Author Birthdays

It'd be really easy to choose birthday babies Anne Rice or R.L. Stine as this month's author. You know, vampires, ghosts, halloween...ooh spooky. But instead I'd like to suggest birthday boy Sherman Alexie. In collections such as THE LONE RANGER AND TONTO FISTFIGHT IN HEAVEN, Alexie examines life for young people on American Indian reservations. These characters must deal with poverty, abuse and alcoholism, all to just get an education and get out. Now that is truly frightening.