Mandy writes fiction exploring motherhood, womanhood, and the laugh that bubbles up when you're crying. She's the winner of WestWord's 2025 Hermit Crab Prize and the Ninth Writer's Playground Short Story Competition. Her nonfiction work has appeared in The Washington Post, Scary Mommy, and other parenting sites. She enjoys hanging out with her kids and sipping microwaved coffee with a blanket wrapped ET-style around her. Her work is forthcoming in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.