W.A. Simpson has been writing since the age of five after a family friend gave her an old typewriter, when she saw Wendy enjoyed creating works of mystery and suspense that only a five-year-old could. She completed her first novel and started shopping it at fourteen.
In later years, it was a story by Ray Bradbury that sparked her interest in fantasy. After writing an unpublished science-fiction epic, she completed a young adult fantasy, published by a now defunct small press. To Wendy, it was a learning experience and that as an author, we must continue to move forward with our craft.
It was after that she wrote her fantasy Tinderbox, shopping it with no success until 2017, when she wrote a fantasy western, Gunslinger Witch, a NaNoWriMo work. The idea came to her after researching women of color in the Old West and came upon Stagecoach Mary Fields. Wendy knew she had to write about her.
Wendy was shopping Gunslinger Witch when she received the call all writers wait for, from Anne Tibbets, of the Donald Maas Literary Agency. offering her representation. While discussing other works of hers Wendy told her about Tinderbox, which Anne also agreed to shop and in 2021, Wendy received the offer of publication from Flame Tree Press. Not long after, Flame Tree accepted the sequel, Tarotmancer on proposal.
Wendy has many other irons in the fire. For example, a futuristic science-fantasy and an MG contemporary fairytale. She has a great passion for books and reading and loves to discuss the business anytime.
On a more personal note, Wendy considers herself the world’s biggest bibliophile and the original Delaware Native. When she’s not writing, she indulges in her favorite pastimes, which include gardening and video gaming. She shares her home with two cats, Cinnamon and Spice, who own the house, and her oldest brother, whom she often refers to online as Big Brother. She is the youngest and only girl in a family of three boys.
