Thelma Zirkelbach

Thelma Zirkelbach was born and raised in Austin, Texas. At age four, she composed a poem that went, "Happy as a chicken, Happy as a pig, Happy as a rabbit that danced a little jig" and announced that someday she would be a writer. Okay, she had a ways to go, but her goal was clear. It would, however, take several decades to realize that goal. As a child she loved pretending. She and her friends dressed up in her …