Rodriguez, Emilio: - Emilio Rodriguez is a science teacher in northern Illinois by day and a dark fantasy author by night. Through the Withering Veil is his debut novel, blending folk horror, body horror, and surreal magical transformations. When he's not writing he spends his time hiking, reading horror fiction, and playing tabletop RPG. This story was born from a long-running game he played with his fiancé-now reimagined as a tale of memory, identity, and found family.