About me - Sheila Turnage

I grew up on a family farm in North Carolina near Tupelo Landing, where the Mo & Dale Mysteries are set, and a couple hours from Hatteras Island, where Island of Spies takes place.

I decided to become a writer in first grade, when I wrote my first story. My teachers helped me. I went to college at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, and earned a degree in anthropology.

I've written books for adults, poetry, magazine articles – but writing for kids is the best. Characters like Mo and Dale, and Stick, Neb and Rain are fun to write. They're smart, funny and brave.

I still live on the farm I grew up on, along with my husband Rodney, our dog Callie, a flock of chickens, a bossy goose and a couple of sweet-faced goats. We have a tin roof, and rain sounds beautiful on it. This year we planted a small meadow of wildflowers out front. We are loving it. So are the deer.

Sheila Turnage