Surface of Last Scattering, Poetry, Issue 60, Fall, 2022

Maija Haavisto is a Finnish writer and poet.

Get to know Maija

Birthdate? 

3rd April 1984.

When did you start writing?

 At the age of five.

When and what and where did you first get published?

 I had poetry published in Finnish anthologies in my childhood and teens. My first published fiction was my debut novel Marian ilmestyskirja (Maria's Book of Revelations) in 2011. I also had a scifi story published in Breath & Shadow that year.

Why do you write? 

For me writing is a form of communication. This is one reason I prefer poetry, as it feels more meaningful to read in front of an audience, while fiction is a more lonely pursuit.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? 

I really like the whole "what if?" aspect. Unlike a lot of SFF writers, detailed world-building is not my favorite thing—I have done it when writing novel-length scifi, but I like how with poetry and flash I can just explore an idea that fascinates me without having to figure out what people eat in 2170 or even necessarily decide what year it is. I enjoy a sprinkling of humour too, which seems easier to carry out successfully in short forms, as well. I also have a background in medical writing, and scifi is a natural avenue to explore medicine in creative writing.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? 

I adore fellow Finnish SFF authors Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen and Johanna Sinisalo, who have also been translated into English. As for shorter material, I'd like to vouch for Hannu Rajaniemi, another Finn whose Quantum Thief trilogy has attracted a lot of attention, but I'm more fond of his scifi poem “The Last Eurovision Song Contest,” published in Usva International, than of his novels.

 https://www.usvazine.net/usvainternational2006.pdf

What are you trying to say with your fiction? 

My goal is to bring some meaning into the world. The "what ifs" I propose may not always be practical or something we'd really like to have, but I hope they can have some impact on how people think. Even my non-SFF poetry and fiction generally plays with thought-provoking what-ifs.

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

 "Almost completed my to-do list".

Do you blog? 

Not in English, unfortunately!

A is for Alphabet, Z is for Nothing, Fiction, Issue 36, September 1, 2016

Jeffrey currently resides in the suburbs of Massachusetts with his wife and infant son. During the day he is a project manager for a healthcare technology company, but at night he explores other worlds filled with strange creatures and characters by way of the written word. When he isn't writing or spending time with his family, you can find him playing basketball, reading, and thumbing away at a video game or two. 

His website is, www.hallwaytoelsewhere.com

Get to Know Jeffrey...

Birthday? May 19th, 1983

When did you start writing? I remember writing my first story in 3rd grade. It was the novel sequel to the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Since then I have always dabbled in some form of writing, but have become more serious about it in the last few years.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first publication came July 2016 when my short story, "The Truth in Fire," was printed in the anthology Myriad Lands.  

What themes do you like to write about? Most of the time I am unaware of the story's theme until it is completed, but when I do look back at them, I find my stories tend to investigate good and evil, how truth can sometimes be in the eye of the beholder, and fears can put us behind cells of our own making. 

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? Cormac McCarthy's The Blood Meridian because of the way it finds beauty in ugliness. Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes because of the vigor in each sentence. Frank Herbert's Dune because of the convincing world the reader is invited to explore within its pages. Each of these books has left me in awe and pushed me to become a better writer and storyteller.

"Take Me To Your Dreams," Cover Art, Issue 63, Summer 2023

Paula Hammond is a professional writer and artist, based in Wales. I’ve written around 60 non-fiction books. My fiction has been nominated for the Eugie Award, the Pushcart Prize, and the British Science Fiction Association award. I read far too much and sleep far too little. 

Get to know Paula...

When did you start doing artwork?

I’ve been selling photographs for decades, but I only really started putting the art ‘out there’ during lockdown. Art is a great panacea and, as a lot of my art starts with one or more of my own photographs, it feels like a very organic process.

When and what and where did you first get published?

Tree and Stone Magazine has been hugely supportive. They were the first magazine to publish one of my pieces (called “Star Pond”) which appeared in their inaurgial issue. Please check out their website. They’re a wonderful indie mag:  https://www.tree-and-stone.com

Why do you create art?

Whether I’m using words or images, it’s all about story-telling. 

Why do you create Science Fiction and/or Fantasy art?

As someone who grew up watching "Star Trek" and reading sword and sorcery, I’m firmly of the opinion that a story isn’t really a story unless it’s got magic or laser beams. Ideally both.  

Who is your favorite artist? Your favorite piece?

It’s hard to choose just one. It changes daily. I love El Greco, whose work has all the drama and passion of the Renaissance, but still looks shockingly modern. I’ve a soft spot for Max Ernst. A print of his "Moon in a Bottle" is currently on my pin board. But my absolute favourite piece is Giovanni Segantini’s "Punishment of Luxury". This was an artist who specialised in these very chocolate box, pastoral scenes but "Punishment of Luxury” is a weird, fantasy landscape. It wouldn’t look out of place on a prog-rock album cover. Apparently the ‘Luxury' in the title is a mistranslation of ‘Lust’, but it’s all the better for the error.

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

"Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th...That's all, folks!” 

The Mona Lisa Thief, Fiction, Issue #64, Fall 2023

David Hann is a freelance writer and university teacher from southern New Zealand. While teaching and ghostwriting pays the bills, he likes to see work published under his own name from time to time. He claims he tries to write happy stories, but that they just turn dark by themselves. His stories have featured in some magazines and online publications including The Weird and Whatnot, The Fifth Dimension, Sci-Fi Lampoon, and After Dinner Conversation. He also has a book of short stories to his name, co-written with H. J. Tidy.

Get to know David...

Birthdate?

March 1972

When did you start writing?

When I was at university I sort of fell into writing for the student magazine. They had free coffee.

When and what and where did you first get published?

Back in 1994 when I wrote an article for the university magazine on being flooded out at a club retreat. I suppose that’s the silver lining to a rather odd few days.

Why do you write?

A couple of reasons. I enjoy being creative and I can’t draw to save my life. Also, I do a lot of ghost writing for a very simple reason – making money from something I enjoy doing.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Probably because it’s what I read. It’s also a field that allows me to follow up on all those ‘what if?’ questions.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

I love to read Science Fiction and darker Fantasy. It’s escapism, though if well done, it’s escapism that makes you think. I can’t say I have favorites. Normally it’s the last story I read that made me go, ‘hmm, now that’s interesting.’

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

Mostly, I don’t try to say anything. I like to put out ideas that might make people think, and then let them draw their own conclusions.

Polymorph, Poetry, Issue #64, Fall 2023

Jerri Hardesty lives in the woods of Alabama with husband, Kirk, also a poet. They run the nonprofit poetry organization, New Dawn Unlimited, Inc. (NewDawnUnlimited.com)

Jerri has had over 500 poems published and has won over 1600 awards and titles in both written and spoken word/performance poetry. 

Get to know Jerri...

Birthdate?

 04/21/1964

When did you start writing?

 When I was 7 or 8

When and what and where did you first get published?

High School Newspaper and High School Literary Magazine

Why do you write?

Because I have to

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Because I love it

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Too many to name, but my first scifi/fantasy love affair was with Andre Norton.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

There is so much more to the universe than what we see.

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

She loved hard and lived fully.

Unrequited Sonata, Fiction, Issue 48, September 2019

A Fairy Tale, Fiction, Issue 50, March 2020

Melanie Harding-Shaw is a speculative fiction writer, policy geek and mother-of-three from Wellington, New Zealand. Her work has recently appeared in publications like Daily Science Fiction and The Arcanist, and now NewMyths. She was a finalist for Best Short Story in the 2019 Sir Julius Vogel Awards. She is a member of, and volunteer for, the New Zealand Society of Authors and CoNZealand—the 78th World Science Fiction Convention to be held in Wellington in 2020. You can find her at https://www.melaniehardingshaw.com/ and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MelanieHardingShawWriter and Twitter https://twitter.com/MelHardingShaw.

Get to know Melanie...

When did you start writing?

I was a late starter. I decided to write a novel in 2016, around the time my youngest started pre-school. It took me 18 months to write the first draft. I’m now querying that Middle-Grade Fantasy novel with agents, revising a second novel drafted during NaNoWriMo 2018, and I have written a range of other pieces from micro-fiction through to novellas. 

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first publication was a 99-word dystopian motherhood story ‘Big Brother’ that was a finalist in New Zealand’s National Flash Fiction Day Micro-Madness competition in June 2018. You can read it here: https://nationalflash.org/micro-madness/

My first paid publication was my short story ‘Common Denominator’ in Wild Musette Journal in October 2018. I’m very excited that story is being reprinted in the inaugural Year’s Best Aotearoa New Zealand Science Fiction and Fantasy anthology forthcoming from Paper Road Press in November 2019.

And my first ‘pro-rate’ publication was ‘A New Cold War’ published by Daily Science Fiction in April 2019 available here: https://dailysciencefiction.com/science-fiction/science-fiction/melanie-harding-shaw/a-new-cold-war

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Because that’s what I love to read! The stories I write almost always start in my head with a ‘what if’ that explores the effect of a change to technology or reality on people’s motivations and actions. It’s a fantastic way to get a different perspective on real-world challenges today like climate change and equity.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Does anyone have just one? My current favourite is Rebecca Roanhorse. The author I will always devour anything by is Neil Gaiman (his Masterclass is fantastic if you have a membership). My comfort author who I’ve probably re-read the most is Tamora Pierce.

Do you blog?

I’ve just launched my website in July 2019. There’s a few little pieces on there. You can check it out at: https://www.melaniehardingshaw.com/

When The Sleeping Beauty Wakes, Poem, Issue 61, Winter 2022

J.D. Harlock is a Syrian Lebanese Palestinian writer and editor based in Beirut. In addition to his posts at Wasifiri, as an editor-at-large, and at Solarpunk Magazine, as a poetry editor, his writing has been featured in Strange Horizons, Star*Line, and the SFWA Blog. You can always find him on Twitter and Instagram posting updates on his latest projects.

The Ambassadors Visit the Final Fair, Fiction, Issue 60, Fall 2022

Robert E. Harpold has been writing stories since he was seven years old, and most of those stories will be shown to no one. In previous jobs, he traveled to Greenland and Antarctica and operated spacecraft. Now he designs spacecraft trajectories, which is his realistic-dream job. His dream job is the same as everyone else’s: astronaut.

 Get to know Robert

When did you start writing?

 Starting in second grade, I would write stories, comics, and scripts for movies my friends and I would film. They aren't anything I would want to show to someone now. It wasn't until a decade ago that I got serious about writing and actively tried to learn and improve. It's still a work in progress.

When and what and where did you first get published? 

My first publication was 'Extremophile' in the 2019 December issue of DreamForge Magazine. Frank Schurter did an awesome illustration for it that made it on the cover.

Why do you write? 

I feel compelled to write. It would feel like something was missing if I didn't. It's not always fun, but I feel better after I've finished a story and gotten my idea onto the screen, even if it's only ever read by critiquing groups and first readers.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? 

I write science fiction and fantasy because those genres are awesome. I love the cool ideas, imaginative settings, and social commentary. I also like how a lot of contemporary science fiction is accepting of people from different backgrounds.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? 

I don't have one favorite author, but I enjoy John Barnes, Stephen Baxter, George R. R. Martin, Sarah Pinsker, and others. My favorite books are the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. I fell in love with them as a kid because of the fun characters, the adventure, and the protagonist's mental growth into adulthood that is even more meaningful now as an adult, and they are still my favorites.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?   

A common theme in my stories, at least in my mind, is that getting to the future is going to be difficult and require us to push ourselves, but we're going to make it.

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

“He tried.”

Do you blog? 

I don't blog, but I started a twitter account, @roberteharpold, and I have a website: http://roberteharpold.com/. They seem to be working at the moment.

Living Butterflies, Flash Fiction, Issue 4,  September 1, 2008

Get to know David...

Birthdate? August 26, 1959  Hartford, Connecticut

When did you start writing? I have been writing off and on for over thirty years now.

When and what and where did you first get published? "Tiny Seed", Esoteric Quarterly, Summer 2007

Why do you write? I write for enjoyment, expression and as a means to escape from everyday life.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I like inventing stories with a message.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?  Blavatsky, "Ghost Story" by Peter Straub & "Days of Vengeance" by David Chilton

Do you blog? No.

A Cup of Time, Fiction, Issue 59, Summer 2022

Bio:

Born and raised in North East Texas, Heather Harrison grew up with a family of misfits, leaving her with a wild imagination and a sharp sense of humor. After spending over a decade in management and marketing, she pursued her lifelong dream as a writer. With the very patient understanding of her family, friends, and some helpful strangers, her first book, Franny’s Fable, was published in the winter of 2017. 

Since then, she has published two novels and seven short stories. Heather lives in Dallas, Texas with her family. To see her other publications, please visit her website at heatherharrison.net

Birthdate?

August 10th, 1979

When did you start writing?

I’ve always enjoyed writing and began as soon as I knew how to write. I never considered writing to publish until I was thirty-five. 

When and what and where did you first get published?

My very first publication was a short story titled, “I, Avatar,” which was published in 2017, I believe, by Storyteller Magazine.

Why do you write?

That’s a difficult one to answer. First and foremost, because I love it. Those moments when the story comes together, or your characters do something you didn’t expect them to, are addicting. Now, I’m in the thick of things. Writing is a joy, but it is also a lot of work. Another reason I write is because I have a chronic illness and writing is an escape from the pain and insanity. I couldn’t imagine not writing at this point.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I have been a horror/fantasy/sci-fi nerd since I was little. Those are what I love to read, and therefore, write. Writing is a challenge in any genre, but I love seeing what my mind can create by really pushing those boundaries.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Just one??? That’s not fair. 

I’ve been a Stephen King fan since I was little, so he’s going to take the number one spot. My favorite story of his is The Talisman. 

But…..

Others I love are Brandon Sanderson, George RR. Martin, Robert Asprin, Robert Jordan, Douglas Adams, Terry Goodkind, Dean Koontz, Nora Roberts….I could do this forever…. 

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

We’re going to get emotionally deep, huh? 

Well, if I really focus on the process of writing and what it entails (the editing, the publishing, the crying, the marketing); from the first blank page to the fully developed cover, there is one specific thought which comes to mind. I think I can boil it down to four words: 

Please read my stuff.

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

See above ^^^

Do you blog?

I don’t think so. 

At least not regularly. I’ve dabbled, though. I guess that makes me a blog dabbler.

Avid Ascent, Illustration, Issue 29, December 1, 2014

Rachel Hart is a sculptor/potter, painter....and engineer of sorts;). She has taught various types of art in a handful of art studios and private schools. She has only sold her works privately and through local venues. She currently owns Fireside Art Studio, where she teaches all ages (mostly private instruction), and develops her own work. She lives in Massachusetts, USA with her husband and four children. Website www.firesideartstudio.com

Get to know Rachel...

Birthday? April 30, 1975

When did you start doing artwork? From childhood.

When and what and where did you first get published? Since I never tried to get published, this issue of NewMyths is my first time.

Do you use reoccurring themes or images in your illustrations? Not always, but I do enjoy themes that contain opposing emotions, such as despair with hope, or anger with peace.....it must be from my psychology background;)

What media do you like to work in? Why? All Media...I get bored, and I love to learn, so switching things up is a must! If I had to choose though, it would be clay.

What artist's work do you most admire? How has this artist's work influenced you? I don't feel any particular artist has influenced me. However, I do appreciate works by artists like Vladimir Kush and Alex Alamany that blend realism with surrealism. As a child I remember being fascinated by the intricate beauty of works by Edmund Blair Leighton, and the peaceful emotion that Monet paintings stirred within me. Also, I was always intrigued by sculptors who engineered their pieces to be functional or kinetic on some level. On the other hand, I was never interested in Artists who seemed to me, to only paint colored shapes, or throw paint on canvas!

Anthropos, Poem, Issue 55, June 2021

Countenance, Poem, Issue 65. Winter 2023

Fragment, Fiction, Issue 69, Winter 2024

J. Anthony Hartley is an Australian/British author and poet. He has had pieces appear in Short Fiction, Hybrid Fiction, Short Circuit, The Periodical, Abandon Journal, Underland Arcana among others and has had poetry in The Quarter(ly), New Myths, Space & Time and in Twenty Two Twenty Eight. He currently resides in Germany and can be found at http://www.iamnotaspider.com. 

Get to know J. Anthony Hartley...

Birthdate?

11 March 1958

When did you start writing?

Difficult question that. I kind of dabbled in university, but had no awareness or thoughts of what I woul or could do with it. Eventually, I stumbled across an online writers group that made me feel that I had a shot of making something of it. That was in 1996, which also became the year of my first sale and my first convention. 

When and what and where did you first get published?

December 1996 Keen Science Fiction. A story called "Pesticide."

Why do you write?

Better perhaps to ask what happens if I don't write. I find myself mostly in a situation where I can't not write. If I am not creating, I feel out of sorts, unravelled, detached from what I am.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Because it's the literature of ideas, the sandbox for those thoughts and realities that push the boundaries of what might or could be, and yet reflects back on us as we are.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Oh, oh, oh. Too many, too little time. I'll try to pick an illustrative couple. Gene Wolfe for his mastery of language and prose. King for his simple observational narrative. James Lee Burke for his touching on the magical realist while still maintaining a story embedded in crime. One of my favourite tales is the classic "Light of Other Days" for its poignancy and the reveal.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

A lot of my stuff comes from what I guess is a very personal place, much of it themed around separation and loss. I want to leave readers thinking, perhaps analysing themselves and life as a result. I like to disturb comfortable realities.

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

He dreamed.

Do you blog?

Not as such. I provide the occasional caustic commentary on some of the social media outlets. I've done a few articles and interviews on the industry, but I'm not much of a blogger. My stories and poems are the expressions of what's in my head.

My Dangerous Memory, Poetry, Issue 43, June 2018

Faleeha Hassan is a Poet, Writer, Playwright, Editor ,  and teacher, and the first woman who wrote poetry for kids in Iraq.

They are many articles written about her in USA if you google her name (Faleeha Hassan).

She is living in NJ now.

The Away Team Leader Explains Transporter Technology, Poem, Issue 54, March 2021.

Brittany Hause lived and worked in Bolivia, the USA, and South Korea before moving to the UK to pursue a degree in linguistics. Their SFF poetry has appeared in Abyss & Apex, Star*Line,   Asimov’s, and other journals online and in print, and their ultra-short prose fiction has been featured in The Arcanist, Daily Science Fiction (in collaboration with Steven Hause), and elsewhere.

Get to know Brittany...

When did you start writing?

The first piece of fiction I recall putting to paper was the story of a flying, telepathic snail from outer space I came up with at age 6. (The human protagonist who embarked on a series of bizarre adventures with the extraterrestrial gastropod was, by stunning coincidence, a child named Brittany.)

When and what and where did you first get published?

In 2017, Grievous Angel (R.I.P.) included a scifaiku I’d written in one of their short-form genre poetry features. A bare three lines, but I was excited all the same to have my first SFF publication appear in a venue that had previously showcased lots of work I enjoyed by writers I admire.

Lachesis, Poetry, Issue 8, September 1, 2009

Get to know J.C...

Birthdate? Walpurgisnacht. The year’s not important.

When did you start writing? Like most writers I know, writing is something I’ve always done. Somewhere along the way I developed the chutzpah to show it to other people, but that’s far different from the writing itself.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first publication was in James Lowder’s zombie anthology Book of All Flesh (2001, Eden Studios).

Why do you write? Why do people do anything that they love? I do it because to not do it seems an alien concept. I am cranky if I haven’t been writing, which is plenty of reason to keep at it.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? There’s probably a trite answer here, about how it allows me to user metaphor and symbolism to explore themes not readily accessible to other genres, but the real reason is because Speculative Fiction appeals to me on a basic ‘child-like wonder’ level.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? This changes like the tide, naming a single favorite would be next to impossible. Let me list a few authors whose work I always find truly inspiring – Hermann Meliville, Cathrynne Valente, Richard Dansky, Frank Herbert, Clive Barker. There are so many, that’s just my five minute list.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? Family crops up again and again in my fiction—defining it, dealing with the loss of it, dealing with the implications of it. I suspect that means something, but I will leave that to the critics to decide. I just like to tell stories that reach people. 

Do you blog? Where? I tweet. You can follow my on @j_c_hay. I try to talk mostly about writing, but we all know how effective that is.

Cerebral Vortex, Fiction, Issue 24, September 1, 2013

White Nights, Mammon's City, Fiction, Issue 28, September 1, 2014

Sean Patrick Hazlett is a technology analyst and Army veteran living in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he considers writing fiction as therapy that pays for itself. His fiction has appeared in Plasma Frequency Magazine, NewMyths.com, Fictionvale Magazine, Mad Scientist Journal, and The Colored Lens. For more information, please visit: reflectionsofarationalrepublican.com.

Get to know Sean...

Birthdate? November 17, 1975.

When did you start writing? I've been writing intermittently since the fifth grade. Aside from an abandoned novel attempt in the late nineties, I started really focusing on writing and submitting speculative short stories in late 2011. 

When and what and where did you first get published? The first fiction story I sold was "Movement to First Contact" and it was published in Plasma Frequency Magazine in February 2013.

What themes do you like to write about? When I first started writing, I had never set out to write about any particular theme. However, as I look back on my stories, a number of themes have nevertheless emerged. I tend to write stories about outsiders, particularly individuals who must operate in settings where they are out of place or whose ideas clash with the prevailing orthodoxy. Even Dr. Janet Kimball, for instance, is a bit of an outsider. She is a native Iowan woman working in California, who must overcome her fear of dissection and work within a military culture that she inherently distrusts. 

I also like to explore the dark side of human nature. When you deprive human beings of food, sleep and security, they often behave in shocking ways in order to survive, and I enjoy speculating on these situations and themes.

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 admire the works and imagination of H.P. Lovecraft, particularly his themes regarding entities that view humanity with cold indifference, hereditary curses, and the concept of deep time. Some of my favorite Lovecraftian works include The Rats in the Walls, The Whisperer in Darkness, The Thing on the Doorstep, and At the Mountains of Madness. These tales resonate with me as an author because they effectively blend the three genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and explore the infinitesimal smallness and isolation of man in a vast cosmos in dark and intriguing ways. While I wrote "Cerebral Vortex" before I started reading H.P. Lovecraft, the theme of cosmic entities gazing on humanity with cold indifference finds expression in this tale in the form of unseen extraterrestrial entities who abduct and lobotomize human beings with impunity, ostensibly to power the biologic computers and networks on their ship. These beings don't do these things because they are cruel or malevolent, but because they see the human brain as nothing more than a powerful processor, a ready-made integrated circuit for charting their course through the cosmos.

Shadows of the Deep, Fiction, Issue 27, June 1, 2014

The Girl With No Name, Fiction, Issue 33, December 1, 2015

Biography

Freelance writer, novelist, award-winning screenwriter, editor, poker player, poet, biker, roustabout, Travis Heermann is a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop and the author of Death Wind, forthcoming in 2016 from WordFire Press, The Ronin Trilogy, The Wild Boys, and Rogues of the Black Fury, plus short fiction pieces in anthologies and magazines such as Apex Magazine, Alembical, the Fiction River anthology series, Historical Lovecraft, and Cemetery Dance’s Shivers VII. As a freelance writer, he has produced a metric ton of role-playing game work both in print and online, including the Firefly Roleplaying Game, Legend of Five Rings, d20 System, and the MMORPG, EVE Online.

He enjoys cycling, martial arts, torturing young minds with otherworldly ideas, and zombies. He has three long-cherished dreams: a produced screenplay, a NYT best-seller, and a seat in the World Series of Poker.

In 2015, he moved to New Zealand with a couple of lovely ladies and a burning desire to claim Hobbiton as his own. 

Visit Travis at www.travisheermann.com.

Get to know Travis...

Birthday? October 22

When did you start writing? When I was about twelve. I discovered John Carter of Mars in the school library, and my entire world changed. Soon afterward, I borrowed my mom's old Smith-Corona manual typewriter and battered out a 250-page single-spaced opus, an "homage" to Barsoom.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first publication was an epic fantasy novel called The Ivory Star, published in 1997 by Commonwealth Publishing. But that proved to be a double-edged sword. There's a long account of that whole experience on my blog. http://travisheermann.com/blog/?page_id=34

What themes do you like to write about? Difficult to say because my writing genres are all over the map. A classmate of mine at the Odyssey writing workshop once told me that all of my stories that she had read were about these big, hard-edged men looking for redemption through the feminine. I hadn't thought about that before, but she was right at that time. Is it still true six years later? I'll let others be the judge.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work?  As I mention above, Edgar Rice Burroughs is why I became a writer, but then Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft and J.R.R. Tolkien came along soon after. So I was heavily influenced by the pulps early on.

And then in my 20s, I read Fahrenheit 451 and it changed my life. As explanation, I'll leave you this quotation, which should be sufficient. 

"Stuff your eyes with wonder...live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world! It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask no guarantees, ask for no security, for there never was such an animal. And if there were, it would be related to the great sloth which hangs upside down in a tree all day every day, sleeping its life away. To hell with that...shake the tree and knock the great sloth down on his ass!" 

More than Skin Deep, Flash, Issue 61, Winter 2022 

Kat Heckenbach graduated from the University of Tampa with a bachelor's degree in biology, went on to teach math, and then homeschooled her son and daughter while writing and making sci-fi/fantasy art. Now that both kids have graduated, her writing and art time is constantly interrupted by her 96 lb. boxer mix. She is the author of YA fantasy series Toch Island Chronicles and urban fantasy Relent, as well as dozens of fantasy, science fiction, and horror short stories in magazines and anthologies. Enter her world at www.katheckenbach.com.

When did you start writing?

I started writing in 2008. I was a homeschooling mom and decided that I needed to take advantage of the time I had at home to give writing a novel a real shot. It was something I'd always wanted to do on some level, but wasn't sure I had it in me. So I sat down one day and just started--no planning, no prep, no more than the barest idea of a character and concept. Several months later, I had the first draft of my first YA fantasy novel, which was published by a small press three years later.

When and what and where did you first get published?

The first piece of fiction I got published was a short story called "Willing Blood" in the online magazine Absent Willow Review in 2008. It's the story of Simone, a vampire-like being who protects--and ends up being protected by--a young girl when a demon sets his sights on the child. The story went on to win Editor's Choice for the issue in which it appeared. 

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I write both sci-fi and fantasy, and a little horror, and a bit of steampunk now and then. It's really as simple as the fact that those are the genres I love to read. I love being sucked into a well-crafted story world, full of magic and inventive technology. More than that, I'm not sure how to pinpoint. I've just been drawn to sci-fi and fantasy for as long as I can remember. The first books I fell in love with were The Phantom Tollbooth, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, and A Wrinkle in Time, and speculative fiction has been my top choice ever since.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I don't think I'm actually trying to say anything consciously. But when I step back and look at my fiction, I definitely notice patterns. Most of my stories have main characters who are oddballs, who feel like they don't fit in--much as I did when I was young, and still often do--but learn to appreciate their uniqueness.

Galactic Saviors, Fiction, Issue 3, June 1, 2008

Get to know Andy...

Birthdate? 18 August 1975

When did you start writing? In 1985 at the age of ten on a Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer.

When and what and where did you first get published? The first story to make it to print was "Dean The Space Rogue" in Ray Gun Revival issue #40

Why do you write? I write to entertain others and myself. Not much different than exotic dancing, really.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I find that science fiction is the one field where you can really open up the floodgates of the imagination. All day, every day, we spend our lives trapped in the world of the mundane. No stardrives, our lasers do boring things like confuse the cat and perform corrective eye surgery, the television is still two dimensional and we can't have a converstation about quantum mechanics or even chicken soup with the robots that clean our floors. I write science fiction to bring others into worlds where the improbable is ordinary and the impossible is right around the bend.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? My favorite author is by far, Robert A. Heinlein. Of his many wonderful works, I've re-read Starship Troopers the most times.  

What are you trying to say with your fiction? Two things, really. The universe is alive and most certainly has a sense of humor (though it may be warped at times), and secondly, don't take life too seriously when you don't have to.

Do you blog? Where? I am, alas, blogless.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?  "Dear Alien Species doing archeological work, please ressurect me as I have ALL THE ANSWERS."

An Appreciation of My Favorite Passages Story, Linda H, issue 46, March 15 2019

The Name of Calvin, Fiction, Issue 7, June 1, 2009

Biography

Descended from a long line of truck drivers, waitresses, and convicts, Jason Heller has been published or is forthcoming in Sybil's Garage, Farrago's Wainscot, Apex Magazine, Kaleidotrope, Everyday Weirdness,

Expanded Horizons, Brain Harvest, Atomjack, and other fine outlets for

strange fiction. He also plays guitar in a punk band called The Fire Drills. They do the worst Cheap Trick cover you've ever heard.

Get to know Jason...

Birthdate? March 14, 1972

When did you start writing? As soon as I could pick up a pen I was writing poems and stories for my grandmother. Probably in an attempt to charm some candy out of her.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first publication was a poem titled "Alligator, Alligator" which

appeared in Humpty Dumpty's Magazine when I was 8. When I was a teenager I started publishing my own photocopied comic books and contributing to punk-rock zines; that eventually led to music

journalism, which I started doing professionally in 2002. For some strange reason, though, it took until 2008 before I started writing fiction. In fact, it was my New Year's resolution. I submitted my first story in May of 2008, and I had my first real fiction

publication -- a dark science fiction story titled "Behold: Skowt!" -- in Apex Magazine in November of '08.

Why do you write? Honestly (and I hope humbly), it's one of the few things I'm decent at! The act of writing isn't always pleasurable -- sometimes it involves much internal ass-kicking and turmoil -- but when something good comes out of that process, it's its own reward. Selling the stuff

every once in a while is just icing on the cake.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I fell in love with science fiction and fantasy when I was around 9. I'd ride my bike to the library and fill my backpack with novels by Gordon R. Dickson, Roger Zelazny, Piers Anthony, Ray Bradbury, Fred Saberhagen, Stephen R. Donaldson, John Varley, Frank Herbert, and so on. I know it's probably cheesy to admit now, but David Eddings' Belgariad and Mallorean remain some of my favorite (and most re-read) books of all time. The thing I've always loved about speculative fiction is its fundamental paradox: It's escapist literature that winds up saying far more about humanity and reality than most "real"

lit. And, of course, it's far, far more fun.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? J.G. Ballard, may he rest in peace, has been my favorite writer since I discovered his books Chronopolis and The Crystal World in high school. The Crystal World and High-Rise are my favorite novels of Ballard's -- for very different reasons, as those are two of the man's least similar books -- and my favorite short story of his has to be "The Intensive Care Unit" from 1975, one of the most chilling dystopian tales ever written.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? Even when I'm being weird for the sake of weird, I like to think I have some underlying message going on. Even in an odd little folk tale like "The Name of Calvin," I'm trying to make a statement about identity -- its arbitrary nature, the way it alienates as well as socializes, and even the inherent absurdity of human beings having

names in the first place. Overall, my stories deal (or at least try to deal) with similar themes: loneliness, otherness, and the arbitrary nature of hierarchies and other social constructs. Not to mention the

ultimate relativity of perception itself. Of course, sometimes I just have lasers blowing stuff up.

Do you blog? Where? I blog very sporadically at jasonmheller.blogspot.com, but I also contribute spec-fic-related nonfiction to The Onion A.V. Club, Fantasy

Magazine, Weird Tales, and others.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? Kindly refrain from animating these remains. I like it down here.

Print me a creature for the night (hybrids allowed), Flash Fiction, Issue 42, March 15, 2018

Biography: Russell Hemmell is a statistician and social scientist from the U.K, passionate about astrophysics and speculative fiction. Recent work in Helios Quarterly Magazine, Not One of Us, Perihelion SF, and others. Finalist in The Canopus 100 Year Starship Awards 2016-2017.

Find more about her at earthiahivemind.net and on Twitter @SPBianchini

Quince, Poetry, Issue 20, September 1, 2012

Samantha Henderson lives in Covina, California by way of England, South Africa, Illinois and Oregon. Her short fiction and poetry have been published in Realms of Fantasy, Strange Horizons, Goblin Fruit and Weird Tales and reprinted in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Science Fiction and the 2012 Nebula Awards Showcase.  

Get to know Samantha...

Birthdate? 10/20. All my birthday cakes were Halloween cakes. 

When did you start writing? I don't know. I've always been scribbling something, but it took a long time for me to realize I could put words on paper (or later, pixelize) and try to get people to read them.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first "real "publication, just as I sort of gave up on sending work out, was a poem, "Abduction," to Weird Tales. Many years later, when I decided to send out work again, I was lucky enough to get almost instantaneous acceptances to the then-fairly-newish Strange Horizons and the much-missed Fortean Bureau. That was encouraging enough that I didn't give up while I racked up (and still rack up) the rejections! 

What themes do you like to write about? It's hard for me to determine if my work is thematic. A friend of mine said that a lot of my work is about "sympathy for the monster," whereas I think I write a lot about people, who are all generally monsters of sort, trying to be good, and not always being successful.   

All Hallows Eve, Poetry, Issue 70, Spring 2025

Rosalie Hendon (she/her) is an arborist living in Columbus, Ohio. Her work is published in Ravens Perch, Quibble Lit, Sad Girls Diaries, Pollux, Blue Bottle, and Willawaw, among others. Rosalie is inspired by ecology, relationships, and stories passed down through generations. 

Get to know Rosalie....

When did you start writing?

I started writing at an early age. From a short story lobbying my parents to let me adopt a cat at age 6, to a poem titled "The Ocean's Tears" that I wrote in middle school. I've always written poetry more consistently than prose, but it's ebbed and flowed over the years. In the pandemic, I started a virtual poetry challenge with friends that really renewed the practice for me. And for the last couple years, joining a women's writing group has encouraged me to dabble in prose.

When and what and where did you first get published?

When I was first published in 2021, I was ecstatic and called everyone in my life to tell them the good news. It was a poem, "Ariadne", that was accepted by Change Seven Magazine. The editors were very kind and helped shape my poem into triplets, which worked much more intentionally than the line breaks I had originally. 

https://changesevenmag.com/ariadne-by-rosalie-hendon/ 

Why do you write?

I write for a lot of reasons. To try to make sense of the world, to capture what I observe, to tell stories. I am chronically nostalgic, so a lot of what I write is trying to immortalize a moment or a conversation that is all too fleeting. 

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I love sci fi and fantasy because they allow us to inhabit worlds beyond our own. I am just getting up the nerve to write in these genres, however. The worldbuilding is intimidating!

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

I admire Sheri S. Tepper for her ecofeminist scifi. I enjoy most of her books, but a few standouts are Grass and The Gate to Women's Country. Also N.K. Jemisin for her masterful, original worlds--Fifth Season and The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms in particular. 

Age is a Four Letter Word, Fiction, Issue 11,  June 1, 2010

David H. Hendrickson has published over nine hundred works of nonfiction and been honored with the Scarlet Quill and Joe Concannon awards. His short stories have appeared in anthologies, literary journals, and magazines, most notably the DAW anthologies Swordplay and The Trouble With Heroes. He has other stories forthcoming in Alienskin magazine and Music For Another World.

Get to know Hendrickson...

When and where did you first get published? My first published fiction was a story called "Yeah, But Can She Cook?" in the anthology Food and other Enemies, Stories of Consuming Desire. That came out in 2000.

Why do you write? I write because I have to, because I have stories I want to tell. 

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I don't write exclusively in sf/f but enjoy the imaginative possibilities it provides.  Also, many of my early influences were in the field.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Harlan Ellison.  "Jeffty is Five"

What are you trying to say with your fiction? I try to tell interesting or amusing stories regardless of whether there's something being "said" or not.  The storytelling has to always come first.

Do you blog? Where? By the time anyone reads this, I should have integrated my hendricksonwriter Wordpress blog with my website at hendricksonwriter.com.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? Great father and husband. A storyteller who kept his readers entertained. He got the most out of life.

Of Mud I Built It, Fiction, Issue 12, September 1, 2010

Out of Frozen Shadow, Fiction, Issue 16, September 1, 2011

Sylvia Hiven was born in Sweden but lives and writes in Atlanta, Georgia. Her fiction has appeared in over thirty-five publications, including PseudoPod, Flash Me Magazine, EscapePod, Everyday Fiction, and others. She edits the speculative fiction magazine Lingerfiction (http://www.lingerfiction.com). 

- Show quoted text -

Get to know Sylvia...

Birthdate? 7/5/79

When did you start writing? When I was seven years old. The first day of school when we were given blue notebooks to write stories in.

When and what and where did you first get published? In Absent Willow Review, May of 2009, my short story "When the First Petal Falls" was published.

Why do you write? It's great fun to create worlds and characters and events from nothing but my own imagination. 

What themes do you like to write about? I like to write about small moments that change people's lives.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? Because there are no limits to what can happen in worlds that aren't real.

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 am often inspired by dark fairy tales, and stories with confident style and elegant prose.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? Stephen King. My favorite story is his short story, "Word Processor of the Gods". 

What are you trying to say with your fiction? Mostly the themes I explore are about troubled relationships, and how even the closest people can become estranged and hurt each other, no matter how unintentional.

Do you blog? Where? Yes, on my website, http://sylviahiven.webs.com

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? "She did everything she wanted to do.

Geomythogenesis, Non-Fiction, Issue 43, June 2018

Sarah Hofrichter is a PhD candidate in Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen. She writes science fiction under the name Ellis Bray and is working with her agent to sell her first novel. She thinks the idea of sending humans to Mars is a spectacular waste of resources, and will argue till she is blue in the face about the benefits of HAVOC (High Altitude Venus Operational Concept), which NASA came up with as an alternative to visiting Mars. Her favourite myth is Þrymskviða, in which Thor and Loki must dress as women in order to rescue Thor’s stolen hammer.

Get to know Sarah:

Birthday?   17 August 1987

When did you start writing?  I’ve been writing science fiction since I was a kid, but I started writing non-fiction in 2015. This article was a section of my Master’s dissertation, and I’m still very passionate about the role of geology in interpreting mythology.

When and what and where did you first get published?

Column at the Sci Phi Journal, August 2017.

http://sciphijournal.com/tag/the-time-frontier/

What themes do you like to write about?

In my fiction, I enjoy writing about mental illness, family relationships, and apocalypses. In my non-fiction, I have been focusing more on how humans understand, perceive, and describe Time. I’m also happy to babble on at length about Norse mythology, having a Master’s degree in the subject.

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?

Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller, Jr. I love that we never learn the whole story of the “Flame Deluge” but we get to see the aftermath, and I strive to put that into my fiction.

Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan. It’s a movie about how people understand, perceive, and describe Time. Every single complaint I’ve ever seen about it can be explained through that lens. And I would love to find some aspect of philosophy that I could manipulate that well in my own stories.

Twitter? @flytingnwriting

For Larry's bio please click here

Smokechaser, Fiction, Issue 54, March 2021

Ken Hoover lives in New Mexico with his family. His short fiction has appeared in magazines and anthologies, and more are forthcoming. His debut novel, Midnight Agency, was published by Fiction Vortex. He is currently working on a sequel as well as a middle-grade adventure novel. You can follow him on Instagram and Twitter (@KenHoopster).

Get to know Ken...

Birthdate? 

March 25

When did you start writing?  

One of my earliest teachers had us write, illustrate, and bind our own stories. They were then collected at the public library. I was hooked, and I've been writing ever since.

When and what and where did you first get published? 

In 2012, a unique Canadian myth-filled cartoon called Animism had a flash fiction contest. My story was selected and published in their anthology, The Book of the Emissaries four years later. My first novel, a serial weird western called Midnight Agency, was published two years ago.

What themes do you like to write about? 

Identity is a prominent theme for me. Probably because I'm not always comfortable in my own skin. Who am I? Where have I come from? Where am I going?

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? 

Ha-ha. There isn't enough room to explore this here. I love too many books and genres, and I try to learn aspects of craft from all of them. My favorite authors include Neil Gaiman, Hannah Tinti, Daniel Abraham, Kate DiCamillo, Dennis Lehane, George R.R. Martin, Cherie Priest, Scott Lynch, Elizabeth Bear, Joe Abercrombie. I'll stop there, but I could keep going for pages.

At the Center of the World, Fiction, Issue 16, September 1, 2011

Kenneth Mark Hoover has sold over 50 short stories and articles and his first novel, Fevreblau, was published by Five Star Press in 2005. He is a member of SFWA and HWA and is currently working on a dark fantasy western series set in the mythical town of Haxan, New Mexico, and a U.S. Marshal who may, or may not, be human. Mr. Hoover lives and writes in Dallas, TX.

Get to know Kenneth...

Birthdate? 11/12/59

When did you start writing? I began writing professionally back in 1986. I wrote my very first story, however, when I was in eighth grade. As far back as I can remember I've never wanted to be anything but a writer.

When and what and where did you first get published? I sold my first story entitled "Lucy, Lucy, Wherefore Art Thou?" to a small magazine called Alpha Adventures in the late 1980s.

What themes do you like to write about? I enjoy exploring stories of human redemption and honor and how they conflict with emotion.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? I grew up with Ian Fleming, H.G. Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Adam Hall and Donald Hamilton. I was a big fan of science fiction and escapism as a teenager.

Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? Again, I think some of these stories have at their core expressions of courage, honor, and conflict. These are all themes I like to bring to the fore in many of my stories.

La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Nonfiction, Issue 22, March 1, 2013

Elizabeth Hopkinson has been writing ever since she used to make books out of scrap paper in wet playtime at school. She has had over 30 short stories published in magazines, webzines and anthologies; and has won prizes in the James White Award, the Jane Austen Short Story Award and the Mifiction Interactive Fiction Contest. Her historical fantasy novel, Silver Hands, comes out in 2013 from Top Hat Books. She has spoken at Swanwick Writers' Summer School, Ilkley Literature Festival Fringe and University of Leeds Careers Expo.

Elizabeth describes her writing as, "seeing the magical in the ordinary". She has loved fairy tale and history since studying English Literature at Leeds University; and has a particular passion for Japan and the Edo period, visiting Japan while researching Silver Hands. Among her other loves are coffee shops, the piano, and the Yorkshire arts scene. She has lived all her life in Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK (home of the Bronte sisters and the Cottingley Fairies) and couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

Get to know Elizabeth...

Birthdate? 28th December 1973

When did you start writing? As soon as I became the first person in reception class to get onto sentence making!

When and what and where did you first get published? I had a poem in my local paper aged about 9, but my first adult publication (in December 2004) was "Fairy Dairy" in EOTU Ezine.

What themes do you like to write about? I like to write about coming of age, love and friendship, faith, asexuality, and the struggle to do the right thing.

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? Grimm's Fairy Tales, because I've never lost the magic of fairy tale, or its ability to express the inner workings of the heart in a symbolic story. I find symbolism to be the only way I can really express what goes on inside me.

Everything by Juliet Marillier, because she knows so well how to involve you emotionally with a character to the point that you end up shouting at the book. And she shows masterly use of fairy tale in her work. My first novel, Silver Hands, owes a lot to her. Fushigi Yugi by Yuu Watase, for the same reason of completely absorbing you in emotional conflicts and the lives of characters. I cried for days reading a certain part of it. I want to be able to create that sort of emotional intensity with my characters. Also for humour, and well-researched use of history and legend. And for being so honest in the side-panels about her struggles with self-esteem. That resonates with me a lot.

The Tawny Man Trilogy by Robin Hobb, which wrung me out emotionally even more than the previous two. Particularly because of the unique, androgynous character of the Fool, and his relationship with Fitz. Tammo and Carlo in my current novel-in-progress, Cage of Nightingales, would not exist if it were not for Fitz and the Fool. I still have a picture of them on my computer background.

Ms. Solevacj’s Leaf-Mould, Fiction, Issue 39, June 15, 2017

Chip Houser's fiction has appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Spark, Every Day Fiction, Rosebud Magazine, and elsewhere in print and online. He is a 2014 graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop and is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Missouri in St. Louis.

Get to know Chip...

Birthday? August 4, 1969, although I was supposed to be born on July 4th. (Sorry, Mom.)

When did you start writing? I wrote a few semi-autobiographical stories in the mid-1990’s while I was living in Berlin--ill-formed vignettes about kidnapped caryatids, lovelorn buskers on the U-Bahn, and overripe Persian rugs in slum lord lairs--but the Odyssey Writing Workshop is where I really began to grasp the elusive rules of writing. Odyssey transformed my devotion to the craft of writing, and I hope my actual writing as well.

When and what and where did you first get published? "Flip Side," a time travel flash fiction in Daily Science Fiction, July 29, 2013.

What themes do you like to write about? My first drafts are often much more upbeat than where they end up, which is with themes of isolation, loneliness, and the glorious brutality of both nature and man.

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 was absolutely devastated by T.C. Boyle's short story "Chixculub," and how he cleverly intertwines a micro- and macro stories. I was working on "Ms. Solevacj's Leaf-mould" at the time, and Boyle's work felt smart and funny and in tune with what I was trying to achieve. Reading it felt like the little nudge I needed to understand what I was trying to do with my own story.

A Feast of Many Flavors, Fiction, Issue 49, December 15, 2019

Leanne Howard writes stories about strange magic, strong women, and the people who fall in love with both. A nomad by nature, she has lived in Maryland, Nevada, France, Ireland, Chicago, and Oakland before settling back in her hometown of Reno, Nevada, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. When she needs to think out a story, she often wanders the paths of the beautiful Nevada desert, where two skies are never the same. She also occasionally tries this thing called “finding a hobby,” which for her involves hiking, biking, reading romance, and/or discussing Star Wars at length. When she's not doing those things, or writing, you can find her in the graduate program of the University of Nevada, Reno, where she is earning her MFA in fiction. Or you can find her deep in the dark forest, following a flicker of light she was told to ignore.

Get to know Leanne...

Birthdate?

March 31, 1990

When did you start writing?

I started writing fiction when I was 10 or 11. My sixth grade masterpiece, "The Golden Dust," was basically Madeleine L'Engle fanfiction. After that, it was all about inventing my own worlds to play in.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My story in New Myths, "A Feast of Many Flavors," is my first professional publication! I'm very humbled and excited for my writing to make its entree into the wider world.

Why do you write?

Tough question! I suppose I write to make sense of the world. Perhaps a strange answer, since much of my writing is set in worlds other than our own. But those mirrors sometimes cast the most honest reflection of real life back to us.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Like I mentioned above, I really believe that speculative fiction has a special power when it comes to reflecting on human existence. Even a story with no humans in it at all can make us feel things about our own humanity. Sometimes it takes that distance from the real and known to help us see parts of ourselves that we might otherwise never know. That's the beauty of other worlds, and that's what compels me to tell stories within them.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

I think my answer to this question changes every day. Today I love Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway, especially when Clarissa is walking through London and thinking how much she loves being alive in that particular moment. I also love Octavia Butler's Kindred and the short story by Veronica Schanoes called "Phosphorus" in the anthology Queen Victoria's Book of Spells. Ask me tomorrow and I might tell you something different.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I am interested in telling my version(s) of the female experience, the queer experience, or some combination of the two. But most importantly, I strive for fiction that speaks to the human heart - the good, the bad, the ugly, and the unexpectedly beautiful. 

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

"Make Tiny Changes." It's from one of my favorite songs and artists of all time, "Head Rolls Off" by the Scottish band Frightened Rabbit. 

Do you blog?

Never as often as I should. But I do try. There's a blog on my website, leannehoward.com. Come for the writing talk, stay for the bad jokes..

Quantum Entanglement, Flash Fiction, Issue 46, March 15, 2019 

Kai Hudson lives in sunny California where she writes, hikes, and spends entirely too much time daydreaming of far-off worlds. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Clarkesworld, PseudoPod, PodCastle, and Anathema: Spec from the Margins, among others.

Get to know Kai Hudson:

When did you start writing?

In second grade. I wrote a collection of short stories about unicorns. Illustrated, of course. 

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first professional sale, a short sci-fi piece about alien bee-mermaid hybrids, was just released in the March 2019 issue of Clarkesworld. 

Why do you write?

Because otherwise I'd be busy toppling dictator regimes and saving the universe, and who would want that?

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Sometimes the world we live in is a bit too painful to write about. I like spreading messages about brighter futures.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

This tends to change, though I always enjoy reading John Scalzi and Blake Crouch. Fredrik Backman makes me smile, and I rarely read a book by Stephen King that doesn't devour me. My favorite story is actually a Chinese fable about a frog in a well that teaches humility and the dangers of ignorance.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

That we could all benefit from a little more empathy.

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

Her last words were: "So what does this button do?"

Freight Train, Fiction, Issue 19, June 1, 2012

Louise Hughes is a writer of speculative fiction and graduate of the University of St. Andrews, with a Masters in Ancient History. She currently resides in North East England, where she grew up, but is formulating plans for getting back to Scotland. In the meantime, she spends her time exploring the Highlands and the Dales, drinking tea and attending Doctor Who conventions. She is also a member of The Herscher Project, an online international writing group.

Get to know Louise...

Birthdate? 22nd February 1987

When did you start writing? My earliest memory of writing is from when I was five or six. I wrote a short story for school about a burglar, as part of an exercise in not over-using the word "and". My teacher read it out to the class and I haven't stopped writing since.

When and what and where did you first get published? This will be my first publication.

What themes do you like to write about? I enjoy putting everyday stories (like a first day at school or celebrating a birthday) into fantasy worlds. I find stories become a lot more interesting when they take place somewhere other than here. Besides that, I’m not really sure. Relationships within families often occur in my stories, particularly between siblings. I like to look at how the stories I tell affect the relationships between people who’ve known each other all their lives.

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? My favourite book, since reading it as a child, is Ian Serraillier’s The Silver Sword (aka Escape from Warsaw in the US). It’s about determination in the face of adversity and in that way always provides me with the inspiration to keep writing and never to give up on my characters. They need the kind of ending the children in that story had. It too is about family. When I was a little older, I read Robin Jarvis and Alan Garner, and I love the way they incorporate fantasy into the real world, and their use of mythology. I imagine they inspired me to write fantasy, as everything I wrote before that was heavily influenced by Enid Blyton and Arthur Ransome. My love of adventure just migrated into imagined worlds.

I also read Charles Dickens, who illustrates the creation of interesting characters beautifully, and Ursula le Guin, who makes the development of new worlds look so effortless. I try to do both and would be happy if I mange only half as well.

What You Need, Flash Fiction, Issue 35, June 1, 2016

Conquest of the Desert, Fiction, Issue 52, September 2020

Van Aaron Hughes was a winner in the Writers of the Future Contest in 2011, and his fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, InterGalactic Medicine Show, Abyss & Apex, and other publications.  In real life, he is the father of three amazing children and works as a commercial lawyer.  He has argued before the United States Supreme Court, which he says was exciting but nowhere near as cool as selling a $30 story. Visit Aaron at https://vanaaronhughes.wordpress.com/.

Get to know Van Aaron...

Birthday? October 23

When did you start writing? I've always written, but didn't get (somewhat) serious about writing fiction for publication until a little over ten years ago. 

When and what and where did you first get published? My first published story was called "Winning Friends," loosely based on my experience arguing before the Supreme Court. The initial concept was, what if I had to argue something to the Court that was reprehensible but legally defensible? In "Winning Friends," a young lawyer successfully argues before the Supreme Court in favor of capital punishment by torture. I researched the story around 2002 and was surprised and appalled to find that there was actually legal support for my protagonist's position, that torture might not automatically be considered cruel and unusual punishment. When I sat down to write the story in early 2003, I did not know that John Yoo of the Bush Administration was also researching torture at that time and reaching the same conclusion, or that the euphemism I used in my story, "enhanced capital punishment," would turn out to be eerily similar to the term that would soon come into general use, "enhanced interrogation."

I submitted the story to three or four magazines and received rejections. Not understanding then how the market works, I assumed this meant the story sucked and I put it away. I dusted it off in 2006, when I heard Farah Mendlesohn was putting together an anthology called Glorifying Terrorism. Thinking my piece might fit, I sent it to her and she bought it. Appearing alongside outstanding authors like Ian Watson and Jo Walton and Adam Roberts and Charles Stross, among many others, is what finally got me more serious about writing fiction. 

What themes do you like to write about? Love. Pain. Arachibutyrophobia.

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 can name favorite authors, novels and stories until you run out of pixels, but the "as an author" part narrows this question quite a bit. I generally don't try to emulate anyone when I write, but anytime I'm feeling lost as a writer, there are two particular authors whose works most often pop into my head to help show me a path.

The first is Ursula K. LeGuin. She has an amazing facility at creating a flow to her language. And I love how she presents very complex characters, then gradually shows how simple they really are, breaking them down to their core humanity. I tried to do that in my first story in F&SF, "The Long View."

The second is Orson Scott Card. I understand why so many people take offense at his politics, and I strongly disagree with him on same-sex marriage and many other issues. But I'm not able to pretend he isn't also a brilliant author. I love how he presents seemingly simple characters, then gradually shows how complex they really are, building them up to reveal their core humanity. I tried to do that in "The Dualist," my wining story in the Writers of the Future Contest.

Famous Last Words, Flash Fiction, Issue 51, June 2020

Jeffrey Hunt is a high school English teacher and tennis coach. He blogs at https://batchandnarrative.com/ with his wife, a dietitian. They write about cooking and writing and being transplants to North Carolina. Jeffrey has been published in Mystery Weekly Magazine, The Norwegian American, and Schlock Magazine, and he has upcoming work in Collective Realms and Four Star Stories. Recently, Jeffrey's been fishing a lot, as he tries to figure out how to teach Romeo and Juliet if classes are doing distance learning come fall of 2020. It's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, though Jeffrey is always open to suggestions on how to best utilize Google Meet and Zoom (or open to suggestions on how to teach freshman in general).

Get to know Jeffrey...

Birthdate?

July 14th

When did you start writing?

Unsuccessfully, I guess you could say I started in middle school. More successfully, I started writing fiction in graduate school, to pass the time and to keep myself entertained.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first publication was a story called "Often Go Awry" in The WifFiles. That was in 2014 and they didn't pay and aren't around anymore. So that story's a bit obscure, though The Drabble published my "story" "Page 2, Paragraph 25" in 2018, which corresponded with my exit from the world of academia. And that publication's what really what lit a fire under me. I've had longer stuff since, but I absolutely love The Drabble so I'd urge people to check them out. They put out a single, 100 word-or-less piece of poetry or prose ever single day, and it's always all so magnificently clever.

Why do you write?

Writing helps make me a better English teacher. It's fun, it passes the time, and I really enjoy having a creative outlet.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Science fiction and fantasy offer the best commentaries we humans have regarding who we are. "Spec fic" allows us to understand problems and beauty and everything else in ways that are enlightening and through means that often slip under our defenses.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

My favorite author is Joseph Heller, of Catch-22. My favorite story (and STORY -- while the book is great, the story is perfection) is "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I really want to just make people laugh. The niche of humorous science fiction is one that doesn't get enough attention, and I'm not sure if I'm the best at tackling "big ideas." So I try for comedy, and I hope it works.

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

"He was a terrific husband."

Do you blog?

Yes, at  https://batchandnarrative.com/. The blog should... be updated a lot more frequently, but it is there!

If You See Her, Flash Fiction, Issue 47, June 15, 2019

Get to know Patrick:

Birthdate?

June 9th, 1981

When did you start writing?

I remember scribbling stuff all the time when I was a little kid, but the first complete story I remember writing was in 4th grade. It was a ghost story which had the brilliant title "Dark Thing." 

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first post-college publication was a science fiction story on The Drabblecast podcast titled "Luna Springs." It was about a nursing home on the moon. 

Why do you write?

I write because I love stories. I love it when the words seem to come from nowhere--like I'm the first reader instead of the one writing them. It's the closest thing I've felt to a religious experience. 

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I love writing science fiction and fantasy because almost anything can happen. The familiar can be made strange and wonderful and vice versa.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

It's hard to have just one! Tolkien, Gaiman, LeGuin, and Pratchett are some of my favorites. Stephen King as well. "A Study in Emerald" is one of my favorite stories. "Those Who Walk Away From Omelas" is another, for entirely different reasons. 

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

Stories have power. Everything has its own story and those stories are worth hearing. 

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

Once upon a time, he lived and was loved. Now he goes where stories go after The End. 

Do you blog?

I haven't for a few years, but I plan to start again once I've created a new website. 

The Assignation, poetry, Issue 19, June 1, 2012

James Hutchings lives in Melbourne, Australia. He fights crime as Poetic Justice, but his day job is acting. You might know him by his stage-name 'Brad Pitt.' He specializes in short fantasy fiction. His work has appeared in Daily Science Fiction, fiction365 and Enchanted Conversation among other markets. His ebook collection The New Death and others, is now available from Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble online. He blogs daily at www.apolitical.info/teleleli

Get to know James...

Birthdate? January 3rd, 1973.

When did you start writing? I did a Bachelor of Arts majoring in creative writing and media, but I didn't do anything with it after graduating. Years later I created a fantasy city called Teleleli or Telelee as a background for role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. Once I finished I realized there wasn't any demand for it. My ex suggested I write stories instead, and that's how I got started. Along the way I realized that my poems were better received, so I'm concentrating on them now.

When and what and where did you first get published? I had a poem in an anthology called Journeys to the Point some time in the 90s. But my first publication after I started writing again last year was when I sold a story of 22 words to Nanoism, a website which prints fiction of 140 characters or less. It was called 'With This Device', and it was a science fiction story about time travel.

What themes do you like to write about? I write about cats a lot. But I'm a lot more cynical about them than some cat-lovers. One reviewer (of my collection The New Death and others) said he couldn't work out whether I loved cats or hated them.   

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?

JRR Tolkien and Jack Vance: The elaborate dialogue.

Robert E Howard: The general atmosphere of decay.

Terry Pratchett: The humour.

Lord Dunsany: The use of Fame, Time and so on as characters. 

The Collective Good, Flash Fiction, Issue 50, March 15, 2020

Brit E. B. Hvide is a writer and editor. She studied creative writing and physics at Northwestern University. Originally from Singapore, she now lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their dog. Visit her website https://brithvide.wordpress.com/ or follow her on Twitter @bhvide 

Food of the Gods, Flash Fiction, Issue 54, March 2021

Jess Hyslop is a British writer of fantasy, fabulism, and science fiction. Her short stories have appeared in venues such as Interzone, Daily Science Fiction, and Cast of Wonders. Jess can be found online at www.jesshyslop.com. Offline, she resides in Oxford with a number of slowly decaying houseplants

Get to know Jess...

When did you start writing?

I honestly cannot remember! Like many writers, I’ve been  since I was very young. I have just always loved stories - both consuming and creating them.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first ever publication was a poem that was selected for a school poetry anthology when I was about 8. I suspect it was terrible. My first publication as an adult, however, was a story published in Lightning Flash Magazine in July 2011. Lightning Flash closed later that year, but happily the story was then reprinted in Mirror Dance’s Autumn 2013 issue. 

What themes do you like to write about?

My stories are incredibly eclectic in both genre and theme. I’ve written everything from a steampunk retelling of the abdication scene in Richard II to a literary story about the occupation of Guernsey in WWII. Having said that, I do often return to explorations of the abuse of power and dogma.