Biography

J. L. Rowan has been reading and writing fantastic tales since childhood.  Her love of far-away, magical places drew her to both personal and formal study of all things medieval — and the SCA, where she can pretend (if only for a moment) that the ideals of Camelot truly exist.  Her love of the medieval, combined with her love of felines and other talking animals in literature, led to her creation of the Guardians and the world of Talithia, where high fantasy reigns.  She has a B.A. in English, and MLS in Archives, with training in rare books bibliography at the Folger Shakespeare Library (see link in sidebar… go there… it’s a fabulous place).  Her love of rare books, old libraries, and Shakespeare all influence her current Talithian work-in-progress, To Tread Upon Kings.  She has had two other Talithian stories published in Deep Magic, one of which won the 2006 Lamp Post Award for Best Fantasy Short Story.  Additionally, she has had stories published with Uncial Press and The Cross and the Cosmos.  An excerpt of To Tread Upon Kings won the 2007 Novel Excerpt Contest put on by award-winning author Tosca Lee.  When not writing, she enjoys practicing the book arts.  She lives in the upper Midwest with a beautiful green-eyed Guardian of her own.