Amber McBride believes in magic, Hoodoo, ghosts and all the things she can't see. The universe is, after all, 95% dark energy and dark matter; it would be strange to trust the 5% of reality.

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Amber attended James Madison University and was a Pre-Med Major for two years before she decided to switch to English with a Creative Writing and African Studies minor. Switching majors was one of the best &. most difficult choices she ever made. Amber attended graduate school at Emerson College in Boston, MA where she earned her Master's in Fine Arts with a concentration in poetry. 

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After grad school Amber worked as the media assistant at the Furious Flower Poetry Center for two years. Established in 1994 Furious Flower is the nation's first academic center for Black poetry. At Furious Flower she had the privilege of meeting and working with some of her idols which included Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Dr. Joanne Gabbin and countless others. Amber also taught Introduction to Poetry at James Madison University during this time.

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Searching for more diversity in the students she taught, Amber started teaching at Northern Virginia Community College. This is also when she started writing books for young adults. Amber now teaches at the University of Virginia.

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Amber's students call her Ms. Mermaid, because of her obsession with mermaids/medusa/mama wata. Her family calls her little wolf, her mom calls her little one and her dad's nickname for her is cool breeze.  Lots of people refer to her as Ambs. Either way she is hardly ever called by her name and she doesn't mind.

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Amber is also an avid reader-averaging around I00 books a year. She also enjoys searching for new music, cooking, traveling, practicing hoodoo, herbalism and hanging out with her close friends and family in her spare time.

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Amber would also like to remind you that she values and appreciates you. You can follow her on instagram: @ambsmcbride and X: @ambsmcbride, where she is rather active.