Award-winning author Bill Wallace started writing after a tough year of teaching fourth graders. As he says, Trying to read to a class of 25 kids who aren't listening is downright MISERABLE. Finally, students asked me to tell stories about when I was growing up. I soon ran out of these, so they decided I should make up new stories. I became a writer so I could survive my first year as a teacher. The class loved the stories I wrote for them and persuaded me to get somebody to make us a real book. "Shadow on the Snow", "Trapped in Death Cave", and "A Dog Called Kitty" all started out as books for his students. However, it took ten long years for his first book ("A Dog Called Kitty") to be accepted for publication. Since then, this former elementary-school teacher has written over 25 books and won numerous awards. Other favorites include: "Red Dog", "Buffalo Gal", "Danger in Quicksand Swamp", "Beauty", "Aloha Summer", "Watchdog and the Coyotes", and "Coyote Autumn".

Wallace was born on August 1, 1947 in Chickasha, Oklahoma. He is married to Carol Ann Priddle (who also taught elementary school) and has three children, Laurie Beth, Amanda Nicole, and Justin Keith. He attended university and graduate school in Oklahoma.