Veronica Talks to Boys

Book 2 in The Veronica Series.

Veronica’s boyfriend really likes her, but when she tells him she’s black, he laughs, pinches her cheek and says, “But, you’re so white. Are you sure you weren’t adopted?” Then she wonders why plans to meet his parents always fall through. Is she really just being too sensitive, like he says?

Then another boy starts paying attention to her, and she discovers that he’s mixed, too. Should she drop the boy who might have a problem with her to take a chance with this other guy, who may know what it’s like to live in two worlds?

All of this is new to Veronica. Before this year, she was so shy, she didn’t even talk to boys! Now she needs to know: which boys fit into her world?

Catherine Marie Atkins Greenspan is currently publishing a series of young adult novels. She has an M.A. in Writing from the University of San Francisco, she has taught university-level English, Creative Writing and English as a Second Language. Catherine earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Michigan. She and her sister, Elizabeth, had a lot of upper-level English classes, together, including “Living Writers,” with Professor Nicholas Delbanco. The highlight wasn’t just interacting with Jamaica Kinkaid or Tim O’Brien. The fun was that often Elizabeth was so consumed by her job as an editor at The Michigan Daily that she didn’t read the books. Catherine, having read the books, would brief Elizabeth on the plot, theme, and characters. Elizabeth took this information, and then asked some of the most direct, probing questions of the whole class!

Catherine earned some writing grants when she lived in Nevada: from the Sierra Arts Foundation and the Nevada Arts Council. She’s done extensive freelance writing and editing, including a recurring column in the Reno News & Review called Committed to Community, where she highlighted the work of local nonprofits. Her favorite, though, was doing restaurant reviews. She wrote regular book reviews, features articles and cover stories, including an interview with Nigerian playwright and poet, Wole Soyinka, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature. The highlight of that interview was when he said in response to a probing question something to the effect of, “Nobody’s ever asked me that before!”

Catherine spent ten years working in the brokerage industry as a registered representative at both Fortune 100 companies as well as small, independent, family-owned businesses. Catherine serves as the state secretary and newsletter editor for AAUW-New Mexico, which advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. She also serves on the board of AAUW Tech Trek New Mexico, a nonprofit affiliate of AAUW-NM that holds annual camps at New Mexico Tech in Socorro, New Mexico, for rising eighth grade girls from all over New Mexico that promotes STEM learning. Catherine is a lifetime member of Weight Watchers and former meeting room leader where she inspired others to reach and maintain their target weight range through her firm belief in healthy living through moderation. Catherine has been writing books since she was five. A Michigan native, she has lived in California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho and Tennessee. She currently lives in Oregon.