Shirley Latessa was born in Michigan and spent her teenage years in a Zionist youth movement. In her twenties, she studied acting and performing in New York and Cleveland, where she met her husband, with whom she had three daughters. In her thirties, Ms. Latessa began studying Anthroposophy. Though she started writing at a young age, it was not until her thirties that she began to write seriously, including song lyrics, plays, and a book and lyrics for a musical. She has coedited two books of nonfiction, The Changing Countenance of Cosmology and Isis Sophia. She has also written two novels, Eighteen Days till Home and Dancing in the Fire, as well as a book of poetry, Summing Up. Ms. Latessa's most recent work is the fantasy quartet called "Auragole's Journey," which includes Auragole of the Mountains; Auragole of the Way; Auragole of Mattelmead; and Auragole and the Last Battle (from Lindisfarne Books). She lives in Greenwich Village, New York City.