Auberkett, Nikki: - As a cultural anthropologist with a focused background in archaeology and global folklore, Nikki weaves real-world discoveries and intercultural theories into her fictional works. Every novella, book, and series combine fantasy storytelling with "what if?" concepts, from the fae folk living in (and potentially having built) downtown Chicago to the mythological Fomorians existing within marginalized communities around the world.Her debut novel, Prax, was a finalist in the 2022 Page Turner Book Awards and long-listed in the 2023 Page Turner Book Awards. Ithandryll was long-listed in the 2023 Page Turner Book Awards, received an Honorable Mention in the 2023 Readers' Favorite Book Awards, a 5-Star Review from Readers' Favorite, and a 5-Star Review from Midwest Book Review. Nikki is also a graduate of the Institute for Children's Literature (back when "remote learning" was a typewriter and snail mail!), was a guest copy editor for The Irish Journal of Anthropology, and has developmentally edited several fiction novels that went on to become award-winners and bestsellers in independent publishing.After living in downtown Chicago before, during, and after the pandemic, she entered her "Stars Hollow Phase" and relocated to a small village cluster in Iowa known as The Amana Colonies. She started an indie bookstore, BumbleBooks, which is currently a "pop-up situation" inside the village's new herbs & tea shop, Serenity Sage. On any given day, Nikki can be found sipping handcrafted coffee, making book paper crafts, faceplanting on her laptop keyboard, and/or whispering to the kobolds who live in her home.