S.Q. ERIES was an engineer who wrote dry technical reports once upon a time. Then one day, she discovered anime fanfiction and has been writing fiction ever since. She also contributes book and manga reviews for The Fandom Post website. Currently, she’s hard at work on a novel- length manuscript about the first woman to win the ancient Olympics.
COURT ELLYN has been building plots and characters since she could hold a pen. When she was fourteen she began filling notebooks with stories, finishing her first (unreadable) novel before she graduated high school. What began as a love for historical fiction quickly gravitated toward the fantastical.
In 2000 she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA in English. In 2009, she acquired ownership of LegendFire Critique Community, where she labors to provide a safe haven for burgeoning writers to hone their craft.
She lives in Small Town, Oklahoma, and dreams of extraplanar travel and defeating dragons alongside her husband, giant dog, and two mischievous cats.
LIZ DEJESUS is a novelist, freelance writer, and a writing coach. She is the author of The Jackets (Arte Publico Press, March 2011), The Frost Series, Morgan, The Laurel, Girl, Mugshots, Zombie Ever After and ABCs With the Vejigantes. Her work has also appeared in Twice Upon a Time (The Bearded Scribe Press, Winter 2015), and Someone Wicked (Smart Rhino Publications, Winter 2013). Her articles have been featured in Southern Writers Magazine.
Liz is also the co-founder of the Hockessin Art and Book Fair, Anime Day at The Art Studio, and Bento Con.
She is also the winner of the 2023 Delaware Individual Artist Fellowship: Emerging, Literature: Creative Non-fiction, ABCs With the Vejigantes won 1st place at the 2023 Communications Contest Awards, and 1st place at the 2023 NFPW Professional Communications Contest.
RICHARD CHIZMAR is a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Amazon, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author.
He is the co-author (with Stephen King) of the bestselling novella, Gwendy’s Button Box and the founder/publisher of Cemetery Dance magazine and the Cemetery Dance Publications book imprint. He has edited more than 35 anthologies and his short fiction has appeared in dozens of publications, including multiple editions of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. He has won two World Fantasy awards, four International Horror Guild awards, and the HWA’s Board of Trustee’s award.
Chizmar (in collaboration with Johnathon Schaech) has also written screenplays and teleplays for United Artists, Sony Screen Gems, Lions Gate, Showtime, NBC, and many other companies. He has adapted the works of many bestselling authors including Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Bentley Little.
Chizmar is also the creator/writer of the online website, Stephen King Revisited. His fourth short story collection, The Long Way Home, was published in 2019. With Brian Freeman, Chizmar is co-editor of the acclaimed Dark Screams horror anthology series published by Random House imprint, Hydra.
His latest book, The Girl on the Porch, was released in hardcover by Subterranean Press, and Widow’s Point, a chilling novella about a haunted lighthouse written with his son, W.H. Chizmar, was recently adapted into a feature film.
Chizmar’s work has been translated into more than fifteen languages throughout the world, and he has appeared at numerous conferences as a writing instructor, guest speaker, panelist, and guest of honor.
S.M. BLOODING lives in Colorado with her pet rock, Rockie, and Jack, her bird. She likes to hike the beautiful Rocky Mountains, and has decided to investigate the fascinating world of microbiology. It’s a bit daunting, but amazing! She’s dated vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, weapons smugglers, and US Government assassins. Oh, yes. She has stories.
She loves to take the real world, find a singular line of truth, and wrap a complex fiction of reality around it.
RICK CHIANTARETTO has often been accused of having done more in his life than the average person his age but if he were completely honest, he’d have to tell you my secret: he’s really 392.
So after all this time, he’s a pretty crappy writer.
Rick is the author of three books, Death of the Body (Crossing Death #1), Death of the Spirit (Crossing Death #2) and Facade of Shadows, and has a bunch half written (when you have eternity, where’s the reason to rush?). He’s been favorably reviewed by horror greats like Nancy Kilpatrick, and his how-to-write-horror articles have been quoted in scholarly (aka community college freshmen’s) papers.
Rick enjoys the occasional Bloody Mary, although a Bloody Kathy or Susan will suffice.
Mostly, he just tries to keep a low profile so people don’t figure out who he REALLY is.
ROSE BLACKTHORN lives in the desert but longs for the sea. She is a writer, dog-mom, jewelry-maker, avowed coffee drinker, and photographer. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared online and in print with a varied list of anthologies and magazines including the collection Beautiful, Broken Things.
CARINA BISSETT is a writer, poet, and educator working primarily in the fields of dark fiction and fabulism. Her short fiction and poetry have been published in multiple journals and anthologies including Fantasy Magazine, Upon a Twice Time, Bitter Distillations: An Anthology of Poisonous Tales, Arterial Bloom, Gorgon: Stories of Emergence, Weird Dream Society, Hath No Fury, and the HWA Poetry Showcase Vol. V, VI, and VIII. She has also written stories set in shared worlds for RPGs at Green Ronin Publishing and Onyx Path Publishing. In addition to writing, she has edited several projects; the most recent is in the role as co-editor for Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas.
As an educator, Carina has taught at Pikes Peak Community College, Glendale Community College, and Arizona State University. She also participated in the Colorado Writing Project and works with educators to develop writing instruction in college and secondary school classrooms. She currently offers workshops focused on story generation at The Storied Imaginarium. Her fiction has been nominated for the Sundress Publications Best of the Net Award and was a finalist for the Ron L. Hubbard Writers of the Future Awards. Her poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the Sundress Publications Best of the Net Award. In her editorial capacity, she’s received recognition as the Winner at the Colorado Book Awards 2022 (Anthology) and as a Finalist in the Fiction: Anthologies category of the 2022 International Book Awards.
AJ BAUERS is an author, artist, and freelance creator.
She graduated from the University of Southern Maine in January 2017 with an MFA in popular fiction. Her favorite genres to write are fantasy and science fiction, although she’s been known to crank out a few horror and literary stories. She also loves coming up with stories that include an interactive format. Her current work-in-progress is a dark, contemporary fantasy YA novel that includes a companion blog, a spotify song list, secret puzzles, and crossed out text.
In between her own artistic pursuits, AJ also enjoys creating for others. She’s written promotional materials for comic books and alt text for math textbooks. She’s also drawn illustrations for authors and logos for small businesses owners.
BO BALDER is a freelance writer who lives and works in the ancient Dutch city of Utrecht, close to Amsterdam. When she isn’t writing, you can find her madly designing knitwear, painting, or reading anything and everything from Kate Elliott to Iain M. Banks or Jared Diamond.
Her fiction has appeared in Penumbra, Electric Spec and quite a few anthologies. Her sf novel The Wan will be published in 2015 by Pink Narcissus Press.
