Where I Live:  Grew up in northern New Jersey, went to college in Kentucky, spent some time in the Marshall Islands, and moved to Maryland in 1968.

 How I live:  With a great companion named Lou Martin; we’ve been cohabiting since 1981. We have one television set, two computers, and thousands of books.

Family: Two sons named David and Gary, and four grandchildren named Annika, Zachary, Sophie, and Charlotte (in order of age). Lou has a daughter-in-law named Leah, and three grandchildren named Kiely, John, and Joseph. We share all the grandchildren–it’s great.

Favorite exercise: Walking in the woods.    

Favorite place to visit: the British Isles.

Pets: Three cats named Bastet, Dickens and Zeno, all black with white feet.

Favorite Authors for Adults: Charles Dickens, Lewis Thomas, J.R.R. Tolkien, Connie Willis, John Wyndham, John McPhee, Bernd Heinrich, Dorothy Sayers, Ivan Doig, Terry Pratchett.

Favorite Authors for Kids: Jane Yolen, Arthur Ransome, J.K. Rowling, Peter Dickinson, Rudyard Kipling, Susan Cooper, Katherine Paterson, Rosemary Sutcliff, Diana Wynne Jones.