About Me

The short version:

I’m a writer of fantasy and the Managing Editor of the literary magazine Nimrod International Journal. I started writing at the age of three (though the story was only four sentences long). My short fantasy has been published in various print and online journals, and you can find links to some of my stories here. I was born, raised in, and currently live in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The longer version:

I started creating stories as a child, before I could even write. Until I got to grade school and learned to print, I would tell my mother stories, and she would write them down. We used to photocopy them and give them out to all my relatives at Christmas. The first story I ever wrote was four sentences long, about a frog who cried frozen tears because winter had come.

I tried to write my first novel at the age of twelve. Though I thought about it a lot and had all sorts of notes about it, I only wrote about twenty pages of it. At fourteen I tried to write a new novel, and got through about 75 pages. Then, at fifteen, I actually managed to finish a novel, which was about a girl’s summer romance with a reformable bad boy who rode a motorcycle (it was mostly wishful thinking, as I hadn’t had a date at that point). After that, I wrote two fantasy novels for adults that will never see the light of day.

Along with writing, I spent most of my childhood reading. In fact, I’ve spent most of my adulthood reading. (I’m the kind of person who brings a book everywhere I go, because I might have 2 unfilled minutes and then I will need something to read! Packing for plane trips is a nightmare because I can never squeeze in enough books without going over the weight limit.) Right now, I’m using most of the available bookshelf space in my house and worry about the day when I will have to decide which is more important—space for the dining room table or more bookshelves.

For college, I attended The University of Tulsa, where I received a B.A. in English. While there, I worked at Nimrod International Journal, a literary magazine that publishes short fiction and poetry (though not much fantasy). When I graduated, I became Managing Editor of the magazine, which basically means that I do everything from open the mail to put together the layout of the issues, and just try not to go crazy doing it. Nimrod’s mission is to publish new writers from the United States and abroad and to help writers break into the publishing world.

In May of 2009, my own personal dream came true when Egmont USA bought my first YA fantasy novel, The False Princess. Because aside from a flirtation with the idea of being a marine biologist in 5th grade (that was before I realized you actually had to do science to become a marine biologist), I’ve never really wanted to be anything but a writer.

A few random bits about me:

My honest-to-God, birth certificate middle name is Arwen, which explains both the fantasy writing and what happens when you let a Tolkien-obsessed man name a child. I don’t mind it. My first name is Gaelic and pronounced A-lish.

Aside from reading, I like going to Renaissance Festivals, watching shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Veronica Mars, and Revolutionary Girl: Utena, hiking, working puzzles and playing boardgames, gardening, and generally being a geek. I started playing the harp in January, and now my husband wanders around the house humming the songs that I practice over and over.

I have a wonderful husband named Matt, and two very obnoxious dogs, Nemo and Zuul.