Press Kit

I’ve been writing since the age of five after a family friend gave me an old typewriter, when she saw I enjoyed creating works of mystery and suspense that only a five-year-old could. I completed my first novel and started shopping it at fourteen. Of course, I had a lot to learn and collected many rejections, although I received advice from an agent who said I had a rare ambition for one so young. In later years, I figured out mystery wasn’t my thing. It was a story by Ray Bradbury that I enjoyed that turned me towards fantasy. After writing an unpublished science-fiction epic, I completed a young adult fantasy, published by a now defunct small press. I chalked it up to a learning experience, and it developed a need for me to be more cautious with my work. I feel that as an author, we must continue to learn about our craft. I stopped writing for a while, telling myself I’d quit until I realized you can’t quit being a writer. Your brain will always think like a writer. It was then I completed my epic fantasy Tinderbox, shopped it with no success until 2017, when I wrote my fantasy western, Gunslinger Witch, a NaNoWriMo work. The idea came to me after researching women of color in the Old West and I came upon Stagecoach Mary Fields. I knew I had to write about her! I was shopping Gunslinger Witch when I received the call all writers wait for, from Anne Tibbets, of the Donald Maas Literary Agency. offering me representation. I didn't receive any offers for Gunslinger Witch, but I have plans for it in the future. We were discussing other works when I told her about Tinderbox, which she also agreed to shop and in 2021, I received the offer of publication from Flame Tree Press. Not long after, Flame Tree accepted the sequel, Tarotmancer on proposal. Tinderbox and Tarotmancer are available both online and in stores everywhere. They are the first two books in my series, Tales from the Riven Isles. Tinderbox made the Top 100 on the Amazon Best Sellers List in Black & African American Fantasy Fiction and is the 2022 GOLD Winner for Fantasy Foreword Reviews Indie Award. Recently, I sold the third book in my series, titled, The Hatter's Daughter, based on Alice in Wonderland. I have many other irons in the fire. For example, a futuristic science-fantasy, a middle-grade contemporary fairytale, an apocalyptic grimdark fantasy and a contemporary hero science-fantasy in the vein of Sky High and The Incredibles. For more information, go to my website to my WIP’s at https://authorwasimpson.com/wip/. I have a grand passion for books and reading and love to discuss business anytime. On a more personal note, I’m the world’s biggest bibliophile. When I’m not writing, I indulge in my favorite pastimes, which include working in my garden, and video gaming. Come see me on Twitch as Runic Nightshade. I share my home with two cats, Cinnamon and Spice, who own the house, and my oldest brother, whom I often refer to online as Big Brother. I am the youngest and only girl in a family of three boys. I love discussing business, so hit me up online anytime! less