Daniel O'Connor was born in Brooklyn, NY. He lost his mother to cancer on her wedding anniversary, when he was four years of age, and then his father two years later. He lived with his grandmother until she passed when Dan was ten. Rather than purchase a clown mask and a chainsaw, he kept the demons at bay through books, movies, music - and writing.

During the recruitment process for a police career, Suffolk County, NY applicant investigators asked Dan how someone with such a difficult childhood managed to pass the drug, psychological and polygraph exams, along with the rigorous background check. Dan had a one word answer: Reading.

Upon completion of his highly decorated police career, Daniel moved to the southwest with his wife and two daughters. It is there that he wrote, using characters and scenarios developed with his late cousin Peter Randazzo, the dark and dangerous love letter to old Brooklyn: SONS OF THE POPE. That novel became the best-selling title in the history of Blood Bound Books, and reached #1 on three separate Amazon charts. That same publisher has now released Daniel's second novel, CANNI. It is his chillingly beautiful tribute to three experiences over which we have no real control: love, laughter, and terror.

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CANNI was the Publisher’s Weekly/BookLife #1 horror novel choice for fall.

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It has earned the “Most Requested Horror” title at NetGalley, and has both a bookseller’s, and librarians’ rating of 100%.

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HORROR NOVEL OF THE YEAR - The Independent Press®.

HORROR NOVEL OF THE YEAR - NYC Big Book Award.

HORROR NOVEL OF THE YEAR FINALIST - Top Shelf Literary Magazine.

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Current cumulative rating over all review sites: 4.1 out of 5 stars.

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“I’ve read many an outbreak story over the years, whether zombie apocalypse or psychotic mania, but this one managed to do a few things even I had rarely seen!

It’s a fun read, as various groups of characters strive for survival and a cure and are inevitably brought together for a delightfully entertaining finish.” – THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW

Daniel O'Connor has one goal. It is to spread THIS message to every child: "Please know that, no matter how alone you feel, nor how discouraged or impoverished you may be right now, you should focus on your dreams and disassociate yourself from people and situations that will drag you away from your goals. Drugs, drink, gangs, crime, self-mutilation, and the like will lead you down a dark and disastrous path from which you likely will never recover. Focus, work hard, be strong, and your dreams await you."

Dan is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association.

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BIG NAME reviews of SONS OF THE POPE:

"This is a very visual novel and the attention to detail is so rich that I could smell the dirty water dogs from the NYC street vendors. Bravo!" ~Romeo Tirone, Director of TRUE BLOOD, DEXTER, NURSE JACKIE, RED WIDOW and RECTIFY.

"Daniel O'Connor's SONS OF THE POPE reveals an interesting new talent with a snappy style. This is someone's career to watch." ~Andrew Neiderman, 100 million-selling author of THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE and numerous V.C. ANDREWS novels.

"A rich, epic chronicle of murder, the mob, and miracles..." ~ Kevin O'Brien, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of TERRIFIED, LAST VICTIM and ONLY SON.

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Short stories from Daniel:

"The Binding" from the anthology BLOOD RITES: AN INVITATION TO HORROR.

"Between Catskill and Cooperstown" from the anthology SERIAL KILLERS ITERUM.

"Sun Day" from the anthology ECLECTICALLY VEGAS, BABY!.

"The Kind People of Denary" from the anthology SCREAMING IN THE NIGHT.

ALL AVAILABLE NOW!

Daniel's blog: Canni.blog

Contact Daniel: AuthorDanO@gmail.com

Twitter: @DanOVegas

*FUN FACTS about Dan:

1) He created the name for the famous front four of the New York Jets known as the NEW YORK SACK EXCHANGE.

2) He has been interviewed on television by DAVID LETTERMAN.

3) He has appeared as an extra in an episode of DEXTER.

4) He has worked security for NBC and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.

5) He has the strength of 100 men.

6) He usually lies about one fun fact.

Warren Benedetto writes short fiction about horrible people doing horrible things.

He is a full member of the SFWA and has published dozens of stories in publications such as Dark Matter Magazine and The Dread Machine; on podcasts such as The NoSleep Podcast, Tales to Terrify, and The Creepy Podcast; and in anthologies from Scare Street, Ghost Orchid Press, Eerie River Publishing, Sinister Smile Press, and more.

He studied Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University and has a Master’s degree in Film/TV Writing from the University of Southern California. When he’s not writing, he works as Director of Global Product Strategy at PlayStation, where he holds 30+ patents for various types of gaming technology.

He is also the developer of StayFocusd, the world’s most popular anti-procrastination app for writers. He built it while procrastinating.

For more information, follow @warrenbenedetto on Twitter.

Curtis A. Bass (CurtisStories.blog), from the American South, writes short stories in a variety of genres including science fiction, horror, mystery, and young adult. He's had stories published in online and print journals and books, such as Youth Imagination, Fabula Argentea, Page & Spine, a Scars Best of 2020 anthology, and young adult and horror anthologies. When not writing he prefers to stay active ballroom dancing, cruising, or downhill skiing. He is currently working on his second novel while his first remains hidden in a desk drawer.

David Rider is the author of "Tweakers, Crane Girl and the Semi-pocalypse" on Kindle. He has also written stories for Sinister Smile Press. We Are Van Helsing Books One and Two are his first novels.

He grew up in Calumet City, Illinois, where the smiley-face water towers never looked the same after a leering stranger in a green sedan invited young David for a ride. (He declined.)

He now lives with his wife and kids in a rural Midwestern town that has no smiling faces on the water towers…only the scowling faces of dark entities lurking within the surrounding cornfields.

He sometimes busts out a costume and Photoshop for pretentious author pictures.

Steven Pajak is the author of novels, such as the U.S. Marshal Jack Monroe series, the Mad Swine trilogy, as well as short stories and novellas. When not writing, Steven works as an administrator at a university and COO, Managing Editor and Creative Director for Sinister Smile Press.

He continues to be an avid reader of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, John Saul, Richard Matheson, and many other favorite authors in the horror, suspense, thriller and general fiction areas.

Steven lives in the Chicagoland area with his wife and two teens.

R.E. Sargent is the author of three novels, four novelettes, and many short stories in the genres of suspense, supernatural, and horror. He is also an editor and a publisher. He is an active member of the Horror Writers Association, the Alliance of Independent Authors, and the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses. His short story, “Lucy,” was featured in the 2021 Splatterpunk Award–nominated anthology If I Die Before I Wake Volume 3 – Tales of Deadly Women and Retribution.

R.E. lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and their Chocolate Lab. And the rain. Lots and lots of rain. He is thankful that writing is an indoor activity.

Find out more about R.E. at www.resargent.com.

For a young Scott Harper growing up in 1970’s Southern California, the world was just a tad dull and unimaginative. He found a creative outlet in the world of Marvel Comics, fervidly devouring the monthly adventures of Iron Man, Hulk, and Captain America. Later, his tastes turned toward the Marvel black and white magazines’ more esoteric horror province, faithfully following titles such as Dracula Lives! and Tales of the Zombie. Influenced by these works and such great authors as Bram Stoker, John Steakley, and Marv Wolfman, Scott’s unique writing style combines horror and fantasy elements with superhero-style action. When not writing, Scott spends his time either reading, working out at the gym, adding to his model collection, or walking his two dogs. He lives in California with his wife and son.

Check out his web site at https://www.scottharpermacabremaestro.com/

Nick Roberts is a native West Virginian and a graduate of Marshall University. He is an active member of the Horror Writers Association and the Horror Authors Guild. His short works have been published in The Blue Mountain Review, Stonecrop Magazine, The Fiction Pool, Haunted MTL, The Indiana Horror Review, and anthologies by publishers, such as J. Ellington Ashton Press and Sinister Smile Press. His novel, Anathema, won Debut Novel of the Year at the 2020-2021 Horror Authors Guild Awards. His second novel, The Exorcist's House, was released in 2022 by Crystal Lake Publishing. Follow him at www.nickrobertsauthor.com, www.facebook.com/spookywv, www.twitter.com/nroberts9859, and www.instagram.com/spookywv.

Scotty Milder is a writer, filmmaker, and film educator living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He received his MFA in Screenwriting from Boston University, and his award-winning short films have screened at festivals all over the world, including Cinequest, the Dead By Dawn Festival of Horror, HollyShorts, and the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and CthulhuCon. His independent feature film "Dead Billy" is available to stream on Amazon.com and Google Play.

His short fiction has appeared or will appear in Dark Moon Digest, KZine, Lovecraftiana magazine, as well as anthologies from Dark Peninsula Press, Sinister Smile Press, Dark Ink Books, and others.

He teaches screenwriting and film production at Santa Fe Community College, Sol Acting Studios, and the Seattle Film Institute. He is also the co-host of "The Weirdest Thing" history podcast with actor/theatre artist Amelia Ampuero.

You can find him online at scottymilder.com or www.facebook.com/scottymilderwrites.

Sinister Smile Press is a publisher dedicated to the publication of anthologies and collaborative novels focusing on themes of horror, supernatural, karma and vengeance. Creating nightmares is our business...and business is good!

Visit us at www.sinistersmilepress.com

I'm an author and musician (plus sometime editor, visual artist, scriptwriter, composer, and all-round Renaissance man) based in Adelaide, South Australia. I've had over sixty short stories and poems published around the world thus far; I've always written, but for many years it came second to trying to establish a career in music. I write dark fiction, horror for the most part, though I take an eclectic angle to all things. My approach to writing is character-focused, broad-minded, and averse to standard tropes.

I was shortlisted for a 2020 Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novelette ("Heritage Hill") and I won two categories in the 2019 Australian Shadows Awards: Best Short Story ("Steadfast Shadowsong") and the Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction ("Supermassive Black Mass"). My work has been shortlisted three other times for the Shadows Awards ("The Heart of the Mission", 2016; "This Impossible Gift", 2017; "Vision Thing", 2020), three times for the Aurealis Awards ("Andromeda Ascends", 2018; "Supermassive Black Mass", 2019; "Pilgrimage", 2019), and once for the Washington Science Fiction Association Small Press Award ("Heritage Hill", 2020). I also served as a reader and judge for the 2016 and 2017 Aurealis Awards — acting as Panel Convenor the second year — and for the 2018 and 2019 Australian Shadows Awards.

My first collection of short stories, IF ONLY TONIGHT WE COULD SLEEP, was released by Things in the Well on January 31, 2020. My first novel, MIDNIGHT IN THE CHAPEL OF LOVE, was published by JournalStone on January 29, 2021.

I've performed spoken word shows with punk poets Paroxysm Press, including three Adelaide Fringe gigs, and with the SA Writers Centre — the latter in the West Terrace Cemetery. I attended MAPS Film School in 2010 and since then I have been sporadically involved in short films and live videos as a scriptwriter, director, editor, producer, composer, grip, and (gasp!) actor. My most recent film work has been as an extra in a number of club scenes for Dick Dale's forthcoming splatterpunk feature RIBSPREADER. I play bass and other instruments, sing, write songs, edit videos, create album sleeves, and do all sorts of other things in the progressive/alternative rock/metal bands Blood Red Renaissance (on hiatus since 2013) and icecocoon. I've so far played on seven albums, three EPs, and seven singles, and I've gigged extensively with numerous bands and one-offs.

I currently live in Somerton Park.

Alexandr Bond first began writing when he was nine years old. His first story was for a contest held by Disney. He didn’t win but that is beside the point as the desire to tell stories has never left him. He has been published in a number of NaNoWriMo anthologies, Cosmic Horror Monthly, and Sinister Smile Press. He has a love for many different genres including fantasy, the supernatural, and horror but by no means is he limited to them. From science fiction to westerns, each has a part to play, so to speak. He favors narratives as well as verse and will often switch between the two. He enjoys the works of H. P. Lovecraft, John Saul, Rin Chupeco, and Kim Harrison as well as many others.

When not writing, he enjoys reading his ever growing pile of books, photography, an increasing D&D obsession, and traveling. He briefly hosted a radio show focused on different types of literature when he volunteered for an online magazine. And has worked in farmer’s markets He went to film school and has his BA in English/Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. Alexandr has journeyed throughout the continental United States but currently lives in North Carolina with his family and a bunch of crazy animals.