An Android Primer, Poetry, Issue 34, December 1, 2015

Birthday? August 13. Leo all the way!

When did you start writing? I wrote silly stories when I was a kid, but the first real story I ever wrote was in response to a ridiculous high school English assignment. The teacher wanted a 10-page essay on something I didn’t care about, so I complained and he gave me the option of writing a short story instead. I wrote a story about a kid who wanted to be a clown but his dad wanted him to be a stockbroker, so the kid ran away with the circus. Surprisingly, the teacher loved it, and so did my class. I realized that my words had the power to entertain. After that, I was hooked.

When and what and where did you first get published? This is my first official publication in a magazine, so thank you so much, NewMyths!

What themes do you like to write about? I like to write poetry that collides with genre fiction. My poem “An Android Primer” takes place in the world of my science fiction adventure series, Android X. It explores the themes from that series that I wasn’t able to go into very deeply in the novels, like technology, relationships between androids and humans, and life in the year 2300. Writing original poetry in my already-established worlds adds a third dimension to the story, which is why I love integrating the two mediums.

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 love quirkiness, and above all, I love nontraditional characters. One of my favorite authors is Hans Christian Andersen---I love how he takes inanimate objects and gives them such personality that you root for them. That’s what I like to do in my own work—give emotions to underdog characters like androids. When you can get inside this kind of character’s head, your options are limitless.

Biography 

Michael La Ronn writes poetry that collides with genre fiction, exploring what it means to be human through the eyes of nontraditional characters like androids. His writings are filled with quirky and imaginative humor. He is the author of over 20 books and has no plans to slow down anytime soon. Michael has a special offer for NewMyths readers at www.michaellaronn.com/newmyths

River Dragon's Curse, Flash Fiction, Issue 22, March 1, 2013

The Blood of Four Gods, Fiction, Issue 29, December 1, 2014

Song of Rotting Plants, Dances of Wilting Leaves, Flash Fiction, Issue 33, December 1, 2015

Jamie Lackey lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and cat. Her fiction has appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and the Stoker Award-winning After Death... She's a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Her short story collection, One Revolution, is available on Amazon.com, and her debut novel, Left Hand Gods, is forthcoming from Hadley Rille Books. Find her online at www.jamielackey.com.

Get to know Jamie...

Birthdate? April 26, 1984

When did you start writing? About first grade or so.  My very first story was a straight-up ripoff of The Little Mermaid, written by hand. I think I might still have it somewhere.  

When and what and where did you first get published? My first published story was called "Boy Meets Girl," and it appeared in the Winter 2007 issue of Trail of Indiscretion.  

What themes do you like to write about? Innocence, the nature of love, free will, and mortality.

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? Bloodchild by Octavia Butler deals with many of the themes that most interest me, and I love the characters in Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn.  They all have a quiet depth that I'd love to be able to emulate. 

Butterfly Weather, Fiction, Issue 24, September 1, 2013

Hannah Lackoff has a BFA in English with a Creative Writing Concentration from Wheaton College in Massachusetts. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and has been published or upcoming in 10,000 Tons of Black Ink, Spark, Solarcide, Pinball, Kaleidotrope, Bourbon Penn and others.  It has also been performed at Wheaton College.

Get to know Hannah...

Birthdate? 4/13/85

When did you start writing?  I started writing even before I could physically write. When I was very small I would tell my parents stories and one of them would write them down. Then I would illustrate them, staple the pages together, and have my very own book.  

When and what and where did you first get published? Besides the books I used to make, I think my first time being published was in my high school’s literary magazine, which of course was made up of mostly angsty teenage poetry. My story was a prose-poem retelling of Snow White. It was kind of dark and made my friend’s mom uncomfortable.  

What themes do you like to write about? I like the weird and unusual, the dark and the improbable. I like writing about things that are just a little bit off from regular life.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? I really admire both Kelly Link and Aimee Bender as authors. When I first read them a couple of years ago I felt like I recognized something in their stories and novels that I was trying to do in my own work. At that time I hadn’t been published anywhere outside of high school and college publications, and reading their books really made me think that maybe my stories could be published somewhere. I also loved Audrey Niffeneger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife and Karen Russell’s Swamplandia. I think they both do wonderful, character driven writing that is completely ordinary except for one (or two, or three) very strange elements which, in a way, drive the character driven books.

The Demon and the Broomstick, Fiction, Fall 2022

Ali LaForce has had stories published or forthcoming in All Worlds Wayfarer, Bards and Sages Quarterly, and Tales from the Magician’s Skull.  

Get to know Ali

Birthdate?

May 26th

When did you start writing?

I started writing when I was in elementary school, shortly after I

read a wonderful picture book that had been written by an author who

was a kid. I thought it was the neatest thing to read a book written

by a young author. Then I decided that if they could write a story, so

could I.

When and what and where did you first get published?

I first got published in college. My work was included in The Hungry

Eye, which was the literary journal published by Colorado State

University-Pueblo.

Why do you write?

I love stories and when I can't find the type of story I'm craving, I

write it myself. I hope others will enjoy reading about my characters,

places, and plots as much as I enjoyed writing about them.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Because everything's better with a little bit of magic.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Gosh, this is a tough question to answer. There are so many authors I

enjoy. But the one I go back to again and again is Terry Pratchett.

He was a master at humor as well as compassion and insights into human nature. My very favorite Terry Pratchett stories are Discworld books that feature either the Night Watch or Tiffany Aching.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

Sometimes you can find something bright even in the darkness.

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

“Life is short, pet more dogs.”

Special Ingredient, Flash Fiction, Issue 31, June 1, 2015

Scouting Goldilocks, Flash Fiction, Issue 34, March 1, 2016

Jason Lairamore is a writer of science fiction, fantasy, and horror who lives in Oklahoma with his beautiful wife and their three monstrously marvelous children. His work is both featured and forthcoming in over 55 publications to include Sci Phi Journal, Perihelion Science Fiction, Stupefying Stories and Third Flatiron publications to name a few.

Get to know Jason...

Birthday? 2/4/1976

When did you start writing? I got serious about writing 3 years ago, after many decades of reading genre fiction.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first published story was 'Lost Dreams', a 2300 word tale, to infectiveink.com in 2012. http://infectiveink.com/?p=512

What themes do you like to write about? To me, themes come from tangential thinking. I don't try to limit myself and find that I do span the range of the human condition. I like to try new things, hard things, that I'm not fully cognizant of - doing so ramps my sense of wonder.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? The golden age of science fiction has always been my favorite. I love the fast pace and action dominating styles of those short novels. I find that my own voice tends to bend in that direction.

The Forest, in the Full of the Moon, poem, Issue 53, December 2020

Geoffrey A. Landis is a poet, a science-fiction writer and a scientist. As a poet, he has won the Rhysling, Dwarf Stars, and Asimov’s Readers Awards. As a SF writer, he has won the Hugo and Nebula awards.  As a scientist, he is a Mars scientist and  a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts fellow.  He also fences épée. More information is on his web page, http://www.geoffreylandis.com/

Get to know Geoffrey...

Birthdate?

May 28.

When did you start writing?

I’d written the odd piece now and then when I was younger, but I only started seriously writing a few years after I got out of college.

When and what and where did you first get published?

I wrote my first story when I was in graduate school, a story about (guess what) graduate students studying magic, in a society in which magic was just considered another technology. It was accepted on the submission, and ended up being the cover story of the December 1984 issue of Analog.

Why do you write?

It seemed to me that I’d gotten a lot out of science fiction and fantasy, and to be fair I should return something back.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Imagination rules! I’d have to say, science fiction and fantasy has always been a central part of my life. I expect to spend the rest of my life in the future, why shouldn’t I write about it?

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

The answer to that will change from day to day, maybe from minute to minute, depending on when you ask. Usually, my favorite author is the one I’m reading right now. Today, I think I’ll go with Greg Egan as my favorite author; his work can be quite astonishing, if you like stories where you have to follow the math. Loved his recent story “The Slipway;” it took me a couple of hours to convince myself yes, he was three steps ahead of me every step of the way

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

Well, stories mostly should explain themselves. But some part of what I’m saying, look, the world is a weird and wonderful place. We need to explore it!

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

Here lies Geoffrey Landis, who died at the age of 978 while exploring the ice-caves of Pluto’s moon Charon.

Do you blog?

For about ten years I was the organizer and administrator of clevelandpoetics, a blog for and about the poetry community in Cleveland. Just this year I passed that duty along, though. Now the closest I come is posting on Facebook.

The Strega of Fitzgerald Street, Fiction. Issue 14, March 1, 2011

David W. Landrum teaches Literature at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. His fiction has appeared widely. He edits the on-line poetry journal, Lucid Rhythms, www.lucidrhythms.com. 

Get to know David...

Birthdate? June 18, 1951

When did you start writing? About 1990.

When and what and where did you first get published? story, "The Girl Who Knew Nick Drake" in Amarillo Bay magazine.

Why do you write? To express feelings and ideas.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? It opens up imaginative possibilities not found is regular literary fiction.

Who is your favorite author? Michael Chabon

Your favorite story? "Fat" by Raymond Carver

What are you trying to say with your fiction? Right choices and right character can bring healing.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? I would quote a line from Robert Frost's After Apple Picking: "For I have had enough of apple-picking. I am tired / Of the great harvest I myself desired."

Book View Cafe, Nonfiction, Issue 7, June 1, 2009

Sue Lange's The Textile Planet is available as a free ebook at http://www.bookviewcafe.com/sue-lange/novels/Free-ebook-The-Textile-Planet

Get to know Sue...

Birthdate? 7/21/1958

When did you start writing? 2000

When and what and where did you first get published? An anthology of cat stories. I can't remember the name of the anthology, which is a good thing, as my contribution was pretty bad.

Why do you write? To communicate my ideas to the world

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? My ideas fit that category.

Who is your favorite author? No one favorite. My current favorite is Stanislaw Lem.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? The world is a very serious place but there's no reason to take it seriously.

Do you blog? Where? http://suelange.wordpress.com; http://blog.bookviewcafe.com/

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? Here lies someone who took the world too seriously.

A Wreath of Laurel, Fiction, Issue 8, September 1, 2009

Lisa Langeland lives in Minnesota where she manages graphic and web design projects for a state agency. Most people think she's a walking contradiction, which Lisa believes is preferable to the alternative. Lisa spent her youth in various locals in eastern South Dakota and, as a young child, lived in a central Ontario mining town. She finished high school and attended college in Minnesota. She is currently engrossed in guitar lessons, nature photography, and writing short stories.

Get to know Lisa...

Birthdate? December 2

When did you start writing? When I was 7 or 8 years old

When and what and where did you first get published? In 1995 in my college's literary arts magazine. The story was called "C'est la vie: A Satire of Stereotypes."

Why do you write? I feel compelled by the characters and plots that pop in my head where they keep swirling around until I commit them to paper (or rather computer).

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? That's just the kind of plot and settings that my mind naturally gravitates toward (probably because I like science and ancient/medieval history). I find most mainstream literature boring and overwrought.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? Homer's (the Greek guy, not the cartoon guy) Odyssey

What are you trying to say with your fiction? It depends on the story. Mostly, I'm just trying to tell a good yarn. I don't like overtly preachy stories.

Do you blog? Where? Only for my day job, anonymously.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? "Made you look."

An Unnecessary Evil, Fiction, Issue 15, June 1, 2011

D.K. Latta has written dozens of short stories of SF and fantasy, and has also written reviews of movies, novels, and graphic novels. He lives in Canada.

Author's Website

http://www.pulpanddagger.com/dk_latta.html

Get to know D.K...

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? Strangely, I would suggest Edgar Rice Burroughs, if only because I read him in my formative years, and he taught me the importance of pacing, of keeping the story moving, and that whimsy and drama can work together. Whether I've actually expressed that in my own work...well, I'm still learning. And also Philip K. Dick's stories "Service Call" and "Foster, You're Dead" strike me as two brilliant examples of two polar extremes of SF."

Transposing the Planes: Supernatural vs. Natural Elements in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Mort D'Arthur, Nonfiction, Issue 38, March 15, 2017

Discovering King Arthur, Nonfiction, Issue 42, March 15 2018

E.J. Lawrence was born in Memphis, TN and grew up in a small Southern town by the Mississippi River. An avid reader from an early age, she discovered a love of fantasy (and England) when her dad bought her a copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Living in the country afforded many opportunities to explore fantastical worlds, and the woods behind her house became Terabithia, the corn field became the Great Eastern Sea, and her playhouse, a house in Hobbiton. These days she lives in Athens, GA, where she teaches English literature courses and is working on a fantasy novel, inspired by her love of Grail lore. Visit her at ejlawrence.vpweb.com. 

Get to know E.J...

Birthdate? December 29

When did you start writing? In kindergarten, I wrote a book about a family of bunnies saying hello to their forest friends; but professionally, for about ten years.

When and what and where did you first get published? "Five Ways to Look at the Sky," Stylus, the Literary Magazine for Millsaps College, May 2006

What themes do you like to write about? I enjoy exploring the ideas of belonging, loyalty, home, and humanity's relationship to our past. I also like to write characters who must discover that doing the right thing very often looks like doing the wrong 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? The Tales of King Arthur have long resonated with me; the quest for the Grail is, as Brody so eloquently tells Indiana Jones, "the quest for the divine..." Ideals--fear, lust, perfection, the divine--are all given form, so the characters interact with them in ways we can't. It is a tale of tragedy, but also one of heroism and redemption. Though the style is medieval, the story is so very human.

Website? https://ejlawrence.com/

Twitter? @litqueen1

Master of Flame and Iron, Nonfiction, Issue 34, March 1, 2016

Biography

I am 72, been married three times and led an interesting life in that it has had lots of ups and downs, but I don’t regret anything. I think the world is a fascinating, beautiful and dangerous place and we sometimes forget what a gift it is. 

Most of my working life has been spent in the field of employability, helping unemployed adults get back into work, training or just getting the confidence to move forward. At present I am an Employment Adviser working in local government. 

I live alone in Blackpool in the UK with my dog who is great company. I love writing, doing puzzles, and crosswords and I think I’m pretty lucky as I have a very supportive family who encourage me in everything I do. 

Get to know Linda...

Birthday? 16th December 1943 

When did you start writing? 

I started in 1999 after a divorce. It gave me a new direction and an opportunity to do something I really enjoy.

When and what and where did you first get published?

I got my first article “The Right to be Left” published in The Lady magazine. It was about how being left-handed affected people’s lives historically and in modern times.

What themes do you like to write about? I am really interested in mythology, folklore and the psychological/psychic effects of our five senses. I enjoy writing non-fiction articles as well as fiction, mainly short stories with a twist in the tail.

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? In non-fiction I love anything written by Lyall Watson as his work really makes me aware of the “connectedness” of things. 

My favourite fiction writer is David Baldacci and I like Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct books as the characters feel like old friends. There are many others – I read a wide variety of books but not much romance.

Oath of the Oni Brothers, Fiction, Issue # 64, Fall 2023

Get to know Chun Lee...

Birthdate?

 July 8th, 1979

When did you start writing?

 I started in high school and they were very bad. Thankfully social media wasn’t around or the teenaged Chun would have posted them and adult Chun would have been scouring the internet to rid the world of them.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first publication was a zombie firemen story called “A Contained Inferno.” The zombies lose because they still want to stop fires but they end up walking into the blazes. It was at the now defunct horror journal Late Late Show.

Why do you write?

There are perfect stories out there. Invisible and floating in the air. And thankfully there are an infinite amount of them. Our job as writers is to try to catch them as intact as possible. Every time we catch one the world is different and therefore better… usually.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I love the idea that a small tweak in the world can so fully change the nature of the worlds in our minds. Explaining how these new worlds work and how its characters manage those places is one of the greatest joys in life. 

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

I don’t think I have favorite authors anymore. I have flirtations and major crushes. My current flirtations are R.F. Kuang, Adrian Tchalkovsky, while my major crushes are Lev Grossman and Patrick Rothfuss. Rothfuss’ incomplete Kingkiller trilogy is the kind of fiction that always makes me return and yearn for more.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

 Behold. I have feelings! And I have cleverly hid them behind some plots, characters, and themes.

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

 Oh man! How did this happen? I was supposed to have my head frozen or have my consciousness downloaded into a massive super computer so I could live forever.

Do you blog?

 I did. You are welcome to seek out the vast internet and find it if you can.

Book Review: Thistlefoot, Book Reviews, Winter 2023

Irene Lyla Lee is a writer, book artist, and educator based in Brooklyn. Her reviews, art writing, and fiction, have appeared in The Rumpus, The Brooklyn Rail, Chronogram, Hyperallergic, and Visitant. She holds an MFA in writing from Pratt Institute and has appeared in its literary magazine, The Felt. 

Get to  know Irene…

Birthdate? May 4, 1990

When did you start writing?

 I must have started writing around 9 years old...to pass the time, to give myself a reason, a lifeline. Another answer would be that I start writing every day; it's always a journey getting to the page each morning. 

When and what and where did you first get published?

I consider my first publication a collaboration made with Flux Factory in Queens, NY. I worked with a series of writers to assemble a book version of a wonder cabinet, and the book that came as a result was part of the show there. That was in 2014.

I wrote a fairy tale for the book in a similar vein to The Golden Key by George MacDonald. It's about a sister who looks for a lost brother who has lived his life in a cabinet that is also a portal into another world. 

Why do you write?

 I write to discover. And for other reasons that always elude me when I try to put them into words.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Science fiction tends to ask questions about why and how we are the way we are, and so it always comes back to how we are living now. Because of this conceit there is always potential. I want to write about the potentials for how we can interact with each other and the world. 

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

 This is so hard. It changes all the time, but I have been completely in love with Vi Khi Nao’s Fish in Exile.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

 That we are part of something larger than ourselves. 

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

 "take me back to the ground"

Do you blog?

 I kind of do. I'm also starting a newsletter soon. You can keep in touch on my website ilyali.com or instagram @ilylalipress

For Mary Soon's bio please click here

Letting Go, Fiction, Issue 2, March 1, 2008

Why Not? Poetry, Issue 49, December 2019

Living Things, Poetry, Issue 50, March 15, 2020

Replenishing Eden, Poetry, Issue 65, Winter 2023

Mono Duality, Poetry, Issue 67, Summer 2024

Biography:

Gerri Leen lives in Northern Virginia and originally hails from Seattle. In addition to being an avid reader and an at-times sporadic writer, she's passionate about horse racing (the racing part, not betting), tea, whisky, handbags, and art. She has work appearing in: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Dark Matter, The HWA Poetry Showcase, and Strange Horizons.  Nature, Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, Daily Science Fiction, Grievous Angel, Grimdark, and others. She's edited several anthologies for independent presses and is a member of SFWA and HWA. See more at http://www.gerrileen.com. She has had her poetry nominated or the Pushcart Prize, the Dwarf Stars, and the Rhysling. 

Get to know Gerri...

Birthdate? I'm a November Scorpio of 60's vintage.

When did you start writing? I've dabbled in fiction since I was a kid, started writing poetry in the 1980's, but didn't start writing fiction steadily until 2000.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first published story was "Obligations Discharged" in the Star Trek Strange New Worlds VII new writer contest anthology. This came out in 2004.

Why do you write? Because I can't not write. Because it gives me joy to write. Because I hope I have something fun, or interesting, or enlightening, or creepy to share.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I love the freedom these genres give a writer. Freedom geographically and thematically. Also, I love to incorporate mythology in my work, and Fantasy really lends itself to that.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? I don't have one favorite author and some of my favorite writers aren't, strictly speaking, authors. Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly, is a writing god to me. So is Kevin Smith.  For more traditional authors, I'd point to Doug Coupland, Armistead Maupin, Connie Willis, Brendan Halpin, Alice Hoffman, and Max Barry. I also love Simon R. Green's Nightside novels. My favorite single story would have to be the novel 

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? Depends on the piece. Some of the themes I play with are redemption, sacrifice, love in its many forms, the price of having what you want, betrayal, and coming to terms with life or the end of same. Other times, I'm just having fun and/or being very silly.

Do you blog? Where? I don't blog. I'm a luddite at times. Also into my privacy. I tried to blog and couldn't do it. Maybe someday, I'll learn to blog.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? "We're sad she's gone."

The Boy Who Cried Fire, Flash Fiction, Premier Issue, December 1, 2007

Laura LeHew is an award winning poet whose poems have appeared or are forthcoming in such journals/anthologies as Alehouse Press, Arabesques Review, Ellipsis, Elysian Fields Quarterly, Pank, PMS, and Tiger’s Eye. Well on her way to being a crazy cat lady she resides in sunny Oregon with her husband and their five “children.”

Get to know Laura...

Birthdate? 11/29/57

When did you start writing? 7 years ago

When and what and where did you first get published?  Wolf Tales and You Have Male were accepted at the same time for The Peralta Press in their first issue on Spring '01.

Why do you write? Really, I have no choice in the matter.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? Growing up I shared a room with my two younger sisters. Every night my mother would read to us from Grimm’s Fairy Tales. These stories were often unpredictable, cruel, typically ending with a moral. They were not the gentrified Disney fairy tales served up today. I loved them. Shortly after I learned to read, my mother did two other things to encourage my reading and imagination. First, she forbade me to read anything on the top book shelf. Writers like Robert Heinlein, Larry Niven, Theodore Sturgeon were kept there. "No" was not a word that sat well with me, especially if there was no adequate answer to my inevitable “why?”. Second she insisted that we, me and my sisters, accompany her to the weekly Holiday Drive-In for the all night creature features; and that I stay awake while my sisters slept. The original War of the Worlds is still one of the scariest movies I’ve seen and similar to the tales of the Brothers Grimm.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower.

Do you blog? Where? Nope.

Extinction Event Blues, Flash Fiction, Issue 67, Summer 2024

Andrew Leonard is a married father of three – one human and two golden doodles - residing in Illinois. A speculative fiction writer with a dystopian bent, his works have appeared in Utopia Science Fiction Magazine, Andromeda Spaceways, Sci-Fi Shorts, and Metastellar. 

Get to know Leonard...

Birthdate? 1/2/82 

When did you start writing? 2022 (speculative fiction) 

When and what and where did you first get published?  As far as speculative fiction goes, my poem "Doe-Eye Dreamer" was published in the February/March 2023 issue of Utopia Science Fiction Magazine.  

Why do you write?   I've always preferred to communicate via writing instead of spoken word. I like to think my written words are more thorough and polished than speaking verbally, which is usually done off-the-cuff and doesn't allow for time to really ponder what I'm saying.  

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?  Science fiction and fantasy are genres that I've naturally gravitated towards most of my life, because of the vivid, immerse worlds and characters they've spawned. So many speculative tales are immersive and awe-inspiring, leading me to ask myself, "what would your world look like, how would it function, who lives in it?" And that's when I put the pen to the pad. 

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?  Can't say I have definitive favorite, but J.RR. Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, and Alastair Reynolds all hold special places in my heart.  

What are you trying to say with your fiction?  Sometimes, it's just a creative outlet, but it can also be a vehicle that helps me self-reflect and overcome life's challenges. More often than not, my stories are personal and introspective. Social commentary isn't usually my forte, but I do implement it from time to time.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?  "All that we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us" - Gandalf

The Kitsune's Embrace, poetry, issue 46, March 15, 2019

The Carousel, poetry, Issue 48, September 15, 2019

Ophelia Leong has been published by Mothers Always Write, The Arcanist, Beyond Science Fiction, Mamalode, Literary Mama, and others. She is a stay-at-home mom of four and she writes and Irish dances in her spare time.

Get to know Ophelia Leong

Birthdate?

January 30, 1990

When did you start writing?

I started writing when I was fourth grade. I used to start a lot of stories, but didn't always finish them! I have been writing ever since.

When and what and where did you first get published?

I consider my first real publication to be "Song of Coos," a poem I wrote about my kids when they were babies. A wonderful online literary magazine called Mothers Always Write published it and I remember feeling so excited and grateful.

Why do you write?

I write because I love to read. I love books and words, and I find myself thinking of stories and characters all the time. I have so many ideas! I wish I had more hours in the day to write all that I want to.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Fantasy is what started my love of reading. I was in fourth grade and started reading Harry Potter and all the David Eddings books. Then I discovered Tolkien, Tamora Pierce, Patricia C. Wrede, and Juliet Marillier. I was hooked. I had so much fun imagining my own worlds and magic that I knew I wanted to write fantasy like my favorite authors. I write other genres as well, but fantasy is my number one. I have written one science fiction story, called "Nannybot," and it was recently published by The Arcanist. I would like to write more Science Fiction though.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

So hard to choose one! I listed a few favorites in my answer to the question above. I love Lord of the Rings, books and movies, and am re-reading Return of the King right now. I also love Rosamunde Pilcher's novels and short stories. Tove Jansson's Moomin novels are wonderful, as well as Roald Dahl's books, especially Boy. I love Juliet Marillier's Sevenwaters series. I could go on. :)

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I suppose I want to help others find strength and joy within themselves and their lives. My love of reading and writing helped me get through some hard times, and reading about strong characters overcoming the odds gave me strength too. I also love writing about food, tea, and simple pleasures.

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

Honestly, probably a Lord of the Rings quote.

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,  

Do you blog?

I used to be better at keeping up with my blog, but I still have it. Once I have more time I'll stay on top of it. It's not easy with four kids, but I am hopeful that time will open up. Here's the address: ophelialeong.blogspot.com

Corrupted Science, Book Review, March 1, 2008

Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained, Book Review, March 1, 2008

Isaac Asimov, Nonfiction, Issue 9, December 1, 2009

Charles Babbage and the Difference Engine, Nonfiction, September 1, 2010

Hitler's War, Book Review, December 1, 2010

Ars Memoriae, Book Review, March 1, 2011

Dead Streets, Book Review, April 18, 2011

The Malleus Maleficarum, Nonfiction, Issue 15, June 1, 2011

I.E. Lester is a lifelong science fiction fan, from when an Asimov book cover attracted a 9-year-old sheltering from the rain in a seafront kiosk.

Having read the fiction of Asimov (and Heinlein, Clarke, etc.) he moved onto Asimov's nonfiction, encouraging a love of science.

A University graduate in Mathematics/Astrophysics, he works in computing. When not reading scifi or science, you'll find him watching cricket or rugby, or wandering medieval streets in France or Italy.

Get to know I.E...

Birthdate? January 15th, 1968

When did you start writing? First submission to a writing market was in February 2007.

When and what and where did you first get published? First issue of now defunct UK sf website Darker Matter - March 2007.

Why do you write? I am not totally sure to be honest.  After years of being an avid reader with people telling me I should write I finally tried. Sold the first article I submitted and now am hooked.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?Neither as yet, I've been writing exclusively non-fiction - science and history articles and reviews.

Who are your favorite authors? Your favorite stories?

Isaac Asimov, followed by Robert Charles Wilson and Mike Resnick

Frank Herbert's Dune (the book not the film or TV mini-series), Ward Moore's Bring the Jubliee, Lester del Rey's Police Your Planet, Asimov's Foundation Trilogy and Julian May's Galactic Milieu Trilogy.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? Not a fiction writer, but with the nonfiction I guess it's an extension of my penchant for explaining things.

Do you blog? Where? I don't, although it is an intention of mine to start...

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? A believer in science.

Arthurian Fantasy Fiction through the Ages, Nonfiction, Issue 24, September 1, 2013

Hunter Liguore, a multi-Pushcart Prize nominee, earned a MFA in Creative Writing and a BA in History. Her work has appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, New Plains Review, The Irish Pages, Empirical Magazine, DESCANT, The Writer's Chronicle, Rattling Wall: PEN USA, Strange Horizons, Amazing Stories, and more. She is the editor-in-chief of the print journal, American Athenaeum. She revels in old legends, swords and heroes. www.skytalewriter.com

Get to know Hunter...

What themes do you like to write about? History and mythology. Causality. Philosophy. I like thinking about the social aspects facing our world and dissect them in novel form to work out questions and solutions, if there are any. I like to think about the causes of events, and ask hard questions to get at the human condition. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about King Arthur (thus the essay) and what it means to be an advocate of peace who also rules. Or the person doing bad who also does good—a paradoxical character. An example of this is in my short story, “The River and the Pen.” (published Descant, fall 2013). It tells the story of an average woman hired to drop a pen that contains a lethal virus into a river. Downstream is the unsuspecting village, and the hundreds of people who will become infected and perish. Throughout the piece, the woman struggles with her decision, but rationalizes that it is actually the best thing for the village. It’s a piece that ultimately makes you think. In the end, that’s what most of my work attempts to accomplish.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? The philosophy novel is one of my favorites. Stories that combine a certain level of philosophy and thinking, that pause to inquire, while delivering a working story. Usually, books of this nature are multi-layered, like Briefing for a Descent Into Hell by Doris Lessing. While on the surface it is a story of a man’s “descent” into madness, it is also filled with mythological symbolism that necessitates the author’s participation in understanding, but is deeply routed in the larger questions on what it means to be human.

Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? I think some of my work, at least in novel form, is allegorically driven. There are always two stories, the surface one that is spoken about in the back-jacket blurb, and the deeper one, that like Lessing’s work, isn’t always interpreted by the reader. For instance, my novel, The Arrow-Maker's Daughter, which is about a frontier man who takes a Native American woman prisoner in order to find a secret gold city, that he hopes will change his financial luck. This is the surface story; the gold city is an allegory for attaining inner riches.

Not everyone will see it. It takes someone who will pause long enough to unlock the puzzle the author intended. In our day, there is so much talk about distraction and being “fast-paced,” and people not having time, but I think this is a small sect of people. Plenty of people spend time with a book, and know when a different mindset is needed. We don’t read Austen the same way as Dostoevsky. Nor would I expect someone to read a Liguore novel the same way they do a commercial novel.

Princesses of the Light Realm (4), cover art, Issue 70, Spring 2025

Alexander Limarev, freelance artist, mail art artist, poet, visual poet, curator and coordinator of art projects and exhibitions from Russia/Siberia. Participated in more than 1000 international projects and exhibitions. His artworks are part of private and museum collections of 74 countries. His artworks as well as poetry have been featured in various online and print publications including BUKOWSKI ERASURE POETRY ANTHOLOGY (Silver Birch Press), BOUNDLESS ANTHOLOGY: The Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival, SUPERPRESENT: A MAGAZINE OF THE ARTS, FLORA FICTION LITERARY MAGAZINE, HOME PLANET NEWS: The Online Independent Literary Review, DADAKUKU, NEW FEATHERS ANTHOLOGY, ANTI-HEROIN CHIC, REVISTA LITERARIA OUROBOROS, ROUTE 7 REVIEW, UNLOST: journal of found poetry & art, #RANGER MAGAZINE, MAINTENANT etc. 

Get to know Alexander...

Birthdate?

July 6, 1963

When did you start creating art?

In my personal archive, I still have thematic drawings I created when I was five years old.

When and what and where did you first get published?

First publication of visual art (glitch art) in BRAVE NEW WORD MAGAZINE | #1 – 2016.

http://bnw-mag.blogspot.com/2016/12/alexander-limarev-5-glitch-works.html

Why do you create artworks?

It's one of the ways I communicate with the people around me.

What inspires you to create Science Fiction and/or Fantasy art?

I am inspired by books I have read and my own imagination. I try to record all the images or associations that arise: I write them down or make sketches. These are completely different images. There may be images that can be attributed to the fantasy genre. Along with traditional graphic and painting techniques I use mixed media, graphic editors, many other digital tools for processing originals and bitmap images. Some graphic works I create in co-authorship with AI.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Lewis Carroll's “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland”

What are you trying to say with your art?

I’m trying to convey the multi-dimensionality of our world or just sharing the images that come, my own thoughts and experiences with future viewers.

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

Lived - cried. Died - fell asleep.

Do you blog?

I used to keep four blogs that contained my visual art and creative works of my foreign colleagues for my eponymous mail art projects and exhibitions: “SHAKESPEARE 450”, “Graham Greene 110: SPY”, “PARALLELS”, “John Lennon: poet, artist, musician”. Now these blogs are not updated as access to them is blocked.

https://shakespeare450.blogspot.com/

https://grahamgreene110.blogspot.com/

https://parallels2000.blogspot.com/

https://johnlennon75.blogspot.com/

Even If It Cracks the Sky, Poetry, Issue 70, Spring 2025

Akis is a writer of bizarre things, a biomedical AI scientist, and maybe human. He’s also a Greek that lived across the globe and eventually plans to return to his cave in Crete, to write what words of beauty he can until the self-destructing empires of the world implode. Find his words at Apex, Strange Horizons, Uncharted, Heartlines Spec, and visit his lair for more: https://linktr.ee/akislinardos 

Get to know Akis...

Birthdate? 24 February 1993

When did you start writing? Summer 2018

When and what and where did you first get published? My first notable publication was in Apex Magazine, "Daughter, Mother, Charcoal" Published in 2023

Why do you write? To survive really. I have no expectations of grandiosity, I just need to vent the stuff that's inside me and escape in other worlds. If it ends up finding a home and connecting with someone that's even better.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? It allows me to create symbols that reflect the real world from a safer distance. Also it allows me to escape the routine of reality.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?  Can't say I have a single favorite author. When I started out I was inspired by Lovecraft's work and Hajime Isayama's Attack on Titan. Now these days I do enjoy Scott Lynch very much, and Lies of Locke Lamora has inspired my novel-writing a lot.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? Usually something along the lines of "don't oppress yourself and don't oppress others, including the environment"

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? "Tu fui, ego eres" > What you are, I once was; what I am, you will become.

Do you blog? Not in the formal sense, but I do have my newsletters out in a public archive! It can be found along with everything else, on my website: https://linktr.ee/akislinardos

The Hand of Loki, flash fiction, Issue 38, March 15, 2017

Marissa Lingen writes science fiction and fantasy for adults and kids. She lives in the Minneapolis suburbs with two large men and one small dog. She loves baking, cooking, hiking, hockey, and papercutting, to name a few. Visit her at 

www.marissalingen.com. 

Get to know Marissa...

Birthday? July 26, 1978

When did you start writing? As soon as I could write; before that I used my poor mother as a scribe.

When and what and where did you first get published? In 1999, I won the Asimov Award for Undergrads (now called the Dell Award), and that was my start. I sold a few things in 2000-2001 and have been at it ever since.

What themes do you like to write about? Oh gosh, it varies a lot. Memory is a big one for me. Quantum mechanics and the environment got tangled up somewhere along the line (my degree work is in physics), and both of them got tangled with family relationships, so...that one's always hard to explain.

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? For this story I think I would be remiss not to mention one of my earliest influences, which was D'Aulaire's Norse Gods and Giants (now D'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths). They gave me a very strong sense of the chiaroscuro world of Norse myth in ways that have stuck with me my entire life. Another thing that tells you both what kind of kid I was and what kind of writer I am is my love of Lloyd Alexander's Westmark series. I read quite a lot, honestly, so it's hard for me to choose whether to mention Pamela Dean or C.J. Cherryh, Dorothy Sayers or Colin Cotterill, Jill Lepore or Steven Ozment. I am a book sponge, and it probably shows.

Forty-Fourth Time's the Charm, Flash Fiction, Issue 56/57, Fall/Winter 2021

Love Across Time, Fiction, Issue 64, Fall 2023

Martin Lochman is a Czech science fiction author, currently living and working as a University librarian in Malta. He writes in both Czech and English, though doing so in the latter language somehow feels easier and more natural, as much as his inner patriot hates to admit it. His flash fiction and short stories appeared (or are forthcoming) in a variety of venues, including Kzine, 4 Star Stories, Theme of Absence, The Weird and Whatnot, XB-1 (Czech SFFH magazine), and others. You can find him at: https://martinlochmanauthor.wordpress.com/.

Get to know Martin better...

Birthdate?

October 8.

When did you start writing?

I think I was still in primary school when I first picked up a pen and started scribbling down stories. Having been heavily influenced by SF classics both local and foreign, it was all about dinosaurs, aliens, spaceships, and the like right from the get-go. I am not ashamed to admit that my fascination with extinct fauna, distant worlds, and the mysterious Universe persisted to this day, some twenty years later.

When and what and where did you first get published?

It was back in 2005. My flash fiction piece entitled "Vědomí" ["Consciousness" in English] was picked up for an anthology featuring young, emerging authors. The funny thing is that although I had submitted it as an SF story, it ended up in the fairytale category.

Why do you write?

That's a very good question. I'd say it has a lot to do with my very active imagination which simply needs an outlet, and since theatre, music, or painting aren't really my thing, what's left is putting words down on paper.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Because our everyday reality is most definitely in desperate need of some fantastic reshaping.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

I don't think I can narrow it down to one name and one title. I enjoy reading the veterans (Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Andre Norton, Michael Crichton) and (relatively) newer authors (Jan Hlávka, Miroslav Žamboch, James S. A. Corey, Stephen Baxter, Dale Bailey, Rich Larson, Caroline M. Yoachim, and others) alike.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

It varies. I generally strive to pass on a positive message, get readers to focus on things that truly matter in life (family, relationships, etc.), but sometimes I self-indulge in writing a light-hearted, not-so-serious story.

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

To be honest, I prefer not to think about my mortality too much, so I'll have to get back to you on that - maybe in ten-fifteen years, when I am feeling the unyielding effect of time more.

Do you blog?

Sporadically at https://martinlochmanauthor.wordpress.com/. 

Canary, Flash Fiction, Issue 63, Summer 2023

Get to know Barbara Lock...

Birthdate?

12/12/1971

When did you start writing?

I wrote in college--in fact, my major was in English Literature and Creative Writing, at Dartmouth College. I won the little prize there for undergraduates my year. I think it was called the Grimes Prize. Then I tucked everything away for several decades to become a doctor and have a bunch of children.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first publication was in the Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest Anthology, 2020, for a story called "The Lists." I had started this story several years before and submitted it to the contest prior to my MFA. Later, I was pleased to learn that the techniques I employed in the story, the use of recursive objects, surrealism, and slight magical realism, were desirable in fiction. Certainly, that story remains consistent with my style.

Why do you write?

I write to inhabit the lives of others, to take myself out of the mundane, circumscribed life I must lead--we all must--in order to stay employed and raise stable families and follow the law. I can go anywhere in my head, and when I write something that contains a certain beauty, a subtle symmetry, a story that draws on other stories each of us has dreamed of, then, occasionally, there is the possibility of approaching an art appreciable by others. This is quite a thrill.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Science Fiction and Fantasy offer the writer the option to make something relatively new, to have fewer limits, boundaries, restrictions. I would never say that there are no limits and no boundaries, for in order to communicate a story, one must have enough language in common to transmit the experience. Narrative is used to transmit an active experience from the creator/writer to the witness/reader. Stories are the programming of human beings; information is the programming of computers. Let's experience something together, is what I say.  

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Oh, there are so many! In the Science Fiction and Fantasy realm, I would point to "The Day Before the Revolution," by Ursula K. Le Guin, "The Story of Your Life," by Ted Chiang, and anything by Philip K. Dick. His short novel, The Man Who Japed, was a revelation to me. Absolutely nothing in this novel is explained, zero exposition. Pure narrative, pure experience, is what you get. It's like being dropped into another world. I'm quite the fan.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

Oh, I suppose I'm trying to say what we are all saying with our creative work: Thanks to the Universe for this incredible experience of living, with its joys, despairs, and dizzying sensory tapestry, and yet with this work I protest a boundary, safely.

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

Barbara Lock was a writer, editor, teacher, and physician. She was a pretty good mother and spouse, and a generous friend to some. From the beyond, she invites you to be present in your environment so you can experience life fully, and not to worry.

Do you blog?

I used to blog, but that was a long time ago. I do have a website: barbaralock.com.

The Key to the Door, Flash Fiction, Issue 51, June 2020

Dawn Lloyd is an American who got bored and set out across the world looking for adventure. Nineteen years, four continents and six countries later, she is still wandering the world working in various countries. More information about her adventures can be found at http://dawnlloyd.wikispaces.com/ . Her work has appeared in a variety of magazines including Space and Time, Triangulation: Last Contact, and Metaphorosis. She is the Editor in Chief of The Colored Lens speculative magazine.

Get to know Dawn...

Birthdate? November 20

When did you start writing? I started writing around about the time I learned to read. It didn't occur to me that this isn't something everyone did habitually.

When and what and where did you first get published? The first story I published was "Only the Dogs Bark" published in The Future Fire, summer, 2009.

Why do you write? I enjoy playing with words and making them do what I want them to do. I also enjoy playing with characters, but I have no luck making them do what I want them to do. The entire writing process fascinates me, and I

enjoy watching it unfold.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I like the freedom it provides to experiment with different concepts and

ideas.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? I can't begin to pick an absolute favorite. My oldest favorite is Tower of Glass by Robert Silverberg for the ideas. My newest favorite is The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness because of the characters and how perfectly it nails feelings of being a teenager and not being quite allowed in to all the important things going on around you. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is my number one book that I think everyone should read.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? I would love to write stories that inspire people to be better people. In reality, I write stories that show why real and good people don't always do as well as they would like to. I hope my stories inspire people to be sympathetic to our fellow humans even though we aren't always perfect.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? She tried to make the world a better place.

Do you blog?

I have a poorly maintained blog at https://brinker.livejournal.com/ . It is largely about my life and travels and rarely about writing.

Forensix, Fiction, Issue 14, December 1, 2010

Get to know Kimberley...

Birthdate? 4/27/1964

When did you start writing? I started writing fiction six years ago with an online graphic novel called Urban Fey. It can be read over at http://urbanfey.net. Before that, I did academic writing which isn't nearly as much fun.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first short story was published in August 2009 by Crossed Genres. It was an alternative history story called "Brahma's Missile".

Why do you write? My muse compels me. I started writing fiction because the stories were there and the characters kept pestering me. I had thought that if I wrote the stories then my muse would calm down. It's had the opposite effect actually so I just keep writing and looking for homes for my stories.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I like working with 'what ifs' - what are the implications of this idea or changing this bit of history or science?

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? This is a three-way tie. Neil Gaiman's American Gods, Kim Stanley Robinson's The Years of Rice and Salt, and Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? I explore the social implications of the environment. I'm interested in telling stories about strong characters who happen to be women and/or minorities. I think exploring issues of race/class/gender/culture brings a rich dimension to science fiction and fantasy.

Do you blog? Where? I do. My blog can be read over at http://mysticsheepstudios.com

Mountain Boy, Fiction, Issue 30, June 1, 2015

Mike is a writer battling it out in New Jersey. He has written comics and short stories for a number of publishers. You can find him on twitter at @redfox_write.

Get to know Mike...

Birthday? May 6, 1981

When did you start writing? I was a kid, maybe fourth grade. My brother and I were very serious filmmakers, writing our own sequels to Die Hard 2: Die Harder. In our young, impressionable minds, it was the finest piece of action cinema ever produced. We were compelled to continue the series, creating the most ridiculous action films of all time, writing convoluted storylines and cringe worthy dialogue. We just kept cranking them out, and it was this experience with my brother that sparked a drive for storytelling. 

Serious writing came during my senior year of college, and I've been working at it ever since, writing for comics and prose. 

When and what and where did you first get published? My first published work was a comic called Myth that was part of DC Comics' digital comic imprint Zuda. Eventually Myth became my first creator owned series that was published in its entirety by Alterna Comics.

My first prose work was published by the great folks at Shotgun Honey, with a flash story entitled "White Trash." 

What themes do you like to write about? Childhood seems to find its way into a lot of my work. The innocence and purity of that time holds a lot of emotional resonance with me. The way a child views the world around them just amazes me, in that no matter how dark things might get, they see the world as a good place. 

I'm also a sucker for revenge stories. The theme of vengeance and what it can do to people is a very interesting topic. 

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 don't think I could ever pinpoint just one book or author that resonates with me. Inspiration comes from so many forms of storytelling, and for me, it includes books, films, and graphic novels. Names like Neil Gaiman, Spielberg and Lucas, and Frank Miller are just a small number of creators that have left a lasting mark on me and my drive to grow as a storyteller. 

Brushing Sand, Fiction, Issue 66, Spring 2024

Ryan F. Love teaches high school English in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, where he earned a degree from Alfred University. He and his wife live in a Victorian with pairs of daughters and beagles. Among other publications, his short fiction has appeared in Blue Lake Review, The Blue Mountain Review, L’Esprit Literary Review, and the anthology Tales of Sley House 2022. His poetry has appeared in journals such as Blueline and Sleet Magazine. In 2022, Ryan won a Random House-sponsored essay contest judged by George Saunders. He is currently seeking publication of his novel The Ghosts on the Glass, which follows the career of nineteenth century spirit photographer William Mumler. www.ryanflovewriter.com – follow Ryan on Bluesky @rflove.bsky.social 

Get to know Ryan...

Birthdate?

May 1983

When did you start writing?

In kindergarten or so, I was writing fanfic about Blaze the horse from C.W. Anderson's children's books, which is to say I wrote from an early age. I've always loved literature and film, but my writing came and went in phases over the years. I meaningfully returned to creative writing in 2019, just in time for it to carry me through the pandemic, and I've pursued it much more dedicatedly since. It's part of me.

When and what and where did you first get published?

Sleet Magazine published a poem called "the raspberries" in November 2020. My first publication of fiction came a month later in The Copperfield Review, a short story titled "Mumler and the Widow" about the man who photographed Mary Todd Lincoln with her husband's spirit.

Why do you write?

Each sentence is an opportunity to craft a small, perfect thing.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

The fiction I love best reveals truths. Sometimes, it's easiest to understand our world by scrutinizing a dissimilar one: a world of the past, a world of the future. I'm attracted to Science Fiction for the same reason I am pulled toward Historical Fiction.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

My favorite novel is Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. It is fantastical and historical all at once, and it is miraculous.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

My dream is to write something that ardent undergraduates write dueling papers about, so ideally, opposing things, simultaneously. There's wisdom in the gray spaces.

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

I have repeatedly told my wife to place my final remains in a Folgers can a la The Big Lebowski, so I guess my epitaph would be "Aroma Roasted."

Many Tiny Feet, Flash Fiction, Issue 40, September 2017

Crystal and Rainbow, Flash Fiction, Issue 49, December 2019

Mary E. Lowd writes stories and collects creatures. She’s had six novels and more than 150 short stories published so far. Her work has won an Ursa Major Award, two Cóyotl Awards, and two Leo Literary Awards. Meanwhile, she’s collected a spouse, two offspring, a bevy of cats and dogs, and the occasional fish. The stories, creatures, and Mary live together in a crashed spaceship disguised as a house, hidden in a rose garden in Oregon. Read more of Mary’s stories at www.deepskyanchor.com. 

Get to Know Mary...

Birthday? An August in the 80s.

When did you start writing?  Arguably, I started writing before I could even read.  When I was very young, my mother would transcribe stories as I made them up.  So, by the time I could actually put the words down on paper myself, I was already used to thinking of myself as a storyteller.  Sometime in fifth grade, I decided it was my calling.

When and what and where did you first get published?  My first publication was a short story called "Forget Me Not" in Northwest Passages: A Cascadian Anthology in September, 2005.  The collection featured speculative fiction set in the Pacific Northwest, and my story was about a man addicted to a memory drug, living in Portland, Oregon.  Of course, I found a way to sneak in a reference to Powell's Book Store.

What themes do you like to write about?  My favorite topics are generally all some variant of talking animals in space.  Though, I also like to explore questions of identity, memory, and the intersection of science, technology, and society.

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 life changed course when I was nine and read Watership Down.  I never recovered from the power of that story about a band of bunnies searching for a new home -- it set me on a lifelong mission to find, read, and write stories about talking animals.  I was also deeply influenced by the work of Douglas Adams; his lighthearted mix of science-fiction ideas and humor is something I aspire to.

Website?  www.marylowd.com

Twitter?  @Ryffnah

Reflections in Space, Poetry, Issue 41, December 15, 2017

Dark Matters, Poetry, Issue 56, Winter 2021

Monica Louzon persists in writing speculative and weird fiction despite being a two-time creative writing drop-out. She is the managing editor for the anthology Catalysts, Explorers & Secret Keepers: Women of Science Fiction, and she founded the Museum of Science Fiction's Journal of Science Fiction. When not wandering in forests or among stacks of books, she can typically be found near Washington, DC plotting new adventures with her husband.

Biography Questions

Birthday? An odd time of year with most unpredictable and inconsistent weather.

When did you start writing? In first grade. I certainly couldn't spell "survive" or "poisonous", but I had some truly epic responses (with accompanying illustrations) to those English class writing prompts.

When and what and where did you first get published? This is my first paid publication.

What themes do you like to write about? Points of convergence and confluence, challenging boundaries, and blurred realities.

What books and/or poems have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? Anything written by Ray Bradbury, Peter V. Brett, Monica Byrne, China Miéville, Philip Pullman, and Tamora Pierce makes me want to write. To me, reading their prose is like jumping into a swimming pool of imagination filled with glorious words and reveling in how wonderful it feels. 

Twitter? @molo_writes

Ghostly Serenades by the Nile, Fiction, Issue 35, June 1, 2016

Christine Lucas lives in Greece with her husband and a horde of spoiled animals. A retired Air Force officer and mostly self-taught in English, Christine has had her work appear in several print and online magazines, including the Other Half of the Sky anthology, Daily Science Fiction, Space and Time Magazine, the Triangulation: Morning After anthology and Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine. She is currently working on her first novel, and in her free time she reads slush for ASIM. Visit her at www.christinlucas.com.

Get to know Christine...

Birthday? February 19th

When did you start writing? In a way, I've been writing since childhood. Only then I did with my dolls and action figures what I later did with my words. In my mid-twenties, I found in actual writing a much needed stress release from a very stressful job in the military, as well as a way to explore what was wrong with me (thanks, mom). With the arrival of the Internet in the late nineties and my stumbling upon fanfiction early on, I finally realized what I wanted to do with my life a couple decades too late. But, on the other hand, better late than never.

When and what and where did you first get published? This must be "Hellcat" in the now long-dead UK magazine Ballista. 

What themes do you like to write about? How the choices on little things get to shape greater patterns in the Cosmos. Characters who are no longer young, and cats.

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? In my early teens, while suffering from a bad case of ear infection, my mother bought me the Lord of the Rings and the Foundation series (instead of, say, antibiotics). I still have troubles with my left ear, but these books opened a new world for me, including the tantalizing question: why are there so few women in them? Thirty years later, I'm still trying to fill in the gaps in fantasy and SF with older women who can go on adventures too (along with their cats).

One book that still stays with me is Robert Graves' I, Claudius. It ties in with my love in everything history-related, from straight historical fiction to alternate history and all that comes in between.

Not Like This, Cover Art, Issue 58, Spring 2022

Birthdate?

July 13 1971

When did you start writing (indulging in art)?

In about 1998 I was introduced to a little 3d rendering program called Pov-ray and its graphical interface Moray. I understood the possibilities but knew that it wouldn’t be taken seriously for quite a few years. 

When and what and where did you first get published?

A friend took a chance on me and hired me to do 3 covers for his fantasy roleplaying game. That was back in 2004 for N. Robin Crossby, the creator of Harn.

Why do you write (illustrate)?

There is something to be said for creating something from nothing. It’s the sandbox that I still play in that just keeps spilling out in to the rest of the yard.

Why do you write (illustrate) Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

There are so many imagined things that have yet to be documented and I for one want to contribute.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

This one is not easy. Palahniuk? Burroughs? Lovecraft? Nope…comic book master Mat Wagner. Creator of the Grendel series. From beginning to end I love those comics.

However, to follow in my illustrator route I would have to say Zdzisław Beksiński. Dark and dramatically colourful.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

The world can be both dreary and beautifully vile.

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

Here lies an empty shell once loved.

Do you blog?

Does Instagram count? (https://www.instagram.com/umbraludus/)

This Land of Shadow, Fiction, Issue 28, September 1, 2014

Mark Patrick Lynch lives and writes in the UK. His short fiction, mainstream and genre, has appeared in print anthologies and journals ranging from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine to Zahir. His book, Hour of the Black Wolf, is published by Robert Hale Ltd. An e-book original novella, What I Wouldn't Give, is available for e-readers. You can find him online at markpatricklynch.blogspot.com and @markplynch on Twitter.

Get to know Mark...

Birthdate? Way back when – or, as it sometimes feels, “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” The nineteen seventies as it’s called, making me a child of Apollo and older by the day.

When did you start writing? It’s hard to be specific about this. It was just something I always did. I remember understanding stories had a shape, even before I knew the alphabet, and that it was important not to short-change anyone when you told a tale. By the time I was 20 I’d got a couple of half-finished novels written out in longhand, the longest of which amounted to about 47,000 words. But then a serious bout of ill health clobbered me and I pretty much had to learn to read and write again. A long, drawn out process. I still think it knocked my writing back a decade and more, and I’m still carrying the “lag” and scars of that illness to this day. I certainly missed out on that enthused energetic stage a lot of writers go through, when they often produce their most vital work.

When and what and where did you first get published? Local radio. When I was a teenager, I used to write letters to the DJs, under various pen-names. I plucked names and addresses from the phonebook and pretended to be different people, of all ages. I’d listen out for one of the letters to be read on air. More often than not, they were. I think my record was three letters read out in one night.

Thinking back on it, I suspect the DJs must’ve realised the letters were all written by the same person, because they were all in the same handwriting and delivered in similar envelopes. I guess they must’ve been short of material between records!

What themes do you like to write about? I think hope out of illness and difficult circumstances crops up a lot in my stuff. How much that is a conscious choice, I don’t know. Probably not at all. But I do think hope is there in my work. Often it’s hope gained at a hard price. If you want to get all analytical about it, you could say it’s my experience out of illness showing up in the work. But the danger there is to say that that’s all that the work is about.

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 an author, I’d say Robert Holdstock’s mythago novels. There’s a stretch of primordial woodland in the heart of England, in which the great dreaming of our species, or the collective unconscious, exists and is accessible to those who enter the wood. The protagonists make their way into the woodland (no easy task) and meet characters from myth and legend there. But each legend or myth is symbolic of the protagonist in some way, a reflection of the protagonist’s inner life and yearnings – and often the secret truth at the heart of whatever quest the protagonist is undertaking. It’s stunning stuff, beautifully written and realised, and heartbreaking at times. The series is in my opinion the best collected work of fantasy written in the UK. If I could wish for anything with my own stuff – beyond telling a story, which has to be the real goal, you know – then it would be to come close to capturing the density of metaphor and beauty in Holdstock’s work. But that’s a dream, a wish, a “Gawd-if-only”. Go read Holdstock’s books if you haven’t already. And if you have, read them all over again. They’re worth it.