FEATURED PUBLISHER: ARCHWAY PUBLISHING

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 Chef Felicia Grady is a distinguished culinary professional, entrepreneur, and educator who brings a wealth of experience and passion to the culinary arts. A graduate of the Chef's Academy in 2012, Chef Grady has carved a remarkable path in the culinary world, blending her creative vision with a commitment to excellence.

In 2019, Chef Grady founded Plate It Up Catering, a premier catering company known for its innovative dishes and exceptional service. Her dedication to her craft has earned her widespread recognition, including being named Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation in 2022. Chef Grady is also the co-founder of the Black Chef Collective, an organization aimed at empowering and elevating Black culinary professionals.

Chef Grady’s passion extends beyond the kitchen. She is an experienced educator, having served as a culinary instructor for Second Helpings since 2017, where she equips individuals with vital skills to thrive in the foodservice industry. As a dual-role instructor and proctor for ServSafe, she has been instrumental in promoting food safety standards.

In addition to her teaching roles, Chef Grady has a talent for connecting with audiences. She hosts Cooking Something Up with Chef Felicia on the Pure Essense TV, where she shares creative recipes, practical tips, and inspiration for home cooks and food enthusiasts alike. She also published her first cookbook in 2024, which was recognized by the 2024 American Writing Awards as the Winner in the Cookbook category. Chef Felicia is currently working on her next book, Put Some South in My Mouth!

Chef Felicia’s leadership and impact in the culinary field are further evidenced by her role as a judge for the 2024 World Food Championship and her active membership in organizations like the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).

 Born and raised in Sardinia, Italy, Jessica Heintz is a multilingual poet and writer who likes to stretch the boundaries of reality in her stories. She mostly writes fiction for younger audiences with a focus on death and dying. She has made it part of her life’s mission to promote open and honest conversations on death among mortals of all ages. She currently accomplishes that goal through her writing and by organizing community events such as Death Cafes in Buffalo, NY, where she has been living for the past four years. Besides writing, in her free time she cultivates a strong passion for reading all kinds of books, dog training, Guinness World Records (she’ll break one someday) and exploring the infinite wonders of nature. You can find her at www.jessicaheintz.com 

  Dr. Angela Jackson is the founder of Future Forward Strategies, a labor market intelligence, design thinking, and strategy firm that assist leaders with transforming organizations and human capital infrastructure necessary for public, private, and non-profit organizations to maintain competitiveness while creating positive impact. Dr. Jackson is also a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she teaches the next generation of students about entrepreneurship in the education marketplace.

Dr. Angela Jackson is an expert in impact investing and Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG). As a leading voice on the future of work, Dr. Jackson has deep knowledge of the technology trends that are transforming organizations, and the human capital infrastructure necessary to ensure long-term profitability and sustainability. 

As a Managing Partner at New Profit, a Boston-based venture philanthropy, she was the architect of the Future of Work Grand Challenge, an initiative that reskilled 25,000 workers impacted by COVID-19 and placed them in living wage jobs, and resulted in the development of an innovation ecosystem of over 60 employers, foundations and education operating partners. She is an advisor to Guild Education, Freedom Learning Group and Education Design Lab, and serves on the boards of Beyond 12 and Summer Search. 

Dr. Jackson is passionate about modernizing the public education to employment system, and advancing academic and professional opportunities for women, people of color, and veterans. Her work and writing has been featured in CNN, Forbes, Fortune, Huffington Post, Newsweek, Stanford Social Innovation Review and Harvard Business Review. You can read her thoughts on the intersection of race and the future of work on Medium and follow her on Twitter at @angjack.

 Norman Jetmundsen, Jr. is the award-winning author of Unrivaled: Sewanee 1899 and a key contributor to the film adaptation of the story. A retired attorney based in Birmingham, Alabama, he is a former Trustee of The University of the South. Jetmundsen is a graduate of Sewanee (Class of ’76), The University of Alabama Law School, and Oxford University (Magdalen College). In addition to his work on Unrivaled, both the book and the film, he has authored two other novels and several published essays.  

 Karin Dupree Fecteau is the co-author of Unrivaled and an international award-winning graphic designer based in Alabama. She specializes in publications, brand development, advertising, nonprofit design work, and digital experiences. Before founding her own design studio in 2012, she served as a Senior Designer for Southern Living magazine. Fecteau is a proud graduate of Auburn University, Class of ’93. 

 For the past thirty years, Karen Katz has been a multi-award-winning television executive producer, showrunner, and writer, with over 1,500 hours of programming under her belt. Her work has appeared on Netflix, Food Network, Discovery Networks, HBO Family, WETA, BBC, NHK, Nickelodeon, Lifetime, PBS, and Fox International. From behind the camera, she has witnessed and taste-tested the delectable creations of some of the world’s most beloved chefs. Her work has taken her from the comfort of her Brooklyn home, which she shares with her husband, to the far reaches of Europe and Asia where she spent her downtime discovering all the culinary delights available. She is a passionate home cook and very proud of her lobster risotto.

For more information, travel stories, and great recipe ideas, visit her website at thekatztales.com or follow her on Instagram @thekatztales or on Facebook at The Katz Tales.

 Catherine Matthews is an award-winning author from the Pacific Northwest. Through her novels, she tells the stories of strong women finding the courage to face the storm and live their dreams—usually in the company of a faithful hound.

After a fulfilling career in education, where she served as a high school teacher, coach, principal, and district administrator, Catherine's focus shifted from data to storytelling. She started her blog, Life Through My Lens, where she explores her experiences in parenting, teaching, and school leadership, alongside reflections from her youth. This passion for personal storytelling blossomed into writing novels about characters navigating their inner demons, family secrets, and generational trauma as they tackle life's toughest challenges.

Catherine's debut novel, Releasing the Reins, won the 2024 American Writing Awards in both the Western and Thriller/Adventure genres and was a Finalist in Women's Fiction. She also earned first place in the 2024 BookFest Awards for Women's Fiction Mystery and Suspense, Best Book for Women's Fiction in the 2024 Fall Pencraft Award, and was a finalist in the 2024 BookLife Prize for Mystery and Suspense. Her novel also placed as a finalist in the 2022 Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Contest. Her second novel, Roadside Sisters, will be released in the spring of 2025.

In addition to writing, Catherine serves as a board member and the Vice President of Technology for the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. An early riser, she begins each day with writing—always in the company of her two favorite hounds, Delta and Buttercup.

 Niamh McAnally, known as The Writer On The Water, is an Irish-born award-winning author, guest speaker on Celebrity Cruises, and former TV director. As an avid explorer with a penchant for volunteerism, many of her stories are inspired by her world travels

on land and at sea. In 2016 she crewed for Gary — a solo sailor who later became her husband. They spent six years cruising the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Her Sunday Times Vikki Orvice Award nominated book, Flares Up: A Story Bigger Than The Atlantic (2022), tells the true tale of why two middle-aged men rowed a 20ft wooden boat 3,000

nautical miles across the Atlantic and how the experience affected

their families and changed them as human beings.

Her memoir, Following Sunshine: A Voyage Around the Mind, Around

the World, Around the Heart (2024), the winner of the 2024 America Writing Awards for non-fiction multi-cultural takes readers on a global journey to remote islands and exotic locations, and into the depths of profound love.

Niamh has also been published in various anthologies, journals and magazines and offers

writer’s workshops to encourage emerging talent. She’s the founder of an international writer’s group whose anthology Stories of Place will be released in April 2025.

A lover of dolphins, whales, and all things maritime, Niamh and her husband, Gary, are now based in Southwest Florida.

www.thewriteronthewater.com

    Craig Ohlau is an accomplished author and a distinguished figure in the world of sports and literature. His passion for both has led to numerous accolades and recognitions. Craig dedicated 18 years of his life to the Mon-Clair Baseball League, where he played from 2001 to 2018. This league served as the inspiration for his second book, Kings of the County League: One Summer, One Team, One Dynasty, which has received acclaim as a five-time national award-winner.

His first book, The Sons of Chester: A Tale of Small Town Boys, Baseball, and Very Big Dreams, earned the prestigious title of "Nonfiction Book of the Year" in the 2021 American Writing Awards. Both of Craig's books have been honored with a place in the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

Naked Iron: An Improbable Quest in the Sport of Triathlon is his latest literary offering, continuing his tradition of producing engaging and insightful books that resonate with readers. Craig’s dedication to both the literature and sport’s world continues to inspire and captivate readers and fans alike. 

 Kay Smith-Blum, a former fashionista and Seattle School Board President, is a fan of mid-20th-century history. The recent upheaval over leaking radioactive waste tanks at the Hanford Nuclear site compelled her to write, TANGLES, named Best Debut Fiction by the American Writing Awards for 2024. Founder of Environmental Endeavors, the first elementary school gardening program in Seattle Public Schools, and author of the Green Resolution, a building initiative in SPS, Smith-Blum has lived in Seattle for four decades. A sunrise writer,  Smith-Blum works out her writer’s block in her sons’ gardens and the nearest lap pool. For more info see  https://www.kaysmith-blum.com 

  Anela's Club by D. K. Yamashiro is recognized by American Writing Awards as the 2024 Winner for Fiction-Young Adult, 2024 Winner for Best Cover Design-Fiction, and 2024 Finalist for Best New (Debut) Fiction. As a teen, Yamashiro survived falling four hundred feet from a ridge in Hawaii, suffering severe brain injuries. Years of recovery involved a camel ride at the Pyramids of Giza, swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, hiking up Masada, sledding down the Great Wall of China, exploring underground caves in the Black Hills, and speaking to crowds in East Africa and Brazilian favelas. A master's at Harvard and summer studies at Oxford preceded a PhD with research on childhood traumas of American presidents. Yamashiro resides in Brookline, Massachusetts, and is an affiliate at MIT. More information is available at www.anelasclub.com  

   John began his legal career in 1989 in NYC at an international law firm.  During  the three plus decades he has practiced law, he's had the opportunity to work on some of the most complex and well-publicized cases in the United States.  His work experience, together with the cast of characters he has encountered  over the years make up the foundation of many of his stories​

John graduated from the State University of New York at Albany and the Maurice A. Dean School of Law at the Hofstra University, where he was inducted into the Inaugural Hall of Fame of the Law School in 2022.  He has been selected as a New York Metro Super Lawyer each year since 2007, and is the recipient of The Burton Award for Legal Excellence.

In addition to creative writing, John has a strong interest in music and is a member of the classic rock cover band, ONL.

John lives with his family in Westchester, NY and Naples, FL.

    Chad V. Broughman was the recipient of the Rusty Scythe Prize Book Award and the Adobe Cottage Writers Retreat honor in New Mexico. As well, Chad was awarded two chapbook contracts for his short story collections––“the forsaken” and "slighted"––both published by Etchings Press. His fiction can be found in journals nationwide, such as Carrier Pigeon, East Coast Literary Review, River Poets Journal, Burningword, Pulp Fiction, Sky Island Journal, and From Whispers to Roars, and he is anthologized in Write Michigan Short Story Anthology, On Loss, and Scribes Valley Anthology. He is a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominee, and his debut novel The Fall of Bellwether was shortlisted by the First Novel Prize of London, earned the Amity Literary Prize for 2023, and reached finalist status in ScreenCraft’s Cinematic Novel competition. Additionally, the novel’s opening chapter won the First Chapter Contest sponsored by Arch Street Press and, currently, “Bellwether” is ranked in the top ten on Coverfly’s top rated Historical Book/Manuscript projects of all-time. 

Chad holds an MFA from Spalding University and served as co-editor for the fiction/poetry blog "Cafe Aphra" based out of the United Kingdom. He teaches English and Creative Writing at the secondary and post-secondary levels but is most proud of his roles as a husband and devoted father to two rambunctious sons.

 Sheldon Higdon's work has appeared in nearly 50 publications. He's also an award-winning screenwriter (with a short screenplay being produced in London.) He earned his MFA from Seton Hill University's Writing Popular

Fiction program and is a member of the Horror Writers Association and the SCBWI (The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.) And he writes articles for Kidsburgh.org.

Harker Jones grew up on a dirt road in Michigan in a town so small it doesn’t to this day have a traffic light. Now a Los Angeles denizen, he has written the best-selling, award-winning novel “Until September” and nine screenplays, revealing truths through humor and horror. His short thrillers “Cole & Colette” and “One-Hit Wonder” have been accepted into more than 60 film festivals combined, garnering several awards. His first children’s book, “Violet’s Pretty Purple Playground,” and his second novel, a thriller titled “Never Have I Ever,” are due to be printed in 2024. A published poet, he was managing editor of “Out” magazine for seven years and is a member of both the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and Mensa. He loves cats and carbs and would like to be a one-hit wonder but would settle for being killed in a slasher movie.

Follow his adventures at: HarkerJonesLA.com

Twitter: @HarkerJones

Instagram: @harker_j

  Leslie Kain writes “Psychological Fiction With Heart”, about flawed people whose greatest barriers to happiness lie within them. 

Leslie was always writing something as a kid — fantasies, poems, secret plans, culminating in running away cross-country at fifteen, never looking back. Her careers in psychology, Government Intelligence and nonprofits limited her writing to professional and research, but when she returned to fiction during spare moments, her short stories found their way into literary journals and anthologies. She developed personal relationships with her characters, who relentlessly nagged her into longer stories. After her 2022 debut novel ‘Secrets In The Mirror’ (which has won numerous Gold and Finalist awards), the main character told her the story wasn't over! Its sequel 'What Lies Buried' — already receiving early kudos — launches May 14 2024. Kain leverages her education, training and experience in psychology to write stories about complex dysfunctional people and families. She earned degrees from Wellesley College and Boston University. Originally from “all over” the U.S. (although a piece of her heart remains in Boston), she now resides in Mexico with her husband and old blind cat Sheba. Follow her on https://lesliekain-psychfiction.com/

 Jim Lichtman has been writing and speaking on ethics since 1995. Past clients include The American Bakers Association, Federal Dispute Resolution Conference, Society of Actuaries, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Rhode Island, The 3rd National Character Education Conference, Hampton University Honors College, The Penn State Forum, and US Department of State.

His op-eds have appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Houston Chronicle, Huffington Post, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and The New York Times. 

Feature stories and appearances include The New Jersey Star-Ledger, Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Herald, National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition, NY-1, and CNN’s NewsNight with Aaron Brown.

His weekly commentaries can be found at: https://ethicsstupid.com/

Follow him on: X (formerly Twitter) @jimlichtman, and Facebook.

Tracy Mattes is a best-selling author, businesswoman and humanitarian activist. A former world class athlete, Mattes spent more than 25 years as part of the Olympic Family. Her passion has always been to share the values of sport with young children. Mattes was Director of Global Programs for the World Olympians Association and served in nine Olympic Games in various capacities within the organization. She also worked for sport National Governing Body Foundations, including seven years as Executive Director for the USA Water Ski & Wake Sports Foundation. As a competitive athlete, Mattes specialized in the 400-meter hurdles, ranking seventh in the world, and was inducted into three Halls of Fame. Tracy is now looking to further inspire the younger generation to embrace their unique value in the eyes of God, using a Christian Children's Book Series based on her own sweet pup K'noot. Mattes’ career has taken her to more than 74 countries around the world. In 2005, she was selected as a United Nations Special Representative specializing in the advancement of young children through the values of education and sport. This unique global perspective comes through in her writing. She also has worked as a news producer and editor at three NBC affiliates. In 2010, Mattes won one of the top prizes at the 28th Milan International FICTS Film Festival for her documentary film “The Power of Education through Sport” which she produced, edited, and narrated. For her efforts as a world class athlete and her humanitarian work, Mattes was honored by being inducted into the World Sport Humanitarian Hall of Fame in 2009. Tracy received her bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Arizona State University and her master’s degree in international business from the University of Monaco in 2006 and was Valedictorian of her graduating class. Tracy has always shared her strong Christian faith throughout her career, and she currently serves in a leadership position at Community Presbyterian Church in Celebration, Florida, the picturesque town that Disney built. Mattes lives there with her two Maltese dogs, K’noot and Marshmallow, who can hear the Church bells from their balcony. Tracy’s hope is that through her award-winning Church Dog Adventure series, a whole new generation of children will come to know Jesus. 

Tania Moloney is the Founder of Nurture in Nature Australia and Nurture in Nature Books, Award-Winning Children's Book Author of Nature Ninja Saves the Natural World, and a nature-loving Mum on a mission.

Since 2012 she has been working and playing with children, educators and parents all over the world to help them nurture strong connections with nature and each other. She presents at national and international conferences, leads engaging professional development programs for educators, and runs innovative nature play and outdoor learning programs in her mobile classroom, The Nature Bus.

Through her work, and her writing, Tania teaches children that taking even the smallest actions to care for their nearby nature can make a positive difference for the planet, while helping them to grow and thrive too.

Nature Ninja Saves the Natural World is Tania’s debut book, but she has secretly wanted to be Nature Ninja since she was 6 years old. Now she can be!

R. L. Rinne graduated from college with a degree in design and embarked on a career in industrial automation. He lives with his wife on the family farm (tending to a variety of animals) and has traveled across the globe. He is still working in automation, inventing new things, and riding motorcycles.

He was fortunate to be a winner in the 2023 AmericanWritingAwards.com contest with his debut novel. He is currently working on sequels for his book series: “Scroll’s Journey” 

Website: RLRinne.com

Dr. Isabela Sardas is a licensed clinical child psychologist, author and burn survivor, with over twenty five years of experience in the treatment of childhood and adolescent psychiatric disorders using a cognitive behavioral and psychodynamic perspective. She obtained her training in psychology at Harvard Medical School-The Cambridge Hospital, UNT, and The University of Pennsylvania. She was the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Childynamics, LLC, a child and adolescent mental health day treatment program for 20 years, specializing in depression, anxiety and trauma. She is a long-time member of The Psychological Association and The National Register for Health Service Psychologists. She is also a member of the American Burn Association and The Phoenix Society For Burn Survivors. Dr. Sardas is an Alfred M. Wellner Lifetime Achievement Award Nominee. 

In a career that’s included work as a journalist, a psychologist, and the founder of a national art consulting company, Maggie Smith added novelist to her resume with the publication of her debut, Truth and Other Lies, a women’s fiction novel set in Chicago and released in March 2022 by Ten16 Press. It won NIEA’s Juror Grand Prize, the Star Award for Debut Fiction from Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Foreword INDIES Gold Metal for General Fiction, and was selected for the Women’s Book Association Great Group Reads. Her second novel, a psychological suspense called Blindspot, releases in May 2024.

In addition to her writing, Maggie hosts the weekly podcast Hear Us Roar (225+ episodes), blogs monthly for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and is Managing Editor for Chicago Writer’s Association Write City E-Zine. She resides in Milwaukee WI with her husband and her aging but still adorable sheltie.

 Shortly after graduating from USC with a degree in journalism, Alretha soon realized her interest in her major was not heartfelt. Instead of writing news stories, she wanted to write plays and books. Several years later, her church gave her an outlet to fulfill her writing desires through their Liturgical Fine Arts Department wherein Alretha penned twelve theatre pieces—the community response was overwhelming. This led to plays outside of the church, including Alretha’s One Woman, Two Lives, starring Kellita Smith (The Bernie Mac Show), directed by the late four-time NAACP Image Award Best Director recipient, Denise Dowse. The production garnered rave reviews from critics and audiences.

In between plays, Alretha self-published her first novel, Daughter Denied, in 2008 and has received glowing reviews from readers and book clubs across the country. Representing her book and plays, Alretha has been the guest on many radio shows and television shows including San Francisco Public Affairs show Bay Sunday with Barbara Rodgers on CBS affiliate, KPIX. She was also interviewed by KTLA News Entertainment Reporter, Sam Rubin. In 2011, Alretha self-published her second novel, Dancing Her Dreams Away, and it was also well received. Her third novel, Married in the Nick of Nine, spawned a four-book series that was acquired by Soul Mate Publishing in January 2014. The series has since reverted to her. In August 2014, Alretha was awarded the Jessie Redmon Fauset Literary Award for her indie novel, Four Ladies Only. In 2016, Alretha created the Detective Rachel Storme Mystery Series: Justice for Jessica, Losing Lauren, and A Penny for Her Heart. In 2018 and 2019, Alretha debuted two additional mystery books—The Women on Retford Drive and The Truth About Gretchen, respectively. In 2023, Alretha’s novel, The Girl in the Blue Blazer debuted. Her most recent novel is The Daughter Between Them.

Alretha is also an actress and can be seen in numerous commercials and television shows. She currently plays Anastasia Devereaux on Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living that airs on BET.

  Dr. Foster is a double board-certified medical doctor and a best-selling multiple award-winning author. He is also a Public Speaker and Rehabilitation Medicine Management Consultant. He is the author or co-author of several scientific articles. His publications include three best-selling books: The Foster's Opioid Addiction Classification Status Guide, The Opioid Epidemic Consumers & HealthCare Guide, and his latest, The Stress Book: Forty-Plus Ways to Manage Stress & Enjoy Your Life. This book is a winner of MORE THAN FORTY (40+) INTERNATIONAL LITERARY AWARDS, Including THE INDEPENDENT AUTHOR NETWORK (IAN) 2022 First-Place Nonfiction Book of The Year, 2023 ERIC HOFFER AWARD Grand Prize Short List of Finalists Book of The Year, and OUTSTANDING CREATOR AWARD Overall Winner (first place), for Best Nonfiction Book – 2023. Dr. Foster graduated from The Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, New York, earning his Doctor of Medicine. Visit his website at www.DTERRENCEFOSTER.COM. 

 Andrea Hahnfeld is an indie-author who enjoys creating captivating stories. Her debut short story, "The Marvelous Misfits of Westminster," and children's book, "The Tree and the Girl," were well-received, with the latter being a finalist for the Amazon Kindle Storyteller X Award. Andrea shares insights and tips about the writing process on her blog, reflecting her love of reading and writing. When not writing, she can be found sipping on black coffee, brainstorming her next adventure, or chasing her mischievous cats around the house. 

   Dane Hanson is an award-winning filmmaker, television producer, and comedy writer. Dane got his start in Hollywood playing the dumb guy in more than 60 national commercials.

Dane is internet-famous for "Lie Detector," a video that is still constantly going viral all over the internet. It has over 100 million views combined and has been translated into 16 languages.

His first novel, Worst Knights Ever, was a #1 New Release on Amazon.

Dane is the brother of author E.C. Hanson.

  Vincent Howard was born in Denver, Colorado. He was raised in San Diego, CA, graduating from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1981. He served in the United States Air Force for over 30 years and was named as one of Arizona's 25 Most Influential African-Americans in 2011. He retired in 2012 as Command Chief Master Sergeant from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. In addition to writing, he loves singing, playing the piano and learning Swahili. 

 Sophia Kouidou-Giles is an award-winning author who holds a BA in psychology and a master’s in social work. She has published in “Voices,” “Persimmon Tree,” “Assay,” “The Raven’s Perch,” “The Blue Nib,” “Door is a Jar”. “Transitions and Passages” is her poetry chapbook. Her essays and poetry appear in several anthologies. She is the author of “Return to Thessaloniki” released in the Greek and in the English language under the title “Sophia’s Return: Uncovering My Mother’s Past”. Her novel “An Unexpected Ally is forthcoming in the Fall of 2023, followed by a sequel, Perse, in the Spring of 2025.  https://sophiakouidougiles.com  

After graduating from Loyola Marymount University with a BA in Technical Theater, Michele Kwasniewski spent over fifteen years in film and television production. Starting out as a film set assistant on movies such as INDEPENDENCE DAY, FACE/OFF, PRIMAL FEAR, and EVITA. Michele eventually switched to the small screen and worked her way up the ladder to production manager, gaining experience on television shows such as BIG BROTHER, ADOPTION STORIES, EXTRA YARDAGE and MEET THE PANDAS. She is also a proud member of the Producers Guild of America. Michele's colorful experiences in the industry inspired her to write THE RISE AND FALL OF DANI TRUEHART series. Michele lives in San Clemente, California with her husband, their son, and their disobedient dachshund.

RISING STAR was awarded Finalist in the category of YOUNG ADULT FICTION for the 2021 BEST BOOK AWARDS and 2022 INTERNATONAL BOOK AWARDS. RISING STAR also was awarded Finalist in the categories of GENERAL FICTION and YOUNG ADULT FICTION in the AMERICAN FICTION AWARDS.

  Vy Lien was born in Vietnam and migrated to the United States with her mother at the young age of two. She grew up as an only child with a superhero single mother who set high examples of how to face extreme adversity, persist, and succeed even when having a delicate disposition by nature. 

Vy always was interested in human behavior and received her bachelor’s degree in psychology at University of California, Riverside. She then obtained double graduate degrees and joined the medical field as a Physician Associate. Aside from work, Vy enjoys everything culinary arts including cooking and eating home cooked food made from scratch, street food, fine dining, and cruise buffets! She also enjoys international traveling, yoga, and writing children’s fiction books. 

Now as a single mother herself to a dynamic toddler, she writes her children’s fiction books at night when the lights go out, in the dark, and when her daughter is finally asleep.  Vy’s books feature social themes that children face and also incorporate learning lessons, fun, friendship, adventures, and usually a whole lot of food! Vy reflects on the social situations that she faced as a child and writes books in hopes of helping children, including her own, bravely face and conquer social challenges. She is the author of The Nervous Noodle, the first book in the Growing Pains of the Grains series and also of The Spicy Ghost. 

 MG author Joseph L. Moore has been a storyteller since childhood. His inspiration comes from listening to his parents and their friends on Sunday evenings talk about their times growing up in the church as young kids, their joy reminiscing, and the adventures they had. Joseph wanted to share their rich history and has woven that into his new young adult coming of age novel, The Call of Jeremiah McGill, a historical fiction story with a Christian backdrop.

Joseph believes a good book is one with honesty, that shares the truth of a situation whether good or bad, and one where the reader can find themselves in the story. In The Call of Jeremiah McGill, a young boy is discovering who he is called to be in life. Joseph hopes his young readers come away from his book learning a bit about history and asking questions about Jesus and their own spirituality, and that it starts a conversation that lasts long after the book is closed.

When he isn’t writing spiritual and enlightening books for young adults, Joseph is a musician and singer and enjoys listening to soft worship music as he writes. Having grown up in the church and in faith, Joseph currently serves as a minister of music of House of Prayer, World Outreach Mission. An educator for nine years, Joseph lives in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, south of St. Louis. The Call of Jeremiah McGill is his debut novel.

Author, speaker, and businesswoman, Mitzi Perdue holds a BA with honors from Harvard University and an MPA from the George Washington University.  She’s a past president of the 40,000-member American Agri-Women, and  her television series, Country Magazine, was syndicated to 76 stations.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, her Scripps Howard weekly column, the Environment and You was the most widely-syndicated environmental column in the United States.

Mitzi Perdue’s biography, Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless, tells the story behind the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and how Hansen entered the Guinness Book of World’s Records for selling half a billion books. The book provides both inspiration and encouragement for readers to make the most of their gifts.

She has an interesting lens through which to view Mark’s success. Her father was the president and co-founder of the Sheraton Hotel Chain and her husband was the chicken magnate, Frank Perdue. As someone who’s fascinated by people being all they can be, Mitzi studied what factors Mark had in common with these two mega successful men.

Every penny of the royalties from Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless will go to support anti-trafficking efforts in Ukraine.

 Barbara Linn Probst is an award-winning, Amazon best-selling author of contemporary women’s fiction living on an historic dirt road in New York’s Hudson Valley. Her acclaimed novels Queen of the Owls (2020) and The Sound Between the Notes (2021) were gold and silver medalists for prestigious national awards, including the Sarton Award for Women’s Fiction and the Nautilus Book Award. The Sound Between the Notes, recipient of a starred Kirkus review, was selected as one of the Best Indie Books of 2021. Her third novel, The Color of Ice, was released in October.

Barbara has also published over sixty essays on the craft of writing for sites such as Jane Friedman and Writer Unboxed, and given workshops and webinars for writing organizations and conferences including the Kauai Writers Conference online, the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Writer Unboxed, Jane Friedman, and Story Circle Network. She also holds a PhD in clinical social work and is the author of two nonfiction books and numerous professional articles. Learn more on her website: www.BarbaraLinnProbst.com 

  Ron Rohrbaugh is a professional conservation scientist and author who spent more than 25 years at Cornell University and the National Audubon Society. Ron got his love of nature through hunting, fishing, birding, and camping in the backwoods of Pennsylvania. His recent works include A Traditional Bowhunter’s Path and LIVING WILD with the Orions, an adventure/historical fiction book series that uses storytelling to teach kids and adults about nature, history, wilderness living, wild food, hunting, and more. Ron’s goal is to engage kids in exciting outdoor adventure and historical fiction that will make them want to jump out of bed to build a shelter in the backyard or get curious about the Native People who lived where they do now. Ron travels the country full-time in an RV with his family, where he’s on a mission to help save wild places, share wild food, and be every child’s gateway to nature. Don’t be alarmed if you see a family toting longbows through a campground, it’s probably Ron! Say hello and join in for some outdoor fun! Please visit www.livingwildmedia.com 

   Nathaniel Sizemore is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, where he served as an Associate Editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review. After practicing at a large law firm in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, he returned to Cincinnati, Ohio, to work in his family’s business. Nathaniel lives in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, with his wife and three children. Visit his website at 

www.Nathaniel-Sizemore.com.  

Made entirely of rum and snacks—International Bestselling Author, Tracy A. Ball, is a native Baltimorean and veteran West Virginian, whose family is a mashup of cultures. She writes real and raw interracial romance with an intensity that burns because she has been busting stereotypes while teaching interracial/generational healing for more than a quarter of a century.

Her published works include: Blood Like Rain, The Other Shore, “Mercury Chain Thomson,” If By Chance: A Shorts collection, Welcome to BBs, Death’s Desire, Big Guns & Bullsh@t, “Imogene’s Flowers,” “Thorns,” “Black’s Magic,” “Truly, Madly, Kiss Me,” “Cumberland Christmas,” Civil Warriors, Dragonfly Dreams, KAYOS: The Bad & The Worse, The Tiger & The Snake, The Right Way to Be Wrong, Mail Duty, White Russian Lies, and Sons of the Nephilim: Honor’s Choice.

Award-winning writer and scholar (Fulbright nominee) Kevin L. Gingrich, PhD, is the author of numerous publications, ranging from The Sons of Chester to children's stories, feature articles, and columns to scholarly articles, including his dissertation, Parechesis in the Undisputed Pauline. Kevin played Division I basketball, and was known as "The Ball-Handling Wizard of the Westwood Gym," performing halftime shows at basketball games and camps all over the Midwest. His greatest trick was "The Impossible Catch," which, as the name suggests, was impossible: catching a basketball behind his back, arms between his legs. Kevin did it with two basketballs at once! 

Sepehr Haddad is the grandson of composer Nasrosoltan Minbashian who was the director of the Iranian Conservatory (Tehran Conservatory of Music). A Hundred Sweet Promises is his debut novel which is currently a Top 20 best-seller in Russian historical fiction. Sepehr is also a Universal Music Group (UMG) recording artist, with the Billboard chart-topping duo Shahin & Sepehr. He lives in the Washington DC metro area. For further information on Sepehr, visit: SepehrHaddad.com  

Christy Alexander Hallberg is the author of the novel Searching for Jimmy Page, from Livingston Press. She is a Teaching Professor of English at East Carolina University, where she earned her BS and MA in English. She received her MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from Goddard College. She is Senior Associate Editor of North Carolina Literary Review. Her short fiction, creative nonfiction, book reviews, and interviews have appeared in such journals as North Carolina Literary Review, The Main Street Rag, Fiction Southeast, Riggwelter, Deep South Magazine, Eclectica, Litro, STORGY, Entropy, storySouth, Still: The Journal, and Concho River Review. Her creative nonfiction essay “The Ballad of Evermore” was a finalist for the Sequestrum 2020 Editor’s Reprint Award. Her flash story “Aperture” was chosen Story of the Month by Fiction Southeast for October 2020. Find her at www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/ 

By day, author Brian Kaufman is a curriculum editor for an online junior college. By night, he’s an award-winning fiction writer with six published novels to his credit. His latest, Dread Tribunal of Last Resort (Cengage, 2021) is a Civil War novel focused on an unusual aspect of the war—rocketry. Coming in 2023 from Black Rose Writing, A Shadow Melody is a historical novel with a horror twist: In the early 1900s, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and Harry Browning each worked on devices to contact the dead through scientific means. Only one succeeded…

Kaufman lives with his wife and dog in the Colorado mountains, dividing his time between various passions, including writing, blues guitar, and book-hoarding. Find Brian at: https://authorbriankaufman.com/  

Rebecca Miller is the multi-award-winning author of Touch: a work of literary fiction with a sharp contemporary edge, meant to stir questions about a topic not often spoken about. Though there isn’t much in her background to suggest she would ever write a book, the characters jumped into her head one day and wouldn’t let go until their story was told. She is a true believer that everything happens for a reason and has used that mantra to get through life. She lives on a farm in rural Rhode Island with her husband, two children, and a plethora of animals. She is also a realtor and professional photographer. 

Frederick Douglass Reynolds is a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Sergeant. He was born in Rocky Mount, Virginia and grew up in Detroit, Michigan where he became a petty criminal and involved in gangs. He joined the US Marine Corps in 1979 to escape the life of crime that he seemed destined for. After a brief stint in Okinawa, Japan, he finished out his military career in southern California and ultimately became a police officer with the Compton police department. He worked there from 1985 until 2000 and then transferred to the sheriff’s department where he worked an additional seventeen years, retiring in 2017 with over seventy-five commendations. He lives in Southern California with his wife, Carolyn, and their daughter Lauren and young son, Desmond. They have six other adult children and nine grandchildren.   

A former English professor at Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of North Carolina, Jeannée Sacken is a photojournalist who travels the world documenting the lives of women and children. She also photographs wildlife and is deeply committed to the conservation of endangered species. When not traveling, she lives in Shorewood, Wisconsin with her three cats, named for her favorite photographers. Behind the Lens is her debut novel. The second novel in the Annie Hawkins Green series, Double Exposure, is slated for publication in October 2022.

Visit https://www.jeanneesacken.com/home/ to learn more about Jeannée Sacken.

Dan Whitfield is a multi-award-winning direct mail copywriter and novelist living in St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife, three daughters, and hundreds of books. Originally from the United Kingdom, Dan’s debut novel, Eagle Ascending, was published by TouchPoint Press in 2021. He contributed the short story Sometimes, They Come Quickly, to TouchPoint’s horror anthology, Nightmares of Strangers, in the same year.  Dan’s next novel, The Spider’s Revenge, will be released in 2023.