Josh has been living with Aviva and her family for. If you are one of my readers I hope you have as much enjoyment in reading my stories as I have writing them. This sequel to Crazy Christmas explores the developing friendship between eighth graders, Josh and Aviva. I love knowing that some day readers will get to know these characters, too. But when I'm writing a story I don't feel lonely because I am actively involved with lots of interesting people – the characters in my books.

Some people think that a writer's life is lonely. From my apartment I have a view of Manhattan that includes the Empire State Building and the Plaza Hotel. I live on the top floor of a sixteen-story building near the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. I liked it so much that eventually I stopped teaching and became a fulltime writer.īesides novels for children and young adults, I've also told stories by writing scripts for television and the movies. It was a surprise to discover that I liked making up stories and writing them down. Continues during their argument in the kitchen. After a few years of teaching junior high and high school, I wrote my first novel. Dean hugs Cindy in the kitchen before it flashes back to their wedding day. I wanted to be a tap dancer when I grew up. I was a terrible speller and didn't want to write any more than I had to.

In her free time she draws, oil paints, gardens, and reads.When I was growing up I never thought of being an author. She currently lives either on the top floor of a sixteen-story building near the American Museum of Natural History in New York City or in her home in Connecticut. She wrote her first children's book, SMILE! How to cope with braces, in 1982 when her daughter Nicole has braces, and soon became a full time author. Betancourt also married and had a daughter, Nicole. Women in Focus, her first published work, focuses on her master's degree project.īetancourt moved to New York City, where she taught public high school. Joseph the Provider and a Master of Arts degree in film from New York University in 1974. She earned a Bachelor of Science in 1964 from the College of St. After graduating high school, she moved to Rutland, Vermont where she entered the Sisters of Saint Joseph, a teaching order of nuns. Lifetime Achievement Award, Hamilton School at Wheeler, 2004 Scripts Cable Ace Award Finalist for Stacy Takes A Stand, HBO. Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children, National Science Teachers Association/Childrens Book Council, for SMILE How to Cope with Brace, Knopf. When she grew too tall (at five feet, eight inches) to be a Rockette, she decided to become a nun in her junior year of high school. IRA/CBC Children’s Choice Award for Valentine Blues. Instead, she wanted to dance, and studied tap dancing. During her childhood, she never considered being an author. She lived across from a dairy farm this rural setting would later influence many of her works. Betancourt was born and raised in rural Vermont.

Valentine Blues by Jeanne Betancourt