I began writing fiction seriously in historical romance and was previously represented by a literary agent for a single-title historical romance project. Over the years, my stories have wandered through history, suspense, dystopian worlds, and eventually into fantasy.
As E.J. Laine, I write emotionally driven stories filled with complicated relationships, mythology, mystery, impossible choices, and characters forced to decide who they are when the world gives them every reason to become someone else.
My current novel, Ash & Lies, is the first book in The Umbrael Ascension Trilogy, a dark fantasy romance inspired in part by the descending architecture of Dante’s Inferno—then turned on its head as its characters fight their way upward.
FROM HISTORY TO OTHER WORLDS
Long before I began building fantasy worlds, I built a career around storytelling.
I’m a Colorado-based writer with a background spanning journalism, editorial storytelling, photography, film and media, and narrative content.
For years, I’ve had the privilege of telling stories about people, places, communities, and the experiences that shape them.
Fiction, though, has always been part of my story.
Writer - Storyteller - Collector of impossible choices.
I’ve spent most of my life telling stories. The only thing that’s changed is where they lead.
.png)
BEHIND THE STORIES
The things that inevitably find their way onto the page.
I’d do five visual tiles/cards.
Not giant cards. Elegant little images with text overlays:
HISTORY
Old places. Older stories. The things civilizations leave behind.
MYTHOLOGY
Gods, monsters, legends—and what happens when we question them.
TRAVEL
New places have a habit of becoming new worlds.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Light, composition, atmosphere—and probably why I see scenes before I write them.
ROMANCE
Slow burns. Earned trust. Impossible choices. Always.