About
ELIZABETH RODERICK (or LIZ RODERICK when she’s writing YA) is the author of THE OTHER PLACE series, TALES FROM PURGATORY series (YA), GRACIE AND ZEUS LIVE THE DREAM, THE HOODLUM ARMY, and LOVE OR MONEY, as well as numerous short stories.
She grew up as a barefoot ruffian on a fruit orchard near Yakima, in eastern Washington State. After moving all around the West Coast, she now lives in a drafty hovel by the sea crammed full of crystals, dogs, small tinkling bells, and books. She spends her time gossiping with crows, conjuring tulpas, and vaguely wishing she had money.
She earned a bachelor's degree in Spanish and organic ag from The Evergreen State College, and worked for many years as a paralegal, interpreter, transcriptionist, editor and farmer. She is a musician and songwriter, and has played in many bands, rocking some instruments she doesn't even know the real names for, but mostly guitar, bass and keyboards. She has an album of original music entitled Surviving the Rapture.
Elizabeth writes novels, short stories, and memoir which is way more interesting than it should be. Her stories are about love, death, gang warfare, and madness. Her characters tend to be of the type that society generally shuns: addicts, convicts, and the neurodivergent. She believes if you get to know these characters in books, you'll find them more likable than you originally thought.
She applies Hunter S. Thompson's Gonzo method to fiction writing. It often gets a little heavier than what she had in mind, but she chalks it up to forced consciousness expansion.
Her website is Talesfrompurgatory.com.
Featured Work
THE COMMUNE

Escaping a junkie mom and abusive stepdad, Magdalene steals a drug lord’s money and holes up with some friends-of-a-friend in the middle of BF Utah.
That’s where things go from bad to weird.
The place is called The Society for Consciousness Research, Exploration and Mapping, though they just call it the Commune. It’s led by a genius mathematician who abandoned his academic career to study lucid dreaming and the afterlife. The people there believe some very interesting things. They also seem to be involved in shady investments and money laundering. But whatever her doubts, Magdalene has nowhere else to go.
Then she meets Omar, another Commune member. When he appears in her dreams—and describes them to her when she’s awake—she’s forced to consider that their beliefs might be real.
Omar teaches Magdalene to manipulate the dreamscape and navigate the surreal pathways of the Dead. But strange henchmen with glowing eyes lurk there, and they’re trying to lure Magdalene in. Then there’s the drug lord, who wants his money back and is searching for her.
Pursued by enemies in two dimensions, Magdalene has to figure out who she can trust and what’s real before she gets in over her head.
Other Works
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GRACIE AND ZEUS LIVE THE DREAM
2021
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THE HOODLUM ARMY
2019
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THE OTHER PLACE
2016
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THE HUSTLE
2016
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LOVE AND WAR
2016
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SYNCHRONICITY
2016
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LOVE OR MONEY
2015
Awards and Recognition
- Best Indy Book Award for Mystery, 2021 (Gracie & Zeus)