Karen Healey is the award-winning author of the young adult urban fantasy novels Guardian of the Dead and The Shattering, the young adult climate sci-fi When We Wake duology, and the occasional short story. With co-author Robyn Fleming, she writes the Hidden Histories series, beginning with The Empress of Timbra. Karen was born in Whangārei, spent most of her childhood in Ōamaru, and lives in Ōtautahi, where she teaches English, plays D&D, reads voraciously, and ignores her dishes.