2025 Literary Guests
Author Guest of Honor

R.S. Belcher
Literary Guests
Keith R.A. DeCandido

Keith R.A. DeCandido has written novels, short fiction, and comic books in more than thirty licensed universes from Alien to Zorro, including TV shows (Star Trek, Doctor Who, Supernatural), movies (Cars, Kung Fu Panda, Serenity), games (World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Dungeons & Dragons), and comic books (Spider-Man, Thor, the X-Men). He’s also written bunches of work in milieus of his own creation, including fantastical police procedurals in the fictional cities of Cliff’s End (Dragon Precinct and its sequels) and Super City (the novel The Case of the Claw and a mess of short fiction) and urban fantasy in the somewhat real locales of New York (the Bram Gold Adventures) and Key West (the tales of Cassie Zukav, weirdness magnet). And he’s been writing pop-culture commentary for web sites, magazines, and essay collections since 1989.
His recent and upcoming work includes Phoenix Precinct, the latest novel in his fantasy/police procedure series; the Star Trek role-playing game adventure Incident at Kraav III (with Fred Love); Feat of Clay, Book 2 of the Bram Gold Adventures; the Resident Evil comic book miniseries Infinite Darkness: The Beginning, a prequel to the Netflix animated series; the urban fantasy short story collection Ragnarok and a Hard Place: More Tales of Cassie Zukav, Weirdness Magnet; and stories in the magazines Star Trek Explorer and Weird Tales and in the anthologies Sherlock Holmes: Cases by Candlelight Volume 2, Joe Ledger: Unbreakable, Three Time Travelers Walk Into…, Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2022, Zorro’s Exploits, The Four ???? of the Apocalypse (which he also co-edited with Wrenn Simms), and Double Trouble: An Anthology of Two-Fisted Team-Ups (which he also co-edited with Jonathan Maberry). He writes regularly about pop culture for the award-winning webzine Tor.com, for his Patreon (patreon.com/krad), for collections published by Sequart, Becky Books, and Crazy 8 Press, and for the Outside In, Subterranean Blue Grotto, and Gold Archives series.
Keith is also a fourth-degree black belt in karate (he not only trains regularly, but also teaches to both kids and adults), a professional musician (currently percussionist for parody band Boogie Knights), and a professional editor of more than 25 years’ standing (though he usually does it sitting down). Find out less at his mediocre web site at DeCandido.net
Michael Khandelwal

Michael Khandelwal is the founder and Executive Director of The Muse Writers Center, a nationally recognized literary center in Norfolk, Virginia. An award-winning writer and teacher, he writes poetry, fiction, editorials, profiles, and feature articles, which have appeared nationwide and locally. In the early 2000s, he wrote extensively for Coastal Virginia Magazine (formerly Hampton Roads Magazine).
Besides teaching fiction and poetry workshops at The Muse, he has also taught or presented for The Poetry Society of Virginia, Chesapeake Bay Writers, the Hampton Roads Writers Conference, The CNU Writers Conference, and the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, among others. He has served as a poetry judge for Teens With a Purpose and the Virginia Commission for the Arts’ Poetry Out Loud Program.
Website – https://the-muse.org/
Pamela K. Kinney

Pamela K. Kinney gave up long ago trying not to ignore the voices in her head and has written horror, fantasy. science fiction, a children’s fantasy picture book, poetry, nonfiction ghost books, and a nonfiction cryptid/indigenous mythology book, Werewolves, Dogmen, and Other Shapeshifters Stalking North America, ever since. Her horror short story, “Bottled Spirits,” was runner-up for the 2013 WSFA Small Press Award and is considered one of the seven best genre short fiction for that year. Her poem, Dementia, that was in the HWA Poetry Showcase Vol VII, got her a mention in Best Horror of the Years, Vol 13. Her faerie children’s picture book, Christmas Magic, took second place in the Children’s-Holidays category of the Book Fest Awards, Spring 2024. She has a story and a poem in The Haunted Zone, a charity horror anthology with stories and poetry written by women military veterans, a horror story published in the horror anthology, Vinyl Cuts, and a poem included in the Terror at Miskatonic Falls anthology—all three anthologies were released in 2024. Her YA dark fantasy novel, first in the Moon Ridge, Virginia trilogy, Demon Memories, was released October 15, 2024. She is working on a new nonfiction ghost book for Schiffer Publishing, about ghosts/cryptids/UFOs on or near the Appalachian Trail.
Pamela and her husband live with one crazy black cat (who thinks she should take precedence over her mistress’s writing most days). Along with writing, Pamela has acted on stage and film and investigates the paranormal for episodes of Paranormal World Seekers for AVA Productions. She is a member of Horror Writers Association, Virginia Writers Club, and James River Writers. Learn more about her at https://PamelaKKinney.com.
Tara Moeller

Tara Moeller is Dreamer-in-Chief at DreamPunk Press, a small writer’s collective based out of Hampton Roads, Virginia. She is chief editor (a part-time gig) at the collective (as well as a full-time editor in her full-time day job), and trying to be chief marketer (LOL). She writes sci-fi and horror under her own name (as well as some other stuff that defies definition), and is an award winning author of young adult fiction as Zahra Jons. Snake Eyes, a contemporary novel about a female veteran going home again, was published as Z. A. Jons in July 2024, and Like Second Skin, a full-length sci-fi novel will be published in March 2025. She has had short fiction published in anthologies from White Cat Publishing, Elder Signs Press, and Tundra Swan Press. She occasionally blogs poetry, short fiction, and musings via her website, www.taramoeller.com.
Cass Morris

Cass Morris lives her life at the intersection of storytelling, performance, and education as a writer and editor of novels, short fiction, and immersive experiences. Her novels, The Aven Cycle, are Roman-flavored historical fantasy. She is also one-third of the team behind the four-time Hugo Award Finalist podcast Worldbuilding for Masochists. Cass works as Story Editor at Mythik Camps, providing writing and developmental editing for the mythology-themed summer camps’ interactive theatrical experiences, as well as other programming and media projects. Previously, she worked in the education department at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA. She holds a Master of Letters in Shakespeare studies from Mary Baldwin University and a BA in English and History from the College of William and Mary. Find her online at linktr.ee/cassrmorris.
J M Lee

To learn more about her, visit her Instagram or TikTok profiles: @jmleebooks
JM Lee is a local cosplayer and indie author for both YA and new adult audiences. Her first book, When October Ends, was published when she was 13. Since then, she’s published the rest of The Novus Proprius Chronicles, as well as a variety of short stories. Her latest release, Curse of the Blood Queen, is a gaslamp fantasy set in London, 1871, after a seance gone wrong. As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, she hopes to help others see themselves in her stories!
Tempie W. Wade

Tempie W. Wade is the award-winning author of the Timely Revolution Book Series. She writes a wide range of genres including historical fiction and fantasy. Her debut novel, “A Timely Revolution,” was awarded ‘Best Historical Fantasy’ in the 2019 American Book Fest American Fiction Awards.
The author is a lifelong resident of Virginia and currently resides in Williamsburg. Her interests include traveling, visiting museums, and exploring historical sites and ruins.
Leona R Wisoker

Leona R. Wisoker writes a variety of speculative fiction, from experimental to horror, from fantasy to science fiction. She loves to learn and teach, read and edit; she adores whiskey and coffee (sometimes together!). In her spare time, she is a wild garden warrior, an adventurous cook, and a champion catnapper, especially if sunbeams are available.