Our Authors

Author and screenwriter Deanna Carlyle writes comedy, mysteries and thrillers. She is the winner of the James D. Phelan Literary Award and co-founder of the International Women’s Fiction Festival held each year in Matera, Italy. Visit her online at www.deannacarlyle.com.

Alan Carroll is one of the pre-eminent authorities worldwide on teaching IT professionals the art of public speaking. A transpersonal psychologist who has combined his clinical study of the human mind with his natural talent as a speaker, he travels around the globe at the behest of such influential corporations as Cisco Systems, AT&T, Nortel, Avaya, Symantec Corporation, among many others to work with their IT personnel. From struggling third-world countries to prosperous European cities, Carroll’s innovative approach to training IT professionals how to connect with live audiences and turn abstract concepts into compelling conversation continues to impact the careers of thousands.

After being laid off from his corporate job in 2009, Steve Carse moved onto his brother’s couch and committed all of his energy to one idea—create the best popsicles ever made. Inspired by the Latin American fresh fruit paletas, Steven and his brother Nick created delicious flavors of local and natural handmade pops. Starting with a humble ice cream pushcart, King of Pops is now a favorite across the South and an Atlanta staple. King of Pops can be found at events like Bonnaroo, your closest Whole Foods Market and your neighbor’s backyard barbecue.

Marked for life by reading Dracula at the age of 12, Margaret L. Carter specializes in the literature of fantasy and the supernatural, particularly vampires. She received degrees in English from the College of William and Mary, the University of Hawaii and the University of California. Her nonfiction works include Dracula: The Vampire and the Critics, The Vampire In Literature: A Critical Biography and Different Blood: The Vampire as Alien. She is also the author of a werewolf novel, Shadow of the Beast, and three vampire novels, Dark Changeling (2000 Eppie Award winner in horror), Sealed In Blood and Crimson Dreams. With her husband, retired navy captain Leslie Roy Carter, she co-authored a fantasy novel Wild Sorceress. She has recently ventured into erotic romance with three vampire novellas, “Night Flight,” “Tall, Dark, and Deadly” and “Virgin Blood” from Ellora’s Cave (www.ellorascave.com). Visit her Web site, www.margaretlcarter.com.

Joe Casey is the writer and co-creator of comic book series such as Automatic Kafka, Gødland, The Intimates, Codeflesh, The Milkman Murders and Secret I.D. He has also written for the major superhero franchises at both Marvel Comics and DC Comics, including Uncanny X-Men, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Fantastic Four: First Family, Adventures of Superman, Wildcats, G.I. Joe: America’s Elite, The Incredible Hulk, Batman: Tenses and Iron Man: The Inevitable. He lives and works in Los Angeles.

Peter Cashwell is a University of North Carolina graduate. Peter’s book The Verb ‘To Bird’ was named a Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” selection in summer 2003, as well as a Book Sense 76 selection. The book’s irreverent tone and eclectic approach to its subject attracted attention from a wide variety of sources. Martha Stewart chatted with Peter on an episode of “Martha Stewart Living.” John Hanson Mitchell, editor of Sanctuary, the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s journal, called the book “[a] fine literary ramble and a good laugh to boot—no mean feat in a genre that perhaps takes itself too seriously.” The Bloomsbury Review described the book as “[a] delightfully literary and eclectic memoir about the manifold joys of birding” and its author as “[a] very literate, observant, insightful storyteller.” Peter’s work has appeared in The Comics Journal, the Readerville Journal and Woodberry Forest Magazine, as well as on WVTF public radio. He lives with his wife, Kelly Dalton, and their two sons in Woodberry Forest, Va., where he teaches English and speech.

Adam-Troy Castro is a well-known author of science fiction, fantasy and horror whose short stories have received five nominations for the Nebula Award, two for the Hugo Award and one for the Stoker. In 2007 he and collaborator Jerry Oltion shared the Seiun Award for best work translated into Japanese, for their acclaimed novella “The Astronaut from Wyoming.” His prior books include Emissaries from the Dead (Harper Collins, first in a series of novels about interstellar investigator Andrea Cort), the Sinister Six trilogy and nonfiction volumes examining the Harry Potter phenomenon and the television show “The Amazing Race.” A full-time writer when he isn’t procrastinating, Adam lives in Miami with his wife Judi and a motley assortment of anarchist cats that includes Meow Farrow and Uma Furman. For further information, including essays, artwork, fiction excerpts and regular updates on forthcoming work, please check out Adam’s Web site at www.sff.net/people/adam-troy.