Jillian Cypress, a Louisville native, grew up as a Highland’s kid, frequently spending her early years wandering Bardstown road back when the wall in front of Ear X-Tacy was the place to be. She attended Atherton High School, where she first discovered her passion for theater, writing, performing, and stage managing plays. She briefly attended the University of Kentucky before transferring to the University of Louisville. There, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Theater Arts (yes, you read that correctly: a BS Theater Degree). After graduating from college, having had an internship with Actors Theater in the production office, she worked for an advertising firm in Louisville before moving to Atlanta.
Her departure from Louisville was ill-advised and short-lived, but it was there that she found her inspiration for her novel Divining Young Blood. After returning to Louisville, she worked various jobs while she stage-managed and directed various community theater performances. Her writing was put on the back burner.
After some trial-and-error experiences in relationships and career endeavors, she found her footing back in Louisville where she is currently an office manager. She is married with two small children and has regained momentum with her writing. Her novel Divining Young Blood was published through Amazon in January of 2019, and she is currently working on its sequel, a short story anthology, and a children’s book.
Divining Young Blood is the first in a planned vampire series. It follows Hannah, a young woman struggling with addiction and insomnia who violently and mysteriously becomes a vampire. Unsure of how she was turned, or even what she has become, she tries to escape her newfound hunger. She is befriended by a fellow vampire who introduces her to the enchanting, but too good to be true, underground corporation of vampires Merinla. Hannah soon has to dig deep within herself to discover what kind of “person” she wants to be, who to trust, and even who to love.
Divining Young Blood is available for Kindle or paperback on Amazon, for purchase at Carmichael’s and Half Price books in Louisville, and for borrowing at the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library.
Upcoming works include:
- Divining Isonade (Spring 2019) A novelette companion to Divining Young Blood featuring the story of the vampire Kazue and how she transformed from the sweet girl from rural Japan at the turn of the century, into the deadly Japanese warrior Isonade.
- “Adventures in Heartwood Forest” (Summer 2019) An easy reader children’s book for ages 5-8, featuring two brothers who go on an unexpected adventure and find help from new woodland friends.
- Divining Insanity Abyss (Late Spring/ Early 2019) A novelette companion to Divining Young Blood set in the coal mines of West Virginia during the Union uprising and the Battle of Blair Mountain.
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