I currently reside in the Blue Ridge Mountains on the Western tip of North Carolina. A great deal of inspiration comes from being in the expansive Pisgah National Forest. For 15 years I taught chil...view moreI currently reside in the Blue Ridge Mountains on the Western tip of North Carolina. A great deal of inspiration comes from being in the expansive Pisgah National Forest. For 15 years I taught children from 2nd grade up about self reliance, team building, science and history using experiential education and 'hands on' teaching.The Ki-yo-te tales themselves began about 12 years when my son was just taking in interest in reading and stories. Every other night for the next decade I would make up tales about the Ki-yo-te and his adventures as bed time stories. After a while, they took on a life of their own. He encouraged me to write them down and gave a few copies to his friends. One of those friends walked up to me one day with a printed and stapled copy of the 'Forbidden Forest' on top of a stack of library books. He told me that my story was the best one he had read. I decided then to give see if I could get my stories out to the world.view less