A conversation with Annmarie SanSevero about her new science fiction/fantasy short story collection, The Butterfly’s Stroke and Other Stories, just released by Stark Publishing.
An intricate and harmonious dance between humanity and technology
Dive into Annmarie SanSevero’s gripping collection of speculative fiction, where suspense, mystery, and the supernatural collide with the frontiers of science.
Each story pulses with themes of hope, resilience, and the ethical complexities of technological advancements. A testament to the human spirit, these tales weave suspense, mystery, and supernatural elements into a tapestry of speculative fiction that resonates with contemporary societal issues.
Don’t miss your chance to experience these unforgettable narratives and embark on a journey that both challenges and inspires.
About Jonathan Handel
Annmarie SanSeverol
Annmarie SanSevero grew up in New York City but was transplanted to the south in high school. She writes stories about hope, courage, and resilience in fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, and mystery. She loves exploring the human experience and wants readers to feel like they can do more than survive.
When she’s not writing, Annmarie enjoys learning just about everything, playing violin, and singing. She can occasionally be found tap dancing or playing D&D. One day, she wants to go LARPing.
A wide-ranging conversation with noted entertainment and technology lawyer, journalist, media commentator, and writer Jonathan Handel, with a focus on his children’s picture book, Who Do You Want to Be?
One day my best friend Said to me Who in the world Do you wanna be?
I thought and thought And thought and said Maybe a fireman Cuz their trucks are red?
That’s not a great reason—but there are dozens of other possibilities in this lyrical, illustrated story. It’s an affirming book written for diverse kids aged 4-8 and their parents, but it just might appeal to anyone who isn’t sure what they want to do for work. (And, really, who is?)
With large illustrations on just about every page and rhymes throughout, it’s a great gift for any young kid. Handel is contributing ten percent of the book’s revenue to The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
About Jonathan Handel
Jonathan Handel
Jonathan Handel is a transactional entertainment and technology lawyer at Feig/Finkel and independently, with an additional specialty in Hollywood unions and guilds, and is also a journalist, media commentator and occasional writer of screenplays, poetry and stories. A preeminent expert on Hollywood unions and guilds and the author of multiple books, Jonathan was a Contributing Writer for Puck News in 2022-2024 and a contributing editor at The Hollywood Reporter from 2010 to 2020, where he wrote about 1,400 articles. He has also appeared over 1,600 times as a commentator on entertainment law and business in most major television, radio, print and online outlets across the world. Jonathan has been an adjunct professor at UCLA, USC, and Southwestern law schools.
Named by the Daily Journal as one of the top 100 lawyers in California, Jonathan has been profiled in a book, articles, websites and podcasts. He is a member of the Television Academy and an associate member of the Dramatists Guild and the Society of Composers & Lyricists. He’s a graduate of Harvard College (1982/83 AB magna cum laude in applied math and computer science) and Harvard Law School (1990 JD cum laude). Prior to law school, he worked in tech and was a Democratic party elected official and gay activist. Visit jhandel.com and jhandel.news.
Jeff is stuck in the mundane now, drifting through aimless days and gnawing doubts. Until the moment he sees the Pale Woman—and reality shifts. Suddenly, he’s Jezz, a mercenary trapped in a savage conflict, battling swarms of alien insects on a war-torn front line.
Is he a restless young man just scraping by, or a desperate soldier risking everything for humanity’s survival? As identities collide, one question rips through his fractured psyche:
What is reality?
About Ryan Melsom
James Kinsley Photo by Max Hilton
James Kinsley was born in Norfolk in the 1970s, where he still lives with his wife and their two blind cats. Parallels is his third book; he is also the author of Playtime’s Over (Propolis) and Greyskin (Deixis Press). He also self-publishes sci-fi under the name Ray Adams (available on Kindle).
The trillionaires were powerful enough to reshape the world, but it wasn’t enough. Now they want more . . .
In a world where trillionaires assisted by powerful AIs call themselves gods, a world where miracles are engineered and secret technology is wired into the very air, James Kessler and Maree Shell stumble upon a conspiracy that defies possibility: the new gods’ plan to encode their consciousness into the world and seize control of reality itself, to literally become the gods they have so far only pretended to be.
From the world’s gleaming new AI-crafted cities to the crumbling ruins of the old ones, the two unlikely allies, one a childhood survivor of the Bad Times and the other a privileged daughter of wealth, must run a gauntlet of hostile AIs, vengeful modern-day gods, and mysterious ancient deities, desperately trying to disrupt the plans of the most powerful people who have ever lived. Nothing less than the fate of free will itself hangs in the balance.
A mind-bending cyberpunk thriller of rebellion and redemption, Gods of a New World is a visceral dive into the soul of a world on the brink.
About Ryan Melsom
Ryan Melsom
Ryan Melsom has never stopped dreaming about new ways he could get ideas out of his head and into the world. He holds a PhD in literature from Queen’s University and has long been fascinated with the interplay among culture, technology, spirituality, spaces, and human nature. Through the years, he has explored these topics through numerous creative media, including two previous works of fiction, academic writing, experimental web spaces, music projects, and a black belt in karate. He grew up in Kamloops, British Columbia, and now lives in Ottawa with his wife and two boys.
A conversation with bestselling author Lydia Sherrer about her latest collaboration with John Ringo, Behind the Veil, the third in their TransDimensional Hunter series from Baen Books.
In the world of the cutthroat augmented reality game TransDimensional Hunter, Lynn Raven must outsmart stalker fans and a rogue algorithm, forcing her to push her limits to survive and win the championship.
Truth is stranger than fiction . . . and it’ll kill you a whole lot faster.
When Lynn Raven set out to win the championship for groundbreaking augmented reality game TransDimensional Hunter, the worst she thought she’d face was sunburn, mosquito bites, and annoying spectators.
The more she plays, though, the higher the stakes become—and the stranger the obstacles she has to face.
From dodging fans-turned-stalker to managing inter-team sabotage to surviving the increasingly bizarre antics of a game algorithm that seems to have it out for her, Lynn isn’t sure how much more she can take.
And then the other shoe drops.
If Lynn has any hope of coming out alive and on top, she’ll have to up her game beyond anything she thought possible.
And even that might not be enough.
About Lydia Sherrer
Award-winning and USA Today-bestselling author of snark-filled adventures Lydia Sherrer thrives on creating stories you love to love, and hate to leave. She is the author of the bestselling Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus universe featuring multiple series, which have sold close to a million copies world-wide. Most recently she has released a Gamelit series with NYT bestselling author John Ringo described as Ender’s Game meets Pokemon Go. Book 3 in this sci-fi thriller, Behind the Veil, releases August 5th.
Lydia subsists on liberal amounts of dark chocolate and tea, and hates sleep because it keeps her from writing (though she needs it because she has kids to wrangle). Due to the tireless efforts of her game-designer husband and her feline overlords, she remains sane and even occasionally remembers to leave the house.
A conversation with award-winning writer, producer, and internationally bestselling author Jonathan Yanez about his Forsaken Mercenary books and short film.
He’s the deadliest mercenary in the galaxy… If he could only remember.
Five years earlier, Daniel Hunt woke up with nothing more than his name.
Now, his present is on a violent collision course with his past and the system’s future.
The Earth is dead. Humanity has taken to the moon and Mars to have a chance. On what’s left of Earth primal gangs war for dominance.
A rebel force will discover a weapon of unimaginable strength, and the wealthy in the galaxy will do anything to possess it.
As Daniel unravels the origin of his past he’ll realize he’s not the same weapon he once was. But does redemption exist for someone like him?
For fans of Jason Bourne and the Weapon X program, this one’s for you. Grab your hand cannon and start reading now!
About Jonathan Yanez
Award-winning Writer and Producer Jonathan Yanez is an international and USA Today Bestselling author. He has been awarded the Jack London Award for his advocacy among young artists & writers and has served as President of the California Writers Club.
His work has been adapted for the foreign market into graphic novels and film. Jonathan wrote and produced the multi-award-winning film Infinity System and Forsaken Mercenary. He has also launched a successful merchandising line around his brand, which includes everything from coffee to pajamas.
He has been featured on the front cover of Indie Author magazine and is also an owner of Bingebooks and Shelf Space SciFi.
Over the last thirteen years, Jonathan has grown a rabid fan base of followers hungry for every installment. In addition to yearly meetups, where readers fly in from all over the world.
A conversation with author, musician, screenwriter, producer and BlockChain enthusiast and promoter Scott Baldyga (aka Tboh) about his upcoming science fiction/fantasy adventure Greater Fools.
A fantasy/ sci-fi adventure novel that pulls back the curtain on the world of crypto!
In a digital universe where anything is possible…
A shy artist washed-up at 18… a ragtag team of furry and furious digital rebels… a beautiful Botter hellbent on domination… and a land where fortunes are won on merit and lost to scammers…
Hap, a scrappy raccoon NFT with nothing to lose, is born into a world he doesn’t understand.
But as he sets off to save the love of his newborn life, an unlikely fellowship of the blockchain’s most OG digital creatures forms to guide, teach, maybe even betray him:
A galaxy-skinned beauty with a sordid past, a degenerate ape with a dark secret, a rakish gecko with a lovesick spaceship, a plucky pterodactyl with a penchant for disruption, a mouthy monkey exiled from his own kind, and a brave shiba inu with the gift of bonk.
Meanwhile, in the human world, shy teenaged artist Sam is tricked by his online friends into sharing his digital art – only to become a smash hit! But when he and his mysterious new girlfriend (yes, a real girl!) buck up against the real-life Botter, they’re pulled into a scheme that puts billions of dollars and the entire crypto ecosystem in jeopardy!
Unlikely heroes, Hap and Sam are thrown into their parallel epic battles to save their lady loves – and all of crypto – but the real question is… who can they trust?
Until finally we learn… what really matters…
Is the family we make along the way!
About Scott Baldyga
Scott Baldyga/ Tboh’s first book earned a six-figure advance from a major publisher, debuted on Amazon in true crime at number one, and was featured on Howard Stern, Saturday Night Live, CBS Late Show, E! Entertainment News, a two-page spread in the New York Daily News, and a dedicated NBC News prime time special. The book went on to become an answer on Jeopardy! game show.
As a musician Scott, has appeared onstage or in studio with twelve Grammy-winning acts. His composing clients include Spike Lee, MTV, NBC, z.com, and professional theatre in New York, Los Angeles, and Kingston, Jamaica.
He has brought his award-winning indie feature films as writer/ director/ producer to major festivals.
He has worked development for the producers of blockbuster/ Academy Award-winning films including Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Independence Day, Godzilla, and Adaptation.
He has acted on camera with or been directed by Jim Carrey, Fran Drescher, Sean Penn, and Milos Foreman.
He has rewritten pages for Disney and Walden.
He has written screenplays with producers of the Oscar-winning films Gosford Park, The Player, The Irishman, Ferrari, and Killers of the Flower Moon.
Now he writes about his jpegs and magic internet money. As he puts it, “What a time to be alive!”
A conversation with Dave Freer, Prometheus Award-winning author of numerous science fiction novels for readers of all ages, about his latest book for young readers, Storm-Dragon.
On the treacherous Vann’s World, Skut battles a savage wind and deadly hamerkops to rescue a mysterious, telepathic creature. Fleeing a rising tide and a menacing Loor-beast, he forms an unexpected bond with the tiny, electric-charged being that sees him as its protector. As Skut navigates the perilous tidal tiers, his impulsive escape from Highpoint Station unravels into a fight for survival—both for himself and his newfound companion.
Podge is the new kid in town, trying to keep his head down. Meeting Skut is about the only bright spot in his introduction to this strange new world. The boys bond over Skut’s creature, and trying to avoid the class bullies. This is only the beginning; soon Skut finds his new friends do not ease the growing concerns of the adults around him while the town is coming under a mysterious threat. What can two boys and a tiny storm-dragon do?
About Dave Freer
Dave Freer
Dave Freer is a former Marine Biologist who specialized in fish (an Ichthyologist), proving that you can end up as an academic even if you did win a sports bursary (for rock-climbing) to take you through college. At seventeen was a conscripted Medic during the Angolan/South African conflict. Politically from an old fashioned ‘liberal’ (you know, believing in equality of all people before the law, equality of opportunity, that sort of thing) anti-apartheid family this was quite an experience. He lived through it and came out as a 45 year old in a nineteen year old body, which may explain his frequent confusion. He is still deciding just what do when he grows up.
His first postgraduate job was as Chief Scientific Officer for the Western Cape Commercial Shark fishery. As a biologist he’s spent a lot of time working in water no sane person would go near, having encounters (both in small boats and in the water) with sharks, crocodiles, hippopotamuses, electric rays and a number of other toxic/lethal creatures. He has worked as a salvage diver, run two major fish farms (he’s a very good plumber), as well as doing some steeplejack work. Additionally he has worked as the relief chef for a group of exclusive luxury game/ ecotourism/ whitewater-rafting lodges.
He has an obsession with food, recreating traditional fare, something he uses in his books. He’s a top mountaineer and rock-climber, opening many of his country’s best rock routes. He’s a fanatical spiny-lobster diver and flyfisherman and the author of a number of articles on both. If it is dangerous and a little crazy — he’s done it. Besides writing some amazingly boring but fundamental papers on shark age and growth and reproductive biology, he has authored or co-authored about twenty novels, most of which are sf/fantasy. He’s also written a lot of shorter fiction, appearing in various collections.
He lives on a wonderful remote Island off the coast of Tasmania, Australia, a ten hour ferry trip to anywhere, with three dogs to do his thinking, three cats to be waited on, two sons to lead him astray, and a wonderful wife to be patient with him and them, although it is a task that would tax a saint. Sometimes he wonders why he does this. Other times he just wonders.
From Lindy Ryan, “one of the most electrifying voices in the horror genre” (Gwendolyn Kiste), Another Fine Mess brings the Evans women back around in this unputdownable, crackling, rollicking mystery of humor, heart, and horror.
Making sure dead things stay buried is the family business…
For over a hundred years, the Evans women have kept the undead in their strange southeast Texas town from rising. But sometimes the dead rise too quick–and that’s what left Lenore Evans, and her granddaughter Luna, burying Luna’s mother, Grace, and Lenore’s mother, Ducey. Now the only two women left in the Evans family, Luna and Lenore are left rudderless in the wake of the most Godawful Mess to date.
But when the full moon finds another victim, it’s clear their trouble is far from over. Now Lenore, Luna, and the new sheriff―their biggest ally―must dig deep down into family lore to uncover what threatens everything they love most. The body count ticks up, the most unexpected dead will rise–forcing Lenore and Luna to face the possibility that the undead aren’t the only monsters preying on their small town.
Praise for Another Fine Mess
“Vampire fans will enjoy this spine-chilling tale.” ― Kirkus
“Sometimes the dead can ruin your life. Lindy Ryan’s Another Fine Mess is a rich and captivating story about family legacy, history, lore, and of course murder. Delightfully alluring and richly suspenseful.” ― Cynthia Pelayo, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Vanishing Daughters
“If you ever thought Supernatural should have starred the Golden Girls, have I got the series for you. Smart, at times devastating, and just as funny as it is dark, Another Fine Mess is Lindy Ryan’s unputdownable follow-up to Bless Your Heart. Balancing grief and duty, monsters and men, the Evans women are characters to sink your teeth into.” ― Katrina Monroe, author of Through the Midnight Door
“Another Fine Mess is a fast and witty sequel, and together with its predecessor makes for an entertaining and unique entry in the urban fantasy horror genre. With the second book, considered me sold on the quirky family drama and gallows humor of this series. I would love to see the Evans women return for more stories in this darkly charming Southern setting, and if that happens, I’ll definitely be back.” ― Bibliosanctum
“The story builds with a creeping sense of horror that lingers long after the final page… With Bless Your Heart and Another Fine Mess, Lindy Ryan delivers an unsettling, deeply human tale of legacy and loss.” ― Booktrib
“Overall, this is a dark, clever, and unsettling novel that was a fast read. Readers looking for a horror novel with shocking and disturbing details plus excellent characterization, secrets, and the supernatural will likely enjoy this novel.” ― Mystery and Suspense Magazine
“[An] entertaining and utterly charming horror story following a family of women who take care of their town by stopping the undead, no matter the cost.” ― The Library Ladies
About Lindy Ryan
Lindy Ryan
Lindy Ryan is an award-winning author, anthologist, and short-film director whose books and anthologies have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist and Library Journal. She also writes sweet, seasonal romance under the pseudonym Lindy Miller. Several of her projects have been adapted for screen.
Ryan is the current author-in-residence at Rue Morgue and a columnist at BookTrib. Declared a “champion for women’s voices in horror” by Shelf Awareness, Ryan was named a Publishers Weekly Star Watch Honoree in 2020, and in 2022, was named one of horror’s most masterful anthology curators. She previously served on the Board of Directors for the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Brothers Grimm Society of North America.
She is an award-winning professor at Rutgers University, and a guest faculty mentor in Western Connecticut State University’s Creative Writing MFA program. Prior to her career in academia, Ryan co-founded Radiant Advisors, a business intelligence research and advisory firm, where she led the company’s research and data enablement practice for clients including 21st Century Fox Films, Warner Bros., and Disney. Ryan founded Black Spot Books, a specialty press focused on amplifying women’s voices in horror, in 2017, which was acquired as an imprint of Vesuvian Media Group in 2019. Born and raised in Southeast Texas, Ryan currently resides on the East Coast.
Three sisters spend an adventure-filled summer in the West Coast wilderness, exploring rock quarries, escaping bear attacks, and fighting over space in the backseat of the family pickup truck.
It’s the summer of 1990, and Amy (age 11), Beth (age 9), and Marion (age 6) are in for the family vacation of a lifetime. No, they’re not going Disneyland, Hawaii, or on a Caribbean cruise. No, they’re not flying to Germany to collect pieces of the Berlin Wall.
They will be looking at rocks, though. Lots of rocks. So many rocks.
You see, when your father is a geologist, that’s what you do on your summer vacation (as the author knows from her own childhood road trips with her geologist father). You drive for days to the British Columbia–Yukon border, strapped in the backseat of the family truck with your sisters, fighting over the Gameboy, listening to your parents tell you “fascinating” facts about the scenery, playing the Little Mermaid soundtrack on a loop, and trying not to get elbowed in the face. Doesn’t that sound like a dream vacation? Well, it’s no luxury trip, but it has its highlights—from camping under the stars to wading in natural hot springs to flying a helicopter! And for Amy, Beth, and Marion, the memories they make along the way will last a lifetime.
At least, that’s what their parents tell them…
Praise for Summer of Rocks
“A family trip that’s packed with entertainment and the making of memories.”—Wanda Taylor, award-winning author of The Grover School Pledge and A Recipe for Rhyme and Rescue
“Humorous and heartfelt, Summer of Rocks perfectly captures the voices of three sisters, each with her own hopes and fears, on a family road trip into the wilderness.”—Jean Mills, award-winning author of After the Wallpaper Music
“A rocky road trip through the wilds of northern Canada drives three sisters closer in this uplifting tale.”—Karen Bass, award-winning author of Blood Donor and The Hill
About Jenna Greene
Jenna Greene
Jenna Greene has been writing since before she could hold a pencil, building stories with her She-ra: Princess of Power action figures and My Little Pony toys in her basement or on long car rides. Once she could pen a tale, she composed poetry and short stories, finding that she was best at writing novels.
Her first fantasy story (Imagine) came to her when she was in her first year of university, and she drafted it between essays, mid-terms, and reading assignments. Once finished university, with a B.A. in English as well as a B.Ed, she began her career as a teacher and also found time to return to her writing. While teaching middle school, she wrote and published the first books in her Imagine series.
Her Reborn Marks Series took a unique journey. While traveling home from a writers’ conference in Calgary, Jenna was hit by inspiration and formed the character of Lexil – someone who had hidden strength and talents that weren’t easily recognizable. The first half of the book was written while Jenna Greene’s mother was ill with cancer, and the second half was completed after her mother passed away. Winning the 2019 Moonbeam Children’s Book award (gold) provided an opportunity for her to express her gratitude for the inspiration her mother gave her as a storyteller, acknowledging that those we love never truly leave us, as they are in our hearts, phrases, morals, and memories – a major theme for the trilogy.
Having moved to teaching younger students, as well as the addition of a daughter to her family, Jenna has been recently inspired by Children’s Books. In 2021, her first picture book was released: Winston, the Well-Dressed Wombat. Winston is unique and friendly, with a sense of style others might not imitate.
Jenna has more writing projects on the horizon, as ideas continue to arrive in her head. But deep down, she is just a little girl creating imaginative stories with her She-Ra action figures (and possibly a Ninja Turtle or two).
