DreamForge Anvil | Issue 12
Our theme in Issue 12 revolves around sanctuaries and asylums. From intimate tales of personal struggle to broader narratives of societal oppression, these tales explore the complex tapestry of human resilience, capturing the spirit of hope and survival in the face of adversity. 

In this issue a witch’s magic holds a community together in “The Park;” a refugee finds both fresh sushi and asylum where it should least be expected in “A Language Older Than Words;” and drag queens fight off haters as they travel the lands of apocalypse to bring love and precipitation in “The Rainmakers.” 

Our Contributors
Dr. Lee Carroll
CALLING ALL NEW READERS, WRITERS & ILLUSTRATORS! IT’S TIME TO DISCOVER  WRITERS OF THE FUTURE VOLUME 39
Working abroad in 10 countries of Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, both as a doctor and teacher, has shown me life as a prism of viewpoints. That experience has enriched my writing, to the point where I enjoy showcasing the admiration I feel for varied cultures. For example, my WOTF Semi-finalist entry is published for Kindle as Death Clearinghouse: The Novelette [B07TM3X2RY], featuring Apache ingenuity. When I'm not writing, I'm yanking swords out of stones around the world. (Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07TRC1F4V/about)
Megan M. Davies-Ostrom
The Rainmakers
Megan M. Davies-Ostrom is a Canadian author with a penchant for horror and dark speculative fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Fantasy Magazine, Cosmic Horror Monthly, and anthologies such as Dark Waters and Bodies Full of Burning. 
Megan lives in Ontario with her husband, daughter, and two (strange) cats. When not writing or carrying-out the duties of her civil-servant alter-ego, she enjoys hiking, reading, and playing board games. 
 
Story Notes for The Rain Makers
 
“The Rainmakers” was inspired by an anthology call for joyful, queer, post-apocalyptic stories. I’m a lifelong fan of the disaster/apocalypse genre, but it can be bleak. The idea of writing a story that centred joy and hope in a genre that usually centres pain and nihilism really appealed to me. I wanted to take a setting that’s usually quite grim and layer in beauty, altruism, and compassion; the jubilant blend of a climate-based post-apocalypse and optimistic magic.   
Andrew Giffin
A Language Older Than Words
Andrew is a high school English teacher from Richmond, VA, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. He is an autistic author whose most recent work can be found in Planet Scumm, The Dread Machine, and Dark Recesses, among others. He's passionate about doom metal, solo tabletop RPGs, and obsessing over Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun
Taffy Lamba
Count It An Anchor
“Even the stars aren’t as bright as my ideas.” Taffy Lamba adores self-aggrandisement as a form of self-expression. After all, our best work comes from our best self. Currently a student at the University of Cape Town studying - GASP - Business Science in Analytics, the upcoming upstart enjoys crafting fantasies and bending the rules to their breaking point. She also boasts a delightful story published in the ground-breaking anthology, Alone and Other Zambian Short Stories. Taffy encourages all creatives to love their work as they love themselves, and to love themselves hard.

Story Notes for Count It and Anchor

The character of Rey is one I adore with all my heart. The task she faces is to love herself despite the seemingly insurmountable challenge that is her depression. It is painful and difficult to see her stumble, to see her return to old and dangerous patterns of thought. It is also uplifting to see her stand back up and to remember that she is worthy of love, help, and friendship.

I wrote “Count It An Anchor” as a love letter to the wounded child within me, as a reminder that no matter how bleak things become, I am deserving of kindness and friends who love me, that I am deserving of help. My hope is that all who read it are reminded of the same. It is a love letter to all who struggle with mental health. You are seen and you are loved.
Teresa Milbrodt
The Park
Teresa Milbrodt is the author of three short story collections: Instances of Head-Switching, Bearded Women: Stories, and Work Opportunities. She has also published a novel, The Patron Saint of Unattractive People, and a flash fiction collection, Larissa Takes Flight: Stories. Her fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in numerous literary magazines. She loves cats, long walks with her MP3 player, independently owned coffee shops, peanut butter frozen yogurt, and texting hearts in rainbow colors. Read more of her work at: http://teresamilbrodt.com/homepage/
Bret Nelson
Thread
Bret Nelson is an Emmy Award-winning creator. When he’s not writing stories, he directs TV shows and makes games. Over the years, he's worked with Kermit the Frog, Buzz Lightyear, and Conan the Cimmerian. Right now, he’s working on things he can’t talk about (that’s what the contracts say).
Gretchen Tessmer
Aslylum
Gretchen Tessmer is a writer/attorney based in the U.S./Canadian borderlands. She writes both short fiction and poetry (way too much poetry), with work appearing in Nature, Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Fantasy & Science Fiction, among others. Her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart, Rhysling and Dwarf Stars awards. 

Poetry Notes on Asylum

 This little poem was sparked to life by a random Taylor Swift lyric about finding home in someone's eyes, sent to me as a prompt by a dear friend (thanks, Anna!). I always find it absolutely inspiring that sometimes the biggest twist in a story/poem (and life) is just a simple act of unexpected kindness. 
Wulf Moon
Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRETS: Escalating Tension: Crank It Up!
Wulf Moon learned oral storytelling as a child when he lived with his Chippewa grandmother. He begged stories from her every night and usually got his wish—fireside tales that fired his imagination. If Moon had a time machine, those are the days he would go back to. Since he doesn’t have a time machine, he writes.

Moon wrote his first science fiction story at fifteen. It won the national Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and became his first professional sale in Science World. He has won over forty writing awards, and thirty in public speaking. His stories have appeared in Writers of the Future Vol. 35, Best of Deep Magic 2, Galaxy's Edge, Best of Third Flatiron, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2. Moon is a professional voice-over actor and has done work for magazines and bestselling authors Jeff Wheeler, Mike Resnick, and Will McIntosh. 

Wulf Moon's award-winning SUPER SECRETS Writing Resource and Workshops have been attributed by many aspiring writers as the secret to their success in obtaining first professional sales and winning major contests. You can discover Moon's books on writing by visiting his website. Want in on the Secrets? JOIN THE WULF PACK at www.thesupersecrets.com!
DreamForge Staff
Jane Noel
Illustration, Design, Layout
Jane is the Founder of Chroma Marketing Essentials, a digital marketing agency located in Jeannette PA.  She holds a degree in Visual Communications from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and more years of experience than she cares to count. 
Before founding CME, Jane worked as an Artist, Art Lead, Art Director, and Project Manager for the computer game developer DreamForge Intertainment, where she worked on a number of early computer games, including Roger Zelazny’s Chronomaster.
Scot Noel
Editor, Editorial Selections, Essays, and more.
Scot Noel is a content writer for websites, blogs, social media, e-newsletters, and the like. Speculative fiction has always been his obsession, resulting in a Writers of the Future 2nd place win in 1990, a 7-year career in computer game development, and a handful of published stories, ranging from far future and zombie fiction to the tale of a fairy sheriff fighting an evil dragon. He serves as the editor and publisher of DreamForge Magazine and DreamForge Anvil.
Henry Gasko
Editorial Assistant
Henry Gasko was born in a displaced persons camp in Yugoslavia after World War Two. He was raised on a vegetable farm in Canada, and emigrated to Australia more than forty years ago. He has recently retired from a career in data analysis and medical research.

Henry has had stories published in the anthologies "Dreamworks", “Alternate Apocalypse”, “On Time”, in Australia's  Aurealis  magazine, and in the  SciPhi Journal .  He is a two-time semi-finalist in The Writers of the Future and he won first prize in Positive Writer's "Why I Write" essay contest. He also won the 2018 Sapiens Plurum short story competition, and came third in the 2020 competition.

When he is not writing, he enjoys cycling, kayaking, swimming and playing bridge.
Catherine Weaver
Editorial Assistant
Catherine Weaver is a writer, editor and educator from the San Francisco Bay Area, where her family has lived for four generations. 

She is the author of two Middle Grade fantasy novels, one bilingual English/Japanese picture book, and many short stories.

For the past ten years, she has been a freelance proofreader and editor, and has helped dozens of self-published authors of all genres bring their work into the world.

She has spent over forty years volunteering with her church in literacy and education programs in her community.

Her books are on Amazon and Goodreads and her website is: https://catherineweaverauthor.com/