Chris Eboch’s HAUNTED series debuted in 2009 with three books, THE GHOST ON THE STAIRS, THE RIVERBOAT PHANTOM and THE KNIGHT IN THE SHADOWS. Haunted, for ages 8-12, follows a brother and sister who travel with their parents’ ghost hunter TV show and try to help the ghosts.
JESSE OWENS: YOUNG RECORD BREAKER is an inspiring story, focused on Jesse’s childhood. Through hard work and courage, African-American runner Jesse Owens overcame racism, poverty and poor health. He won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics, in Hitler's Germany, proving that Blacks could compete at the highest level.
MILTON HERSHEY, YOUNG CHOCOLATIER is a biography of chocolate king Milton Hershey. After a tumultuous childhood, Milton started work at an ice cream parlor at age 14. At 18, he opened his own confectionery shop -- and lost it six years later. After a string of failures, he finally found success -- and went on to start a school for underprivileged children that remains to this day.
JESSE OWENS: YOUNG RECORD BREAKER and MILTON HERSHEY, YOUNG CHOCOLATIER are part of Simon & Schuster's Childhood of Famous Americans series, for ages 7-12, and written under the name M. M. Eboch.
Chris Eboch is the author of THE WELL OF SACRIFICE (Clarion Books, 1999), a middle grade historical adventure set in ninth century Guatemala. Kirkus Reviews called The Well of Sacrifice, “[An] engrossing first novel….Eboch crafts an exciting narrative with a richly textured depiction of ancient Mayan society….The novel shines not only for a faithful recreation of an unfamiliar, ancient world, but also for the introduction of a brave, likable and determined heroine.”
Chris has also written two easy science books, Science Measurements and Science Tools, for grade school students, plus three nonfiction books for Junior High students, Modern Nations of the World: Turkey, Modern Nations of the World: Yemen, and Life Among the Maya. Her writing articles have appeared in Writer's Digest, Children's Writer, and Byline.
Chris teaches through the Institute of Children's Literature and is the New Mexico Regional Advisor for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She has her MA degree in Professional Writing and Publishing from Emerson College in Boston, as well as a BFA in Photography from Rhode Island School of Design. She has worked as an editor and writer for magazines. She has taught Fiction Writing and has led dozens of workshops for children and adults.
Her current focus is fiction and nonfiction for ages 7-14.
Besides writing and reading, I love the outdoors. New Mexico has lots of sunshine and warm weather, which lets me hike year-round in the mountains, deserts and canyons. I also enjoy rock climbing, which requires a challenging combination of strength, balance and technique.
I love cooking—and eating! I live in a small town, which doesn’t have many ethnic restaurants, but I eat Indian, Thai, Mediterranean, and other ethnic cuisines whenever I get a chance. Many of my friends are wonderful cooks, so when we have a party everyone brings delicious foods to share, especially baked goods such as muffins, cookies and cakes. We once had a chocolate party with a dozen amazing chocolate desserts!
A couple of years ago I took some painting classes, trying out both watercolor and oil paints. I like other crafts as well, whether it's origami, making birthday cards for friends, decorating wrapping paper, or making holiday ornaments. We have parties where we put a big pile of craft materials on the table and everyone digs in.
My home office window looks out over a small lake. Many wild birds spend part of the year here, including ducks, great blue herons, green herons, great horned owls, kingfishers, grackles, hummingbirds and lots of LBJs—“Little Brown Jobs”—which I can’t identify. I love animals, but my only pet right now is a duck named Pete who spends the whole year on the lake because he’s too fat to fly. He mostly takes care of himself, but he will come up to quack at visitors and take tortilla chips from my hand.
Everyone in my family enjoys writing. My brother, Doug, is a screenwriter, which means he writes scripts for movies. He developed the story for Sweet Home Alabama, which came out in 2003. Yes, he got to meet lots of the movie stars during a press event and the opening party! He also co-wrote and directed an independent film called Party at Sam’s which played at several film festivals. Doug lives in Los Angeles.
My mother has published articles in her local newspaper and has written a mystery novel. My father wrote articles on economics for a website and has been working on a nonfiction book. My parents are retired and live in Arizona.
