Susan Middleton Elya grew up near Des Moines, Iowa, went to college 35 miles away, and then left her state to teach in the middle-of-nowhere Nebraska. She wanted to teach 3rd grade but ended up teaching high school Spanish instead (due to her double degree from Iowa State University). After 8.5 years of teaching in the Midwest, she moved to San Diego to get married and ended up teaching Spanish to native speakers in Ramona, California. Then a move with her husband to the Bay Area left her jobless, with a new baby, and with plenty of time to write. She started submitting stories for publication in 1988 and finally struck gold with Say Hola to Spanish, a nonfiction picture book from Lee & Low, in 1994. Now, 26 titles later, Elya is working on novels, as well. She has two grown children and one nearly-grown child, and still loves to make up stories, do school visits, and remember what it was like to be a kid. She also has an antiques and book store in Danville, California, where she sells autographed copies of her books. Check it out at www.thepolkadotattic.com.