Friend, Catherine: - Catherine Friend is the author of the romantic adventures The Spanish Pearl, The Crown of Valencia, A Pirate's Heart, The Copper Egg, and Spark. She's also written memoirs, nonfiction, and children's books. She's won a Minnesota Book Award, a McKnight/Loft Fellowship, the Alice B. Readers Appreciation Award, an Independent Book Publishers Association award, four Golden Crown Literary Society Awards, and has been a Lambda Literary Award finalist. She's narrated two of her books for Dog Ear Audio: Hit by a Farm and A Pirate's Heart. She lives in Minnesota with her wife of many years, and is delighted that they still really, really like each other. They have dogs, barn cats, and lots of bees. Her past lives include economist, technical writer, bookstore employee, packer of cheese gift boxes, and sheep farmer. Her current day job is writing nonfiction for an educational publisher, which is more fun than it sounds. Website: http: //www.catherinefriend.com/