About the Author

Dante Salvatierra was born in the Bay Area of California and attended The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He currently lives in Omaha, Nebraska with his wife Sara and two dogs, Dollie and Stella. He spends his days as an elementary classroom teacher.

Teaching and writing go hand in hand for Salvatierra. "I read my manuscripts to my students and give lessons on how a writer crafts their work, in exchange, I get immediate feedback on my writing. My third and fourth graders are honest about what makes sense, what is funny and what makes them excited."

Among some of Salvatierra's other interests is the sport of geocaching (treasure hunting with a global positioning system reciever), dog watching, and politics. In 2004 he even ran for Congress. He lost but he gained a lot of experience and met some wonderful people along the way.

In 2006, Salvatierra underwent a long grueling surgery to remove a brain tumor. The surgery was a success although he the fight continues to prevent regrowth. He was able to recover fast enough to return to teaching and complete the rough draft of his next novel.

"I love books that ask readers to challenge authority. I like books that get banned. I hope that someone tries to ban my books because my books teach that sometimes rules are meant to be broken because the greater good is at stake. Where would we be if Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. followed the rules?"