Pittman, Allison K. (Allison Pittman)

PERSONAL:

Married; husband's name Mike; children: three sons.

CAREER:

Writer. Former English teacher in Texas.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Harvard Prize Book, 2005, for excellence in teaching.

WRITINGS:

Ten Thousand Charms ("Crossroads of Grace" series), Multnomah Publishers (Sisters, OR), 2006.

Speak through the Wind ("Crossroads of Grace" series), Multnomah Fiction (Sisters, OR), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

A former English teacher, Allison K. Pittman is also the author of Christian-themed books in the "Crossroads of Grace" series. Her first novel in the series, Ten Thousand Charms, tells the story of Gloria, a prostitute living in the Wyoming Territories in 1860. After becoming pregnant, Gloria finds it difficult to care for her child but leaves the brothel and becomes the nurse for John Williams's new daughter after his wife dies. Williams moves on to the Oregon Territory, taking Gloria with him and teaching her the meaning of God's forgiveness. Tamara Butler, writing in the Library Journal, noted that the author "never judges her characters' actions or mistakes." A contributor to the Reader's Club Web site commented on the novel's "compelling characters and emotions."

Pittman's second novel, Speak through the Wind, takes place in New York City in 1841. When Reverend Joseph Hartmann encounters an abandoned, hungry child named Kassandra, he takes her back to the parish house and raises her, teaching her about God and the Bible. Eventually Kassandra grows into a healthy and beautiful young woman but falls in love with a young Irish boy and runs off with him. Soon she is living in a world of gambling and prostitution and ends up in Wyoming only to rediscover God. "Speak through the Wind is an exceptional saga," wrote Diana Risso on the Romance Reviews Today Web site. Novel Reviews Web site contributor Kelly Klepfer commented that the author "paints a haunting character in Kassandra and a beautiful picture of redemption."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, June 1, 2006, Tamara Butler, review of Ten Thousand Charms, p. 98.

ONLINE

Allison K. Pittman Home Page,http://allisonpittman.com (July 16, 2007).

Bookreporter.com,http://www.bookreporter.com/ (July 16, 2007), "2007 RITA Awards Finalists."

Novel Reviews,http://novelreviews.blogspot.com/ (February 24, 2007), Kelly Klepfer, review of Speak through the Wind.

Random House Web site,http://www.randomhouse.ca/ (July 16, 2007), brief profile of author.

Reader's Club,http://www.readersclub.org/ (July 16, 2007), review of Ten Thousand Charms.

Romance Reviews Today,http://www.romrevtoday.com/ (July 16, 2007), Diana Risso, review of Speak through the Wind.