BARBARA BELL holds an M.Ed. in the Integrated Studies of Education. She has taught internationally, as well as in private and public schools throughout the United States. Her published articles have appeared in newspapers, magazines and journals on the topics of education, parenting and community. Growing up in a Sicilian household, she has been surrounded by the folklore of turtles, and insists that her classrooms have at least one. Originally from Massachusetts, she now resides in Northern California with her husband. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Her motto is from the poet, Shel Silverstein: "If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer ... If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire. For we have some flax golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!" 

HASMITA CHANDER is a freelance writer based in India with close to 200 pieces of her work published so far in regional, national and international publications. She loves reading well-written books that span different genres. Some of her favorite authors are A.J. Cronin, Roald Dahl and Daphne du Maurier. She also admires the writing skills of Ernest Hemingway, P.D. James, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lois Lowry and Stephen King. "The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." -- Mark Twain

AUDREY MARIE DANIELSON, who has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Norwich University, is a private music teacher and freelance writer. She is single, has one son, three grandchildren, and lives with her small dog, Gizmo, in New England. Audrey's interests span many areas and subjects, including music and art. Her adult and children's fiction has won several awards. Magazines, newspapers and on-line sites have published her nonfiction, fiction and book reviews. She is a member of the Society for Children's Writers and Illustrators, and participates in a writers' critique group. Her philosophy on life can be summed up by her words: "Learning is the path to knowledge; knowledge leads to wisdom; and wisdom is the true understanding of the Song of Creativity." 

CANDACE DRIMMER a freelance journalist, has been published in The American Way (American Airlines in-flight magazine), International Living, Woman’s Day, The Asbury Park Press, Moxie Magazine and St.Louis Jewish Light. She has worked as an editor of Amistad Magazine published by the American Society of Mexico City, wrote three guidebooks on Mexico for The Newcomers Club of Mexico City, and was a stringer for South-North News Service and former co-editor of a weekly newspaper in Glendale, Arizona. She taught high school Journalism in Lima, Peru, won the first prize Silver Quill Award for her short story “A Belief in Magic” and won first prize for her mystery short story “Mama’s Little Horror Show.” Having lived in seven countries, Ms. Drimmer has constantly sought opportunities and experiences wherever they arise while at the same time empowering her two children to grow into their best selves. She is currently working on a non-fiction book about the rat in the toilet and other expatriate life experiences. Her credo comes from David Belasco, the great American theatrical producer who once said, "Keep it simple. If you can't write your idea on the back of my calling card, you don't have a clear idea."  

EILEEN GILLIS was raised in Montreal, Canada and lived there until she was twenty. Then, she and her husband moved to Vermont. "The fresh air does wonders for you." She currently lives in Greenwich, Connecticut (Cos Cob). She is a Global IT Analyst by day, so at night she likes to relax by reading anything she can get her hands on and writing as fast as her fingers can type. Her writing areas of interest are primarily fiction, inspirational and children's stories, but she is now also trying her hand at freelance writing and fiction for young adults. When reading, she tends not to stick to any one genre because she has found that there are great books in any genre, and there are really bad books in any genre. She also tends to read books she likes more than once, and finds something new in them each time. "Your biggest challenge isn't someone else. It's the ache in your lungs and the burning in your legs and the voice inside you that yells "CAN'T," but you don't listen. You just push harder. And then you hear the voice whisper "Can" and you discover that the person you thought you were is no match for the one you really are." -- Author Unknown. 

ELIZABETH GUY is founder of ReadingWriters and editor of The VERB writing ezine. Her poetry, articles and short stories have been published in newspapers, anthologies, magazines such as Woman's World, Writer's Digest and the Writer's Digest Guide, Start Writing Now! as well as online publications such as Absolute Write, Writing, Etc., NAWW, Flashing in the Gutters and Mouth Full of Bullets. She has just completed her first in a series of children's novels and, when she isn't editing manuscripts or websites, she's writing her third mainstream novel. A Southern girl, she was raised in a small town in Georgia (USA), but tying the knot with a computer genius has led her to Kansas City, Denver and St. Louis. An avid music lover--and amateur piano player--she enjoys concerts, historical sites, classic movies, good wine, cooking, designing, sewing costumes for her son's film productions, playing with her "Hemingway" polydactyl cat and of course reading, writing, editing and researching. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." -- Aristotle 

KATHY IDE has been a published author of books, magazine articles, play scripts, short stories, devotionals and Sunday school curriculum since 1988. She has been a full-time freelance editor since 1998. She does proofreading, editing, critiquing and coauthoring for aspiring writers, established authors, editing networks, Christian book publishers and CLASServices. She is a member of Christian Writers Fellowship, Writers Information Network, Christian Writers' Guild, American Christian Writers, American Christian Romance Writers and Christian Writers' Group. She also speaks at writers conferences across the country. Kathy has written two print-on-demand booklets: Christian Drama Publishing and Polishing the PUGS: Punctuation, Usage, Grammar and Spelling. Visit her website! "Writing is my passion. Helping others improve their writing is my delight."

HEIDE AW KAMINSKI is the mother of two teen girls and one first-grade boy. Aside from working as an art teacher in a preschool, she is a reporter and photographer for THE GOOD NEWS, a small local newspaper in Lenawee County, MI and a columnist/photographer for THE INTERFAITH INSPIRER, her church's newsletter. She has several pieces published on various internet sites such as Metagifted, GhostShaker, SurvivorHaven, SurvivorWit, Fun@Dave'sWorld and StormWatch. She has several stories in anthologies such as "Nudges from God," "Simple Pleasures of Friendship," "Spiritual Surrender," "Soul Mates," "Spiritual Visitation" and "Spirit Communication." Check out her books Get Smart Through Art and ADHD and Me on her website here. Check out the latest reviews from BellaOnline and About.com here. NEWSFLASH: view her  German children's book here, and then proceed to "buch illustrationen." "If you don't submit your writing to publishers and risk rejection, you are already rejecting yourself." 

ERICA RICH lives in New Jersey where she is getting her degree in nursing, with a minor in psychology. When she isn't in class, she can be found reading any number of novels or working on her own novels, short stories and poetry. An avid horse enthusiast, her favorite genres are fantasy, romance, supernatural thriller, comedy and mystery. "Let the reins go free, and watch your spirit fly." -- Erica Rich  

JOHN GRANT

MANDY HOUGLAND is a freelance writer living in Northwest Arkansas. Her articles have appeared in Byline, Women in the Outdoors, River Hills Traveler, Back2College and local arts and entertainment magazines. She also writes marketing materials for small businesses and handles copywriting projects for corporate clients. On the creative side, Mandy composes poetry and short stories. Her poetry has won several awards, and she successfully completed the Writer's Digest Novel Writing Workshop in 2002. "Even the most ordinary life is a mystery if you look close enough." -- Kennedy Fraser

KATHY CARPENTER lives in San Diego. She's been a national member of Romance Writers of America for fourteen years, attending fourteen national conferences. A freelance writer, she also writes theater and book reviews. She loves to read, to go to the movies, theater and Padre games. She is single with three sisters, two brothers and seven nieces. A large close family. Her credo: "Keep the faith."

RADMILA DJURICA is originally from Belgrade Serbia. She is a journalist and English translator with 9 translated copyright books published on the Serbian market. Since 1999, she has been a freelance reporter with copyright freelance credits in the UK (Sunday Post, Woman Abroad, Ciao Magazine, Birmingham Words Magazine, Film Festivals Magazine) and the USA (Zowie Wowie Magazine, AfterImage Magazine, Wild Violet Magazine, Senior Sitizens Magazine) writing market. "He who dares ... wins! He who dares ... snatches!"  

MARGARET GRINNELL (seen here with Mary Higgins Clark) loves to read suspense novels, listen to 80's rock music and watch dramas on TV to get inspiration. She also loves to go dancing at The Rainbow in Hollywood. A trip to Europe sparked her writing life, where she noted the entire experience in several journals. She wrote a short story "In the Hands of Fate", tossed it aside a few years and then rewrote it. It was published by an online publishing company. Her poetry has been published in booklets and magazines. "Dance and make a fool of yourself because everyone is watching."

DR. RUTH MARK was born and raised in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. She obtained her PhD in Psychology from The Queen's University of Belfast in 1993 and currently teaches Neuropsychology to undergraduates at the University of Tilburg, The Netherlands. The love of poetry however is what makes her tick and she writes in every spare moment she can grab. Her poems and short stories have been widely published in diverse print and web venues including: Riviera Reporter, Dakota House Journal, Poems Niederngasse, Midnight Minds, Snakeskin, Wicked Alice, Electric Acorn, Poetry Superhighway, Liberty Hill Review, Miller's Pond, etc. Her two recent poetry books These Days and Postcards from Hilversum may be purchased at LuLu. She would be delighted if you visited and left a message at her new website. She also writes book reviews for Tamafhyr Mountain Poetry and The Blue Iris Review. Ruth has co-edited a book about living with diabetes (poems and stories) which is available at Virtual Bookworm (her father-in-law died from complications caused by diabetes). A convicted believer in the power of the written word, her outlook can be summed up in the words of her favorite poet, Seamus Heaney: "Between my finger and my thumb/The squat pen rests./I'll dig with it."

NANCY MYER is an author and a psychic consultant who has worked over 500 homicides. She is presently appearing on NBC and Court TV's Psychic Detectives, as well as making frequent trips to Japan to film segments for an ongoing TV show for Nippon TV. Profiles of her work as a psychic have appeared in Redbook Magazine, Women's World, Woman's Day, US Weekend, TimeLife series Mysteries of the Unknown and Psychic Detective. Her anecdotes have appeared in Magical Souvenirs, More Hot Chocolate For The Mystical Soul and Chicken Soup For The Sport's Fan's Soul. Her first book Silent Witness: The Story Of A Psychic Detective was published in hardback by Carol Publishing, in paperback by St. Martin's Press. She is working on several projects, including My Father's Love, a collection of anecdotes about her mystical experiences with her father after his death in 1971, and a book about her life in Afghanistan called Two Years In Afghanistan. Visit her website. "Being a gifted storyteller will not guarantee a sale. Mastering the craft and not giving up will get you published."

EDEE WILCOX lives in a small town outside Winston-Salem, NC with her husband, two children and two cats. Her first novel If I’d Only Known... is available from Booklocker. It is a fictional story about a fifteen year old girl who loses her connection to God and makes some very poor decisions before finding Him again. Her second novel is coming out in June 2007 and being published by eWings-press. Her work can also be found at FictionAddiction where she has reviewed several Christian fiction titles for children as well as adults. She has been a Corporate trainer since 1991 where she has written numerous training manuals and procedures - though nothing nearly as fun as fiction! She also has a BS in Business Administration and an MBA. Visit her website! "Faith makes our prayer acceptable because it believes that either the prayer will be answered, or that something better will be given instead." -- Martin Luther