About Tricia

Me and the Mister

Here’s a self-portrait of Perry and Tricia Brown taken along the Alaska Highway at the Toad River Campground. (Sing “Toad River” to the theme of “Moon River” just once, and you won’t get it out of your head.) When it’s time to do an update on my World-Famous Alaska Highway travel guide, we hit the road together—oh, yes, along with our golden retriever named Kvichak.*

I first came to Alaska in 1978, after a long and winding drive from northern Illinois up the Alaska Highway, which was not paved back then. (That agonizing story’s in my Alaska Highway travel guide…I didn’t know tires could disintegrate like that…poof!). During more than two decades in Alaska, I traveled nearly every inch of its road system, and flew into its remote places while writing and editing for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska magazine. In 1998, I began writing nonfiction books for adults on Alaska life, travel and history. Still, writing children’s books has been probably more difficult but also more enriching than writing for you grown-ups.

Somewhere back there I earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (Go Nanooks!), and a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from the University of Alaska Anchorage (Go Seawolves!).

We have two daughters, both grown and married, and six grandchildren, some here, some in Alaska. Perry and I have been living in Scappoose, Oregon, for several years, and it’s a wonderful place to live. But still, we go “home” to Alaska as often as we can.

I am a full-time writer and editor, and I love speaking to students and writing groups, so please let me know if you’d like a visit!

* In case you’re wondering about our dog’s name, it’s pronounced QUEE-jack—he’s named for a huge river that flows from Lake Iliamna (1,000 square miles) to the waters of the famous salmon-fishing grounds of Bristol Bay. And if you’re a fan of “Alaskan Night Before Christmas,” you’ve probably noticed that the goofy-looking caribou in lead with Kotzebue is named … Kvichak! The expression is similar, too.