This is actually the second time I've lived on Norwood Road because the house I live in now is directly across the street from the house where I lived as a child - when I was between the ages of five and ten. Through the years we've been here, several families have lived in that other house: an elderly man and woman, a couple who remodeled and then moved on, a family of little boys who left for Cincinnati.

This past summer the house was sold again and it wasn't long before a woman and her daughter moved in. The daughter is tall and skinny, with dark hair. She is nine years old and looks a lot like I looked when I was her age. I see her playing with her dog on the front lawn or making a snow fort and it's almost as if I've stepped into one of those going-back-in-time books and I'm watching myself, the way I used to be.

I joke sometimes and say that I haven't gotten very far in my life - that I'm still on Norwood Road. And then I think of all that has happened along the way.

When I was ten we moved to New York and then to Washington, DC and then back to Baltimore where I went to the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. While I was in college I majored in English and did as much reading and writing as possible. After college I taught third grade and then Special Education. I married a lawyer (who is now a judge) and we had five daughters and one son. They are all married now and our family has suddenly grown to include five sons-in-law, a daughter-in-law, and thirteen grandchildren.

When my youngest child was in second grade, I got a chance to do what I'd always wanted to do-- write books for children and young adults. My first book came out in 1976 and I have been writing ever since. People often ask if I use my children as characters in my books and the answer to that is no. Book characters are made up of bits and pieces of people I've met along the way, with a good portion of imagination mixed in.

One thing I do like to do, though, is set my books in some of my favorite places. I have stories that take place on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, Bethany Beach, Delaware, and, of course, Baltimore.

Now that the children are gone, I have a writing room just for myself where I go every day to work. Pongo, the dog, keeps me company while I stare at the computer screen, trying to come up with just the right word or phrase. Trying to turn my ideas into the best book I possibly can.

In Jason's family everybody plays some kind of of sport - baseball, soccer, tennis. The trouble is, Jason doesn't even like sports. A visiting grandfather helps him discover what he really wants to play.

Clay
Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2001 Hardback $16.00 Ages 8 to 12 ISBN: 0-374-31338-5

Elsie, her mother, and her little brother Tommy have been on the run for over four years - ever since the mother kidnapped the children from their father. When Tommy becomes seriously ill, Elsie must find the courage to make a decision that could drastically change the lives of everyone in her family.

Spindrift
Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2000 Hardback $16 Ages 11 and up ISBN: 0-374-37155-5 Paperback Harper trophy $5.95

Cassie is disillusioned when she discovers that her brother-in-law, Mickey, is cheating on her sister, and in one long summer she finds there are some things that can't be fixed.

The Turnabout Shop
Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1998 Hardback $16.00 Ages 8 to 12 ISBN: 0-374-37889-4 paperback Harper Trophy $4.95

After the death of her fun loving mother, Livvy is sent to Baltimore to live with dull, drab Jessie Barnes, part owner of The Turnabout Shop, and finds that it is still possible to learn and laugh and love again.

Not My Dog
Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1999 hardback $15 Ages 5 to 9 ISBN: 0-374-35531-2 paperback Sunburst/FSG $4.95
An ALA Notable Book
Horn Book Fanfare Honor List

For as far back as she can remember, Ellie has been promised a dog when she turns nine but is Preston really what she had in mind?

Remembering Mog
Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1996 Hardback $14 Paperback $3.99 Avon Flare
7th gr. up
An ALA Notable Book

This is the story of a teenage girl named Annie and how she learns to deal with the murder of her much-loved sister Mog.

Sydney, Invincible
Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1995 Hardback $14
7th gr. up

Sydney faces many challenges during her junior year in high school, including being appointed editor of the school newspaper, her mother's new marriage and pregnancy, and the deterioration of her boyfriend's family.

For a while twelve year old Hannah is afraid that she is the only one who knows a terrible secret that her mother is an alcoholic.

Alone and pregnant, as a result of rape, Lucy runs away to a seaside town where she meets Jake, an aspiring writer, and learns what caring is all about.

It turns out to be a not-so-boring summer after all when Rosie's favorite author moves in next door, accompanied by Sandy the Super Dog.

Sydney, Herself
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1989) paperback $4.50 (Sunburst, FS&G)
gr. 7 up
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
Booklist Editors' Choice

Convinced that she is the daughter of one of the famous Australian Boomerangs, Sydney sets out to prove her point, largely by way of her creative writing assignments, and in the process comes to value who she really is.

Fitchett's Folly
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1987) hardback $15
gr. 4 up

Sarey Ann Littleton tells her own story of life on Maryland's Eastern Shore in the 1880's: a time of shipwrecks and loss, and a new-found friend.

Julie's Daughter
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1986) Hardback $15 paperback $3.95 (Aerial, FS&G)
gr. 7 up
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
School Library Journal Best Book for Young Adults

Told in alternating narratives by 17 year old Slug, her mother Julie who abandoned her just after she was born, and an elderly neighbor named Harper Tegges, this book explores the relationship of the three women.

Keeping Time
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1983) Hardback $14
gr. 3 - 7

A time-shift story set in modern Baltimore and 16th century London, this book tells the story of Drew Wakeman and his family of buskers.

H, My Name Is Henley
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1982) Hardback $14
gr. 4 - 7

Henley tags along after her feckless and frenetic mother Patti until she at last finds a place to call home.

The Gathering Room
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1981) paperback $5.95 (Sunburst, FS&G)
gr. 3 - 7
An ALA Notable Book
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
IRA Teachers' Choice

Set in the gatehouse of a cemetery, Mudge looks to the people buried in the graveyard for his friends.

P.S. Write Soon
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1978) paperback $3.50 (Sunburst, FS&G)
gr. 3 - 7

Tanner Maclean, who wears a heavy brace because of a paralyzed leg, embellishes her life in letters to her pen pal and then has to face the consequences.

Jacket illustrations by:
Remembering Mog Michael Dooling
Hannah In Between Diana McKee
Not My Dog Thomas F. Yezerski
The Turnabout Shop Nancy Carpenter