Heart of Iron

C. M. Alongi graduated from Hamline University with a double bachelor’s in history and social justice. She lives in an apartment in the Twin Cities area where she protects her furniture from her roommates’ two evil cats. Citadel was her first full-length novel. She has also written an epic fantasy novella series called the Blackwing Series.

Em Grosland (he/they/she) is a transgender, nonbinary actor and artist with over 50 books under their belt. They love giving voice to powerful trans boys and men, rebellious tomboys, nonbinary humans and fantastical creatures, sapphic folks falling in love, and any and all books that challenge late-stage capitalism or highlight the joy and strength of marginalized folks. Em was lucky enough to be read to by their mother, so they narrate from the beliefs that grown-ups and kids all benefit from storytelling and that nothing can replace the human voice. What defined humanity as being a culture instead of a pack was when the first storyteller decided to share. They love finding the very specific life of each character through subtle (and occasionally not so subtle) vocal qualities. Em truly enjoys performing a story more than simply reading it. They pay very close attention to the full arc of the story and the ways in which the character and the narrator learn and grow from the beginning to the end.