Contact
Interested in submitting fiction or non-fiction to Twilight Tales Online? See our submission guidelines.
Our staff of dedicated volunteers keep things running and in top shape. For more about the Twilight Tales organization, see the About page.
ERIC CHERRYLive Shows Director, Scheduling Team, Special Events Staff
ERIC CHERRY is the “EmCee”–Master of Ceremonies, that is–of Twilight Tales. Besides making sure the Open Mics and Featured Reader Nights run smoothly (both at the mic and behind the scenes), he also serves on the publication committee doing copy-editing and proofing.
Eric says he’s “fascinated by the craft of writing: any genre of fiction, any stripe of non-fiction; from the conception of ideas to the final polish. There is no more enjoyable topic of conversation…and every Monday night, Twilight Tales draws a solid crowd of authors to engage in conversation. There’s no place I’d rather be.”
Contact Eric: producer@twilighttales.com
ED DEGEORGEFiction Editor
ED DEGEORGE books fiction authors for the Twilight Tales site. He took an interest in reading and writing
at a young age. His earliest memories are of a Woody Woodpecker Golden Book, Superman and Batman comic books, and Dark Shadows paperbacks. Circa age six, he remembers sitting with his Aunt Cecilia and creating an eight-page picture book from a sheet of typing paper and bound with green yarn. It told of a little boy’s adventures walking on the moon.
Today he is the owner of the publishing house October Comics, through which he has written and published Dr. Weird and Y’s Guys. Forthcoming comic book titles are Root Beer & Peanut Butter, Alice: New Adventures in Wonderland, and Johnny Lovecraft.
His writing has appeared in Swords Against Darkness V, the Dutch anthology Nirwana, Fantasy Book, Battle Axe, Big Bang Comics, Cthulhu and the Coeds, Crypt of Cthulhu, Screw, and Castle Rock.
Contact Ed: ed@twilighttales.com
TINA JENS - RETIRED
TINA JENS founded Twilight Tales back in 1993, and incorporated the organization as a tax-exempt non-profit in 2006. She served as the CEO and chairman of the board, among other roles. As Editor/Publisher, she oversaw the publication of 26 anthologies and collections.
Her first novel, THE BLUES AIN’T NOTHIN’: TALES OF THE LONESOME BLUES PUB, (Design Image Group Publishers) received numerous honors.
Little did she know just what she was getting into when it all started back in 1993. She has served as the Chairperson of the Horror Writers Association Board of Trustees, as a boardmember of the World Fantasy Convention, and has co-chaired both the World Fantasy Convention and the World Horror Convention.
She retired from the organization after 14 years to devote more time to her own writing. She also teaches a Fantasy Writing course at Columbia College - Chicago.
KEN KURPIEL
Educational Seminars Director
KEN loves to write poetry, short stories, dirty limericks and other types of petite works that get a smile. He is Mr. Romance for the Red Light Night alongside Ms. Viki Rollins, who is the true dirty limerick queen. You may even recognize him as the huge ham at the Drums Around the Fire event, which is his favorite.
His career as manager and volunteer for Chicago City Events has made it more likely you’ll to see him working at street festivals, or holding a rope under the Spongebob balloon in the Thanksgiving Day Parade than on Monday nights.
This short hiatus from Twilight Tales will be ending very soon.
Beware.
Contact Ken: ken@twilighttales.com
STEVE LAURENT
Online Office Manager
STEVE LAURENT has been writing since he was a little kid. He attended Jeanne Cavelos’ Odyssey Fantasy Writer’s Workshop and was First Runner Up at Warner Aspects First Novel Contest. He’s published short stories, essays, and even an article on “How to Find Your Local Vortex” for Fate Magazine. Steve lives in Oak Park, IL with his wife Barbara and when not writing is fixing up an old, old house.
Contact Steve: steve@twilighttales.com
MIKE MARTINEZ
Scheduling Team
MIKE MARTINEZ is a lifelong resident of Chicago, and his stories feature the city as much as any other character he writes about. He was dragged without (much) protest onto the Scheduling Team by the flying fickle finger of fate and a hatred of blank spaces on web pages.
Mike can frequently be seen regaling unsuspecting crowds with his genre-bending stories, with the afterlife (or un-life) being his favorite theme.
Contact Mike: scheduling@twilighttales.com
DAVID MUNGER
Internet Media Director
DAVID MUNGER oversees the content production as well as the content management of the web site. He also produces, reads for, and composes music for the Twilight Tales podcast. His story, “Two Sizes Too Small,” appears in the Twilight Tales anthology, Spooks!
Contact Dave: webmaster@twilighttales.com
CRAIG D.B. PATTON
Vice President of Marketing
CRAIG D.B. PATTON brings to Twilight Tales over a decade of experience as a marketing executive for both corporations and not-for-profit organizations. During much of the 90s he worked in the information technology consulting industry for everything from global corporations to a start up company he helped build into an over $1 million business before its acquisition. Seeking to more closely align his day-job with his ambition to become a professional fiction writer, he entered the Chicago arts scene and became Marketing Director of Redmoon Theater. During his three and a half years with Redmoon, he focused on building the company’s brand, revamping their promotional materials, and expanding their earned income business. He received an ABBY award from the Arts & Business Council of Chicago for his work creating a local touring business for the company. Following the birth of his first child, he left the full-time work force to become a stay-at-home Dad. He continues to provide freelance marketing and grant writing services to a variety of Chicago clients.
As a fiction writer, his work has appeared in the anthology Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Pocket Books), and on Dred Tales and Horrorfind. He was a featured author at Twilight Tales in March of 2006 and also pops up now and again at open mics.
Contact Craig: craig@twilighttales.com
DARCI STRATTON
Show Assistant, Scheduling Team, Special Events Staff
DARCI STRATTON has lived in Chicago since 1995, and has been a part of Twilight Tales (first as attendee, then as all-around “helper”) since learning of it four years later. She describes herself as a science fiction and RPG geek, and enjoys scribbling longhand stories in spiral notebooks till well past what should be her bedtime.
Contact Darci: darcistratton@yahoo.com
MARTEL SARDINA
Support Assistant
After a 15-year hiatus from writing and other creative pursuits, MARTEL SARDINA, the prodigal daughter, has finally returned home. Her absence from the writing world included a stint in public accounting, traveling North America via motorcycle, and the continuing journey of parenthood.
Martel claims to have a “freaky people tolerance” that is higher than the average person, which may explain her fondness for tattoo artists, musicians, writers and leather-clad biker types. If you wish to drive her to the brink of insanity, give her feedback on her work and send her into a rewriting frenzy.
Contact Martel: martel@twilighttales.com
JOE
Red Lion co-owner, Bartender
JOE takes care of the Twilight Tales gang at the Red Lion Pub every Monday night at 2446 North Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. If you’re in the Chicago-land area and want some excellent food and ale, stop in at the Lion! They love the arts, and we love them for putting up with us.
Our favorite bartender, Joe’s been immortalized in the fiction of many of the Twilight Tales (Ir)Regulars. If you read about ‘Joe the bartender’ in a Chicago author’s story, you can be certain this is the guy.
If you’re thirsty but don’t know what you want, he can recommend many a fine single malt scotch or whip up a unique cocktail for you on the spot. If you’re a guy, he won’t even laugh at you if you order a Shandee. That’s how nice he is.
