Storytelling has always been part of Alexandria (R. T.) LaFaye's life. Born on March 9, 1970, in Hudson, Wisconsin, LaFaye grew up in a rural Mississippi River community just east of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Her family encouraged her imaginative talents and reading interests.

LaFaye's father, Patrick LaFaye, worked as an aviation mechanic, and her mother, Rita LaFaye, managed an office. Constantly inventing characters and scenarios, LaFaye told elaborate tales to entertain her parents and friends.

LaFaye attended St. Croix Elementary School in nearby Roberts. She often wrote lengthy stories, exceeding page limits for school assignments. In a teenreads.com interview, "I'd jump in and write away," she remembered. "Twenty pages later, I'd just be getting into the story." LaFaye realized she had potential as a writer when her sixth grade English teacher, Mr. Magee, praised her work to her classmates and called her a "talented storyteller...