T.J. Hendrix started writing fiction for middle schoolers and young adults after a long career in non-fiction writing. She spent 11 years as a newspaper reporter and another 14 years in university web and social media marketing, all in California.

When she's not writing middle grade fiction, she's a freelance writer and web content creator.

She has two grown daughters, one granddaughter and four grand-dogs. She lives in Sonoma County wine country with her husband and their dog, Maggie. She grew up spending summers deep in the Mendocino redwoods, which inspired "The Pack." She's already working on a sequel.

She relies on actual middle school readers to test her book chapters and tell her if they're boring, pretty good or in between. If you'd like to be a test reader and swear that you are an actual middle-schooler, have middle-schoolers or vividly remember being a middle-schooler, join her mailing list on her website: tjhendrix.com.

Teachers and homeschool families who visit will also find a page with links to online resources for science and history information readers will encounter in her books.