Ellen W. Leroe grew up writing fairy tales in northern New Jersey. After graduating from Elmira College, in New York State, she worked as a fashion buyer. But she soon returned to her original love, writing. Ellen moved to San Francisco and began working on novels while working at various administrative and editorial positions. When her first Young Adult novel was published in 1983, she became a full-time writer. Thirty of her children’s books have been published since then, and Ellen has also created a greeting card line, won poetry awards, and lent song lyrics to a jazz CD. Writing continues to be her passion and chief form of entertainment. She lives in San Francisco.

"My mother taught me to read before I started school, but I had to wait to be six before I could have a library card."[ Author's quote from her website.] "In 25 years, I wrote 40 books. Most of them came out under my own name, but a few were published under the name T.J. Bradstreet."[ Author's quote from her website.] She lives in Washington State, and is a member of The Authors Guild and the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.[ Houghton Mifflin website] Jean Thesman is a popular and award-winning novelist for young adults whose predominant theme is the heroine finding her place in the world by coming to understand her family. "I loved telling the story, because I really believed that families were made up of the people you wanted, not the people you were stuck with." —Emily Shepherd[Jean Thesman, In the House of the Queen's Beasts (Viking, 2001, p.79).]