Ilsa J. BickIlsa J. Bick is a child psychiatrist, as well as a film scholar, surgeon wannabe, former Air Force major, and an award-winning author of dozens of short stories and novels. She has also worked extensively in several long-running sci-fi series, including Star Trek, Battletech, Mechwarrior: Dark Age, and Shadowrun.
Her first YA novel, the critically acclaimed Draw the Dark (Carolrhoda Lab, 2010), won the 2011 Westchester Fiction Award, was named a Bank Street College 2011 Best Book, and was awarded a 2010 VOYA Perfect Ten.
She is also the author of Ashes, the first book in her YA apocalyptic thriller trilogy (Egmont USA, 2011). Forthcoming in 2012: Drowning Instinct, a gritty, YA contemporary (Carolrhoda Lab) and Shadows, the second volume in the ASHES Trilogy (Egmont USA).
Ilsa lives with her family and other furry creatures near a Hebrew Cemetery in rural Wisconsin. One thing she loves about the neighbors: They’re very quiet and only come around for sugar once in a blue moon. Visit her at www.ilsajbick.com.
Jordan Dane
HarperCollins launched Jordan Dane’s suspense novels back to back in 2008 after the 3-book series sold in auction. Ripped from the headlines, Jordan's gritty plots weave a tapestry of vivid settings, intrigue, and dark humor. Publishers Weekly compared her intense thrillers to Lisa Jackson, Lisa Gardner, and Tami Hoag. This national best selling, critically acclaimed author’s debut novel NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM was named Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2008. Dane’s Young Adult books with Harlequin Teen are IN THE ARMS OF STONE ANGELS, ON A DARK WING, and INDIGO AWAKENING will be book #1 in The Hunted series (2012-2013). Formerly an energy sales manager, she now writes full time. Jordan and her husband share their San Antonio residence with two cats of highborn lineage and two very lucky rescue dogs.
Dan Haring
Dan has been drawing and writing for most of his life. He earned a BFA in animation from BYU and has worked on such films as The Incredible Hulk and Disney's Tangled. He's from a tiny town in Utah called Goshen, and currently lives in Southern California with his wife and children.
David James
David James writes books about
stars and kisses and curses. He is the author of the YA novel, LIGHT OF THE
MOON, the first book in the Legend of the Dreamer duet, as well as the
companion novellas, THE WITCH'S CURSE and THE WARRIOR'S CODE. A Legend of the
Dreamer anthology, SHADES OF THE STARS, will be released in July 2013, and will
include the exclusive novella, THE ENCHANTER'S FIRE. The final book in the
duet, SHADOW OF THE SUN, will be released in late 2013. Living in Michigan, he
is addicted to coffee, gummy things, and sarcastic comments. He enjoys bad
movies, goofy moments, and shivery nights.
P. J. Hoover
P. J. Hoover first fell in love with Greek mythology in sixth grade thanks to the book Mythology by Edith Hamilton. After a fifteen year bout as an electrical engineer designing computer chips for a living, P. J. decided to take her own stab at mythology and started writing books for kids and teens. When not writing, P. J. spends time with her husband and two kids and enjoys practicing kung fu, solving Rubik's cubes, and watching Star Trek. Her first novel for teens, Solstice, takes place in a global warming future and explores the parallel world of mythology beside our own and will be published by Tor Children's in June 2013.
Her next middle grade novel, Tut, which tells the story of a young immortal King Tut, who's been stuck in middle school for over 3,000 years and must defeat an ancient enemy with the help of a dorky kid from school, a mysterious Egyptian princess, and a one-eyed cat, will be published by Tor Children's in Winter 2014.
Anita is most at home when weaving the melancholy and macabre into settings and scenes, and twisting the expected into the unexpected.
Married and mother of two teens (as well as surrogate mom to two Labrador retrievers), Anita divides her days between spending time with her family and plodding along or plotting on her next book.
When she’s not writing, Anita enjoys rollerblading, mountain-biking, snow skiing, gardening, and family vacations that at any given time might include an impromptu side trip to an 18th century graveyard or a condemned schoolhouse for photo ops.
Morgan HubbardI am a sixteen year-old High School student that writes to spend quality time with the voices in my head. I am a firm believer in the use of both crude humor and sarcastic comebacks. My writing adventure has only just begun and I cannot wait to see where it takes me.
Jamie ManningJamie's love of reading can be traced back to a Sidney Sheldon novel his grandmother purchased at a tag sale when he was young. He's been addicted to books ever since.
He prefers getting lost in the pages of a book to just about anything, and it's that love of reading which sparked his interest in writing.
He currently lives in a small, humid city in Alabama, where the only thing he pines for is a cooler climate.
Maureen McQueery
For as long as she can remember, Maureen McQuerry knew she wanted to be a writer. She was the girl invited to every slumber party just to tell ghost stories. She began her writing career as a poet publishing in literary magazines and then writing two non-fiction books. But knew she always wanted to write fiction. When her Steampunk/fantasy novel The Peculiars debuted (Abrams/Amulet May 2012) a reviewer said… “McQuerry’s lexis as a poet lends itself to her writing.” Booklist says, “McQuerry offers a brooding northwest setting… equal parts inventive fantasy, light romance, and thrilling adventure.” Much of her writing draws from myth. Her next two books Beyond the Door (Abrams/Amulet Fall 2013) and Time Out of Time (Abrams/Amulet spring 2013) explore Celtic mythology and what happens when the myths come alive and begin walking the streets. Maureen teaches writing at Columbia Basin College. She lives with her family in Washington State.
Anne MichaudShe who likes dark things never grew up. She never stopped listening to gothic, industrial and alternative bands like when she was fifteen. She always loved to read horror and dystopia and fantasy, where doom and gloom drip from the pages.
She, who was supposed to make films,
decided to write short stories, novelettes and novels instead. She, who’s had
her films listed on festival programs, has been printed in a dozen anthologies
and magazines since.
She who likes dark things prefers night to
day, rain to sun, and reading to anything else.
.jpg)
Sechin Tower (SechinTower.com) is the author of Mad Science Institute, a novel of creatures, calamities, and college matriculation. He is also a teacher, a game designer, and a person generally in a very good mood despite the chronic sleep deprivation required to keep up with his various pursuits.
As a teacher, Sechin works with high school
honors students, at-risk teens, and everyone in between. He began as a game
designer in 2006 with the award-winning Hollow
Earth Expedition and is soon to launch The
Menace From Beyond, an RPG inspired by the creature features of the 1950s.
Sechin lives in the Seattle, Washington area with his beautiful wife and noisy cat. In his spare time, he prepares for the zombie apocalypse by running obstacle course races, collecting pocket gadgets, and playing lots of video games.
