Paul Aertker writes the Crime Travelers series, a squeaky-clean international action-adventure series, for kids.

As a traveler and multilingual teacher, Paul has clocked nearly half his life outside the US. When he was a teenager, he slept on the streets of London to watch a royal wedding. He took the CIA exam because he wanted to be a spy for the good guys (and not the "Good Company"). He was an au pair in France and built a children's library in Africa.

His new book, Brainwashed (Crime Travelers #1), is a realistic middle-grade action-adventure novel for children who are fascinated by stories steeped in mystery, intrigue, and deception.

The second installment in the Crime Travelers series, Diamonds Are For Never, is due in May 2015.