About Me
Biography
I write for tweens and teens from a unique perspective - I am a teenager! My stories are exciting, filled with action, humor, and characters who kids can relate to.
I was fifteen when I wrote The Fire Stone. I also wrote the next two books in The Reign of the Elements series, The Water Stone and The Wind Stone when I was fifteen, but I wrote the last two books in the five-book series, The Immortality Scroll and The Final Alliance when I was sixteen.
I love to write, but I am also very involved with eliminating illiteracy and poverty for children around the world. I believe that teaching children to read breaks the cycle of poverty and exploitation of children.
When I was fourteen, I created a non-profit organization called Breaking the Chain with the goal of eliminating illiteracy for children. So far, we have raised enough money to build three schools in Africa, one in Kenya and two in Sierra Leone. We also created a children’s literacy center in a woman’s shelter in Colorado, and bought books for reading programs in the U.S. Currently, we are focusing on placing new books in classrooms in underfunded and/or low-literacy schools in the United States. It's a great program and there is enormous demand!
Thus far, we've put 25,000 new books into high-need elementary schools. My brother, Nick, is also part of Breaking the Chain and we are working together to eliminate illiteracy and poverty for children. I I have been speaking to thousands of kids at schools around the country about my books and how important reading and writing have been in my life, about Breaking the Chain, about taking ownership over their own education, and about risking failure to achieve their dreams.
Some of the proceeds from sales of my books go to Breaking the Chain.
For more information about Breaking the Chain go to linkbylink.org