By Jerry Curry, Staff Writer
I recently had the opportunity to interview an author from Salem. Her name is Tanya Coats Konerman, and she graduated from Salem High School in 1985.
Konerman lived in Salem until she went to college at Indiana University and stayed there. She has a double major in Journalism and Psychology, with a focus on childhood development. Her home now is in Bloomington where she lives with her husband, who is an electrical engineer for Crane Naval Base. The couple have three daughters.
She specializes in children’s books and has written several. In July she had a book signing at Morgenstern’s Bookstore and Café. This is the largest independent bookstore in Indiana, located in Bloomington.
The book was “Haunted States of America”. It is a collection of ghost stories, published by Macmillan’s Laura Godwin Books. Several authors sent in stories geared for middle school students, and it is an anthology of ghost stories.
Konerman's contribution to the collection was “Danger at the Dune.” It a tale about a young woman, Dian from Chicago, who moved to the dunes in the 1900’s. She married a petty thief who was a suspect in the killing of a female found in the dunes. Well, the husband goes to the sheriff, who has no respect for him, to prove he didn’t do it. The sheriff shoots him in the foot. In the altercation he hits Diana in the head with the butt of his rifle. She dies later, and her ghost is now roaming the dunes. Today she is known as Diana of the Dunes. She now has a headstone.
Konerman's ghost story was chosen to represent Indiana in the anthology for middle school students. Her new book is “Mud to the Rescue.” It is a lyrical nonfiction look at the ingenious ways animals use mud to survive. This will be released in the spring of 2025.
Konerman's agent is Mona Kanin at Great Dog Literary.
Konerman is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and she publishes their Indiana edition newsletter.
She is 55 years old and is a very creative person and winner of several awards. She has over twenty years experience writing for magazines, newspaper, and websites, as well as a background in advertising and public relations.
