Kelley Armstrong (born 14 December 1968) is a Canadian writer, primarily of fantasy novels since 2001.
She has published thirty-one fantasy novels , thirteen in her Women of the Otherworld series, five in her Cainsville series, six in her Rockton series, three in her Darkest Powers series, three in her Darkness Rising trilogy and three in the Age of Legends series, and three stand-alone teen thrillers. She has also published three middle-grade fantasy novels in the Blackwell Pages trilogy, with co-author Melissa Marr. As well, she is the author of three crime novels, the Nadia Stafford trilogy. She has also written several serial novellas and short stories for the Otherworld series, some of which are available free from her website. Starting in 2014, a Canadian television series based on the Women of the Otherworld, called Bitten, aired for 3 seasons on Space, and SyFy.
Biography
thumb|right|upright|Armstrong signing autographs for a fan at a book signing.
Kelley Armstrong was born on 14 December 1968, the oldest of four siblings in a "typical middle-class family" in Sudbury, Ontario.</blockquote>
Her first novel Bitten was sold in 1999, and it was released in 2001. Following her first success she has written a total of 13 novels and a number of novellas in the world of the Women of the Otherworld series, and her first crime novel, Exit Strategy, was released July 2007. Armstrong has been a full-time writer and parent since 2002.
Also, her YA novel The Awakening was a No. 1 New York Times bestseller in the Children's Chapter books category on 17 May 2009.
Description of work
Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series is part of a recently popular contemporary fantasy subgenre of the fantasy genre that superimposes supernatural characters upon a backdrop of contemporary North American life, with strong romantic elements. Within that subgenre, she is notable for including many types of supernatural characters, including witches, sorcerers, werewolves, necromancers, ghosts, shamans, demons and vampires, rather than limiting herself primarily to a single type of supernatural creature. Most of her works have a mystery genre plot, with leading characters investigating some novel situation or unsolved question.
In the Otherworld novels, most supernatural powers are either hereditary, or arise from the act of an existing supernatural of the same type. The Otherworld, while it has overarching conflicts and plotlines that span multiple novels, is not an epic battle between good and evil. The novels are largely episodic with the continuing plotlines primarily involving the developing lives of the main characters.
Her contemporary fantasy writings share genre similarities with writers Charlaine Harris, Laurell K. Hamilton and Kim Harrison.
Works
Source:
Standalone novels
- Wherever She Goes (2019)
- Every Step She Takes (2020)
- The Life She Had (2022) (as K.L. Armstrong)
- Hemlock Island (2023)
- Known to the Victim (2024) (as K.L. Armstrong)
- Finding Mr. Write (2024)
- I'll Be Waiting (2024)
- Writing Mr. Wrong (2025)
Young adult
- The Masked Truth (2015)
- The Unquiet Past (2016)
- Missing (2017)
- Aftermath (2018)
- Someone Is Always Watching (2023),
- A Deadly Inheritance(2026)
The Women of the Otherworld Series
{| class="wikitable"
!Book
<nowiki>#</nowiki>
!Title
!Publication
Date
!Anthology or Collection
!Comments
|-
|0.5
|Beginnings
|Jul 2012
|Werewolves
Tales of the Otherworld
|Werewolves
|-
|1
|Bitten
|2001
|Werewolves
Tales of the Otherworld
|Werewolves
|-
|2
|Stolen
|2002
|Werewolves
|Werewolves
|-
|3
|Dime Store Magic
|2004
|Spellcasters
Witch Magic
|Witches
Sorcerers
|-
|4
|Industrial Magic
|2004
|Spellcasters
Witch Magic
|Witches
Sorcerers
|-
|4.5
|Wedding Bell Hell
|Jun 2016
|Spellcasters
Tales of the Otherworld
|Witches
Sorcerers
|-
|5
|Haunted
|2005
|
|Demons
Demi-Gods
Ghost Bounty Hunter
Angels
|-
|6
|Broken
|2006
|
|Zombies
Werewolves
Demons
Dimensional Portal
|-
|7
|No Humans Involved
|2007
|
|Necromancers
Werewolves
Witches and Sorcerers
Demons
|-
|8
|Personal Demon
|2008
|
|Demons
The Cabals
Witches and Sorcerers
Werewolves
|-
|9
|Living with the Dead
|2008
|
|Demons
Necromancers
Humans
|-
|10
|Frostbitten
|2009
|
|Werewolves
|-
|11
|Waking the Witch
|2010
|
|Witch Magic
Demons
Black Magic
|-
|12
|Spell Bound
|2011
|
|Assassins
Witches and Sorcerers
The Cabals
Werewolves
Necromancers
Demons
|-
|13
|Thirteen
|2012
|
|Final Novel
Angels
Witches and Sorcerers
Demons
Werewolves
Vampires
Necromancers
The Cabals
Hellhounds
<br />
|-
|13.1
|Branded
|Nov 2015
|Shards & Ashes
|
|}
- All other stories may be found on the series' main article.
Otherworld novellas
{| class="wikitable"
!Title
!Publication
Date
!Anthology or Collection
!Comments
|-
|Driven
|Jan 2016
|
|
|-
|Forsaken
|Jan 2015
|
|
|-
|Bounty Hunt
|Dec 2014
|
|Graphic Novel
|-
|Brazen
|Dec 2013
|Otherworld Chills
|
|-
|Amityville Horrible
|Jan 2013
|Otherworld Chills
|
|-
|Forbidden Nights
|Dec 2012
|
|
|-
|Hidden
|Dec 2011
|Otherworld Nights
|
|-
|Becoming
|
|
|Graphic Novel
|-
|Counterfeit Magic
|Dec 2010
|Otherworld Secrets
|
|-
|Angelic
|2011
|Otherworld Secrets
|
|-
|Chaotic
|Jan 2012
|Otherworld Chills
|
|}
Otherworld Young Adult
- Wolf's Bane (Oct 2019)
- Wolf's Curse (Mar 2020)
The Nadia Stafford Series
- Exit Strategy (novel, Jul 2007)
- Made to be Broken (novel, Feb 2009)
- Wild Justice (novel, late 2013)
- Double Play (Apr 2016)
- Perfect Victim (Nov 2017)
The Darkest Powers Series
The Darkest Powers Trilogy
{| class="wikitable"
!Book
<nowiki>#</nowiki>
!Title
!Publication
Date
!Anthology or Collection
!Comments
|-
|0.4
|Dangerous
|Dec 2017
|The Complete Darkest Power Tales
Darkest Power Tales
available online
|Narrator: Derek
|-
|0.5
|Kat
|
|The Eternal Kiss
free online .
|
|-
|1
|The Summoning
|Jul 2008
|The Darkest Power Trilogy
Darkest Power Tales
|
|-
|1.5
|Divided
|2009
|The Complete Darkest Power Tales
Darkest Power Tales
available online.
Darkest Power Tales
|
|-
|3.5
|Hunting Kat
|Mar 2012
|Kisses From Hell
|ebook
|-
|3.6
|Belonging
|Dec 2017
|The Darkest Powers Tales
Darkest Power Tales
|Narrator: Derek
|}
The Darkness Rising Trilogy
{| class="wikitable"
!Book
<nowiki>#</nowiki>
!Title
!Publication
Date
!Anthology or Collection
!Comments
|-
|1
|The Gathering
|Apr 2011
|Darkness Rising
|
|-
|1.5
|The New Guy
|Dec 2017
|The Complete Darkest Power Tales
|Narrator: Maya
|-
|1.6
|The Invitation
|Dec 2017
|The Complete Darkest Power Tales
|
|-
|2
|The Calling
|Apr 2012
|Darkness Rising
|
|-
|3
|The Rising
|Apr 2013
|Darkness Rising
|
|-
|3.5
|Atoning
|Mar 2015
|The Complete Darkest Power Tales
|Narrator: Chloe; eBook
|}
Cainsville series
- Omens (novel, Aug 2013)
- Visions (novel, Aug 2014)
- Deceptions (novel, Aug 2015)
- Betrayals (novel, Aug 2016)
- Rituals (novel, Aug 2017)
- Portents: A Collection of Cainsville Tales (collection, Aug 2018)
- Cruel Fate (novella, Apr 2019)
- Rough Justice (novella, Jun 2018)
- Lost Souls (novella, Mar 2017)
The Age of Legends Series
- Sea of Shadows (novel, 2014)
- Empire of Night (novel, 2015)
- Forest of Ruin (novel, 2016)
The Blackwell Pages Trilogy
Written under the alias: K. L. Armstrong. Co-authored with Melissa Marr.
- Loki's Wolves (2013)
- Odin's Ravens (May 2014)
- Thor's Serpent (May 2015)
Rockton novels
- City of the Lost (Jan 2017)
- A Darkness Absolute (Nov 2017)
- This Fallen Prey (Nov 2018)
- Watcher in the Woods (Nov 2019)
- Alone in the Wild (Feb 2020)
- A Stranger in Town (Feb 2021)
- The Deepest of Secrets (Feb 2022)
A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying
- A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying (Aug 2019)
- The Gryphon's Lair (Jun 2020)
- The Serpent's Fury (Jun 2021)
- The Final Trial (Jun 2022)
Haven's Rock
- Murder at Haven's Rock (Feb 2023)
- The Boy Who Cried Bear (Feb 2024)
A Stitch in Time
{| class="wikitable"
!Book
<nowiki>#</nowiki>
!Title
!Publication
Date
!Comments
|-
|1
|A Stitch in Time
|Oct 2020
|
|-
|1.5
|Ballgowns & Butterflies
|Nov 2020
|Under a Winter Sky
|-
|2
|A Twist of Fate
|Oct 2021
|
|-
|2.5
|Snowstorms & Sleigh Bells
|Nov. 2021
|
|-
|3
|A Turn of the Tide
|Oct. 2022
|
|-
|3.5
|Ghosts & Garlands
|Nov. 2022
|
|-
|4
|A Castle in the Air
|Oct. 2023
|
|}
Cursed Luck
{| class="wikitable"
!Book
<nowiki>#</nowiki>
!Title
!Publication
Date
!Comments
|-
|1
|Cursed Luck
|May 2021
|
|-
|1.5
|Goddess of Summer Love
|Nov 2021
|Hex on the Beach
|-
|2
|High Jinx
|Dec 2021
|
|}
A Rip Through Time
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Book #
!Title
!Publication Date
!Comments
|-
|1
|A Rip Through Time
|May 2022
|
|-
|2
|The Poisoner's Ring
|May 2023
|
|-
|2.5
|Cocktails & Chloroform
|December 2023
|
|-
|3
|Disturbing the Dead
|May 2024
|
|-
|3.5
|Schemes & Scandals
|December 2024
|
|-
|4
|Death at a Highland Wedding
|May 2025
|
|}
Series in collaboration
{| class="wikitable"
!Series Title
!#
!Title
!In Collaboration With
!Comments
|-
|Angel
|Volume 5
|Aftermath
|Joss Whedon
|Graphic Novel
|}
Anthologies and collections
{| class="wikitable"
!Title
!Contents
!Publication Date
|-
|Like a Charm
|Plan B
|2004
|-
|Witch Magic
|Dime Store Magic
Industrial Magic
|2004
|-
|Dying for It: Tales of Sex and Death
|Infusion
Savage
Ascension
Kitsunegari
|Feb 2010
|-
|The Urban Fantasy Anthology
Tales of Dark Fantasy 2
|Chivalrous
|2011
|-
|The Year's Best Dark Fantasy
and Horror 2012
|Dangerous
Divided
Disenchanted
Facing Facts
Belonging
|Mar 2015
|-
|Led Astray
|Rakshashi
Kat
A Haunted House of Her Own
Learning Curve
The Screams of Dragons
The Kitsune's Nine Tales
Last Stand
Bamboozled
Branded
The List
Young Bloods
The Door
Dead Flowers by a Roadside
Suffer the Children
The Collector
Gabriel's Gargoyles
Harbinger
V Plates
Life Sentence
Plan B
The Hunt
Dead to Me
Devil May Care
|Sep 2015
|-
|Life Sentence
|Life Sentence
Last Stand
|Nov 2015
|-
|Imaginarium 4
|2016
|-
|Strangers Among Us
|The Screams of Dragons
Devil May Care
Gabriel's Gargoyles
Bad Publicity
The Orange Cat
Matagot
The Lady of the Lake
|Aug 2018
|-
|Ten Word Tragedies
|-
| rowspan="2" |The Summoning
|2009 Sunburst Award
|Young Adult
|
|
|-
|2011 Forest of Reading Red Maple Award
|Fiction
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |Spell Bound
|2011 Goodreads Choice Awards
|Paranormal Fantasy
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |Thirteen
|2012 Goodreads Choice Awards
|Paranormal Fantasy
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |The Gathering
|2012 White Pine Award
|Fiction
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |The Calling
|2013 Aurora Awards
|YA Novel
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |Omens
|2013 Goodreads Choice Awards
|Paranormal Fantasy
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |Loki's Wolves
|2013 Goodreads Choice Awards
|Middle Grade & Children's
|
|
|-
|2014 Forest of Reading Red Maple Award
|Fiction
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |The Rising
|2014 Aurora Awards
|YA Novel
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |Sea of Shadows
|2015 Aurora Awards
|YA Novel
|
|
|-
|2015 Monica Hughes Award
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |The Unquiet Past
|2017 Forest of Reading Red Maple Award
|Fiction
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |City of the Lost
|2017 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence
|Novel
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |The Masked Truth
|2017 Arkansas Teen Book Award
|Grades 10-12
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |Wolf's Bane
|2020 Aurora Awards
|YA Novel
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |The Gryphon's Lair
|2021 Aurora Awards
|YA Novel
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |A Stitch in Time
|2021 Aurora Awards
|Novel
|
|
|-
|2021 RITA Award
|Long Speculative Romance
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |The Serpent's Fury
|2022 Aurora Awards
|YA Novel
|
|
|-
| rowspan="1" |A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying
|2022 Young Reader's Choice Award
|Junior Division
|
|
|-
|}
Notes
References
External links
- Armstrong's online fiction center