She was born in Holland, Michigan and now lives in the Phoenix, Arizona area with her husband and her two kids. Her first novel, WAKE, debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list for children's chapter books.She is also the author of FADE, which debuted on the New York Times best seller list and remained there eleven weeks. Further she published the title GONE, which is the last book of the WAKE triology.
McMann also has published many short stories, including the creative nonfiction essay, "When You're Ten," and the award winning short story, "The Day of the Shoes," in 2004.