Lela E. Buis is an artist, author and poet. She grew up in East Tennessee and lived for a long time in Florida, working in engineering at Kennedy Space Center and as a teacher of various subjects and levels. She began writing as a child and leans toward genre fiction in the writing, having published mainly science fiction and fantasy stories and poetry. When she’s not painting or writing, she looks after four barn cats and a part-time dog.
Sarah L. Byrne is a writer and editor in London, UK. Her short speculative fiction has appeared in various publications, including Daily Science Fiction, Nature Futures, and Best of British Science Fiction 2016.
After a career in high tech, Darrel Duckworth returned to his first love, writing. He now spends more time on other worlds, occasionally returning to Earth to refill his coffee mug. His stories can be found in magazines such as LORE, Bards and Sages, and Plasma Frequency and in anthologies such as Coven and Wild Things.
J.S. Emuakpor was born and raised in Nigeria, West Africa. While she is not the widow of some Nigerian prince with millions of dollars in an American bank that she needs you to access, she does insist that royal blood flows through her veins. She is a married mother of four, a scientist, and co-owner of Afrocentric Books. Most of her writing draws upon the spiritual beliefs of the ancestors who frequently whisper in her ear as well as the superstitions that she refuses to relinquish.
N.D. Jones lives in Maryland with her husband and two children. She is a dedicated educator, committed to equitable and excellent education for all students. N.D. has served in the role as teacher, department chair, and professional development teacher specialist, supporting the learning of students and the professional growth of teachers. She writes what she sees as a dearth in the romance genre—African/African American love with a paranormal twist. She spends a lot of time developing the mythology of her novels, as well as the execution of the paranormal element. When she writes a book with witches and shapeshifters, for example, she thinks it’s important to show what it means to be a witch and shapeshifter. That’s one thing a reader of books by N.D. can look forward to. The paranormal is not a sidebar in her novels. It’s center stage and critical to the plot.
Gary Priest writes short fiction and poetry. He has over twenty publications online and in print. Recent or upcoming publications can be found in Vox Poetica, the Eunoia Review, and Literary Orphans. He lives in the UK at the end of a dead-end road, which may explain everything.
James Pyne was born in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. His writing has recently appeared in Grey Matter Monsters, Clockwork Wonderland, Renegades of Prose, X5, Death and Decorations, Only the Light We Make, and is forthcoming in many others. Feel free to add him on Facebook.
Brittney Sankofa is a filmmaker, writer, and theater artist based in the Washington DC Metro area. She has been writing since 3rd grade when a teacher allowed her to daydream in class because she knew she was thinking up a good story. An alumnus of New York and Virginia Commonwealth University, she attributes much of her interest in black mysticism and science fiction to all the characters and spirits she encountered while living in Richmond VA. She thanks them for giving her the voice and ear to carry on the storytelling tradition.
Marija Smits is the pen name of Dr Teika Bellamy, a UK-based mother-of-two, ex-scientist and editor whose writing and art has appeared in various publications, including Mslexia, Brittle Star, Strix, Literary Mama, JUNO, LabLit, The Poetry Shed, Picaroon Poetry and LossLit. When she’s not busy with her children, or writing or drawing, she’s running the indie press, Mother’s Milk Books. She is continually delighted by the fact that Teika means ‘fairy tale’ in Latvian.
Mallory St. Cloud lives in a castle on a mountain made of cloud-stuff. She is an illustrator and photographer and the mother of two children who share her cloud castle but not her last name. She writes under many pseudonyms, and she'll never tell you what they are.
Clive Tern is a writer of short fiction and poetry from South-West England. Apart from writing he enjoys open water swimming, cooking, and a well made martini.