Holly Atkinson was born in 1944, in the mid-Missouri town of Rolla. She attended Drury University (1962-63)where she began a degree in English. Marriage and family intervened in Holly's academic career, but in 1987 she returned to the University of Missouri-Rolla and completed her bachelor's degree in English.Holly early writing career centered on articles about the natural world and the outdoor adventures shared with her husband, Steve, who is a freelance nature photographer. Together they published articles in Canoe & Kayak, Field & Stream, Missouri Conservationist, The Minnesota Volunteer, and others. In 2004, Holly published "Drinking Shadows," a compilation of stories drawn from her reflections on family life, the woods and rivers of the Missouri Ozarks, and the lake country of the far north where she spent much of her childhood. In 2007, Holly and her daughter, photographer/illustrator Julie Atkinson, published "Snow is Coming," a remembrance of simpler times, when the coming of snow was a child's dream come true."Will & Me" is Holly's first work of fiction, a novel that celebrates the family and the power of love that can bring together even the unlikeliest personalities.Today, when Holly isn't writing, she and husband Steve spend their time horseback riding, canoeing Missouri rivers, and enjoying their 300 acre farm, nestled in the Ozark Mountains. Family is the centerpiece of the Atkinsons' life: Their children live on adjoining farms and many happy evenings are spent around the dinner table with Steve and Holly's children and grandchildren, inspiring new stories as old ones are remembered and retold.One of Holly's favorite quotes, by Henry VanDyke, speaks to the heart of the Atkinson Family's philosophy:Every house where love abides And friendship is a guestIs surely home, and homesweet home, for there theheart can rest.