I started writing seriously in 2001, behind the check-out counter at Walgreens on leftover receipt paper or whatever I could get my hands on, with a novel full of drama and romance and epic sword battles. In all honesty it will probably never again see the light of day.
It’s been a long road since then, through different genres and projects and full of life events that keep getting in the way of what I’d like to be doing with my writing. Still, I’ve always got a new idea in the works.
In the grand tradition of writers who dream big, and jump without looking, a friend and I launched a publishing company in June of 2014. You can find us at Golden Fleece Press.
James Blakey has published fifty short stories across a variety of genres and is a three-time finalist for the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Derringer Award, winning in 2019 for his story “The Bicycle Thief.” As an active member of the writing community, he leads critique groups in Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, and Shenandoah County, and serves as the Secretary of the Rocktown Writers Guild. His debut novel Superstition, a paranormal thriller, was released by City Owl Press in 2024. James is also the publisher and co-editor of Charlottesville Fantastic: Arcane Echoes From Virginia’s Heartland, an anthology featuring speculative tales set in and around Charlottesville. When not crafting stories, James explores the outdoors having summited forty of the fifty US state high points, or embarks on bike-camping adventures along the East Coast. He resides in Broadway, VA. Discover more at JamesBlakeyWrites.com.
Jim Deeley is the founder and lead writer at Apotheosis Games & Publishing and also publishes his own work under the impression of Apotheosis Adventures. A passionate fan of fantasy, science fiction, and history since his early boyhood days climbing castle towers all across England, Jim’s life was forever changed one fateful autumn night in 2000 when he was invited to join a game of Vampire: the Masquerade at his local comic book shop; over the 20+ years since then, he has been trying to run the perfect role-playing campaign. While Jim hasn’t managed that yet, he has developed a series of panels on writing and running tabletop RPGs that he is working on turning into at least one book if not a series. Jim has also written for a number of game publishers both great and small, and has recently quit his second job to become a full-time professional Game Master, running games almost every night of the week—doing what he loves and getting paid for it! Jim Deeley holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Christopher Newport University with a minor in Theatre Arts, with graduate work completed in International Studies at Old Dominion University, all of which informs his writing. When he’s not working for The Man by day and Living the Dream by night, Jim enjoys reading and writing fantasy and historical fiction, video games, comic books, bad sci-fi and fantasy movies, anime, hacking/slashing/shooting arrows at stuff in the backyard and attending comic book conventions, Highland Games, Renaissance Faires, and Pirate Festivals with his beloved, equally nerdy wife—in full kit, of course.
Jason is a writer of words, a doodler of drawings, and fixer of other peoples’ words and doodles. Many years ago, he founded Prospective Press. Before that, he slogged through University and earned a Master of Science degree in the Arcana of Genetics. Oh, and he was once punched—lightly—by Muhammad Ali. You should ask him about that last one, because no one ever does.
Amber Rodenbo is one of the founders of River City Siren Press, a small-press/indie publishing company situated in the Richmond, VA area. Amber is a published author with an M.F.A. in Creative Writing and a career background in teaching young writers, literary magazine editing, technical editing, and creative design. Amber is also a book cover designer, book formatter, and overall lover of all things books and publishing related.
