Caroline (pronounced CaroLYNN not CaroLINE) grew up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania - the town Billy Joel's “Allentown” is really about. As a child, Caroline and her brother, Clay, spent a lot of time playing pretend; bikes became horses fit to ride into battle for the Revolutionary War, and their “half a double” house on West North Street became a frequent stop for such celebrities as The Monkees. In 1986, their sister Madeline was born – a much welcomed “extra” in the Smith family shenanigans.

Caroline's early love of fiction incited her to major in English at Moravian College, where she wrote her senior thesis about Sylvia Plath. After graduation, Caroline tutored junior high school students and volunteered at various historic sites in Bethlehem before enrolling in graduate school at the University of Delaware. Because Caroline has the uncanny ability to channel Bridget Jones (which means, while she might not actively seek out mischief and embarrassment, it finds her nonetheless), she decided to write her dissertation on the contemporary fiction genre known as chick lit.

In her spare time, Caroline can either be found watching backlog episodes of Alias and Gilmore Girls with her fabulous, West Highland terrier, Ruby, or traveling to Austin, TX to “study” the city's Whole Foods mega-store. All in the name of scholarship, of course. She also selflessly ventures into shopping malls, watches Laguna Beach , and scans the pages of popular women's magazines in her quest to enlighten her students as to their place in the 21st century. She sees late-capitalism, right down to its ballet slippers and pastel pink tennis sweaters, not as a theoretical construct, but as a tangible force to be reckoned with (and enjoyed) daily. In addition, she is one of only two people who still celebrates Richard Grieco's birthday.