Behnke, Patricia C. 1954- (Patricia Behnke, Patricia Camburn Behnke)

PERSONAL:

Born December 23, 1954, in Stockbridge, MI; daughter of B. Harmon (in sales) and Gertrude (a homemaker) Camburn; married Larry W. Behnke (an artist), May 8, 1980 (divorced, 2006); children: Anna Christina. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Lansing Community College, associate's degree, 1977; Eastern Michigan University, B.S., 1978. Politics: Democrat.

ADDRESSES:

Home—St. Augustine, FL; fax: 800-967-7382.

CAREER:

School Board of Alachua County, Gainesville, FL, English teacher, beginning 1984; High Springs Herald, High Springs, FL, senior writer, 1999-2002; Observer, High Springs, copublisher and editor, 2003-05; Tower Publications, Gainesville, editor in chief. Founder and director of a youth center; Chamber of Commerce, member of board of directors.

MEMBER:

Florida Council Teachers of English, Florida Writers Association, Alachua County Education Association.

AWARDS, HONORS:

First place, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Essay Contest, 2001; journalism awards include first place award for serious column, Florida Press Association, 2002.

WRITINGS:

A Victorian Justice (novel), Dry Bones Press (Roseville, CA), 2000.

A Lethal Legacy (novel), PublishAmerica (Frederick, MD), 2003.

(Under name Patricia Camburn Behnke) Tortoise Stew (novel), PublishAmerica (Frederick, MD), 2006.

Correspondent, Gainesville Sun, 1998—; Contributor to other periodicals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Patricia C. Behnke told CA: "I write because I am addicted to the process. I love researching, developing, and creating stories, and then I love dancing around the words, pulling and pushing the nouns and verbs until the concept leaps off the page. I even like the angst of not knowing exactly where I am going with a story. Mostly I enjoy becoming immersed in the story so that it lives within me as well as on the pages."