Laura Geringer Biography - Personal, Addresses, Career, Writings, Sidelights (original) (raw)

(L.G. Bass)

Personal

Education: Degrees from Barnard College and Yale University. Hobbies and other interests: Martial arts.

Addresses

_Office_—Laura Geringer Books, HarperCollins, 10 East 53rd St., 7th Fl., New York, NY 10012.

Career

Editor and author of children's books. Formerly worked as an art teacher and journalist. HarperChildrens (publisher), New York, NY, editor, head of Laura Geringer Books imprint, beginning c. 1996.

Writings

UNDER NAME L. G. BASS

Seven True Bear Stories, illustrated by Carol Maisto, Hastings House (New York, NY), 1979.

A Three-Hat Day, pictures by Arnold Lobel, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1985.

Molly's New Washing Machine, illustrated by Petra Mathers, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1986.

Silverpoint, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1991.

Yours 'til the Ice Cracks: A Book of Valentines, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1992.

Look out, Look out, It's Coming!, pictures by Sue Truesdell, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1992.

The Seven Ravens, paintings by Edward S. Gazsi, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1994.

The Pomegranate Seeds: A Classic Greek Myth, illustrated by Leonid Gore, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1995.

Perseus: The Boy with Super Powers, illustrations by Peter Bollinger, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1996.

Hercules: The Strong Man, illustrated by Peter Bollinger, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1996.

Ulysses: The Soldier King, illustrated by Peter Bollinger, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1996.

Andromeda: The Flying Warrior Princess, illustrated by Peter Bollinger, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1996.

Iole: The Girl with Super Powers, illustrated by Peter Bollinger, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

Castor and Pollux: The Fighting Twins, illustrated by Peter Bollinger, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

Theseus: The Hero of the Maze, illustrated by Peter Bollinger, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

Atlanta: The Wild Girl, illustrated by Peter Bollinger, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

The Stubborn Pumpkin, illustrated by Holly Berry, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1999.

Sign of the Qin (first volume in "Outlaws of Moonshadow Marsh" series), Hyperion Books for Children (New York, NY), 2004.

Sidelights

A noted editor of children's books whose publishing imprint has produced books by such noted authors as William Joyce, Laura Numeroff, and Richard Egielski, Laura Geringer also writes books under the pen name L.G. Bass. A martial arts enthusiast in addition her editorship duties at HarperCollins in New York City, Geringer began her writing career in the late 1970s and has produced picture-book retellings of Greek and Roman myths, including Theseus: The Hero of the Maze, The Pomegranate Seed, and Andromeda: The Flying Warrior Princess. In addition to popularizing these ancient stories for a new generation, Geringer has moved to fantasy with Sign of the Qin, the opening book in the "Outlaws of Moonshadow Marsh" trilogy.

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In Sign of the Qin Geringer takes readers through two starkly contrasting worlds: the lavish world inside the emperor's palace and the slums beyond the palace gates. Drawing from both tradition Chinese epics of the Song dynasty and nontraditional kung fu films, Bass creates a world of glittering heroes and evil villains as she spins a story of a cold-hearted emperor who forces his young wife into exile after she has a child with a tainted birthmark, the outlaw sign of the Qin. The empress then meets an monk who trains her in the martial arts, also sharing in the raising of her son, Prince Zong. As the boy becomes a man, he fights the assassins sent to kill him and eventually joins with a trio of brothers who involve him in an effort to save the world from a demonic threat.

Reviewing Sign of the Qin, a Publishers Weekly critic wrote that "fantasy readers looking for a break from conventional swords and sorcery will likely become enthralled." Hilary Williamson, writing in BookLoons.com, praise the novel, noting that although "the story starts slowly and its transitions are at times awkward, Sign of the Qin is a novel, engaging hero quest."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 15, 2004, Jennifer Mattson, review of Sign of the Qin, p. 1451.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2004, review of Sign of the Qin, p. 324.

Publishers Weekly, March 29, 2004, review of Sign of the Qin, p. 63.

School Library Journal, April, 2004, John Peters, review of Sign of the Qin, p. 148.

Voice of Youth Advocates, June, 2004, Meredith Jenson-Benjamin, review of Sign of the Qin, p. 139; April, 2005, review of Sign of the Qin, p. 10.

ONLINE

BookLoons.com, http://www.bookloons.com/ (August 10, 2004), Hilary Williamson, review of Sign of the Qin.

Hyperion Books for Children Web site, http://www.hyperionbooksforchildren.com/ (March 28, 2005), "An Interview with L.G. Bass."