|
Margaret Ruschman
My writing career started when I was
about six. I wrote a letter to my cousin which read, "Dear Jimmy, I
would have written sooner, but I had to learn how to write." He
still has the letter and I’m still learning to write.
My first published piece came when I
was twelve when one of my essays appeared in the Flint (Michigan)
News Advertiser.
Although I have written all my life,
I began creating stories out of necessity when I became a remedial
reading teacher. The material available did not meet my students’
needs or interests, so I began writing high interest/low reading
level stories. My students especially enjoyed those with surprise
endings. I also self-published a magazine for these students titled
Discover. It was used by teachers in several nearby school
districts.
When my husband was transferred to
Australia, I gave up my teaching position and concentrated on
writing. My husband promised me a word processor if I published a
story. When my first story came out in Turtle Magazine, I
reminded him of his promise. He tried to convince me that he had
said "food processor," but I got my computer.
The focus of my writing is mainly on
novels for younger readers. My middle-grade novel, Cottontop (formerly
Crybaby Cary) was one of the four finalists in the 1998
Marquerite deAngeli Contest sponsored by Bantam Doubleday-Dell
Publishers.
I have just completed my first young
adult novel, A Better Place to Be. The protagonist is a
fifteen-year-old boy with Osteogenesis Imperfecta or brittle bone
disease.
I am currently working on an adult
historical novel set in sixteenth century Scotland.
I have also been published in
Children’s Book Insider and have written educational material
for Victory Productions including a grammar workbook and lessons for
a high school textbook on writing.
I belong to the following
organizations:
Society of Children’s Book Writers
and Illustrators
Kids’ Writers On-Line
Lake Havasu City Writers’ Group
If you would like to read some
samples of my writing, click on the title below:
On a Night Like This
Prologue from
Sister Mary, Brother James
|
