Hi there, I’m Amari Stow.

(Well, that’s my pen name, but let’s rolling break-fall with it!)

I’m a real-life Kickboxing black belt, an obsessive bookworm, a full-time stress-wrangler, and the author behind the Deadlock series.

My path to the martial arts world wasn't exactly traditional. It was actually born out of what I like to call my "second midlife crisis." After failing miserably at sticking to normal sports—because let’s be honest, Zumba is confusing and I absolutely do not run—I decided to try kickboxing. Against all odds, it stuck. In fact, it became a total addiction for both me and my daughter. Fourteen years later, I'm still training several times a week with my fantastic club, Dragons Kickboxing.

I even stepped into the ring to compete. That adventure left me with a life-changing head injury that put an end to my competitive fighting days before they really started, but it couldn't keep me out of the Dojo. More importantly? It couldn't stop me from writing about it.

I originally turned to writing a several years ago to cope with a mountain of midlife hurdles, injury recovery, and anxiety. My day job is incredibly high-stress and saps a ton of my energy. My ultimate escape used to just be reading—I’ve devoured about 600 books in the last five years alone! But then I realized I wanted to build worlds of my own. I absolutely fell in love with letting my mind wander, creating fierce characters, and watching them fight for their lives (and their love), with zero training as a writer.

That is how the Deadlock books were born. Because I'm a black belt, you can bet the martial arts action is 100% authentic. But because I like to keep things interesting, I’ve mixed that intense sport with very spicy romance and plot twists that will completely knock you off your feet.

This author journey is a bit crazy, slightly chaotic, and a whole lot of fun. I would absolutely love for you to join me on it! Pop your email down below to join my mailing list, get the inside scoop, and see where this adventure takes us next.