Meet our Team
Dakota Rayne (They/Them)
Founder, Editor in Chief
Dakota has a passion for helping others and telling stories. After over fifteen years in social work, Kota decided to combine their passions into Inked in Gray, the indie press that seeks stories that need to be heard. Kota is working on works of their own – blending life experiences with the surreal in The Lessons We Keep, and musings about mental health, survival, and overcoming darkness. Kota is also CFO of the amazing nonprofit known as WriteHive and the Indie Ink Awards, which highlights books by small presses and self-published authors.
Lauren T. Davila
Speculative Fiction and Contemporary Acquisitions Editor
Lauren T. Davila is a Pushcart-nominated, Latina author, anthologist, and editor. She has edited multiple short story anthologies, including:
– AS WE CONVENE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF TIME AND PLACE (Inked In Gray Press; June 2024)
– TO ROOT SOMEWHERE BEAUTIFUL: AN ANTHOLOGY OF RECLAMATION (Outland Entertainment; March 2024)
– WHEN OTHER PEOPLE SAW US, THEY SAW THE DEAD (Haunt Publishing, May 2022; Outland Entertainment, May 2023)
Her poetry and short fiction has appeared online at Granada Magazine, The Paragon Journal, Ghost Heart Literary Magazine, Peach Velvet Mag, Voyage Journal, Second Chance Magazine, Headcanon Magazine, In Parentheses, and Poets Reading the News. She is currently editing her debut adult novel, as well as working on poetry and short story collections.
Lauren has an MA in English from Claremont Graduate University and an MFA in Fiction Writing from George Mason University. Besides her personal creative work, she is the Acquisitions Editor at Inked In Gray Press and is actively acquiring genre fiction from historically marginalized writers. She is also the Assistant Director at PocketMFA, an online writing and mentorship program.
She lives in the greater Los Angeles area where you can find her swimming, walking her golden retriever, and drinking one too many lattes.
She is represented by Susan Velazquez Colmant at JABberwocky Literary Agency.
Sangy Vazquez (They/Them, It/It's)
Associate Editor, Part-time Acquisitions
Sangy is a writer and streamer. Their #MSWL includes the following.
- adult/new adult fiction (sci-fi or paranormal)
- sibling rivalry and/or reconciliation
- themes or arcs on becoming independent
- THE MORE TRANS REP THE BETTER
- action-packed stories
- disability rep
- genre bending stories
- single MCs that stay single (INDEPENDENCE!!!)
- PTSD or other mental illness rep
What they are not interested in:
- romance-driven stories
- elf, orc, DND stories
- portal fantasy
- no stories that depict domestic abuse of any kind
- No stories with rape please
Carlin Thomas (They/Them)
Marketing and Content Creator
Carlin is a non-binary and neurodivergent writer, designer, and illustrator living in Phoenix, Arizona with their wife and fuzzy family. With experience in everything from novels and plays to marketing and social media, their experience bleeds into every part of their life. Every new project, no matter what it may be, becomes an opportunity for storytelling. Bringing tales to life, be it through visual, verbal, or literary media, is what nourishes their soul. Carlin is on Twitter and on their website.
KC Thomas
Marginalized Romance Acquisitions Editor
A data analyst by day, entrepreneur by night, KC Thomas has been involved in the creative writing community for several years and has written a multitude of stories ranging from one-shots to novels. She’s currently branching out into graphic novels, but still has a love for romance, drama, and mystery. She’s also a self-proclaimed nerd (and proud of it). When she’s not reading or writing, she’s playing Magic the Gathering, sorting through her Pokémon card collection, building with LEGO, or creating a new cosplay. She lives Arizona with her wife, their cat, and two dogs.
Vanessa L C
Associate Editor
Vanessa is a copy and line editor from Mesa, Arizona — though if it’s a town that exists in the Copper State, she’s probably lived there. She’s planning on leaving the desert heat far behind as soon as humanly possible, along with her fiancé and three cats.
As a kid, some of her favorite books were the Catwings series by Ursula Le Guin. Now she is a childless cat lady whose favorite genres to read are Sci-Fi and Fantasy. Gee, who saw that coming.
Vanessa earned her editing certificate from the University of California, San Diego. She has edited several independent novels and enjoys working with the author community to help bring their visions to life. She can be reached via Threads, as well as through her website.
Molly-Jaye Kirchner
Marginalized Romance Editor
Molly grew up in Lorain, Ohio with dreams of being an author. With her head always stuffed in a paperback, she started to jot her own ideas in composition notebooks. After passing the journals to her friends for elementary feedback, Molly knew she wanted to make this dream come true.
After finishing her Bachelor of Arts in English from Bowling Green State University, Molly found herself working in business administration. She also wrote for a local newspaper on the side, promoting artists and creatives in her area, but quickly realized that the traditional nine-to-five didn’t work with her plans. Molly quit her administrative job to work at a salon and went into a vocational program to become an esthetician. With over ten years in the industry, Molly now runs her own spa, makes her own hours, and has created a life where there’s plenty of time for make believe.
Molly is a member of the Pitch to Published writing group, the International Writers Association, Writing Away Refuge, and Literary Cleveland. Molly founded and runs a private critique program, currently running two separate groups called The Alpha-Bets. Our goal is to work on both alpha and beta reads to better our manuscripts. In 2016, Molly self-published a children’s book titled The Messy World of Little Miss Molly. This story took off and she eventually made it into a series of four books that have all done well. In 2021, Molly released her debut horror novel, The Alvah, which was well received but unfortunately the press closed. However, it was during the release that she realized women’s fiction and romance were where she saw herself on the bookshelves. Molly has since focused all of her time writing exclusively in these genres. Born and bred in Northeast Ohio, she enjoys writing about her area, connecting all of her manuscripts, and giving a voice to what some may consider the side character. Molly is currently working on three projects and reside near Lake Erie with her husband, two Great Danes, and their perfect cat.