Erica Hearns

Erica Denise Hearns first began writing at the age of five with a story about a princess named Jasmine (which she insists was NOT based on the Disney fairytale). She was first published at the age of eight and has won numerous creative writing and oratory awards. She has published several poems and essays and even authored an advice column for the newsletter for the Horizons-Upward Bound program. She started her college career at Purdue University, where she completed extensive coursework in Anthropology and African-American studies in pursuit of an English literature degree. She graduated with a B.A. in English from the University of Central Florida in 2008.

Baptized into the Church of Christ in 1998, Erica has taught women’s and teen classes and workshops on purity, dating, mentorship, and getting serious about who you are in Christ. She writes a blog where she explores relationships—romantic, friendly, familial, and spiritual—on her website, The Season for Getting Serious.

She was inspired to write Altered before the Altar when she realized that the teenage and young adult women she taught needed some help putting dating, love and relationships into the proper perspective—and so did she. Altered before the Altar is Erica’s first published book. She resides in Orlando, Florida.