E. Gallegos

Erica Gallegos smiling beside a weathered barn, green mountains behind her

Erica’s writing journey began in 5th grade with her first illustrated book, Running Rain. Since then, she’s won a Watty Award (Breeder, 2020), sat on a world-building panel at WattCon (Los Angeles, 2022), and published the first two books in The Ephemeral trilogy.

She gravitates toward fantasy—with slow-burning romantic subplots, of course—and she aims to write stories that are inclusive, bold, and at times, deliberately uncomfortable. If she’s doing her job right, someone, somewhere, is calling her a “Nasty Woman.”

When she’s not building new worlds, Erica runs a statewide sustainability program. She also survives a chaotic semiannual road trip with her rescue pup, Whimsy, and her partner, Petr.

To stay up to date on The Ephemeral trilogy and her upcoming fantasy saga GODSGIVEN, subscribe to her newsletter, follow her on social media (@egalleguess), or join her Discord server, The Gritz.

For questions, events, or press, send Erica a message. Her books are published under her imprint, Orphic Publishing.

Off the page

  • A glacier winding down a mountain valley, seen from the air

    I spend my days fighting climate change.

    I studied environmental science and now help businesses cut their emissions. Inventing dystopias wasn't enough—I wanted to help prevent one, too.

  • Erica grinning up at the walls of a narrow red slot canyon

    I like getting lost—preferably somewhere beautiful.

    Alpine lakes, remote trails, forgotten corners of the map, and places that feel like no man's land are my favorite kinds of adventures.

  • Erica and her partner in Victorian costume under a wall of string lights

    I take Halloween very seriously.

    My partner and I host the Hallowed Weeny Awards, a biennial costume competition with official categories, awards, and an event mascot. At this point, it's less a party and more a governing body.

The road so far

  1. 2014

    Outlined The Ephemeral trilogy at 17, while still in high school—the same age as Alex.

  2. 2015

    Finished the first draft of Breeder at 18.

  3. 2019

    Posted Breeder on Wattpad.

  4. 2020

    Breeder won a Watty Award.

    This writer is an expert with tone and carrying it through consistently. It has us hooked from beginning to end.

    Wattpad, on why they loved Breeder

  5. 2021

    Began posting the rest of the trilogy on Wattpad, found a following there, and became a Wattpad Creator in the paid program.

    Breeder's original Wattpad coverIkelos's original Wattpad coverVe'Rah Daa's original Wattpad cover

  6. 2022

    Sat on the world-building panel at WattCon in Los Angeles.

    The WattCon 2022 world-building panel: six writers seated on stage, Erica at the far leftErica laughing as she speaks on the WattCon panel

    Watch the panel on YouTube

  7. 2025

    Published Breeder on June 13, 2025.

    Breeder cover

  8. 2026

    Published Ikelos on May 30, 2026.

    Ikelos cover

  9. Next

    Ve'Rah Daa closes the trilogy, then a new fantasy saga, GODSGIVEN.

    Ve'Rah Daa cover