Way, way back when Kristin O'Donnell Tubb was a sixth-grader, she had the opportunity to interview with Newbery Medalist Madeleine L'Engle by telephone. During the interview, Tubb said that she, too, wanted to be a writer. Ms. L'Engle responded, "Good for you! Keep reading and you can do it."

"And so I had no other choice," Tubb now jokes. "I mean, when Madeleine L'Engle tells you can do it, you'd better at least try!"

Tubb is the author of the middle-grade novel Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different (Delacorte, 2008), an historical fiction account of the beginning of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as seen through the eyes of Autumn, an 11-year-old resident of Cades Cove. Critics have called it "...a wonderful debut novel, full of history, excitement and sensitivity...readers are treated to many fine glimpses of the Cove's vanishing mountain traditions."

She is also the author of Selling Hope and The 13th Sign.

Tubb's other publication credits include Cricket Magazine, Spider Magazine, Guideposts for Kids, Wee Ones eMagazine, and Highlights for Children (from whom she received a Pewter Plate Award for Outstanding Arts Feature of 2005). She has written a number of children's activity books for licensed characters such as Holly Hobbie, The Powerpuff Girls, Scooby-Doo, Strawberry Shortcake, and the Care Bears.

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