Illinois Authors

Tate Pub & Enterprises Llc, Mustang, OK : 2008.

Join new author Ellen Alexander as she takes you along on a thrilling adventure where wits and courage are a must. The Secret of Dinswood tells the story of Emma Higsby, a young girl who lost her mother when she was five. Largely ignored by her father and new stepmother, Emma begins to feel like an outsider in her own home. Desperate to get away, Emma applies for and wins a scholarship to Dinswood Academy, where she is befriended by Martha, her suitemate; Doug, the dean's son; and his best friend, Sebastian. Emma quickly falls in love with Dinswood Academy, a renovated castle set in the heart of the mountains, and so is dismayed to learn from Doug that the school is experiencing financial difficulties and may have to close. Unwilling to lose her new home, Emma, with the help of her friends, begins looking for a way to save the school. In her search, she comes across a riddle left by Lord Dinswood, the rather eccentric founder of the school. The riddle suggests that upon his passing, Lord Dinswood left a hidden treasure. Join Emma and her friends as their courage and intelligence are tested while trying to figure out the clues and complete the physical challenges left behind by Lord Dinswood. The treasure hunt becomes a dangerous race against time. Someone else knows about the treasure and will stop at nothing to discover The Secret of Dinswood. Ellen Alexander was born and raised in Springfield, Illinois. She attended the University of Illinois and graduated with a bachelor's degree in microbiology. After graduation, she and her husband, Jim, moved to Dixon, Missouri, where they raised their son, Michael, and twin sons, Noah and Matthew. Ellen currently teaches high school chemistry and physics and really enjoys working with the young people in her classes. It was a combination of her love of teaching and her love of writing stories that prompted Ellen to write her first novel. Ellen and her husband continue to reside in Dixon and are active members of the First Baptist Church there.--goodreads.