Joanne Kerzmann-Troppello, born in Englewood, NJ in 1974, was raised in a large family with nine children, three girls and six boys. Her mother was a social worker; adopting five of her nine children. Joanne graduated from East Stroudsburg University with a BA in English, and a concentration in creative writing. Joanne recently got married in July 2004. Mrs. Kerzmann-Troppello has recently begun work on a sequel to her novel.