Justina Ireland is the New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation , Deathless Divide , Rust in the Root , and Ophie's Ghosts as well as the Star Wars High Republic novels A Test of Courage , Out of the Shadows , and Mission to Disaster . She is also the cocreator of the middle grade horror series Tales from Cabin 23 and the author of the series' first book, The Boo Hag Flex . She lives with her family in Maryland, where she enjoys dark chocolate and dark humor and is not too proud to admit that she's still afraid of the dark. You can visit her online at justinaireland.com.