A former ‘city girl,’ Friend lives on a small farm in southeastern Minnesota, where she and her spouse raise sheep and cattle. She writes adult nonfiction, fiction, and children’s books. “I suppose I should focus on just one, but I can’t bear to give any of them up,” says Friend.

The Compassionate Carnivore won the Minnesota Book Award in General Nonfiction. Her memoir, Hit By a Farm was selected by the Minneapolis Star Tribune as one of the best books of 2006. Her children’s picture book, The Perfect Nest, was chosen by the Wall Street Journal as one of five best ‘read alouds,’ and was nominated for numerous state reading awards. She was awarded the Loft/McKnight Artist Fellowship for Writers, and her adult adventure novels have won several awards.

Friend has a M.S. in Economics and a B.A. in Spanish. She works as a freelance editor, teaches writing workshops, and authors the blogs “Farm Tales” and “The Inkslinger.” She volunteers on her local library and arts council boards, calls her parents on a regular basis, and is especially proud she’s learned how to take the wool from her sheeps’ backs and knit it into very cool socks