
Stacey Horan
Author & Podcaster
I write about things that scare me. Some of those things may resonate with many people while others might be unique to me. Regardless, writing about them makes them a little less scary for me — and hopefully for my readers as well. My goal is to keep writing until nothing seems scary anymore.
I was not always a writer. In fact, I only recently started to consider myself one. However, that does not mean I haven’t been writing for years. My first book took over eight years to write. While I’ve always considered myself a creative person, I never thought I was artistically gifted. I can’t draw, paint, or sculpt. I can’t sing or play any instrument. I can dance, but those days of doing it well are long gone. After much trial and error, I found writing, and I haven’t looked back.
I began writing while working as a corporate lawyer. My job lacked creativity, and I longed for something — anything — that would satisfy the artist in me. I started writing at night, on weekends, and even during my lunch breaks. About ten years into my legal career, my husband and I moved to England. A job brought us over there, and our love for the country and its people kept us there for five years. During this time, I kept writing. Just as I was about to finish my first novel, another job transfer brought us back to the US. We landed in Westchester, New York, where I set that first novel aside and began writing Sycamore Lane. After enduring several harsh winters and a super-storm in New York, we decided to relocate closer to family. We traded our winter coats for sunscreen and moved to sunny, warm Florida. There, I finished Sycamore Lane and found the courage to publish it. I also started working on my second novel, Inland, set in New York City and featuring some of my favorite aspects of the city. After Inland was published, I dusted off the very first book I ever wrote, breathed new life into it, and published it as ORTUS (Book One of The Elixir Vitae Adventures). The series now includes JUVENIS, ADULTUS, SENECTUS, and MORTEM (Books Two through Five of The Elixir Vitae Adventures).
As much as I enjoyed writing for a young adult audience, I felt it was time for a change. An idea for an adult mystery had been on my mind for a while, so I decided to bring it to life. The result is the Old City Mysteries, a paranormal mystery series set in St. Augustine, FL. It features a reluctant, novice private investigator and a teenage boy who can see dead people, along with plenty of mystery, murder, and the macabre. The first two books, A Place for Good and Evil and City of Innocent Monsters, have been released. The third book in the series will be available in March 2025.
After attending book festivals and author events (as both an author and a book lover), I wanted to give authors like myself an opportunity to connect directly to readers. This led me to create a podcast called The Bookshop at the End of the Internet. It’s dedicated to helping book lovers discover new authors and is available on most major podcast platforms.
After almost twenty years as a lawyer, I finally retired from the practice of law and now devote myself full-time to writing and podcasting. Thankfully, my life is now full of creativity — and being a writer is the best job in the world!