Robin McKinley is the author of several fantasy novels and short story compilations. She has won the Newbery Medal for her novel
The Hero and the Crown. She writes children's books primarily, but some of her
novels are not meant for
kids.
From her bio:
"Jennifer Carolyn Robin McKinley was born in her mother's home town of Warren, Ohio, and grew up in various places all over the world because her father was in the Navy. She read Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book for the first time in California; The Chronicles of Narnia for the first time in New York; The Lord of the Rings for the first time in Japan; The Once and Future King for the first time in Maine. She is still inclined to keep track of her life by recalling what books she was reading at a given time. At present she lives on a horse farm in eastern Massachusettes where she divides her time between the fascinating occupants of the barn in the mornings and the tyranny of her typewriter in the afternoons."
Books by Robin McKinley:
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast
The Door in the Hedge
The Blue Sword
The Hero and the Crown
The Outlaws of Sherwood
Deerskin
The Stone Fey
Rose Daughter