A Kentucky native, Colleen Steffen earned her B.A. in journalism from Franklin College (go Grizzlies!) in Franklin, Ind., and her M.A. in English literature from the University of North Florida—but honestly she learned most what she knows the hard way, at four different daily newspapers in three different states. Stereotypically restless, she has dabbled in PR, historic preservation, 100-year-old crime investigation, and keeping a small child out of traffic. She also spent more than five years teaching future journalists at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., where she currently freelances and lives with her husband, daughter and vicious weiner-mutt. She decided to be a writer when she was 7, and she’s never been sorry yet.