Looking for more great reading from independent authors? Then go check out some of my friends, and if you like what you find, please remember to leave a review!
What do you need to know about me?
I guess it can be summed up in that I’m the product of when a 10-year-old boy who fell in love with reruns of Guy William’s Zorro on the Disney Channel grows into a mostly functional adult. I still love that series and pretty much anything relating to sword play. Pirates, musketeers, masked heroes, shadowy villains, noble steeds, cutthroats, courtiers and the like have all had a making in what gets me excited in literature and movies today. If there’s sword play there’s a good chance I’ll want to read or see it. My collection of musketeer movies is pretty extensive. I think I’m just missing the Russian version and the erotica version…
Anyways, my love for writing and swords led me to read books like The Three Musketeers, Captain Blood, Scaramouche, Captain Alatriste and the like. I quickly realized there weren’t enough swashbuckler tales out there (as if there’s such thing as enough swashbucklers) and began writing my own. I went to Emerson College where I graduated with a degree in Journalism & New Media and a minor in Fiction Writing. Few things beat seeing people’s faces when they realized you just turned in a story about pirates. Just after college my first short-story “Ye Be Oak, True as Oak” was published in the 2006 WritersCafe.org Anthology. Couple years later my first poem “Sword-crossed Lovers” can be found in Vol. 13, #1, Issue 59 of Renaissance Magazine.
My love for writing, history and swordplay led him to write historical adventure stories and swashbuckling mysteries. I’ve studied both historical fencing and stage combat. My inspirations, if you’re interested, include Rafael Sabatini and Alexandre Dumas and, more recently, C.J. Sansom, Arturo Perez-Reverte, and C.W. Gortner.
When not writing, I practice historical fencing, playing roller hockey, read comics, create cosplay costumes, and blog about the Boston Bruins for the award winning Days of Y’Orr.
I’m currently working on my first novel — a historical adventure during the reign of King Henry IV of France. I live in Boston with my wonderful fiancee and our dire-Beagle, Rex.
You can contact me here.
Rob Borkowski is a professional writer and journalist living in Cranston, RI.
Rob has been a working writer since 1996, when he was hired as the first full-time reporter for The Coventry Courier, his hometown newspaper.
In the years since, he has contributed numerous feature and news articles, columns, editorials, photographs and videos to a variety of print and digital publications. He has won many awards for his journalism, including the first Right to Know Award presented in 2009 by the newly formed New England News and Press Association.
Rob’s fiction focuses on the fantasy and science fiction genres. He has written several short stories and is currently editing his first fantasy novel.
Dean Calusdian is an artist, playwright, and filmmaker. His artwork has been featured in covers of magazines, catalogues, record albums and on bottles of high end condiments. He directed the feature film Tortured Hearts (Troma, 1996) He is a graduate of Emerson College and lives in Massachusetts.
Hi, I’m Darci. I’ve been reading in the fantasy genre since before I can remember, and writing professionally for about ten years. My favorite stories are the ones with both duels and dresses, rivalry and romance, adventure and the unexpected. That’s what I set out to write, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I have creating it.
Micah Edwards graduated from William & Mary with a degree in English and no particular plans to use it. He now finds himself occupying various roles as an author, a comedian and a database administrator, depending on the day of the week. He resides in Richmond, Virginia, the world’s premiere home of authors named Micah Edwards.
His works run the gamut from superhero noir, as seen in the Experiment series, to non-fiction conversational retellings of the Bible. He has re-written horror stories for children and fairy tales for adults.
In addition to his books, he is also a regular contributor on the NoSleep subreddit, as well as maintaining a weekly serial.
You can purchase his books here.
It started with single comic book. Jeremy’s mother was determined to make a reader out of him. Shunning traditional literature at a young age, his mother placed X-Men Classic #69 in his lap and for the first time he was exposed to the phrases, “Mutants,” “BAMF,” and “SNIKT.” From that moment on, he imagined his enrollment at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters at 1407 Graymalkin Lane.
By middle school he devoured fantasy and science fiction faster than he could check them out of the library. However, his first love remained comic books. He began writing his own comics with his best friend, and by the end of their eighth grade year, they had written over a hundred issues of the superhero series that would eventually become Children of Nostradamus. Meanwhile, he spent his Tuesday’s at the grocery store, rummaging the racks, reading any comic put on the shelf.
Working as a high school teacher provided him with an uncanny amount of great dialogue. The antics of teenagers in a suburban setting became the background of his first published book, Suburban Zombie High. Having started working at a second suburban school, the sequel, Suburban Zombie High: The Reunion was published.
Jeremy became known as a geek before it was a trend. During college Jeremy would be shortened to Remy as friends discovered his goal of reading every X-Men comic. Being able to explain the many relationships of Scott Summers and his multi-dimensional children became a badge of honor.
Jeremy came to writing late in his professional career. For a short period he majored in Creative Writing but eventually turned to Graphic Design for a career. It wasn’t until 2006 that he participated in his first NaNoWriMo, writing an epic science fiction novel. Later he would use the opportunity to write Suburban Zombie High and his first draft of Children of Nostradamus.
Salem, MA residents and co-owners of Black Cat Tours.
T.L. has been obsessed with stories about female heroes ever since she put on her first pair of Wonder Woman under-roos and spun around. After realizing that fear of failure had been holding her back, Trish became her very own hero and participated in National Novel Writing Month in 2015.
Since then, she has braved the constant attacks of her nemeses Inner Critic and No Time, in order to achieve the impossible: An artistic life with two kids!
T.L. was one of the co-creators of the superhero comedy web series “The Collectibles”. She’s also one of the masterminds behind Superhero-Fiction.com, a one-stop-shop for superhero books, and is one of the hosts of the Geekorama podcast.
Her first novel “Serpent’s Return” was re-released in 2019 and is the first book in an Urban Fantasy Superhero series, The Vigilantes: The Rise of Heroes. She writes Superhero Urban fantasy under T.L. Heinrich, and Superhero Romance under Trish Heinrich You can find her and her superhero series at www.trishheinrich.com
I currently live in Arizona with my wife, Vaneza. After years of writing for several different entertainment-related blogs, I have found new life and vitality by writing fictional stories about young teens and preteens that are entertaining for ALL ages.
I was bullied badly in middle school and high school, and I am of the opinion that not enough books are written on the subject, and those that are come off as preachy or heavy-handed. It was my goal to tell a story that a young person could read and enjoy, a story that would not only entertain them but given them a perspective on a touchy and relevant subject that they may not have had otherwise.
I make it a point to bring an empathic view to all my books, to give readers a view into what it’s like for kids at that age when they just start to mature into young adults. For me, it’s all about the characters. I love creating characters that jump off the page, that feel like real people no matter how old the reader is. Because without great characters, you really don’t have a great story, do you?
Writer, comic genius.
My name is Suzanne; I am an androgynous, demisexual author of LGBT and neurodiverse stories.
I write books for teens and adults about monsters and magic, with a lot of roots in American folklore. Some are about asexual magicians and their demonic mentors, some are about mentally-ill monster hunters, some are about genderqueer punk hill witches, and some are about queer spies during the Cold War. The last of which are for sale on Amazon.
I am also the founder, marketing director and editor at the Quick Fox. In this role, I keep up to date on the latest publishing news, and tear apart books until only the best bits remain. My goal is to help my clients turn a first draft into the book they want it to be, with a general heading on how to then sell it.
In 2018, my life took a sharp left turn when my migraines abruptly went from once a month to once every three days. As of 2019, I am finally on healthcare and beginning treatment, as well as starting the process of claiming disability.
I have a BA in Professional Writing, a Minor in Music, and one cat who likes to ride my shoulder like a parrot.
Born in 1982 in Rhode Island, Lyndsey’s parents encouraged her at an early age to love reading. By the time she entered grade five, she’d already read most of Terry Brooks’ Shannara Series and all three volumes of The Lord of the Rings.
Inspired by the authors she loved, she tried her hand at writing her own fantasy literature in Middle and High School, but readily admits that these early works were derivative and not worth the time it would take to read them.
After graduating High School, Lyndsey enrolled at Rivier College in Nashua, New Hampshire, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature with a double minor in Creative Writing and Studio Art.
While in college, she finished her first full-length fantasy novel. Since graduating, she has completed three more novels, several short stories, and been a beta and gamma reader for several well-known fantasy novels.
She currently resides in Connecticut, where she lives with her husband Joe and dogs Oy & Castiel. When not writing or reading, she works as a professional actress and stage combatant at several New England Renaissance Faires, volunteers her time to help organize local fan conventions, fire-spins, and cosplays.
Follow her adventures on Facebook, Twitter or, during the month of November, on her NaNoWriMo profile.
Jessica MacLean does not enjoy writing about herself in the third person. It makes her feel a little too much like she is in the NFL.
She does, however, enjoy writing quirky stories with eclectic genres.
Jessica was once a puppet maker and now spends her days at her own private sanctuary in CT banging her head against the keyboard looking for new ideas.
Hi, I’m Rich, I write books now, which is awesome. I have been a sports reporter on Cape Cod for over 20 years, and a professional photographer as well. I’ve been married for about 22 years and have two teenagers. I root for Boston teams, fish for bass and love my two dogs. One of them loves me, the other one tolerates my existence.
Three weeks after graduating college, I caught a one-way bus to New York City where I had a fleeting, but successful, career selling animation to the world’s top advertising agencies. Accidentally talked my way into the comic book industry, illustrating for Valiant and ElfQuest, and various entertainment companies. I’ve also done a spot of storyboarding for the movie industry.
After 9-11, wanting to be safe from terrorist attacks, I relocated to New Orleans just in time for Hurricane Katrina. It was a huge paradigm shift for me. You learn what’s important when your home is under attack or underwater.
I don’t abandon things, creatures, or people, just because they are hurt, so I bought a flooded, termite-ridden heap in the 9th Ward & put it back together with my partner at the time. I’ve never worked so hard in my life. The first time I turned on the bathroom light and faucet at the same time, I sobbed like a child, but my home is now a warm, sparkly, gallery-sanctuary of creativity and connection.
Now, enough people love my stuff that I make a full-time living with it. My mom’s just happy I don’t ask her for money anymore.
Joel Newlon is from the United States. Over the years, he has wowed audiences as a stuntman, brought them laughter as a comedy writer, and saved lives as a police officer. But his biggest passion in life has always been writing. He specializes in tales of fantasy and adventure that provide an escape from the everyday world. He lives on a small, secluded farm with his brilliant wife, Ashleigh, and insane cat, Pyewacket.
Currently a staff writer for Rough House Publishing, Steve Van Samson is the author of the Predator World series books and numerous short stories (published and otherwise). His writing tends to be on the pulpy side–intermingling genres like horror, dystopian with dark fantasy and adventure. He believes that character is king and there should always be little seeds planted between the lines, that the reader will only discover in subsequent readings.
When not tapping the keys on his Chromebook, Steve co-hosts the Retro Ridoctopus podcast, writes and records classic heavy metal with his band Enchanted Exile and watches entirely too many black and white monster films.
Steve lives in Lancaster, Massachusetts with three amazing girls and one smallish dragon.
Trisha J. Wooldridge is A Novel Friend.
A Novel Friend encompasses my multi-faceted love of words and helping other word-lovers achieve their dreams.
After leaving the corporate financial world and then being told that I “enjoyed reading too much” to properly finish a Masters Thesis, I struck out on my own. It helped that magazines, people, and education companies started offering me money for my writing, editing, and teaching abilities. Thus, A Novel Friend was officially born—compete with its own income tax adventures.
Being a rainbow-flavored neuroatypical, I spent a lot of my life not quite fitting in with “normal” people and developing chameleon-esque coping skills to reduce the inevitable bullying. Years of societal abuse, however, cultivated a strong level of empathy and desire to help people achieve their dreams. Especially the delicate dreams of those also don’t “fit in,” who get treated like monsters, who dare to believe in magic.
Flipping “not fitting in” into “doing what makes me happy” does make it hard to explain to people what I do, though.
I am a storyteller, first and foremost. Stories are my passion. I speak in stories—thus the overlong “About” section. People in the writing community have advised me over and over to identify as my name, make my name my website, use my name in marketing materials. But I identify with “A Novel Friend” more than I do with just my name. Storytelling is more than the story; storytelling, wordsmithing, all of that builds relationships.
And I want to build relationships, friendships.
With words.
With how I write and how I help others write.
With the secrets in the spaces tying words together in multiple media made by words.
With humor and wordplay.
With curiosity, compassion, and respect to the monsters under the bed or in the closet, hiding because they’re scared.
What I do within, between, and around the spaces of writing, editing, coaching, and teaching is not easy to explain, and I’m okay with that.
If the weird places, the dark corners, the in-betweens, and not-easy-to-explain realms are where you’re most comfortable too, then we’ll probably find a kinship.
InnsmouthLook.com 
You must be logged in to post a comment.