Meet the Authors 2025

*Elizabeth Ajamie-Boyer: TJ Boyer, the creative genius for the Mirror Gate Chronicles, and his wife, Elizabeth Ajamie-Boyer, have co-written several books in the Sci-Fantasy genre. They are from Phoenix, AZ. A writer in her own right, Elizabeth wrote a historical fiction series about the Underground Railroad and the Civil War, a biographical novel about her great-grandmother, and co-wrote with TJ, a murder mystery.

See MirrorgateChronicles.wordpress.com

*Tom Alberti: Tom is a 51-year resident of Arizona and has enjoyed riding his horses all over Arizona. He has written a seven-book series, ‘The Horseman.’ This series highlights the adventures and history of a young ranching couple and includes danger, romance, and historical background in the Arizona Territory.

Tom has also published a book of western short stories and two independent novels. Nine of his ten books take place in the Arizona Territory. Most of the horses written about in his ‘Horseman’ series are his own horses and the trails described in his books are actual trails he has ridden.

Find out more at TomAlbertiNovels.com

*Bart Ambrose: Born on an Arizona cotton farm, Bart grew up immersed in literature and music. After studying at Arizona State University, he worked as a natural resource conservationist across the western U.S. and Pacific Basin. Ambrose pursued music alongside his conservation career, performing in Arizona, California, and Nashville. Upon retiring, he moved to Nashville to focus on songwriting and teaching guitar. Now residing near Tucson, Arizona, Ambrose has channeled his diverse experiences into writing historical novels set in Arizona and a memoir about his musical journey. His passions include Southwestern haiku, travel, and the pursuit of the perfect chili relleno.

More information about Bart, his books, and his music is available on his website at  BartAmbrose.com

*Dale Arenson: Dale is an award-winning, bestselling memoirist whose books are as bold and gripping as his life story. A former high school dropout and member of the legendary Hangmen Motorcycle Club, Dale turned his life around to become a successful commercial airline captain. Later, he broke world records as a champion rifle shooter. His writing blends raw truth, adventure, and hard-won wisdom, captivating readers who crave authenticity. Now based in Clarkdale, Arizona, Dale spends his time riding his Harley through the high desert, writing, and reflecting on life’s big lessons—often with a nod to his favorite thinkers, like Hemingway and Marcus Aurelius.

Learn more at DaleArenson.com

*Bonnie Bahn: Animals, birds, and disabled children prompted Bonnie to write the Applevale Holidays series of books. Her goal is to encourage disabled children to think of themselves as heroes. There are four books – Christmas Alligator, Raccoon Rainbow, Moon Balls, and Saving Yankee and Doodle.

Her first middle grade book, Bumblefoot, Murder is For the Birds, is about a trio of teenage sleuths who enlist the help of telepathic screech owl to solve a murder. Fire Below Mystery Mountain was inspired by the beautiful area around Payson, Arizona, local children, and a very special Golden Eagle.

Info: bonniebahn.wordpress.com

*Bobbie Bennett: Bobbie’s book started as her personal survival journal, filled with tips like How to Answer Well-Meaning but Awkward Questions” and “The Art of Eating Ice Cream for Dinner Without Guilt.” Through three very different marriages—from a mob-connected husband to a man ten years her junior, and finally her perfect opposite (a methodical engineer who fell for a former GoGo dancer)—Bennet learned that love comes in unexpected packages. Widowhood: The Next Chapter…I’m still here. Now what? is a heartfelt and honest memoir and an essential guide for anyone trying to figure out life after losing someone they love.

*A.G. Billig: A.G. is a bestselling author, inspirational speaker, and personal growth coach who helps people unlock their fullest potential through the transformative power of love. Her contemporary novels take readers on emotionally rich journeys, exploring love, resilience, and self-discovery through complex, relatable characters. In her self-help books, she weaves together ancestral Transylvanian wisdom, personal insight, and expert training to offer a soulful, practical guide to healing, growth, and thriving in life and relationships. Whether on the page or the stage, A.G. empowers others to embrace their stories and step boldly into their truth.

Follow A.G. on Instagram

*K. A. Bledsoe: K. A.’s writing journey began at the age of six with a short story about kids growing up on a space station. Even through other jobs like scooping ice cream, shoe salesman, pharmacy tech, band director, and parenting, writing has been a constant.

Born, raised and still residing in Arizona, the author continues to pen stories in all genres despite the distraction of house cats underfoot and the occasional bobcat or roadrunner strolling through the backyard.

Find out more at KristiBledsoe.com

*Barchelle Bolger Wathen: Chelly, a Prescott resident, has always loved dogs, her own plus shelter dogs. Chelly’s world changed forever when she and her husband adopted a very special dog – Shayla from Ukraine. This remarkable shepherd/wolfdog, abandoned as a puppy, learned to love and trust those who raised her at the Christian orphanage Otchiy Dim (Father’s House), then came to America.

Chelly was inspired by Shayla’s life, the leaders and children of Father’s House, and the courage of the Ukrainian people. She wrote Shayla and Friends to share their true story, Into the Light for teens, and Shayla’s Adventure books to inspire kids with lessons of love and friendship.

Learn more at ShaylaAndFriends.com

*Timothy J. Boyer: TJ, the creative genius for the Mirror Gate Chronicles, and his wife, Elizabeth Ajamie-Boyer, have co-written several books in the Sci-Fantasy genre. They are from Phoenix, AZ. A writer in her own right, Elizabeth wrote a historical fiction series about the Underground Railroad and the Civil War, a biographical novel about her great-grandmother, and co-wrote with TJ, a murder mystery.

Find out more about the series at MirrorGateChronicle.wordpress.com

*Patricia L Brooks: Patricia is president/founder of Brooks Goldmann Publishing, LLC, and Scottsdale Society of Women Writers. She wrote/published three memoirs: Sick as My Secrets, Three Husbands and a Thousand Boyfriends and Gifts of Sisterhood – journey from grief to gratitude. Also published is Write the Memoir You’re Afraid to Write, a non-fiction book that came out in the fall of 2024.

She holds two business degrees, a BA and a MAOM degree. She is an adjunct faculty at Arizona State University, currently teaching memoir writing for the Piper Center for Creative Writing. She previously taught marketing and management classes for over ten years in the W. P. Carey School of Business.

Patricia lives in Scottsdale, AZ with her husband, author Earl L. Goldmann. They are partners in their publishing consulting business.

Find out more at BrooksGoldmannPublishing.com

*Susan Budavari: Susan has always been an avid mystery reader. After years as a scientific writer/editor and encyclopedist in the pharmaceutical industry in New Jersey, she moved to Arizona and began writing fiction. She writes the Merano & Bell Novel series featuring a small-town Arizona PI (and ex-NJ cop) and his physician wife. The Past Remains is the latest book in the series. She co-authored with Merle McCann, Beyond the Broken Door, 2020 Winner of the Anthology/Fiction Award, New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards. She has served as an advisor on the board of directors of Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter. Susan is currently working on a cozy mystery.

Learn more at susanbudavari.com

*Tam Chronin: Tam is a figment of the imagination, which might be why she lives there often enough to find her main characters and convince them to share their stories. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her family and pets, including a vicious attack tortoise who guards the backyard.

Find out more at TamChronin.com

*Jan Cleere: Award-winning writer, historian, and lecturer Jan Cleere is the author of six historical nonfiction books detailing the lives of early western pioneers. Her monthly column, “Western Women,” appears in Tucson’s Arizona Daily Star newspaper, and she is a presenter for the Arizona Humanities program Arizona Speaks. The Arizona Newspapers Association honored Jan for a series of historical profiles she wrote for Phoenix Woman Magazine, and the Nevada Women’s History Project named her to its Roll of Honor for her significant contribution in the preservation of Nevada women’s history. Her freelance articles appear in national and regional publications.

Learn more at JanCleere.com

*Connie Cockrell: A 20-year Air Force career, a manager at a computer operations company, wife, mother, sister and volunteer, provides a rich background for Connie Cockrell’s story-telling.

She writes about whatever comes into her head so her books could be in any genre. She’s published 20 books, has been included in five anthologies and been published on EveryDayStories.com and FrontierTales.com. Connie’s always on the lookout for a good story idea. Beware, you may be the next one.

If you’d like to know more, go to ConniesRandomThoughts.com or to Facebook.

*David Czaplicki: David wrote his first novel, Mars 185, the first part of his Mars Trilogy. His second novel, The Man in the Woods, is a story of new love, former love and lost love. He recently released his third novel, The Superstitions: Hidden Secrets, a fictional story that intersects with the many deaths and missing people who have explored the Superstition Mountains.

David Czaplicki is originally from Western New York and currently resides in Arizona at the base of the Superstition Mountains.

DMCzaplicki.wixsite.com/author

Chrisann Dawson: Beginning in 1991, Chrisann and her family lived in Congo for seven years doing mission work, providing her with first-hand insight into the setting and culture. They were there for the 1995 Ebola Outbreak that shocked the world and they experienced war, trauma, and the hardships of daily life. Chrisann speaks Lingala fluently.

Chrisann and her husband, Gale, have been married for 30 years. They have three grown children. Their second daughter was born in the Congo. Currently they live in Payson, Arizona where Chrisann works part-time with University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.

Learn more at www.ChrisannDawson.com

*JJ DeCola: Nothing’s Impossible is Korean War Veteran JJ DeCola’s autobiography. DeCola’s memoir speaks with motivation and inspiration for the American Dream. Relating the story of a life that spans more than nine decades DeCola’s message is that with faith and the right mindset, belief can be the ultimate weapon against failure. When you are faced with insurmountable obstacles, remember, nothing is impossible.

*Leonie Dobbins: Leonie was born in South Africa. Her family moved to the States more than 30 years ago. Her mother didn’t like to bake or cook. She was an artist, a musician, a gardener and she sewed all our clothes. So she and her sister taught themselves to bake using the Royal Baking Powder Book: “Anyone can Bake” (1929).

Leonie also loves to write, so it was a good combination to write a cookbook with recipes and stories. After her bakery, the Red Elephant Bakery Café, closed, she baked at the Mazatzal Casino and now at the Payson Senior Center for Meals on Wheels.

*C.K. Donnelly: As a kid, C.K. wrote stories under the covers with a flashlight. The award-winning journalist and self-described “unsuccessful quitter” released her first novel, Trine Rising, The Kinderra Saga: Book 1, in 2020. Since then, she has published two sequels, Trine Fallacy: Book 2 and Trine Revelation: Book 3, earning 18 literary awards for the fantasy series.

As a sought-after workshop leader and panel moderator, Donnelly resides in Arizona with her husband and little black dog. She no longer writes under the covers by flashlight. Usually.

Find out more at ckdonnelly.com

R. A. Douthitt: Former writing teacher, R. A. Douthitt is an award-winning author of many books for middle grade readers and adults in fiction and non-fiction. She is the winner of the Moonbeam Children’s Books Award-Bronze Medal for Best Book Series and First Place in the 2022 Christian Indie Awards in the YA category. She currently works for Grand Canyon University and lives in Phoenix with her husband Scott and their little dog. When she isn’t writing, Ruth loves to run, draw, paint, and garden.

Learn more at ArtByRuth.com

*Matthew O. Duncan: Matt is part of the resurgence of old-school sci-fi. His books are a mix of Military Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, and Mystery woven together with non-stop action. Matt started his writing career as a playwright, winning a number of awards and having his plays produced on local stages. He put his pen down in the late ’90s but picked it up again in 2011 with the support and encouragement of his wife, Carleesa. His first book, The Warrior’s Stone, recently won the 2024 International Impact Book Award for Scifi/Fantasy. He currently has 11 published books with more in the works. They are all available in print, eBooks, and audiobooks.

Learn more at MatthewODuncanBooks.com

*Sherry E. Engler: Sherry resides in Payson, AZ with her husband of forty-three years, Don, retired police chief of Payson. Inspired by her experiences of living with Don, her daughter and son, also law enforcement officers, Sherry recounts insightful and often humorous perspectives in her book, Living with LEO: Law Enforcement Officer. She is the author and illustrator of children’s books: Daisy Doo! Daisy Doo? What? Who?, Holden’s Magical Blue Marble, and Princess Dixie, Princess Ella & 7 Crazy Hens. She has been featured in Voyage Phoenix and Shoutout Arizona. Besides writing and being creative, she enjoys family time.

See more at SherryEngler.com

*Tim Ehrhardt: Tim is a real estate agent in Payson, Arizona. He has degrees in finance and management from Arizona State University. In his free time he enjoys hiking with his dog, playing trumpet, gardening, and sports.

He has written two books: Zane Grey’s Forgotten Ranch: Tales from the Boles Homestead, and Homesteads of Arizona’s Rim Country.

Diana Fisher: Diana is an award-winning author, award-winning illustrator, and award-winning artist. She has been authoring and illustrating how-to-draw books, and other artistic products, for over 20 years. She is an expert at breaking down drawing into simple steps anyone can follow. The hundreds of 5-star reviews her books have received are testament to her ability to reach and teach children. After many years working with traditional publishers, she has now formed her own publishing company, Peewee Picasso®.

Visit the Peewee Picasso website at PeeweePicasso.com.

*Suzanne Flaig: Suzanne is the author of the Missy Jenkins musical mystery series: Terror in Double Time, Death in 3/4 Time, Killing in Quarter Time, and Murder in Measured Time. The novels are set in central Pennsylvania, around 1979-80. She is currently seeking a publisher for her latest novel, Tradition and Turmoil, an Amish mystery set in Lancaster County, PA, under the pen name of Elizabeth Yoder. Her short stories have been published in several anthologies. She has also published two original short story collections, Thrilled to Death, and Deadly Droplets. Suzanne is a past president and current VP of the Desert Sleuths chapter of Sisters in Crime, a member of the Tucson and Triangle SinC chapters, and a member of Pennwriters and the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

For more information, see MissyJenkinsMysteries.com

*Ellen Foss: Ellen’s urge to write had started long before her first written word. Her mind created poems, short stories and looming characters for her future books. She moved from one place to another throughout the country during her formative years so you will find many of these memories intertwined throughout her writing.

Ellen writes in several genres. Her first and second book launched charismatic sleuth, Lawrence Donae’, who will be back again in her sixth book. She was once asked to write a story on a black woman and said, ‘Yes.” CeeCee Shades of Black was born. Readers love this book and the characters. Most say, ‘should be a movie.’

Learn more at EllenMFoss.com

Howard Gershkowitz: Howard lives in Arizona, though he hails from New York City. Journaling for more than forty years, he began submitting and publishing 12 years ago. To date, more than three dozen poems and eight short stories have appeared in print. His debut novel, The Operator, was published in 2018 by All Things That Matter Press. His second novel, Not on My Watch, was published in 2021, and book three, Special Delivery, is scheduled to be released later this year. Journeys to Authorship is an anthology of true stories by 14 authors outlining our varied journeys to becoming published.ter.com.

*Earl Goldmann: Earl launched Bounce Back in 2017 at age 82, and Intestinal Fortitude in 2022 at the age of 88. His third memoir to be out at age 90! Stay tuned.

Earl’s mantra is ‘you can keep going long after you think you can’t.’ His first memoir is the true story of one man’s journey to survive. His second is a powerful personal with his unflinching optimism during his search for identity through sports.

Earl played basketball and baseball at Oregon State University. He taught high school Social Studies and coached for over 25 years in Oregon. Today he is a partner/author at Brooks Goldmann Publishing.

www.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com

Rose Gonsoulin: Rose is an author of historical and contemporary fiction. Her latest novel, When the Grass is Rising, transports the reader into the early 1800’s with young Sam Houston as he runs away from home and lives among the Cherokee. The novel was named as a Notable Indie in the Shelf Unbound 2024 Best Indie Books. Her article “Exploring the Coleman Pamphlet in the Classroom” was published in the Spring 2025 issue of The Social Studies Texan.

She is active in the Arizona Historical Novel Society and is currently working on an epistolary novel set around the time of the War of 1812. When she isn’t writing she can be found digging in the dirt in the Fountain Hills Community Garden.

*David Gordon: Award winning writer David was a social studies teacher, principal, and is a founding owner of the Grand Canyon College Preparatory Academy in Tempe, Arizona. He grew up reading and watching science and historical fiction and is a big baseball fan. David has combined his various passions in the Jigsaw series, which focuses on time-traveling teens thrust into major historical events—many of which never made the standard history books. Born in New York, David now lives in Arizona with the love of his life, Gwyn. They are dog people, and enjoy travel and food—Italian, Asian, Middle Eastern and Indian cuisines in particular. David is also currently an Instructional Assistant at Roosevelt Elementary School in Mesa, Arizona, and a political writer for Blog for Arizona.

Learn more at DavidAlynGordon.com

*Maria J. Greenhalgh: Maria is a bilingual author, a lifelong learner, wife, and mother of two. She learned English at the age of ten, when her family immigrated to the United States. Maria fell in love with learning and credits her education for helping her find a career she loved, leading teams in the financial services sector.

Now her focus is on inspiring children to love learning, as well as appreciate and take care of the world we live in. Her bi-lingual books also encourage adults to value and love the uniqueness of each child. With her newest book, A Turtle’s Hero, she is hoping to inspire the youngest of readers to be advocates for marine life and for conservation.

See more at MariaJGreenhalgh.com

*Michelle Guerrero: Michelle wanted to grow up to be a mermaid and ride unicorns. She decided the next best thing to having fins was being a writer. She’s a mom of four who lives in a cabin in the woods with her husband and two youngest boys. She’s often spotted walking through the trees, surrounded by horses, pups, goats, and kids. Michelle’s degree is in journalism, but she writes anything from articles to books. She also makes coloring books, journals, Bigfoot stickers, and candy for her company, Faerie Tales & Treats. Michelle manages Payson’s only indie bookstore called Noley’s Books, Art & Whatnot.

Find out more at MichelleGuerrero.com

*Scott Harrington: Scott is a licensed general building contractor, a NAUI SCUBA dive master, and a black-belt Ninjutsu practitioner/instructor of more than 30 years, certified by the International Bujinkan. He also travels the world seeking adventure and knowledge. He incorporates all his experience, along with extensive research, into his novels to entertain and intrigue all who read them. His Trace Conner novels are Wet Work, Lethal Blossoms, Frost Giant, Last Breath and Mine Games. His newest novel is Makiko and the Kamikaze Blade, which features a female police officer first seen in Lethal Blossoms.

Find out more at ScottHarringtonBooks.com

*Robert Hershberger: Robert Hershberger, Ph.D., FAIA is a retired architect and educator living in Payson, Arizona. He received degrees from Stanford, U. of Utah and U. of Pennsylvania. He served as professor of architecture at ASU from 1969 – 88 and dean at UA from 1988 – 2022. He published many articles and two academic books: Architectural Programming by McGraw-Hill, 1999, and Predesign Planning by NCARB, 2019. His architectural work received over a dozen design awards. His paintings are exhibited online and at galleries and resorts in Arizona. He cared for his wife as she battled Alzheimer’s disease from 2010 to 2015. He and his wife, Sandra Carver, wrote and illustrated the recently published California Missions Sketch Book featured in this year’s Book Festival.

Go to HershbergerArtist.com or TheRimGallery.com to learn more.

*Richard Hinkie: Ric has been interviewing very successful executives with one key question in mind, “What did you do differently in your career that moved you forward faster and farther than your peers?” Six years of research into how senior executives took charge of their careers to be promoted ahead of their peers is the heart of this new book. Ric Hinkie has helped more than 400,000 people become more successful at work. His decade of research with senior officers of major organizations resulted in the Fast Forward Your Career. His book captures the career success principles that propelled these executives faster and higher than their peers in companies from Apple to Xcel Energy.

Learn more at RicHinkie.com

PJ Hultstrand: PJ is the author of 14 books. She has also been a book publisher, managing editor for two newspapers, senior graphics designer and is a digital publishing specialist for a 46-year-old education material publisher.

She is an author of Time-Travel Romance and New Adult Paranormal Fiction (aka Urban Fantasy). She also has an award-winning non-fiction, The Jungle Survival Guide to Media Kits for Authors, and a little duck series for children.

Find out more at PJHultstrand.com

*Karolyn Kearney: Karolyn’s writing journey began at age 12 when she won a citywide story contest about whom to invite to Thanksgiving Dinner. Since then, numerous magazines and newspapers have published her fiction and nonfiction. Years after discovering her love of writing, she went on to earn a Master of Arts in English & Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. And which guests did she invite to Thanksgiving dinner? Albert Einstein, Edgar Allan Poe, and of course, her grandpa.

Visit AuthorKarolynKearney.com

*Kathleen Kelly: Kathleen worked as a Registered Nurse specializing in Critical Care and Emergency Medicine for more than thirty years. Trained as a Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner, she worked with victims of violence. Kathleen is the Coordinator of Gila County Child Fatality Review for the Arizona Health Dept. She has studied extensively in alternative healing, embracing the richness of a holistic approach in her work as a medical intuitive. She believes her work lends the illuminating voice of each child after death.

Her short stories, penned in her journals over the years, celebrate the best in all of us.

Find out more at Myss.com/Profiles/Kathleen-Kelly

*Ben Kucenski: Ben is an up-and-coming writer from Mesa with a focus on equality and empowerment. His first book, Things Girls Are Allowed to Do, challenges traditional gender roles, asserting that girls can excel in any field, be it engineering, politics, or gaming. They are encouraged to be leaders, take on management roles, and be unapologetically ambitious. The book also reinforces the idea that girls have the right to be treated with respect, to voice their opinions, and to expect equality in all relationships, both personal and professional.

*Sharon Langdale: Sharon graduated from the University of San Bernardino, Ca. She eventually moved to the San Juan Mountains of Colorado for seven years. She built a restaurant and resort on the shores of Lake San Cristobal at 9200 ft elevation. She now resides in northern Arizona, and she has found the proximity of ancient Native American sites inspiring and recently joined the Arizona Archeological Society. Sharon loves mystery stories, and her novels, Vein of Justice and Maggie of the Ute Tribe are rich with research that bring the characters alive as she weaves fiction and fact into stories that are exciting and tense.

*Ivory LaNoue: Ivory is a respected angel communicator based in central Arizona. She’s the author of Let Your Angels Lead and Celestial Connections Angel Journal. Ivory is the host of The Angel Room, a podcast popular around the world. She teaches angel communications, does spiritual counseling and angelic healing.

Find out more at IvoryLaNoue.com

 

Betsy Love: Betsy Love: If Betsy had a horse, she’d be out riding. Instead, she writes small town, contemporary romances. Betsy Love has loved to write from the moment she could hold a pen and has been creating stories since she was in elementary school. In high school, her creative writing teacher told her one day she would be published. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor’s in secondary education/English. When not writing, she loves spending time with her children and grandchildren, so much so that she and her granddaughter wrote a picture book together.

You can find her online at BetsyLove.com

*Deborah Malone: Deborah was born and raised in Whittier, California. She has lived with her husband, Craig, in picturesque Prescott, Arizona for the past 25 years. Together, they have two amazing sons and a delightful daughter-in-law. In her free time, Deborah enjoys kayaking, photography, music, reading, and spending time with family. Ms. Malone taught preschool for 17 years and is very passionate about early literacy and fostering a lifelong love of reading in young children. She enjoys volunteering her time with the Imagination Library of the Prescott Area. Deborah has long dreamt of writing a children’s book of her own and is incredibly excited to share it with you.

*Krista Marson: Krista possesses a unique voice and an infectious curiosity. Her highly imaginative travel stories represent a fresh approach to memoir writing. Her tales are refreshingly uncommon, for she visits tucked-away places that few people ever visit. Krista is the author of a series of travel memoirs that offer a distinctive perspective on universal themes such as life, love, and loneliness. She has a deep passion for nature, art, ruins, and how the past influences the modern world. Her memoirs are not merely travel journals but visceral and introspective journeys into the mysterious self.

Learn more at KMarson.com

*Andy McKinney: Andy writes a movie review column for the local paper. A Gross of Zombies is his second non-fiction book after The Armed Forces of Iran. Both can be purchased on Amazon.com. These reviews of zombie movies will educate the reader as to which films are worthy of the time of the movie watcher. Some movies are just as good as any other, some watchable but not great, and some are absolute rubbish. Author Andy McKinney names names and tells it like it is. As he says about some zombie movies, “I watched this one so you won’t have to.”

Kathie McMahon: Kathie is the author of the humorous, award-winning chapter book series, Mortimer and Me, about eight-year-old Jimmy and a moose named Mortimer. Kathie taught elementary school for 32 years, where she composed several school musicals. She also collaborated on many youth theater musicals, receiving four ariZoni awards for Original Music Composition. She is a member of SCBWI and hosts the East Valley KidLit Mingles. Kathie lives in Gilbert, Arizona, where you won’t find any moose, but plenty of snakes, gila monsters, and mountain lions.

For the latest news involving the adventures with Jimmy and Mortimer, visit KathieMcMahon.com.

Ron Mealka: Ron served in the USAF as an aircraft mechanic during the Vietnam era. Upon discharge, he spent a few years as a 6th-grade schoolteacher and enjoyed challenging his students to be creative.

Many years ago, he scribbled down on paper an idea to write a children’s book and custom write and illustrate it only for his two small children, Jennifer and Jason. It was supposed to be a family book only, but then he realized that teachers and parents could use his book as a teaching tool. That is how Jason, Jennifer, and the Fun House came to be.

Follow Ron on Facebook.

R Gregg Miller: After twenty-five years of chasing the bad guys on the streets of Los Angeles, Gregg retired from the LAPD to chase his toddler around the house. Instead of dragging a war bag to the trunk of a police car every day, he began tossing a stroller and a diaper bag into his SUV for another “daddy and daughter adventure day.” Now, with his daughter working on her PhD, the aging street cop lives in the White Mountains. When he isn’t building furniture or strolling through the forest, he’s working on another exciting novel.

Learn more at GoodGuyPublishingHouse.com

Virginia Mohler: Virgina retired from teaching in June of 2020 and presently writes children’s books that inspire and encourage young minds as well as, history and humor for adults. Virginia writes a weekly blog on her website to inform and entertain. These funny stories and little-known historical facts are meant to encourage and uplift those of any age.

Virginia has taught students from Kindergarten through High School, but she found her love in the Kindergarten classroom where she taught for the last 35 years.

Find out more at VirginiaMohler.com Follow her on Facebook

*Tom Morrissey: Tom is a retired Chief Deputy US Marshal, lifetime martial artist, veteran of the US Army, musician, author, political leader and activist. He was born and raised in Brooklyn NY, to a blue-collar family, in a culturally diverse community. He loves to tell a good story about his dream of the return of this country’s founding principles, with power back to the people.

Follow Tom on Facebook.

Margaret C. Morse: Margaret writes about a lawyer with magic powers, a witch. In the most recent, Murder Hexes the Reunion, attorney Petra Rakowitz solves a murder to save her newly discovered birth mother from arrest. When characters can kill with magic, the ways to dispatch a victim dramatically increase. After 25 years as a Public Defender Margaret knows a lawyer can transform into a witch. She lives in Phoenix with her wonderful husband Duane and many mutts. If Margaret is not planning how to kill someone, she loves cooking, bird watching, and visiting stark landscapes.

Visit her at MargaretMorseAuthor.com

*Kassandra Mullan: Living among the cacti and coyotes in Arizona, Kassandra spends her free time writing. Besides entertaining her two Dobermans (that’s the breed you pick when you’re a cat person, right?), the author enjoys photography, hiking, traveling, music, visiting ghost towns and staying in haunted hotels.

Find out more at KassandraMullanAuthor.us2.authorhomepage.com

*R.L. Nelson: Randee Lee, professionally known as R.L. Nelson, has been writing stories as long as she could hold a pencil. What started as a childhood passion for storytelling, has become her lifelong passion. There is nothing Randee enjoys more than writing (and reading) stories that are heart wrenching, along with some humor and a hint of romance. When she’s not dreaming up new stories to tell, you can find Randee spending her time with family, playing video games, and painting, or binge-watching true crime dramas.

For more information visit her website AuthorRLNelson.com

Nikos Ligidakis: Award-winning author, Nikos Ligidakis, writes with clarity and passion in an ardent voice, not to just recount adventures, but with an expression of feelings, to encourage the reader to think, to find hope in the eternal struggle for the meaning of life and the awareness of harmony. Today Nikos devotes his life to coaching new authors encouraging and assisting them to write and publish their books.

Nikos has founded several charitable organizations with the most notable his Thanksgiving Project to Feed the Hungry, a program that provided food to tens of thousands during its 21-year run. His selfless work with people has earned him several humanitarian awards over the years.

Follow him at Facebook.

*Kathleen Osborne: Kathleen fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming a writer in 2019. Since then, she has released three science fiction/romance novels, King of Onus, Hidden Dragons, and Dream Brides.

Kathleen is the founder of Transcendent Authors, a group of authors that write anthologies. Their seventh anthology, Fate, was released February 2025. She is the President of the White Mountains Chapter of Arizona Professional Writers, an affiliate of the National Federal Press Women. She and her team of authors and volunteers put on their first writers conference and festival of books in the White Mountains in 2024.

More information about Kathleen can be found on her website: Kathleen-Osborne.com

*Pastor William OuYang: Pastor OuYang was a pastor in Missisauga, Ontario, Canada for 10 years and is currently a regular guest speaker at Glory Christian Church of San Diego. The church’s website has recordings of past messages. System Upon Systems in the Bible is available through many booksellers. It won a 5-star gold seal book award from Literary Titan.

*Glenda Sue Paradee: Born in California, Glenda moved to Arizona in the 1970’s. She got her certificate in Computer Programing in 1981. She was a computer programmer, a career she loved, for 30 years. She combined her love of photography and music to became a concert photographer. She created her company, Thanks For The Music, in 1993. She publishes an online music website at ThanksForTheMusic.com.

She is the author of two books, Tinkerbell, the Long-haired Chihuahua, and Taffy Travels Around the World to See What She Could Find. She lives in Gilbert, Arizona with her husband and in the summer months they live up at their cabin in the pines in Overgaard, Arizona.

Find out more at ThanksForTheMusic.com/shop

Jonathon Pembroke: A meteorologist in a former life, Jonathan now spends his days crafting a completely different type of made-up tales. His adult fantasy series include The Holly Sisters, Tales of Bleakwater, and Way of the Pathfinder, and his middle-grade fantasy series is called Protectors of Palladia. When not writing, Jonathan reads, gardens, and fiddles in his shop. He lives in northern Arizona with his wife Lisa.

See more at FlintHatchet.wordpress.com

*Yvonne J. Pettiford: Yvonne is an author, playwright, and educator and has taught elementary students for 30 years in the public school system. Not only is she an author of several children’s books, she enjoys reading mystery books to her students and desires children of all ages to have a love for reading and writing. Yvonne is also an ordained minister and lives in Arizona with her husband. In addition, she has been blessed with three children, now grown, as well as thirteen grandchildren.

Learn more at JoyJoyProductions.com

Barbara Renner: Barbara started writing children’s picture books when she retired from teaching. Inspired by nature, the stories in nine of her books revolve around wildlife main characters and include animal sounds and facts. Avid dog lovers, Barbara and her husband rescued a yellow lab mix, Larry, who became the subject of a photo book filled with feel-good messages as seen through the eyes of a dog. When not writing, Barbara can be found walking Larry, hiking the desert foothills, gardening, traveling, and occasionally attempting to play a round of golf.

Info: www.rennerwrites.com

*DL Roberts: By mid-July 2022, Darold Graves (DL Roberts) had published eight novels. At the close of 2024, he had seventeen unique novels across multiple genres and two national novel writing awards to his credit. Additionally, when COVID closed many activities, he completed the requirements for his Ph.D. in writing. When not writing, he teaches basic novel writing concepts to residents of West Valley retirement venues. At a time when most people his age slow down, he is putting finishing touches on an adventure novel for young adults. He also has a manuscript recently returned from his editor, ready to publish.

Find out more at BottleBrushBooksAZ.com

Robert Ronning: From Washington State, Robert had an early career in theatre, earning a Ph.D. in communication arts. He directed two plays Off Broadway: a comedy about George Bernard Shaw and a concert docudrama on Albert Einstein at Lincoln Center. He taught performance literature at City University of New York. His writing has appeared in local, regional, and national publications. He made a pivot to write about wildlife and conservation, including his adventure novel, Wild Call to Boulder Field. He and wife Kathleen Alden live in Tucson and summer in a cabin in Arizona’s White Mountains, just a few minutes daily dog walk from national forest and wildlife.

Find out more at RobertRonningAuthor.com

Hayley Rose: Hayley is a chocolate-loving writer and goat yoga enthusiast. The author of several successful children’s books, and an award-winning line of gratitude coloring journals, Hayley hopes to inspire a love of reading through education and humor.

Over the years Hayley has been invited to speak at bookstores including Barnes and Noble, Borders and Bookmans, and for the last few years Hayley has been a featured author at the Children’s Learning and Play Festival which garners crowds of 10,000 and up. Hayley has been interviewed on the Author Learning Center alongside authors Stan Lee and R.L. Stine.

Visit Hayley at HayleyRose.com or follow her on Facebook.

Jane Frances Ruby: Jane has authored two YA Arizona Adventures, The Azurite Encounter and its sequel, Voiceless Whispers. She’s also written several award-winning short works including Surviving the Catholic School from Hell, an essay describing abuse at her elementary school: Brutal Hackage, a sci-fi YA short story about an assassin drone terrorizing a local high school golf tournament: and Theories of Decay, a sci-fi thriller about media personalities gripping with crashing satellites.  Ruby also contributed to Toby Heathcotte’s Women Wronged, an award-winning essay compilation.

Ruby is currently compiling her short works for a 2024 publication.

Read more at ArizonaAuthors.org/members/Jane-Frances-Ruby

*M Ryan: M is an author local to the White Mountains of Arizona. Her first book—The Monster Hunter—debuted in August of 2023, and was quickly followed by the sequel—The Court of Monsters—the following October. When she is not hacking out a story furiously on her laptop, she can be found spending time with her husband, their animals, and family. M looks forward to releasing more projects and is always pleased to find young adults reading her books.

R.S. Scott: R.S. Scott hails from Canyon Diablo, AZ, born to a Navajo Christian preacher. As the last unruly sibling of 4 brothers and 3 sisters, he grew up herding sheep while armed with a rifle and a horse named Prince for company. He currently resides in Phoenix, AZ where he continues his education studying theoretical math and collecting vinyl records of jazz and blues greats of yore. As a self-professed geek, he expertly juggles school, work, and his love of writing and music while surviving on pub food, pizza, and the occasional binge on sushi.

He writes in Native American, paranormal, and thriller genres.

Find out more at Facebook and at AuthorRSSscott.com

Jody Sharpe: Award-winning author Jody’s loss of her daughter set her on a course to write books about angels. Her background teaching children with special needs inspired her to write her memoir. She’s written five novels in The Mystic Bay Series, a children’s book and now her first mystery.

Find out more at JodySharpe.com

Katrina Shawver: Karen is an author, lifelong history geek, and relentlessly curious about finding unknown stories. Her book, Henry: A Polish Swimmer’s True Story of Friendship from Auschwitz to America, about a Polish survivor of Auschwitz and Buchenwald, garnered many awards and reviews, and is now available in English, Polish, and Czech. The Polish American Congress of Arizona awarded Katrina their 2018 Polish Heritage Award. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where she can hike the nearby mountains any time she wants.

Find her at katrinashawver.com.

*Tina McAllister Smith: Tina is an author and technical trainer based in Arizona. By day, she designs instructional materials and teaches professional development; by night, she writes about reviving the Golden Rule for today’s audience.  Tina’s latest work, The Golden Rule Reset, offers practical guidance for living according to four foundational pillars: integrity, respect, courage, and kindness. She has also authored several children’s picture books exploring Golden Rule themes and collaborative works with her daughter, Teagan.

As a wife, mom, and grandmother, Tina brings real-life perspective to her writing, helping readers create better, happier lives through compassionate choices.

Find out more at TinaMcAllisterSmith.com

*Terrilyn Trejo: Terrilyn is a retired special education teacher from Arizona who lives with her husband, Vidal. She loves spending time with her friends and family, especially her grandchildren! She enjoys reading, crafting, party planning, RV camping, and traveling. Terrilyn’s desire to explore our beautifully diverse country, especially the desert Southwest; the wonderful memories of her beloved chihuahuas, Nacho and Lola; and her passion for children’s literature have led her to write her children’s books.

Find out more at Terrilyn-M-Trejo-author.square.site

Jim West: Author Jim West spent over 40 years in radio working up and down the dial in places like Indianapolis, Baltimore, Albuquerque, Tucson and Phoenix. He served on the Board of the Academy of Country music in Hollywood. Jim was a finalist for the Country Radio Hall of Fame in Nashville. He volunteers his time with the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame where he got the idea to document the early Arizona recording and rockabilly music scene in his book The Phoenix Sound. Jim also helped co-write the book Ray Odom, A Lifetime of Radio, Records & Racehorses.

Find out more at JimWestMedia.com

*Brenda Whiteside: Brenda is an award-winning author of romantic suspense, cozy mystery, and romance. She writes children’s books with her granddaughter under the names of Brenda Sue and Sadi Belle. She’s a born and bred Arizona native who sets her fictional stories in imaginary, but recognizable, Arizona locations. After marrying, she and her husband lived in six states and two countries, but a few years back they settled in Central Arizona. They admit to being gypsies at heart so won’t discount the possibility of another move. They share their home with a rescue dog named Amigo. While FDW fishes, Brenda writes.

Visit Brenda at BrendaWhiteside.com

Paula F. (Pfeiffer) Winskye: Paula, a North Dakota native, began writing stories about horses at age 12. She released her first novel in 2003 and published her 24th this year. The Reverend & the Writer is the 12th in her Tony Wagner mystery series. It also features the protagonist from her Randy McKay mysteries.