Erin Sterling

Erin Sterling is the pen name of Rachel Hawkins, a New York Times bestselling author who has a talent for weaving spells of romance, humor, and magic into stories that feel both enchanting and grounded. Under this name she steps away from the darker gothic thrillers she writes as Hawkins and instead invites readers into the witch-lit charm of small towns where curses, family legacies, and the occasional love potion keep life deliciously unpredictable.

Born in Virginia and raised in Alabama, she grew up surrounded by Southern folklore and a fascination with the uncanny. That mix of ordinary life and something otherworldly never quite left her, and it now shapes the heart of her work. Before publishing full-time she taught high school English, a period that sharpened her ear for dialogue and gave her an appreciation for how humor and vulnerability can live side by side in a single line of conversation.

Her Graves Glen series, beginning with The Ex Hex and continuing with The Kiss Curse and The Wedding Witch, captures that playful energy. Each novel balances sharp banter with swoon-worthy romance, while layering in themes of community, heritage, and the ways past choices echo through the present. Though lighthearted on the surface, her stories often ask deeper questions about belonging and identity, making them resonate beyond the sparkle of spells and hexes.

Sterling’s work has been translated into many languages and embraced by readers across the world, a testament to how universal the pull of magic and love can be. She still calls Alabama home, where she lives with her husband, son, and a lively clowder of cats. Whether she is writing as Erin Sterling or Rachel Hawkins, her novels invite readers to slip into worlds where wit, wonder, and just a touch of mischief wait on every page.