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Staff
Joe Morey - Founder and Fiction Editor
I was born in Seattle, Washington on November 7th, 1958. When I was one and a half years old my parents transported me to Northern California inside a box between two lamps. I grew up in Walnut Creek with two brothers and a sister.
At an early age I demonstrated a definite above average athletic ability. I joined the Peanut League and became well known for my hitting, fielding, and later pitching ability, winning many league championships. So good in fact that the Expos were coming out to look at me. At least that's what my father told me on the night of a championship. We won. Unfortunately, I found that I sincerely despised aggressive, obnoxious competition. I hated the in-your-face attitude so I quit baseball. Bewildered and searching for my identity, I found solace in literature.
At the age of ten I fell in love with the movie "The Wizard of Oz." I then went on to read all of Frank Baum's books. There were many a time when my father caught me late at night with a flashlight and book beneath my bed covers. With my eyes darting back and forth, and my imagination soaring, I was so spellbound I would not even hear my father come into the bedroom, and of course he would scare the hell out of me and request that I finish my book the next day. I would agree. When he left I would quickly retrieve my book and flashlight and soar back into the fertile imagination of Frank Baum. These were important memories for me and assuredly shaped my childhood and continued interest in the field.
The other books I enjoyed reading as a child were Hardy Boys Mysteries, The Chronicles of Narnia, Mystery of the Lost Mine, Alice in Wonderland, and Alfred Hitchcock's short stories. By the sixth grade I was reading Ray Bradbury's The October Country, The Illustrated Man, I Sing The Body Electric, and the rest of his books. The other writers who I'd come to enjoy were Fritz Lieber, Roger Zelazny, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Bloch, Andre Norton, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Silverberg, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Fredrick Brown, and many more. Of course, "The Twilight Zone" blew me away, and I still love to kick back and watch the old reruns.
By around eighteen I started working for my father at Atlas Engraving Company, a stationery engraving shop in San Francisco where he once pronounced, "You're reading Lord of the Rings again?" To him I responded "Yep. It's a better world than this place!" He didn't understand. It was at this time that I started to learn my father's trade and became an excellent stationery engraver. After quite a few years I found out how physically exhausting the job could be. I saw how tired my father was becoming, and I suddenly realized I didn't want to be a stationery engraver forever. I moved on, but not very far, or far enough in my opinion. I purchased a small A.B. Dick friction feeding press from the Contra Costa Newspaper want ads and taught myself how to print.
In the early '80s I'd found an issue of The Horror Show Magazine at Tower Books, and inside of it was an ad for the SPWAO. Marge Simon was president of the organization at the time, I believe. I joined and read the SPWAO newsletters and purchased a number of small press magazines. My love for H/F/SF soon became entwined with the small press. It was only a matter of time before I had the monumental realization that I could become a publisher myself. I owned a printing press, didn't I? There were plenty of other people doing it, right? Why not me! But I didn't realize how difficult and complex publishing a magazine and books were until I published my first little chapbook, Regions, but by that time I was a goner -- a die-hard. I was soon living and breathing ink and the written word. At that time I couldn't get enough. In 1985 Dark Regions Press came into existence.
The title was thought up by me and my friend Keith one dark and stormy night. You might say it was rather an intoxicating blend of the pitter-patter of raindrops, wind, Foster's beer and Cinnamon Schnapps, and "The Twilight Zone." I am afraid I cannot remember the actual conversation that took place. Unfortunately, like Keith it has been lost to time.
I have been asked "Why do you do it?" I think I have explained that above. Love and passion. Finding good short stories reminds me of when I was a child finding shining agates in the pristine waters of Washington's New Walkum River. It is like finding hidden treasure in someone's imagination, and great art if you are lucky. For me, it is an extremely intellectual and enjoyable experience.
I have always felt Dark Regions Magazine has been a place for beginning writers to have their work published. Our commitment of integrity to publish the best work we receive has been our standard, and many writers who have been published in Dark Regions have gone on to have novels and short stories published by major magazines and book companies. We're proud of this fact and hope to continue on publishing into the next century.
Currently, we own and operate Orinda Press in California printing many magazines, books, and business papers as well as continuing my work with Dark Regions Magazine and related projects. I would like to have more time to write, and hope to find the time in the near future. My other passion is astronomy. I am a member of the Mt. Diablo Astronomical Association and try to stargaze as much as possible with my friend John. I own two telescopes. The universe is an astounding place full of beauty and knowledge. I love to go there. I am married to my lovely and sweet wife Bobbi Sinha-Morey, and I have a son, Chris, who is a computer and game wizard. Without Bobbi there would be no Dark Regions. I am a lucky man.
Jeffrey Thomas - Novel Editor
Jeffrey Thomas has written the following novels and short story collections for Dark Regions Press: The Fall of Hades, Nocturnal Emissions, Voices From Punktown, Voices From Hades and Doomsdays. He is also the author of such books as Punktown, Deadstock, Blue War, Letters from Hades and A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Dealers. Several of his books have been translated into German, Russian, Greek, Polish and Taiwanese editions. His stories have appeared in the anthologies The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, The Year’s Best Horror Stories and The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction. Thomas lives in Massachusetts. His blog can be found at http://punktalk.punktowner.com.
Bruce Boston - Poetry Editor
Bruce Boston is the author of forty-seven books and chapbooks, thirty of which are poetry collections. His poems have received a record seven Rhysling Awards, a record six Asimov’s Readers Awards, and a record three Bram Stoker Awards for collection (Pitchblende, 2003, Shades Fantastic, 2006, The Nightmare Collection, 2008). He also received the first Grandmaster Award of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, 1999.
Bruce’s fiction has appeared in Asimov’s SF Magazine, Amazing Stories, The Twilight Zone Magazine, Realms of Fantasy, Science Fiction Age, The Pushcart Prize Anthology, and hundreds of other publications. His 1993 novel Stained Glass Rain has been called “probably the best novel yet written about the sixties and its drug culture” (Howard V. Hendrix, Tangent) and his 2007 dystopian novel The Guardener’s Tale was a Bram Stoker Award Finalist and a Prometheus Award nominee.
Bruce has worked in a variety of occupations, including computer programmer, technical writer, book designer, creative writing professor, gardener, and furniture mover. He holds the distinctions of appearing in more issues of Asimov’s SF Magazine than any other author and coining the word “cybertext.”
He lives in Ocala, Florida, with his wife, writer-artist Marge Simon, where they enjoy good books, good music, good films, and good food. Both Bruce and Marge are regular program guests at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts and the Oasis SF Convention.
Bobbi Sinha-Morey - Poetry Editor
Bobbi Sinha-Morey is an accomplished poet and nonfiction writer, while in the past she's been an archivist and secretary. She is married to publisher Joe Morey, has a stepson, Chris, and loves collecting episodes of "The Avengers". Her work can be seen in a variety of publications such as New Thought Journal, The Best of Pirate Writings, Fagan, Isis Rising, Thoughts of Christmas, Prisoners Of The Night, Dreams of Decadence, Rouge et Noir, The Rhysling Anthology, Calliope, The Pinehurst Journal, Potpourri, Star*Line, Dreams and Nightmares, Talebones, Time Of Singing, Red Owl, Icarus Ascending, Frisson, Amanita Brandy, Lucid Moon, Nomad's Choir, Middle Eastern Dancer, Spellbound, Icarus Ascending, Xenophilia, Amelia, Midwest Poetry Review, Dream International Quarterly, Eldritch Tales, Palace Corbie, Fantasque, CZ Online, Confrontation,Edgar, New World Poetry, Peaky Hide, The Herb Network, Black Petals, The Midnight Gallery, Reflector, The Catbird Seat, Penny Dreadful, Once Upon A World, Night Roses, and many others.
She has done a number of poetry books titled The Lighter Side Of The Writing Life, Serendipity, The Sixth Vision, and The Lilac-Bleeding Star. And now, on the Internet, her books of poetry The Sylvan, Tears Of A Mourning Rose, Sorceress At Breakfast, and Heart Of An Indian, At The Orange Blossom Cafe, Marigolds In The Snow, Tears of Light, Snow Petals In May, Firelight on Snow, and The Quiet Scent of Jasmine, Stilness In The Garden Of Light, and White Tea are all available at www.writewordsinc.com. The latter, White Tea, which was some of her strongest work, was up for the EPIC Award in 2009, an award for electronic books of poetry. Plus her new 'best of' collection, Songs of A Sorceress which was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award in 2006, can be found at Amazon.com.
In addition, she has won first place in the First Annual Science Fiction/Fantasy/ Horror Poetry, Short Story, First Chapter Contest in 1996 held by the North Texas Professional Writers Association, the 1997 Cedar Bay Press LLC Poet's Award for Outstanding Achievement, and as Best Poet of 1994 by the Small Press Genre Association. She has earned two Honorable Mentions in Ellen Datlow's Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and on different occasions has even been nominated for the Rhysling. In addition, one of her poems, "Urania," which appeared in the book A Time To..., was a finalist for the Eppie Award. She joined the Academy of American Poets in 2009, and she made inclusion in the 2010 edition of the Marquis' Who's Who in the World.
For three years she also wrote reviews of TV Shows for TV Tome before it ended and turned into TV.COM. She did over a hundred reviews of "Seinfeld," "Frasier," and "Cheers."
In the past she has been co-editor of Horror Magazine, editor of The Genre Writer's News, associate editor for Aberrations, poetry editor for the original Aberations, poetry editor for Midnight Zoo, and writer for The Orinda News.
She has also done a variety of nonfiction which can be seen in magazines such as E-scape, Eternal Twilight Magazine, Fantasy, Folklore, and Fairy Tales, Just Write, SPWAO, Maelstrom, Puck, Gotta Write, Dark Matter, The Reaper, India Currents, Lite Delight, Eagle's Flight, Matriarch's Way, Verses, Literary Magazine Review, and others. In addition, she's been a poetry columnist for years. Plus she has steadily been doing reviews for The Specusphere over the years. She's done eighty five reviews for them so far, and like the Energizer Bunny she keeps on going.
Her fiction includes work in Alternate Realities, Lost Ages Chronicle, Beyond The Rose, Rosewort, The Fifth Dimension, Tales Of The Unanticipated, The Vampire's Crypt, Shadow Magazine, and New England Writer's Network, among others.
While a student at Wright State University she worked on the student body literary magazine, Nexus. In 1987 she graduated from WSU with honors and a BA in Communications. She worked as a reporter for The Daily Guardian, earned a Professional Writer's Certificate from the English Department, and was a member of the Spanish Club.
In her lifetime she has been to France, India, and England, the latter when she was a child. Her parents stayed in a flat during the summers and they would take her to Battersea Park, Piccadilly Circus, Brighton Beach, and the river Thames where she played with childhood friends. India was even more adventurous for her. After high school graduation she visited places such as Kashmir, Bombay, Goa, Udaipur, Jaipur, Kovalum Beach, New Delhi, and Calcutta. On her first trip she stayed for three months; on the second trip she lived there for about five. Although not an ounce of her is Indian, she often enjoys writing about India and its culture. People often ask her about the name Sinha though. It comes from her former husband.
When did she get interested in literature? When she was in England and could read all the comic books for girls there. She devoured the cartoons inside Mandy, Bunty, Debby, Diana, Judy, The Beano, and Cor. The stories were fantasy, humor, mystery, horror, science fiction, and drama. There were often some truly strange stories like "The Voice In Her Tranny," "The Fish Twins," and "Kid Chameleon," which was an adventure fantasy about a boy who could change the color of his skin.
As a child she also enjoyed reading The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, James Thurber, and all the scary stories she could find. Today she enjoys reading the work of Lewis Carroll, Emily Dickinson, May Sarton, Maya Angelou, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Sara Teasdale, Dorothy Parker, Edgar Allan Poe, and Margaret Atwood, among others. In her own words, "I write poetry to reach my inner child and in an effort to find happiness when the world collapses around me. My journey through life has been a perilous one. Deep down, I am constantly searching for a night rose in the darkness.
Chris Morey - Webmaster, Marketer, Community Manager
Hello, thanks for taking the time to read my bio. As you might have guessed, I'm Chris Morey, Website developer, Webmaster and Marketer for Dark Regions Press. Son of Joe Morey and Stepson of Bobbi Morey who are two of my favorite people in this world.
My passion since the age of two has been technology and creating things. It took me a while to figure out how to put those two together, so I wasted many hours in video games. Any game that came bundled with a level/map creator I would drown countless days into because the act of being creative filled the void in my soul. Then I discovered computers. At the age of seventeen I launched my own online business that brought me success and taught me many of the ins and outs of the internet world. Now, my goal is to make a living off Webmaster jobs and perhaps become a successful writer.
I've been writing fairly prolifically for the past half a year, largely inspired by all the creative genius behind much of what everyone involved in Dark Regions Press is creating. My story "Rats and Rose Petals" was published in the first issue of Ghostlight magazine, my story "Plethora" was accepted for publication by GASP Magazine while "Jack Moore Journal: Day 0" was accepted for publication in Ominous Magazine. My Myspace profile, which has over 52,000 friends, is where I first started posting my writings for free, and there they have been read over 26,000 times. My story "Stars of the Highway" was read over 800 times within the first 24 hours of its posting. I've been writing a new story every few weeks and started writing some poetry too. I've also just recently launched my personal website at www.chrismorey.com where I have much of my writings posted for free. The more I read and write the more my love for writing grows, so I can't see my constant typing slowing down any time soon, despite my sore fingers.
It's my pleasure to be part of Dark Regions Press. If we have continued success, I look forward to contributing to Dark Regions Press for many years to come. But that's it for now, there are other things in my screen that need tending to. Thanks for reading.
F.J. Bergmann - Copy editor
F.J. Bergmann writes poetry and speculative fiction, often simultaneously, appearing in Asimov's, Expanded Horizons, Horror Garage, Strange Horizons, Weird Tales, and a bunch of literary journals that should have known better. "Eating Light" won a 2008 Rhysling award; "Pale Horse" won the 2006 Mary Shelley Imaginative Fiction Award. Her most recent chapbook is Constellation of the Dragonfly (Plan B Press, 2008); Out of the Black Forest is forthcoming from Centennial Press. The poetry editor of Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, she frequents Wisconsin and fibitz.com
