Collaborators
Allegra Pescatore
Co-founder of Ao Collective Publishing, Allegra is the author of Where Shadows Lie, and the co-author of NACL: Eye of the Storm. She is an own-voices disabled author, a collector of odd salts from around the world, a staunch LGBTQ+ ally, and a huge fan of fantasy and science fiction. She lives in PA with her husband Job, Tobias, two dogs, three cats, several reptiles, and a monster under the bed whose name may or may not be Fred.
Tobias Tobak
Co-founder of Ao Collective Publishing, Tobias and Allegra have been writing and working together since meeting in High School. That was well over a decade ago now, and together they have crafted the worlds and characters of Project Ao. Tobias was instrumental in the planning, writing, editing, and publishing of Where Shadows Lie, and continues to be Allegra's right-hand man and tech wizard.
E. Sands
Co-author to NACL and The Mountain Fell series, E.Sands and Allegra have been writing together ever since they found out they were literary soul-mates. Together, they blast through novels at the speed of light, stopping only to laugh and plot more ways to torture poor, innocent characters. E. Sands lives near St. Louis with her two kids and several lizards.
J.P. Burnison
Co-author of The Mountain Fell series, along with Allegra and E. Sands, Justin joined the team in 2019 to help create the Fae Lands. Working as a tight-knit team, the three writers use a collaborative back-and-forth style to craft the action and adventure in the upcoming series. Justin lives in Florida with his spouse, Quinn, and two fuzzy and rambunctious cats.
M. D. Chester
Danielle lives in South Carolina with four kids, three pets, and one husband (did anyone else have the urge to add in ‘two turtle doves’?). Writing with the others in Ao has kept her (relatively) sane during the pandemic along with other crafts such as knitting and crocheting. Although writing is a relatively new skill, she is a life-long avid reader of most genres (fantasy, sci-fi, romance, mystery, thriller, historical, and other fiction) who devours words and looks forward to sharing her own words with others.
J. DOrden
Jessica is 29 years old and studying web and mobile programming. Originally from Georgia, raised in Florida, and now living in Maryland. She started writing three years ago and with the help of her mother and my best friend, who kept pushing her to write. Jessica sat down and finally started writing. She had an idea and through brainstorming with their help, came up with a full story. Depths was the first book and after some research, decided to go the self-publishing route. She joined the Ao Collective team in the fall of 2020.
Elle Larsen
After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, she decided to officially join the Ao Collective team in 2021. She is currently working as a co-author for The Mountain Fell series. She is also working on a certificate for Creative Writing at the University of Calgary. When she is not writing, she enjoys taking her dog to the park, and connecting with friends. Resides in southern Alberta, Canada, and lives with her furry companion, Willow.
R.J. Fisher
R.J. Fisher was raised on a farm in Northern California. She moved to Oregon in 2011 and received her BA in Creative Writing from Southern Oregon University in 2013. She now lives in Medford with her husband, daughter, the dogs, and the cats. When not writing, she enjoys painting, scuba diving, and camping.
Dash Graci
As the child of two nomadic radio stars, Dash Graci is a 29 year old author who has been jumping from place to place and diving into the countless bizarre worlds that have existed in their mind since around the age of twelve. For the moment though, they are more than happy to play in the lands of the Mountain Fell series. A longtime member of the LGBT+ community, a former cosplayer, and a lover of all things odd and spooky, they have decided to set down their roots in Pennsylvania. Their other passions include video games, creating props and costumes for potential performances, running a trans-centric styling business out of their house, and trying to parent an aggressively-affectionate cat named Jasmine.
John Fisher
World-renown sculptor and painter, John Fisher joined the team to create the beautiful illustrations in Where Shadows Lie. You can find more of his work at his website, and on his facebook page.