I was named after my great grandmother, Rebecca Burford. Everyone called her Becky, too. She lived as a slave until she was 12 years old. Although she lived to be 103 years old, I was still a baby when she died and I never met her.

Like Sarah Marie in my book Grandmama's Pride, I have a Mom, a Dad, and one sister. But in real life, I was the younger sister. Our family lived in Hampton, Virginia, then in Salisbury, Maryland, and finally moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when I was 4. That's where I grew up.

I always liked to write. I wrote stories and poems. When I was in 5th grade, my school had a poetry contest and I won first prize with a poem about my teacher. The prize was a silver dollar. I still have it.

My mom and dad gave me a lot of help and encouragement. My dad liked to tell funny family stories. My mom went back to school and became a children's librarian. So there were always lots of good books at our house. Some of my favorite books were the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and magic books by Edith Nesbitt and Edward Eager. My all-time favorite was A Little Princess by Frances Hodgeson Burnett.

Our family pets were a collie named Rudolph and later a cocker spaniel named Inky. We also had a black cat named Tinkerbell. Now I have a cat named Kyra.

When I graduated from high school, I went to college. I also worked, traveled, and took time off, so it took me a while to graduate from college. After I graduated, I worked at different kinds of jobs. I was a camp counselor and, later, a day care worker and a pre-school teacher. I also worked in a library and in book stores, and taught writing at colleges. Now I work for an organization that finds families to adopt kids who need families. I help to write for a website for adopted kids.

Along with writing, I love to read. I still read lots of children's books. Two other hobbies are folk dancing and playing the hammered dulcimer. I am a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).

I live in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, with my partner, Nancy, and daughter, Tasha. I have written three books for grownups. I have also won some awards and fellowships for my writing for grownups. Grandmama's Pride is my first book for children. But I am working on writing more.