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MEET LORETTA ICHORD
by Bonnie O'Brian

When you were a child did you ever have moments when you decided that you were going to be a writer when you grew up?

Loretta Ichord

I was a major book-worm (still am) and loved writing letters, keeping a diary, storytelling, and doing bios on famous people for school projects when I was a child, but I never thought about becoming a writer when I grew up. I thought writers were special beings and not ordinary people like me.

What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?

Since all my published books are historical non-fiction I’d like kids to walk away with a glimpse of what everyday life was like before they entered the world. I want them to remember the history through their sense of touch, taste, and smell.I also hope to encourage them to pursue writing as a career if they have a passion for it. I tell them (and this relates to the previous question) that if an author had visited my classroom, I might have seen that it is possible for an ordinary person to become a published writer. It wasn’t until I was in my forties that I met writers and realized that maybe I could become an author if I worked hard and persevered.

What other jobs did you have before you became a writer?

In my earlier years I worked in an office using a special adding machine (this was before computers) to keep track of inventory for a large company in San Francisco. Then I became a homemaker raising four children for many years before pursuing a career in dentistry. More recently I retired my day job of twenty years as a dental assistant in order to give more time to my writing.

Do you focus on fiction or nonfiction? Which do you prefer? Do you find one easier than the other?

Though all my published books are non-fiction, I have a passion for fiction. As a new writer I wanted publication and I found the competition for children’s non-fiction writing was not as fierce as for fiction. So I pursued the genre because I have an interest in history and the origin of things. I always tell kids that the research I do for my projects has made me smarter! I have to learn everything about a subject before I can write about it. So I love both genres. I don’t find one easier than the other because you have to work hard to keep the reader engaged whether it’s an adventure story or a book on the invention of automobiles. The one big advantage with non-fiction is that you usually get a contract before you’ve written your book which is generally not the case for fiction.

What are the topics of some of your books?

Four of my books are in a series called Cooking Through Time. They are surveys of what Americans ate from the 1600s to today. They’re not strictly cookbooks because of the social history related throughout. My other published book is a history of dentistry from ancient times to today.

Have any of your books earned special recognition?

Yes. SKILLET BREAD, SOURDOUGH, AND VINEGAR PIE: Cooking in Pioneer Days was picked as a National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)/Children’s Book Council (CBC) Notable Social Studies Trade Book For Young People. And TOOTHWORMS AND SPIDER JUICE: An Illustrated History of Dentistry” was picked as a National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)/Children’s Book Council (CBC) Notable Social Studies Trade Book For Young People. It was also awarded a Bank Street College of Education Children’s Books of the Year. And a California Readers’ choice.

Is there anything abut yourself that you’d like to share—hobbies, where you were born, special talents other than writing?

Besides my passion for writing and reading, I love to cook and garden. I also travel when I can to wonderful places like Sweden, England, France, the Greek Islands, and Italy. I’m big on museums when I go to a new place. I was born in San Francisco and my birthplace has influenced a lot of my fiction writing. I’ve written two novels one historical and the other contemporary centered on my hometown. My four children have also been a big influence on my writing. Three of them are male and their involvement in sports gave me a lot of material for essays and a novel I wrote about a high school wrestler. Now I have a fresh new crop of grandchildren who can provide me with more material!