Brigid Kemmerer (born January 11, 1978) is an American author of young-adult fantasy and romance novels, best known for her series '' Cursebreakers'' and ''Defy the Night''.

Early life

Kemmerer was born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, but lived in many other places during her early life including

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

and

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, before settling in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

. She was raised Catholic. She worked in the finance industry before becoming a full-time writer.

Personal life

Her favorite books as a child were ''Shattered Glass'' by Elaine Bergstrom, ''

The Vampire Chronicles ''The Vampire Chronicles'' is a series of Gothic fiction, Gothic vampire literature, vampire novels and a media franchise, created by American writer Anne Rice, that revolves around the fictional character Lestat de Lioncourt, a French noble ...

'' by

Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of Gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Bible fiction. She is best known for writing ''The Vampire Chronicles''. She later adapted t ...

, ''Dun Lady’s Jess'' by

Doranna Durgin Doranna Durgin is an American author. In 1995 she won the Compton Crook Award for the novel ''Dun Lady's Jess''. Durgin's works feature suspense elements and distinctive descriptions of animals and their behavior. Works The Changespell Saga ...

, and ''Anything'' by Christopher Pike. As of 2021, she lived in the

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

area with her husband and sons. Kemmerer does not identify as religious, instead considering herself a spiritual person.

Career

Influences

The authors most influential to her writing are Christopher Pike,

Jodi Picoult Jodi Lynn Picoult (; born 1966) is an American writer. Picoult has published 28 novels and short stories, and has also written several issues of ''Wonder Woman''. Approximately 40 million copies of her books are in print worldwide and have been t ...

Charlaine Harris Charlaine Harris Schulz (born November 25, 1951) is an American author who specializes in mysteries. She is best known for her book series '' The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', which was adapted as the TV series '' True Blood''. The television sh ...

Dan Savage Daniel Keenan Savage (born October 7, 1964) is an American author, media pundit, journalist, and LGBTQ community activist. He writes Savage Love, an internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column. In 2010, Savage and his husband, ...

, and

Bill Konigsberg Bill Konigsberg (born November 11, 1970) is an American author, best known for his LGBT novels. He wrote ''Out of the Pocket'', '' Openly Straight'', ''The Porcupine of Truth'', ''Honestly Ben'', ''The Music of What Happens'', and ''The Bridge' ...

Cursebreakers series

Background

One of the main characters in the Cursebreakers series, Harper, has

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

, which the author was inspired to include because one of her friends has the same condition. The inspiration for the first book was her love for the fairytale

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

Reception

'' A Curse So Dark and Lonely'' was a ''New York Times'' bestseller and received a

starred review A starred review is a book review marked with a star to denote a book of distinction or particularly high quality. A starred review can help to increase media coverage, bookstore placement and sales of a book. Outlets that published starred review ...

from ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

''.

Defy the Night series

Plot

The first book, Defy the Night, is about a kingdom ruled by a cruel king in which his brother's task is to punish thieves and black marketeers and a mysterious illness makes the rounds.

More than We Can Tell

Her standalone novel ''More Than We Can Tell'' received a starred review from the ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

''.

Bibliography

''Elemental'' series

* ''Elemental'' (#0.5) (2012) * ''Storm'' (#1) (2012) * ''Fearless'' (#1.5) (2012) * ''Spark'' (#2) (2012) * ''Breathless'' (#2.5) (2013) * ''Spirit'' (#3) (2013) * ''Secret'' (#4) (2014) * ''Sacrifice'' (#5) (2014)

''Letters to the Lost'' series

Brigid Kemmerer 2022 Texas Book Festival

* ''Letters to the Lost'' (2017) * ''More Than We Can Tell'' (2018)

''Cursebreakers'' series

* ''A Curse So Dark and Lonely'' (2019) * ''A Heart So Fierce and Broken'' (2020) * ''A Vow So Bold and Deadly'' (2021)

''Forging Silver into Stars'' series (''Cursebreakers'' spin-off)

* ''Forging Silver into Stars'' (2022) * ''Carving Shadows into Gold'' (2025) * ''Sparking Fire out of Fate'' (2026)

''Defy the Night'' series

* ''Defy the Night'' (2021) * ''Defend the Dawn'' (2022) * ''Destroy the Day'' (2024)

''Braided Fate'' series

* ''Warrior Princess Assassin'' (2025)

Standalone novels

* ''Thicker Than Water'' (2015) * ''Call It What You Want'' (2019)

References

External links

*
Q&A with ''Publishers Weekly''

1978 births Living people Writers from Omaha, Nebraska {{US-child-writer-stub