Author Q&A
I am... Wendy-with-a-why. Jesus Freak, Word nerd, happy wife, Mama bear, baby Nonni, beach bum, bookworm, prayer warrior, Wildcat, Swiss miss, sinner, saint.
Q: How did your parents pick your name?
A: I got my name from a literary character named Wendy Darling… or so I was told. You might know her better as the female lead in Walt Disney’s “Peter Pan.” Not Tinker Bell… the other female lead. (The human one.)
As it turns out - much like the fictional Wendy - I’m surrounded by boys and a pixie girl (and one floppy-eared dog), and I tend to mother pretty much everyone within reasonable distance. So there’s that.
My middle name is Beth. And while I relate more closely to the character of Jo March in “Little Women,” I like to think that perhaps I got a touch of Beth’s tenderhearted nature. (And my mom’s.)
Q: What were your favorite stories or books when you were a child?
A: Books are my love language… and have been as long as I can remember. The local library was - and is - one of my happy places! My mom used to take us to the library often, especially in the summertime. (I think she wanted to keep us busy and quiet. Good thinking, Mom.) I remember checking out a big stack of books each week, sometimes so many that they were too heavy to carry to the car in one trip.
As a young reader, I loved the Beverly Cleary and EB White books, Nancy Drew mysteries, and I especially enjoyed a book called “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” about a brother and sister who run away to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. I devoured Judy Blume’s books and the “Little House” series - in chronological order, of course. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books were my favorites in elementary school… and I had the great joy of reading some of them with Chloe (after she “graduated” from the Junie B. Jones series).
When I was a little older, I read “Little Women” and “Little Men” by Louisa May Alcott. I was transfixed. The March girls and Marmee are exquisitely written, and Jo remains my literary heroine to this day. (I recently read a heartwrenching, Pulitzer Prize-winning book called “March” by Geraldine Brooks who imagines the story of Jo’s father during the Civil War years. The book cover touted it as harrowing and moving… and it was.) But above all these beloved books my very favorites were the Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis. Oh my! The characters and storylines are simply enchanting… and they echo the sweeping narratives of scripture so vividly. I hope to have the profound privilege of reading “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” to each of my grandchildren. What a sweet blessing that would be!
Q: What was your very first job?
A: When I was 15 (and a sophomore in high school), I applied for a work permit so I could earn a little money (for movie tickets, “cool” jeans and McDonald’s cheeseburgers - Mickey D’s was our go-to gathering place after Friday night football games in Naperville). Since I’m a bit of a bookworm, I figured the local library would be a comfortable place to work. I was hired as a page (shelving returned books according to the Dewey Decimal System) at Nichol’s Library downtown. I was thrilled with my wages (a whopping $3.65 an hour) and I remember that sweet satisfaction of cashing my first paycheck.
During summer break, I worked full-time (8 hours, 5 days a week), and I happily chose to work the split shift (9 am - 1 pm and 5 - 9 pm) so I could spend my afternoons at Centennial Beach, the swimming quarry just a mile from the library. Nice paycheck, good tan and lots of summer reading material at my fingertips!
That job turned out to be a triple blessing! I earned some “fun money.” I got to read whenever we were slow. And my classmate Lisa was a library page at the time too. God gave me a great first job - and a lifelong friend - at our local library.
And I’ve been a proud library card holder in every community I’ve lived in since then.
Q: Who is your favorite author and why?
A: My favorite author is the Author of life, Author of our salvation, Author and finisher of our faith, the Word made flesh... Jesus! He has written (and will continue to write) the most brilliant and breathtakingly beautiful stories of all. And he offers every one of us the "happily ever after" we deeply long for. This Author's single "publication" is the best-selling book of all time: the Bible. (Roughly 5 billion copies printed... and counting!)
