See the previous question

Rebecca:
Our kids are all teenagers now - and teenagers, despite all the badmouthing in the popular press, are absolutely wonderful. They're also, by this stage of the game, highly independent and self-directed learners, which means that parental involvement in their education is not what it was in the elementary years. It's a delight to see this - after all, it's what homeschooling is all about - but I sometimes miss the picture-books and the messily erupting homemade volcanoes. On the other hand, the debates, discussions, and dinner-table conversations have become increasingly challenging. They wave their forks and shout about Chinese politics, NASA funding, the Hubble constant, and Mozart.

• Josh (18)
  his specialties are literature and art. He plays string bass (a challenge to transport) in the local youth orchestra; takes piano lessons; teaches origami classes; and writes continually. He's taken a number of classes at the local community college and spent this past summer at Bennington College, where - according to glowing reports from professors - he did spectacularly. However, he's not sure he wants to go to college - at least not full-time. Just now he's writing a book and pursuing a personal literature program of frightening proportions. Presently he's reading - simultaneously - Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses," Iris Murdoch's "A Severed Head," and a history of the Bay of Pigs. I'm not sure how he's managing this. He's also learning Chinese.
• Ethan (16)
  is into physics, chemistry, computer science, and classical music. He's got a part-time job as an assistant computer technician (all summer, plus one day a week during the school year); plays violin in two local orchestras; and is taking a couple of classes by correspondence (chemistry and music theory), though we try to improve upon both with additions from home. He's teaching himself computer programming. He reads computer manuals for fun.
• Caleb (14)
  is extremely musical: plays violin and flute in local orchestras; takes piano lessons; also plays the recorder. (There is talk of oboe and French horn.) He just connected to a local drama group and has signed up for fencing lessons - we'll see how that goes. His favorite subject this year is archaeology; least appealing is algebra, but we're working on it. He's reading "Watership Down" and "Catcher in the Rye."

Joe:
As an author, do have any other authors whose work helped to shape you as an author and perhaps you could share specific authors and titles?

Rebecca:
Authors whose work has shaped me. I'm not sure. I write such a conglomeration of stuff: adult science; children's science; children's fiction; homeschool books. I've been a bookworm since toddlerhood; Randy - my husband - is a bookworm. So are our kids. Bedside tables in this house totter under stacks of books; all possible wall space is plastered with bookshelves. Book bills are fearsome. I tend to prefer nonfiction to fiction, though even as I type this I can think of many many exceptions. I've always wanted to write like John McPhee. If I had the option, I'd also like to add huge dollops of the talents of Robertson Davies and Virginia Woolf. I'm presently reading books about the Spanish Armada, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and the intimidating speed of time.

Joe:
Thank you Rebecca for your comments and also your wonderful participation on our support group. Now we'll move on to an excerpt from your book which you have graciously allowed us to reproduce here.