title: The Writer's Selections: Shaping Our Lives
author:  Kathleen T. McWhorter 
description: Kathleen McWhorter (Ph.D. SUNY, Buffalo) is Professor of Humanities and Coordinator of Learning Skills at Niagara County Community College. In addition to her developmental writing series from Houghton Mifflin, McWhorter is the author of several successful reading and study skills texts from Longman including College Reading and Study Skills, Efficient and Flexible Reading, Academic Reading, and Guide to College Reading. Recently, Bedford Books also published a new title from McWhorter, Successful College Writing, for freshman composition courses.
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  ## Acknowledgments
  
  
  
  
  
  I am a storyteller first, a writer only later. These stories could not have
  been transformed into a novel without the help of some of the world’s greatest
  editors, first among them the amazing Leslie Schnur, who not only helped me
  shape my ideas into the novel they became, but who also always spoke the
  truth. Working with her has been the best education I could have wished for in
  fiction writing. Her gifts and wisdom are on every page. More than just an
  editor, she has become a valued friend. I also owe a great debt to the fine
  editors at Random House. Caitlin Alexander and Jane von Mehren made me go
  deeper and work harder than I ever thought possible. I owe you both so much,
  along with the wonderful publicity, marketing, and sales departments of Random
  House, who have always supported my work so wholeheartedly.
  
  
  As a hairdresser and coffeehouse owner, I had the opportunity to hear
  everyone’s stories, one of the great privileges of these occupati