Shannon Hale was born in Salt Lake City in 1974. She has written dozens of novels and graphic novels for middle-grade and young adult audiences. Her most famous books include The Goose Girl (2003) and Princess Academy (2005). Hale has co-authored several books with her husband, Dean Hale. She has four children. Hale was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), also called the Mormon Church. She included references to her religion in Real Friends. In one scene, her parents read scripture to her and her siblings. Shannon aspires to be patient and forgiving like the prophets, by which she means major figures in LDS spirituality, such as the founders of the LDS Church. In her adult life, Hale has moved away from the LDS Church as of 2021. She still considers herself a Mormon, but she objects to the church’s “rejection of LGBTQ people, history of racism, and continual subjugation of women,” according to a recent interview (Butler, Kiera. “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Shannon Hale.” Mother Jones, 13 July 2023). 

The LDS Church was established in the late 1820s and 1830s after a young man named Joseph Smith claimed to have received a new Christian scripture through angelic visions.