Lori Degman
Children's Book Author
About me
Here's a picture
of
(L-R) me,my
sister,
Mindy
and
my twin
sister,
Julie.
I grew up in a northern suburb of Chicago, with my mother, brother and sisters, Rick, Mindy and Julie, and our cat, George.
I earned a Bachelors Degree in Deaf Education from MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois, and a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education from National-Louis University.
Now, I am an Itinerant Hearing Teacher - that means I go from school to school working with students who are deaf or hard of hearing. It's a great job!
I currently live in a suburb of Chicago with my husband, John, my sons, Sean and Brian and my dogs, Pippa and Tucker.
Here's a picture of me today
(well, not actually 'today' but
recently).
Questions I get asked frequently:
* When did you start writing?
I actually started writing my first book, a novel, in third grade. It was called "Susie Goes To The Moon". I had three chapters finished and I brought it with me to my friend Patricia's house. I left it on the coffee table while we went to get a snack and, when I came back, her brother Adam had ripped the entire thing to shreds! I was so upset that I couldn't get myself to start again!
* Where do you get your story ideas?
Usually a sentence or phrase pops into my head or I'll hear someone say something that just sounds like it'd be a great story or a great first line in a story.
* How long did it take to get 1 ZANY ZOO published?
I wrote the first draft of 1 ZANY ZOO in 1991 - long before most of its intended audience was born! I did some revisions of it during the next few years and sent it out to publishers but all I got were rejection letters. When I went back to work in 1995, I put all my writing away because I was too busy. Then, two years ago, when my younger son, Brian, went off to college and I became an empty nester, I pulled out my stories again. I polished up the old ones and started writing new ones. I began reading everything I could about writing and getting published. I attended conferences and workshops and I got a lot of help from other writers. Finally, when I thought the manuscript was good enough, I entered it in the Spoonfuls Of Stories contest and I won!! So, that was the long way of saying it took 18 years to bring 1 ZANY ZOO from idea to publishing contract and one more year to publication (it's coming out next year)!
* When did you start writing?
I actually started writing my first book, a novel, in third grade. It was called "Susie Goes To The Moon". I had three chapters finished and I brought it with me to my friend Patricia's house. I left it on the coffee table while we went to get a snack and, when I came back, her brother Adam had ripped the entire thing to shreds! I was so upset that I couldn't get myself to start again!
* Where do you get your story ideas?
Usually a sentence or phrase pops into my head or I'll hear someone say something that just sounds like it'd be a great story or a great first line in a story.
* How long did it take to get 1 ZANY ZOO published?
I wrote the first draft of 1 ZANY ZOO in 1991 - long before most of its intended audience was born! I did some revisions of it during the next few years and sent it out to publishers but all I got were rejection letters. When I went back to work in 1995, I put all my writing away because I was too busy. Then, two years ago, when my younger son, Brian, went off to college and I became an empty nester, I pulled out my stories again. I polished up the old ones and started writing new ones. I began reading everything I could about writing and getting published. I attended conferences and workshops and I got a lot of help from other writers. Finally, when I thought the manuscript was good enough, I entered it in the Spoonfuls Of Stories contest and I won!! So, that was the long way of saying it took 18 years to bring 1 ZANY ZOO from idea to publishing contract and one more year to publication (it's coming out next year)!
Some of my little known talents:
* I know sign language.
* I know sign language.
* I can juggle.
* I speak Pig Latin - iay eakspay igpay atinlay.
* I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue.
* I'm pretty good at word and number puzzles.
* I do Tarot Card readings ~ ooooooh!
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