Ransom is awesome! I was slowly introduced to Granny’s books over the years, and while a lot of them have become muddled in my head that one stays with me. And yes, she was a Duke lady — used to joke that she went there to get her “MRS” (these were those days). Thank you so much for the kind condolences. I’ll pass…

Hi. I’m Lois’s granddaughter, and I just wanted to say, Granny was passionate about new writers. She wouldn’t have cared about getting the letter — for her it was about telling the stories. I don’t know if you have been published, but either way: keep writing!

Hey, I’m Lois’s granddaughter (really, really) and I wanted to jump in. Granny was totally confused by IKWYDLS — seeing the guy with the hook was a big ‘Whaaaa?’ moment for her — but she always respected that people would take her stories and morph them, grow them, use them for inspiration. When I talked to her about…

Hello, I’m Lois’s other granddaughter, Erin. I wanted to thank you, Ms. Shepherd, for the beautiful post in memoriam, and also to thank everyone who posted here for sharing your memories of Granny, as I knew her. Our family is gathering to mourn and remember, and hearing how her stories made people happy (or too…