Non-Stop Reads: 10 Things You Don’t Know About Harriet Hodgson

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

10 Things You Don’t Know About Harriet Hodgson

10 Things You Don’t Know About Nonfiction Author Harriet Hodgson

I’ve been a freelance writer for 35+ years. My career began when I was teaching at a private nursery school and I wrote a book about making toys and games from trash. At the time, I also submitted articles to teaching journals, and they were all published. “This is fun,” I said to myself, “and I get to see my name in print.” A new career was born.
I am the author of 32 published books. My first sale was to Warner Books. Titled “I Made it Myself!” the book had a second printing and sold well. After this success, I wrote three more books for teachers about making toys, games, and contraptions from safe throw-aways.
I have 32 published books to my credit. Though some of my books are long and some are short, I count every one. Non-writers may not realize that writing “short” is harder than writing “long” and takes more time. For me, writing short is like writing poetry.
I had a poem published in the American Anthology of Poetry. It is called “First Steps, First Snow” and based on a night walk in the North woods of Wisconsin. Even if I’m the author, I can say I love this poem so much I asked a calligrapher to letter it for me. The framed poem hangs in the front entry of the house. I also wrote a book of poetry for young children.
I am a bereaved parent. In 2007 my elder daughter died from the injuries she received in a car crash. Two days later, my father-in-law succumbed to pneumonia. Eight weeks after that my brother, and only sibling, had a heart attack and died. In the fall, my grandchildren’s father died in another car crash. My husband and I were appointed as their legal guardians.
I changed my writing because of grief. Before the deaths I was writing about aging, Alzheimer’s, and other health topics. A week after my daughter and father-in-law died, I sat down at the computer and vowed to write my way through grief. Six grief resources came from this decision and you can learn more about them by visiting www.harriethodgson.com.
I speak at national conferences. Recent speaking engagements include the Association for Death Education and Counseling conference, and The Compassionate Friends national conference. In addition, I serve as a volunteer Forum Editor/Writer for www.opentohope.com, an Internet community for those who are grieving.
I’ve been married to my husband for almost 56 years. We met in college and married when we were both 21 years old. My husband is a retired physician, an internist and specialist in aviation medicine. He continues to fascinate me and I love him more every day.
I love to cook. Unfortunately, when it comes to cooking I am my best customer, and have to monitor my eating. Baking really makes me happy because it makes the house smell so good. Earlier in my writing career I was a food writer for a local magazine.
Other than family, writing is my passion. I write every day. My writing projects include Internet articles, brochure writing, article writing, and working on books. When I’m writing I become so absorbed in the task I lose all track of time.