An hour-long chat with Joan He, bestselling author of The Ones We’re Meant to Find, Descendant of the Crane, and Strike the Zither, the first in a duology, recently released by McMillan.
Joan He was born and raised in Philadelphia but still will, on occasion, lose her way. At a young age, she received classical instruction in oil painting before discovering that storytelling was her favourite form of expression. She studied Psychology and East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Pennsylvania and currently splits her time between Philly and Chicago.
She is the bestselling author of The Ones We’re Meant to Find, Descendant of the Crane, and Strike the Zither, the first in a duology, recently released by McMillan.
An hour-long chat with Kevin Moore, author of The Book of Souls, a mystical ghost story, the first book in a series featuring Jack Kelly and his paranormal abilities. The Book of Demons (think Harry Potter meets The Exorcist) is the sequel.
Kevin Moore is the author of The Book of Souls, a mystical ghost story. His first novel, it is also the first book in a series featuring Jack Kelly and his paranormal abilities. The Book of Demons (think Harry Potter meets The Exorcist) is the sequel.
Moore also wrote Christmas Stories: 7 Original Short Stories, which is available everywhere. His play Conversations From The Sports Arena was performed at the HBO Theater in Hollywood.
Moore practices lucid dreaming, which helps him with his writing. He is a certified yoga teacher and an advanced reiki practitioner. Most importantly he is Matthew and Madison’s father.
Olesya Salnikova Gilmore was born in Moscow, Russia, raised in the US, and graduated from Pepperdine University with a BA in English / political science, and from Northwestern University School of Law with a JD.
She practiced litigation at a large law firm for several years before pursuing her dream of becoming an author. She is happiest writing historical fiction and fantasy inspired by Eastern European folklore.
She lives in a wooded lakeside suburb of Chicago with her husband and daughter. The Witch and the Tsar is her debut novel.
Praise for The Witch and the Tsar
“Gilmore impresses with this feminist retelling of the Baba Yaga folktale set in 16th-century Russia…Gilmore’s immersive prose steeps readers in this wonderfully epic folktale full of magic and myth.” —Library Journal (Starred Review)
“A rich and well-woven story centered on subverted folklore played out against the backdrop of historical events. The Witch and the Tsar is not to be missed.” —Booklist
“Gilmore’s enchanting debut adds to the growing genre of mythological retellings that reframe the acts of supposedly villainous women…this epic tale brings both history and folklore to vivid life. It’s a fresh, exciting take sure to capture fans of Madeline Miller’s Circe and Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne.” —Publishers Weekly
An hour-long chat with Sangu Mandanna, critically acclaimed author of children’s books like the Kiki Kallira series and The Celestial Trilogy, as well as The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, her first novel for adults.
Sangu Mandanna was four years old when an elephant chased her down a forest road and she decided to write her first story about it. Seventeen years and many, many manuscripts later, she signed her first book deal.
Sangu now lives in Norwich, a city in the east of England, with her husband and kids. She is the author of critically acclaimed children’s books like the Kiki Kallira series and The Celestial Trilogy, as well as The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, her first novel for adults.
Brad C. Anderson lives with his wife and puppy in Vancouver, Canada. He teaches undergraduate business courses at a local university and researches organizational wisdom in blithe defiance of the fact most people do not think you can put those two words in the same sentence without irony. Previously, he worked in the biotech sector, where he made drugs for a living (legally!).
His stories have appeared in a variety of publications. His short story “Naïve Gods” was longlisted for a 2017 Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic. It was published in the anthology Lazarus Risen, which was itself nominated for an Aurora Award.
Lawrence M. Schoen holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics. He spent ten years as a college professor, doing research in the areas of human memory and language. This was followed by seventeen years as the director of research for a medical center in Philadelphia that provided mental health and addiction services.
He’s also the founder of the Klingon Language Institute, and since 1992 has championed the exploration and use of this constructed tongue throughout the world. In addition, he works occasionally as a hypnotherapist specializing in authors’ issues. And, too, he is a cancer survivor.
In 2007, he was a finalist for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. He received a Hugo Award nomination for Best Short Story in 2010 and Nebula Award nominations for Best Novella in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2018, for Best Novelette in 2019, and for Best Novel in 2016.
Some of his most popular writing deals with the ongoing humorous adventures of a space-faring stage hypnotist named the Amazing Conroy and his companion animal, Reggie, an alien buffalito that can eat anything and farts oxygen.
His Barsk series represents his more serious work and uses anthropomorphic SF to explore ideas of prophecy, intolerance, political betrayal, speaking to the dead, predestination, and free will. It’s also earned him the Cóyotl Award for Best Novel of 2015, and again in 2018.
Lawrence lives near Philadelphia with his wife, Valerie, who is neither a psychologist nor a Klingon speaker.
A one-hour chat with Dawn Greenfield Ireland, award-winning author of novels, nonfiction books, and screenplays, running the gamut from science fiction and fantasy to cozy mysteries.
Dawn Greenfield Ireland is the award-winning author of novels, nonfiction books, and screenplays. She has twenty-four published books consisting of five series (cozy mystery, sci fi/fantasy, billionaire shapeshifters, and dystopian), and a stand-alone sci-fi romantic adventure story
Her former day job as an award-winning technical writer played a major role in her fiction writing. She is detailed-oriented, the organizational queen of the known universe, and never misses a deadline. Dawn has a certificate from the Professional Program in Screenwriting from UCLA.
An hour-long chat with Honor Raconteur, author of multiple series, mostly in the fantasy genre, including The Case Files of Henri Davenport, the Advent Mage series, the Ancient Magicks series, and more. Her latest novel is Rise of the Catalyst.
Ever since Honor Raconteur was a toddler, she has been making up stories. She would entertain anyone willing to listen to her wild fantasies about unicorns and gargoyles and amazing people. At 13, she started writing the stories down. At 23, she finished the first book that was good enough to publish.
She put Jaunten out as an ebook, created a website and forum so that fans could communicate with her, and spread the word as best she could. Within three months, Jaunten was selling internationally. Within five months, Honor was making enough to quit the day job and sit at home, writing full time.
Honor has continued to write and publish the rest of her books through Raconteur House. When she’s not writing or editing, Honor likes to go out into the community and give presentations of how to be an author. Even if Honor abruptly stopped selling books tomorrow, she would still continue to write. Creating characters and worlds is that much fun.
An hour-long conversation with New York Times bestselling fantasy author Holly Black about her creative process, with a focus on her first adult novel, BOOK OF NIGHT (Tor Books).
She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award and the Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor. Her books have been translated into 32 languages worldwide and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library.
An hour-long chat with R.S. Mellette, author of the Billy Bobble middle-grade science fiction novels and the new YA science fiction novel Kiya and the Morian Treasure, and writer of the first web-to-television intellectual property, “The Xena Scrolls,” for Universal Studio’s Xena: Warrior Princess.
R.S. Mellette, originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, now lives in San Clemente, California, where he toils away at turning his imaginary friends into real ones. While working on Xena: Warrior Princess, he created and wrote “The Xena Scrolls” for Universal’s New Media department and was part of the team that won a Golden Reel Award for ADR editing. When an episode aired based on his “Xena Scrolls’” characters, it became the first intellectual property to move from the internet to television.
