Kathleen Patrick is a poet and fiction writer with an MA in Creative and Professional Writing whose work includes poetry, short stories, and novels. She writes for adults, teens, and children. Her work has received honors from the Academy of American Poets as well as Loft-McKnight Awards in poetry and fiction. Airmail: A Story of War in Poems was her first published book. Mercy is her first coming-of-age novel, and Anxiety in the Wilderness is her first book of short stories. Perfume River, is a contemporary novel about searching for happiness in trying times. Her latest book, The Shoe Box Waltz is a gripping multidimensional novel that will leave you unsettled until the very end. Patrick describes herself as an "anxious optimist" full of hope; her books reflect that optimism and the importance of love and family. She taught middle school for over twenty years and said teaching seventh grade was the best job ever. She lives in Minnesota and enjoys reading, traveling, and watching college basketball. She was once the hula hoop champion of Osceola County.Read more about this authorRead less about this author