AUTHOR BIO 

Valerie Anne has had essays from her book, Caution: Mermaid Crossing, Voyages of a Motherless Daughter published in Deep Overstock, Sea to Sky Review, The Remnant Archive, Libretto Magazine and HerStry. Essays in print include Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tough Times Won’t Last but Tough People Will and Rituals Anthology by Bell Press. Additionally, she’s had a poem published in Writing Through the Apocalypse by Weeping Willow Press. In September 2021, she received a Finalist Award from Page Turner Awards in the category of manuscript submission and was awarded scholarships to the 2019 Santa Barbara Writers Conference and the 2016 Prague Summer Writing Program. In addition, she was sponsored on a trip to Italy and The Dominican Republic for a breast cancer survivor retreat, where an essay from her book became a launching point for the workshop presented, “Living and Healing Through Color.” She traveled to Rome September 2022 for the same nonprofit where she blogged about her experience. She previously worked in Hollywood as a story editor and in production, as well as, having her own business as a makeover specialist for home décor and wardrobe.

Santa Barbara is home, and the place where Valerie Anne has survived breast cancer. Being near the ocean brings out her “inner mermaid” and gives her the peace and clarity she needs to write, along with the strength and grace she needs to mother herself through the stormiest weather.

​