About

Hello, my name is Cathy Schieffelin and I write. This is my guilty pleasure. Four years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Writing helped me process my diagnosis, treatment and recovery. Through writing workshops, online competitions and regular journaling, I’ve discovered a passion I can’t quite contain. In addition to honoring the memory of my grandmother, Wildflowers Press is a website to share stories and to wax poetic on the craft of writing. It’s also to promote my soon to be published, debut novel, The Call. I encourage readers and writers to engage with me. Chime in with feedback or share your stories. Afterall stories beget more stories. And that’s a good thing.

About Me:

I’m a work-from-home mom of three adult children. I live in New Orleans with my husband and our six-pack of hairy mongrels, a rabbit and aquatic turtle. We divide our time between New Orleans and the village of Folsom, on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain. Our Folsom house, nicknamed Clifford – because as our daughter aptly noted, “it’s big and red and full of dogs.” Tucked into the upland piney woods, it’s a peaceful place for writing and gardening, while watching our four-leggeds romp and roll.

Early Influences:

After college, I worked in many capacities in diverse places – from a rural healthcare organization in the mountains of Appalachia to the bustling, smog-filled city of Bogota, Colombia. These places informed the person and writer I am today. My first job as Assistant Editor for the Frontier Nursing Service Quarterly Bulletin in eastern Kentucky gave me a taste for journalism and desktop publishing. It also instilled in me a deep appreciation for remote and wild places.

I also taught English at a bilingual girl’s school in Bogota, followed by a Peace Corps volunteer position in the Comoros Islands where I met my husband, John. We settled in New Orleans and I returned to school for a Master’s in Public Health while he pursued a medical degree.

In the midst of childrearing, I began rescuing and rehabbing wildlife: bunnies, squirrels, baby birds, opossums… And then we adopted our first greyhound… leading to more adoptions… and then whatever mutt showed up in our yard or under the car. Hence the six pups we have today.

I’m fortunate to have married into an animal-crazed family. My in-laws, Jack and Marion, were serious wildlife enthusiasts and they indoctrinated me fully. A trip to see polar bears in Manitoba sparked a new venture. I founded a wildlife education program (Wild Times) where I brought biofacts, pelts and skulls, into schools, community centers and nursing homes around the city.

My early childhood forays in my grandmother’s suburban wilderness planted a seed – I wanted to see the world. I’ve been influenced by the people, food, landscape, music, architecture and religion of a place. My writing is layered in these elements.

And now I’ve written a novel, The Call – that begins in the sultry Comoro Island Archipelago where my very own love story began.

Join me on a journey with Nate and Juliette as their story unfolds over years and across continents.

But hold on for the ride as there are bumps and unexpected twists in the road.

~Cathy Schieffelin