Twyla EllisTwyla Ellis is a descendant of pioneers who came to Texas in the 1840s. She grew up roaming the dense pine forests in The Big Thicket around Livingston, Texas at the homes of her grandmother and great-aunts and uncles. Her family was one of the foundng families of Livingston, and her great-great-great grandfather was the first city treasurer in the eighteen-forties. She fell in love with the lush flora and fauna and the haunting feel of The Thicket, its sounds, sights, and smells. The House on Camp Ruby Road is the first of a series of independent novels set in The Big Thicket of deep East Texas, under the banner of Ghosts of the Big Thicket, which will all have a Southern Gothic bent. Twyla holds a degree from Howard Payne University and had taught English and Music. She has been a member of NEA, TSTA, and TETA. She was a statewide officer and conference speaker with TETA (Texas English Teachers Association). She has run her own children's party and event planning business, Parties by Twyla, as well as Remembrances Antiques and Gifts in the Houston area. She is certified in computer graphic design and free-lances in her spare time. Nothing makes her happier than road trips with her family to interesting old Texas towns. She loves church, antiquing, fossil hunting with her husband and sons (they hunt, she watches), Big Bend, old barns, the Alamo (don't all Texans?), exploring deserted buildings, southern revivals, her Pomeranians, Sophie and Missy Rose, and especially, The Big Thicket. If she had to give you a one-word bio of herself, she would probably say, that obnoxiously joyful, hug-driven, southern relative that you'd like to hide in the attic, just might be me. Read More Read Less