Marlane  spent her teen years in Circleville, Ohio.  Every October brought Circleville’s Pumpkin Show—and a downtown full of rides, junk food stands, and pumpkins of astounding size. It was Circleville's Pumpkin Show that inspired Marlane Kennedy to write her first novel: Me and the Pumpkin Queen (2007). 

Me and the Pumpkin Queen has the honor of being placed on several 2009/2010 state book award lists, including the Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award, Oklahoma Children's Sequoyah Book Award, and the South Carolina Children's Book Award.

 Marlane's latest book is The Dog Days of Charlotte Hayes (2009).   According to Kirkus, "Following the excellent Me and the Pumpkin Queen (2007), Kennedy returns with another original novel for young readers... (Charlotte's) first-person, present-tense voice captures perfectly the emerging moral awareness of young teens as it comes up against the impotence of late childhood.  Another fine effort, perhaps this entertaining read will serve to catch the attention of children everywhere living with too-easily neglected pets that have outgrown cute.”

Marlane graduated from Ohio State University.  She lives in Wooster, Ohio,  with her husband, children, an enormous chocolate lab, and a very bossy black cat.  Most of the time you’ll find Marlane either reading a middle grade novel or creating one of her own.

http://www.marlanekennedy.com