Bonnie Ballou blogs Thoughts on a Half Century of Omnivorous reading at BonnieBallou.com. She lives in Oregon with her engineer husband, a bookaholic like herself. They have two sons. She received a degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of California at Davis. A job involving rental properties allows time for indulging in an array of creative hobbies, such as painting and gardening. She has written, directed, and performed in theatrical sketches, one of which won the Best Comedy award from CITA in 2002.

Her first novel has achieved critical success.

“ . . . THIS HIGH-QUALITY NOVEL IS INSIGHTFUL, ENTERTAINING, POIGNANT, AND OUTRIGHT HILARIOUS . . . It’s an ode to a lifelong love of books and will surely be appreciated by true book lovers and those who love authors playing with genres.”
- Portland Book Review

“Ballou’s skills particularly shine when Coral is using the magic bag and the narrative jumps between Coral’s time inside and outside the fictional worlds. EACH GENRE SHE ENTERS IS AS RECOGNIZABLE AS A CELEBRITY CAMEO and it’s a kick to see Coral puzzling out the boundaries of each . . . (T)he heart of this book is in its playful dealings with the nature of story. A clever genre-hopper that espouses the healing power of books.”
- Kirkus Reviews

“The fantastically original plot is the perfect excuse for the author to indulge us with many genres, great locations and fantastic characters without it seeming like an overload. THE WRITING QUALITY IS EXCELLENT AND I LOVE BALLOU’S WRY SENSE OF HUMOUR. MANY BOOKS ARE DESCRIBED AS PAGE TURNERS BUT THIS ONE TRULY IS, because you simply must read on to see what is coming next. When you start reading, you can expect to have very heavy bags under your eyes the following day!”
- E-Book Planet

“I really enjoyed how well the author managed to present multiple genres in one novel. SHE IS SO TALENTED she plays them all off very well . . . I TRULY HOPE THERE WILL BE MORE BOOKS TO FOLLOW BY THIS AUTHOR. This is also the perfect selection for a reader’s group. The author even provides a list of thought provoking questions at the end of the novel that will stimulate interesting discussions.”
- ReaderViews

“… she cleverly uses the framework to different types of stories to add excitement, originality, and laugh out loud moments to Coral’s story. HER BIGGEST STRENGTH IS HER ABILITY TO INFUSE HUMOR WHILE AT THE SAME TIME SHOWING HER APPRECIATION FOR THE GENRES. Yes, she pokes fun, but she never disparages certain genres. It’s clear that BALLOU IS THE BEST TYPE OF WRITER since she has such a passion for reading.”
- Self Publishing Review

“A WITTY HEROINE, THRILLING MYSTERY, and the multiple interpretations of various genres within one story highlight THE NOVEL LIFE OF CORAL AMBROSE . . . Ballou manages to weave in several incredibly vibrant worlds as Coral finds herself in genres including horror, western, mystery, sci-fi, and even bodice-ripper. . . Ballou does a marvelous job of balancing the new worlds that Coral enters, along with her real world, with the stakes high in both parallel universes. . . a DELICIOUS PAGE-TURNER that spotlights not only imagination, but the solace of storytelling.”
- Indie Reader