Lindsay Eland

Seek tirelessly and you shall not find a contemporary heroine of middle-grade literature as refined and romantic as Miss Polly Madassa. Still swooning over the romantic conclusions of Pride & Prejudice and Anne of Green Gables, twelve-year-old Polly decides her purpose in life: helping along lonely hearts in search of love. Polly's only task this summer is to make deliveries for her parents' bakery, leaving ample time for this young cupid to find hearts to mend--beginning with the kite-store owner, Mr. Nightquist, who will pair perfectly with Miss Wiskerton (the unfairly labeled town curmudgeon). Polly's best friend Fran Fisk is in desperate need of a mother ever since hers ran off with a man she met on the Internet; Polly must find a match for Mr. Fisk. And while she's at it, it wouldn't hurt to find Clementine, Polly's teenaged sister, a beau worthy of her (so she can shed that brute, Clint). Polly's plans are in full swing, so she definitely cannot be bothered by the advances of classmate Brad Barker.

But maybe Polly should have turned her attention to Miss Austen's Emma next, because she quickly learns the pitfalls of playing matchmaker. How will Polly patch up her own relationships, while ensuring that destined love can take its course?

Lindsay Eland knew she wanted to be a writer ever since fifth grade, when she won an honorable mention for her book "What Can You Learn From a Giflyaroo." The book received rave reviews and was highly acclaimed among her family members. Sadly, with only ten hard-bound copies produced, the book is now out of print. (Skip tumultuous adolescence when she aspired to be an actress on Broadway, a ballerina, a singer, a nurse, and a dental hygienist.) After getting hitched to a wonderful guy she met in college and having four kids in four years, she decided she didn't have enough to do, so she began to write again with the passion and determination that always marked her character. You can visit her at lindsayeland.com.