As paddler, flyfisher, bass fiddler, gardener, and Quaker naturalist— SUSAN SCHMIDT writes about river and forest ecology, bluegrass music, square dancing, chestnut trees, quilting, endangered species, local food, and environmental organizing in her new young-adult novel, Song of Moving Water. She has worked as science-policy analyst, sailboat captain, and professor of literature and environmental decision-making. Susan now edits books, with the same mindfulness as pruning apple trees, and walks beaches with her Boykin Spaniel. Her new book of poems is Salt Runs in My Blood. “Don’t blame yourself for other people’s decisions,” Aunt Ruby tells Grace. At seventeen, Grace feels guilty that her father drowned in the river when she was ten.
