About the Essayists and Contributors
Author in Progress Essayists
Porter Anderson, BA, MA, MFA, is a journalist, speaker, and consultant specializing in book publishing. Formerly with CNN, the Village Voice, the Dallas Times Herald, and other media, he is editor in chief of Publishing Perspectives, the magazine for the international publishing industry, founded by German Book Office New York. With Jane Friedman, he produces The Hot Sheet newsletter, providing publishing industry news expressly for authors in a biweekly e-mail subscription. Anderson also writes the #MusicForWriters series on contemporary composers for Thought Catalog and is the former associate editor of TheFutureBook for London’s The Bookseller. Learn more about Porter at porteranderson.com and @Porter_Anderson on Twitter.
Julianna Baggott is the author of more than twenty books published under her own name as well as two pen names. Her novels Pure and Harriet Wolf’s Seventh Book of Wonders were both chosen by The New York Times Book Review for the 100 Notable Books of the Year (2012 and 2015, respectively). Her most recent release, All of Us and Everything, written as Bridget Asher, was a Best New Book pick by People magazine. Baggott’s essays have appeared in The New York Times Modern Love column, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Real Simple, Best American Poetry series, and on NPR. The author of three books of poems, she teaches in the film school at Florida State University and holds the Jenks Chair of Contemporary American Letters at Holy Cross. Learn more about her at juliannabaggott.com.
Brunonia Barry is the New York Times and international best-selling author of The Lace Reader and The Map of True Places. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages. She was the first American author to win the International Women’s Fiction Festival’s Baccante Award and was a past recipient of Ragdale Artists’ Colony’s Strnad Fellowship as well as the winner of New England Book Festival’s award for Best Fiction and Amazon’s Best of the Month. Her reviews and articles on writing have appeared in The London Times and The Washington Post. Brunonia co-chairs the Salem Athenaeum’s Writers’ Committee. She lives in Salem with her husband, Gary Ward, and their dog, Angel. Her new book, The Fifth Petal, will be released in January 2017. Learn more about Brunonia and her books at www.brunoniabarry.com.
Tom Bentley is a business writer and editor, an essayist, and a fiction writer. (He does not play banjo.) He’s published hundreds of freelance pieces—ranging from first-person essays to travel pieces to more journalistic subjects—in newspapers, magazines, and online. His small-press short story collection, Flowering and Other Stories, was published in the spring of 2012. His book on finding and cultivating your writer’s voice, Think Like a Writer: How to Write the Stories You See, was published in June of 2015. He would like you to pour him a Manhattan right at five. Learn more about Tom on his website: www.tombentley.com.
Sharon Bially is founder and president of the PR firm BookSavvy Public Relations, where she proudly publicizes fiction and nonfiction authors and their books. A lapsed writer, she’s the author of the novel Veronica’s Nap and an active supporter of Grub Street, Inc., the nation’s largest independent writing center. Earlier in life Sharon worked in the field of international economic policy in Paris and has also lived in Aix-en-Provence. A hopeless Francophile, she lives with her French husband and their two teenage sons in the Boston area. Learn more about Sharon on her website: www.sharonbially.com.
Dan Blank is the founder of WeGrowMedia, where he helps writers share their stories and connect with readers. He has helped hundreds of authors via online courses, events, consulting, and workshops, and has worked with amazing publishing houses and organizations who support writers, such as Random House, Hachette Book Group, Workman Publishing, Abrams Books, Writers House, The Kenyon Review, Writer’s Digest, Library Journal, and many others. He is also the author of the forthcoming book Dabblers vs. Doers, aimed at helping creative professionals work through risk as they develop their craft and build a meaningful body of work. You can find Dan on his blog at wegrowmedia.com.
Anne Greenwood Brown writes young adult (YA) fiction from a quiet cul-de-sac in Minnesota, as well as new adult (NA) fiction under the pen name A.S. Green. She is represented by Jacqueline Flynn of Joëlle Delbourgo Associates Literary Agency. Her titles include the dark paranormal mermaid trilogy, which includes the titles Lies Beneath, Deep Betrayal, and Promise Bound (Random House/Delacorte Press); a co-authored contemporary mystery/suspense novel, Girl Last Seen (Albert Whitman Co., 2016); and Summer Girl (Entangled Embrace, 2016). Anne has been contributing to Writer Unboxed since 2010. When she’s not writing fiction, she’s practicing law and watching her children slowly leave the nest. You can learn more about Anne on her website at annegreenwoodbrown.com.
Kim Bullock has an MA in English from Iowa State University, where she taught composition for several years. Though mainly a historical fiction writer, she has contributed nonfiction articles to regional, historical, and Arts and Crafts periodicals in the United States and Canada. In addition to working on her novel-in-progress, a story based on the bohemian and scandalous lives of her artist great-grandparents, Kim has also been a keynote speaker at several recent exhibitions of her great-grandfather’s paintings. She is an assistant editor and contributor at Writer Unboxed. Kim lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband and two daughters. Learn more about Kim at writerunboxed.com/kim.
Sarah Callender lives in Seattle with her husband and two children. A writer, freelance editor, and tutor, Sarah is also passionate about erasing the stigma of mental illness. While her novels, Between the Sun and the Oranges and Flight of the Birdmen, are out on submission, she is working on her third book. Learn more about Sarah on her website: sarahrcallender.wordpress.com.
David Corbett is the author of five novels: The Devil’s Redhead, Done for a Dime (a New York Times Notable Book), Blood of Paradise, Do They Know I’m Running, and The Mercy of the Night. His novella, The Devil Prayed and Darkness Fell, also appeared in 2015, and his story collection Thirteen Confessions was published in 2016. David’s book on the craft of characterization, The Art of Character, has been called “a writer’s bible,” and he’s written numerous articles on the craft and theory of fiction for The New York Times, Writer’s Digest, Narrative, Bright Ideas, and numerous other outlets. He has taught at the UCLA Extension’s Writers’ Program, Litreactor, Book Passage, 826 Valencia, and numerous writing conferences across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Learn more about David on his website: www.davidcorbett.com.
Kathryn Craft is the author of two novels from Sourcebooks, The Art of Falling and The Far End of Happy. Her work as a freelance developmental editor at writing-partner.com follows a nineteen-year career as a dance critic. Long a leader in the southeastern Pennsylvania writing scene, she is an active member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association and Tall Poppy Writers. Kathryn leads writing workshops and retreats, and blogs at Writers in the Storm and Writer Unboxed. Learn more about Kathryn on her website, www.kathryncraft.com.
Lisa Cron is the author of Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence (Ten Speed Press). Her TEDx Talk, “Wired for Story,” opened Furman University’s 2014 TEDx conference, Stories: The Common Thread of Our Humanity, and her video tutorial, "Writing Fundamentals: The Craft of Story," can be found at Lynda.com. Her book Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Crack the Code of Your Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere) was published by Ten Speed Press in August 2016. A frequent speaker at writers conferences, schools, and universities, her passion has always been story. She currently works as a story coach, helping writers, nonprofits, educators, and journalists wrangle the story they’re telling onto the page. Learn more on her website: wiredforstory.com.
Keith Cronin is a corporate speechwriter and professional rock drummer who has performed and recorded with artists including Bruce Springsteen, Clarence Clemons, and Pat Travers. He is also the author of the novels Me Again, published by Five Star/Gale, and Tony Partly Cloudy, published under his pen name, Nick Rollins. Keith’s fiction has appeared in Carve Magazine, Amarillo Bay, and a University of Phoenix management course. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Indiana University and an MBA from Florida Atlantic University. A South Florida native, Keith spends his free time serenading local ducks and squirrels with his ukulele. Learn more about Keith on his website: www.keithcronin.com.
Margaret Dilloway is the author of the middle-grade fantasy series Momotoro and the novels How to Be an American Housewife, Sisters of Heart and Snow, and The Care and Handling of Roses and Thorns, which won the 2013 American Library Association’s Literary Tastes award for Best Women’s Fiction. She lives in San Diego with her family, where she also teaches creative writing at a charter middle school and conducts workshops for adults. Learn more at margaretdilloway.com.
Jo Eberhardt first announced she was a writer when she was four years old but put her career on hold while she learned the alphabet, suffered through teen angst, and held down a series of boringly real jobs. Thirty years later, she traded financial security for creative freedom and hasn’t looked back. Jo runs a local writing group, teaches novel writing workshops, and mentors teenagers in creative writing. When she’s not living in worlds of her own making, Jo can be found in rural Queensland, Australia. Learn more about Jo on her website: joeberhardt.com.
Anna Elliott is an author of historical fiction and fantasy. Her first series, the Twilight of Avalon trilogy, is a retelling of the Trystan and Isolde legend. She wrote her second series, the Pride and Prejudice Chronicles, chiefly to satisfy her own curiosity about what might have happened to Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Darcy, and all the other wonderful cast of characters after the official end of Jane Austen’s classic work. She enjoys stories about strong women and loves exploring the multitude of ways women can find their unique strengths. Anna lives in the Washington DC area with her husband and three children. Learn more about Anna at www.annaelliottbooks.com.
Bill Ferris is a stand-up comedian who writes mysteries, fantasy, science fiction, and horror, and does not do stand-up. His writing has appeared in publications such as Unidentified Funny Objects, Crowded, Opium, and Stupefying Stories. When he’s not typing words into a thing, Bill develops online courses at a university his lawyer advised him not to name. He has two sons who asked not to be mentioned in this bio, but Elliott and Wyatt forgot to say “please.”
Jane Friedman has twenty years of experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in digital media strategy for authors and publishers. She’s worked with or served a diverse range of organizations and publications, including the Virginia Quarterly Review, The Great Courses, Writer’s Digest, Publishers Weekly, and the National Endowment for the Arts; and has a book forthcoming from the University of Chicago Press, The Business of Being a Writer (2017). Her essays have been published in collections from Milkweed Editions, McPherson & Co., and Seal Press, among others. Find out more at janefriedman.com.
Tracy Hahn-Burkett is a writer and former congressional staffer and public policy advocate. She writes the parenting blog, Uncharted Parent, contributes regularly to Writer Unboxed, and has published dozens of essays, articles, stories, and reviews. A recipient of a grant from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, she is currently revising her first novel. Tracy lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two children. Learn more about Tracy and Uncharted Parent on her website: www.tracyhahnburkett.com.
Gwen Hernandez is the author of Scrivener for Dummies, Productivity Tools for Writers, and the Men of Steele series (military romantic suspense), several of which nearly gave their lives as kindling at one point or another. Formerly a manufacturing engineer and programmer, Gwen teaches Scrivener to writers all over the world through online classes, in-person workshops, and private sessions. In her spare time, she likes to travel, read, run, practice Kung Fu and yoga, and spend time with her family. Learn more at gwenhernandez.com.
Originally from Houston, Texas, Kristan Hoffman studied creative writing at Carnegie Mellon University and attended the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop. Now she lives with her husband in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she writes both fiction and nonfiction with a focus on contemporary, multicultural stories. Her shorter work has appeared in Sugar Mule, The Citron Review, and Switchback, among others. She is currently at work on a young adult novel and is represented by Tina Wexler of ICM Partners. For more, please visit kristanhoffman.com.
Steven James is the critically acclaimed author of thirteen novels. He serves as a contributing editor to Writer’s Digest magazine, hosts the biweekly podcast The Story Blender, and has a master’s degree in storytelling. Publishers Weekly calls him “[a] master storyteller at the peak of his game.” Steven’s groundbreaking book Story Trumps Structure: How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules won a Storytelling World award as one of the best resources for storytellers in 2015. When he’s not working on his next novel, Steven teaches Novel Writing Intensive retreats across the country with New York Times best-selling author Robert Dugoni. Learn more at www.stevenjames.net.
In addition to editing everything from YA to harrowing memoirs, with romance, mysteries, and historicals in between, Dave King is the co-author of Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, now in its second edition with more than 140,000 sold. He works from a small home in the hills of western Massachusetts that he shares with Ruth Julian, his wife and personal editor. They often watch bears, beaver, deer, ducks, muskrat, fox, wild turkeys, and the occasional bobcat wander around in the yard and pond. In spite of the limits of satellite Internet access, Dave can keep editing without ever having to move away from the wood stove. If you’d like to learn more about Dave and his services, visit his website, www.davekingedits.com.
Jeanne Kisacky trained to be an architect before going back to her first love: writing. She studied the history of architecture, has written and published nonfiction, and has taught college courses. Her first book-length publication, The Rise of the Modern Hospital: An Architectural History of Health and Healing, was released in the fall of 2016 from the University of Pittsburgh Press. She is also still polishing a long-brewing work of fantasy and fighting valiantly to keep her writing time despite the demands of a day job, a family, and a very particular cat.
Robin LaFevers is a New York Times best-selling author who has written more than sixteen books for young readers. Her most recent young adult trilogy about assassin nuns in medieval France (featuring the titles Grave Mercy, Dark Triumph, and Mortal Heart) was awarded starred reviews from School Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly, and has been translated into a number of languages. Though she has never trained as an assassin or joined a convent, she has been on a search for answers to life’s mysteries for as long as she can remember. She currently lives with her husband in the hills of Southern California. Learn more about Robin on her website: www.robinlafevers.com.
Allie Larkin is the internationally best-selling author of the novels Stay and Why Can’t I Be You (Dutton/Plume). Her work has also been published in the Summerset Review and Slice magazine. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her husband, Jeremy, and their German Shepherd, Stella. Learn more about Allie on her website: allielarkinwrites.com.
Erika Liodice is the author of Empty Arms: A Novel (Dreamspire Press) and a regular contributor to the popular fiction writing website Writer Unboxed. She is currently at work on her second novel and an action adventure series for early readers. When she’s not writing fiction, you’ll find Erika on her blog, Beyond the Gray, where she enjoys inspiring readers to chase their own dreams. Visit erikaliodice.com to learn more.
A literary agent in New York, Donald Maass’s agency sells more than 150 novels every year to major publishers in the United States and overseas. He is the author of The Career Novelist (1996), Writing the Breakout Novel (2001), Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook (2004), The Fire in Fiction (2009) and Writing 21st Century Fiction (2012). He is a past president of the Association of Authors’ Representatives, Inc. Learn more about Donald and his agency at maassagency.com.
French-Australian writer Sophie Masson is the award-winning and internationally published author of sixty-five books for children, young adults, and adults. Her latest adult novel is Trinity: The False Prince, (Momentum, 2015) while her latest YA novel is Hunter’s Moon, (Random House Australia, 2015). Her nonfiction title, The Adaptable Author: Coping with Change in the Digital Age, was published by Keesing Press in 2014. Sophie is also a founding partner and director of Christmas Press, a boutique publishing house producing beautiful children’s books. Learn more on Sophie’s website: www.sophiemasson.org.
Raised in the Midwest, Greer Macallister is a poet, short story writer, playwright, and novelist whose work has appeared in publications such as The North American Review, The Missouri Review, and The Messenger. Her plays have been performed at American University, where she earned her MFA in creative writing. She lives with her family on the East Coast. Her debut novel, The Magician’s Lie, was an Indie Next pick, a Target Book Club selection, and a USA Today bestseller. Learn more on her website: www.greermacallister.com.
Juliet Marillier was born in New Zealand and now lives in Western Australia. Her historical fantasy novels and short stories for adults and young adults have been published internationally and have won a number of awards. Juliet’s lifelong love of folklore, fairy tales, and mythology is a major influence on her writing. She is a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD). Juliet’s next novel is Den of Wolves (Blackthorn & Grim series, Book 3), to be released in November 2016. When she’s not busy writing, Juliet is active in animal rescue. Find out more at www.julietmarillier.com.
Julia Munroe Martin is truly an author in progress. She is a freelance writer and blogger as well as one of the assistant editors for Writer Unboxed. She lives on the coast of Maine in a very old house in a very small town, where she is happiest at her dining room table working on her latest story or out and about taking photos. She has a lot of experience with waiting, and while she waits, she writes. As J.M. Maison, Julia is the author of the indie mystery novel Desired to Death. Learn more on Julia’s website: juliamunroemartin.com.
Sarah McCoy is the New York Times, USA Today, and international best-selling author of The Mapmaker’s Children; The Baker’s Daughter, a 2012 Goodreads Choice Award Best Historical Fiction nominee; the novella “The Branch of Hazel” in Grand Central; and The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico. Her work has been featured in Real Simple, The Millions, Your Health Monthly, The Huffington Post, and other publications. She has taught English writing at Old Dominion University and at the University of Texas at El Paso. She calls Virginia home but presently lives with her husband, an Army orthopedic surgeon, and their dog, Gilly, in Chicago, Illinois. Learn more about Sarah on her website, sarahmccoy.com.
Kathleen McCleary is the author of three novels: House and Home (2008); A Simple Thing (2012), nominated for the Library of Virginia Literary Award in fiction; and Leaving Haven (2013), a Target Emerging Author pick. Her nonfiction articles have appeared in Parade magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, and many other publications. She has taught writing as an adjunct professor at American University and is an instructor with Writopia Labs, a nonprofit that teaches creative writing to kids. Learn more about Kathleen on her website: www.kathleenmccleary.com.
Jael McHenry is the author of The Kitchen Daughter (Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books, 2011) and an enthusiastic amateur cook, blogging about food and writing at The Simmer Blog. She is also the editor in chief of Intrepid Media. Jael lives in New York City. Learn more on her website: www.jaelmchenry.com.
A graduate of McGill University in history and law, Catherine McKenzie practices law in Montreal, where she was born and raised. An avid skier and runner, Catherine’s novels, Spin, Arranged, Forgotten, and Hidden, are all international bestsellers and have been translated into numerous languages. Hidden was also a number one Amazon bestseller and a Digital Bookworld bestseller. Her fifth novel, Smoke, was published by Lake Union in October 2015. It was named a Best Book of October by Goodreads and one of the Top 100 Books of 2015 by Amazon. Her sixth novel, Fractured, was published in October 2016. Learn more on Catherine’s website: catherinemckenzie.com.
Liz Michalski’s novel Evenfall was published by Penguin Berkley. She’s working on her second novel, a fairy tale for adults about all the ways in which wishes can go wrong. She’s been a reporter and an editor and once owned a large barn in a small corner of Connecticut. In that previous life, she wrangled with ill-tempered horses and oversized show dogs. She traded it all in for a house in suburbia where she freelances, carpools her children, yells at the dog to stop taking the drainpipe off the house, and reminds her husband to whack back the wisteria before it overtakes civilization. She wouldn’t change a thing. Learn more at www.lizmichalski.com.
Annie Neugebauer is a short story author, novelist, and award-winning poet. Her work has appeared in more than fifty venues, including Black Static, Apex Magazine, and Fireside. She’s the webmaster for the Poetry Society of Texas and an active member of the Horror Writers Association. Annie graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with an English degree and highest university honors. Now she lives in North Texas with her sweet husband and two diabolical cats. Visit her at annieneugebauer.com for blogs, creative works, organizational tools for writers, and more.
Although she knew in grade school she wanted to write fiction, Jan O’Hara left her dreams behind for a time to become a family physician. She provided birth-to-death healthcare to her patients and served as an assistant professor at the University of Alberta, teaching residents and medical students about patient-centered care and human sexuality. Jan lives in Alberta, Canada, with her husband and two children and writes a monthly column for Writer Unboxed. Once obsessed with helping people professionally, she has retired from medicine and now spends her days torturing them on paper. See? Win-win scenarios really do exist. Learn more about Jan on her website: janohara.net.
Barbara O’Neal has won the highly prestigious RITA award from Romance Writers of America seven times and was inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame in 2012. She published her first novel in her twenties and has written more than fifty books since then, including The Lost Recipe for Happiness (Bantam), which went back to print eight times, and How to Bake a Perfect Life, which was a Target Club Pick. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and she is a popular blogger and teacher who loves to travel, teach, and hike. Learn more about Barbara and her many novels on her website: www.barbaraoneal.com.
Ray Rhamey is an author, freelance fiction editor, and designer of book covers, interiors, and e-books for indie authors and small publishers. He writes the internationally known blog, Flogging the Quill, on creating compelling fiction. His how-to book, Mastering the Craft of Compelling Storytelling, has gotten rave reviews from writers. Ray’s background includes screenwriting and advertising. Readers call him a “genre-bending” writer—his The Vampire Kitty-cat Chronicles is a satirical paranormal adventure, Gundown is a speculative thriller, The Summer Boy is a coming-of-age mystery set in 1958, and Hiding Magic is a blend of science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Learn more about Ray on his website: www.rayrhamey.com.
Erika Robuck is the best-selling author of Hemingway’s Girl, Call Me Zelda, Fallen Beauty, The House of Hawthorne, and Receive Me Falling. She is also a contributor to the anthology Grand Central: Postwar Stories of Love and Reunion and to the Writer Unboxed blog. She has her own blog, Muse, and is a member of the Hawthorne, Historical Novel, Hemingway, and Millay Societies. In 2014, Robuck was named Annapolis’ Author of the Year, and she resides there with her husband and three sons. Learn more about Erika on her website: www.erikarobuck.com.
New York Times bestseller M.J. Rose (www.mjrose.com) grew up in New York City, mostly in the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum, the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park, and reading her mother’s favorite books before she was allowed. She believes mystery and magic are all around us but that we are often too busy to notice. Rose has written more than a dozen novels; is the creator of www.authorbuzz.com, the first marketing company for authors; is the co-creator of www.1001darknights.com; and is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers.
Vaughn Roycroft claims he came to writing later in life, but that’s not entirely accurate. In truth the aspiration was kindled much earlier. Before Vaughn moved to the perfect writing cottage, before he built a successful business, even before he married his soul mate, he dreamed of writing his epic. The roots of his stories might actually be traced to the day his sixth-grade teacher told him Tolkien’s Rohirrim resemble the Goths. Vaughn is a moderator for the Writer Unboxed community and has been writing about the support he finds there since 2012—support he’s certain will see him through to publication. Learn more about Vaughn on his website: www.vaughnroycroft.com.
As a Brooklyn-based author and producer, Lancelot Schaubert continues to cross the borders that hem in the land of tales. He started out selling poetry to small zines like SP Quill and Doxa. Then he moved on to nonfiction in Harry Potter for Nerds, The World Series Edition of Poker Pro, Occupy, Poet’s Market 2016, and McSweeney’s. Later he sold fiction to Encounter as well as to Brink, Hatch, Scars, and others. In recent years, his stories crossed into transmedia as he reinvented the photonovel via Cold Brewed and The Joplin Undercurrent, acted in short films, and recorded an album coinciding with his short stories. His first novel, Faceless, is making the rounds with agents. Oh, and his hobbit hair grows longer by the day. So there’s that. Learn more about Lance on his website: lanceschaubert.org.
Susan Spann is a California attorney whose practice focuses on business and publishing law; she also writes the Hiro Hattori novels (Shinobi Mysteries), featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and his Portuguese Jesuit sidekick, Father Mateo. Her first novel, Claws of the Cat (Minotaur, 2013) was a Library Journal mystery debut of the month and a finalist for the Silver Falchion Award for Best First Novel. Her fourth novel, The Ninja’s Daughter (Seventh Street Books), was released in August 2016. Susan founded and curates the Twitter #PubLaw hashtag to provide authors with information about the publishing business and legal issues. When not writing or practicing law, she enjoys traditional archery, reading, and raising seahorses in her marine aquarium. She lives near Sacramento, California. Find her online at www.susanspann.com.
Victoria Strauss has authored nine novels, including the Way of Arata duology (The Burning Land and The Awakened City). She has written hundreds of book reviews for magazines and e-zines, and her articles on
writing have appeared in Writer’s Digest. She’s co-founder, with Ann Crispin, of Writer Beware, a publishing industry watchdog group sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. She maintains the Writer Beware website (www.writerbeware.com) and blog (accrispin.blogspot.com), for which she won a 2012 Independent Book Blogger Award. She has also been honored with the SFWA Service Award. Visit her at her website: www.victoriastrauss.com.
John Vorhaus is the author of some two dozen books, including the outstanding novels Lucy in the Sky and Poole’s Paradise, the classic comedy writing textbook The Comic Toolbox, and the unbelievably conceptual A Million Random Words. Strange as that sounds, it’s not even the odd part of his résumé, for he has also taught and trained writers in thirty-three countries on five continents (at last count) and created television shows in such exotic locales as Romania and Nicaragua. He tweets for no apparent reason @TrueFactBarFact, sells all his works at www.amazon.com/author/jv, and secretly controls the world from www.johnvorhaus.com.
Therese Walsh co-founded Writer Unboxed with Kathleen Bolton in 2006 and is the site’s editorial director. Her debut novel, The Last Will of Moira Leahy, was nominated for a RITA Award for Best First Book and was a Target Breakout Book. Her second novel, The Moon Sisters, received starred reviews from Library Journal and Booklist, and was named a Best Book of 2014 by Library Journal. She has a master’s degree in psychology. You can learn more about her on her website,theresewalsh.com.
Heather Webb is a historical fiction author, freelance editor, and blogger at the award-winning writing sites Writer Unboxed and Writers in the Storm. Her works have been translated into three languages and have received national starred reviews. Heather is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and she may also be found teaching craft-based courses at a local college. Visit her at heatherwebb.net for more information.
Cathy Yardley sold her first novel to Harlequin in 1999. Since then, she has traditionally published eighteen novels in women’s fiction, chick lit, romance, and urban fantasy, and in 2016 she is self-publishing her “geek girl” category rom-com series, Fandom Hearts. She’s been quoted in the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, and the SF Guardian, among others. In 2011, she started rockyourwriting.com with the mission of helping genre novelists make a living. She has helped hundreds of authors as a developmental editor and writing coach, and through her “plot sessions”—one-on-one calls that get authors from concept to plot points in one hour. She’s also written the Rock Your Writing series of reference books, taking authors through the writing cycle, from concept to completion, as well as helping authors figure out the foundation plan for building their brands and marketing their work. To learn more about Cathy, visit cathyyardley.com.
Writer Unboxed Community Contributors
CG Blake has thirty years of writing and editing experience. He published his first novel, Small Change, in 2012, and his second novel, A Prayer for Maura, is due out in 2016. His interest in family dynamics has led Blake to choose family sagas as his genre. He maintains a blog called A New Fiction Writer’s Forum at www.cgblake.wordpress.com. Blake lives outside of Hartford, Connecticut. He is employed as an association management executive in the higher education sector.
Vijaya Bodach is a scientist-turned-children’s writer. She is the author of the novelty book Ten Easter Eggs (Scholastic), fifty supplemental science books for children, and more than sixty articles, stories, and poems in leading children’s magazines. She is a former instructor at the Institute of Children’s Literature. Vijaya wrangles children, students, pets, and words in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. To learn more, visit her blog at vijayabodach.blogspot.com.
Paula Cappa is the recipient of a Chanticleer Book Award, the prestigious Eric Hoffer Book Award, the Readers’ Favorite International Bronze Medal for Supernatural Suspense, and a Gothic Readers Book Club Award. She is the author of Greylock, The Dazzling Darkness, and Night Sea Journey. Her short fiction has appeared in Dark Gothic Resurrected Magazine, Whistling Shade Literary Journal, SmokeLong Quarterly, Sirens Call Ezine, Every Day Fiction, Fiction365, Twilight Times Ezine, and in anthologies Journals of Horror: Found Fiction, Mystery Time, and Human Writes Literary Journal. She is a freelance copyeditor and writes a weekly short story blog, Reading Fiction, Tales of Terror at paulacappa.wordpress.com.
Valerie P. Chandler received her BA in literature from Southwestern University and has been a paralegal and a teacher. The city girl married her cowboy and became a rancher as well as a Jill-of-all-trades. The crazy escapades of ranch life and the urge to document the fading history and culture of rural Texas have fueled her lifelong desire to write. She’s a member of the Heart of Texas chapter of Sisters in Crime and Austin Mystery Writers, as well as a moderator for the Writer Unboxed Facebook group. Learn more about her on her website, vpchandler.com.
LJ Cohen is a novelist, poet, blogger, ceramics artist, and relentless optimist. After twenty-five years as a physical therapist, LJ now uses her anatomical knowledge and clinical skills to injure characters in her science fiction and fantasy novels. She lives outside of Boston with her family and her dogs. Her most recent book, Ithaka Rising, Book 2 of the Halcyone Space series, represents her fifth novel and was published in the summer of 2015. The third book in the series, Dreadnought and Shuttle, will be published in June of 2016. LJ is active in SFWA and Broad Universe. Learn more about her at www.ljcohen.net.
Ron Estrada is a young adult and middle-grade author, currently editing the first of his Navy Brats historical novels, Scorpion Summer, for submission. His first YA series, Cherry Hill, is available on most online retailers. He lives in Michigan with his understanding wife and almost-out-of-the-house children. You can find him at his website, ronestradabooks.com or on Facebook.
Tonia Marie Harris resides in south-central Illinois with her husband, three children, and three rescue animals. She writes speculative fiction and poetry, aided by her muse, a cross-dressing goblin with a penchant for rum and Kafka novels. Her work has appeared in various anthologies, and she is an administrative assistant for Writer Unboxed. Learn more about Tonia on her website: toniamarieharris.com.
Natalie Hart is a writer of biblical fiction and of picture books for children who were adopted when they were older. Her father was an entrepreneur, so she’d never intended to be one, but she’s about to independently publish everything. Learn more about Natalie on her websites: www.nataliehart.com and westolivepress.com.
Barry Knister’s first novel, a thriller titled The Dating Service, was published by Berkley. More recently, he has self-published Just Bill, a novel about dogs, and two novels in a suspense series, The Anything Goes Girl and Deep North. He taught for many years at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan. He served as the secretary for Detroit Working Writers and as the director of the Cranbrook Summer Writers Conference. He lives north of Detroit with his wife, Barbara, and their Aussie shepherd, Skylar. Learn more about Barry on his website: www.bwknister.com.
Barbara Morrison, who writes under the name B. Morrison, is the author of a memoir, Innocent: Confessions of a Welfare Mother, and two poetry collections, Terrarium and Here at Least. Barbara’s award-winning work has been published in anthologies and magazines. She conducts writing workshops, provides editing services, and (as the owner of a small press) speaks about publishing and marketing. She has maintained her Monday Morning Books blog since 2006 and tweets regularly about poetry @bmorrison9. For more information, visit her website and blog at www.bmorrison.com.
Bernadette Phipps-Lincke says that some of her fondest memories involve picnics in cemeteries as a child, where her eccentric mother taught her to read via tombstone epitaphs and also encouraged the small girl to make up stories about the lives led by those dearly departed. Bernadette still finds inspiration in cemeteries and loves stories that dabble with and dance in the darkness. Her first novel, a paranormal thriller, Burning Lily, is scheduled for e-book release soon from Wild Child publishers.
Thomas Henry Pope credits a songwriting career in Hollywood for schooling him in the weight of words. The characters in his novels long for home because they chose to leave theirs to worry the bones of injustice. They are hushed by place and the vibrancy of subcultures. They squirm in the face of the very power they seek. The world they inhabit is ours, where passion fuels action and moral ambiguity complicates happy endings. His novels—The Trouble with Wisdom (quest) and Imperfect Burials (thriller)—bind the genres of crime, adventure, and magical realism with a literary thread. More are in the pipeline. Learn more about Tom at www.thomashenrypope.com.
Alisha Rohde writes stories that weave together past and present, history, and myth, seeking the magic in the ordinary. She’s taught college-level English, done administrative work in a range of industries, and managed projects and licensing for a small video/multimedia company. Alisha has a PhD in English literature from The Ohio State University and a BA in theatre from Kalamazoo College. She’s a member of the Women’s Fiction Writer’s Association. When not writing or reading, she enjoys knitting and yoga. Alisha lives in Evanston, Illinois, with her husband and one chatty tuxedo cat. You can find her online at alisharohde.com.
Susan Setteducato grew up in a family of storytellers of both the Irish and the Italian variety. She also grew up in the heyday of fairytales being brought to life on the screen by Walt Disney. These influences have resulted in Susan’s desire to blend myth, legend, and magic into the fabric of her novels. Although trained as a painter, Susan has been writing all her life and is nearing completion of Luminous, the first novel in the McCool Saga. She lives in Bucks County with her husband, Peter; three sheep; and two barn cats. Visit her website at susansetteducato.com.
M.L. Swift is a lover of words who squanders away his afternoons arranging them into sentences that, when combined, resemble fiction. He has written articles for Writer Unboxed and The Alzheimer’s Reading Room, and, as a caregiver for ten years, is writing a novel based on his experience. He lives in the Florida panhandle with his two dogs, Rameses and Buster, and spends his nights fighting a losing battle to reclaim his side of the bed. Visit him online at mlswift.me.
Dee Willson felt the writer’s call at fifteen, when she penned her first novel and received her first rejection to go with it. More than twenty years later, she has published short stories and interviews, contributed to blogs, and wrote the novel A Keeper’s Truth, followed by GOT (Gift of Travel). She currently resides in Burlington, Ontario, with her husband and their two daughters. Visit her online at www.deewillson.com.
Grace Wynter is a copyeditor, blogger, and writer of romantic women’s fiction. Her blogs have been featured on CNN.com, the Huffington Post, and More.com. In 2010, she was voted by WE Magazine for Women as a Woman Blogger to Watch. She spends much of her time writing and helping other writers on her blog, The Writer’s Station, and when she’s not alternating between the Marvel and DC universes, she resides in Atlanta, Georgia. You can connect with Grace on her blog (thewritersstation.com) and on her author website, ggwynter.com.