Cynthia Ellingsen

In elementary school, Cynthia Ellingsen was obsessed with two things: watching soap operas and reading books. (Boy bands came later). Her parents did not approve of the whole soap opera thing, so they encouraged her to find a new passion. Piano lessons didnt do the trick, nor did anything involving physical activity. But one day, her dad brought home a purple pen that smelled like grapes and asked her to write a story. Cynthia was delighted to discover that she could make her characters act just as funny as the people on the soap operas. Writing became her new obsession and many, many years later she sold her first book to Penguin Berkley. The first draft may or may not have been written in purple pen.