BRENDA NOVAK and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are the proud parents of five children—three girls and two boys. When she's not spending time with her family or writing, Brenda is usually working on her annual fund-raiser for diabetes research, a cause for which she's raised $2.6 million so far. Her novels have made the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists and won many awards, including eight Rita nominations, the Book Buyer's Best, the Book Seller's Best and the National Reader's Choice Award.