Author Information

Mary Ann Shaffer spent her life working as an editor and in libraries and bookstores. Indeed, Shaffer lived a literary life, yet her first book was not published until shortly after her death in 2008. Late in her life, Shaffer was convinced by her book club that she should begin writing a novel. Yet, having been diagnosed with cancer, she was aware that she might not be able to complete the book before she died.

Shaffer enlisted the help of her niece, Annie Barrows, an accomplished author of children's books. Barrows discussed the collaboration with her aunt in an online Novel Journey interview noting that "before I began, I was a little worried about my ability to carry through with Mary Ann's voice, but once I sat down and started writing, I realized that hers was a voice and a style that I knew from the inside out--because I had been hearing it all my life. Mary Ann and my mother always lived near each other, and their stories were the wallpaper of my life. Without noticing it, I had come to tell a story in the same way that she did, so working on the book felt very natural." (from Contemporary Authors Online)