Peg Lewis

Biography

Peg Lewis, born in Hartford, has taught at the university level in Beijing (English only!). She has degrees in Chemistry (from Smith College) and Linguistics (University of Arizona).

She is married to John S Lewis, author of Mining the Sky, many other non-fiction popular-science books, texts, and novels. Peg has been his editor for decades.

Peg and John met on a blind date. Someone set them up because they were both chemists. For the past 56 years the chemistry has been good. And their science background has provided the vocabulary for understanding much of the news of the day. They share a special passion for space, earth, and early human history, among many other topics.

They are the parents of 6, grandparents of 34, and great grandparents of 6. The family is spread all over the world, with descendants from Germany to China.

Peg and John have traveled by car to all 50 states (except Hawaii, which was by plane). They have lived in New England, the Pacific Northwest, and the Desert Southwest, as well as Switzerland, Beijing, and New Zealand, "If I had my choice right now," says Peg, "I would live in Dublin or Galway, where my ancestors were from and where I enjoyed a lovely summer just recently. Or I would travel all over North America and Europe by train. I haven't tried that yet."

Peg was blessed to have a mother who was a librarian and read to her throughout the long and lonely days of World War II. She knew someday she would write books herself, and began at age 10. Before the days of indie publishing she sent off several manuscripts, to no avail. But thanks to the publishing revolution, she has created 8-10 books with more queued up. She's always got a story in her, each one strongly influenced by a powerful setting she knows from her roadtrips. She also grew up playing violin in orchestras. You will find natural settings and musical adventures to be major parts of her stories.

Smashwords Interview

What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
My mind has been drawn to a setting, say the rainforest high in the mountains. A few flawed people stop by and begin to play out their challenges in this setting, and with each other. Rough times mix with everyday moments. Selfishness yields to or overtakes compassion, service, awareness. And then they pop into independent sentient beings. I find they have wisdom and untapped depths of character. Then they play out their situations together within my view. And all the while I've been typing, typing. The right words come, tears come, joy comes. Life flows from deep within me through them and back to the me that is swept away in awe of independent ideas, solutions, and an unforeseen resolution. I sit back for a bit before taking up the next chapter in this most stirring, moving, miraculous of processes.
What do your fans mean to you?
I'm thankful for my fans, who took a chance on the faintest of suggestions that reading my work would be worth a sacrifice of their time. It's the kindest gift.
Read more of this interview.

Where to find Peg Lewis online

Books

Annie and the Cello Camp Challenge: A Songdog Prequel
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 3,000. Language: English. Published: November 14, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Young adult or teen » Literary, Fiction » Coming of age
Annie Skye, a famous young cellist, is preparing for a national competition, and her biggest challenger is her best friend Michael, whom she sees only once a year at music camp. This prequel shares what happened when they first meet when they are 8, including a battle of the cellos. This story is set before A Rainy Night in G minor.
Haymarket: A Sharlie Adventure Short Story
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 3,460. Language: English. Published: July 15, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Children’s books » Fiction
(5.00 from 7 reviews)
A Sharlie Short Story (A Triple Divide Prequel) Sharlie has a new baby sister, and now her dad is her very best friend. They read together, sled together, and, one day, have an unforgettable adventure.

Smashwords book reviews by Peg Lewis

  • Avow (A Last Selkie Short Story Prequel) on July 26, 2012

    This prequel promises an interesting yarn. There are plenty of paranormal creatures out there (and for the most part I don't like reading about them), but the selkie here has an agenda that will have implications for future generations. And she exists in an utterly believable, in fact real, world, and so she seems actually quite real, too. There's promise here for the main work, and I'm keeping my eye out for it.