Eileen Heyes has a lot of trouble filling out forms that have a space for "Occupation."

Should she write "Journalist"? She has written and edited for newspapers for more than 25 years, and still does so part-time.

"Writing instructor"? She conducts residencies and workshops for students, teachers, and writers.

"Stay-at-home mom"? She manages the household, volunteers at school, feeds the family, and takes care of other chores the details of which you really don't want to know.

"Actress"? Okay, just dreaming here. But she has appeared recently in some small-scale productions at Meredith College and in the street cast of the N. C. Renaissance Faire.

Truth be told, all these occupations have led to her favorite: "Author."

Eileen is the author of two sassy mysteries from Aladdin/Simon & Schuster. The middle grade books, set during the Great Depression, feature two 11-year-old movie stars.

"O'Dwyer & Grady Starring in Acting Innocent," published in 2002, won immediate recognition from the Mystery Writers of America, which nominated it for an Edgar Award.

 

The sequel, "O'Dwyer & Grady Starring in Tough Act to Follow," came out in 2003.

The books are based on the childhood of Eileen’s father, who made movies in the 1930s with such luminaries as Alf Goulding and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.

 

Before turning to fiction, Eileen wrote three critically praised nonfiction books for young adults:

Children of the Swastika: The Hitler Youth (1993),

Adolf Hitler (1994), and

Tobacco U.S.A.: The Industry Behind the Smoke Curtain (1999).