Fish

Gregory Mone comes from an Irish-American family of swimmers and storytellers. There were no pirates in the family, but some details in Fish were borrowed from family history. Maurice "Fish" Reidy was named for Gregory's grandfather, and though the real Maurice wasn't much of a swimmer, he did cross the ocean on a boat when he immigrated to the United States from Ireland. Gregory's grandmother Brigid was forced to leave her family farm when their horse, Shamrock, died. She, too, came to America and, like Fish, had to send money back home to support her family.

The idea for Fish sprang from family summers spent with Gregory's nieces and nephews on Long Island's North Fork. Elaborate treasure hunts were the norm. After one such adventure, involving a detailed map and clues leading to a sunken treasure, the children asked their uncle to write a pirate story.

As a Contributing Editor at Popular Science and freelance magazine writer, Gregory has written articles about intelligent robots, Irish mythology, cartoons, and alternative energy for many publications. (You can find more of his journalism here.) His work has been featured in The Best American Science Writing. He is also the author of two previous books for adults, The Wages of Genius  and The Truth About Santa: Wormholes, Robots, and What Really Happens on Christmas Eve. When he isn't writing, or playing horses and Barbies with his daughters, Gregory enjoys surfing and, on occasion, staring at trees or large bodies of water. Like Fish, he is also passionate about swimming; he was a nationally ranked competitive swimmer.

A native of Long Island, he now lives in Massachusetts with his wife, two daughters, and infant son.