Jean Auel was born on February 18, 1936. For many years Auel considered herself a closet poet, writing in her spare time. She came up with an idea for a short story about a girl who lives with people who are unlike her. This short-story idea became the successful novel, "The Clan of the Cave Bear." Auel's considerable research for the novel included field trips to archeological digs that enable her to provide an accurate depiction of humans living in with nature. The cave dweller topic interested many readers, and Auel wrote several additional books. Together, these works comprise the Earth's Children Series. Auel's writing style draws the reader into exciting speculation about prehistoric… earth and its adventures.