Lauren Blackwood is a Jamaican American New Yorker living in Virginia who writes Romance-heavy Fantasy for most ages. When not writing, she's a
physical therapist assistant and violinist who really doesn't know how to settle on one career field.
Her debut YA novel,
Within These Wicked Walls, is a
NYT/Indie Bestseller and the Reese’s Book Club Fall 2021 YA Pick.
At Tor.com Blackwood tagged "
a Fantasy Starter Set into the beauty and power of Africa and it’s many cultures." One title on the list:
Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray
Koffi works at Night Zoo, striving to pay off her family’s debt by caring for strange and magical creatures. Ekon is set to follow in his father’s 
footsteps and become an elite warrior, known as a Son of the Six. But, one fateful night, Koffi discovers she has a power that isn’t supposed to exist, and at the same time Ekon’s final warrior test is ruined. Now, despite hating each other, the only way they’ll both get what they want is to hunt a vicious monster through a dangerous and magical jungle. However, they soon wonder if they’re doing the hunting, or if they’re being hunted. Beasts of Prey is a fun, fantasy adventure which Ayana herself refers to as having “Pan-African” influence—so not only one country or region, but flavors of the continent in the broad sense as well as the diaspora.
Read about
another entry on the list.
--Marshal Zeringue
physical therapist assistant and violinist who really doesn't know how to settle on one career field.
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