Liberty Speidel

Liberty Speidel Hardt (formerly Liberty Speidel) is an urban fantasy mystery author from the Kansas City area, best known for the Darby Shaw Chronicles. Her characters are so persistent they literally won't shut up until their stories hit the page, and her books blend supernatural elements with gritty crime-solving in stories that refuse to look away from darkness but always point toward hope. With her husband and co-author, Joshua Hardt, she wrote Wave of Disruption (2025), a Cold War superhero mystery set in the Darby Shaw world. When she isn't plotting, Liberty drives a city bus, where she does some of her best people-watching. She's also an avid D&D player, knitter, and Star Wars nerd. Now happily empty nesters, she and Joshua have a house that's a lot quieter these days, apart from a rowdy cat and an equally rowdy dog. Follow along in her monthly newsletter, The Hardt of Liberty.