Freckles to Wrinkles Authors

 

Carol Ayer was born in Berkeley, California, in the early 1960s.  She grew up in Orinda, California, and graduated from UC Berkeley.  Her publication credits include Woman’s World magazine, two Chicken Soup series books, The Prairie Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and flashquake.  She has won awards from WOW-Women on Writing, Artella Magazine,and Brady Magazine.

Roy A. Barnes writes from southeastern Wyoming. His poetry and prose have appeared at The Goblin Reader, Swimming Kangaroo, Heritage Writer, C/Oasis, Literary Liftoff, Poesia, The First Line, and Skive Magazine. Roy’s favorite baseball player is Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, and his favorite team has always been the New York Yankees.

Glenda BeallGlenda Beall reinvented herself in her late fifties, and followed her life-long passion. From writing as a child sitting high in a chinaberry tree, she came full circle and began publishing her work in 1995. She presently serves as Program Coordinator for the North Carolina Writers’ Network West. Glenda is on faculty at the John C. Campbell Folk School. She also teaches at a junior college and in a church adult education program. Her classes are for senior adults who want to write about their lives for their children and grandchildren. She is a multi-genre writer, having published poetry in literary magazines, essays in anthologies and slick magazines. One of her stories will appear in Cup of Comfort for Horse Lovers. In her “spare” time, Glenda writes articles for the Valley River Humane Society newsletter and for local newspapers. She also maintains a blog for her writers’ group: www.netwestwriters.blogspot.com.

Betty BeamguardBetty Wilson Beamguard writes full-time, specializing in magazine features, short fiction, and humorous essays. She has received over 30 honors for her writing, and her work has appeared in Women in the Outdoors, South Carolina, Sasee, ByLine, The Writer and more. In her humorous novel, Weej and Johnnie Hit Florida, two middle-age women spend a week in Florida trying to lose the jerk who is following them. Her most recent book is the biography of a woman who drives a draft horse with her feet – How Many Angels Does It Take: The Remarkable Life of Heather Rose Brooks.www.home.earthlink.net/~bbeamguard.

Burghardt.jpgRenie Burghardt, who was born in Hungary, is a freelance writer with many credits. Her writing has appeared in 60 anthologies, like the Chicken Soup series, Chocolate for Women, Cup of Comfort series, Guideposts books, God Allows U-Turns, God’s Way books, and many others. She has also been published in magazines like Mature Living, Mature Years, Midwest Living, Missouri Life, Cat Fancy, Angels on Earth, and others. She lives in a beautiful rural area and loves nature, animals, reading, writing, hiking, gardening, nature photography, and spending time with her friends and family, especially her three granddaughters. You can visit her blog here: www.renieburghardtsworld.blogspot.com

brenda wise byrd  is a grandmother who still lives in the Alabama town where she was born. She began journaling as a young teen and her joy in writing developed from that early beginning. Widowed at 26, she has seen life from a perspective none of us would choose, but one that has given her a greater appreciation of life and everyday pleasures. Much of her writing comes from observing the people and nature around her and transforming those “snapshots” into life lessons and inspirational moments. She has been locally published and is now seeking a broader audience.

Steve Cartwright  is a cartoonist, illustrator, writer, and is kind to dogs. He works out of Atlanta and his art has appeared in several magazines, newspapers, books, various websites for commercial and governmental clients, and scribbling – but mostly drooling – on tavern napkins. He creates art pro bono for several animal rescue groups and was awarded the 2004 James Award for his cover art for Champagne Shivers. The Cimarron Review and Stories  for Children covers display his illustrations. See his website www.angelfire.com/sc2/cartoonsbycartwright where no pixels were injured during the production.

Al Carty is a Californian retired to the high plains of New Mexico. He grows garlic and chilis and roams the piñon-juniper hills and writes about the thoughts he finds there.  He has been romancing the Muse for a long time. Sometimes she dances for him and sometimes she hides among his thoughts. Since he discovered that rewriting makes her smile, his stories and poems have been accepted by Menda City Review, 5th Story Review, Written Word, Anthology Builder, Sage of Consciousness, and Cause and Effect Magazine.

Sally Clark lives in Fredericksburg, Texas, with her husband, their children, and their grandchildren. Sally has practiced for retirement her entire life. When she finally achieved her goal in 2001, Sally began writing stories and poetry for children and adults. Her work has been published in the Chicken Soup series, the Cup of Comfort series, and several of June Cotner’s gift books. Her poetry for children appears in Blooming Tree Press’ Summer Shorts and Sweet Dreams. In the Christian field, Howard Books, Integrity Publishers, and Tyndale House have published her stories and poems.


SuzAnne C. Cole
 writes from a studio in the woods in the Texas Hill Country. She’s published more than 350 poems, essays, short stories and articles in commercial and literary magazines, anthologies, and newspapers. She’s been both a juried and featured poet at the Houston Poetry Fest and once won a haiku festival in Japan.

TJ Coles  was raised and lived most of his life in the Pacific Northwest, in a large town that preferred to think of itself as a small town. He spent most of his summers on his grandmother’s ranch and has worked as a logger, in mining, as a forest fire fighter, and as a security guard. TJ has been telling stories since he was eight years old. Some of them have even been true. A number of magazines and dozens of online publications have published Coles’ work. His day job is in civil engineering.

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Ginger B. Collins’ sailing tales have appeared in Cruising World and Living Aboard Magazine. Both The Atlanta Journal Constitution and The Cincinnati Inquirer have published her articles in their Sunday Travel Sections. She has two pieces of short fiction scheduled this summer in Pig Iron Press, a flash fiction story this winter in LunchHour Stories, and a story in Voices of… anthology, coming early in 2009 from LaChance Publishing. Recently retired from Atlanta to Canada’s Cape Breton Island, Ginger and husband, Melvin, plan a retirement of sailing local and distant shorelines. Her websites are www.GingerBCollins.com and www.GingerCollins.com.

RSComegys.jpgR. Scott Comegys lives in Shreveport, Louisiana, where she is a late-bloomer Boomer. Vintage 1952, she is a single mom with one daughter in college and a son in high school. She toils by day as a civil servant, fondly recollecting manual typewriters with tri-carbon inserts. And, although life is good with digital cable, she dearly misses the Indian Head TV test pattern.

Carole Creekmore, a Baby Boomer who grew up in rural eastern North Carolina, is a widow with two adult children, two lovely granddaughters, and an English Bulldog, Okie. With degrees in English from Wake Forest University, she teaches composition, literature, creative writing, and humanities at an Atlanta area college, writes prose and poetry whenever inspired, and enjoys traveling, genealogy, and photography. She has had several articles and poems published over the years, as well as the essay “Holiday Expectations – Then and Now” recently published in Silver Boomers.

Barbara CrookerBarbara Crooker has been writing poetry for more than 30 years, with credits in magazines such as The Christian Science Monitor, Margie, Poetry East, Smartish Pace, Nimrod, River City, Yankee, The Beloit Poetry Journal, Poetry International, The Denver Quarterly, America, Highlights for Children, and anthologies such as Good Poems For Hard Times(Viking, edited by Garrison Keillor), Sweeping Beauty:  Contemporary Women Poets Do Housework (University of Iowa Press), and Boomer Girls (University of Iowa Press). She has two full-length books, Radiance and Line Dance, both from Word Press.  She grew up in the mid-Hudson Valley in the fifties, went to college in New Jersey in the sixties, and now lives and writes in rural northeastern Pennsylvania.

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Barbara Darnall, the daughter of a high school English teacher and a West Texas lawyer and rancher, has been surrounded by words all her life and grew up telling stories and writing scripts for her playmates to perform. She graduated from Baylor University with B.A. and M.A. degrees in drama, and taught at the college level for several years. She writes poetry, articles, and personal narratives, and has written and directed numerous short dramas for her church. She has copyedited one book and several manuscripts, and, as a tax consultant for more than thirty years, she particularly enjoys the letter-writing contests she occasionally gets into with the IRS!

Mary DealMary Deal,  a native of Walnut Grove, California (in the Sacramento River Delta) has lived in England, the Caribbean, and now resides in Kapaa, Hawaii. She has published three novels: The Tropics: Child of a Storm – Caught in a Rip – Hurricane Secret, an adventure trilogy; The Ka, a paranormal Egyptian fantasy; and River Bones, her first thriller which is set in her childhood hometown area. Down to the Needle will be her next thriller due out early 2010 and set along the California coastline. Learn more about Mary, read short stories, novel excerpts, and writing tips on her web site: www.writeanygenre.com.

Gail Denham, a native Oregonian, has showcased her state with poetry, short stories, and photography for over 30 years. Her work has been published in national and international magazines. In addition, she enjoys leading writing workshops. Married, with four sons and (almost) 13 grandchildren, plus two great-grands, she and her husband now live in central Oregon where Denham was raised. Life was quieter and slower when Denham grew up in Redmond and even in the years they brought up their family. She definitely appreciates the simple life best.

Terri Kirby EricksonTerri Kirby Erickson of Lewisville, North Carolina, is the author of a book of poetry entitled, Thread Count. Her work has been published or accepted by The Broad River Review, The Dead Mule, Pisgah Review, The Christian Science Monitor, Paris Voice, Old Mountain Press, Thieves Jargon, Forsyth Woman, and the Hickory Women’s Resource Center anthology Voices and Vision: A Collection of Writings By and About Empowered Women.  The Northwest Cultural Council also selected her work in 2006 and 2007 for an international juried poetry exhibit.

Joanne Faries, originally from the Philadelphia area, lives in Texas with her husband Ray. She considers herself fortunate to be able to pursue a writing career after eons in the business world. Published previously in Doorknobs & Bodypaint, Joanne writes short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She has works on ALongStory Short.com Associatedcontent.com, inShine magazine, Chicken Soup for the Soul Kids in the Kitchen, and has started a novel. Joanne enjoys reading and movies, and is the film critic for the Little Paper of San Saba. She is a member of Trinity Writer’s Workshop in Bedford, Texas.

Margaret Fieland, born and raised in New York City, has been around art and music all her life. Her poems, articles and children’s stories have appeared in, among others, Main Channel Voices, Echolocation, and Stories for Children Magazine.  You may visit her web site, www.margaretfieland.com

Betty Jo GoddardBetty Jo Goddard has traveled a long, packed journey since her birth April 6, 1933 in Windsor, Illinois. While on that journey, she’s gained wisdom through twenty-five years of teaching’s bruises, successes, smiles, and love. She retired from teaching in 1983 and now lives on a ridge top in Alaska.

Once she retired from teaching she took up writing as a hobby. This hobby grew and became more than a hobby. In addition to dozens of short stories and essays, she has written two books and is now working on a third.

Ginny Greene likely arrived on Planet Earth with a bluepencil clutched in her fist. Past president of Abilene Writers Guild, her writing life includes years of newspaper lifestyle features, a newspaper column, and a handful of newsletters, including seven years editing the Guild’s newsletter. For fun, Ginny writes poems and works crossword puzzles. She edits everything, even street signage, especially yard sale signs, even in her sleep. She’s happiest seeing her love of words spilled over to her children and grandchildren, including daughter, Karen, also a Silver Boomer Books editor. While still loving her Northwest hometown, Ginny is at home with Larry near Abilene, Texas, and her grown family. Ginny’s book Song of County Roads is scheduled for publication in the fall of 2008.

Rhoda Greenstone, for the past two decades, has instructed Southern California college studentsin the joys of language arts and humanities. In a former life, she served as editor, feature writer, critic, and photo-journalist for many publications, including The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, Malibu Times, and Classics West Magazine. A chapter she wrote deconstructing her poem “A Letter From L.A.” will appear in Poem, Revised (Marion Street Press) in 2008.  Her poetry, short stories and essays have appeared in various journals.  Currently she is arbitrating with a muse who insists on dictating – at the least convenient times – a novel about a family of artists set to self destruct, called Lost Paradise.

becky.jpgBecky Haigler is retired after 24 years of teaching Spanish and reading in Texas public secondary schools. Her poetry has appeared in national and regional
periodicals. Her short stories for adolescents have been published by several denominational publishing houses. Two of her magic realism stories are included in the anthology Able to… (NeoNuma Arts Press, 2006.) Becky currently resides in Shreveport, Louisiana, with her husband Dave Haigler. She is the mother of two daughters and grandmother of three granddaughters. Becky is currently working on a collection of magic realism stories. More of her poetry appears on her family blog, www.xanga.com/anchorpoet.

Heather Haldeman  lives in Pasadena, California, and began writing nine years ago after her oldest son left for college. She has been married to her husband, Hank, for 29 years and has three children. She has published several personal essays and is currently writing a book.

Joy Harold Helsing is an ex-salesclerk, ex-secretary, ex-textbook editor, ex-psychologist, ex-college instructor, ex-New Englander, ex-San Franciscan who now lives in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California.  Her work has appeared in Bellowing Ark, Brevities, Byline, California Quarterly, Centrifugal Eye, Leading Edge, The Mid-America Poetry Review, Möbius, Poetalk, Poetry Depth Quarterly, The Raintown Review, Rattlesnake Review, Writers’ Journal, and elsewhere.  She has published three chapbooks and one book, Confessions of the Hare (PWJ Publishing).

Frances Hern splits her time between Calgary, Alberta, and Golden, British Columbia, both in Canada, where she writes poetry, non-fiction and children’s fiction. Her books include Norman Bethune (James Lorimer), Arctic Explorers (Heritage House) and Aunt Maud’s Mittens (Scholastic Canada). She has also recently published poetry and prose in Silver Boomers and Poetry for Big Kids (Neil Harding McAlister).

LOHigh.jpgLinda Oatman High  is the author of 21 books, as well as a journalist/poet/songwriter. Linda’s newest book is The Hip Grandma’s Handbook, and Linda blogs regularly on www.hipgrandma.com, a site for (cool) Boomer grandmothers. Earning her MFA at Vermont College, she will graduate the same year that her grandson graduates from kindergarten! A frequent presenter at conferences, libraries, and schools, Linda may be contacted at lohigh@frontiernet.net.

Jeanne Holtzman  is an aging hippie, writer and women’s health care practitioner, not necessarily in that order. Born in the Bronx, she prolonged her adolescence as long as possible in Vermont and currently lives with her husband and daughter in Massachusetts. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in such publications as The Providence Journal, Writer’s Digest, The First Line, Twilight Times, Chick Flicks, flashquake, Salome, Hobart Pulp online, Hip Mama, EveryDay Fiction and The Iconoclast. You may reach Jeanne at J.holtzman@comcast.net.

Jo Anne HornJo Anne Horn  is a self-proclaimed dabbler. She dabbles in writing, oil painting, playing piano and says she has just enough talent to keep herself amused. She worked as a secretary in various fields before remarrying in 1975. She attended The University of Texas at San Antonio for two years before relocating to Lake Brownwood, Texas. For twelve years, she worked, along with her husband, as an EMT with their volunteer fire department.

 

JuleighHowardHobson.JPGJuleigh Howard-Hobson’s  work has recently appeared in Lucid Rhythms, The Barefoot Muse, Mezzo Cammin, Umbrella, The Chimaera, Loch Raven Review, Every Day Stories, Shatter Colors Literary Review, The Raintown Review, Mobius, Fourteen Magazine, Perspectives and…Silver Boomers. She is a tail-end member of the Baby Boom generation, a bit more punk rock than Woodstock.

 

Michael Lee Johnson.jpgMichael Lee Johnson, a poet and freelance writer, is self-employed in advertising and selling custom promotional products. He’s author of The Lost American: From Exile to Freedom, has published two chapbooks of poetry, is nominated for the James B. Baker Award in poetry (Sam’s Dot Publishing), and contributed poetry to Silver Boomers. Currently living in Itasca, Illinois, U.S.A., he lived in Canada during the Vietnam era and will be published (early 2008) in the anthology Crossing Lines: Poets Who Came to Canada in the Vietnam War Era. His web sites include poetryman.mysite.com  where his other sites are linked.

 

 

karlitz.JPGKaren Karlitz grew up in Forest Hills, New York, during the 1960s. (What she remembers, she thoroughly enjoyed.) She worked as an associate editor and writer for Pharmacy Times magazine before relocating to California. For several years she was a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times, and also worked as a writer and editor for Beverly Hills 90210 and the Brentwood News, and Santa Monica Sun. Her work has appeared in these publications, as well as in the Miranda Literary Magazine and the Foliate Oak Literary Magazine. Currently, she lives and writes short stories in south Florida.

jim keane.jpgJames Keane  resides in northern New Jersey with his wife and son and a menagerie of merry pets. He has been writing and revising his poetry over the course of the hundred years since he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English Literature at Georgetown University. He has been privileged to have his poems appear, most recently, in The Houston Literary Review, Tipton Poetry Journal, The Chimaera, Taj Mahal Review, and Contemporary American Voices, where he was the Featured Poet of the August 2007 issue.

Helga Kidder has lived in the Tennessee hills for 30 years, raised two daughters, half a dozen cats, and a few dogs. She received her BA in English from the University of Tennessee, and MFA in Writing from Vermont College. She is co-founder of the Chattanooga Writers Guild and leads their poetry group. Her poetry and translations have appeared in The Louisville Review, The Southern Indiana Review, The Spoon River Poetry Review, Comstock Review, Eleventh Muse, Snake Nation Review, Voices International, Moebius, Free Focus, Phoenix, Chug, and others, and three anthologies.

Blanche.jpgBlanche L. Ledford is a native of Hayesville, North Carolina. She grew up during the Great Depression in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and often writes about that time. Her work has appeared in Blue Ridge Guide; Lights in the Mountains; Looking Back; Sand, Sea & Sail; Night Whispers; and other journals. She’s an avid reader and member of Georgia Mountain Writer’s Club.

BRENDA KAY LEDFORDBrenda Kay Ledford  is a native of Hayesville, North Carolina. Her work has appeared in Pembroke Magazine, Asheville Poetry Review, Appalachian Heritage, and other journals. She is listed with A Directory of American Poets and Fiction Writers. Ledford received the 2007 Paul Green Multimedia Award from North Carolina Society of Historians for her poetry chapbook, Shew Bird Mountain. Her poetry book, Sacred Fire, is upcoming with Finishing Line Press. She is a member of North Carolina Writers’ Network, North Carolina Poetry Society and Georgia Poetry Society. For more information go to her website: www.brendakayledford.com.

Larry Lefkowitz’ stories, poems, and humor have been published in literary reviews and magazines in the U.S., England, and Israel where he lives. He has self-published humor books, and is currently trying to find a publisher for his novel Lieberman. It concerns the assistant to a literary critic who is asked by the critic’s wife following her husband’s death to complete his unfinished novel. Though set in Israel, the novel is universal in theme and is replete with literary allusions. Larry is also trying to find a publisher for his detective novel, Trouble in Jades about a series of murders in a jades museum.

Denton Loving makes his home in Speedwell, Tennessee. He works in the advancement offices at Lincoln Memorial University, where he also assists directing the Mountain Heritage Literary Festival. His short story, “Authentically Weathered Lumber,” was chosen in 2007 as the first winner of the Gurney Norman Prize for Short Fiction, a contest judged by Mr. Norman through the literary journal Kudzu. Loving’s poetry has also appeared in The Birmingham Arts Journal.

Eileen Malone  lives in the coastal fog of the San Francisco Bay Area where she directs the Soul-Making Literary Competition, which she founded in 1994, and hosts/produces “Pen Women Presents,” interviews with creative people on Access San Francisco Channel 29. She is widely published, and last year two of her poems were nominated for Pushcart prizes.

ArleneMason.jpgArlene Mason is an author and freelance technical writer who lives with her husband, a miniature poodle and a calico cat outside Dallas, Texas. She writes on a variety of topics, drawing from her diverse experience. She has contributed articles to a varied collection of online and print magazines. She says that writing keeps her sane; most people agree.

Janet McCann has poetry in journals such as Kansas Quarterly, Parnassus, Nimrod, Sou’wester, Christian Century, Christianity and Literature, New York Quarterly, Tendril, Poetry Australia, and McCall’s, among many others.

Lyn Messersmith  is a third generation rancher, a freelance writer, newspaper columnist, and purveyor of horse sense, nonsense, and occasional wisdom. She is affiliated with Nebraska and South Dakota Humanities Councils and, with a friend, offers writing workshops and historical programs of original music and poetry based on the lives of people who helped open the West. Lyn has published two books of poetry. Ground Tied won a 2004 Will Rogers Medallion Award from the Academy of Western Artists. Her book of daily reflections is titled My Sister Mariah; the Journal of a Windwalker.

Anthony J. Mohr writes from his home in southern California.  His essays, memoirs, and short stories have appeared in Bibliophilos, The Christian Science Monitor, Circle Magazine, Currents, Literary House Review, The Sacramento Bee, Skyline Magazine, and Word Riot.  Two of his works have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.  His hobbies include hiking, travel, horseback riding, and improv theater.

Michael Neal Morris  has published online and in print in Borderlands, Lynx Eye, The Concho River Review, Illya’s Honey, The Distillery, Dogwood Tales Magazine, The GW Review, Liberty Hill Poetry Review, The Mid-South Review, Chronogram, Contemporary Rhyme, Haruah, T-Zone, Flash-Flooding, Glassfire Magazine, and Mouth Full of Bullets. He lives with his wife and children just outside Dallas, and teaches at Eastfield College. He is seeking publication of his first collection of stories, The End of the Argument, and his collection of poems, Wrestling Light.

Sheryl L. Nelms, Kansas native, graduated from South Dakota State University in Family Relations and Child Development. Her poems, stories and articles have appeared in periodicals and anthologies including Readers’ Digest, Modern Maturity, Capper’s,  Kaleidoscope, Grit, Cricket, over 4,500 times. Twelve collections of her poetry have been published.

Sheryl has taught writing and poetry at conferences, colleges and schools. She was a Bread Loaf Contributor at the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference, Middlebury, Vermont. She has served as editor for many journals, including her current post as essay editor of The Pen Woman Magazine, the membership magazine of the National League of American Pen Women. She holds membership in The Society of Southwestern Authors, Abilene Writers Guild, and Trinity Arts Writers Association.

Karen Neuberg is retired after working as an information specialist, public librarian, marketing researcher, and social worker.  Her work has appeared or is pending in many literary journals and anthologies including Phoebe, 42Opus, Boxcar Poetry Review, Miller’s Pond, and Riverine, An Anthology of Hudson Valley Writers.  She’s a Pushcart and Best of the Net nominee, holds an MFA from the New School, is an assistant editor at Inertia Magazine, and lives in Brooklyn and West Hurley, New York, with her husband.  They recently became grandparents for the second time.

04_30_1274.jpgLinda O’Connell’s  work has appeared in several Chicken Soup series books, numerous anthologies, periodicals and literary magazines. Linda is a seasoned early-childhood teacher in St. Louis, Missouri. She also teaches a senior citizen memoir writing class. She and her husband, Bill, have a blended family of four adult children, and nine grandchidren who tickle their fancy.

Quanah Parker, Kansas-born in 1946, is a distant cousin of his Comanche Chief namesake. His family moved to Abilene, Texas, then Norman, Oklahoma, returning to Abilene so Quanah and older brother Quay could attend Abilene Christian University, “getting them away from Philistine OU women.” Both brothers sold Bibles to put themselves through college and law school. After University of Texas Law, Lt. Parker led an Army MP Platoon from 1971 to 1972 and was a Captain in the Reserves from 1974 to 1982. An Abilene resident, he’s practiced law for 35 years. His daughter Padgett and son Paden live in Austin, and son, Pride, daughter-in-law Allison, and granddaughter Pressley in Houston.

Meg Pearce  lives in northern Ontario with her retired military firefighter husband and is surrounded by most of her family. Some of her short stories can be found in the anthology Confabulation published by Winterblue Publishing in June, 2008.

Yvonne Pearson  is a writer and clinical social worker who lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Her poetry and essays have appeared in a variety of publications, including Sing, Heavenly Muse!, Transformations, Wolf Head Quarterly, Poetry Calendar 2000, and Studio One. She is the recipient of a Loft Creative Non-Fiction Award, has participated in readings at The Loft, the University of Minnesota, and the American Association of University Women, St. Paul branch, and is the co-author of several books.

James Penha, a native New Yorker, has lived for the past sixteen years in Indonesia. No Bones to Carry, Penha’s most recent volume of poetry, is available from New Sins Press at www.newsinspress.com. Among the most recent of his many other published works are articles in the NCTE’s Classroom Notes Plus; fiction at East of the Web, BigPulp, and Ignavia; and poems in THEMA and in the anthologies Queer Collection (Fabulist Flash Publishing), Only the Sea Keeps: Poetry of the Tsunami (Bayeux Press), and Silver Boomers. Penha edits a web site for current-events poetry at www.newversenews.com.

Diana M. Raab, M.F.A., essayist, memoirist and poet, teaches at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program and the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. A columnist for InkByte.com, she writes and lectures on journaling. Her memoir Regina’s Closet: Finding My Grandmother’s Secret Journal is a finalist for Best Book of the Year by ForeWord Magazine. She has two poetry collections, My Muse Undresses Me and Dear Anais: My Life in Poems for You. Her writing has appeared The Writer, Writers Journal, Skylight Review, Rosebud, The Louisville Review, Palo Alto Review, Oracle, The Binnacle, Homestead, andRed River Review. She’s the recipient of the Benjamin Franklin Book Award for Getting Pregnant and Staying Pregnant: Overcoming Infertility and High Risk Pregnancy. Visit her web site: www.dianaraab.com.

Karencamera.jpgKerin Riley-Bishop is an editor and partner of Silver Boomer Books. She is a poet, photographer and casual painter. A deep spirituality and love of nature provide ample fuel for her writing endeavors. She is a member of local writing and critique groups, and currently has several writing and photography projects pending. She lives in West Texas with her partner, Mason, and their two children.

Barbara RollinsBarbara B. Rollins lives in Abilene, Texas, a judge who writes while waiting for lawyers. A member of SCBWI, her children’s books include the novel Syncopated Summer and a forensic series Fingerprint Evidence, Ballistics, Cause of Death, and Blood Evidence. Her work has appeared in Byline, Kidz Ch@t, R*A*D*A*R, and Off the Record, an anthology of poetry by lawyers. The past president of Abilene Writers Guild maintains the group’s web site as well as those of other nonprofit organizations besides her www.SharpWriters.com. Like many Baby Boomers, she shares her husband with two dogs while worrying about aging parents, two sons, and daughters-in-law. She is a principal in Silver Boomer Books.

Doug Sellers, a lifetime manic-depressive, encourages others dealing with the condition. Now age 77, he retired from school teaching in 1979. He lives simply and writes about good times from his past. He keeps membership in Abilene Writers Guild current (1992 to present), and wins awards in their contests. Doug lives with his wife of 37 years, Ruth, on a farm in Runnels County where he stores his collection of antique farm machinery. He graduated from Hardin-Simmons University, 1970, with a Master’s Degree in Administrative Education. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, 1952 to 1956.

Ruth Sellers, 83 years old and a retired teacher, lives with her husband, Doug, on a farm in Runnels County, Texas. She has written for publication since the early 1990s. Her credits include Crafts ’n’ ThingsWorld and I, History Magazine, newspaper articles in Abilene Reporter-NewsWinters EnterpriseBallinger Ledger, and prizes in many writers’ contests. She taught school at primary level and at the Reading Center in Abilene, Texas. She has done freelance writing since her retirement from teaching in 1980, and is a past president of Abilene Writers Guild.

Paula Sergi  is the author of Family Business, a collection of poems from Finishing Line Press, May, 2005, and co-editor of Boomer Girls: Poems by Women from the Baby Boom Generation, University of Iowa Press, 1999.  She received a Wisconsin Arts Board Artist Fellowship in 2001. Her poetry is published regularly in such journals as The Bellevue Literary ReviewPrimavera, “tauthors”> Crab Orchard ReviewSpoon River Poetry Review and The American Journal of Nursing.  She holds an MFA in creative writing from Vermont College and a BSN from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Elizabeth Simpson  was a college instructor and continues to run an Author-Reading Series.  She has published two nonfiction books:  The Perfection of Hope:  Journey Back to Health (1997), nominated for the B.C.Book Prize and VanCity Award and translated into Spanish; and One Man at a Time:  Confessions of a Serial Monogomist (2000), nominated for the B.C.Book Prize.  She has also published short stories:  Slipping the Noose (Seal Press 2004).  Two of her short stories were broadcast on CBC radio:  “Dressed for Suicide” (April 2002) and “Puppy Love” (October 2003).  Currently she is working on a novel, The Marmalade Moon.

J. J. Steinfeld, fiction writer, poet, and playwright, lives in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. He has published a novel, Our Hero in the Cradle of Confederation (Pottersfield Press), nine short story collections, three by Gaspereau Press – Should the Word Hell Be Capitalized?, Anton Chekhov Was Never in Charlottetown, and Would You Hide Me? – and a poetry collection, An Affection for Precipices (Serengeti Press). His short stories and poems have appeared in numerous anthologies and periodicals internationally, and over thirty of his one-act and full-length plays have been performed in Canada and the United States.

StrasserJudith Strasser has published two poetry collections, Sand Island Succession: Poems of the Apostles and The Reason/Unreason Project, and a memoir, Black Eye: Escaping a Marriage, Writing a Life. Her work has appeared widely in literary journals, including Poetry, The Kenyon Review, Witness, and Prairie Schooner. Her blog, In Lieu of Speech, reflects on her life as a survivor of metastatic stomach cancer. Facing Fear:  Meditations on Cancer and Politics, Courage and Hope, will be available this fall.

K. SutherlandKathie Sutherland is a Canadian poet, essayist and workshop facilitator. Her journaling workshops promote awareness and personal growth, and empower others to find meaning and purpose in their everyday experiences. She is passionate about journaling for self-discovery. Her prose was recently published in Silver BoomersOutside of Ordinary: Women’s Stories of Transformation; WestWord, membership magazine of the Alberta Writers Guild; Canadian Grandparent; The Toronto Globe & Mail; and The Edmonton Journal. Her poetry appears on the following web sites www.women-at-heart.com; www.blueskiespoetry.ca; and www.leafpress.ca.

Andrea Zamarripa Theisen was born and raised in Uvalde, Texas. At age 13, she dropped out of 7thgrade to begin working full time.  She started writing in her late 40s, contributing to the newspaper La Voz de UvaldeCatholic Digest, and South West Texas Junior College’s The Palm Leaf.

Lisa Timpf lives near Everett, Ontario, where she enjoys walking in the woods, observing nature, and organic gardening. Her poetry and creative non-fiction have appeared in a variety of venues, including The Country Connection, Canadian Stories, Creemore Echo, and Horizon Magazine. Her writing credits include one non-fiction book, entitled St. George’s Lawn Tennis Club: The First Hundred Years.

Suellen Wedmore, Poet Laureate emerita for the small seaside town of Rockport, Massachusetts, has been awarded first place in the Writer’s Digest rhyming poem contest and was selected as an international winner in the Atlanta Review annual contest. Recently her chapbook Deployed was selected as winner of the Grayson Press chapbook contest and she was selected for a writing residency at Devil’s Tower, Wyoming. After 24 years working as a speech and language therapist in the public schools, she retired to enter the MFA Program in Poetry at New England College, graduating in 2004.

JWilson.jpgJim Wilson is a veterinarian in private practice for 31 years who seven years ago began treating his poetry seriously and saving it. He now has four published books: Distillations of a Life Just Lived, 2002; Coal to Diamonds, 2003; Taking a Peek, 2004; and Down to Earth Poetry, 2006. He’s been published recently in Border Senses, U.T. El Paso; Concho River Review,Angelo State University; The Desert Candle, Sul Ross State University; and Spiky Palm Texas A&M University at Galveston, and won sweepstakes in the Cisco Writer’s Club annual contest for 2007. He says, “I write about everyday events every day.”

Thelma Zirkelbach, aka Lorna Michaels, has published thirteen romance novels. Recent widowhood has shifted her focus from romance to personal essay. She enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her granddaughter, who also likes to write.