Julia Vanstory works to capture small town, Southern culture and stories in her writing. When not chained to her computer, she's usually found in the dance studio. She lives in Southern Mississippi with her husband and daughter.

As the painfully shy child of divorced parents smack dab in the buckle of the Bible belt, I felt there was no higher calling than that of a writer. While my classmates had dreams of becoming astronauts, cowboys, or doctors, I knew I wanted to be a writer.

This lifelong dream didn’t actually come from a strong instinct for storytelling. For this introvert, books became my respite. They were a safe space for me to release the anxiety that crept up in social settings. Even more, it gave me conversation fodder to connect with fellow readers. I could sit on the floor of the basement classroom reserved for rainy PE days and have in-depth conversations about Harry Potter or Anne of Green Gables.

Books opened up a whole new world for me, and I wanted to pay it forward.

Years later, books still play an important role in my life as I navigate this volatile landscape. Books can help us to see different viewpoints, backgrounds and personalities and work to reconcile these co-existing elements.

After graduating from Mississippi State University, where I received a BA in English, I worked as a journalist in Southwest Mississippi for several years. I currently am a MFA candidate at the Mississippi University for Women. I follow the tradition of the great Southern Gothic writers that have come before me and strive to capture the nuance of the world that surrounds me.