After the award ceremony I bumped into a woman I hadn’t seen for nearly three years. I went to the British Book Awards that evening. I mean, is ‘fat’ really the worst thing a human being can be? Is ‘fat’ worse than ‘vindictive’, ‘jealous’, ‘shallow’, ‘vain’, ‘boring’ or ‘cruel’? Not to me but then, you might retort, what do I know about the pressure to be skinny? I’m not in the business of being judged on my looks, what with being a writer and earning my living by using my brain… “Fat’ is usually the first insult a girl throws at another girl when she wants to hurt her.

She lives in Virginia with her wife and their canine fur-children. Most recently, she created the magical setting of Little Sister Island (a place she and her readers wish were real) in When the Stars Sang and Face the Wind.

Her stories cover a wide range of genres: historical fiction, contemporary drama, and fantasy, including the award-winning Dragonmage Saga, a fantasy trilogy set in ancient Ireland. Tolkein, Ursula LeGuin, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Willa Cather and the Brontë sisters, Caren writes literary fiction that features the struggles and joys of characters readers can identify with. Influenced by a diverse array of authors, including Rumer Godden, J.R.R. Since then, she has published fifteen more novels, winning several more awards. Most recently, she created the magical setting of Little Sister Island (a place she an From the author's website: Bestselling author Caren Werlinger published her first award-winning novel, Looking Through Windows, in 2008. From the author's website: Bestselling author Caren Werlinger published her first award-winning novel, Looking Through Windows, in 2008.

Twist of the Magi by Caren J. Werlinger