Mary Jane Beaufrand is the author of Primavera and The River, and several short stories. She has an MFA in creative writing from Bennington College. She lives with her husband, two kids, drooling Saint Bernard, and wussy Basset hound in Seattle, Washington.
2011 Cavalcade workshop: Write Your Heart Out
This is a workshop for teens about writing supernatural romance.
Featured books:
The River by Mary Jane Beaufrand
Gr. 8-12
Teenager Ronnie’s life is transformed by the murder of a ten-year-old neighbor for whom she babysat, and who helped Ronnie adjust to living at a country inn on the banks of the Santiam River in Hoodoo, Oregon.
Primavera by Mary Jane Beaufrand
Gr. 6-9
Growing up in Renaissance Italy, Flora sees her family’s fortunes ebb. Encounters with the artist Botticelli and the guidance of her nurse teach her to look past the material world to the beauty already in her life.
Inspired by actual events, Primavera is a dazzling coming of age story set during a time of beauty wealth, ambition, rivalry and brutality. Historical art references to Botticelli and his famous painting, La Primavera, give this book an appeal similar to Girl with a Pearl Earring.