King Tut once ruled Egypt, but now he’s stuck in middle school because Austin children’s author P.J. (Tricia) Hoover put him there. “Tut: The Story of My Immortal Life” is one of five books she has written since 2008, but her journey as an author started in a galaxy far, far away. Growing up in Alexandria, Virginia, P. J. dreamt of becoming a JEDI as she devoured science fiction and mythology. But she learned early that books were written by other people, so instead she earned degrees from Virginia Tech in computer engineering and history and later a Masters in electrical engineering. After a fifteen year bout as an electrical engineer at Motorola and Intel, P. J. encountered a turning point in 2008. She wanted something more and different …show more content…
Her books range from ancient history to futuristic Austin facing global warming in “Solstice” and the suspenseful trilogy, “The Forgotten Worlds.” All her books are suitable for students in later elementary through middle schools. As much as P.J. loves to write, the funnest part of her job is visiting schools throughout Texas to engage with the students and establish valuable contacts with school librarians. “Connecting with my audience and seeing their enthusiasm is so rewarding, because it’s wonderful to introduce them to books they may not otherwise know about,” she says. Hoover’s own children, Lola, 11, and Zachary, 14, also think it’s cool their mom is a children’s author. As a novice writer, PJ joined local critique groups as well as the Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), but her “eureka” moment came when she met an editor from Dallas-based CBay Books at a national writing conference. After receiving valuable feedback, she made multiple revisions resulting in CBay Books publishing her trilogy. She also credits local book stores, Book People and Book Spot, for going out of their way to help