Francess Lantz

Francess Lin Lantz (August 27, 1952 – November 22, 2004) was an American children's librarian turned fiction writer.

Early years Born in Trenton, New Jersey on August 27, 1952, Lantz was raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She initially aspired to become a rock musician and composer and did some classical music composition. She married Jonathan Ostrowsky on April 28, 1973. She graduated in 1974 from Dickinson College and from Simmons College in 1975, where she earned a master's degree in library sciences. She later married John Landsberg and they had one son.

Career Lantz worked as a children's librarian in Massachusetts after graduating from Simmons. Her first book, Good Rockin' Tonight, which was somewhat autobiographical, was published in 1982.

Her books in the Luna Bay monthly series, featuring stories about tween girl surfers, were sponsored by Roxy, a clothing company in California in partnership with HarperCollins. The series had an initial print run of 1,250,000 copies. Lantz, who was a surfer herself, said she was never pressured to promote products or brands with her writing.

Illness and death Diagnosed with ovarian cancer circa 1999, she died at the age of fifty-two in Santa Barbara, California in 2004.

Publications Lantz authored more than 30 books and articles including: Woodstock Magic (Avon, 1986) Fade Far Away (HarperCollins, 1998) Stepsister from Planet Weird (Random House, 1996) You're the One series Luna Bay surfer girl series