Hidden Gems: Meet Michael Cieslak of Dragon’s Roost Press

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Cieslak

Hi Michael, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Dragon’s Roost Press was started when I first decided to put together an anthology of short horror fiction. It was my first attempt at editing a book length project, so I was kind of dipping my toe in to check the water. I decided that one way to enhance the experience for myself was to pledge to donate half of the proceeds of the sales of the book to the Last Day Dog Rescue Organization, a rescue group that takes animals from high kill shelters and fosters them until they can be adopted out. We have continued this process through today.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There was definitely a steep learning curve, especially when it came to the software needed to format the books. In the beginning we were using Adobe InDesign but in recent years have switched over to the much easier to use Vellum. We also learned a lot about timelines, fundraising, and production times.

As you know, we’re big fans of Dragon’s Roost Press. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Dragon’s Roost Press specializes in publishing dark speculative fiction — horror, paranormal romance, dark fantasy, and dark science fiction. We currently have over 35 publications including novels, novellas, multi-author anthologies, single author short story collections, and poetry collections as well as some non-fiction works. We have five more releases slated for this year.

Our material covers the gamut of the horror adjacent world from Young Adult to Erotica, from tame to gory. Since our inception in 2014, half of the proceeds of our anthology sales benefit the Last Day Dog Rescue Organization.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Currently the juggernaut overseeing the publishing world has been Amazon. Recently we have witnessed the rise of a number of independent bookstores which makes us very happy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thedragonsroost.biz
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cieslak.michael/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DragonsRoostPress
• Other: https://bsky.app/profile/dragonsroost.bsky.social