According to the history of the Gullah Geechee communities of coastal Georgia and South Carolina, the range of blue-green colors used to paint the window shutters, door frames, and undersides of porch ceilings was believed to fend off “haints,” or unsettled spirits bent on trickery and wrongdoing. As the colors are similar to water or the sky, the Gullah Geechee people believed haints would pass right over them, thus protecting their homes and families. These pretty blue colors can also be found on homes and businesses across the Southeast communities of New Orleans and Key West.
When Mandy established Haint Blue Creative and its imprint, Haint Blue Publishing Company in 2019, she adopted the signature blue-green color as a promise to protect writers from the haints of self-publishing.
Mandy.
In her more than thirty years as a storyteller and visual designer, Amanda “Mandy” Hughes has written and designed over a dozen works of upmarket, literary, and women’s fiction under pen names A. Lee Hughes and Mandy Lee.
Mandy is the founder of Haint Blue Creative, a space for readers and storytellers to explore, learn, and create. Although she earned a Bachelor and Master of Science in Psychology, she has yet to figure out her family, much less herself... and that's exciting!
When she’s not writing, Mandy loves going to the movies, theater, traveling, nature walks, birdwatching, margarita-making, and binge-watching The Office. She is a tarot enthusiast who uses the cards to promote wellness and enhance creativity. She lives in Georgia with her husband and four boys, two of whom are furrier than the others (but not by much). Click the buttons below to send Mandy an email and connect with her on social media.
