Michael McCarty has been a professional writer since 1983 and the author of over forty books of fiction and nonfiction, as well as hundreds of articles, short stories and poems. He is a Five-Time Bram Stoker Finalist and winner of the David R. Collins' Literary Achievement Award from the Midwest Writing Center.

He is the author of such books DARK CITIES: DARK TALES, DARK DUETS: MUSICAL MAYHEM, A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FIENDS, I KISSED A GHOUL and LOST GIRL OF THE LAKE (with Joe McKinney)

In Nonfiction, he wrote MODERN MYTHMAKERS (Crystal Lake Publications) a collection of interviews with Ray Bradbury, Dean Koontz, John Saul, Elvira, William F. Nolan, the cast & crew of Night of the Living Dead and several more. He also co-written the book CONVERSATIONS WITH KRESKIN with The Amazing Kreskin (Team Kreskin Productions) a cornucopia of stories of Kreskin's Amazing life, culture, famous friends, inside knowledge of entertainment personalities, his mind power, thought reading, and much more. ESOTERIA-LAND the Authentic, Eclectic & Eccentric Nonfiction of Michael McCarty and GHOSTS OF THE QUAD CITIES (with Mark McLaughlin) true ghost stories in the Quad Cities metro area.

Michael McCarty have written the following fiction books with Mark McLaughlin: DRACULA TRANSFORMED & OTHER BLOODTHIRSTY TALES (Dracula & vampire short stories and novellas), APOCALYPSE AMERICA! a science fiction and horror novel and MONSTER BEHIND THE WHEEL a horror novel.

Michael McCarty & Jody LaGreca wrote the BLOODLESS series together (published by Simon & Schuster (as a kindle) and Amazon as a trade paperback. The three book series BLOODLESS, BLOODLUST and BLOODLINE is about a 100 year old vampire who survives both the sinking of the Lusitania and the Hindenburgh explosion but has a hard time dealing with his family.

His stories and interviews have appeared in a wide variety of magazines and anthologies including Fangoria, Cemetery Dance, Starlog, Filmfax, ON WRITING HORROR (A Handbook by the Horror Writers Association, edited by Mort Castle), MIDNIGHT PREMIERE and IN LAYMON TERMS (both anthos from Cemetery Dance publications).

McCarty's first solo novel, a vampire satire called LIQUID DIET, was released in 2009 release by Black Death/Demonic Clown Books and republished as an ebook as LIQUID DIET & MIDNIGHT SNACK: 2 VAMPIRE SATIRES from Whiskey Creek Press. McCarty was the former staff writer for Science Fiction Weekly (the official website of the Sci-Fi Channel). He can be found on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelMcCarty.Horror

MARK McLAUGHLIN has excelled at writing horror and dark fantasy fiction for most of his life, while still working as a consultant in the fields of marketing and public relations. His fiction is noted for providing a more contemporary edge to genre storylines. His works have appeared in hundreds of magazines, websites, and anthologies worldwide. In 2023, he was a Guest of Honor at the Necronomicon Tampa convention, along with his collaborator and best friend, Michael Sheehan, Jr. McLaughlin is the author of the novella, HEPZIBAH'S GAZEBO; the novels HUMAN DOLL, THE HELL NEXT DOOR, and INJECTABLES; and many fiction collections, including:

- THE WEIRD WORLD OF MARK McLAUGHLIN MEGAPACK(R)

- BEST LITTLE WITCH-HOUSE IN ARKHAM

- HIDEOUS FACES, BEAUTIFUL SKULLS

- EMPRESS OF THE LIVING DEAD

- MIDNIGHT PET SHOW

- DIMENSION OF MONSTERS

- UMBRA SAPIENS

- THE SPIDERWEB TREE

- URBAN MONSTERS

- and the story, KEEGAN'S COMPANIONS.

Lovecraftian story collections co-written by McLaughlin and Michael Sheehan, Jr. include:

- HORRORS & ABOMINATIONS

- NIGHTMARES & TENTACLES

- THE WRATH OF NYARLATHOTEP

- WEIRD WORSHIP

- THE HOUSE OF THE OCELOT

- THE PRISONER OF CARCOSA

- CITY OF LIVING SHADOWS

- and the story, THE DOOMSDAY THAW.

Poetry collections by McLaughlin include CRUSHED VELVET, EMBRACE OF THE INTERNET WITCH, THE ARRIVAL OF OUR NEW MASTER, and PROFESSOR LaGUNGO’S EXOTIC ARTIFACTS & ASSORTED MYSTIC COLLECTIBLES: INCREASED INVENTORY. Mark is the coauthor, with Rain Graves and David Niall Wilson, of THE GOSSAMER EYE, which won the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Poetry.

McLaughlin is the most widely published living writer raised in the Iowa/Illinois Quad-Cities area, with readers across the United States and in England, Canada, Japan, and Germany.

What other authors have said about Mark McLaughlin’s work:

"In the most devious manner, McLaughlin's stories achieve a high degree of demonism by perpetuating a sinister 'humor' at the gallows of the human comedy."

– Thomas Ligotti, author of GRIMSCRIBE

"Absolutely fabulous ... McLaughlin is HOT! If your palette is jaded, come to the feast that is Mark McLaughlin ... massive helpings of grisly horror, black humour and surreal splendour. Hugely satisfying, but I guarantee you’ll beg for more."

– Simon Clark, author of NIGHT OF THE TRIFFIDS

"Mark McLaughlin ... deftly mixes grisly horror with outlandish humor ... It is this bizarre voice that has earned McLaughlin an underground legion of hardcore, devoted fans."

– Brian Keene, author of THE RISING

"Gruesome, funny and touching. Top that: anybody..."

– Matthew Nadelhaft, TANGENT

"However outlandish the territory, he knows exactly where he is going...."

– Joel Lane, THE ZONE Magazine