Award winning young adult author Marsha Qualey turned to her favorite childhood books for inspiration when writing her first novel for adults, Venom and the River. In third grade when she first discovered Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy books in her public library, Qualey remained a devoted reader of the series, so much so that as an adult she became involved in a fan group dedicated to keeping Lovelace’s books in print. That involvement in the Maud Hart Lovelace Society was the trigger for her new novel, which explores the internecine battles of the Ida May Turnbull Society, a fan group devoted to a series of children’s books, books that acquired international fame when turned into a television show, Little Girl, Big River, set in a small Minnesota town on the Mississippi River. Qualey’s previous novels books have appeared on numerous best-of-the-year lists, including the American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults, the New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age, and School Library Journal's Best Books of the Year. She has won two Minnesota Book Awards and been nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. In addition to writing, she teaches in Hamline University’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program. Marsha Qualey is also the author of several young adult novels that have been on many "Best of the Year" lists, including the American Library Association's "Best Books for Young Adults" and the New York Public Library's "Books for the Teen Age." She's won two Minnesota Book Awards for YA fiction, and her novel Thin Ice was a finalist for the Edgar Award. Most of her YA novels and her first novel for adults, Venom and the River, are now available as e-books. Marsha taught for over a decade at Hamline University (St. Paul, Minnesota) in the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program. She is now retired and when she's not thinking up more adventures for Gracie Laroo, she's with her grandchildren and telling them stories. Read less