About the Creators and Authors
Mara Layil’s world was created by Kevin Curry, Devon Lyon and Scott Bernard Nelson, including the lore, origin story and characterization. To help bring Mara’s narrative to life, novelists Julie O’Connell and Amber J. Keyser joined the team. These two immensely talented authors penned the manuscripts that became “Offspring” and “The Hunt for Mara Layil,” respectively.
BOOK AUTHORS
OFFSPRING | Julie O’Connell left a dazzling career as an uber-supermodel and fashion adviser to the Queen of England to raise three amazing sprogs in the glorious Pacific Northwest. Now that the boys are grown and busy stalking the Marvel Cinematic Universe and anything Disney-park related, Julie has the time to pursue a burgeoning career in world-class gardening, gourmet garnishing and tea swilling. She also writes fiction. You can find her sporadic ramblings about everything from googly eyes to toast at www.julieoconnell.wordpress.com.
THE HUNT FOR MARA LAYIL | Amber J. Keyser is the author of fifteen books for tweens and teens. Her most recent novels include Pointe, Claw (Carolrhoda Lab, 2017) and The Way Back from Broken (Carolrhoda Lab, 2015), a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. Her most recent nonfiction titles include No More Excuses: Dismantling Rape Culture (Twenty-First Century Books, 2019) and The V-Word: True Stories of First-Time Sex (Beyond Words/SimonTeen, 2016). Amber’s books have been recognized on the New York Public Library 50 Best Books for Teens, Chicago Public Library Best Nonfiction for Teens, ALA Rainbow List and Amelia Bloomer List, among other honors. Read more about her work at amberjkeyser.com.
WORLD CREATORS
Devon Lyon | Over the past sixteen years Devon has produced and directed hundreds of projects for a diverse roster of creative agencies, client-direct businesses and international brands. In addition to Angel Punk, in 2018, Devon co-wrote a teen horror episodic that was optioned by AMC’s horror distribution arm, Shudder. In 2016, Devon was invited to give a TedxTalk on the future of storytelling with the advent of virtual reality and augmented reality. From 2014 through 2016, Devon served on the board of director’s for Oregon’s statewide film and television professional association (OMPA). Devon’s love of working in-depth with actors compelled him to start producing and directing theatrical plays. Over the past few years, Devon has directed and co-produced four licensed plays, all garnering positive industry and critical reviews. Devon lives in the Pacific Northwest with his daughter and his partner.
Scott Bernard Nelson | Twenty-two years in journalism allowed Scott to travel the world and tell a lifetime’s worth of interesting stories. He tracked Al-Qaeda financiers around Europe, covered a Winter Olympic Games, was the first journalist to walk ground zero after 9/11 in Manhattan and crossed the border from Kuwait into Iraq with U.S. Marines under a barrage of artillery fire. He contributed to The Boston Globe's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, which spawned the movie “Spotlight.” No longer in daily journalism, Scott works in higher education, is a professional whiskey reviewer and enjoys writing screenplays and short fiction. He lives near Portland, Ore., with his wife and two children.
Dr. Kevin E. Curry | Kevin Curry is a Renaissance man, crisscrossing between politics, media, business and academia. Few people are equally excited about writing a horror-musical short film (The Tell ), producing a feature-length documentary (Gentleman of the Senate: Oregon's Mark Hatfield) and podcast about political history (Revisit the Moment), and analyzing social media and politics for outlets like The Washington Post. He's pretty impressed and amazed to have shot a TikTok video with over 1.1 million views and 98,300 'likes'. His work as a media professional includes writing and producing short films, commercials, and a feature documentary, as well as stints as a communication professional for trade associations and in higher education. His experience in the political arena features work as communications director in the Oregon Legislature and managing local and statewide political campaigns. He is a full time professor teaching courses in electronic media production, media law, social media, and the history of mass media. He has a cool wife and two adult kids.