Elizabeth Donald is an American author, best known for writing horror and science fiction, including the Nocturnal Urges vampire mystery series and Blackfire zombie series.
Life and career
Elizabeth Donald was born in Merced, California in 1975, the older of two children to Dr. Ralph Donald, a professor of mass communications retired from SIUE, and Patrice Stribling Nelson, a classical pianist. Donald attended Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, Maryland and then Westview High School in Martin, Tennessee, graduating in 1993. She next attended the University of Memphis, initially studying theater, and then transferred to the University of Tennessee at Martin to study journalism, graduating with a bachelor's degree in mass communications. Her first novel, Nocturnal Urges, was published in 2004, launching the three-book vampire series. Since then, she has published many novels and novellas, as well as a number of short story publications in various magazines. She has won the Darrell Award for horror and science fiction three times and has been a finalist for other awards, including the Prism Award from Romance Writers of America. She regularly appears at horror- and science fiction-themed conventions such as Archon, Dragoncon, Midsouthcon and Hypericon. In 2009, her novella titled "The Cold Ones" sold out its first print run in 48 hours. The protagonist of this novella was named after fellow author Sara M. Harvey. She works as a freelance editor and writing coach, editing anthologies and novels for small-press publishers and working with beginning writers on fiction projects. In 2014, she launched a photography site, selling nature and art photography that has been licensed for book covers and other commercial purposes. Elizabeth Donald was a reporter at the Belleville News-Democrat newspaper in Illinois from 2000 until 2018 . She has won multiple journalism awards, including the Southern Illinois Editorial Association and Illinois Press Association awards. She was vice president of the St. Louis Society of Professional Journalists for three years, and elected chapter president in 2015, and continues to serve. She has been a member of the national SPJ ethics commission since 2009, and was part of the team that rewrote the organization's code of ethics in 2014. In 2010, she was one of two initial recipients of the Terry Harper Memorial Fellowship from the national Society of Professional Journalists. She is a contributor to journalism trade magazines and guest lecturer on the subjects of journalism ethics and the changing nature of journalism in the 21st century. Currently she is a teaching assistant at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, pursuing a masters degree in media studies and teaching newswriting. Her uncle, Michael Stribling, is an award-winning New Age musician. She is married to author Jim Gillentine and has one son from a previous marriage. She is a lifelong member of the Episcopal church and resides in Edwardsville, Illinois.
