A Bit About Bobi
I decided to be a writer when I was in the fourth grade. Our teacher asked us to write a poem about autumn-- my favorite season. I spent a lot of time writing and revising that poem. Imagine my excitement when the teacher posted it on the class bulletin board! That afternoon one of the other girls started a rumor that I'd copied my poem. She'd read it in a magazine, she told our classmates. Several believed her and ran to tell our teacher. I should have been angry, I suppose, but instead I was elated. I imagined people DID see my work in a magazine and I became determined that someday this would happen. And so it has! I've sold over 100 articles for adults, teens, and younger readers.
I also love to travel! I've been to Hawaii and Alaska, and all but six of the other states. I especially like to explore national parks and historical landmarks. Some I've been to are: Denali, Lassen, Muir Woods, Yosemite, Mt. Zion, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and Mt. Rushmore. I've been inside Coit Tower in San Francisco and the Statue of Liberty in New York. But there's still a lot to see!
My first chance to travel outside the United States came about because of my writing. While I was a columnist and feature writer for Dog World Magazine, I was invited to visit a research facility in England along with a few other writers and editors. My experiences were amazing! Since then I've also been to Iceland, Scotland, Canada, Mexico, Germany, the Netherlands, the Caymans, the Bahamas, St. Maarten, Japan, and Okinawa (though not in this order!).
One of the best parts of traveling to new places is learning how other people do things. I try new foods and beverages and try to find out what people who live in that area like to do. It's also fun to learn what the popular expressions are, and I try to learn at least a few new words. Sometimes I ask if they have questions about my country. It's interesting to see how other people view America.
One of my favorite quotes mixes my love of travel with my love of writing: "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page." ~ Augustine of Hippo
In my teens, I was encouraged and supported in my writing by my 9th grade English teacher, Virginia Hastings, and her husband, Joe Hastings, who was my journalism teacher throughout high school. But my career truly took off thanks to my membership and participation in the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, and through the Author's Guild.