About

Annamarie Beckel, who now lives in Kelligrews, NL, grew up on a small farm in central Ohio among pigs and sheep, kittens and dogs. She pursued an academic career in ecology and animal behaviour at Miami University of Ohio and at the University of Minnesota before turning her research skills to historical fiction. She made her first trip to Newfoundland in 1976 while conducting doctoral research on river otters, for whom she has maintained an inordinate fondness.

Annamarie worked as a science writer for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1979-1990, and during that time completed her doctoral degree and published more than 50 scientific and non-technical articles in periodicals ranging from Science and Natural History to Parents Magazine. In 1987, she published Breaking New Waters: A Century of Limnology at the University of Wisconsin.

In 1990, she began working for an alcohol abuse prevention program on the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Indian reservation in northern Wisconsin, writing and publishing a monthly, healthy lifestyles newsletter including information on Ojibwe (Chippewa) history, language, and culture. She worked on the reservation until August 2004 when she moved to St. John’s, NL.

When Annamarie turned to writing fiction in 1993, the poignant story of William Cormack and Shawnawdithit came strongly to mind, and she retold that story in the novel, All Gone Widdun, published by Breakwater Books in 1999. In July 2005, Breakwater Books published Dancing in the Palm of His Hand, a novel about the European witch persecutions. In February 2008, Breakwater Books released Silence of Stone, a novel based on the legend of Marguerite de Roberval. Annamarie is working on her fourth novel.

Books

"DANCING IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND (ISBN: 1-55081-217-3) , ALL GONE WIDDUN (ISBN: 1-55081-147-9), and SILENCE OF STONE (ISBN: 978-1-55081-243-5) can be purchased from Breakwater Books, St. John's, NL, orders@breakwater.nf.net or 709-722-6680 or 800-563-3333 or from www.amazon.ca or www.chapters.ca . The books are available in the US from Brown Street Books in Rhinelander, WI at 715-362-5111 or brnstbks@newnorth.net .

Contact

Annamarie can be reached at abeckel@nl.rogers.com.