ORIGIN STORY
I find it oddly satisfying to tug on readers' heartstrings, whether in my 10 years writing Fanfiction (AndromedaMarine on FF.net), or in my fantasy series The Chronicles of Talahm. I've been writing since at least age 12 and spent a good chunk of choir class ignoring the teacher to trade stories with my best friend in the back row. (Sorry, Mr. Pearce.)
The Chronicles of Talahm has been in my head since as long as I can remember. It started out as two separate books that I wrote in Junior High and High School, neither of which worked on their own. But during NaNoWriMo 2018, I had the wild idea to finally dust off those old files, and mash them together in what became Mark of Stars.
the books
Book 1, Mark of Stars, came out in November 2021, coinciding with what would have been my dad's 70th birthday. Book 2 of the series, The Prophet's Ruin, is available now.
I'm planning four books for the core series, and finished the garbage first draft of book 3 during NaNoWriMo '22. After that, readers can expect to see a villain backstory, several spinoff series, and standalones in the same universe. And once THOSE are all written... well, you'll probably see a different series entirely that's NOT fantasy....
EDUCATION & DOMICILE
I graduated from Washington State University with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering (which I do not use) and from The Life Coach School with a Professional Certified Coach certification (which I use every day). In my day job, I work with a bunch of electrical engineers and project managers to make sure all our processes run smoothly. (Sometimes it feels like herding cats.)
I live in Missoula, Montana with my husband Tim and our cat Luna. When it's not -57° F with wind chill, I'm out hiking one of the infinite trails within a 30-minute drive of our house or getting coffee from the best local coffee chain, Liquid Planet.
OTHER THINGS BY COLLEEN
The Novel Writing Podcast
Listen to bite-sized motivation, encouragement, mindset, and tips for the writing and self-publishing process. You'll hear from authors who have succeeded with the 60-Day Challenge, from editors and illustrators, and more!