FEATURED AUTHORS
Cara Achterberg
Cara Achterberg is the author of four novels and two memoirs. Her novel, Blind Turn, was a Reader’s Choice Silver Medal winner and the Maxy Awards Book of the Year. Her memoir, Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs was a People magazine ‘people’s pick’ and featured on the Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family Show. Cara is the cofounder of Who Will Let the Dogs Out, a nonprofit initiative to raise awareness and resources for shelter dogs. Cara lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her husband, three rescue dogs, and a rotating cast of foster dogs and cats. For more information visit CaraWrites.com.
Tracy Ball
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.
Tracy engages with folks from every twist of fate and all manner of experience. She has hung out with murderers and dined with people who have dined with the Pope, which is why she needs the rum…and a nap.
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.
For further information on Tracy, visit:
https://www.amazon.com/Tracy-A.-Ball/e/B00JH7R8XY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
https://www.facebook.com/groups/601509103800290/625996514684882/?
Kevin L. Gingrich
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
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 Hallberg
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. The editors of the Best Small Fictions anthology series chose it for inclusion in their 2021 issue. Find her at www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/
Brian Kaufman
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/
Michele Kwasniewski
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.
Allison Hong Merrill
Allison Hong Merrill is a Taiwanese immigrant and the author of the multi-award-winning memoir, Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops. She holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and writes in both Chinese and English, both fiction and creative nonfiction, which means she spends a lot of time looking up words on Dictionary.com. Allison is an instructor, a keynote speaker, and a panelist at various writer’s conferences. She also appears on podcasts, in TV shows, magazines, and journals. Visit her at: allisonhongmerrill.com to sign up for her short monthly email.
Rebecca Miller
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.
Meg Nocero
Meg Nocero, a magical manifester, is a former federal prosecutor, an inspirational speaker, a transformational coach, and the award-winning author of The Magical Guide to Bliss: Daily Keys to Unlock Your Dreams, Spirit & Inner Bliss and Sparkle & Shine: 108 M.A.N.T.R.A.s to Brighten Your Day and Lighten Your Way.After she was brought on stage in Miami with Oprah Winfrey in 2014, she was inspired to manifest the life of her dreams and founded Butterflies & Bliss LLC and S.H.I.N.E. Networking Inc., a nonprofit that provides educational scholarships to young innovative leaders in her community. She holds a BA in Spanish from Boston College, an MA in International Affairs from the University of Miami, a JD from St. Thomas University School of Law, and a Happiness Certificate with the Happiness Studies Academy. She is also a Certified Federal Law Enforcement Instructor/Mentor and a Love Button Global Movement Ambassador. In addition to being named Miz CEO Entrepreneur of the Year in 2019, Nocero appeared on CNN Español with Ismael Cala and hosts her own You Tube channel and a podcast called Manifesting with Meg: Conversations with Extraordinary People. She lives in Miami, Fl. Visit https://megnocero.com/ to learn more about Meg Nocero.
Maritza Refuerzo
Author i.b. casey cui, a.k.a. Maritza Roño Refuerzo, is a Cal Berkeley alumna and current pickleball student at her local recreation center. She received her MFA at Mills College, where she studied fiction writing and English literature, as well as enjoyed magazine and newspaper feature writing classes under the tutelage of a former senior editor at Mother Jones. Casey Cui has been a copy editor for tech-media companies GameSpot, Ziff Davis, CNET, and InfoWorld. She co-heads a foundation whose mission is to advocate programs that promote the well-being of dogs and provide children with language and arts enrichment. Ms. Cui is a well-nigh 27-year colon cancer survivor. Her debut novel, Groovy Girl, is about a young, feisty Filipino-American girl whose 19-year-old wunderkind sister is diagnosed with colon cancer, amid the chaos of an animated, dramatic extended family. Partial proceeds of Groovy Girl will benefit four nonprofits, one of which is the Strides for Life Colon Cancer Foundation.
Frederick Douglass Reynolds
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--including a Chief’s Citation, five Chief’s commendations, one Exemplary Service Award, two Distinguished Service Awards, two Distinguished Service Medals, one city of Carson Certificate of Commendation, three city of Compton Certificates of Recognition, one city of Compton Public Service Hero award, one California State Assembly Certificate of Recognition, two State Senate Certificates of Recognition, a County of Los Angeles Certificate of Commendation, one Meritorious Service Award, two city of Compton Employee of the Year Awards, and two California Officer of the Year awards. 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.
Jeannée Sacken
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.
Ashe & Magdalena Stevens
Ashe & Magdalena Stevens reside in Los Angeles, CA with their daughter, two cats and a dog. Ashe studied Theatre and Writing at the California Institute of the Arts. Magdalena, after her successful career as a fashion model, studied Art History at the University of Illinois at Chicago and ultimately graduated from medical school and is now a practicing physician.
Their first published book, Lost in Beirut, is a bestselling, mesmerizing true story of Ashe's remarkable journey in the Middle East. They're currently writing their second book. In their spare time they love to travel, collect art, watch independent films and read books.
Follow the authors' journey on their instagram: @lostinbeirutbook
For more information and press inquiries visit: www.lostinbeirut.com
Dan Whitfield
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.
