CL Dautel

I grew up in rural Kansas, where there was plenty of time for reading.  My mother (an English teacher) took my sisters and I with great frequency to the library.  My imagination developed rather effusively; I was certain, for instance, that a little man with a poison dart gun lived among our the basement storage, that a very skinny civilization conducted life within the walls of our home, and that a Bengal tiger (somehow) hid itself in the school bathroom.

Before I learned my letters, I dictated short stories to my mother.  She would read them back to me, and always I insisted on changes and corrections.  Gamely my mother worked with me until I was pleased with the story.  (I imagine she was glad when I learned to write.)  Throughout my childhood, I continued to put stories on paper.  It was my passion.

Eventually I went to Kansas State, where I graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa.  I did a Masters in geography, married, and had four children.  My writing had long been pushed aside; I seemed never to find time for it.  I read many, many books to my kids, though, reacquainting myself with the children’s market.  I discovered fantasy, which was a genre I didn’t read as a child.  For the past five years I’ve volunteered in the school library, visiting with the kids about books, and learning what is available on the shelves.