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WINNER OF THE 2002 CARNEGIE MEDAL
Ruby Holler is a beautiful and mysterious place, deep in the country, a
"basin in the hills. . .where cool breezes drifted through the trees, and
where the creek was so clear that every stone on its bottom was visible."
An
older couple, Tiller and Sairy, live in the holler and are looking
for new adventures, each of them hoping to set off on a trip. When
they invite the
"trouble twins," Dallas and Florida, to join them, all of their lives take
new turns.
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The understone funds evolved in a rather strange way. Many years ago, a
Russian friend of my sister and her husband was visiting them and became
interested in a chipmunk which lived in their backyard, appearing and
disappearing into a hole beneath a stone. The Russian friend referred to
the
chipmunk as their "understone friend." Somehow that stayed with me and
became understone funds.
In the chapter, "The God," Tiller talks about how a woman who had visited
recently had referred to him as 'a god.' Tiller is obviously quite proud of
this, but Sairy says, in her cool, ironic way, "And you believed her." This
is based on a story my sister told me about her husband. It seemed
to fit Tiller and Sairy perfectly.
Read more...
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About six years ago I received a letter from my aunt in which she
related a story about my father when he was young. She ended the
story with "and that was when we lived in the holler." Holler? I hadn't known about the holler
and was intrigued by the notion of my father and his many siblings and
parents living in this place.
I began to imagine the place, and as I did so, I knew it would be a
great setting for a story, but it was several years before I began
to see who the
characters might be who would live in this holler. I think that the
older couple, Tiller and Sairy, evolved because I was thinking of my
grandparents
living in a holler, and this couple resembles my grandparents in some ways.
The children, Dallas and Florida, probably came to life because I'd been
thinking of my father as a mischievous child (that was evident in the
original story my aunt told) and his equally-mischievous siblings.
After I'd begun the story, I saw a real photo of my grandparents' house in
the holler. The house was but a tiny shack, rather decrepit looking, and
the
holler wasn't as enchanting as the one I imagined. I'm glad I didn't see
the photo before I began the story!
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