Lori R. Lopez

Lori R. Lopez is an author-illustrator of books for adults and children, a poet and songwriter, an actress, filmmaker and screenwriter, as well as an activist for children, animals, and the planet. She grew up in Wisconsin and lived in Hawaii, Spain, and Key West before settling in California. The daughter of Lorene J. Finch, an administrative and executive assistant, and Wayne C. Finch, a retired Air Force Staff Sergeant and Reservist and corrections officer, Lori attended Ripon High School two years before her parents moved to Florida where she graduated from Gulf Comprehensive High School in New Port Richey. She is co-owner of Fairy Fly Entertainment, a creative company started with her sons Noel and Rafael Lopez, who are also involved in filmmaking, acting, music, writing and art. Lori has been a Vegetarian or Vegan most of her life, along with an animal-lover and hat-fancier. Lori is a member of the Horror Writers Association and the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association. The style of her writing and artwork is often quirky - whether humorous, serious, dark, or all of the above. She published her first book, a collection of short stories, in 2008. Titles include The Fairy Fly, the Mister Snark series, The Strange Tail Of Oddzilla, Darkverse: The Shadow Hours, Leery Lane, An Ill Wind Blows, the Poetic Reflections Book Series, Odds And Ends: A Dark Collection, and The Witchhunt. Stories and verse have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines or E-zines. Lori is a two-time 2020 Rhysling Award Nominee and a 2018 Elgin Award Nominee. Other honors include three First Places in the 2018 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards, Finalist for Poetry in the 2018 Kindle Book Awards, Second Place for Poetry in the 2016 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards, Second Place for Humor in the 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards, Winner in the 2014 San Diego Book Awards, Young Adult Winner in the 2014 Great Southwest Book Festival, Winner of the 2011 VINOWRIMO Award, and Second Place in the 2001 Regional CATE Professional Writing Awards. While serving as a Navy Journalist, Lori was nominated for The American Spirit Honor Medal.