David Patneaude began writing seriously (more or less) in the 1980s. After having a number of stories published in magazines, he saw his first novel, SOMEONE WAS WATCHING (Albert Whitman), hit bookstore and library shelves in May, 1993. Since then, his books have been named to dozens of state young readers' lists, winning awards in several state contests. The books have been honored by the New York Public Library (Books for the Teen Age), the Society of School Librarians International, the Winnetka (Illinois) Public Library's "One Book, Two Villages" program, the Washington State Public Library, and the Washington Center for the Book. SOMEONE WAS WATCHING was produced as a film (Dreamchaser Entertainment) by the same name in 2002. His 2010 YA novel EPITAPH ROAD (Egmont USA) was a nominee for the 2013-2014 Nebraska Golden Sower Book Award. His 2018 alternative history/sci-fi novel FAST BACKWARD has garnered much critical praise. In addition, it was named as a finalist for the 2019 Indie Excellence Book Award and 2019 Washington State Book Award, and a 2019 Five-Star Best Book by Chanticleer Book Reviews. It won the 2019 American Fiction Award (AmericanBookFest.com) for YA literature. David’s most recent books are UNEASY PICKINGS, a collection of spooky stories, and ROCKING CHAIR MOON, a YA novel in verse.

When he's not in a coffee shop writing, or at a school or library or conference discussing writing, or on the trail thinking about writing, he's home in Woodinville with his wife Judy, a retired middle school librarian.

“This novel in verse follows the lives of a brother and sister as they grow, face loss, and find themselves. Ben Duran is 8 years old, and his sister, Carly, is 11 months his junior as their dual story begins in 1996. The siblings narrate their lives in free verse, trading viewpoints through 2007 and beyond. From the first, their voices establish differing personalities and concerns. Ben’s two years in kindergarten—“Dad smiled his rocking-chair-moon smile / and said it was my redshirt year”—make him “bigger and stronger and wiser and / ready for any challenge” compared to other students. Yet Ben keeps encountering challenges throughout his life, embodiments of his nightmare bogeyman, that can’t be conquered through physical achievements. Carly introduces herself as a “smarty-pants” with “an IQ that can’t be measured.” She deliberately uses advanced vocabulary (signaled with caps and italics) but, like Ben, discovers that strengths don’t mean invulnerability, as in this grief haiku: “To hell with big words. / Not one of them can describe / the pain in my heart.” In the end, both siblings find hope after loss, as seen in Ben’s baby girl’s smile, “the sweetly haunting shape of / a rocking-chair moon.” Patneaude, a prolific writer of children’s books and YA novels, skillfully uses verse to pare the extraneous. After Ben’s college girlfriend dumps him, for example, he suddenly joins the Army; just two lines capture the moment his decision sinks in, his “anger dissolving, / heart drumming.” Images can be quite striking, such as the ominous feel of “a cold slice of yellow light / under your parents’ bedroom door.””
– Kirkus Reviews