3.16.2009

Meet the Ermas

Stacey Graham is the mama of five amazing girls, writer, a ghost hunter and the best little granola chef in the whole wide world, While trying to write the Great American Novel between Brownie permission slips and grocery lists. she once gave a cashier half a scene when handing her a coupon. It was a toss-up which she needed more - coffee or if Libby would make it out alive. Coffee won. 


Please visit her website , check her goofy self out on the Twitter, and  her zombie whoopin' skillz at the Zombie Dating Guide. She is also the author of THE GIRLS' GHOST HUNTING GUIDE,  and THE ZOMBIE TAROT.




Angie Mansfield is certifiably insane, and she made herself a certificate to prove it. This made her a perfect candidate to be Stacey's right-hand-woman and Assistant Editor of An Army of Ermas. When she's not wrangling wayward Ermas, talking to her jade plant (named Fred), or compulsively buying betta fish (don't ask), she makes her living as a freelance writer. You can follow her musical adventures at Ocarinas and Didgeridoos.








I’m Amy Mullis. My turn-ons are housebroken puppies, diets that use chocolate as a weight loss tool, and husbands who know which end of the mop to use on the kids and which end to use on the floor. Oh, and world peace. But that’s not likely to start in my house on Monday morning. These days, I'm trying to find myself. Come help me look. Surely if children everywhere can find Waldo, we can locate a short, round woman sporting stretchy pants, a baseball jersey, and dangly earrings and clutching a box of Girl Scout cookies like Thin Mints are the keys to heaven.

Visit my blog: Mind Over Mullis. As long as there's no funny business with the cookies, we'll all get along just fine.




Ever since the Flaming Toast Casserole Incident, Beth Bartlett has sought refuge—and hid from her family—in the pages of Erma Bombeck’s books. While she toils as a freelance article writer by day, at night she dons a superhero outfit that bags at the knees (among other places) and writes about the days when both checks and cookies bounce. When she’s had enough caffeine, she also posts at Wisecrack Zodiac and her newest venture, Pure Geek.






Carol Lee is a caffeine-fueled writer, fiercely-protective mom, blissfully-devoted wife, frightening wielder of power tools and rabid legal research whiz who thinks everyone should strive for a little more music and hedonism in their lives. She gained a starry-eyed view of writing professionally when her first attempt was snatched up by the metaphysical publisher, Llewellyn, within hours; her life has been a pilgrimage toward the brass ring ever since. Hundreds of her articles and essays are sprinkled around the Internet at websites such as National Geographic, Dremel, LegalZoom, eHow Home and Garden and An Army of Ermas.

Stop by and enjoy a cup of crazy at her blog, Irrational Propensity, where she babbles about writing, gardening, cooking (as a sport!), renovating her 121-year-old folk Victorian farmhouse, her two mal-adjusted dogs and finding her way as a stranger in this strange land called life.




Harley May is a wife, mother, and writer. She grew up in South Korea and did not live in a grass hut but thanks for asking. When not living the posh existence of wife, mother, and scattered writer, she enjoys staring at hardwood floors and biting. She likes grapes. Please visit her blog.











Janna Qualman is a freelance and fiction writer. She lives with her family in the Midwest, where she captures life through writing. Janna's stories and essays have appeared both in print and online, and she writes books, too. Learn more about Janna at her blog: Something She Wrote.










Jason Tudor is a tall, dark and handsome American who lives Bavaria with his traveling spouse, Deedee, and his 4-year-old daughter, Annabelle, who will one day "cure cancer and solve all problems economic while continuing a burgeoning career as both super model and television host (all while being well adjusted, friendly and brightly shining star)" -- source: Mom. Jason also keeps his own blog at http://jasontudor.com, where he writes about social media, writing and occasionally rants about things that hurt others. He hangs some poetry on it as well.



Jennifer Caddell enjoys putting her imagination into words while living in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, two children, and two chickens. She has a bachelor’s degree in English and was previously published in a science fiction anthology titled "What If". She enjoys writing in a variety of genres. Her blog, Colander Hat, covers all of her creative endeavors including crochet, suburban farming, healthy recipes, family life, and of course writing.




Kathy T. is the mother of three interesting and talented young adults who have inspired lots of essays, greeting cards, and stories. Her family thinks she's a bit wacky, but why not visit her on her blog, It Bloggles The Mind at: http://itblogglesthemind-kathy.blogspot.com and decide for yourself.










Lisa Dovichi terrorizes enriches the lives of her husband and two sons, 3Ft of Fun and Mr. Grumpybutt, with the help of a killer Boston Fern named Audrey. By day, she’s a freelance writer, blogger, web and graphics designer, artist, children’s book author and illustrator, and a budding novelist. By night, she’s an exercising fiend. In her spare time -- wait she doesn't have any.

Want more of Lisa’s healthy lifestyle adventures? Join her on her wild ride at Melting Before Your Eyes.





Melanie Hooyenga is a freelance writer and graphic designer who recently moved back to Michigan after living in Mexico for three years. A graduate from James Madison University, she worked in Chicago for ten years and now spends her time between design projects writing novels and short stories. You can learn more about Melanie at her blog Hoosblog.









Patti Wigington began writing at the age of seven, when she ran out of books to read in her small-town library. Since then, she's grown up (a little) and published a couple of books, a whole bunch of columns, and a few short stories she's embarrassed to even have on her resume. In addition to writing, Patti spends her free time putzing around in her garden, coming up with new and exciting ways to re-use stuff she didn't think she wanted anymore, dying her hair odd colors, and full-contact recipe experimentation. She is married to the most patient man in the world, and is raising three children who are remarkably well-adjusted, despite their mother's best efforts to turn them into very strange people. Patti lives in central Ohio, and keeps people updated about her shenanigans at http://www.pattiwigington.com.






Pauline M. Campos is wife to The Husband, mother to “Buttercup,” and has decided that it’s time to make peace with her cellulite. Pauline has always known she was going to be a writer and finally got tired of hearing The Husband ask when she was going to make him rich, so she finally stopped dreaming and started doing.

She got started in newspapers and served as city editor for a few local papers before hitting the big time at The Detroit News and freelancing for the Metro-Detroit based Metro Parent Magazine before taking a break after baby. She's a featured blogger at www.owningpink.com and blogs weekly at the nationally recognized fitness support site www.bookieboo.com where she also serves as an editor. Oh right, and her own blog? That's www.aspiringmama.com. You're welcome.

She's also pretty sure God made her lactose intolerant because she refused to stop chewing her ice cream.




Sara Spock is the mother of two rambunctious boys, the wife to a saintly clean freak, a substitute college instructor, a freelance writer and researcher, and a slightly neurotic coffee addict. When she’s not teaching, cooking, or chasing a wild child, Sara can be found building menacing Lego towers, sketching, or blogging over at her green-cooking site, The Hero Complex.

You can find out more about Sara’s work by visiting her website, following her on Twitter, checking out her poetry, or reading about her research over at the Sex Lab. No, that’s not what we’re calling it these days.










Sarah is a collector of intercepted love notes and a facilitator of second grade dictatorship scenarios.  She corrects children when they mistakenly use the word “tampons” to mean “tadpoles” and occasionally gets fashion advice from them, too.  To read eight-year-olds’ tips for how to have a successful marriage or the most recent thing that eight-year-olds think is really cool (Spoiler alert – it’s most likely going to be Fake-Picking One’s Nose), visit Sarah’s blog, Dead Class Pets. When the stars align, her work can also be found on McSweeney’s.



Terri Lynn Coop lives with her two intrepid Chihuahuas in an 1888 building with good karma and a bad roof. She writes quirky history columns for The Bourbon County Review and blogs about car memorabilia for About.com. Her short stories have appeared in No Rest for the Wicked, Battlespace, and Dream People. She's been known to blog at Readin' Rittin' & Rhetoric and hangs out on Twitter at @terrilcoop.















FringeGirl (Tricia Gillespie) lives on the domestic fringe in denial of her actual age, avidly avoiding scales, and eating too many M&M's. She is mother to two spazzy kids and one electrifying husband.  Her blog, The Domestic Fringe, is dedicated to finding humor in daily life.  FringeGirl enjoys using her God-given love for the written word to encourage others in the monotony of every-day.  She hopes you find your smile today!