Alexandra Layos

The first thing Allie remembers writing was a 15-page story about a horse called Blaz. She was in first grade at the time, and while the horse's name was supposed to be Blaze, she forgot the "e." She began the story as a comic strip with drawings and captions, but soon gave up on the drawings and continued with just the writing. The spelling and handwriting left something to be desired, but it had a distinct beginning, middle and end. It was partially thanks to her fictional Blaz, and the response it garnered from both her parents and her teacher, that she fell in love with writing.

A life-long horse lover, when she was just 9 years old she began writing for the international equestrian magazine Saddle and Bridle Magazine. She worked as a junior editor for the Northeast region of the U.S., writing a monthly column and editing submissions from other young equestrians; she would continue this until she was 17 years old.

A voracious reader from the time she was young, she read every horse book she could get her hands on. However, there were no books about her favorite style of riding, known as saddle seat. After years of hearing her complain, her mother finally said in exasperation, "So write your own." And at 12 years old, that's exactly what Allie did.

The book, called The Missing Link, was published two years later. A mystery based in the saddle seat show world, it soon became a favorite of young horse lovers, and was the first in a series known as Blue Ribbon Days. After the success of The Missing Link, Allie's publisher approached her about a book for younger readers who weren't old enough to enjoy a chapter book – did she have anything for them? As it turned out, she did.

When Allie was 10, she and her sister had collaborated to create a book for their horse trainer as a birthday present. Allie did the writing and her sister Katy did the illustrations. It was based on the story of her trainer's first show horse, Raymond. With the addition of a fantastic illustrator, Dana Bauer, it became An Almost True Horse Tale, in 2003.

The second in the Blue Ribbon Days series, Timeless, was released in 2005, when Allie was 17, and she has nearly completed the third in the series, tentatively called If Only. Besides her books, Allie has also had stories published in books such as Horse Tales For the Soul: Volume Two, Of Women and Horses: More Expressions of the Magical Bond, and Second-Chance Horses. Among others, she has written for publications such as The Morgan Horse Magazine, The American Saddlebred Magazine, Saddle Horse Report and Pennsylvania Equestrian.

While at William Woods University in Fulton, Mo., she combined her two loves of horses and writing by pursuing a double major in both communications and equestrian science, and she continued her connection to Saddle and Bridle Magazine by writing a monthly column about the equestrian activities at the university.

After graduating from William Woods in May 2009, she moved to Florida to attend the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications to pursue a master's degree in journalism, and graduated with her master's in May 2011. Upon graduation she returned to St. Louis to accept the position of editor-at-large at her beloved Saddle & Bridle Magazine.

Allie credits her parents and teachers with fostering her love of reading and writing, and she credits her very special horse, Astonishinglee, or Leroy, for serving as a constant inspiration for nearly all of her writing.