, Hudson River Valley Care Center, and Compeer, Inc. Fisher has appeared on the Fox and Clear Channel radio stations and was featured on several local television and talk shows. He has received certification from the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology and the American Board of Professional Disability Consultants.
Fisher graduated magna cum laude with a BS in psychology from Duke University and with a MA and PhD in psychology from the University of Rochester. Throughout his academic and professional careers, he has received numerous awards and honors, including acceptance into the Phi Beta Kappa Society and the Silver Star Award for Service from Compeer, Inc. He was distinguished by Marquis Who's Who America, Who's Who in the World, and Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare. Fisher enjoys investing in real estate, collecting art and exotic cars, and supporting a variety of charitable causes, including Lollypop Farms, his local humane-society branch. He lives with his two dogs in Pittsford, New York.
Impressionist painter Alan Flattmann was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1946. Showing an early aptitude for art, he studied at the McCrady Art School on a New Orleans Art Association scholarship in his senior year of high school. In 1987, he first published a book titled The Art of Pastel Painting, which is regarded as a standard textbook for pastel techniques.
The internationally known artist is the recipient of many major awards and honors, including his 2006 induction into the Pastel Society Hall of Fame. He also received the 1996 American Artist Art Masters Award for pastels. In 1991, he was awarded the Master Pastelist distinction by the Pastel Society of America, and he has been listed in Who's Who in American Art since 1981. Because of his decades of success painting the historic French Quarter, September 28 is celebrated as Alan Flattmann Day in New Orleans, Louisiana.
His work has been featured in Alan Flattmann's French Quarter Impressions, written by John R. Kemp and produced by Pelican; The Poetic Realism of Alan Flattmann, by Joyce Kelley; and articles in American Artist, Watercolor, The Pastel Journal, Southwest Art, Pastel Artist International, Southern World, Art Masters, Art Voices/South, Louisiana Vistas, and Jackson and New Orleans magazines. In addition, Flattmann has received international attention by being featured in the Taiwanese books Pastel Step by Step and To Paint How You See, both by Aven Chen. He was awarded first place for landscape and third place for portrait in the inaugural Pastel Artist International Magazine Awards for World-Wide Excellence.
Flattmann's work may be found in hundreds of private and corporate collections, including the collections of the New Orleans Museum of Art, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Oklahoma Art Center, Mississippi Museum of Art, and Lauren Rogers Museum of Art. Bryant Galleries, located in New Orleans and Jackson, Mississippi, are the exclusive agents for his work.
The artist continues to teach painting workshops for art groups around the United States and abroad. He currently resides in Covington, Louisiana, with his wife.
James R. Fleming's interest in the Civil War was piqued when he rescued a grocery bag full of old letters from the attic of his grandmother's house just before its demolition. He was astonished to find that the letters were dated 1861 and 1862. These letters from Civil War soldiers McDill and McCreight inspired Mr. Fleming to do further research; eventually he included the histories of five of his ancestors in The Confederate Ninth Tennessee Infantry.
James R. Fleming was awarded the Jefferson Davis medal for excellence in preservation and research of Civil War history by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin, Mr. Fleming resides in his hometown of Memphis in a restored 1912 foursquare house with his wife, Judge Karen R. Williams. In addition to his writing projects and historical research, he enjoys participating in living histories, working as an interpretive historian for the National Park Service, and collecting Civil War artifacts. Mr. Fleming is also an accomplished bluegrass banjo player and, with his wife, collects and plays period musical instruments.
During his childhood in Lafayette, Louisiana, Joel L. Fletcher enjoyed meeting and learning from the various speakers, scholars, and artists who visited the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. This ignited a love and appreciation for history, literature, and art that has inspired Fletcher throughout his life.
After earning a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University and completing a year of graduate school at Stanford, he briefly taught college-level English before moving to Europe. While abroad, he wrote extensively on travel and began studying art history and collecting art for the Council on International Educational Exchange and the City University of New York.
Upon his return to America, Fletcher began a career as an art dealer. A specialist in nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century fine art, he is now a certified art appraiser who has curated many exhibits and written essays for art magazines and museum catalogs. He has also done extensive historical research into the true stories that inspire American literature. Fletcher lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he is a partner in Fletcher/Copenhaver Fine Art.
In 1935 the Florida Citrus Commission was formed to revitalize the Florida citrus industry. Consisting of twelve members appointed by the governor of Florida, the commission guides the Florida Department of Citrus, whose mission is to help increase the demand for Florida citrus products and provide a direct benefit to the citrus growers.
Now approaching its seventy-fifth anniversary, the Florida Citrus Commission continually improves on its strict standards for quality and consumer satisfaction. The commission proudly endorses the Florida Citrus Cookbook, a wonderful collection of recipes based on the versatility and zest of Florida citrus.
Rev. Edward Fontaine's How the World Was Peopled: Ethnological Lectures is a study of how the earth came to be populated by humans. Reverend Fontaine performed diligent and thorough research on the subject before drawing a conclusion on whether the human race developed from a single pair of parents or multiple pairs. After he concluded that the human race on earth was entirely populated by the progeny of Adam and Eve, Reverend Fontaine presented his findings in this book. He considered it his duty to present his findings to the public using language that all readers could understand. His passions lay not only in the subject matter of his studies but also in his willingness to share his results with the public.
Reverend Fontaine's involvement in both religion and science likely spurred his desire to investigate human origins. He was born in Greenwood, Virginia, in 1814 and spent much of his life furthering the religious welfare of others by serving as a minister, organizing a Sunday school, and supervising the building of a church. He was also a member of the Maryland Academy of Science, a member of the New Orleans Academy of Science, and an amateur naturalist. In addition, he served as chief ordinance of the Mississippi army during the Civil War, chaplain of the Texas Senate, and private secretary to Mirabeau B. Lamar, second president of the Republic of Texas. Reverend Fontaine died on January 19, 1884, in Belvidere, Mississippi.
Mary Alice Fontenot was born just outside of Eunice, Louisiana, in Acadia Parish. As a child, she often spent time at her grandfather's farm in Bayou Tigre, taking a train to Erath, then joining him in his buggy. Childhood memories such as these served as inspiration for many of her books.
Fontenot worked for thirty-five years as a journalist for various publications, including the Lafayette (Louisiana) Daily Advertiser and the Crowley (Louisiana) Post Signal. She wrote features for newspapers and hosted a radio show on KSIG-AM in Crowley, Louisiana. Fontenot also taught kindergarten classes at St. Edmund Elementary School in Eunice and eventually took classes at the University of Southwestern Louisiana in order to improve her French.
Honored numerous times for her writing, Fontenot was awarded the 1998 Acadiana Arts Council Lifetime Achievement Award and the Louisiana State Library Award. In 2003, she was named a Louisiana Legend by Louisiana Public Broadcasting and a Living Legend by the Acadian Museum of Erath, a program that recognizes individuals who help shape Cajun culture.
Fontenot was best known for the Clovis Crawfish series, eighteen books that are published in both English and French. The character of Clovis was initially a product of boredom, created on a slow day at the Lafayette Daily Advertiser when Fontenot's editor left her in charge. The character wasn't even a crawfish at first, but Fontenot soon made it so to make it truer to her Acadian heritage. Through the character of Clovis, children learn moral values such as kindness and caring over adversity and meanspiritedness. Fontenot's other Pelican titles include the children's books Mardi Gras in the Country and The Star Seed, a Christmas tale.
Fontenot died May 12, 2003, at the age of ninety-three. For more information about her life, please read MAFPDF.pdf.
Stephanie Ford is an illustrator, educator, and Civil War enthusiast who has been a regular participant in reenactments since she was in high school. Ford gives presentations to reenactors and historical societies on a number of subjects, including sharpshooters, women’s roles in the war, dress in the nineteenth century, and frontier life in Texas. She also gives art presentations and workshops to artists’ guilds and schools.
Ford teaches high-school art and English in Texas and enjoys creating historically accurate Civil War-era clothing and battle flags. She annually volunteers her expert presentations to the Texas Historical Commission, the Vicksburg National Military Park, and the Confederate Reunion Grounds State Historic Site in Mexia, Texas. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the Texas Art Education Association, Women Artists of the West, and the Twelfth Texas Artillery-Val Verde Battery and is a sponsor for the National Art Honor Society. She has received several awards for her Western art and is a signature member of the International Society of Scratchboard Artists.
Dedicated to learning, Ford earned a bachelor of arts in history and art with a minor in writing from Stephen F. Austin State University. She also received a master of arts in teaching in education and English, as well as her teaching certification, from Texas Woman’s University. She lives with her husband, Bradley, in Silver City, Texas.
Upon graduation, he moved to New York City to work for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. After teaching high school math to low-income students in Philadelphia, he returned to Tennessee to attend Memphis State University Law School. During his second semester, he became a Christian, left law school, and soon moved to Clarksville, Tennessee, where he taught junior-high math for four years. He married and became interested in studying and researching the Bible and its doctrines.
In 1976, he moved to Fort Worth, Texas, to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he graduated with a master of divinity degree in December 1979. He was a pastor at two Baptist churches in Alabama before returning to Tennessee with his wife and three children to put down permanent roots in Clarksville.
After reading Stanley F. Horn's The Robert E. Lee Reader in the 1990s, Mr. Forehand's reading, research, and writing became solely focused on the famous general. Since the summer of 2001, he has been portraying Robert E. Lee at Sons of Confederate Veterans camps, historical societies, United Daughters of the Confederacy chapters, and other historically interested groups. In 2004, he was granted the Robert E. Lee Award from the Tennessee Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans for his portrayals. You can read more about Mr. Forehand's passion for Robert E. Lee by visiting his website: www.generalrobertelee.org.
After spending most of his life in the field of public and religious education, Mr. Forehand is now a civil servant. When not researching or portraying the “Marble Man,” he enjoys exercising and spending time with his family.
After graduating from Stetson University in Florida, Forkner received his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is currently the director of the English department at the University of Angers in France, where he teaches American and Irish literature. Throughout his life, Forkner has enjoyed presenting and reading from the works of many famous authors of the twentieth century, including William Faulkner and Anthony Burgess. His thoughts on and descriptions of these authors are quoted in multiple publications.
In Louisiana Stories , published by Pelican, Forkner compiles stories from an array of the most prestigious Southern writers to demonstrate how Louisianans have particularly influenced the development of the short story. Lewis Simpson, editor of the Southern Review, describes this work as "an illuminating, and at the same time, thoroughly entertaining compilation." He has coedited many other anthologies of Southern literature, including Stories of the Modern South, A Modern Southern Reader, and Stories of the Old South. He also wrote Modern Irish Short Stories and Georgia Stories.
Sam A. Forman is a physician, educator, businessman, and local historian. He is the president of Oak and Ivy Health Systems, Inc. and a visiting scientist at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Throughout his successful careers as a physician, military officer, and businessman, he has published and lectured on historical topics that affect current issues. In his spare time, he acts as company surgeon of the Lexington Minute Men historical reenactors.
Forman has a personal mission to increase enthusiasm for American core values and to promote the constructive involvement of diverse groups in civic issues. He is a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston Athenaeum, Bostonian Society, and New England Historic Genealogical Society.
Board-certified in occupational medicine, Forman is licensed to practice in three states. He is a member of the American College of Physician Executives, American Medical Association, and Massachusetts Medical Society. Also a fellow of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, he has written numerous papers in the fields of medicine, chronic disease management, toxicology, and history.
Forman graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, earning BAs in American history and the history of science and biology. He received his MD from Weill Cornell Medical College and MBA from Yale School of Management.
Gwendoline Y. Fortune has always been an avid reader and describes herself as a seeker. She describes her first novel as an adventure into revelation, remembrance, and reconciliation, a story that will ring true to readers across genders and racial backgrounds.
Born in Houston, Texas, her mother often shared stories of relatives from both sides of her family: Native Americans, Scots-Irishmen, a free-born black great-grandfather, a Confederate great-grandfather, a cowboy grandfather, and relatives who were missionaries in pre-World War II China. She was inspired to write Growing Up Nigger Rich, a project she started as a fifteen-year-old college freshman at Bennett College because "Every story I read about my people they're barefoot, pregnant, and in the field. I know a different life and I never read about the kind of people I know."
Dr. Fortune began writing professionally in 1981 and has since won a number of prestigious grants and awards. Selections from Growing Up Nigger Rich were finalists in the annual Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society competition and the National Black Writers' Conference Awards.
Active in community organizations, Dr. Fortune enjoys singing with the Chapel-Hill Carrboro Community Choir and is actively involved in writer's organizations nationwide. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Writers' Network and the Off-Campus Writers Network. Education has always been a high priority, and Dr. Fortune holds advanced degrees in education, social science, and social science education. She is active in the alumni associations of Bennett College, J. C. Smith, Roosevelt, and Nova Southeastern Universities.
Dr. Fortune lives in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, where she offers individual, relationship, and group courses and human growth counseling in her home. She has three sons and one granddaughter.
The conscientious author also led a dynamic life. Born in Oklahoma, he attended three colleges and universities before enlisting in the Spanish-American War. Mr. Fox worked extensively in the newspaper business as both editor and publisher of the Ardmore Appeal and editorial staff member of the Oklahoma Oklahoman. He also served on the Oklahoma legislature at age twenty-one and then went on to spend several years as a traveling salesman. Finally, he began work in the motion-picture business, writing, directing, and producing more than forty movies, including the film version of “Evangeline.” Having left his mark on many industries, Mr. Fox died on November 7, 1949, in San Antonio, Texas.
Now a professor emeritus of history at Ottawa University in Phoenix, Arizona, Daniel Foxx was born and raised in Gaffney, South Carolina. After a stint with the U.S. Army as an information specialist (1958-61), he worked as a plant manager for a chemical company, the vice president of an animal health company, a legislative aide for the Arizona State Legislature, and an adjunct professor of history at Glendale Community College in Phoenix, Arizona.
In 1982, Mr. Foxx accepted a full-time position as associate professor of history at Ottawa University. A highlight of his tenure was helping to inaugurate a bachelor's and master's degree program in Asia, enabling him to teach at various locations in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore from 1987 to 1994.
Mr. Foxx earned both his bachelor and master of arts degrees in history at Brigham Young University and pursued doctoral studies at Arizona State University. He was a researcher with the Phoenix History Project from 1975-77 and a member of the Arizona Attorney General's Office Speakers Bureau during the bicentennial celebration of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
His biography of Nathan Bedford Forrest was the 2008 Arizona Book Awards winner for the category of Autobiography/Biography/Memoir. It was also chosen as a finalist for the 2008 PMA Benjamin Franklin Awards. Mr. Foxx has also published numerous magazine articles and academic monographs. He also wrote a chapter called “The Proseminar” for the textbook Applying Adult Development Strategies (Josey-Bass Publishers, 1990) and a book entitled I Only Laugh When It Hurts (Northwest Publishing, 1996).
A frequent guest on local radio talk show programs discussing historical and current events, he is a member of Phi Alpha Theta, the international honor society in history; Western History Association; Who's Who in the West; and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. When not spending time with his wife and three sons (his favorite activity), he enjoys building model airplanes and collecting old movies.
Born in New Orleans, Jim Fraiser grew up in Greenwood, Mississippi, and attended Ole Miss as an undergraduate and for law school. He is the director of legal services for the Mississippi band of Choctaw Indians, representing six thousand tribal members in all their legal matters. He has served as a Hinds County assistant district attorney and as Mississippi special assistant attorney general.
In addition to his books published by Pelican, he has also published a novel and four works of nonfiction. He has published eight law-journal articles featured in national publications and two original and produced plays, The Judas Principle and Cosmos by Copernicus. Four of his dramatic adaptations of books have been produced: Walker Percy's Love in the Ruins, Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, Plato's Symposium, and Alex Haley's Autobiography of Malcolm X.
Fraiser also teaches college courses, including paralegal studies, for three of Mississippi's state universities, as well as acting and writing classes for Millsaps College's Adult Enrichment Program. He is a freelance journalist/photographer, writing regular columns, news stories, and book reviews for the Emmerich newspapers, the Clarion-Ledger, and numerous other papers, journals, and magazines throughout the Deep South.
As though his roles as lawyer and writer are not enough, Jim Fraiser is also a professional actor and has directed and/or performed in many plays in regional professional theater. He has been featured in roles in several motion pictures, including Blind Vengeance, Good Ole Boy, Ode to Billie Joe, Nightmare in Badham County, and Mississippi Burning. His most recent role was as veterinarian Wiley Sims in the popular 2000 film My Dog Skip.
He and his wife, Carole, live in Jackson, Mississippi, and have two daughters, Lucy and Mary Adelyn.
"An extensive world traveler and authority on European Jewish travel."
—Library Journal
"He has diligently collected everything the Jewish traveler could possibly want to know."
—Jewish News
Likening himself to Benjamin of Tudela, the twelfth-century Jewish traveler and recorder of early Jewish folklore and traditions in Europe and the Near East, Frank explores an uncommon side of Europe, Russia, and Ukraine. In so doing, he unlocks the mysteries shrouded in the memories of the oppression and the centuries of persecution before it.
In tune with the politics and travel trends of the areas, Frank, a graduate of Columbia University's Center of Israel and Jewish Studies, has spent much of his life as a journalist. He has recently devoted his talents to travel writing and promoting Jewish organizations worldwide. His first book, A Travel Guide to Jewish Europe, also published by Pelican, has received rave reviews from both readers and critics. His list of publications includes articles published in Travel Agent Magazine, National Jewish Monthly of B'nai B'rith, American Zionist, The Jewish Digest, and The Jewish Frontier. An author of numerous books, he is widely recognized in many professional circles, including the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Overseas Press Club, the American Jewish Public Relations Society, and the Pacific Area Travel Association.
Frank owns a public relations firm in New York and frequently lectures on his travels abroad in search of the treasures of contemporary Jewish society. He lives with his wife and two sons in Chappaqua, New York.
One of America’s leading authorities on the history and art of carving and painting duck decoys, Charles W. Frank Jr. (1922-2011) wrote from years of experience in the field and in the workshop. An enthusiastic decoy collector, he amassed a personal collection of some 1,500 examples of art.
Included among his collection are the works of many of the artists and craftsmen featured in his first book, Louisiana Duck Decoys, and his second book, Wetland Heritage: The Louisiana Duck Decoy, which features work done by the outstanding early craftsmen. Frank was also the author of Pelican's Anatomy of a Waterfowl: For Carvers and Painters, which focuses on twenty-three different types of birds and how to paint them accurately.
One of the first three artists to be designated a Louisiana master craftsman, Frank won numerous awards for his waterfowl carvings. His collection and personal art were exhibited in numerous major museum shows.
A native of New Orleans, Frank graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from Tulane University. He served as the president of L. Frank & Co., a wholesale animal produce corporation before retiring in 1983. As an avid sportsman, he traveled on many African safaris and hunted fowl and game throughout the world with gun in one hand and camera in the other.
Frank was a member of the Outdoors Writer Association, the Southeast Outdoor Press, and the Louisiana Outdoors Writers Association. He was also the head of the Louisiana Wildfowl Carvers and Collectors Guild. In 2001, Frank was recognized for his lifetime contributions to the preservation of Louisiana’s wetland heritage by the South Louisiana Wood Carvers.
In their first children's picture book, Runaway Bear, Chester D. Freeman and John E. McGuire show us all how you're never too old to appreciate the value of a loyal Teddy bear. A timeless tale, it stresses the importance of good manners and features the handicrafts that have made them successful artists in their respective fields of Teddy bear artistry and traditional basketry.
Freeman is the world-renowned crafter of fully jointed, handmade, mohair bears whose limited editions sell for as much as $300 in the retail marketplace. His artistry has developed into a full-time business as he crafts each bear himself for customers all over the globe. It began as a hobby when Freeman was a chaplain at Amherst College. Working with students and their problems, Freeman noticed something unusual about the therapeutic power of bears, which he began to incorporate into his work.
"I began using Teddy bears quite extensively while ministering to the sick at Hartford Hospital because Teddy bears seem to have a unique ability to comfort people. As more and more people wished to purchase my bears, I began to refocus my vocation on making bears and watching the joy and healing powers they brought to their new owners."
He and McGuire now share a studio in Geneva, NY. McGuire is best known for his work as one of the nation's leading authorities on traditional New England Splint Basketry. As a result he established a traditional basketmaking program for the Old Sturbridge Village Museum in Sturbridge, MA, and the Hancock Shaker Village Museum in Pittsfield, MA.
McGuire is also a published author in his field with three books and an instructional video to his name. He juries basketry shows, exhibits his works, and lectures throughout the country. His specialty bear backpacks have been added to both the limited edition of the collectible bears from Runaway Bear as well as incorporated as a special ending to the story itself.
In their first children's picture book, Runaway Bear, Chester D. Freeman and John E. McGuire show us all how you're never too old to appreciate the value of a loyal Teddy bear. A timeless tale, it stresses the importance of good manners and features the handicrafts that have made them successful artists in their respective fields of Teddy bear artistry and traditional basketry.
Freeman is the world-renowned crafter of fully jointed, handmade, mohair bears whose limited editions sell for as much as $300 in the retail marketplace. His artistry has developed into a full-time business as he crafts each bear himself for customers all over the globe. It began as a hobby when Freeman was a chaplain at Amherst College. Working with students and their problems, Freeman noticed something unusual about the therapeutic power of bears, which he began to incorporate into his work.
"I began using Teddy bears quite extensively while ministering to the sick at Hartford Hospital because Teddy bears seem to have a unique ability to comfort people. As more and more people wished to purchase my bears, I began to refocus my vocation on making bears and watching the joy and healing powers they brought to their new owners."
He and McGuire now share a studio in Geneva, NY. McGuire is best known for his work as one of the nation's leading authorities on traditional New England Splint Basketry. As a result he established a traditional basketmaking program for the Old Sturbridge Village Museum in Sturbridge, MA, and the Hancock Shaker Village Museum in Pittsfield, MA.
McGuire is also a published author in his field with three books and an instructional video to his name. He juries basketry shows, exhibits his works, and lectures throughout the country. His specialty bear backpacks have been added to both the limited edition of the collectible bears from Runaway Bear as well as incorporated as a special ending to the story itself.
—Forbes
Internationally acclaimed motivator Sidney Friedman was one of the most sought-after speakers in the world. Standing ovations demonstrated how effectively Friedman inspired his audiences with the penetrating insight and practical wisdom he continued to acquire during his career in professional sales and corporate management.
Known throughout the world as an entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and philanthropist, Friedman did more than just talk about extraordinary success—he lived it.
He was president and chairman of the board of Corporate Financial Services (CFS), a Philadelphia-based insurance, financial planning, and consulting firm employing more than two hundred people. He also managed three other companies and spoke to audiences across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
For more than twenty years, Friedman was a member of the International Top of the Table, a division of the Million Dollar Round Table. Fewer than thirty people in the world shared this distinction at the time. Not only was he the president of this group, but he was also the president of the Twenty-Five Million Dollar International Forum. This honor he claimed as his, and his alone.
In order to give something back to his community, Friedman founded the Philadelphia chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a charity devoted to fulfilling the dreams of terminally ill children.
Professionally, he shared his wisdom with others in his regular column in the National Underwriter (Life & Health edition), as well as in his other books, How Successful Do You Really Wanna Be?, Never Let Up, and How to Make Money Tomorrow Morning.
Sidney Friedman passed away on November 13, 2003.
Peter V. Fritsch has lived his entire life in Longswamp Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, as did the seven generations of his family before him. A folk artist all his life, he especially enjoys the scissors-cutting art of scherenschnitte, which he has practiced for more than forty years. He was raised in a rural country setting, speaking and writing the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect as a second language.
A passionate instructor, Fritsch taught art classes in the Reading Public School System for thirty-three years. He also taught German history and culture at Ursinus College for eight years. Fritsch has been involved in local organizations to promote the preservation of the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect, such as the Pennsylvania German Society. Now retired from everything except homesteading, he describes himself as a “stay-at-home Dutchman.”
Fritsch earned a BS in art education and a master’s degree in education from Kutztown University. He lives on his family’s ancestral farm in Alburtis, Pennsylvania.
Jeanne Frois wrote Louisianians All to provide young readers with an interesting and enjoyable introduction to Louisiana heritage. In her book, she describes the lives of over twenty inspirational men and women from the different cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds that make up Louisiana today.
In Flags of Louisiana, Frois provides detailed descriptions of the designs, symbols, and stories of all the national flags that have flown over Louisiana. She also includes parish and city flags in this informative and useful historical guide for all ages.
As co-editor of two editions of the Louisiana Almanac, Frois contributed her expertise to this authoritative guide to the state. Although the multitude of maps, graphs, charts, and facts may seem daunting, the guide is surprisingly and easily accessible. This almanac is a staple for all Louisiana classrooms.
Frois is a New Orleans native and has worked as a medical staff coordinator at River Bend Hospital in Metairie, Louisiana. She works at Tulane University Health Sciences Center, where she edits grants, book chapters, and journal articles in the department of pathology. Her own work has appeared in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Gambit Weekly, and Angels on Earth magazine. In her free time, she enjoys researching and writing about the Civil War era. Her travels include several Civil War battle sites and the fields, forests, and marshes of Louisiana.Macon Fry's love for Cajun Country actually began years before he ever moved to Louisiana. A fan of rhythm and blues recordings, he began studying and collecting Cajun and Zydeco records while in school at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He made several trips to Louisiana over the years before finally making the decision to call it home in 1980.
“Less than forty-eight hours after arriving in New Orleans, I found myself a bleary-eyed passenger in a packed car speeding across the Atchafalaya Throughway at 8 A.M. As the sun smoldered along the tops of the black willow and cypress, I looked down from the interstate at the blackness of the nation's largest freshwater swamp and pondered how different and beautiful South Louisiana was.”
Fry stayed in New Orleans teaching in public schools in Jefferson and Orleans parishes and began submitting articles to local magazines about his excursions into the bayous. He quickly found that even people in New Orleans, just outside of Cajun Country, were not as familiar with the lay of the land in Acadiana. That's when he decided to start compiling information for what would become Cajun Country Guide, an outsider's guide to the sounds, tastes, and sights of South Louisiana.
In 1990, Fry, with his coauthor and fellow travel writer Julie Posner, drove 20,000 miles through the Cajun prairie covering most of the highways and byways. They took every swamp tour, visited every dance hall, and ate at over half of the homestyle restaurants they passed.
Fry continues to write a weekly column for Wavelength, a New Orleans entertainment magazine, and contributes articles to New Orleans magazine as well. His trips to Cajun Country have not stopped with the publication of his travel guide. There's still a chance that on a Saturday morning you might run across him in a small Acadian tavern, tapping his feet to the beat of a squeeze-box with a boudin sausage sandwich in one hand, and his camera in the other.
When most people leave their full-time jobs, they slow down and take it easy. That is not the case with Mary Fonseca, who, instead of taking it easy, decided to take to the highways. After returning to life as a full-time free-lance writer, she traveled down nearly every major highway in Louisiana and Mississippi in the writing of her first book, Weekend Getaways in Louisiana and Mississippi. While some of the regions visited were uncharted territory for Fonseca, other areas were quite familiar. She and her husband, along with their five children, often found themselves on short weekends, camping or touring these areas. In ten months’ time in 1992 and 1993 (after the children were grown), she covered more than 9,000 miles on the road acquiring the memories and experiences that grew into this guidebook. In her preparation for Weekend Getaways in Louisiana she traveled another 7,000 miles. For her hard work and dedication, Weekend Getaways in Louisiana was named a “Best Book” by Travel & Leisure.
“I feel I have been given an opportunity few people will have—to visit practically every area of my home state, and a neighboring state, and share my experiences in two books. Meeting people—listening to the stories they tell me—has added an intriguing element to the writing of these books.”
Writing is no hobby for Fonseca, it is a career. Her third book, Louisiana Gardens, focuses on twenty-nine of the Pelican’ State’s most spectacular floral repositories, from Afton Villa to Zemurray. Mrs. Fonseca’s other writing credits include articles in Louisiana Life, Americana, Nation’s Business, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Mississippi magazine, and many others. She writes for all age levels—having contributed to New Orleans and You, Kid as well as Popular Science. She is an award-winning writer with past accolades from the Press Club of New Orleans.
Travel is still very much a part of Fonseca’s life. She particularly enjoys the photographs she has captured, some of which are used in her books. She still takes time out for walking, cycling, or working in her garden. Mrs. Fonseca is active in the St. Clement of Rome Guild and the St. Clement of Rome Holy Name Society.