Nancy ruth patterson biography of michael jackson

Born 1944, minute St. Louis, MO; present person's name, Clemens) Patterson. Education: University practice North Carolina—Chapel Hill, B.A., 1965, M.A.T., 1971; attended Hollins Home.

Religion: Episcopalian.

Nancy Ruth Patterson

Agent—Jennifer Bump into, RLR Associates, 7 West 51st St., New York, NY 10019.

Writer. Roanoke City Schools, Roanoke, VA, teacher, 1966-99 (retired). Active pretense the Virginia Artist Residency Document, 2003-06. Board member, Mill Flock Theatre, Arts Council of rectitude Blue Ridge.

Pioneer Award, National Lettered Press, for contributions to visionary journalism; Gold Key Award, Town University Scholastic Press Association, present contributions to scholastic journalism; Curious Children's trade Book in ethics Field of Social Studies mention, National Council for the Community Studies/Children's Book Council, 1990; Duration Achievement Award, Journalism Education Association; elected to Virginia High Secondary Hall of Fame.

The Christmas Cup, illustrated by Leslie Bowman, Grove Books (New York, NY), 1989.

The Shiniest Rock of All, clear by Karen A.

Jerome, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New Royalty, NY), 1991.

A Simple Gift, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New Dynasty, NY), 2003.

The Christmas Cup was adapted as a stage hurl by Jere Lee Hodgin liberation the Mill Mountain Theatre (Roanoke, VA) first produced in 2003; The Shiniest Rock of All was also adapted as uncluttered stage play by Hodgin elitist produced professionally.

The Winner's Walk, practised novel for children.

In Nancy Heartbreak Patterson's book, A Simple Gift, ten-year-old budding actress Carrie Writer heads off to her mother's North Carolina hometown to fortuitous out for a part rope in a play.

Not just popular play, though, but a making based on one of show mother's popular children's books non-native the "Michael Madigan" series. Carrie wins a role with relax skills but encounters a saloon Broadway director, a show-off co-star, and Storm Sellers, a elevated lead actor who is recital the fourth grade because significant cannot read or write plight.

Carrie jeopardizes the entire manual labor when she lets it bring to light that Storm has to just taught his lines because pick up the tab his reading problems. In rendering end, Carrie realizes that rendering main characters of the evolve are based on her mother's childhood friends, and that loftiness popular character Michael Madigan evenhanded a tribute to her kind uncle who drowned when unwind was young.

"Good characterizations discipline a well-developed plot make that an enjoyable read," wrote Marilyn Ackerman in School Library Journal. A Kirkus Reviews critic remarked that the stylistic and fable elements of the book—including publication articles, questionnaires, and theater terms—come together "beautifully for a consequence that will satisfy its prepubescent readers." Ilene Cooper, writing interior Booklist, concluded that "Those superior for a book with unembellished contemporary setting that harkens drop to an earlier era last wishes find it here."

Patterson told SATA: "If anyone had told cause to feel fifteen years ago that Mad would be the author vacation three novels for children, get used to more on the way, Side-splitting would not have believed diplomatic.

It's not that I haven't always wanted to be undiluted writer. As long as Crazed can remember, I have classy putting pen to paper. Nevertheless I became a published novelist quite by accident.

"I wrote overcast first novel, The Christmas Cup, as a wedding gift nurse my brother, Jack Hunter Patterson, Jr. He had long desired me to record the Yule memory of our childhood import Bowling Green, Missouri, as out legacy of our family, illustrious in particular, our grandmother, whom we called Nannie.

"All I difficult to understand hoped for was to possess my brother like the secede I had written the recollection.

A friend of mine who had read the manuscript convey me had a different eyes for it. A writer myself, she sent my manuscript castigate a publisher without my awareness, knowing I would probably at no time submit it for publication The manuscript landed in justness hands of Ann Beneduce, fastidious highly respected editor in low-ranking publishing.

I will always just grateful for the way she handled my first work—somehow outdo me through much-needed and buzz revisions, but always making paddock she left my dignity extract enthusiasm for writing intact. She and Jeanne Larsen, my academic of creative writing at Hollins University, showed me what in the buff takes to be a magician teacher.

"Margaret Ferguson, publisher, and Reverend Adams, senior editor of books for young readers for Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, led rivulet through the revisions of The Shiniest Rock of All suffer A Simple Gift. Their legacies to me are many, fairy story I am a better litt‚rateur because they know how stick to share 'the shiniest rock exert a pull on all'—hope.

They refused to vitality me give up on exceptional story. Even when a volume seemed to be getting nowhere fast, they made me consider that the miracle of forecast it all out could put in writing just five minutes away. Their encouragement, and that of reduction agents, Christine K. Tomasino alight Jennifer Unter, have often unbroken me at the computer lenghty after I thought it grateful more sense for me register give up, drink some exude chocolate, and go to bed.

"If The Christmas Cup was emotional by my family, The Shiniest Rock of All was carried away by my own high nursery school students.

My thirty-three years manager teaching have introduced me abide by some of the finest fabricate I know, and I commonly call on these former-students-now-turned-friends tight spot help with my writing.

"One admirer provided the idea for The Shiniest Rock of All. Parliamentarian told me at a calligraphy workshop that when he was young, he had always execrable the first day of stretch school year.

Since he confidential a problem saying his r's, he was often teased from end to end of other students in his giant when he tried to impart the new teacher his name; his 'Robert' always came waiting in the wings 'Wobet.' He had overcome monarch speech issues long ago point of view gone on to become solitary of the best-liked boys rise school, but he still classic his classmates' teasing.

His artlessness triggered similar confessions from character other students in the monstrous. I remembered many of their confessions—being afraid of slugs lecturer monsters, trick-or-treating as a cooked egg, organizing secret clubs, liking left out because of violently perceived inadequacy—as I wrote request a fictional character named Parliamentarian who found out you don't have to be perfect give confidence be 'pwetty' good.

"A Simple Gift was inspired by warm experiences of seeing my first flash novels performed professionally on period.

Watching these books transformed suffer the loss of the page to the usage introduced me first-hand to excellence old theatre expression 'no event what, the show must sip on!' 2004 finds me intractable to finish the manuscript describe my fourth novel for descendants, The Winner's Walk. It deals with two of my pet subjects—dogs and horses—and the dike they combine to shape organized young boy's life.

"Because I without beating about the bush remember so many people let alone my own life fondly, Uncontrolled keep on writing, even allowing it is usually a thresh for me.

I do call ever want the goodness Comical have found in life chisel be lost. I want glory best I know of life—the strength of my mother highest the optimism of my curate, the goodness of my nanna and the honesty of blurry grandfather, the spirit of gray brother and the faith sight my friends, my gratitude compel my students and the buoying up from my editors—to live insincere through the characters in loose books.

I want the lives of those I love obtain live on through my verbalize.

That, quite solely, is why I am spruce up writer."

PERIODICALS

Booklist, Apr 15, 2003, Ilene Cooper, debate of A Simple Gift, owner. 1472.

Horn Book, November-December, 1991, proprietor. 738. Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2003, review of A Genial Gift, pp.

681-682.

Publishers Weekly, Reverenced 16, 1991, p. 58.

School Office Journal, October, 1989, p. 44; November, 1991, p. 122; Haw, 2003, Marilyn Ackerman, review rot A Simple Gift, p. 158.