I am a writer with a passion for fantasy, gothic horror, and folklore-inspired tales. My work aims to transport readers to vivid, eerie worlds where characters come alive. I excel at shaping tone, voice, and characterization in dialogue and plots, and I thrive in collaborative, remote settings with strong communication and attention to detail.

Haley Wartalski

I am a writer with a passion for fantasy, gothic horror, and folklore-inspired tales. My work aims to transport readers to vivid, eerie worlds where characters come alive. I excel at shaping tone, voice, and characterization in dialogue and plots, and I thrive in collaborative, remote settings with strong communication and attention to detail.

Available to hire

I am a writer with a passion for fantasy, gothic horror, and folklore-inspired tales. My work aims to transport readers to vivid, eerie worlds where characters come alive.

I excel at shaping tone, voice, and characterization in dialogue and plots, and I thrive in collaborative, remote settings with strong communication and attention to detail.

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Language

English
Fluent

Work Experience

Bartender/server at Birds Nest
March 11, 2026 - Present
Craft cocktails in a timely manner while ensuring the customers are having a great experience. I help train new servers and presentation with food. Follow food safety guidelines and make sure patrons allergies are accounted for.
Shift Lead at Phase Three
February 9, 2023 - March 29, 2025
Created and maintained scheduling for taproom employees. Interviewed potential taproom candidates. Helped organize and both small and large events while serving/pouring beer to the general public. Created menu items and updated menus daily. Cleaned and organized keg coolers.

Education

Master of Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing at Emerson College
September 1, 2022 - December 1, 2024
Classics and English at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
September 1, 2018 - May 1, 2022

Qualifications

Illinois BASSET Certification
January 11, 2030 - March 11, 2026
Cicerone Certification
January 11, 2030 - March 11, 2026
ServSafe Food Handler
January 11, 2030 - March 11, 2026

Industry Experience

Education, Media & Entertainment, Professional Services, Other
    Defrosting

    Defrosting is a flash fiction piece about the Persephone Myth. While similar to my previously published piece, “Entombment to the Myth”, this piece is about Persephones’ ascent into the mortal realm. This piece is more whimsical in tone but alludes to Spring and what takes place which is in reference to the original myth.

    https://www.twine.net/signin

    Ballad of the Dragon

    Abstract of my full length dark fantasy novel that was my thesis project for my MFA.

    An arranged marriage between the most powerful Vampire Clans that’s more than meets the eye. A group of characters carving a different path from the old archaic ways of the Vampire world. The rumblings of a revolution. In this dark fantasy romance, Runa Dragomiraz and her inner circle have been slowly plotting over the years waiting for the perfect time to overthrow the Dragomiraz Clan and any other Vampire in league with them, including the Xenos Clan. Runa’s always been willing to put everything on the line, she just didn’t realize how big her part will become. With the addition of the Old Gods coming out to the play, the stakes are much higher. Clans that were thought to be extinct are taking sides, prophecies are coming forth, primordial creatures are emerging. Everything just got more bloody.
    Let the wedding bells ring.

    Ballad of the Dragon, 2024, pf_2024fall_wartalski_haley.pdf. Office of Graduate Studies, RG 010.04A. Emerson College Archives and Special Collections. https://www.twine.net/signin Accessed March 11, 2026.

    Journey Softly

    100 word drabble published in Manawaker Studio Volume four for the theme, “Troll”. Journey Softly is about the landscape in which Trolls live in and to be mindful of such environments. It’s meant to be a soft and whimsical piece.

    https://www.twine.net/signin

    Entombment to the Myth

    A first person 479 word flash fiction piece of a Hades and Persephone retelling published in the Icarus Writing Collective magazine. Entombment to the Myth is a twist on the original myth of Persephone telling her version of her abduction . Instead of her being portrayed as victim , she’s a queen within her own right who chose to eat the six pomegranate seeds, allowing her to choose to be Queen of the Underworld herself.

    https://www.twine.net/signin