’m a city girl from farm country—born in Des Moines and raised in Omaha—where I was fond of tromping through wood lots and reading books by flashlight. In high school I captained the debate team, founded the math club, and didn’t date much. In university I studied particle physics, and worked briefly at the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) near Geneva, Switzerland. I loved it, but it’s not the best career to combine with another passion, and soon I chose to pack it in and devote my energy to my true loves: writing and this nice boy I’d met on the internet.

It worked out well. I wrote and published three books (which appeared under my maiden name, Erin Noteboom). Two are books of poems: Seal up the Thunder and Ghost Maps: Poems for Carl Hruska. My poetry has won the CBC Canadian Literary Award, whose previous winners include Michael Ondaatje and Carol Shields, and several other awards. My most recent book is the memoir The Mongoose Diaries: Excerpts from a mother’s first year.

And the boy? His name is James. I emigrated to Canada to be with him, and we’ve been married going on ten years. He’s also a writer, with two novels for young adults. We live in Kitchener, Ontario with our two-year-old daughter, Vivian.

Of all writing, I like poetry and children’s stories best. From a writer’s point of view, they have in common mindfulness about the magic of language. From a reader’s, they have in common the power to stay in your heart a long time, and maybe even make your soul a little stronger.

I’ve written several picture books—my favorite is a retelling of Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight—and recently finished my first young adult novel, Plain Kate.