Kristin Wolden Nitz was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but grew up in Duluth. Since graduating with a degree in electrical engineering from Michigan Tech, she has moved more than ten times. One of the moves took her to Merano, Italy, a town in the Italian alps that's halfway between Verona and Innsbruck both culturally and geographically. Merano is the setting for her her first middle grade novel, DEFENDING IRENE. The book features an American girl playing on an Italian boys' soccer team. Ms. Nitz's second novel, SAVING THE GRIFFIN, which is also set in Italy, was a nominee for the 2009/10 Kentucky Bluegrass Award and Georgia Book Award. Her yong adult mystery SUSPECT was nominated to YALSA's Best Fiction for young adults list. It was also selected to the Kansas Reading Circle, The Society of School Librarians International Best Books, and the Keystone State Reading Association YA book award. You can read more about Kristin Wolden Nitz at her blog: http://kristinwoldennitz.com/