Guest Profile

Valerie Griswold-Ford

Born in South Carolina, and raised in New England, Val Griswold-Ford inherited several things from her bibliophile parents: a love of books, and a talent for telling stories.  Both contributed to an early start to her writing career.

After writing short fiction and her first novel in high school, Val switched to journalism in college.  She covered several political beats, wrote a weekly column and rose to associate managing editor of The Daily Campus, the fifth largest daily newspaper in Connecticut

Post-college is when she began writing in earnest.  After her first chapter in “The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy,” Val co-edited “The Fantasy Writer’s Companion” with Tee Morris.  She released her first solo novel, “Not Your Father’s Horseman,” at Westercon 58 in Calgary in July 2005, and the sequel, “Dark Moon Seasons.” was released in March 2009.

Val writes dark fantasy, horror, paranormal romance and urban fantasy, in addition to her nonfiction works.  She is currently co-editing the third book in the “Complete Guide” series with Lai Zhao, entitled “The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy: the Author’s Grimoire.”  Val lives with her husband and three kittens in Merrimack, New Hampshire.