Katie Jane Gallagher is the author of the Beauty and Her Alien series, the BBNYA finalist Specter and The Gold in the Dark. Her stories feature relatable, realistic characters who get swept up in extraordinary events. An avid reader of genre fiction, she has a self-proclaimed affinity for the best sorts of trash. Born and raised in Illinois, Katie currently lives in Connecticut with her stupendous, half-human half-neanderthal husband and their dopey boxer dog. She graduated magna cum laude from Connecticut College in 2012, with a bachelor’s degree in Chinese language and literature and a minor in history.