Raven Oak

Some reviewers have said my writing is a mix of Lois McMaster Bujold, Patricia A. McKillip, Douglas Adams, and George R. R. Martin. I'm not sure what to make of that but I'll take it. I write in a lot of speculative fiction genres such as space opera, epic fantasy, magical realism, urban fantasy, gothic fantasy, space exploration, and horror, as well as mystery and historical fiction. I guess that would explain all the comparisons.

I grew up all over the United States, but I spent the most time in Florida and Texas. The prejudice I saw and experienced growing up absolutely influenced my writing. Most of my stories carry a theme of justice in them for a reason.

I don't remember a time when I wasn't a reader. I learned to read somewhere around age 2 or 3 and I was devouring everything from Nancy Drew and A Wrinkle in Time to classics like Shakespeare and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in elementary school. Middle school is when I discovered the "good stuff," aka speculative fiction authors like Anne McCaffrey, Arthur C. Clarke, and so on. Once I started reading, I never stopped.

Myself. I don't want to write like anyone else.

This changes all the time but the folks who consistently remain in my top favs are Connie Willis, Anne McCaffrey, Ursula K. LeGuin, Rebecca Roanhorse, and Mercedes Lackey.

Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. Heartbreakingly funny and so worth the ride.

Adelei from Amaskan's Blood. Trying to figure out if her blood family or her chosen family is her real family is a process I'm intimately familiar with so a lot of my own struggles were poured into her.

Voices Carry is my favorite. It's a hard read for some but it's my memoir. There's nothing more personal than that. Telling my story of my truth–who I am as a disabled, neurodiverse, nonbinary queer–is everything.

I have a home office full of artwork and figurines that inspire me, as well as five bookshelves full of writing related books. A large window looks out across our property and it's full of 80+ foot tall evergreens. Lots of squirrels and birds to see as well. It's a nice home office.

I love to curl up in a comfy chair with a view. If it's raining outside, bonus. If there's one of my kitties around, double bonus.