He is an advocate for access to mental health resources, particularly for survivors of abuse. married, and identifies as a homoromantic asexual, as well as a member of the furry fandom.ĭemont has been open about his struggles with depression, anxiety, being a survivor of domestic abuse and sexual assault. He graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, with a concentration on Speculative Fiction.

His creative thesis was an initial draft of what would later become his third novel Lightning Rod. His Master's thesis was written upon ' Archetypes of the Modern Wizard Protagonist', which explored how wizard characters had evolved past expository mentor characters in the Hero's Journey to Heroes themselves. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing.ĭemont also attended Goddard College where he studied plot structure under Deborah Brevoort, comedic and improvisational writing under Susan Kim, and was mentored in speculative fiction, fantasy, and urban fantasy by Rachel Pollack. Vaughn also studied urban sociology and the sociology of deviance to aid in expanding his setting further. Vaughn's first novel, A City-Dweller's Guide to the Supernatural, or How to Date Someone Who Shouldn't Exist, which remains stuffed in a box somewhere, is the first work where his signature setting, The Argent City, was created. Vaughn attended the State University of New York at Oswego where he studied novel-length fiction under Robert O'Connor, flash fiction and short story under Leigh Wilson, and memoir and creative nonfiction under Ira Sukrungruang.

Breaking Ties by Vaughn R. Demont