​As a child, there was nothing Gabriele loved more than curling up with a book in an oversized armchair. She especially liked books with pictures, and no matter what anyone said, she always chose her books by their covers. Thankfully, most of them were just as good on the inside as they were on the outside.

In 4th Grade, Mr. Zenkovich, Gabriele's teacher (and secret crush), gave her an A+ on the very first draft of her short story "The Little Teacup." Everyone else had to revise. She knew then that she would be a writer. After all, it was the best - and easiest! - job in the world! (Well, maybe not the easiest, but it's the only one that makes her heart sing.)

Gabriele's favorite thing to do besides read was to ride her bike. She loved the sense of freedom. She loved the swoosh of wind in her hair. Falling off and skinning her knees? Not so much. But biking was worth the price.

​Gabriele also loved cats, coloring books, waffles, snow days, and fresh new notebooks. She loved devil dogs, ring dings, twinkies and all kinds of other foods she'd never put in her body today.

​Most of all, she loved her family, even though people thought they were "different" and stared at them wherever they went. She came to understand that the ways in which people are different aren't nearly as important as the ways in which they're the same.

As an adult, Gabriele has worked as a software engineer, a children's magazine editor, a freelance writer, a language arts tutor, and a yoga teacher. (Which one of these doesn't fit? Hint: It's not yoga teacher. That fits with everything.) She still loves books. And cats. And bikes. And, of course, her family.