JM Landels is the author of the bestselling Allaigna's Song trilogy, and her spy novel, The Shepherdess, is currently serialized in even-numbered issues of this magazine. 'The Golden Calf' is a crossover of sorts between the two. Set in Allaigna's world of the Ilmar, it recounts a little-known history of her stepfather, Duke Allenis Andreg, and it is also about a herder - though of cattle, not sheep. JM herself stays away from ruminants but does keep a small herd of horses at her farm in Langley, BC, where she teaches mounted combat and wages an ongoing war against buttercups. You can find @jmlandels on most social media platforms, or at jmlandels.stiffbunnies.com.

Mel Anastasiou writes the Fairmount Manor Mysteries, the Hertfordshire Pub Mysteries, and the Monument Studios Mysteries. Winner of a Literary Titan Gold award and longlisted for the Leacock Medal, Mel is also the author of two illustrated thirty-day workbooks on story structure: the steampunk-themed The Writer's Boon Companion and The Writer's Friend and Confidante. For news on published and upcoming works, visit her website, melanastasiou.wordpress.com.