Ben Meeks
J. Smith Kirkland grew up in a haunted house in Dallas Bay, TN. This probably contributes to the fact that his fictional stories revolve around fate, ghosts, witches, and legends. For the past five years he has been helping assemble a yearly collection of short stories by the writers in the Crazy Buffet Club writers group. His "Tales of the Catalin" and "Witches"series can be found on Amazon along with his essays in collections like "Growing Up Without WiFi" and other short stories on Amazon.com. Info on the Crazy Buffet Club collection can be found at CrazyBuffer.club.
WALNUT STREET
PUBLISHING
Over the years, paranormal suspense author Iris Kain has called Michigan, Arizona, South Carolina, Georgia, and Germany home. She loves gargoyles, spiders, and black cats, as well as anything that makes you laugh while checking your closet for critters with teeth. She’s a fan of horror, and hard rock, and enjoys playing the piano. She currently resides in Alabama with her husband, son, cats, and two adorable Swedish Vallhund dog.
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DAN JOLLEY
Dan Jolley began writing professionally at age 19. Starting out in comic books, Dan has worked for major publishers such as DC (Firestorm), Marvel (Dr. Strange), Dark Horse (Aliens), and Image (G.I. Joe). He soon branched out into licensed-property novels (Star Trek), film novelizations (Iron Man), and original novels, including the Middle Grade urban fantasy series Five Elements, the urban sci-fi Gray Widow Trilogy, and the “Southern-fried Stephen King” mystery-thriller The Storm.
Dan began working in video games in 2007, and has contributed storylines, characters, and dialogue to titles such as Transformers: War for Cybertron, Prototype 2, and Dying Light, among others.
His latest work includes the best-selling Audible Original Middle Grade urban fantasy audiobook House of Teeth, the Middle Grade sci-fi graphic novel The Mega-Dogs of New Kansas, and the high fantasy/mystery novel The Runemaster Homicide.
Dan lives with his wife Tracy and some largely inert felines in northwest Georgia. Readers can learn more about him on his website, www.danjolley.com.
Keith robinson
Jerry Harwood was born in Ooltewah, TN. His mother was an elementary school teacher and he spent his afternoons reading books in her classroom or the nearby library. He currently is a writer, which makes sense based on the fact you are reading this here. He has experimented with other occupations: camp director, program director at a counseling center, college professor and middle school teacher. Jerry has backpacked Europe, taught in a Ukrainian University, worked in Rwanda after the genocide, is a first responder, sort-of remodeled a VW Thing, and has a love for Cherry Coke Zero that is only surpassed by his love for his wife, six children, and grandson. He is a member of the SCBWI, the Atlanta Writer's Club and the Chattanooga Writer's Guild where he also serves as a board member.
Keith Robinson writes magical fantasy fiction for children and middle-grade readers, although his books are suitable for all ages.
The ISLAND OF FOG series features a young group of shapeshifters in a world of dragons, centaurs, mermaids, and other creatures from myth and legend, while the SLEEP WRITER books are pure sci-fi adventure fun with wormholes and portals, aliens and UFOs, robots and gadgets, weird and exotic monsters from space, and oh yes, a spot of time travel as well.
Also the author of QUINCY'S CURSE, and co-author of FRACTURED with Brian Clopper.
Website: https://www.unearthlytales.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Keith-Robinson/e/B002QL5S1W
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/islandoffog
C.L. Ledford
Iris kain
Dallas Anne Duncan
Kelle Z. Riley
David A. Simpson is an International Best-Selling Author of the Zombie Road and Feral Children series. He has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and has been translated into three languages. His books have won numerous awards and have spent weeks in the number one slot for apocalyptic fiction on the Amazon charts.
His Zombie Road series has been optioned and is currently in development for television.
He lives in the north Georgia mountains forty-five minutes from the nearest blacktop road unless his wife is driving. Then it’s more like 20. They have a very spoiled pug, a very weird cat and a bear that they can’t seem to get rid of that thinks everything they plant in the garden is for him.Type your paragraph here.
C. L. Ledford was born in the city of Chattanooga, TN. Where she was raised by her grandparents to be a strong and independent person, she became an avid reader at the age of eleven when her fifth-grade teacher gifted her the book, The Black Stallion. With this book, her love of books grew.
In middle school, she began to write what would be one of many books swirling around in her head. Silver Moon Kiss came to life with two chapters and multiple scenes before it was packed away and not thought of until after she had become an adult. C. L. Ledford writes in Paranormal Romance and contemporary romance. Her first published book, The Second Alpha Heir released on June 14, 2022.
By this time, she had moved to a little town called Ringgold, GA, and married her husband, where they raise their three children and five German Shorthair dogs. Along with her love of writing and reading, she also enjoys hunting behind her dogs.
Kenyon Henry
Jerry Harwood
Becoming an author has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. I tried to write my first novel in middle school. It didn’t work. I made some assumptions about my writing ability and put the dream away. In 2013 I attended Dragoncon for the first time. While looking through the pannls I stumbled on the Writer's Track. I had never been in the position to hear directly from authors before. As I listened to them talk about all aspects of the craft, a light bulb went off. It was an epiphany moment for me. That weekend I came to understand that it wasn't that I lacked skill as a writer, but that I didn't know how to write.
I realized that I could do it! I could be an author! All I had to do was figure out how to do it. I spent the next three years learning everything I could about writing. I took classes, attended writing events, and read about every book I could find. That was my life for the next three years. Then I started writing Petrified. It took me another two years to complete it. Needless to say, there’s been a lot of ups and downs on my way to becoming an author but I wouldn’t change a second of it.
Now I'm hard at work turning this dream of writing into a reality.
Philip K. Booker lives near Chattanooga, Tennessee, with his wife and five children collectively known as Clan Booker (trademark pending).
He writes stories across all genres, but tends to focus on Urban Fantasy and Science Fiction. His pieces are often littered with humor, snark, and pop culture references.
When not writing or hunting the fabled full-night’s sleep; he enjoys playing games like Munchkin and Pandemic with his friends and family, attending conventions and drinking lots of coffee.
Robert S. Evans is a Georgia native film writer and director. He attended the New York Film Academy, and shortly afterwards caught the attention of industry veteran Jeff Burr (Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3) . Robert's first break in film was "The Last Piece Standing", a Psychological Horror Film which garnered praise for its chilling world, winning the Best Original Story at the Seattle Scream Fest. In 2013 his short film "To Fight" garnered awards such as Best Director, being featured in several festivals as well TV spots. Other projects include "Cold", a film about the harsh reality of suicide, and "Inner Demons", the story of a Paranormal Investigator who gets in over his head. He can often be found giving talks and workshops to students at Chatt State. His short films have aired in festivals all over the world. He is currently dipping his toes into more long form writing with a science fantasy novel in the works.
J. Smith Kirkland
Kenyon is a writer of urban fantasy, young adult, mystery, inspirational fiction, and more. His books have been ranked as high as #1 on Amazon in a single genre, and speak to the inner workings of our daily lives while exploring our darker and lighter sides.
Published by Jumpmaster Press™, Kenyon is presently their most awarded author.
As a reader, he believes that the written word has the ability to spread farther, reach deeper, and affect change in the human heart and mind like nothing else. As a writer, his goal is to leave each reader with a deep seeded desire to do better and be better.
Phillip K. Booker
Brom and Sterling were waiting for their story to be told. This time, however, I decided to create a world from my imagination. From there The Elemental Union took shape. A medieval fantasy set in a world molded by the Elemental Gods. What I started with is nothing like where it is today - except, of course, Brom and Sterling.
While I'm not writing, I have a full-time job as a Business Consultant for a Global Fintech company. I travel all over the Middle and Eastern U.S visiting small towns and meeting new people. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science (and never want to write another line of code for the rest of my life). I survived endometrial cancer - woohoo, and have never broken any major bones. I tend to fall down stairs - I hate walking downstairs, up doesn't bother me, but going down - watch out below!
I love video games. You can find me playing Diablo, Borderlands (1, 2, and 3), Skyrim, Dragon Age, and a few others. I'm a Playstation fan - my Gamertag is SMB25 if you want to play some Borderlands.
David Simpson
Shamibo Publishing
Robert S. Evans
Kelle Z. Riley, writer, speaker, global traveler, Ph.D. chemist, inventor, and martial arts expert has been featured in local newspapers and on national television. Her varied life experiences have all found their way into her writing.
In addition to her cozy mystery and contemporary romance fiction, she is a contributing author to "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living with Alzheimer's and Other Dementias."
In the Undercover Cat Mysteries, a cupcake baking scientist turns sleuth—and much more. The Cupcake Caper; Shaken, Not Purred; The Tiger's Tale; and Studying Scarlett the Grey, as well as several short stories set in the Undercover Cat world are available at digital retailers or wherever books are sold.
In the award-winning Riches and Royals series, modern career women fall for princes-in-disguise, only to discover that “happily ever after” isn’t guaranteed. Can love transform their adventures into glittering fairy tales, or will their hearts shatter like glass slippers?
A Golden Heart and Feathered Quill finalist, Kelle is a popular speaker and member of the Chattanooga Writer's Guild, Romance Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime.
Kelle can be reached at www.facebook.com/KelleZRiley; www.twitter.com/KelleZRiley; and www.KelleZRiley.net
Steve is the author of the sword and sorcery novel, Skallagrim – In The Vales Of Pagarna (Book One) and the fantasy epic The Lay Of Lirazel. He’s also the co-founder, bassist, lyricist, and producer of the critically acclaimed progressive rock group Glass Hammer.
Except for a few years spent traveling with different rock groups, Steve has been a lifelong resident of Chattanooga and is the owner of the area’s longest-running recording studio, Sound Resources.
Through his group, Glass Hammer, he’s released over twenty studio albums, several live albums, and three concert DVDs. His lyrics are often inspired by the works of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and H. P. Lovecraft. He won The Tolkien Society’s Imperishable Flame Award in 2005 for Tolkien Inspired Creativity for his work on the album, The Inconsolable Secret, The Middle-Earth Album, and his book of epic-fantasy poetry.
He’s currently working on the twenty-second Glass Hammer studio album and Book Two of his Skallagrim series.
www.stephenrbabb.com
https://www.facebook.com/stephenrbabb/
www.glasshammer.com
https://twitter.com/GlassHammerProg
https://www.youtube.com/user/ghprog
Richard Fierce
Fantasy author Dallas Anne Duncan grew up near Augusta, Georgia. She holds two degrees from the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the first in animal science with a meat science emphasis, and the second in agricultural communication. Dallas is no stranger to the publishing world thanks to her print journalism background, but "Bright Star", book one in "The Meridian Trilogy", is her first full-length novel. She now resides in Athens, Georgia, with her three cats, which are incredibly helpful in writing books two and three of the series.
Richard Fierce is a fantasy and space opera author. He's been writing since he was a child but began publishing in 2007. Since then, he's written multiple novels and short stories. In 2000, he won Poet of the Year for his poem The Darkness. He's also the creative brain behind the Acworth Book Festival, a literary event in Acworth, Georgia. A recovering retail worker, he now works in the tech industry when he's not busy writing. He's married and has 3 step-daughters (pray for him), three grandchildren (he's young, promise) three dogs (huskies!), a cat, and two ferrets. Basically, he has a zoo. His love affair with fantasy was born in high school when a friend’s mother gave him a copy of Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.
Guest subject to change! So check back often!
StePHEN R. BABB
Con Nooga It's Your Con!