Over the years Melody Carlson has worn many hats from preschool teacher to youth counselor to political activist to senior editor. But most of all she loves to write! Currently she freelances from her home. In the past eleven years she has published more than 150 books for children teens and adults with sales close to three million and many titles appearing on best sellers lists. Several of her books have been finalists and winners of various writing awards including The Gold Medallion and The Rita Award. And most recently she is in the process of optioning some of her books for film rights. Carlsonrs"s passion for writing has been greatly focused on teens. Informed and aware of the challenges and struggles teens face today she writes young adult novels that she hopes will change lives. Her popular series Diary of a Teenage Girl (Multnomah) has sold more than 300 000 copies.

Her TrueColors series (Nav Press) focuses on hard-hitting issues such as suicide addiction and cutting. Her series The Secret Life of Samantha McGregor explores the paranormal from a godly perspective. And her latest series The Carter House Girls offers readers a cleaned-up alternative to the popular Gossip Girl books. She has two grown sons and lives in Central Oregon with her husband and chocolate lab retriever. They enjoy skiing hiking gardening camping and biking in the beautiful Cascade Mountains. www.melodycarlson.com.