the BOOKS
Stories that shine LIGHT into dark places
I write lush, atmospheric fantasy grounded in real places I know and love. Where the unique natural landscapes and charming towns are characters in themselves. Pulling from my years in design, each story bears a strong sense of home - of belonging to a land and place. Each centers around a magical house layered in history and cozy, hobbit vibes. My characters are creatives - usually some type of artist - who encounter the supernatural in our world, go on a quest to uncover the darkness, and end up on a journey to find themselves. Oh… and they fall in love along the way because what is a story without a little romance?
currently querying
FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN
A lush, emotionally charged romance with the small-town heart of Friday Night Lights, the stakes and elemental magic of Supernatural, and the grief-soaked beauty of LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn, FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN follows a grieving artist and a battle-scarred football coach who must unravel dark secrets in their cursed town before they unknowingly unleash a tribe of shapeshifters imprisoned by magic and blood.
Ari Larsen, a prodigy turned art school drop-out, moves to a secluded town nestled in the mist-laced hollows of the Blue Ridge Mountains after the tragic death of her parents. All she wants is to escape the world’s prying eyes and her own unbearable grief. But this southern town has a secret. Blue smoke drifts from a nearby mountain. Strange symbols are scorched into doorframes. And when Ari meets Drew O’Kallen, a former football star with the same mark seared onto his chest, she realizes the nightmares of her parents’ accident are more memory than imagination.
As their bond deepens, they unravel a haunting curse, untangle a buried prophecy that pits love against fate, and battle the darkness rising from the mountain’s bones. Together, they must fight for a future that was never promised… and a love the curse was meant to destroy.
First place recipient of a 2025 BRMCWC Foundations Fiction Award.
Inspired by real life:
As I said above, my stories are inspired by places I’ve lived and loved. Places that held their own bits of magic that made me ask, “What if?”
Fire on the Mountain is set in the small, Blue Ridge Mountain town I was raised in. Where every Friday night, blue fire burns from the scoreboard at Blue Flame stadium, fog drifts over the ridges each morning, and the woods outside town are so thick, they hide secrets. I grew up on a rolling farm at the foot of a mountain. On its highest ridge rests a giant, majestic oak we used to love hiking to and having picnics by that seemed to hold its own sort of power. In High School, a string of black long-tail sightings (a predator that shouldn’t live in our area) sparked a dark sense of adventure in our town. Every night, when I pulled up to our farmhouse and looked at the peak, resting quiet and peaceful behind it, I couldn’t help but wonder. What lurked in these mountains I called home?
And so… a story was born.
my current work in progress
from the MOUNTAINS to the SEA
In this story, we’re headed to a quiet island off the South Carolina coast where my family has found a home away from home. I’m keeping this one a bit closer to the vest, since it’s still in progress. But here are some vibes I’m super excited about.
LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER THEMES
Cozy, cozy, cozy. Think a stormy sea, wool sweaters, candles glowing, a cup of tea, and a cat to cuddle.
COASTAL ACADEMIA
A centuries-old ancestral, island home with a hidden library guarding ancient wisdom. Oh, and a surf board resting on the overhead beams just waiting for the next big wave.
BOOKSHOP OWNER
A quiet, bookish shopkeeper who is happier alone by her fire than with people. But finds courage in the sea.
A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER
An outsider who brings the line of this favorite poem to life:
“At first, I didn’t know whether you were the lighthouse or the storm.”
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