Elizabeth Donald (born 1975) is an American author and journalist, best known for writing horror and science fiction, including the ''Nocturnal Urges'' vampire mystery series and ''Blackfire'' zombie series.

Life and career

Elizabeth Donald was born in

Merced, California Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April ...

in 1975, the older of two children to Dr. Ralph Donald, a professor of

mass communications Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

retired from SIUE, and Patrice Stribling Nelson, a classical

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...

. Donald attended

Bryn Mawr School Bryn Mawr School, founded in 1885 as the first college-preparatory school for girls in the United States, is an independent, nonsectarian all-girls school for grades PK-12, with a coed preschool. Bryn Mawr School is located in the Roland Park c ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and then Westview High School in

Martin, Tennessee Martin is a city in Weakley County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 11,473 according to the 2010 census. The city is the home of the University of Tennessee at Martin. History Martin is named for Captain William Martin. Willi ...

, graduating in 1993. She next attended the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

, initially studying theater, and then transferred to the

University of Tennessee at Martin The University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin or UTM) is a public university in Martin, Tennessee. It is one of the five campuses of the University of Tennessee system. UTM is the only public university in West Tennessee outside of Memphi ...

to study journalism, graduating with a bachelor's degree in mass communications. Her first novel, ''Nocturnal Urges'', was published in 2004, launching the three-book vampire series. Since then, she has published many novels and novellas, as well as a number of short story publications in various magazines. She has won the

Darrell Award {{unreferenced, date=November 2010 The Darrell Awards are American literary wards intended to promote literacy in the United States Mid-South by recognizing the best published Midsouth regional science fiction, fantasy, and horror. The Awards consi ...

for horror and science fiction three times and has been a finalist for other awards, including the Prism Award from

Romance Writers of America Romance Writers of America (RWA) is an American non-profit writers' association founded in 1980. Its mission is to "advance the professional and common business interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy and by incr ...

. She regularly appears at horror- and science fiction-themed conventions such as

Archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...

Dragoncon Dragon Con (previously Dragon*Con and sometimes DragonCon) is a North American multigenre convention, founded in 1987, which takes place annually over the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. , the convention draws attendance of over 80,000, f ...

, MidSouthCon and Hypericon. In 2009, her novella titled "The Cold Ones" (Sam's Dot Publishing) sold out its first print run in 48 hours and launched the ''Blackfire'' series of novels and short stories. The protagonist of this novella was named after fellow author Sara M. Harvey. She works as a freelance editor and writing coach, editing anthologies and novels for small-press publishers and working with beginning writers on fiction projects. In 2014, she launched a photography site, selling nature and art photography that has been licensed for book covers and other commercial purposes and has been featured in art shows and journals. Elizabeth Donald was a reporter at the ''

Belleville News-Democrat The ''Belleville News-Democrat'' is a daily newspaper in Belleville, Illinois. Focusing on news that is local to the area of southwestern Illinois, it has been published under various names for 150 years. As of 2009, it is published by The McCl ...

'' newspaper in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

from 2000 until 2018. She has won multiple journalism awards, including the

Southern Illinois Editorial Association Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express ...

and Illinois Press Association awards. She was vice president of the St. Louis

Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, lette ...

for three years, and elected chapter president in 2015, and continues to serve. She has been a member of the national SPJ ethics commission since 2009, and was part of the team that rewrote the organization's code of ethics in 2014. In 2010, she was one of two initial recipients of the Terry Harper Memorial Fellowship from the national Society of Professional Journalists. She is a contributor to journalism trade magazines and guest lecturer on the subjects of journalism ethics and the changing nature of journalism in the 21st century. Currently she is a teaching assistant at

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is a public university in Edwardsville, Illinois. SIUE was established in 1957 as an extension of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.Butler 1976, p. 18 It is the younger of the two major ins ...

, pursuing a master's degree in media studies and M.F.A. in creative writing, teaching newswriting and English. Her uncle,

Michael Stribling Michael Stribling (born 1951) is an American musician, best known for his series of New age albums. His debut New age album, ''Songs of Hope and Healing'', was named Best Electronic Album of 2006 by ''New Age Reporter''. Biography Stribling was ...

, is a

new-age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather than ...

ian. She is married to author Jim Gillentine and has one son from a previous marriage. She is a lifelong member of the Episcopal church and resides in

Edwardsville, Illinois Edwardsville is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Illinois, and is a suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,808. The city was named in honor of Ninian Edwards, then Governor of the Illinois Territory. ...

Works

* ''Nocturnal Urges'', 2004, novel, Ellora's Cave Publishing ** Winner of the 2005 Darrell Award ** Finalist for the 2004 Prism Award ** Rereleased in 2005 by Cerridwen Press * ''A More Perfect Union'', 2005, novel, Ellora's Cave Publishing ** Finalist for the 2006 Darrell Award ** Rereleased in 2005 by Cerridwen Press * ''Setting Suns'', 2006, anthology, New Babel Books ** ** Winner of the 2007 Darrell Award for the story, "Wonderland" * ''Tandem'', 2006, ebook, Ellora's Cave Publishing ** Also appears in "Sultry Summer Fun," a print anthology published in May 2007 * ''Nocturne,'' 2006 Cerridwen Press (this is a compilation of ''Nocturnal Urges'' and ''A More Perfect Union'') ** * ''Abaddon,'' 2007, novel, Cerridwen Press ** (ebook) ** (2008 paperback) ** Winner of the 2008 Darrell Award * "Bargaining With Spiders," 2007, short story, appeared in the anthology ''Twilight and Thorns'' by Circle Dark Publishing. * "Weathergirl," May 2009, short story, appearing in the anthology ''Cover of Darkness'' by

Sam's Dot Publishing Sam's West, Inc. ( doing business as Sam's Club) is an American chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Walmart Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Walmart founder Sam Walton as Sam’s Wholesale Club. , Sam's C ...

. * ''The Dreadmire Chronicles,'' 2009, Spellbinder Books * ''The Cold Ones,'' 2009,

* ''Blackfire,'' 2011,

* ''Infinity,'' 2011 novella, Aardvark Productions * ''Dreadmire,'' 2013 novel, Inkstained Succubus Press * ''Gethsemane,'' 2014 novella, Aardvark Productions * ''Nocturne Infernum,'' 2015 compendium of three novels, Seventh Star Press ** * ''Moonlight Sonata,'' 2017 collection, Dark Oak Press ** ** Finalist for Imadjinn Awards, 2018 {{cite web , url=https://locusmag.com/2018/09/2018-imadjinn-awards-finalists/ * "In Memoriam," October 2019, short story, appearing in the anthology ''Stories We Tell After Midnight'' by Crone Girls Press * "Dear Katrina" and "Sergeant Curious", March 2020, short stories, appearing in literary magazine

River Bluff Review A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

. * "Shiny People," March 2020, short story, appearing in the anthology ''Coppice and Brake'' by Crone Girls Press. * ''Yanaguana,'' October 2020, novella, appearing in the collection ''Foul Womb of Night'' by Crone Girls Press.

References

{{reflist

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.elizabethdonald.com *{{isfdb name, id=Elizabeth_Donald, name=Elizabeth Donald {{authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Donald, Elizabeth 1975 births Living people American Episcopalians 21st-century American novelists University of Tennessee at Martin alumni People from Merced, California American horror novelists American science fiction writers American women novelists 21st-century American women writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers Novelists from California Bryn Mawr School people