Bio

I started out as a middle school teacher because, even though I'd always loved to write, I guess I always figured that to be an actual writer, you had to know a lot of swanky, artsy, "literary" types, or be willing to panhandle until someone discovered your manuscript. My friends were all teachers, I liked to eat, and besides, I loved hanging out with kids. My writing found its way into my classroom, though, and in 2000, I had a book of historical plays published. I still didn't know anybody swanky, but now that I knew how cool it was to see my book on Amazon, I was hooked. I left the classroom and started writing for educational publishers, everything from curriculum to textbooks to leveled readers. But I wanted to write a middle-grade novel, and finally, at age 35, I was brave enough to give it a shot.

In addition to writing stories for teens and educational curriculum, I currently review middle grade fiction for Publishers Weekly and occasionally, the L.A. Times. I’m also a cross country coach, a newly obsessed runner, and mom to three active kids and one squirrel-chasing Golden Retriever. In my free time (did I really just write that?), I teach kickboxing, compete in triathlons, and head up a local youth running club.

www.erinmfry.com

BOOKS

Animal Adaptations
MacMillan McGraw-Hill, 2006

Seeds and Spores
MacMillan McGraw-Hill, 2006

Share Day
Zaner-Bloser, 2005

The Power of Friendship
Zaner-Bloser, 2005

Arthur Ashe: Against the Odds
Zaner-Bloser, 2005

Way Cool Jobs
Great Source Education Group, 2005

Prisoner of War
Great Source Education Group, 2005

Projected Into the Past
Great Source Education Group, 2005