Cassandra Rose Clarke’s work has placed in the Rhysling Awards and been nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award, the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Pushcart Prize, and YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults. She grew up in south Texas and currently lives in Virginia, where she writes and tends to multiple cats. She holds an M.A. in creative writing from The University of Texas at Austin, and in 2010 she attended the Clarion West Writer’s Workshop in Seattle.
Her book, Demon Song is a nominee for this year’s Webster Award.
Dexy Collier is Richmond musician that draws a lot of inspiration from her nerdy passions. One of the biggest being Edgar Allan Poe, hence the name of her solo project, Tear Up the Planks. She also plays bass for a mixed bag experimental metal/mathcore/shoegaze band that ties their serious songs together with memes, pop culture references, and fun.
Carol has long been a fixture of Geek Culture in Charlotte, NC. She has served for several years as the Programming Director for ConCarolinas and worked the Carolina and Arizona Renaissance Festivals for 15 years. She also podcasts—she is Carol the Cat on Guardians of the Geekery, The Cinemistress on Geek Radio Daily and one half of Refried Scenes on The Poprika Network. When she is not podcasting she is reading, writing or crafting. If you have trouble locating her, check your local cineplex, as movie theatres are her second home. Her fandoms include all things Tolkien, Doctor Who, Star Trek, Star Wars and tea—lots of tea. You can find her on the interwebs at guardiansofthegeekery.com or geekradiodaily.com.
Riding solo or as a quartet, Dirty Metal Lefty’s sound ranges from dark, soulful, blues-inspired acoustic rock to visceral, grinding swamp rock with jazz and metal undertones. Their vibes are a fascinating amalgamation of their collective musical experiences.
Dennis Danvers grew up in Texas. He holds a BA, MA, MFA, and PhD in English and Creative Writing. He has published ten novels, including NYT Notables Circuit of Heaven and The Watch, and Locus and Bram Stoker nominee Wilderness; recent novels include The Perfect Stranger (2020) and The Soothsayer & The Changeling (2021). Short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Apex, F&SF, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Tor.com, Lightspeed, Electric Velocipede, and elsewhere. Story collections, Leaving the Dead was published in 2023 and Tales From Mnemosyne in 2024. He taught Literature and Creative Writing for over thirty years at Virginia Commonwealth University. He lives in Richmond, VA with wife, Sarah, and agéd dog, Ethel.
Ann has just retired from spending the last 40 years working in public education as a School Psychologist and Special Education administer. She is married to the infamous Dr. Ben and attempts to keep him from getting into too much trouble. Currently she is taking courses through the OLLI program, diamond painting, and hanging out with her two furbabies, CJ and Boomer.
Ben Davis has a Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics and an M.S. in Nuclear Astrophysics from the University of Notre Dame. He taught at the college level for several years on a number of technical subjects ranging from computer programming and math to, of course, astronomy and physics. In the late nineties, he took up a career in software and industrial controls engineering (robot programming and electronics are as fun as they seem). As a lifelong fan of science fiction, his main avocations now involve history, futurism, and skepticism. When not traveling with his wife, playing with his dogs, climbing rocks, or attending cons, he spends his spare time pondering general relativity, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and the effects of antimatter on the dark matter/dark energy problem. Sometimes, he hunts for true psychics, ghosts, and other paranormal phenomenon to no avail.
Jim Deeley is the founder and lead writer at Apotheosis Games & Publishing and also publishes his own work under the impression of Apotheosis Adventures. A passionate fan of fantasy, science fiction, and history since his early boyhood days of climbing castle towers all across England, Jim’s life was forever changed one fateful autumn night in late 2000, when he was invited to join a game of Vampire: the Masquerade at his local comic book shop; over the 20+ years since then, he has been trying to run the perfect roleplaying campaign. While Jim hasn’t managed that yet, he has developed a series of panels on writing and running tabletop RPGs that he is working on turning into at least one book if not a series. Jim has also written for a number of game publishers both great and small, and has recently quit his second job to become a full time Professional Game Master by night, running games almost every night of the week and living dreams he did not even know were possible—doing what he loves and getting paid for it! Jim Deeley holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Christopher Newport University with a minor in Theatre Arts, with graduate work completed in International Studies at Old Dominion University, all of which informs his writing. When he’s not working for The Man by day and Living the Dream by night, Jim enjoys reading, writing fantasy and historical fiction, video games, comic books, bad sci-fi and fantasy movies, anime, hacking/slashing/shooting arrows at stuff in the backyard, and attending conventions, Highland games, Renaissance faires, and pirate festivals with his beloved, equally nerdy wife—in full kit, of course.
Geremiah DelValle is a teen author who penned his first book, Lands of Scientia, in 2022. The book tells the journey of three middle school friends that is unlike any other and is filled with fun scientific facts about different habitats and animals. A real page-turner, it will keep readers waiting to see if the Freedom Trio can save the Lands of Scientia. The journey to the different habitats facing one challenge after another gets increasingly difficult as the trio learn their powers. Adventure to the Lands of Scientia in this great literary work about science, self-determination, and teamwork.
Geremiah wrote his book out of a love for reading, science, and adventure books. He is currently a Sophomore in high school where he also runs track, plays soccer, and is a member of the DECA and FBLA clubs. He is the oldest of five siblings and enjoys spending free time with his family. His book tour has taken him to cities throughout Virginia, as well as to Baltimore, New Orleans, and Charlotte and he’s now sold over 2000 copies. Geremiah enjoys interacting with people face to face and is grateful to receive feedback on his book. He plans to write more, building Lands of Scientia into a series. His future plans are to go to college, with a strong interest in majoring in writing and business marketing. His goal is to grow as a writer and continue to be a successful entrepreneur.
We are Diebreado and Sikecoz, a cosplay duo who work together to bring creative freedom and art to life. Looking at our content, you’ll find we each have our own talents and approaches to cosplay yet we mend together well and have found a synergy that’s works great for us. With our talents combined, we feature a great mix of special wig styling, unique makeup and SFX, costume design, and individual style. We believe cosplay is a place for everyone to express themselves and it’s been such an honor to have such a lovely hobby blossom into a job for us. We hope to keep inspiring people and growing our content so we can give back to the same community we’ve fallen in love with!
