About Helen Kemp Zax

Helen lives in Washington, DC with her husband Leonard and their dog Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry is a wild and crazy Aussiedoodle. He is also very cute. Helen has two grown children—David and Laura—who are both talented writers.

As a girl, Helen did not love to write. She did love to play. When Helen's mother made her stay inside to rewrite thank you notes until they reached her English-teacher mother's high standards. Helen was not happy. But practice makes perfect . . . and Helen not only learned to write but learned to love to write.

Since those early days, Helen has taught writing to kids of all ages. For a time she was a lawyer and a professor of legal writing. She received an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, where she had wonderful writing teachers. Now, her favorite way to spend every day is with her butt in a chair writing novels and poetry for children.