When she was a young girl, Neila
Skinner Petrick enjoyed hearing stories about heroes, particularly those early
Texas settlers and North American pioneers who took adventurous strides to shape
our nation. Now she presents the stories she loved to hear as a child in
Jane Wilkinson Long: Texas Pioneer, a story about the “Mother of Texas,”
a rebel who fought for liberty against the unpredictable Mexican government. In
her newest book, Katherine Stinson Otero: High Flyer, she captures
the spirit of the fourth American woman licensed to fly. Appealing to the child
in all of us, Petrick's heroines inspire us with their resilient courage as they
fight against insurmountable odds to reach their goals.
Petrick's writing career began when
she served as writer and photographer for the Corsicana (Texas) Daily Sun.
She also held the position of editor for the Italy (Texas) News-Herald
and worked for the Dallas Morning News, where she started off as an
editorial assistant and moved on to become writer-editor. In addition, she
served as lead publication information officer for the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), providing information for the media in times of
crisis.
An accomplished author, video
writer, and producer, Petrick has won national and regional awards for her work,
including the silver medal at the New York Film & Video Festival, the Associated
Press Managing Editors Award for writing, and two Matrix awards. Petrick
received her bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Texas at
Austin and her master of arts degree in interdisciplinary studies at the
University of Texas in Dallas. Since the 1990s, Petrick has served as a
writer-producer for the news media, entertainment field, and numerous
corporations. She lives in McKinney, Texas, with her husband, Tom. |