I’ve ridden an elephant, swallowed fried grasshoppers, lived on a commune, flown a hangglider (and crashed), picked coffee beans and fed them to a monkey, peered into a live volcano, watched my toddler soar around a big top in the arms of a Mexican trapeze artist dressed as Spiderman, swum through a pitch-black cave to a tiny and perfect hidden beach, milked goats, skied in the Alps (and crashed), hiked up a glacier and alarmed a moose, torn down a barn, gone to a “sit-up” (a Jamaican wake), hung out with Cambodian monks, pedaled across the Blue Ridge Mountains in a homemade superhero cape, woven lots of hammocks, snaked a drain, gazed upon The Garden of Earthly Delights, and danced till dawn. Mostly, though, I spend a lot of time at the computer.
    I’ve never had a cell phone, I don’t watch TV (okay, sometimes a clip on YouTube), and my favorite part of being a writer is getting to work in my pajamas.

More about me

My real name is Mara Rockliff, but I also write under the pen names Nan Walker, Eleanor May, and Lewis B. Montgomery. This year I’ve got a picture book coming out (The Busiest Street in Town, illustrated by Sarah McMenemy and published by Knopf) plus the first four books in a new chapter book series (The Milo & Jazz Mysteries, illustrated by Amy Wummer and published by Kane Press). My work has appeared in The Washington Post and many magazines, including Highlights for Children and Plays: The Drama Magazine for Young People.
    I live in eastern Pennsylvania with my family. (And I use parentheses a lot.) 

Email me at:

Or come see me at one of my appearances, manifestations, and other unconfirmed sightings.