A Little Bit about Megan

As Betsy has begun the interview series, I'll explain that we decided to use a simple format of the same series of questions, asked of each interviewee. So you've learned A Little Bit About Betsy, here's A Little Bit About Megan, and we'll go from there. One thing I'll add is how Betsy and I started this blog.

We are so thankful for the handful of readers who have been kind enough to keep company with us! Thank you!

1. What is an early book you remember reading in your childhood?
I always loved fairy tales (my mother feared I was wasting my time and would never read anything else), but the book that stands out most in my memory is Magic Elizabeth about a girl who was visiting her Aunt Sally and trying to discover what had happened to a missing doll. I also loved the All-of-a-Kind-Family books by Sydney Taylor, Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden.

2. Is there a favorite poem or literary passage you have memorized, perhaps from your childhood?Sometime when I was in highschool I memorized "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes, in honor of Anne of Green Gables. I learned the poem from an old edition of Childcraft that had beautiful, haunting illustrations, and recited it (melo)dramatically at any opportunity that I could.

3. Who are three of your favorite authors? What is your favorite hot beverage?
Always hard to narrow it down! C.S. Lewis is one of the greatest ever, I think, not only for the Chronicles of Narnia, but also for Till We Have Faces, which is absolutely beautiful, poignant, and brilliant. I love the writing of Elizabeth Prentiss, especially Stepping Heavenward. Lois Lenski would have to be the third. I loved her regional fiction as a child and studied her historical fiction for my children’s literature thesis.

My favorite hot beverage is difficult to determine. I love hot tea (Teavana's Almondina Biscotti blend is my favorite), but we drink plenty of homemade lattes at our house. And of course, our signature homemade Saben Chai is hard to refuse…

4. What do you enjoy doing with your children and your family?
I asked my almost six-year-old this question and he answered "snuggling." He couldn't think of anything else. I am thankful to be homeschooling them so that our days are mutually engaging, the good along with the bad. We enjoy reading, taking nature walks and being creative...

5. Do you have other hobbies than reading/writing?
I have made a number of quilts over the last ten years: one for each of my three boys, one for a girl (if we ever have one!), one for the master bed, and a lap quilt for aforementioned snuggling. Now I’m more into knitting. I also love to make bread and wish I had more opportunities for ballroom or contra dancing!

7. Can you tell us anything about an early story or poem that you wrote--perhaps one you blush to recall but your mother or your wife kept it anyway?
My husband’s favorite of my early writing is a poem my mother kept about a goat who lived in a boat, and had a beak (hey, it rhymed with week and speak!). That’s all I’m going to say about that.

One more item...
8. How did Literaritea come to be?
Betsy and I attended Covenant College together and took a class on Children's Literature in which we were first introduced to the concept of T/truth and S/story. After graduation, I persuaded her to join me at Hollins University for a few summers to pursue a master's degree in Children's Literature (which was WAY too much fun!).

Some years later, after we were both married and had kids, I wanted to have a literary blog but couldn't keep up with it on my own. One day, while in the shower, the blending of "literature" and "tea" came to mind and I could hardly wait to see if anyone else had discovered this beautiful word: LiterariTea. Delightful--it ought to be in existence! Why not explore the pleasures of books AND tea?

Thankfully, Betsy agreed.