Picture of the author Jessica DeLand

Hello, I'm Jessica DeLand

Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy Author

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About Me


I graduated from Brigham Young University–Idaho with a B.A. in English focused on creative writing and editing. One of my YA contemporary fantasy short stories was published in an anthology titled Small Shifts: Short Stories of Fantastical Transformation this year, and one of my manuscripts was a finalist for the 2022 Killer Nashville Claymore Award. I currently live in McKinney, TX, and I’m a regular goscribbler.com blog contributor as well as a full-time mother of three young children with another on the way. My hobbies include reading, art, car karaoke, sewing, crocheting, watching movies and select anime, and co-op gaming of all kinds with my husband.

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Published Works


The Slime that Binds Us

YA Contemporary Fantasy

Short Story

Published 2022 in Small Shifts: Short Stories of Fantastical Transformation

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A boy who can turn into a snail must decide between his reputation and his conscience when a girl needs help only he can offer.

Works In Progress


Wake (Maelstrom #1)

YA Contemporary Fantasy

First in a Planned Double Trilogy

Currently Querying

Forced to live with alien fugitives on Earth until they recover their leader's magic inside her, a ballerina with a panic disorder turns spy for the universal police to facilitate her rescue.

A story of resilience, courage, and connection found in the most unexpected places, WAKE is A Court of Thorns and Roses meets Sarah Rees Brennan, Beauty and the Beast meets the girl detective genre. Family friendly and touched with humor, the manuscript is complete at 188,000 words. The first chapter was accepted into the 2012 National Undergraduate Literature Conference, the synopsis won goscribbler.com’s 2021 Synopsis Contest, and the manuscript was a finalist for the 2022 Killer Nashville Claymore Award for Best Juvenile/YA.

Bound (Kitsune Bound #1)

YA Contemporary Fantasy

First in a Planned Trilogy

Currently Drafting

When a girl tormented by mythological creatures only she can see saves the life of a kitsune, they must discover a way to break the resulting curse tying them within feet of each other.

Stooge (Agnes and Thrux #1)

YA Contemporary Fantasy

First in a Planned Trilogy

Currently Drafting

A universal police assassin helps her magic-using targets escape after learning dark secrets about the organization she works for.

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