From the time she was old enough to talk, Laurie Edwards loved books. Once she learned to read, her mother constantly bugged her to put away her books and go outside to play. She also got in trouble for hiding books in her desk at school and reading during class. At night she’d sneak a flashlight into bed and read under the covers. By the time she was a teenager, she was reading thirty books a week.
![Laurie10-23-1955Grandma%27s400dpi[1] (2)](https://lje1.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/laurie10-23-1955grandma27s400dpi1-2.jpg?w=300&h=253 "Laurie10-23-1955Grandma%27s400dpi[1] (2)")
So what does a booklover do when it’s time to choose a profession? She becomes a librarian, of course, so she can read to her heart’s content and never have to pay fines for overdue books. Or—even better—she becomes an author, so she can write stories of her own to delight not only herself, but other readers. Laurie started out as a librarian, but then wrote picture books and easy readers. Now she’s graduated to YA fiction and adult novels. Visit Laurie at her WEBSITE.
A former teacher and librarian, Laurie J. Edwards is a USA Today bestselling author as well as an illustrator. In addition to more than 2300 magazine and educational articles, she is the author of more than 60 books in print or forthcoming. Laurie also juggles a freelance editing career and writes adult novels under several pseudonyms.
Her books for children include 4 middle-grade novels in the Unicorns of the Secret Stable series, 4 books in the Second Chance Ranch series (written as Kelsey Abrams), a nonfiction book, Exploring Ancient Rome, and illustrations for the picture book, The Teeny Tiny Woman, which was picked up by RIF (Reading is Fundamental) for their Billion eBook Gift program, and 20 million copies were distributed to families around the world. She also contributed to Eager for English, a reading book for Ethiopian students, written in cooperation with the residents of Gimbi, Ethiopia, and the Peace Corps.
Her releases for young adults include Grace and the Guiltless and Her Cold Revenge (WANTED series set in the Wild West) written under the pen name Erin Johnson, along with stories in the anthologies Love & Profanity, Summer Lovin’, and A Community of Writers. Her nonfiction for YAs includes Imperial China, West African Kingdoms, Ancient Egypt, Pirates through the Ages, Rihanna (People in the News), the 5-vol. UXL Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, and the Cyber Self-Defense Manual (with co-author Alexis Moore).
You can read more about Laurie’s latest books at www.lauriejedwards.com. She is also a regular contributor to the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Readers.
INTERVIEWS/GUEST BLOGS
Here are some of the places she’s been interviewed or have been featured or has been a guest blogger:
ABC Channel 27 News clip (please excuse the commercial; I’m mentioned in the show)
SCBWI Success Stories 2014: Bologna Book Fair (2:34)
KidLit Summer School: Handling Backstory the Right Way
Mixed-Up Files blog Holiday Video
Teen Reads (read about Erin Johnson’s favorite Halloween costume)
Jen McConnel: Believe in Magic
Hollins University: Summer’s Are Magical…
Little Library Muse (again)
Weekend Showcase at Dark Divas
Honorable Mention at Kidlit.com
Romance Writers on the Journey
Susquehanna Writers: Award Winners
Robin Falls Kids Story Time – Blog Talk Radio Show
Anna Kathryn Lanier–Guest blog: If Only…
The Susquehanna Writers–Announcement
Laurie J. Edwards ~ Author, Artist, Dreamer... 
We offer a weekend poll at The Long and the Short of It romance reviews– we want to know which book or story sounds like the best read based on our reviews. The winning author gets a nifty button and the privilege of having their book or story featured at the top of that page the entire next week!
Your story “Summer Lovin'” was reviewed by us this week and is up for Best Book honor this weekend (voting runs from Saturday, 8/15, through Sunday, 8/16). We thought you might like to know. You can find the information here on Saturday:
http://www.longandshortreviews.com/LASR/recentrev.htm
Please contact us for a special button celebrating your ranking. Thanks and good luck!
Judy
Laurie, I can’t thank you enough for recommending my YA I was a Teenage ALIEN.
You’re so sweet, kind and amazing. I’m sending you a cyber hug
love ya
Jane
You’re welcome. I think your book is great and very funny! You deserve to be a winner.
Your book, “Life Intterupted” is one of my VERY favourite books! I am in my thirties and my life was derailed in my early twneties after I was diagnosed with a chronic illlness. I now live in an Asissted Liviing Facility. I very much want to keep track of your blog, but the ALF firewall for the internet for some dumb reason blocks blogspot. IS there anyway I can get emailed copies of your blog entries? Or do you post them here too? At any rate, I just want to say Thankyou for writting that book and making me feel less alone in this world! Also EVERYTHING you say about hospitals is TRUE! 🙂 I hope you have a great dfay and look forward to hearing from you soon!
[…] A former teacher and librarian, Laurie J. Edwards is now an author who has written more than 2300 articles and 30 books under several pen names, including Erin Johnson and Rachel J. Good. To come up with ideas for her books, she people-watches and eavesdrops on conversations in public places, which starts her brain racing with questions. To find out more about Laurie, visit her website and blog. […]
[…] A former teacher and librarian, Laurie J. Edwards is now an author who has written more than 2300 articles and 36 books under several pen names, including Erin Johnson and Rachel J. Good. Living in Africa as a child and traveling extensively as an adult taught Laurie the importance of appreciating other cultures. She spent last weekend with an African friend, learning to properly cook grasshoppers and caterpillars. To find out more about Laurie, visit her website and blog. […]
Hi Ms. Edwards! I was wondering if you would be releasing any more books in the Wanted series. I have been dying to know how it ends!