Interview Archives - Page 2 of 4

An Interview with Featured Artist Yanuary Navarro

May 1, 2014 by utpress Leave a Comment

Everyone Can Feel

Cynthia Reeser (Tampa Review Online): Could you talk a bit about what sparked your initial interest in art?

Yanuary Navarro: Whenever I think about this topic I always come to the same origin: my older brother Hector. I remember him showing me a drawing he had done when I was very young and being amazed by this sort of magic. I drew on and off as a kid, although I dedicated most of my childhood to the performing arts, specifically dance. In my late teenage years, I chose to seriously pursue visual art because it was a medium that allowed me to communicate issues that were directly affecting my loved ones, even though I was too shy to verbally voice my ideas. Images have the power to make a lasting impression in our minds and motivate action.

Cotton Fields

CR: You produce work in various media. Do you have a favorite medium to work in?

YN: I feel most at peace when I use mediums that do not impose on the environment or people. Building out of recycled and found objects, for example. At the same time, I have a love for my pencils and paints because they can be easily transported from place to place without the need of a big studio.

CR: You have also done collaborative work. The Solstice installation piece is particularly notable. Could you talk about your part in that project?

YN: The Solstice installation at Olio Gallery has been one of my favorite collaborative projects. The set-up was an equal effort between myself, Cheryl Saori Murphy, and Gregory Dirr. Months prior to the installation, I had repurposed several tree branches into about 12 foot tall tree sculptures that brought a part of my fictional narrative drawings into our physical world. Gregory and I approached Cheryl about a possible exhibition in her space and she was kind and courageous enough to agree to transform her gallery space into a fantastical installation. The project combined all three artists’ work into a seamless otherworldly experience that engaged all of the senses. I contributed pieces that added an environmental aspect, such as floating clouds made using Polyester stuffing and Styrofoam for raindrops. In addition, I painted a mural of a winter forest and transformed the floor space by pouring pounds of recycled, shredded paper over it. The viewer’s path was directed by leaving a clear walkway around the space.

Space Farm

CR: In the “about the work” section on your website, you reference fairy tales as one of the influences on your work, which is also an area of interest for me. Are there any tales or collections in particular that you would say have been particularly influential for you?

YN: The most memorable tales have been those my mom told me when I was a kid. I don’t know if they were from books or just made up. My mom’s stories begin by saying things like, “Oh yes, this reminds me of so and so, who made these choices, and this is what happened to them.” For example, she taught me the story about a little hen and her animal friends who would not help her with the long list of chores that needed to be done before flour could be baked into a warm, fluffy bread loaf. As a result, the little hen had to do all of the sowing, harvesting, milling, and baking alone. Then, when the day came to eat all the bread, guess who was ready and willing? All of the animals that refused to help in the beginning. I won’t give away the ending. I will leave that up to you. If you were the hen, what would you do? Would you forgive?

You and I

CR: When I look at your art, I immediately think of children’s book illustrations—your work has a professional quality to it and is unique and vibrant. Have you ever illustrated for children’s books or is this something you have considered doing?

YN: I have several ideas brewing that I intend to realize as children’s books. My narratives usually are based on true stories that evolve into fictional exaggerations, because people pay more attention when there is something odd or impossible. I think storytelling is a vital part of our human history. I am grateful to be a part of my family because they have a gift for oral storytelling. They could be talking about buying toothpaste, but the way they paint a mental picture is colorful, detailed, and full of laugh-out-loud twists and turns. I want to keep this family tradition alive by writing and illustrating my own exaggerated facts of life. I’m also open to collaborating with writers and illustrating their great stories.

CR: In the collaboration section on your website, you mention an “uptightness with art.” This really struck me because in your art I see so much freedom—anything but uptightness. Is (or was) that uptightness a reluctance toward art, or something else?

YN: I did struggle with a “creative uptightness,” particularly in my younger years as an artist. I was afraid to experiment because I didn’t want to be judged as a “bad” artist or “unskilled.” I once believed that art had to be technically advanced to be great and I usually was not as technically refined as my peers. Back then, a criticism like that would have crushed me because I was just starting to find my focus in the visual arts. Then, I started collaborating on art with other artists and noticed that we each had our own strengths to contribute. I had a realization that I may not be able to draw a photorealistic hand, but I can tell a story using simple shapes, color, and lines, which is more important to me and is the reason for my newfound creative freedom. Art is a place of freedom, and no criticism or fear should decide your personal reasons for making art.

Vita

CR: You mention on your website a desire for your artwork to reflect concerns about the environment. I personally think that your work reflects the beauty of the natural world and engages a fascination with how magical it can be. What do you want your work to communicate to the world at large? Do you think that artists have a responsibility toward social consciousness?

YN: I want my work to communicate the importance of life. All life. Regardless of shape, size, color, origin, species, class, or beliefs. We are lucky to wake up every day and be greeted by the sun or the sound of a gentle breeze. Making art about these subjects is my way of highlighting their value. I am no more important than an ant or a tree. We are equally entitled to live.

I believe that social consciousness is a priority that all human beings should exercise. I understand that our society has made us believe that one person is not enough to make a difference in the world. That we can’t all be Mother Teresa, Jesus, or Buddha, so we might as well just live our lives and do whatever we want. I choose to take the advice of Gandhi and remember that one person does make a difference; that, to have world peace, we must find inner peace within ourselves, then our families, then our nation. The rest will naturally follow. The arts are an essential tool for world peace because they can facilitate moments needed to find peace within ourselves.

Here’s what’s next for Yanuary Navarro…

Yanuary Navarro will be showing new work during the exhibition Narrative Conscious, opening on May 2, 2014 from 6-10 p.m. at Epoxy Space in Tampa, Florida. This is a two-person show that also features work by fellow artist Jujmo and will run through the month of May.

Visit Yanuary Navarro on the web at: http://yanuarynavarro.com/

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Yanuary Irasema Navarro is an artist, designer, and educator born in the small village of Juticalpa, Olancho, Honduras. She has been living in Florida since 1996, after her family immigrated to the United States. In 2010, she graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design with a BFA in illustration. From 2010-2012 she collaborated with Thought Coalition, an art collective originated in Florida that organizes, curates, and promotes local art shows and artists. Presently, she is an art educator at a local Montessori school and owner of Vita-Coyote, an online studio and shop. Her work has been published in Artbook Tampa Bay, Tampa Review 42, The Ringling 100, on various album covers, and in other publication media. Florida has been welcoming by providing a variety of group and juried exhibitions for her mixed media work in spaces such as The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Scope Miami with C. Emerson Fine Arts, and The Bakehouse Art Complex.

Cynthia Reeser is the Founder and Publisher of Aqueous Books, and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Prick of the Spindle literary journal. She has published more than 100 reviews in print and online, as well as poetry and fiction in print and online journals. Her short stories are anthologized in the Daughters of Icarus Anthology (Pink Narcissus Press, 2013), and in Follow the Blood: Tales Inspired by The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew (Sundog Lit, 2013). Cynthia is currently working on a literary short story collection inspired by fairy tale lore. Also a senior editor for two association management companies, she lives and works in the Birmingham area and attends the University of Tampa in pursuit of her MFA in Creative Writing (fiction). Visit her on the web at www.cynthiareeser.com.

An Interview with Featured Artist Jéanpaul Ferro

April 1, 2014 by utpress Leave a Comment

By Cynthia Reeser with Jéanpaul Ferro

Diamonds

Cynthia Reeser (Tampa Review Online): You are a writer as well as a photographer, and I’d like to start by asking you about your influences for photography. Could you talk about that some?

Jéanpaul Ferro: I have been writing novels, short fiction, and poetry for a long time—it’s going on thirty years now. While I have had several books of poetry and short fiction published, I am solely concentrating on my novels going forward.

I look at my photography in much the same way I do my writing. It’s those upper echelon photographers who inspire me. My greatest influence is the surrealism of the great Tom Chambers. Tom is a master at taking photographs and digitally combining and alternating them into a seamless, surreal photograph. There is no one who is doing what Tom is doing right now.

While I never alter my photographs, I try to find surreal images. I call them “found photographs”—images that are there every day, that are somewhat surreal—things we pass by sometimes without noticing, but which, in actuality, are extraordinary. Elliot Erwitt and Martin Parr are two of my other big influences, although my photographs tend to have a much darker side then their photography does.

CR: Do you draw from the same well of inspiration when you’re taking pictures as you do when writing, or does photography entail something of a different process for you?

Winter in Rhode Island

JF: With writing you have so many different elements that have to come together to make a whole. To create a novel you need the genesis of an idea, and then larger-than-life characters, different settings and scenes, dialogue, a plot, an arc to the novel, and so many different obstacles. Creating a novel is sort of like putting a giant jigsaw puzzle together. Poems and short stories are simply smaller puzzles. And you usually get inspired to write them from your own personal experience of loss or joy.

With photography you get inspired by something unexpected. It’s harder to get a great photograph if you go out looking for one. Even if you do go out seeking a certain shot, you need to frame that photo differently from other photographers to make it capture the imagination. In writing, there is a lot of planning before the final outcome. In photography, while there is some timing and planning involved, much of the time it is simply being at the right spot at the right time and always being ready to find something special you can capture on film. Many times the photographs find me. I just have to be ready, willing, and able.

Essendo Morti

CR: Would you say that there is something that you strive for in your photographic work?

JF: I always strive to make the viewer feel something with a photograph. It can be a feeling of loss, a feeling of awe or hopelessness, or simply something that makes you smile. I never want to hit people over the head with something. I just want something of beauty.

CR: Do you have an artist’s philosophy regarding photography?

JF: I do have an artist’s philosophy regarding photography. It should be like a painting. A moment in time captured that will soon fade away. The way light falls in a shot, or the way an inanimate object twists or turns, or the way the shadows fall upon it. The shot should evoke some sort of haunting quality. A great photograph should be a landscape, a portrait come to life, a 3-D painting, if you will. If a photograph doesn’t move you, and those who view it, then you’ve failed as an artist. At least, that’s my philosophy.

CR: In your opinion, what should photography do for the viewer?

JF: A photograph should be like a Bob Dylan song: it should make you think. A good photograph should make you linger on it for a while. See all the different angles and the small sightlines that are there. It should grab you by the throat and make you question it—for good or for bad.

Small Things

CR: Is there a point at which your photography and your writing intersect, or are they more separate from one another?

JF: Strangely, I find many of my photographs wind up reflecting something I’ve already written. I’ve had about twenty of my photographs featured in a literary journal or magazine with one of my short stories or poems. It’s strange how that works out. I’m sure it is something subconscious. But I think writers and photographers both have the same sort of eye. I feel photography, fiction, and poetry are inherently interlinked, more than most people would think. Every photograph is a short story or a poem, and vice-versa. It’s just how the universe works.

Here’s what’s next for Jéanpaul Ferro . . .

Jéanpaul is finishing up his latest novel, Midnight City, a raucous look at the haunting underbelly of Hollywood and the factory machine of L.A.

Visit Jéanpaul Ferro on the web at: www.jeanpaulferro.com

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Jéanpaul Ferro is a novelist, short fiction author, and poet from Providence, Rhode Island. A nine-time Pushcart Prize nominee, his work has appeared on National Public Radio and in Contemporary American Voices, Tulane Review, Columbia Review, Emerson Review, Connecticut Review, Cleveland Review, Cortland Review, Portland Monthly, Arts & Understanding Magazine, Saltsburg Review, Hawaii Review, and others. He is the author of All the Good Promises (Plowman Press, 1994); Becoming X (BlazeVOX [books], 2008); You Know Too Much About Flying Saucers (Thumbscrew Press, 2009); Hemispheres (Maverick Duck Press, 2009); Essendo Morti – Being Dead (Goldfish Press, 2009), which was nominated for the 2010 Griffin Prize in Poetry; and Jazz (Honest Publishing, 2011), nominated for both the 2012 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Prize and the 2012 Griffin Prize in Poetry. He is represented by the Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency. Visit him online at www.jeanpaulferro.com.

An Interview with Featured Artist Andrea Pejack

March 1, 2014 by utpress Leave a Comment

By Cynthia Reeser with Andrea Pejack

As Ye Sow

Cynthia Reeser (CR): What inspires you as an artist?

Andrea Pejack (AP): Anything can inspire. Sometimes inspiration comes at the most unlikely moments. For instance, if someone is speaking, a word will stand out for me and an image will flash in my mind and I’ll build from that. But one consistent source of inspiration that never fails is when I read books. Whatever I am reading at the time, I often write my own thoughts in the margins so whenever I come across words or phrases that I find intriguing, I will underline them or write them down in my sketchbook and use them as starting-off points for a new piece—as if I give myself an assignment to begin the creative process.

Abaddon

CR: What do you hope to achieve with or through your art?

AP: I suppose it is pretty simple what I hope to achieve.

A lot of the work I make is personal to me. Sometimes pieces can be more complex than others and even though they are my thoughts and feelings, hopefully others will relate or have a connection to the art from their own personal experiences and will remember the feeling they had when they viewed my work.

Absent

CR: Could you talk a bit about your process?

AP: When I was younger, my art teachers always encouraged me to sketch out what I plan to make—sketch, re-sketch, and make variations. It was never something I enjoyed doing, but over time it seemed to stay with me, and now I can’t stop sketching before I make something.

A lot of what I make now goes through a number of changes through preliminary sketches before I finally decide to make something.

Mighty and the Delicate

CR: You work with mixed media. How do you choose which mediums will best represent your vision for a planned piece?

AP: When I have a vision for a piece in mind, like when discussing inspiration, it is usually pretty immediate as to what medium I would like to use. I enjoy using painting when I have work that is detailed and more pictorial. I feel I can control intricate works better through paint. When I have more abstract themes, I like the idea of using clay and wood for a planned piece.

Entropy

CR: What is your favorite medium to work with and why?

AP: Painting will probably always be my first love. Though I love experimenting with the wood and clay work I’ve been doing, I always find myself missing my time painting.

CR: How do you know when to call a new piece finished?

AP: During the good days when I have a ton of new ideas, I say a piece is done when I’m ready to create the next—or it’s just simply when I say when.

Here’s what’s next for Andrea Pejack . . .

April 21
Andrea will being displaying work for an art colleague in the project, “Sustainable Farming: Art for Advocacy” at Stetson College of Law, 1401 61st St. S., Gulfport, FL 33707

April 25
Senior graphic design thesis show, “Blood, Sweat, and Peers,” at USF St. Petersburg / Harbor Hall Building, 1000 3rd St. S., St Petersburg, FL 33701

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Andrea Pejack is a fine art student at the University of South Florida. Most recently, her work was showcased at the Florida Craftsmen Gallery in St. Petersburg, FL and in a solo exhibition at the University of South Florida’s Oliver Gallery. Her work has also been on display at Donna Gordon Gallery and in her own exhibit, Shelter, at Studio@620 in St. Petersburg, FL. Her art has been seen at the Mainsail Art Festival and the Morean Arts Center, as well as several shows at Studio@620 including the production of Canteen!@620 and The Girlie Show: Under the Big Top. Andrea’s artwork has appeared on several program covers for the Palladium Theater and at the Studio@620 including Bosikom and Republic the Musical. Andrea received an Honorable Mention for Creativity for the Fine Art and Faith exhibit at the White Stone Gallery in Philadelphia, PA. She is also the winner of the Mainsail Young at Art Award and Scholarship, and the recipient of two Gold Keys and three Awards of Merit from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Her artwork, murals, and graphic designs have been commissioned around the bay area at private residences and businesses, including KolyabyelyCreativeArts and the Tampa Bay magazine, Saw Palm. Andrea’s work has also been displayed at Safety Harbor Public Library.

An Interview with Featured Artist Eleanor Leonne Bennett

February 1, 2014 by utpress Leave a Comment

By Cynthia Reeser with Eleanor Leonne Bennett

Cynthia Reeser (TRon): Some photographers are purists when it comes to digital manipulation of their work. Do you use photo editing software or is that something you avoid?

Eleanor Bennett: I only use IrfanView and Windows Photo Gallery, so for me, post-processing is very minimal. At the same time, I don’t want to have a camera of such high specs that it ruins the fun of attempting any post-processing at all. The more expensive cameras I see seem to mean the less you have to do once you upload [the images]. I’m not sure how much I am behind that because I like to edit after I come home from taking pictures to see how I can edit an image in a few steps to bring out its best. That and also having multiple versions of the same image that you are able to make look quite different. A completely unedited back-up is a good thing to have in reserve.

CR: How do you approach your work—do you begin with themes or concepts in mind, or do you prefer less structure when doing a photo shoot?

EB: My self-portraits are most often planned, with the greater majority of my work being little random moments. Thematically, a lot of these random moments add up to a portfolio with more emotional resonance. There are many images of mine that work well together that were taken years apart. I prefer less structure ideally, but I can work well with both environments.

CR: You are a very young photographer who has already experienced a good deal of success. Could you talk about your career development to date?

EB: I first used my mum’s camera to capture images of wildlife in my garden. I was making a nature notebook for a competition. I unfortunately lost the competition, but I enjoyed taking photos so much I decided to continue and began taking images of everything that interested me. Just after this time, National Geographic was bought for me, and I saw the competition for the See the Bigger Picture campaign. After I entered, my little photo of a horsefly was accepted to be exhibited around the globe. I was only thirteen, and [winning] made my confidence take a massive leap. From age thirteen, I haven’t stopped entering awards and adding to my accolades. Today I can say that I am a published writer, artist, photographer, and poet, and I think in another few years, I will have many more abilities under my belt.

CR: What are you working toward in your career, and where do you ultimately hope to end up?

EB: I hope to win more awards that bear environmental significance. I hope to get gallery representation and an artist agent. I would like to host and curate gallery shows on the awareness of a multitude of different issues. I hope to end up with a reputation of being adventurous, and not tired or dull.

CR: What advice do you have for other budding photographers who are looking to break into the industry or work as professional photographers?

EB: Just hold out when people try to dismiss you for your age. Don’t be afraid to put whatever is personal out there in regards to your experiences. It often makes people realize you are emotionally valid when you have something to declare. In the face of criticism, be someone to be proud of and steer far away from logical fallacies and knee-jerk reactions.

CR: That is brilliant advice, Eleanor. I’m so glad you could be a part of the Tampa Review Online this issue!

Here’s what’s next for Eleanor Bennett…

Eleanor Bennett’s collection of twenty-five images is exhibiting with The Photographic Angle for their Splash of Colour exhibition, and was showcased all through 2013, nationwide in the UK. Her Photographic Angle exhibition dates for 2014 (UK) are:

25th Jan 2014 to 29th Jan 2014 Glaxo Smithkline (North Site), Greenford Road, Middx, UB6 0HE
1st Feb 2014 to 5th Feb 2014 Kings House & Queens House, Kymberley Road, Harrow, HA1 1YR
8th Feb 2014 to 12th Feb 2014 Building B5, 4 Roundwood Avenue, Stockley Park, UB111BQ
30th Apr 2014 to 4th May 2014 Forum One, Solent Business Park,Parkway, Whiteley, PO15 7PA
7th May 2014 to 11th May 2014 Hamlyn House & Hill House, 21 Highgate Hill, N19 5LP
14th May 2014 to 18th May 2014 Quayside Tower, Broad Street, B12HF
21st May 2014 to 25th May 2014 382-386, 388-390 & 414-428 Midsummer Boulevard, MK9 2EA
28th May 2014 to 1st Jun 2014 12-13 Bruton Street, W1J 6QA
4th Jun 2014 to 8th Jun 2014 Bray House, Westcott Way, SL6 3QH

Visit Eleanor Bennett on the web at: www.eleanorleonnebennett.com

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Eleanor Leonne Bennett is an internationally award winning photographer and visual artist. She is the CIWEM Young Environmental Photographer of The Year 2013 and has also won first places with National Geographic, The World Photography Organisation, Nature’s Best Photography, and The National Trust, to name but a few. Eleanor’s photography has been published in The Telegraph, The Guardian, The British Journal of Psychiatry, Life Force Magazine, British Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and as the cover of books and magazines extensively throughout the world. Her art is globally exhibited, having been shown in New York, Paris, London, Rome, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Copenhagen, Washington, Canada, Spain, Japan, and Australia, amongst many other locations. She was also the only person from the UK to have her work displayed in the National Geographic and Airbus run, See The Bigger Picture global exhibition tour with the United Nations International Year Of Biodiversity 2010. In 2012 her work received coverage on ABC Television. Her written work has had permanent showcase on the official company blog of Zenfolio. In 2012 she was especially invited by the founder of the Book Creators Circle to contribute an article to highlight the importance of the Day of the Imprisoned Writer.

An Interview with Featured Artist Shawn Huckins

January 1, 2014 by utpress Leave a Comment

"Three Gas Pumps" painting by Shawn Huckins - view is from right-view descending. Three brick red fuel dispensers at slight angle with their black pumps still tacked up. They rest on a blue-grey platform. Unused

By Cynthia Reeser with Shawn Huckins

Three Red Gas Pumps by Shawn Huckins

Cynthia Reeser (TRON): What inspires your artwork?

Shawn Huckins: My work has always been inspired by mundane environments—environments everyday people may overlook and not see the potential beauty in, within the given surroundings. Especially with my early work, I found beauty in old rusted-down gas pumps, old ice cream shops, or even a used can of Turkey SPAM. My current paintings involve replicating 18th and 19th Century paintings and superimposing everyday, mundane text messages from people’s everyday lives. This early work is also inspired various artists that I adore, such as Edward Hopper, Ralph Goings, Robert Bechlte, and David Hockey to name a few.

Romy’s Market by Shawn Huckins

CR: Please talk about your development as an artist.

SH: There has been lots of trial and error (more error, most likely) throughout my art practice, which is healthy in any artist’s development. My thought process has always been very technical and meticulous. My college teachers tried to get me to loosen up, but in the end, I would gravitate back toward my detailed process. I believe this to be okay, as artists tend to think in different manners. An abstract artist may have a difficult time thinking meticulously in the execution of a painting, just as I can’t think abstractly in my process. As a young boy, I was inspired by an older kid’s sketch book that he showed me on the bus, and since then, I’ve been drawing in sketch books. I would copy my favorite Disney characters, sports stars, and video game characters. I even designed golf courses in those books. I didn’t really paint extensively until I entered college. My first painting was when I was nine, using my late grandmother’s oil painting set. I remember having a very difficult time as I had no idea how to use the medium and got frustrated with it all. I returned to mainly drawing until college. When I knew how to and practiced with paints, it became less of a chore and more enjoyable. I’ve been painting exclusively ever since.

Sawyer’s Dairy Bar by Shawn Huckins

CR: Many of your pieces are very detailed. Could you talk about your process a bit?

SH: My paintings are based off photographs I take myself, taking several angles of the desired subject and even coming back at different times of the day to get different lighting effects. From there, I sketch several compositions onto tracing paper, swapping things out from one photo to another. For example, in “Sawyer’s Dairy Bar,” the entire composition is relatively on the same vertical plane. However, to give the painting a little depth, I composed the rotating sign in mid-rotation to have it protrude forward rather than be on the same plane as the rest of the building. In my early work, I used the grid system to lay out the painting onto large-scale canvases. But investing into a projector, the drawing process has been exceedingly faster, although projecting the smaller details of the paintings is still difficult. Those areas are still hand-drawn, which is great because it keeps my drawing skills up to par. Once the drawing is complete, I do a warm underpainting to establish shapes and shadows. And finally, the painting process. Like I mentioned before, I work in a meticulous manner, so I tend to work in small areas until completion and then move to another area. Finally, glazing or washes and then a coat of polymer UV varnish to protect and bring the colors to their fullest vibrancy.

Frank’s Barber Shop by Shawn Huckins

CR: What do you strive for in your work?

SH: Quality. My pet peeve is sloppy work and I have a high standard for work. If your collectors are buying work in the several thousands, they deserve a high-quality piece of work. And uniqueness. There are thousands of very talented artists, but their work gets lost among the other artists doing the same exact thing, such as landscapes, still-lifes of flowers, etc. Although it works for a few artists, in the end, an admirer will forget the work amongst the masses. I want someone to come along and say, “Wow, look at that Huckins painting,” just as they would be able pick out a Warhol, a Van Gogh, a Ruscha . . . My early work isn’t as unique as I’d like it to be, but I had lots of growing, learning, and experimentation, and currently, I believe my work is very distinguishable.

What’s next for Shawn Huckins…

New Paint Chip Paintings by Shawn Huckins, Opening March 20th, 2014 located at Art & Soul Gallery, Boulder Colorado. (Solo Exhibition)

Shawn Huckins New Paintings (In the American __tier series), September 2014, located at Design Matters LA, Los Angeles, California. (Solo Exhibition)

Visit Shawn Huckins on the web at: shawnhuckins.com

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Cynthia Reeser is the Founder and Publisher of Aqueous Books, and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Prick of the Spindle literary journal. She has published more than 100 reviews in print and online, as well as poetry and fiction in print and online journals. Her short stories are anthologized in the Daughters of Icarus Anthology (Pink Narcissus Press, 2013), and in Follow the Blood: Tales Inspired by The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew (Sundog Lit, 2013). Cynthia is currently working on a literary short story collection inspired by fairy tale lore. Also a senior editor for two association management companies, she lives and works in the Birmingham area and attends the University of Tampa in pursuit of her MFA in Creative Writing (fiction). Visit her on the web at www.cynthiareeser.com.