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Ruthy Ballard

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Ruthy Ballard is a scientist by day and a children’s author by night. Her latest creation is Elvia and the Gift of Passion, a science-rich, magical romp on the other side of the galaxy.

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Ruthy Ballard is a scientist and children’s book author. By day, she’s a forensic DNA expert. By night, she romps in an imaginative playground of color and words. Her latest creation is Elvia and the Gift of Passion, a science-rich, magical romp on the other side of the galaxy.

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Ruthy Ballard is a children’s book author, artist, and scientist who lives in Newport, Oregon. By day, she’s “Dr. Ruth Ballard,” a professor and forensic DNA expert. By night, she romps in an imaginative playground of colors and words.

Ruthy is the author of Frankie and the Gift of Fantasy and Tales by Moons-Light: Stories from Before the Great Melt. The third book in her Tales by Moons-light series, Elvia and the Gift of Passion, is coming in February, 2023.

Her entertaining stories lure children into science, but her creative ventures don’t stop there. She’s also a folk artist whose colorful “cartoons” delight and inspire both children and adults.

Ruthy is married to a musician and is the mother of two sons, two cats, and three lively dogs, all of whom appear in her work, in various guises, from time to time.

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As a child, Ruthy loved science, but was intimidated by it. It wasn’t until she joined a group called the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers that she overcame her fear. As she traveled with huge, colorful telescopes through the national parks, sharing the wonders of the Universe with the general public, she realized that science was for everyone, when delivered in an entertaining, accessible way.

Ruthy is passionate about building scientific literacy in kids, so they can survive, thrive, and lead in the coming decades. Her novels and short stories, set on a distant, two-mooned planet called Urth, teach them science through stories, making it fun and fascinating, even for the most science-shy kids on the block.

Ruthy writes in a sunny loft located high in the forest above Yaquina Bay. She spends many happy hours there, writing her books. But her creative ventures don’t stop there. She frequently switches venues to her art table. There, surrounded by colorful pencils, brush pens, and sketch paper, she draws cartoons and book illustrations for children of all ages, including adults.

Ruthy is married to a musician and is the mother of two sons, two cats, and three lively dogs, all of whom appear in her work, in various guises, from time to time. When she isn’t working with her students in the lab or holed up writing or drawing, she likes to hike with her family and dogs on the Oregon coast and turn her giant telescope (affectionately nicknamed The Beast), to the night sky.