Joel SambergJoel decided to become a writer at age 14. He wrote a screenplay when he was 12 and sent it to MGM. Though the studio turned it down, an executive in his return note made him feel as if he should never give up his dream. Then his ninth-grade English eacher accused him of plagiarizing a book report because she said it was too well-written for a 14-year-old. She sent a nasty note home to his parents. But he did not plagiarize that report! He just takes the art and craft very seriously. From that point on he's never given up. He's been a magazine editor, corporate communications writer, and journalist. His books include two novels, Blowin' in the Wind and Almost Like Praying, and five nonfiction books on such topics as Karen Carpenter and Benny Bell (the guy who wrote Shaving Cream). Read More Read Less