Shannon Hale started writing books at age ten and never stopped, eventually earning an MFA in Creative Writing. After nineteen years of writing and dozens of rejections, she published her first book, The Goose Girl, an ALA Teens' Top Ten. Enna Burning and River Secrets are companion books to Goose. Princess Academy is a Newbery Honor Book and New York Times best seller. Austenland, her first book for adults, is a Book Sense pick. She and her husband are co-writing a series of graphic novles for kids. They reside in Salt Lake City with their toddler son, baby daughter, and their pet, a small, plastic pig.