When Sisters Talk

Gwen Kruger was born and raised in Yakima Washington. She lived between a cow pasture and an apple orchard with her parents and siblings. As a young child she and her dog Skippy disappeared through the orchard looking for the origins of the wind. She told Skippy everything she knew. Another great listener was Peter the Rabbit. She used to hide in the cage and talk his ears off, well, almost. During the summers her family did a lot of hiking in what is now the William O Douglas Wilderness Area. One summer they hiked over 100 miles just on weekend trips. She grew to love the forest with all of its varied flora and fauna. She has always loved books and equally loved writing. Her mother was usually upset with her because she would read instead of fixing dinner or doing her chores. Mom didn’t know that she read into the wee hours of the morning with a hidden flashlight under the blankets on her bed. A true undercover agent. (They could never find the flashlight, but it magically appeared when they needed it for hiking.) She began teaching second grade when their children were in school, and taught right through until after she had her granddaughter in class. During that time, her classes published 4 hardback books in 4 years, winning a nationwide award for their book, The Trouble With Pilgrims. They also put on a collaborative play for the entire school nine of the last ten years. Two members of her critique group rented an office and that is where the group met. There were some strange sounds in the building Gwen had ideas of a story about the building and the things that were happening, and the group encouraged her to write it. Of course she couldn’t use the actual people in the group or the actual location, so she made up a group of women, and a setting. Twice a month Gwen brought a new segment of what was happening in the fake critique group. Each time she made up bigger and bigger tales about the women in the group, creating what is now the tale of Don’t Kill the Opera. (The women have decided that they like the fake people just fine) Now retired, Gwen and her husband play on their five acres of forest. She still writes stories and entertains the family with her sense of humor. (The squirrels laugh a lot, too!)