A Dragon's Back Door, Fiction, Issue 23, June 1, 2013

A Slender Darkness, Fiction, Issue 24, September 1, 2013

Jucarii, Fiction, Issue 29, December 1, 2014

I am Brihaspati, Fiction, Issue 38, March 15, 2017

Roots of Forgiveness, Fiction, Issue 55, June 2021

D. A. D'Amico is a crazy mix of clumsy mad scientist and failed evil wizard, leading to spectacular displays of truly unremarkable brilliance. Occasionally, the stars align, and a coherent storyline is born. He's had more than ninety works published in venues such as Daily Science Fiction, Shock Totem, and Analog. He's a winner of L. Ron Hubbard's prestigious Writers of the Future award, as well as the 2017 Write Well award. Collections of his work, links to anthologies and magazines he's been in, can be found on Amazon or on his website dadamico.com.

His Facebook is, authodadamico

His twitter is, @dadamico

Get to Know D.A...

Birthdate? November 25th (occasionally on Thanksgiving Day in the US)

When did you start writing?  In High School, many, many years ago. I didn’t take it seriously until 2010.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first published story was “Vector Victoria” in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume XXVII, in 2011.

What themes do you like to write about? I love the very human struggle to overcome obstacles, man versus him/herself. I also enjoy writing about space and hard science. I don’t know as much as I should about those subjects, but I struggle through the research and try not to mess up too badly.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work?  I’m a big fan of Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven, James White. They describe larger realities, worlds filled with so much more than the ordinary. These authors were all great story tellers, and it’s the story more than just the writing that draws you in. Beautiful craft is just the crust of the pie. These authors leave you with plenty of filling, and it’s the story I strive for in my own writing.

Once Carved In Marble, Poetry, Issue 42, March 2018

Wings at Midnight, Fiction, Issue 45, December 2018

Veritas and Errata, Poetry, Issue 46, March 2019

Spun of Salt and Stone, Fiction, Issue 50, March 2020

We Are All of Us, Fiction, Issue 51, June 2020

The Tenderness of Gargoyles, Fiction, Issue 58, Spring 2022

Dissolved in Some Ineffable Tide, Fiction, Issue 62, Spring 2023 

Deborah L. Davitt was raised in Nevada, but currently lives in Houston, Texas with her husband and son.  She’s worked as a technical writer on contracts involving nuclear submarines, NASA, and computer manufacturing. 

Her poetry has received Rhysling, Dwarf Star, and Pushcart nominations and has appeared in over fifty venues. Her short fiction has appeared in Galaxy’s Edge, Compelling Science Fiction, and Flame Tree anthologies. For more about her work, including her Edda-Earth novels and her poetry collection, The Gates of Never, please see www.edda-earth.com.

When did you start writing?

My first feeble stories and poems were written in fourth grade.

When and what and where did you first get published?

I actually had a fanfiction that garnered me 25,000 emails from across the world, then I moved on to my Edda-Earth self-published novels, which have gotten some very kind reviews from critics, including Kirkus. My first professional publication was a poem released in Star*Line; my first professionally published story appeared in InterGalactic Medicine Show.

Why do you write?

Because my characters demand it, and to entertain others.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Science fiction and fantasy are what I've always loved reading, so it follows that I enjoy writing it, and contributing to its canon.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Terry Pratchett, to be honest. He managed to sneak so much depth and social commentary into his humor, it continuously astounds me.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

That the past lives with us, and we need to be aware of it.

Do you Blog?

Infrequently. I'm trying to be better about it: https://www.edda-earth.com/blog

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?

She didn't go gentle into that good night--she went kicking and screaming.

The Optimist Police, Fiction, Issue 19, June 1, 2012

Speed Dating Books, Fiction, Issue 23, June 1, 2013

The Sandman's Lover, Fiction, Issue 33, December 1, 2015

Toothpaste of Life, Flash Fiction, Issue 40, September 15, 2017

Sarina Dorie has sold over 100 short stories to markets like Daily Science Fiction, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Orson Scott Card’s IGMS, Cosmos, and Sword and Laser. Her stories and published novels have won humor and Romance Writer of America awards. Her steampunk romance series, The Memory Thief and her collections, Fairies, Robots and Unicorns—Oh My! and Ghosts, Werewolves and Zombies—Oh My! are available on Amazon.

A few of her favorite things include: gluten-free brownies (not necessarily glutton-free), Star Trek, steampunk aesthetics, fairies, Severus Snape, Captain Jack Sparrow and Mr. Darcy.

By day, Sarina is a public school art teacher, artist, belly dance performer and instructor, copy editor, fashion designer, event organizer and probably a few other things. By night, she writes. As you might imagine, this leaves little time for sleep.

You can find info about her short stories and novels on her website:

www.sarinadorie.com

Website?

www.sarinadorie.com

Facebook page?

https://www.facebook.com/sarina.dorie1/

Twitter?

@Sarina Dorie

G+ or other?

google.com/+SarinaDorie

Goodreads page for author:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/5441094.Sarina_Dorie

Get to know Sarina...

When did you start writing?

I started writing when I was six. I never stopped. One of my earliest works was a picture book titled “Kasandra’s Weird Dream.” It was a biographical horror story with magical realism, based on my sister’s nightmare of being chased and bitten by a giant spider and then waking up with spider bites all over her. That story started the ball rolling for many other fantasy and horror stories I’ve written since then.

When and what and where did you first get published?

I sold my first story about six years ago. It was either to Crossed Genres, Untied Shoelaces of the Mind or Daily Science Fiction. In the early days, I wasn’t very good at keeping track of sales, so I am not sure which sale came first.

What themes do you like to write about?

The genres I love to write about are magical urban fantasy, science fiction, steampunk and romance. Most of my stories are humorous, which makes sense because I like to laugh. 

As far as themes go, that is a little harder to define. I like to explore relationships. I notice I write a lot of stories about dysfunctional monster families and romances that mirror a beauty and the beast relationship. I pull a lot from my life, little details that inspire me which I then transform into fiction. I write down random, interesting things I hear people say and often use these gems as a line of dialogue for characters.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work?

I find I am influenced by the classics like The Count of Monte Cristo, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights. In a way, all of these stories are tales of love and redemption, but done in different ways. Some of the Victorian influence comes through in my novels like in The Memory Thief, my steampunk series. But I was also was influenced by living in Japan and being a living history reenactor as well. I find the customs and etiquette of different cultures and time periods to be interesting.

Some of that Gothic mystery from Victorian writing like in Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights comes across strong in Silent Moon, my paranormal romance novel.

The influence of fairy tales, and twisting those fairy tale tropes, is also a huge influence on many of my short stories and novels. In The Sandman’s Lover, which previously appeared in New Myths, I write about a world with insomnia fairies and sandmen who work behind the scenes to make the world run smoothly. This parody of a fairytale world has spawned many stories, as well as my novel Wrath of the Tooth Fairy that is coming out in a year. My obsession with Harry Potter and the injustice of Severus Snape’s unrequited love influenced the novel I am currently working on, Adventures of an Accidental Witch.

The Unicorn Dilemma, Fiction, Issue 18, March 1, 2012

Everyplace is Halfway to Somewhere, Fiction, Issue 32, September 1, 2015

Let us Go Then, You and I, Fiction, Issue 36, September 1, 2016

Henki, Fiction, Issue 41, December 2017

Piano Sonata for Three Hands, Fiction, Issue 44, September 2018

The Last Storyteller in Effable, Fiction, Issue 47, June 2019

Sweet Sidestep, Poetry, Issue 52, September 2020

The Sháńdíín Message, Fiction, Issue 55, June 2021

Druid Days, Dragon Knights, Fiction, Issue 63, Summer 2023

Biography

Ronald D Ferguson writes primarily science fiction and fantasy. He lives with his wife and a rescue dog named Cash near the shadow of the Alamo. Find him at www.RonaldDFerguson.com

Get to know Ronald...

When did you start writing? High School and College. Published 4 college textbooks while teaching college. Started writing fiction again in 2008.

When and what and where did you first get published? A Poem when I was in college. A college textbook published by McMillan in 1975. First fiction published was "His Brother was an Only Child" by Daily Science Fiction in 2011.

Why do you write? That's a very good question. I wish I knew the answer.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? Because they are my favorite thing to read.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? Robert Heinlein, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? I hope this story will entertain you.

Do you Blog? On rare occasions: http://ronalddferguson.blogspot.com/

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? He ate what was put before him.

Website? RonaldDFerguson.com (or https://sites.google.com/site/ronalddferguson/)

Facebook page? https://www.facebook.com/DrCrispy

Facebook Author page link: https://www.facebook.com/Ronald-D-Ferguson-108136967606767

Amazon Author page link: https://www.amazon.com/Ronald-D.-Ferguson/e/B001KDIDPU

Bonesy, Fiction, December 1, 2009

Pruning for Gold, September 1, 2010

Tyler's Ten, fiction, Issue 23, June 1, 2013

A Snowball's Chance, Fiction, Issue 36, September 1, 2016

High Plains Centaur, Fiction, Issue 50, March 15, 2020

Love Drops, Flash Fiction, Issue 56/57, Fall/Winter 2021

Madame Hitler, Fiction, Issue 58, Spring 2022

The Personary, Flash Fiction, Issue 66, Spring 2024

Larry Hodges, of Germantown, MD, has over 190 short story sales (including 9 to New Myths) and four SF novels. He's a graduate of the Odyssey and Taos Toolbox Writers Workshops, a member of Codexwriters, and a ping-pong aficionado. As a professional writer, he has 21 books and over 2200 published articles in 180+ different publications. He's also a member of the USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame, and claims to be the best table tennis player in Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, and the best science fiction writer in USA Table Tennis!!! Visit him at www.larryhodges.com. 

Get to know Larry...

Birthdate? Feb. 27, 1960

When did you start writing? In English class in middle school. I took it up again years later during breaks from table tennis training! (Yes, it’s an Olympic Sport.)

When and what and where did you first get published? My first major fiction publication was in MZB’s Fantasy Magazine in 1989. Alas, I stopped writing from 1991-2005.  

What themes do you like to write about? Lots of themes, often politics, often with satire.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? I like the very theme-oriented, philosophical novels of Robert J. Sawyer.

Once and Future, Fiction, Issue 39, June 15, 2017

Dirty Work, Fiction, Issue 45, December 15, 2018

The Chamber of Eternal Youth, Flash Fiction, Issue 46, March 15, 2019     

No Use Crying, Fiction, Issue 56/57, Fall/Winter 2021

Buddy System, Flash, Issue 65, Winter 2023

Dan Micklethwaite writes stories in the north of England, some of which have featured in The Dread Machine, IZ Digital, and Things Improbable. His debut novel, The Less than Perfect Legend of Donna Creosote, was published by Bluemoose Books. Follow him on X @Dan_M_writer, and visit danmicklethwaite.co.uk for more information. 

Get to know Dan...

Birthday? In September. 

When did you start writing? I think I wrote my first original story as a school project when I was 8, about an unusual family pet, and my output has been fairly steady since - albeit of wildly varying quality.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first very short, very abstract fiction publications were on a brilliant website called Ink, Sweat & Tears, in 2011. My first print publication was in BULL magazine, in 2012 - a story about a lumberjack who turns to photography as a counterpoint to the destructive nature of his work.   

What themes do you like to write about? I don't often set out with a specific central theme in mind, but I seem to return quite frequently to ideas of loneliness and isolation, art/invention as a means of both catharsis and connection, and the fear of obsolescence or the passing of a former way of life. I'm sure there are some more positive themes out there to explore, however, so perhaps I'll try them soon.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? There are too many to list here, but off the top of my head I would say 'The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break', by Steven Sherrill, as I think it is one of the definitive portraits of the alienation, but also the normalisation, of the 'other' within contemporary society. It's also beautifully written, in such a crisp, yet poetic, present-tense style, which has been very influential in the way I approach certain of my stories.

I'd have to say anything I've read by Cormac McCarthy has had a lasting impact on how I view prose fiction, and raised the bar quite significantly in terms of what I'd like to someday achieve. 'All the Pretty Horses', in particular, floored me.

I would also say 'Oryx and Crake' and 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood, as they're both expert examples of how to craft stories set in near-future societies, and make readers care about the scenarios and characters deeply, far beyond the intrigue of the initial concept.

As far as short stories go, beyond my regular diet of new fiction online, pretty much anything by Ray Bradbury and Philip K. Dick. Just because. Bradbury's 'The Veldt', for example, is one of those superbly, subtly atmospheric stories that most writers would love to write just one of, and yet he wrote hundreds. What I take away from both him and Dick is their fearlessness in terms of trying to make something out of every idea that they have; sometimes the more outlandish ideas don't quite work, or are too thinly stretched, or are just a bit rubbish, but then others turn out far, far better than the concept deserves. They've definitely pushed me to write more widely, and not get too comfortable and complacent in any one particular setting or style.        

Twitter - @Dan_M_writer

Santa's Computer Christmas, Poetry, Issue 9, December 1, 2009

The Attraction of Heavenly Bodies, Fiction, Issue 7, June 1, 2009

The Last Homecoming, Fiction, Issue 11, June 1, 2010

Writers' Workshops (with Scott T. Barnes), Nonfiction, Issue 11, June 1, 2010

The Last Teamster, Fiction, Issue 19, June 1 2011

The Bone Necklace, Fiction, Issue 27, June 1, 2014

Don't Forget, Fiction, Issue 38, March 15, 2017

Between the Zeroes and Ones, Fiction, Issue 43, June 15, 2018

Bob Sojka is a retired award-winning soil & environmental scientist. He's lived and worked in six states and a few foreign countries but currently enjoys life with family and friends in the Pacific Northwest. He is the author or co-author of nearly 300 research papers, technical book chapters, and policy documents. Although his PhD is in soil science, his BA was in English; that detour is a long story that he's determined to finish novelizing one of these days. 

Bob's fiction tends to explore the boundaries and meaning of human spirit, character and consciousness across a spectrum of genres and styles. To date he's published 16 original stories with a few of them reprinted in themed or 'best of' anthologies. Some of the more recent stories include "Blood Storm" in Fiction River's collection Pulse Pounders: Adrenaline, edited by Kevin J. Anderson, "Don't Forget" in New Myths' 'best of' anthology Passages,  "A Fare Cut" in the Bundle Rabbit anthology Stars in the Darkness, and "Transient Pains" in Bundle Rabbit's anthology The Golden Door.

Bob also wrote a weekly political column "Inside Politics" for a couple years in his hometown newspaper. His novelette "Feolito's Gift" is available for Kindle at Amazon. He continues to write and submit short stories, has a few novels in progress, and is collaborating with Pacific Northwest artist Jay Gale to produce an illustrated children's book version of his 2009 NewMyths poem "Santa's Computer Christmas."

Visit Bob's website and blog at www.bobsojka.com

Get to know Bob...

Birthdate? Antediluvian.

When did you start writing? My first short story was called “The Red Planet,” written in third grade, about a glacier covering Oklahoma. I didn’t know then that the glaciers didn’t make it that far south! I didn’t get “serious” about it until 1992 when I started putting short stories together for the first of many workshops since then. That first one was with Rachel McAlpin in Palmerston North, New Zealand.

When and what and where did you first get published? In 1997 at the now defunct web-zine E-scape. The story was "The Sacrifices of War." E-scape was a great web-zine, but a little ahead of its time.

What themes do you like to write about? I am particularly drawn to themes that explore the interface between what we call science and spirituality--cultural and social contrasts colored by science and spirituality interfaces, etc. Another way of describing this might be contemplation of different definitions of reality, different value systems etc. On another level I like to write stories that hinge on unintended consequences of...well almost anything. In sci-fi that could be unintended consequences of technology, in fantasy it could be unintended consequences of magic or spirituality.  For me "fantasy" isn't swords, wizards and dragons, it is "weirdness" that can't be explained away strictly, or easily by science. My sci-fi often employs pseudo science and hand waving to "allow" for interesting things to happen. Some people call that soft science fiction. So I guess I fall in the cracks between a lot of larger themes. But the cracks are more interesting to me.

Why do you write? It feels so good when I see "The End" appear on the last page. Also, there is just a lot inside me that wants out. Keeping it all trapped inside without an avenue for escape would probably result in an insurgency amongst the synapses that could have a lot of collateral damage.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? Because that’s what I write when I am not writing the other stuff, which I write more and more of lately. But sci-fi was my first infatuation and it still tugs hardest at my heart strings. Mainstream has this much possibility (.). Speculative fiction--which is how I prefer to think of SF, has this much possibility (O).

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? Some books I've enjoyed reading in the last couple years are Paolo Bacigalupi's Wind-up Girl, Jack McDevitt's Time Travelers Never Die, Stuart Archer Cohen's The Army of the Republic, Max Brooks' World War Z, Sara Gruen's Ape House, Peter Hoeg's The Woman and the Ape, Orson Scott Card's Pastwatch, Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow. And then there are lots of "mainstream" books that feed my muse...actually a couple of the above are only marginally speculative fiction. But I find that most of my "structured" reading (books/stories chosen on purpose) touches on the themes mentioned earlier. I love books and stories that fly higher because of a strong character voice. And I love getting into the heads of other cultural views of reality, of humanity, of spirituality. But no book or story can ride on theme alone. The stories and characters have to be compelling in themselves, and these all do a good job of interlacing all the facets.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? Jeez Louise, lotsa both. Mainstream: Chinua Achebe, Pat Conroy, Clyde Edgerton, Ernest Hemingway, Khaled Hosseini, Barbara Kingsolver, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Yukio Mishima, Frank McCourt, Herman Melville, Ian Pears, Mary Doria Russell, John Kennedy Toole. Speculative Fiction: Paolo Bacigalupi, Greg Bear, David Brin, Philip K. Dick, M. John Harrison, Robert Heinlein, Nancy Kress, Jack McDevitt, Paul Park, Frederik Pohl, Richard Paul Russo, John Scalzi, Charles Sheffield, Dan Simmons, Walter Tevis; Stories: Blood Music, The Postman, Ender’s Game, A Skanner Darkley,The Speed of Dark, Rachel in Love, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, Good News From Outer Space, The Necessary Beggar, The Old Man’s Warseries, The Coyote Series, Perfume, The Man Who Fell to Earth. My favorite book ever is a toss up between The Great Santini, Prince of Tides and Blood Music, with ‘Tis close up in there. Don’t ask me to explain any of these choices. You asked about favorites not about what I think are the greatest, most enduring, loftiest etc. They are just what I like; and the list is about half what it should be. I like a lot of things, and I read a lot of non-fiction too.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? I think I try to tell whoever reads my stuff what is driving me crazy, what is under my skin, what makes me laugh, what makes me cry, what makes me stay up nights contemplating all the weird "what ifs" that loop through my head, all the beauty I wish others could see, all the ugliness I wish others could see, all the stuff I refuse to look at that I know I should look at...something like all that.

Do you blog? Where? Yesss! At my website: www.BobSojka.com

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? "Boo!"

Roxy, Fiction, Issue 32, September 1, 2015

Into the Ring, Fiction, Issue 34, March 1, 2016

Roxy's Rule, Fiction, Issue 40, Sept 15, 2017

One Man's Trash, Poetry, Issue 41, December 15, 2017

Fidelis Reinvented, Poetry, Issue 43, June 2018

Gone, Fiction, Issue 44, September 15, 2018

What Really Happened, Poetry, Issue 44, September 15, 2018

No Fairy Tale World, Poetry, Issue 47, June 15, 2019

From Cat to Fiddle, Poetry, Issue 48, September 2019

Canem Roboto, Poetry, Issue 55, June 2021

Over the Rainbow, Poetry, Issue 56/57, Fall/Winter 2021

The Switch, Fiction, Issue 59, Summer 2022

Cruising, Fiction, Issue 61, Winter 2022

Ghost Train, Poetry, Issue 61, Winter 2022

Escort Duty, Fiction, Issue 63, Summer 2023

Why Do I Dream, Poetry, Issue 66, Spring 2024

Lisa Timpf is a retired HR and communications professional who lives in Simcoe, Ontario. Her speculative writing has appeared in New Myths, Star*Line, Triangulation: Habitats, Thema, Future Days, and other venues. Lisa's collection of speculative haibun poetry, In Days to Come, is available from Hiraeth Publishing. Her "Quicksilver and Pepper" characters were inspired by a Russian blue cat called Smokey and a border collie named Emma. You can find out more about Lisa’s writing projects at http://lisatimpf.blogspot.com/. 

Get to know Lisa...

Birthday? February 1

When did you start writing? I have always enjoyed writing, starting from writing longer-than-necessary sentences for spelling assignments in grade school. I wrote for student newspapers in grade school, high school, and university, and also had a stint as a sports writer for a daily newspaper in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

When and what and where did you first get published? One of my first paid-for published items was a poem published in Herizons magazine when I was at grad school. I also wrote sports pieces for the student newspapers at McMaster University and Dalhousie University.

What themes do you like to write about? I enjoy writing about themes related to nature, the environment and animals, as well as mysteries. 

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? As a child, I enjoyed Kipling's The Jungle Book, C.S. Lewis's Narnia series, and Walter Farley's Black Stallion stories. As a teenager, I discovered Andre Norton and Robert A. Heinlein. I like these authors' ability to tell simple but compelling stories in vivid settings with characters that the reader can care about.

Website? https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14984565.Lisa_Timpf.

Dance of Gramarye, Fiction, Issue 32, September 1, 2015

Chasing the Cortilane, Fiction, Issue 34, March 1, 2016

Ghosts of the Cortilane, Fiction, Issue 48, September 2019

Heart in the Woods, Fiction, Issue 55, June 2021

Home by Dusk, Fiction, Issue 56/57, Fall/Winter 2021

To Have and to Hold, Fiction, Issue 58, Spring 2022

Kathryn Yelinek lives in Pennsylvania, where she works as a librarian.  Her fiction has appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Deep Magic, Metaphorosis, Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. She has a fondness for retold fairy tales, hopepunk, and happily ever after. When her nose isn’t buried in a book, you can frequently find her talking to birds or gazing at the stars. 

Visit her online at www.kathrynyelinek.com.  

Get to know Kathryn:

When did you start writing? I've been writing since I was a little girl, but I began to get serious about learning craft and writing for publication about 2005.  

When and what and where did you first get published?  When I was in elementary school, I had a poem published in a kid's column of a birdwatching magazine that my dad subscribed to.  My first paid, professional publication was a nonfiction essay published in the online literary journal flashquake.  

Why  do you write?

I'm a shy person, and I tend to be a wall flower at parties. Writing is my way of speaking on paper.  Because of this, I often write about themes of loneliness and connection.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

"Beauty" by Robin McKinley made me want to be a writer.  I loved the lushness of the prose and the tenderness of the love story.  As a writer, I've found myself returning again and again to the traditional fairy tale setting and to various retellings of the Beauty and the Beast tale. 

Pause, poetry, Issue 42, March 15 2018

Gatecrasher, Poetry, Issue 45, December 15, 2018

Winter's End, Poetry, Issue 53, December 2020

Timelost Wanderers, Fiction, Issue 58, Spring 2022

Dark Room, Poetry, Issue 63, Summer 2023

Bio:

Davian Aw is a Rhysling and Ignyte Award nominee whose fiction and poetry have appeared in over 30 venues including Strange Horizons, Diabolical Plots, Abyss & Apex, Daily Science Fiction and Star*Line. He lives in Singapore with his family. https://davianaw.wordpress.com/

Novel Cities, Fiction, Issue 29, December 1, 2014

Morte d'Arthur, Poetry, Issue 31, June 1, 2015

The Uncertainty Principle, Poem, Issue 47, June 15, 2019

A Sky Full of Stars, Flash Fiction, Issue 53, December 2020

Work of Art, Poem, Issue 62, Spring 2023

David Barber lives anonymously in the UK. He used to be a scientist, though he is retired now and writing. His poems have appeared in Strange Horizons, Star Line, Abyss & Apex, Outposts of Beyond, Kaleidotrope and Bête Noire. He is a puzzle to his friends. 

Get to know David...

Birthdate? 1949!

When did you start writing? Twice. Once as a young man, which in hindsight was a mistake, and again, in the last five years. Perhaps forty years from now I'll frown on all this too.

When and what and where did you first get published? I had a long relationship with Bewildering Stories before I was paid for a poem by Strange Horizons. It opened up possibilities. I kept the cheque.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? I'd be embarrassed to call myself an author. The work of professional writers belongs to another world.  

What themes do you like to write about? Still working on that. I'm trying out different genres. Still can't write fantasy.

Necropolis Burning, Poetry, Issue 9. December 1, 2009

The Lateral Eclipse of Bound Sunsets, Poetry, Issue 14, March 1, 2011

The Surreal Staircase, Poetry, Issue 20, September 1, 2012

Running for the Ship, Poetry, Issue 21, December 1, 2012

The Secret of Cold Fusion, Poetry, Issue 25, December 1, 2013

When Beyond the Furious Clouds, Poetry, Issue 29, December 1, 2014

A Dangerous Reading, Poetry, Issue 42, March 15, 2018

Gnomes, Poetry, Issue 43, June 15, 2018

Pan's Descent, Poetry, Issue 44, September 15, 2018

The Daily Freak Show, Poetry, Issue 47, June 15, 2019

In the Garden of the Moon, Poetry, Issue 52, September 15, 2020

Bruce Boston is the author of fifty books and chapbooks, including the novels The Guardener’s Tale and Stained Glass Rain. His poetry has received the Bram Stoker Award, the Asimov’s Readers Award, the Rhysling Award, and the Grandmaster Award of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. His fiction has received a Pushcart Prize, and  twice been a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award (novel, short story). His latest collections, Gallimaufry, a diverse gathering of short stories, and Spacers Snarled in the Hair of Comets, poems of deep spacers, can be found at Amazon and other online booksellers.

Get to know Bruce...

Birthdate? 1943

When did you start writing?  Dabbled very early on, but not seriously until high school.

When and what and where did you first get published? Occident Literary Magazine.

What themes do you like to write about?  Social, behavioral, political.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? Too many to list, but a couple of standouts are The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester and Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller. They both explore human possibility in very different ways.

Do you blog?  No.G

100% Love, Poetry, Issue 25, December 1, 2013

To Walk Upon Clouds, Poetry, Issue 28, September 1, 2014

How a Modern Green Man Grows, Poetry, Issue 29, December 1, 2014

Leaf Dragon, Poetry, Issue 31, June 1, 2015

A Sip of Starlight, Poetry, Issue 35, June 1, 2016

Witch and Stick, Poetry, Issue 36, September 1, 2016

When Stones Awaken, Poetry, Issue 39, June 15, 2017

The Astronaut's Cat, Poetry, Issue 40, September 15, 2017

The Bookstore, Poetry, Issue 56/57, Fall/Winter 2021

Beth Cato is the author of the Clockwork Dagger series from Harper Voyager, which includes her Nebula-nominated novella Wings of Sorrow and Bone. Her newest novel is Breath of Earth. She’s a Hanford, California native transplanted to the Arizona desert, where she lives with her husband, son, and requisite cat. 

Her website is, http://www.bethcato.com

Get to know Beth...

Birthdate? January 13th.

When did you start writing? At age four I started making my own books and continued to dream of being a published author through my teenage years, whereupon reality smacked me upside the head and the dream died for a time. It was resurrected about six years ago.

When and what and where did you first get published? I had a smattering of poetry publications when I was a teenager.

What themes do you like to write about? Mothers and daughters; grandmothers and granddaughters; the apocalypse; healers; dryads; selkies. 

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? I adore C.E. Murphy's Walker Papers urban fantasy series. I discovered the first books when I was starting to take my writing seriously, and I studied them on a technical level to figure out why and how they worked. It taught me how to write first person and how to create an engaging voice. That made it all the more thrilling when C.E. Murphy loved my novel The Clockwork Dagger and wrote a blurb for it!

The Cats of Mars, poem, Issue 45, December 15, 2018

Cherry Blossom 2050, Poetry, Issue 46, March 15, 2019

How to Colonize Ganymede, Poetry, Issue 48, September 15, 2019

How to Weave the Stars, Poetry, Issue 50, March 15, 2020

How to Forfeit the Future, Poetry, Issue 53, December 2020

Under Earth, Flash Fiction, Issue 56/57, Fall/Winter 2021

What Cassandra Read, Poetry, Issue 65, Winter 2023

Mary Soon Lee was born and raised in London, but has lived in Pittsburgh for thirty years. She is a Grand Master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association and a three-time winner of both the AnLab Readers’ Award and the Rhysling Award. Her latest books are from opposite shores of the poetry ocean: "How to Navigate Our Universe," containing 128 astronomy poems, and "The Sign of the Dragon," epic fantasy, winner of the Elgin Award. Her website, cryptically named, is marysoonlee.com. 

Get to know Mary better...

When did you start writing?  1990

When and what and where did you first get published? 1992. "Gift," a short story in Strange Days

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Because that's what I am most drawn to, perhaps because I've loved reading science fiction/fantasy since I was a small child. My fiction is (almost always) science fiction or fantasy. My poetry is more varied, for instance, I've recently been writing quite a bit of science poetry.

Do you blog?

I write occasional short blog posts at Goodreads(goodreads.com/author/show/110220.Mary_Soon_Lee/blog). And I've had an online blog centered on my writing-related mail since 1995, which may be unearthed at https://marysoonlee.com/mailbox-blues/

The Sounds of Silence, Poetry, Issue 32, September 1, 2015

Stellar Trapeze Artists, Poetry, Issue 34, March 1, 2016

Sun Pockets, Poetry, Issue 37, December 15, 2016

early years of transdimensional travel, Poetry, Issue 38, March 15, 2017

Gnomeville, Poetry, Issue 55, June 2021

Law of Exponents, Poetry, Issue 59, Summer 2022

Biography

An arsonist by trade, John Reinhart lives on a farmlette in Colorado with his wife and children. He is a Frequent Contributor at the Songs of Eretz, editor at Poetry Nook, member of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, and was awarded the 2016 Horror Writers Association Dark Poetry Scholarship. He is the author of two chapbooks - "Horrific Punctuation" (Tiger's Eye Press, 2017), and "encircled" (Prolific Press, 2016) - and two full-length collections - "broken bottle of time" (Alban Lake Publishing, 2017), and "invert the helix" (Pski's Porch Publishing, 2017). More of his work is available at http://www.patreon.com/johnreinhart and https://www.facebook.com/JohnReinhartPoet

Get to know John...

Birthday? Yes, though I try to downplay it.

When did you start writing? A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

When and what and where did you first get published? Excepting adolescent drivel which was picked up by a couple places, my first publication was in 2013 in Poetry Nook Magazine.

What themes do you like to write about? Revolution. Rice cakes. Bicycles. Other things that go round.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? I had a heavy book dropped on my head once, which still resonates when the weather gets damp. I think that has somehow colored everything I do.

For the Small God, Best of NewMyths Anthology Volume I, Passages, 2018 

Ikotsu, Fiction, issue 46, March15, 2019.

Memri's Requiem, Fiction, issue 50, March 15, 2020

Night and Apotheosis, Poetry, Issue 53, December 2020

Worn and Unworn, Poetry, Issue 56/57, Fall/Winter 2021

These Absoraka Tears, Poetry, Issue 58, Spring 2022

Azriel's Wings, Fiction, Fiction, Issue 65, Winter 2023

Andrew L. Roberts is a Northern California author and poet. In addition to his books

Duramen Rose, Kite Shadows and Smaller Secrets, and Feathers Wax And Dreams, his

work may be found in various anthologies and magazines — including New Myths,

Bourbon Penn, B Cubed Press, Polu Texni, and Leading Edge. His current book project is

a story of spirit possession, murder, and revenge set in 17th Century Japan. When not

writing he often engages in soulful conversations with the family dog.

Get to know the author:

birthdate: 07/13/60

When did you start writing?  I started writing in 1976.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first stories were published in my college literary magazine between 1979 and 1982. My first professional sales were in 2016.

Why do you write? I write because I love storytelling and language and cannot imagine not writing.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I write Fantasy and Science Fiction because they were the gateway genres that first captured my imagination and hooked me on literature and writing.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite Story? My favorite author is Robertson Davies. My favorite short story is "The Upturned Face" by Stephen Crane.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? With both my fiction and my poetry I attempt to explore our humanity and the dance between life and death and what waits beyond. 

Do you blog? I am not blogging at this time.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?  "Gone Fishing With Melville. Don't Wait Up."

Painters in the Dark, Poetry, Issue 7, June 1, 2009

The Green Bird, Poetry, Issue 10, March 1, 2010

Sunrise at the Universe's End (with Michael Roderick Fosburg), Poetry, Issue 27, December 1, 2011

In the Absence of Trees (with Ann K. Schwader), Flash Fiction, Issue 42, March 2018

New Beginnings, Poetry, Issue 59, Summer 2022

Biography

When not writing flash fiction and poetry, Marge Simon dabbles in art for publication.

In between art and writing, Marge also edits a column for the HWA Newsletter Blood and Spates, Poets of the Dark Side and is editor of Star*Line, digest of the SF Poetry Association. A few of her awards include a Rhysling for Best Long poem, 1995, the Stoker for 2008 Vectors: A Week in the Death of a Planet with Charlee Jacob and the Strange Horizons Reader's Poll for Poetry, 2011. Recent collections this year are The Mad Hattery, illustrated by Sandy DeLuca, Elektrik Milk Bath Press, and Unearthly Delights, Sam's Dot publications. Website at:  www.margesimon.com. 

Get to know Marge...

Birthdate? A bright September morning, A.D.

When did you start writing? In my head, when I was about four; for publishing purposes, around 1985

When and what and where did you first get published? Cat Magazine, 1984

Why do you write?  Because I have to. It's like eating and breathing.

What themes do you like to write about? Psychological horror, off kilter fantasy, science fiction.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Bruce Boston, John D. Carr, Ruth Rendall, Du Marier, Ted Sturgeon, Charles Beaumont, Ray Bradbury

Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? All of them are unique masters of their craft. This question requires a way too long answer!

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? SF/F is constantly challenging.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? Ted Sturgeon, Charles Beaumont, Bruce Boston; story: The Stars My Destination by Alfred BesterBester...And another answer for another story: Ellison, Cormac McCarthy, B. Boston, more. Story: (varies from day to day) Gentleman Farmer, B. Boston, The Indigo Man, Gene O'Neil.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? Give folks something to think about, or laugh, or cry.

Do you blog? Where? No. And I don't plan on it.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? Gone Today, Back Tomorrow.

Twenty Years, Poetry, Issue 32, September 1, 2015

Mission to Pluto, Poetry, Issue 33, December 1, 2015

Ava, Poetry, Issue 36, September 1, 2016

Full Moon in Yellowstone, Poetry, Issue 37, December 15, 2016

Fenrir, Flash Fiction, Issue 39, June 15, 2017

Forest of Discarded Baby Girls, Poetry, Issue 41, December 15, 2017

Grandmother Red, Poetry, Issue 44, September 15, 2018

Hellava Journey, Flash Fiction, Issue 45, December 15, 2018

The Girl in the Mirror, Flash Fiction, Issue 47, June 15, 2019

Persephone, Poetry, Issue 49, December 15, 2019

Dark Forest, Poetry, Issue 53, December 2020


Tree of Life, Cover Art, Issue 53. December 2020

A Life of Many Splendors, Poetry, Issue 59, Summer 2022

 The Doll, Flash, Issue 61, Winter 2022

Christina Sng is the three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of A Collection of Nightmares (2017), A Collection of Dreamscapes (2020), Tortured Willows (2021), and Elgin Award runner-up Astropoetry (2017). Her poetry, fiction, essays, and art have appeared in numerous venues worldwide, including Fantastic Stories of the Imagination, Interstellar Flight Magazine, Penumbric, Southwest Review, and The Washington Post. 

Get to know Christina...

Birthday? 28th October

When did you start writing? When I was about 5. Growing up in an old pre-war house teeming with history, I loved to make up stories while playing amongst my stuffed animals in the dark dusty rooms. That was the year I fell in love with words.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first two published poems "Ebola Virus" and "Firstborn" appeared in Dreams and Nightmares #58, January 2001.

What themes do you like to write about? I love apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic themes. There’s something hopeful about starting anew. I also love writing about space and how we might survive there. It really is the next frontier. Recently, I’ve enjoyed writing about life through haiku and senryu. It has been quite lovely — very introspective and meditative — precisely what I need in this time of my life.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? The story that resonated most with me is Robert R. McCammon's post-apocalyptic masterpiece, Swan Song. I've read it at least 20 times over the years, each reading as thrilling and awe-inspiring as the one before.

When I first read Swan Song at 16, I had never encountered prose like that, so beautiful and intricately constructed, almost like a poem. His story was the perfect parable. Good versus evil, and an overall happy ending. I love that in fiction. It is a comfort.

Trash Picker on Mars, Poetry, Issue 22, March 1, 2013

Wizards at Heart, Poetry, Issue 35, June 1, 2016

The Next Big Thing, Poetry, Issue 43, June 15, 2018

The Persistence of Pheromones, poem, Issue 48, September 2019

The Yellow Snake, Poetry, Issue 49, December 2020

Future Portrait of Dark Matter, Poetry, Issue 55, June 2021

Plea for an Imaginary Amphibian, Poetry, Issue 56/57, Fall/Winter 2021

Memory Care, Poetry, Issue 66, Spring 2024

Gene Twaronite is a Tucson poet and the author of five poetry collections. His first poetry book

Trash Picker on Mars, published by Kelsay Books, was the winner of a 2017 New Mexico-

Arizona Book Award. His latest poetry collection, Death at the Mall, will be published in late

summer 2024. Gene leads a poetry workshop for the University of Arizona OLLI program.

Follow more of Gene’s writing at his website: genetwaronitepoet.com.

Gene’s poems have been described as: “ranging from edgy to whimsical to inscrutable … playfully haunting and hauntingly playful.”  

Get to know Gene...

When did you start writing? Started keeping a journal about fifty years ago, a discipline I’ve not been able to maintain.

When and what and where did you first get published? Beginning in 1980, I began writing short essays for various regional alternative newspapers and shoppers, and continued doing so as I moved across the country. My first commercial success was in 1987, when my fantasy story “The Glacier That Almost Ate Main Street” was published by Highlights for Children. 

What themes do you like to write about? Humor—especially the absurd kind—invariably creeps into my work, in one way or another. There is a strong element of the absurd in most of the writing. The question of Why are we here? holds a particular fascination.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? I have always been especially drawn to science fiction and fantasy writers who create such convincing worlds that you feel as if you could live in them. They have inspired me to write two novels and dozens of short stories, in which I have tried to do the same. Lately I have found that it is possible to create entire new worlds within my poems. That is my main creative challenge: to create convincing new worlds of thought within my works. And if I can get people to laugh in the process, even better.

Starship Trooper's Influence on the American Military, Nonfiction, Issue 33, December 1, 2015

Sex and the Single Android, Nonfiction, Issue 34, March 1, 2016

To Help Right to Triumph by Use of Force, Nonfiction, Issue 36, September 1, 2016

November 22, 1963: Jonbar Hinge, Nonfiction, Issue 37, December 1, 2016

Star Trek as Cold War Metaphor, Nonfiction, Issue 40, September 15, 2017

The Vietnam War in Military Science Fiction, Nonfiction, Issue 41, December 15, 2017 

World Ships in Science and Science Fiction,  Nonfiction, Issue 44, September 2018  

Cozy Catastrophes, Or Stay Calm and Carry On, Nonfiction, Issue 46, March 2019

Gene Roddenberry between Star Treks, Non-Fiction, Issue 52, September 2020

Classic American Future History: From Today into the Future, Issue 56/57, Fall/Winter 2021

Patrick S. Baker is a U.S. Army Veteran and a retired Department of Defense employee. He holds Bachelor degrees in History and Political Science from the University of Missouri and a Masters in European History from American Military University. His nonfiction has appeared in Medieval Warfare Magazine and Strategy & Tactics Magazine. His fiction has appeared in Broadsword and Blasters Magazine, Mythic Magazine as well as the After Avalon,Uncommon Minds and King of Ages anthologies. In his spare time he reads, works out, plays war-games, and enjoys life with his wife, dog, and two cats. His website is https://bakerp2004.wordpress.com/

Get to know Patrick:

Birthdate? April 9

When did you start writing? 2013

When and what and where did you first get published? Game reviews for Armchair General on Line

Why do you write? Because I think I have something to say.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? It is the literature of the mind, I like engaging people at that level

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers, with Citizen of the Galaxy a close second.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? That virtue exists and we all should try and be virtuous

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? Husband, Father, Citizen, Soldier; He always did his job.

Do you blog? Not much

Witches Lore,  Nonfiction, Issue 3, June 1, 2008

Mythological Giants and Their Wars, Nonfiction, Issue 12, September 1, 2010

Myth and Fantasy, Nonfiction, Issue 15, June 1, 2011

King David in the Cave, Nonfiction, Issue 19, June 1, 2012

Human Sacrifice, Nonfiction, Issue 26, March 1, 2014

The Loss and Search for a Loved One, Nonfiction, Issue 28, September 1, 2014

The Mythology of Water, Issue 32, September 1, 2015

Mazes and Spirals, Issue 33, December 1, 2015

Tala Bar, I am a writer and an artist and I live in Israel. I studied Hebrew and English languages and literature and I hold a Master of Philosophy degree in literature from London University; before my retirement, I was a teacher of Hebrew and English languages and literature. I am interested in anthropology in general and in mythology in particular and I write with these subjects in mind. In literature, I am particularly interested in fantasy and science fiction and I have written and had published stories, novellas, novels and essays both in Hebrew and English. A list of my published works in English can be found in this address:   

https://www.facebook.com/tala.barrubin?sk=notes#!/editnote.php?draft&note_id=668947876498985&id=100001513373155    

Samples of my art works and some family photos can be found in the following address:                                                        

http://www.all-art.co.il/ArtWorks/ArtWorksChapter.asp?StageId=1739

Get to know Tala...

Birthdate? 19 January, 1934.

When did you start writing? In the kindergarten, I suppose, together with painting and drawing, and I haven't stopped since. I had a number of children's fairy tales published in a children's magazine, and some literary articles published in a literary magazine, both in Hebrew in Israel.

When and what and where did you first get published? A poem of mine was published in a children's magazine in about 1942. As an adult, my first article about mythology was published in a literary magazine in 1970, and my first fairy tale in the same children's magazine in 1971. All my early publications were done in Hebrew in Israel.

What themes do you like to write about? people, mythology, fantasy, adventure.

Why do you write? I can't imagine myself not writing, it's a kind of necessity for my mental well-being. My first urge is to create, and as I'm good with words and interested in literature, I create in the way of writing.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? Robert Graves' The White Goddess; Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Darkover series; legends by the Hebrew writer Hayim Nahman Bialik; the Hebrew writer S.Y.Agnon. I use similar themes of mythology and fairy tales in my own writings, enlarge on them in my articles and turn them into my own kind of fiction in my stories. (See, for instance, my story "The Queen and the Hero," and my article "Heroes and Heroism," based on Graves' ideas, both published in the online magazine Bewildering Stories in 2006.)

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I fell in love with fairy tales since first I started reading and it has not changed since. I regard both science fiction and fantasy as a continuation of this trend. I like to see the world through such fantastic vision - that is what I also like to read.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? Going back to my youth, I think it was Jule Verne, with his most famous story Mystery Island. There are too many of them these days for me to be able to name just the one. I like particular series by Asimov (the Elijah Bailey), Heinlein (the Children of Methuselah), Marion Zimmer Bradley (the Darkover Series) and Anne McCaffrey (the Dragons of Pern). But I can never neglect some English classics like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens' David Coperfield, or Rudiard Kipling's Kim.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? I am only trying to tell a story, for amusement and perhaps also for teaching about life. Of course, I do express my special ideas of the world in all the stories I write, and particularly, the power of women and the importance of nature.

Do you blog? No, I express my views in my stories and articles.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? There lies a woman who tried her best.

What Lies Beneath, Nonfiction, Issue 6, March 1, 2009

The Skies are Alive, Nonfiction, Issue 8, September 1, 2009

The End, Nonfiction, Issue 13, December 1, 2010

Life's True Essences, Nonfiction, Issue 14, March 1, 2011

Fountains of Enceladus, Nonfiction, Issue 15, June 1, 2011

The Other Side of the Rainbow, Nonfiction, Issue 16, September 1, 2011

Our Dynamic Doomed Earth, Nonfiction, Issue 16, September 1, 2011

Rats Amongst the Dwellings, Nonfiction, Issue 19, June 1, 2012

At the Mercy of the Heavens, Nonfiction, Issue 21, December 1, 2012

Life in the Extreme, Nonfiction, Issue 24, September 1, 2013

Yin/Yang Moon, Nonfiction, Issue 25, December 1, 2013

Beacon of the Night Sky, Nonfiction, Issue 26, March 1, 2014

Somewhen Out There, Nonfiction, Issue 27, June 1, 2014

What's Next? Nonfiction, Issue 31, June 1, 2015

Climbing the Tower of Babel, Nonfiction, Issue 33, December 1, 2015

The Invisible Universe, Nonfiction, Issue 35, June 1, 2016

Roll of the Dice, Nonfiction, Issue 37, December 15, 2016

Life On An Iceball, Nonfiction, Issue 38, March 15, 2017

Our Destiny, Nonfiction, Issue 39, June 15, 2017

Heaven and Hell, Nonfiction, Issue 40, September 15, 2017

Diamond in the Sky, Nonfiction, Issue 41, December 15, 2017

When Hell Freezes Over, Nonfiction, Issue 42, March 15, 2018

Devourer of Children, Nonfiction, Issue 43, June 15, 2018

Once Upon a Time, Nonfiction, Issue 45, December 15, 2018

The Voyagers, Nonfiction, Issue 47, June 15, 2019

A Groovy World, Nonfiction, Issue 48, September 2019

After All, Nonfiction, Issue 49, December 2019

Creatures of the Night, Nonfiction, Issue 50, March 2020

Welcome to the Anthropocene, Nonfiction, Issue 51, June 2020

Our Machine Destiny, Nonfiction, Issue 51, June 2020

The Evil That Lies Within, Nonfiction, Issue 52, September 2020

Journey to Perdition, Nonfiction, issue 53, December 2020

The Messenger from Afar, Nonfiction, Issue 56/57, Fall/Winter 2021

The Icy Realm, Nonfiction, Issue 56/57, Fall/Winter 2021

The Tempest, Nonfiction, Issue 58. Spring 2022

Hellfire, Nonfiction, Issue 59, Summer 2022

Music of the Future Past, Nonfiction, Issue 60, Fall 2022

The Fantastic Worlds of Jack London, Nonfiction, Issue 61, Winter 2022

The Rocky Realm, Nonfiction, Issue 61, Winter 2022

Grey Goo, Nonfiction, Issue 62, Spring 2023

Finding the Light, Nonfiction, Issue 65, Winter 2023

Inherit the Earth, Nonfiction, Issue 65, Winter 2023

Living Above the Clouds, Issue 66, Spring 2024

Get to know Peter...

Birthdate? 

25/11/60

When did you start writing?

 1987

When and what and where did you first get published?

 in a Canadian outdoor magazine, Outdoor Canada.

Why do you write? 

Merely for the pleasure of writing.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? 

I write science fact stories that may be of interest to science fiction readers because I enjoy reading science fiction.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? 

My favourite author is Stephen Baxter. My favourite novel is by Stephen Baxter. It is Evolution.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? 

I have not written any fiction, merely science fact.

Do you blog? 

No.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? 

Nevermore.

Race in Hollywood, Nonfiction, Issue 29, December 1, 2014

Women in Science Fiction, Nonfiction, Issue 30, March 1, 2015

Why Natasha Romanoff Didn't Need to Lift the Hammer, Nonfiction, Issue 50, March 15, 2020

The Mandalorian: Joyful Simplicity vs. Beautiful Complexity, Nonfiction, Issue 55, June 15, 2021

Biography

I graduated from Grinnell College with a BA in History, graduated from the Odyssey Writers’ Workshop in 1999, spent five years in the Portland, OR, poetry scene, and then nine years teaching ESL in China, more than half that time teaching composition and debate at Nanjing University. 

Get to know Paul...

Birthdate? 10/11/1970

When did you start writing? I started writing my senior year in high school, but didn’t start taking it seriously until right after college. 

When and what and where did you first get published? That was so long ago I don’t remember for sure anymore.  It was probably an article about the Taoist influence on Chinese military strategy and martial arts for Black Belt Magazine back around 2000. I also have a book length treatment of the topic for download on Kindle. 

What themes do you like to write about? Finding love in the face of evil. At least that is the most common plot. The emphasis between the finding and the fighting varies. Usually a better understanding of the universe also comes about, at least as I understand it.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? I suppose Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy, Donaldson’s first two Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, and Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged grabbed me the most when I was young and impressionable. I’ve never lost either Asimov’s view of humanity as quantifiable nor Rand’s individualism, nor their mutual elevation of intelligence to a heroic quality. I wasn’t happy as a kid so I could feel the pain of Donaldson’s characters, and found some hope for love in Austen’s, since she is the only romance writer with male characters I can identify with. 

Their influence on my work is a logical result of their influence upon me, not a direct attempt to use them to shape my novels. 

Automation, Illustration, Issue 34, March 1, 2016

Cosmic Thought, Illustration, Issue 39, June 15 2017

Amanda Bergloff is a surrealist artist whose work has appeared in Firefly Magazine, The Horror Zine, Crimson Dreams, The Evening Theater, Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine, and other publications. She lives in Denver, Colorado, and collects books, toys, and comics in her spare time.

Her website is, http://abergloff2.wix.com/artistgallery

twitter https://twitter.com/AmandaBergloff 

Get to know Amanda...

Birthday? October 1st and I like to consider myself one of the Autumn People.

When did you start doing artwork? I can't remember a time when I didn't paint, draw, sculpt, or create. So I guess it started as a child and has never stopped.

When and what and where did you first get published? Although I'm a graphic artist and have had my art used in print ads over the years, my collage art was first officially published by ACME Comics in 2014 in their ongoing graphic novel anthology, Crimson Dreams. It was a steampunk influenced collage that was used as back cover art.

Do you use reoccurring themes or images in your illustrations? Yes. My own dream imagery influences me, along with Victorian and retro science fiction art. Thematically, I am drawn to the idea of peeling back the outer layer of consciousness to reveal the different truths underneath.

What media do you like to work in? Why? I mainly work as a collage artist which I create old-school-style. I still cut paper, paint with acrylic and watercolor, along with using pencil or whatever is at hand to enhance the images. The three dimensional aspects of the layered paper adds depth and texture to the finished piece. 

What artist's work do you most admire? How has this artist's work influenced you? The art of Salvidor Dali was my first exposure to surrealist art when I was a kid. Dali's approach of combining disparate elements to create new meaning and dreamlike imagery had a profound influence on me then that continues in all my art today.

Havenside Point, Illustration, Issue 33, December 1, 2015

Cuervo #1, Illustration, Issue 38, March 15, 2017

Biography

I am an amateur artist currently residing in Spain. I've written reviews, articles and conducted interviews for Matt Molgaard's Horror Novel Reviews page under the name James Keen which is fantastic - the page that is, not my stuff. You can contact me via my email address: toeken@hotmail.com or hassle me on my FB page:  https://www.facebook.com/james.keen.796

Get to know Toe...

When did you start doing artwork?

 I've been scribbling away since I was four years old.

When and what and where did you first get published? That would be for the magazine Cracked Eye in 2014, but I've been commissioned privately since 1992.

Do you use reoccurring themes or images in your illustrations? There's a great deal of expressionism in the stuff I'm doing that I'm always fighting against.

What media do you like to work in? Why? In the past three years, in terms of media I'm all over the place. It used to be ink, acrylic, oils- now it's pretty much any material I can use to create an image; enamel paint, chalk, charcoal, crayon, glue.

What artist's work do you most admire? How has this artist's work influenced you? I've got too many artists to list as an influence, ranging from Edward Hopper, Paul Klee, John Register, to Zin Limt, David Palumbo, etc.  

The Old King is Dead, Illustration, Issue 20, September 1, 2012

Mermaid, Illustration, Issue 21, December 1, 2012

Eshell, Illustration, Issue 26, March 1, 2014

From Present to Past, Illustration, June 1, 2016

The Places We Go At Night, Illustration, September 1, 2016

Gaia, Illustration, Issue 40, September, 2017

The Journey, Illustration, Issue 50, March, 2020

Will They Find Me Here? Illustration, Issue 51, June 2020

Biography

I'm Canadian and I grew up in Windsor Ontario. After going to a mediocre art school for two years, I decided that if I really wanted to educate myself, then it would be best that I stop trying to learn about painting and simply paint. As a creative person, I'm always looking for a degree of freedom within my work. Coming to my own style as an artist has been a long time in the making and a process I'm not yet satisfied with. I love to work in a wide variety of mediums, my current focuses are mainly digital, oil, and pen and ink. See more of my work at www.fionameng.net.

Get to know Fiona...

Birthdate? Dec. 7th.

When did you start doing artwork? Age 13.

When and what and where did you first get published? Writers and Illustrators of the Future anthology - 2011

Do you use reoccurring themes or images in your illustrations? I like for my works to have an emotionally charged component to them.  I love fantasy and fairy tales, but I also enjoy sci-fi works and any type of realism or work with semi-realistic qualities.  What I'm really after in my work is trying to expose some quality of emotion, be it rage, humiliation, pensiveness, etc. 

What media do you like to work in? Why?  I love to move back and forth between mediums.  I used to do a lot of digital pieces, but lately I've been working more in oil and pen and ink.  I don't like to stick with one medium for too long, so I'm always going back and forth between them.

What artist's work do you most admire? When I was a kid I loved Amano Yoshitaka.  He always seemed quite free with his illustration ideas and I admired that. When I got more heavily into fantasy and digital art I really liked Linda Bergkvist and Susan Seddon Boulet. The idea that you can draw beautiful fantasy illustrations that have a quality deviance and sinister stories has always appealed to me. I've always loved the classic painters also (Caravaggio is my favourite because he's such a bad ass).

The Big Bad Wolf, Cover Art, Issue 44, September 2018

The Rise of the Morrigan,  Cover Art, Issue 46, March 2019

The Ferry Master, The Final Journey, Cover Art, Issue 64, Fall 2023

An Artist's Journey into Faerie, Nonfiction, Issue 64, Fall 2023

Born in Dublin Ireland, Paul Nixon's passion for woodworking began in his early childhood. Surrounded by a family of cabinet makers Paul quickly took on the family skills. Paul spent much of his early childhood with his grandparents in the mountains of County Sligo in the northwest of Ireland. In a thatched house set on the slopes of a two thousand foot mountain, Paul’s grandmother Margaret had a great influence over him. She spent a good deal of her 83 years living on these slopes and its wild glaciated lands where she was tuned into the historical, mystical, and legendary wonders that enveloped this area. Margaret endeared Paul with these qualities which allowed his imagination to evolve and develop.

Paul left Ireland for New York in 1985 where he partnered in an auto repair business in White Plains NY. In 1996 Paul met his future wife Francesca, a complaining customer, when a year later they moved south to Greensboro North Carolina. It was then that Paul’s ability as a multi talented artist began to flourish. Paul considers himself a late bloomer when it comes to his artistic talents. At the age of 45 Paul was offered the gift of an old wood working lathe from his wife’s uncle Raley Dunn.  Paul set about learning how to operate the lathe when Francesca on seeing his progress asked him to make her aunt Mary a walking stick. Having received the lathe from her husband when he finished the cane, he felt it needed something personal and from his heart that would make it unique. That was when Paul picked up an xacto knife and set about carving a vine extending about 7” below the handle. Having no experience as a wood carver and 40 hours later with only three leaves carved into the wood, Paul gave up in frustration.                                                                                                                                                                                  

Two weeks later when Francesca discovered that Paul had quit, she stressed to him that he needed to finish making this cane as she had already told her aunt that Paul was doing something special for her. With new pressure applied, Paul recovered the cane and worked on it for the next three months. After he presented his gift to Aunt Mary and watching her emotional tearful response, Paul realized that he had to pursue his new found skill. His next two wood sculptures depicted a walnut bust of Queen Maeve, a mythological Celtic warrior, and a walnut carved crozier attributed to St Patrick. Both are on permanent display in the William Butler Yeats museum in Sligo Ireland. Working in 3 dimensional works allowed Paul's skills to expand into painting, stained glass, cement and resin casting and photography. Several of his bronze public sculptures adorn the city of Greensboro and the surrounding area as well as liturgical carvings across the USA and Ireland. His photography and his themes pertaining to his carved fairies caught the attention of the William Butler Yeats Society in New York and Ireland.                                                                                                              

As an artist/sculptor/ photographer Paul has been accused of being a bit of a Chameleon with his subject matter and style running the gamut from Contemporary/Abstract to Classical Renaissance. He constantly savors the excitement of exploration and experimentation.          

While living in Greensboro, North Carolina. Paul has carved out a reputation as a sculptor and photographer. Much of his new photography is influenced by his early day experiences growing up in Ireland.

Website, www.paulnixonart.com

Memories of Future Past, cover art for PASSAGES, BEST OF NEWMYTHS ANTHOLOGY VOLUME 1

Return of the Life Giver, Cover Art, Issue 48, Sept 2019

Of Fire and Ice, Cover Art, Issue 55, June 2021

Brian Malachy Quinn spent way too much time in Academia in Physics as a graduate student, a researcher and a professor before moving onto finance nine years ago. He started writing and illustrating in 2017 and has sold ten short stories and thirty-two magazine and book covers. His goal is to move on full time to illustrating and writing within the next two years.

His on-line art portfolio can be found at brianquinnstudio.com.

Get to know Brian...

Birthdate? October 13 – not born on a Friday – you can’t have it all! I sign my B’s like the number 13 so people call me 13.  Apropos that I write horror, dark fantasy and dark sci fi.  My art is the full spectrum not just limited to what I write.

When did you start illustrating and/or writing? I was full of self-doubts about illustrating and writing but took the plunge in 2017 and gave it a try and a couple months later sold both illustrations and a story.

When and what and where did you first get published? I sold my first story to Fun Dead Publications “The Parson” in the beginning of 2017 for their Salem Anthology.  I sold four illustrations to Zoetic Press for their Poe Anthology in February of 2017 - they were in black and white and very dark in tone.

Why do you create through writing or illustrating? It is necessary to maintain proper brain chemical balance (the clinical answer).  I’m bipolar and the act of creating has always been therapeutic and helps me relax.  Actually, I love doing it and if I don’t find time every day to do it – writing or illustrating (I usually do both) I feel out of sorts – if not downright miserable and usually have great difficulty sleeping that night.

Why do you enjoy illustrating Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I enjoy writing and illustrating Speculative Fiction because you can’t be fact checked – you create your own worlds.  You are the Prime Mover. There is no right or wrong. You immerse yourself in your world and everything that normally consumes you – all your anxieties, concerns, problems – disappear.

Who is your favorite artist? Your favorite artwork? Your favorite author? Your favorite story? I learned to draw from Leonardo’s sketch books so he will always be up there on the list but N.C. Wyeth is probably my favorite illustrator.  His illustrations for classic literature are magical. 

I started reading Stephen King when I was twelve – not sure why my parents let me but I was an excellent student, so they rewarded me by buying me books and they probably thought at least I was reading.  So, I will always give him credit for influencing me into getting into horror.  I’m easy prey for a good vampire story – King’s “Salem’s Lot”, Stoker’s “Dracula”, (he has several really good vampire short stories too) and all Anne Rice’s books – she made the undead sensual.

What are you trying to say with your fiction and/or your artwork? I think in my art I am trying to show the combination of mystery and beauty that if you only look at life you can find, though it seems to get tougher these days to find it.  My writing is different – the darkness in it might be the pervasiveness of my psychiatric condition – and embracing who I am. Maybe a conflicting yin and yang relationship.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? I would post one of my paintings, no words.  Maybe “The Fury”. One with both beauty and anguish, but one that ultimately would leave the observer asking many questions.  Isn’t that what life is about?

Do you blog? No.  I don’t have the answers even for myself so I wouldn’t be of much help for anyone else.

The Dew Eagle, Illustration, Issue 28, September 1, 2014

Kobold Toss, Illustration, Issue 37, December 2016

Biography

With a varied background, it took me some time to settle into the idea of getting a degree in Art.  I got my Bachelors in Media arts and animation in 2006. When I graduated, I had managed to master the major adobe programs used in 3d animation as well as 3DStudio Max. Now I'm working in the art industry as a graphic artist placing artwork for digital imprint and screen printing. I love to tinker and craft in my spare time.

Get to know Arielle...

Birthdate? Jan. 16, 1978

When did you start doing artwork? Approximately 8 years old, but I started getting paid for it at 26.

When and what and where did you first get published? This is my first professional illustration for a publication.

Do you use reoccurring themes or images in your illustrations? I prefer to create fantasy art, mostly female characters. I love native american art, as their culture and beliefs fascinate me.

What media do you like to work in? Why? My favorite media is still a good old graphite pencil, though I have changed from the #2 pencil to a 3B as my favorite. I dont' think I will ever stop loving hand rendering because of the way it flows for me.

What artist's work do you most admire? How has this artist's work influenced you? Caravaggio is one of my all time favorites for his amazing contrast. I do love a lot of modern artists for their messages like Banksy. Art is to express emotion, and he is a master of it in our time.

Vampire Hookers, Illustration, Issue 13, December 1, 2010

Surreal, Illustration, Issue 18, March 1, 2012

Voyage, Illustration, Issue 41, December 15, 2017

Biography

Originating from the UK but now residing in the Canary Islands , freelance artist Teresa Tunaley finds more time to devote to her love of art and painting. For more than 30 years she has been doodling traditionally with pencils and dabbling with watercolours. More recently she uses a more modern technique...her tablet and pen now re-produce creations formed within her warped mind.

"I like to think that I am very versatile in my choice of subject matter--my new surroundings provide the inspiration for me to paint on a daily basis and the fact that others may enjoy my work gives me the confidence to continue."

Get to know Teresa...

Website?  http://teresatunaley.wixsite.com/artstopper/bookcovers

Birthdate? Seems so long ago. The 60’s.

When did you start illustrating? When I was young I was always doodling.

When and what and where did you make your first sale? I painted a set of ducks in oils and sold it to my friends at work back in the 90’s… 

Why do you paint or draw? I seem to have a need to paint and draw. My mind is full of so many images I have to get them out in this way. Sometimes I have got up in the middle of the night just to get the images down on paper and out of my head or I wouldn’t sleep… I just cant imagine NOT painting.

Why do you work with Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I love to work in all genres but Sci-Fi and Fantasy, well, these are special because you can create worlds no-one else has ever seen.

Who is your favorite illustrator? I don’t have a particular favorite illustrator, although Salvador Dali the artist--his work always intrigues me and keeps my attention the longest.

What is your medium of choice? Do you work in any other medium? I have worked in oil, watercolor, pastels but I have moved on with the times and now paint using my electronic tablet and pen in Corel. I still paint traditionally and am currently painting a portrait of a model which I hope to sell locally.

Does this particular illustration have a story behind it? Please share it. I love good stories and when the story is detailed, the ideas for illustrations to go with the story come so easily. "Dead Letters from the Lovelorn" was a great story!

Do you blog? Where? No.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? With patience, I could always do better!