Stuff to Know About Cheryl Blackford
I was born in England but now I live in the US, spending the summers in Minnesota and the winters in Arizona. When I have the opportunity, I love to travel and hike in new places. The photo above was taken in New Zealand, one of the loveliest places I've visited. I like to spend time outdoors and often find inspiration for settings in my books from places I either love or find really interesting.
What else would you like to know about me?
Q: Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Hull, a city in Yorkshire, England. I lived there with my parents, sister and brother and a succession of pets including cats, hamsters, and gerbils.
Q: Why did you move to America?
After I married and had two children, my husband was offered a job in Minnesota. It was supposed to be for two years and we thought it would be an exciting opportunity. We were right about the exciting opportunity but not the two years - we've been here for over 30 years now!
Q: Was it difficult to move to another country?
It was. We arrived in Minnesota in the winter. It was so cold I didn't see how we'd survive. I had never seen lakes covered in ice so thick you could drive a car over them and there was so much snow. And in the summer there were tornadoes and mosquitoes the size of bald eagles. (That's not quite true. But boy, those mosquitoes were everywhere.) I was lonely - I missed my family and friends. In this whole huge country the only people I knew were my husband and children. But it didn't take us long to settle in and now we're American citizens.
Q: Did you like reading books when you were a child?
I was a bookworm! At night when I was supposed to be sleeping I'd read under my bed covers using a flashlight. By the time I was about nine I wanted to borrow some of the adult books. That wasn't usually allowed but the librarian pulled an adult book off the shelf to test my reading skills. She was surprised when I read the pages aloud with no difficulty. After that I could choose any book I wanted from the whole library, not just the children's section.
Q: Did you always want to be a children's writer?
I always loved writing but I never thought I could be an actual author. I studied geology at university, then I became an elementary school teacher and when we moved to Minnesota I wrote technical manuals and information on web sites. I even helped design some early computer games. But eventually I realized what wopuld really make me happy would be to write children's books. I've published five now and another is on the way.
Q: What were you favotie books when you were a child?
There were so many you can read about them on my favorite books page.
What else would you like to know about me?
Q: Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Hull, a city in Yorkshire, England. I lived there with my parents, sister and brother and a succession of pets including cats, hamsters, and gerbils.
Q: Why did you move to America?
After I married and had two children, my husband was offered a job in Minnesota. It was supposed to be for two years and we thought it would be an exciting opportunity. We were right about the exciting opportunity but not the two years - we've been here for over 30 years now!
Q: Was it difficult to move to another country?
It was. We arrived in Minnesota in the winter. It was so cold I didn't see how we'd survive. I had never seen lakes covered in ice so thick you could drive a car over them and there was so much snow. And in the summer there were tornadoes and mosquitoes the size of bald eagles. (That's not quite true. But boy, those mosquitoes were everywhere.) I was lonely - I missed my family and friends. In this whole huge country the only people I knew were my husband and children. But it didn't take us long to settle in and now we're American citizens.
Q: Did you like reading books when you were a child?
I was a bookworm! At night when I was supposed to be sleeping I'd read under my bed covers using a flashlight. By the time I was about nine I wanted to borrow some of the adult books. That wasn't usually allowed but the librarian pulled an adult book off the shelf to test my reading skills. She was surprised when I read the pages aloud with no difficulty. After that I could choose any book I wanted from the whole library, not just the children's section.
Q: Did you always want to be a children's writer?
I always loved writing but I never thought I could be an actual author. I studied geology at university, then I became an elementary school teacher and when we moved to Minnesota I wrote technical manuals and information on web sites. I even helped design some early computer games. But eventually I realized what wopuld really make me happy would be to write children's books. I've published five now and another is on the way.
Q: What were you favotie books when you were a child?
There were so many you can read about them on my favorite books page.
