New York Times bestselling novelist Cinda Williams Chima grew up with talking animals and kick-butt Barbies. She nearly failed first grade because she was always daydreaming instead of listening. By junior high, she was writing romance novels in class, which were often confiscated.  Cinda believes in the magic of books. Books took her from first grade failure to first generation college graduate to college professor to best-selling author of fantasy novels for teens of all ages. These days, she daydreams on the page.