Wendy Toliver

Wendy Toliver is an American writer of young adult literature.

Life & Career
Toliver was born in Houston, Texas, with her father being a retired NASA employee and her mother being a retired elementary school teacher. Born the offspring of a teacher, Toliver, as well as her brother and sister would often spend their time reading books, singing wacky songs, and taking care of a wild assortment of pets, from cats and hamsters to hedgehogs and vinegaroons. Like most Coloradan's, she became a mountain girl, skier, and avid Broncos fan.

Toliver had worked a wide variety of jobs in high school, from dressing as Funshine Bear for store openings, to bagging groceries at Safeway, and taking orders at the fast food restaurant, Wendy's. She would also sing the national anthem at college basketball games, deliver newspapers, and perform singing telegrams as Marilyn Monroe.

After graduating with a B.A. in Speech Communication/Broadcast, she married her college boyfriend, and they lived out their early years together in his hometown in Utah. While he worked for his family business, she worked at an advertising agency, and began dabbling in writing.

It wasn't until she was in her 30s she began properly writing, which is when she first sat down to write a book. It ended up being humorous women's fiction, and did well in contests and caught the eye of a literary agent. However, none of the editors he sent it to wanted to publish it. Several mentioned her voice was well suited for young adult books though, and her first attempt at writing for the teenage audience proved successful. In the next few years she became a multi-published, award-winning YA author. This eventually led to her writing a novel for the Once Upon a Time series, with it being titled "Red's Untold Tale".