Tracy Abell isn’t as creeped-out by the idea of sleeping in a bed where someone was murdered as she is of hiding out in a museum where the eyes in the paintings follow her.  Um, that’s a lie.  But it is true that when Tracy isn’t trail running or hooping, she’s writing contemporary middle-grade fiction.  For more non-lies, go to Tracy’s Twitter or blog where you can also find museum-quality photos of birds that visit her backyard.

Sarah Aronson knows what it feels like to sit on the bench.  But these days, she is riding a wave of good luck.  Her middle-grade novel, BEYOND LUCKY, will be published in 2011 by Dial Books.  When she is not writing, Sarah keeps busy teaching for www.writers.com, cooking, watching her favorite teams, or riding her bike. Check out her website at www.saraharonson.com.

Jen K Blom was actually locked in her school – but she lived to tell the tale! She lives in Berlin, Germany with her darling new daughter, fantastic husband and two neurotic hairless cats! Jen writes middle grade with plucky characters and animals galore. Her debut title, POSSUM SUMMER, is forthcoming Spring 2011 from Holiday House.  Feel free to drop by www.jenkblom.com, her blog at jaekaebee.blogspot.com, or her twitter at twitter.com/jaekaebee to get the latest and greatest on her haphazard life!

Amie Borst could never fit enough chocolate in one violin case to last her a whole week, let alone one day.  When she’s not eating chocolate, she’s busy writing with her three daughters.  She lives in northern Virginia soaking up the sun and walking through cemeteries plotting her next idea.  To learn more about Amie, visit her website, http://amie-borst.com.

Tami Lewis Brown lived on the top floor of a museum for two years and only set off the burglar alarm once. Her picture book biography for middle graders, Soar, Elinor! will be published in October 2010, followed by a middle-grade novel, One Shiny Silver Key in Spring 2011. She lives with her family, two cats, and a dog in one of the oldest houses in Washington, D.C. Visit her at www.TamiLewisBrown.com.

Sheela Chari uses her violin case to store her violin, but she does dream of sleeping in a tall canopy bed with draping some day. She lives 30 minutes from New York City with her husband and two daughters, where they talk frequently about visiting the Met, but end up reading a book instead. Sheela’s middle-grade novel, VANISHED, will be published by Disney-Hyperion, July 2011. Visit her at www.sheelachari.com.

Sue Cowing once spent the night locked in a public library, but in the bathroom wing where she couldn’t reach the books!  Naturally, she made good use of the time drafting a new novel on paper towels. . .not. Her debut novel You Will Call Me Drog was published by Carolrhoda Books in 2011 and will appear in paperback from Usborne UK in April, 2014. Visit her (and the puppet Drog) at www.suecowing.com.

Elissa Cruz has her own unique filing system at home.  When she’s not busy rummaging through her piles of paperwork, she’s writing middle-grade books for boys.  She lives in Utah with her husband, two daughters, three sons, five dress-up princess gowns, seven toy lightsabers, thirteen bicycles, and more books than she cares to count.  You can learn more about her crazy, mixed-up writing life at www.elissacruz.blogspot.com.

Sayantani DasGupta first learned about the birds and the bees by checking out all the books (and I mean ALL) in her local library on the topic. It only figured that she grew up to be a kids’ doctor, then a writer, then a professor, and then a kids’ writer. When she’s not juggling careers, or juggling nine pins in New York area traffic, she’s juggling her two children, husband, and her overdue fines from the library. She’s the author of THE DEMON SLAYERS AND OTHER STORIES: BENGALI FOLKTALES and likes to tweet, blog, and otherwise blather.

Jan Gangsei has never felt compelled to run away as she’s had the great fortune to live in some pretty awesome places — Vermont, Key West, NYC, DC and Barbados. Plus, she’d miss her family too much. But when Jan does need an escape, she retreats to the corner of her brain that harbors her inner 11-year-old and writes stories for kids. She thinks her amazing literary agent, Sarah Davies of the Greenhouse, is the most dedicated, hardworking person on the planet. Jan’s travel agent comes in a close second.

Jennifer Duddy Gill loves to make up stories for children and if you ask her why, she may not try to explain because, as Mrs. Frankweiler says, the modern world has too many words and explanations for everything already. Jennifer has lived and worked all over the world and currently writes books in Denver, Colorado, where she lives with her husband and two daughters. Visit her blog at: www.jennifer-d-g.livejournal.com.

Diana Greenwood once ran away and made it ten miles to the next town before she got tired of pedaling. When her dad tossed the bike in his pickup and buckled her seat belt for the ride home, Diana didn’t mention she’d packed snacks but had forgotten underwear. Today she runs away by airplane as often as possible but always returns to Napa, California, where she writes young adult and middle-grade novels with a 20-pound calico on her lap. Diana’s debut novel, INSIGHT, will be published in 2011 by Zondervan (Harper Collins). Visit soon at www.dianagreenwood.com.

Hillary Homzie is the author of the tween novels, The Hot List (S&S 2011) and Things Are Gonna Get Ugly, as well as the comedic chapter book series Alien Clones From Outer Space, which is being made into an animated television series.  She has also been privately coaching both published authors and aspiring authors for nine years, and during the summers teaches in the graduate program in children’s writing at Hollins University. A former sketch comedy performer in NYC, Hillary currently lives with her family in Northern California. Please visit www.hillaryhomzie.com.

While in high school, Jacqueline Houtman touched one of Michelangelo’s Slave sculptures in the Louvre Museum and got a stern look from a guard. After her reckless art-touching youth, she earned a PhD in biology. She is a freelance science writer for adults and children and also writes “sciency fiction,” where real science is integral to the story. Her middle-grade novel, The Reinvention of Edison Thomas, was published in 2010. She and her engineer husband live in Wisconsin, where they conduct research in the form of two sciency kids. www.jhoutman.com

Joanne Prushing Johnson thinks it is true that the search is more profitable than the goal. That’s because while she’s searching for matching soccer socks, her cell phone or a moment’s privacy, she often finds a jersey, her keys or a great idea. Joanne writes funny, boy-friendly books with a twist. She also an occupational therapist and lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband, four boys and an oversized golden retriever. To learn more about Joanne, check out http://joanneprushingjohnson.com.

As the father of 4 daughters, Brian Kell hides out in the bathroom weeping most of the time.  He writes humorous YA and MG books. He’s still trying to break through the plastic-wrap ceiling and get one of his books on the shelves. Find out everything you didn’t want to know and less at http://brian-ohio.livejournal.com.

Kimberley Griffiths Little’s best ideas come when taking long hot baths, but instead of a sunken black marble tub with gold faucets and a dragon-shaped spigot, she has New Mexico hand-painted tiles in her adobe home along the Rio Grande.  Kimberley has two upcoming middle-grade novels with Scholastic Press: THE HEALING SPELL (2010) and CIRCLE OF SECRETS (2011).  Please visit www.kimberleygriffithslittle.com to download the free guides for teachers and book clubs.

Deb Marshall dreams of moving into the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Although she’s too big to hide out in a bathroom stall, she’ll find a way to make it happen. When not plotting her museum stay , she’s working on her middle-grade novel, LIFE AS A TO-DO LIST. And when not writing she can be found at the library where she runs the Summer Reading Club and facilitates a book club for kids aged 8-13.  Deb has worked in the field of children’s literature for over twenty years and can’t imagine doing anything else. Well, except for living you know where.

Wendy Martin is the author and artist of several books including the illustrated chapter book, “An Ordinary Girl, A Magical Child.”  She hopes her paintings will one day be discovered in the collection of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler who will sell them to a museum for more than a few hundred dollars.  Wendy currently resides with her husband and daughter in eastern Missouri when she isn’t on the road giving workshops at festivals or visiting schools. She claims the dubious title of Perpetual Project Lady and does her best to keep the house clean and the cats fed.  Wendy M’s website

Erin E. Moulton grew up on a mountain, so had she decided to run away to a museum, she would have had a long, long walk up and down several dirt roads before even reaching a city. Lucky for her, life was pretty swell and her parents encouraged her dreams. She pursued her MFA in writing for children from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and her first middle-grade novel, Flutter: The Story of Four Sisters and One Incredible Journey is due out this year. When Erin is not writing, she puts together literary workshops for the Kinship Writers Association. Visit www.erinemoulton.com.

Jennifer Nielsen once had a goal to read every book in the library. She finally quit with an 800-page book summarizing the history of mankind (somewhere between the Greek Persian Wars and the burning of Rome).  Her new goal was to write her own, somewhat more interesting stories.  Jennifer’s debut novel, ELLIOT AND THE GOBLIN WAR, released in 2010 from Sourcebooks.  The second book in the series (ELLIOT AND THE PIXIE PLOT) will release in August 2011.  She’ll release an upper middle grade novel (THE FALSE PRINCE) with Scholastic in April 2012. Visit www.jennielsen.com.

Katherine L. Schlick Noe is Professor of Education and Director of Literacy in the College of Education at Seattle University, and believes middle-graders are looking for characters who struggle on in spite of circumstances and who can show them what they might do.  Her debut middle-grade novel, SOMETHING TO HOLD, is coming December 2011 from Clarion. Visit her at www.katherineschlicknoe.com.

Rosanne Parry knows all about hiding in museums, cheating at cards, and having a bossy big sister. She’s the author of the middle-grade novels “Heart of a Shepherd” and “Second Fiddle” (2011). She and her husband live in an a very old house in Portland, Oregon where they raise four children, three chickens and five kinds of fruit. You can visit her tree house office at www.rosanneparry.com.

Beverly Patt has written two middle-grade books (HAVEN and BEST FRIENDS FOREVER: A WWII SCRAPBOOK) from underneath her bed. It is very dusty down there but in no danger of being cleaned any time soon.  When not writing or laundering dusty clothes, she can be found playing tennis, making soup or enjoying the company of her hubby and four kids (none of whom have run away, yet).

Lill Pluta has never ridden in a limousine, but she is frequently seen shuttling her home-school kids to one museum or another in her aging station wagon. After years of bopping around the country, Lill, her husband, two sons, and three cats have settled along the South Texas coast.  Although her driver license says otherwise, Lill claims to be eternally eleven, and she’s ecstatic to finally be able to write on the beach any day she wants to. Read about her writing and home-schooling adventures at http://lillpluta.livejournal.com/.

Sydney Salter loves running away from home and writing about her adventures. Her novels include My Big Nose And Other Natural Disasters, Jungle Crossing, and Swoon At Your Own Risk. She lives in Utah with her husband, two daughters, two cats, two dogs, and a pair of quiet tortoises.

Laurie Schneider ran away to the carnival when she was ten…but came home after an hour. Now she wrangles books, kids, and cats in North Idaho. Her accent is pure WisCONsin, though. Her work-in-progress, a humorous contemporary middle-grade novel, combines two of her loves: classical music and ice hockey. For more: www.lauriebethschneider.com.

Wendy Shang makes penny wishes AND quarter wishes.  One of her wishes came true when she found out that her book, The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, was going to be published by Scholastic.  She lives near Washington, D.C. with her family and is frequently preoccupied by thoughts of gummi bears (the good ones).  To learn more, visit www.wendyshang.com.

If Tricia Springstubb could get locked in somewhere overnight, it would be the zoo!  She’d love to see what the animals do after all the humans go home. Meanwhile, she lives and writes in a plain old house in Cleveland, which she shares with her husband and three cats (who sleep at night, and much of the day).  Her middle grade novel, WHAT HAPPENED ON FOX STREET, will be published by HarperCollins in August, 2010.

Jennifer Swanson dreams of one day running away to the Museum of Science and Industry-  then maybe she could look at all the exhibits and try out all the gadgets without competing for them with her kids. An author of seven nonfiction science books for grades 3-6, Jennifer’s goal is to show kids that Science Rocks! She lives in sunny Florida with her husband, three kids and two dogs. When not writing she’s on the hunt for fun science facts. Learn more about Jennifer and her books at www.JenniferSwansonBooks.com.

Mindy Alyse Weiss spends so much time writing quirky stories, she usually has a laundry mountain large enough to fill a hundred violin cases.  She lives in Florida, and is constantly inspired by her husband, daughters, Bullmasador puppy, and two stinky but loveable ferrets.  You can find out more about her at http://MindyAlyseWeiss.com.