Gail has had a checkered career, working at wildly varying jobs from Mommy to the entire editorial staff of a small-town weekly newspaper, to junior college history instructor, to paralegal for a one-attorney prosecutor's office, to writing books. She likes writing books the best. She doesn't have to wear shoes.Currently, she lives on the edge of a small rural town in the Texas Panhandle with her husband, youngest son, and Spot the Dalmatian. (No cows in the pasture behind her house anymore, thank goodness--the fence is so bad the cows used to escape to graze on her lawn.)She has a married daughter living in Pittsburgh with her graduate-student husband. Her older son lives with his wife in New Orleans, along with the most beautiful grandbaby in the world. Benjamin arrived in late July 2001, which means Gail spends a great deal of time these days plotting ways to visit New Orleans.When she's not plotting escape routes or writing, Gail likes to sit on the front porch and watch the wildlife in her yard--providing Spot stays in the house. Rabbits, cotton-top quail, bobwhite quail, roadrunners, red-tailed hawks, and about a bazillion mourning doves (the neighbor across the street feeds them) all take their path across her grass on a daily basis.Write Gail at P.O. Box 176, Clarendon, TX 79226, or visit her web site at www.gaildayton.com, or both. She'll be glad you dropped by. (There are grandbaby pictures at the web site.)