Heather is a genuine military brat, born on an Air Force base in the middle of the California desert. She grew up running around the world on various adventures, but finally settled in Texas. No matter how much she tries to leave, she always seems to wind up back in the Lone Star State. It doesn't help that she married a native. Heather considers herself a Californian in exile. Heather is a sucker for the academic life. She's earned triple Bachelor of Arts degrees in Drama, English, Anthropology, plus a Masters in Secondary Education and Masters of Letters in Archaeology. She enjoys being an avocational archeologist and attends local and state digs regularly, serving as a crew chief. Heather currently serves as Secretary for her local archaeological society. Heather is currently pursuing a PhD in Archaeology at UHI Orkney. She lives in a farm cottage in Orkney and studies burial monuments and island identities (she hangs around in burial grounds for science and funsies). Heather also holds multiple teaching certifications in Texas and Scotland and is a former ESOL English teacher. A science fiction fan since she was a small child. Heather is an avid Doctor Who fan, so much that she produced the US premiere of "Stalking John Barrowman the Musical" in 2015 in Austin. Mr. Barrowman himself loaned his voice talents to the show and seemed amused with the whole affair. Besides producing silly musicals, Heather's hobbies include knitting and crochet, freelance editing, playing guitar, traveling, and writing (of course). Heather's story "Lost and Found TARDIS" was selected for publication in the short-story collection "The Doctor and I" in 2013. Her story "Lorconned" was published in the 2017 sci-fi anthology "An Atlas to Time, Space, and Bonfires." Heather is currently writing her first novel, tentatively titled "The (Un)Seelie Orbs." This modern fantasy novel follows a protagonist who is NOT a size 2 young blonde waif with a sword, but a middle aged fiddle-playing woman who kicks faerie ass to save what's most important to her. There's a fae horse with an attitude problem, a Renaissance faire, Scottish islands, and lots of music. Heather is married to a 6'2 hobbit. They have a teenaged bibliophile daughter named Nora. She resides in Orkney, Scotland with a talkative cat named Fabian.

I am a former research scientist, and now an author, freelance writer, and a college instructor. My first book, The Science of Mom: A Research-Based Guide to Your Baby's First Year, was published by Johns Hopkins Press in August 2015. I've updated the book for a second edition, to be released fall 2021. I'm mother to Cee (born in 2010) and BabyM (born in 2014). I live and work in Eugene, Oregon. I completed my PhD in Nutritional Biology at the University of California, Davis, in 2008 and then spent 2+ years studying fetal physiology as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Arizona. After the birth of my daughter in 2010, I decided to leave the world of academic science, trading it for more time with my daughter and the opportunity to write. Without a lab bench and experiments to run, I found myself satisfying my curiosity by diving into the scientific literature on parenting topics, sorting through the science and trying to write coherent stories about how science informs parenthood. I started with a blog, but I found so much fascinating material and so many curious readers that I soon turned my attention to writing a book: The Science of Mom: A Research-Based Guide to Your Baby’s First Year, first published in 2015 by Johns Hopkins University Press. I am not selling anything, and I have no agenda or particular parenting philosophy to promote. I’m just curious, and my scientific training gives me the skill set to evaluate the science, to see its strengths and flaws, and to give my honest interpretation of how it applies to our parenting questions.