I wasn’t born in the Inland Northwest, but I grew up here and it’s definitely home. Today it’s where my husband and I are raising our twins (somehow, somehow they’re already first graders). I love this community and have a heart for serving it. I spent most of my career working for my local community colleges and have just recently begun working in employment services. Oh yeah—I’m also a writer of dark and twisty middle grade and young adult stories. I’m represented by the wonderful Ali Herring at Spencerhill Associates.
In January, I was able to share with the world my debut book, THEM CLACKITY (middle grade horror), will be published by Atheneum (Simon & Schuster) summer 2022. I’m still sort of beside myself about the whole thing. I’ve dreamed of writing and publishing since I was a little girl and, honestly, I wrote THEM CLACKITY for 10-year-old me and all the kids like her who are anxious and not-exactly-fearless, but brave and even badass all at the same time.
I find inspiration for my stories all over the place—in my children’s retellings of their dreams, on road trips through Montana, and most recently in an abandoned abattoir. As a young reader, I raised myself on classic fairy tales, John Bellairs, Ray Bradbury, and Stephen King (I read Cujo when I was eight and was simultaneously terrified and hooked).
Today, I still prefer a rainy day and a scary book to nearly anything else. When I’m not reading for work or to my kids I’m reading fiction—mostly horror or anything a little weird and unsettling. I credit my love of words to my parents and to the public library that was walking distance from my childhood home in Spokane Valley. I’m a member of SCBWI, Horror Writers Association, and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association.
I have a great and supportive online writing community but would love to meet more local creatives! You can find me spending far too much time on Twitter @Lora013 and at lorasenf.com