Kristen Schaefer writes epic romantasy about power, intimacy, and identity. Her stories explore the most dangerous battles, the ones fought within.

She grew up feeling out of place, and at sixteen learned the cost of pretending to be someone she was not. The question of who we become when we stop performing shapes everything she writes.

Kristen holds a doctorate in psychology, which informs her fascination with identity, power, and the lies we tell ourselves in order to survive.

She writes for readers who want to feel seen without being softened. Readers who believe survival is not the same as living. Readers who want stories that do not look away when the world grows dark.

When she is not writing, you will find her in her garden, wrangling bickering chickens, or preserving harvests on her family’s Pacific Northwest homestead.