Alyssa Pierce

Alyssa Pierce is an American children's author and blogger. Her "Caroline and Rebecca" series of books are written for children ages 2–8, and have been used in classrooms from Preschool through the Second Grade.

Early life

Pierce grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey. She, her husband Francis, her sister Kristen, and her mother Deborah live in Heights neighborhood house where Pierce's father was born. He died when Pierce was 16.

She began writing while attending Saint Nicholas grammar school, in her own words, "since I was able to hold a pencil. I started scribbling and copying names. My mother gave me a journal. I wrote poetry and short stories and it escalated from there. St. Nicks had no newspaper, but my fifth grade English teacher entered me in a poetry contest, and I had two poems published in an anthology."

Pierce attended high school at Saint Dominic Academy, where she published her poems in the school literary magazine throughout all four years, and became editor of it in her senior year. She was also a member of the school's initial International Baccalaureate group of students, and was the President of the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) club.

Pierce attended Rutgers University-Newark, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. She minored in Psychology and History.

Career

The first book in her "Caroline and Rebecca" series, entitled Caroline and Rebecca: Rebecca Gets Into Trouble, was published by Tate Publishing & Enterprises in July 2010. Her second book in the series, entitled Caroline and Rebecca's Day at the Beach, was released in November 2011.

Regarding how she became a published writer, Pierce says, "I don't think I really had a secret process that made it come together. I'll say what I want to say in the first sentence of the stanza and then rhyme the next sentence around that." When experiencing difficulty in forming rhymes, Pierce occasionally uses online websites like rhymezone.com, saying, "It sometimes takes five or six tries before I complete a rhyming stanza that makes sense with regards to the plot. It's really all about revision. It could actually be a very complicated process, but because it's a children's book, you try to be as direct as possible. You really don't have the option of adding fluff or big words to a kid's book."