Gerard Houarner is a native New Yorker, born to Breton immigrants, a product of the New York City school system, the City College of New York, and Columbia University.

In grade school, he enjoyed writing and illustrating 1-2 page "novelizations" of sf and monster movies he watched on black and white TV. He picked up 50's and 60's sf books at the library and used book stores, graduated to digest sf magazines, and on the day of the first moon landing started reading Lord of the Rings. He started sending out stories as a teenager in the early 70's. In high school, he took his first writing course (Frank McCourt also taught writing at this school, but alas, his class was filled, though second hand advice from friends in his class were valuable).

His first published story appeared in Space and Time magazine in 1974.

At CCNY, he attended writing classes taught by Joseph Heller (Catch-22), Joel Oppenheimer (Black Mountain poet and Village Voice staple), and Irwin Stark (a teacher to many writers, including Norman Spinrad). Heller thought he could write, but didn't know how anyone would make money from the things he wrote. Joel was amused by his attempts at poetry. Stark took an interest in a short, experimental sf story, but also questioned publishing possibilities. He also crashed, along with many others, a writing class for graduate students taught by William Burroughs.

Tempted by the writing life, and a few sales to the small press, he took a year to work before going to graduage school to explore career choices. He applied to and was accepted to the Columbia University graduate writing program, the NYU fim school, and, because he discovered a talent for listening to people, the Rehabilitation Counselor program at Teachers College at Columbia. During this time, through friends he was able to visit editors' offices, book stores, film sets, and of course bars to get a feel for various careers and how he might earn a living working in those fields.

He chose counseling. It promised a stable living, and listening along with an ability to write were advantages in the profession. And though making a living as a writer seemed remote, he would be free to continue writing evenings and weekends.

The school provided full-time employment and course credits. He worked and rose through office administrative ranks at the Title IX Sex Desegregation Assistance Center (DIrector Effie Bynum), while attending classes, researched and wrote papers, and worked on a novel. He spent very little time at home. Though he did not deliver training, he does say "you're welcome" when people praise the many medals,victories and awards earned by women in the Olympics and other women's sports events

For his internship, he interviewed at the Postgraduate Center, a coveted placement in the city. When asked about the box he had carried into the interview, he replied that he was delivering a fantasy novel manuscript to an editor later in the day. The Director immediately questioned his ability to help people if he was also prepoccupied with imaginary beings and events. He replied that writing fiction for public readership demanded an acute awareness of real people and events to make an imaginary story believable.

He secured the internship, and was hired as a counselor upon graduation. The novel eventually sold to Lester Del Rey at Ballantine, and after editing, was published in 1986.

Later, he also attended workshops led by Shawna McCarthy, Nancy Kress and Terry Bisson.

Through the 80's and into the 90's, his fiction moved from fantasy and science fiction to horror, and eventually dark humor. Initiating the change of perspective on his writing was the time spent working at the Postgraduate clinic, located near Hell's Kitchen across the street from a Blarney Stone bar, next to an SRO for individuals released from the Riker's Island jail complex.

Experience at a methadone clinic on Delancey Street deepened his interest in darker stories.

The lower east side neighborhood was rich in events and experiences -- a building collapse,with the roar and dust cloud to be recalled years later when the Twin Towers fell; truckers speedballing in their cabs while parked under the clinic supervisor's second floor office; being chased by drug dealers on Essex street; police locking down McDonalds for drug searches; visiting and talking to local store owners the clinic supervisor had robbed before his recovery; assignment as the first counselor in the clinic to work with identified AIDS patients...

...the clients' stories -- some unable to step down to lower doses; others substituting alcohol, placidyl, etc. for their need; a cadre of Chinese men whose mothers gave them opium in China to keep them home, which didn't stop them from immigrating but crippled their ability to function once they arrived; once promising young people struggling to function...

...discussions with vets about their experiences, fears, trauma and actions, that evolved into a personal question and a dramatic story question - can those who have committed terrible acts ever find redemption?

As a mental health professional, he found these and many other questions, the why, when, how of pain, trauma, death, the dance between predator and prey, in everyday work, which sometimes found their way into the kinds of stories that asked to be written.

Over the decades, he has drawn inspiration from life, shadows, the absurd, and from the experiences working in the mental health field throughout NYC from the 80's through 2019, including a West Side counseling center, a lower east-side methadone clinic at the dawn of the AIDS era, a Bronx clinc in the crack era, a children's psychiatric facility, Bronx and Manhattan state psychiatric facilities, a forensic psychiatric hospital (the real-life Arkham).

He retired after serving as Rehab Director at Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center, and at Manhattan Psychiatric Center.

As a writer, he's had over 300 short stories, as well as novels and collections, published in the past 40 years. Genres include horror, fantasy, science fiction, and humor. He has also edited or co-edited anthologies and serves as Fiction Editor for Space and Time magazine (also available through Amazon.com).

He continues to write, at night, mostly about the dark.

For more, check out www.gerardhouarner.net, or http://www.facebook.com/gerard.houarner

Kristopher Triana is an author of horror and crime fiction.

His novels include "Full Brutal" (Winner of the 2019 Splatterpunk Award for Best Horror Novel), "Gone to See The River Man", "Shepherd of the Black Sheep", "The Thirteenth Koyote" and many more. He has authored two short story collections, "Blood Relations" and "Growing Dark", the latter of which was called "a must read" by Rue Morgue Magazine. His books have been translated into multiple languages, and his short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, including Chiral Mad 4, Cemetery Dance, and The Year's Best Hardcore Horror, to name a few.

His work has drawn praise from Publisher's Weekly, Scream Magazine, Rue Morgue Magazine, Cemetery Dance, The Horror Fiction Review and The Ginger Nuts of Horror.

He lives in Connecticut.

Follow him at: kristophertriana.com

Joshua Chaplinsky is the Managing Editor of LitReactor.com. He has also written for popular film site Screen Anarchy and for ChuckPalahniuk.net, the official website of ‘Fight Club’ author Chuck Palahniuk. He is the author of ‘Kanye West—Reanimator.’ His short fiction has been published by Zetetic, Motherboard, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Thuglit, Dark Moon Digest, Pantheon Magazine, and Severed Press.

More info at joshuachaplinsky.com and @jaceycockrobin on Twitter.

Stephen Kozeniewski (pronounced "causin' ooze key") is a two-time winner of the World Horror Grossout Contest. His published works have been nominated for several Splatterpunk, Voice Arts, and Indie Horror Book Awards, among other honors. He lives in Pennsylvania with his girlfriend and their two cats above a fanciful balloon studio.

Robert Allen Lupton is retired and lives in New Mexico where he is a commercial hot air balloon pilot. Robert runs and writes every day, but not necessarily in that order. More than 150 of his short stories have been published in several anthologies including the NYT best seller, “Chicken Soup For the Soul – Running For Good”, or online at www.horrortree.com, www.crimsonstreets.com, www.aurorawolf.com, www.stupefyingstories.blogspot.com, www.fairytalemagazine.com, and www.allegoryezine.com.

Over 900 drabbles based on the worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs and several articles are available online at www.erbzine.com.

His novel, "Foxborn," was published in April 2017 and the sequel, "Dragonborn," in June 2018. His collection of running themed horror, science fiction, and adventure stories, Running Into Trouble, was published in October 2017. His collection of short stories, "Through a Wine Glass Darkly" was released in May 2019. His annotated edition of John Monro’s 1897 novel, "A Trip To Venus", was released in September 2018. He has received five honorable mention awards from “Writers of the Future.”

His newest collection of short stories, "Strong Spirits," was released in May 2020. "Feral: It Takes A Forest To Raise A Child, his edited anthology was published on September 1, 2020.

His novel, "Dejanna of the Double Star," was released on December 2, 2020.

Joe Koch writes literary horror and surrealist trash. Shirley Jackson Award finalist and author of THE WINGSPAN OF SEVERED HANDS, THE COUVADE, and the forthcoming collection CONVULSIVE. Lyrical splatter and speculative horror in over 50 journals and anthologies. Formerly published as Joanna Koch. He/They. Find Joe at horrosong.blog and on Twitter @horrorsong.

JEREMY WAGNER—BIOGRAPHY

Author JEREMY WAGNER has written lyrics to hundreds of lyrics and songs spanning several albums with his international death-metal band, BROKEN HOPE.

He has a following of rabid fans worldwide, yet aside from his music career, Wagner writes dark fiction novels and other works full time.

Wagner’s been published in numerous periodicals and has also published various works of short fiction with major and independent publishers such as: Riverdale Avenue Books/Afraid Books, Perseus Books, St. Martin’s Press, Bantam, Ravenous Books, and others.

Wagner’s published works include the best-selling debut novel, THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD, his critically acclaimed novel, RABID HEART, the story, Romance Ain’t Dead, for the anthology, Hungry For Your Love (St. Martin’s Press), the story, The Creatures From Craigslist in the anthology, Fangbangers: An Erotic Anthology of Fangs, Claws, Sex and Love (Ravenous Books), the seasonal bio tale, When I Scared Myself Out of Halloween (Shock Totem Books), his horror writing essay-exercise in the Now Write! edition of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror (Bantam Books), and his short story, Pit Stop, in the A Tribute Anthology to Deadworld (Riverdale Avenue Books).

Wagner's novel, THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD, peaked at #4 in Barnes & Noble’s TOP 10 "paperback" Bestseller List and peaked at #9 on B&N’s TOP 100 OVERALL BESTSELLER LIST in the first week of release. TAC also earned a HIRAM AWARD, a first-round ballot STOKER AWARD Nomination, and received critical acclaim in Publisher's Weekly and Rolling Stone magazine among many other worldwide publishing magazines, television, and popular culture entities.

*RIVERDALE AVENUE BOOKS/AFRAID BOOKS will re-release a fully revised and expanded edition of THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD in MAY 2019 with new cover artwork and more.

Wagner’s new novel, RABID HEART was published in OCTOBER 2018 via the AFRAID imprint of RIVERDALE AVENUE BOOKS. RABID HEART has been nominated for a SPLATTERPUNK AWARD for “BEST NOVEL” and has received an INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS IPPY BRONZE MEDAL AWARD for “BEST SCI-FI/FANTASY/HORROR E-BOOK—and Wagner also received a BRONZE IPPY AWARD for “BEST BOOK/AUTHOR/PUBLISHER WEBSITE” for www.jeremy-wagner.com (which was designed by Wagner’s close friend and web-Jedi, TONY BOSCO).

PRAISE FOR JEREMY WAGNER

“Jeremy is a pretty impressive dude.”

— Peter Straub, New York Times Bestselling Author, A Dark Matter, Ghost Story

PRAISE FOR JEREMY WAGNER’s RABID HEART

"RABID HEART maintains a sharp, persistently moving narrative of the protagonist’s personal quandary and eventual flight. It’s immensely fun, and Rhonda Driscoll dishes out one-liners with panache…an endlessly entertaining zombie tale that checks off genre conventions with style."

— Kirkus Reviews

"RABID HEART evokes a mix of Misfits lyrics and grainy VHS horror classics.

The plot draws parallels to Cormac McCarthy's The Road..."

— PW Author Spotlight

"RABID HEART, feels like a crowning achievement, anchored by an inspiring, salt-of-the-earth female protagonist as it brings the heart and horror in equal measure."

— Rue Morgue Magazine

"Zombies and the end of days don't stand a chance against true love. Jeremy Wagner's RABID HEART is good, clean apocalyptic fun."

— Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger

"Just when you think you've heard every love story, along comes RABID HEART.

My man Jeremy Wagner proves once again he's as much of a wild man with words as he is with his guitar. This book is sick and sweet, and I say that with respect!"

— Peter Blauner, NY Times bestselling author of The Intruder and Sunrise Highway

9/10 REVIEW "RABID HEART is Wagner’s finest work to date. Exciting and near-addictive.

A page-turner that avid horror aficionados will be drawn to with glee."

— Dead Rhetoric Magazine

"RABID HEART is a next level opus that raises the stakes considerably — both in terms of emotional resonance and viscera-flinging brutality.

And good goddamn, is it a white-knuckle thrill ride."

— Decibel Magazine

"Wagner just has this innate ability to write about these real life topics and put them into a blender with horror, action, and suspense."

— Metal Temple

“I like books best when I get a sense that the author really cares for their characters. Rabid Heart is one of those books. If you'd enjoy a classic tale of boy meets girl, boy turns zombie, girl tries desperately to save boy, then Rabid Heart is a book for you.”

— L.T. Vargus, author of Beyond Good & Evil and Dead End Girl

“Another in a long line of zombie road trip tales, Wagner adds a romantic angle to keep things fresh among the putrefied undead.”

—Nick Cato, author of Death Witch and Uptown Death Squad

“It’s f-ing brilliant…f-ing loving it. So f-ing good.”

—Brian Keene, bestselling author of The Rising and Return to Lost Level

PRAISE FOR JEREMY WAGNER’s THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD

"Wagner debuts with a highly entertaining blend…of heavy metal and hardcore horror…

Electrified by breakneck pacing, a cast of over-the-top characters and memorable lines..."

— Publishers Weekly

“An evil Egyptologist. A scheming billionaire. A guitar maestro. They're all there in Jeremy Wagner's, THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD. This is pulp fiction at it's breeziest best.

— Rolling Stone

“THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD is like THE DA VINCI CODE with a heavy-metal soundtrack!”

— Katherine Turman, co-author of

LOUDER THAN HELL: An Unflinching Oral History of Heavy Metal

4-1/2 of 5 stars: “Wagner strikes a winning heavy-metal chord in this stunning story that foretells an End of Time beyond imagination. The author’s use of music as a backdrop and his development of fascinating characters make for interesting reading in this enthralling tale.”

— RT Book Reviews

“Combining the world of heavy metal with malevolent supernatural forces Wagner has created quite a fantastic read… a riveting thriller that is sure to keep readers glued to the pages until the very end…The unique blending of ancient history, religion and heavy metal make this book unlike any others I have read…. if you're a reader of horror or fiction novels or if you're a musician, then THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD will be right up your alley. I know it kept me up turning pages into the wee hours of the morning.”

— Pure Grain Audio.com

“THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD is a quick, enjoyable read full of action, violence,

hell-spawned (and human) monsters and original variations of scenarios

common to end-time thrillers.

— Decibel Magazine

“Jeremy is a pretty impressive dude.”

—Peter Straub, New York Times Bestselling Author, A Dark Matter, Ghost Story

“Jeremy Wagner is an up-and-coming voice in the realm of horror fiction.

His talent shines through this debut novel, and I can’t wait to see what his next offering will be.

A real page-turner, THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD strikes just the right note!”

— Yasmine Galenorn, New York Times/USA Today Bestselling Author The Otherworld series

“THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD is a wild phantasmagoric thrill ride that will satisfy

lovers of the darkest fantasy fiction and the heaviest of metal."

— Peter Blauner, New York Times Bestselling Author The Intruder, Slipping Into Darkness

“Wagner combines a world of classic adventure and intrigue with a dash of rock'n'roll mystique for a unique take on the thriller format.”

— Joel McIver, Author of JUSTICE FOR ALL: The Truth About Metallica

“Jeremy Wagner is the king of the new breed of horror! THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD strikes a low chord of death right through the reader’s frontal lobe.”

— Chris Barnes, vocalist, Six Feet Under

(THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD) left vivid pictures in one’s mind…there could even be a movie made about The Armageddon Chord.

— Valencia County News-Bulletin

(THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD) storyline is so awesome, I’m not sure why it wasn’t an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Really. Joss Whedon is wherever he is in all his brilliance, wondering why he didn’t think of this plotline. It’s that good.

— West of Mars

Wagner makes the story lots of fun by taking it to the extreme.

— Anti-music.com

“THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD is a kickass novel!”

— Jonathan Maberrry, New York Times Bestselling Author, Rot & Ruin, Joe Ledger series

“THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD is a fun and thrilling combination of heavy metal music and horror. Jeremy Wagner has written a great story…this is a book that is hard to put down. Wagner has hit the ground running with his debut novel. I can’t wait to see what he has in store next.

— The Horror Fiction Review

(Wagner) has pioneered the genre known as “heavy metal horror fiction” with this work, combining aspects of modern heavy metal added to a new take on the horror novel genre. Wagner has crafted an excellent, original story that no one has really ever tackled before…he has written a terrific story that will delight fans of metal and horror.

This book is well written with even the ancillary characters fleshed out and giving exacting details. His experience writing horror gives him the breadth and depth to create a book that is very suspenseful, expertly detailed, well paced and exciting. Metal fans will find the many nods and references to the real music business, the world of heavy metal music and guitars pleasing while big horror fans will love the well-crafted, unmitigated evil and gore elements. The cultural and historical facts were painstakingly researched; lending an air of authenticity to the book that rivals others in the genre. I’ll be excited to see what Wagner comes up with in his next attempt at this style.

— Metal Army America

“The book is a fun, fast-paced explosion of heavy metal, Egyptian mythology, and a good taste of the occult that makes for a very engaging read. If you enjoy apocalyptic tales and epic clashes between good and evil, then the plot of this book will definitely have you hooked.”

— Metal Injection

Jeremy Wagner

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.jeremy-wagner.com/

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: www.amazon.com/-/e/B005I4PL2A

PUBLISHER’s MARKETPLACE: www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/JeremyWagner/

FACEBOOK OFFICIAL: www.facebook.com/JeremyWagnerOfficial

TWITTER: www.twitter.com/jeremyxwagner

INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/jeremyxwagner

Eddie Generous has fallen off three different roofs and been lit on fire on multiple occasions. He grew up on a farm and later slept with his shoes under his pillows in homeless shelters. He dropped out of high school to afford rent on a room at a crummy boarding house, but eventually graduated from a mediocre college. He is the author of several small press books, has 2.8 rescue cats (one needed a leg amputation), is a podcast host, and lives on the Pacific Coast of Canada.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Writer of horrory things, clumsy runner, gluten free baker, Goonie, awful singer. Author of Go Down Hard (Grindhouse Press) and To Offer Her Pleasure (Weirdpunk Books). Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines. Also writes the dirty as Sommer Marsden. Baltimore native. Lives with a herd of strange people a.k.a. her family.

Ryan Harding is the three-time Splatterpunk Award-winning author of books like Genital Grinder and collaborations with Jason Taverner (Reincursion, Reincarnage), Kristopher Triana (The Night Stockers), Lucas Mangum (Pandemonium), and Edward Lee (Header 3). His short stories have appeared in the anthologies Brewtality, The Distended Table, The Big Book of Blasphemy, The New Flesh: A Literary Tribute to David Cronenberg, Splatterpunk Forever, Past Indiscretions, Masters of Horror, Into Painfreak, DOA 3, and The Year's Best Hardcore Horror Vol. 3. His work has also been published in German and Polish. Upcoming projects include the collection Transcendental Mutilation from Death’s Head Press, a novel with Bryan Smith, and a splatter western.

Ryan Harville was born and raised on Alabama's Gulf Coast, and still resides there with his wife, four kids, three cats, and a golden retriever named after Thomas the Tank Engine. He studied creative writing at the University of South Alabama, and spent six years in the U.S. Army after a decade-long tour of duty in retail management. He made it back from Afghanistan with only PTSD, but still preferred the situation to retail. Ryan writes predominantly horror tales, but occasionally branches out into sci-fi, fantasy, and some combinations of the three.