Yasmine Galenorn (edit name/settings)

Yasmine is a shamanic witch, and walks an eclectic path. She considers her life a blend of teacups and tattoos--the former in her china closet, the latter on her skin. She's a theatre major, a graduate of the Evergreen State College (Olympia WA).

Married to Samwise Galenorn and the mother of four cats, Yasmine and her family reside in Bellevue WA. Because so many people ask, you pronounce her name this way: Yaz-mihn (NOT Jasmine--it's a "Y", not a "J"). Last name is pronounced: Gal-eh-norn The accent is on the first syllable. Interesting trivia: Samwise and Yasmine created their last name together after they got married. He first took Yasmine's last name, but then they decided to construct a name that would be theirs alone. So they created our last name out of the Elvish in LOTR. Galenorn means Green Tree in Elvish. And yes, Samwise is his legal name.

How she got her nickname: the Painted Panther: in a writing chatroom years ago. Because she was getting her first tattoo soon and because she was so tickled that it would have a black panther in it, a friend dubbed her the 'painted panther'...as she got more and more tattoos, the nickname caught on and since she thought it was cool, she kept it.

"Hi, I'm New York Times bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn. I write the bestselling urban fantasy Otherworld Series, (aka Sisters of the Moon Series), and the upcoming Indigo Court urban fantasy series for Berkley. In the past, I've also written a paranormal mystery series (the Chintz 'n China Series) for Berkley Prime Crime, a short-lived mystery series (the Bath & Body Series) under the name of India Ink, again for Berkley Prime Crime, and eight metaphysical nonfiction books (Llewellyn Publications and Crossing Press).

I'm represented by Meredith Bernstein of the Meredith Bernstein Literary Agency--I adore my agent and am thrilled to have her on my side.

And yes, I'm a shamanic witch and am considered an elder in the Pagan community, having been in the Craft since February 29th (yes, leap year day), 1980. I walk an eclectic path and consider my life to be a blend of teacups and tattoos--the former in my china closet, the latter on my skin--I'm heavily inked. I no longer teach magical workshops nor do I accept students. I collect teacups, teapots, Old Country Roses china (Royal Daulton), antlers and skulls (of the non-human variety), daggers and crystals. And of course, my bookshelves are overflowing with books. I cannot walk out of a bookstore without buying at least one book. My TBR pile is huge!

I'm a theatre major, a 1983 graduate of the Evergreen State College (Olympia WA). I started college when I was fifteen, skipping high school. I took extra time to finish because of money considerations and a hiatus when I was 17, to hitchhike to California where I lived with one of my sisters for a brief time.

On Beltane, 1993 (May 1st) I married Samwise and we're still very happily married. We are the parents of one senior kitty and three kittens. Three of our senior gurlz went over the Bridge this past year and we miss them terribly. We reside in Bellevue WA. Because so many people ask, you pronounce my first name this way: Yaz-mihn (NOT Jasmine--it's a "Y", not a "J"). Our last name is pronounced: Gal-eh-norn The accent is on the first syllable. Interesting trivia: Samwise and I created our last name together after we got married. At first, he took my last name, but I decided i didn't want to be stuck with my stepfather's last name forever. So we decided to construct a name that would be ours alone and that would mean something to us. We created our last name out of the Elvish in LOTR. Galenorn means Green Tree in Elvish, went to court, and legalized it. And yes, Samwise is his *real* name." Bibliography from Yasmine Galenorn's official site.