Jon Keys

Jon Keys’s earliest memories revolve around books. Either read to him or that he created from the illustrations, these were places his active mind occupied. As he got older, the selection expanded beyond fairy tales and fables to the world of westerns, science fiction, and fantasy. His world filled with dragon riders, native warriors, and comic book heroes in hot uniforms.

A voracious reader for half a century, Jon began creating his own fiction more than six years ago. His rural background forged the first stories, which were his attempt at showing these characters in a more sympathetic light. Now he has moved into some of the writing he lost himself in for so many years—fantasy. Jon has worked as a ranch hand, teacher, computer tech, roughneck, designer, retail clerk, welder, artist, and, yes, pool boy; with interests ranging from kayaking and hunting to sculpture and cooking, he uses this range of life experiences to create written works that draw the reader in and wrap them in a good story. His success is evident in receiving runner-up at Rainbow Awards 2015 in gay fantasy for his first novel.