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Ken Humphrey
Ken Humphrey is an author based in the upper Midwest. A latecomer to the novel game, he spent his early years writing complete novels then shelving them for some undefined reason. Little effort was spent in pursuit of publication.
The nudge towards publishing came from the most unlikely of sources. During a school conference for his 4th grade son, the teacher off-handedly mentioned that there was a lack of good material to keep middle grade boys interested.
And with that he was off. By the time the conference ended, he had the plot line of The World Serpent settled out in his head (unfortunately, he doesn’t really remember what else the teacher said, but his son passed into 5th grade so everything must have been fine.) He set a goal to have it completed by summer break, a six month window. During the writing, he decided it would be a great idea to present the book to all the 4th graders prior to school break and give them the copy. Youth reading is important to him, so this fit with his vision.
And, because he doesn’t know when to say when, he also decided during this time: Why stop at one? Why not write a book with the same characters for every year my son escalates through the school? Yes, the math is correct. He locked himself into an eight-book series with that one thought. That also meant he needed to go back and flesh out an end-game arc for all the books. It’s good to have a plan.
Ken has just released the sequel to The World Serpent, titled Chase of the Samurai. It is the second installment of the Raimy Rylan series. Ken is also the author of Killing the Man, book one of The Killing Arc, an adult thriller series. Book two, The Killing Face, will be released in Fall 2015. His novels and other writings can be viewed through KenHumphrey.com, or at all major retail sites.
Eric Larson - Other Places Publishing - Guatemala
Eric Larson grew up outside of Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Comitancillo, San Marcos and Canillá, Quiché from 2011-2013. He then returned to Guatemala in 2014 as a Response Volunteer in Chajul, Quiché.
Eric has travelled extensively in Central America and would like to pursue a career in international development or foreign service.
He currently lives in Tucson, where he is studying towards a Master's in Public Administration at the University of Arizona.
In his free time, Eric enjoys baseball, the great outdoors, and searching for real corn tortillas. Unfortunately, he has yet to find any that can compare to those from the highlands of Guatemala.
Frances McNamara - Writing History
I have published five historical mysteries, the most recent being Death at Chinatown, which was published in September by Allium Press of Chicago. The novels are all set in Chicago of the Gilded Age—specifically the 1890s—and they are written in the first person. The protagonist of the novels is Emily Cabot, a young woman who comes to Chicago from Boston to do graduate research in sociology at the University of Chicago when it opens in 1892. In addition to the fictional characters, including Emily, some real historical people are portrayed in the series, against the backdrop of actual events, such as the Columbian Exposition and the Pullman Strike. You can read the rest of her piece here.
Jim C. Hines - Chasing the Market
"I was a guest speaker at the Write on the Red Cedar workshop last weekend, talking to other writers about fantasy and publishing and different aspects of the writing career … it was a fairly small group, so I ran it as more of an open Q&A. A lot of the questions were about what was hot in the market. What’s popular right now? What’s the next Big New Thing? What are agents and editors looking for? What do the kids want to read?"
Hugo award winning author Jim C. Hines has many books published by DAW, and his short works have appeared in numerous publications. You can read the rest of his piece here.
Brad Walseth - The Night I Decided to Become a Novelist
"I was working outside at a lumber mill that dark and frozen winter in 1978, when the temperatures reached 70 below. The wind howling down Hellgate Canyon chilled the air so much that my shaking hands could barely scratch out the lines I was scrawling with a pencil on a scrap of notebook paper I always kept in my pocket for when inspiration struck. My father worked 30 years in this world, but as I stood shivering in the darkness, I knew this wasn’t the career for me."
Novelist Brad Walseth lives near Chicago. His short stories and reviews have appeared in numerous nationwide publications. You can read the rest of his piece here.