Ryan Stovall is a former adventurer, world traveler, and Green Beret, twice decorated for valor and awarded two Purple Hearts. His poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction can be found in numerous anthologies and journals, and on his blog at ryanstovall.com. Having completed one Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree through Fairfield University in 2021, in 2022 he began taking classes towards a second MFA through Lesley University’s low-residency writing program. He recently finished a first draft of a fiction novel, and hopes to have it placed for publication within the next two years. Ryan, a University of Maine alumnus (class of 2018), lives in Phillips, Maine, with his wife and three kids. Black Snowflakes Smothering A Torch is his first book.