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Spotlight on Virginia
Campbell Scott By Cheryl Bolen Virginia Campbell Scott joined RWA in the eighties and was a Golden Heart Finalist in 1991 in the young adult category. That book, The Dream Horse, was published by Harper Collins in 1994. It was subsequently published in the lucrative German market. She has also sold three stories to Highlights magazine and another to Cricket. It's no surprise that she writes about horses. She got her first horse when she was 20 and now, 30 years later, has four horses. When she was younger she competed in hunter jumpers and later switched to dressage. She has not been in competition since 1992 "because I'm too fat," she says. Riding horses is her passion, but one she does not get to indulge in often. It's either too wet, too hot or too dark. Though her son was in Pony Club and her daughter is a hunter jumper, she said neither of them love horses as she does. Perhaps it's the horses that have kept her from completing another book. She has to take care of them 365 days a year, and they're expensive, too. She works full-time at the Campbell Family Practice, a clinic run by her sister, a physician. Others demanding Virginia's time are husband Darrell, son David (recently giving up an academic scholarship to go in the Navy) and daughter Sheila, a tenth grader. Virginia's father was doctor, her mother a nurse, and her three siblings are all doctors--one of them being a veterinarian. (Which comes in handy with Virginia's horses' vet bills.) Though Virginia is an RN, she came to the career late. First she earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston with a major in art and minors in English and French. (Talk about being left brain and right brain!) In high school she was a National Merit Semifinalist, as was her son. Sheila promises to be as adept as her mom and brother but is, thankfully, more disciplined, being an honor student. Though Virginia is enormously talented, she will be the first to tell you she lacks discipline. Then, too, as she gets older she has lost the stamina to write consistently after a draining day at the office. Another problem with this versatile author is what genre to write in. She has an affinity for and a following in young adult, but she also loves history. Those who know her can attest to her acumen in Scottish history. She has devoured hundreds of books on Scotland and has visited the country of her ancestors three times. Her entire family travels to Scotland to get in touch with their roots. Virginia's friends encourage her to write short humor. She comes up with snappy one-liners faster than Bob Hope. No matter what she writes, we're waiting hungrily for this talented lady's second book. |