Jill Monroe's grandparents firmly believed their grandkids should experience the satisfaction of hard work…by harvesting potatoes in 100-degree weather. In fact, Jill's grandma felt it was her personal duty to pass along the fading arts of canning, sewing and keeping house to her only granddaughter. While Jill didn't "take to" canning or sewing OR, let's face it, cleaning, she did pick up her grandparents' other favorite pastime — reading.

After various careers, Jill happily settles behind the computer and writes the kind of stories she hopes people will enjoy reading.

Grandma is happy to report not all her time was wasted; Jill can be found every October in the fabric store helping little ones decide which costume they want sewn for Halloween. The canning is still a problem.