Spokane Authors & Self-Publishers
– Member Biography –

CORA OLIVER

author/illustrator

I was born in 1934 at Bonners Ferry,  Idaho. As a tot living on Ruby Ridge, there was little to do. My mother taught me to draw on old paper sacks or whatever she had around the house. That was the beginning of my art. Throughout high school, I drew covers and cartoons for the school newspaper, SPRINGTIMES and designed and drew the covers for the school yearbook CHARGER for the years of 1950 and 1951.

My artwork was put aside to raise six children and take up a career at the age of 38. I retired from 23 years at the Spokane County Health District (as it was known then). Then, I took up pencil and paint again. 

Being a descendent of Anne Bradstreet, the first published American woman poet, I decided to try writing and attended the Seniors Writers’ Workshops through the Hillyard Senior Center under the instruction of Virginia White. 

Through this association, I designed the cover for SATIN GLOVES and other surprises published through the Spokane Falls Community College

Among the stories and books I have illustrated are Bear in a Closet, by Winnie Moore; A Great Catch, by Jolene Weller Fehér; OF HORSES, CATTLE AND MEN, by Al-Jack Dymond.

Nostalgia Magazine published several of my literary efforts, including Where the Hunt Begins and Mrs. Kline Brought the Sandwiches. 

For my family, I wrote My Growing Up Years: A Twig on the Family Tree.

I lived in and around  Spokane, Washington from 1939 to 2001 when my husband Darrel and I relocated to Kingman, Arizona. 

I have written and illustrated several children’s books and self-published them here in Arizona, including: Sally Spinner; Barn Cat; The Mystery of the Moving Headstone; Uncle Ebenezer; and The Getaway.

Now a grandmother of 12, retired in the desert with my husband of 50 years, I continue to write, draw and paint and also maintain my membership in SASP. I enjoy reading the newsletter and staying in contact with several members.

February, 2006

Spokane Authors

& Self-Publishers

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