Judith Porter

• 
  www.jaykay100.com/abouttheauthor.htm - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 11/19/2006    Last Visited: 7/9/2007  

  By Judith Porter
  ...
  Judith Porter lives in Rhode Island with her cats.She was born in Enid, Oklahoma and grew up in Carter Nine, an oil camp three miles from Shidler, Oklahoma.She attended Shidler Public Schools from first through eleventh grades, but graduated from Edison High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
  
  She received bachelor degrees from the University of Oklahoma and masters degrees from the University of Rhode Island.She worked in Rhode Island public schools for twenty seven years before retiring two years ago.She was a library/media specialist and supervisor of media services.
  
  Porter currently works part time in an animal shelter as a pet adoption counselor.
  
  The joys of her life are her three grown children and four grandchildren but she also has time for other activities.She loves sports, both as a spectator and participant.She travels whenever she can, is an active volunteer in the community, including working in a soup kitchen once a month.She works out regularly at an athletic club and plays tennis. she can be found in movie theaters, book stores, restaurants, Chicos, and at many community activities.
  
  Writing and reading have always been important parts of her life.She is a member of a book club and a writer's group.She has had a few short stories published as well as professional articles and book reviews.Coco Twain Tells the Truth is her first novel.She is working on a second.
  
  For more information you may send email to Judith Porter at cocotwain@yahoo.com .

• 
  Coco Twain Tells the Truth | By Judith Porter - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 11/19/2006    Last Visited: 7/9/2007  

  By Judith Porter
  ...
  Judith Porter and Jan Shapin did a presentation at Heatherwood at Kingsway in Yarmouthport, MA on Cape Cod on May 7, 2007.
  ...
  On Friday April 7, 2006, Judith Porter visited several Language Arts Classes at Asheville High School in Asheville, NC.She discussed the how and why of her writing process and had a great time.She's home now and tired.
  ...
  Coco Twain Tells The Truth, is a funny and poignant coming of age story set in rural Oklahoma in the late 50's by Judith Porter.
  ...
  Judith Porter presented a book talk at the Tiverton Community Center on Thursday January 12, 2006 at 6:30 pm.The event was sponsored by the Friends of the Tiverton Public Libraries.
  
  Portsmouth Free Public Library
  
  Judith read from her book and discussed writing at the Portsmouth Free Public Library on Thursday, November 10, 2005 at 7pm.Thanks to all who attended.
  
  Books Festival at Newport Public Library
  
  Judith Porter participated in the 2nd annual Books and Author's Festival at the Newport Public Library on Saturday, October 22, 2005.Photographs are posted in the photo section of this website.
  
  Launch Event
  ...
  Judith Porter gave presentations to freshmen journalism and drama classes at West Moore Junior High School in Moore, Oklahoma on Thursday, October 13, 2005.
  ...
  Now Porter can put her own book on one of those stacks.This week she releases "Coco Twain Tells the Truth," a story aimed at adults and teenagers.The story is of a 14-year-old girl in rural Oklahoma and the two escaped convicts who hide out in her best friend's house.
  
  That scenario is the framework of a coming-of-age story involving friendship and loyalty.It took Porter about a year to write (she is working on a second novel) and borrows from stories she's heard.A friend mentioned how an escaped prisoner once hid behind her family's couch, and Porter once read a story in The Newport Daily News about inmates who broke out of the pen by crawling through a toilet maintenance hole.
  
  And while her tale is fictional, the setting is close to where Porter, a retired Portsmouth School Department library/media specialist, grew up.She technically grew up in the town of Shidler, but the truth is her hometown was an off-the-map place called Carter Nine.
  
  Her dad was an electrician for Skelly Oil, and Porter, her brother and parents lived in an oil camp - three rows of fenced-in houses.She attended one tiny school for 11 years, part of a class of 30.
  
  "And it was the same 30 the whole way through," she said.
  
  But life changed, suddenly, when another company bought Skelly.Her father changed jobs and moved the family to Tulsa for Porter's senior year of high school."It was a real culture shock," she said."It was tough because I'd gone from a class of 30 to 360 and I was only there for a year.But Tulsa was a good experience in that I never would have been able to handle the University of Oklahoma if I hadn't had that time in Tulsa first."
  
  Porter earned her bachelor's degree in journalism and language arts education, married Frank Knapp, who was in the Navy, and moved to Newport.
  ...
  Porter taught at the former New School (now The Pennfield School) and spent 27 years in the Portsmouth school system, also earning a master's degree in educational technology and library science.And she kept her hand in writing.
  
  She wrote for school library journals, crafted and sold some short stories, and joined a series of local writers groups."But writing a novel is a whole different story," Porter said."I don't think I ever had the time to devote to it before.To me, it's very exciting.I've always loved the world of books and writers, and this is a way to be a part of that."
  
  Not that Porter is kidding herself.She is not expecting a J.K. Rowling overnight success story.She hopes some people will buy the book, read it and enjoy it.
  
  Her publisher is Publish America of Baltimore, which specializes in finding new writers.She received no advance but will earn royalties from copies sold.
  
  Porter jokes that setting up her Web site (www.jaykay100.com) was as much work as writing the book."The publisher strongly suggested putting together a Web site," she said.
  ...
  In her basement, Porter keeps a small office in which she writes, usually for two hours in the morning.The rest of her life is packed with activity the way her home is filled with books.She spends time with her 86-year-old mother, who moved from Oklahoma a few years ago and lives one floor below.
  
  Porter volunteers at the Potter League for Animals a few hours a week.She plays tennis and works out at the Newport Athletic Club.She's also a grandmother of three.And there are few cultural events that escape her attention.She goes to festivals and lectures, plus meetings with her writers group.
  
  Quite an imagination
  
  Jack Galvin, a retired Rogers High School English teacher and author, has been in the same writers group with Porter for a decade.
  ...
  "Judie has a wonderful sense of setting, just about everything is in Oklahoma," Galvin said.
  ...
  A teenage girl isn't the most reliable character in terms of point of view, but Judie gives Coco a great deal of believability."
  
  There's an aspect of Porter's personality that materializes in her writing.
  ...
  It was life on the outskirts, and for a while as a girl, Porter feared that Charlie Starkweather, the infamous "Badlands" murderer of the late 1950s might show up to wreak havoc - a remote chance but the product of a developing imagination.
  ...
  "I couldn't wait to get out of there fast enough," Porter said."Moving to Tulsa in a way was like heaven.But now I look back on it and realize I had a wonderful childhood."
  
  Porter seldom misses the school life.She enjoyed her time but not the bureaucracy."I really liked being with the kids," she said."But I hated the red tape, the battles over budgets every year."
  
  Now, she's enjoying her time as a published author ("I would never call myself a writer.It's a hobby.") and taking advantage of Newport's annual swirl of summer events.
  
  Porter is not one of those bothered by the hassles of summer, the influx of people: "Hey, try living in Carter Nine, Oklahoma."
  
  Judie Porter will celebrate the release of her novel, 'Coco Twain Tells The Truth,' Sunday from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the Potter League for Animals on Oliphant Lane in Middletown.
  
  Porter will have copies of the book for sale.The book, which officially will be released Wednesday, is available through amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.Porter also is hoping to sell her first book in local bookstores.
  ...
  Now Porter can put her own book on one of those stacks.This week she releases "Coco Twain Tells the Truth," a story aimed at adults and teenagers.The story is of a 14-year-old girl in rural Oklahoma and the two escaped convicts who hide out in her best friend's house.
  
  That scenario is the framework of a coming-of-age story involving friendship and loyalty.It took Porter about a year to write (she is working on a second novel) and borrows from stories she's heard.A friend mentioned how an escaped prisoner once hid behind her family's couch, and Porter once read a story in The Newport Daily News about inmates who broke out of the pen by crawling through a toilet maintenance hole.
  
  And while her tale is fictional, the setting is close to where Porter, a retired Portsmouth School Department library/media specialist, grew up.She technically grew up in the town of Shidler, but the truth is her hometown was an off-the-map place called Carter Nine.
  
  Her dad was an electrician for Skelly Oil, and Porter, her brother and parents lived in an oil camp - three rows of fenced-in houses.She attended one tiny school for 11 years, part of a class of 30.
  
  "And it was the same 30 the whole way through," she said.
  
  But life changed, suddenly, when another company bought Skelly.Her father changed jobs and moved the family to Tulsa for Porter's senior year of high school."It was a real culture shock," she said."It was tough because I'd gone from a class of 30 to 360 and I was only there for a year.But Tulsa was a good experience in that I never would have been able to handle the University of Oklahoma if I hadn't had that time in Tulsa first."
  
  Porter earned her bachelor's degree in journalism and language arts education, married Frank Knapp, who was in the Navy, and m

• 
  Coco Twain Tells the Truth | By Judith Porter - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/30/2004    Last Visited: 11/19/2006  

  "Judie has a wonderful sense of setting, just about everything is in Oklahoma," Galvin said.
  ...
  A teenage girl isn't the most reliable character in terms of point of view, but Judie gives Coco a great deal of believability."
  
  There's an aspect of Porter's personality that materializes in her writing.
  ...
  Judie Porter will celebrate the release of her novel, 'Coco Twain Tells The Truth,' Sunday from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the Potter League for Animals on Oliphant Lane in Middletown.
  
  Porter will have copies of the book for sale.The book, which officially will be released Wednesday, is available through amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.Porter also is hoping to sell her first book in local bookstores.
  ...
  Now Porter can put her own book on one of those stacks.This week she releases "Coco Twain Tells the Truth," a story aimed at adults and teenagers.The story is of a 14-year-old girl in rural Oklahoma and the two escaped convicts who hide out in her best friend's house.
  
  That scenario is the framework of a coming-of-age story involving friendship and loyalty.It took Porter about a year to write (she is working on a second novel) and borrows from stories she's heard.A friend mentioned how an escaped prisoner once hid behind her family's couch, and Porter once read a story in The Newport Daily News about inmates who broke out of the pen by crawling through a toilet maintenance hole.
  
  And while her tale is fictional, the setting is close to where Porter, a retired Portsmouth School Department library/media specialist, grew up.She technically grew up in the town of Shidler, but the truth is her hometown was an off-the-map place called Carter Nine.
  
  Her dad was an electrician for Skelly Oil, and Porter, her brother and parents lived in an oil camp - three rows of fenced-in houses.She attended one tiny school for 11 years, part of a class of 30.
  
  "And it was the same 30 the whole way through," she said.
  
  But life changed, suddenly, when another company bought Skelly.Her father changed jobs and moved the family to Tulsa for Porter's senior year of high school."It was a real culture shock," she said."It was tough because I'd gone from a class of 30 to 360 and I was only there for a year.But Tulsa was a good experience in that I never would have been able to handle the University of Oklahoma if I hadn't had that time in Tulsa first."
  
  Porter earned her bachelor's degree in journalism and language arts education, married Frank Knapp, who was in the Navy, and moved to Newport.
  ...
  Porter taught at the former New School (now The Pennfield School) and spent 27 years in the Portsmouth school system, also earning a master's degree in educational technology and library science.And she kept her hand in writing.
  
  She wrote for school library journals, crafted and sold some short stories, and joined a series of local writers groups."But writing a novel is a whole different story," Porter said."I don't think I ever had the time to devote to it before.To me, it's very exciting.I've always loved the world of books and writers, and this is a way to be a part of that."
  
  Not that Porter is kidding herself.She is not expecting a J.K. Rowling overnight success story.She hopes some people will buy the book, read it and enjoy it.
  
  Her publisher is Publish America of Baltimore, which specializes in finding new writers.She received no advance but will earn royalties from copies sold.
  
  Porter jokes that setting up her Web site (www.jaykay100.com) was as much work as writing the book."The publisher strongly suggested putting together a Web site," she said.
  ...
  In her basement, Porter keeps a small office in which she writes, usually for two hours in the morning.The rest of her life is packed with activity the way her home is filled with books.She spends time with her 86-year-old mother, who moved from Oklahoma a few years ago and lives one floor below.
  
  Porter volunteers at the Potter League for Animals a few hours a week.She plays tennis and works out at the Newport Athletic Club.She's also a grandmother of three.And there are few cultural events that escape her attention.She goes to festivals and lectures, plus meetings with her writers group.
  
  Quite an imagination
  
  Jack Galvin, a retired Rogers High School English teacher and author, has been in the same writers group with Porter for a decade.
  ...
  "Judie has a wonderful sense of setting, just about everything is in Oklahoma," Galvin said.
  ...
  A teenage girl isn't the most reliable character in terms of point of view, but Judie gives Coco a great deal of believability."
  
  There's an aspect of Porter's personality that materializes in her writing.
  ...
  It was life on the outskirts, and for a while as a girl, Porter feared that Charlie Starkweather, the infamous "Badlands" murderer of the late 1950s might show up to wreak havoc - a remote chance but the product of a developing imagination.
  ...
  "I couldn't wait to get out of there fast enough," Porter said."Moving to Tulsa in a way was like heaven.But now I look back on it and realize I had a wonderful childhood."
  
  Porter seldom misses the school life.She enjoyed her time but not the bureaucracy."I really liked being with the kids," she said."But I hated the red tape, the battles over budgets every year."
  
  Now, she's enjoying her time as a published author ("I would never call myself a writer.It's a hobby.") and taking advantage of Newport's annual swirl of summer events.
  
  Porter is not one of those bothered by the hassles of summer, the influx of people: "Hey, try living in Carter Nine, Oklahoma."
  
  Judie Porter will celebrate the release of her novel, 'Coco Twain Tells The Truth,' Sunday from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the Potter League for Animals on Oliphant Lane in Middletown.
  
  Porter will have copies of the book for sale.The book, which officially will be released Wednesday, is available through amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.Porter also is hoping to sell her first book in local bookstores.

• 
  Coco Twain Tells the Truth | By Judith Porter - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 11/19/2006    Last Visited: 7/9/2007  

  By Judith Porter
  ...
  Judie Porter writes a very unusual tale in her book, Coco Twain Tells the Truth.Her skill rings with such a captivating style that I was forced to read the entire novel from beginning to end - in one sitting.
  ...
  Author: Judie Porter
  
  Publisher: Publish America, Inc.
  ...
  Coco Twain Tells The Truth, Judith Porter
  ...
  Judith Porter asks and answers these questions in her endearing book, Coco Twain Tells The Truth
  ...
  Judith Porter was born and raised in Oklahoma but now lives in Rhode Island.
  
  With degrees in journalism and library science, she is now a retired public school media specialist.Her writing is clear, strong, visual, and tinged with humor.
  ...
  Coco Twain Tells the Truth by Judith Porter Publish America, 2005
  ...
  Coco Twain Tells the Truth by Judith Porter
  ...
  In this light-hearted coming-of-age novel, Judith Porter tells the story of Coco Twain, a small-town Oklahoma girl whose life is forever changed when two escaped convicts hole up in her best friend's house.
  
  Coco is staying with Sonya for a weekend while her parents are visiting the city.
  ...
  And Porter gets across many positive lessons without ever becoming didactic.
  ...
  Judith PorterPublishAmericaISBN: 1-4137-6962-4
  ...
  Coco Twain Tells the Truth by Judith Porter is available at Amazon
  
  From Florida:
  
  At a time when most books for young teens are written about wizards and magic powers, Coco Twain Tells The Truth is a breath of fresh air.Judith Porter has written this wonderful book that is fun to read and tells a great story.
  ...
  Judith Porter's coming-of-age novel is written with wry humor and the kind of detail that makes the town of Whitchit come alive.Each character brings a distinctive voice to the story, along with flaws, quirks, and redeeming qualities.Coco's choices will not be easy ones, but in making them she gains the perspective she needs to begin her own life beyond Whitchit.
  
  Arliss Ryan, author of Kingsley House (St. Martin's Press, 2000)
  
  From Cape Cod:
  
  Never a False Note, June 27, 2005In "Coco Twain Tells the Truth" Judith Porter has tapped into a refreshing spring of adolescent verisimilitude that produces an enjoyable and memorable reading experience for adults young and old.Coco Twain, a likeable fourteen-year-old girl living in the town of Whitchit, Oklahoma, in 1958, stumbles upon an adult world populated by two escaped convicts and a woman anxious to seize upon what may be her last chance for love.
  ...
  This debut novel by Ms. Porter promises more good stories from her pen in the future.
  ...
  Review for Coco Twain Tells The Truth By Judith Porter
  ...
  As the story unfolds, author, Judith Porter gives you a peek into the minds of the two very different teenage girls.
  ...
  Judie Porter has invested unique qualities into her characters-qualities that have real implications for the story.Her dialogue is witty, the setting clearly defined as an innocent ‘50's tableau, and Coco learns that life can have serious consequences even in Whitchit.First person point of view, particularly that of an innocent young person is risky .The character may know too much or not enough, may be too prescient or dull.The challenge is to infuse the "I" with enough charm, humor, candor and realism that the reader accepts her words and insights .Porter has accepted the challenge and created in Coco a speaker who is neither quirky nor bland , a kid we can believe.

• 
  OnceWritten.com Book Review--Coco Twain Tells The... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 12/14/2005    Last Visited: 6/16/2008  

  Coco Twain Tells The Truth, Judith PorterCoco Twain Tells The TruthJudith Porter
  ...
  Judith Porter
  ...
  Judith Porter asks and answers these questions in her endearing book, Coco Twain Tells The Truth
  ...
  Judith Porter was born and raised in Oklahoma but now lives in Rhode Island.
  
  With degrees in journalism and library science, she is now a retired public school media specialist.Her writing is clear, strong, visual, and tinged with humor.
  ...
  Coco Twain Tells The Truth, Judith Porter

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