TRIALS, TRAITORS & TEMPTATIONS: YOUNG ADULT FANTASY SUPERSTARS

ALEX ASTER is the pen name of Colombian American writer Alexandra Pierson. She is an author of YA and middle-grade fiction, including the Emblem Island series, inspired by her Colombian heritage and the stories her grandmother told her. Aster graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied creative writing.

AMÉLIE WEN ZHAO was born in Paris and grew up in Beijing, where she spent her days reenacting tales of legendary heroes, ancient kingdoms, and lost magic at her grandmother’s courtyard house. She attended college in the United States and now resides in New York City, working as a finance professional by day and fantasy author by night. In her spare time, she loves to travel and spend time with her family in China, where she’s determined to walk the rivers and lakes of old just like the practitioners in her novels do. Zhao is the author of the Blood Heir trilogy – Blood Heir, Red Tigress, and Crimson Reign – as well as Song of Silver, Flame Like Night.

AURORA DOMINGUEZ is a high school and university educator, currently teaching journalism and English at Boca Raton High School. As for educating at universities, she is a professor in charge of teaching mass communications and journalism classes online at University of Florida and Florida Atlantic University. Dominguez has been an editor and writer at publications such as the Miami Herald and Where and J-14 magazines. In 2015 she went from the newsroom to the classroom and still freelances for a variety of publications, covering books, literature, and features. Recently, she won 2022 Teacher of the Year at Boca Raton High School, was chosen as one of 50 teachers in the United States to be honored by Walt Disney World during its 50th Anniversary Teacher Celebration, and completed her summer studies at Oxford in England on a full scholarship. There, she received a certificate in English literature with a concentration on Shakespeare and politics as well as Jane Austen. Dominguez lives with her husband, Sebastian, and cat, Luna, in Hollywood, Florida.

LAUREN ROBERTS is a writer based in Michigan. When she isn’t writing about fantasy worlds and bantering love interests, she can likely be found burrowed in bed reading about them. A Michigan resident for her whole life, Roberts is very familiar with potholes, snow, and various lake activities. She has the hobbies of both a grandmother and a child, i.e., knitting, laser tag, hammocking, word searches, and coloring. Powerless is her first novel, and she hopes to have the privilege of writing pretty words for the rest of her life.