Reyna Grande is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Across a Hundred Mountains (Atria 2006), winner of an American Book Award 2007 and the El Premio Aztlan Literary Award 2006. She has a B.A. in Creative Writing and Film and Video from the University of California , Santa Cruz , and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Antioch University . Grande came to the U.S. from Mexico at the age of nine as an undocumented immigrant, and went on to become the first person in her family to obtain a higher education. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. She is a sought-after speaker and lecturer at middle/high schools, colleges and universities across the nation. Her second novel, Dancing with Butterflies, is due out in October 2009. She is currently at work on a memoir.