Denise Leora Madre is not naïve...at least, not as much as yesterday. A lifelong Philadelphian, her idyllic childhood was filled with her love of God and family and weekly trips to the Joseph C. Coleman Library. After graduating from Masterman High School, Denise carried her unfocused dreams of singing stardom through four colleges over the next ten years. Though Temple University eventually supplied her cap and gown, Howard University owns her heart and inspired her debut novel, ANOTHER 4.0. As a mother of seven-long story-she primarily uses her English degree to campaign for the Oxford comma and bemoan the pervasiveness of text-speak. When not binge-watching "Chopped" or "Friends," Denise can be found overthinking things and harassing her handsome husband for hugs...or his incredible lasagna. Denise is a published essayist whose work appears in "Color Him Father" (Kinship Press, 2006) and "The Motherhood Diaries 2" (Brown Girls Publishing, 2014). She is also an avid writer of "Twilight" fanfiction and has won awards in assorted contests. Though she has yet to learn how to drive or swim-don't judge her-she is the proud owner of an organized junk drawer.