CONtraflow X

Kurt Amacker is a comic book writer from New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from Loyola University in 2002 and received his Masters degree from Tulane University in 2018. He began writing his first miniseries, Dead Souls, while recovering from an injury in the United States Marine Corps. After the first issue was published in 2008, he continued to write comics while DJing in the raucous French Quarter Goth scene. Since 2011, he has written and co-written the licensed comic books for the European hard rock bands The 69 Eyes and Cradle of Filth. His work has been publicly praised by Alan Moore, Hart Fisher, Jyrki 69, Victor Gischler, and Dani Filth. His first prose novel, Bloody October, was published in 2016. His next graphic novel, Dead Souls: Resurrection, is forthcoming.

Trisha Baker is the author of the popular Crimson series—Crimson Kiss, Crimson Night, and Crimson Shadows. A collection of dark vampire novels, the books were originally published by Kensington Publishing in 2001 and were recently resurrected by Dark Oak Press. Crimson Revenant, the first new novel in over ten years, will be released in 2014.

An expatriate New Yorker and quasi Gypsy, Trisha has traveled around the world, landing everywhere from Las Vegas to Prague. To supplement her writing income, Trisha has worked at everything from teaching to serving beer to thirsty Romanians at a small bar in Transylvania. Currently, Trisha works as a tour guide for Haunted History Tours in New Orleans and is hard at work at the next novel in the Crimson series—Crimson Resurrection.

Hope Bridger’s rapier wit was forged in her formative years, a la Wednesday Addams, but she honed those snarky skills at second home with lots to feast upon while writing sarcastic and biting recaps of Bravo!TV shows for sites TVGasm (Bunim/Murray Productions) and then TrashTalkTV, using a nom de plume to protect her young children from embarrassment...well, any more embarrassment. During that time, Hope also wrote a very cathartic blog using a nom de plume that allowed her to freely and without fear, open herself to the world in her blog, to deal with all of the loss of Katrina.  It touched many with her soulful prose. Currently, Hope is freelancing as an editor and comedic writer, while also working on her series of very young reader books about the antics of her two English Bull Terriers.

Hope lives in the center of New Orleans and in New York, New York with her husband. They will soon be moving to Phoenix, Arizona; near one of her sons. The other lives in the upper northwest, but she embarrasses both equally. By popular demand, she is starting a new book about the long, strange ride that has been her life.

"The" Rob Cerio was born at an early age, and has since grown much more hair. He denies all rumors of having been snapped away by Thanos. He has published four novels, six short stories, and helped author a YouTube web series. He has also won two awards for his writing contributions to his local 48hr Film Festival. He is also grateful to CONtraflow for putting up with his unique shenanigans for so many years. He now lives in Metairie, Louisiana with his lovely wife, two adorable step kids, and a small annoying dog named after a large Japanese monster.

Kim Daniels is a recovering (and currently relapsing) academic, who teaches English Composition and Literature at the University of South Alabama. She'll never truly recover, but regularly attends meetings for her condition. In the meantime, she writes Science Fiction (Genre fiction! Oh, My!) and consumes copious amounts of coffee and whiskey (not necessarily together or in that order). When she's not busy writing, much like a cat, she enjoys napping, running suddenly into a randomly selected room, and plotting the destruction of mankind. She exhibits a curious interest in robots, leading to the widespread rumor that she may, in fact, be one herself.

Her current projects include the third installment of the Valkyrie Trilogy and various short stories. Her first novel, The Valkyrie Profiles, was a quarter finalist for Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award in 2013 and the second novel, Flight of the Valkyries debuted in May of 2014 to much fanfare (read: she threw confetti at herself). She also has a prequel short story in the Valkyrie Trilogy, “Children of Ymir” that is a Kindle exclusive and another story in Lunar's Children: Stranger Worlds anthology by Dark Oak Press titled “Chimera” Daniels is repped by Laura Wood at Fine Print Literary Management.

Charles Gramlich lives amid the piney woods of southern Louisiana and is the author of the Talera fantasy series, the SF novel Under the Ember Star, and the anthologies, Bitter Steel, (fantasy), Midnight in Rosary (Vampires/Werewolves), and In the Language of Scorpions (Horror). Charles also writes westerns under the name Tyler Boone, and has been writing for several of the A. W. Hart series from Wolfpack Publishing, including “The Avenging Angels” and “The Ranger.”

Outside of novels, Charles’s stories and poetry have been published in such magazines as Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Skelos, Star*Line, The Horror Zine, Beat to a Pulp, Dreams and Nightmares, and Pedestal Magazine. His work is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Wildside Press, Sundown Press, and Wolfpack Publishing. He has recently welcomed a wonderful grandson names Silas into the family.

Steeped in pulp magazines, old radio shows, and all things of that era’s pop culture, Tommy Hancock lives in Arkansas with his wonderful wife and three children and obviously not enough to do.  He is Partner in and Editor in Chief for Pro Se Productions, is an organizer of the New Pulp Movement, and has worked as an editor for various companies, including Moonstone, Radio Archives, and Dark Oak Press.  He is also an award winning writer for various companies, including Airship 27, Mechanoid Press, Pulpwork Press, Dark Oak, and Moonstone.  Tommy works as Project Coordinator for Moonstone.

Based in Batesville, Arkansas, Pro Se Productions is a leading independent Publisher on the cutting edge of New Pulp and Genre Fiction today.

Genre Fiction, particularly that written in the Pulp Style, is known by many names.  Fiction featuring action and adventure, fast paced, larger than life protagonists and antagonists, over the top characters and tight, yet extravagant plots, is experiencing a resurgence like never before. And Pro Se , publishing New Pulp and Genre Fiction since April, 2010, is a major modern force in the revival!

Pro Se is the place to find Super Heroes, Explorers, Fairies, Werewolves, Men's Men, Femme Fatales and more. If you're a fan of Westerns, Romances, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Hard Core Crime, and any other Genre available, Pro Se has what you want to read. Specializing in prose books, anthologies, magazines, audiobooks, and more, Pro Se has made a commitment to 'Put the Monthly Back into Pulp' and continues to do that successfully, producing at least one new work every month! 

Pro Se is an innovator in the Genre Fiction market, continually refining its presentation and product and working on exciting new veins of New Pulp to bring to readers and fans of all ages everywhere!

Chris S. Hayes, MD, is lifelong reader of classic science fiction and a practicing family medicine physician from Lafayette, LA. In November of 2014 her first novel, Sikkiyn, was published by Solstice Publishing.  She’s been traveling from convention to convention to meet readers since then, and she’s excited to be here to talk to you about science fiction and all things geeky. At conventions, when she’s not in a panel, you can find her at her author’s table busy writing the sequels to Sikkiyn. Come on by for a visit.

As Louise Herring-Jones, Amy L. Herring writes mainstream, historical, and speculative fiction as well as non-fiction. Her science fiction, dark fantasy, and light horror stories have been included in anthologies, including: "The Twittering of Sparrows" in Asian Pulp (Pro Se Press, 2015); “Gooji” in Luna’s Children: Full Moon Mayhew (Dark Oak Press, 2014); "Earl and Bubba Save the King" in Summer Gothic (Jared Millet, ed., 2012); and “Earl, Bubba, and the Flying Hubcap in Southern Fried Sci-Fi: Tales from the NASFCAS (Thunderchild Press, 2013). Her steampunk story "Queen of Steam," set in the reconstruction South, is included in Gizmos: Dreams of Steam IV (Dark Oak Press, 2013). She placed second in the inaugural (2012) SELTI Moundville-themed story contest and won the 2009-2010 Charlotte Writer's Club Board Prize for fiction. Her historic baseball article, "A Georgia Yankee: The Legend of Johnny Mize," appeared in the 2010 Maple Street Press Yankees Annual (Cecilia Tan, ed.). Herring is also a veteran reporter for The Daily Dragon Online, the news voice of Dragon*Con, a multi-media science fiction, fantasy, and comic book convention held annually in Atlanta, Georgia. With her husband Bryan Jones, she is municipal liaison for the Alabama North region for National Novel Writing Month ("NaNoWriMo"), celebrated in November each year. She practices law in Alabama and is an advocate for privacy rights, First Amendment guarantees, and other constitutionally protected freedoms. For additional details and links, visit her author’s website at http://www.louiseherring-jones.com
[ http://www.louiseherring-jones.com ].

Born in New York and educated at Kenyon College and Columbia University, Scott Kenemore is the national bestselling author of Lake of Darkness, The Grand Hotel, and Zombie Ohio, as well as numerous other works of horror and satire. He lives in Evanston, IL.

Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Dale Kesterson is a writer, editor, actress, singer, and character voice artist who enjoys living in the middle of nowhere in a town so small it doesn't have a red-yellow-green traffic light. Having lived in a variety of locations, she draws on her life experiences for plots and characters. From her first published short story in the award-winning anthology Tales of the Interstellar Bartenders Guild to her current work, her goal is to engage her readers.

Though J L Mulvihill (Jen), is a descendant of Hollywood Royalty, she relinquished her crown and rock star days to obsess over her passion for telling stories. An author of young adult fiction and an award-winning screenplay writer and public speaker, Jen dabbles in a variety of genres including science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, medievalpunk, horror, thrillers, and historical fiction. Her recent debut as host for the talk show On The Page with Geeky Side Network TV has got everyone asking, “What will Jen do next?”

To find out the answer to that question check out Jen’s webpage at www.jlmulvihill.com
[ http://www.jlmulvihill.com ] where you can also find her books and short stories. Or just type in jlmulvihill for all social media and you can catch up on Jen’s much ado on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. You might just happen upon her sporadic foodie fest Jen Can’t Cook where Jen tests her hand at old style cooking.

Jen’s y/a series, Steel Roots, is based in the steampunk genre and engages the reader in a train hopping heart stopping adventure across a dystopian America enclosed within the walls of its own making. Follow young AB’Gale Steel as she travels across America in search of her missing father learning about the world around her as she goes, and The System that has a hold on its people. A story of love, friendship, hope, and the courage to fight back injustice. 

Jen is also the author of a y/a medievalpunk series, The Elsie Lind Chronicles. This epic adventure boasts of demons, dragons and dark witches. From the strange and dark corners of her mind Jen has created an extraordinary fantasy world. Weaving Scandinavian folklore into the telling of the adventure of a young girl who is struck with amnesia and finds herself in the middle of an ancient forest in a world filled with mystery and danger. 

Not only is she known for her writing but also her public speaking where Jen encourages other writers to hone their skills. Currently Jen is working on several writing projects including a science fiction novel, a thriller, a children’s book, toss a couple of cookbooks in there and some poetry, include several movie scripts, and Jen will never get any sleep again. Ah, but it’s gonna be great!

HC Playa is a writer, a mad scientist (Medicinal Chemist by degree and Molecular Biologist by practice), a mother, and an animal wrangler. She began reading at the precocious age of four, partly due to the fact her father liked to change how the story went and it drove her nuts, which of course was the whole point. While other children bemoaned summer reading lists, she went home with stacks of books, spending hours in Captain Nemo's submarine 20,000 leagues under the sea, following Holmes on an adventure, or crying "All for one, and one for all!" with the Three Musketeers.

Many writers start off with short stories or flash fiction and work up to novels, but HC Playa didn't know that. Late one night, while suffering from the effects of sleep deprivation that all new parents know well, a rambling conversation with her sister about fiction turned into, "If you can't find that type of story, maybe you should write it." Of course, her sister didn't expect her to take the advice seriously, but six months later the first draft of "Daughter of Destiny" was finished. She then spent five years tearing it apart and putting it back together as she learned the craft of writing and started the manuscripts of four other novels, all of which have since been published.

She adores all things fiction, but science fiction and fantasy have long held a special place in her heart. She particularly enjoys blending genres, but has also dabbled in romance, mysteries, dark fiction and horror. Her series Crossroads of Fate, published by ProSe Productions, is a wild adventure where science and magic collide, aliens and faeries wage war, and humanity is caught in the middle. She has several short stories published through ProSe Productions and other publishers, with more on the way.

Ernest Russell has written for Pro Se Productions, Beyond the Threshold Studios, and Violet Windows. Some of Ernest’s favorite things (besides coffee) are Science Fiction, Horror, Steampunk, and Fantasy.  Ernest’s writing has been influenced by Vincent Price, Jules Verne, and H.P. Lovecraft.

When he’s not writing, Ernest has plenty of hobbies to keep him out of trouble. These include an eclectic set of hobby skills ranging from electronics to leatherworking. With all that, you can probably guess he is an avid table-top and board games player. He still tries to get in some RPG’s (preferably GURPS, D&D, or Call of Cthulhu) whenever possible, but will take what he can get.

Ernest’s first published piece was “Birds of a Feather” in Monster Mayhem: An Anthology of Monstrous Proportions, a product of Beyond the Threshold Studios.

At Pro Se Productions, his first piece was “Daily Options”, found in When the Shadow Sees the Sun: Creatives Surviving Depression. Since then, Ernest has several short stories and his debut novel coming out with Pro Se Productions scheduled for 2018-2019.

Recently Ernest has joined the staff at Pro Se as contributing submissions editor and, as time allows, content and copy editor.

Over the last year, several of his pieces have appeared in volumes of the literary journal Violet Windows, a great journal edited and produced by author/entrepreneur Kimberly B. Richardson.

In his copious amounts of spare time, he has managed the FB page for The Week in Geek 99.5 WRNO Talk radio and still contributes to this great show, a radio show dedicated to all things geek.

Webpages

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ernest.russell.whenmyworldscollide/
[ https://www.facebook.com/ernest.russell.whenmyworldscollide/ ]

WordPress

https://ernestrussell.com/author/ernestrussell/
[ https://ernestrussell.com/author/ernestrussell/ ]

Jeffrey Shanks is an archaeologist and cultural historian specializing in early 20th century popular culture and speculative fiction. He is the co-editor of The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales, which was nominated for a 2016 Bram Stoker Award. He is also a managing editor of Skelos: The Journal of Weird Fiction and Dark Fantasy. He currently serves as co-chair of Pulp Studies for the Popular Culture Association and he has published a number of popular and academic articles on comics history and on pulp writers such as H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Robert E. Howard. He has received five Robert E. Howard Foundation Awards for his scholarship on Howard. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida with his two children and incredibly patient wife.

Aubrey Stephens is a retired teacher from Mississippi. He has degrees in both theater and history, with certification in English, science, and special education. He is also a marine veteran and former military officer. The rumor that he has attempted to blow up the earth is just that, though he was on combat missile crew alert when the NORAD radar had a 65 cent computer chip fail and report that there were Soviet inbound missiles headed for the U.S. He is a trained martial artist with a second degree black belt in karate, brown belt in judo, and brown belt in Kendo. He also studied and taught European fencing for over 45 years. His hobbies include recreating the Middle Ages and the American Civil War. He is squired to one of the S.C.A.'s most well known knights and at this time holds the rank of Regimental Sgt.Maj. In the 3rd Tn. Cavalry Reg. He has acted, written, directed, or done set design and construction for over 200 theatrical shows. He has writien several articles on the history of the War Between the States for regional magazines. Since his retirement from teaching he has edited for Pro Se Productions and will be a published writer with Pro Se soon as a part of their PULP OBSCURA imprint. He is in the process of writing a novelization of a golden age comic hero for Pro Se as well as working on an alternate history novel that stems from a slight change during 15 seconds in 1968. He enjoys swapping stories of the many sci-fi/fantasy conventions where he has worked, attended or been a guest.

Toni Weisskopf succeeded Jim Baen as publisher of Baen Books, a leading publisher of SF and fantasy, in 2006. She has worked with such authors as David Weber, David Drake, Lois McMaster Bujold, Eric Flint, Wen Spencer, John Ringo, Mercedes Lackey, Larry Correia, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, Charles E. Gannon, and many others. With Josepha Sherman she compiled and annotated the definitive volume of subversive children’s folklore, Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts, originally published by August House. Her latest anthology project is Give Me LibertyCon, co-edited with Christopher Woods, a memorial to LibertyCon founder Richard T. “Uncle Timmy” Bolgeo with proceeds donated to charity.

read more [ ./toni-weisskopf#more ]

Bio coming soon...