Ren├йe Riva has been writing humorous stories ever since she won her first writing contest in second grade. A former greeting-card verse writer and popular speaker, Ren├йe is the author of Saving Sailor, Taking Tuscany, and two childrenтАЩs books. She and her husband reside in Washington State with their three daughters and a menagerie of pets, the latest addition; a baby turtle, offered in trade for one of her novels.