Erin Archer

Hey there! I'm Erin Archer, and I write dark fairytale retellings that probably shouldn't be read before bedtime. (Unless you enjoy dreams about morally gray fae princes and deadly royal intrigue – in which case, welcome to the club!)

I've always been the kid who wondered what really happened to all those princesses after their "happily ever after." Like, did Snow White ever get tired of cleaning up after seven messy dwarves? Did Cinderella's glass slippers give her horrible blisters? These questions kept me up at night, along with a slightly concerning obsession with the darker side of these tales. You know, the parts they glossed over in the Disney versions.

Writing wasn't my first career path – I actually spent five years as a children's librarian, which might explain my twisted take on beloved stories. There's only so many times you can read "Once upon a time" before you start thinking "But what if...?" (Plus, let's be honest, those original Grimm's fairy tales were WAY more interesting than the sanitized versions we get today.)

When I finally sat down to write my own story, I knew I wanted to flip everything on its head. Why does the princess always need saving? What if the guard was the real hero? What if "true love's kiss" was actually a curse? These questions led me to write "The Queen's Card," my debut novel that takes Sleeping Beauty and turns it inside out, upside down, and maybe sets it on fire a little bit. (Don't worry, I put out the flames... mostly.)

My writing style? Think midnight walks through enchanted forests where the trees might eat you. I love exploring the space between light and dark, where heroes aren't always good and villains aren't always evil. My characters tend to be complicated, messy, and occasionally homicidal – but in a fun way! I believe the best stories are the ones that make you question everything you thought you knew about good and evil.

When I'm not writing, you can find me wandering through old bookstores (seriously, the mustier the better), collecting weird teacups (I have 47 and counting), and trying to convince my cat she's not actually a fairy queen in disguise. (The jury's still out on that one.) I live in a tiny cottage in New England that's probably haunted, but the ghost only moves my coffee cups around, so we've learned to coexist peacefully.

To my readers: expect morally ambiguous characters who will steal your heart (possibly literally), slow-burn romances that'll make you want to throw your e-reader across the room (please don't), and plot twists that'll keep you up until 3 AM saying "just one more chapter." I write the kind of books I always wanted to read – where the magic is dark, the kisses are dangerous, and nothing is quite what it seems.

I'm currently working on my next book (which may or may not involve a cursed library, a very angry witch, and at least one inappropriately timed tea party). I love connecting with readers on Instagram and TikTok, where I post entirely too many videos of my cat "helping" me write and my growing collection of possibly cursed antiques.

Fair warning: if you're looking for sweet, traditional retellings where everyone lives happily ever after... you might want to look elsewhere. But if you like your fairy tales with a side of darkness, a dash of danger, and characters who definitely shouldn't be kissed (but probably will be anyway), then pull up a chair. We're going to have fun together.

And remember – in my stories, "once upon a time" is just the beginning of the trouble.

Welcome to my wonderfully wicked world!

xo, Erin

P.S. Yes, all my books come with a mandatory cup of tea and a side of snark. I don't make the rules, I just write them.