About

Katelyn Topping-Spoerl is a lyrical storyteller, poet, and lifelong nature-lover born in Denver, Colorado. Her writing is rooted in a deep reverence for empathy, honesty, and the quiet resilience of those who’ve walked through darkness and still long for light. She writes for the children who grieve, the dreamers who wander, and the quiet hearts who feel the world a little deeper.

 

Katelyn’s stories often draw from her early experiences of profound loss—her father, passed away when she was just six years old. That loss, and the many that followed, instilled in her a lifelong understanding of sorrow, wonder, and the healing power of nature. Her work reflects a longing for peace—spiritual, emotional, and cultural—and a belief that gentleness is a strength, not a weakness.

 

Winner of the Anne Frank Writing Competition in 2001, Katelyn is a published poet and the author of several books, including The Whispering Tree, April and the Coyotes Call, and Luna of the Forest. Each story is a love letter to the misunderstood, the overlooked, and the wild magic of the natural world.

 

She finds inspiration in figures like Princess Diana, Carrie Fisher, Fred Rogers, Steve Irwin, and Sir David Attenborough—people who lived publicly with pain and compassion, courage and imperfection. Like them, she values truth over polish, presence over performance.

 

As a child, she found her refuge in stories. Between their pages, the world made sense in a way reality did not. She was stirred by the quiet rebellion of Orwell, the fragile humanity of Shelley, and the boundless wonder of Harry Potter. Tolkien taught her reverence for myth; Anne Rice revealed the intimacy of darkness; Stephen King showed her how fear could speak in the language of love. Later, she would be forever changed by the ancient music of words—by Dante’s descent, Shakespeare’s ache, Chaucer’s mirth, and the wild, ungoverned spirit of Juanita Casey.

 

These voices—together with the natural world she treasures—shaped the heart of her writing: tender, fearless, and unafraid to seek beauty in even the darkest places.

 

Today, Katelyn lives a quiet, rooted life in Colorado with her beloved husband (her best friend since 2014) and their animal companions. A stay-at-home dog mom, she is happiest in the garden, among trees, or wrapped in a blanket with a book, always listening for the whisper of something sacred.

 

She believes stories can be medicine. And her hope is simple: to offer comfort, connection, and a place to rest—for children, for readers, and for anyone who’s ever felt a little lost in the woods.

 

I’m deeply grateful for the love and encouragement readers have shared for my children’s books—The Whispering Tree, April and the Coyote’s Call, and Luna of the Forest. Each story has been a quiet celebration of wonder, kindness, and connection with the natural world. Now, I’m beginning a new and deeply personal chapter in my creative journey with The Library of the Dreamless Gods—an adult fantasy series that blends mythology, sensuality, and psychological depth. It’s a story for those who find beauty in darkness and meaning in the spaces between dreams.