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Linda Dupie by Lisa Beamer

Linda Dupie stands out for several reasons. She is the creator and editor of her writing site for children, "Rainy Day Corner." She also managed to net an invitation to one of the inaugural balls -- right from then-President Elect Bush himself. And who can forget Linda's dream come true of getting to be a rock and roll singer for a night?

Linda and her husband, Duane, have been married for 11 years. "We had what many called a whirlwind romance. Three months after dating he proposed and nine months after that, we were married, and many said it wouldn't last." It has lasted, and they've been joined by their two daughters, Madeline, eight, and Micah, four. Other than a five-year stint living in the Southern California desert, she has lived her entire life in Arlington, Virginia.

Writing professionally for almost eight years, Linda's first clip was a travel piece published by the local paper where she lived in California. Currently her writing consists mostly of non-fiction and personal essays. "They flow from my head to paper more easily than fiction," says Linda. "I love writing fiction, though I don't consider myself very good at it."

Linda has written two books, both unpublished at this time. "One [is] about the relationship I had with my mother, and the other is a fiction story of a woman lost insider herself." She also has a half-finished novel written called "Hades Havoc."

A play she wrote in the 5th grade is Linda's first memory of writing. "My classmates and I performed it for the school. It was really awful. That was before I learned to write what I know." It was when she was 12 and her 8th grade English teacher gave her an assignment to write her life's story that she knew she wanted to be a writer. "We were to take ourselves into the future and predict what our lives would be like. Of course, nowhere in my story did a husband and children enter the picture. I was a huge rock star, similar to Blondie or Joan Jett."

It is her eighth grade English teacher, Anita Scott, who Linda credits most for encouraging her writing. "I had spent the last year in and out of the hospital with an undiagnosed disease. When I returned to school, I knew no one." Scott gave her a reason not to skip school. "She always had positive remarks for anything I wrote and helped me work on my weaknesses," remembers Linda. "She made time for me and gave me an outlet for the loneliness. I started writing again at 24 when I came across the writing I did in eighth grade. Her notes on my papers moved me to begin again."

As long as she has her pen and notebook -- which she never leaves home without -- Linda is happy writing anywhere. She prefers to write longhand, but with life getting busier, she now does most of her writing on her laptop. She still uses longhand when she can't get to the computer or if she's having trouble writing a complicated scene. "Writing it longhand lets me have a freer conversation with the character(s)."

Of everything she has done in her career, Linda is most proud of her web site, Rainy Day Corner. "I love kids and I love to teach. The web site blends the best of both worlds. I get to write and pass along my
knowledge."

Some fun facts about Linda:

Pets: She has five pets. Two dogs, a Chesapeake Bay retriever named Chester and a golden retriever named Yucca after the Yucca Palm. She also has three cats, a white Turkish Angora with blue eyes (Sammie), her writing cat, Leonardo (named after one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), and she inherited her mother's cat, Duncan, who was fished out of a river in Blackburg, VA, which is how she got her name.

Favorite Author: She has three...Ernest Hemingway (The Sun Also Rises), John Jakes (the whole North and South series) and Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird). Her all-time favorite book, however, is "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles. "I really identified with the characters and their struggle with adolescence."

Favorite way to relax: "Reading to my kids is one way I like to relax, but my favorite is to curl up on the couch and watch my soaps. I tape them and after everyone has gone to bed, I grab a comforter and my cappuccino and spend two hours where I don't have to think." Linda also enjoys collecting first edition books. "My prized ones are the entire collection of Ernest Hemingway's works and Margaret Mitchell's 'Gone With the Wind.'"

Biggest Pet Peeve: Right now her biggest peeve is when her kids drag or clop their feet when they walk. "For some reason, that clop, clop, clop just drives me crazy!"

Favorite Vacation Spot: The beach. "My favorite time to go is right after the normal season has ended. I like the solitude and I don't feel pressured to play tourist."

Last Movie Seen in a Theatre: Toy Story 2. "I especially enjoyed it because it was the first movie my daughter Micah saw at 2 ½. She was wonderful to watch. Two thumbs up."

Favorite Quote: "If each of us would step up, imagine what we could achieve." (Tori McClure, first woman to row the Atlantic Ocean alone.)

If she could have lunch with anyone, alive or dead, she would choose Martha Jane Canary (Calamity Jane). "I wanted to be her when I was little," says Linda. "She intrigued me because she was a strong minded woman and I love how she did it her way. I would want to ask her what gave her the courage to nurse the sick during the small pox epidemic of 1878 when most doctors wouldn't."

You can visit Linda's Rainy Day Corner site at: http://www.RainyDayCorner.com/index.htm. You can write to Linda at: ldwriter_2000@yahoo.com.

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