Stephanie Espinoza Villamor was born in Austin, Texas and moved to Nevada when she was six weeks old. She has been writing books since age four, and while The Handy Piece of Candy was published on her parents’ dot matrix printer paper and not expected to be a bestseller, it did launch her career and interest in writing. Stephanie’s passion became more serious in eighth grade as she started writing poetry and longer stories. By her sophomore year of high school she completed the first draft of a novel she would later refine as an undergraduate for her Honors College thesis project while working part-time as the editor of a local teen magazine. She graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a degree in Film because she wanted to learn more about story crafting, but she knew that screenwriting wasn't quite right for her.
Stephanie’s love of books, especially books for young people, led her to work part-time in the children’s department of the same library her mom introduced her to when she was a young person herself! The job inspired Stephanie to pursue an online Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University. She became a librarian, but never stopped writing for blogs, newsletters, and for fun in the meantime. Because of her interest working online with students of all ages, Stephanie was able to transition into her current position as an eLearning Librarian at the College of Southern Nevada.
Being a librarian helps Stephanie think analytically and conduct better research for her stories. But being a fiction writer gives her a creative outlet for all the stories and ideas she hopes to share. She writes primarily for middle grade and young adult audiences, specializing in both contemporary and fantasy/sci-fi. Her stories have appeared in local publications such as CLASS! Magazine and the Henderson Libraries creative writing anthologies. Her award-winning story "Artificial" can be found in the international science fiction collection Dark Matter: Artificial, published May 2021.
Stephanie lives in Henderson, Nevada with her husband and two young sons. She loves coffee, family photo shoots, and movie nights!
Stephanie’s love of books, especially books for young people, led her to work part-time in the children’s department of the same library her mom introduced her to when she was a young person herself! The job inspired Stephanie to pursue an online Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University. She became a librarian, but never stopped writing for blogs, newsletters, and for fun in the meantime. Because of her interest working online with students of all ages, Stephanie was able to transition into her current position as an eLearning Librarian at the College of Southern Nevada.
Being a librarian helps Stephanie think analytically and conduct better research for her stories. But being a fiction writer gives her a creative outlet for all the stories and ideas she hopes to share. She writes primarily for middle grade and young adult audiences, specializing in both contemporary and fantasy/sci-fi. Her stories have appeared in local publications such as CLASS! Magazine and the Henderson Libraries creative writing anthologies. Her award-winning story "Artificial" can be found in the international science fiction collection Dark Matter: Artificial, published May 2021.
Stephanie lives in Henderson, Nevada with her husband and two young sons. She loves coffee, family photo shoots, and movie nights!