I thought I was an Indian Princess. Raised in the mountains and windswept plains of Wyoming, near the Wind River Reservation, my early years were spent in the shadow of the Tetons and roaming Yellowstone and Shoshone National Forest. I had a pinto pony and an aversion to shoes, along with my long dark braids. My family spent most weekends on archaeological digs discovering the culture and customs of the early Sheep Eater, Shoshone, and Arapaho tribes. A camping tent and river-chilled watermelon every weekend were a great way to grow up! Eventually I became an award-winning thirty-year professional public school educator and a mom, but I'm still a history and nature lover.

Authorship of The History Tree Series started as a concept introduced by my daughter, Tori, while walking the battlefield at San Jacinto, Texas. We brainstormed that a talking tree as an eyewitness to history-making events was a great way to engage children in learning and loving their heritage. As more volumes in the series debut, I anticipate an opportunity to reach children globally with their own local "celebritree" storyteller.