Valerie Biel

Valerie Biel's love for travel inspires her books for teens and tweens. The Circle of Nine series is set set partially in Ireland where Valerie was inspired by the ancient stone circles which dot the countryside. Beltany, the subtitle of the first novel in the series is an actual stone circle in County Donegal, Ireland. "There's something eerie and beautiful about these circles which rise up out of the greenest grass you've ever seen. Who built them? Why did they build them? If that's not enough to start a story, nothing is." Circle of Nine: Beltany has been honored as a Kindle Book Award Finalist, a finalist in the Gotham Writers' YA Novel Discovery Contest and the Readers' Favorite Book Award Contest as well as being a B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree. The final installment in this series - Circle of Nine: Sacred Treasures - has also received a B.R.A.G. Medallion and was short listed for the Eric Hoffer Book Award, earning the First Runner-up distinction in the YA category. When Valerie's not writing, she's working on freelance public relations projects, wrangling her overgrown garden, traveling the world, and reading everything she can get her hands on. Once upon a time, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin with degrees in journalism and political science. More recently, she moved back to small-town Wisconsin, happily violating her teenage vow that she would never do so. Valerie's husband and three children are always providing her with new story ideas whether they mean to or not. To keep up with what's happening with her other books or to enjoy some fun stuff inspired by Circle of Nine Series (like awesome playlists), go to her website at http://www.valeriebiel.com/ For more frequent updates, find her on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ValerieBielBooks/ Blog: http://www.valeriebiel.com/blog Twitter: https://twitter.com/ValerieBiel Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valeriebielauthor/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/valeriebiel/