Taylor Curtis was born and raised in Boise, Idaho. His childhood passion for science fiction and pop culture helped him navigate the world, fostering his love for the art of storytelling. He has been writing since a young age, concentrating on fiction that explores social, political, and existential issues—layered beneath epic sci-fi.
I am J.R. Elrod. Thirty-year heavy-haul trucker, army veteran, and president of BAR Transportation LLC out of Mount Pleasant, Texas. I was raised on a farm. Served as a tank gunner on the M60A3 and the M1 Abrams. Found trucking by mistake after the army and never looked back. I have done most every job in the industry, from dragging a van around to hauling cars to one infamous five-day reefer run that is a story for another day.
Despite the connection between his first name and that of Merlin, Myrddin has had to reluctantly accept that he is neither a wizard nor a magician. He does, however, harbour a deep love of fantastical tales, and if imbued with a twist of sinister, macabre darkness then so much the better.
Russ Gerney has published three novels through Atmosphere Press: Eighty Hours; To Sleep, Perchance to Dream; and his most recent, The Methuselah Project. He has also had his poem Dreams of the Beach in Scribeworth magazine.
Kenneth Thomas, a lawyer with an undergraduate degree in anthropology, has practiced in both disciplines over the years. He has traveled extensively in Africa and participated in archaeological digs, both on land and underwater as a certified PADI diver. In the 1980s, he represented South African political refugees (fleeing the apartheid regime) in asylum cases and testified before the United Nations on behalf of economic sanctions against the apartheid government. Soundscape, his first novel, speaks to many of these experiences. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Alicia. Their son, Andrew, is an immigration attorney in Philadelphia.
Tom McEachin earned an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and an MA in Rhetoric and Composition from Texas A&M International University. He also holds a BA in Journalism from Central Michigan University. After fifteen years as a newspaper sportswriter, he made a gradual transition into the world of fiction. He currently resides in Bandera, Texas, ‘The Cowboy Capital of the World.’
Nic Bettauer is a filmmaker who loves to witness, share, and advocate others’ stories, to photograph decisive moments, and to travel. She appreciates hearing tales as much as telling them, meeting characters as much as creating them. Nic seeks to be an experiential learner and a good conversationalist.
Reverend Deborah Galtere served as a missioner, pastor, educator, and chaplain during her years of ministry serving in the Caribbean, South Africa/Botswana, and Florida (USA). Highlights of ministry include travel by foot, horse, donkey cart, boat, airplane, truck, and car to reach the congregations in which she lived and served.
A lot of Rochelle’s time is up in the air. She flies planes for a living and if she can’t put skegs in the water, then she’s out surfing clouds from her home base in Denver. Firmly grounded while flying, but head in the clouds while grounded, Rochelle loves fantasy and science fiction.
Beca Salmon is an oncology nurse practitioner, a writer, a yoga teacher, and a world traveler living in Montreal. The pandemic placed her firmly in one place long enough to finish her first book, a memoir called The Third Option.
To those who say, ‘Now I’m retired, I have no spare time,’ it’s absolutely true! I bought my first horse at fourteen after saving hard during a couple of years of delivering groceries after school and on Saturday mornings, and I still own one more than fifty years later…more fool me. But I never thought I’d write about them, in any of their uses by mankind down the centuries, and I’ve spent my spare time over the last two decades doing just that.
E.A. Jones is based in the heart of Wiltshire, England. She is married to her biggest supporter and has three boys. She is a lover of the countryside, having grown up on a farm. She has a lot of dogs, a horse, and some bantams.
The main problems with traditional publishing stem from its focus on market viability, risk management, and scale. This can result in limited access, long timelines, reduced creative control, and uncertainty for authors—even when the work itself is strong.
Melanie McClellan-Hartnett is an award-winning poet and visual artist in South Carolina. She won her first prize at seventeen from the Poetry Society of South Carolina for her poem Smoke Serpents.
I was born in rural China. From my first day of school, I was immersed in Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, and theories of the proletarian revolution. As a member of the Communist Youth League, I actively participated in various social and political movements. I fervently engaged in the Great Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) as a Red Guard, witnessing a decade-long catastrophe that devastated China’s socio-economic and political environment, eroded traditional Chinese culture, morality, and cherished values.
Now retired from her thirty-six-year career as a marketing communications professional, Suzanne Groves is a published author of three books, as well as an editor, amateur angler, kitchen wizard, genealogist, world traveler, animal lover, artist, and gardening fanatic. She is an off-the-charts extrovert who can (and will) talk to anyone and everyone about anything and everything.
Sarah Veall is an author, transformational coach, inner-child practitioner, and Reiki practitioner. Her work explores healing, self-trust, and the connection between emotional awareness and physical wellbeing.
Having served a rewarding corporate career, Chris has been enjoying retirement at the Jersey Shore with his wife, Susan, and their three sons. In retirement, his energy and enthusiasm are now directed toward giving back to people in ways that are near to his heart. As a prostate cancer survivor, Chris is dedicated to educating men about the disease and providing consolation, support, and advice through his writing. He also covers alcoholism, multiple sclerosis, and career success.
I started my writing career in 2023. I began my working life as an accountant, took a decade off to raise my three children, and retrained as a fitness instructor, which I still passionately pursue. I live in Leamington Spa in the UK with my husband, three cockapoos, and my cat.
Jody Cooksley is a novelist, communications consultant, creative writing tutor, and lifelong writer. She studied literature at Oxford Brookes University and has a masters in Victorian poetry. Her debut novel, The Glass House, was a fictional account of the life of nineteenth-century photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.