A brother and sister and their collie dog lost in a forest populated by ghosts and monsters was the subject of the first short story that Larry Schulenberg, the author of DEAD AT THE DESK and TO CATCH THE SNOWFLAKES, wrote when he was in the third grade in Hiawatha, Kansas.

A few years later, a famous author and illustrator of children's books, signed copies in the basement of a downtown department store, and citizens waited for the brothers' signatures. Larry was one of those who patiently stood in line. He handed his carefully printed yarn to the hometown author and dreamed of seeing his name on a book cover. Larry imagined his books standing on the library shelves with the Hardy Boys, the Bobsey Twins, and Nancy Drew, the influences that affected him to become the writer that he is today.

After thirty-three years as a teacher, curriculum coordinator, and principal, Larry retired four years ago, and he and his wife moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Memories of the two children and their dog of his childhood propelled him to "dust off" his tale of college student-sleuth, Loren Schneider, the polio survivor-protagonist in DEAD AT THE DESK.

Larry began his career in education as a high school English teacher in Excelsior Springs and Richmond, Missouri. He also taught in Council Bluffs, Iowa and was a school administrator in Bellevue, Nebraska, Hill City, Kansas, and Plattsmouth, Nebraska. When he was a curriculum coordinator and administrator, Larry was in demand as a speaker on teaching the physically disabled student in the regular classroom.

As an English teacher, Larry told his students, "Write from your personal experience." Following his own advice, he has penned TO CATCH THE SNOWFLAKES: A Memoir of a Polio Survivor, an Adoptive Parent, a Teacher, a High School Principal, and a Father of an Addict. As the title implies, TO CATCH THE SNOWFLAKES tells the story of a little boy who one morning discovers that he can’t walk and who eventually looks challenge in the face and says, "Yes, I can."

After being diagnosed as having Post Polio Syndrome, Larry and his wife, Pat, returned to Council Bluffs where they had lived when they were beginning their family. They are the parents of two adult children, Martin and Lara..

Larry was published in the Iowa Department of Public Instruction magazine when he was the language arts curriculum coordinator for the Council Bluffs school district. He also wrote a number of talks for Cursillo and Teens Encounter Christ retreats. As a college student, he was reporter, columnist, and editor of the Northwest Missourian and worked on the Mound City, Missouri News-Independent.

Larry attended Sacred Heart High School in Falls City and Pius X High School in Lincoln, Nebraska. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education from Northwest Missouri State University. He also holds a Master of Arts degree in English from Central Missouri State University and a Master of Science in Education Administration from Creighton University.