Growing up a devoted reader, Laurie Ryan immersed herself in the diverse works of authors like Tolkien and Woodiwiss. She is passionate about every aspect of a book: beginning, middle, and end. She can't arrive five minutes late to a movie, has never been able to read the end of a book before the beginning, and is a strong believer in reading the book before seeing the movie. Laurie lives at home with her handsome, he-can-fix-anything husband, and their gray, seventeen-pound cat, Dude.