Author: ravenchair (Page 1 of 16)

K.B. Wagers

April 4, 2026 / ravenchair

K.B. Wagers has a bachelor’s degree in Russian Studies and their non-fiction writing has earned them an Air Force Space Command media contest award for best guest writer. A native of Colorado, they currently live in the north of the state with plenty of access to hiking trails. They are a firm believer in the importance of rest and have given several talks on burnout and the deluge of toxic productivity especially in the publishing industry.

K.B. has an avid interest in martial arts and non-violence, seeing these two things as flip sides of the same coin rather than paradoxical ideas. They enjoy whiskey and coffee in unequal measure, would gladly live in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Horizon Zero Dawn (until they were likely felled by a machine). During the hockey season you can find them buried under an Avalanche and the rest of the year they defend the managed democracy of Super Earth with the other Helldivers.

K.B. is the author of the NeoG Adventures from Harper Voyager and the Indranan and Farian War trilogies from Orbit Books. They are a fan of whiskey and cats, Jupiter Ascending, and the Muppets.

Mur Lafferty

April 4, 2026 / ravenchair

Mur Lafferty is an author.
Mur Lafferty is an editor.
Mur Lafferty is a podcaster.

Mur Lafferty podcasts about writing and writes about podcasting. She co-edits Escape Pod, a podcast with fiction. By writers.

She also writes about murders in space, zombies, Minecraft, and Han Solo. Her writing and podcasting have resulted in numerous award nominations and wins, such as the Best Semiprozine Hugo for Escape Pod, Best Novel Hugo and Nebula, Best Fancast Hugo, the Astounding Award for Best New Writer and was an inaugural inductee into the Podcast Academy Hall of Fame. Her books have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Library Journal, and have been praised by Buzzfeed, CNET, NPR, among many others.

She lives in Durham with her family.

Ruth Sanderson

April 4, 2026 / ravenchair

Ruth Sanderson’s career as a professional illustrator spans over 45 years. In recent years she’s been illustrating fantasy and horror for the limited-edition company Centipede Press, including covers for Bram Stoker’s Powers of Darkness and Alligator by Shelley Katz, as well as covers and interiors for The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons and Things Seen and Unseen, a short story collection by Terry Lamsley.

Ruth was a guest at Comic-Con in San Diego and received the Inkpot Award there. Her scratchboard art has garnered two Chesley Awards. Ruth has also illustrated over 90 books for children, including many award-winning fairy tale picture books. In 2015, the Norman Rockwell Museum mounted a solo exhibition of her fairy tale illustration, and all the artwork from her book The Twelve Dancing Princesses is now in the museum’s permanent collection. She has exhibited at many Worldcons and World Fantasy cons and has been artist GOH at numerous conventions. Among Ruth’s current projects is her first novel, The Mirror of Truth, a YA retelling of Snow White and The Seven Dwarves.

Aurelio Voltaire

April 4, 2026 / ravenchair

At the age of ten, Aurelio Voltaire bought a Super 8 camera and taught himself the art of stop-motion animation. At 17, he ran away from home to New York City. There, he was hired by the production company making Pee Wee’s Playhouse to work as a stop-motion animator on national spots. By 18, he was an award-winning animator and director working on station IDs for MTV, SyFy Channel, Nickelodeon and other networks as well as on national spots, including a series of Budweiser spots for the Super Bowl.

While commercials paid the bills, a young Voltaire yearned to make “monster movies.” Through his “Chimerascope” series of short films Aurelio Voltaire was able to explore his more fantastic, monster-filled visions through short, experimental stop-motion films, each narrated by a singer. Narrators of his films include Danny Elfman, Gerard Way, Blondie front-woman Deborah Harry, Psychedelic Furs frontman, Richard Butler and new wave pioneer, Gary Numan. These five shorts earned Voltaire 35 film festival awards.

In the mid 90s, when CGI had practically replaced stop-motion animation, Voltaire ventured into other fields, achieving success as a comic book creator, toy designer and author, ultimately, becoming a world renowned recording artist. His mirthfully macabre music is a perennial favorite on many Halloween playlists and can be heard while walking through a Spirit Halloween. His greatest hits include songs written for the Cartoon Network show The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy as well as his songs featured on the viral YouTube series, Vampair, which presently have a combined 70 million views. The Vampair series is now being developed into an animated show with Voltaire taking on an executive producer role.

Circling back around to his original passion, Aurelio Voltaire has finally made a feature-length “monster movie” in his feature directorial debut, The Demonatrix, which will be making its Richmond debut at RavenCon.

Aeli, WolfandKitCosplay

April 3, 2026 / ravenchair

An avid book consumer, Twilight Princess fan, and an overall wonderful person, Aeli of WolfandKitCosplay has entered the chat!

Aeli has shifted their focus to content creation over the last few years and has been focusing more on their cosplay game. Teaming up with their partner Ashe, WolfandKitCosplay was born! They’ve even begun working on the rough drafts of their first major novel, and enjoy what they call “grandma crafts” on a nice rainy day with a warm cup of tea. An absolute game enthusiast as well, they’ll either tell you their favorite game is Skyrim, or Twilight Princess.

D.H. Aire

April 3, 2026 / ravenchair

D.H. Aire has published more than twenty books, most recent are Bigfoot and the Four Horsemen (Apocalypse Knot, Book III) and Children of a Lesser Dragon (Bred in Captivity, Book II). He’s also recently published two novella trilogies in single editions, Apocalypse or Bust and Apocalypse Knot: Hell World. His love of history and archaeology found expression in his epic fantasy/sci-fi Highmage’s Plight, Hands of the Highmage series, and Knights Tower series. He is a member of SFWA and an indy author. Follow him at: Twitter @DHaire15, Facebook (Dare 2 Believe), and dhaire.net.

Mike Allen

April 3, 2026 / ravenchair

Mike Allen writes spooky things—a Publishers Weekly reviewer once called his stories “nightmare fuel.” Two of his collections of horror tales, Unseaming and Aftermath of an Industrial Accident, were nominees for the Shirley Jackson Award, named after the author of The Haunting of Hill House.

To Mike’s delight, his newest novel, Appalachian horror yarn Trail of Shadows (Broken Eye Books, 2025), has been named a finalist for the 2026 Webster Award—an award that honors the memory of his dear departed friend Bud Webster.

His other novels include the post-apacolyptic swarming-undead sidearms-and-sorcery adventure The Black Fire Concerto (re-released by Ruadán Books in 2025) and its forthcoming sequel The Ghoulmaker’s Aria. He’s also the author of two more unnerving story collections, The Spider Tapestries and Slow Burn, and six books of poetry, among those the Philadelphia Inquirer Editor’s Choice selection Strange Wisdoms of the Dead.

His stories and poems have appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Best Horror of the Year, Interzone, Nebula Awards Showcase, Strange Horizons, Weird Tales, and many other magazines and anthologies.

With his wife Anita, he runs Mythic Delirium Books, home to numerous award-winnning and award-nominated sci-fi and fantasy volumes that defy categories and expectations, including the five books in the Clockwork Phoenix anthology series. As an editor and publisher, Mike has twice been a finalist for the World Fantasy Award.

Follow him on Instagram @mythicdelirium and Bluesky @mythicdelirium.bsky.social.

Gregory Amato

April 3, 2026 / ravenchair

Gregory Amato made a career of selling his quill as a mercenary writer for many years. He wrote true and important things for newspapers, magazines, academia, and, for over a decade, intelligence analysis for the FBI.

Now, he writes fantasy stories based on the myths and sagas of the vikings. His fiction is often influenced by tales lost to time, usually full of high adventure, and always the sort that makes readers late to dinner.

Outside his time spent spinning yarns about vikings and wizards, he teaches Judo, brews beer, and plays D&D when he gets the chance.

Gregory lives happily with his family in the Pacific Northwest.

Ambushcosplay

April 3, 2026 / ravenchair

Ambushcosplay is a DC/Marvel cosplayer that specializes in military-themed cosplays such as GI Joe. They finished in third place in the NC ComicCon cosplay competition and are based in Richmond, VA.

Maegan Anderson

April 3, 2026 / ravenchair

Cos-Slayers is a Virginia-based cosplay group. They organize and participate in state-wide cosplay events such as conventions, competitions, and photoshoots. Their goal is to foster a welcoming community for anyone who wants to bring their favorite characters to life.