Born on May 29th, Willo Davis Roberts grew up in Michigan. She is the mother to four grown children and lives with her writer/photographer husband in Washington. Her first novel was published in 1955—she sold it for $150.

She is the author of more than 92 books and over 30 of them have been written for children and young adults. Well known as a mystery writer, she has won the Edgar Allen Poe Award three times: Twisted Summer (Atheneum, 1994); The Absolute True Story: How I Traveled to Yellowstone Park with the Terrible Rupes (Atheneum, 1994); Megan's Island (Atheneum, 1990). Her most recent book, Blood on His Hands, was published in July 2004. Ms. Roberts died at the age of 87 on November 19, 2004.

She wote, "Do not make the mistake of thinking that writing for children is easier than writing for adults. It is actually far more challenging. Unlike adults, children will not continue to read a story that does not maintain a high interest level. And I never write down to young people. I assume that my readers are intelligent, that they either know "big" words or are willing to learn new ones."

—Vicki Palmquist