A Girl's Guide to Guns and Monsters (35 page)

 

Jim C. Hines’ latest book is
The Mermaid’s Madness,
the second in his series about butt- kicking fairy tale heroines (because Sleeping Beauty was always meant to be a ninja, and Snow White makes a bad-ass witch). He’s also the author of the humorous
Goblin Quest
trilogy, as well as more than forty published short stories in markets such as
Realms of Fantasy
,
Sword & Sorceress
, and
Turn the Other Chick
. You can find his web site and blog at
www.jimchines.com
. As always, Jim would like to thank his wife and children for putting up with him. Living with a writer ain’t easy.

 

Nina Kiriki Hoffman has been writing science fiction and fantasy for more than twenty years and has sold more than two hundred fifty stories, plus novels and juvenile and media tie-in books. Her works have been finalists for the World Fantasy, Philip K. Dick, Sturgeon, and Endeavour awards. Her first novel,
The Thread That Binds the Bones
, won a Bram Stoker Award, and her short story “Trophy Wives” won a Nebula. Her middle school fantasy novel,
Thresholds
, will come out in 2010. Nina does production work for
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
and teaches short story writing through her local community college. She also works with teen writers. She lives in Eugene, Oregon, with several cats, a mannequin, and many strange toys.

 

Nancy Holder is the
New York Times-
bestselling author of
The Wicked Series
(with coauthor Debbie Viguie.) They are launching a new vampire series called
Crusade,
the first volume of which will be out in the fall of 2010. She is also the author of the young adult horror series
Possessions
and the sequel,
Possessions: The Evil Within
. She lives in San Diego with her daughter, Belle, their corgi, Panda, and two very hairy cats named David and Kittnen Snow Vampire.

 

Tanya Huff lives and writes in rural Ontario with her partner, Fiona Patton, and nine cats—one more and they qualify as crazy cat ladies. In 2009, DAW Books published her
Enchantment Emporium
and in 2010 will publish a fifth Torin Kerr space marine book—untitled as yet. When she isn’t writing she practices her guitar and complains about the weather.

 

Jane Lindskold lives in the Wild West and knows many of the resident wolves personally. This does not mean her story is autobiographical. Honest. Lindskold is the author of both the
Breaking the Wall
series (
Thirteen Orphans
,
Nine Gates
) and the Wolf Series (
Through Wolf’s Eyes
,
Wolf’s Head, Wolf’s Heart
). For more titles and some great wolf pictures, see
www.janelindskold.com
.

 

Alexander B. Potter resides in Vermont, writing both fiction and nonfiction, painting, and working as an HIV Prevention Specialist at the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont. His published work is primarily in science fiction /fantasy and has appeared in a wide range of anthologies, including ten from DAW Books. He can be visited at
www.alexanderpotter.com
.

 

Mickey Zucker Reichert is a pediatrician, parent to multitudes (at least it seems like that many), bird wrangler, goat roper, dog trainer, cat herder, horse rider, and fish feeder who has learned (the hard way) not to let macaws remove contact lenses. Also, she is the author of twenty-two novels (including the
Renshai, Nightfall, Barakhai,
and
Bifrost
series), one illustrated novella, and fifty plus short stories. Mickey’s age is a mathematically guarded secret: the square root of 8649 minus the hypotenuse of an isosceles right triangle with a side length of 33.941126.

 

In the past calendar year, Kristine Kathryn Rusch has won the
Asimov’s Reader’s Choice Award
and the
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Reader’s Choice Award
. She has been nominated for the Anthony, the Shamus, and the Hugo awards. Her short stories have appeared in
The Best Science Fiction of the Year
and
America’s Best Mystery Stories
. Her latest novel is
Diving into the Wreck
from Pyr, based on the internationally award-winning story of the same name.

 

Lilith Saintcrow is the author of the
Dante Valentine
,
Jill Kismet
, and
Strange Angels
series. She currently resides in Vancouver, Washington, with her children, cats, and assorted other strays.

 

Jeanne Stein is the bestselling author of the urban fantasy series,
The Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles
. Last April, her character, Anna Strong, received a
Romantic Times
Reviewers Choice Award for Best Urban Fantasy Protagonist. The fifth in the Anna Strong series,
Retribution
, was released in August. Jeanne lives in Denver, CO where she is active in the writing community. And no, she doesn’t hang out in biker bars to pick fights. Kick boxing is merely a great way to exercise.

 

Fantasy author Anton Strout was born in the Berkshire Hills, mere miles from writing heavyweights Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville, and currently lives in the haunted corn maze that is New Jersey (where nothing paranormal ever really happens, he assures you). He is the author of the
Simon Canderous
urban fantasy series as well as numerous short stories. In his scant spare time, he is a writer, a sometimes actor, sometimes musician, occasional RPGer, and the worlds most casual and controller-smashing video gamer. He currently works in the exciting world of publishing and yes, it is as glamorous as it sounds.

Elizabeth A. Vaughan is the author of
The Chronicles of the Warlands
and
Dagger-Star
. She still believes that the only good movies are the ones with gratuitous swords or lasers. Not to mention dragons. At the present, she is owned by two incredibly spoiled cats and lives in the Northwest Territory, on the outskirts of the Black Swamp, along Mad Anthony’s Trail on the banks of the Maumee River.

Martin H. Greenberg is the CEP of Tekno Books and its predecessor companies, now the largest book developer of commercial fiction and nonfiction in the world, with over 2,100 published books that have been translated into thirty-three languages. He is the recipient of an unprecedented three Lifetime Achievement Awards in the science fiction, mystery, and supernatural horror genres—the Milford Award in science fiction, the Bram Stoker Award in horror, and the Ellery Queen Award in mystery—the only person in publishing history to have received all three awards.

 

Kerrie Hughes lives in Wisconsin after traveling throughout the States and seeing a bit of the world, but has a list of more travels to accomplish. She has a marvelous husband in John Helfers, four perfect cats, and a grown son who is beginning to suspect that his main purpose in life is to watch said cats and house while his parental units waste his inheritance on travel. Thank you, Justin. She has written seven short stories: “Judgment” in
Haunted Holidays
, “Geiko” in
Women of War
, “Doorways” in

Furry Fantastic
, “A Traveler’s Guide to Valdemar” in
The Valdemar Companion
. And with John Helfers: “Between a Bank and a Hard Place” in Texas Rangers, “The Last Ride of the Colton Gang” in
Boot Hill
, and “The Tombstone Run” in
Lost Trails
. She has also written nonfiction, including the article “Bog Bodies” in
Haunted Museums
, and has edited two concordances for
The Vorkosigan Companion
and
The Valdemar Companion
.
Girl’s Guide
is her eighth co-edited anthology, along with
Maiden Matron Crone, Children of Magic, Fellowship Fantastic, The Dimension Next Door
,
Gamer Fantastic
, and
Zombie Raccoons and Killer Bunnies.
She hopes to finish the novel she’s been writing forever in between getting her master’s degree in counseling and working full time for an evil corporation.