Staff

Suzanne W. Vincent is Supermom. That’s what people think anyway. Actually, she’s really a pretty ordinary middle-aged woman packing a few extra pounds and a few more gray hairs than she’s comfortable with. As a writer, she leans toward the fantasy spectrum, though much of what she writes is difficult to classify. Slipstream? Isn’t that where we stick stories when we just can’t figure out where else they go? Suzanne’s first professional publication was right here at FFO, published before she joined the staff: “I Speak the Master’s Will,” — a story she’s still very proud of. While she doesn’t actually have time to blog anymore, she once did. You can still read her ancient posts on writing at The Slushpile Avalanche. Suzanne keeps a house full of kids (3), a husband (1), and pets (too many to number) in Utah, USA. Yes, she’s a Mormon. No, there isn’t another wife. Mormons haven’t actually practiced polygamy since the 1890s. Too bad. She’d love to have another woman around to wash dishes and do laundry.

Sheena Boekweg has completed three novels, and is currently seeking representation for her third novel, Funny Tragic, Crazy Magic, a YA Urban Fantasy about a witch, a mage, and a road trip to Paris. Sheena received an Honorable Mention in the Writers of the Future Contest. Her first published novel, Hatched, will be published through Amazon in 2012. Sheena is a mom of three living in Ogden, Utah.

To read more about Sheena or her writing, check out theprosers.blogspot.com.

Lucy Davidson is a classically trained musician with a degree in literature and a background in technical writing. She is a master of all things Super Geek, having been a band geek, choir geek, theatre geek, debate geek, journalism geek, folk dancer, member of the color guard, Tolkien disciple, Star Wars freak, and, scariest of all, a member of the PTA. She spends most of her time teaching piano and voice lessons, being coerced into indentured servitude in the public schools, and reenacting the plot of Lord of the Flies with her three young sons. By day she is the domestic goddess; by night she unleashes her pen and is the creative genius with a naturally dark and twisty center.

As a child, Pat’s Dad took him to the library every Saturday. One day he stole into the adult section and discovered that Heinlein was but one of many writers of adult SF — he would not have to give up those astounding stories when he grew up! In the systematic (some say boring) manner that would serve him well later in life — as a computer programmer, quality consultant and information security auditor — he started at Aldiss and Asimov, and worked through to Wyndham and Zelazny, then back to Anderson... When children came along — there are four, now old and nice enough to buy him beer — he read to them and discovered Harry Potter.

Pat writes science fiction and fantasy, featuring resourceful characters pitting their wits and human values against greed and corruption in worlds of man-made magic and misery. He relaxes in a real ale pub in Derby, England, where he either solves the world’s problems with family and friends, writes at pldey42.typepad.com or plays jazz guitar with anyone who can rock.

Jake Freivald lives in New Jersey in a house teeming with life: a wife, nine kids (yes, all from said wife, no twins), two dogs, two cats, and twenty fish.

Lack of qualifications never stopped Jake from taking a job, so when he saw the need for a professional flash-only ‘zine he created Flash Fiction Online. He was astounded when a team of volunteers rallied around the project, and he would like to shut up now so you can read about them.

Mark Freivald has a history as an elementary school teacher, but has passed himself off as a Network Engineer for the last ten years. After eight years of consulting he is currently taking a hiatus to devote to full-time writing and lollygagging. Although he has no credentials for publishing or editing, he can read at least at a sixth grade level. (“Let’s hope so,” says Mark. “It’s the grade I teached.”)

Mark has a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Spanish with a minor in German and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. Additional credentials include multiple expired Cisco Certifications, Zertifikat Deutsch, and a pat on the head from his mother for some high-quality origami — all of which are highly valued in the publishing industry.

Bill Highsmith is a software engineer in the telecom industry, with extensive technical and corporate writing experience. (Engineers who like to write, write a lot.) He is also a wannabe fiction writer in the SF, humor, mainstream, and NYT bestseller genres.

Deb Hoag has been writing professionally for going on 20 years, starting at a weekly alternative newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, The Metro Times. Her work there included answering phones, editing, writing a column and organizing such events as the Detroit Music Awards and the newspaper’s yearly photography contest and Best Of issues. In the early ’90s, Deb went back to school and was awarded a PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Detroit-Mercy. Since embarking on her new career, Deb’s worked on the White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation in a variety of mental health positions, and is currently the in-patient therapist at the psychiatric hospital in Show Low, Arizona. Her most recent fiction publication is “Meatloaf of the Apocalypse” which appeared in the May 2008 issue of Polluto Magazine.

By day, Anne Pinckard, a magazine editor and science writer, is constrained by facts. By night, all bets are off and the speculative elements come streaming in to her writing. She pens all kinds of fiction, but enjoys fantasy and sci fi the most. Her work has appeared in Polluto magazine and was selected as a semi-finalist in Ron Howard’s Writers of the Future contest. She lives in Berkeley, California with her husband, two cats, and the occasional foster dog.

Lydia Ondrusek is old enough to remember when flash was a dance. She writes about things that are magic and things that are real, frequently at the same time. Some people think she is a poet, some think she’s a fictioneer — but many think she is a cat. Her redheaded stepchild of a website is lydiaondrusek.com. Look under the bed at Twitter to find her as @littlefluffycat.

Karen T. Smith is a writer of science fiction for young adults and middle-grade readers and a voracious reader of speculative fiction for all ages. Her favorite color is cerulean and her favorite number is 42, and if you don’t get why you might not be reading enough science fiction yourself. She has two kids, two cats, two dogs, and many other things that come in pairs like two gloves, two arms, two hands to put in said gloves, etc. Her passion is writing about smart girls who are good with technology, and talking to young people about what careers in technology actually look like. She makes her physical home in the midwest suburbs and her digital home at karentsmith.com.

David Steffen has always felt driven to create. When he was a kid, he wanted to make cartoons. When he was in high school, he wanted to make video games. Now, he writes fiction (with frequent sojourns into other creative mediums). He lives with his lovely wife in the land of the frozen north in a castle where the dogs outnumber the people, the gates are guarded by vicious attack penguins, and pigs have been known to sleep in the bathtub. He has managed to get a few of his stories published at venues like Daily Science Fiction, Bull Spec, and Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader, among others. He edits the nonfiction zine Diabolical Plots , which posts articles of related to all genre topics. Check his site for his full bibliography.

R.W. Ware is devoted husband and father of three, and an artist of multiple mediums. With a background in comic and fantasy art, he paints in acrylics, illustrates Flash Fiction Online in a number of mediums, designs t-shirts and logos, and is a Master Tattoo Artist (dermagraphic artist). He’s garnered over 188 awards for tattoos (and broken records at two conventions), painting and poetry, and shows no signs of slowing down.

Sabrina West is a writer and wildlife biologist living in San Diego, California. There, she wanders the streets searching for rare shorebirds, quality espresso, and elusive snippets of dialogue and imagery. Her short fiction has appeared in markets such as the Santa Clara Review, Cover of Darkness, and Strange, Weird and Wonderful Magazine. She is also a member of the Prosers, blogging at theprosers.blogspot.com.