The Authors Quill guest writer Thomas K_ Slee illustrator April Solomon

Thomas K. Slee grew up reading his mum and dad’s collection of pulp science fiction, thrillers, and detective stories in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. The first thing he can remember writing was a Dinotopia spin-off, before progressing to Warhammer 40K stories, then essays, then engineering reports. In 2020, the pandemic hit and he started a writing group with his parents, his girlfriend’s dad, his brother, and his cousin as a way of keeping in touch while locked inside. Five years later, the family writing group is still going strong (they’re writing a ’40s noir radio play together). Thomas has had work published in Aurealis magazine and The West Australian newspaper. He is an active member of the Melbourne-based speculative fiction community Meridian Australis and has successfully self-published his debut technothriller: Project Gateway. His story “Form 14B: Application for Certification of Consciousness Transfer (Post Mortem)” started life as a thumbnail idea from a brainstorming session for Chris McKitterick’s 2023 “Science into Fiction” Writing Workshop: how much paperwork would be required to get your mind transferred into a new body? April Solomon was born in 1983 and raised in Laguna Beach, California. Since she was a small child, April has had a talent for drawing and painting. She would draw anything and everything that came into her imagination. Of all things, she drew dragons the most! Thankfully, her loving and encouraging family inspired her to embrace her love for the arts. She grew up around art. Her father’s art studio was filled with all the delights a child could indulge. His bookshelves held stacks of art books containing illustrations from the old masters, the golden age illustrators, and even some fantasy art from the TSRs Dungeons and Dragons. Inspiration came in many forms. Fortunately it was everywhere! and so her career as a young artist began. Today April is an illustrator and fine artist who has earned her bachelor’s degree in illustration at the Laguna College of Art and Design. April’s passion for learning the old masterful techniques of traditional drawing and painting are precisely what inspires her work. Among her love for the fine arts is her unique appreciation for whimsical fantasy, which adorns every image of her portfolio. April’s meticulous creature designs aim for what is known as “fantastic realism.” A clever, concise understanding of anatomy, plants, and mysterious textures weave their way into her illustrations, leaving the viewer guessing at origins, influences, and ancestry. April’s work allows the viewer to dive imaginatively deeper, and reconsider whether dragons might be real or whether werewolves exist to stalk the streets at night. When not illustrating, April attends garage sales to unearth buried treasures, runs and lifts weights, or braves as many haunted attractions as possible during the month of October. Find out more about April here,... AprilSolomonArt.com