SIERRA ELMORE

BIO

Sierra Elmore (she/her) writes thriller novels starring devious women with devastating backstories. Her writing integrates critical inquiry of social themes with honest depictions of adverse mental health outcomes. Her work is informed by personal experiences with complex PTSD, and the complications of private and public perception accompanied by often-misunderstood disorders.

Elmore’s YoungArts-winning debut novel, Death by Society, was published in 2022. The young adult contemporary novel was described by Manhattan Book Review as “eye-opening and brutally honest.” Her most recent work-in-progress, a psychological thriller about toxic celebrity worship, was supported by a YoungArts Microgrant in February 2024. 

Elmore is currently pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. Elmore studied sociology at Arcadia University, where she conducted research on the depictions of mentally ill women in popular visual media, relational aggression, and criminology. When Sierra isn’t writing, she practices tarot, does Pilates, and embarks on a new hobby every month. She resides in Pennsylvania with her devious cats, Coconut and Violet.

Website: https://sierraelmore.com/

Substack: https://versionctrl.substack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bysierraelmore

MSWL

Age Categories: YA, adult

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Contemporary

Things I Love:

  • STRONG voice

  • Unlikeable female characters

  • Unreliable narrators

  • Stories about mental health that REALLY dig into the darkness

  • “Good for her” stories a la Ready or Not and Kill Bill

  • Campus novels and dark academia

  • I love enemies to lovers…or, even better, lovers to enemies :)

  • Truly insane plot twists

  • Exploring the complexities of female friendships

  • Books about celebrities and fame, especially its toxic side

  • Seriously, the darker the better

  • Dying for a book that explores the impact of AI or social media on society

Favorite Books

Adult

  • THEY NEVER LEARN by Layne Fargo

  • RELIQUARY by Hannah F. Whitten

  • IMMACULATE CONCEPTION by Ling Ling Huang

  • NEVER SAW ME COMING by Vera Kurian

  • OUR CUT OF SALT by Deena Helm

  • YOU’LL NEVER FORGET ME by Isha Raya

  • PAPER CUT by Rachel Taff

  • THE WRITER’S RETREAT by Julia Bartz

  • ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS by Araminta Hall

  • THE GIRLS ARE ALL SO NICE HERE by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

  • NINTH HOUSE by Leigh Bardugo

  • BORING ASIAN FEMALE by Canwen Xu

  • YESTERYEAR by Caroline Caro Burke

  • MOLKA by Monika Kim

  • THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Steig Larsson

YA

  • FOUL IS FAIR/GOLDEN BOYS BEWARE by Hannah Capin

  • SADIE by Courtney Summers

  • THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas

  • ONE OF US IS LYING by Karen McManus

  • KILL CREATURES by Rory Power

  • THE PRINCESS DIARIES by Meg Cabot

  • ACE OF SPADES by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

  • SEASON OF FEAR by Emily Cooper

  • LEAH ON THE OFFBEAT by Becky Albertalli

  • PRETTY TINY THINGS by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra

Favorite Movies and TV Shows

  • IF YOU CAN GET ME A BOOK WITH THE FEEL OF DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES OHHHHH MY GOD

  • Pretty Lethal

  • Scandal

  • Insatiable

  • Grey’s Anatomy

  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

  • Gone Girl

  • Thoroughbreds

  • Cruel Intentions

  • The Bling Ring

  • Ocean’s 8

  • Crazy Rich Asians

  • Jennifer’s Body

Anti-MSWL

  • Anything with fantasy and speculative elements. I barely understand fantasy when I read it; there’s no way I can mentor that genre.

  • Books that are more romance-heavy; romance as a subplot is very welcome, though!

  • I’m OK with pretty much all triggers, so don’t let that deter you. That being said, I’m not OK with condoned/“consensual” incest.

  • I love reading historical fiction, but I’m not the best mentor for it. That being said…exceptions can be made.

  • No haunted house stories, unless they’re very subversive, in the vein of OUR CUT OF SALT.

  • No police procedurals/detective fiction. It’s not my thing.