Extended Biography
My Life
I was born in Lewistown, a small town in central Pennsylvania. I was an only child.
What? An only child? I'll bet you were a spoiled brat!
I was not a spoiled brat. Actually I was very nice. Smart, too.
Definitely stuck on yourself.
Not really. Just shy. Definitely shy.
Come on, get on to the good stuff.
Well, I loved to read. And I loved to write, especially stories. I started to write my first novel when I was 8 years old, Humpy the Caterpillar and Gladys the Snail: A True Life Romance. (But I finished only three chapters.) Then I met up with Miss Frankenberry the Grammar Dragon, who happened to be teaching English at my school. She was fierce about grammar, ferocious about spelling, fiendish about punctuation.
Glad to get rid of her, weren't you?
Yes, but she did make us get it right. And then I found that college was full of teachers like Miss Frankenberry. After graduation from Bucknell University in 1957, I headed to New York to seek my fortune. Instead I got married, had children, and moved to the suburbs. That's when I really started to write.
What was your first published book?
A sewing book for little girls (because I had three little boys, none interested in sewing) called Miss Patch's Learn-to-Sew Book. Years passed. I kept writing. The total is now almost fifty books.
Where do you live?
In 1990 I moved to a small town in Texas. I was homesick, but I discovered lots of stories there. That's also when I met Miz Liz, the Arch-Editor. And imagine! She's just as fierce, ferocious, and fiendish as Miss Frankenberry, but now it's about character, plot, and theme, in addition to all that other stuff. In 1995 my husband, Tony, and I moved back to New Mexico, where I am today in the little Victorian house in the middle of Albuquerque.
Where do you get your ideas?
From things I've read, places I've visited, people I've met. Ideas are everywhere—if I can just recognize them when I see them.
Were you good at sports?
I was a terrible athlete—couldn't pitch, hit, or catch a ball. Somewhere I got the idea that I couldn't graduate from high school unless I could stand on my head. That turned out to be a myth; I managed to graduate at the head of my class. Then in college I had to take physical education and ruined my beautiful grade-point average. Since then I've tried skiing, ice skating, horseback riding, and yoga. All disasters.
Pets?
When my father went away to serve in World War II, my mother got me a little black and white dog named Domino. My kids had cats and dogs when they were young. Now I just fuss over the neighbor's dog and don't have to feed it or take it to the vet.
Children?
Three sons: Alan (married to Amanda; children Erin and Joe), John (married to Cindy; daughter, Sophie), and Chris (newly married to woman also named Carolyn, with whom he has just relocated to Costa Rica). Two step-daughters, Vered and Maria, plus their husbands (Chris and Dave) and children (Lianna, Danielle, Shannon). A great crew.
Sounds as though you've moved around a lot.
I've lived in Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Texas, and New Mexico. But I've traveled lots of places: Alaska, South America, South Africa, Japan, the British Isles, Greece, France, Spain, Italy, and Bahrain, an island in the Persian Gulf.
You must be ancient. How old are you, anyway?
I was born June 8, 1935.
Have you thought of dyeing your hair?
Enough questions! And remember, if you need help with a report, pay a visit to Miss Frankenberry.
So, with all this moving around, where can I write to you?
Right here: meyerwrite@comcast.net.
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Bonus Material
Also by
Carolyn Meyer:
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