Flaschner, Ronna
Ronna Flaschner lives with her husband in New Hampshire. For two decades she worked to create and direct programs for pregnant and parenting teens in Massachusetts. She did her graduate work in counseling psychology at Boston University and at the Cambridge Family Institute. Ms. Flaschner has two grown children. Templates is her first novel.
McGrail, Phil
Father of two, Phil McGrail lives with his family in New Hampshire. Although a mechanical engineer by trade, he relishes the comparative freedom writing offers.
Daughter of Statues is his first full-length novel.
e-mail Phil: pmcgrail@osiail.com
Come say "Hi" to Phil. He attends every Primal Tongue event.
See what Phil is reading (or has read). Check out his Goodreads page (click widget to right).
Thompson, John-Richard
John-Richard Thompson was born in New Hampshire and raised by minks in an abandoned hunting lodge. Eventually he escaped and moved to New York City, where he became an award-winning playwright and director, and co-author of three non-fiction books with Anne Ford. From time to time, he returns to the North Woods.
For more information, visit www.j-rt.com
Following is a history of recent works:
BOOKS
THE CHRISTMAS MINK AND OTHER
DECEMBER TALES FROM THE NORTH WOODS
Co-Authored Books with Anne Ford, daughter of Henry Ford II.
As co-authors, John-Richard Thompson and Anne Ford have appeared around the country speaking about their books and learning disabilities at conferences, corporations and parent groups. The books and their authors have been highlighted on numerous television and radio programs, including NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, NPR’s Diane Rehm Show, the Mitch Albom Show, as well as articles in Newsweek, USA Today and Detroit Free Press.
LAUGHING ALLEGRA
Laughing Allegra, a blend of memoir with self-help, tells a story about the struggle and triumph of raising a child with learning disabilities. Published by Newmarket Press in 2003 (paperback published 2004), Laughing Allegra received a starred review from Library Journal, and was designated as a finalist for a “Books for a Better Life” Award. Publishers Weekly called it “a poignant, intimate portrait”, while Bookreporter.com wrote: “I cannot recommend a book more highly than this. Halfway through I found myself making lists of people who would enjoy it. I encourage you to pick it up --- and then spread the word.”
ON THEIR OWN
Also written with Anne Ford, On Their Own is a guide to the special challenges faced by parents of learning-disabled children as they enter adulthood. Now in its second printing by Newmarket Press, On Their Own was also designated as a finalist in the 2008 “Books for a Better” Life Award.
A SPECIAL MOTHER - Coming January 2010
THEATER
ANGEL MOUNTAIN – Playwright
Produced in 2006 by AndHow Theater Company, Angel Mountain takes place in the Adirondack Mountains in 1945. The New York Times called it “a surprising, absorbing drama”, and finished their review with the quote from Arthur Miller “Attention must be paid.” Time Out New York wrote: “While John-Richard Thompson draws on staples of classic melodrama, Angel Mountain is constructed with an original artistry—smart, suggestive dialogue; unexpected character notes; telling detail and imagery—that makes the material fresh again. The work’s insights are often surprising, even disturbing..."
WATER SHEERIE - Playwright
A two-act comedy set on a moonlit night in the woods of Maine. Water Sheerie had two separate productions in 2000, one with the New Hampshire Shakespeare Festival and a second with New Hampshire’s Encore Productions, and a 2004 production in New York City with And How Theater Company. Off-Off Online said, “the entire experience becomes a magical return to a free-spirited childhood” and Off Off Broadway Review said, “It was enchanting, delightful, charming and magical. It was also a very shrewdly calculated piece of theater, well wrought by John-Richard Thompson."
A LIGHTENING OF FIREFLIES – Playwright
Produced by AndHow Theater Company in 2005, the play was performed in a public garden in Manhattan.
INDIGO RAT - Playwright (book) and Director
Set in Berlin between 1921-1941, the musical revue Indigo Rat ran in New York City for two years, 2000 through 2001. Winner of the 2001 M.A.C. Award and BackStage Bistro Award, as well as three separate awards from Theatremania.com.
RAIN HOUSE - Playwright
A two act drama which explores the need for roots and home and the conflicting desire to escape from both. Set in the Caribbean with a cast of sailors and American ex-patriots. Rain House was produced at the Pantheon Theatre on 42nd Street in New York City in September, 1999.
ERIK AND THE SNOW MAIDENS - Playwright and Director
A musical fantasia set in Finland during World War I. In 1998, John-Richard Thompson won the BackStage Bistro award for his work, along with two nominations from the Manhattan Association of Cabaret Awards. “Erik” was further developed in a workshop setting by the Manhattan Class Company, directed by Robert Lupone.
FRUIT BAT SAFARI CAMP - Playwright
A comedy set in Africa, Fruit Bat was first produced as a one-act at the Village Gate in New York, and has had several readings featuring Robert Lupone, Julie Halston and Sally Mayes.
THE GLASS BIRD - PlaywrightA play set in 1930’s New England. First seen at New York’s Writer’s Theatre as part of their Plays-in-Progress Series. In 1996, The Glass Bird was the premiere production of the Exonia Theatre Company in Exeter, N.H.