Ricki Walters

I write fantasy and adventure stories for young readers that blend elements of Celtic mythology, Irish fairy tales, and magic into an urban setting. My debut novel, The Enchanted, is an example of this. My young characters live in Coon Rapids, MN, and have their adventures in Springbrook Nature Center and the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area which runs through Minneapolis and its northern suburbs. Being in nature, among the trees and wildlife, always wakes me up. I find wonder and magic in the woods, and so, nature always becomes a part of my stories. In The Enchanted, local parks become a part of the fairy realm.

I had a hard time finding adventure stories written for girls when I was young, and so my adventuring main characters are often girls. Themes that run through my stories include the ideas that magic is everywhere; that it’s important to discover who you are and who you want to be; that accepting the differences within yourself, and understanding those differences, can make you very powerful, indeed.

I also have two short story publications: The Plague Doctor, published by Learning through History, and The Morality Play, published by Aria Kalsan. I have a Master of Arts degree in English/Creative Writing, I’m an SCBWI member, and I teach writing at Riverland Community College.