Biography

After spending many years in professional theatre and film as an actress and director, Josephine Rascoe Keenan expanded her writing efforts from diaries and journals, which she’d kept from age eleven, to novels and short stories for young people. In May of 2016, Pen-L Publishing released her debut novel, In Those First Bright Days of Elvis, Book I, The Days of Elvis series. Book II of the series, In Those Dazzling Days of Elvis, launched on June 12, 2017.  She is currently working on Book III, In Those Glory Days of Elvis, came out in October of 2018.  Cricket magazine has published two of her short stories, Mary Greene: The Petticoat Skipper and Ohoyo Osh Chisba: the Unknown Woman, about the coming of corn to the Choctaw people. Her poem, A Ride on Grandpa’s Foot appeared in Modern Maturity magazine in August 2005.  Three of her plays have been produced in regional theatres: Friends and Life’s a Butter Dream, both of which played for a year to tristate school children; and The Center of the Universe, a three-act play that was chosen as a winner of Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati’s New Play Contest.

Another of her artistic endeavors is oil painting. Josephine had a show in Vevay, Indiana, of her paintings in 2012, and has exhibited in The Art House in Ft. Thomas, Kentucky.

Josephine has been a featured author at literary salons and she participated as an author/panelist in the Ohioana 2017, 2018, and 2019 Book Festivals. She has a Power Point presentation which she presents at book clubs and such organizations as DAR and library bookings. She is available to discuss her book(s) at your book clubs, and she would love to speak at your neighborhood library or high school.