New young adult, sci-fi/fantasy author, Kirstin van Dyke was inspired at age 15 to begin writing "Code Name: Silence". She has always had a fascination with superheroes, superpowers, and has had a lifelong obsession with fantasy and the unknown. It took her three years and nearly ten rewrites before "Code Name: Silence" became the adventure that it is now. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Kirstin showed an interest in art and writing at a very early age. She started to put together "picture books" when she was four years old, and wrote her first story when she was six. When she was in third grade, one of her illustrated books won third place in OPB's "Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest." Ever since, Kirstin dedicated herself to expanding her writing skills into a career. She taught herself art and writing with various textbooks and then took formal art training and writing classes for three years. She wrote "Code Name: Silence" during that time. While "Code Name: Silence" is Kirstin's first book to go to print, she has written another novel prior to it when she was 12, entitled "The Ghost Wolf." Other novels written after "Code Name: Silence" include "Amethyst," and the sequel to "Code Name: Silence" - "Team: Silence" - which is scheduled for release in 2010. Eventually, Kirstin hopes to publish "The Ghost Wolf" and "Amethyst" as well. Now, 19 and having just completed her first year at college, Kirstin lives in Oregon with her family, where she continues to write novels, poems, and short stories. In her free time, she likes to paint, draw, play with her two Shetland Sheepdogs, and go trail riding on her horse Romeo. Never lacking for ideas and inspiration, Kirstin's dream is to keep creating stories, and put her imagination in writing for other people to enjoy.