About RK Brainerd (me!)

Romantic ecopunk fantasy author

Definition: an author of character-driven fantastical worlds with environmental themes and a heavy dollop of romance

I reside in the rainy Pacific Northwest and have been living in my own little world and writing it down since I was itty bitty. I’m obsessed with anything related to dragons, myth and magic, and political/social commentary. I believe that through the lens of science-fiction and fantasy we can understand our world better. (And if not, then we can have a fantastic time exploring imagination.)

I grew up devouring speculative fiction, so naturally gravitate towards this in my writing.

Probably because of all this speculative fiction, social commentary of some element always finds itself somewhere in my stories. It also explains why I went and got a degree in politics.

I’ve always been fascinated by ecology and the natural world, and grew up with a deep appreciation for our (humans’) role in caretaking it. That probably explains why I went and got a Masters degree in Political Ecology. (Imagine if politics and natural sciences had a baby dedicated to helping build an ecological society dedicated to the health, happiness, and fulfillment of all living beings on the planet. That’s basically Political Ecology.) Ecological themes are woven throughout my stories.

As for all the romance—well. I grew up writing my way into understanding people, relationships, and romance, and those themes are throughout my stories too.

You can see my works here
Check out the Awakedragon blog here

Non-writing related facts

Meet Solara, Spoticus, and Fern, who are always very helpful when it’s writing time.

  • A herd of goats follows a white girl with sunglasses as she walks across a pasture
    Follow the leader!
  • A girl in a dark brown coat reaches up to pull down fir tree branches as a brown goat and a black one jumps on her and the fence to reach up too
    I am often a stepping stool
  • Three side by side long panels of goats running progressively closer over a light layer of snow
    They immediately raced back inside after discovering snow is COLD
  • Three tiles in different poses of a young white girl and a brown goat with white ears and nose snuggling and looking at the camera
    Sari, who’s a love
  • Three goats (two brown, one white, one black) hang out in tall grass under a tree casting shade
  • A white baby goat is falling asleep on the shoulder of a young white girl
  • A brown goat has her foot out and stepping on the rump on a young white girl who's lying there; the girl has a bewildered look on her face
    Idk Phe was a weirdo
  • A brown goat with a white nose looks up into a camera, with several other goats in the background
  • Half the image is taken up with a brown goat with a white nose snipping at the camera, while a white girl and a black goat with white ears and nose looks on from behind with amusement

I also raised dairy goats for many years, which are the stubborn, fanatically-curious cat-dogs you never knew you needed in your life.

If you’re interested in seeing more of my day-to-day, head over to my Instagram. I lurk there and update a lot, so you’ll be sure to see plenty about cats, building things, ecology, social justice, and, of course, writing life and updates.

Latest Instagram Posts

Head to IG!