Amy Willoughby-Burle is a writer, editor, and homeschooling mom of four children. She was raised Kure Beach, NC. She graduated from East Carolina University with a BA in English, concentrating on creative writing–which still remains her passion. She is happy to be in Asheville and excited to be part of Elevate Life and Art; the kind of place and program she would have eaten up with a spoon when she was young. She is the author of Out Across the Nowhere, a collection of short stories. Her fiction has appeared in numerous literary journals such as Potomac Review, Inkwell, Sycamore Review, Reed Magazine, The MacGuffin and many others. She is also the editor of Blue Lotus Review, an online journal for literature, art, and music. Amy believes that creativity and education not only pair well together, but need each other to thrive. Creative writing teaches students to illustrate and illuminate not only the world around them, but the world within them, all the while opening up new avenues of learning and discovery.