Exhibiting Authors
Paul Awad
Paul Awad is an award-winning writer and filmmaker. His science fiction thriller, WHEN EARTH SHALL BE NO MORE, was co-written with his wife, Kathryn O’Sullivan, and won the 2023 IPPY Bronze Medal Award in Science Fiction. It is the first in a planned trilogy. Recent films include the award-winning documentary, BICENTENNIAL BONSAI: EMISSARIES OF PEACE, and the feature crime drama, A SAVAGE NATURE. Paul's directing/cinematography work has won recognition from the Telly Awards, International Academy of Web Television, ADDY Awards, The Kodak Company, and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Paul is a cinema professor at Northern Virginia Community College. He lives in Reston, Virginia with his wife and their rescue cats, Maggie and Andy.
Lorelei Brush
After writing hundreds of government reports, Lorelei Brush stepped into the glorious freedom of fiction. She loves to occupy a comfy coffee house chair and imagine her characters acting out each scene.
Uncovering rolled from her pen following a two-year stint in Pakistan when her Islamabad office was just blocks from the Red Mosque, whose explosion is featured in the novel. The commitment of her staff to bringing modern educational techniques to the mountains was so impressive that she had to memorialize them in an inspiring story.
Chasing the American Dream stemmed from her father's stories of being a spy in World War II. All the stunning stories he'd told her were lies. He failed to be the superhero he had described to her, so her story made him one in the 1950's.
For more of an introduction into her process of solving life's conundrums through writing novels, please see www.loreleibrush.com.
Thomas A. Burns Jr.
Thomas A. Burns Jr. writes from Wendell, North Carolina, where he lives with his wife Terri, four cats and a Cardigan Welsh Corgi. He grew up in New Jersey, attended Xavier High School in Manhattan, earned two B.S degrees from Michigan State and a M.S. from North Carolina State. Tom has written fiction as a hobby all of his life, beginning with Man from U.N.C.L.E. stories in marble-backed copybooks in grade school. He built a career as technical, science and medical writer and editor for nearly thirty years in industry and government. Currently a full-time novelist, he’s excited to publish the Natalie McMasters Mysteries, as well as Sherlock Holmes stories. The sixth book of the Natalie McMasters Mysteries, Killers!, was released in September, 2021, and won the Silver Falchion award for best action/adventure book of 2021 at the Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference. The 7th book, Sister!, was a finalist for the same award in 2023. Tom’s Holmes story, The Camberwell Poisoner, appeared in the March–June issue of The Strand Magazine in 2021, and many others have been published by MX Books and Belanger Books. Tom also published his first volume of Sherlock Holmes stories entitled Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: Ten Steps from Baker Street, on March 1, 2023. Tom has also written a Lovecraftian horror novel, The Legacy of the Unborn, under the pen name of Silas K. Henderson‒a sequel to H.P. Lovecraft’s masterpiece At the Mountains of Madness.
Ellen Butler
Ellen Butler is the international bestselling author of the Karina Cardinal mystery series. Her experiences working on Capitol Hill and at a medical association in Washington, D.C. inspired the mystery-action series. Book critics call the Karina Cardinal mysteries, “intelligent escapism” and “electrifying yet light-hearted and humorous.” Her latest mystery, Spectral Revelations, takes place in Williamsburg, VA. Butler also writes historical spy fiction. Her WWII spy novel, The Brass Compass, won a 2022 Speak Up Talk Radio Firebird Book Award for historical fiction. The second book in the duology, Operation Blackbird: A Cold War Spy Novel, is inspired by true events, and won a Next Generation Indie Book Award gold medal for historical fiction. Reviewers are calling it “riveting,” and, “a thrilling adventure.”
https://www.drpamm.com/mindful-moments-with-maude
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Pamela Cappetta
In addition to being an award-winning children's author, PAMELA CAPPETTA, EdD, is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist. She has been in private psychotherapy practice in Williamsburg, Va. since 1985.
After researching current children’s books on mindfulness to use in her practice, Cappetta discovered that they lacked an engaging narrative that would appeal to children. She then wrote a picture book with a gentle story—Mindful Moments with Maude—that weaves mindfulness; her love of animals; and a close bond between a girl, her grandmother and a dog. Cappetta also introduces the concept of a Mindfulness Day—a day without electronics and busyness. The title character, Maude, is inspired by the author’s beloved therapy dog.
Cappetta loves to present interactive mindfulness to programs to children and families. Her degrees include a Doctorate of Education in Professional Counseling from the College of William & Mary. She also holds a certificate in Mindfulness from Duke Integrative Medicine.
Heather S. Cole
Heather S. Cole is a writer and public historian living in Staunton, Virginia. She runs a small business providing writing, editing and archival management services and publishing local history and memoirs. She is author of several local history books, including "Virginia's Presidents: A History & Guide" (The History Press, 2023) and the forthcoming "Ohio's Presidents: A History & Guide" (The History Press, 2024).
S.K. Ehra
S.K. Ehra is a writer of fantasy (The Fox and the Dragon), horror (Call from the Crossroads), and all that lies between. When not reading, writing, or daydreaming, she can be found wandering the woods and, while skittish, is friendly when approached.
Juanita Graham
Juanita Graham, an ordained minister and counselor, is the author of Find Your Voice Find Your Healing. Her book of poetry, which includes pictures and reflection questions, focuses on helping people explore what makes up their voice and how expressing that voice facilitates healing.
After graduating from William & Mary with a M.Ed. in Agency Counseling, Juanita entered the ministry and is an associate minister at The Historic First Baptist Church in Williamsburg, Virginia. As a counselor, she has worked for the last 20 years counseling survivors of domestic and sexual violence as the Director of Outreach Services for Avalon Center. As a minister and experienced counselor, she conducts educational presentations and workshops in the Greater Williamsburg area.
Juanita is also on the Advisory Board for the Let Freedom Ring Foundation. She is a genealogical enthusiast and has traced her family history back to 1840. She also likes reading, crafting, and listening to music.
Terry Joe Gunnels
Terry Joe was born in 1951 in Columbia, South Carolina and grew up in Hampton, Virginia. Terry started writing only 2 years ago, but he has already written and published five books, and his books were featured in the 2022 L.A. Times Festival of Books. The following year, he appeared for a personal book signing at the University of Southern California. He participated in panel discussions for Indie authors and was interviewed by Kate Delaney for The America Tonight Radio Show. He also appeared on the Book of the Month Show on PTWWN Television based in Atlanta, Georgia. For the past 46 years, he and his wife have invested in rental real estate from Delaware to North Carolina. He is a licensed building contractor, licensed in four states doing commercial store build outs. Presently, he is semi-retired but still manages their property in multiple states. He presided over an investment group and conducted real estate investment seminars with his own workbooks. The Landlord’s Inheritance is his first novel and is loosely based on his experience in managing his real estate holdings. He received a diploma from Eastern Baptist College, and a degree from Central Baptist Bible College in Religious Education (BRE). His hobby is Rolls Royces and antique cars. Currently, he is working on sequels to the “Landlord” series.
Ted Hale
A musician, martial artist, and dog lover, Ted works as a cyber-security analyst and software engineer. He writes Science Fiction novels and short stories to keep his sanity.
He lives in the woods of Virginia with his wife, Donna and their Pit Bull, Bella.
Michael J. Hebert
Michael J. Hebert served in Vung Ro Bay, Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. He was the coxswain of the River Patrol Boat (PBR) Magic Christian. Mr. Hebert has been involved in the maritime field ever since departing Vietnam, serving four years in the South Pacific aboard an Atomic Energy Commission research ship, then spending the remainder of his career stateside serving aboard dredges, tugboats, crewboats, ferries, and tour boats. He currently resides in Gloucester, Virginia
Tim Holland
Tim Holland is the author of three Sidney Lake Lowcountry Mystery Novels, including The Rising Tide, What the Mirror Doesn't See, and The Murder of Amos Dunn. His fourth novel, Deception, was released in June 2022 by Black Opal Books. He is a director of the Williamsburg Book Festival, a past director of Chesapeake Bay Writers, a member of Mystery Writers of America, and The Brontë Society of Haworth, England. He recently received a Keating award for his short fiction. Earlier this year he was one of the featured authors at the Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival. Over the years, his freelance articles have appeared in a wide variety of newspapers and magazines, as well as having written book reviews and literary criticism for Recorder Publishing’s eight newspapers in New Jersey (while working in New York in the world of global trade finance). He has given speeches and presentations in 12 countries and 22 states, and served as president of the lifelong learning program at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, where he also taught a course on the Brontë sisters. Visit him at www.tim-holland.com
https://www.sonnyhudsonauthor.com
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Sonny Hudson
Sonny Hudson is the author of crime/murder mysteries and political action thrillers. Readers compared his debut novel, Let the Truth Be Told, to such masters as Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, and Vince Flynn. The Murder Game, the first in the Jessica Jansen Thriller series, debuted in December, 2022 and was an immediate hit with its tight, fast moving story and strong, compelling characters. Reviewers compared it to best-selling authors like David Baldacci, James Patterson, Stuart Woods, and J. D. Robb. Glitz. Glamour. Murder. is a sequel to The Murder Game and continues to raise the bar for taut, tense psychological thrillers.
Sonny is a resident of his native Virginia and has spent a long career in the technology world. His writing weaves technology into action-driven stories, but never lets technology, or any of his characters, become all-powerful or omniscient. He lives by the words, 'Perfection is boring; it's our weaknesses and flaws and capacity to fall short that makes life, and characters, interesting."
Book #3 in the Jessica Jansen Thriller series is targeted for a summer, 2024 release.
Teresa Inge
Teresa Inge grew up reading Nancy Drew mysteries. Combining her love of reading mysteries and writing professional articles led to writing short fiction, novellas, and novels. She is president of the Sisters in Crime Mystery by the Sea chapter and a member of the Short Mystery Fiction Society. Teresa is an author in Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Murder by the Glass, Mutt Mysteries series, Coastal Crimes series, Malice, Matrimony & Murder, and First Comes Love, Then Comes Murder. By day, Teresa works for a global financial firm as an administrative assistant, corporate reporter, event planner, and a notary administrator. When not writing Teresa can be found at car shows showing her 1955 Torch Red Thunderbird.
Teresa resides in Southeastern Virginia with her husband and two dogs. She can be reached on all social media or by visiting her website at www.TeresaInge.com.
Jacqueline T. Johnson
Award winning writer with a passion for fantasy, action and adventure writing.
https://kathykasunich.us2.authorhomepage.com/
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https://www.pinterest.com/kathykas/world-war-ii-love-story/
Kathy Kasunich
Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Steeler Country), Kathy Kasunich traded her snow boots for sandals and now lives in Williamsburg, Virginia with her husband. When she is not writing, you can find her in the great outdoors, listening to music, volunteering or capturing moments in time with her camera. At times, she does all of them together. As a reader, she is an enthusiastic fan of historical novels and enjoys books that draw her in and make her part of the scene while teaching her something new about the past. After writing articles for local newspapers, she took a leap and wrote her first historical fiction novel, Always Remembering, which takes place during World War II. She is researching material for her next book, which is set during the 1700s in Williamsburg. You can find more information on her website at kathykasunich.com.
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Kristin Kisska
KRISTIN KISSKA used to be a finance geek, complete with MBA and Wall Street pedigree, but now she is a self-proclaimed #SuspenseGirl. Kristin has contributed short suspense stories to a dozen anthologies, including Malice Domestic’s Agatha Award-winning anthology, MYSTERY MOST EDIBLE. Her debut novel, THE HINT OF LIGHT, was released in fall 2023. She is a member of International Thriller Writers, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Sisters in Crime-Central Virginia.
Kristin lives in Richmond, Virginia with her family and their moody tabby cat, Boom. She loves hearing from friends, readers, and book clubs at www.KristinKisska.com
https://www.kristinkisska.com/
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Mike Krentz
Mike Krentz writes medical suspense, psychological thrillers, and military fiction featuring complex characters and relationships.
Born and raised in Arizona, Mike earned a classical degree in English from the University of San Francisco, a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin, and a Master of Public Health Degree from Johns Hopkins University.
Following a civilian career as an emergency physician, Mike rededicated his professional life to serve the men and women of America’s Navy and Marine Corps and their families. His last active duty assignment was as 7th Fleet Surgeon on board the flagship, USS BLUE RIDGE, deployed throughout the Western Pacific.
After retiring from the US Navy, Dr. Krentz continued his service as a consultant supporting the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center. Upon completion of that mission, he returned to his earliest life passion as a full-time writer.
Dr. Krentz sits as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Muse Writers Center in Norfolk, VA, where he teaches fiction writing and leads an advanced fiction studio.
Mike’s seven novels, published or under contract, include the DR. ZACK WINSTON SERIES of medical conspiracy thrillers, the MAHONEY & SQUIRE SERIES of military women’s fiction, and a standalone psychological thriller, ANGELS FALLING.
Dr. Kimberly A. Matthews
Dr. Kimberly A. Matthews received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication from George Mason University and a Masters in Adult Education and Doctor of Philosophy in Education, both from Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Kimberly A. Matthews is the author of Forever Friends: Angela released in 2023, Images of America: Richmond’s First African Baptist Church, released in 2023, Forever Friends: Kimberly released in 2022, Forever Friends, released in 2020, Images of America: The Richmond 34 and the Civil Rights Movement, released in 2020 and Images of Modern America: The Richmond Crusade for Voters, released in 2017. Her projects focus on empowerment and leadership with the goal to engage and educate a new generation about the sacrifices of our ancestors and to encourage a continued quest for empowerment and equality for all.
Anna Maylett
Anna Maylett is an up and coming Author and Illustrator with an active imagination and an ancient soul. Her favorite Authors include Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens and Owen Wister, who inspire her to write like them. Her father's love of books helped encourage her to become the person she is today.
Her first book, The Social Experiment, has been praised with comparison to a Hallmark movie. With her second book she has created a new world full of kingdoms and civilizations, which continues into her third book.
Anna is married to a wonderful man, Chris, and is the mother of eight children. Forever Friends: Kimberly released in 2022, Forever Friends, released in 2020, Images of America: The Richmond 34 and the Civil Rights Movement, released in 2020 and Images of Modern America: The Richmond Crusade for Voters, released in 2017. Her projects focus on empowerment and leadership with the goal to engage and educate a new generation about the sacrifices of our ancestors and to encourage a continued quest for empowerment and equality for all.
D.J. Lutz
Douglas “D.J.” Lutz is a Virginia-based writer, storyteller, and decent cook. As a younger lad, he spent more late nights than he cares to admit as a line cook, bartender, and bouncer at one of the largest country western honky-tonk bars on the east coast. There he acquired a quick wit, a strong liver, and enough material for a library of tales beyond belief. Author of the Winnie Kepler Culinary Mystery Series, Douglas lives in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia with his wife, rescue dog, and two sneaky cats.
Heather Mihok
Heather Mihok lives in a charming, historical little town (like most) in Virginia, full of ghosts that keep her company and inspire her work. She particularly loves spooky stories and real-world horror, and that reflects in her writing.
Heather is a member of the Horror Writers Association and has participated in every National Novel Writing Month since 2002.
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John Molino
John Molino is a native of Brooklyn, New York, and the author of five suspense novels: "Murder Gets Even", "Death in the Dune," "From a Distance," "Distant Light," and "Standing Stones." After retiring from the Army, John’s professional life included stints in trade and non-profit organizations, the US Senate, and service as a Deputy Under Secretary in the Pentagon. John and his wife, Eileen, live in Virginia.
Ana Moraine
Ana Moraine was born in Croatia, where she enjoyed climbing the neighbors' apricot trees and running through vineyards. She grew up, went to school, and worked as an insurance underwriter in Hamburg, Germany. Although she loved Europe, she never felt she belonged - until she landed in the United States. Embodying all countries, it truly feels like home.
https://www.sarahnewlandbooks.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sarahnewlandwrites/
https://www.youtube.com/@sarahnewlandbooks
Sarah Newland
Sarah Newland is an award-winning young adult fiction author and licensed veterinary technician from coastal Virginia. Her complete series, The Coelacanth Project, is a locally based beach thriller that navigates the trials of newfound powers, conquering inner demons, and dredging up long-lost family secrets. Newland has received multiple awards for her writing, including the honor of her books Extant and Chymist being selected as the 2021 and 2022 Virginia Author Project’s YA Fiction Winners.
As a passion project of her love for animals and books, Newland also hosts Books and Beasties on YouTube, which features a spoiler-free analysis of the role animal characters play in the plot development of various novels.
When Newland isn’t writing, she can be found on impromptu adventures with her family, drinking copious amounts of peppermint hot cocoa, or defending her popcorn from her two very mischievous, popcorn-addicted cats.
https://beperfectly-imperfect.com/
https://www.facebook.com/people/Vyoma-Nupur/100007310988449/
Vyoma Nupur
Vyoma Nupur is a former journalist and author of the book "Be Perfectly Imperfect". She has written for various newspapers including The Pioneer and Times of India. Writing is her true passion, and she freely expresses this commitment via writing books, articles and poetry on the power of happiness, self-love, laughter, and the compelling flow and ebb of human emotions that make life a unique and vastly inspiring journey. She has contributed to Thought Catalog, an online magazine for millennials and has written for Medium.com.
Vyoma grew up on a rich diet of fantastic tales and legends of Indian mythology and world fiction including British classics, Native American tales, European legends and Brazilian folklore, which flavor her various short stories.
Vyoma hosted her own radio podcast - the Perfectly Imperfect Talk Show - with a rapidly growing global audience and 100 + episodes. She has interviewed an impressive guest list of authors, inspiring sportspeople, healers, culinary experts, artists, meditators, destiny architects, alchemists, marketers, CEOs, and renowned life coaches.
Vyoma has an MBA in Marketing from Rutgers University in New Jersey and a Post Graduate Masters Diploma in Journalism and a Masters Degree in International Relations.
Vyoma lives with her husband in beautiful Virginia, in a leafy environment where it is easy to commune with Nature. Connect with her via email at evyonup19@gmail.com and on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Quora.
Caterina Novelliere
Caterina is passionate about history, music, romance, old languages, and travel. She regularly intertwines these subjects in her Servants of Morrigan: Four Horsemen Series and in Tale of Rouen, a romantic tale that combines fantasy, time travel, and historical fiction.
TJ O'Connor
Tj O'Connor is the award winning author of The Hemingway Deception, The Consultant, and four paranormal murder mysteries. He also has a pending new political thriller and paranormal murder mystery coming!
Tj is an international security consultant specializing in anti-terrorism, investigations, and threat analysis—life experiences that drive his novels. With his former life as a government agent and years as a consultant, he has lived and worked around the world in places like Greece, Turkey, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and throughout the Americas—among others. Tj is a Harley Davidson pilot, a man-about-dogs, and a lover of adventure, cooking, and good spirits (both kinds). He was raised in New York's Hudson Valley and lived around the world. He lives with his wife and Labrador companions in Virginia where they've raised five children who are supplying a growing tribe of grands!
www.tjoconnor.com
https://www.facebook.com/mark.ogle.75
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Mark Ogle
About the Author
Born in Chapel Hill, NC Mark Ogle graduated from the US Coast Guard Academy in 1986 and the Naval War College in 2007.
During his career, he traveled to seventy-six different countries and sailed with the Second Fleet, training numerous Navy boarding teams in route Desert Storm. He also led the White House - ordered armed landing party amidst gunfire to rescue seventy-seven barricaded tourist on the island of ST. Croix.
Throughout his command tours and as a boarding officer, he made over sixty narcotics seizures that included the first drug-laden semi-submersible, the first liquid cocaine load and - at the time - the largest maritime bust in history. His San Diego - based unit seized over 130 tons of cocaine worth $3.2 Billion in three years.
Eleven of his twenty-seven active duty years were in command. He retired as a Coast Guard captain and the chief of future operations for the Atlantic Area, where he was responsible for providing oversight of all operational missions which span from the Rocky Mountains east to the India/Pakistan border.
Following his retirement from active duty in May 2013, he continues to support the Coast Guard as a civilian training specialist and course adminsitrator for the Sector Commander, Sector Department Head, and International Maritime Operations Courses.
Nicole Ordway
​Nicole R. Ordway resides in Virginia Beach, VA, with her partner and their two dogs. She enjoys local history, Orcadian folklore, native plant gardening, and a well-told story. Following this festival her debut novels, "Hollow Thunder" and "The Loyalty of Dew," will be discontinued from Amazon.com, so take advantage of your final guaranteed chance to obtain signed copies!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KathrynOSullivanWriter
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/KthrynOSullivan
Kathryn O'Sullivan
Kathryn O’Sullivan is an award-winning writer and filmmaker. Her science fiction thriller, WHEN EARTH SHALL BE NO MORE, was co-written with her husband, Paul Awad, won the 2023 IPPY Bronze Medal Award in Science Fiction, and is the first in a trilogy. Kathryn is also a Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel winner and author of the Colleen McCabe mystery series. Her short stories and plays have been published in several anthologies. Recent films include the award-winning documentary, BICENTENNIAL BONSAI: EMISSARIES OF PEACE, and the crime drama, A SAVAGE NATURE. Kathryn is a professor emerita of theatre at Northern Virginia Community College. She lives in Reston, Virginia with her husband and their rescue cats, Maggie and Andy.
Joyana Peters
Joyana Peters is the Indie author of the best-selling novels, The Girl in the Triangle and The Girl From Saint Petersburg. The Girl in the Triangle won the YA Spark Award from SCBWI, the Ben Franklin Award for Historical Fiction from IBPA, the Book Excellence Award for Multicultural Fiction and was a Top Five Finalist for Shelf Unbound’s Indie Best Book of the Year.
Joyana got her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of New Orleans in 2014. She has taught literature and composition on both the secondary and university levels. She also writes non-fiction and has been published in digital and print publications nationwide.
Joyana currently lives in Northern Virginia where she takes in the sights of DC with her two kids, husband, and goofy Yellow Lab, Gatsby.
You can follow her adventures at JoyanaPeters.com or on Facebook and Instagram @JoyanaPetersAuthor.
Mark Piggot
Mark Piggott, a native of Phillipsburg, N.J., enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1982, beginning a 23-year career.
He served on four aircraft carriers and various duty stations as a Navy Journalist before he attained the rank of Chief Petty Officer. He retired from active duty in 2006. He and his wife, Georgiene, live in Alexandria, Virginia. They have three children.
His first novel, Forever Avalon, was published in 2009, followed by several self-published novels. In 2021, he signed with Curious Corvid Publishing as a new author with this small, independent publisher. His novels have won several book awards, including the Firebird Book Award Grand Prize for Fiction from the Authors Marketing Group.
Patti Procopi
Patti is a former army brat who lived all over the world including many years in Germany. She and her husband, Greg settled in Gloucester, Virginia. They raised three daughters and numerous cats and dogs in their home on Cedar Bush Creek.
Patti worked at two area history museums for thirty-two years. After retiring she finally had the time to do the things she always wanted to do – write! She always loved reading and at each army post, the library was one of the first place she’d discover.
Over the years Patti took writing classes but it was a bit of a learning curve to write a novel. She joined a local writing organization and a critique group and she finally figured it out.
Patti’s writing is about emotional connections, friendship and family. She was thrilled when Blue Fortune Enterprises published her first novel, Please…Tell Me More in 2020. Her second novel, I’ll Get By came out in 2022 and her third, Stop Talking will be out in late 2023.
Patti has had a story printed in a literary journal and one produced on a podcast and has won a couple of awards. She has been featured on Launchpad and Writers over 50. She also writes articles for Next Door Neighbors Magazine. In her spare time she likes to garden, do yoga and enjoys nature photography. She and her husband, Greg, also love to travel and spend time with their children.
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Rochelle Ranson
Rochelle Ransom has been writing books since she was a young girl. She grew up in a small rural town in western New York with little access to TV. This led to an overzealous imagination, a pet chicken named Superchick and a memorable and cherished childhood. After graduating from the S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University and obtaining her masters in writing from Emerson College, she went on to work in various advertising and marketing positions. There was little time for writing stories once her life became consumed with career, marriage, and four kids. After much support and encouragement from her family she returned to storytelling. Drawing from her time living in a small town in Western New York she brings you her fourth book in her collection of stories set in Laketown, NY. Driven by a need to explore what makes good people do bad things, her characters are often everyday people trapped in difficult situations. Bad choices make good books.
Rochelle lives in Florida with her family and two dogs, Truffles and Husker.
Peyton H. Roberts
Peyton H. Roberts, M.A., is a creative writer, communications professional, and proud Navy spouse. Her stories have appeared in The New York Times, Stars and Stripes, Modern Love Podcast, and more.
Her novel Beneath the Seams (Scrivenings Press, 2021) is contemporary women’s fiction about a popular dressmaker who gets tangled up in the dark side of the global fashion industry. Inspired by her sewing hobby and true events that unfolded while leading service trips overseas, this social impact story debuted as a #1 Amazon new release and was selected as a book club pick by Military Families Magazine and Kitabe Club, a women’s literary nonprofit in India.
Peyton’s forthcoming nonfiction, My Dearest Bea (Anchor Line Press, 2024), is an intimate collection of love letters her grandfather wrote to her grandmother aboard the USS Midway after embarking from Norfolk, Va., in the weeks following their wedding day. When the letters are found generations later, a timeless love story leaps off the page, and Peyton stumbles upon the priceless gift of meeting her grandparents in a new season of life—one she now shares as a Navy spouse herself.
A beach lover and expert boogie boarder, Peyton lives in Virginia Beach with her husband and two adventurous kids. Aside from writing, she looks forward to reading in the sunshine, traveling to magical places, and sharing home-cooked meals with family and friends.
https://www.findingnapoleon.com
https://www.facebook.com/MargaretRodenberg.author
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Margaret Rodenberg
Margaret Rodenberg's award-winning historical fiction, Finding Napoleon: A Novel, includes an intriguing adaptation of Napoleon Bonaparte’s real attempt to write a romantic novel. Her passion for French history began when she lived in France as a young teen with her US Navy family. An avid traveler who has visited over sixty countries, she journeyed more than 30,000 miles to conduct Napoleonic research, including to St. Helena Island in the remote South Atlantic where Finding Napoleon takes place. She's a former businesswoman and a director of the Napoleonic Historical Society, a non-profit that promotes knowledge of the Napoleonic era.
Ron Shafer
Ron Shafer is a Williamsburg freelance writer for the Washington Post and a former Wall Street Journal Washington political features editor. His book "Breaking News All Over Again. The History Behind Today's News" is a collection of his Washington Post Retropolis columns. His book "The Carnival Campaign. How The Rollicking Campaign of Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Changed Presidential Elections Forever" is about the 1840 presidential campaign of William Henry Harrison.
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Mary Shipko
Mary Shipko grew up in an aviation family, her dad, a flight instructor owned a grass strip in Dania Florida. She wanted to learn to fly at a very young age, but would have to wait. At sixteen she soloed, that day she knew she wanted to fly forever. She set her sights on the goal of becoming an airline pilot.
Over the next ten years she amassed 3,000 flight hours, numerous FAA certificates and ratings: private pilot, commercial, instrument, multi-engine, sea plane and glider rating and then Airline Transport Pilot. She was a charter and cargo pilot flying out of South Florida to destinations in the Bahamas and Caribbean. She persevered through years of limited opportunity. In 1976 after completing a Bachelor of arts at Florida international University she was offered the opportunity to realize her dreams. She made history when she stepped into the cockpit as the first woman pilot for Hughes Airwest. Today Mary is an inspirational speaker and available to tell her story. She hopes to inspire young women to fly. She is a member of the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators), as well as of the Chesapeake Bay Writers.
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Peter Stipe
Peter Stipe has enjoyed varied career that has included fourteen years in education as a public high school history teacher and track coach. He also has worked for many years in Human Resource Development and Training for a variety of businesses. Most recently he worked for AAA as Director of Training and Development for the New England region. He has a Bachelors degree in History from Boston University and a Masters in Education from Tufts.
Peter has published five books of contemporary fiction. His first book, “Finding Our Way”, published in 2015, is a collection of short stories. “The Art of Love”, his second book, and first full novel, is a love story set in Providence, RI. “Remember Me”, follows Peter’s search for his family roots and traces what might have been the lives of his great grandfather and great grandmother. His fourth book, “The Fairy Garden”, is a fantasy/coming of age story of a woman who discovers fairies living in her grandfather’s garden in Virginia. Peter’s fifth book, released in 2022, is “Bennett Falls”. This novel follows the changes that happen when a young couple moves to a small town in New Hampshire and converts an old house into a Bed and Breakfast.
Peter is a member of the several local writing groups. He is the president of the Board for the annual Williamsburg Book Festival.
A New Englander for most of his life he now lives with his wife in Williamsburg, Virginia.
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Grace Topping
Grace Topping is a USA Today bestselling author and Agatha Award Finalist. A recovering technical writer and IT project manager, she was accustomed to writing lean, boring documents. Let loose to write fiction, she is now creating murder mysteries and killing off characters who remind her of some of the people she dealt with during her career. Fictional revenge is sweet. She is the author of the Laura Bishop Mystery series. Grace is the former vice president of the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime (SINC), a steering committee member of the SINC Guppies, and a member of Mystery Writers of America. She lives with her husband in Virginia.
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Erwin K. Thomas
About Erwin K Thomas
For over 25 years Guyanese-born Erwin K Thomas, Ph.D., was a professor and graduate director of International Journalism & Broadcasting at Norfolk State University, VA. He previously taught courses at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and SUNY–Oswego. Thomas has published 14 books on Interfaith devotionals, mass media with co-editor Brown H. Carpenter, an autobiography, and novel. He has had book signings at Meyera Oberndorf Library, Virginia Beach, Slover Library, Norfolk, North Suffolk Library, Suffolk, and Williamsburg Book Festival, Williamsburg, VA. For over 50 years he has been married to Mary Louise Barta of Scappoose, OR. They live in Charlottesville, VA.
Dylan West
I am a Jesus lover, web developer, video game developer, Navy Vet, foreign language nut, and a nut in general. While other people are busy thinking normal thoughts, I’m crafting corny jokes. I live in Chesapeake, VA, with my wife and daughter.