A Mother-Daughter Team
Cryptid World is a mother-daughter team who loves cryptids, creatures–both real and fictional–and fascinating creations. They believe every creature has been designed with a purpose, even the ones in their minds. Tammy is the writer (writing as T. S. Mart), also known as Mom. Mel Cabre is the lameness detector, folklore expert, and illustrator. Together, they are writing and illustrating two non-fiction books about cryptids for Indiana University Press that will be released late 2020.
Our Vision for Cryptid World
We’ve always had a bigger vision for our writing and illustrating–a desire to share our passions with others for entertainment and to simply connect–but we weren’t exactly sure what that looked like. Until we renamed ourselves Cryptid World and decided to offer a variety of items centered around our theme of cryptids, creatures, and fascinating creations.
We’ve also written three novels and a novella we call the Belied Outcast Legends. They’re on hold while we roll out the non-fiction, but the books and several short stories will find their way into the world in the not-so-distant future.
Cryptid World is ever-evolving as we learn and grow, sharing a dogged determination and stubbornness that often has us working long hours in our small office. We try not to drive each other crazy, but there is the occasional day–or two…okay, everyday–that one of us talks too much, forcing the other to wear headphones.
Mel is a graduate of Suzhou Singapore International School. She spent her last two years of high school in China where she met her high school sweetheart and brand new husband. She does not speak Mandarin, but she loves dumplings, milk tea, and midnight ebike rides through the city. She also loves to garden, play with her cat, and collect skulls. You can view her artwork on Instagram @Melcabre2.
T. S. Mart
Tammy is a Licensed Social Worker and previous mental health and grief counselor. She’s published in both short fiction and non-fiction. You can read some of her previously published stuff here. She enjoys reading, gardening, traveling, and visiting with family–especially her three grown kids.
And there’s a baby on the way…
You can learn more about what occupies space in our brains and hearts by following our blog. We try to keep our topics cryptid related, but sometimes we need to rant about our writing life and big events happening to us.
We hope you enjoy this site and would love to have you join our newsletter where we connect and talk about all the new and upcoming stuff happening around Cryptid World.
“Excellence is not an act but a habit. The things you do the most are the things you will do the best.” —Marva Collins, American Educator.