About Aprilynne

Briefly:

Aprilynne Pike has been spinning faerie stories since she was a child with a hyper-active imagination. At the age of twenty she received her BA in Creative Writing from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. When not writing, Aprilynne can usually be found at the gym; she also enjoys singing, acting, reading, and working with pregnant moms as a childbirth educator and doula. Aprilynne recently returned to Arizona with her husband and three kids; she is enjoying the sunshine.

Less Briefly:

Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Aprilynne grew up in Phoenix, Arizona... until as a teenager she moved with her family to Driggs, Idaho. There she finished high school (and tried to forget the cold by participating in Choir, Cross Country, Debate, Drama... you name it). She received an academic Foundation Scholarship and a scholarship to run Cross Country at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. She worked her way through school as a waitress and the live-in companion of an elderly woman, filling her leisure time playing various roles at the Lewiston Civic Theater, including a starring role as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. By passing as many as 26 credit hours per semester, Aprilynne completed her BA in Creative Writing, with a minor in Theater, in just three years.

Aprilynne met her husband, Kenneth Pike, while he was serving a two year mission for the LDS Church. It was a genuine and, for both parties, somewhat surprising case of love at first sight, but Kenny was transferred away from Lewiston soon after they met. Because they were usually unable to communicate via phone or email, they got better acquainted by exchanging letters for 18 months. Two weeks after he completed his mission, Aprilynne came to visit Kenny at his parents' home in Phoenix, where he proposed--on their first real date. They were married less than five weeks later.

After finishing her degree, Aprilynne traveled with Kenny to Provo, Utah, where he pursued an undergraduate degree in Philosophy. She supported him financially by training waitresses and, later, as the assistant manager of a restaurant. After their first child was born, Aprilynne quit her job. Her little family moved in with an elderly gentleman, to share his home and care for him. During this time Aprilynne started writing her first novel and additionally contracted with Covenant Book to perform miscellaneous editorial work. She even took a graduate course in editing at Brigham Young University.

After Kenny's graduation they moved to his parents' house in Phoenix, Arizona, where their second child was born. Kenny got a job in the tech sector and Aprilynne got certified as a doula and childbirth educator through Supported Birth of Arizona. She performed volunteer work at Florence Crittenton of Arizona, teaching birth education classes to pregnant teenagers and serving as a doula for some of them as well. She also got lassoed into directing a community production of Rodger's and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!

Aprilynne and her growing family returned to Provo, Utah, so Kenny could attend BYU Law School. They bought a fixer-upper and Aprilynne learned to hang sheetrock, install flooring, and otherwise renovate the interior of her home. By this time she had completed three novels and queried countless agents, seeking representation for her writing. Six months later Jodi Reamer agreed to represent Aprilynne's work. When interest failed to manifest, Aprilynne started her fourth book--her first attempt at Young Adult fiction--and completed it just a few weeks before giving birth to her third child.

Discouraged that, after years of work, she had yet to achieve publication, one November morning in 2007 Aprilynne convinced herself that she was pursuing a foolish dream. Neither she nor her husband were sure how they could afford to pay for his final year of law school and keep their children fed. So Aprilynne resolved to teach childbirth classes again, this time for a fee, and actively seek doula clients in order to make ends meet. This would leave very little time for writing, but she decided it had become an unrealistic and impractical pursuit and the time had come to let it go.

That same day, indeed that same hour, as Aprilynne was sorting through her doula kit and childbirth education literature, the phone rang. It was Jodi; Aprilynne's Young Adult manuscript had interest. Within days it was acquired in a pre-empt by Tara Weikum under the HarperTeen imprint. After so much effort honing her craft and paying her dues, Aprilynne finally achieved her dream.

After several months of revisions, Aprilynne's debut novel Wings was released--a few weeks after her husband graduated from law school. Wings debuted as a New York Times best-seller, and proceeded to take the #1 spot on that list. Between whirlwind touring and editing the sequel, Aprilynne moved her family back to the warmth and familiarity of Arizona, where their adventures continue apace.