I’m Hope (H. Batterson) — a debut romantasy novelist and artist in the Chicagoland area. The first book in my Beasts of Lodhanis series, The Last Beast, arrives January 12, 2027.

Lodhanis began, oddly enough, with an alphabet. I invented a runic script just for the fun of it — and then it needed words, and the words needed a world, so I drew the map. Somewhere between the runes and the mountains, Wren and Feilann showed up and started telling me their story. I’ve loved folklore and getting lost in fantasy worlds since childhood, filling journals with short stories, poetry, and sketches, and my stories still weave classical tropes and mythology into romance with a darker edge — a taste sharpened by the paranormal and horror tales I’ve written along the way.

By day, I’m an interior designer; by night I’m usually reading manga with a dog on my feet, or painting. I live with my husband, Matt — my real-life book boyfriend — our daughter, and a small zoo of pets with very big personalities. Without their support none of this would be possible.

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