About the Author:

Palmer Vaughn’s background in writing was achieved through a Master’s of Fine Arts in Writing and Publishing Fiction at the University of King’s College and a Bachelor of Arts, English from Thompson Rivers University. His creative juices were inherited by many of his family members, who themselves were writers and artists. With fine artists for parents and professors and writers, Dr. Nancy Lou Patterson and Dr. E. Palmer Patterson as grandparents, he considers himself damn lucky that he was never convinced toward a more lucrative path. Although his mother begged him to read growing up, it wasn’t until his obsessions with the video game Halo led him to the extended universe and books as a teenager. This snowballed into an insatiable appetite for reading hard-nosed, no punches pulled fiction. And yes, he even read some literary fiction along the way.

Growing up in a household rich in diverse cultural influences from Mississippi and New Orleans to Ontario and British Columbia, Palmer has embraced his mixed-race heritage and the unique perspective it affords him. With parents from distinctly different cultures—one an immigrant—and siblings spanning an 18-year age gap, he’s learned to navigate and appreciate the interconnection of seemingly disparate worlds, no matter how frustrating they can become.

Palmer’s familial dynamic, though incredibly confusing at face value, includes various ethnicities and cultures, which has further deepened his understanding of diversity and the importance of open dialogue. This exposure has allowed him to infuse a sense of duality into his characters, exploring how interconnection can transcend conventional notions of family.

Palmer wrote his first book in 2012. It was terrible. At the time, his editor graciously told him that he needed to go out and find real-world experience beyond cliches if he ever hoped to get published. Looking back, this was probably the best piece of advice he ever received. After a summer of tree planting re-sparked his love for the outdoors, he has maintained a career in adventure tourism, taking him from Red Rocks to the Caribbean, Montreal to New York, Boston to the mountains of British Columbia and Nicaragua to the shores of Nova Scotia. Those years were spent wildfire firefighting, backcountry guiding, rock climbing, mountaineering, surfing and, of course, writing. Between 2012 and 2022, he wrote seven novels and continues to write daily. His travels led him to further appreciate exploring deeper connections around smaller cultural communities across Continental America and infuse that in his world-building.

In combining his academic pursuits, diverse heritage, and love for cultural nuance, Palmer’s work seeks to bridge gaps, challenge perspectives, and explore the connections that bind us all.