About A.L. Knorr
Hi! Welcome to my store and my imagination. I'm A.L. Knorr, an award-winning Canadian author living on the Mediterranean coast with my amazing chef husband (lucky me, I struggle with toast). We don't have kids, but we do have a floofy cat named Pamuk (he looks like a mascot for a toilet paper brand, but don't let that fool you, he's a killer. All lizards beware).
Previous to my author life I was a dancer, and a marketing director for a Canadian bath & body company (who's products I'm still totally addicted to). I love mountain biking, hiking, yoga, snorkeling, deep one-on-one discussions (I'm an introvert), cuddling babies, baking sourdough, sleeping in, flannel sheets, coffee in all its form, and I read (of course) a whole gamut of things, from ancient scriptural texts to contemporary fiction.
I've loved stories since I understood what a story was (I learned to read when I was 3, I guess that's why I skipped a grade, although maths has always terrified me). I knew that one day I would tell my own stories because I was bursting with characters that were real enough to breathe. It took me until 2016 (I was 38) by the time I could take a year off to write my first book. I started with Born of Water, a mermaid story (I've always loved mermaids) that I had held in my imagination since I was teenager.
Born of Water started as a vignette: a mermaid explores a centuries old wreck. She comes around to the figurehead on the front of the ship and realizes its a mermaid carved of wood. Gently, she blows away the algae for a better look and is stunned to see her own face staring back at her. How did her face get on a figurehead that's well over 100 years old? How is possible that it looks exactly like her? Who carved it, and why?
I still remember the day I got the email back from my editor (the first person to ever read the story). My heart was pounding. My throat was dry. Would she like it? Was it any good?
The first line of the email was: "Did you know that you're a writer?" I burst into tears and have never looked back.
Why did I start with mermaids? I love the oceans and seas, I love ships, nautical history, marine biology, and shipwreck stories (as sad as they are). I dreamed of exploring the world's oceans unencumbered by diving gear, and what better way to do that than to have fins?
Born of Water won the Readers' Favorite Gold Medal award for YA Fantasy in 2018, and paved the way for a fantastical universe that includes many other supernaturals; fire magi, fae, demon hunters and so much more! One supernatural you won't find in my universe is vampires. I know... weird right? They're SO popular! I get the appeal of Twilight, I really do. I devoured the books when they came out, and I always admired Anne Rice's and Stephen King's vampire mythologies (I've read The Vampire Lestat three times, and Salem's Lot twice) but I was always a little confused about the vampire as a hero and a love interest... because to me, any creature that sucks blood to live (animal or human... I'm looking at you too, mosquitoes) is a parasite. Vampires are dark beings, so if vampires ever enter my universe they won't be good and they won't be sparkly. Just sayin'.
When asked which writers have influenced me the most, the list is long and varied; Kelley Armstrong (a fellow Canadian), Tamora Pierce, Piers Anthony, Amy A Bartol, Stephenie Meyer, JK Rowling, Ken Follett, Stephen King, Elizabeth Gilbert, Kristin Hannah, Maria V Snyder, Laini Taylor, and Naomi Novak.
My goal as a storyteller is to provide a beautiful and magical world for you to escape to. My stories contains themes of friendship, loyalty, family, adventure, love, and of course... elemental magic, which I hope is believable. My stories are f-bomb free with no extreme or graphic violence. Any love-making the characters might get up to is non-explicit and fade-to-black. I've had countless readers write to thank me for writing something they can recommend to younger teens, but that they (as adults and retirees) get joy out of reading themselves. I feature young adult and new adult aged protagonists, but the majority of my readers are actually adults. Couldn't have predicted that, but I'm happy about it. I love my readers. If you want to meet some of them, join my VIP Reader Lounge on Facebook. We're a friendly bunch!
I would describe my writing as 'cinematic', that means I try to show you the story as its happening, as though you were there in real-time. Readers tell me its like watching a movie in their heads. If all that sounds like something you might fancy, I invite you to take a look around. Stay a while, pick a book or grab an audiobook if you're the type who likes to listen. Thank you for being here!
Frequently Asked Questions
What are you working on right now?
I'm writing a standalone story set in the world of The Scented Court. It is entitled A Star of Darkness.
Will you write more for Akiko & Petra?
Yes, I plan to. The stories for these characters are both in the early plotting stage, but they are never far from my mind. I'm sorry I can't commit to an exact timeline just yet.
Why can't I buy "specific title in a specific format" here?
I built my career as an author by putting my books exclusively into the Kindle Unlimited program. That program has become less and less beneficial over the years, so eventually I plan to take my full catalog our of KU (it will remain for sale on Amazon) and sell it here, in my store.
So far I have 3 series available here and 5 more to go. Some audiobooks (Earth Magic Rises & Arcturus Academy) are bound by exclusive contracts to Audible, and will not be available here for quite a while (years).
Will you read my manuscript?
I only wish I could read every manuscript I'm asked to read. On top of having a TBR a mile high, I have a full schedule producing content and running this store. I don't have enough hours in my day where I'm not staring at a screen. I'm so sorry, but please don't sent me your manuscript. I do congratulate you on finishing it, though!