SMP

Clarissa Thomasson received her B.A. in English literature from Duke University and her Master's degree in English Literature from the University of Florida.   She taught English literature, creative writing, and journalism in Montgomery County, Maryland, before moving to Nags Head, North Carolina, with her husband.  There she pursued her writing career and published her first three novels-- Defending Hillsborough, Reconstructing Hillsborough, and Lorinda's Legacy.  In 2000 she and her husband relocated to Venice, Florida, where she published five children's books, called The Little Green Monkey Stories, in 2001.  In 2003 Thomasson published her first book of collected poems, Alone.  Her newest historical novel, Florida Shadows, was published in 2007

Thomasson became interested in writing historical novels when she learned of the Civil War heroics of her great-great-grandmother, Sarah Holeman Stroud, from her great aunt, Octavia Stroud Perry, Sarah's granddaughter.  This led to her researching and writing her first novel, Defending Hillsborough,  which was followed by a sequel,  Reconstructing Hillsborough.   Her third novel, Lorinda's Legacy, is a mystery, which is also based on a historical incident involving a murder and the ensuing trial.   The fourth novel, Florida Shadows, follows a young woman who moves to Southwest Florida in 1918.  It encompasses the building of the railroad from Arcadia to Boca Grande and the early days of the Gasparilla Inn in historic Boca Grande.

The Little Green Monkey Stories began as bedtime stories for her two daughters, who loved the tiny, pale green monkeys who played in the large animal house at the Washington, DC Zoological Park. The stories were finally published, however, for the enjoyment of her grandsons and their classmates.

Poetry has been a life-long love.  When Thomasson began reading her poetry in a series of monthly evening entertainments in Venice, she received many requests for copies of her poems.  The poems were then published in a chapbook called Alone--accompanied by the author's own photographs.

In addition to her novels, children's books, and poetry writing, Thomasson is a freelance magazine writer--having written for GRAND magazine since its inception, and having won a 2005 Florida Trust for Historic Preservation award for her contribution to Florida history through her articles in Yesterday in Florida magazine.