Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, I attended the public school system as a proud Myers Park Eagle, Carmel Cougar and South Meck Sabre. I had many great teachers along the way, to whom I owe eternal thanks.
Then I packed up and headed to Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. When they finally handed me a degree — a B.A. in History, the most practical of all undergraduate studies — I moved to DC, and three fun years later, enrolled at The George Washington University School of Law in Foggy Bottom. Upon graduating from law school, I felt the siren call of home and returned to Charlotte.
After three long years working as a litigation attorney, I abandoned the trade to co-write the Virals series (Virals, Seizure, Code, Exposure, Terminal, and Trace Evidence) with my mother, the great Kathy Reichs. After completion I began my new YA series: Project Nemesis. The first book Nemesis, was an instant New York Times bestseller and received starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist, of which I am exceedingly proud. It’s sequel, Genesis, released in March 2018, and also received a starred review from Kirkus. The final volume, Chrysalis, released March 5, 2019.
On October 2, 2018 I released the first volume in a fantastically fun new middle grade series I’m co-writing with my best friend, Ally Condie (author of the Matched trilogy and a lot of other great stuff). The Darkdeep is a cross between The Goonies and Stranger Things that I think all ages will enjoy. The second book in the series, The Beast, was released September 24, 2019. The third book in the series, The Torchbearers, will be released September 29, 2020.
I continue to live in Charlotte with my family and a herd of animals that tear everything up. It’s a full house. No complaints. I’m also on the Executive Board of both the YALLFEST and YALLWEST young adult literary festivals. These are a good time. Please join us in either sunny Charleston in November or even sunnier Santa Monica in April.
I plan to keep on writing novels until they drag me kicking and screaming from my desk. Welcome, friend.