I’m very proud to have gotten a five-moon review from Raspberry at Luna’s Book Club on New Moon Girls Online. New Moon is a great site where a lot of smart, cool girls share their creative spirits.

1.) Hi Jan! As I read your book 1, I was wondering, did you have to do lots of research on plants and nature to be able to make Birdie’s love for plants come to life?

Jan: I am a gardener in my area in central Texas but also asked my sister who lives in Denver and has gardened in England to help me. We researched the area where Granny Mo lives in the book, New Jersey, to make sure the plants we chose could really grow there. But I also added fantasy plants both at Mo’s and in Aventurine and some of the plants in Mo’s green house wouldn’t ordinarily grow in that area, but Mo is magic! It would be fun to see if girls who read the book can find out which plants are real and which ones are fantasy. I also love love love trees so it was easy to imagine the Glimmer Tree and make it play a major role in the story. The natural world has always been a source of inspiration for me. It is there that I feel most alive. Continue reading →