C. Lee McKenzie

C. Lee began writing stories on a dare to enter a short story contest. She won. The magazine published her story and awarded her a hundred-dollar prize, prompting her to think, How easy is this? I get to do what I love, and someone pays me for it. Since then, she’s discovered that writing for publication is anything but easy, but she persisted—and has since published several acclaimed novels.

Much of her work has explored contemporary social issues and emotional realities. Her novels include Sliding on the Edge (2009), about cutting; The Princess of Las Pulgas (2010), about the death of a parent; Double Negative (2014), centered on illiteracy and later named one of Ezvid Wiki’s Top Ten YA Novels in 2022; Sudden Secrets (2014), which examines homophobia; Not Guilty (2019), focused on injustice; and Shattered (2021), about paraplegia and a finalist in the Indie Book Awards.

Then came Rattlesnake—her first venture into the otherworldly YA genre. Her second speculative fiction is That Moonwater Witch (May 2026).

The shift may have been inspired by the COVID shutdowns and the uncertainty of the world at the time. Like many others, she found herself needing an escape—and decided to create one.

When she’s not writing, C. Lee enjoys hiking, traveling, practicing yoga, cooking, sharing meals with friends, and savoring a good glass of wine. She lives on the edge of a forest and, while she appreciates cities, prefers them in small doses before returning to the comfort of trees and the ocean.