About the Author

STORY SPROUTS EDITORS Alana Garrigues Alana Garrigues is a freelance journalist and creative nonfiction author. Originally from the bookish mecca of Portland, Oregon, she now lives the sunshine life in Redondo Beach, California, where she writes for the local newspaper and raises identical twin girls with her husband. She is currently writing a "humorous humanitarian" book about a California nurse who uprooted from her laid-back, beach town lifestyle to move to the bush of Benin, West Africa to found a non-profit. Other projects include rough drafts of several children's stories scribbled into notebooks, awaiting rediscovery and revision. Never one to pigeonhole, Alana is equally in love with telling compelling true stories and inspiring kids to love reading and writing; she hopes to move her career forward with one foot solidly rooted in both camps-creative nonfiction and kid lit. Alana is the Publications Director for CBW-LA and author of "writercize," a blog brimming with writing prompts for writers, students and teachers. Visit www.alanagarrigues.com for more information, including social media links. Nutschell Anne Windsor Nutschell (pronounced Noo-SHELL, in case you were wondering) Anne Windsor is a middle grade/young adult fantasy writer who hails from the Philippines and now lives in sunny Los Angeles. She is the Founder and President of CBW-LA and is the Assistant Regional Adviser of the L.A. Region of SCBWI (Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators). Nutschell founded the Children's Book Writers of Los Angeles (www.cbw-la.org) in 2010 with the hope of sharing knowledge with fellow children's book writers in the area. Following a BA in Psychology from the University of the Philippines (Diliman), Nutschell became an English teacher at Miriam College High School. Currently, she is the Creative Writing (Online) and Events Rep for UCLA Extension Writers' Program. Nutschell's experiences have turned her into a detail-oriented, organized planner, and she uses these skills to teach and facilitate workshops and critique sessions for CBW-LA. She is also an active member of the blogging community. She shares writing tips, techniques and reports on various writing events at www.thewritingnut.com and on Twitter @nutschell.