Me with one of our many cats.

I grew up on a farm in central Iowa with three brothers, three sisters, and dozens of cats. Being from a large family was a lot of fun, but it didn't allow much privacy. One of my favorite gifts from my parents was a diary that came with a key. I dreamed of filling the pages with my innermost thoughts. Then with a twist of the key, I could protect those precious words from the prying eyes of my brothers and sisters.

As it turned out, I didn't keep up with journaling then, but I did write other things -- stories, poems, and of course, the usual school reports. In high school I wrote for our school paper and became the editor in my senior year.

	Even in grade school, I enjoyed writing.

Then I headed off to college where I graduated with a B.A. degree in English. Over the next few years, I continued to write and had a few things published, but writing wasn't a priority for me then. My husband and I had two children, Ted and Cindy, and working and raising a family kept me busy.

I didn't get serious about writing until 1991, when our children were in high school. I began writing every day  -- stories, picture books, and then my first nonfiction book. Although that first book of nonfiction didn't sell, it attracted a publisher's attention and led to a contract for a young adult biography about author Alice Walker.

My office doesn't always look this bad, but sometimes, when I'm working on a deadline...

Of course, research is one of the most important parts of my work and my office quickly fills up with stacks of books and papers. I wish I could tell you that I knew exactly where everything was when I needed it, but to be honest, I sometimes spend a lot of time searching.

The hardest part of writing for me is doing the first draft. So I try to make it easy on myself. I don't think about spelling, punctuation, or how good something sounds. I just write. I start each writing session by rewriting what I wrote the day before. I make big changes -- moving paragraphs around, deleting sections, and expanding other areas. I love this process because that's when my manuscript really starts to come together.

	No helmets for the photo, but they did come later.

In addition to writing, I'm also an instructor for the Institute for Children's Literature, teaching a correspondence course for people who want to learn to write for children. When I'm not writing or teaching, I usually spend my time reading, walking, gardening, and going on motorcycle rides with my husband. After a break, I'm always happy to get back to work. For me, the best part of writing is that I'm always learning something new and that's exciting.