Becky Allen

Becky Allen writes fantasy that connects environmental collapse, political inequality, and a young woman's struggle for agency. Raised near Ithaca, New York, she studied American studies and journalism at Brandeis University and later worked for TheBody.com, an HIV information organization. Delacorte Press released her debut Bound by Blood and Sand in 2016, following Jae, who lives under a magical command curse in a desert realm where the water supply is failing, and Elan, a member of its ruling family. Their search for the vanished Well turns access to water into a question of freedom and entrenched class power. The sequel, Freed by Flame and Storm, continues the story, making the first book the opening of a two-book narrative. The debut joins systemic injustice to its fantasy adventure. Allen's invented irrigation system gives the world-building a material foundation, while Jae's refusal to preserve an oppressive order supplies the novel's central moral conflict.