Cory Putman Oakes, a graduate of UCLA and Cornell Law School, lives in Austin, Texas with her family. Before becoming an author, she worked as a law associate and taught at Texas State University. This was all after she had to face the sad truth that being a heroine in a Madeleine L'Engle book wasn't going to happen. Since then, she's realized that writing books might be the best alternative to living in them. For more information, visit at corypoakes.com.