Mande Matthews

Mande Matthews is the author of the ShadowLight Saga. While attending a performing arts college for writing and arranging, Mande discovered Joseph Cambell's Masks of God series. Her desire to understand humanity through myth and legend mingled with her love of fantasy fiction, birthing her life-long quest to create original new worlds for readers. A hermit at heart, Mande recedes into the realms of imagination where she occasionally surfaces to face the real world aided by her minions: a husband who plays the dog drum (the belly of their border collie), and a menagerie of furred, feathered and mostly magical friends.

Website: http://www.mandematthews.com
Twitter: @MandeMatthews
Blog: http://www.mandematthews.com/blog

• Barefoot Heroine: A Mayne Attraction Short Story on Dec. 10, 2011
  
  Feel good author, Ann Mauren, spins a different take on the events from her debut novel, In the Spotlight, by telling scenes from Ash’s point of view. (Ash is a central love interest for Ellery Mayne’s in the “Mayne Attraction” series). Mauren’s ability to see the story through the eyes of another character, while retaining the integrity of the original events, yet create and entirely fresh and engaging tale is nothing less than masterful. What I find particularly endearing about Mauren’s writing is that with every word she writes, every character she breathes life into, every scene she reveals, there’s a sense of wonder and innocence, mixed up with originality and quirkiness that hits the core of my happy center like no other writer I’ve ever encountered. Mauren’s books are like indulging in a decedent three layer chocolate fudge cake—every forkful rewards your senses with richly sweet goodness that keeps you satisfied for days.
  
• Tentative Tourist: A Mayne Attraction Short Story on Dec. 23, 2012
  
  In a screenplay, that pivotal first moment when romantic characters meet is called the “cute meet.” I believe Miss Mauren has newly defined this moment as the charming, innocent, and endearingly unexpected meet. The Tentative Tourist gives us a glimpse into the past—that special and defining moment when Grayson Gregory and Ellery Mayne first meet. Not only do we see Gray’s point of view for the first time, but we see a moment in their history that is only hinted at in book one, “In the Spotlight.” Mauren’s charm is in her ability to take the smallest gestures and actions and turn them into, not only pivotal, but endearing moments for the reader to cherish. She deftly adds real-to-life details that let you dissolve right into the story and exist with the characters—a rare, and true talent. If you’re a Mayne Attraction, this read is a must. If you’re new to Miss Mauren’s stories, this short story will give you a taste of her wit and charm, which exists in every story she publishes.