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Where Awesome Book Readers Meet Awesome Writers

1. The Italian Ski Instructor by Ann Streetman - Ann M. Streetman may have inherited her interest in storytelling from her father who could spin a good tale. Then came her degree in journalism and a lifelong career in many kinds of communication. She served more than 14 years in various management positions (including president and chief paid staff) of Texas Safety Association (TSA), which was a not-for-profit statewide educational organization. Her duties at TSA included lobbying for traffic safety and safety and health legislation and keeping members informed about it. Before and after association management, she enjoyed freelance manuscript book editing (21 books). Many of those books were on behavioral psychology. Along the way, she also served for nine years as media contractor for Region 6 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (5 states and the Indian Nations via the Bureau of Indian Affairs Indian Highway Safety Program). Her duties there included writing many news releases, news conference notifications, public service announcements, and age-specific educational materials for Region 6 entities and their partners. Now she enjoys writing ebooks and helping clients with their editorial projects. She is the author of two romance novels Redeemed and The Italian Ski Instructor, two short story collections The Hospitality Connection and The Patriotic Connection - Life and Love in the Forties, and a short story “The Victrola.” She has written several children’s books including Animals Outside our Window, Words on My Plate, Words in Your Sandbox, and Celebrating Seasons, as well as two non-fiction books for adults PR Basics in a Connected World and Venturing into Digital Storytelling - A Grandmother’s Guide. http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ann-streetman/19/75b/ab2
   
2. Four Uncles and a Wedding by Emma Carlyle - Emma Carlyle is the pen name of award-winning author Lois Winston who writes the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, featuring magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack. ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY GLUE GUN, the first book in the series, received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Kirkus Reviews dubbed it, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” Other books in the series includes DEATH BY KILLER MOP DOLL, REVENGE OF THE CRAFTY CORPSE, and the mini-mystery CREWEL INTENTIONS. Lois is also published in humorous women’s fiction, romantic suspense, and non-fiction. As Emma Carlyle, she’s published in romance, chicklit, and romantic suspense. Visit Lois at http://www.loiswinston.com, visit Emma at http://www.emmacarlyle.com, and visit Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers character blog, www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com.
   
3. Rain Shadow - Cheryl St.John is the award-winning author of nearly fifty Harlequin and Silhouette books. Cheryl has always loved the exciting and diverse worlds available between the covers of books. As a child Cheryl wrote stories and drew covers, then stapled them into little books. She cut all the tiny book images from the book club advertisements in the Sunday paper and glued them to bits of cardboard so Barbie® had a full library. She was a voracious reader and admits her early passion was for horror and true crime. Eventually she read Victoria Holt and Catherine Cookson, but one fateful day browsing the book section, she took a chance on a different genre and bought Hummingbird by LaVyrle Spencer, then promptly drove back to the store for The Rainbow Season by Lisa Gregory. She was hooked for life. And so, when she got serious and decided to write a book, it was, of course, a romance. A very badly written and poorly plotted romance. But eventually she joined Romance Writers of America and her local chapter (then Romance Authors of the Heartland), Heartland Writers Group, and was fortunate to have the late Diane Wicker Davis as her first mentor. In November 2013 her how-to-write book, Writing With Emotion, Tension & Conflict will be released by Writers Digest Books. Cheryl believes in paying it forward, and her some of her most rewarding experiences have been sharing in the successes of writers she has coached over the years.
   
4. Survivalist Victory Garden Guide – How To Be Organically Self Sufficient In A GMO Co-Dependent World - Zachary Carver is a survivalist, author and entrepreneur. He writes about victory gardens; bug out bags and emergency preparedness.
   
5. TEMPTATION TOWN - After thirty years as a professional musician (piano), Mike Dennis left Key West for Las Vegas in 2006 to become a professional poker player. He now has two series in print: the Key West Nocturnes series and the Jack Barnett/Las Vegas series. Max Allan Collins, author of Road To Perdition, has said, "Mike Dennis is the modern master of noir." In 2010, Mike moved back to Key West, where he enjoys year-round island living with his wife Yleana, whom he married on a warm December night in 2012 on the rooftop of an apartment building in Havana, Cuba.
   
6. The Cobbler Cookbook: Top Thirty Blue Ribbon Family Recipes for Cobblers, Crisps and Dump Cakes - M.L. Clark is owner/publisher of Nanny's Homemade, a cookbook line devoted to sharing her Arkansas grandmother's cherished family recipes.
   
7. The Farm - Randy Dyess has spent decades in the computer industry working with various database platforms. He has spent the majority of that time consulting as a database expert while spending time at various companies as a database administrator, data architect, and advanced trainer. Over the past two decades he has written numerous technical articles, blog postings, book chapters, and white papers on various database and operating system topics.
   
8. Lose Weight Naturally Fast – Healthy Lifestyle Weight Loss Book by Donna Caesar - Donna Caesar lives in Coquitlam, BC with her handsomely fit husband, two transient loveable grand dogs and one ugly predisposition to heart disease.
   
9. Hamfist Over The Trail - George Nolly served as a pilot in the United States Air Force, flying 315 combat missions on two successive tours of duty in Vietnam, flying O-2A and F-4 aircraft. Following his Air Force duty, he hired on with United Airlines and rose to the position of B-777 Check Captain. George received a Bachelor of Science Degree and Master of Science Degrees, in Systems Management and Education. He received his Doctor of Business Administration Degree, specializing in Homeland Security, in 2011, He now flight instructs in the B777 and B787.
   
10. Space Viking Legacy: The Tanith Gambit - I'm a 58 year old former beancounter attempting to transition to a career as a professional writer. I write what I love to read. Huge Honor Harrington fan but can't wait 18-24 months for the next one, so I'm writing my own space opera in H. Beam Piper's style as much as possible. My goal is to write the kind of books that would have resulted from a collaboration between Piper and David Weber, if that had been possible.
    
11. Solerra the Lost Woman - Jonas Lau is the author of two books, Solerra the Lost Woman and Jacqueline the Elven Queen. His third book, Dramala the Blood Queen comes out July 2013. He lives in Pennsylvania.
    
12. Shine: How To Walk The Talk - Nancy Segovia has been a professional writer for over 20 years. She has achieved publishing success in the fields of adult fiction, children’s literature, newspaper journalism, feature magazine articles and poetry. She is happily married, and has five daughters, five granddaughters and one, adorable grandson. Her other published books include “When You Wish Upon A Star” and “Benjamin’s Bride." Nancy Segovia has a Master of Arts Degree in Religion from Northwest Nazarene University, and a Masters of Liberal Studies in Creative Writing from the University of Denver. In addition to writing, she teaches college English.
    
13. Bum Steer by Tracy Heath - Tracy Heath is a country humorist writer, having grown up in the Eastern Oregon desert among dogs, cows, and tumbleweeds. She has now published the first two books of her Country Misadventures series and is known for her comical tales of country incidents and family mishaps. Tracy currently resides in the medium-sized city of Kennewick, Washington, with her husband. Living with them are their rambunctious son and scruffy hunting dog.
    
14. Two Kill Again - Growing up in a family of ten children, Patricia Clark acquired a sense of humor and source of fodder for her stories. Her Aunts and Uncles also had large families so her extended family included a host of interesting characters and situations. Obsessed with all things medical, she became a Registered Nurse and worked in Emergency Room, Burn, and Intensive Care units. Later, she worked files as a Nurse Case Manager for Workers' Compensation Injuries. Creative writing classes stoked an interest in a second career. All of her books involve composites of patients, workers, colleagues, and situations based on her medical experiences.
    
15. Demon Lord IV – Lord of Shadows by TC Southwell - T. C. Southwell was born in Sri Lanka and moved to the Seychelles when she was a baby. She spent her formative years exploring the islands – mostly alone. Naturally, her imagination flourished and she developed a keen love of other worlds. The family travelled through Europe and Africa and, after the death of her father, settled in South Africa. T. C. Southwell has written over thirty novels, ranging from fantasy and science fiction to romance and adventure, as well as five screenplays. Her hobbies include motorcycling, horse riding and art, and she is now a full-time writer.
    
16. FIRE ON THE HILL - Gretta Curran Browne is the author of nine novels, three of which have been bought by eight European publishers for translation, including Japan. When FIRE ON THE HILL was first published in Hardback it was bought by The University of Notre Dame in the USA and The Princess Grace Irish Library in The Palace of Monaco. Gretta is married to a lawyer and lives in London