While Ascension Epoch is open for collaborative development, the initial groundwork was done by the husband and wife creative team of Mike and Shell DiBaggio.
Michael A. DiBaggio
For at least 40 hours a week, Michael A. DiBaggio is a Java developer at a business-to-business software company. He spends as much of the remaining time as possible gathering and generating story ideas, carefully mulling how those ideas best fit together, and building coherent stories out of them. He also handles a bunch of design and content work on this website.
When not working or writing, Mike enjoys naps, reading science fiction and fantasy novels, perusing table-top RPG books, building Legos, and collecting and customizing action figures and gaming miniatures. He hopes one day to earn a living off writing Ascension Epoch books so he can use the new free time to paint said miniatures.
His favorite authors are J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Tim Powers, and Manly Wade Wellman.
Shell ‘Presto’ DiBaggio
Shell’s nickname ‘Presto’ made perfect sense until she swapped her cumbersome Italian maiden name (Prestileo) for her new Italian married name. Shell does most of Ascension Epoch’s artwork, occasionally farming out coloring work to some of her talented artist friends. She also handles some of the writing responsibilities, and a good chunk of the editing. The English major in the family, she spends eight hours each weekday writing user manuals for business-to-business software, and previously worked in journalism for seven years.
When she’s not writing or drawing, Shell enjoys watching anime; reading comic books; and reading a mix of classic and new indie sci-fi, fantasy, or horror stories. Before she started pouring most of her time into Ascension Epoch, she was an avid video gamer, tearing through Capcom fighters and any RPG with the word “Fantasy” or “Phantasy” in the title. If she manages to quit her day job to illustrate and write Ascension Epoch full-time, she’ll celebrate by finally getting the last ending in Chrono Trigger.
Shell’s favorite authors are Richard Matheson, Anthony Burgess, and Mary Shelley.
Her favorite artists are John Byrne, Chris Bachalo, Charles Schulz, Ai Yazawa, and Yasuhiro Nightow.
Mike and Shell live in Pennsylvania, where they share a home with three dogs and two cats.
