Pig Park

Claudia Guadalupe Martinez grew up in El Paso, Texas. She learned that letters form words from reading the subtitles of old westerns for her father who always misplaced his glasses. At age six, she already knew she wanted to create stories. Her father encouraged her to dream big and write a book or two one day. Although he passed away when Claudia was eleven, her mother, family and many others continued to encourage her writing.

She went on to receive a degree in literature from Claremont McKenna College on a full ride and later moved to Chicago to become one of the city's youngest non-profit executives before turning her attention to the completion of her first book, The Smell of Old Lady Perfume.