About the Author

I've always been a storyteller. Even as a young girl growing up in Virginia I wrote animal stories and illustrated them with crayons, ultimately making them into little gift story booklets for my parents. Writing always resided in me; life just got in the way for a while. But once I retired, I grabbed onto my passion with both hands and began writing and painting like crazy.

I also wanted my fun stories to offer critical learning takeaways. As the animal characters in "The Tortoise Tales" face their dilemmas, it creates takeaways such as ideas for  becoming a better version of ourselves. And readers can learn something both memorable and surprising about animals and nature. Ideally, increasing awareness will help children and adults to reconnect with nature and the outdoors. 

DR. SALLY SCOTT GUYNN’s professional portfolio is broad and deep. Before retiring in 2013 from the fish and wildlife profession, she’d received numerous awards for developing and leading the prestigious National Conservation Leadership Institute in 2003-2013. She established the Dove School in 1983, wrote more than 50 professional papers, and a book in 2016 titled “I Know Why the Chameleon Smiles: A Memoir.” A popular speaker, she delivers keynote addresses and special presentations always pulling from her passion for storytelling. Guynn earned a B.A. in Biology from the University of Richmond, Virginia, a Masters Degree in the Teaching of Science from the University of Virginia, and a Doctorate in Organization & Human Resource Development from Colorado State University. In addition to writing these days, Guynn is an avid watercolorist with the Bon Air Artists Association. She lives with her husband and cairn terrier in their homes in Virginia and Montana.  

Photo on Left: "Author, Sally Guynn, listens to a big grey wolf in Whitefish, Montana"