Lurlene McDaniel Lurlene McDaniel received her English Degree and began writing promos and commercials at a television station. She also spent some time writing a magazine column. After her children were born, she turned to freelance advertising. Her son was later diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, and at a convention for diabetes, McDaniel met up with the organizer who connected McDaniel with a publishing company specializing in children's books. Her first book was "Kickaroo: The Soccer Playing Kangaroo." But she realized that writing for picture books was not what she wanted to do, so she wrote "Will Never Dance Again," about a girl who is diagnosed with diabetes. Thus began her career… writing stories about teenagers who overcome life altering illnesses and the lessons learned. Over the course of her career, McDaniel has written over 30 books and received the RITA Award for "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep," and has been recognized three times with the IRA-CBC Children's Choice Award. She is a frequent speaker at schools, writer's conferences and conventions.