Talking Trees: The Real Story

By: Michelle Hinkson Gaskin

Talking Trees: The Real Story is about the secret lives of trees when they think people are looking. For Michelle Gaskin, she can never look at a tree and not see something suspiciously… mischievous… and thinks others will start seeing them as not just beautiful, or majestic, but comical.

During the Pandemic of 2020, everyone and everything seemed somber, but the trees… well, they continued to take it one second at a time, which is how they grow. That is why they have survived so long. Talking Trees is unique because trees do not think we see what they are up to because they are so good at standing still when we are looking; they are cunning. These words are exactly as they are meant to be… a reason to smile or bust out laughing. We could always use more laughter.

About the Author

Michelle Hinkson Gaskin likes taking pictures of trees that talk to her, so the she posts them to social media and makes up stories to make her friends laugh. One special lady, Beth Schisa D'Angelo, suggest she publish them, and voila! She owes her her firstborn now.

Michelle does try to give back to this beautiful world because some lives may not be so beautiful. Her joy is in doing little things for those who need but never ask. She likes surprising people and wishes she could be a Secret Santa to the whole world. She is a member of the BBBS organization and has the smartest little sister. She is also an artist ( starving doesn’t begin to explain it), but it is the one thing that allows her the freedom to make up her own rules.

Michelle hates compromising; that’s why she is divorced. Don’t feel bad; her ex-husband is still her dentist. Their four children, one girl (oy) and three boys, are the best in the world. If you look up perfect, you’ll see a portrait of the four of them. Her granddaughter (oy vey) is her life, like mana from heaven.

An English instructor at a local college, Michelle loves her job. She loves weaving young writers but has always secretly, though, wanted to be an author. This is just her first step. Her parents, Victor and Joan Hinkson, are her world, but she has to share them with her brother Jason, and she owes them a moment of pride. Her grandmother, Alice Josoph, will be 105 years soon, and it is her pleasure to show her she has inherited her gift for making up stories. Michelle wants them to see she has not lost the clown in her; her middle name is Goof. She does not take herself seriously, but she hopes others do.