Tiger Wife Reflected in a Pond Never Truster, Poetry, Issue 58, Spring 2022

Andisha Sabri Carey is a writer and poet from Australia who also spent time living in the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom and Israel, but who now lives in Canada with her husband and two cats. She is currently getting her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Her work has previously appeared in Gingerbread House, AntipodeanSF and Cordite Poetry Review.

Birthdate?

1990

When did you start writing?

When I was six or seven I would pretend to read aloud to my parents from big, fat paperbacks while actually making up my own stories. They knew what I was doing, but at the time I was convinced that I needed to pretend someone else wrote it if I wanted to have an audience for my stories. That was probably my first foray into fiction writing. I first started writing poetry as an undergraduate English major, because it felt like a way to respond to what I was reading, or to experiment with the different forms and styles of poetry I was exposed to.

When and what and where did you first get published?

I was first published in 2014 by Potluck Magazine - they accepted two short poems, one about a long distance relationship and phone addiction and the other a very abstract poem about a friends' struggles. I think my voice as a writer has evolved a lot since then.

Why do you write?

To be honest, I think I write because I've always had a lot of creative, imaginative energy but not enough patience to gain proficiency in any other art. Like most people I had the benefit of learning language and being exposed to stories very early in my life, so when I wanted to be creative I had words and I had stories and I didn't necessarily know how to do anything else or have access to other materials. So when I want to create, I go straight to words. If I want to create something very visual I start describing rather than drawing, and when I'm inspired by performance and drama I sit down and write a script. I don't have to go to the store and buy more words to work with - If I'm inspired I can go straight to my desk and start writing. I also tend to find the tactile and the tangible in things that aren't tactile or tangible at all, that actually exist only in language or only in imaginative space.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Personally, I write a lot of science fiction and fantasy because I don't like to feel limited by genre - I want to be able to play with all the toys in the box. I don't exclusively write fantasy and science fiction, but I do love to include elements of the sublime, fantastical, speculative, uncanny or coincidental in much of what I write. I think I'm less interested in portraying 'reality' and more interested in trying to capture one aspect of our reality at a time, like cutting a word out of a magazine and glueing it somewhere else with a different context. I end up inspired by everything: folk tales, film, music, dungeons and dragons, religion, nature, society, culture, genre writing and literary writing. My attitude has always been that if it's fiction, if it's not real, if I'm already changing things - well then anything is possible. Every piece of fiction is fantasy to a certain extent because it's not real. Fantasy and speculative settings are also an opportunity to remove real world distractions from the premise of a story, and just have a story exist on its own terms in its own world with its own rules. And poetry, even when firmly grounded in real details, feels like it offers a more slippery reading experience that's ideal for hiding one image inside another - just like in a dream.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

It's always hard to pick a favourite, but among my favourite authors are Kazuo Ishiguro, Neil Gaiman, N.K. Jemisin, and Suzanna Clarke. 

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

If I didn't manage to say it in that medium, I don't think I would be better equipped to explain it in another.

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

I'm actually grateful I will never have the opportunity to read my own epitaph let alone write it - maybe I'm too self-conscious but I find it so embarrassing to read or write things that are about me! Writers' bios are hard enough, haha

Do you blog?

Not reliably!

Empynine Makes Good, Fiction, Issue 42, March 15, 2018

Mark Salzwedel is a professional writer and editor living in Brooklyn, NY. His fantasy short story "The Axe" was published in the May 2017 issue of Electric Spec. He has another robot-human short story appearing in Monologging next month. And an LGBT sci-fi novel is due out from NineStar Press in a few months.

Birthdate?  12/25/1961

When did you start writing?  1968

When and what and where did you first get published? "The Axe" in Electric Spec, May 2017

Why do you write?  It's fun, and it's like reading a story in which you have some control over how it resolves.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I like speculating on how we might react differently if physical principles or technology were radically altered.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

I really like Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

My themes often center on morality in both private and public spheres.

Bayou Luminescence, Flash Fiction, Issue 50, March 15, 2020

Apocalypso, Flash Fiction, Issue 60, Fall 2022

Get to know Laura...

Birthdate?

Let’s just say I remember when parts of Interstate 40 were still Route 66.

When did you start writing?

For fun, in about 1992.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first publication was co-authoring a computer graphics tutorial, "Fallingwater" in 3D Studio, published in 1994.

Why do you write?

For the never-ending fascination.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

When I was very young, my preferred reading materials were the science fiction paperbacks I snitched from my older brother’s room. Years later, I returned to my first love.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Perhaps my all-time favorite story is Robert Merle’s dystopian novel, Malevil. I’ll generally grab anything by George R.R. Martin, Lois McMaster Bujold, James S. A. Corey, or Benjamin Percy.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

Mostly, that we’re all in this together.

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

Uh, “Off to yet another world.”

Do you blog?

Not if I can help it.

Evolution, Art Work, Issue 65, Winter 2023

Obsidian, Poetry, Issue 46, March 15, 2019

Ever since Fungisayi Sasa was a child, she has always enjoyed fairytales. Growing up in an environment where traditional folktales were told sitting by the fire under starry skies helped shape her appetite for fiction and poetry. The many advancements in technology especially robotics and AI opened her imagination and widened her reality, helping her craft poems and stories that explored old and new frontiers in science fiction and fantasy, whilst adding a hint of her Zimbabwean heritage. She has published a children's book, 'The Search for the Perfect Head and her short stories have been published by Weaver Press in their short story collections, 'Writing Free' and 'Writing Lives'. Her poetry has also appeared on Poetry International Web.  

Get to Know Fungisayi Sasa:

Birthdate?

21 September 1983

When did you start writing?

When I was five or six, I used to write A4 sized mini 'novels', with a cover page illustration and four to five pages inside. The story was usually inspired by some anger or irritation at something one of my older siblings had done to me, so the story would end with them murdered or in jail. None of them encouraged my writing but I always had an interest in reading and writing poetry and fiction. It was only when I moved to the UK that I began to realise that writing did not have to remain a hobby, but it could be a career so I studied creative writing, graduated in 2008 and gained a better understanding of the craft.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first publication was a children's book 'The Search for the Perfect Head' which was published by Eloquent books in April 2009.

Why do you write?

I come from a culture where how you address your elders is very important, you cannot say whatever you want however you want. It's  a positive thing in that it teaches respect and honour but it is a negative thing in that many things remain unvoiced. Writing is a way for me to express what has been left unsaid.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

As a child, I enjoyed how fantasy and science fiction transported me to alternate worlds or timelines. It was so far from my reality that it drew me in immediately. I used to enjoy reading Enid Blyton's 'Faraway Tree' and I would climb up the topmost branches of the guava tree in our garden, with the book, and imagine that I was living in the 'Faraway Tree'. Since both genres interested and influenced me so much as a child, it feels natural and right to use them as avenues for expressing my writing.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

My favourite author is Enid Blyton. My favourite book is 'Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

If you look at something from a different angle, you may see that it has more than one face.

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

She surpassed expectations

Do you blog?

No, I haven't been able to make the commitment blogging demands.

The Gynocratic Age, Fiction, Issue 10, March 1, 2010

Vince has gained success in publishing his work in print magazines such as The Leading Edge,  Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature, Fictitious Force. He has several stories in the online zine, Aphelion. In September, 2007, his short story, "Vice Cop" was included in the anthology, New Writings in the Fantastic, from Pendragon Press. In March 2008, his story, "Practical Time Travel," was published in Bound For Evil - Books Gone Bad, by Dead Letter Press. Another story, "Homeless Zombies," appears in the April 2009 anthology, Dead Science, by Coscom Entertainment. Vince is a lawyer for the New York Department of Taxation and Finance.

Get to know Vincent...

Birthdate? November 10, 1954

When did you start writing? At around age 12.

When and what and where did you first get published? Aethon: A Journal Of Sports Literature, formerly published by The East Tennessee State University.

Why do you write? I have stories aching to come out of my soul and mind.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I have always enjoyed this genre, the ability of its writers to describe exotic times and places sufficiently to enable the reader to suspend disbelief.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? This is a very, very difficult question. I am partial to Steven Milhauser, Flannery O'Connor, and so many others. Jack Vance comes to mind as does Theodore Sturgeon, "Microcosmic God." Impossible question to answer.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? I am trying to tell a good story.

Do you blog? Where? No.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? He came, he bitched, he wrote, he bitched, he wrote....

A Few Words About Venus, Non-Fiction, Issue 52, September 2020

The Unborn and the Dead, Poetry, Issue 60, Fall 2022

From Those He Left Behind, Poetry, Issue 67, Summer 2024

Lorraine Schein is a New York poet and writer. Her work has appeared in Syntax and Salt, Witches & Pagans, Strange Horizons, Star*Line and VICE Terraform and in the anthologies Gigantic Worlds, Tragedy Queens: Stories Inspired by Lana Del Rey & Sylvia Plath, and Aphrodite Terra. The Futurist’s Mistress, her poetry book, is available at http://mayapplepress.com/the-futurists-mistress-lorraine-schein/.

Get to know Lorraine...

When did you start writing?

I started writing poetry at age 10  or 11 in elementary school. Just like some children show early talents for math or music, I think a talent for poetry can be innate.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first poems were published in school literary magazines. Later my work appeared in feminist literary magazines and small SF zines.  

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I write SFF because I enjoy reading it and despise reality.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Too many to list, but Cordwainer Smith, Lord Dunsany, and some poets, Stevie Smith and others.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I’m not sure, but my some of my themes are explorations of the nature of reality and the occult, feminism, anarchy, poetry and humor.

My essay in issue 52 came from research I did for a short story of mine about Venus, "The Lady Anarchist Café,” Whippleshield Books, 2015.. 

Do you blog?

No, but I’ve kept diaries. I hope they survive after I’m gone. Maybe they’ll last longer than a blog!

For Paul's bio please click here

Heavenly Bodies, Illustration,  Issue 11, June 1, 2010

www.margitellandschmitt.com

Get to know Margit...

Birthdate? June 7th

When did you start illustrating? I began as a rank amateur, illustrating my own stories when I was seven years old.  It was in 2004 when I graduated from crayons to 3D rendering software, much to the relief of friends and family.

When and what and where did you make your first sale? My first sale was to Deadwood Magazine in 2007.  The image was of a woman covered in tribal-style tattoos, and was used on their cover.

Why do you paint or draw?  I am also a writer, and my artwork and stories are frequently just the metaphoric anvil I use to weigh the balance of the teeter-totter of inspiration when one muse or the other seems to be slacking off on the donut consumption.

Why do you work with Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? See above answer.  Seriously, my mind just works that way.

Do you work in any other medium? I work with a combination of Poser 7 and Adobe Photoshop. 

Do you blog? Where? I have a blog at my website www.margitellandschmitt.com

Broken Boy, Poem, Issue 54, March 2021

Cosmological Affections, Poetry, Issue 60, Fall 2022

Chicken Cosmology, Poetry, Issue 65, Winter 2023

I am an environmental reporter, poet and author of two biographies. My poems have appeared on the BBC, in Rattle, the New Ohio Review, the Christian Science Monitor, the New York Times, Writer’s Almanac, This American Life in Poetry, Verse Daily and other publications. My first poetry collection “What the Dust Doesn't Know” was published in 2017 by Salmon Poetry. 

Get to know Richard...

Birthdate?

5/5/1952

When did you start writing?  

Since 6th grade

When and what and where did you first get published?

My High School Newspaper

What themes do you like to write about?

I am an environmental reporter and a poet who writes about themes related to nature and spirituality.

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?

Poets, Walt Whitman, Mary Oliver, Rumi, Blake….

Of What Do Superior Beings Dream, Poetry, Issue 25, December 1, 2013

Biography

I grew up in Levittown, and graduated High School in 1967. I am married with 2 kids and 4 grandchildren. In regards to my writing, I have had poetry published in over 30 small press/literary magazines. I have also done Comic Book work--Bloodscent (Comico, 1988); Twilight Zone #7 (Now Comics, 1992); Hellraiser & Fanfare (Marvel Comics). The appearance of my work here in the pages of New Myth marks both my first attempt and success at reentering the publishing world--the first, in a long, long time! 

Get to know Dean...

Birthdate? 6-27-1949

When did you start writing? I began writing at the age of fourteen.

When and what and where did you first get published? I was first published at no later than the age of 17, in 3 different small press publications--unfortunately, I have been unable to locate my copies of these magazines, along with any written record of same in my files. But, I am still looking, still hoping to unearth them. The earliest one I have proof of is Voices International, 1977.  Later, I was published in Space and Time; Magical Blend; Eldritch Tales; Owlflight; Weirdbook--to name a few. Also, I had short fiction published in Noctulpa and Soft Door.

What themes do you like to write about? The nature of consciousness, human and otherwise, and the role of myth in expansion as opposed to restriction of human awareness.

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? Poe's Purloined Letter--Cask of Amontillado; Masque of the Red Death; Man of the Crowd; Silence--A Fable.  Arthur Machen's masterpiece of spiritual introspection, The Hill of Dreams; The Great God Pan.  T.S. Eliot--The Hollow Men.  Heinlein--Stranger in a Strange Land.  Asimov--Foundation Trilogy. Bradbury--Something Wicked This Way Comes. Robert Browning. H.G. Wells--The Time Machine. Bram Stoker--Dracula. Zukav--The Dancing WU LI Masters. Faulkner--As I Lay Dying. Orwell--1984.

As far as how these contribute to the nature of my work--hopefully, in achieving that transcendent sense of evocative resonance found in all of the above.

Wolf Daughter, Fiction, Issue 44, September 2018

Liz Schriftsteller hails from North Carolina but these days ‘home’ is anywhere the wifi automatically connects. Her published fiction includes works found in Daily Science Fiction, Phobos magazine, and The Arcanist. In 2017, her short story, “Confessions of a Post-Modern Galatea” placed first in the Bards and Sages Annual Writing Competition. When not writing she enjoys going to the theater, petting kittens, and over-analyzing the plot elements of her favorite TV shows. Follow her on twitter @LizSchriftstell or online atlizschriftsteller.wordpress.com

Birthday? September 25

When did you start writing? Probably as soon as I could form sentences...

When and what and where did you first get published? My first publication was "Needs More Salt" -- a flash fiction piece that's still available to read over at Daily Science Fiction. It premiered in 2014.

Why do you write? I can't not. I am a naturally bored person with an over-active imagination.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? Realism bores me. I write it sometimes, but my imagination is more concerned with "what if?"

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? I change this up a lot, but right now it's probably Michael Ende's "Neverending Story." There's a lot going on there thematically that rewards multiple reads.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? Heavy questions on here, I tell you what... Sometimes I have a theme in mind, but most of the time I write what sparks my imagination and let it develop from there. My goal with fiction is to entertain, and to get my readers to examine an idea in a way that they never considered before.

Do you Blog?  https://lizschriftsteller.wordpress.com

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

Zombie loading in progress...

23% complete

In the Absence of Trees (with Marge Simon), Flash Fiction, Issue 42, March 15, 2018

Ann K. Schwader is a poet and writer fascinated by the darker side of SF or the science-fictional  side of darkness.  Or possibly both.  She is a Bram Stoker Award Finalist for poetry collection (twice), a Rhysling Award winner (also twice), and the  2015 Poet Laureate for NecronomiCon Providence.   Her most recent poetry and fiction collections are Dark Energies (P'rea Press, 2015) and Dark Equinox & Other Tales of Lovecraftian Horror  (Hippocampus Press, 2015).  A Wyoming native, she now resides in suburban Colorado with her husband and one terminally spoiled Corgi.  Find more about her work -- and poems to read online -- at her web site, http://home.earthlink.net/~schwader/

Birth-date? February 23rd

When did you start writing? Grade school, probably.

Do you Blog? https://ankh-hpl.dreamwidth.org/

Waiting on Annette, Fiction, Issue 39, June 15, 2017

Biography 

I am an engineer and digital designer for a large, fruit-themed computer company in Austin, Texas. I've been writing for many years now; still wondering when it will start getting easier. I also have an irrational aversion to social media.

Get to know Bill...

Birthday? 10/29/67

When did you start writing? October 31, 1996. At the stroke of midnight.

When and what and where did you first get published? I wrote a story called "The Tipping Point" that was published in the Terminal Earth anthology (Pound Lit Press) that came out in 2010.

What themes do you like to write about? I seem to be drawn to small, personal stories set in deep time -- long after all the post-apocalyptic zombies have gone to sleep, and things have settled down a bit.

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? Catch-22. Cloud Atlas and Number9Dream. Oryx and Crake. Lolita.

Why? Unsurpassed craftsmanship, vicious humor, and bleak vision. 

Facebook page? Yes, but it's pretty neglected: www.facebook.com/bill.schwarz

Naturally, Fiction, Issue 33, December 1, 2015

Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Flash Fiction, Issue 35, June 1, 2016

Biography 

By day, Rebecca Schwarz is a mild-mannered editorial assistant for a scientific journal, by night she writes science fiction and fantasy stories. Her work has appeared in Interzone, Bourbon Penn, and Daily Science Fiction. She is currently writing her first novel. You can read about her writing life at www.curiousworlds.blogspot.com.

Get to know Rebecca...

Birthday? August 4

When did you start writing? I have always loved writing. It is something I keep returning to in all its many forms. I started seriously writing genre fiction, specifically short stories in 2011

When and what and where did you first get published? One of the first stories I got published is about an unusual smart house, titled "Fairview 619.” It was published in 2012 at RevolutionSF. Happily it is going to be available again in See The Elephant's upcoming issue from Metaphysical Circus Press.

What themes do you like to write about? I’m always intrigued by the latest scientific gadgets and advancements, psychology, our interactions with the world around us. I’m always looking for something new and different. If the subject is evergreen, then I’ll try putting it into an unusual story form to see if I can tease out something interesting.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? I’m always looking for new experiences when reading as well. I’m working on a time travel story right now and so went back to reread Niven’s "All the Myriad Ways," which I love for the way that it is both conceptual and dramatic. I recently heard T.C. Boyle’s “Chixulub” on the New Yorker Podcast, and was awed by his handling of metaphor and the emotional gut punch that story delivers. I’ve also been reading a lot of graphic novels. It’s no secret that Saga is excellent. I’m also enjoying East of West. I love the directness of the visuals and the way character and emotion take on a more immediate, visceral aspect via this kind of storytelling. 

Knight of Pawns, Fiction, Issue 36, September 1, 2016

Whisper of the Waves, Fiction, Issue 40, September 15, 2017

Caroline Sciriha lives in Malta, where she works as a Head of Department of English in a State Secondary School. She writes fiction—especially fantasy—whenever her day job allows, and is currently working on a series of YA novels.

Website https://carolinesciriha.wordpress.com

Twitter @CarolineScirih1

Get to know Caroline...

When did you start writing? I’ve made up stories in my head for as far back as I can remember. I started writing them down when I was around nine years old.

What themes do you like to write about? My stories tend to revolve around the importance of family bonds, and characters who show resilience or develop some hidden talent.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve read Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.

Living Fossil Found off New Guinea, Flash Fiction, Issue 54, March 2021

I was born and raised in the D.C. suburbs, and now live in a secret location deep in the mountains of Appalachia with my lovely and brilliant wife and daughter. I have been writing, drawing, sculpting, singing, and dabbling in filmmaking and mad science since childhood, attempting to vent my restless imagination, and provide for myself what the mundane world does not. I intensely enjoy being alive and having a conscious mind. 

Get to know Brian...

Birthdate? 1971

When did you start writing? 1979 age 8

When and what and where did you first get published?

This is my first sale.

What themes do you like to write about?

The nature of consciousness. Altered States and Alien Landscapes.  Humans transcending their limitations. Dark Heroes. Individualism vs. Authoritarianism.  I like blending pulp-era fun weirdness with modern dystopian 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? How about writers? 

Robert A. Heinlein and Edgar Rice Burroughs have been inspiring me since age 7.  Philip K. Dick, A.E. Van Vogt, David Brin, Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Ayn Rand, and Friedrich Nietzsche are all in the mix of my weirdness. I like memorable, weird and heroic characters and boldly imaginative ideas that are thoroughly explored.  I am also . . . negatively inspired by a lot of modern science fiction in which characters are ordinary, boring and powerless, and the science fiction tropes are minimized in favor of a kind of lame "realism" . . . and writers who seem to want to appeal to the New York literary elite rather than to science fiction fans.

And, obviously, this story in particular has Douglas Adams and Monty Python influences.

Babylon, Poetry, Issue 14, March 1, 2011

Becoming the Sea, Poetry, Issue 18, March 1, 2012

The Shaman's Daughter, Poetry, Issue 24, September 1, 2013

Alexa Seidel likes traveling. She also finds accounts of the underworld very interesting; go figure. When not dreaming, she writes.

Her work has appeared in Strange Horizons, Stone Telling, Mythic Delirium, and other wonderful places. You can follow her on Twitter

@Alexa_Seidel or check out her blog at www.tigerinthematchstickbox.blogspot.com.

Get to know Alexandra...

Birthdate? September 13th, 1983.

When did you start writing? On and off since third grade.

When and what and where did you first get published? In 2008 a story of mine was published in an obscure local anthology. It was a funny kind of story, and only because of this first publication did I begin to seriously pursue writing.

Why do you write? Because the words come to me.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? There are no limitations to writing these; anything goes.

What themes do you like to write about? Fairy tales creep up again and again in my writing, and witches too, for some reason. I like to include a dark twist every now and then, a reflection of the dark side of human nature.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? This is subject to change but at the moment, Scott Lynch. My favorite story would be Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? This is a long list. I think I should only name three, since that is such an auspicious number, no? Catherynne M. Valente's novel Palimpsest, N. K. Jemisin's short story On the Banks of the River Lex, and Hal Duncan's poetry collection Songs for the Devil and Death.

I'm not sure that these stories exactly find expression in my work though, it's more that I look at them, find something that feels amazingly familiar, see a use of language and style that deeply humbles me, and I find myself thinking something along the lines of "Wow, that's what I wanna do when I grow up."

What are you trying to say with your fiction? I don't think it's so much about what I want to say but what the reader understands.

Do you blog? Where? Yes, right here: http://tigerinthematchstickbox.blogspot.com/

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? We are what we leave behind.

The Wallpaper Door, poem, Issue 40, September 2017

John W. Sexton was born in 1958 and lives in the Republic of Ireland. He is the author of five previous poetry collections, the most recent being The Offspring of the Moon (Salmon Poetry 2013). His sixth collection, Futures Pass, is due early in 2018. He is also a radio scriptwriter and children’s novelist, and his novels have been translated into Italian and Serbian. Under the ironic pseudonym of Sex W. Johnston he has recorded an album with legendary Stranglers frontman, Hugh Cornwell, entitled Sons of Shiva, which has been released on Track Records. In 2007 he was awarded a Patrick and Katherine Kavanagh Fellowship in Poetry. (Photo of John W. Sexton courtesy of Niall Hartnett.)

Get to know John...

Birthday? Somewhere between my last one and my next one, and always in the sign of Taurus.

When did you start writing? I began to enjoy writing in my mid-teens, but it tended typically to come in brief spurts and was without stamina. It was not until I was 19 that I decided to dedicate myself to it fully, which was in 1977, exactly 40 years ago.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first published piece was a short story, entitled Blackthorn, which appeared in New Irish Writing, a supplement of the daily Irish newspaper The Irish Press, in 1983. The story was subsequently short-listed for the Hennessy Literary Award in 1984. New Irish Writing was edited at that time by the legendary Irish editor David Marcus, and under David’s mentorship I began writing book reviews for that newspaper as well, contributing reviews of poetry, folklore and comparative religion during the early to mid-1980's. David also took the first of my poetry during that period, so in effect those few years were an essential apprenticeship for me.

What themes do you like to write about?  I’m not easy with having themes uppermost in my mind when I write, unless it’s necessary, as when I’m working to commission, but the themes that can certainly be found in my work are transformation,  communication with and through archetypes, death and the dead, and the lives of women.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? Influence and resonance is an ongoing thing with me, as I imagine it must be for most writers, and I’ve always tried to find new writers to respond to and to learn by, and I tend to think in terms of the overall work of a given writer rather than a single work. Discovering writers that one has previously been unfamiliar with is always a good way to keep one’s own writing fresh. But of the writers that influenced me in a critical and inspiring way when I was setting out four decades ago, I think I would have to mention Ursula Le Guin, Josephine Saxton, Angela Carter, Sylvia Plath, Harlan Ellison, Robert Coover, Tomas Tranströmer, Paul Celan, Gunnar Ekelöf, John Keats, W. B. Yeats and Lewis Carroll. But that list has long since been added to immeasurably. Gunnar Ekelöf and Paul Celan were especially important to me as vision poets when I first discovered them. Ever since I was a young child I have undergone visionary experiences, and these two writers most especially gave me the confidence to try and incorporate that experience and its attendant sensibilities into my own work. And if you look at all the other writers in this list you’ll see that all of them are visionary to some extent. In the part of Ireland where both my parents are from, and where I now live, there is an old and respected tradition of vision poetry, known as Aisling poetry, and this is a tradition that has become increasingly important to me on a very personal level.

Waters Under a Stormy Sky, Artwork, Issue 62, Spring 2023

Fariel Shafee was born in South Asia, but spent her life around the world, including in Europe, USA and East Asia. She is an internationally exhibited painter and digital artist. In her other life she has degrees in physics from the USA.

Which species of bird is a drone? poem, Issue 38, March 18, 2017

Salik Shah is the founding editor of Mithila Review. His poetry, fiction and non-fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in Strange Horizons, Asimov’s Science Fiction and Juggernaut, among other publications. You can find him on Twitter: @salik.

Get to know Salik...

Birthday? Feb 25th.  

When did you start writing? Drawing came early and easily to me; word-painting followed much later. Not before I was a big boy of eight or ten.

When and what and where did you first get published? In June 2014, I made my poetry debut in Strange Horizons with my poem, “Straw-fitted Elephants.” 

What themes do you like to write about? I like to read and write original poetry about real and imaginary people, places and customs, with deeper insight and beauty, sciences and speculations. 

What stories or poems have most resonated with you as an author and a poet? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? Poetry is how we live; poetry is where and when we live. As a boy, there was a period when I kind of believed that “Afterwards” by Thomas Hardy was the perfect shortcode for how to live a fulfilling life. With Lao Tzu’s "Tao Te Ching," the operating manual of life for me has become more beautiful and enigmatic. I tend to imagine each of my poems as a prayer to Life. 

I write about some of the most important contemporary speculative stories from around the world that resonated with me in this Strange Horizons column “Reading Science Fiction and Fantasy for (South) Asia.” I hope you’ll find the list worth reading!

http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/columns/reading-science-fiction-and-fantasy-for-south-asia/

The Trophy, Fiction, Issue 28, September 1, 2014

The Black Orb, Fiction, Issue 46, March 15, 2019

Louis Shalako is the founder of Long Cool One Books and the author of twenty-two novels, numerous novellas and other short stories. Louis studied Radio, Television and Journalism Arts at Lambton College of Applied Arts and Technology, later going on to study fine art. He began writing for community newspapers and industrial magazines over thirty years ago. His stories appear in publications including Perihelion Science Fiction, Bewildering Stories, Aurora Wolf, Ennea, Wonderwaan, Algernon, Nova Fantasia, and Danse Macabre. He lives in southern Ontario and writes full time. Louis enjoys cycling, swimming and good books.

Get to know Louis...

When did you start writing?

I went back to school in 1983, studying Radio, Television and Journalism Arts at Lambton College of Applied Arts and Technology. I must have been messing about with writing before that. I just wanted someone to teach me how to write. Your instructor can give you the basics, after that you're on your own. I like being on my own.

When and what and where did you first get published?

Michael Pennington at Aurora Wolf bought my first story, 'Bushman', for five dollars. It was such a weird little story, but he must have seen something he liked. At that point, I honestly thought I was on the track to some better life.

Why do you write? I was hungry. I suppose I had something to prove.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Some of it's really great, but when you can fill in the next line even before the actor speaks it, then it has become predictable enough that you think you can do better. That's not always true, but we try. Lately, I have run out of ideas, of the 'must write this' category, usually of a satirical nature.  That always gave me a lot of pleasure, even though no one would ever publish it.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

I always liked Alistair MacLean, but my one big thriller was a failure, and I've never tried it again. Where Eagles Dare is full of holes, mostly of a technical sort. Jack Higgins was bad for that too. Airplanes that simply don't have the range to make it to the beginning of the story, for example. Oh--an aircraft with a fifty foot wingspan that somehow fit into Joseph Goebbels' garage, for another example. The authors that you liked as a young person sort of fall down, given a few decades of experience. Robert A. Heinlein had that subversive streak that makes him entertaining as well as relevant. The trouble is, once you have some training and some experience, you can see how it's done. And if you think you're that good, why not give it a shot?

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I like to reverse things, to turn them upside down and see what falls out of the pockets. I want to see what conventional thinking has missed. An example of this, taken from the daily news, would be food banks: food drives are always presented as a 'good news' story of community caring, when really it's a travesty and a disgrace that social programs are perpetually underfunded. The problems of poverty are mostly structural, and a few loaves of frozen bread and dried soups don't change anything. Simply 'raising awareness' has never changed anything. For that, we need concrete and specific actions. Trying to change the collective mind after decades of front-page nonsense is definitely an uphill battle. This is partly due to the mental health/addictions stigma, so liberally smeared by mainstream media, which justifies inaction on the part of those most in a position to actually do something. The taxpayers don't want to pay for something that everyone among the middle class agrees on some level is an insoluble problem, mostly because it's going to cost them some money.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? Goodbye, cruel world.

Do you blog? Yes, when I have something to say, or a story that was apparently un-publishable anywhere else.

Widdershins Thrice and Six Pence, Flash Fiction Issue 56-57, Fall/Winter 2021

Mitchell Shanklin lives in Seattle and enjoys writing stories with either magic or made-up science or both. He also writes code for companies (and sometimes for himself). In his free time he plays video, board and mind games, reads, hikes, and has rambling philosophical arguments. (No, not all at the same time. Yet). He is a proud member of Team Arsenic, the Dreamcrashers, Loose Canons, and Write of Passage. You can find him online at mitchellshanklin.com

 Get to know Mitchell...

When did you start writing?

In first grade I remember writing a one and a half page origin story for my superhero alter-ego "Super Bird" I'm pretty sure it involved pirates? And I don't think I finished it. I wrote a lot of bad poetry in high school, most of which has thankfully never seen the light of day. I took a creative writing class in college in which we were forbidden to write "genre fiction" which was pretty silly. I finished Nanowrimo in 2013 and 2014 but to encourage myself to write freely I made a promise that no one would read those words, not even me, so I haven't.

In early 2015 I started focusing on writing short stories and have written fairly consistently since then. That still feels to me like when I "started" writing, but, as seen above, the story is a little more complex.

When and what and where did you first get published?

I published a flash fiction piece in Unidentified Funny Objects 5 in 2016!

What do you write?

These days mostly short fiction, sci fi or fantasy or science fantasy. But I'll write a novel again eventually!

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

A well placed "what if" is an amazing tool for driving at whatever theme you are exploring/whatever question you are trying to answer. Also, magic and made up science are wicked cool.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

My favorite fantasy series is the Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb and my favorite science fiction (science fantasy?) series is Terra Ignota by Ada Palmer.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

Oh god, I wish I knew.

The Merry's Dalliance, Fiction, Issue 4, September 1, 2008

Cerridwen Iris Shea publishes under a half a dozen names in both fiction and non-fiction.  Her work appears in publications including THE SCRUFFY DOG REVIEW, TOASTED CHEESE, FEMMEFAN, and WILD CHILD.  Her plays are produced in New York, London, Edinburgh, and Australia. Her novella HEX BREAKER (written as Devon Ellington) was released by FireDrakes Weyr Publishing in August 2008.

Get to know Cerridwen...

Birthdate? March 11. I'm not giving the year, you never ask a lady's age! ;) But, yes, I am definitely legal!

When did you start writing? I was first published as a child; got away from it in college; started again the the mid 1990's and am now a full-time freelancer.

When and what and where did you first get published? I was first published in local school magazines. When I came back to writing, it was as a playwright, so I was first produced, before I was published. One of my first publishing credits when I returned to writing was in THEMA.

Why do you write? Writing is breathing to me. It's how I make sense of the world.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I like the infinite "what if" possibilities in science fiction and fantasy. I also think you can tell more emotional truths in these imaginative contexts.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? I have many favorite authors, who include Shakespeare, Louisa May Alcott, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Sharon Shinn, Yasmine Galenorn, Ian Rankin, and Elizabeth Berg.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? It depends on the story and characters! Themes that keep coming up are loyalty, betrayal, love, friendship, and finding acceptance while holding on to non-conformity.

Do you blog? Where? I have a popular blog on the writing life called Ink in My Coffee, http://devonellington.wordpress.com

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? Her stories helped people see the world differently, and she always had time for her friends.

The Happiest Place on Earth, Flash Fiction, Issue 25, December 1, 2013

Biography

I was born in England, then moved to Florida with my family when I was 11 (kept the accent though). I graduated college with a degree in biology I didn't want to use and decided since I'd started writing a novel senior year, I'd just go ahead and be a writer. Which meant lots of grunt jobs, assorted nonfiction sales (everything from Dragon Magazine to Painting and Wallcovering), then 10 years as a full-time newspaper reporter. I'd probably still be a reporter except I met my wife LeAnn in 2008 and moved to Durham, NC to be with her. We married two years ago and now I freelance full-time.

Get to know Fraser...

Birthdate? March 18, 1958

When did you start writing? My senior year at college.

When and what and where did you first get published? A Sherlock Holmes/Lovecraft crossover, "The Adventure of the Red Leech" in Eldritch Tales back in the early 1980s.

What themes do you like to write about? A lot of my stories deal with people who need to reconnect with the world in one way or another. 

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 think reading comic books from childhood has probably influenced me more than anything. I grew up reading about a world where anything could happen and I don't think I've been satisfied with reality since.

Bio under development.

Psychic, Fiction, Issue 2, March 1, 2008

Biography:

I live in Austin, Texas, with my husband and our fifteen hundred DVDs. My husband is always my first reader and my biggest cheerleader. In spite of my mother's best efforts, I was introduced to the joys of science fiction at a young age by way of my father's bookcase. I work in the IT department for Borland Software, where I get endless amounts of inspiration from my colorful co-workers. I am also a senior at Texas State University in San Marcos.

Get to know Jennifer...

Birthdate? 12/22/1978

When did you start writing? I started dabbling as a kid, but I didn't start writing seriously until about a year ago.

When and what and where did you first get published? This is my first time being published.

Why do you write? Most of the time, I'm really just trying to tell a story. I think that the literary bigwigs of the world forget that a writer's primary function is story telling.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I started stealing my dad's science fiction books when I was ten, and it didn't take long to start forming my own ideas. I've always been fascinated by human ingenuity and our endless capacity to screw things up.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? The Last Question by Isaac Asimov

Do you blog? No

Daemon's Deck, Fiction, Issue 27, June 1, 2014

Biography

I hail from Lancaster, Pennylvania and attended Juniata College. I currently live in central Florida and work as a systems analyst in the software industry. I enjoy archery, swimming, strategy gaming, and historical films and novels.

Get to know Matthew...

Birthday? August 17, 1982

When did you start writing? I began writing seriously in high school, around 2000, and have tried out several genres and types of stories while refining my techniques, especially in planning and editing.

When and what and where did you first get published? I published some science fiction ebooks years ago when I was in college, but I did not have nearly as much experience or critical feedback, and so those works come across as amateurish, despite some positive reviews. With a more critical group of colleagues to help me with my work, I now have a much stronger support base from which to draw, and have started to focus on the epic fantasy genre.

What themes do you like to write about? I like to write stories about characters who succeed through their training, ingenuity, and critical decision-making, rather than inborn gifts. Putting them through difficult scenarios with no clear path to victory forces them to grow as characters and allows readers to debate their decisions. 

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 enjoy reading books about history and historical dramas, especially since learning about real-world events and ways of life helps me to build imaginary worlds. As such, I enjoy the adventure and worldbuilding of novels by Steven Pressfield and Ian Fleming. Within genre fiction, I particularly enjoy H.G. Wells, Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury.

The Strategic Use of Poison, Flash Fiction, Issue 37, December 15, 2016

The Local Herb Witch and her Kitchen Garden, Non-Fiction, Issue 45, December 15, 2018

Biography

Frances Silversmith writes computer software for a living and science fiction and fantasy stories for fun. She lives in a small town in Germany with her husband, six guinea pigs, and two Icelandic horses. Please visit her website: http://www.francessilversmith.com/

Get to know Frances...

Birthdate? 1969

When did you start writing? In January, 2011

When and what and where did you first get published? My story "Online War" appeared the online magazine Grantville Gazette in March, 2013.

What themes do you like to write about? Ordinary people dealing with extraordinary situations.

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 Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey. I love Lackey's detailed world building and her characters' warmhearted relationships. I try to achieve some of the same atmosphere in my own stories.

For Marge's bio please click here

Pan's Magic Garden, Artwork, Issue 3, June 1, 2008

Mercenary, Artwork, Issue 4,  September 1, 2008

Author's Websites:

http://cerberusinc.deviantart.com/gallery

http://danthedanimal.deviantart.com/gallery

Get to know Dan...

Birthdate? 11/09/64

When did you start drawing? Been a cover artist for seven years

When and what and where did you first get published? First published at Venus Press seven years ago

Why do you write? Am fascinated by science fiction since I first read H.G. Wells War Of the Worlds as a child.

Do you blog? Where?  myspace.com/cerberusinc

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? No thanks, that would be normal.

signed Dan Skinner

May 5th 2008

Reflection, Flash Fiction, Issue 55, June 2021

Addison Smith has blood made of cold brew and flesh made of chocolate. He spends most of his time writing about fish, birds, and cybernetics, often in combination. His fiction has appeared in Fireside Magazine and Daily Science Fiction, and you can find him on Twitter as the @storylizard.

Get to know Addison...

Birthdate?

July 25,1988

When did you start writing?

I started writing in the summer of 2008. In my teenage years and early 20s I was heavily into the doorstopper fantasies of authors such as Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, and the more typical high fantasies of Terry Brooks. While my tastes have changed greatly over the years, I have to give credit to Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. I read it deep into the night, and when I closed the back cover I sat there for a moment lost in the story. That is when I first thought, “I want to do this.”

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first publication was at Fireside Magazine in 2013. It was a simple flash fiction piece about a gargoyle slowly losing his mind as he turns to stone. That sale was a huge ego boost, and I still have the acceptance letter printed and framed, though its display place is now somewhere in my closet.

Why do you write?

In the beginning? It was fun. It still is, of course, though there is a certain amount of self-doubt and brain weasels that comes with it, but today I write because I can’t help it. I love it, I love the community, and stories are going to come out of me whether I want them to or not. I figure I may as well put them on paper and try to share them!

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

My love for SFF largely comes from my father. My parents are both voracious readers, but it’s my dad who got me into fantasy when I was a kid. He bought me the first Xanth book, the first Shannara book, introduced me to the hundreds of Star Wars novels. It was always something we bonded over, and I can’t thank him enough for this love.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Okay, so I’ve said a lot about high fantasy, but I also mentioned my taste has shifted in recent years. My favorite books tend to be on the darker side, and often science fiction. A great example of this is 2019’s “The Luminous Dead” by Caitlin Starling. It’s the story of a caver and her guide on the surface. It’s dark, claustrophobic, definitely leans into horror a bit, and somehow the author managed to write an entire novel with only two characters!

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

My stories are often personal, having to do with relationships, loss, and identity. While I certainly write more typical sff romps, it’s the stories of love and loss that are always my favorites.

Music and Poetry, Flash Fiction, Issue 31, June 1, 2015

The Stars We Reach, Flash Fiction, Issue 35, June 1, 2016

The Secrets of Tea, Flash Fiction, Issue 42, March 2018

Brent Smith lives in Portland, Maine where he develops software while dreaming of haunted lobster traps and black bear zombies. His fiction has appeared at Daily Science Fiction, Alex Shvartsman's Unidentified Funny Objects 4 anthology, and Cast of Wonders. He's a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop and can be found online at brentcsmith.net

Get to know Brent...

Birthday? 5/17/65

When did you start writing? I'd dabbled with writing in high school, and took every English elective a computer engineering major could take in college, but I never took writing seriously until about 2010. About that time, I read Storyteller by Kate Wilhelm about the early years of the Clarion writers workshop. That caught my interest, so I did some research on Clarion, and in the process found the Odyssey Writing Workshop, which seemed more to my style. At that point, I had written a grand total of one speculative story--a retelling of Hansel and Gretel--so I sent it off on a lark never expecting to be accepted to such a prestigious workshop. But miracles happened, I was accepted, and attended in the summer of 2012. It was there that I learned how much I didn't know, and what being serious about writing even meant, and I've been working at it ever since.

When and what and where did you first get published? Assuming that stories pinned to the refrigerator by my Mom don't count, I was first published (and my second, and fourth, and fifth stories as well) at Daily Science Fiction. The first of those stories, "Have You Seen My Girl?" arrived in my head pretty much fully formed, and I wrote it in less than an hour. After that, I thought they would all be like that, but it turns out that's a pretty rare happening. You can find all four of those stories on their site (dailysciencefiction.com).

What themes do you like to write about? Theme is rarely what gets a story started for me, but a common element that emerges in many of my stories is the loss of innocence. Also many of my stories (which probably explains why I seem to do better with flash) involve intimate looks at just one or two characters.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? I fell in love with fantasy and science fiction reading Zelazny, Moorcock, Donaldson, LeGuin, Eddings, King--but those were the stories that I grew up on, that became part of me, but not necessarily who I try to emulate as an adult writer. I guess these days, because I focus primarily on short stories, my writing tends to be most influenced by short story writers such as Kij Johnson, and my all-time favorite, Flannery O'Connor. Lately I've become interested in experimenting with portal stories--moving between our world and a fantasy world--a type of story that I've always loved.

Thor Goes to Career Counseling, Poetry, Issue 59, Summer 2022

Rumpelstiltskin, Poem, Issue 63, Summer 2023

Bio

Cislyn Smith likes playing pretend, playing games, and playing with words. She calls Madison, Wisconsin her home. She has been known to crochet tentacles, write stories at odd hours, and study stone dead languages. She is occasionally dismayed by the lack of secret passages in her house. Her poems and stories have appeared in Fantasy, Diabolical Plots, and Mermaids Monthly.

Birthdate?

December 14th

When did you start writing?

I've been writing for as long as I can remember! I wrote a book of very silly pig puns when I was maybe seven years old. My dad still has a copy of it. 

When and what and where did you first get published?

If we're not counting the book of pig puns (and we're not), my first publication was in a UK literary journal when I was 15 years old, for a poem an internet friend of mine sent in to them. The poem was about the moon, and I'm afraid I don't remember the name of the journal.

Why do you write?

I write because I love words, and I love reading, and creating something (anything) feels like defiance against entropy. I write because being creative is an active thing for me, and it's fun, and I like to play. I write because it helps to organize my chaotic mind, because language can pin down thoughts and moments and make them shareable across space and time, and because it's gloriously mundane magic anyone can practice. I write because I think it's neat, basically.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Because it's fun! I tend to turn concepts around and around in my head, and coming at things with a large 'what if' gives me a good angle to start finding words to pin them down. It's easier for me to approach ideas through a lens of speculative content, to look at things a little sideways and consider "but what if this had a mermaid in it." Someone once asked me to write a romance, and what I managed to produce was a love story between a space station disguised as a giant turtle and an interstellar traveler lost in folded dimensions. 

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

I'm far too indecisive to have favorites. I like lots of authors and lots of stories for lots and lots and lots of different reasons.

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

I hate to be late

but at least I didn't leave early

City of Stone, Poetry, Issue 27, June 1, 2013

Biography

Lorna Smithers is a poet and Bard living in Penwortham in Lancashire. In 2012 she won the Preston Guild Poetry Competition. Her work has been published in The Dawntreader, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly and Myths Inscribed. She performs regularly in the local area, facilitates creative workshops and gives talks on the Bardic Tradition. She is currently Bardic Co-ordinator for the Druid Network, a resident poet at Moon Books and contributor to their Druid Society.

Get to know Lorna...

Birthdate? 19 / 11/ 1981

When did you start writing? I started writing when I was at primary school. However I’ve only been writing poetry seriously for about two years. 

When and what and where did you first get published? In winter 2011 I had a poem called ‘Riversway Dockland,’ which told the story of the docks in the voice of an undine (a water spirit) published in The Dawntreader -- a magazine which specialises in nature and mythology. 

What themes do you like to write about? Nature, my local landscape and its history, British mythology, folk and faery lore. 

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 myths of Ancient Britain found in The Mabinogion and The Four Books of Ancient Britain resonate deeply with me, as does the poetry of the Romantics such as William Blake and Percy Shelley. My biggest contemporary influences are poets drawing on the Bardic Tradition such as Kevan Manwaring, Robin Herne and Charlotte Hussey. Most of my work focuses on creating poetry from the landscape around me. Therefore I engage with the British myths from a local and personal perspective, writing poems that depict encounters with the Otherworld, deities, ancestors and other spirits on the land where I live. 

For Christina's bio please click here

An Interview with Ursula K. Le Guin, Nonfiction, Issue 29, December 1, 2014

Lucy A. Snyder is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of the dark urban fantasy novels Spellbent, Shotgun Sorceress, Switchblade Goddess, and the collections Orchid Carousals, Sparks and Shadows, Chimeric Machines, and Installing Linux on a Dead Badger. Her most recent books are Shooting Yourself In The Head For Fun and Profit: A Writer's Survival Guide (Post Mortem Press) and Soft Apocalypses (Raw Dog Screaming Press). Her writing has been translated into French, Russian, and Japanese editions and has appeared in publications such as Apex Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, Strange Horizons, Weird Tales, Hellbound Hearts, Dark Faith, Chiaroscuro, GUD, Chiral Mad 2, and Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 5. You can learn more about her at www.lucysnyder.com.

Get to know Lucy...

When did you start writing? I started writing pretty soon after I started reading as a kid. It was Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle In Time that simultaneously hooked me as a lifelong science fiction/fantasy reader and fixed me on the idea of writing fantasy and SF instead of mainstream work. I remember that the book spoke to me in a way that nothing I'd read until then really had, and I had that shivery sense of wonder you get with really good speculative fiction. And I thought to myself that if I could write something that made another person feel the way I was feeling, then that would have to be the best job in the

When and what and where did you first get published? I placed some fiction and poetry with my college literary magazine, but my first speculative fiction sale was to Midnight Zoo my senior year; in an interesting bit of small-world coincidence, my current agent was the managing editor.

What themes do you like to write about? I mostly write in different sub-genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. I occasionally do media tie-in work and have written stories for a Doctor Who anthology and a Hellraiser anthology. I've written some erotica, but I haven't written any romance (some readers picked up my urban fantasy novels expecting them to be romances and were not prepared for all the demonic mayhem). My science fiction is also often fairly dark, and my horror is darker still.

I've written a fair bit of zombie fiction and other post-apocalyptic fiction; I also write Lovecraftian fiction, steampunk, arcanepunk, biopunk, weird westerns, alternate history, quiet horror, social science fiction ... if I enjoy it as a reader, chances are I've written it.

Ancestor Simulations: A Past, Revisited, Nonfiction, Issue 49, December 15, 2019

Ted Snyder is a writer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Insects have long fascinated him, and when he isn’t writing, he can be found peering through a microscope at mosquitoes and cockroaches.  He has studied entomology at UC Riverside and NC State University, and has studied creative writing at UW Milwaukee.  His erasure poetry has appeared in Split Rock Review and is forthcoming in Fissured Tongue, his traditional poetry has appeared in The Mythic Circle and Mosaic, and his fiction has appeared in Leaping Clear and is forthcoming in the anthologies From Seoul to the World and Strange Stories.

Get to know Ted...

Birthdate

October 16.

When did you start writing?

I first started writing when I was around ten. My dad painted lead miniatures, such as the those made by Ral Partha, and there was a large table in his den, covered in green felt (a “landscape”), where I would play with them. This formed the basis for the first stories I would write.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first publication was a poem in Mosaic, my university’s undergrad literary journal, in 1992.

Why do you write?

I write non-fiction to help me sort out what is on my mind. Sometimes what comes out is of general interest and publishable. Most often, though, it isn’t.

As for fiction, I have such an outpouring of material from my unconscious that I need an outlet. Western culture is so outwardly focused that the inner world, the realm of the unconscious, is devalued and cast aside. I don’t know how other people function in this way. Perhaps that’s the true sickness of our culture. Regardless, writing allows me to honor and engage with my inner world.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I don’t know. Something within me, when I sit down to write, invariably takes the story in a speculative fiction or a weird direction. The unconscious often uses mythic images and symbols when it communicates, and perhaps my speculative and weird leanings come from the surreal nature of the inner world’s landscape.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

To me, few stories can compare to Gene Wolfe’s Solar Cycle (The Book of the New Sun, The Book of the Long Sun, and The Book of the Short Sun).

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

This question is best answered by my readers.  Once a story is published, it is no longer the author’s to explain.

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

Aut viam inveniam aut faciam.

Do you blog?

I do not currently, but I do have a website:

www.tedsnyderonline.com

For Bob's bio please click here

Renaissance Fair Romance, Nonfiction, Premier Issue, December 1, 2007

Get to know Michael...

Birthdate: September 9, 1970

When did you start writing: In Junior High

When and where did you first get published? The school once published poems and drawings of the kids back when I was in second grade. Besides that this was the first time.

Why do you write? Because I love to create my own realms/worlds. I see whole civilizations in my head. I want to write them down, to share them.

Why do you write science fiction and/or fantasy? Both realms intrigue me.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? I love Anne McCarrfey, Terry Pratchett and Dean Koontz.

Do you blog? Where? Renspace.

Bone Reading, FIction, Issue 2, March 1, 2008

Joanne lives and writes in Colorado with her husband and Great Dane.  When not writing, she spends a great deal of time in the mountains--mostly in places with no cellphone coverage.  Her writing focus is on people's transformations and growth.  

Get to know Joanne...

Birthdate? 7/3/57

When did you start writing? When I was about seven.

When and what and where did you first get published? A short story called "Recognition" in Talebones.

Why do you write? Because I can't help it.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? Because when I write, aliens always show up.

Who is your favorite author? Dorothy Dunnet

Your favorite story? Think Like a Dinosaur.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? I'm not really trying to say anything. Usually if I write a story to say something, it stinks as a story, so I try to stay out of the way and see what the characters have to say.

Do you blog? Where? No.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? She meant what she said and she said what she meant and they sent her home happy 100%.

The Masticating Dead, Poetry, Issue 34, March 1, 2016

Anastasia Stelse is a native of southeastern Wisconsin, the assistant editor for The Intentional, and a graduate from the MFA program at American University. She is currently pursuing her PhD in creative writing at the University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Writers. Her work has appeared in The Bleeding Lion, (parenthetical), and Meniscus, among others. Follow her on Twitter @AnastasiaStelse

Get to know Anastasia...

Birthday? Saint Nick's Day

When did you start writing? I started writing "seriously" (if you can call it that) in college, but by first or second grade I was writing little poems and stories to amuse myself.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first publication was a poem called, "Consumption," with the online literary journal, The Bleeding Lion, in 2015.

What themes do you like to write about? I often find myself writing about themes of excavation, preservation, and knowing versus the unknowable. To that end, voices of the dead show up a lot. I'm always trying to understand those who came before us--the way they might have thought, the way they might have felt.

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? Seamus Heaney's bog body poems have always resonated with me. Until I read those poems I didn't realize that everything really is fair game in poetry. The way he describes and humanizes the long dead is something that's stuck with me and is something I try to emulate.

Baykok, Poetry, Issue 37, December 1, 2016

Richard Stevenson was born in Victoria, B.C., in 1952 and has lived in western Canada and Nigeria. A college English teacher by profession, he has taught English, Canadian and African literature, Business Communication, Creative and Technical Writing, E.S.L., and humanities courses in high schools and colleges. A former Editor-in-Chief of Prism international, he has served in various editorial, jury, and writing/arts group executive capacities. His own reviews and poems have appeared in hundreds of magazines, anthologies, e-zines, and journals published in Canada, the United States, and overseas. He performed with the jazz/ poetry group Naked Ear and rock music/YA verse troupe Sasquatch, and occasionally puts other ensembles together for book launches and performances and reviews books. He has published 30 books and 9 chapbooks and has individual haiku and tanka published in 18 languages. Richard has just retired after a 30-year stint at Lethbridge College and will be moving to Nanaimo in two years when his wife retires.

Get to know Richard...

Birthday? 4 March 1952

When did you start writing? Grade 10 (When I was 16 :-0)

When and what and where did you first get published? In my high school annual – a poem,  and a comic strip in the high school paper.

What themes do you like to write about? Too many to enumerate, but a partial recent list of concerns would include nature and human nature (In haiku, senryu, tanka, kyoka, zappai, haibun, and haiga – as well as in free verse imagist poems), jazz, serial murder (in a forthcoming long poem sequence), cryptozoology, ufology, and unexplained phenomena.

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?  Probably my favourite novel would be To Kill a Mokingbird by Harper Lee, and my favourite book of poetry would be Writings To An Unfinished Accompaniment or The Lice by W.S. Merwin.

Encounter While Waiting for Transport (with David C. Kopaska-Merkel), Poetry, Issue 26, March 1, 2014

Biography

W. Gregory Stewart has an empty emu egg beside him as he writes this. It is not a metaphor for the universe or anything else--he just thought you should know about it. He was born in Canada, eh? He's lived in Australia--g'day. He lives in Los Angeles, with wife and son, which is in California with steps, and in-laws, and grands. He is a grateful man.

Get to know W...

Birthdate?  May 1. (Cool date, doncha think? Well, I always have, anyway.) Let's stop with that--1950 is SOOOOO long ago...

When did you start writing? Grade school--my first poem was published when I was 12. Something that made rhymes about hurricanes--we lived in Florida at the time, Fort Lauderdale. (Actually, it was during this time I fell in love with [questionable] SciFi (ALL those movies, right? Teenagers from Outer Space.  Something about Killer Shrews that were, if I recall, dogs in not-overly-exacting make-up.  But--what really pushed me was Porky in Whackyland chasing the last of the Do-Do's. Emblazoned, it is, on too many of my last functional braincells....) Anyway, I think the publication was called Scimitar & Song. My first fantasy work was "Barrow's Road", published in Australia while I lived there.

When and what and where did you first get published?  LOL--looks like I touched on that already. So instead, maybe I can share one more thing? I still remember one or 2 things in their entirety from "The Space Child's Mother Goose".  Smiles all around on that one.  [Jeez, I really AM old, aren't I!) It's worth tracking down, if you haven't already.

What themes do you like to write about? The fallen loser. Games with words and the sounds of words, and language. The middle ground between faith and science. The big BIG picture. The ordinary in the heart of the extraodinary. The bad BAD joke.

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? R A Lafferty--his was language that rivaled Ellison's and Bradbury's. Tom Robbins, the early works, for folks cast into the fantastic. Kipling, the deft verse. Asimove and Clarke and Niven and all the real science. Gould, for the panorama of science. It goes on--crikey, if you ask me this next year, it'd be a different list, and different focus--and if you asked me this last year or 10 years ago--different again. You know what, really? I love the English language, and envy everyone who has worked it well. If I narrow things to a genre/form focus--look at Davie CKM--the man is part of the spinal cord of this world. Or the spine. And Denise D., and Bruce B., and Robert Frazier and Debbie K and Nancy E-T and Kendall and Sam and....  Ok, you are ALL great, and I am grateful, and there's no room to laud you all, and I mean that most seriously, so--well, if anyone feels slighted not to have been singled out, let me know and I will shout out your name in downtown Santa Monica. You can't spend it, but... you know--the thought will be there.

Petrified, Poetry, Issue 42, March 15, 2018

Hayley Stone is a writer, editor, and poet from California. Her debut sci-fi novel, Machinations, was chosen as an Amazon Best Sci-fi & Fantasy Book of the Year for 2016, while her short fiction has appeared in Fireside Magazine as well as various anthologies. “Petrified” is her first poetry sale. When not reading or writing, Hayley studies history, falls in love with video game characters, and analyzes buildings for velociraptor entry points. Find her at www.hnstoneauthor.com and on Twitter @hayley_stone.

Poet's E-mail Address: hayley@hnstoneauthor.com

Poet's Web Site: www.hnstoneauthor.com

Invisible Love, Poetry, Issue 27, June 1, 2014

Michal Schick is a writer, a reader, a student, and a teacher. Her stories have appeared in The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, volumes I and II. Michal lives in New York City, where she drinks a lot of coffee, watches a lot of television, and thinks long and hard about dragons.

Get to know Michal...

Birthday? July 18, 1987

When did you start writing? I think it was in third grade. We had to write sentences for our vocabulary words, and I turned the whole thing into a story. It felt like breaking the rules, but I think my teacher liked it!

When and what and where did you first get published? My first story was published in The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories in 2011. It was tiny, but exciting.

What themes do you like to write about? I like to write about magical and mysterious things blending into our everyday lives. And dragons.

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? Harry Potter has stayed with me from the moment I first picked it up. It opened my eyes to both fantasy and tragicomedy in a way that was very new to me. Characters like Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom remain inspirations to me; I think they are such brilliant examples of balanced strength and weakness, which is something I always strive to emulate in my writing.

Turkey Shoot, Fiction, Issue 54, March 2021

David Stier is a Vietnam Era US Army veteran who served in Germany during the Cold War as a tank driver. In his informed opinion, the Soviet Union was our enemy then, as is the Russian Federation now.

As Abraham Lincoln once stated: “All the armies of Europe and Asia...could not by force take a drink from the Ohio River or make a track on the Blue Ridge in the trial of a thousand years. No, if destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men we will live forever or die by suicide.”

Stier graduated from UCSC in 1988 and worked for a major text book publisher for 24 years. He is currently restoring a 1944 Willys MB WWII Jeep. He is and has been an avid collector since the 3rd Grade. He also plans to move to Southern New Jersey in the summer.

Some of Dave’s short stories have appeared in, Fiction River #18 (Visions of the Apocalypse) Fiction River #24 (Pulse Pounders Adrenaline) Fiction River #25 (Feel the Fear) Fiction River #30 (Hard Choices), Fiction River #31 (Feel the Love), Fiction River Special Edition #3 (Spies) and Pulp House Issue #4. Dave was also a runner up in the University of North Georgia’s 2019 Military Science Fiction Symposium for “Prisoners of War.” “Rogue Entanglement” originally appeared in Spectra Magazine, Issue #3. His self-published short story collection, Final Solutions, Stories of the Holocaust is available on Amazon and his latest sale, The Tooth Fairy” https://books2read.com/obsessions

Get to know David...

Birthdate:

06/09/1952

When did you start writing?

1983

When and what and where did you first get published?

F Magazine, “Embracing the Suck,” Jan 2009

What themes do you like to write about?

Military Fiction, Historical Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Near Future Science Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Slipstream

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?

Downbelow Station, by CJ Cherryh, War of the Worlds by HG Wells, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin, The Bernie Gunther Berlin Noir mystery series by Philip Kerr

All of these stories deal with humanity’s struggle with good and evil and how sometimes doing nothing is the greatest evil of all. They also display an amazing depth of character motivation and interaction. Lastly, the settings are all as real as can be allowed by the printed page.

Tea with the Titans, Flash Fiction, Issue 28, September 1, 2014

Biography

Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam lives in Texas with her partner and two literarily-named cats: Gimli and Don Quixote. Her fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in magazines such as Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Strange Horizons, and Interzone. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast program and curates an annual Art & Words Show, which was recently profiled in Poets & Writers. You can visit her on Twitter@BonnieJoStuffle or through her website: www.bonniejostufflebeam.com.

Get to know Bonnie...

Birthdate? February 20

When did you start writing? When I was a kid, I used to create picture books about my cat, April, and her grand adventures. My favorite was called "April Meets an Alien."

When and what and where did you first get published? My first published short story was called "They Come In Through the Walls" in Expanded Horizons in 2012. It's about a woman whose father has Alzheimer's. She moves into his house to take care of him, and every night she and her father are joined at dinner by phantoms who come into the house through the walls. My next publication and my first pro publication was a story called "The Wanderers" in Clarkesworld in 2013, about sadistic aliens who come to earth only to find it empty. 

What themes do you like to write about? I write a lot about family, as my family has always been very important to me. Also sexuality. Mythology and fairy tale. I especially like looking at aspects of mythology and fairy tales that may have been glossed over in the original, or examining the fairy tale characters from a psychological standpoint. 

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? When I first discovered the work of Kelly Link and Aimee Bender, I felt as though I was finally reading the kind of story I'd always wanted to read. I resonated with Kelly Link's obsessive teenagers in "Magic for Beginners" and the manic and depressive teenage girls in Bender's "The Healer." The subtlety of the fantastic in their stories was still so powerful and spoke to me on a deeper metaphorical level as well as a personal surface level; not only were these stories telling truths about the world, they were also relatable to my personal experiences. I strive for such three-dimensionality in my own fiction. 

Strings, Flash Fiction, Issue 20, September 1, 2012

Jason Sturner grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago, where he has worked as an elevator operator, rock drummer, graphic designer, naturalist and botanist. He’s had stories and poems published in Aoife’s Kiss, Space and Time Magazine, Mythic Delirium, Aphelion, and 69 Flavors of Paranoia, among others. He currently lives near the Great Smoky Mountains.

Get to know Jason...

Birthdate? As of 2012, the earth has orbited the sun 39 times since my birth.

When did you start writing? My first memory is from fifth grade, when I wrote and illustrated a poem about a catbird: The catbird is a strange bird/When it sings, it sings a word/Meow, it sings/Meow, it sings/Recognize that?/It’s the sound of a cat! Then, in Junior High, I discovered Lovecraft, and my artwork and writing morphed into something much stranger.

When and what and where did you first get published? In 1998 I wrote a ghost story called “The Dead Man Who Appears” for Spire magazine, a publication of Elgin Community College in Illinois.

What themes do you like to write about? I’m all over the place. Environmental issues seem to be chewing their way in from the margins.

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? There’s no one book or story, although anything by Lord Dunsany certainly qualifies as literary crack. Other drugs include Poe, Kafka, Chekov, Lovecraft, Grabinski, Twain, and Breece D’J Pancake. I sniff lines of poetry almost every day: Blake, Yeats, Tennyson, Rimbaud, Plath, and Mary Oliver, among others. I trip out on books about folklore and mythology, like Fire in the Head by Tom Cowan, or anything by Joseph Campbell. The essays of Loren Eiseley expand my mind. Black Elk Speaks went in my pipe and I smoked it; that book brought me closer to my Native American ancestry. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin, Little, Big by John Crowley, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, and Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman all made me hallucinate and dream beautiful things. I overdose on astronomy, paleontology, and quantum mechanics. I mainline Weird Tales and National Geographic. And for the ultimate high there’s Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Aesop’s Fables, and The Arabian Nights. All these and so much more have fed and inspired my imagination.

A Night at the Drive-In, Poetry, Issue 13. December 1, 2010

Dead Letters from the Lovelorn, Poetry, Issue 13, December 1, 2010

Susan has been published in a variety of online and print magazines including Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Beyond Centauri, and Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. She's a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop. In her spare time, she likes to wrangle cats, charm snakes, and teach a middle-aged dog new tricks.

Get to know Susan...

Birthdate? May 9, 1963

When did you start writing? In Basic Composition class when I was fifteen.

When and what and where did you first get published? Perspective Magazine (a professional journal) published my article, "If Your Employees Aren't Certified, Make Sure They're Qualified" in 1991.

Why do you write? I love telling stories.  I'm also an actress and performer, and I love that with writing, I can be actor, director, set designer, and costumer all at once.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? It's my true north. 

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? Favorite author is Stephen King. Favorite story: "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs

What are you trying to say with your fiction? I don't know that I'm trying to say anything at all. My ultimate goal is to entertain with my writing. If people enjoy what I've written, then I've done my job as a writer.

Do you blog? Where? Nope, unless you consider Facebook a blog.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? Make 'em laugh, make 'em laugh, make 'em laugh.

One Hell of a Cat, Fiction, Issue 2, March 1, 2008

Author Website: http://shootthemuse.bravehost.com

Celina Summers lives in the lovely hills of Southern Ohio with her husband, two teenaged daughters, and way too many cats. She began writing at an early age and kept it up as a solitary hobby. After years in professional theatre and a nasty car accident, Ms. Summers began a story.  At first, the story was intended to entertain her, but before long  she was obsessed. That novel, The Reckoning of Asphodel was released in the summer of 2007.  Its sequel, The Gift of Redemption, is due for release in 2008. You find out more about Celina at her website (http://shootthemuse.bravehost.com) or on her blog(www.kaantira.blogspot.com)

Get to know Celina...

Birthdate? 10/16/66

When did you start writing? I first started writing at the age of seven. The first thing I remember writing was a poem, but I also wrote short plays that were produced my the music teacher. My first major piece was a one-act play performed at a new play festival in 1989.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first fiction publication is my novel The Reckoning of Asphodel. Before that, I had several poems, short stories, and freelance articles published.  I also had a one-act play, Puppets, that was produced in a new playwright festival in 1989.

Why do you write? I write so I can find out what happens next.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I was brought up on all of the strange, wild beauty of Greco-Roman mythology. Writing fantasy was a short step from that.

Who is your favorite author? At the risk of being stoned for heresy, I must confess that my favorite author is David Eddings. 

Your favorite story? My favorite story? *grumble grumble*  That's not fair.  I have too many of them!  All right, Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? I'm not really trying to say anything. Although there are allegories in my work, I tend not to use my stories as a personal platform. So I guess the correct answer for me would be: read my story and enjoy it.

Do you blog? Where? My blog, Elf-Killing And Other Hobbies, can be found at www.kaantira.blogspot.com

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? Never piss off a witch.

Forgotten, Illustration, March 1, 2009

Wheelbarrow, Illustration, Issue 10, March 1, 2010

http://www.chrissumption.com 

Biography:

A native northwesterner, Christopher Sumption was born in Portland,Oregon in 1971. He moved with his family to Seattle, Washington in 1975 where he spent a lot of time looking at airplanes and blowing stuff up. In 1993 he obtained his degree in Industrial Design at the Seattle Art Institute.

He currently resides in Seattle where he drinks Mountain Dew Slurpees, and works as a freelance illustrator.

Get to know Chris...

Birthdate? May 9th, 1971

When did you start illustrating? 1998

When and what and where did you make your first sale? 2003, Comic style illustration of a futuristic soldier, sold at Norwescon 25

Why do you paint or draw? Still haven't figured that one out yet, It's one of those things I have always done since early childhood.

Why do you work with Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Who is your favorite illustrator? Probably Ralph McQuarrie. he was good at framing his subject matter, very similar to Edward Hopper who I also enjoy.

What is your medium of choice? Do you work in any other medium? For Science Fiction, I work in Digital. For abstract pieces I usually work in Acrylics.

Does these particular illustrations have a story behind them? Please share it. Not so much a story, but an effect. A lot of my subject matter over the past four years centers around having machines emulate human situations or human qualities.

Electric Tableau, Fiction, Issue 60, Fall 2022

Gordon Sun's stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Daily Science Fiction, The Dread Machine, Please See Me, After Dinner Conversation, Penumbric Speculative Fiction Magazine, Mad Scientist Journal, and other publications. 

Get to know Gordon

Birthdate?

I am a Gemini.

When did you start writing?

Kindergarten!  All joking aside, I started seriously writing short fiction in 2014.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first published story was “Downsizing” in Ars Medica in 2018, about a patient with a long-term tracheostomy tube who meets a new pulmonary doctor and receives some surprising news.  My first paid publication was a set of three fictional advertisements for the now-defunct magazine Mad Scientist Journal in 2019.

Why do you write?

Writing is a great creative outlet for me.  In my day job, I am a surgeon and a medical informaticist, so I frequently see how new technologies are integrated into clinical practice and affect patients and staff in real-time.  I often use my writing to explore potential futures extrapolated from real-life events and discoveries in healthcare and science, but straightforward genre exercises can be fun also!

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

The science fiction and fantasy genres are highly versatile, and the issues I want to tackle whenever I feel inspired to write tend to be best explained in an SF/F milieu.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

I have many favorite authors, but those I reread on a regular basis are Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, and Ken Liu.  My favorite story all-time is

the Remembrance of Earth’s Past series by Cixin Liu.  Additionally, I have always been fascinated by how Michael Crichton and Robin Cook both started their careers in medicine but through their own unique experiences and strategies, each found great success writing science fiction and medical thrillers.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

All technology has unintended consequences at the personal and societal level—sometimes happy, occasionally humorous, often unpleasant.  Whether I have actually accomplished getting that message across yet is another story.

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

“I always tried to do the right thing for my family, friends, and patients.”

Do you blog?

Maybe someday.

Bread Crumbs and Thigh Bones, Fiction, Issue 16, September 1, 2011

Amy Sundberg is a writer of speculative and young adult fiction, as well as a musician. An alumna of the Taos Toolbox writing workshop, she lives with her husband and little dog in California. She loves to sing, travel, and eat baked goods. She blogs regularly at practicalfreespirit.com.

Get to know Amy...

Birthdate? June 27.

When did you start writing? I decided I wanted to be a writer when I was seven years old, and I've been writing off and on ever since. I did get sidetracked for several years by my passion for music, which quickly expanded to include songwriting and composing. I've been writing more seriously for about three years.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first sale was to Daily Science Fiction for my story "Forever Sixteen." However, my first story to actually appear was "Luck Be a Lady" at Crossed Genres.

What themes do you like to write about? I write a lot about death; I definitely have a certain morbid streak. I often include characters who are children or teenagers as well, which allows me to address coming-of-age themes, as well as issues of powerlessness and how people become who they are. I enjoy discovering the fault lines of my characters: how much pressure will cause them to break or embrace change in a way they were unable to before.

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've been fascinated by fairy tales from a young age. There's an interesting juxtaposition going on there between the relatively sanitized versions put out for small children and by Disney, which are light and fun wish-fulfillment fantasies and adventure stories, for the most part, and the older, more brutal versions, that show the more difficult and even horrific aspects of life--the darker underbelly, if you will, and sometimes with slightly tilted moral systems to boot. 

Really, though, this is a tough question, because I've been a life-long reader, and I have so many eclectic favorites. Different influences poke out for different stories, but so far I'm unaware of any that are consistent throughout my body of work. 

Last Straw at the Coffee Shop, Fiction, Issue 62, Spring 2023

Erin L. Swann is a lifelong lover of fantasy and space adventures living in Central Maryland. She’s an avid home cook and works as an art teacher, feeding the imaginations of others while fueling her own creativity. Her work appears in numerous publications including Factor Four Magazine, The Colored Lens, and The Metaworker. You can find her on twitter @swannscribbles and on her website at www.swannscribbles.com

Get to know Erin…

Birthdate?

September 1985

When did you start writing?

Ever since I wrote a collaborative story about 'Submission the Unicorn' (still don't know why we chose that name!) with my childhood best friend in elementary school. But it was mostly something I did privately as I grew up, rarely sharing it (if ever). It wasn't until 2019 that I started to think about doing it seriously. I have a novel series I have been working on since then and have put in a lot of effort to grow and become a better writer through workshops (thank you, Authors Publish), short fiction, and some fabulous writing groups/critique partners!

When and what and where did you first get published?

A Cloaked Press anthology was my first official acceptance. 'Summer of Speculation 2022: Villains' came out in July 2022. 

My story was a dark fantasy that took inspiration from Jadis, the White Witch (Narnia) mixed with a plague apocalypse and a twist ending. I was thrilled!

Why do you write?

I've always loved creating worlds, whether with visual art or writing. I have so many in my mind, most connecting to the worlds in my novel series or linked to other short stories. I can't help wanting to make connections!

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Because I live in an ordinary world. I see it every day. I write about the worlds I want to visit, the worlds I see in my dreams, and possibilities/impossibilities that fascinate/excite me. (And, for certain stories, a chance to share my somewhat juvenile humor.)

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Too many! I will say Patricia McKillip was one of the first fantasy writers I fell in love with and she will always have a special place in my heart. Her fantasy worlds are so vivid and lush, each story like examining a jeweled box. Her short story collections were the first short fictions I'd read and loved, and many of her novels adorn my bookshelves. 'The Bell at Sealy Head' and 'The Sorceress and the Signet' are ones I still reread.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I want to make people smile, wonder, and imagine the greater world I showed them a glimpse of. I want them to see a relatable experience inside an alien world, or watch a wielder of great power struggle with an emotional/hidden weakness I've experienced  or someone I know has dealt with. I want people reading my stories (the humorous and the somber ones) to feel less alone.

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

Loving daughter, wife, and mother.

On to the next world. The next life. The next great adventure.

Do you blog?

Yes! It's still rather new. I'll update with new stories coming out, share struggles, and shout out other short stories I've read recently. I'd like to release more artwork related to narratives I write in the future as I'm a visual artist too. (If I can stop writing long enough to sit down and do it!)

Cricket Song, Fiction, Issue 61, Winter 2022

J. Swift is a writer, editor, and communications consultant. She is currently working on a series of SF-noir novels about an ageless small-time detective and a highly intelligent rat who take on the powers-that-be in 22nd century New York City. J. lives in Upstate New York where bears and otters frolic in her backyard, and she spends a lot of time wondering “What if?” Visit her at jswiftstories.com

 Get to know J. Swift… 

Birthdate? 

Groundhog’s Day. The hogs are my peeps!

When did you start writing?

The earliest story I can remember writing was in second grade. It was about two wild stallions fighting to take over the herd. (Spoiler: one of them gets kicked in the face and runs away.)

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first published fiction is an SF story called “No Dark Is So Dark.” It saw the light of day this last April in Abyss and Apex.

Why do you write?

For the same reason ancient humans entered the absolute dark of the cave, then painted the walls with the outlines of their hands, using pigment mixed with their own saliva.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Science fiction and fantasy provide room to push boundaries and embark on wondrous journeys that ultimately lead us home again to a place we’ve never been before. Nothing is better than that.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

There are many, but one of my all-time favorites is The Animal Family, by Randall Jarrell. It’s a children’s book about a found family beautifully written by a poet. Every member of the family is totally different from each other, and every one is accepted and cherished for their difference. I reread it every few years and never grow tired of it.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

You are not alone.

Do you blog?

Sometimes I write short musings about the mysteries of the universe. You can find them on my website: jswiftstories.com

The Last Resort, Fiction, Issue 4, September 1, 2008

How Bob Got Busted for a Chocolate Chip, Flash Fiction, Issue 11, June 1, 2010

A.K. Sykora has been an attorney in NYC and a teacher of English to Germans. She lives in Germany, and has published 24 stories and over 50 poems in the small press or on the web.

Get to know Anna...

Birthdate? June 7, 1954

When did you start writing? I started making up poems and stories around age five.

When and what and where did you first get published?  I first got a dark fantasy tale published in *BIGnews,* NYC in 2004.

Why do you write? Because I have to.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?  Because realism isn't adequate.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?   Dostoyevsky.  I have a thousand favorite stories.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? On bad days, "Help!" On good days, "We will find a way."

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