Sharon Draper is a two-time Coretta Scott King Award-winning author, most recently for ``Copper Sun,`` and previously for ``Forged by Fire.`` She's also the recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Author Award for New Talent for ``Tears of a Tiger`` and the Coretta Scott King Author Honor for ``The Battle of Jericho ``and ``November Blues.`` Her other books include ``Romiette and Julio,`` ``Darkness Before Dawn,`` and ``Double Dutch.`` She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she taught high school English for twenty-five years. She's a popular conference speaker, addressing educational and literary groups both nationally and internationally. For more information visit her online at www.sharondraper.com.