I was born in Connecticut in 1973, during a brief blip in my family's otherwise western U.S. existence. We were settled in Phoenix by the time I was four, and I think of myself as a native. The unusual spelling of my name was a gift from my father, Stephen (+ ie = me). Though I have had my name spelled wrong on pretty much everything my entire life long, I must admit that it makes it easier to google myself now. read more...
I grew up in Livingston, New Jersey, about 45 minutes from New York City. I was always a big reader, the flashlight-under-the-covers type of kid. In fourth grade my best friend and I competed to see who could read more books. For every book we read, we got to add a segment to the larger-than-life construction-paper inchworm that our teacher had cleverly coined a "bookworm." read more...
Julie Anne Peters is the critically-acclaimed author of popular books for young adults and children. Her first young adult novel, Define "Normal," won the California Young Reader Medal, the Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award, and the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award, all voted on by young readers as their favorite book of the year. Keeping You a Secret, a young adult lesbian love story, was a Borders Original Voices... read more.
The subject of a recent Time magazine feature called, "The Man Who Can't Miss," James Patterson is the bestselling author of the past year, bar none, with more than 12 million books sold in North America alone. James's first foray into kid-accessible fiction, the critically acclaimed Maximum Ride series, debuted on the list at #1 and remained there for 12 straight weeks. The series has so far been on The New York Times bestsellers lists for more than 56 weeks, proving that kids love page turners, too. read more...