National bestselling and award-winning author Cerece Rennie Murphy fell in love with science fiction at the age of seven while watching “Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back”. Since debuting her first novel, Order of the Seers (Book 1) in 2012, Ms. Murphy has published twelve speculative fiction novels, short stories, and children's books, including her upcoming release, In The Garden of Light and Shadow: The Chronicles of Ada St. James. Ms. Murphy is also the founder of Virtuous Con, an online sci-fi and comic culture convention that celebrates the excellence of BIPOC creators in speculative fiction. Ms. Murphy is the recipient of Black Pearl Magazine’s Author of the Year Award for Children’s Literature, the National Best Sellers designation from the African American Literature Book Club (AALBC), and the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA)’s Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award for significant contributions to the science fiction, fantasy, and related genres community. Created in 2008, Ms. Murphy joins the ranks of distinguished previous Solstice Award winners, including Petra Mayer, Carl Sagan, Octavia Butler, and Gardner Dozois. To learn more about the author and her upcoming projects, please visit her website at www.cerecerenniemurphy.com.