Judith Boss (née Wager) was born in the village of Honeoye Falls, south of Rochester, New York in the heart of wine country. She attended elementary school in Irondequoit, where her family moved when she was two.When not in school, she enjoyed wandering the woods and fields around her home and picking beans for 25¢ a basket for Mr. King, who owned the truck farm behind her house. She also loved hiking and camping and was active in the Girl Scouts throughout high school.An avid writer, when Judy was 11 years old she wrote and illustrated her first “novel," a story about her beloved parakeet “Sparky." My Little Sparky was followed by several other short novels and a book of poems.Following graduation from high school, Judy attended the University of Rochester for a few years before dropping out and emigrating to Australia. Both of Judy’s daughters were born in Australia. She also finished her B.A. in philosophy and anthropology at the University of Western Australia.From Australia, the family moved to Nova Scotia, Canada for graduate school. After graduate school, Judy worked for eight years as a writer/researcher for the Nova Scotia Museum. In 1979, Judy and her two daughters moved to Newport, Rhode Island where she continued to work as a writer. She also worked as a lecturer for several years at the University of Rhode Island before going back to full-time writing.Judy currently lives in rural Rhode Island with her family and Corgi. An avid traveler, she has traveled with students from the University Of Rhode Island and Brown Medical School to work with undeserved, indigenous people in Guatemala and Mexico. Her favorite travel destination, however, is Antarctica.