About the Authors
Charlotte Hipolito
Squire’s Quest Illustrator
Charlotte Hipolito fell in love with the fun and creative thrill of storytelling at a very young age,
writing her first story at age six on an old-fashioned typewriter. The story was packed with
action, adventure, and mystery, inspired by a mix of books, including Choose-Your-Own-
Adventure ones and cartoon shows such as DuckTales and Gummy Bears (set in medieval times like Squire’s Quest!)
After reading her first Shakespeare plays at age ten, Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth,
Charlotte wrote her own play, entitled A Princess’ Best Friend which she and her actual best
friend acted out in front of their families. It was no surprise that she went on to get her bachelor’s degree in English – British and American Literature – at the University of Maryland.
Fast-forward to when she met her husband, Rafael, who at that time was working on his PhD in
theoretical physics in Boston. And Boston is where Charlotte and Rafael’s beautiful daughter,
Eva was born in 2009, her name inspiring Ava in Squire’s Quest! As a stay-at-home mom,
Charlotte began adding freelance writing work into her life. She did ghostwriting for children’s
stories, middle-grade, fantasy, and romance books.
She also wrote interactive fiction, which also gives the reader choices, for teens with a Japanese company for five years. While this was fun, Charlotte always loved the choose-your-own-adventure books she and her older brother, Mike, read as kids. Mike even wrote and illustrated a short ‘choice’ story for Charlotte to read when she was eight. So, when the opportunity came up to write a story for Pick-A-Path, she felt it was a perfect fit and was thrilled to be able to write Squire’s Quest (see below for a fun Q&A all about this story)!
On top of writing, Charlotte began working as a freelance voice-over artist more than six years
ago, recording anything from guided meditations to podcast intros to children’s educational
stories. She would love to narrate a full audiobook one day, doing the different voices and
everything! When not writing and recording, Charlotte loves to read, sing, go to live music, and
be in nature, going on hikes and boating. In general she loves to spend time with her husband and daughter where they currently live, just outside Austin, Texas.