Instead of reading bedtime stories about princesses and dwarves like a normal parent, Danielle Vega spent her youth hiding beneath the blankets as her mother recited tales from the pages of Stephen King novels. She can now count on one hand the number of occasions she has been truly terrified in her life as an adult. Danielle's fiction and nonfiction have won multiple accolades, and her short piece Drive was nominated for a Pushcart Award in 2009. She is the author of The Merciless as well.