Wedding of the Ghosts, Poetry, Issue #64, Fall 2023

Fabiyas M V is a writer from Orumanayur village in Kerala, India. He

is the author of Monsoon Turbulence (Poetry Nook, US), Being Human

(Swallow Publishing, US) Shelter within the Peanut Shells (Red Cherry

Books, India) Kanoli Kaleidoscope (PunksWritePoemsPress,US), Eternal

Fragments (erbacce press,UK), Stringless Lives (Budding Light Press,

Australia), Moonlight And Solitude (Raspberry Books, India). His

fiction and poetry have appeared in several anthologies, magazines and

journals. Western Australian University, British Council, University

of Hawaii, Rosemont College, Douglas College, Forward Poetry, Off the

Coast, Silver Blade, Pear Tree Press, Poetry Nook, Zoetic Press,

Typehouse, Structo, Encircle Publications, Pendle War Poetry and

Creative Writing Ink are some of his publishers. He has won many

international accolades including Merseyside at War Poetry Award from

Liverpool University; Lest We Forget Poetry Prize from Auckland War

Memorial Museum; and Animal Poetry Prize 2012 from RSPCA (Royal

Society for Prevention of Cruelties against Animals, UK). He was the

finalist for Global Poetry Prize 2015 by the United Poets Laureate

International (UPLI) in Vienna. All India Radio broadcast his poems.

He has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize by Poetry Nook and The

Literary Hatchet. He is a teacher in English.

Get to know Fabiyas....

Birthdate?

23rd September, 1974

When did you start writing?

When I was in school.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first published poem is "A Strange Dog." It appeared  in The

Literary Hatchet in 2013.

Why do you write?

If not, I will die heart-broken.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

There is a peculiar charm in fantasy.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Pearl S.Buck, Letter from Peking

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

What the characters in real life cannot say.

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

A true human

Do you blog?

I had blogged just once.

The Role of the Mother in Children's Fantasy Fiction, Nonfiction, Issue 36, September 1, 2016

I am an Australian writer who has spent the last few years flitting up and down the east coast and am about to head inland to rural Victoria. I have had short stories published in Phantasmagoria Magazine and SQ Mag and have recently completed my Masters in Writing and Literature at Deakin University. Working at Wollongong Writers Festival over the last year has exposed me to many new ideas and experiences within the writing community. I have a soft spot for dogs, chocolate chip brownies and 80’s fantasy films. Read more at www.readwritethinkrepeat.wordpress.com

Get to know Sarah...

Birthday? 16/02/1989

When did you start writing? I don’t remember a time when I started writing, I was always writing, either in my head or on the page. When I first started writing with the intention of people reading it I was sixteen and had just discovered short story competitions existed.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first publication was in early 2015. It is a short story entitled “Mirror Mirror” in the online journal Phantasmagoria Magazine. 

What themes do you like to write about? I like to write about interpersonal relationships but within the speculative genre. My essays tend to focus on the fantasy genre, particularly fairy tale and mythological reinterpretations. My fiction writing often uses fantasy elements to examine every day experiences.

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? Fairy tales have had a massive impact on me. I’ve written essays on my two favourites, Beauty and the Beast and Rapunzel, however in fiction I think the ideas and themes of fairy tales work their way subliminally into my work.

Baba Yaga, Poetry, Issue #64, Fall 2023

Donna Faulkner née Miller spent her childhood between countries. One foot bare and carefree in New Zealand, the other tiptoeing the coal dust and camaraderie of working class England.

She lives in Rangiora, New Zealand but likes to roam. You’ll likely find her riding a remote road on the Harley with Mr Faulkner. 

She’s published in erbacce, Havik, Tarot Poetry, Fieldstone Review, East Midlands Writing, Takahē: Hua/ Manu, Etherea Magazine, and others. She was awarded second place for a nonfiction story in Havik, 2023. Work forthcoming in Bacopa Literary Review. 

You can connect with Donna on Instagram @lady_lilith_poet/ Twitter @nee_miller

https://linktr.ee/donnafaulkner

Get to know Donna...

What are my influences? 

My  work  is influenced by my working class roots. Retaining my maiden name ‘Miller’ is a proud nod to these roots,  and to my ancestry. 

Innately curious, I read on a variety of subjects. With regards to poetry I’m a fan of T S Eliot, Edgar Alan Poe , and Sam Hunt.  I have recently become acquainted with Ben Norris and I like his work.

What inspires me?

I shared a bedroom with my  older sister growing up , even then I was an insomniac. I found solace, then slumber in the books she kept. But I can still recall the very  first book that I owned of my  own ,the complete book  of fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A gift from my father.  I can still remember how I breathed in the pages, devouring each story late at night.

Why do I read and why do I love being read to? 

There’s a sense of nostalgia from listening to tales told by firesides. Stories told,  and retold and reinterpreted by parents, their parents  and our ancestors. I find inspiration, connection and comfort in stories alive with the sparks of orality.

For me, myths and superstition are the stories that are housed within the seeds of our lineage, and are the secret to understanding our collective consciousness. 

Why do I write ?

I am an introvert. At home in the forests, communing with the trees. Ultimately, I write to reveal the divine masquerading as mundane and honor the sacred within the finite. 

I began writing poetry as a teenager, finding it a cathartic process. I remember the initial buzz of seeing my words in print for the first time in the school year book. My first publication. The joy of being able to share my work and see my words in print has never diminished. I dabbled in all types of writing but suspended my ambitions when I became a mother to three. 

It is only in the last couple of years that I have resurrected my compulsion to write. In the interim, my time was spent gathering a dossier of wild experiences from which to draw inspiration.

Battle Beneath the Mere, Artwork, Issue 19, June 1, 2012

Richard H. Fay currently resides in upstate New York with his wife, daughter, two cats, and a rather confused shepherd-chow mix. Formerly a laboratory technician-turned-home educator, Richard now spends his days juggling a number of writing and art projects. History, myth, folklore, legend, true tales of the supernatural, all serve as inspiration for his creative endeavours. Many of the fruits of his labour have appeared in a variety of e-zines, print magazines, and anthologies.

Get to know Richard...

Birthdate? 1968

When did you start doing artwork? I've been drawing since I was a kid, but I first started selling my artwork at some local arts and crafts fairs in the late 1990s. I began submitting my artwork to various publications in 2007.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first art publication was my illustration for my poem "The Unseelie Court". Both poem and accompanying illustration appeared in the June 2007 issue of Fantastic Horror.

Do you use reoccurring themes or images in your illustrations? I always find myself going back to medieval imagery. Even some of my sci-fi pieces are influenced by my love of things medieval.

What media do you like to work in? Why? I've always liked to draw. I prefer to work with artist's pens on Bristol paper. I then scan my drawings and colour them digitally. I used to colour my drawings by hand, but I've found it much easier to colour them digitally.

What artist's work do you most admire? How has this artist's work influenced you? I really admire Arthur Rackham. His linework was amazing. I love the little details he would often add to his work.

For Ronald's bio please click here

Trial of the Bull, Fiction, Issue 47, June 15, 2019

Bio

I'm a Brazilian writer currently based in the United States with an academic background in social sciences, a professional background in social services and a social background of extreme awkwardness and bear gaiety.

Get to know Illimani...

Birthdate?

Gen-Xers tend to assume that I'm a millennial and millennials tend to assume I'm a Gen-Xer.

When did you start writing?

When I was a kid in the late 80s and early 90s I would type mystery booklets on my dad's typewriter and sell it to visitors, so I could buy candy. I was very excited when I discovered that I could make twice the profit after I found my parent's stash of carbon paper, although I still blame myself today for not putting some of the money on the side to photocopy the booklets and scale up production.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My high-school published a short-story I wrote in the 90s. In 2002 I received a government grant from my home state of Goiás to publish my first novella, Vazão.

Why do you write?

I'm sure it’s not true for everybody else, or at least not evident for all, but when I look back, the heights of my life were those bittersweet moments that, no matter how small and fleeting they were, made life wholesome and emotionally validated. Writing allows me to explore those moments, including the ones I may never experience but through my imagination and/or empathy.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I write Science Fiction because I need to use my own eyes to look up to the heights and down to the abyss of potential human experience.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Victor Hugo. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. One day I will write a version set in space.

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

"Due to unwanted yet foreseen technical issues, our delivery operations for big, warm, fuzzy hugs are permanently suspended. Please query the person standing next to you on the availability of a new batch from a different provider."

Do you blog?

www.ifscifi.com

pagan souls: my lost ones, Poetry, Issue 72, Fall 2025

Melanie Flores is a multiple award-winning Toronto-born writer and poet. Melanie’s work has appeared online, in print journals, and in various international and national anthologies. She is a member of the League of Canadian Poets and The Writers’ Union of Canada. Her publications include poetry chapbook The She: An Exposé (2019); YA novella Whisper of the Golden Feather (2021); and science fiction novel When Worlds Collide (2025). Visit her at www.melanieflores.net.

Get to know Melanie…

Birthdate?

October 11

When did you start writing?

I've been writing, off and on, since childhood. Although I took a different path in adulthood, working first in tourism and later in business publishing as an advertising sales manager, I managed to rejoin the path I started on and have continued to pursue my true passion—writing.

When and what and where did you first get published?

I was first published in 2012 when, on a whim, I sent a poem into a national competition and won Honorable Mention. It was included in an anthology by the publisher. The win inspired me to continue writing.

Why do you write?

I feel that I have something to say and I need to say it. I also like to create highly visual poetry that the reader can see and feel.

Why do you write science fiction and/or fantasy?

I've always been drawn to science fiction, being a fan from an early age of H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Edgar Allan Poe as well as Star Trek and The Twilight Zone. I like the endless possibilities that science fiction and fantasy offer. I also appreciate the marriage of fact and fiction that is so a part of the genre.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

There are too many to list, but some favorite authors include Anthony Burgess, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Margaret Atwood, and Matt Haig.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I often have a pro-feminine slant to my writing. As a writer, I try to be accessible, insightful and fearless.

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

I don't want to jinx myself—so I'll skip this question.

Do you blog? 

       Yes—I have a blog on my website. With the publication of my new novel When Worlds            Collide, I will be more active in the blog—even introducing my Intergalactic Cookbook             with recipes of food items featured in the novel. 

Check Out, Flash, Issue 70, Spring 2025

Sonia is an author and Egyptologist and longstanding bibliophile. Her many accomplishments include teaching German traffic engineers English, catching a train in a horse-drawn buggy and almost eloping to Las Vegas. Her work has appeared in several magazines and anthologies, such as Wyngraf #4, "The Pelagic Zone: Uncharted Waters" and The Orange & Bee Issue Five.

You can read trivia about this story on her website soniafocke.wordpress.com.

She lives in Germany with a blacksmith and two Padawans.

Get to know Sonia....

Birthdate?

December 2nd, 1982

When did you start writing?

When I was 13 I started my first novel based on creative writing assignments for English class (thanks, Mr. Distler!) I wrote a few short stories for myself and couldn't stop starting novels. Eventually, I finished something.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first story to get published was a literary document... thing called the "Museum of Lost Things" (not to be confused with an actual museum of that name) in the Overland "False Documents" issue in 2018. It is a series of accession cards documenting lost things - from sounds we no longer hear to objects no longer in use.

Why do you write?

I write to get the stories out of my head, because the new stories come anyway and it's crowded enough in there as it is.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I love exploring the various way humans have found to do the exact same thing (aka as applying my Minor in ethnology to worldbuilding). I also think that speculative fiction gives you more wiggle room to explore certain aspects of stories, or say certain things that more easily get lost in the comfortable familiarity of a real-world setting, and if I wrote historical fiction, I would obsess so much about historical accuracy, there would be no story left.

Also, what other genre lets you write about dragon librarians?

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

My favourite author has to be the inimitable Sir Terry Pratchet. But one of my favourite stories in "The Thief" by Megan Whalen Turner.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

Mostly I am trying to make everyone's day a little brighter, or at least more interesting. I definitely have themes in my stories, but I rarely set out with a message.

I suppose it would be: keep hoping. Keep striving. Thank you for letting me de-clutter my brain with you.

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

Don't forget to watch the sunset. Don't forget to listen to the birds. Don't forget to let your loved ones know they are loved.

Do you blog?

There is a blog on my website. I sometimes post announcements there.

Snow's Daughter, Fiction, Issue 22, March 1, 2013

Biography 

Vanessa Fogg dreams of selkies, dragons, and gritty cyberpunk futures from her home in western Michigan. She spent years as a research scientist in molecular cell biology and now works as a freelance medical writer. Her fiction has appeared in Daily Science Fiction, GigaNotoSaurus, Bracken, and more. She is fueled by green tea. For a complete bibliography and more, visit her website at www.vanessafogg.com. She is erratically active on Twitter at @FoggWriter.

Get to know Vanessa...

When did you start writing? I was one of those kids who is always writing. I was always making up stories on paper. In my teens I wrote the usual wretched poetry, as well as stories and sketches. In college I even minored in creative writing. But after college I took a long hiatus from fiction writing as I concentrated on my scientific research career. It's only in the last few years that I've made it back to fiction writing.

When and what and where did you first get published? My short story, "Storm," appeared online in 2009 in the motherhood-themed journal, Literary Mama. It's "realist" fiction, but I like to think there are also subtle elements of slipstream.

What themes do you like to write about? I could say that I'm interested in using the structure of myths/fantasy to explore human relationships and emotion, but aren't most fantasy writers? I will say that I'm fascinated by fairy tales about people caught between worlds or states of being--the selkie myths, the classic tale of The Little Mermaid. (the influence of the latter on my story, "Snow's Daughter," is obvious). I don't think I've written enough to say that there are recurring themes in my work. My first published stories were non-genre pieces dealing with aspects of motherhood. I'll just have to keep writing to see what other themes come out!

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? This is really hard. Everything that you read influences you as a writer, after all. I will say that some of the writers I first loved were Ursula LeGuin, Patricia McKillip, Susan Cooper, Roger Zelazny. More recently I've been on the George R.R. Martin bandwagon along with everyone else. Non-genre authors who've taught me: Jhumpa Lahiri, Andrea Barrett, Nam Le, Bonnie Jo Campbell. All are authors of short story collections that have blown me away. I'm really in love with the short story form right now.

Website: www.vanessafogg.com

Derelict, Fiction, Issue 49, December 15, 2019

Steve Forti is a writer and IT project manager whose mind bounces between novels and flash fiction. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two kids (though she’ll insist she lives with three kids). His work has also appeared in Zetetic and A Murder of Storytellers.

Get to know Steve...

Birthdate?

August 15th

When did you start writing?

Probably when I could first hold a pen? I remember writing silly kid stories, followed by bad knockoffs until finding my own voice.

When and what and where did you first get published?

Putting myself out there for publication is a fairly recent venture. My first came from a flash prompt outside my comfort zone – a short romance called “Lost and Found”. You can read it online in Zetetic Record’s May 2018 issue.

Why do you write?

I have a very analytical mind and work with technical people, so I go crazy if I don’t have some creative outlet. I love the craft of storytelling, and the art of entertaining and being entertained.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I write in many genres, though most of my past work has been crime and mysteries. But I’ve found myself writing all sci-fi this year. I blame the inspiration on bingeing the entire Expanse series.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Story-wise I have to go with A Song of Ice and Fire, but my favorite author is Greg Iles. The way he makes his setting and culture equal characters is amazing, and his slow burns are masterpieces.

Do you blog?

Only when there’s a new piece to share. sjforti.blogspot.com

The Christmas Ball, Fiction, Issue 56/57, Winter 2021

 Long ago fleeing the sun of North Florida, Angelisa has lived now over half a life devoted to study and champagne in the gloomth of France. She resides in a tumble-down garrett under the shadow of a castle, with husband and fourteen imaginary cats, but only rarely ghosts. Between the book-lined walls of this tiny abode, she reads arcane matter, while wordsmithing and working other forms of magic.

Get to know Angelisa...

Birthdate?

My birth certificate tells me it’s the fourteenth of October, but I have good reason to believe it to be truthy rather than truthful. I generally claim the whole month of October as mine, just to be sure.

When did you start writing?

I have been writing since I knew how to string words together and crayon them onto whatever blank page was at hand.

When and what and where did you first get published?

Outside of works in a high school poetry journal, my first short story, another sort of historical fantastique called “The Historian’s Debt,” was recently published this past August in issue 913 of Bewildering Stories and was then selected as Editor’s Choice for the quarter. 

Why do you write?

It seems I must. These stories are like a persistent rhythm or a snatch of melody that I must flesh out or find myself haunted by them, like an earworm.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

As Tolkien said “Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . . If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!” It’s not only escapist, mind, it’s also a sort of magic mirror that we can turn back on reality, the better to perceive the chinks and cracks within it in which the weird comes forth and hope along with it.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

This is hard. Of living authors, I would have to say it’s Susanna Clarke, with her “Ladies of Grace Adieu” as my favorite story, followed closely by Karen Russell and Kelly Link, from whom I cannot choose one sole title.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I’m still trying to figure that one out. I can’t, for me, go into a story with the idea that I want to “say” this or that. It becomes didactic and dulls the spark, dissects what should be organic. Best just let the tale come through and then let better minds pontificate on what it means. I do, however, write a lot about the living and the dead, as well as art being a kind of nexus point at which they meet.

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

I spent decade upon decade of breathing-time dwelling on these kinds of drear imaginings and worse. Now, lab-bought fairy endorphins help me to stay far away from such thoughts and I’m much happier for it, probably a better person too.

Do you blog?

Thoughts on Cabbages and kings can be found at Notes From the Garrett

https://angelisawood.blogspot.com/

I am also on facebook

Not All That We Remember, Fiction, Issue 66, Spring 2024

Alex Fosse lives in Seattle with his partner—but no cats—where he spends far too much time tinkering with old typewriters. His short fiction has appeared in The Colored Lens and his self-published novelette “Keeper of the Akku” is available as an ebook. 

Get to know Alex...

Birthdate?

I was born in 1968. Some of my fondest memories as a kid were at Waldenbooks in the local mall. I found some real gems there, in the dusty science fiction/fantasy corner.

When did you start writing?

I started writing seriously in the late 1990s. Though I’ve stopped for long periods along the way.

When and what and where did you first get published?

In 1989, my college newspaper published my letter to the editor about gay rights. My big day on campus!

Why do you write?

Because I’m miserable during those times when I’m not writing.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

The stories that come my way always have a speculative element to them. I learned a while ago to stop questioning it.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

For short stories I love Roald Dahl. I really like short fiction with a solid beginning, steady middle, and a good twist at the end.

For novels I love Philip Pullman, Robin Hobb, and Lois McMaster Bujold. The Curse of Chalion by Bujold is just about perfect, please read it.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I never know until the third or fourth draft. (Whenever I start with a theme, the story falls apart.) Lately my work seems to be about how we can all be our own worst enemy.

Do you blog?

Not very often as I’m trying to stay focused on fiction—but when I do, I post my thoughts on my website at alexfosse.com.

Christian Writers Workshops, Nonfiction, Issue 11, June 1, 2010

Sandra Schoger Foster, ACFW member, is a freelance writer, and the author of Daddy, Will You Dance with Me? published by Thomas Nelson. Dad, Let's Play Catch! is finished and at the publishers. Her publishing credits include writing her personal experiences with the Dobsons in Family Man, The Biography of Dr. James Dobson by Dale Buss. She contributed two chapters in Making the Blue Plate Special, The Joy of Family Legacies, by Florence Littauer, Marita Littauer, Lauren Littauer Briggs. She is a contributing author in Bein' a Grandparent Ain't for Wimps by Karen O'Conner, has written numerous articles and is writing a novel. 

Sunrise at the Universe's End (with Marge Simon), Poetry, Issue 17, December 1, 2011

Get to know Michael...

Birthdate? The blush o' spring, Beltane.

When did you start writing? I first set out to write poetry in the 7th Grade.

When and what and where did you first get published? A 'zine for young writers.

What themes do you like to write about? The Apocalyptic, the grotesque, the sublime, what makes men weep and gnash their teeth. 

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? George R. R. Martin; Neil Gaiman; R. Scott Bakker; Arthur C. Clarke; Paolo Bacigalupi; T. S. Eliot; Joe Haldeman; Robert Heinlein; Carl Sagan; Ursula K. LeGuin; Arthur M. Miller; the list goes on.

Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? They create beautiful worlds and characters that breathe.

In the Image of Evie, Flash Fiction, Issue 48, September 2019

Lisa Fox is a pharmaceutical market research consultant by day and fiction writer by night. Her short fiction has appeared in publications including Luna Station Quarterly, Cleaning Up Glitter, The Satirist, Theme of Absence, Credo Espoir, Unlikely Stories Mark V, Ellipsis Zine, and Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, as well as various anthologies. She won first place in the NYC Midnight 2018 Short Screenplay contest and placed third out of over 3000 writers in NYC Midnight’s 2018 Flash Fiction Challenge. Lisa resides in northern New Jersey with her husband, two sons, and their oversized dog, and relishes the chaos of everyday suburban life.

Get to know Lisa…

Birthdate?

Capricorn, born in 1974

When did you start writing?

Teen angst poetry in high school. I think they call it "emo" now. I wrote all through college and then stopped for a very long time as responsibilities of work and family took precedence. I started writing again just over three years ago and it's like getting back together with an old friend.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first publications were in my high school and college literary magazines. One short story and a lot of poetry.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Sci Fi and fantasy help us shine a light on the human condition. With SciFi and Fantasy, it's all about looking at our world and the experiences we share through a different lens. These are two genres that really make a reader think - there are so many layers that can be built into a single story. I find it both challenging and exhilarating.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

That is such a tough question! My tastes are very eclectic - spanning from Stephen King to Jodi Picoult to Ayn Rand to Kristin Hannah and everywhere in between. I tend to read Nicholas Sparks stories on airplanes and often gravitate toward YA dystopian fiction - I loved the "Divergent" series.  Probably my favorite book of all time, though, is All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Every line is so beautifully written and so deliberate. It is like a work of art. I've started reading Alice Hoffman as well, after seeing her as a keynote at a writer's conference. The Museum of Extraordinary Things was wonderful. So, it's really impossible to nail down a specific author, story, or genre. I just love to read. Sometimes I actually find myself reading the back of a cereal box if it's the only thing around.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I think good fiction makes you stop and think. People don't do enough of that. I've been trying to instill in my two sons a love of the written word and while they often ask me "why is it so important to you that I read?" I tell them that fiction is all about the human experience - thinking about our own emotions and fears through the eyes of a fictional character. It helps us be more empathetic and be better people at the end of the day. I'm not sure I'm necessarily trying to "say" something, generally, with my fiction, but each story I write brings in a little something different - whether it's an emotion, a feeling, something or someone I've been thinking about. And again, that goes back to the experience of being a human being. I hope I'm able to make people think, and to feel something, in these worlds I build.

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

There's a great quote from Maya Angelou: "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." That pretty much sums it up.  

Do you blog?

Not really. Not yet. I managed to muddle my way through creating an author website, so maybe I will in time.

Cycle, Poetry, Issue 5, December 1, 2008

Rebecca Fraser is an Australian author with a keen interest in horror, dark and speculative fiction...and anything that goes bump in the night!  To provide her muse with life's essentials, Rebecca supplements through copywriting and proofreading, while concentrating on her first love, fiction.

Get to know Rebecca...

Birthdate?  22nd Feb, 1975

When did you start writing?  Have been dabbling since childhood!

When and what and where did you first get published? "In The Shadow Of Oedipus", a short story, dark fiction, appeared in Issue 10 of Ripples Magazine in August 2007

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I have always gravitated towards dark / speculative / horror fiction. My father brought home a box of books from a yard sale when I was very young, one of which was a horror anthology Deadly Nightshade, which I was forbidden to read. Naturally, my curiosity was piqued, I dug out the book and read it secretly under the covers at nighttime...and have been hooked to the genre ever since.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? I am a  big fan of Stephen King's Dark Tower, I also admire the understated genius of M R James, Guy de Maupassant, H G Wells, Edgar Alan Poe, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Favourite stories that have chilled me are 'The Streets of Ashkelon,' by Harry Harrison, and 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson

The Lost City, Cover Art, Issue 66, Spring 2024

Brad Fraunfelter grew up in the small town of Warren, PA, fascinated by the beauty of nature and inspired by comics and Sci-Fi art. Fueled by an adventurous spirit and continuous love for otherworldly realms, he spent a lot of time sketching whimsical aliens, dragons and spaceships. He attended State University of New York, College of fine arts at New Paltz, and studied art, photography and painting, ultimately receiving a Bachelor’s degree in "Visual Arts”. After graduating he moved to New York City and began a career not as a painter, but as a freelance photographer’s assistant in Manhattan’s Photo District. The skills and practical value of working with top professional advertising photographers would prove invaluable for developing an eye for light, shadow, and color.

Get to know Brad....

Birthdate?

12 Jan 1960

When did you start creating art?

When I was in the 6th Grade I would sit at my desk and do sketches before class started.

Which is your favorite art form to work in? Why?

I have always had a passion for Science Fiction and Fantasy as far back as I can recall

When and what and where did you first get your artwork published?

I did my first book cover about 15 years ago when I met my first client through a visit to the chiropractor. The Chiro asked me what I did, and I told her I was an illustrator. She put me in contact with one of her friends who was looking for a book cover artist, and this was the very first cover I did.  It was for a book called “Insight”. When I was finished with the artwork I sent it to a Graphic Arts magazine called "Advanced Photoshop”. Amazingly they published it, giving me a TWO PAGE spread in their magazine.

The cover work titled “The Lost City” was inspired while I was hiking one Thanksgiving morning in the mountains near my apartment in Glendale, CA. It was very foggy and I had just climbed above the fog layer and witnessed the sun as it was just rising above a “sea” of fog. Luckily I had my 35mm camera with me and I took some shots.  This image of the sun rising above the fog layer was my inspiration for creating “The Lost City”. I wanted to show an ancient looking city rising through the fog bank and being witnessed by the dragon rider as he emerges from a jungle overlook.

Why do you illustrate Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I enjoy this genre better than any other. My love of Science Fiction and Fantasy started at a very early age, when I started reading comic books. My Idol artist was Frank Frazetta who was himself a comic book artist. I eagerly bought up his whole series of books called “The Fantastic Art of Frank Frazetta” which I studied thoroughly.

Who is your favorite artist? Your favorite painting or artwork?

Frank Frazetta was one of my idols. He did a painting called “The Silver Warrior” which shows a warrior in a silver sleigh being pulled across a snowy landscape by three huge polar bears.  I bought this poster and it hung in my room for many years.

What are you trying to say with your art?

 I love to portray a sense of adventure and exhilaration. I like to show life and vigor in my characters, and hope to uplift people to live life, and seek adventure, and to not back down from taking risks which can bring them greater success and prosperity in life.

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

Don’t be afraid to take risks. Live life to the fullest.

Do you have an online gallery?

www.BFillustration.com.

Revenge is a Dish Best Served Boneless, Fiction, Issue 5, December 1, 2008

Author's Web Site: http://writtenwyrdd@earthlink.net 

D. Lynn Frazier can be found in Northern Maine, where she is owned by a cat, a Pug and her money pit of a house. She adores all three, but wishes that there were more time in the day to get things done so she can both write and catch up on her humongous to-be-read pile.  Her past includes such dubious occupations as personnel manager, telephone psychic, Army patrol dog handler, and police dispatcher. She enjoys writing, the occasional beer, and reading. Other interests vary according to whim.

Get to know Lynn...

Birthdate? July 17, 1961

When did you start writing? In 7th grade. That would be approximately the Dark Ages.

When and what and where did you first get published? This is my first fiction sale! I have published poetry, but that was over 20 years ago.

Why do you write? I can't think of anything else I'd rather do. Writing is very fulfilling, in a very challenging, head-banging-on-desk sort of way. Especially when it's over and you ship your baby off for rejection, erm, publication.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I love asking, "What if?" and mining the result for worldbuilding ideas. Taking these idea threads and creating new worlds, new vistas, new societies is the best fun, ever, like an amorphous and evolving puzzle.   

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? I'd have to say that I don't have a favorite, per se. I do have favorites, like Dune by Frank Herbert, Sunshine by Robin McKinley, God Stalk by P.C. Hodgell, and Michelle Sagara's Elantra Chronicles. But, really, it depends upon my mood. 

What are you trying to say with your fiction? I like to have my stories tread the gray areas of life. I like to torture my protagonists with being both right and wrong and having to determine (frequently with mixed results) the most acceptable solution to a knotty problem. 

Do you blog? Where? I blog as Writtenwyrdd at http://writtenwyrdd.typepad.com

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? "Wait! Wait! Just let me finish this paragr--"

Dog in the Machine, Fiction, Issue 17, December 1, 2011

Monica Friedman's only aspiration in life is to publish novels. She spends 90% of her waking hours in a fantasy world of her own devising. The other 10% of the time, she is likely to be cooking, gardening, skinny dipping, hurting herself at Crossfit, abusing the ILL system at the public library, forcing literacy upon other people's children, and trying to hide her crippling inability to remember names and faces. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her partner, his children, and their respective cats. In 2004, she completed an MFA in creative writing at Western Michigan University and she's being trying to remember how to enjoy literature ever since. On Sundays, she teaches yoga. Also, she is a dragon.

Get to know Monica...

Birthdate? November 19, 1974

When did you start writing? I started my first screenplay when I was 11, and my first novel when I was 12. I never finished the screenplay, but I did finish that novel when I was 29.

When and what and where did you first get published? The very first thing I ever published in a national forum was a book review in the Antioch Review in 1996. The book was about cannibalism, and the the book review editor asked me to review it, as I was writing my senior thesis on the subject. My first piece of fiction, "Spin Free," appeared in Bards and Sages in January 2011. 

What themes do you like to write about? You'll see recurring motifs like social isolation and unexpected transformation in a lot of my stories, but I really think more about creating compelling characters and situations than I do about themes. I like to cross genres and combine unexpected qualities in my characters and my plots. That said, "The Dog in the Machine" is actually the second of what I think of as my 3-story cycle about really old, mad scientists. 

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Fairy tales have been one constant throughout my life. Different books and stories have influenced me at different points in my development as a writer, but fairy tales always seem to me the most pure form of storytelling, and I always come back to them.

Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? I feel that all stories can be read as maps to the soul of their authors, but fairy tales are more universal maps to the collective human psyche and experience. Fairy tale themes and characters are accessible and customizable tropes: you can paint anything you like on top, and the reader will identify the resonant archetype, and host of meaning, beneath it. Little Red Riding Hood, for instance, the girl who goes into the forest and meets the wolf, is recognizable to people of every age and in every culture, and every generation rewrites these ancient stories and recasts them in modern molds to support its own message and belief system. In my own work, sometimes I like to play directly with the fairy tales, writing my own mythology to inspire a world or retell old stories using modern devices. The structure of the fairy tale is the basis for any journey to transcendence (cf Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces), which is what any story, in any genre, should strive to be.

Surgery in History, Nonfiction, Issue 20, September 1, 2012

Where's the Car/Plane? Which one? Nonfiction, Issue 22, March 1, 2013

The Jetson's Refugee Camp, Nonfiction, Issue 30, March 1, 2015

Joyce Frohn is married to a wonderful man and has a nine-year-old daughter who envies how much time her Mom gets to spend on the family computer. She is the daughter of a Baptist minister. She would like to thank her imaginary friends for sticking around long enough for her to write their stories down.

Get to know Joyce...

Birthdate? Aug 5, 1966

When did you start writing? At age three, I wrote a sequel to "Wind in the Willows." I added explosions and an octopus.

When and what and where did you first get published? After I graduated from college with a broad spectrum biology degree in 1995, I was first published in cuardaw fayraday, a magazine dedicated to Ambrose Bierce, a piece I first wrote for a college lit class. I published it to spite my teacher, who thought I couldn't write.

What themes do you like to write about? I write the characters that are in my head. But I think they like to talk about being different, morality and sometimes about explosions.

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 great influences on my writing were and are, "Dracula", "Robin Hood", and "The Psalms". At the heart of all great stories is human emotions and sometimes non-human emotions. I love the beauty of language even if I know I'll never reach the level of these.

The Scream, Fiction, Issue 13, December 1, 2010

A Practical Guide to the Proper Positioning of Space Stations, Nonfiction, Issue 17, December 1, 2011

Nancy Fulda learned to read under the auspices of the little boy across the street. She was three at the time; he was not much older. Since then, she has earned a Master's Degree in Computer Science, published research papers on artificial intelligence, won a couple of writing awards, and given birth to three children. She's currently working on a very cool novel with lizard-riding nomads, an alien ecology, and an evil technologian society that's likely to destroy humanity.

Get to know Nancy...

Birthdate? 

I'm a Taurus, and I was born in the 1970's.

When did you start writing?

About as soon as I started typing. I still have this really old creative writing project from grade school, about a cowardly knight who finds a talking sword and sets forth to seek adventure... Tja, I was a little young to know about cliches then. But my teacher gave me extra points for the lovely Crayola illustrations.

When and what and where did you first get published?

The first really significant sale was "The Man Who Murdered Himself", which won the Phobos Award and appeared in "All the Rage This Year". I still remember flipping through that book (A real anthology! With ME in it!), and realizing what good company I was in. David Walton was in that anthology, as well as James Maxey, David Barr Kirtley and Eric James Stone. I read their bios and thought: "If I can make it into an anthology with all of these folks, the maybe I've got what it takes to be a writer after all." That was the beginning of...well, everything.

What themes do you like to write about?

I did a lot of death, early on. You know, people coming to terms with their impending demise, with a family member's death, or with the death of their lifestyle. Kind of ironic, actually, because so far I've made it through life without losing anyone close to me. These days I've moved away from all that darkness and tend to write more about exploration and self-discovery. "Movement" (Asimov's, March 2011) is ostensibly a story about a new kind of autism, but at its core it's really a story about one girl's decision, and what she learns about herself in the process. "That Undiscovered Country", which won this year's Jim Baen Memorial contest, is a story about a very old woman struggling to save a decades-old dream.

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? Lois McMaster Bujold's stuff. Everything she wrote. As a teenager I loved Anne McCaffrey, Timothy Zahn, Asimov, and Niven, too, but Bujold's books are the ones I keep coming back to read as an adult. I don't know why she resonates with me, but I sure hope I'm able to infuse a little bit of that vibrancy into my own work.