Ellen Gilchrist

In the schools of small Midwestern towns, the only aristocracies are of beauty, intelligence, and athletic prowess.

My ancestors are Highland Scots, and my father's home in north Alabama is so much like northwest Arkansas. I have the same allergies in both places.

I love Fayetteville. I like hills and vistas and hardworking people and fighting snow in winter and chiggers in the summer.

I love New York, but I wish they wouldn't put clothes on their dogs.

I love 'E.R.' and I'm not ashamed to admit it. It makes me know I did not waste my life after all by not becoming a medical doctor.

I have lived most of my life in small towns, and I'm in the habit of knowing and talking to everyone.

I can't conceive of nursing babies and taking care of children and writing, too. I know there are writers that do that, but I'm too single-minded. I can't stand to be interrupted, whether I'm writing a story or dressing a child.

My childhood is in my brother's house, and I like to visit there and be reminded.

Ever since I was a child, I've kept boxes and drawers and pages of things that I liked. I suppose that it constitutes a journal of sorts, but it's not in a ledger or a notebook.

Having your work honored nationally is a great morale booster.