As of 2025, I permanently moved over to Bluesky and effective from 17 January 2026, I have deleted all of my Twitter posts due to the changed terms of service.
Some of my most popular threads, such as this one, I have preserved on my website (with minor edits, for accessibility and ease of reading) for posterity.
Back when I was working on a Broadway musical, I noticed an interesting pattern in the names of some famous composers: Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Flaherty…
Surely just a weird coincidence? At any rate, I joked for a while that, maybe, to find success I ought to change my name to “Stephanie”.
Fast forward a few years.
I enter Petition into the 2023 Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off contest and notice another interesting pattern in the names of the fellow authors in the SPFBO9 cohort: Steve Hugh Westenra, Stephen Wolberius, Steven William Hannah, Steve D Wall, Steven Paul Watson…
🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨
Presenting the thread that nobody asked for: every SPFBO entry from SPFBO1 through to SPFBO9 under a “Steve”, “Steven”, “Stephen”, “Stefan”, “Stevens”, “Stephanie”, etc in the byline.
—Delilah.
There’s 5 Ste/ve/n/phens in #SPFBO9. I wondered how many were in #SPFBO total.
BEHOLD the 🧵 nobody asked for: every entry under a “Steve”, “Steven”, “Stephen”, “Stefan”, “Stevens”, “Stephanie”, etc in the byline.
(h/t @EASchechter for the @Mark__Lawrence meme idea)
I’ll start with the OG cohort in #SPFBO1 & work my way up to the current #SPFBO9 to feature:
Author headshot (if they have one)
The cover of their #SPFBO entry (from ‘Zon or Goodreads)
An excerpt of their blurb
If I can find ’em I’ll tag ’em!
SPFBO1
Steve Thomas with Klondaeg the Monster Hunter.
“Klondaeg teams up with outlandish adventurers to battle lycanthropic garden gnomes, mummified Elves, a cybernetic bird-man, an acid-drooling wizard, & an army of gold-devouring demons.”
Sounds like a hilarious read!
Steve Muse with Heir of Nostalgia.
“A Gathering Darkness is…about a young prince cast into exile 400 years in the making, a throne empty through treason, & a country silenced by forces unimaginable.”
LONG blurb on GR promising time travel shenanegians.
Steven Roy with Black Redneck vs The Space Zombies.
“The Devourer and her Space-Zombie minions have destroyed untold planets.
Those worlds didn’t have a Black Redneck.”
Apparently it’s zombie/horror/sci-fantasy, so if you’re looking for a #Spooktober read…
Steve S Grant with Conqueror’s Law.
Listed on the original SPFBO1 Phase 1 page as an allocation to Tyson Mauermann of The Speculative Book Review, but no longer available anywhere.
Perhaps it’s been unpublished or re-released under a new title/byline?
Stephanie Caine with Stormshadow.
The pitch on @stephanie_cain’s website says it all: “Self-rescuing princesses, woman pirates, stormwitches…oh, and maybe the end of the world.”
BRB, adding this to my #TBR rn.
@EJStevensAuthor with Burning Bright.
“Things aren’t going well at the offices of Private Eye. Demon problems, pyromaniacal imps, out of control powers attracting the attn of both the Seelie & Unseelie courts.”
YA UF/PNR which is not my thing. Maybe it’s yours?
Anthony Stevens with Shifter Shadows.
“From the dawn of prehistory to an apocalyptic day after tomorrow, shifters and their friends have been in the background of every historical event.”
V. eclectic body of work & impressive creds in psychology per GR. 🤯
Steve Diamond from @ElitistReviews wasn’t an entrant; he was a judge! He’s also the author of Residue:
“Residue follows 17-year-old Jack Bishop after his father is abducted & a monster is let loose in his small town.”
A horror/thriller fantasy for #Spooktober.
The tally so far, in descending order of frequency:
…and I thought 5 in #SPFBO9 was a lot! Anyway. Onwards to #SPFBO2.
SPFBO2
Steve Turnbull with Elona: Patterner’s Path.
“Prophecy says ten-year-old Lady Elona of Faerholme will defeat an invading army…After 6 yrs of political manoevring, Elona’s carefully planned future shatters into a waking nightmare.”
Epic/Sword & Sorcery!
That’s all for #SPFBO2, unless we count Steve Diamond as a judge again. (Nope, no double counting individuals across years!)
“Flame-wielding warriors have been the last line of defense against the nightmare creatures of the World Apart. But their light is fading, & few remain…”
By a kickboxing & karate champ? The fight scenes must ROCK!
Stephan Morse (@FrustratedEgo) with Once Lost Lords.
Paraphrased blurb: Jay, a gang enforcer w/a vamp ex-gf & a troublemaking friend, tries to prove he’s still got his edge by collecting an overdue debt from some elf. Discovers he might not be human?
Looks UF!
Brian D. Anderson & Steven Savile with Akiri: The Scepter of Xarbaal.
“Those who dare test their will against [the Scepter]’s ancient evil are doomed to madness.”
Apparently has dragons?!
BTW @StevenSavile has written for Doctor Who, Stargate, & Warhammer.
R.A. Steffan with The Lion Mistress.
“The gods promised her a savior. The gods are a bunch of lying bastards.”
🤩 dat tagline!
From @RA_Steffan’s bio: families of choice, profound friendships, adventure, danger, good > evil. Lots of sex (mostly non-vanilla).
@stephanie_cain is back with Shades of Circle City.
UF set in Indianapolis, Indiana. Reader described as “a love letter to Indianapolis”.
Last line of the blurb: “Catch the crook, get the guy, & say a few Hail Marys just to be safe.”
Steven Harper Piziks (@StevenPiziks) with Danny.
“Can a teenager use the power of a god?”
Paraphrased ‘Zon review: UF retelling of Ganymede interwoven with the story of Danny, a teen whose single mother moves in with a pornographer.
Blurb has some dark stuff!
Steven Laidlaw (@theRealLaidlaw) with Pulse.
“Since terrorist attacks gave the military power to act on US soil, it’s made life hard for [pickpocket Alexandra Murray].”
@kittygbooks described it on GR as a fast paced spy thriller. YA dystopian by a fellow 🇦🇺!
Cumulative total to #SPFBO3:
5x “Steve” (4 entrants; 1 judge) 5x “Steven” 2x “Stevens” 1x “Stephanie” (2 entries in 2 yrs by same author) 1x “Stephan” 1x “Steffan”
15x total variants
A big increase in the no. of individuals going by “Steven”!
David Joel Stevenson with Victor Boone Will Save Us.
Blurb is GOLD but too long to post. Basically: insecure, overweight Robby Willis uses hunky hulk Victor Boone as his superhero beard but the dude’s been murdered.
BTW @geekoffgrid is also a singer/songwriter!
Steve Thomas returns with something v. diff to his #SPFBO1—The Sangrook Saga, a dark fantasy/horror.
“…warlords, necromancers, demon-worshipers, torturers, & monsters. The Sangrooks ruled half the world before they were defeated, but they were not eradicated.”
Jane Barlow Funk & Steven Boivie with The Pendant Path.
“Two teenagers. Two parallel worlds. Destined never to meet until they stumble upon the secret of the pendant path.”
Looks like a YA portal/urban fantasy!
Steve McKinnon with Symphony of the Wind.
“A bounty hunter with a death wish. A girl with fearsome powers. A kingdom on the brink of destruction.”
@SHRMcKinnon pitches it as: gritty epic fantasy with hardened heroes, thrilling action, dark magic & monsters!
Steve Rodgers with City of Shards.
Author pitches this series as “the story of a childhood left behind, a reconciliation with one terrible mistake from the past, and a quest for love ripped away.”
Has a messenger of the Demon Lord as the protag—pretty cool!
Steven Smith (@dragonsreclaim) with Dragon’s Reclaim.
I’m struggling to parse the blurb. Looks like the world united against dragons, then one kingdom tried to swallow the rest post-victory & story deals with that fallout.
Psst—@Nancy Foster 💉🇲🇽 gave it 4⭐️ on GR!
Stephan Morse (@FrustratedEgo) returns with Continue Online.
“[Grant] dives in headfirst [to an Ultimate Edition of Continue Online, playing as] an NPC deserving of a proper send off. What he discovers…shakes him to his very core.”
Looks like GameLit/LitRPG!
Stephen J. Coey with Scorpion’s Sting.
Paraphrased blurb: A wannabe hero, a jokester axeman, & a farmer on a quest are entangled by a prophecy that says one of them will die.
Free on Smashwords!
(Sorry @StephenCoey for the bar joke pitch; I am bad at this 😅)
21x total variants, several of whom have entered multiple times across multiple years!
SPFBO5
Robin Stephen with Brinlin Isle.
No idea how to summarize the blurb but this has tiny, water dwelling mythical creatures that humans can bond for magical powers.
Robin also writes cowboy horse romances under Stefani Wilder. Does that count for 2x points??
Steven Smith returns with Edgehaven.
It’s a missing person mystery in a seaside town on the west coast of the British Isles, with another 4⭐️ review on GR from @Nancy Foster 💉🇲🇽, who described it as “a [standalone] supernatural thriller”.
Another #Spooktober read!
Steve Turnbull (@adaddinsane) with The Dragons of Esternes.
“What value is freedom when you can’t even ride a dragon?”
Protag is Kantees, a slave responsible for the care of a racing dragon. How’s that for intriguing?
Stephanie Burgis (@stephanieburgis) with Snowspelled.
Blurb summary: first woman magician is snowed in with bickering gent magicians, lady pols, interfering family, & her stubborn ex-fiancé, while an evil elf-lord lurks outside. Oh BTW she’s lost her magic.
Stephan Morse (@FrustratedEgo) returns again with Hound of the Mountain.
“The weight of the world shouldn’t rest on a 17-year-old’s shoulders, but that’s what it feels like for Chase Craig.”
A rescue quest + tournament to join a band of monster hunters!
21x total, plus an hon. mention for one entrant’s alt pen name “Stefani” in another genre
SPFBO6
Stephen Murray with The Longest Shadow.
Blurb summary: the paths of a disgraced general, The Stillborn King, a spy-in-training converge in a succession crisis & a confrontation with ancient terrors.
@Fantasy-Faction’s review says there be gryphons & a giant 🐢!
Steve Thomas returns again with Mid-Lich Crisis.
“An evil wizard has a midlife crisis. Is trying to sacrifice your estranged wife to a bloodthirsty demon an irredeemable act of evil?”
BRB, sending this to an author I know with a WIP titled “Resting Lich Face”.
Anthony Stevens re-entered Shifter Shadows.
…which is, uh, a bit of a surprise. Including this for completeness but not gonna increment the counter.
Stephanie Barr with The Curse of the Jenri.
“Jenri women, every one from the eldest archivist to the smallest babe, strike fear into battle-hardened mercenary hearts.”
Looks like sword & sorcery!
PS: GUYS @Stephanieebarr is a FULL-TIME 🚀 SCIENTIST!!
Stephen James Wright with The Ninth Knight.
Middle-aged knight & 7 companions go on a quest which is hijacked by a mystery 9th knight.
Bio is v. apropos: “@SteveJWright1 uses his full name on his books, but has been described as one of nature’s Steves.” 😂🤣
Steven Smith (@dragonsreclaim) returns with Kingdom of Aces.
According to FB page: “Medieval fast-paced fantasy…Who dies and who rules, their fate is in your hands. Choose Ruby or Ebony.”
Is…is this CYOA fantasy in split novel form? 👀 STEVEN I HAVE Q’s!
Steve Curry with Austin Wyrd.
Magnus is a bouncer at a goth & heavy metal bar who gets caught up in a police investigation of a ritualistic looking murder. He’s also got a psychotic ex-gf with mystical powers & an immortal, vengeful ex-employer.
A Norse UF!
Stephen J. Ethier (@stephenjethier) with The Void Revealed.
From a GR review: “Ancient airships, a crumbling theocracy, and a savage world…Elise, a female Aspirant groomed to save the order, is stranded in an orchestrated accident…”
A sci-fantasy adventure!
Shaun Paul Stevens (@spstevenswriter) with Nether Light.
“A gritty, heart-wrenching tale of high magic and high stakes, loves lost and friendships gained, set in an oil-lit, 18th century world.”
Features a refugee protag and his brother in enemy territory.
This is a strange list lol. Honoured to be in at no. 45…
Delilah Waan
@delilahwaan
It is! 😂 The subject came up randomly today and when I thought about it, I was like, no way, there’s 5 Steves in our cohort, that’s a weird coincidence & then I had to know.
Now I hope somebody (not me) does the same exercise for another name, like maybe “Mark” or “James”.
30x total variants. Look at that jump in the number of people going by “Stephen”!
SPFBO7
Brian D. Anderson & Steven Savile (@StevenSavile) follow up their #SPFBO3 entry with Akiri: Sands of Darkness.
“[Akiri] has turned his back on the gods and their schemes…But the gods will not be so easily ignored.”
🔥 THAT COVER!
Stephanie C. Marks with Stone Magus.
A story about half-elf mage sisters. @LynnsBooks called it a PNR/fantasy romance that focuses on three characters & their relationships with “a very unique twist”.
@SCMarks5 also happens to have THREE degrees in biology. 🤯
Stephen Rice (@writing_steve) with A Handful of Souls.
“Lark has been kidnapped by a spirit worker who can raise the dead. His sisters must travel to rescue him, pursued by a giant with a bleeding grin and guided by a liar.”
Feat. dark humor, violence & whisky!
David Stephenson with Enemy Unknown.
“It took murder for Selvorne to learn his entire life was a necessary lie. One that must continue, if he wishes to live.”
The Amazon page lists David as both author & illustrator so I’m guessing the cover is his art! 👨🏻🎨
33x total variants so far. I’m kind of astounded by how many of you there are!
Stephen Taylor with Candle and Claw.
“Giovel Ullin’s job is to stop witches from crafting experimental magic & destroying the world. It’s a job he never wanted…Packed with hard magic, nuanced characters, & epic conflicts.”
PS: @staylortay is a fellow muso 🎻
Steven Smith returns yet again with Cutthroats and Traitors.
🏴☠️ Pirates on an “alcohol-induced lawbreaking” bender!
Pretty sure @Steven Smith holds the record for “Steven with most #SPFBO entries” at 4 entries! (#SPFBO4, #SPFBO5, #SPFBO6, & SPFBO8.)
Steven Rudy with The Binding Tempest.
“Wheel of Time meets Indiana Jones saga that injects steampunk into High Fantasy.”
@MysticPeddler, please give me book pitching lessons, because yours is awesome.
Shaun Paul Stevens returns with Servant of the Lesser Good.
Feat. a hell-raising virtuoso harpist/socialite whose maid is dead set on stopping her impending marriage to a count.
Also OMG the climax is a harp recital? 🎵
@spstevenswriter I am intrigued.
Stephanie Burgis (@stephanieburgis) returns with Scales and Sensibility.
“A frothy Regency rom-com full of pet dragons and magical misadventures.”
NGL, this is on my #TBR even though Regency romance is really not my thing b/c Austen with 🐉 like come on.
Stephanie Caye (@kittensyay) with The Flaws of Gravity.
“The existence of tequila is at stake.”
That’s as far as I got before I went “OH NO, I MUST KNOW MORE!” (2nd line: “Oh, and humanity too.” B/c Faerie takeover.)
UF is not my thing but tequila totally is.
Steve McHugh (@StevejMchugh) with No Gods, Only Monsters.
“When an old friend arrives looking for help, Diana finds herself thrust back into her old life, and old problems.”
Diana as in the Roman goddess of hunt. Looks like a Roman mythical fantasy!
42x total variants. The Steves win, unless you group “Steven” & “Stevens” together 😂
Disclaimer re: completeness b/c of my ex-auditor brain:
I did not do a full search across the 9 years to see if we had more Steve-judges besides Steve Diamond.
Also didn’t check S initial authors for Stevie-ness.
Am surprised we did not, in fact, have any “Stevies”
Am also shocked we didn’t have any “Stefans” though there was a “Stefani” that I can’t count because that was for a non-fantasy pen name of an #SPFBO entrant.
BTW Steves: is the “Steve” in your byline an abbreviation for a longer name or is it the full name you go by?
Fascinating thread! And thanks for the shout out. Will next year’s #SPFBO be the first populated entirely by Steves? 🤔
A small request to @Mark__Lawrence and the judges: if there is a Steve takeover of #SPFBO10, any chance you can put them all in the same allocation next year? Just for giggles and so us non-Steve authors stand a chance…
