Lisa Jane Smith, the author of more than twenty young adult novels, realized she wanted to be a writer sometime between kindergarten and first grade. She started writing in elementary school and has never been able to break the habit.

The idea for her first published book came while baby-sitting in high school, and she wrote it while attending the University of Santa Barbara (in between classes, of course), after which she went on to teach public school (elementary) for several years. Her Master's Degree is in Special Education. She still likes to encourage young writers to express themselves. Ms. Smith enjoys writing about strong female characters and encouraging girls to read, write, and reach for their dreams.

Since childhood she has been fascinated by the night and the way the ordinary world changes in moonlight. Many of her books are about the mysterious things that happen after darkness falls. Dreams and nightmares have always fascinated her. Many of her books, including The Forbidden Game trilogy, are based on her own nightmares and those of her friends. At times she stops in the middle of a particularly frightening dream and thinks, "This is awful. I sure hope I remember it when I wake up!"

While she makes no claim to psychic powers, she is firmly convinced that streetlights go off at night when she passes. Ms. Smith likes writing about the supernatural because it’s a great forum for the battle between good and evil.

She lives in a rambling house among the trees in a small Bay Area town in northern California. Her companions include one dog, three cats, and about ten thousand books. On warm summer nights she watches the stars while deer feed on the hill around her, where she gets some of her best ideas. She is looking forward to the millennium and wonders what the future will bring. Ms. Smith enjoys computers, mythology, walking in the woods at night, and animals.

culled from the biographies in the back of her books.