About Us

Vivian Gilbert Zabel

About Vivian

                                                         About the Author
                                   (more than anyone ever wanted to know about me)

         Since I was born on an Air Force base (Randolph AFB, Texas), right under the flight path, I knew I had to be a plane. I
often wondered if I were a B52 or a C130. No one can imagine the surprise, the dismay, the shock I felt when my mother told
me I was a person. I often wondered why I had people for parents.

         One thing, before I continue - no, I did not watch the Wright brothers test their plane. I'm not that old.

         Now, for some of the boring stuff. Born July 28,1943, I traveled all over the United States and half way around the world
west and east. I started in Texas and graduated from high school in Limestone, Maine. I lived on Guam and in Morocco. As an
'Air Force brat,' I followed my father to most places the military assigned him.

         I married my husband on February 18, 1962. After our three living children were in school, I returned to college and
studied to become a teacher. I taught school for over twenty-seven years, grades five through twelve from time to time, but
mainly high school. I taught English, speech, drama, debate, French, yearbook, newspaper, creative writing - I think that's all.
Now I write poetry, stories, articles, and books, as well as frantically learning the publishing trade.

         When I'm not writing, I'm attending ball games or traveling. Thanks to three grown children, I have ten grandchildren,
two great grandsons, and three great-granddaughters. Three of the grandchildren live about an hours drive from me, and all
three boys play all kinds of ball (baseball, basketball, football, and trying track and field). That's one reason some of my stories
and books are about boys who play ball and have adventures.

         Oklahoma, which means "Land of the Red People," has been my home for most of my life. I don't think I would ever want
to live anywhere else. The state has sandy beaches around a large salt lake, hills so tall they are nearly mountains, farm land
and forests, flat land and rolling hills, cities and rural areas. Our state isn't heavily populated. Our two major cities, Oklahoma
City (which is also the capital) and Tulsa aren't as large as Dallas or Los Angeles, but we can find almost anything we could
want here. We have Broadway plays and community theater; we have minor league baseball and the University of Oklahoma
Sooner football; we have a classical symphony and the Oklahoma Opry. We can claim Garth Brooks, Reba McIntire, and Toby
Keith, just to name a few of the celebrities from my home state.

         Home is where the heart is, and my heart is with my family in Oklahoma, Colorado, California, New Mexico, West
Virginia, and Florida, even if my head may be buried in a book - whether reading or writing.