Godfrey, Linda S. 1951-

PERSONAL:

Born March 20, 1951, in Madison, WI; daughter of Roland H. (a manager of a glass installation firm) and Elaine A. (a homemaker) Roberts; married Steven A. Godfrey (a civil engineer), August 19, 1972; children: Benjamin J., Nathan D. Ethnicity: "American of German, Czech, English, and Irish descent." Education: University of Wisconsin—Oshkosh, B.Ed., 1976; University of Wisconsin—Whitewater, graduate study. Politics: Independent. Religion: "Yes." Hobbies and other interests: Art comics, travel, reading.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Elkhorn, WI. Agent—(illustrations) Tom Stocki, Art Factory, 925 Elm Grove Rd., Elm Grove, WI 53122.

CAREER:

Week (county newspaper), Delavan, WI, reporter, columnist, and editorial cartoonist, 1989-2001; Kansasville School District, Kansasville, WI, art and library teacher, 2002-04; freelance illustrator, fine artist, public speaker, and writer, 2004—. Walworth County Arts Council, past president.

AWARDS, HONORS:

First-place awards, National Newspaper Association, best feature story in weeklies over 10,000 circulation, 1996 and 1998, and best health-related series, 2000; Media Award, Wisconsin Coalition against Domestic Violence, 1998.

WRITINGS:

The Poison Widow: A True Story of Sin, Strychnine, and Murder, Trails Books (Madison, WI), 2003.

The Beasts of Bray Road: Tailing Wisconsin's Werewolf, Trails Books (Madison, WI), 2003.

(With Richard D. Hendricks) Weird Wisconsin, Barnes & Noble (New York, NY), 2005.

Weird Michigan, Barnes & Noble (New York, NY), 2006.

Hunting the American Werewolf, Trails Books (Madison, WI), 2006.

Werewolves (young adult nonfiction), Chelsea House (New York, NY), 2007.

Strange Wisconsin: More Badger State Weirdness, Trails Books (Madison, WI), 2007.

Strange Michigan: More Wolverine State Weirdness, Trails Books (Madison, WI), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Linda S. Godfrey told CA: "Exploring the unknown fringes of human experience and myth has always been my passion. I love the novels of Thomas Hardy and Tolkien, and the eccentric fact-gathering of Charles Fort. In my own writing I usually organize material mentally before committing anything to paper. My best inspirations come from dreams or from meditating on long walks. My very earliest memories are of desperately wanting to learn to communicate through both writing and drawing, but I waited until word processors and then computers became available to begin my writing career. I revise so much that writing in longhand or on typewriters seemed too burdensome when I could instead create visual art. The correction process is much more enjoyable in paint—and I still see myself as an artist who learned to write, rather than the other way around."