RVA Katana started innocently with the acquisition of a Song Dynasty replica sword for JC Kang’s Epic Fantasy Bookstagram photo shoot, and exploded into a brick-and-mortar sword shop with nearly 400,000 social media followers.
Tag: Author (Page 1 of 4)
David Keener is an author, editor, and public speaker who lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and two, oops, three, inordinately large dogs. He writes SF, fantasy, and mystery but loves mashing up his favorite genres in new and unexpected ways, as seen in books like Jonelle Crosse and Road Trip. He is the editor of two anthologies, Fantastic Defenders and Fantastic Detectives. He is a founding member of the Hourlings Podcast Project, covering writing-related topics. David also frequently speaks at conventions, where he often conducts writing workshops.
Pamela K. Kinney gave up ignoring the voices in her head and has since written horror, fantasy, science fiction, a children’s picture book, poetry, and paranormal nonfiction. Her horror short story, “Bottled Spirits,” was runner-up for the 2013 WSFA Small Press Award. Her poem, “Dementia,” (HWA Poetry Showcase, Vol. VII) received a mention in Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 13. Her children’s faerie picture book, Christmas Magic, took second place in the “Children’s-Holidays” category of the BookFest Awards, Spring 2024. In 2024, she had a story and a poem in The Haunted Zone, a charity horror anthology; a story published in the horror anthology, Vinyl Cuts; a story in Halloweenthology: Witches’ Brew; and a poem in the Terror at Miskatonic Falls anthology. Also, her YA dark fantasy novel, (first in the Moon Ridge, Virginia trilogy) Demon Memories, was released October 15, 2024. She is currently working on a new nonfiction book for Schiffer Publishing about ghosts/cryptids/UFOs around the Appalachian Trail, as well as the second book in her Moon Ridge, Virginia trilogy.
Pamela and her husband live with one crazy black cat (who thinks she should take precedence over her mistress’s writing most days). Along with writing, Pamela has acted on stage and film and investigates the paranormal for episodes of Paranormal World Seekers for AVA Productions. She is a member of Horror Writers Association, Virginia Writers Club, and James River Writers. Learn more about her at PamelaKKinney.com.
Sean CW Korsgaard is a U.S. Army veteran, award-winning freelance journalist, author, editor, and publicist who has worked with Analog Science Fiction & Fact, Baen Books, and Writers of the Future, and recently became the editor of Anvil and Battleborn magazines. His first anthology, Worlds Long Lost, was released in December 2022, as was his debut short story, “Black Box.” He lives in Richmond, VA with his wife and child, along with, depending on who you ask, either far too many or far too few books.
Debbie Manber Kupfer grew up in the London, but somehow ended up in St. Louis, MO, where she lives with her family—including two very opinionated felines. She works as a writer, editor, and puzzle constructor and is the author of the young adult fantasy series, P.A.W.S. and a number of children’s picture books. Her puzzles have appeared in Tribune newspapers, Penny Press, and Dell magazines. She believes that with enough tea and dark chocolate you can achieve anything!
JM Lee is an indie fantasy author for both YA and new adult audiences. Her first book, When October Ends, was published when she was 13. In later years, she published the second and third book of the Novus Proprius Chronicles and a variety of short stories. Her latest project, The Londinium Saga, is a new adult, gas-lamp fantasy series that follows a witch and her friends as they try to stop a vengeful spirit after a seance gone wrong. Book two releases this summer! To learn more about her, visit her Instagram/TikTok profiles @jmleebooks.
D.M. Mewha lives in the magical land of “The DC Suburbs” where he does battle with monsters such as “Beltway Traffic” and “Wow, Everything Is Too Expensive” with the help of his talented and far-too-patient wife and an assorted menagerie of pets that she threatens to make weirder as time goes on (people don’t really want skunks as pets, do they?). He writes sci-fi and fantasy in a variety of flavors, and is a certified TTRPG nerd who dabbles in some tabletop wargaming, which sounds better than “he plays with little plastic guys and makes them go pew pew.”
Cass Morris lives her life at the intersection of storytelling, performance, and education as a writer and editor of novels, short fiction, and immersive experiences. Her novels, The Aven Cycle, are Roman-flavored historical fantasy. She is also one-third of the team behind the four-time Hugo Award Finalist podcast Worldbuilding for Masochists. Cass works as Story Editor at Mythik Camps, providing writing and developmental editing for the mythology-themed summer camps’ interactive theatrical experiences, as well as other programming and media projects. Previously, she worked in the education department at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA. She holds a Master of Letters in Shakespeare studies from Mary Baldwin University and a BA in English and History from the College of William and Mary. Her novel, From Unseen Fire, won RavenCon’s Webster Award in 2020. Find her online at linktr.ee/cassrmorris.
Bill Mulligan is an indie filmmaker, podcaster, and author, when he isn’t teaching high school science in Sanford, NC. As part of the thriving North Carolina indie film scene, he has served as a writer, director, and special effects craftsman for five features films and over two dozen short films, including the award-winning Belladonna, Cache Me If You Can, Fix It In Post, and the upcoming Emotional Support Demon. As a podcaster, he can be found on Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror (1970s and 1980s), The Videostore Junkies, and Deep Images. His first novel, Raum, made it’s official launch at RavenCon and he is looking forward to seeing his RavenCon family!
As a writer, Steve has three published novels through Falstaff Books with co-writer Paul Barrett, a fourth currently undergoing developmental edits and three more in the works. Paul and Steve have also written several screenplays, many of which have placed highly in national competitions.
Steve has spent much of his life in uniform, starting with four years in the Navy as a GMM (Gunners Mate Missiles)—earning the Navy Expeditionary Medal and Navy Unit Commendation. This was followed by two years in the Army where he worked as a forward observer. Steve then became a police officer in Charlotte, NC, where he spent twenty-three years; fourteen of those years he was on the SWAT team, nine of which he worked as a sniper.
Steve is not a stranger to film production, having worked as a military/law consultant on several projects, a set dresser for films, and a lighting technician in live theater. But his main strength is in project management and ensuring the producers stay on target and time and helping deal with any problems that come up with the crew. In addition, his knowledge of military protocol and interest in military history help maintain verisimilitude in all the military aspects on any project.
The father of two adult boys, Steve lives on a small farm in North Carolina with his wife, two dogs, and an elusive cat.
