Martha Freeman was born in Southern California in 1956. Dinosaurs were no longer a threat at this time. Do not listen to her three children when they try to tell you differently. After graduating from Stanford University, Martha worked as a newspaper reporter, copy editor, substitute teacher, college lecturer, advertising copywriter, and freelance magazine writer before she found her true calling as a writer of children's books. She has since published 23 books for children. She is a very busy person.In 1995, Martha's family moved from Sonora, California, to State College, Pennsylvania. Martha's book, "The Year My Parents Ruined My Life," is loosely based on this move. In fact, Martha's books are often inspired by her family. You can see how watching many, many, many Little League and Babe Ruth baseball games has influenced her writing if you read her popular mystery, "Who Stole Uncle Sam?"Pets - especially cats - have always been important to Martha. That's why almost every single one of her books has a cat as a character, and her First Kids mysteries feature a first dog with too much energy, Hooligan. Martha currently lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she enjoys running, parallel parking, making pies, and babysitting for her neighbors' baby... besides writing, of course.