When I was a kid I lived on the Nebraska prairie. I had three little brothers and a beautiful horse named Cleo. Cleo was a pure black Arabian with a white star in the middle of her forehead. My horse and I spent a lot of time together, escaping from my brothers. She didn't say much, of course, but she could run like the wind.
Now I live on a prairie (sort of) in northern California, I still ride a beautiful horse, and I still have three little brothers, though now they're all bigger than I am.
Anyway, back in Nebraska, I decided to be a jockey. That didn't work out. I decided to be a librarian. That didn't work out either. I decided to be an archaeologist.
That DID work out, but not the way I expected. I'm a nonfiction writer, which means I dig up the truth. It's not exactly like digging up old bones and pieces of pottery, but it's close. I travel all over the world, snoop around like a detective, find old newspapers and photographs, read old letters and diaries, dig up the facts. Then I put those facts in the biographies I write.
Authors get to meet the most fascinating people! I met the great, great, great, grandson of Noah Webster. I met the family of the first Native American woman doctor, and a leader of her tribe wrote the foreword for NATIVE AMERICAN DOCTOR. I met the great, great, great, granddaughter of Biddy Mason, and she wrote the foreword for WITH OPEN HANDS. I've met many more famous family members (and hope to meet you, too!).
Do you know who built the first wooden clock in America? Do you know who wrote the first American dictionary? Do you know how a woman who was a slave in Mississippi became a very rich woman in California? Do you know what happened to the first Native American woman who became a doctor? Do you know what African American man helped to discover the North Pole? (and what happened to him after that?)
You can find the answers to these questions, and lots more exciting facts and people and adventures in my books.
There's more! When I'm not reading or writing or riding, I study Russian. My husband and I have been to Russia many times and have collected thousands of objects which might otherwise have disappeared. We think these items express the spirit and achievement of Soviet society. Recently we donated them all to be used for academic research and guess what? There's now a Ferris Collection! Please visit the Ferris Collection at USC online, to learn more.
And now I want to meet you. I was a teacher in Los Angeles for almost thirty years, and I still teach when I visit schools and talk about the people in my books. Perhaps I'll visit your school this year! Look for the person lugging a buffalo (small), log (large), candle, compass, quill pen, sunbonnet, and much, much more.
Here's a picture of my horse now. His name is Pamyat, which means 'memory' in Russian.
You can also read my interview with Lori Calabrese to find out more about me.
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