The Tale of the Wind and the Dry Bones, Fiction, Issue 18, March 1, 2012

Mandy Taggart is a graduate of Trinity College Cambridge, and undertook postgraduate studies in Irish culture, identity and folklore. Her short fiction has appeared in recent issues of various publications including "Spilling Ink Review," "Cobalt Review" and "Indigo Rising (UK)". Her short story "Skiboo" was a Top Contender for the Glass Woman Ghost Story Prize in December 2011.

Get to know Mandy...

Birthdate? October 31st

When did you start writing? I've been writing for as long as I can remember, but only began submitting work last year.

When and what and where did you first get published? My story, "As The Days Turn" was published at www.backhandstories.com in July, 2011.

What themes do you like to write about? I find inspiration in the myths and fears of childhood, those primal reactions that come from somewhere deeper than the mind. Having grown up in rural Ireland, I also have a close connection with the folklore and spirituality of the landscape, a notion of the ancient that is always around us.

What books and/or stories have mostresonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work? The English writer M.R. James, in his ghost stories, can evoke a strong atmosphere of foreboding in just a few words. I'm also an admirer of Annie Proulx, for her breathtaking, uncompromising descriptions of a landscape which, with its history and stories, is a character in its own right. In my own writing, I feel that there is always an undertone of what has gone before: the unspoken presence of previous generations.

Jerramunga, Fiction, Issue 71, Summer 2025

Carl Tait is a software engineer, classical pianist, and writer. His work has appeared in After Dinner Conversation (Pushcart Prize nominee), Mystery Magazine (cover story), the Eunoia Review, the Literary Hatchet, the Saturday Evening Post, and others. He also has a story in Close to Midnight, a horror anthology from Flame Tree Press. Carl grew up in Atlanta and currently lives in New York City with his wife and twin daughters. For more information, visit carltait.com.

Get to know Carl...

Birthdate?

1962

When did you start writing?

Aside from technical papers in computer science, my first serious writing was creative nonfiction about piano competitions I entered. Google "carl tait second amateur cliburn" for my favorite of these pieces, from June 2000. I didn't write much else until 2013, when my twin daughters suggested I write down the spooky-but-funny stories I made up for them. This led to two self-published books for older children. As my kids moved out of childhood, I began writing fiction for adults and never stopped.

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

Eunoia Review, July 2020, "Cold as Ice." This is a disquieting story of a temporarily transformed world, drawn from my own memories of the Atlanta ice storm of 1973, which shut down the city for a week. I was 58 when the story came out.

Why do you write?

It's fun! I could try to come up with something more profound, but the principal reason is that I enjoy it.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I've been drawn to science fiction since I was a child. I remember reading Robert Silverberg's Hawksbill Station when I was about ten and being flabbergasted by the idea. Twilight Journey by L.P. Davies came soon afterward. That was my introduction to reality-bending fiction: a genre that has haunted me ever since.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

Among mainstream authors, three favorites are Kafka, Flannery O'Connor, and Paul Auster. In science fiction, I'd say Asimov, Clarke, and Philip K. Dick, with Asimov's The End of Eternity and PKD's Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said earning special mention.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I write about odd situations. Sometimes this involves a speculative element; sometimes not. The common factor is a wide streak of darkness. Although I'm a cheerful and optimistic person by nature, my stories lean toward the morbid, often peppered with dark humor.

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

"We actually miss him."

Do you blog?

No, but I post frequently on Facebook about politics, music, and writing.

The New Fossils, Poetry, Issue 70, Spring 2025

Life on Earth and Elsewhere, Nonfiction, Issue 70, Spring 2025

Back in 1958, I went to UCLA to become an astrophysicist. But on the way, I got seduced by computers (back when some of them still used vacuum tubes), and went to work at the university full-time in computer-hardware research instead of going on to get a Masters and PhD in Physics. 

However, through a bizarre string of coincidences, in 1968 I got hired as a computer-science consultant on a Boris Karloff film that had a computer in it (Fear Chamber), and then as a high-voltage electrical-effects expert on the next Karloff feature (Alien Terror). The movie bug bit me and I ran off to Hollywood. I talked my way into the NABET Local 531 as a special effects person and propmaker, and later, settled in as a Production Sound Mixer (Recordist) in IATSE 695 and IBEW 45, as well as NABET 53.

Once I got enough experience, I began teaching at my alma mater (part-time for 25 years), both Production Sound Recording and Sound for Directors. I have also taught at other schools, including Art Center of Design and USC. I consider it as karmic repayment to those who helped me out when I was a neo, because they’ve moved on to recording angels (or devils).

In 1995, I was invited to Japan to present a paper on sound recording to an international production sound symposium in connection with a trade show, InterBEE 95. In 2010 and 2011, I was brought to China to teach Chinese sound people how to use American sound equipment at BIRTV 2010 & 2011. And in 2012, York University (Toronto) sent me to Viet Nam for six weeks to train audio engineers, mixers, and directors for VTV, the state television network.

Television timecode migrated to film production in the early 1980s, and I wrote “Using Timecode in the Reel World,” which made it to a 3rd edition. [Back then, everything was on reels – film, magnetic tape, and later, videotape.] I write technical articles and tutorials for trade magazines like Cinema Audio Society Quarterly, Coffey Audio Files, Mix, Production Sound & Video, and Sound & Picture. Since I see no reason to take my “secrets” to the grave with me, my current writing project is “The Art, Craft, and Science of Production Sound Mixing,” currently over 2,000 pages and 800,000 words.

I’ve worked on just about every type of show, from ultra-low-budget Macon County Line ($225,000) to the last three years of mega-budget Avatar ($237,000,000+). In addition to feature films, I’ve done TV series, reality shows, musicals, shorts, videogames, commercials, music videos, documentaries, educationals, news gathering, and US Government films.

Because of my academic background in Physics and Astronomy, I quickly became the unofficial science advisor on the set of Avatar, and afterward, James Cameron hired me to help write “An Activist Survival Guide [to Pandora]” and the “Pandorapedia.” I continue to advise him on science for the Avatar sequels. 

I’ve worked worldwide: in over two-thirds of the States, and in Barbados, Belgium, China, England, France, Germany, Guam, Italy, Japan, Martinique, Mexico, Morea, Morocco, Netherlands, Philippines, Switzerland, Tahiti, Taiwan, and Viet Nam.

I am a voting member of both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS). Also, the Cinema Audio Society (CAS), the Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS) in the UK, the Institute of Professional Sound (IPS) in the UK, and the Production Sound and Video Guild (PSVG). Finally, I am a member of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and a Life Member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE).

I was nominated for an Emmy in 2000 for the sound on Tuesdays with Morrie, and won the Emmy in 2003 for Live from Baghdad. I received CAS nominations for those two movies as well.

I write SF and fantasy for my own amusement, and as a break from writing non-fiction. Read it at your own risk.

Get to know J.M. Tanenbaum...

Birthdate? Before WWII.

When did you start writing? Almost as far back as when I would have had to use a stylus to engrave cuneiform on clay tablets.

When and what and where did you first get published? Early 1970s, technical articles, Hollywood.

Why do you write? Because I can’t tell the stories to you in person.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? Because it’s easier to make up stuff than do research on the real world.

Who is your favorite author? Jack Vance – Fantasy & Eric Frank Russel – SF.

Your favorite story? Robert A. Heinlein’s “Glory Road."  It literately changed my life! My part-time work on the Karloff features had put a severe strain on my position at UCLA. I had used up all my vacation time, sick days, and the generosity of the administrators and the department in general. How could I possibly leave my comfort zone in academia for the reel world?

Almost as soon as I learned to read (before kindergarten, thanks to my mother), I discovered Science-Fiction, and was immediately hooked. I quickly read all of Heinlein’s sci-fi stories, but ignored his “un-scientific” fantasy ones. Later, when I was in college, I took a second look at them, starting with Magic, Incorporated. All the magic in this novel was scientific, too! Next came Glory Road, the book that “changed my life forever!”

The plot of Glory Road concerns the adventures of Oscar “Scar” Gordon, an ordinary guy who suddenly finds himself in another-dimensional realm of multiple universes, accompanied by the Empress of all of them (although Oscar doesn’t know it at first) and Rufo, his sidekick and general factotum. Oscar soon kills a dragon and becomes a “Hero.”

While on a quest, they are given hospitality by a local landowner, who lends them three “longhorses” (6-legged ones, long before Avatar). At the far boundary of his land, they meet up with a young stablehand who is to take their mounts back to their erstwhile host. Rufo tells Oscar that the kid wants to meet “the great hero”, but advises Oscar to just send him away. Oscar replies that being a hero has responsibilities as well as privileges, and gives the lad a pep talk: follow your heart and always speak to strange women. Later, Rufo complains that now the kid will buy himself a cheap sword and get killed before he even travels a mile down the Glory Road. “And is that worse,” Oscar counters, “than sitting by the fire in your old age, gnashing your toothless gums and thinking about all the adventures you didn’t have and all the women you didn’t tumble?” (Heinlein’s stories were written around the middle of the last century, when sexist gender stereotypes were common.) 

His words gave me the courage to leave the shelter of my ivory tower and run off to Hollywood – a decision I’ve never regretted. And I did get to “tumble” strange women.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? Nothing. If I wanted to send a message, I’d post it on X.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? World’s oldest man – lived to be 202, and died with his headphones on.

Do you blog? No. I don’t have time to waste on social media.

Andrea Tang is a DC-based writer, recovering liberal arts graduate, and professional international affairs nerd. When hiding – or, excuse me, taking a break – from her writing, she enjoys martial arts, theater, and ruining beloved musicals and global politics alike by cross-referencing them constantly. Visit her at https://andreatangwrites.com/.

Get to know Andrea...

Birthday? July 12

When did you start writing? When I was a child, and my parents needed to distract me with something while waiting for meals at restaurants or attending tedious grown-up dinner parties. I'm pretty sure what I had in mind was a Gameboy or something, but I wound up with a notebook instead. One makes do, you know?

When and what and where did you first get published? For free - when I was nine years old, and writing for a local kids' anthology. For payment - when I was nineteen, and ghostwriting freelance for my personal pizza-ordering fund at university. Under my own name - a couple short stories in Underground Voices and Expanded Horizons, not long after the whole "will ghostwrite for spare cash and food" endeavor.

What themes do you like to write about? Anything that strikes my mind! But having focused pretty heavily on the politics of violence and post-colonialism, first as a literature student, and now at my day job as a consulting wonk-type-person on international affairs, I find myself writing a good deal about how individual people navigate between and across different cultures or countries, and how they negotiate those relationships.

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 the meanest question! Coming from a liberal arts background, I like reading across genres, from traditional SFF to hardcore old-school literary canon, so picking favorite writers is a lot like picking favorite foods - it all comes down to my mood in a given moment! Some favorite writers off the top of my head have included Zen Cho, Kamila Shamsie, and Ta Nehisi-Coates, among others. I think what they all have in common is a remarkable deftness for code-switching, very well-placed word wrangling, and writing wonderfully human stories that span cultures and borders.

Phantom Mark, Poetry, Issue 63, Summer 2023

Liana Tang is a Hong Kong writer who has been published or forthcoming in 55+ publications, including a Pushcart-winning magazine and another publication with over 118K+ followers on Medium. She participated in the John Hopkins Talented Youth Program and received a 25% scholarship for Cambridge Immerse Education Engineering and Creative Writing program. Her first chapbook, "Crossing the Chasm," is forthcoming from Trouble Department in 2023 and her co-authored Young Adult novel, “Stuck In Her Head,” is forthcoming from Earnshaw Books in Fall 2023. Lastly, she likes acting, cycling, singing, playing the piano, and mentoring others in her free time. 

Get to know Liana..

Birthday? 

December 24

When did you start writing? 

I have been creating stories ever since I could remember (which was around when I was 3 or 4), but I started taking writing seriously when I was 10.

When and what and where did you first get published? 

I initially started publishing by creating my own mini-book packets or posting on fanfiction sites like Ao3. However, my first real publication was on Medium Lessons on History about the African slave trade when I was 13. 

Why do you write?

Well, I initially started writing since I went through a dark time in my life. It was my happy place. I started writing because I believe stories are a fantastic way to cultivate human empathy in an increasingly polarized world. 

Why do you write science fiction and/or fantasy?

I believe it’s important for authors to delve into different possibilities. It’s only through exploring these fictional worlds that we can better understand our own, such as our societal flaws, technological dangers, the abuses of history, etc. This is applicable whether on a micro or macro level.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

My favorite author is Cixin Liu, especially his novel, "Death’s End." The story straps the reader into a grandiose tale on a truly cosmic scale, one that encompasses multiple universes and billions of years. The historian's excerpts interjected between eras abound with detailed discussions of politics, philosophy, sociology, and, especially, science. It definitely jump-started my interest in history and psychology, and I hope to write a similar work one day.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

Be curious! Be curious about yourself, about how people work, and about how society works. The world’s a big place, and we’ll try our best to understand it.

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

"I was a real person that existed."

Do you blog? 

Yep! Though, not as much as I used to. You could find me on Medium or on Instagram at @lianatang.yantung.

Little, Kathryn, Fiction, Issue 68, Fall 2024

When not out exploring the universe, Christina Tang-Bernas lives in Southern

California with her family. Her work has appeared in Radon Journal, Twist in Time,

and After Dinner Conversation, among others. Find out more on X/Bluesky

@ctbideas and http://www.christinatangbernas.com.

Get to know Christina…

When did you start writing?

I've been telling stories for as long as I can remember. I used to make up

silly stories to entertain my two little sisters, and that gradually changed

into actually writing them down on paper. I didn't take my writing seriously

though until after I was married in 2010. My husband helped me find the

confidence to finally share my work publicly.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first publication was "Joseph," a literary vignette story based loosely

on a real incident that happened to me. I remember sitting on the floor of

my apartment frantically typing it out on my laptop as the words and

images came pouring out of my mind. It was published in Vine Leaves

Literary Magazine in 2012 and eventually nominated for a Pushcart.

Why do you write?

I write because I don't know how else to express everything inside my

mind. It gets all tangled up and noisy in there, and writing sorts it out,

quiets the din a bit.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

Speculative fiction allows for more possibilities for expressing ideas that

would otherwise be difficult to explore.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

I look up to Ray Bradbury as my writing "mentor.” He was a master at

making the mundane fantastical and the fantastical mundane, which is

what I strive for in my own writing. However, I could write pages upon

pages of all the fantastic authors and stories I've read over the years and

all the things they've inspired in my own writing.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I approach all my fiction writing with a specific question or idea that I'm

trying to explore. What comes out the other end can sometimes be

unexpected. So, I don't think I'm ever trying to say anything in particular in

my fiction. However, if a reader feels something from reading my story or it

lingers in their thoughts, that makes me feel the story was worth writing.

Packs of Yellow Eyes, Fiction, Issue 71, June 15, 2025

Abigail F. Taylor is an award-winning Own Voices author from Texas. She once spent a year working on the film set for "The Dinosaur Experiment" after a stint in religious studies. When she’s not writing, Abigail spends her time out in nature, practicing aikido, and cross-stitching. She lives with four cats, two small dogs, and a sassy rooster. 

Get to know Jordan...

When did you start writing?

I've been writing stories since I was first taught how to actually write! One of our homework assignments in first grade was to create a story using key vocabulary. I just ran with it after that, but didn't consider it a possible career option until I was almost twenty.

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

My first publication was my poem "Enough" in Illya's Honey 2010 anthology.

Why do you write?

It's cathartic and a source of great comfort to create stories and practice the craft. It's also fun puzzling out the mechanics of what can turn a story into something that's actually good 

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I write both! My fantasy tends to be more grounded and leaning into Magical Realism, where as my science fiction tends to be more delightfully haphazard.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

Most of my writing, regardless of genre, explores identity in the face of adversity. For NewMyths, my story "Packs of Yellow Eyes" is all about colonization and revenge.

Do you blog?

Yes! My blog/newsletter can be found here.

Common Magick, Fiction, Issue 34, March 1, 2016

The Sultana of Story, Fiction, Issue 42, March 15, 2018

Jordan Taylor has driven across the US three times, and lived in four different cities in as many years. She currently resides in Seattle, WA with her husband, their corgi, and too many books for one small apartment. Her short fiction has recently appeared in or is forthcoming from On Spec and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. You can follow her online at jordanrtaylor.com.

Get to know Jordan...

When did you start writing? I've been making up stories for as long as I can remember. As a child I acted out elaborate plots with my dolls or the neighborhood children, and as a teenager I kept a detailed journal whose events were only sometimes true. However, it wasn't until it was time to pick my college major (Creative Writing) that I started calling myself a writer or seriously working on putting my stories down on paper.

When and what and where did you first get published? My first major publication was in Issue 17 of Shimmer Magazine, with my story "The Desire of All Things."

What themes do you like to write about? I love writing about the intersection of magic and the real world. I like to use magic as something the story's characters use to struggle with or come to terms with their world, but not to "fix" everything. Magic in a flawed world? After all, even our own flawed world can be magical and wondrous.

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? So I could write pages and pages about this, but my current absolute favorite novel, and one which influenced my writing of "Common Magick," is John Crowley's Little, Big. I adore the Victorian Era, and I adore fairies and fairy tales, and stories about the forest and the waters and the wild, and stories about New York, and family sagas, and long novels I can get lost in, with quiet magic, and this one has all of those things tied up in a big, beautiful bow. Before reading Little, Big, it never even occurred to me that other people might be interested in stories of magic that are set in Victorian times; it was something I had never seen done by a modern author. It was like someone gave me permission to go wild.

Venus Returns to Sea Foam, Poetry, Issue 18, March 1, 2012

Nancy Ellis Taylor is an L.A.-based writer who gives readings locally several times a year. She is active with the Southland Poets of the Fantastic (science fiction, horror, and fantasy) and Poets on Site (group giving poetry performances focusing on art in galleries and museums). Her work has appeared recently in the L.A. Flood Project, Fickle Muses, Illumen, Echoes, and the anthology Jack-o'-Spec. In addition, she was a nominee for this year's Rhysling Award presented the Science Fiction Poetry Association. 

Get to know Nancy...

Birthdate? 2/14 (note: the year I was born Mardi Gras also fell on Valentine's day)

When did you start writing? 5th grade

When and what and where did you first get published? I think my mom sent one of my poems to the local newspapers back in the 1960s.

What themes do you like to write about? Amazing moments of fractured light.

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? 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It reinforced the use of the magical/fantastical that I preferred in my poetry.

Fifty Years in Earthsea, Nonfiction, Issue 45, December 15, 2018

Stephen Taylor has fiction forthcoming in MYTHIC Magazine and recent publications in The Future Fire and The Centropic Oracle.

Wolf Girls, Poetry, Issue 8, September 1, 2009

Marcie Lynn Tentchoff is a writer/poet from the west coast of Canada. Her work has appeared in such publications as On Spec, Weird Tales, Strange Horizons, and Mythic Delirium.  Marcie's fantasy poetry collection, Through the Window: A Journey to the Borderlands of Faerie, is available through Amazon.

Get to know Marcy...

Birthdate? Feb. 16th, 1968

When did you start writing? I think I wrote my first book when I was eight years old. It had something to do with witches

When and what and where did you first get published? My first paid publication was a novella called "Sister's Keeper," which sold to Horizons SF in 1991.

Why do you write? I like to share stories, thoughts, and emotions, both by reading 

those of other writers, and by letting readers access my own.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? Other worlds, other possibilities...why limit myself to the mundane?

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? I have to choose only one favorite author, and one favorite story?  That's cruel!  P.C. Hodgell is among my favorite authors, but Zenna Henderson's "The Believing Child" will always by one of my very favorite stories.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? Different things with different pieces.

Do you blog? Where? Not really. I'm on Live Journal as mtentchoff, but I am very bad about posting.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? There are worse things than a life spent looking for and finding magic.

Cosmic Housekeeping, Poetry, Issue 60, Fall 2022

Gretchen Tessmer lives in the U.S./Canadian borderlands. She writes both short fiction and poetry, with work appearing in Nature, Strange Horizons and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, among other venues.

Get to know Gretchen

When did you start writing? 

I wrote a short murder mystery (an older sister/younger brother team follow clues to solve a case in their hometown during summer vacation) with a cover made out of fancy construction paper and (horrifyingly bad) illustrations throughout that I finished in about third grade.

When and what and where did you first get published? 

University journals in undergrad. But if we're talking post-college poetry, I always count "Breakfast in the Boondocks" published in North American Review back in 2012 as my first official poetry sale. My sale of "Hey Man, Nice Shot" to Strange Horizons circa 2017 was when I decided to switch primarily to genre poetry.

Why do you write? 

The demi-god-like control of everything. Plus I find it relaxing.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? 

Because it has all the slice-of-life moments/complicated family dynamics/relationships I love AND time travel and magic.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? 

I can't choose a favorite author, please don't make me. Most of my favorite stories are plays: The Unexpected Man by Yasmina Reza, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, etc. I have hundreds of favorite poems but if forced to play favorites, I'll have to choose "Dirge Without Music" by Edna St. Vincent Millay, "Jenny Kiss'd Me" by Leigh Hunt and "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams (and why people always choose "the icebox plums" over this one I'll never know).

What are you trying to say with your fiction? 

Whenever I try to say something deep and meaningful in a poem, the poem crosses its little arms over its little chest and sticks its tongue out at me.

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

“Dig up my bones at your peril.”

Do you blog? 

No, not a blogger. Not to be dramatic or anything, but I'm pretty sure social media will eventually destroy us all.

For Gene's bio please click here

Bot-of-the-Month Club, Flash Fiction, Issue 43, June 2018

Jason works full time as a programmer in the video game industry, but makes a little time everyday for writing.  He also squeezes in the odd creative writing class from UCSD Extension in the evenings, working toward their certification in creative writing.

He's written two novels, though none have sold yet.  Flash pieces of his have appeared at Every Day Fiction and Acidic Fiction, and he has a story in an upcoming edition of Ember: A Journal of Luminous Things.  He's a frequent entrant in the Writers of the Future competition, though he hasn't won to date. 

More info can be found at https://jasonbthomas.wordpress.com/

Get to know Jason:

Birthdate?        October '74

When did you start writing?  As a kid.  I loved making up stories and worlds and sharing them with others.  Unfortunately English classes at school and college focused on analysis and essays, so I let my writing go.  Twenty years lathater I was reading a self published book on Kindle and realized that sort of thing had become possible, so I picked it up again.

When and what and where did you first get published?  First time I was paid for a story was at EDF about four years ago.  They gave me three bucks (I re-donated it) for a flash story about a boy doing magic tricks at his sister's birthday party.

Why do you writer?  I love the creative escape, and the opportunity to immerse myself and others in a place that helps us forget our troubles..

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?  Lots of favorite authos--Jim Butcher, Brandon Sanderson, Stephen King, Blake Crouch...the list goes on. If I had to pick just one favorite story, it would have to be The Lost Boys by Orson Scott Card.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? I try to lean more towards entertainment than theme in my stories, but I guess some leakage is inevitable. Most of my stories revolve around the idea that good wins out in the end, but not without a price.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?   Here lies Jason. If not, start running.

Thimble Thieves of Villa Dolores, Fiction, Issue 33, December 1, 2015

Doug Tierney is a writer and engineer working in the Boston area, where his day job is to take the "fiction" out of Science Fiction--by actually building things that used to be futuretech.  He's a graduate of MIT and Clarion, and is currently a member of The Mechanics Writing Workshop. He lives in the suburbs with his wife, kids, and a dog named Moose. Visit Doug on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/dougtierneyauthor/. 

Get to know Doug...

Birthday? 1/1/1970. My birthday parties are epoch.

When did you start writing? I wrote my first detective story in 5th grade to make writing vocabulary sentences less onerous. 

When and what and where did you first get published? First paid publication was "The Portable Girlfriend" in the Circlet Press anthology Selling Venus in 1995. That story was reprinted in two anthologies, appeared on two web sites, and was turned into a short film by the Australian Film Institute. Beginner's luck. 

What themes do you like to write about? My favorite themes are people and how they interact in unusual situations. The late Oliver Sachs was a master of describing ordinary people in life-altering circumstances.  

What books and/or stories have most resonated with you as an author? Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work?

My favorite authors are Gabriel Garcia-Marquez (obviously), Joe Haldeman, Roger Zelazny, Lee Child and Robert Crais.  

The first three are all masters of short stories, and they have a particular style of opening which is very accessible and sets the momentum for the piece.   It's like admiring a chess master because he has a killer gambit. 

Child and Crais have both made careers telling stories about the same characters, and I have followed them for decades. I admire their ability to create such enduring characters and add depth to them over time. 

For Lisa's bio please click here

Cestrum Nocturnum, Flash Fiction, Issue 34, March 1, 2016

Izzy Todd is a freelance writer and aspiring novelist. The last time they tried to write something that wasn't sci-fi or horror, it ended up being both. They have a favorite nebula, constellation, and Jovian moon for some reason, and are probably yelling about Batman on twitter right now.

Get to know Izzy...

Birthday? November 23, 1993

When did you start writing? Before I had learned how to spell properly.

When and what and where did you first get published? Technically, my first credit was two short stories in a very small ezine that's no longer available, but we don't talk about sixteen-year-old-me's writing. More recently my story "There Was A Crash" was featured in issue #9 of Bastion Science Fiction Magazine. It also involves robots.

What themes do you like to write about? Robots. I also write about family a lot, usually of the found variety (sometimes families of robots).

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 watched too much Star Trek as kid and it did things to my brain.

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot, Fiction, Issue 46, March 15, 2019

S.R. Tombran is an Indo-Guyanese American, a virtual reference librarian, and a fantasy and sci-fi author with a novel mentored in the 2017 Pitch Wars contest. She published a small press fantasy novel in 2016 and has two poems in THE EAR LITERARY JOURNAL and STAR*LINE. When she isn’t answering database questions from library users across the country or caring for the little wild things she calls “children,” she can be found scribbling speculative stories with a huge cup of coffee beside her. You can find her at @STombran.

Get to know S. R. Tombran:

When and what and where did you first get published?

I've had poetry sales in the past and a small press fantasy book published by Dragon Moon Press. "Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot" is my first short story sale, to NewMyths.com

Why do you write?

I write to answer the questions that tug at me and to wrestle with themes and topics that feel important to me in the moment. How that plays out is individualized and open to interpretation.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

I try not to have an agenda with my stories. I try to explore the things that pull me to pieces and make me weep, laugh, or shudder.

Encore, Flash Fiction, Issue 54, March 2021

Sam Tovey is an English Literature graduate living in London, United Kingdom. He is a Dream Foundry finalist, an alumnus of the Milford SF Writers’ Conference, and has been published in The Colored Lens. You can find more of his work at: www.samtovey.com and follow him on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/toveywrites.

Get to know Sam...

Birthdate? 

I was born 29 solar revolutions ago.

When did you start writing? 

I've always enjoyed writing, but I've been doing it seriously for about 5 years.

When and what and where did you first get published? 

My first publication was back in 2015; a crime noir kidnapping story for a short-lived pulp magazine. That was before I realised no one reads short crime fiction anymore! I mostly stick to sci-fi now.

What themes do you like to write about? 

Generally, I like to take something serious such as heartbreak or broken promises and bury it in a story about mind-bending drugs or talking fridges. That's what I find so intriguing about science fiction: you can tell a complex story about identity and the search for meaning, but it's actually just robots fighting on the moon, or whatever.

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 take influences from all over the place: I'm currently working on an environmental thriller that's part Waterworld, part Pirates of the Caribbean, and part Free Willy; a futuristic police procedural a la Altered Carbon; and a dystopian cyberpunk car chase story that's Mad Max: Fury Road meets Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash.

The World is Worth Saving, poem, Issue 52, September 2020

Alice Towey is a writer of speculative fiction and poetry based out of Northern California. Her work has appeared in Asimov's, Little Blue Marble, and the anthology A Flash of Silver Green: Stories of the Nature of Cities. She is a graduate of the Viable Paradise writing workshop. When she’s not writing, she works as a civil engineer specializing in water resources management. She enjoys hiking with her husband and serving as a cat-warmer for her two felines. 

Get to know Alice....

When did you start writing? 

I’ve been writing on and off since I was a kid, but I’ve gotten more intentional about it in the past few years. Attending Viable Paradise in 2018 really helped me to take myself more seriously as a writer. 

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

My flash fiction “The Garden” won second place in the "Stories of the Nature of Cities” contest and was published in the corresponding anthology. Since then my work has appeared in Asimov’s and Little Blue Marble. 

Why do you write science fiction and/or fantasy? 

I love the freedom that speculative fiction gives you. It’s also a great medium for exploring big questions and ideas. 

Triple Bind, Fiction, Issue 20, September 1, 2012

The Tenth Part of Magic, Fiction, Issue 35, June 1, 2016

Nick Tramdack was born in Cleveland in 1985. He got his degree in English from the University of Chicago and attended Clarion West in 2011. His day jobs have included wrangling shopping carts, manufacturing milk bottles, testing chewing gum, editing ebooks, proofreading financial reports, and hunting for lost books in the vast stacks of Regenstein Library. He lives and works in Chicago.

Get to know Nick...

Birthdate? June 11, 1985

What themes do you like to write about? It's probably a doomed enterprise for a writer to try to list his or her favorite themes, but I will say that I enjoy writing stories that handle speculative material with a certain level of rigor. It's kind of the opposite approach from magical realism -- I enjoy poking and prodding at the fantastic stuff directly, rather than letting it bleed into metaphor or operate on the fringes of perception. That said, this story might not fit into either category....

Certain elements that tend to reoccur in my stories include clocks, coins, duels, the wuxia convention of the "martial world," mental conditioning, decadent/gothic/19th-century-influenced secondary-world settings, and of course, gratuitous violence.

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? Besides works from the fantastic/SFnal/speculative/gothic/whateveryawannacallit tradition, I enjoy reading classic literature -- particularly for purposes of shameless literary theft. It's less about mimicking characters and settings than building a story like magpie's nest: a hoard of pilfered styles, philosophies, and trinkets. This story borrows lots of vocab and thematic material from Chaucer's "The Canon's Yeoman's Tale," while employing certain conventions of the police procedural genre. I hope you enjoy the combination.

When did you start writing? I've always been a compulsive jotter & note taker. I started writing seriously in my third year of college, in 2006 or so. It took me four years before I sold anything though!

When and what and where did you first get published? My first story sale was a 100-word micro-fiction called "Bullet Menagerie" in the Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities, edited by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer. To this day I've never heard from anyone who's read it, but I was delighted to have my first publication appear in the same book as heroes of mine like Alan Moore & China Mieville.

Mom, Flash Fiction, Issue 71, Summer 2025

Get to know Rosalind...

Birthdate? 1941

What themes do you like to write about? I write literary as well as genre, but love ghost stories because I just write about what scares me. 

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? I read everything when I was growing up, but I remember really loving the Odyssey and all its characters. Later, when I was grown, I loved, and still do, magical realism. 

When did you start writing?  I started writing in my forties, when I was laid up with a knee injury and couldn't do the physical activities I enjoyed. 

When, what, and where did you first get published? This is one of the first two stories I have had published. 

Do you blog? I don't blog. Although I have six grandchildren who try to keep me up-to-date, they have not been entirely successful. 

For Teresa's bio please clink here

Status Quo, Fiction, Issue 3, June 1, 2008

Edward M. Turner grew up in rural Maine in the 1960's, then joined the US Coast Guard after high school. Upon discharge and a few detours doing skilled labor, he attended a community college on the GI Bill and began writing. Since 1995 he's published poems, newspaper essays, short stories, and novels. Today Ed lives in Biddeford, Maine with his wife, Amy and her black cat, Tina.

Get to know Edward...

Birthdate? April 6, 1954

When did you start writing? August, 1986

When and what and where did you first get published? 1995, Newspaper Essay, Marblehead, MA.

Why do you write? I must, I am compelled.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? I write anything,including sci-fi and fantasy.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? Bernard Cornwell. Misery-by Anton Chekhov.

What are you trying to say with your fiction? I am here, this is me.

Do you blog? No.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? He loved his wife.

Class of 2054, Fiction, Issue 2, March 1, 2008

Julie Turner is Australian, has worked as a script editor and writer on many film and television projects, and has had other short stories published, but this is her first sortie into sci-fi. She sometimes performs with a comedy can can troupe and dabbles in fringe cabaret. 

Get to know Julie...

Birthdate? 28 June 1964

When did you start writing? Nine years ago

When and what and where did you first get published? In an anthology put out by the Australian Romance Writers Association, my only romance story, a slapstick comedy about 'love overcoming all obstacles' on the slopes of a chaotic ski resort.      

Why do you write? It's fun and challenging, and writing prose has no limitations (compared with writing for commercial TV). I like bringing crazy characters to life; and I like the magic of the creative process, in finding just the right way to communicate a vision. 

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy? There's huge freedom for the imagination, though I don't usually write fantasy, this story was an exercise in 'starting and seeing what comes out,' but I had lots of fun with it.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story? I'm currently enjoying short stories by Somerset Maugham - he so vividly and expertly brings to life characters and settings from the exotic places he travelled to so long ago. I also love the Gormenghast books; and a great rollicking mock historical tale called Sheherazade by an Australian author a few years ago whose name has escaped me.     

What are you trying to say with your fiction? Have a giggle.

Do you blog? No.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? "She danced til the end of her 250 years."

The Legend of the Emperor's New Space Suit (A Tale of Consensus Reality), Poetry, Issue 17, December 1, 2011

Biography

My Nebula-winning story, "Mars Is No Place for Children," and my novel An Old-Fashioned Martian Girl,  (Analog, July - November  2004) have been selected as recreational reading on the International Space Station. My poetry and fiction appears in Asimov's, Astropoetica, Interzone, Stone Telling, Star*Line, F&SF, Strange Horizons, Goblin Fruit, and anthologies and magazines in the US, Great Britain, Japan, Italy, Germany, and the Czech Republic.  My Nebula finalist, "Pride," appears in Tails of Wonder and Mystery. My story "Eat or Be Eaten" was on the final 1997 British SF Association ballot. I have work coming out in Asimov's, Paper Crow, and Stone Telling, plus an authorized Philip José Farmer sequel story "The Beast Erect," in The Worlds of  Philip José Farmer 2, Meteor Press, 2011.  

Get to know Mary...

When did you start writing? At age seven, shortly after I realized that the people who made up stories were in fact just grown-up versions of me.

When and what and where did you first get published? High school newspaper--I had a gossip column.

What themes do you like to write about? The great unknown of scientific exploration, the possibilities of human potential, the variety of human individuality--also cats, space, sex, and Mars. That's a partial list -- 

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

This is but a sample:

The Left Hand of Darkness, Madame Bovary, King Lear, The Crying of Lot 49, "Spacetime for Springers,"  "Blood Child," anything by James Lee Burke, Robert Graves'  The Greek Myths, Pale Fire, Frank Polite's Hyde--which reminds me that my taste in poetry ranges from Yeats (of course), to Wendy Cope, and Mari Ness and Cat Valente. I like what I read in NewMyths.com, a lot. Which is why I am very happy about this acceptance.

Why? How do these stories and their characters find expression in your work?  I like fiction that startles with its honesty and authenticity. I also like craft: work that astonishes me with the writer's skill. I have a taste for over-the-top stuff, and I like to be surprised. I order weird things in restaurants. The first time I ever ordered calamari I had no idea what it was, looked down into the plate the waiter had brought and said "Ick. Squiggly things." And then I ate them. They were delicious. I once insisted in a small Parisian restaurant that I wanted the Poire William and it turned out to be a cigar. (It usually isn't.)

I like language. I don't like pretension, but I do like weird and rich and delicious. I compare opening a book or zine to opening a menu. I like new tastes on my tongue and in my mind.   

That's what I live for.

Knowing Forever, Flash Fiction, Issue 69, Winter 2024

Sarah Grace Tuttle is an autistic, polygender author and poet living in Massachusetts with their family and many plants. Their book Hidden City: Poems of Urban Wildlife was a 2018 Best Books for Kids according to the New York Public Library, and received a 2018 Eureka! Gold Medal from the California Reading Association. Lately, they have been writing more and more speculative fiction, and shifting towards publishing works intended for both children and adults. You can visit them online at www.sarahgracetuttle.com to keep up with all their writerly joys and chaos. 

Get to know Sarah...

When did you start writing?

The first time I remember thinking of myself as a writer was in fourth grade, when I started submitting poetry to magazines. But, I’d been writing for years already! My Nana helped me write down my stories before I could read. She’d let me tell a story, and record it neatly on construction paper to keep.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first paid publication was a senryu I wrote for Modern Haiku in college. I still have the $1 I earned, taped to the acceptance letter.

Why do you write?

Today, I write because creating emotional journeys on the page is something that helps me to process my own emotions.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I love how science fiction and fantasy allow you to play around with crafting a world where every detail can be tailored to heighten the emotional arc of your story. You can change the very density of the air, if that helps you highlight an emotion.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

My favorite author depends on my day, mood, and brain capacity. My favorite stories are ones where wonder and subverting the status quo combine to create art that lingers.

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

When I write fiction, I try to create an emotional resonance with the reader. I edit ruthlessly to hone pieces so that emotional arcs are highlighted and readers can experience them fully. So, I suppose what I’m trying to say with my fiction is “allow yourself to feel.”  Beyond that, it really depends on the specific story.  

Do you blog?

I do blog! I’m not super regular about it, but when I have the capacity it’s always something I enjoy. You can find me at https://www.sarahgracetuttle.com/blog if you’re interested in seeing posts about my writing process, publishing news, poetry, and sometimes activism.