About Andrea Blackstone

Andrea Blackstone is a Virginia-based freelance writer, ghost writer, associate newspaper editor, and media consultant. She majored in English and minored in Spanish at Morgan State University. While attending Morgan, she received many recommendations to consider a career in writing and was the recipient of The Zora Neale Hurston Scholarship Award. After a two-year stint in law school, she later changed her career path. While recovering from an illness, she earned an M.A. from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland ahead of schedule and with honors. Afterward, Andrea became frustrated with her inability to find an entry-level job in her field and considered returning to law school. Andrea found that she was happiest when she was using her writing and research skills. Jotting down notes on restaurant napkins and scraps of paper became a habit that she couldn’t shake. One day she pondered over her predicament and emptied the contents of a box. In it she found an old photograph of she and the late Alex Haley looking over her writing, during the eighties when Andrea was a shy high school student. She was reminded that her uncle complimented her work and offered encouraging words that Andrea should continue writing. Andrea felt that finding the keepsake was a sign that she should make an effort to do what her heart was telling her would bring her contentment. She previously wrote self-published and traditionally published fiction novels to gain industry experience. The World We Left Behind is her first historical fiction book and her first project after a long hiatus from writing books. Queen Jackson Haley, Andrea’s great-grandmother, inspired her to write a reimagined story about slavery and children of the plantation.