M. H. HERLONG

Author

M.H. Herlong grew up in a small town in South Carolina where the only sailing was in books and there were never any hurricanes. This suited her perfectly as reading—and writing—were always her first loves. At the College of William and Mary, M.H. took her first real sail on the Chesapeake Bay with her future husband. There she also met and studied under novelist Stephen Marlowe, who became her lifelong friend and mentor. After college, M.H. and her husband moved to Florida where they served as captain and crew of the Sonshine, a Morgan Out Island 41, and lived aboard Arawak, a Morgan 35 that became the basis for Chrysalis in The Great Wide Sea.

Since that time, M.H. has taught high school English and college writing, gone to law school, practiced and taught law, sailed in the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands, had four boys, studied in graduate school, and experienced hurricanes. As a resident of New Orleans, she has also shared with all other New Orleanians the tragedy and triumph of watching with the world as her home city flooded, staggered from the blow, and began the long, communal process of recovery. Not surprisingly, her award winning novel The Great Wide Sea is about a family of boys and sailing. Her second novel, Buddy, is due out in the fall of 2012 and is about a boy, a dog, and Hurricane Katrina.

Published Books

The Great Wide Sea M.H. Herlong (Author) Reading level: Young Adult Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Viking (2008)
ISBN-10: 0142416703 ISBN-13: 978-0142416709

Ben, Dylan, and Gerry are still mourning their mother’s death when their dad decides to buy a boat and take them on a year-long sailing trip. Tensions flare between Ben and his father, but they gradually learn to live together in close quarters. But one morning, the boys wake up to discover their father has disappeared—and they are lost. What happened to him? Where are they? And what will they do when a treacherous storm looms on the horizon?

Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal Ben Byron, 15, is angry. Just two months after the death of his mother in a car accident, his dad, crushed by the loss of his wife, sells their house and small boat and uses the money to buy the Chrysalis, a 30-foot sailboat. He uproots Ben and two younger sons for a yearlong tour of the Bahamas. Life goes as smoothly as it can for a while, despite the tension, chores, and close quarters. But one morning everything changes—their father disappears. When the boat heads into a terrible storm, Ben must act. Throughout the novel, the protagonist's emotions ring true. Although the sailing details are a bit technical at times, Herlong spins an engrossing, suspenseful tale of survival.—Melyssa Malinowski, Kenwood High School, Baltimore, MD Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist *Starred Review* Soon after their mother’s death, 15-year-old Ben and his two younger brothers are stunned when their father sells their home, buys a sailboat, and announces that they will live on board and cruise the Bahamas for the next year. Wrenched from everything he knows and forced to obey his father-captain’s orders, Ben starts out angry and finds no escape. As he says, “We were always together.” When their father sets a course for Bermuda and disappears overboard one night, the boys have little time to wonder if he jumped or fell before they’re struggling to stay afloat in a fierce Atlantic storm. Lost at sea in a damaged boat, they find their way to an island where they are stranded with little food, little water, and little hope of rescue. Herlong’s first book is a great survival story and a fine portrayal of family relationships in a time of crisis. Justifiably angry, yet logical, reflective, and at times compassionate, Ben makes a sympathetic protagonist, and his brothers are no less appealing. With enough detail to make the settings real and a minimum of metaphor, the first-person narrative is clean and direct. This page-turner of an adventure story is also a convincing, compelling, and ultimately moving novel. Grades 6-10. --Carolyn Phelan

Other reviews:

Bulletin for the Center for Children’s Books –Recommended—Characters are “exceptionally well developed”

Horn Book—“superhuman struggle against wind and wave”

KLIATT—“adventure tale full of peril”

The Times-Picayune—“moments of breathtaking suspense”—“unforgettably beautiful”—“Ben, Dylan, and Gerry, so brave and struggling, will stay in readers’ hearts forever.”

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune—“tension and suspense . . . riveting”

Ben Mikaelsen—Author of Touching Spirit Bear—“What a discovery! This debut novel will go far and has the heart to become a classic.”

Greg Neri – Author of Chess Rumble and Surf Mules—“The best book I have read in the past year.”

Marian H. Griffin – Director West Melbourne Public Library Brevard County Libraries—“This is the best YA book I have ever read.”

Jill Bellomy—Bellomy Book Buzz—"Gripping adventure… I loved these boys."

A student—I read your book and I loved it. Do you have any other books? You are a great writer and your book is definitely in my top 5. I hope to read more of your books in the future. Thank you for the amazing book. I will be updated on your upcoming books.

A Father—We loved your book, The Great Wide Sea. My thirteen year old son (7th grade) and I read the book together. It was a great experience for us both — ocean, islands, adventure, tragedy, reunion; it had it all. Thanks for writing it and I hope you write another real soon.

A Teacher—I had to take a moment to thank you for this book. I am a first year reading teacher. I am teaching at an inner city, Title 1 school in Florida. As you can probably guess, my kids hate to read and anything related to reading. They were not looking forward to the group time, the reading, or the project. Then…. We read the prologue and everything changed. They are participating, they are asking to read, they want to know what is next. . . . This book has everything I need as a teacher to incorporate elements we need to teach, and at the same time it intrigues them. I am so excited to work through your book with them . . . .

The Great Wide Sea Awards and Lists:

YALSA Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults 2010

Texas Lone Star Reading List 2009-2010

Maine Student Book Award List 2009-2010

Vermont’s Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award List 2009-2010

Kansas State Reading Circle List 2009-2010

Kentucky Bluegrass Award Reading List 2009-2010

New Mexico’s Land of Enchantment Book Award List 2010-2011

Illinois’ Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award List 2011

2011 Louisiana Young Readers' Choice List

Tennessee’s Volunteer State Book Award List 2011-2012

Florida’s Sunshine State Young Readers Award List 2011

Available for free download from website: 
 www.thegreatwidesea.com

Coming in fall 2012    Buddy, Viking Children’s Books –

Presentations

I very much enjoy visiting schools and other venues.

When I visit a school, I spend the entire day there. What I have found works well is a combination of assemblies and classroom visits. Schools usually also arrange a luncheon and a booksigning. I like to be kept busy. I am there to spend time with the students.

When I speak at a school assembly my presentation focuses on tales of my own youth as a vehicle for discussing what writing means to me (and can mean to students), for highlighting important aspects of the writing process, and for generally exhorting students to do what they love and to do it to the best of their abilities. The photograph of me in the sixth grade with cat-eye glasses usually draws some good laughs, especially from the teachers! The story of the civil war "diary" I wrote in eighth grade and sprinkled with water to look like tears resonates with the girls. The boys are more interested in my Drew Brees and the Saints comments! I especially enjoy the question and answer sessions at the end of the assembly. In the individual classroom I like to answer questions or to hold a more casual discussion of the writing process. Having been a teacher myself, I am very comfortable in the classroom setting and find that students often have insightful questions that open interesting areas of discussion. In a writing class, I do not judge any student's writing or comment on it. Students are not really prepared to hear "professional" advice, so it is usually better to stick to generalities.

Professional Fee

I charge an honorarium of $750 plus all associated travel expenses. I am happy to visit up to three schools in an area on three consecutive days so that the schools can share travel expenses. I will discuss slightly adjusting the honorarium for schools or venues that do not require overnight travel from New Orleans.

I bring my own laptop and clicker but require a projector and screen and a sound system. I am an animated speaker so I prefer a lavaliere or headset microphone but do just fine with a handheld mic as long as I don’t accidentally tie the cord around myself, bang my front teeth out, or throw it into the audience in a moment of grand gesturing.

I count myself lucky that I have been able to meet an astonishing array of talented teachers and interested students in my travels—and I hope to meet many more. Among the schools I have visited and conferences at which I have spoken are:

Visited Schools:

Conferences:

Florida Association of Media in Education (FAME) Annual Conference, Orlando, FL

Louisiana Book Festival, Baton Rouge, LA

New Orleans Catholic Libraries Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA

South Carolina International Reading Association (SCIRA) Annual Conference, Myrtle Beach, SC

Tennessee Williams Literary Festival, Young Adult Panel, New Orleans, LA

Contact

M.H. Herlong

New Orleans, LA

email mhherlong@thegreatwidesea.com

Website: http://www.thegreatwidesea.com

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