Mel Lake is a writer, editor, and comic book fan. Her short story was a finalist for the 2025 Quarterly West Prose Contest and she was a finalist for the 2024 Colorado Gold Literary Awards. In addition to vampire novels, she writes short stories and personal essays about life with chronic pain. (They're funny, she swears.) Mel has worked in a variety of industries as a technical writer, but always daydreams about vampires, aliens, ghosts, and gods. Originally from Arizona, she now lives in Denver with her partner and the best dog in the world. When not writing or reading, Mel is probably on a mountain somewhere. (Or at @melofsometrades on social media.)