Nicolette Elzie

I grew up overseas and spent more time abroad than I did stateside before I went to university in Los Angeles. By the time I graduated, I had also tied the knot with my college sweetheart.

I now live in Washington, D.C., with my forever love and our two zany kids who are always the first to start a howl–if that’s not an indication of my style of parenting, then I don’t know what is.

I started writing because I didn’t want the magic of my favorite stories to end. I couldn’t say goodbye to my favorite characters or those really big worlds. Somewhere along the way, I started building my own worlds and began escaping inside them.

I’m passionate about diversity in literature because I know what it’s like to grow up and not see myself represented by the books I was reading. It’s my goal to write stories and characters that are honest and have a wide range of life experiences. I want my readers to see themselves and their friends in the books that they read, no matter their age.

I also believe in shattering stigma, whenever possible, and believe relationships, body image, self-confidence, and mental health are all topics that should be included in stories, not just in “issue” books, but because they’re all a part of life and we all deal with them in one way or another.

I also believe in inclusivity and desire to create stories that bridge the perceived and literal gaps between people and belief systems. I’m a sucker for things like forbidden love, star-crossed love, and friends that were never meant to be friends. I literally become a puddle for stories about people who have found a way to see past their differences and instead see only their similarities. Above all, I believe in building bridges across divides that separate and hope to write stories that circle this theme over and over again in ways that will make the reader fall in love.

Learn more about my current projects.