What lets the Legend of King Arthur transcend the centuries and all ages? A number of things.

First and foremost, the Legend is packed with adventure. Tales of knights fighting knights, rescuing damsels in distress, and the quest for the Holy Grail are found in vivid detail throughout the unending array of stories.

Second, the Legend is about heroes, the Knights of the Round Table: Lancelot, Tristram, Percival, Galahad and the many others. Specifically it is about the main hero, King Arthur.

Third, the Legend is about magic and mystery. Merlyn, the most famous magician ever, lives backwards in time!

Fourth, the Legend is about women and love. The regal Guinevere; the mysterious half sisters of Arthur: Morgan le Fay, Morgause, and Elaine; the witch Nimue who tricks Merlyn into revealing his secrets and then encloses him for life in a cave. The one thing all these women have in common is that they are misunderstood. Writers can't even cast them into the same mold, especially the sisters.

Last, the Legend is about Hope. Arthur and his kingdom are essentially a utopia. A perfect world, at least in the beginning. There is a definite line between right and wrong. Chivalry rules the day. Arthur is the ruler who works not for himself, but for his people. And in the time period that The Once and Future King was written (WWII), the Legend offered a safe haven for people's dreams.

My favorites, like The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, Golding's Lord of the Flies and The Once and Future King, were all written to offer hope to a world embroiled in another world war. A Tale of Two Cities illustrates how unselfish true love enables people to offer the supreme sacrifice to preserve that love, while Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment shows how circumstances can cause people to do despicable acts. The one book that connects of all of these texts as well as a multitude of others is Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces. The journey of the hero, depicted by Campbell, is a universal theme that never dies out.

My first book Guinevere: On the Eve of Legend introduces young readers to the timeless King Arthur Legend and Guinevere the girl as she struggles with growing up and fulfilling her destiny. I hope young readers develop an understanding of the girl Guinevere, how she is like them today. Everyone has to grow up; everyone has unpleasant choices to make; and that regardless of when we are born or how old we are, we don't always get our way. And when that happens, we have to accept it and move on. Good lessons for any age.

As a retired teacher, nothing invigorates me more than guiding young minds in exploring themselves and the world around them. Introducing young people to the literature of the ages and the importance of the written word (even their own!)is a thrill that has never subsided. And so today, I write for young readers (grades 3-6) and hope to capture their imaginations as they learn to love literature.

My second book Young Knights of the Round Table: The Kings' Ransom should be out later in 2011.

I also love to travel. My favorite trip was a two week visit to Egypt with my husband that included traveling by local train from one end of Egypt to the other.