Carrie CrossCarrie Cross is an avid reader who fell in love with books as a little girl after listening to Goodnight Moon at bedtime. Carrie discovered her passion for mysteries while reading Nancy Drew and The Happy Hollisters series--and then Judy Blume arrive with her unputdownable coming-of-age novels like Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret and Deenie. A dancer since age six, Cross took three years of ballet and nine years of jazz dance, until a horrific car accident at age 18 put her in the hospital for five weeks with a broken neck, a broken hip, and severe head trauma resulting in coma. After a year of rehabilitation, Cross returned to C.S.U.N., earning a degree in Speech Communication. During college, Cross pursued a modeling career and was a note-taker and sign language interpreter for the hearing-impaired. During an interview she was asked, "Where do you get your inspiration?" "When I was six years old, my parents decided we needed to buy a bigger house. We looked at a creepy two-story in Santa Monica Canyon, and I played hide-and-seek with the little girl who lived there. There were closets and secret hiding places with doors that opened into other rooms. Later, I wondered, "What if there was a clue hidden in one of those closets?" And the idea for the Skylar Robbins mystery series was born. Cross's influences include YA authors Deb Caletti, Kara Thomas, and Sarah Dessen, as well as Robert Crais and Lee Child. She lives in Southern California with her graphic designer husband Ed (creator of the Skylar Robbins book covers: www.mental-ward.com), and their affectionate rescue cats Tiki and Kona. When she isn't writing, favorite pastimes include boating (ocean imagery appears in every Skylar Robbins novel), watching Food Network, eating sushi and Thai food, playing Words with Friends, driving her Porsche "like a Grandma," and trying new recipes and restaurants. Skylar's adventures begin with THE MYSTERY OF SHADOW HILLS, and continue in THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN JEWELS. For those who wonder what became of the magic garden and Skylar's bullying cousin Gwendolyn, Cross penned a 92-page fantasy novella, GWENDOLYN'S REVENGE. After she solves her second big case, the Skylar Robbins Detective Agency tackles the MYSTERY OF THE MISSING HEIRESS, and then she travels past the Hawaiian archipelago to solve the MYSTERY OF THE ISLAND IDOL (2020). The Skylar Robbins mystery series has earned awards including Amazon #1 Bestseller in Children's Detective Books, Voted Book-of-the-Month by LASR readers, 5-star Reader's Favorite, and Top Ten Finalist for an Author Academy Award in the YA/Middle Grade category. Many reviewers have compared Skylar Robbins to a modern Nancy Drew. Follow Carrie Cross on Facebook: https: //www.facebook.com/AuthorCarrieCross/ Instagram: https: //www.instagram.com/authorcarriecross/ Twitter: https: //twitter.com/Carrie_Skylar, Website: www.carrie-cross.com Skylar Robbins fans can follow Skylar on Instagram: https: //www.instagram.com/secretagentskylar/ Read More Read Less