About the Author

Epic fantasy author writing stories of mystery, magic, and heart.

The Stories I Love to Tell

Hi—I’m M. L. Banks.

I’m drawn to stories where the journey isn’t just about defeating an enemy, but about what that journey does to the people at the center of it—the choices they make, the pressure they’re under, and how they change along the way.

In my books, the external stakes matter—but the internal journey matters just as much.

I also love an element of mystery in a story—the kind that keeps you turning pages because you need to know what’s really going on beneath the surface.

That’s part of what I enjoy most about writing fantasy and speculative fiction. These genres let us ask “what if?” in ways that don’t have to follow the rules of our world.

What if magic worked differently? What if the structure of society changed in unexpected ways? What kinds of stories would emerge from that?

Those questions are where my stories begin.

As a reader, the first thing that pulls me into a story is always the character—whether I care about them, whether I believe in their journey, whether I want to see what happens next.

But it’s the world around them that expands everything. Fantasy has always been the genre that sparks my imagination the most—the place where possibilities feel endless.

Outside of writing, I teach and study philosophy, which is, in many ways, about exploring unusual situations and asking difficult questions.

That same curiosity finds its way into my stories—through the worlds I build and the choices my characters are forced to make.

I’m an independent author, and I love the direct connection that creates between me and my readers. It allows me to tell the stories I care about, and to share them without anything getting in the way.

When I’m not writing, I’m usually reading—or thinking about the next “what if” question I want to explore.