Erin Hunter
Erin Hunter is the Pen Name of the four authors (Victoria Holmes, Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry and Tui Sutherland) of the Warrior Cats and Seeker Bears series, and is also being used by a new author, Gillian Philip, who is writing the Survivors series. The authors (excluding Tui who lives in America) are British, and were asked to write the Warriors series by HarperCollins. So far, over fifty books have been released under the Erin Hunter name, proving to be quite a success. The name "Erin Hunter" was created by the publisher: "Erin" is a Celtic name to reflect the series' setting, and "Hunter" to emphasize the theme of wilderness - and to put the books on the shelf near Brian Jacques' Redwall series.
Vicky Holmes: The "boss" Erin. She is the one that came up with the plots and storylines for Warrior Cats and Seeker Bears, and she edits the two series, in addition to having written three of the Field Guides on her own. Many of the decisions about the plot rest with her, though she doesn't always get her way. As the "face" of Erin Hunter, she's the one who writes author's notes and goes on tours. Vicky lives in the UK with her husband, Richard, along with several sheep, a horse, and her dog, Missy. She has written a couple other books of her own, called Rider in the Dark, The Horse from the Sea, and Heart of Fire. Her Facebook page can be found here.
Kate Cary: One of the women who writes the books. She has mainly worked on Warriors - and was the one who wrote the first book, Into the Wild - though she has also written one Seekers book. She has two books under her own name: Bloodline, and its sequel, Bloodline: Reckoning. She currently lives in Sheffield, England, with her teenage son, Joshua, and two cats, Flower and Miu-Miu. She has a website, Facebook page, and Twitter account.
Cherith Baldry: One of the women who writes the books. She has worked on both Warriors and Seekers. She currently lives in the UK with her two cats, Bramble and Sorrel, who appear as Brambleclaw and Sorreltail in the books. She has written a children's series called The Abbey Mysteries and an adult book called Exiled.
Tui Sutherland: One of the women who writes the books, though she began as an editor for Warriors before deciding to write full-time. She mostly works on Seekers, though she did write one Warriors Field Guide. She has written many books under several different pseudonyms. She currently lives in Boston with her husband and toddler son, Jonah, as well as her dog Sunshine. She has appeared on Jeopardy!. She has a website and Facebook page.
Tropes common in their works:
- Action Girl
- Anyone Can Die
- The Chosen One
- The Chosen Many
- Gray and Gray Morality
- Hold Your Hippogriffs
- Myth Arc: Warriors and Seekers each are written in multiple six book arcs.
- Spirit Advisor
- Talking in Your Dreams: By the spirits of dead animals.
- Xenofiction
- World of Badass