Author Profiles

Juliane Koepcke

Juliane Koepcke is a German-Peruvian biologist, who was the lone survivor among the 92 passengers and crew of the ill-fated LANSA Flight 508 that crashed in the Peruvian rainforest on 24 December 1971. When Juliane Koepcke set off on the LANSA flight with her mother to meet her dad for Christmas celebrations in 1971, little did she knew that it would be the turning point of her life. Not only would it be the last journey with her mother but the most torturous one that would leave her with excruciating physical pain and emotional and mental agony. Popularly known as the ‘Girl Who Fell From the Sky’, Juliane not just survived a plane crash but has lived long to tell the tale of her miraculous escapade. All alone in a white mini dress, one sandal and a pack of sweets, she not just braved the extreme weather but also various poisonous creatures including bats, beetles, jaguars, scorpions, snakes, piranhas and alligators. Luckily, what stood in her favour was her experience of living in jungle while she was a kid. Her parents had taught her everything about the ‘green’ world. It was this knowledge and experience that saw her through. Koepcke’s story is truly one of bravery, courage, heroism, grit and determination. It was her strength of character and will power to reunite with her dad that kept her going.

Helen Steiner Rice

Helen Steiner Rice, often referred to as the "poet laureate of inspirational verse", was born Helen Elaine Steiner on May 19,1900 to Anna and John Steiner of Lorain, Ohio. Even as a little girl, she loved to write rhyming couplets and preach about God's love to her family. Pretty, pert and precocious, young Helen became a conscientious and outstanding high school student. Her teachers, some of whom were suffragists supporting women's right to vote, encouraged the teenager to set high goals. She dreamed of attending college - her high school yearbook noted that she hoped to become a Congresswoman - but her plans changed unexpectedly when her father died in the flu epidemic of 1918, the same year she graduated from high school. Instead of attending college, Helen became the family breadwinner and supported her mother and sister. Initially she was employed at the Lorain Electric Light and Power Company where she demonstrated how to create attractive lamp shades. Energetic and enterprising, Helen asked to be trained as a bookkeeper. Having mastered those skills, she started designing eye-catching display windows and, having proved that her insights in marketing were sound, she became the company's advertising manager. In time she was invited to be a spokeswoman for the Ohio Public Service Company and, in her twenties, crisscrossed the country giving speeches. In addition to promoting the advantages of the electric lighting industry, she also spoke about the importance of the opinions of women as consumers and about the value of women's talents in the workplace.

O. Henry

William Sydney Porter, more famous by his pen name O. Henry, was an American author of short stories. His stories were distinguished for their witty approach, use of words, effects of coincidence on their characters and most often for their surprise endings. His tales often dramatized the common place, especially the life of commoners of New York City. O. Henry was also a music enthusiast and a good singer and could play guitar and mandolin. His early life saw him singing at gatherings as a member of ‘Hill City Quartet’ group. He was incarcerated for embezzlement of funds at the ‘First National Bank’ in Austin where he worked as a bookkeeper and teller. On an impulsive move he fled to New Orleans and then to Honduras, a day before his trial, while he was being taken to the courthouse. However, later he surrendered after news of serious illness of his wife reached him. Many of his short stories were published while he was in prison. His notable and famous stories include ‘The Gift of the Magi’, ‘The Ransom of Red Chief’, ‘The Cop and the Anthem’, ‘The Caballero's Way’ and ‘A Retrieved Reformation’. Some of his stories such as ‘The Sacrifice’, ‘His Duty’ and ‘Trying to Get Arrested’ were adapted as silent films during his lifetime.