Above excerpt is from an article at http://excellence.indiana.edu/cabot/.
About Meggin Patricia Cabot
Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unluckly sign. Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse--at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flunked fresham Algebra twice, then decided to cut her own bangs.
After six years as an undergrad at Indiana University (a college to which she was only accepted because her father taught there), Meg moved to New Yor City (in the middle of a sanitation worker strike) to persue a career as an illustrator, at which she failed miserably, forcing her to turn to her favorite hobby--writing novels--for emotional succor.
Meg is now the author of over forty books for both adults and teens, many of which have been bestsellers, most notably The Princess Diaries series, which is currently being published in over 30 countries, has sold over 5 million copies worldwide, and was made into two hit movies by Disney. In addition, Meg wrote the Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You? series (on which the hit Lifetime channel series, Missing, is based), two All-American Girl books, Avalon High--all books for teens--as well as many historical romance novels, a series of novels written entirely in email format (Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and Every Boy's Got One), and the debut novel of a mystery series (Size 12 is Not Fat) for adult readers [all of which Meg says are fine for ages 14+].
Meg now divides her time between New York City and Key West with her one-eyed cat Henrietta and her husband, who doesn't know he married a fire horse. Please don't tell him. (Biography from The Cabot Reader)
Meg is currently writing additions to the series listed above, as well as many new novels/series to be released later this year and next year, and even has a day named after her in her own hometown. Read the official proclamation of Meg Cabot Day here.
MEGTV's CRIBS!
Take a look inside Meg's home MTV's "Cribs" style! Click HERE!
Henrietta was part of a week-old litter of kittens abandoned in an alley in Brooklyn. When found, all of the kittens in the litter were suffering from severe eye infections. While some of Henrietta's siblings were permanently blinded, Gigi, the woman who rescued them, was successful in restoring sight in Henrietta's right eye. The infection had progressed too far in Henrietta's other eye, however, and left a permanent scar over her cornea. 
