Extended Bio

Heather has been busy working on her writing career for the past several years. Her background in education led her to begin writing books while she played the role of stay-at-home-mom with her two daughters, Jordan and Madeline. Heather began sending educational ideas to her favorite magazine, Mailbox, a teaching tool that she often turned to for inspiration in her own classroom. The magazine accepted many of her ideas and even flew her to North Carolina where they trained her specifically for work on a series of science curriculum books. This type of work led Heather to writing her own books in the educational market. After sending resumes and writing samples all over the country, Heather landed several writing assignments with companies like, Heinemann Books and KidHaven Books. While she enjoyed writing on assignment, Heather longed to break into the world of picture books, which would allow for more creative freedom in her writing. The odds of breaking into the trade market played against her, but Heather was determined to give it a shot.

Heather wrote book after book after book as her daughters napped and played in the next room. Most of the manuscripts Heather penned were utter disasters and only a few of them were sent out into the world where they ended up in “slush piles” at various publishing companies. Most of those manuscripts were rejected. Some of them were rejected politely, which means she received a few handwritten notes of encouragement from the editors who read them. Those few encouraging words prompted Heather to keep writing. After years of working through rejection after rejection, Heather received the email she always wanted; an editor was interested in purchasing her work! The first manuscript Heather sold was titled, Subway Ride, and even though it was purchased nearly four years ago, it only recently hit the printing presses. Charlesbridge Publishing will release the book next fall. Since that first email, Heather has sold two other manuscripts that were released as picture books this past summer. One of those books has received promising critical acclaim.

The book, This Is Your Life Cycle, presents the life cycle of a dragonfly within the framework of the old game show, This Is Your Life. The book is peppered with off-beat humor and filled with informative facts. School Library Journal, has compared the book to the popular Doreen Cronin book, Diary of a Worm in a review that stated, “Children will appreciate the humor, breezy text, and lively illustrations in Miller's book.” Among other positive reviews, Heather’s book received a star notation from the prestigious publication, Kirkus Reviews.

Recently the book received three exciting honors. This Is Your Life Cycle was named by the New York Public Library as one of their 100 Books for Reading and Sharing for 2008. It was also one of the thirty books named by the American Library Association as a Lasting Connections Book for 2008. The book was also a blue ribbon winner from the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.

Short Bio

Heather Lynn Miller has published over thirty books for children. She has written informational books about insects, holidays, and rock stars. Her picture books include, Look Behind! Tales of Animal Ends, coauthored by Lola M. Schaefer and published by Greenwillow, This Is Your Life Cycle, an award winning title published by Clarion Books, and Subway Ride, a new title scheduled for release in 2009 by Charlesbridge Publishing. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Auburn, Indiana.