Author in the Dark

Hi. I’m A. T. Night. I write dark psychological romantic suspense, but before we get into all of that, there are a few things you should probably know about the woman behind the questionable fictional decisions.

Unapologetically Gen X

I’m unapologetically Gen X. Give me ’90s grunge played way too loud, flannel shirts, big hair, and a pair of Dr. Martens, and I’m right at home. Every Mario game is awesome, and I won't be accepting arguments at this time.

Madonna is the Queen of Pop. Michael Jackson will forever be the King of Pop. I dare you to challenge me.

My sense of humor runs dry and occasionally crosses the border into sarcasm. Allegedly.

A Few Things About Me

I love animals, but bears and wolves have always had a special place in my heart, and advocating for them matters deeply to me. I’m also a lifelong creative who has tried just about everything: flowers, candles, painting, primitive decor, rugs, wool appliqué, knitting, and plenty of other rabbit holes. My mother always said, “Bored people are boring people.” Apparently, I took that shit seriously.

I love tattoos, the color green, savory popcorn, great TV, Bloody Marys, and blood orange margaritas. I have very little patience for excuses or a lack of accountability. We all fuck up; own your shit, and we’ll get along beautifully.

Which may explain why traditional employment and I have never been particularly compatible.

Not exactly employee of the month

I’ve had plenty of jobs, but traditional employment and I were never a great match. I’ve always been independent, opinionated, and better at figuring things out myself, especially when I think someone else’s blueprint is stupid.

Entrepreneurship made a hell of a lot more sense. I started my first business at twenty-one and have spent much of my life chasing ideas, taking chances, and figuring shit out as I go.

Turns out, I wasn’t very good at having a boss. I was much better at becoming one.

AND THEN I STARTED WRITING

Becoming an author was the dream I kept saving for someday. Then my daughter-in-law told me I was the best storyteller she knew, and sometimes one person believing in you is enough to turn someday into now.

So I started writing.

And holy shit, I fell in love with it.

Putting the characters, conversations, emotions, and slightly unhinged ideas in my head onto the page felt like finding what I was supposed to be doing all along.

It took me a while to get here.

But I’m here now.

books that left a mark

I’m a reader too, and my taste is all over the damn place.

Gone with the Wind is one of my favorites. And yes, Jan, I read the book. She and I would watch the movie together back in middle school, so that story has been part of my life for a very long time.

I also love The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek: An Intimate Portrait of 399 by Thomas D. Mangelsen. Because obviously the woman obsessed with bears owns a book about one of the most famous grizzlies in the world.

Then we wander into the darker, dirtier side of my bookshelf with Priest: A Love Story by Sierra Simone, This Man by Jodi Ellen Malpas, Feathers So Vicious by Liv Zander. But Sienna Blake’s The Lovely Broken Doll Series is my favorite. Next to my own book, obviously.

Door slams.

Throw in memoirs like Matthew McConaughey’s Greenlights, Dave Grohl’s The Storyteller, and Clarence Thomas’s My Grandfather’s Son, plus Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and you get a pretty accurate picture of my shelves.

Apparently, I don’t believe in picking a lane.

AND AS PAUL HARVEY WOULD SAY, NOW YOU KNOW THE REST OF THE STORY

I’m fascinated by complicated people, messy emotions, the things we want but don’t always admit we want, and what happens when life refuses to fit neatly inside the box we planned for it.

Maybe that’s why writing finally made sense. It gives all the different pieces of me somewhere to go.

The storyteller. The entrepreneur. The animal lover. The lifelong maker. The reader. The woman already planning another tattoo. And the smart-ass who probably should have kept that last comment to herself but absolutely did not.

So if you like your books messy, your fictional men morally questionable, your real men tattooed, and your authors just a little inappropriate...

Welcome. You’re among friends.

Beautifully broken. Dangerously unforgettable.