R.J. Van Cleave is the last of four children and was raised in a small town just east of San Diego, California, where she still resides, today. From the time R.J. was a small child, she wanted to be a doctor or have lots of babies. Her sixth grade teacher ignited a passion for science that carried on into high school, where she also happened to fall in love with a cute guy and American and British literature, courtesy of another great teacher (the literature part, not the cute guy- she blames that on her sister).
She went on to attend the University of San Diego, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Biology, and a minor in English Lit. Forgoing medical school for motherhood, R.J. married her high school sweetheart, got a job in the bio-tech field, and had her first child. She quit her full-time job to become a stay at home mom and eight years later, she and her husband were surprised to discover they were having twins.
A few years after that, her mother died unexpectedly, and R.J. inherited her father and her mother’s two dogs. She currently spends her days buried under mountains of laundry and cares for her three daughters (the Teen and twins Frick & Frack), her husband (the Man-child), her father (the Old Fart), and a menagerie of animals . All while attempting to write down the stories of the characters that have taken up residence in her head. R.J. would love to hear from her readers and engage in real adult conversations, so please, drop her a line.
R.J. can be contacted by e-mail at rjvancleave@gmail.com, found on Facebook under R.J. Van Cleave, and on twitter and Instagram @rjvancleave.
