Author, Stephanie Keyes

MEET Steph

Author Stephanie Keyes is a geek, a dreamer, and a hopeful romantic who writes books ranging from young adult fantasy to adult contemporary romance. Keyes won the RONE Award for Best YA Book of 2019 and took 2nd place in the Romance Writers of America Athena Awards For Excellence in NA & YA Fiction for The Spellbinder’s Sonata. As a romance author, she was a finalist in the 2018 International Book Awards for her debut romance, The Internship of Pippa Darling.

She is a technical writer and content strategist, teacher, and speaker. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband, two boys, and fashion-conscious dog, Duncan MacLeod. When she's not writing, Steph plays the clarinet, reads constantly, and loves game night with the rest of the fam. Interestingly enough, Steph's pen surname is borrowed from her great-great-great-grandfather who was forced to abandon the last name to avoid persecution over two hundred years ago. In addition, she has also written contemporary romance as Gemma McKay.

Shell House — Out Now!

A charity anthology that contains the new short story,  "Wren and the Sea Captain" by Stephanie Keyes! A compelling new beach read from the authors of Mindful Writers Retreat. From new love to old love... even the love of a house plays host to generations of special events at Shell House. Beautifully situated between the Atlantic Ocean and Silver Lake, this magnificent home is the perfect setting for inner transformation and life-changing beach memories. From the Roaring '20s to modern times, the shifting sands lend a glorious backdrop to intrigue, bootlegging, a séance, an alien visit, and true love as precious as hidden treasure.

Proceeds benefit the Marine Education, Research, and Rehabilitation Institute of Delaware.

“You are a fool. You will never defeat the darkness. The Soul Snatcher’s voice wound its way into my ear, as though the creature crouched on the ground beside me.

"I could make her end her own life. That would destroy you, wouldn’t it? Losing her? That’s all that I want—to destroy you. You who has beaten me twice.”


— STEPHANIE KEYES, THE STAR CHILD, BOOK ONE

BOOKS FOR

Young Adults (of any age)


Steph’s books are filled with heroines and heroes who use their minds to solve problems. If there just happens to be a little magic and a curse thrown in, then all the better!

Escape into a faerie ring in magickal Ireland, visit urban haunted houses where ghosts are real, or investigate the real reason to stay away from the trees under a full moon.


The Star Child Series, Book One

Kellen St. James hasn’t exactly led a normal life. For starters, he’s a genius with an uncanny memory who’s earned a Yale degree at seventeen. Yet the weirdest thing about Kellen isn’t even his brain. It’s the girl who’s been haunting his dreams every night for the past eleven years. The last thing he expects is for Calienta to show up in his kitchen and reveal he’s tied up in a prophecy he knew nothing about—one that decrees he’s supposed to save the world.

The Star Child Series, Book Two

Kellen St. James is moments away from saying “I Do,” to the goddess Calienta when the Children of Danu gatecrash their wedding, intending to kidnap him. The couple needs to make their escape, but Calienta’s immortal light shines so brightly there’s nowhere on earth they can hide. With no other alternative, Calienta becomes mortal and goes on the run with Kellen and his best man, Gabriel Stewart.

The Spellbinder's Sonata

Beauty and the Beast meets The Phantom of the Opera in a tale of magic, music, and one dark curse...

Griffin  Dunn is a brilliant piano virtuoso and a guest at the lavish Byrons  estate. When his callous treatment of the Byrons’ son leads to the  child’s death, the boy’s mysterious nanny places a dark curse on  Griffin, binding his soul to the mansion until true love finds him.

The Boy in the Trees


She smiled, her words genuine. ‘I didn’t think you wrote songs before.’


‘I didn’t.’ He cupped her cheek with his palm and gently turned her to face him. ‘Not before you. I told you Yeats inspired me, but it was you. It’s always been you.’”

— STEPHANIE KEYES, THE EDUCATION OF UMA GALLAGHER

Contemporaries

for Romantics (hopeful ones)


You'll find no timid heroines here! Get swept away by Steph's international romances. Stories filled with enough steam to match a few tea kettles, but nothing that might want to make you hide your eyes.

The Internship of Pippa Darling
The Summer Abroad Series, 1

She’s the creative writing major an internship away from graduation. He’s a bestselling author whose work she hates. Together they’ll craft their own romance.

Finn Burke believed Pippa Darling was the answer to his prayers. The brooding, young Irish author captured lightning in a bottle with his best-selling debut novel. Now his agent is demanding he do it all over again. But how can Finn repeat that success when he feels he sold out to achieve it? Even worse, some ditsy Florida floozie banjaxed his MacBook and set his already-delayed deadline back another month!

The Education of Uma Gallagher
The Summer Abroad Series, 2

She’s the poet who has all the words. He’s the man behind the music. Together they’ll write their own love song.

Uma Gallagher’s been trying to move on ever since Caden Hannigan left her in Dublin two years ago. She’s hoping for a fresh start when a teaching opportunity from Trinity College in Ireland rolls in. Yet with her future school on Caden’s former stomping grounds, she might just find a new round of old ghosts.

His Royal Typeface: A Secret Royal Romance Novella

Will one prince’s unique font design be enough to save the royal family and set the tone for true love?

Prince Asher Tarrington’s world is rocked when he discovers that his late parents gambled away the crown estate. Left with a palace that's slowly falling apart around him and no income, he takes a job as a typeface designer to pay his mounting bills.

This modern, standalone novella features quirky characters, stunning vistas, heart-stopping romance, and a prince who's very much in need of a rescue.

Shell House: Wren and the Sea Captain

Wren only visits Shell House for one night but the impression it leaves is permanent. 

Stephanie Keyes was inspired by the old, black and white movie, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir when she wrote “Wren and the Sea Captain. "The movie is so many things all at once—spooky, very romantic, with sweeping vistas and contains sporadic comedic moments." As she researched Shell House the idea of Wren and the Sea Captain sprung to life. Read the tale to see how love manages to transcend time and surprise Wren long after she leaves the beach. All proceeds go to the MERR Institute! So grab your copy!

"The entire estate oozed moodiness, as though covered in a cloak of despair. It reminded me of my childhood residence in Warwickshire, England; more than a few spirits roamed that home."


STEPHANIE KEYES, THE SPELLBINDER'S SONATA