Kathleen Benner Duble grew up surrounded by very talented individuals. Her father was a jet pilot in the Pittsburgh Air National Guard, and her sister, Lauren, went on to receive her wings and become a tanker pilot for the MAINEiacs in Bangor, Maine. Because Kathleen had sixteen car accidents before she was twenty-one, Kathleen's father would not let her try her hand at flying. This was probably a very good decision. Kathleen's mother and younger sister, Mara, were both highly successful executives, fighting for spots in a mostly male-dominated corporate world. As Kathleen hated confrontations of any kind, this was not a wise choice of career for her either. Her family despaired. What to do with a girl who barely looked up from the book she was reading to explore the world? Send her to college! Kathleen graduated cum laude from Miami University, Ohio in 1980 (an easy task as most of college involves reading). She walked out with a diploma and a degree in Creative Writing. At last, she had found her calling. But what do you write about when you've spent your whole life with your nose buried in a book? Kathleen began to look around. And for once, instead of princes and princesses and tales of adventure, she saw her own family right there in front of her with their unique stories to tell. Kathleen got to work. In February 1999, she had a short story published in Highlights Magazine for Children, a story about a botched music recital with her sister. Her first book, Bridging Beyond, a young adult novel, about her grandmother, came out in May of 2002 and was an IRA Notable Honor Book. Pilot Mom, again about her sister, came out in May of 2003 from Charlesbridge Publishing. Her third book, The Sacrifice, a story about an ancestor discovered by her father, was released in October of 2005 by Margaret K. McElderry. This middle grade novel was a Junior Library Guild Selection, received a starred review from Booklist, was a 2005/2006 Book Sense Pick, a Jefferson Cup Noteworthy book, and an ALA BBYA nominee. It is also a Louisiana Reader's Choice nominee, a Keystone State Award nominee, a William Allen White nominee, a Nevada State Reader's Choice nominee, a Virginia Reader's Choice nominee, a Great Stone Face nominee, a Sunshine State Young Adult nominee and a Massachusetts Book Award nominee. In 1983, she married her very smart and talented husband and began to steal from him. Hearts Of Iron, about his family's summer place, was released in October of 2006 from Margaret K. McElderry. It was a Winter Book Sense Pick and a 2007 IRA Teacher's Choice. In Bravo, Zulu Samantha! from Peachtree Publishing, Kathleen turned once again to her father to create the character of the crotchety old grandfather who is miffed at being forced to retire from the Air Force. Her father was an excellent role model! Bravo Zulu, Samantha! was an Agatha Award nominee, a Maine Student Book Award nominee and a Society of Librarian'sInternational Book Award Honor Book for Language Arts: K-6 novels. In March of 2008, Quest, was released from Margaret K. McElderry. This book tells the story of Henry Hudson and was a Boston Author's Club and a Jefferson Cup Highly Recommended book. In July of 2008, The Story of the Samson, was published by Charlesbridge Publishing. The amazing adventures of this little boat were discovered by Kathleen while on a trip to Nova Scotia with her parents and was an NCSS Notable Trade Book. Phantoms in the Snow is her most recent book published by Scholastic. It is the story of a group of skiing soldiers called Phantoms who turned the tide of the war in Italy against the Germans in World War II. In 1987, she became a mom - her very favorite job! And luckily, she got the job a second time in 1990. She is currently working on stealing stories from her two teenage girls, who live far more daring and exciting lives of intrigue and deception than Kathleen does. Kathleen lives in Massachusetts with her wonderful husband and two fabulous girls. They all love to travel, but none of them are pilots. You can read more about Kathleen and her work, or schedule a visit, at her website: www.kathleenduble.com.