author : Nancy Marie Brownwebsite : http://www.nasw.org/users/nmb/Nancy Marie Brown is the author of highly praised books of nonfiction, including The Abacus and the Cross and The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman. She has studied Icelandic literature and culture since 1978. Formerly the editor of the award-winning magazine Research/Penn State , Brown lives in Vermont, where she keeps four Icelandic horses and an Icelandic sheepdog.