About The Author
The author and his wife Lori Love stand before the Pownalborough Court House in Dresden, Maine, where the Prescott sisters once lived and where the schoolgirl samplers that inspired this story were stitched nearly two centuries ago. Behind them appear Beckie, Louisa, and Sallie Prescott, imagined as they might have looked in the 1830s.
Bio
Aric Wilmunder is a writer, technologist, and historical researcher whose work bridges storytelling, history, and craftsmanship. His current project is The Prescott Girls: A Letter from Philadelphia, a middle-grade historical novel inspired by early nineteenth-century schoolgirl samplers and the lives of three real sisters connected to the historic Pownalborough Courthouse in Dresden, Maine.
Before turning to historical writing, Mr. Wilmunder spent decades in the technology and interactive entertainment industries, including work at Lucasfilm Games (later LucasArts). His background in software engineering and interactive media continues to influence his research-driven approach to storytelling.
Mr. Wilmunder works closely with historians, museums, and textile experts. Along with his wife Lori Love, an accomplished needleworker whose work has received numerous honors including multiple Best of Show awards and the California Golden Bear at the California State Fair, he helped document and return historically significant needlework samplers connected to the Betsy Ross family. Their research was published in PieceWork magazine in the article Six Stitches Through Time.
Author Gallery
Explore a curated collection of photographs
View Author GalleryThe Story Behind the Story
The Prescott Girls grew out of the unexpected discovery of several nineteenth-century schoolgirl samplers connected to the Prescott family of Dresden, Maine. Research into the girls, their family, and the historic Pownalborough Court House led to the identification of the place where the samplers were stitched and eventually to their return to Maine nearly two centuries later. The novel is rooted in documented people, places, and events, while using fiction to imagine what life might have been like for three sisters growing up in the old courthouse during the 1830s.