About

Elizabeth Macalaster started her career as a marine biologist, studying a deep-water, North Atlantic octopus.  She then turned to science journalism and worked for the Department of the Interior and the EPA on water quality issues. 

Elizabeth writes science and history articles for magazines and newspapers on topics ranging from bridges to homing pigeons. Why homing pigeons? She grew up with barnyard birds as pets and has maintained an interest in bird flight. While researching a young adult book about female spies (see Books page), she came across information about homing pigeons making reconnaissance flights with cameras strapped to their chests. As the feathered spies flew over the countryside, the tiny camera snapped photos of the landscape below. The swift and strong little bird snagged her curiosity, and she began her foray into the world of homing pigeons.

Elizabeth also likes to write haibuns, and her poems have appeared in online journals and in the anthologies The Best of Write Action, No. 2 (2010), and Prey Tell (2015).

Under the pen name, Ryan Ann Hunter, Elizabeth and Pamela D. Greenwood collaborated on award-winning nonfiction books for children and young adults.  Their YA book, In Disguise! Undercover With Real Women Spies, reveals the achievements of unsung heroines throughout history.

Elizabeth is the author of Reckoning At Harts Pass, an adventure/thriller in which homing pigeons play a covert role.  A sequel is underway in which the main character, Naomi, is being hunted by jihadists and the FBI.  Will she survive?  Stay tuned for monthly updates on Elizabeth’s News Page.

Elizabeth lives with her husband on the coast of Maine where she likes to hike, row and watch land and seabirds.