Golem, Poetry, Issue 4, September 1, 2008

Snow, Blood, Night, Poetry, Issue 7,  June 1, 2009

Joshua Gage is an ornery curmudgeon from Cleveland, OH. His chapbook, Deep Cleveland Lenten Blues, is available from Deep Cleveland Press, and his first full-length collection, breaths,is available from VanZeno Press. He is a graduate of the Low Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing at Naropa University. He has a penchant for Pendleton shirts, rye whiskey and any poem strong enough to yank the breath out of his lungs. He stomps around Cleveland in a purple bathrobe where he hosts the monthly Deep Cleveland Poetry hour and enjoys the beer at Brew Kettle.

Get to know Joshua...

When and what and where did you first get published? My first major publication was in Longshot in 1999. I got two poems in--"How to Be a Poet" and "The Seperation of Church and State Is Really Just False Advertising." Though the magazine has run its course, their website is still up, along with one of my poems here:

http://www.longshot.org/ls22/jashuagage.htm

I started getting serious about poetry in the 7th grade. I worked with the great Sci-Fi author Charles Oberndorf, and he really helped me develop my interest in writing, specifically poetry.

Why do you write? Because I have to.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? The community is a bit more generous, helpful and accepting.

I belong to a group of local poets whose focus is speculative poetry. This group contains Rhysling Nominees and Winners, Nebula Winners, scientists, amateur astronomers, major players in the SFPA, etc., so it's their passion and encouragement that keeps me in this field. 

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? Terry Pratchett is my favorite author. I'd have to say that my favorite current story is the history of the United States of America as taught to me via state funded textbooks. In researching trickster tales, I'm slowly learning how many lies I was led to believe.

What are you trying to say with your poetry? End All Acts of Cruelty and Inhumanity.

One of the major themes in my speculative poetry is the abuse of powers that be over the populations they control. Whether it's a mother eating her children in a folkloric piece or a race of people abusing a planet or technology, my biggest rage right now is the abuse of power in the United States and the ignorance of biological symbiosis and/or mutualism. 

Do you blog? Where? hooks_and_books.livejournal.com & clevelandpoetics.blogspot.com

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? I'm not sure, but it will probably be a haiku.

The Seer of Black Thorn, Fiction, March 1, 2015

Mathew Allan Garcia lives in Los Angeles with his wife, three dogs and his bear-dog hybrid, Zansa. His work has been published or is forthcoming on Goldfish Grimm's Spicy Fiction Sushi, Shotgun Honey, Swamp Biscuits & Tea, B O D Y Literature among others. He serves as the fiction editor for Pantheon Magazine and sometimes, between it all, he has a chance to breathe.

Get to know Mathew...

When did you start writing? I started writing early on when I was in junior high, but I had an interest in books before that. I remember we had a project in 3rd grade to make our own books and I wrote this rad 'book' about an octopus that dragged boats into sea. It was rad to me anyway. I took a long break and just recently took it up again.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first story ever published was a piece of flash on First Stop Fiction entitled "Petra" about two years ago. It's from the POV of a man who committed suicide by tossing himself in a lake and as punishment is trapped in his body and is tormented by the presence of his loved on as she grieves for him.

What themes do you like to write about? I write a lot about the grieving process. Of losing someone you care very much about and about that fear. I write a lot of different genres, mainly fantasy and horror. I haven't had the courage to try my hand at sci-fi just yet, but I aim to. 

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's really so many out there. The first book I read was IT by Stephen King. I read it at an early age—probably too early—but it made me love reading and want to write. I remember all of my early work emulated King's.

A Bottle of Blue Glass, Poetry, Issue 32, September 1, 2015

Barn Cats, Poem, Issue 60, Fall 2022

Adele Gardner is a fiction writer and award-winning poet with a poetry

collection, Halloween Hearts, forthcoming from Jackanapes Press and over 475 poems and stories in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, PodCastle, and Daily Science Fiction. This genderfluid night owl loves libraries, samurai films, and reading comics with cats. Adele serves as literary executor for father, mentor, and namesake Delbert R. Gardner; work by both can be found at www.gardnercastle.com.

Get to know Adele...

                  Birthdate?

                  That's classified! However, I'm a Pisces, and I love water and swimming.

When did you start writing? 

Practically as soon as I could form letters. I wrote and illustrated "The Zoo Book" when I was four, using only consonants. Fortunately, my spelling has improved since then.

When and what and where did you first get published?  

My first publications outside of a school litzine occurred in my late teens: poems in Z Miscellaneous, Out o' the Blue Review, Unknowns, and Silver Wings and art in Art:Mag and Bellowing Ark (including several covers). 

Why do you write?

Most recently, I felt changed through coediting the Dwarf Stars 2022 anthology: https://sfpoetry.com/ds/22dwarfstars.html

Realizing how much power these poems have—in 1-10 lines or up to 100

words—and how important it is to share these words with others—brought home to me how sacred the shared mission of writing really is. This amazing poetry spoke to my soul again and again, electrifying every particle with awe. It seems the greatest honor to have the chance to humbly join this poetic conversation.

I'd like to add that my parents read aloud to us from childhood on--including at the family dinner table. So from my earliest days, we shared the joy of poems, stories, art—a joy that carried through my high school English classes, into two college English degrees and the library profession. I write because I love stories and books so much I want to be part of them. I want to delight others the way books have delighted me all the days of my life. Also, my dad was a writer and my mom and her family are great storytellers; to write is to join them in a powerful

tradition, to celebrate who we are as a family. By writing, I also share the spirits of those I love. My ultimate purpose is to help spread understanding and compassion, to communicate to the heart--to inspire the soul, whether in wonder and delight, or through horror's fright, to a deeper understanding of this human adventure.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

My imagination and spirit are boundless; yours are, too! For me, science fiction and fantasy provide the wonderful freedom of possibilities, the power of fable and fairy tale, the depth of the deepest metaphor, a resonance with all literature past and present. A chance to live in my dreams. A space where everyone can hear the conversations between my cats!

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Too many to count! Among my many, many favorites whose works I seek, reread, and love, here's a current shortlist: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Emily Dickinson, Roger Zelazny, Octavia E. Butler, Ted Chiang, Robin McKinley,Walter Mosley, Martha Wells, Ken Liu, Tananarive Due, Edgar Allan Poe, Nicole Cushing, Neil Gaiman, Samuel R. Delany, Anne Rice, Ray Bradbury, Mary Robinette Kowal, Amy Tan, Morgan Jenkins, Alexandre Dumas, Jane Austen, Cixin Liu, the Bronte sisters, Kelly Link, Erle Stanley Gardner, J. A. Jance, Elizabeth Hand, Diane Duane, Diana Wynne Jones, Greer Woodward, Delbert R. Gardner, all the poets in Dwarf Stars 2022, all the 2004 graduates and instructors of the Clarion West Writers Workshop, and SO MANY MORE.

If I have to generalize about them, I find a certain classic, mythic, poetic quality, combined with a quirky individuality and zinging life that I love. These are smart and beautiful works that really touch my heart and help shape my view of the world.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

We are all connected, in intricate ways. The magic is to realize this and find new ways to communicate—and to keep trying, especially because of the challenges we all face.  

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

“I love you. Please remember my family, and joy to those you love.”

Do you blog?

I've recently joined fellow writers from Mysteries by the Sea to create the Sand in Our Shorts blog about short stories, mysteries, writing, and

beaches: https://sandinourshorts.blogspot.com/

In addition to social media (links at www.gardnercastle.com), I also post writing news here: https://groups.io/g/gardnercastle

Blood, Bone, Feather, Fiction, Issue 51, June 2020

Justine B. Gardner was born, raised, and still lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her young son, old husband, and two cats. She is a former dog trainer, a past pizzeria proprietor, and a current freelance copy editor and writer. Her story "Hagride" was recently selected as part of a new horror anthology by Dark Ink, The Half That You See, to be published in March 2021.

Get to know Justine...

Birthdate?

July 7, 1974

When did you start writing?

In my teens. I was a creative writing major in college…and then it was a ball I dropped for too long.

When and what and where did you first get published?

I decided in late 2016 to finally start getting my work out there. I was as green as new grass and no doubt offended a lot of editors with my poorly formatted submissions and dorky bios. (Sorry, everyone!) My first story to greet the public was “Nature Will Provide,” a finalist in the 2018 Literary Taxidermy Short Story Competition and published in that contest’s anthology, Telephone Me Now.

Why do you write?

I can’t imagine not writing. Even when it wasn’t the main focus of my life, I was still writing. Poems, essays, short stories; there is a drawer full of half-finished novels. A few completed ones, too. Writing is a way to process things; find my feet. Without it the world is too big, too frightening to consider.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I write what I want to read, and I want to read weird stories that make my brain have a little think.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Too many and varied to pick just one! I love authors that take me strange places, even if (or maybe because?) they are not genre-specific. Currently on book two of Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle and loving it. “It’s Against the Law to Feed the Ducks” from Paul Tremblay’s Growing Things is a short story that has stuck close by me the last few months.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I don’t know how to answer this without feeling like I’m lying, or making something up to please the teacher. If I’m truly honest, I don’t know that I am trying to say anything: the stories always surprise me with what they are trying to tell me. Which I guess often boils down to: “Hope for the best, expect the worst.”

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

“Nevertheless…she persisted.”

Do you blog?

Not with any great regularity, but I am trying to do better. I have a website at www.grumpstonegazette.com, where I say some things now and again.

The Alchemist Works Feverishly Upon The Death of His Love, Poetry, Issue 8, September 1, 2009

Escape Pod, Poetry, Issue 8, September 1, 2009

Lyn C.A. Gardner's article about Zelazny's Amber is currently up at Strange Horizons: http://www.strangehorizons.com/2006/20060925/zelazny-a.shtml It's called "The Solitary Quest: The Hero's Search for Identity in Roger Zelazny's Amber."

Lyn C. A. Gardner has had 26 stories and 142 poems published in venues like Abyss & Apex, Challenging Destiny, Cinema Spec, The Doom of Camelot, The Leading Edge, Legends of the Pendragon, Mythic Delirium, Not One of Us, Talebones, and forthcoming in Best New Tales of the Apocalypse, among others. Two stories and a poem earned honorable mention in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, and three poems have been nominated for the Rhysling Award of the Science Fiction Poetry Association.

Get to know Lyn...

When did you start writing? As soon as I could write. I created my first book, The Zoo Book, when I was four. I began writing more seriously when I was ten and started submitting my work when I was fourteen. My first acceptances (poetry) came when I was sixteen.

When and what and where did you first get published? Outside of my high school literary magazine, the first works to see print were poems. Two of my earliest published favorites: "The Order," Out o' the Blue Review, Vol. 3, No. 4, Feb./Mar. 1988; and "Scenic Overlook," Z Miscellaneous, Vol. 2, No. 3, May 1988.

Why do you write? Because I love life--the world, people, the beauty and strangeness of existence.  Writing--and reading--are tools that allow us to closely approach another's experience, and truly share what makes us unique.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I've loved them since my father first introduced me to Star Trek when I was nine (actually, I've always loved reading books about magic, but I didn't realize this was a separate genre until then).  The freedom to imagine life beyond the confines of consensus reality--to explore human nature, the future, and the possibilities inherent in a totally different viewpoint--gives me wings to soar.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince; Roger Zelazny, "The Engine at Heartspring's Center" and the first five Amber books

Do you blog? Where? I mostly have a writing news listserv: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gardnercastle/

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? I would let my family figure that out, but I will be buried with my father, uncle, grandparents, & other relatives in Elmira, NY.

Gunpowder and Salt, Flash Fiction, Issue 56, September 2021

a mermaid's tale, Poetry, Issue 61, Winter 2022

Sharmon Gazaway writes from the deep south where she lives beside an antebellum cemetery haunted by the jungle-wild calls of pileated woodpeckers. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Forge, Enchanted Conversations, Daily Science Fiction, Metaphorosis, Love Letters to Poe, Breath and Shadow, and elsewhere in speculative and literary publications. Her work is included in the anthology, A Toast to Edgar Allan Poe, releasing Sept. 12, 2021, and in the anthology, Dark Waters, releasing Sept. 14, 2021. 

Get to Know Sharmon...

When did you start writing?

I wrote my first short story in fifth grade, and my first novel when I was seventeen—it's a bit of a seaside gothic mystery and I'd still like to finish that one. 

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first work in print was a poem published by Time of Singing Journal, "Mrs. Potiphar, 2008." They published four of my poems that year and I was paid in contributors' copies—I was ecstatic. I sold my first short story, "A Time of Poppies," in 2009 to The Storyteller Magazine (after they rejected a few others) and got my first check: $2.60. I just sold the reprint to Breath and Shadow and it published April, 2021. Daily Science Fiction bought my first attempt at magical realism, "It Came With Violets." I'm not sure exactly what it means, but I'm thrilled to have been Wikiquoted with a quote from this flash. You can find me in Wikiquotes under the topic "Mirror" under "G" and my name. 

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I'm shocked that I do! I never read those genres growing up. I read lots of Andersen's fairy tales, though. I wrote a few finished/unfinished novels in various genres but couldn't settle on one genre. As I watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy—am I allowed to say I've never read the books?—I was like, I wanna write that. I have a finished rough draft of a fantasy novel I want to get back to—it's not like LOTR, though. Even though I've always loved science, all kinds, I never thought I'd attempt a science fiction story. But some of the stories I want to write just have to be set in a sci-fi setting. "Gunpowder and Salt" was inspired by a picture of a Degas bronze, "Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer." The main character, Balan, came to me immediately as an AI ballerina. And I'm thrilled to have my first sci-fi story appear in New Myths! I love the limitless freedom fantasy and sci-fi offers a writer's imagination. 

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

I don't have one favorite, but I read Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome and Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights almost every year. Sylvia Plath poetry and biographies, Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty, Shirley Jackson; and I never tire of Poe. Of contemporary writers, Elizabeth Kostova, Donna Tartt. Anita Shreve's craft in The Weight of Water still takes my breath. I actually read more nonfiction than fiction. It gets my creative wheels turning.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I don't consciously try to say anything in my fiction except to try to tell the story as closely as possible to the one in my mind. My stories and poems speak for themselves. Readers bring so much to the work that completes it; I'll leave the decision to them.

Do you blog?

I have a semi-abandoned blog I am in the process of updating called "Leanings." I'm most active on Instagram at sharmongazaway. 

How Shasa Became a Priestess, Fiction, Issue 26, March 1, 2014

Brianna Gielow began writing Harry Potter fan-fiction at the age of six. Since then, she has dabbled in other genres, including science fiction, magical realism, creative nonfiction, and love letters to Jorge Luis Borges. She studied creative writing at Bard College at Simon’s Rock and fiction writing at Columbia College Chicago, where she graduated with honors in May 2014. She lives, writes, and works in New Hampshire.

Her email is, brianna.gielow@gmail.com

Her website is, www.briannagielow.virb.com.

Get to know Briana...

Birthdate? All Saints' Day, 1992

When did you start writing? The first things I remember writing were Harry Potter fanfictions when I was six. 

When and what and where did you first get published? This is my first publication outside of school literary magazines. Since I was leading the editorial staff for those magazines, it's an important first. 

What themes do you like to write about? If I said justice, would that sound gimmicky? I find myself writing about families and outsiders a lot. I have also written three stories in different genres about stealing peoples' identities, without realizing that I was revisiting the same idea over and over until I read them afterwards. 

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 spent a year doing nothing but studying Jorge Luis Borges and writing stories in imitation of him. Now I am trying to branch out a little and imitate some other people. Charles Johnson's Middle Passage may be next. 

Strong Enough to Shatter, Fiction, Issue 20, September 1, 2012

J. T. Glover has published short fiction in Dark Recesses and Underground Voices, among other venues, and he is hard at work on a novel involving gardens, ghosts, Seattle, and numinous wildlife. He interviews artists for Lightspeed Magazine, and he has been known to dabble in the visual arts. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, he currently resides in Richmond, Virginia with his wife and a not

inconsiderable number of fur-bearing friends. By day he is an academic reference librarian specializing in the humanities.

Get to know...

When did you start writing? Stories have been part of my life as far back as the memories go. I wrote an Arthurian short story in the second grade that won some sort of prize. An IBM Selectric was involved, and perhaps also a mimeograph machine.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first publication was "Alabama Ghost Pool," a poem I published in the Autumn 2007 issue of Goblin Fruit. Hearing from Amal and Jessica that they wanted to publish it was a shock from which I happily never recovered. Since then I've published non-fiction, a half-dozen or so short stories, and monthly interviews with artists for Fantasy Magazine and subsequently Lightspeed.

What themes do you like to write about? I'm rarely conscious of theme while writing, and if I am, the work usually falters. Sometimes a theme looms out of the mist as I move in on the conclusion. The stuff that I seem to come back to involves the complexity of evil, characters in difficult situations, the role of place in shaping character, the meaning of creativity, or some combination of those things. Novels are somewhat different, and themes will show up at various points in the writing, but it won't be until the second or third draft that I really start to get a handle on what the book's about thematically.

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? Recently I reread Mercer Mayer's One Monster After Another, which I loved as a child. The experience was astonishing, because I could see in those pages the general shape of so much that matters to me in fiction: misunderstood monsters, nostalgia for times past (accurately remembered or not), sense of place, and a gentle kind of surreality. All of these things show up in the authors whose works have resonated with me, from King to Lovecraft to Murakami.

Golden Goes Green - Interview with Bruce Golden author of Evergreen by Carolyn Crow, Nonfiction, Issue 9, December 1, 2009

Between Iraq and a Hot Place, Fiction, Issue 14, March 1, 2011

Storyteller, Fiction, Issue 17, December 1, 2011

Pluto's Lament, Poetry, Issue 18, March 1, 2012

Broken Wings, Fiction, Issue 68, Fall 2024

Bruce Golden’s short stories have been published across more than two dozen

countries and 40 anthologies. NewMyths said of his novel Red Sky, Blue Moon,

"With thematic echoes of Dune, Dances with Wolves, and The Last Samurai, it's

an epic tale of adventure and arrogance, discovery and desire, courage and

greed.” Asimov’s Science Fiction described his novel Evergreen, "If you can

imagine Ursula Le Guin channeling H. Rider Haggard, you'll have the barest

conception of this stirring book, which centers around a mysterious artifact and

the people in its thrall." His latest novel, The Omega Legacy, looks at artificial

intelligence through a post-humankind lens. His book Monster Town, a satirical

send-up of old hard-boiled detective stories featuring movie monsters of the

black and white era, has been stuck in TV series development hell for some

years now. For more visit:  http://goldentales.tripod.com

Get to know Bruce....

When did you start writing?

 I decided I wanted to be a writer at age 18 while still in high school.

When and what and where did you first get published? 

My first freelance sale was to the national magazine The Progressive. I sold them an article about Black's Beach, which, at the time, was the only legal nude beach in the United States.

Why do you write? 

I've been doing it for so long, I don't remember.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I love the lack of boundaries in writing speculative fiction. If you can imagine it, you can probably make a story out of it.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? 

My favorite author growing up was Robert Heinlein. These days I like Greg Bear and David Brin quite a bit.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? 

Sometimes nothing, sometimes quite a bit. It varies from story to story, though my stories are usually "sociological" science fiction as opposed to "hard" sci-fi, in that I like to comment on the foibles of society, of humanity.

What themes do you like to write about? 

I like to mix it up, but I tend to write about characters in unusual situations and places, and see how they react.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author?

 I grew reading a lot of Heinlein, Howard, and Twain. Though it's subconscious on my part, I'm sure I'm ingrained with their writing styles. I'm told much of my fiction is written in a style similar to Heinlein, which I take as a compliment.

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

He came, he saw, he wrote about it.

Author's Web Site:  http://goldentales.tripod.com

Marswalk, Flash Fiction, Issue 63, Summer 2023

The Once and Future King, non-fiction, Issue 44, September 2018

I was born in June 6th 1997 in Asuncion, Paaguay. I started writing when I was about 15 years old, mainly poems in Spanish. I have always loved reading, so I thought it would be nice to try my luck as a writer. When my dad got sick with cancer, I discovered that writing had become almost a necessity to write, as an outlet for all my feelings that were pent up. Since then, I have never stopped writing. I can write about anything, but I am really interested in fantasy, mythology, and anything related to feelings, metaphors, and shadows, which is the main reason why I think Edgar Allan Poe is so amazing and influential. I could say more about myself, but I am really bad at writing about myself, and I prefer for my works to speak instead.

Facebook page: Mariana Escobar Gimenez/ https://www.facebook.com/mariana.escobargimenez

Twitter? Glaciem1 @Glaciem1/

G+ ? Mariana Escobar/ https://plus.google.com/110601704079241113340

Tree House, Fiction, Issue 55 June 2021.

Elana Gomel was born in a country that no longer exists and has lived in many others that may, or may not, be on the road to extinction. She is an academic with a long list of publications, specializing in science fiction, Victorian literature, and serial killers. She is also a fiction writer who has published more than eighty short stories, several novellas, and three novels: A Tale of Three Cities (2013), The Hungry Ones (2018) and The Cryptids (2019). Her story “Where the Streets Have No Name” was the winner of the 2020 Gravity Award and her story “Mine Seven” is included in The Best Horror of the Year 13 edited by Ellen Datlow. She speaks three languages, has two children, and is currently dividing her time between California, Tel Aviv, and any other tourist destination that is willing to take her in.

She is a member of Horror Writers of America.

She can be found at https://www.citiesoflightanddarkness.com/.

Get to know Elana...

Birthdate?

November 5: the time of creeping darkness and lurking ghosts.

When did you start writing?

Apparently I wrote my first and last poem at the age of 3. I have no recollection of it, but my mother, also a writer, believed it was a sign of poetic genius. She was disappointed when I decisively shifted to prose at the age of 8. Having read my first sci-fi novel at that time (it was Wells' The Time Machine), I decided that writing like this was what I wanted to do with my life. I never stopped scribbling stories but my first publications were academic (including an article about The Time Machine). I published six academic books and lots of articles until I came back to writing fiction about ten years ago.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first published book was called "Bloodscripts." People still raise eyebrows when they hear this title but while dealing with serial killers and bodies in the library, it is actually a serious exploration of violence in literature. It was published by OSU Press.

Why do you write?

Writers often say "Because I have to". But while somewhat trite, this response is true. I cannot imagine NOT writing. It is as natural as breathing, and just as necessary.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I write both SF and fantasy (and occasionally dark fantasy verging on horror) because there are so many different worlds hiding beneath the surface of everyday reality, and I want to explore all of them. People read fiction for different reasons. Some are interested in characters and their inner lives; some are looking for an exciting plot. And some - like me - read for the world the author creates, for the sense of the miraculous and the unexpected. And if wonder is spiced with fear, it is even better.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

With classics, it would be the two great Victorians: Charles Dickens and H. G. Wells. I consider Dickens to be a science-fiction writer because his world is so strange, so vivid, and so different from ours. As for contemporary writers, there are many more than I can name, but if I were forced to, I would say Stanislaw Lem and his masterpiece of alien encounters, "Solaris".

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

Imagination is the greatest power in the world. It is what makes us human, and maybe one day, more than human.

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

Too many projects, too little time.

Do you blog?

I blog occasionally on my website but my New Year resolution is to blog more, and more consistently. What? It's not January anymore?

The Ecdysis of Being, Issue 68, Fall 2024

Alyssa Gonzalez is an author, public speaker, science writer, and biology Ph.D. Her fiction uses speculative elements to explore social isolation, autism, gender, trauma, and the relationships between all of these things. Her blog is The Perfumed Void (the-orbit.net/alyssa), where she puts her recipes, urbanist rants, and essays about her experiences as an autistic ex-Catholic Hispanic transgender immigrant to Canada. She lives in Ottawa, Canada, where she just started her fourth aquarium. 

Get to know Alyssa...

Birthdate:

27 November.

When did you start writing?

I’ve been writing since I was a child. It was not long after I first learned how to put pen to

paper that I started using that new tool to tell stories, and I’ve kept at it ever since.

When and what and where did you first get published?

I got my first taste of publishing in elementary school newsletters and kept at it at later

levels, but my first formal, for-sale publication was in 2013, when my short story “Shade

Creeper” became part of Postscripts to Darkness 3, an anthology published by the

University of Ottawa’s Ex Hubris Imprints.

Why do you write?

The world doesn’t make sense to me except in writing.

Why do you write science fiction and/or fantasy?

Adding something to or enhancing something about our world creates a space to see how

people react to this changed environment. Extreme situations show us so much about how

we work, what we value, and what it means to be human. Worlds beyond our own present

us with the finest food for thought.

Who is your favorite author? Favorite story?

Oh, you’re going to try to make me pick one, aren’t you? You cruel, cruel thing. The short

story that instantly comes to mind as one that lingered with me long after reading it was

“Bread and Milk and Salt” by Sarah Gailey, which I encountered in the anthology Robots VS

Fairies edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe. But I can hardly pick a favorite author,

in the world’s teeming mass of geniuses whose work sets my mind ablaze.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

If there is a message across all my work, it’s probably, “you are not alone.” It’s a sentence I

beg myself to believe when my struggles feel impossible, and that permeates so many of

my stories. Characters quest after so many things, but what they keep finding is that

connections make all the difference.

Do you blog?

Readers can find my blog at the-orbit.net/alyssa and my website at alyssacgonzalez.com.

She is a member of Horror Writers of America.

She can be found at https://www.citiesoflightanddarkness.com/.

Morrighan, Poetry, Issue 24, September 1, 2013

Biography

The poet, author, and gentleman songster, Steven Wittenberg Gordon, MD, resides in Kansas with his wife, children, and a poorly trained Airedale terrier. He maintains a part-time medical practice. Dr. Gordon is a member of the Codex Writers’ Group and the editor of Songs of Eretz Poetry E-zine. His poetry has appeared or will be forthcoming in: StarShipSofa, Scifaikuest, Eternal Haunted Summer, and other fine poetry venues. Visit him at www.eretzsongs.blogspot.com.

Get to know Steve...

Birthdate? 48 years old

When did you start writing?  2010

When and what and where did you first get published? My first professional sale was my poem, "Lilith." It was the winner of the 2012 Science Fiction Poetry Association Contest in the very short poem category. It was published on the SFPA website and in audio form on StarShipSofa.com.

What themes do you like to write about? I have always been partial to high fantasy, but have written hundreds of poems running the gamut from humor to inspirational, genre and mainstream, form and free verse. Lately, I've been experimenting with short Japanese poetry forms such as haiku and tanka.

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? Shakespearean elements creep into much of my formal, rhyming poetry, probably because my parents had the presence of mind to expose me to Shakespeare at a young age. And every lover of high fantasy must give a nod to J.R.R. Tolkien.

Untitled, poetry, Issue 21, December 1, 2012

Biography

LeRoy Gorman is Honorary Curator of the American Haiku Archives for 2012-2013 http://www.americanhaikuarchives.org/curators/LeroyGorman.html. His most recent book,  fast enough to leave this world, is a collection of tanka published by Inkling Press, Edmonton. He lives in Napanee, Ontario.

Untitled, poetry, Issue 21, December 1, 2012

Biography

LeRoy Gorman is Honorary Curator of the American Haiku Archives for 2012-2013 http://www.americanhaikuarchives.org/curators/LeroyGorman.html. His most recent book,  fast enough to leave this world, is a collection of tanka published by Inkling Press, Edmonton. He lives in Napanee, Ontario.

Before the Sun, Poetry, Issue 24, September 1, 2013

Jeffrey Graessley is a writer from La Puente, CA. His latest works can be found in the forthcoming Summer Anthology of Silver Birch Press; as well as Electric Windmill Press, and The Pomona Valley Review. His recent discovery of the BEAT generation has prompted loving and longing thoughts for that simple, drunken, far-gone time in American history.

Get to know Jeffrey...

Birthdate? 11/26/1987 (Thanksgiving Day)

When did you start writing? About three years ago.

When and what and where did you first get published? Actually, I was lucky enough to have the first short story I ever wrote win an honorable mention in a contest journal at Mount San Antonio College (Mt. SAC)

What themes do you like to write about? Initially, I was taken by horror, Stephen King to be specific. However, in my current works I am leaning more towards Memoir... or loosely autobiographical fiction, such as William S. Burroughs and Charles Bukowski.

The Mistress of Tea, Fiction, Issue 55, June 2021.

Bio

Joshua Grasso is a professor of English at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. He has a PhD in 18th century British literature from Miami University and teaches courses in early British and World literature, science fiction and fantasy, and writing. His stories have recently appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Exterus, Speculative North, Leading Edge, and the anthology, Welcome to the Alpacalypse. Additionally, his indie fantasy novel, Let Sleeping Gods Lie, is available to download on Amazon. 

Get to know Joshua...

Birthdate?

May 9, 1974

When did you start writing?

I started seriously writing in high school after I fell in love with literature and simply couldn't help myself--I had to copy, imitate, and parody my favorite authors. That was in 1993, and I've never looked back, though I have stopped writing occasionally out of incredible self-doubt and frustration. But inevitably, I'll pick up a book and start reading, only to ask myself, "why can't you do that?" 

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first real (though non-paying) publication was a joint translation of a poem by Yevgeni Yevtushenko with the poet (I studied Russian literature with him in college) in 2005. I was just excited to have my name in a famous poet's book, even if I did little more than go "hmm, that word doesn't sound idiomatic...what about this one? No? Okay, do whatever you want to." My first publication of my own work was my indie fantasy novel, The Count of the Living Death (2013), which was my first attempt to really put my writing into the world. It had been rejected by countless agents and publishers, and my confidence was totally shot. Self-publishing saved me, since it got my work in the hands of readers who both supported and critiqued my writing. It helped me write more and more books, and finally, short stories that I no longer had to publish myself. 

Why do you write?

Since I'm a professor, writing is part of my job now, so I couldn't stop if I wanted to! However, I write fiction because it's like having a conversation with the most exciting, brilliant, confusing person you've ever met. You never want to stop talking to them, but you don't understand half of what they say. So each story is an attempt to transcribe that lost conversation so I can make sense of it afterwards. I never quite get it right, either, so I have to write another story, and another...

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I've always loved the possibilities of speculative fiction, since the future doesn't exist (we never get there--it's always "out there") so you can always reinvent it. Fantasy is the same way, since the past is also an illusion, or a distorted mirror that reflects the 'real world' right back at us, just not the way we intended. I love to take some artifact of the 'real' world, whether a photograph, a stray conversation, or even an e-mail, and try to transform it through a speculative lens. It always helps me get to the heart of what interests me about the artifact, since we can never see ourselves in the present: we have to look forward or backwards. That's why people say, "we'll laugh about this someday," or "wasn't that such a great moment?" Nothing makes sense in the 'now.' 

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

For my own fiction, my biggest influence is probably Anton Chekhov. I've read all of his stories so many times, and even attempted to read them in Russian (my Russian really isn't good enough!). Though not a speculative author, he thinks like one, in that his stories are 'real world' situations but just slightly outlandish, grotesque, or absurd. It makes you reflect on what is normal, or real, and where the line between fantasy and reality is truly drawn. A good example of this is my favorite Chekhov story, "The Black Monk." It really IS a work of speculative lit, as it's unclear whether the main character is going mad, or a "black monk" from another world is truly visiting him. His genius is being able to write in so many genres without seeming to inhabit any of them. That's a skill worth emulating!  

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I don't have an agenda and I avoid dogma like the plague. I get inspired by ideas and images, and I try to ground these ideas and images in a believable world that is clearly bound to our own. But I also try to make my stories ambiguous enough that many people can read them and take away different ideas and impressions. I don't want the monopoly on the 'right' way to read a story­-­that's in the eyes of the reader. 

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

You don't have to be great to be good. 

Do you blog?

Not anymore, though you can find my articles on literature and ideas at Medium.com under "Joshua Grasso."

Chevalier, Fiction, Issue 67, Summer 2024

Get to know David...

Birthdate?

I’m a 20th Century Boy. 

When did you start writing?

For fun, when I was aged 12. Before that, I have an indelible memory of the very first minute of my very first day at school, when I picked up the pencil and paper that were on the desk. Given I was four years old, I expect I was planning to draw a stick figure, but since the teacher instantly knocked the pencil out of my hand with her cane, I will never know, and so can tell myself it would have been a short literary masterpiece.

When, what, and where did you first get published?

I won a high school creative writing contest, with a score of 34.5/35. That missing half point has bothered me ever since. It wasn’t published so much as photocopied and given to everyone in the school. I was extremely shy, it was extremely sci-fi, and the whole thing was excruciating. Also, it didn’t make me any less unpopular. Later on, I trained as a journalist and so was getting bylines in newspapers before I graduated. 

Why do you write?

To get the ideas out of my head, otherwise they rattle round infuriatingly. 

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Growing up in a rainy Scottish coal mining town, I was after escapism, and my local public library had a wonderful sci-fi and fantasy section. I want to try and make other people feel the way I did when I was engrossed in a fantastical story.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Context is everything, so I’m going to go way back to when I first read a dog-eared copy of Alan Garner’s The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, one cold, foggy winter’s night. I was utterly captivated. From contemporary writers, I’d say Alastair Reynolds. Like the much-missed Iain M. Banks, it’s not just that the stories are so original, but that the universes they’re set in are so wonderfully detailed and original.  

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

In order to resonate, a story has to speak to our hopes and fears. So while I am trying to entertain, I want to do so by exploring things that we might feel in our own lives, by lifting them into another setting entirely. 

Oddly, stories I write that are not in my mind dystopian, are sometimes taken that way. I just received a rejection from a magazine that has published my work before, and the quote that sums it up was, “It was a lovely story, just so so sad!"

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

He meant well.

Do you blog? 

I do not. The world is full of people who have nothing to say, and say it loudly, and I don’t think me adding more hot air will solve anything. 

SÁ an Bhrú, the Passage Home, Fiction, Issue 42, March 15 2018

Delaney Green writes long and short works of speculative fiction. She is the author of a historical fantasy series about Jem Connolly, an 18th century half-Irish girl with Second Sight who grows up in England and America between the French and Indian War and the American War of Independence. Green’s story  "Tsunami Surprise" appeared in BOUCHERCON 2014: MURDER AT THE BEACH; “If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It,” was featured online in December 2015 at CEASE, COWS; and “You Makes Your Picks, and You Takes Your Chances” was a semi-finalist in the 2016 RAYMOND CARVER SHORT STORY CONTEST. Green lives in the fifth coldest city in the United States with a black cat and a Golden Retriever rescue.  <http://www.delaneygreenwriter.com/>  and <https://www.facebook.com/delaneygreenwriter/>

Birthday? October 19 (Will you be sending me a present? If so, I like chocolate and the color red.)

When did you start writing? As soon as I learned how (my first story was an illustrated tale about a cat named Pyewacket and her kittens). Mostly, I focused on work-related writing until I retired from teaching.

When and what and where did you first get published? Age 12, a poem in Read magazine. As an adult, a nonfiction book on playwriting I'd written for my theater students was published (I think it was) in 1998 by Dramatic Publishing. My first big break after retirement was "Tsunami Surprise," published in Bouchercon's 2014 anthology, Murder at the Beach.

What themes do you like to write about? What a cool question! I'm interested in showing that there is more than one way to approach any problem, any policy, any procedure. I'm interested in showing that just because our culture hasn't discovered something doesn't mean it doesn't exist--and just because our culture has "evolved beyond" something doesn't mean that the ancient thing is wrong or is without value. Pride not only blinds us to what is possible but also keeps us anchored to our prejudices and our cruelties. I'm interested, therefore, in religion, in human rights issues, in animal and plant intelligence, and in history and philosophy.

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 loved Shakespeare ever since I first read him. I read a lot of Dickens when I was living in a one-room hotel on the Canadian border without a TV or a radio (long story). Nowadays, I mostly read nonfiction because I do a ton of research for my books, but as far as reading for fun is concerned, I like Diana Gabaldon and am a huge fan of Robin Hobb. I was given Hobb's first book, Assassin's Apprentice for Christmas one year, and by Valentine's Day, I'd read the other two books in that trilogy, along with two other trilogies--this while working full time outside the home, maintaining a household, and rearing a child on my own. I don't know that any of these writers' stories or characters find expression in my work, except insofar as my characters, like theirs, are flawed human beings who don't use their failings as an excuse for not trying to become better people.  

Website? http://www.delaneygreenwriter.com/

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

Twitter? @DelaneyaGreen  

Man Runs, Raven Flies, Fiction, Issue 9, December 1, 2009

Nathanael Green drifts into a daze and talks to himself as he's visualizing the scenes from his current work in progress: a fantasy novel inspired by the traditions and mythology of pre-colonial Native America. He writes from his home near Philadelphia and you'll find his blog exploring writing and all the fun linguistic oddities your English teachers never mentioned at http://500wordsonwords.wordpress.com.

Get to know Nathanael...

When did you start writing? In the first grade I wrote and illustrated a series that followed the adventures of Nathan, who tended to meet a lot of aliens and dragons.

When and what and where did you first get published? Aside from my first-grade attempts on the lined handwriting paper with some staples? My first piece of published fiction appeared at niteblade.com and was then chosen for inclusion in the Lost Innocence print anthology in 2008.

Why do you write? I heard a quote once to the effect that Lewis Carroll had way more fun writing Alice's adventures than she did living them, and I think that's a great reason to be a writer. Besides, I'm too tall to be an astronaut.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? For me, fiction is as much about asking questions as it is about giving opinions and entertaining. Sure, there are lots of things fiction does, but when a reader walks away from a piece of writing with new questions about their own life, the writer's done something special.

Do you blog? Where? http://500wordsonwords.wordpress.com

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? This grave is still waiting for its occupant to die.

Sans Ants, Fiction, Issue 27, June 1, 2014

Love in the Time of Light Speed, Flash Fiction, Issue 39, June 2017

R.W.W. Greene is a New Hampshire writer with an MFA that he exorcises regularly at local coffee shops and bars. He facilitates the study of creative writers at the high-school and college level. Greene keeps bees, collects typewriters, and lives happily with two cats, several thousand bees, and wife Brenda Noiseux, who also is a writer. He Tweets about it all @rwwgreene and maintains a website at rwwgreene.com

Get to know R.W.W...

Birthday? October 26

When did you start writing? I started writing fiction maybe seven years ago, but I was a print journalist for about a decade before that. Writing has always been the sharpest arrow in my quiver, and I've used it a lot over the years.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first published work was a book report I did in second grade. I can't remember the process, but somehow, for some reason, the local paper picked it up. The book involved a Native American boy who played hooky from school and was chased by a bear.

What themes do you like to write about? I like writing about change and what that change turns us into. We're always in the process of growing as people and falling back. It's a constant wrestling match between our nature and our better selves. 

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 go on author kicks. Right now I'm reading a lot of Kurt Vonnegut. I like the sad/amused/wise/warm way he looked at the world. He loved it while constantly shaking his head at it.

Website? rwwgreene.com

Facebook page? https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=564626166&ref=bookmarks

Twitter? @rwwgreene

Creature, Poetry, Issue 50, March 15, 2020

Roping, Poetry, Issue 58, Spring 2022

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in Hawaii Pacific Review, Dalhousie Review and Qwerty with work upcoming in Blueline, Willard and Maple and Clade Song.

Get to know John...

Birthdate?

8/14/60

When did you start writing?

Not long after I learned the alphabet. But serio

us writing began in my

late teens.

When and what and where did you first get published?

I had a poem published in the local newspaper when I was 12.

Why do you write?

I have to do something with all this imagination.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

They’re genres in which imagination finds a good home.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

I’m not a believer in favorite authors or books. But if you asked me

after I just finished reading it, I would have said Middlemarch by

George Eliot.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

Consciously, I’m not trying to say anything.  Subconsciously, it’s wherever

the lines or the characters take me.

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

On the whole, I would have rather been a folk singer.

Her Very Shape and the Way She Says My Words, Flash Fiction, Issue 24, September 1, 2013

Get to know Birthdate? June 11

When did you start writing? I've started writing three separate times, in my mid-teens, again in my early twenties, and again in 2010, at my wife's urging. The first two times I stopped. The third time I finally stuck with it, and approached it with the necessary seriousness

When and what and where did you first get published? Technically, my first publication was a little tidbit in the Mississippi Review in about 1992. I don't really count that. My first story publication was "Remodel With Swan Parts" in Electric Spec in 2011.

What themes do you like to write about? My stories seem to be about the discovery that something (often a person) is not what we thought it was. They're often about altering perceptions or shifting states of mind.

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? When I first became very serious about fiction, I fell in love with Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Faulkner, then a little later, Raymond Carver. Even though I came back to fiction writing from the genre angle, I still love those guys. Now I most impressed and motivated by the writing of Laird Barron, Elizabeth Hand, Caitlin Kiernan and others who bring high literary standards to the telling of strange and dark stories. Most recent favorite discoveries are Karin Tidbeck and Richard Gavin.

Biography

Michael Griffin’s short fiction has appeared in such periodicals as Apex Magazine, Black Static, Lovecraft eZine, and others, as well as the Thomas Ligotti tribute anthology The Grimscribe’s Puppets. He also has work forthcoming in Mighty in Sorrow a Current 93 tribute.

He’s an electronic ambient musician and founder of Hypnos Recordings, an ambient music record label he operates with his wife in Portland, Oregon. He blogs at griffinwords.com and his Twitter feed is @griffinwords.

Getting to Know You, Flash Fiction, Issue 71, Summer 2025

Clarissa Grunwald is a librarian living in central Pennsylvania. She has previously been published in The Fantastic Other, The Sprawl, and Every Day Fiction, among others. In addition to writing, she plays the viola and loves tabletop RPGs. You can find her online at clarissagrunwald.wordpress.com.

Get to know Clarissa...

When did you start writing? 

I vaguely recall writing and "self-publishing" a book in first grade. (I think I taped the pages together and hid it in one of the classroom library bins.) It was called The Princess and the Dinosaur. I don't remember anything about it except the title, but it sounds great.

When, what, and where did you first get published? 

A flash fiction piece called Elysium, in BlazeVOX, when I was in college. It might still be floating around on the internet somewhere.

Why do you write? 

Much like the "you" in "Getting to Know You," I would risk being consumed in the hopes of being seen.

Who is your favorite author? 

Terry Pratchett and Silvia Moreno-Garcia

What is your favorite story? 

Ask me again in fifteen minutes, and my answer will probably be different, but right now, I'm thinking about "Sometimes You Get the Bear" by Tim Pratt.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? 

I like the idea of eldritch wonder: awe at things enormous and terrible and beyond our understanding, which at times can include ourselves.

Seppuku Resolve, Artwork, Issue 15, June 1, 2011

Biography

I started illustrating at the tender age of 15 and has maintained a sporadic, often intermittent client base. As hard as it might be to believe I have made the majority of my living in the field of Aquatics and Advertising and not illustration art. Currently I'm a stay at home father of 2 children who is often remind me that life is not so grim and dark.

Author's Website

http://psikik.blogspot.com/

Get to know Richard...

Birthdate? Most folks think it's rude to ask their age... I have to abstain from this question as to not disappoint my fans.

When did you start doing artwork? I've been doodling since the age of 8, but I had my first paid gig at the age of 15 in my first year of High School which lead to a few free rides in university art classes in the Calgary Art Plus program. The advanced classes did nothing for my art skill. I did get a broad appreciation of art in the educational process though.

When and what and where did you first get published? My First two works hang in public spaces. One in a school in Texas which is a black and white illustration. Then I moved on to small publications and newsletters for corporations. My clients have been small and varied so I don't ever expect that to change. It seems that the low key work is better for overall constancy in my case. Surprisingly, over the years over a million people have seen my work directly or in passing.

Do you use reoccurring themes or images in your illustrations? Most of the work I do is very grounded, though I have done a fantasy type comic. My preference is the epic monsters and classical fantasy beings. My clients only want people, children, nature and animals. All the things that you would see in every day life. That is what your most likely to stumble upon.

What media do you like to work in? Why? I mostly use traditional pen and ink on paper. It is the most accessible and can be very portable. As technology improves I find myself moving towards more computer based illustration. Colors are almost exclusively on the computer. I love painting but most clients need a fast turnaround time. 

What artist's work do you most admire? How has this artist's work influenced you? Wow - This one always throws people as the influences have lead me into what people call a very comic art style. First is Red Grooms "Pop Artist" who really played with themes of people in every day life... Fantastic vision in his work. Then I have to say Ralph Steadman who is a very energized artist who tackled a lot of more controversial themes in life. His art is very energized and sends a shiver down my spine...very graphic. Salvador Dali for sure. He played on many ordinary objects and made the hard soft...his work is an adventure. He encourages others to simply play--that really is what his work says to me.

Comics are a factor too. Jim Lee, Sam Kieth, Todd McFarland. But I generally just experiment with traditional tools until I see something I like and try to reproduce the effect over and over again.

Speculative Fiction in Early Sanskrit Literature, Nonfiction, Issue 55, June 2021

I have a PhD from Princeton and am currently an associate professor of economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Besides publishing in international academic journals, and writing for the popular press, my work has been published, or is forthcoming, in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Samovar, Sci-Phi Journal, Eye to the Telescope, the Doctor T.J. Eckleburg Review, Chrome Baby, Empty Mirror, Ezra, The Mercurian, Jaggery, and Newfound.

Get to know Brishti...

Birthdate?

14th March.

When did you start writing?

In primary school, when I wrote a story about an interplanetary romance between a prince from Mercury and a princess from Pluto (they settled down on Earth).

Why do you write?

I have always found that writing brings me a lot of joy. I write different types of pieces for different reasons. I might write a nonfiction piece because I have something to say (on a topic which I would have done lots of prior research on). I would write a translation, if I felt I had a shot at translating some really wonderful piece of literature I'd come across, and sharing it with readers who would never have been able to read it in its original form. A fiction piece, or a poem, would largely be a challenge to myself to see how fun and creative I could get with an idea. I also write highly technical economics papers pretty much for the same reason.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I think these are interesting genres because they stimulate our imaginations and stretch the boundaries of what we believe is possible. At least some part of my interest in writing in this genre is because of my exposure to a wide range of speculative literature (most notably in Sanskrit), which has inspired me to try translations and retellings in the genre and to also experiment with poems, stories, and essays.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

This is very tough to answer as it's hard to choose only one. My top two favourites in western literature are classics - Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) and War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy). In Indian literature, my favourite is The Mahabharata, which I think is the best story ever told.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I will leave readers to figure this out! I would be very happy if my work leaves readers intrigued and entertained.

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

I don't anticipate having one, as in my religion the dead are cremated and don't have epitaphs! However, I'd quite like to be known as a "happy seeker".

Do you blog?

Not yet!

A Dryad's Mourning, Poetry, Issue 30, March 1, 2015

Deborah Guzzi travels for inspiration: China, Nepal [during the civil war], Japan, Egypt [two weeks before ‘The Arab Spring’], and most recently Peru. First published at the age of sixteen, she writes articles for Massage and Aroma Therapy Magazines. Her poetry can be seen in the Literary Journals of Western CT. University, Inclement Magazine, Pyrokinections, Jellyfish Whispers, Grey Wolf’s Summer Legends Anthology, The Germ, Wilderness Literary Review, The Anthology Sweet Dreams & Night Terrors, Bitterzoet Magazine, haiku journal, Contemporary Haibun Online, Bella on line, The Autumn Sound, Eskimo Pie, and Ribbons, The Inwood Indiana Review, Five Poetry, Tanka Society of America Journal, 50 haiku, Existere Journal of Arts and Literature, Vine Leaves Literary Journal, and Cha Asian Literary Journal. She has published two illustrated volumes of poetry, The Healing Heart and Heaven and Hell in a Nutshell.

Get to know Deborah...

When did you start writing? At sixteen ...

When and what and where did you first get published? At sixteen in my high school year book ...

What themes do you like to write about? nature, love, higher power, women

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? Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card because of its exploration of individual and group responsibility and morality and where the lines cross. This was one of the first times I truly understood how subjective truth is. I am an analytic and empathetic person. I am always in conflict. It saddens me that right action does not often generating a viable outcome.

Far Gone, Fiction, Issue 31, June 1, 2015

The Emperor's Dragon, Fiction, Issue 39, June 15, 2017

Timothy Gwyn was born in Plymouth, England, the son of an oceanographer and a former science teacher. Because of his father's travels, Tim lived in England, the USA, Canada and Australia before graduating from high school. Tim became a Canadian in 1970 and learned to fly as a teenager so that he could pursue the romance of life as a bush pilot. He flew float planes and ski planes, worked for a time as an air ambulance pilot, and now flies for an air taxi company specializing in remote communities and gravel runways. Somewhere in there he also did stints as a lifeguard and a radio announcer. Married with an average of two cats, he does some of his best creative thinking on long walks in the woods. A novel is coming out in August:Avians is about girls who fly gliders on a world without metal or fossil fuels. You can visit his blog through timothygwyn.com, and on Twitter, he is @timothygwyn.

Get to know Timothy...

Birthday? Second Thursday of 1958. That makes me a Fire Rooster with far to go.

When did you start writing? I wrote my first science fiction story in Junior High, about the crew of a naval vessel recovering an alien probe from the ocean.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first fiction appeared in CanPara, the members magazine of the Canadian Sport Parachuting Association, in May of 1980. They printed "Jumping Through a Loophole," a speculative story about a parachutist dropping in on a transatlantic airship.

What themes do you like to write about? I like underdogs. My main characters are usually working at a disadvantage of some sort; they are never the biggest or strongest. As a pilot, the challenges of "alternative aviation" fascinate me.

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? Hiyao Miyazaki's animé Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, for its complex antagonists and wonderful aircraft. Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass; I wish I had created Lyra Belacqua, she's such a troublemaker. Robert J. Sawyer's Wake; Caitlin Decter is "made of awesome". Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games was revelatory for me. Until I read it, I was  feeling very guilty that I was going to kill off some youngsters in my YA novel. Permission granted!