Author Interviews

Jasmine Griffin (she/her/they/them) is a black queer writer based in Cincinnati, and a teaching artist with Women Writing for (a) Change, Clarion West, Lighthouse Writers Workshop, and Hugo House. Jasmine previously held roles with Lighthouse Writers Workshop, the Mercantile Library of Cincinnati, and Carve Magazine. Jasmine was recently published in Sage Cigarettes, Writer’s Digest, midnight & indigo, Coffin Bell, Vast Chasm Magazine, Eunoia Review, Random Sample Review, Cincinnati Refined, Genre: Urban Arts, and Cleaning up Glitter.

Thom Cree is a writer, poet, and screenwriter. His debut screenplay, Seagull, from the collection Briefs, earned him Quarter-Finalist victory in the Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards Winter 2024. His work has been published in literary journals worldwide and his science fiction novella, Eidetic, features in Temple Dark Books’ Channel the Dark Anthology. His previous work, The Man Who, is an epic collection of tales of morality, love, violence, and depravity set against beautifully evoked landscapes of nineteenth-century America’s West; tombs and sacred temples of Egypt and Nubia; and the internal machinations of British Intelligence.

Eric experienced a lightbulb moment after exploring various fields in college—accounting, teaching, and geology—when he finally embraced his childhood passion for writing stories. From there, he published his first novel after a decade of hard work, drawing inspiration from his life experiences and keen observations of the world around him. Eric uses his writing as a way to articulate the often dueling opinions and emotions inside him and believes a great book showcases relatable characters, despite their moral standing.

J. A. Merkel writes speculative and science fiction filled with multiverses and second chances, and his worlds are packed with anti-heroes, love as magic, and tragic reversals. For Merkel, writing isn’t a chore. It’s a fantastical kingdom with thousands of doors where readers can stumble into their own special adventures, laughing, shouting, and journeying to find home, wherever that may be.

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Frank Demith joined the Army right after graduating from high school and spent twenty-eight years serving on active duty. A 1983 graduate of the United States Military Academy, Demith received a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Russian Area Studies. He currently lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

James Flanagan is an author of speculative fiction with short fiction publications in Macrame Literary Journal, SciFiShorts, Literally Stories, and EverydayFiction, among others. His debut sci-fi novel, GENEFIRE, won several awards and is garnering excellent reviews. By day he is an academic scientist with a Ph.D. in cancer genetics, working at Imperial College London.

Victoria loves spending time with her three grown children. She has two daughters and a son. All her children share her love for animals. They each have more than one pet—dogs, cats, a guinea pig, a rabbit, a turtle, a bearded dragon, fire-bellied frogs, a parrot, and fish. Victoria is a volunteer at FAAS, which is an animal shelter in Alameda, CA.

Monroe is an award-winning children’s author celebrated for her enchanting and inclusive storytelling. Known for her ability to blend warmth and empathy into timeless tales, Monroe’s works inspire young readers to embrace acceptance and celebrate differences. With a deep love for animals and a passion for children’s literature, she crafts stories that entertain and foster a sense of compassion and understanding.

Amanda Denham is an author and artist living in Alabama with her husband and three rabbits (she thinks she needs more rabbits, but please tell her she doesn’t if you see her). All throughout her childhood and teenage years, drawing and making up stories dominated her life. Sketchbooks were filled with fantasy ideas that she swore were going to be in print someday. Meanwhile, she escaped into young adult books and admired the authors who brought their stories to life through their words. Amanda desires to give a source of comfort and escape for her readers, as well as showcase the importance of mental health awareness and healthy relationships.

At age eleven, I began exploring different brainwave states—what felt like a normal activity for a kid who had their first existential crisis at six. In my twenties, I teamed up with a doctor and quantitative electroencephalography (imagine nineteen electrodes glued to your head) to document my brain experiments. Unbiased computer systems interpreting the results fueled my curiosity, leading to further collaborations with scientists across the five countries I’ve lived in.

Leonis Legion is an author deeply influenced by the complexities of human emotion and the silent struggles that many people face. Drawing inspiration from personal experiences, struggles, and the stories of those around him, Leonis writes to give voice to the unspoken and to offer comfort to those who feel unheard for which he felt the same growing up. With a background in offering support and comfort to others through sessions similar to therapy, Leonis has a profound understanding of the emotional landscapes people navigate.

Nikki Auberkett is a cultural anthropologist, developmental editor, award-nominated author, and lifelong lover of the fae folk. With nearly 15 years of research and exploration into global folklore and mythology, biblical archaeology, and all things weird and unusual, she weaves her research and social science expertise into her personal love for fantasy fiction.

Victoria has a BA in English Literature and an MA in Professional Writing from being frightened of becoming some of the people she met at a mental hospital. She’d been intervened on and placed in mental hospitals three times since being diagnosed with schizophrenia at 19. But rather than being sad, she says it was a learning experience and led her to live an interesting life.

Cat Speranzini is the editor-in-chief of Grey Coven Publishing and a reader for Querencia Press. Her poetry has been published by numerous publications, including Glass Gates Publishing, The Eunoia Review, Querencia Press, and Moss Puppy Magazine. She has two full-length collections: Watercolor Souls and Calm in the Dark. She can be found on her public Instagram page @catsperanzini.poetry.

A.F. Roberts was raised in Phoenix, Arizona, by transplants from Chicago. As a youth, comic books and science fiction were major influences. High school through college brought an introduction to Christianity, which, combined with the former, birthed not only a refreshment of spirit, but an imagination unrestrained by any constrictions of that same faith.

Sierra Hood is an award-winning teenager who has written over two hundred works of English literature. Sierra has won first place in the Los Gatos Poetry Contest of 2023, third place in the San Jose Slam Poetry Contest, and two honorable mentions in the 2024 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Sierra has been published in the anthology Dreams for the Future. She is also one of the leading members of her local poetry club. Sierra writes for the people who have also been subjected to sexism, misogyny, depression, anxiety, and even physical violence over the years. As Sierra continues to write and fight for change, she hopes to inspire the new generation (and generations to come) to advocate for themselves and to help them make a home for themselves in poetry as she has.

Onika Howdyn lives in a cozy, country town in New Hampshire with her family, two felines, and a flock of feathered raptors. When she is not writing dark and dismal tales, she is enjoying time outside with her boys or eating nachos on the couch while watching pro-wrestling.

Michael Sirois taught English, drama, and technology to middle school students for twenty-three years before spending seven years as an educational program manager at Rice University. He retired in 2009 to write full-time. His novels include a thriller about an 8,000-year-old sociopath, a two-book saga about a monarch butterfly’s migration, and a non-fiction book about an innocent man in prison. His next major project will be a series of novels based on the Arthurian legends, but set in a post-apocalyptic American South. He has always been interested in exploring all aspects of the human condition.

Frances Wong is a passionate children’s science fiction and fantasy author with three self-published books. From a young age, Frances was captivated by the magic of storytelling, crafting homemade books out of tape and paper. This lifelong love for literature has fueled her mission to inspire young readers, encouraging them to explore new worlds through the pages of a book. With a deep commitment to fostering a love of reading in children, Frances creates imaginative tales that spark curiosity and adventure in young minds.

A.M. Berkowitz, a screenwriter and children’s book author, has rapidly emerged as a cherished voice in children’s literature, known for her ability to weave tales that capture the hearts of young readers. Born in Kansas and having lived across the United States, Berkowitz’s diverse experiences enrich her storytelling, bringing a unique blend of creativity and relatability to her work. Since beginning her writing journey in 2018, she has dedicated herself to fostering a love for reading and imagination in children.