Award winning author, Robyn Gioia, grew up in the multicultural area around Ohio State University. One of her all-time favorite games was the trail of clues. She and her friends would spend hours writing riddles and clues to stump each other and then hide them in strategic places. Over the years, Robyn has served hamburgers at McDonalds, filed things for the magazine Highlights for Children, clerked in a bookstore (she read lots of books), worked in several restaurants (she learned about gourmet cooking) and co-owned a top ten award-winning, gourmet Chinese restaurant. She has even made her first-place almond chocolate chip cookies to order. She later became a teacher and is now the principal at an International School in Japan.