Beyond Grimm (Paperback)

In his writing, Alan S Kessler creates complex, marginalized, and oftenflawed characters in stories exploring the nature of good and evil and thecorrosive effect of racism, abuse, and social injustice. His writing isinfluenced by childhood pain. As he stated in a blurb about his mostpersonal novel, Shadowlands, " I was born in a small town in Ohio. TheMidwest is associated with wholesomeness and family values. I know frompersonal experience this isn't always the case. Those corn fields often hidemore within them than the sound of the wind." The past can cripple, for Mr.Kessler it created a writer, one who has empathy for even his imperfectcharacters who are neither good nor bad but inhabit the gray area in-between. His writing is both dark and hopeful with forgiveness andunderstanding woven into the worlds he creates. No one is judged...Except the truly wicked. Alan S. Kessler believes in social justice andretribution toward those who oppress the powerless and harm the innocent.

Kali Kahn lived from childhood through her high school years in Montpelier, Vermont, in an older house bathed in the natural light of many large windows and filled with visual art. Her happy place was sipping cocoa while drawing and dreaming by a roaring fire in the wood stove on cold wintry days. From a young age, she relished keeping her hands and mind busy designing, drawing, and engaging in imaginative play with whimsical props, objects, and toys. At bedtime, her mother read fairy tales, myths, and stories rich with elaborate illustrations and fanciful words. Kali's childhood education included a mix of local public schools and a few middle years in an alternative school with a focus on creative making and stage productions. At Montpelier High School, she was a regular in the art room as inspired by the beloved late artist and educator Barbara Austin-Hutchins. Kali spent her senior high school year enrolled in the Digital Media Arts Program at the Central Vermont Career Center where she explored diverse media and earned college credits under the engaging direction of Matthew Binginot (www.matthewbinginot.com/). Her post-secondary years at the Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, Massachusetts expanded her artistic and academic horizons under the guidance of professional artists such as Shanth Enjeti (www.shanthenjetiart.com/), who encouraged her to sharpen her skills and pursue her own unique vision. Kali's major influences include the luminous and detailed illustrations underpinning the animation of Hayao Miyazaki; the illustrated graphic novel series of Neil Gaiman; and animated series such as Nickelodeon's "Avatar: The Last Airbender." Kali currently resides in Leesburg, Virginia, where she works in a variety of media in her home-based art business.