After graduating in 1973, she worked briefly as a barn painter; a year later she was married with two young stepchildren. Being a full-time mother became her priority until the children were older; then she enrolled at Syracuse University and earned an advanced degree in library science. Graduating in 1980, DeFelice got a job as a school librarian in Newark, New York. It would be this job that sparked her interest in both storytelling and writing children's books.
Captures Young Imaginations through Storytelling
DeFelice teamed up with music teacher Mary DeMarsh in a storytelling venture called the Wild Washerwomen. DeFelice and her partner began telling stories in schools throughout upstate New York, and after the sessions, intrigued members of their young audience would invariably ask her if those stories were written down somewhere so they could read them. It did not take many such requests to prompt DeFelice to put pen to paper, resulting in a series of entertaining popular picture books and, later, novels for young readers.
Her first book was The Strange Night Writing of Jessamine Colter, which was published in 1988. The inspiration for the story came from a nightmare DeFelice had one night.
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