Elise Broach is the New York Times bestselling author of books for children and young adults, including Desert Crossing and Masterpiece, as well as several picture books. She lived in England from the ages of twelve to fourteen and vividly remembers her first visit to William Shakespeare's house in Stratford-upon-Avon. At a rare-book store there, she purchased a volume of Shakespeare's plays that she still keeps on her nightstand. Ms. Broach holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in history from Yale University. She was born in Georgia and lives in the woods of rural Connecticut, walking distance from three farms, a library, a post office and two country stores.