Writer’s Showcase: Karen Eisenbrey

Genre: High Fantasy and Comic Urban Fantasy.

Background: I have always loved stories and wanted to be a writer from an early age. In college I was an English major, but after I graduated, I had no ideas and didn’t write much of anything until the “chaos years” when my kids were small. Once I had kids it seemed like a good idea to just start writing. A fateful dream with two wizards and three plot twists sent me into the fantasy genre.

Writing Highlight: my first published novel, The Gospel According to St. Rage, is a book about a girl who starts a garage band and gains superpowers; that book actually got me writing songs! I’ve always sung but I’d never had much success with songwriting. Writing this book I discovered that if I wrote songs from the point of view of my protagonist, I was more successful.

Next Project: I am pegging away at the third Daughter of Magic book in my fantasy trilogy. The first two are Daughter of Magic and Wizard Girl.

To follow Karen’s blog: https://kareneisenbreywriter.com/blog/

Or you could connect with her as I first did, on Twitter: @KarenEisenbry

She also has a nice page featuring not just her novels, but all the anthologies she’s contributed to: https://kareneisenbreywriter.com/my-books/

A note about Karen is that she has contributed to a number of anthologies; in fact it was the Paws and Claws anthology from Cake & Quill which first caught my eye. This is one of nine (and counting) anthologies that Karen has contributed to!

Cake & Quill, 03/17

Proceeds from Paws and Claws go to Bob’s House for Dogs, which offers hospice care for elderly dogs.

Not a Pipe Publishing, 11/18

Note Karen is featured as the writer on the top margin, left, on the cover of Strongly Worded Women.

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Writer’s Showcase: Mary Ramsey

Genre: LGBTQ Romance & Fantasy

Background: I served in the United States Air Force and earned a BA in cinema. While I was born in California, my work in the USAF took me all over the world – including the Midwest. I have a fondness for unique and underrepresented superheroes and characters. I love an inspiring story that makes me cry; my favorite movie will always be 13th Warrior.

How Did you get into Writing: I have always been drawn to overly dramatic stories featuring people on the fringe of society. As a teen, I wrote about drug addicts and the mentally ill; people who were so lost they needed to find a light. I then moved into fanfiction, playing around with characters from comics and videogames. Finally came my first novel, Dakota Son, where I took a step back and learned to combine my sense of drama, and a bit of helplessness, with a sense of reality. I then went on to create a series based on LGBTQ characters from that novel.

Writing Highlight: I find video games are able to tell a compelling story without holding the reader’s hand and explaining too much: that inspired me. Each of my stories takes place over a long period of time but is told in a way that introduces the reader in an organic manner.

Next Project: I’m in the process of re-publishing Dakota Son. I’m also working on something new, with a protagonist named Leonardo Riveria. This will be an LGBTQ-paranormal-romance about an immortal demon hunter, which I’m planning to make a series.

A note about Mary who is blessed with a generous heart; she not only is an artist but on the website for her art offers to do artwork for others. She has a vibrant style, available under the label Deviant Art, that you can check out here: https://www.deviantart.com/dourdan

More information about Mary’s books can be found here: https://dourdan.wordpress.com/