Alethea Knight has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. To keep her sanity,
Alethea’s mother taught her precocious and energetic eldest child to read before she was three
years old. Alethea’s first book, “The Squiggly Wigglies,” holds a place of honor on the piano and is
annotated: “Alethea, 4 years old.”
Growing up, Alethea used books to escape the troubles of real life. Her mother, a divorced parent
of three daughters, struggled to stay home with her children, living off her savings as best she
could. An abusive and mentally unbalanced father forced her mother to withdraw Alethea and her
sisters from public school when Alethea was in first grade. They were a family “living on the edge”
for as long as Alethea could remember, even foraging from dumpsters during the leanest times.
Because she was home-taught, not returning to public school until high school, Alethea learned
everything she knows from books, which engendered within her a reverence for the written
word. By the time she turned eight, her reading ranged across a spectrum of genres and classical
works, to include such diverse books as L. Frank Baum’s “Oz” series, Charles Dickens, Peter Pan,
and Shakespeare. She also relied on the scriptures for comfort and inspiration, purchasing her
own set of scriptures from a local second-hand store for twenty-five cents each.
Alethea found another outlet for her often negative emotions through writing. She kept her
stories in a battered binder, often placing her characters in situations similar to her own, then
watching to see how they worked through their problems. At last count, Alethea had over a
thousand pages of written material in her personal collection. Private and sometimes violent, the
stories will never be released to the public; rather, they provided Alethea a training ground in
which to hone her art, and a place to share her feelings where she would not be judged.
Public high school and later college, with their sometimes confusing social situations, pulled
Alethea away from her reading and writing and into the real world. Besides the required papers
and stories, the only writing Alethea produced for twelve years were entries for the local Young
Authors competition. Alethea instead focused on adjusting to interacting with people on a daily
basis and learning basic social skills she lacked from years of home schooling.
College opened up a new world to Alethea. She earned a full-ride scholarship to Utah State
University and began her degree in English, with an emphasis in multimedia communication. Here
she met and married her husband, had a beautiful son (who will one day take over the world), and
discovered that people are not as scary as she thought. Unlike some people, who struggle through
much of their life without the guidance of the Gospel, Alethea always felt enfolded and protected
by the Word of God. She was raised a strong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints. However, college is a time of questioning and “free thought,” and Alethea found herself
wondering about the truthfulness of her church. At that time, a philosophy professor took an odd
personal interest in Alethea and tried to pull her toward agnosticism. As she searched for answers
to his questions, she discovered the miracle of the Atonement, the truth of the scriptures, and
the blessings of salvation. Thanks to that professor and the challenge he presented, Alethea now
has an unshakable personal testimony of Christ and his teachings.
Alethea is currently a military writer, producing tons of boring documentation each year. She
enjoys writing it (and even reading it), but does not expect anyone to share her idiosyncrasy. Her
husband works as a therapist for troubled teens; he does not expect anyone to share his
idiosyncrasy either. Her son is seven years old and average in just about everything except how
much his parents love him. Despite a rocky childhood and adolescence, God has guided Alethea to
the perfect life (at least, she thinks so), for which she cannot express her gratitude.
More than anything, Alethea wants to make a difference in the world through her writing. She
hopes that her stories will touch someone as well as entertain, and perhaps encourage them to
find their strength in the Lord. Because she has seen first hand that if we trust in Him, all things
are possible.
Alethea’s mother taught her precocious and energetic eldest child to read before she was three
years old. Alethea’s first book, “The Squiggly Wigglies,” holds a place of honor on the piano and is
annotated: “Alethea, 4 years old.”
Growing up, Alethea used books to escape the troubles of real life. Her mother, a divorced parent
of three daughters, struggled to stay home with her children, living off her savings as best she
could. An abusive and mentally unbalanced father forced her mother to withdraw Alethea and her
sisters from public school when Alethea was in first grade. They were a family “living on the edge”
for as long as Alethea could remember, even foraging from dumpsters during the leanest times.
Because she was home-taught, not returning to public school until high school, Alethea learned
everything she knows from books, which engendered within her a reverence for the written
word. By the time she turned eight, her reading ranged across a spectrum of genres and classical
works, to include such diverse books as L. Frank Baum’s “Oz” series, Charles Dickens, Peter Pan,
and Shakespeare. She also relied on the scriptures for comfort and inspiration, purchasing her
own set of scriptures from a local second-hand store for twenty-five cents each.
Alethea found another outlet for her often negative emotions through writing. She kept her
stories in a battered binder, often placing her characters in situations similar to her own, then
watching to see how they worked through their problems. At last count, Alethea had over a
thousand pages of written material in her personal collection. Private and sometimes violent, the
stories will never be released to the public; rather, they provided Alethea a training ground in
which to hone her art, and a place to share her feelings where she would not be judged.
Public high school and later college, with their sometimes confusing social situations, pulled
Alethea away from her reading and writing and into the real world. Besides the required papers
and stories, the only writing Alethea produced for twelve years were entries for the local Young
Authors competition. Alethea instead focused on adjusting to interacting with people on a daily
basis and learning basic social skills she lacked from years of home schooling.
College opened up a new world to Alethea. She earned a full-ride scholarship to Utah State
University and began her degree in English, with an emphasis in multimedia communication. Here
she met and married her husband, had a beautiful son (who will one day take over the world), and
discovered that people are not as scary as she thought. Unlike some people, who struggle through
much of their life without the guidance of the Gospel, Alethea always felt enfolded and protected
by the Word of God. She was raised a strong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints. However, college is a time of questioning and “free thought,” and Alethea found herself
wondering about the truthfulness of her church. At that time, a philosophy professor took an odd
personal interest in Alethea and tried to pull her toward agnosticism. As she searched for answers
to his questions, she discovered the miracle of the Atonement, the truth of the scriptures, and
the blessings of salvation. Thanks to that professor and the challenge he presented, Alethea now
has an unshakable personal testimony of Christ and his teachings.
Alethea is currently a military writer, producing tons of boring documentation each year. She
enjoys writing it (and even reading it), but does not expect anyone to share her idiosyncrasy. Her
husband works as a therapist for troubled teens; he does not expect anyone to share his
idiosyncrasy either. Her son is seven years old and average in just about everything except how
much his parents love him. Despite a rocky childhood and adolescence, God has guided Alethea to
the perfect life (at least, she thinks so), for which she cannot express her gratitude.
More than anything, Alethea wants to make a difference in the world through her writing. She
hopes that her stories will touch someone as well as entertain, and perhaps encourage them to
find their strength in the Lord. Because she has seen first hand that if we trust in Him, all things
are possible.
| Alethea Knight |
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| The Lost Genre Guild's mission is to promote quality works of Biblical Speculative Fiction (spec-fic) through its authors, fans; to endorse new releases that fit this criteria; and of course, to glorify Him. |
| Read an excerpt from Althea Knight's short story "SMALL AND SIMPLE THINGS" |