I am a novelist and NPR commentator. My first novel THE QUEEN OF OCTOBER was a New York Times Notable book, my second REPLACING DAD became a CBS movie, my third THE TURNING HOUR, about a high school senior recovering from a suicide attempt, was used in the Alachua County school district as a suicide prevention project and won a Governor’s award in 2006. My bestselling children’s nonfiction book BARBARO, AMERICA’S HORSE is becoming a standard in schools as it features genetics, mythology and veterinary science in telling the story of the racehorse that caught the nation’s attention in 2006. I am married to John Parker Mickle who was the pediatric neurosurgeon at Shands for more than 20 years, and we have two grown children and three grandchildren. I live on a farm in Alachua County with 2 horses, 2 dogs and a tailless cat. We also have started a press featuring books for and about children living with physical differences.