Once upon a time, in the village of Snettering on-Snoakes in the Kingdom of Biddle, a blacksmith's wife named Gussie gave birth to a baby girl. Gussie and her husband, Sam, named the baby Lorelei, and they loved her dearly.
Lorelei's smile was sweet and her laughter was music. But as an infant she smiled only four times.
Gail Carson Levine (born September 17, 1947, is an American author of young adult books. Her first novel, Ella Enchanted, received a Newbery Honor in 1998. After taking a class in writing and illustrating for children, Levine discovered that she enjoyed writing far more than illustrating. Thus in 1987, she began writing, but over the next nine years, all of her manuscripts were rejected. During this time she took writing classes and joined writer's groups. Reflecting on her experiences, Levine says "those years were some of my happiest. I was learning to write. Her first published novel was Ella Enchanted, which was accepted for publication by HarperTrophy. Levine recalls, "That day, April 17, 1996, was one of the happiest in my life." The book was published in 1997, and in 1998, it received a Newbery Honor. It would later be the inspiration for the 2004 film of the same name. The success of Ella Enchanted made it possible for Levine to retire from government work and pursue writing full-time.