I grew up in New York State in a small family that loved books. Reading was encouraged and part of our daily life. I would walk to the library every Saturday and come home with an armload of books. By the following Saturday, they would all be finished and I’d head back to the library for more!

I’ve always loved nonfiction and enjoy it more than any other type of writing. To me, writing nonfiction is telling a story, just like fiction is, only you don’t have to make stuff up! I love sharing information about real people, places, and events. My favorite subject to write about is animals. The natural world is full of so many amazing creatures and phenomena!

My goal is to open my readers’ eyes to the amazing creatures and events in our world. I hope that readers will enjoy reading my stories and learning that science, history, and other topics really are things of wonder. Happy reading!

Hi!  My name is Kyla Steinkraus, and I write books for Rourke.  So far, I have published six books with Rourke, and six more will be published this fall.  In addition to writing for Rourke, I freelance for several regional parenting magazines on topics ranging from how to get your baby to sleep through the night to top vacation destinations to see snow (I live in Florida, so snow is unique and exciting).  I am also currently taking a fiction writing course at University of South Florida.  In the next year or two, I plan to start my masters in Creative Writing while earning my teaching certification.

While most of the writing that I do is for adults, I really enjoy writing children’s books.   My favorite books to write are the fiction titles, like The Tree Fort and Ready, Set, Race.  It’s so much fun to think like a kindergartner and imagine what stories, ideas, and characters might be exciting to them.  My six-year-old son acts as my critic to make sure I’m getting it right.

It is also quite challenging to tell a good story AND stay within a very narrow word count.  I usually write far too many words and spend several drafts  figuring out how to cut words and even whole sentences, but still keep the storyline fun and interesting.

I always imagine the pictures that might accompany each particular page.  I was awestruck the first time I held one of my own books in my hands, complete with beautiful illustrations of my story.  My son kept asking why my picture was in the back of his book!

We both think being an author is pretty cool.