The Beetle

Richard Bernard Heldmann, an English novelist who was born on 12 October 1857 and died on 9 August 1915, wrote under the pen name Richard Marsh. He wrote a lot in the later years of the 19th century. His supernatural thriller book The Beetle is his best-known work. In 1880, Heldmann started writing and publishing fiction, first as boys' school and adventure stories for magazine publishers. Recent research has revealed that Heldmann was condemned to 18 months of hard labor on 10 April 1884 in the West Kent Quarter Sessions for issuing several counterfeit checks in Britain and France throughout 1883. After being released from prison, Heldmann chose a pseudonym, and in 1888, fiction written under the name "Richard Marsh" started to appear in literary magazines. In 1893, two novels were published under this pseudonym. In the 1890s and the first decade of the 20th century, Marsh wrote and published a lot. On August 9, 1915, at Haywards Heath, Sussex, he passed away from heart illness. Many of his books were released after his death.

ERIC J. GUIGNARD is a writer and editor of dark and speculative fiction, operating from the shadowy outskirts of Los Angeles, where he also runs the small press, Dark Moon Books. He's twice won the Bram Stoker Award, won the Shirley Jackson Award, and been a finalist for the World Fantasy Award and International Thriller Writers Award. He has over one hundred stories and non-fiction author credits appearing in publications around the world. As editor, Eric's published multiple fiction anthologies, including his most recent, PROFESSOR CHARLATAN BARDOT'S TRAVEL ANTHOLOGY TO THE MOST (FICTIONAL) HAUNTED BUILDINGS IN THE WEIRD, WILD WORLD and A WORLD OF HORROR, each a showcase of international horror short fiction. His latest books are LAST CASE AT A BAGGAGE AUCTION and the short story collection THAT WHICH GROWS WILD: 16 TALES OF DARK FICTION (Cemetery Dance). Outside the glamorous and jet-setting world of indie fiction, Eric's a technical writer and college professor, and he stumbles home each day to a wife, children, dogs, and a terrarium filled with mischievous beetles. Visit Eric at: www.ericjguignard.com, his blog: ericjguignard.blogspot.com, or Twitter: @ericjguignard.

CHELSEA QUINN YARBRO has been nominated for the Edgar, the World Fantasy, and the Bram Stoker Awards. She has been named a Grand Master of the World Horror Convention and a Living Legend by the International Horror Guild. In 2014, she was named Lifetime Achievement Winner of the World Fantasy Award. Author of many novels of horror, dark fantasy, mystery and more, including the St. Germain series, Yarbro lives in Berkeley, California.