I never thought I would be an author, so it is quite surreal talking about having an author journey. I would consider becoming an author nothing more than an errant thought I had sporadically until I was thirty. Growing up, I did not have exposure to people in creative professions.

I grew up in a rural farming community in America. I am part of the fifth generation of farmers, the daughter of cowboys and wine grape farmers. As a kid I spent a lot of time working on the farm, which gave me some unique insight into a way of life that most people do not ever get to see. I know first hand the struggle and hope that goes into the food that the world relies on. I have felt the reality of doing hard work when times are tough. There is no option of giving up in farming, and it requires one to stay brave in the face of the uncertain. This spirit has stayed with me even after leaving my family’s farm and that community to forge my own path. 

As an at the time undiagnosed autistic girl, I found comfort in the predictability of school. The routines and specific academic focus on things like math helped shape a lifelong love for learning. English introduced me to my love for escaping into other worlds. I would devour books during any spare moment I got, both at home and at school. My favorite genres were historical fiction and fantasy, and my favorite characters were strong and powerful women. A series that ignited my love for independent women was the Royal Diaries series. At the time, I thought I aspired to be like these women, but looking back I see there was another element to my interest. I might be one of the few millennials to have harbored a secret crush on Queen Elizabeth I. 

While Fantasy and Historical Fiction were my favorite genres, over time I have pushed myself to read across multiple genres. I took immense pleasure in reading memoirs and fiction from strong women who survived adversity like Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Amy Tan, and several others. While these stories are among the most frequently banned books for school aged kids, reading the story of how Maya overcame every odd gave me tremendous hope. I am grateful that I was able to access these books and talk about these stories in school. These conversations planted a seed within me to impact change for others by talking about the hard stuff.

I was the first woman in my family to pursue a four year degree and a career outside the home. While I respect stay-at-home moms and all they do, I suspected my soul was calling for something different. I spent some time in community college and University pursuing a degree in mathematics. It was perhaps the most stereotypical choice for an autistic person, I know, but I do find a certain comfort in solving problems. There was little thought put into my degree choice other than finding a stable job, and it would be many years after finishing the rigorous programs until I found the time and wherewithal to create anything. 

Art has been my one creative outlet that I have maintained since childhood, and it was my gateway into writing. It was actually a therapy prompt to draw something that led to the formation of one of my characters in my series. That was also when I began to deconstruct the reasons why I did not feel that I could create anything worth sharing. I will forever be a believer that assistance with mental health should be the default after trauma of any type. Without therapy, I would not have found the confidence to externalize the interior fantasy world I had built through my art. I learned that art is not something that has to be “good enough,” it just needs to exist. The choice to share what we create is personal, and hardly necessary, but as time went on, I began to form the courage and desire to share. I want what I write to represent survivors and voices often silenced, and I realized I needed to share the writing for that to happen. 

My series started as a bullet outline in a google doc, then progressed into a first draft of a four-book series. After I finished the fourth book, I realized it was “wrong,” but getting closer. It was still incredibly inspiring to know that I had at least written one version of a whole series. If I did it once, regardless of quality, I could do it again, in theory. My work ethic and desire to see a project through no matter what fueled me into the rewriting stage. After rewriting the first book, I realized I needed to start taking publishing seriously because Of Hoarfrost and Blood could become something high enough quality to share. I shared with alpha readers and an editor who all agreed that OHAB was worth publishing. Those first readers will always be close to my heart because they gave me the reassurance I needed to put myself on the internet. 

Unlike many millennials, I did not grow up with access to the internet and social media as part of my daily life. It was the rural upbringing and my family’s lifestyle that kept me offline for long enough that I never really “caught the bug” that most of my peers did. Putting myself online publicly in 2024 was as terrifying as sharing the writing, if not more so. Going online to share my journey is not something I regret, however. It is difficult to balance an online presence with writing, but the community I have met here has been critical. 

Of Hoarfrost and Blood is a survivor story and it’s also ultimately a queer story. In my life leading up to authoring this book, I had not found real life versions of either community for myself. I have been a bit of a lone wolf in most regards. Part of living in rural communities is not having many people around, and while I am a country girl through and through, community has been something I did not realize I intensely needed until I accidentally found some. Finding and connecting with others like me has been a unique and life-changing experience. Hearing from readers that they have found hope or inspiration from my book is the fuel that will keep me writing this series.

My journey is one of self-discovery. I guess one could say that books have always been a part of my life, and I am just now learning that they need to continue to be a part of my life. I cannot wait for readers to see what I have planned for Demerise and the growing character cast of fighters. 

About the author

Scarlet Tempest is the debut author of Of Hoarfrost and Blood, the first book of a planned dark fantasy series, Manacles of Ice and Blood. Scarlet has a M.S. degree in Mathematics and a minor in dance, along with an irreverent sense of humor. Besides writing fantasy by light that is darker than an optometrist would recommend, Scarlet is a mother of two, a wife, and a STEM professional by day, which she knows is a bit cliche for a queer autistic woman such as herself.  

Writing is a release and an outlet for Scarlet, who enjoys writing characters you might not have seen in fantasy before. When Scarlet was a child, she lost her leg below the knee by means of blunt force trauma. Thanks to skilled doctors and physical therapists, Scarlet’s experimental limb reattachment was successful and she has gone on to run a half-marathon with a leg that looks like Frankenstein. As a survivor of SA, Scarlet loves writing characters who struggle, survive, and overcome. Her dream is to write fantasy books that allow people to see themselves represented and ultimately empowered. She hopes that you might pick up her book and step through a one-way portal into fantasy reading that you never want to leave.