With her signature wit, dynamic voice, and vibrant style, Erin Teagan combines her expertise in science and in writing to bring Luciana’s stories to life. Erin generously agreed to write a special edition “Ten Things” list about her background, her motivations to write about science for kids, and experience writing for Luciana.
1. I worked in a biochemistry lab doing drug research for more than ten years—handling dangerous chemicals, doing complicated math problems in my head, but mostly gathering material to write books for kids.
2. I have a fear of cruise ships, spider crickets, and corn mazes.
3. RELATED: I once was quarantined for five days on a cruise ship stricken with the norovirus. On the bright side, I can draw from a real-life experience when writing scenes where my characters feel trapped, wrongfully imprisoned, or are considering a high-stakes escape. (see Luciana: Braving the Deep, p. 103).
4. I have a hound dog named Beaker, who only wants to cuddle, and a bunny named Peanut Butter Fluffbottom, who only wants to be the boss of Beaker.
5. Growing up, my brother would put a book with a massive and hairy tarantula under my pillow for me to find when I climbed into bed. There is a reference to this childhood trauma in all of my books (Luciana, p. 15).
6. I went to Space Camp twice while working on the Luciana books and never once threw up on the multi-axis trainer.
7. I kept up with my deadlines for this project by writing 2,000 words each morning before the sun came up (before emails, before social media, before my dear children woke up).
8. While doing research for Luciana: Braving the Deep, I scuba dived to the bottom of an underwater astronaut trainer where I played catch with a 100-pound ball of concrete and tossed bowling balls through basketball nets.
9. My greatest challenge while writing these books was keeping Luciana a secret from my children, especially my 9-year-old daughter, who is a big fan of American Girl and has two dolls of her own.
10. I write about science for kids because I want them to know that science is for everyone: creative types, by-the-book types, the kids that love math and the kids that don’t. Girls. Quiet or outspoken. Shoe lovers and book lovers. Everyone.
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