Bio:

A serendipitous event can happen at any time in one’s life. Mine definitely occurred in early August, 2011, at age 63, as I began writing, on a whim, my first children’s story, Salamandria. During the development of the story’s plot, I discovered I could crudely sketch my thoughts into conceptual imagery of dramatic scenes and events. Call it some hidden artistic expression or simply a neophyte’s play with pencils, I provide here some of my mental renderings.

I hope you enjoy these sketches and wonder about the content of this unpublished story! Yes, I’m looking for a publisher as well as a professional illustrator for this unique, mostly fictional, account of the life of a terrestrial salamander. (And yes, I’m hoping to prepare for the next step toward professional artwork, and any advice, encouragement or helpful comments are welcome.)

STANLEY E. TRAUTH is senior faculty member and Professor
of Zoology and Environmental Sciences in the Department of Biological Sciences and in the Environmental Sciences Ph.D. Program at Arkansas State University where he teaches comparative vertebrate anatomy, comparative vertebrate reproduction, animal histology, microtechnique, electron microscopy, natural history of vertebrates, and herpetology. He is also the curator of the ASU herpetological collection that numbers over 31,500 catalogued specimens, most of which were collected during Trauth’s 28-year tenure at ASU. He is currently President-Elect of the Herpetologists’ League. His co-authored book, “The Amphibians and Reptiles of Arkansas,” is the state’s only comprehensive guide for these animals. As a histo-herpetologist, his primary research interests include squamate reproductive anatomy, sperm morphology in reptiles and amphibians, and Rathke’s glands in turtles.

Writer/Illustrator
Associate
Member since 2011
Region: Arkansas

Contact Information

Email:  strauth@astate.edu

Published In Children's Market: No