Shadow Lab, Volume Three

Brendan Deneen, a former Scott Rudin Productions, Miramax/Dimension Films, and Macmillan Publishers exec, joined Blackstone in 2021 as an editor and launched the company’s in-house film/TV division. Deneen has set up Blackstone IP with Amazon Studios, Netflix, Paramount, NBCUniversal, A&E, Lionsgate, AMC, Blumhouse, Legendary, Amblin, Imagine, and Skydance, among many others. As an author, Deneen has had sixteen books published, including Alien: Uncivil War, Guardians of the Galaxy: Annihilation—Conquest, Green Arrow: Stranded, The Island of Misfit Toys, Morbius: Blood Ties, Flash Gordon: The Mercy Wars, and Night Night, Groot.

Jeff Abbott is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous mystery and suspense novels, including the Sam Capra series. He is a winner of the Thriller Award and a three-time finalist for the Edgar Award, and his novels have been summer reading picks for The Today Show and Good Morning America.

Jamie Brenner is the USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen novels, including The Forever Summer and the Blue Angel trilogy. Adam Chromy is a literary agent, producer, and author. Inspired by time spent among the sprawling estates and tightly guarded social circles of Philadelphia’s Main Line, the husband-and-wife team wrote “Gold Party,” the first in a slate of commercial fiction projects they are developing together.

Jamie Brenner is the USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen novels, including The Forever Summer and the Blue Angel trilogy. Adam Chromy is a literary agent, producer, and author. Inspired by time spent among the sprawling estates and tightly guarded social circles of Philadelphia’s Main Line, the husband-and-wife team wrote “Gold Party,” the first in a slate of commercial fiction projects they are developing together.

Ed Cho is the writer and co-creator of Little Guardians, a fantasy adventure graphic novel series. His short story “Lineage X” appeared in the Shadow Lab: Volume One. He is the author and director of the fiction podcast audio drama, Ignore City, which was nominated for six New Jersey Web Fest awards.

Richie Frieman is an award winning and bestselling author of eight books, across multiple genres. He was dubbed a “Modern Day Renaissance Man” by Macmillan Publishing and St. Martin’s Press, due to a career that spans authorship, illustration, art, entrepreneurship, etiquette (aka Modern Manners Guy), podcasting, and even professional wrestling—where he held over a dozen championships during his in-ring tenure. He and his work have appeared in/on Time Magazine, People Magazine, MSNBC, Fox News, Forbes, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, NPR, Martha Stewart, Fast Company, Entrepreneur Magazine, Parade, and Publishers Weekly.

Lee Matthew Goldberg is the Anthony, Lefty, and Prix du Polar nominated author of sixteen novels, including The Ancestor, The Mentor, and The Great Gimmelmans. His writing has also appeared as a contributor in CrimeReads, Pipeline Artists, LitHub, Chicago Quarterly Review, Electric Literature, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Jewish Book Council, The Millions, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, LitReactor, Mystery Tribune and others. He is also the publisher of Fringe Press.

Arin Greenwood, a former lawyer, was the animal welfare editor for The Huffington Post, and now works with animal nonprofits to help save cats and dogs. Her novel Your Robot Dog Will Die was published by Soho Teen, and optioned by Centerboro Productions.

Marie Hoy-Kenny’s work has been published in several literary publications, including Shadow Lab: Volume One, trampset, Okay Donkey, and FlashBack Fiction. Marie’s debut young adult novel, The Girls from Hush Cabin, was published by Blackstone Publishing in 2023, and her debut picture book, This Plant is Not Boring, was published in April 2025 by Orca Book Publishers. Marie’s debut adult title, Something like Desire, was published in August 2026.

Joanna Pickering is an award-winning actress, playwright, and author. Her plays are produced and published worldwide and include award-winning Beach Break, The Endgame, Bad Victims, and Don’t Harm The Animals. Her solo one-act play, Lara’s Journey, live streamed to over one million viewers in a broadcast sponsored by Nova Ukraine. As an activist, she has collaborated with UN campaigns and gender rights initiatives. She holds a BSc in pure mathematics and is a member of The Actors Studio PDU, The Actors Gym, The International Center of Women Playwrights, the League of Professional Theater Women, and SAG.

Tyrone Thomas is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island, where he earned a BA in Writing and Rhetoric and received the Gertrude Spencer Award for excellence in written English. A former US Navy submariner who later worked in support of Department of Defense submarine programs, he draws heavily from those experiences in his fiction. He is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at George Mason University and is a member of Crime Writers of Color.

Liz Wanic worked for the United Nations in New York and in field missions in Syria, Mali, and the Central African Republic before moving into cybersecurity. Having lived in eight countries and traveled to nearly fifty, she channels firsthand experience with geopolitics, instability, and cross-cultural living into her writing. Her novel, Under Cover of Chaos, was published by Black Rose Writing in 2026.

James Anderson Foster, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, has narrated audiobooks for a variety of publishers, across nearly all genres, both fiction and nonfiction. In 2015, he was a finalist in three categories for the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences Voice Arts Awards—mystery, science fiction, and fantasy.

Tim Lounibos is a longtime film/TV actor whose credits include Star Trek: The Next Generation, JAG, The West Wing, Bosch, and NCIS. Tim's voice has been described as rich, soothing, expressive, gritty, and honest. He loves bringing conflicted heroes, misunderstood characters, wise elders, and sinister antagonists to life. His favorite genres include fantasy/sci-fi, crime, mystery/thriller, YA, horror, self-help, and biography. When not acting, Tim enjoys playing board games, solving escape rooms, and laughing and hanging with family and friends.

Gary Bennett is a SAG-AFTRA audiobook narrator. He was born and raised in California and then in Bozeman, Montana, and is the oldest of four children. He now calls the greater Seattle area his home, and he's a huge fan of the Seattle Seahawks. Gary has always been passionate about not just telling a story, but telling it well. From reading bedtime stories with his children to performing in front of the microphone, bringing a story to life is one of his greatest joys. Gary has pursued his career in audiobook narration with zeal, continuing to not only invest in personal coaching from some of the best in the industry, but also investing in some of the best equipment for his professional home-based studio. There are few things he enjoys more than stepping into his StudioBricks home studio and recording his favorite books. Gary is also a licensed electrical engineer and a private pilot. He loves watching and participating in sports and listening to and playing music, and is an avid outdoor enthusiast.

Leon Nixon is a professional actor, playwright, and filmmaker. A Los Angeles native, he has performed in short films, web series, and on stage in dramatic and comedic roles. He is also an improviser and part of the group that appears in the Guinness Book of World Records for Longest Continuous Improv Show.

Megan Tusing is an actress, known for The Beginning and the End, The Share, and Odd Jobs. She has a bachelor’s degree in theater from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Bailey Carr is a New York City–based audiobook narrator. She graduated with a BFA in acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Bailey has narrated audiobooks for multiple New York Times bestselling authors.

Fajer Al-Kaisi is an actor for the stage and screen as well as an accomplished voice-over artist and narrator with over a hundred audiobook credits. Fajer is currently the voice of Shazzan on Jellystone (HBO Max) as well as cohost of the podcast BardQuest Empire. His TV appearances include Law & Order, Future Man, The Code, 30 Rock, Nurse Jackie, The Blacklist, The Onion News Network, Person of Interest, Delocated, Search Party, Madam Secretary, and Deadbeat. His film credits include "Karim" in I'll Come Running, "Ali Soufan" in The Report, and as "the interpreter" in Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. His theatrical credits include: Tareq in the Guthrie's production of Nora, Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, Aeneas in Troilus and Cressida at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Grahm/2 in the world premiere of Informed Consent at Cleveland Playhouse, and Shahid the translator in the NYTW world premiere of Aftermath and the subsequent Arktype World tour. His additional regional credits include: The Humans, Disgraced, and The Invisible Hand. Fajer has been nominated for a Drama Leagues Award (Aftermath, Best Ensemble 2011) as well as a finalist for best male performance at the Audies (Fives and Twenty-Fives, 2015). He has also received several AudioFile Earphones Awards.

Chris Andrew Ciulla, an Earphones Award–winning narrator with over 350 credits, is an on-screen actor, voice actor, host, boxing analyst, and radio personality. He has performed characters for the popular video game series Fallout and Mafia, and can be heard frequently voicing commercial campaigns. A versatile performer with over twenty-five years of experience, he produces original audio content under his own production banner, Leonardo Audio.

Taylor Meskimen is an actress and a narrator. Her audiobook readings include several L. Ron Hubbard novels, such as Gun Boss of Tumbleweed and Death Waits at Sundown.

Lauren Fortgang, a graduate of Fordham University’s Theater Program, is an actress, costume designer, and narrator. She has recorded everything from video games to textbooks. Her audiobook narrations have earned AudioFile Earphones Awards and placed her as a finalist for an Audie Award in 2014.

Hillary Huber is one of the most successful voice talents in Los Angeles. Recent books read for Blackstone Audio include Him, Her, Him Again, the End of Him by Patricia Marx, A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read, and A Map of Glass by Jane Urquhart.