As a young girl, I was often the despair of my mother, who constantly begged me to get my nose out of a book and “do something.” It took a few years, but I eventually managed to combine the two. I started writing about as soon as I could hold a pencil. Early on, I excelled at misspelled poetry. But in high school, I began coming into my own. I wrote for the school paper and won some awards for fiction and essay. I went on to earn a degree in Education and after graduation, worked as a school librarian and teacher. I gave all that up to raise a family of six, and for a while, as you can imagine, I didn't write much of anything. But the muse wasn't finished with me. My first paid freelance writing was a poem in the Wall Street Journal for a whopping $5. Obviously, I had gotten a bit better at spelling. Since then, I've worked as a correspondent reporter and humor columnist, earned assignments for two cover stories for Boys’ Life, and published articles and stories in a variety of national and regional newspapers and magazines. I am currently the author of seven middle grade novels, a first chapter book, and a self-illustrated picture book. Three of my novels were listed as Junior LibraryGuild selections, and both Frankie’s Run and Me Two were nominated for several state Young Reader awards. Me Two was also the basis for the Disney Channel Original Movie, The Other Me. In my leisure time, I enjoy the outdoors and experiencing neat stuff like hot air ballooning, sea kayaking, swimming with sea lions and dolphins, going underwater in a nuclear submarine, and exploring a Maya cave in Belize. My latest adventures include ziplining and driving a jet ski. These days, I confess to being a bit of a technogeek. Nothing makes me happier than to find a new (and preferably free) app. I can often still be found with my nose in a book, digital or otherwise.