About the Authors
Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was born in Odense, Denmark, the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. As a young teenager, he became quite well known in Odense as a reciter of drama and as a singer. When he was fourteen, he set off for the capital, Copenhagen, determined to become a national success on the stage. He failed miserably, but made some influential friends in the capital who got him into school to remedy his lack of proper education. In 1829 his first book was published. After that, books came out at regular intervals. His stories began to be translated into English as early as 1846. Since then, numerous editions, and more recently Hollywood songs and Disney cartoons, have helped to ensure the continuing popularity of the stories in the English-speaking world.
Jennifer Estep is an international bestselling author of fantasy and paranormal suspense novels in several series, including Elemental Assassin, Section 47, Galactic Bonds, Crown of Shards, Gargoyle Queen, and other fantasy series. She has written more than forty books, along with numerous novellas and stories. For more information on Jennifer and her books, visit her website at www.JenniferEstep.com or sign up for her newsletter: http://www.jenniferestep.com/contact-jennifer/newsletter/.
Rachel Caine is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than fifty novels, including the Weather Warden series, the Outcast Season series, the Revivalist series, and the Morganville Vampires series, which includes Bitter Blood, Black Dawn, Last Breath, and Bite Club. She is also the author of Prince of Shadows, a new spin on the classic tale of Romeo and Juliet. She was born at White Sands Missile Range, which people who know her say explains a lot. She has been an accountant, a professional musician, an insurance investigator, and, until recently, carried on a secret identity in the corporate world as a communications executive. She and her husband, fantasy artist R. Cat Conrad, live in Texas.
Rob Thurman is the author of the Cal Leandros novels, the Trickster novels, the Korsak Brothers novels, and several stories in various anthologies. She lives in Indiana—land of cows, corn, and ravenous wild turkeys.
Kevin Hearne is
the author of the Iron Druid chronicles, an urban fantasy series, and a middle-aged
nerd who still enjoys his comic books and old-school heavy metal. He cooks
tasty omelets, hugs trees, and paints miniature army dudes. He lives with his
wife, daughter, and doggies in a wee cottage.
Seanan McGuire is the author of the Hugo, Nebula, Alex and Locus Award-winning Wayward Children series, the October Daye series, the InCryptid series, and other works. She also writes darker fiction as Mira Grant. She won the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and in 2013 became the first person to appear five times on the same ballot for the Hugo Award. In 2022, she managed the same feat again.
Delilah Dawson is the author of Better on Top, Up All Night, Something Naughty, and Mr. Satisfaction. She lives with her family in California. Her website is www.DelilahDawson.com
Allison Pang, a marine biologist in a former life, turned to a
life of crime to finance her wild spending habits and need to collect
Faberge eggs. A cat thief of notable repute, she spends her days
sleeping and nights scaling walls and wooing dancing boys … well, at
least the marine biology part is true. But she was taloned by a hawk
once. She also loves Hello Kitty, sparkly shoes, and gorgeous
violinists. She spends her days in Northern Virginia working as a cube
grunt and her nights waiting on her kids and cats, punctuated by the
occasional husbandly serenade. Sometimes she even manages to write.
Mostly she just makes it up as she goes.
Kelly Gay is the critically acclaimed author of the Charlie Madigan urban fantasy series, which includes The Better Part of Darkness, The Darkest Edge of Dawn, The Hour of Dust and Ashes, and Shadows before the Sun. She is a two-time Rita Award finalist, a 2010 finalist for Best First Book from the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, and a recipient of a North Carolina Arts Council fellowship grant in literature. She also writes as Kelly Keaton.
Kelly Meding received her bachelor’s degree in communication in 2002 from Messiah College. After discovering Freddy Krueger at a very young age, she began a lifelong obsession with horror, science fiction, and fantasy, on which she blames her interest in vampires, psychic powers, superheroes, and all things paranormal. When not writing, she can be found crafting jewelry, enjoying a good cup of coffee, or scouring the Internet for gossip on her favorite television shows.