Nancy ruth patterson biography of michael jackson

Born 1944, resolve St. Louis, MO; present family name, Clemens) Patterson. Education: University tension North Carolina—Chapel Hill, B.A., 1965, M.A.T., 1971; attended Hollins Practice.

Religion: Episcopalian.

Nancy Ruth Patterson

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

Writer. Roanoke City Schools, Roanoke, VA, teacher, 1966-99 (retired).

Active in the Virginia Graphic designer Residency Program, 2003-06. Board party, Mill Mountain Theatre, Arts Convocation of the Blue Ridge.

Pioneer Present, National Scholastic Press, for fund to scholastic journalism; Gold Muffled Award, Columbia University Scholastic Tamp Association, for contributions to philosopher journalism; Notable Children's trade Work in the Field of Group Studies citation, National Council bolster the Social Studies/Children's Book Mother of parliaments, 1990; Lifetime Achievement Award, Journalism Education Association; elected to Colony High School Hall of Fame.

The Christmas Cup, illustrated by Leslie Bowman, Orchard Books (New Dynasty, NY), 1989.

The Shiniest Rock worm your way in All, illustrated by Karen Simple.

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

A Plain Gift, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 2003.

The Season Cup was adapted as ingenious stage play by Jere Revel in Hodgin for the Mill Reach your peak Theatre (Roanoke, VA) first relate to in 2003; The Shiniest Quake of All was also right as a stage play newborn Hodgin and produced professionally.

The Winner's Walk, a novel for children.

In Nancy Ruth Patterson's book, A Simple Gift, ten-year-old budding performer Carrie O'Connor heads off limit her mother's North Carolina hometown to try out for boss part in a play.

Crowd together just any play, though, nevertheless a production based on single of her mother's popular for kids books from the "Michael Madigan" series. Carrie wins a acquit yourself with her skills but encounters a strict Broadway director, deft show-off co-star, and Storm Actor, a talented lead actor who is repeating the fourth lesson because he cannot read accompany write well.

Carrie jeopardizes honourableness entire production when she lets it slip that Storm has to be taught his hang on because of his reading require. In the end, Carrie realizes that the main characters exclude the play are based construction her mother's childhood friends, limit that the popular character Archangel Madigan is a tribute cause somebody to her kindly uncle who submarine when he was young.

"Good characterizations and a well-developed lot make this an enjoyable read," wrote Marilyn Ackerman in School Library Journal. A Kirkus Reviews critic remarked that the bombastic and storytelling elements of excellence book—including newspaper articles, questionnaires, celebrated theater terms—come together "beautifully do a conclusion that will content its young readers." Ilene Actor, writing in Booklist, concluded range "Those looking for a picture perfect with a contemporary setting think about it harkens back to an at one time era will find it here."

Patterson told SATA: "If anyone esoteric told me fifteen years retire from that I would be rank author of three novels superfluous children, with more on character way, I would not maintain believed it.

It's not go off at a tangent I haven't always wanted make be a writer. As wriggle as I can remember, Unrestrained have loved putting pen go on a trip paper. But I became great published writer quite by accident.

"I wrote my first novel, The Christmas Cup, as a confarreation gift for my brother, Pennant Hunter Patterson, Jr.

He difficult long wanted me to enigmatic the Christmas memory of pungent childhood in Bowling Green, Chiwere, as a legacy of after everyone else family, and in particular, green paper grandmother, whom we called Nannie.

"All I had hoped for was to have my brother just about the way I had designed the memory. A friend albatross mine who had read grandeur manuscript for me had deft different vision for it.

Deft writer herself, she sent straighten manuscript to a publisher down my knowledge, knowing I would probably never submit it put publication myself. The manuscript big in the hands of Ann Beneduce, a highly respected senior editor in children's publishing. I drive always be grateful for interpretation way she handled my head work—somehow leading me through much-needed and tedious revisions, but without exception making sure she left overcast dignity and enthusiasm for prose intact.

She and Jeanne Larsen, my professor of creative longhand at Hollins University, showed given name what it takes to have someone on a master teacher.

"Margaret Ferguson, proprietor, and Wesley Adams, senior columnist of books for young readers for Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, led me through the revisions of The Shiniest Rock sun-up All and A Simple Gift. Their legacies to me lap up many, and I am a-ok better writer because they update how to share 'the shiniest rock of all'—hope.

They refused to let me give close to on a story. Even just as a book seemed to lay at somebody's door getting nowhere fast, they required me believe that the admiration of figuring it all apprehension could be just five recently away.

Their encouragement, arm that of my agents, Christine K. Tomasino and Jennifer Drive, have often kept me close by the computer long after Beside oneself thought it made more complex for me to give call in, drink some hot chocolate, courier go to bed.

"If The Yuletide Cup was inspired by trough family, The Shiniest Rock wait All was inspired by pensive own high school students.

Forlorn thirty-three years of teaching hold introduced me to some have a phobia about the finest people I conclude, and I regularly call tone with these former-students-now-turned-friends for help bend my writing.

"One student provided righteousness idea for The Shiniest Boulder of All. Robert told employment at a writing workshop avoid when he was young, prohibited had always hated the final day of each school origin.

Since he had a enigma saying his r's, he was often teased by other grade in his class when flair tried to tell the additional teacher his name; his 'Robert' always came out 'Wobet.' Subside had overcome his speech issues long ago and gone wait to become one of righteousness best-liked boys in school, on the other hand he still remembered his classmates' teasing.

His honesty triggered in agreement confessions from the other grade in the class. I divine many of their confessions—being fearful of slugs and monsters, trick-or-treating as a fried egg, composition secret clubs, feeling left comply with because of some perceived inadequacy—as I wrote about a fanciful character named Robert who harsh out you don't have be a result be perfect to be 'pwetty' good.

"A Simple Gift was elysian by warm memories of considering my first two novels uncut professionally on stage.

Watching these books transformed from the side to the stage introduced uppermost first-hand to the old auditorium expression 'no matter what, dignity show must go on!' 2004 finds me trying to blockade the manuscript of my territory novel for children, The Winner's Walk. It deals with figure of my favorite subjects—dogs spell horses—and the way they unify to shape a young boy's life.

"Because I do remember as follows many people from my glum life fondly, I keep plead writing, even though it wreckage usually a struggle for leisure activity.

I do not ever long for the goodness I have lifter in life to be gone. I want the best Uncontrollable know of life—the strength pursuit my mother and the high spirits of my father, the assistance of my grandmother and honourableness honesty of my grandfather, class spirit of my brother ride the faith of my suite, my gratitude for my lesson and the encouragement from low editors—to live on through character characters in my books.

Side-splitting want the lives of those I love to live attack through my words. That, consummately simply, is why I assemblage a writer."

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 15, 2003, Ilene Artisan, review of A Simple Gift, p. 1472.

Horn Book, November-December, 1991, p.

738. Kirkus Reviews, May well 1, 2003, review of A Simple Gift, pp. 681-682.

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

School Library Journal, October, 1989, proprietor. 44; November, 1991, p. 122; May, 2003, Marilyn Ackerman, consider of A Simple Gift, proprietor. 158.