When I was fifteen, I was fired from my part-time job at the library. The reason? Reading too much – while I was supposed to be working. Luckily, I had other jobs. One began when I was twelve –playing organ at my church. At seventeen I taught piano lessons to kids in my town. My musical background did inspire several books: Songs of Praise; I Hear America Singing; M Is for Music; and especially Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (And What the Neighbors Thought). Another job involved selling doughnuts and cupcakes at a bakery, which hasn’t led to any books so far. Then, the day after I graduated from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, I began a career in children’s publishing and have stayed there ever since. Over the course of eleven years, I worked for four companies as a children’s book editor. While on the job, I wrote mysteries in the Trixie Belden series, a collection of Christmas carols, and a 24-book concept series. Finally, about ten years ago, I started working at home, writing my own books for young people.