BJ Sikes is a 5'6" ape descendant who is inordinately fond of a good strong cup of tea, Doc Marten boots, and fancy dress. I live with one large cat, two sweet teenagers, and one editor-author, plus an array of chickens in a place very unlike my homeland. My fave genre is historical fantasy with themes of a woman’s struggle for agency. After writing a dissertation on avocado root rot, I was drawn back to my first love, fiction. My debut novel, the Archimedean Heart, is the first book in the Roboticist of Versailles world, a French Belle Epoque that never was. The Vitruvian Mask is the second full novel set in that world and The Electric Prophet occurs between those two books. The Cultist's Wife is a departure from that story world and genre, but still features women trying to find independence. I am the Author Head for Clockwork Alchemy, a steampunk convention in the San Francisco Bay Area. For anyone who loves sci-fi with an alternate history spin, Clockwork Alchemy presents three days of immersive entertainment. I happily wrangle the cats called authors who share their amazing knowledge at the event. In my day job, I write and edit scientific publications for a university. I’m married to a novelist/freelance editor and our children are composing their own fiction in the NaNoWriMo Young Writers’s Program. I like words. I also like tea, chocolate, cats, and chickens, not necessarily in that order. When I am not playing with words, you might find me mucking about in the garden or making herbal concoctions in the kitchen.

At age five, Lillian Csernica discovered the Little Golden Books fairy tales. From there she moved on to the works of Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Tanith Lee, and Terry Pratchett. Her very first short story sale, "Fallen Idol," appeared in After Hours and was later reprinted in The Year's Best Horror Stories XXI. Lillian has gone on to publish over forty short stories in such markets as Fantastic Stories, Killing It Softly 1 and 2, and After the Happily Ever After. Her Christmas ghost story "The Family Spirit" appeared in Weird Tales #322 and "Maeve" appeared in #333. Lillian's two nonfiction ebooks, The Writer's Spellbook: Creating Magic Systems for Fantasy and The Fright Factory: Building Better Horror, provide nuts and bolts instruction in the techniques of writing those genres. Born in San Diego, Ms. Csernica is a genuine California native. She currently resides in the Santa Cruz mountains with her her husband, two sons, and three cats. Visit her at lillian888.wordpress.com.

Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr. is a science fiction writer and computer scientist who started writing urban fantasy because he likes it. The Dakota Frost series combines Anthony's love of hard science, fantastic magic, alternative culture, and strong, feisty women. Even though the siren call of computing eventually pulled him out to the San Francisco Bay Area, he still chose to set the Dakota Frost series in Atlanta, Georgia, where he spent nearly half his life and which he has learned to love like no other place on Earth. When not making computers smarter or writing science fiction and fantasy, Anthony blogs about his life, his writing and his research at The Library of Dresan. He also writes an occasionally updated webcomic, f@nu fiku. He currently lives in San Jose with his wife and cats.

Amazon bestselling author Kirsten Weiss writes laugh-out-loud, page-turning mysteries. Her heroines aren’t perfect, but they’re smart, they struggle, and they succeed. Kirsten writes in a house high on a hill in the Colorado woods and occasionally ventures out for wine and chocolate. Or for a visit to the local pie shop. She's best known for her cozy and witch mystery novels. So if you like funny, action-packed mysteries with complicated heroines, just turn the page…

In October of 2011, my career in holding down office furniture came to an end with the sweep of a budgetary axe. Now I write, edit, and review fiction and non-fiction. I am much happier. The cats tolerate me being at home more often. I work with amazing, awe-inspiring, and creative people. I'm a woodworker and toy builder in my spare time.

Dover Whitecliff is an author, an artist, and a jack-of-all-trades. Her novels are fusion mashups of different genres: sleuthing and superheroes, cybersteam and secret agents, haiku poetry and hand-drawn coloring pages, and even a steampunk take on the Hardy Boys style mysteries with kick ass girls. Stay tuned for Murder by Spandex, the debut of a mystery series set in the Port Liberty suburb of a superhero metropolis, and for Dorado and Dark Claw: The Sphere of Destiny, a pulp superhero adventure taking pace in the same world. Dover was born in the shadow of Fujiyama, raised in the shadow of Olomana, and lives where she can see the shadow of Mt. Shasta if she squints and it’s a really clear day. She is a retired analyst, a problem solver, and believes firmly that drawing a hedgehog a day keeps the blues at bay.