Erin Fry has published three books for young readers—LOSING IT, SECRETS OF THE BOOK, and UNDERCOVER CHEFS—and one book for teens, THE BENEFACTOR. She has a book of classroom plays that was published in 2000 by Scholastic. She has also spent two decades writing articles, interviews, curriculum, and assessments for numerous educational publishers.
In addition to writing, Erin taught 6th-grade English and history at Goddard Middle School in Glendora, California, for nearly two decades, during which time she coached cross country and founded a Young Authors Club. Currently, she works as a curriculum developer for Prenda microschools, reviews kidlit for Publishers Weekly, and is working on her fifth novel.
Erin has three kids of her own—one working on his graduate degree in Italy, one studying to be a chef, and a high school senior who excels in journalism and debate. Erin’s married and lives in Southern California, where there is traffic and smog but also some of the most challenging and beautiful places to hike in the world.
“In 2013, my son, Jake, was in 7th grade. He loved cooking and had wanted to be a chef since he was five. One of his teachers heard about a cupcake contest being sponsored a local bakery. She suggested he enter, but warned him that he had to make 200 cupcakes. He came up with his own recipe—a Heath it Up cupcake—and spent a month perfecting his recipe. On the day of the contest, we had cupcakes EVERYWHERE in our house! The contest was being held in the high school gym. When Jake walked in, he knew he was in trouble. Every other cupcake display looked like it was done professionally. The frosting was piped on beautifully. The displays were colorful and decorative. Jake had 200 cupcakes that he’d frosted himself, a red tablecloth, and some napkins. He lost the contest. But the owner of the local bakery came over as he was packing up and tasted his cupcake. She liked it and asked if he would come to her shop so she could make them. They ended up being a best seller for the month of February.
I love getting to hear from readers about why they liked my book or how it inspired them in some way. I also love meeting new people at book signings and author events. I also love the moment I get a new idea for a book AND the moment I type the last period on a completed manuscript!”