Huntley Fitzpatrick always wanted to be a writer. She grew up in a small, coastal, Connecticut town much like the Stony Bay of her novels, My Life Next Door, What I Thought Was True, and The Boy Most Likely To. After college she worked in many fields, including as an editor at Harlequin, so she knew from romance. Before her death in 2022, Huntley was a full-time wife, mother, and writer who brought the world three critically acclaimed, utterly transporting young adult novels about love, friendship, family, and coming of age. Her My Life Next Door is considered a modern YA romance classic, and its characters reflect Huntley's deep love for her family, who were everything to her.