Miami-born Vanessa Montalban channels her wanderlust for far-off worlds into writing young adult fiction, including A Tall Dark Trouble, winner of the Florida Book Awards in the YA category. She's a first-generation college graduate, and is hard at work creating a collection of stories. Her work has appeared in Diabolical Plots and Entropy Magazine, and her newest novel These Vengeful Wishes is coming spring 2025.
""An immersive, eerie read that examines the historic mistreatment of women and the wounds they often carry."" --Booklist ""A delightfully eerie exploration of curses and wishes."" --Kirkus Reviews ""Vanessa Montalban's voice shines in this wonderfully creepy gothic tale with hints of folklore. Dark secrets, love, and tragedy make this a gripping read. This is my first book by Montalban, but it won't be my last. She is a powerful Latina writer I want to read more of."" --V. Castro, author of The Haunting of Alejandra ""This book has EVERYTHING! A main character you relate to and root for, realistic family struggles, small town vibes, a scary as hell supernatural threat, and a boy you're sure to crush on. A complete and total page-turner! LOVE!"" --Ann Dávila Cardinal, award-winning author of Breakup from Hell and You've Awoken Her ""These Vengeful Wishes is a perfectly paced, atmospheric horror that's driven to its darkest depths by characters who are as enigmatic as they are intriguing. Montalban masterfully combines folklore, family drama, and haunted histories with voice and prose that are perfect for horror--and left me dying for more."" --Terry J. Benton-Walker, bestselling author of Blood Debts and editor of The White Guy Dies First ""Eerie, gorgeously written, and with a swoon-worthy romance, These Vengeful Wishes is a must-read that will keep you up at night and obsessed for years to come, just like La Cegua and her wishing well."" --Jamison Shea, author of I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me ""This twisting story of family secrets and the unexpected price of wishes will pull you into a complex, layered adventure with a dark folktale at its heart. You may escape the clutches of La Cegua when you turn the final page, but you'll have a harder time forgetting Ceci and this haunting and atmospheric reminder to be careful what you wish for."" --Ginny Myers Sain, New York Times bestselling author of Dark and Shallow Lies