Alex Flinn was born in Glen Cove, New York and grew up in both Syosset, New York, and Miami, Florida. She learned to read at three and wanted to be a writer at five. She received her first rejection letter (from Highlights magazine) at eight. At twelve, her family moved to Miami, Florida, where she had a really hard time making friends, due to congenital shyness and a really bad haircut. So she read a lot and tried to write a novel but never finished because she had no idea what to write about.

Alex attended a performing arts high school program, similar to that portrayed in her book, Diva, then majored in vocal performance at the University of Miami where she graduated with a bachelor of music in 1988. She panicked upon realizing that there weren't many available jobs for opera singers (she was a coloratura - the really loud, high-pitched sopranos), she enrolled at Nova Southeastern University Law School, where she earned her J.D. in 1992.

Law school was, it turns out a really good place to learn to write for teenagers. Writing for teens and writing for judges are very similar because both judges and teens have a lot of demands on their time and minimal time for reading. Alex interned with the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office in a misdemeanor court and volunteering with battered women. As an intern, she became involved with domestic violence cases, and she would later draw on this experience in her novel Breathing Underwater. She thereafter went into private practice for a time and married fellow attorney Eugene Flinn and had two daughters Katherine and Meredith.

Breathing Underwater was published in 2001. It received many honors, including being chosen a Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association. It was followed by Breaking Point, Nothing to Lose, Fade to Black, Diva, and Beastly. Beastly was released as a motion picture. Her book A Kiss in Time, is about a modern Sleeping Beauty.

She has lived in Miami with her husband, two daughters, a dog, cat, and African Spur-Thighed Tortoise. She enjoyed performing arts, biking, and travel.

See photos of celebrities before they hit the big-time.

Alex Flinn

Writer