Jacqui Castle is an educator and novelist living and writing in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. Jacqui has been published in a variety of publications including Mountain Xpress, WNC Woman, Asheville Grit, and Explore Asheville. Her novel The Seclusion, which School Library Journal called "A must-have for all libraries and fans of scifi," garnered Castle the title of 2020 Indie Author of the Year through the Indie Author Project (a collaboration between Library Journal and Biblioboard). In addition to The Redbud Writing Project, she also teaches creative writing through the Great Smokies Writing Program. When not writing, Jacqui can be found hanging out with her family and consuming far too much caffeine.