Photo by Crutchfield Photography
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT:
SHEILA TURNAGE Meet best-selling author Sheila Turnage. She hails
through me. She let me read to third-graders and I was
from Farmville, NC and is the best selling author of the
hooked! I thought, “This is it! I’m a writer!”
Three Times Lucky children’s series. Her new poetry
I’ve written a lot of books and magazine articles since
book, Just Off Half-Moon Road, was just published by
then – both fiction and non-fiction. Just Off Half-Moon
Main Street Rag.
Road is my first poetry collection, and I am so excited to see it going out in the world.
Q: Tell us about your family. A: My husband, Rodney, and I live in an old farmhouse on
Q: Tell us a bit about your popular Mo & Dale book series.
a family farm near Farmville. We have a host of critters,
A: I’m best known for the mysteries I write for young
chickens, guineas, a couple of sweet-faced goats, and an
readers. I’m the author of Three Times Lucky, a mystery
overconfident goose named Gus. I almost forgot the dog,
I say is for readers age 10 to 100, and the award-winning
Callie! We have a lot of family nearby, too, and that makes
series of books that sprang from that. Three Times Lucky,
life really sweet for us.
which Dial/Penguin Random House publishes, won a Newbery Honor and was a New York Times Bestseller.
Q: Tell readers a little about your writing background/
It’s a fun story, like all the books in that award-winning
education?
series, but I’ll tell you a secret: It’s the poetry and the
A: By far, Pat O’Leary’s creative writing class at Pitt
humor in those books that make them come alive.
Community College has been the biggest educational influence on me as a writer. I took her class for years. I
I use a lot of undercover poetry to give my prose depth
learn best by experience and practice, and I learned so
and bring it to life. Readers respond to that, whether
much there!
it’s a young writer emailing me to ask me how I make a metaphor, or a grandfather emailing to tell me a
Actually, though, I decided to be a writer in first grade.
particular image touched his heart. Poetry and humor
My first-grade teacher, Miss Agnes Fullilove, read my
really connect with people. You’ll see that when you read
very first story and said, “This is an excellent story and
these poems too. Some of them are flat-out funny, and
you are an excellent writer.” Those words sank all the way
others will touch your heart.
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Her Magazine — November 2021
www.reflector.com/her
