Elizabeth Engstrom


Elizabeth Engstrom is an American speculative fiction writer.

Biography

She was born Bette Lynn Gutzmer, but she legally changed her name to Elizabeth Engstrom a few years after publishing her first novel under that pseudonym. She is married to Al Cratty, and sometimes writes under the name Liz Cratty as well. She was nominated for a 1992 Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection for her book Nightmare Flower. Her anthology Dead on Demand: The Best of Ghost Story Weekend spent six months on the Library Journal "Best Seller List." Her short story, "Crosley", was picked to be included in The Thirteenth Annual Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, edited by Ellen Datlow. Her work has been published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Horror Show, American Fantasy Magazine, and Cemetery Dance.
Elizabeth Engstrom also gives writing seminars on subjects like Structural Fiction, Sensual Fiction, Kick Start Your Novel, and The Architecture of Fiction. She was the owner of TripleTree Publishing, but she sold the business to Richard Ramsey in 2007. Under Engstrom's aegis, TripleTree published 19 books and put more than 200 authors in print for the first time.
She was an instructor and eventually Director of the Maui Writers Retreat and its Department of Continuing Education. She has her Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Writing, a Master's in Applied Theology and a Certificate of Pastoral Care and Ministry, all from Marylhurst University.
She gives a large portion of book sales on her website to the Melanoma Research Foundation. She was a founding member of, a literary community, and is a former faculty member at the University of Phoenix.
Engstrom's novel Candyland has been adapted as a film by Motorcycle Boy Productions of Vancouver, B.C., written and directed by Rusty Nixon, starring James Clayton, Chelah Horsdal and Gary Busey. The film Candiland was released in February 2017.
Her novel When Darkness Loves Us has been optioned for film by Light in the Dark Productions.
Recently, her two first books,, and, were re-released by, with introductions by Grady Hendrix, as a part of their Paperbacks from Hell imprint.
Valancourt has recently republished a volume of her short stories, ''Nightmare Flower''

Selected works

Novels

Lizzie BordenWhen Darkness Loves Us, foreword by Theodore Sturgeon Black Ambrosia Lizard Wine Black Leather Candyland The Northwoods Chronicles York's Moon Baggage Claim ASIN B00BDSS3FWGuys Named Bob The Itinerant
  • ''Unrequited Loss''

Short story collections

The Alchemy of Love Nightmare Flower
  • ''Suspicions''

Anthologies

Mota 9: AddictionImagination Fully Dilated co-edited with Alan M. ClarkImagination Fully Dilated Volume II co-edited with Alan M. Clark
  • ''Dead on Demand: The Best of Ghost Story Weekend''

Nonfiction

The Maui Writers Conference Presents: Word by Word: An Inspirational Look at the Craft of Writing co-authored with John Tullius. How to Write a Sizzling Sex Scene
  • ''Divorce by Grand Canyon''

Lectures on audio

Elizabeth Engstrom has made some of her seminars available on CD and cassetteThe Art of the Short StoryWriting a Well-Crafted Sex Scene
  • ''Creating Memorable Characters''