Patricia Reilly Giff: Hello, my name is Patricia Riley Giff. That's a lot to say at once, so let me tell you about it a little at a time. Everyone always called me Patty, or Pat. Patricia was my in-trouble name, and if my mother added my middle name, or a teacher, like Patricia Jean, I knew I'd better duck for cover. Riley is an Irish name. My mother was a Tiernan, my grandmother, a Mullihan, and further back, there were Donalees and Rogers. I use those names in my books all the time.

And how about Giff? It's my husband's name, of course, but I've been Giff now for so long I hardly remember when I wasn't.