Kathryn Sullivan started writing science fiction and fantasy not long after she had finished reading all of the books in her father's science fiction collection. Stories about girl agents defeating alien bad guys and tales of wizards' apprentices looking for forgotten treasure filled school notebooks alongside her regular homework. She couldn't find enough stories with girls as the main characters when she was growing up, so now she writes stories where girls are the explorers, the wizards and the ones who solve problems and rescue people. Any place and any object is at risk of appearing in her stories - the river bluffs surrounding Winona, MN, where she lives, can become the windswept cliffs of an alien planet or the deep mysterious woods of a fantasy tale. She is well used to dealing with alien lifeforms, as she's owned by a cockatoo who graciously allows her to write about other animals as well as birdlike aliens.