Welcome & Introduction – Dave Hooley, Sharona Fein & Ameya

 Chuck Gross – “The Bravest Turtle Ever”
I travel to Hawaii often and am enamored of the aloha spirit of kindness, compassion and community.  This story, by Gill McBarnet, honors a majestic sea creature who has been in our ocean for more than 200 million years.

 Laura Deal – “Tex Buys a Dream”

A retelling of a Japanese folk tale, called “The Man Who Bought a Dream” which I found in Folktales Told Around the World, edited by Richard M. Dorson. Variations of this story are found all over the world. I chose to set my version in 19th century Colorado, with a cowboy in the title role.

Judy Owens – “The Snake and the Frog”
When I read this story by Jon Spelman it brought back so many memories of times I had spent fishing with my father.  This adaptation of a North American fishing tale became the foundation for my own story about fishing in Colorado.

Dave Hooley – About Spellbinders

Katherine Randall – Katherine McHale “Slaughterback’s Astonishing Adventure & Jane Miner Saves the Day- Monday, that is.”

I love stories about strong and capable women, especially when those stories are true! I will portray two Colorado women who, in very different ways, save and protect their families. 

Chuck Gross – Jane Proctor, “Dragon Doctor”

True stories hold incredible power for me.  This tale, by Patricia Valdez, allows me to celebrate the life of an adventurous woman who follows her youthful passion to achieve success in an unconventional way.

Sharona Fein – “Lift Up”

I heard this story on a podcast, and I loved it so much I looked up the author, Antoinette Schippers, aka Ms. Spooky Tiyi, and asked permission to retell it, which she generously granted. The arc of the story is hers, the details are mine, and we have in common being raised in old midwestern houses.