Hello! My first name is easy to say, although I've secretly wanted it spelled, Ellyn. The last name is pronounced, Slan-ska.

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My favorite childhood memory is my yellow Schwinn 10-speed. Growing up in a small Michigan town located along Lake Huron, I felt freedom riding down the middle of deserted streets in the early morning hours, to state parks and inland lakes. But the best place it took me was to Grandpa and Grandma's house. There I listened to Grandpa's imitations of whip-poor-wills and chickadees while eating Grandma's sugar cookies.

 

Reading to my children, Mike and Christy, started my love of picture books. Our favorites included: The Widow's Broom, Silly Sally, Scruffy, Boober Fraggle's Celery Souffle, and The Z was Zapped, to name a few. When Mike became an adult, we talked about writing a picture book together and that thought resonated with me. But the question that begged to be asked was: Could I write? 

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While at Macomb Community College, an instructor encouraged me to enter an assignment titled, Grief Is... into the Changing Landscapes II writing contest. It won first place. Maybe there was some talent there, but few hours. I was pursuing a teaching position. Then life opened up time. Now I write informational fiction stories and hope to inspire learning through written words. (Most stories include a bird or two, but some beetles have wormed their way in.)

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Currently, southwest Michigan is my home where I live with my husband, our pet cockatiel Quiggley, and a backyard filled with chatter, drumming, and warnings when a hawk gives chase. I volunteer weekly at Blandford Nature Center and occasionally for Icing Smiles.

 

Thank you for visiting. 

 

Feed the birds. Eat chocolate. Keep doing what you love.

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Ellen