Katie Anderson Howell’s appreciation for stories started with her grandfather’s tall tales, blossomed in high school when she told ghost stories to tourists in a haunted mansion, and continues with her passion for sci-fi audiobooks. 

Her multitude of interests have led her along a path that has made her a teacher, advocate, and business woman. Sometimes, she dabbles in academics, and has written two books with the University of Iowa Press: Fandom as Classroom Practice: A Teaching Guide (2018) and Disability and Fandom (2025). She’s written poems about everything from nuclear waste to dildos to skeletons and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. 

Currently, she owns and operates Glow with Katie, an esthetics studio focused on inclusive skincare. Her two children are the bravest and most creative people she knows. Raising them is exhausting and wonderful. Her dog tolerates her. As a queer, disabled woman, Katie writes science fiction about other queer, disabled people finding their way in space accompanied by a sentient mushroom. 

Amie Goodwin is a debut author of epic dark fantasy based in Maryland. She holds a BA in English Expression from Hampton University, where she contributed to the Saracen Literary Journal and tutored peers in the English Department’s writing lab. She also holds a certificate in Dental Hygiene from Howard University and has spent the last decade working full-time as a dental hygienist in her community.

When she isn’t working or writing, Amie enjoys watercolor painting, walking her cavapoo, Honey, and reading fantasy, classic literature, and romance manhwa. She’s also an avid RPG gamer (Final Fantasy, Honkai: Star Rail) and a live music fan who loves traveling to festivals like Camp Flog Gnaw. Closer to home, she can often be found catching local concerts and DJ sets in Washington, D.C.

An introvert at heart, Amie has been crafting stories since she was a child writing tales for her summer camp counselors. Today, she writes poetry and fiction designed to speak to the soul, and she hopes readers will join her on this lifelong literary journey.

In the Light of the Dark is the first novel in her upcoming four-part series, The Valerian Saga. She is currently drafting the second installment from her favorite local cafes, boba tea shops, and public libraries, with future plans to explore the gothic romance and high fantasy genres.