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I enjoy providing programs for schools, libraries, and community organizations.

School-wide author visits include multiple sessions that draw from my writing experience in keeping North Carolina stories in a variety of ways. Also, I can work with a class or a grade level as well as an entire school. (More under Workshops.)

Smaller-group sessions have many possibilities:

• A poetry workshop with a class or grade
• A look at NC stories with 4th grade
• A session on NC mountain folklore (drawing from Jack Tales and Orville Hicks
• A session on writing stories (and/or poems) from photographs (The Picture Man and Addie Clawson:  Appalachian Mail Carrier a starters)
• A 4th-grade talk on drawing from NC resources, with examples from Mama’s Wreaths and Dresses, Dreams and Beadwood Leaves.
• A look at strong women.  March is Women’s History Month;  Addie Clawson features a noteworthy NC woman– a role model of courage and determination in the face of odds.
• A discussion on stories that look at anchoring self esteem (Addie Clawson, Mama’s Wreaths, Dresses, Dreams and Beadwood Leaves)

Teachers can include literature, language, writing, social studies, and even  math and science in lessons with my books.  (Study Guides under Downloads.)

Contact me to discuss programs.

Creating Mama’s Wreaths with Joann Moretz was a joy as I witnessed family heritage and skill passed through generations. Likewise, sharing my newest book has been a exciting journey.

I visited libraries, bookstores, and schools in North Carolina’s Piedmont and mountains. I talked alongside wreath-making with a Delta Kappa Gamma chapter in the heart of wreath-making country, and I made wreaths at the Burke County Library, Bethania Mill, and Tom’s Creek Nursery in Farmer. I enjoyed talking about ginseng and calves with knowledgeable 3rd graders at Riverbend Elementary in Clyde, and I was wowed by the poetry of students at Waynesville Middle School and Meadowbrook Academy. At Blue Ridge Books, I learned about “candy roasters.” For the uninitiated, candy roasters are large sweet pumpkins. Look it up on Google!

Here are some images from a delightful visit with enthusiastic readers at Wilkesboro Elementary. Jack Tales and Mountain Yarns was their favorite of my books.