Stephanie Escobar is a balancing act—tottering constantly between fantasy and reality. By a glance, one might not guess that the mother and wife spends half of her existence within the universe inside her, where she chases stories through labyrinthine gardens and down the cold, shadowed corridors of stone castles…always with a candle’s light to guide her, of course—and a cape billowing in her wake. She harmonizes this duality by bringing the marrow of her own human experience into her fantasies. She especially loves delving into the honest pains of womanhood and motherhood in her stories, bringing a dark and gritty representation to something that is typically seen as soft and pretty. Whenever Stephanie is visiting reality, she enjoys the fresh, forest air of her Northern Idaho home, baking more goodies than her family can eat, and playing Nintendo 64. Stephanie Escobar updates her work and life often on Instagram (@stephaniefiction), Twitter (@_snescobar), and her website (sescobarauthor.com).