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I've wanted to be an author since I was about sixteen, when a high school assignment on A Separate Peace showed me how powerful writing can be. At the University of Pennsylvania I studied creative writing with Philip Roth and Carlos Fuentes; I went on to receive my MFA from Florida International University.

My first published novel was Mahu, about a Honolulu homicide detective dragged out of the closet during a tough case. I put a lot of myself into Kimo Kanapa'aka, the hero, and yet he’s very much his own character, and much better than I am! He has had a powerful hold on my imagination for many years. I love writing about him and hope to keep doing so for a long time. He’s also the source of my favorite reader question. A few years ago, someone emailed to ask if he was circumcised.

My first reaction was “Man, I’ll bet Stephen King doesn’t get questions like that.” But then, his are probably even weirder. I went online and did some research and discovered that at the time Kimo was born, hospital circumcisions were common. So there you go.

My path to publication was a long and checkered one, as is the case with many authors. My first published stories were magazine erotica, and I still like to keep my hand in (no pun intended) with that kind of writing. But for the most part now I write mystery and romance—all my books seem to have both those elements, though in different proportions.

I began writing the golden retriever mysteries because I spent so much time walking my golden, Samwise (yes, I’m a Tolkien geek). He had so many funny habits and such a strong personality that I just knew I had to write a book that featured a dog like him. (Fortunately, Sam had no habit of finding dead bodies.)

I live in Hollywood, Florida now, with my partner and our golden retrievers, Brody and Griffin.

Alex Beecroft was born in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and grew up in the wild countryside of the Peak District. She studied English and Philosophy before accepting employment with the Crown Court where she worked for a number of years. Now a stay-at-home mum and full time author, Alex lives with her husband and two daughters in a little village near Cambridge and tries to avoid being mistaken for a tourist.

Alex is only intermittently present in the real world. She has lead a Saxon shield wall into battle, toiled as a Georgian kitchen maid, and recently taken up an 800 year old form of English folk dance, but she still hasn’t learned to operate a mobile phone.

'Nathan Burgoine's first novel, Light, was a finalist for both the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT SF/Fantasy/Horror, and the BOTYA 2013 Gay & Lesbian (Adult Fiction) ForeWord award. His first queer YA novel, Exit Plans of Teenage Freaks, was a finalist for a Prix Aurora Award. Since then, he's completed a contemporary queer fantasy trilogy, Triad Blood, Triad Soul, and Triad Magic.

For shorter fiction lovers lovers, 'Nathan has written the queer romance novellas "In Memoriam," "Handmade Holidays," "Saving the Date," "Faux Ho Ho," "Village Fool," and "Felix Navidad." His first full collection of short fiction. including five new stories and a novelette, is Of Echoes Born. He returned to YA with a queer rom-com Hi-Lo, Stuck With You (from Lorimer Kids), and a YA novella, "Hope Echoes," included in Three Left Turns to Nowhere, from Bold Strokes Books.

A cat lover, 'Nathan managed to fall in love and marry Daniel, who is a confirmed dog person. Their ongoing "cat or dog?" détente ended with the rescue of huskies. They live in Ottawa, Canada, where socialized health care and gay marriage have yet to cause the sky to cave in.

JL Merrow is that rare beast, an English person who refuses to drink tea. She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she learned many things, chief amongst which was that she never wanted to see the inside of a lab ever again.

She writes (mostly) contemporary gay romance and mysteries, and is frequently accused of humour. Her novel Slam! won the 2013 Rainbow Award for Best LGBT Romantic Comedy, and several of her books have been EPIC Awards finalists, including Muscling Through, Relief Valve (the Plumber’s Mate Mysteries) and To Love a Traitor.

JL Merrow is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, International Thriller Writers, Verulam Writers and the UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet organising team.

Find JL Merrow online at: https://jlmerrow.com/, on Twitter as @jlmerrow, and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jl.merrow

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