Margaret Willey

For the past decade, I have been writing and rewriting A Summer of Silk Moths, hoping that it would eventually become my re-entry into the genre of young adult fiction, which is where I first began publishing, back in the early eighties. My earlier novels for teenagers include The Bigger Book of Lydia (Harper and Row 1981), an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and Facing the Music (Delacorte 1998), an ALA Quick Pick. A Summer of Silk Moths is a tribute to a novel I loved as a girl--A Girl of the Limberlost, by Gene Stratton Porter. Both stories feature a fatherless but fearless girl and a moth collection. Stratton's classic novel is set in the Limberlost swamps of Indiana. My novel unfolds on the banks of the St. Joseph River in Buchanan, Michigan.

Like Limberlost, my novel showcases the great North American Silk Moths. They are presented as symbols of creativity, mystery, dream life, and regeneration. My novel also reflects my long-standing belief that damaged children can find emotional healing in the natural world.

It is also a love story. And a mystery.

I am happy to announce the A Summer of Silk Moths will be published by Flux, an exciting new press for young adult fiction, in Fall 2009. You can learn more about Flux by going to: Fluxnow.

For thirty years, I have written in many different genres, enjoying them all equally. My current work reflects this. Most recently, I have published the picture book The 3 Bears and Goldilocks (Atheneum 2008), illustrated by Heather Solomon. With this book, my love affair with folktales and fairy tales continues...

Earlier in the decade, I wrote 3 folktales for children, all of which featured the character Beatrice, a very brave and very clever girl from the north woods. Clever Beatrice, illustrated by the amazing Heather Solomon, was awarded the 2002 Charlotte Zolotow Award. To discover a website designed for my youngest readers, visit Clever Beatrice.

In 2008 I published this haunting peace fable--something very authentic--a folktale I found while doing research on French Canadian folklore. The folktale, set during the Napoleonic Wars in France, was called Les Sept Belle Demoiselles. I retold this story in my own voice and searched for the right way to send it back into the world with its timeless message of peace. Eventually I found a wonderful artist who created highly original folk art illustrations. Along with a team of other creative souls, we have produced a book that is intended to wage peace in a time of war. All proceeds for the book go to to peace related events and projects at Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan--a church that is known far and wide as a beacon of progressive Christianity, peace activism, and social responsibility. The book is titled The Forest Boy. It is a story for all ages, beautifully illustrated by the artist Jane Leonard. Order copies of Forest Boy at the Quick Link above.