Crow's Feet and Angel Feathers

Stopping to care for an injured crow on the way to their family cabin takes an unexpected turn for sisters Kat and Allie. They find themselves alone in the Virginia woods, their parents an ocean away.

Just figuring out food and shelter while staying hidden from strangers is hard enough, but as the days go by, there's more to question: Why is someone lurking around the old spring house? What is the haunting lullaby they hear in the night? And why is Allie's name on an ancient gravestone?

Susan was born in Newport News, Virginia in 1945, the middle child of seven in a tidewater community of orchards, dairies, and fishing boats. She grew up with a love of reading and of exploring the woods and water.

For Susan, the best part of having company for Sunday dinner for her was not the apple pie. It was hearing stories in the living room where the men's laughter rang out, and in the kitchen where the women told stories on each other as they washed the china. Whether tragic or hilarious, the stories often carried underlying themes of honesty, compassion, and the natural world.

Gifted by a grandfather with her first diary, Susan developed a lifelong habit of daily writing. She dropped Chemistry II so that she could add classes in Advanced Composition to her last two years at Warwick High School and get experience editing the literary magazine. She took Creative Writing classes at Eastern Mennonite College, where she also edited the literary magazine.

After earning a B.A. in English from the College of William and Mary, Susan began her teaching career. That career would eventually have her standing before French and English classes in elementary, middle, and high schools in Virginia and North Carolina as well as in central Africa.

In 1969, on the strength of a staticky ham radio connection, Susan decided to fly to Africa to marry a young man she hadn't seen in two years. This story is told in her first book Copper Moons (Herald Press, 1990). It is an account of their new marriage in an unfamiliar and vibrant country.

Later, with their children, they lived in rural Zaire as well as in Mauritania on the fringes of the Sahara Desert. In those years, Susan was both mother and teacher. Simply living in Africa brought new experiences every day and she wrote about them. They were published in magazines such as Christian Living, Mothering, and Purpose.

The love of reading she had as a child led her to pursue writing for children's publications. She became a regular contributor to Story Friends, With, and On the Line. Her book The Flying Pie and Other Stories (Herald Press, 1996) is a collection of stories gleaned from her home community.

Taking the course "Writing for Children and Teenagers" from the Institute of Children's Literature, Susan learned that Cricket Magazine had standards too high for beginning writers. Daring to give them a try, she got her first acceptance. She went on to publish four decades of writing in Cricket, Spider, Cicada and Click.

Awarded the position of resident fellow at the Island Institute in Sitka, Alaska, Susan spent April of 2000 in the shadow of snow-capped mountains. She gave talks and readings in the community and spent time working on the manuscript of Crow's Feet and Angel Feathers.

Susan and Robby have made their home in a century-old Virginia family farmhouse. Having published over 200 stories, books, and articles, Susan continues to journal and write. She and Robby enjoy sharing the flowers, birds, and butterflies of their home place with their eight grandchildren.