Her first book was Running Out of Time, published when Haddix was pregnant with her second child, and her first child was one and a half years old. Haddix experienced a long period of having her writing rejected by publishers before her first two books were accepted in 19. After documenting a wide variety of topics, she wanted to create her own plots and characters. Her previous work as a reporter inspired her to write fiction. Haddix chose to pursue fiction writing after her husband, Doug, became a news reporter, because she did not want to be his employee.

During college, she worked on the school newspaper and had summer internships at newspapers in Urbana, Ohio Charlotte, North Carolina and Indianapolis, Indiana. She was an assistant cook at a 4-H camp, but almost every other job has been related to writing. While in college, Haddix worked a series of jobs. She graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with degrees in English/journalism, English/Creative writing, and History. Konigsburg books, Harriet the Spy, Anne of Green Gables, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Anne Frank, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and The Little Princess. Some of her favorite books growing up included E.L. Her family was predominantly farmers and she grew up in a family of voracious readers.

Haddix grew up on a farm about halfway between two small towns: Washington Court House, Ohio, and Sabina, Ohio. She also wrote the tenth volume in the multiple-author series The 39 Clues. Margaret Peterson Haddix (born April 9, 1964) is an American writer known best for the two children's series, Shadow Children (1998–2006) and The Missing (2008–2015).

Margaret peterson haddix sabotaged