Nicola Alter

The first thing I ever wanted to be was an astronomer. Then I realised I’d have to be good at physics – not my strong suit – and I decided I’d rather invent other worlds than study them.

I grew up in a small Australian country town and spent a few years of my childhood in India with the Indian and American side of my family, so I have a half-American, half-Australian accent that confuses everyone. These days I live in Germany with my German husband, just to keep things interesting.

I’ve been reading fantasy for as long as I can remember. As an insomniac teen I spent my nights thinking up stories to entertain myself while trying to fall asleep, many of which now inspire my books. My romantasy novel, The Songbird and the Crow, is on submission, and I’m currently working on the sequel. I’ve also written a speculative thriller, which was longlisted for the Mslexia Novel Competition in 2023.

In addition to books, I write a blog about fantasy and science fiction born from the research I did during my master’s in creative writing. I wanted a place to analyse the books and films I love without the long reference lists and dry academic language. I’ve been a writer for Fantasy Faction, and German translations of my articles have appeared on Tor Online.

Over the years I’ve worked as a TV production assistant, a tutor of university courses in creative writing, and a librarian at a foreign language teaching & translation institute.

When I’m not writing, you’ll usually find me hiking, cycling, learning languages, exploring quirky museums and historic sites, or seeing how far the European rail network can take me in a day.