Gwenyth Swain is the youngest of five sisters and the only one to live outside her native state of Indiana. She writes partly to let folks back home know that shes keeping busy through the long Minnesota winters and partly because writing is the best job she can imagine having. She enjoys weaving family stories and historical events together in fiction. Ms. Swain is the author of two middle-grade novels—Shady Grove (Indiana Historical Society Press) and Chig and the Second Spread (Delacorte)—and the historical picture book I Wonder As I Wander (W.B. Eerdmans), illustrated by Ronald Himler. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her husband, Vinnie, and their two children.