Welcome!

Grandma always said, "Life is a school." I love writing stories for youth (of all ages) about what I've learned along life's path—usually the hard way! Click on STORIES (from the school of life) for a laugh or two.
In 2020, I finished my memoir, THE BIPOLAR EXPRESS, a mashup of Jeannette Walls's The Glass Castle and the Roseanne TV show. Turns out, it's a lot more fun looking back on a chaotic childhood than living it. Click on NEWS for some (not so) up to the minute news.
I also get a kick out of writing humorous picture books and nonfiction Middle Grade stories. In fact, I've got a couple of MGs looking for a home right now—one about Oregon Trail pioneer and suffragist Abigail Scott Duniway called SHE FORGOT HER MANNERS AND GOT THE VOTE, the other about the Voyager Space Mission titled: NERD-VANA—THE VOYAGER RACE TO OUTER SPACE. Why Abigail and Voyager? They have traits in common that fascinate me—pioneers with drive and ambition, they constantly reinvented themselves. Now that I think about it, my favorite books as a kid were Little House on the Prairie and Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars.
I live in the land of liquid sunshine—aka Portland Oregon—with my high school sweetheart Mike, and our son Drew, who just graduated from college. (Sigh. Why do they have to grow up so fast?) I love reading all types of books, whether it's to a toddler on my lap or sneaking off with my book club's latest pick. Click on GOOD READS for some of my favorite children's books.
Our twin cats Midnight and Mittens keep me entertained—meowing to be let in or out what seems like fifty times a day, (I know, I know, I could easily be replaced by a cat door), drinking out of the toilet, bringing dead things home, and hissing at each other and their reflections—I didn't say they were the brightest cats on the block! Find me on Twitter: @brenda_niman , Instagram: brendaniman and Facebook or click on CONTACT to drop me a line ...
In 2020, I finished my memoir, THE BIPOLAR EXPRESS, a mashup of Jeannette Walls's The Glass Castle and the Roseanne TV show. Turns out, it's a lot more fun looking back on a chaotic childhood than living it. Click on NEWS for some (not so) up to the minute news.
I also get a kick out of writing humorous picture books and nonfiction Middle Grade stories. In fact, I've got a couple of MGs looking for a home right now—one about Oregon Trail pioneer and suffragist Abigail Scott Duniway called SHE FORGOT HER MANNERS AND GOT THE VOTE, the other about the Voyager Space Mission titled: NERD-VANA—THE VOYAGER RACE TO OUTER SPACE. Why Abigail and Voyager? They have traits in common that fascinate me—pioneers with drive and ambition, they constantly reinvented themselves. Now that I think about it, my favorite books as a kid were Little House on the Prairie and Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars.
I live in the land of liquid sunshine—aka Portland Oregon—with my high school sweetheart Mike, and our son Drew, who just graduated from college. (Sigh. Why do they have to grow up so fast?) I love reading all types of books, whether it's to a toddler on my lap or sneaking off with my book club's latest pick. Click on GOOD READS for some of my favorite children's books.
Our twin cats Midnight and Mittens keep me entertained—meowing to be let in or out what seems like fifty times a day, (I know, I know, I could easily be replaced by a cat door), drinking out of the toilet, bringing dead things home, and hissing at each other and their reflections—I didn't say they were the brightest cats on the block! Find me on Twitter: @brenda_niman , Instagram: brendaniman and Facebook or click on CONTACT to drop me a line ...