Ruth Axtell Morren

Ruth Axtell Morren wrote her first story when she was 12--a spy thriller--and knew she wanted to be a writer.

There were many detours along the way as she pursued more realistic goals. She studied comparative literature at Smith College, where she received a Bachelor's degree; spent her junior year in Paris; taught English and lived as an au pair in the Canary Islands; worked in international development in Miami, Florida. It was there she met her husband, a Dutchman from Suriname, who took her to the Netherlands to live for six years.

Ruth currently teaches Spanish to her children and a small group of elementary school children in an after-school program. She also enjoys gardening and has recently learned to knit. Living in rural Maine has given her an opportunity to learn to start a fire in a woodstove on a cold winter morning, shovel snow and realize how many stars are in the sky at night.