This is me in a lengthier version:

 

I was born and raised by the sea in Charleston, South Carolina. I grew up on a steady diet of fairytales, salt-marshes, music and brothers who would reenact Redwall battles with me in the backyard. I went to an artsy sort of high school that allowed cello recitals in the hallways and impromptu poetry slams in the cafeteria. It was there I decided that writing was what I wanted to do more than anything.

 

So I wrote. I went to the College of Charleston and graduated with a degree in Creative Writing. I met the love of my life and got married at 21. We started traveling the world together and never really stopped. We’ve taught English in South Korea, farmed in New Zealand, hiked through Peru, spied on lions in Kenya. Country number 22 is next on the docket.  

 

I still live close to the sea, with my husband and two daughters, breathing life back into a crumbling Victorian house that's guarded by stone tigers. I garden. I train for marathons. I study history. I practice guitar. I foster kittens. I dream of better, braver worlds. Sometimes I get bored and color my hair or pierce my nose. One day I’ll be brave enough to commit to a tattoo. My sourdough starter is named Samwise. 

 

 

 

 

And this is me in the officially-official version:

 

Ryan Graudin is the award-winning author of numerous novels, including the Carnegie nominated Wolf By Wolf duology, The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois, and the The Girl Who Kept the Castle series. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages. She lives near Charleston, South Carolina with her husband and two daughters. Visit her online at www.ryangraudin.com.