E.L. Bassett, informally Erin and familiarly Rin, has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. Before that she was prone to telling you all about how her sister was an alien and her dog pulled carts for garden fairies and dragging you into to the backyard to show you were Flybys (insect like creatures with powers over the elements) were nesting. Her penchant for the fantastic carried through grade school, evolving into a fascination with Dragons. She was constantly in the library reading everything she could, which of course led to the discovery of J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. She then knew she wanted to be a writer and her genre would be fantasy.
In 4th grade she participated in the ECISD annual Oral Traditions Competition, her story being one complete with unicorns and ogres, taking home 6th place. She can still recall the first 5 lines, which probably has a lot to do with the unicorn.
Her story Dragon's Song won a school wide contest when she was in the 7th grade. She then began a love affair with Edgar Allen Poe and Epic Poetry. Her Epic Poem The Dream Dragons won a hall contest of the Gifted And Talent English classes and her poem Serenity was featured in Permian High School (yes, Friday Night Lights) literary magazine.
Life after high school was TCU, which quickly became a devotion to cultural studies, which culminated in a two book project titled Last Exile. She graduated in 2006 with a BA in sociology and anthropology and a completed manuscript. More recently her scfi short story The Spirit of Hope was featured in NTSFW's chapter book.
Bassett is a member of NTSFW and participates in the Writer's Workshop in Dallas. She enjoys off beat, out the ordinary writing of the urban fantasy persuasion, but also revels in classic fantasy stories with gripping battles, wizards, dragons or monsters, and epic fight scenes set in far off, mythical or fantastic places. Her book shelves are packed with everything from Holly Black, Martin Miller and Terry Pratchett to Christy Lijewski, Dean Koontz and Hal Duncan.
Between editing, reading in large quantities, writing and shopping Last Exile, Bassett works as a Curatorial Assistant at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. Terms of Use