Lauren Dane

As a stay-at-home mom, Lauren Dane had lots of conversations in a singsong voice but had no real outlet for adult thoughts and words. Armed with a secondhand laptop, she decided to "give that writing thing a serious go." Nearly a decade and several dozen books later, she's well aware of her good fortune and is loving every moment of it, even when she has to edit and intervene when her children bicker about video games or manga.