Stephanie Kemler is the author of Bloodborn—a modern gothic vampire novel of blood-drinking religion, romance, fangs, and the long and gory journey of Mina Coffin to reclaim the life she once thought was lost.
Kemler
Stephanie
Modern Gothic Fiction
Stephanie Kemler is a creator of novels, verses, and very independent tales during the eerie hours between dark and dawn. She completed her degrees in history and creative writing at Case Western Reserve University with a focus on early 20th century turns of phrase and cultural history. Stephanie writes novels about all the peculiar and enchanting children of the night: the vamps and ghosts and witches of the world. She is inspired by icy whorls on windows etched in winter, fairytale forests, and Slavic folk art. When Stephanie isn’t volunteer grave digging and listening to queer kid club music, she resides with her family near a haunted Gilded Age mansion in Philadelphia.
What got you into writing?
"I've always written creatively and academically. It's an obsessive reflex I can't seem to shake. But my recent spate of novel-writing began when I spiked a 105° fever during a serious illness in the summer of 2020. Those fever dreams turned into daydreams, which turned into words on paper, which turned into spinning paragraphs and new worlds. I have also found such solace in books throughout my life. I felt less alone, less other, less isolated when I was reading. Now that I have the opportunity to write publicly I want to gift that fellowship and companionship to other people. We live in a world that often tells us falsely we are alone. If I can poke holes into the fabric of that lie I'll have done something I can be proud of. It's this desire that drove me to write in the beginning and has pushed me forward for so long."
—Stephanie Kemler