Norma Johnston
Personal Information
Description
Norma Johnston was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, USA, the only child of Marjorie (Pierce), a teacher and Charles Eugene Chambers Johnston, an engineer. She read voraciously--especially mysteries, to which her family was addicted. She was ducated at Ramsey public schools and Montclair State College, later studied acting at the American Theatre Wing and elsewhere, and received a teaching certificate from Montclair College. She was actress, director, designer, stylist, retailer, teacher, counselor, entrepreneur, preacher, editor, ... and in between all her other careers she was the author of more than 70 novels, mainly gothic romances for teens. Ever since 1973, she become a a full-time writer. She also wrote under the pseudonyms of Nicole St. John, Pamela Dryden, Lavinia Harris, Kate Chambers, Catherine E. Chambers, Elizabeth Bolton, and Adrian Robert.
Books
Louisa May
A biography of Louisa May Alcott that traces the influence of her family life on her works.
The time of the cranes
When her acting teacher dies and leaves her a sizable estate, Stacy investigates her death, uncovering a nursing home scandal and renewing her commitment to acting.
The Delphic choice
Visiting relatives in Turkey, Meredith becomes involved in efforts to free her uncle, a hostage negotiator for a Quaker peace mission, who is taken hostage by an Islamic terrorist group.
Whisper of the Cat
Tracy Fairbrother will never forget her first glimpse of the family mansion, Bonne Espérance, rising ghostlike from the haunting swamps and quicksand of Dorr Island. But soon, inexplicable accidents and eerie premonitions convince Tracy that someone -- or something -- is trying to destroy Bonne Espérance and drive her family off the island. Is it an ancient ancestor's ghost -- or someone local? Tracy wonders if the key lies with Mark, her stepmother's magnetic but troubled cousin. His mixed attitude of admiration and antagonism draws Tracy in, even as she struggles to unravel the mystery swirling around the old house. Then she discovers a body in the swamp. Can Tracy expose the evil on the island before the true spirit of Bonne Espérance is lost forever?
Gabriel's Girl
Sarah embarks on a dangerous mission in Spain when she searches for her father, a famous exposé writer, who has mysteriously disappeared from his hotel.
Mustard Seed of Magic
Tish wants to write well and she wants to be of help to her friends, but first she has to understand herself.
Glory in the flower
Fourteen-year-old Tish records the trials and tribulations of six months in her life between January and June in 1901. Sequel to "The Keeping Days."
The Potter's Wheel
When sixteen-year-old Laura attends her wealthy, strong-willed grandmother's birthday celebrations in a village in Pennsylvania her grandmother is restoring, she becomes dramatically reacquainted with various relatives, hears of the dissolution of her parents' marriage, finds out some of her own strengths and talents, and learns what makes her grandmother interfere so forcefully in the lives of her family.
The keeping days
Fourteen-year-old Tish, living in Yonkers, New York, chronicles her family's problems and experiences during a seven month period in 1900.
The swallow's song
During the summer of 1920, sixteen-year-old Alison meets the wealthy, glamorous Farraday family who bring excitement into her life and a new appreciation of her own family.
The image game
In an effort to attract high school heartthrob Brock Peters, Celia changes her outer image.
The Dragon's Eye
When an anonymous graffiti smear campaign begins against unpopular Doris Haywood, sixteen-year-old Jenny investigates, discovering in the process a champion football player in jeopardy, a young life cut tragically short, and a cover-up attempt.
Feather in the wind
After moving to her ancestral home in northern New Jersey, fourteen-year-old Becca discovers a Native American ghost and a startling family secret.
Over Jordan
In 1836, fourteen-year-old Roxana undertakes a dangerous journey up the Ohio River to help her beloved servant, Jess, and Jess's fiance, a runaway slave, escape to freedom, aided by Roxana's former teacher Harriet Beecher Stowe.
A striving after wind
As Bridget continues her search for her own identity in her talented family, she learns to deal with an officious woman and her daughter, a near-romance with an aging actor, and her confused feelings about a male friend.