Mavis Jukes is the award-winning author of several books for children and teenagers, including the Newbery Honor Book Like Jake and Me . Her other titles include No One is Going to Nashville , Blackberries in the Dark , Getting Even , Wild Iris Bloom , and I'll See You in My Dreams . Mavis taught school for several years — and was a lawyer — before becoming a children's book writer. She volunteers as an attorney in the area of juvenile defense and is presently a language arts specialist in a public elementary school.

She lives with her husband, the artist Robert Hudson, and their teenage daughters in Sonoma County, California.