Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson was born in Washington, D.C., and has lived in its Maryland suburbs ever since. This has not necessarily been a wise choice. Someday she might move.

She attended a two-year college. It took her 12 years to earn her AA degree, but who's counting? She works part-time as a library technician.

She was 52 when her first book, The Parallel Universe of Liars, was published. It was a Publishers Weekly Flying Start, an ALA Booklist Top Ten Books for Youth, and a YALSA Quick Pick. So there's hope in the world yet!