Blaze Ward writes science fiction in the Alexandria Station universe (Jessica Keller, The Science Officer, First Centurion Kosnett, etc.) as well as The Corsac Fox and several other science fiction universes. He also writes action-thriller (present day as well as historic). In addition, he’s the editor and publisher of Boundary Shock Quarterly Magazine and Thrill Ride Magazine. You can find out more at his website www.blazeward.com, as well as Bluesky, Goodreads, and other places.

Blaze’s works are available as ebooks, paper, and audio, and can be found at a variety of online vendors (Kobo, Amazon, and others) as well as the Knotted Road Press website directly. His newsletter comes out monthly and you can also follow his blog and his Patreon on his website. He really enjoys interacting with fans, and looks forward to any and all questions—even ones about his books!

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Dr. Charles E. Gannon is best known for his multiple best-selling and award-winning Caine Riordan hard sf series and Dragon-nominated Vortex of Worlds epic fantasy series. He has written in or collaborated with many authors in their own universes: Ring of Fire (Eric Flint), Black Tide Rising (John Ringo), Starfire (White & Weber), Honorverse (David Weber), Known Space (Larry Niven), and War World (Jerry Pournelle). His awards include the Dragon, ALA Choice, & Compton Crook and he has been a finalist for the Nebula four times and the Dragon three times. Earlier in his career, he was a TV writer/producer and writer/designer for GDW games.

As a Distinguished Professor of English, Gannon received five Fulbrights, and his book Rumors of War & Infernal Machines won the 2006 ALA Choice Award for Outstanding Book. He is a frequent subject matter expert for national media venues (NPR, Discovery, etc.) and for various intelligence and defense agencies.

Gannon has five children (four living) and lives Annapolis, Maryland.

Chris Mandeville is an unrepentant coffee drinker, night owl, and binge writer. She can write anywhere, but her usual spot is a comfy chair at home in the Rocky Mountains with her service dog, Oski, snoozing by her feet. When she isn't writing, she loves to cook, travel, and teach writing workshops. She is a ten-year alum of SSWS—it's her favorite place o teach, lead “First Pages Parties,” and learn from other writers. Her published works include Quake, Shake, and Break (IN REAL TIME time travel trilogy), Seeds: a post-apocalyptic adventure, Oski Becomes a Service Dog, and 52 Ways to Get Unstuck. She’s also has two short stories published in anthologies that benefit Superstars' scholarship funds. Learn more about Chris, and her current projects and appearances, at chrismandeville.com.

Damon Courtney is the creator and CEO of BookFunnel, an ebook delivery service for authors and publishers. Though he would like to be a highly successful indie author, he can only lay claim to publishing a single fantasy trilogy that he does really like, despite its lack of sales. But self-publishing three novels did lead to the creation of BookFunnel, so he’s got that going for him. As a lifelong software engineer, Damon is an expert in just about everything technical and can offer unique insight on publishing as it relates to software and technology. Our lives as authors cannot survive in this new world without software, so that makes Damon feel really important.

J.T. Evans writes fantasy novels. He also dabbles with science fiction and horror short stories. He is the former president of Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group and Pikes Peak Writers. When not writing, he keeps computers secure at the Day Job, spends time with his family, and plays way too many tabletop games.

He originally spawned in the deserts of west Texas. Before he could escape, his right arm was amputated in a car wreck when he was 15. He had the arm reattached a short while later and finally ran away from his home city to the sweltering heat of San Antonio before his 23rd birthday. After living there a year, he tried out the frozen tundra of northern Montana. That only lasted a year before eventually settling in the relatively moderate climate of Colorado.

J.T. joined the Gnome Stew Crew in March of 2016. Since that time, he has written dozens of articles for the site and has earned three Gold ENnie awards (2016, 2017, and 2018) as part of the team at Gnome Stew.

He is the author of the Modern Mythology and Flashing Blades series and is hastily working on more right now.

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James Artimus Owen is part artist, part writer, and all heart. He has written and illustrated the Mythworld series, two dozen Starchild comics, available as The Twentieth Anniversary Nearly-Complete Essential Starchild, The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica (and coloring books featuring illustrations from these novels), and The Meditations which evolved from his popular talk “Drawing Out the Dragons.” James promises friends and fans that “more good trouble is afoot” with many more projects in the works.

Jana S. Brown has been involved in publishing as an Author, Editor, Presenter, slush reader, executive secretary, and marketer for nearly 30 years. She is the acceptance editor for Book Cave and an editor and author coach specializing in self-publishing. She writes the weird and the wonderful with smoochies and runs Opal Kingdom Press where she and her pennames have published over twenty books, including new anthologies and collections! She's also frequent co-host with the Blasters and Blades podcast.

Jennifer S. Wilkov is a multi #1 international best-selling award-winning author, an award-winning freelance writer, and a Hollywood consultant. She supports first-time writers and seasoned authors with the essentials to become a bestseller: a great project, a strong platform and a well-polished pitch, presentation and hook for their book, film, tv, streaming or theater project. She assists with the writing, editing, marketing, and publishing of their books as well as the building of their platforms to raise their visibility to readers, the media, Hollywood and beyond. She passionately teaches and educates writers as a speaker and program producer of workshops, at writers conferences and events coast to coast, and for groups such as the Writers Guild of America – East and New York Women in Film & Television. Her keen eye for stories that sell is trusted by industry professionals who appreciate her savvy in seeing the many possibilities a story lends itself to. www.YourBookIsYourHook.com

Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it.

Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990′s when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist.

All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.

jim-butcher.com

John Goodwin, President Galaxy Press, has been involved with book publishing since 1986, publishing the fiction works of bestselling author L. Ron Hubbard which includes the Writers of the Future anthology. He is also host of the award-winning Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast.

Johnny B. Truant is one of indie publishing’s early authorities, having created and co-hosted the original Self Publishing Podcast with Sean Platt and David Wright. He is also the author of the indie cornerstone guide Write. Publish. Repeat, and hosted the Smarter Artist Summit author conference in Austin, Texas from 2015-2018 with the same two partners. On the fiction side, Johnny is the bestselling author of Fat Vampire, adapted by The SyFy Network as Reginald the Vampire. His other books include Pretty Killer, Gore Point, Invasion, The Beam, Dead City, Unicorn Western, and over 100 other titles across many genres. Originally from Ohio, Johnny and his family now live in Austin, Texas where he's finally surrounded by creative types as weird as he is.

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JONATHAN MABERRY is a NYTimes bestselling author, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, 4-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, poet, and comic book writer. He writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, fantasy, and action, for adults, teens and middle grade. V-WARS (Netflix) was based on his books/comics; Alcon is developing his teen post-apocalyptic novels for film; and Chad Stahelski, director of JOHN WICK, is developing his bestselling Joe Ledger thrillers for TV. Marvel’s BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER was partly based on his work. He’s president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, and the editor of Weird Tales Magazine. www.jonathanmaberry.com

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Joshua Essoe is a full-time editor who has edited for NYT bestsellers including Piers Anthony, David Farland, and Dean Lorey. He has edited for USA Today bestsellers, Writers of the Future winners, and hundreds of independents. He was also lead editor at Urban Fantasy Magazine and founded the weekly writing podcast Hide and Create with Michael J. Sullivan, Diana Rowland, Jay Wells, and Debbie Viguie. You can find Joshua teaching at the Superstars Writing Seminar every February in Colorado.

Kerrie Flanagan is an experienced author, writing consultant, and the Author Liaison for Booklinker. With more than 25 years in the publishing world, Kerrie brings a deep passion for helping writers succeed. She has worked with hundreds of authors through workshops, consultations, conferences nationwide, and as a former instructor for Stanford Continuing Studies. She’s the author of The Writer’s Digest Guide to Magazine Article Writing and has written for The Writer, Writer’s Digest, Alaska Magazine, and several Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Kerrie has published more than 25 books, including sci-fi and fantasy coauthored under the pen name C.G. Harris

Kevin Ikenberry is a life-long space geek and retired Army officer.  As an adult, he managed the U.S. Space Camp program and served in military space operations before Space Force was a thing. He’s an international bestselling author, award finalist, and a core author in the wildly successful Four Horsemen Universe. His fifteen novels include Sleeper Protocol, Vendetta Protocol, Runs In The Family, Peacemaker, Honor The Threat, Stand or Fall, Deathangel, Fields of Fire, and Harbinger. August 2022 will see the release of his alternate history novel The Crossing from Baen Books.  He is an Active Member of SFWA, the International Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors (IASFA), International Thriller Writers, and SIGMA – the science fiction think tank.

Kevin J. Anderson has published more than 175 books, 58 of which have been national or international bestsellers.

He has written numerous novels in the Star Wars, X-Files, and Dune universes, as well as unique steampunk fantasy novels Clockwork Angels and Clockwork Lives, written with legendary rock drummer Neil Peart. His original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series, the Wake the Dragon and Terra Incognita fantasy trilogies, the Saga of Shadows trilogy, and his humorous horror series featuring Dan Shamble, Zombie PI.

He has edited numerous anthologies, written comics and games, and the lyrics to two rock CDs.

An early reader, Laura exhausted the children’s section of her local library by age ten. At that point, she switched to adult mysteries and science fiction and never looked back. Trained as an engineer, she continued to write “for fun” until one day, she decided to write “for real.”

She has now published fifteen full-length novels under four names, thirteen short stories/novellas, and an authorized companion book about Nora Roberts. Having traveled across the US as a military spouse, Laura now resides (permanently) in Colorado with her husband and dogs. She's also the owner of Author, Author!, our Superstars conference bookstore (www.author-author.net). To learn more, visit her at http://suspense.net.

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Lindsay Flanagan is an award-winning author and editor as well as a publisher for Mad Cat Books and Radiance Books. Her debut novel, AnnaGrey and the Constellation, was published by Young Dragons Press and earned the first runner-up of the Eric Hoffer Book Award in the middle reader category. She’s edited for traditional publishers, worked for literary agents, and has taught about writing, editing, and publishing at numerous conferences, including Superstars Writing Seminars and Writing Day Workshops. She is a senior editor at Eschler Editing who specializes in developmental and substantive editing.

Lisa Diane Kastner is the Founder and Executive Editor of Running Wild & RIZE Presses. Featured in FORBES and several other publications, she’s been named to multiple “Best of”s. A writer and editor for more than twenty years, she has an MFA, an MBA. Lisa began Running Wild & RIZE with the belief that we can change the world through story.

Lisa Mangum is the Managing Editor for Shadow Mountain. She is also the author of four national best-selling YA novels, several short stories and novellas, and the nonfiction book Write Fearless. Edit Smart. Get Published. She regularly teaches at writing conferences. She lives in Utah.

USA Today and Amazon No. 1 bestseller M. L. “Matt” Buchman is the author of 75+ action-adventure thriller and military romance novels, 200 short stories, and lots of read-

by-author audiobooks. PW says: “Tom Clancy fans open to a strong female lead will clamor for more.” Booklist declared his romances were: “3x Top 10 of the Year.” A

project manager with a geophysics degree, he’s designed and built houses, flown and jumped out of planes, solo-sailed a 50-foot sailboat, and bicycled solo around the

world…and he quilts.

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Marie Whittaker enjoys teaching about publishing and project management for writers. She works as Associate Publisher at WordFire Press and Director at Superstars Writing Seminars. She also puts in time as personal assistant to Kevin J. Anderson. In 2021, she co founded the epic fantasy world of Eldros Legacy. Marie is an award-winning essayist and author of horror, fantasy, children’s books, and paranormal mysteries. She is the creator of The Adventures of Lola Hopscotch, is published in Weird Tales, and habitually adopts rescue animals. Find out more about her at www.mariewhittaker.com.

Mark Leslie Lefebvre’s first story appeared in print in 1992, the same year he started working in the book industry. Under the name Mark Leslie he has published thrillers and fiction, paranormal non-fiction, and anthologies. His books about writing and publishing appear under the name Mark Leslie Lefebvre. His industry experience includes President of the Canadian Booksellers Association, Board Member of BookNet Canada, Director of Author Relations for Rakuten Kobo, Director of Business Development for Draft2Digital and Professional Advisor for Sheridan College’s Creative Writing and Publishing Honours Program.

Mark lives in Waterloo, Ontario and can be found online at www.markleslie.ca.

Matty Dalrymple (DAL-rim-ple) is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels and Suspense Shorts. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. ​Matty also podcasts, writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage as The Indy Author. Her articles have appeared in Writer’s Digest magazine and she serves as the Campaigns Manager for the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Michael La Ronn (also known as M.L. Ronn) has published over 100 science fiction & fantasy novels and self-help books for writers.

Michael also runs the award-winning YouTube channel “Author Level Up,” with over 40,000 subscribers and 2 million views. Writer’s Digest voted the channel one of the “Best Resources for Writers” in 2020.

Michael devoted himself to the writing life in 2012 after a near-death experience, writing 10 to 12 books per year despite working a demanding full-time job as an insurance executive, raising a family, and attending law school classes in the evenings. His productivity methods are so effective that his YouTube subscribers have accused him of being a cyborg in disguise (he pleads the fifth).

For more information on Michael’s books, visit his fiction website at www.michaellaronn.com and his resources for writers at www.authorlevelup.com.

Nick Thacker is a USA Today Bestselling Author with over 40 published thrillers to his name. He is the founder of Book Career In A Year. He currently serves as the VP of Author Success at Draft2Digital, where he focuses on helping authors reach the next level in their careers.

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Rachel Howzell Hall is the New York Times and USA Today-bestselling author of fourteen novels, including the bestselling romantasy The Last One, a Good Morning America Book Club selection. She is also the author of bestselling novels, including What Fire Brings, What Never Happened, We Lie Here and multiple award-nominated And Now She’s Gone and These Toxic Things. Rachel is a two-time finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She is a former member of the board of directors for Mystery Writers of America and was a featured writer on NPR’s acclaimed Crime in the City series and the National Endowment for the Arts weekly podcast.

Ray Porter is a multiple award winning narrator with over 500 titles. His narration of “Project Hail Mary” garnered 2021 Audie awards for Best Science Fiction and Audiobook of the Year. In addition to being the voice of Darkseid in “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”, he can be seen in numerous films and TV shows and has lent his voice to various video games and animated shows. He has stories published in two anthologies and most recently has a story in Weird Tales magazine. He resides in Los Angeles and drives his son to hockey practice. A lot.

Rebecca Moesta (pronounced MESS-tuh) is co-publisher at WordFire Press and a bestselling author. She writes SF/F and nonfiction books for writers, both solo and with her husband, Kevin J. Anderson. Her work includes novels in Star Wars, Star Trek, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer universes, her Crystal Doors and Star Challengers trilogies, and nonfiction books Million Dollar Professionalism for Writers and Writing as a Team Sport: The Complete Writer’s Guide to Collaboration. Currently, she’s working on several new books for writers.

Robert J. Sawyer has won the Hugo, Nebula, and John W. Campbell Memorial Awards, all for

best novel of the year, as well as the Robert A. Heinlein Award, the Hal Clement Award, the E.E.

“Doc” Smith Memorial Award (“the Skylark”), and a record-setting sixteen Canadian Science

Fiction and Fantasy Awards (“Auroras”). The ABC TV series FlashForward was based on his novel of the same name and he was one of the scriptwriters for that series; his latest novel is The Downloaded. A member of the Order of Canada, one of the initial inductees into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, a judge for Writers of the Future, a guest of honor at the 2023 World Science Fiction Convention, and a past president of SFWA, Rob lives near Toronto. Website: https://sfwriter.com.

Seth Norris is a CPA with over 17 years of experience in public accounting, serving as a bank CFO, and running his own virtual tax and accounting firm. Married to author Jessica Deen Norris, Seth has a deep understanding of the unique challenges authors face, making him a trusted financial partner for writers and indie publishers. He specializes in helping authors improve cash flow, implement systems like Profit First, and maximize tax savings, all while simplifying financial management.

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As the creator of the Author CPA YouTube channel and co-founder of the Author Unlimited community with his wife, Jessica, Seth provides practical education and support to help authors turn their writing careers into thriving businesses. When he’s not supporting clients, Seth enjoys cooking for his family, doing puzzles, and listening to music.

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Defying all odds is what #1 New York Times and international bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon does best. Since her first book debuted while she was still in college, she has placed more than 80 novels on the New York Times list in all formats and genres, including manga and graphic novels, and has more than 70 million books in print worldwide.

A pioneer in paranormal, fantasy, science fiction and romantasy, she has become one of the most popular and influential authors in the world (in adult, YA and middle grade fiction), with dedicated legions of fans known as Paladins–thousands of whom proudly sport tattoos from her numerous genre-defying series.

Her current series include: Dark-Hunters®, Chronicles of Nick®, Infernal Affairs™, Eve of Destruction™, Myths & Outlaws, Secret War, and The League®.

Over the years, her Lords of Avalon® novels have been adapted by Marvel, and her Dark-Hunters® and Chronicles of Nick® are New York Times bestselling manga and comics and are #1 bestselling adult coloring books.

Join her and her Paladins online at SherrilynKenyon.com and www.facebook.com/mysherrilyn.

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Steve Ruskin writes thrillers with a hint of magic, and science fiction with a streak of rebellion. His Trina Piper thrillers have been called “Dan Brown meets J.K. Rowling,” while reviewers recommend his space opera series, the ExoRok Rebels, to “fans of The Expanse.”
He is also an award-winning historian, with a PhD in the history and philosophy of science, and has written numerous non-fiction books and articles, including the #1 Amazon Bestseller, America's First Great Eclipse.
A Colorado native, Steve has been a university professor, a mountain bike guide, and a number of things in between.
He can be found at www.steveruskin.com

When Tanya Hales was a baby, she enjoyed books by chewing them to pieces before eventually moving on to the higher art of reading. Tanya splits her time between her work as a writer, an illustrator, and a mother, all of which she loves intensely. She now lives in Utah with her family, illustrating coloring books, writing YA fantasy, making cute stickers, and daydreaming constantly about imaginary worlds.

Todd Fahnestock is an award-winning, #1 bestselling author of fantasy for all ages and winner of the New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age Award. Threadweavers and The Whisper Prince Trilogy are two of his bestselling epic fantasy series. He is a founder of Eldros Legacy—a multi-author, shared-world mega-epic fantasy series—two-time winner of the Colorado Authors League Award for Writing Excellence, and two-time finalist for the Colorado Book Award for Tower of the Four: The Champions Academy (2021) and Khyven the Unkillable (2022). His passions are great stories and his quirky, fun-loving family. When he’s not writing, he teaches Taekwondo, swaps middle grade humor with his son, plays Ticket to Ride with his wife, plots creative stories with his daughter, and plays vigorously with Galahad the Weimaraner. Visit Todd at toddfahnestock.com.