Elizabeth “Elli” Carlton is a natural-born storyteller. She's best known for writing fantasy novels that bear sharp emotional teeth. But long before she turned to fiction, she built her career as a journalist who had a reputation for uncovering the soul behind every story. Whether she was writing a heartwarming feature on local heroes or an article about an artist's newest album release, she had a knack for ferreting out an angle that made readers feel something.

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Her debut novel, The Royal Rogue, is no different. The high fantasy/romantasy novel sets the tone for the type of stories she writes: character‑driven, action-packed, and emotionally charged. 

 

Foreword Clarion praised The Royal Rogue for being “as introspective as it is adventurous,” while BlueInk Review highlighted its blend of “xenophobia, forbidden love, and political intrigue” and its cast of “diverse characters” whose relationships fed the story’s tension.​ She recently published Chivalry’s Code (the second installment of the series) on September 13, 2026.

 

Both books are reimagined versions of Carlton's old YA novels. Although those books earned a devoted readership between 2012 and 2018, Elli realized she wanted to write fantasy that cut deeper into territories that weren't suited for a young audience; stories that explored trauma, connection, identity, and the emotional cost of power. In 2024, she began the pivot into adult fantasy by rewriting The Rogue Trilogy from the ground up, and the first remastered book was released on August 15, 2025.

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Over the course of her 16+ year career, Elli has written for newsrooms, marketing teams, executive research groups, and SEO clients, and has supported authors through developmental editing and coaching. When she isn't writing fiction, she's drafting compelling executive research and conference presentations as a principal writer for a global research company.