Chris has a new series, Haunted, debuting August 2009 with two books: The Ghost on the Stairs and The Phantom Pilot.
What do you do when a ghost needs your help?
Jon doesn’t believe in ghosts. Not even if his mother does, and married a man who researches ghost sightings for his own TV show. Not even when they travel with the show, and visit “haunted” places.
But his younger sister Tania claims she can see the ghosts. Deciding to believe her is just the first challenge. Tania wants to help the ghosts. First the siblings have to find out what happened to keep each ghost trapped in this world. Then they have to help the ghosts move on—sometimes by letting them take over Tania’s body. All this while dealing with their overprotective mother, a stepfather who’d want to exploit Tania’s gift, and a TV crew of potential friends and instant enemies.
Life gets interesting when your sister sees ghosts. And the TV show’s shooting season is just beginning....
Chris’s latest books are out! Both are part of Simon & Schuster's Childhood of Famous Americans series, for ages 8-12, and written under the name M. M. Eboch.
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.
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.
I’ve always loved history—not lists of names, dates and other facts, but the stories. My family moved to Saudi Arabia just before my fifth birthday, and in the next six years we visited India, Kenya, Tanzania, Afghanistan, and many European countries. From the first trip—to Greece—I was fascinated by local cultures, and especially by the ancient cultures that preceded them. I wanted to know who these people were and how they lived—not just the kings and military leaders, but regular people, girls like me.
My family moved to Colorado, then Alaska. After high school I attended art school and received a BFA degree in Photography. After college I moved to Oregon. A year later, I spent the summer traveling through Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Costa Rica with my best friend, Nicole. While visiting the sacred pool at the ruins of Chichen Itza, I got the idea that would become my first book, The Well of Sacrifice.
After a year in Los Angeles, where my brother Doug, a screenwriter, lives, I returned to college for my MA in Professional Writing and Publishing in Boston. From there I moved to New York, where I wrote freelance articles for several magazines and worked at International Musician magazine as the Assistant Editor.
During a stretch between jobs, I began writing The Well of Sacrifice. I’ve since continued my interest in historical fiction. My (as-yet-unpublished) historical novels include a book set in Egypt in 1350 BC, the time of the pharaoh Akhenaten; a mystery also set in ancient Egypt; and a fantasy set in the Middle East during the Ottoman Empire and drawing on the mythology of the Arabian Nights. I’ve also written a chapter book in which twins travel back in time to Seattle during the gold rush.
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.
