A speaker, artist, author, musician, educator, mother and grandmother, Patsie McCandless grew up on a rural island in Rhode Island, where she taught sailing, took a ferry to school, and eventually taught primary school for thirty years. Patsie's father was Commander Michael Phalen Smith, a Light On character who taught her to sail, and designed and built the Rooster Class sailboats mentioned in this book. Patsie is also an award-winning artist in cut paper (PaperSolo.com). She exhibits in International Miniature shows, and her PaperSolo artwork series is in the permanent collection of the St. Petersburg Opera Company in Florida.A special gift led her to a monastery on the Hudson River in upstate New York for a writing retreat with Madeleine L'Engle, and she has not stopped writing since. In addition, Patsie's great-great grandmother is Margarethe Grimm (1824 - 1908). Family lore has always passed along the suggestion that she is related to the Brothers Grimm - which is a fairytale of a place to be as an author. This is the fourth book in the inspiring Becoming Jesse series, winner of multiple prestigious awards: Mom's Choice Gold Medal Award, the Family Choice Award, the Zamiz Press Book Cover Image Award, and a Finalist Award from The Wishing Shelf Book Awards (UK). Patsie and her husband live near Philadelphia, PA and enjoy the everyday magic of their children and grandchildren.
