About V.P. Chandler
V.P. Chandler hails from a long line of Texas law enforcement—sheriffs, a pathologist, a parole officer, and a Criminal Justice professor—immersing her in a world of crime and justice from an early age. Fueled by a love of horror, fantasy, sci-fi, and westerns, it’s no surprise that she crafts stories with genre-blending twists. “VP Chandler, with a gritty sense of place and a deep undercurrent of reckoning, blends western, crime and horror. She states that her stories “pursue revenge and justice with generational echoes of the past.”- Scott Montgomery, editor of Austin Noir.
Holding a B.A. in Literature from Southwestern University, Chandler has worked as a paralegal, a teacher, and a West Texas rancher. She draws from all these experiences to bring depth and authenticity to her work. She’s received the Silver Falchion award and most recently, a short story was chosen by Otto Penzler and John Grisham to be included in the 2025 edition of The Best Mystery Stories of the Year.
She’s a member of Austin Mystery Writers, an administrative assistant at Writer Unboxed.
She is also the co-founder of a boutique publishing company, where she helps develop and publish new literary voices, often with an emphasis on dark fiction, and boundary-pushing genre work. When she’s not writing, she’s either singing with the local jazz band or drumming with her local community band.
V.P. Chandler is a rising talent combining noir and western components in her stories that often involve confrontation and survival in desolate places.
Scott Montgomery- The Hard Word
“V.P. Chandler’s “Under the Blackjack Tree”, a masterly child’s account of deception and killing set in 1930s Texas.” – Jeremy Black, noted professor, author, and book reviewer.
She can be contacted at vpchandlerauthor@gmail.com