Natasha D. Lane is a friend of most things caffeinated, a lover of books, and a writing warrior to her core. As a believer that “the pen is mightier than the sword,” she graduated from Juniata (JU-nia-ta) College in 2015 with hopes to become a journalist. Since completing her first series, Pariah Child, Natasha has continued exploring the fantasy and science fiction genres to make sense of a chaotic yet interesting world. On the Artsy Raven she discusses how having a writing mentor has made her publishing journey easier and sometimes traditional publishers may not know how to market your book ..read more

Kris Bowser has spent her life adventuring in the rocky hills and forests of Southern New England. Goblins taught her how to sneak into the other worlds that exist tucked into corners and around bends. Though Kris is in a rebel band of superheroes and outcasts, she is often caught in the dystopian clutches of Mundane Problems, and must send her characters to do her adventuring for her. She lives with her partner in an old mill town, haunted by the spirits and shadows of machines and industry. On the Artsy Raven she shares her techniques on how she plots, her techniques for finishing books and ..read more

Adam Jonathan Kaat worked in a grocery store as a cashier and then as a prepared foods supervisor from January 2020 until May 2021. After college, he bounced around through the corporate world until leaving it all behind in the Fall of 2019 to write his first novel. By January 2020, he had taken a job as a cashier to earn money while preserving mental energy for his creative pursuits. He got much more than he bargained for when COVID hit. He began to blog about his experiences as a frontline worker, and 15,000 Facebook followers later, Life on the Grocery Line was born. At time 22:44, Adam rea ..read more

After ten years as a professional actress, Beth Kaplan left the stage to earn an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC. She’s the author of four nonfiction books: a biography, two memoirs, and a guide to creative writing that's the textbook for her courses. Her new memoir “Loose Woman: my odyssey from lost to found” was launched in September 2020. She has taught memoir and personal essay writing at Ryerson University for 27 years and also for 14 years at the University of Toronto, where in 2012 she was given the Excellence in Teaching award.   On the Artsy Raven Beth shares her tips on memoir ..read more

Sarah Lahey is a designer, educator and writer. She holds bachelor’s degrees in interior design, communication and visual culture, and works as a senior lecturer teaching classes on design, technology, sustainability and creative thinking. She has three children and lives on the Northern Beaches in Sydney, Australia. Gravity is Heartless is the first in a planned trilogy and received a Gold Medal in the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards. The book was also a finalist in the American Book Fest awards for LGBTQ+ and a finalist in the International Book Awards for LGBTQ+. Book 2 in the series ..read more

Lauren L. Garcia has been a storyteller all her life. She started writing down my stories around the age of twelve; two decades and over two million words later, she has shown no sign of stopping. In addition to living in various fantasy worlds of her own making, she earned a BA in English Literature and married her high school sweetheart. She currently reside in North Florida with her husband and pets, where she enjoys hiking, weightlifting, kayaking, and dancing at music festivals.   On the Artsy Raven she shares how she started writing, world building a series (she’s written ..read more

N.D. Jones, Ed.D. is a USA Today bestselling author who lives in Maryland with her husband and two children. In her desire to see more novels with positive, sexy, and three-dimensional African American characters as soul mates, friends, and lovers, she took on that challenge herself. Along with the fantasy romance series Forever Yours, and a contemporary romance trilogy, The Styles of Love, she has authored three paranormal romance series: Winged Warriors, Death and Destiny, and Dragon Shifter Romance. N.D. is also the founder of Kuumba Publishing, an art, audiobook, eBook, and paperback compa ..read more

Born in a small town called Norton in Zimbabwe, Rutendo is the first born in a family of 2. She spent part of her childhood in Zimbabwe with her grandparents before she joined her parents in South Africa. Her family migrated to Alberta, Canada in 2018 where she currently resides with her family. At 14, Rutendo self-published a book about her personal experiences as a teenager titled - A Farewell to the War Within: A battle with reality. She is still unsure if she will have a career in writing although she believes she will continue to write. At present, she would love to venture into culinary ..read more

Melissa Yi is an emergency physician and award-winning writer. In her newest crime novel, SCORPION SCHEME, Dr. Hope Sze (SI) lands in Cairo and discovers a man with a nail through his skull who might hold the key to millions in buried gold. Previous Hope Sze thrillers were recommended by The Globe and Mail, CBC Books, and The Next Chapter as one of the best Canadian suspense novels. Yi was shortlisted for the Derringer Award for the world’s best short mystery fiction. Under the name Melissa Yuan-Innes, she also writes medical humour and has won speculative fiction awards.    On the A ..read more

Josh Williams showed he was a natural when it came to the business of making people laugh, by getting fired from dozens of jobs in his early twenties, and by beginning his comedy career with a Canadian Comedy Award nomination for Best Stand-up Newcomer. Delight in his wild, irreverent, and hilarious look at relationships, parenting, and everyday life in ways that leave audiences howling with laughter. His wit is quick, sharp and confident, with a deft self-deprecating touch, that lets audiences know he is having as much fun with them, as they are with him. The Artsy Raven talks to him about ho ..read more