Melissa Anne Peterson (born December 17, 1968), known by her pen name Melissa Wiley, is an author of children's books, known especially for two book series about

Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, mostly known for the '' Little House on the Prairie'' series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood ...

's ancestors: ''The Martha Years'' and ''The Charlotte Years''. She is a contributing writer at Wired.com's GeekMom blog and co-writes a webcomic with her husband,

Scott Peterson Scott Lee Peterson (born October 24, 1972) is an American convicted murderer. In 2004, he was convicted of the first-degree murder of his wife, Laci, who was pregnant at the time, and the second-degree murder of their unborn son, Conner, in Mod ...

, and illustrator Chris Gugliotti.

Personal life

Wiley resides in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

with her husband, comic book editor and author

, and six children. One of her sons (born ) has

hearing loss Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spoken ...

. Her oldest daughter (born ) had

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

, but recovered. She is a stay-at-home mom and

homeschools Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

her children.

Books

Nonfiction

* Antlers in Space and Other Common Phenomena (Split/Lip Press, 2017) * Skull Cathedral: A Vestigial Anatomy (Autumn House Press, 2020)

Fiction

Anastasia Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

: Together in Paris (

Golden Books *Western Publishing (1907−2001) — , magazines, and {{C, Children's book publishers, children's books publisher, formerly based in Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is ...

, 1997, as Melissa Peterson) * Hanna's Christmas (

HarperFestival HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...

, 2001, as Melissa Peterson) * Fox and Crow Are Not Friends (

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, 2012) * The Prairie Thief (

Margaret K. McElderry Books Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning " pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

, 2012) * Inch and Roly Make a Wish (

Simon Spotlight Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

, 2012) * Inch and Roly and the Very Small Hiding Place (Simon Spotlight, 2013) * Inch and Roly and the Sunny Day Scare (Simon Spotlight, 2013) * The Nerviest Girl in the World (

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

, 2020) Little House: The Martha Years
Published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...

. # Little House in the Highlands (1999) # The Far Side of the Loch (2000) # Down to the Bonny Glen (2001) # Beyond the Heather Hills (2003) Little House: The Charlotte Years
Published by HarperCollins. # Little House by Boston Bay (1999) # On Tide Mill Lane (2001) # The Road from Roxbury (2002) # Across the Puddingstone Dam (2004) Carmen Sandiego Mysteries
Published by HarperCollins and credited to Melissa Peterson. * Hasta la Vista, Blarney (1997) * The Cocoa Commotion (1997)

References

External links

Official website

Into the Thicklebit webcomic
* Cook, Karla

Ramblin' Roads. June 23, 2008. *
Melissa Peterson
(real name) at LC Authorities, with 11 records an
Peterson at WorldCat

Anne James
(joint pseudonym with husband Scott Peterson) at LC Authorities an
James at WorldCat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiley, Melissa 1968 births American children's writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers Living people Place of birth missing (living people)