Author Bio
Mary Jo McCauley resides in McAlester. She is a member of the Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc., The McAlester McSherry Writers, and the Tulsa NightWriters. She is the former president of the Tulsa NightWriters 2001-2003.
She is a fourth generation Oklahoman, and grew up listening to stories on her Grandfather's knee about living in Indian Territory. She loves the geography of Oklahoma, and the blended cultures the state has. Oklahoma has one of the most fascinating state histories. She was born in Tulsa and graduated from Will Rogers High School. She has a B.S. in Education from the University of Tulsa with an emphasis on social studies and minor in English and Journalism. She spent several years substitute teaching. She met her husband in 1974 when they worked at the same company, and they were married in 1975. "He's my hero". They have three children.
She finally found a teaching job at Prue High School in Prue Oklahoma, a K-12 school. She taught World history, Oklahoma history, Yearbook and Creative Writing. She decided to go back to college, and she graduated from the University of Tulsa with a BS in Nursing in 1993.
She writes fulltime now, and this is her first book. She has some others tucked away in drawers. She's been writing since childhood. An aunt who wrote back to her after she wrote to her & told her she had the "earmarks of a writer". She was on the high school paper. She's taken several writing classes at Tulsa Community College and completed a correspondence course on Novel Wring from Writer's Digest.
She's been published in True Story Magazine, Nursing 2001, and Writing For Dollars. She's received prizes in writing contests. She's written for newsletters and written for her own enjoyment. She's also working on a nonfiction book about her familly's experience with diabetes entitled Diabetes is a Manageable Disease.
She's a dog lover, and lives with three dogs: Skippy, Abby and Hayley. She lives to read books. She's a member of Grand Avenue Methodist Church in McAlester, and is a Christian and a student of the Bible.