Meet the Authors

Heather Preece

Heather Preece is a wife, mother, school counselor, and adjunct professor of psychology. She has a passion for writing and sharing her experiences with motherhood, parenting children with disabilities, and mental health. Heather has presented her story and research at conferences and has had short stories published in various book anthologies including  More Inspirational Stories for Young Women and He Came For Me. In her spare time, Heather loves to memorize presidential facts with her three boys, read nonfiction and thrillers, try new exercise classes with her friends that she definitely does not have the skills for, meal prep food, talk about food, and eat all the food. She is on a quest to find the world’s best chocolate cake. Heather currently resides in Utah with her family.

Kylie Wang

Kylie Wang is a Taiwanese writer who grew up in Hong Kong and is currently a high school student in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her short works have received over 30 awards and publications, including recognition from YoungArts, the Scholastics Arts and Writing Award, Paper Lanterns, and Bluefire. Her co-authored Young Adult novel, “Stuck in Her Head,” is scheduled for release by Earnshaw Books on October 24. She is currently grappling with college applications, but in her limited spare time, you can find her editing her latest short story or attending meetings of the California Writers’ Club. You can also connect with her on Instagram @kyliewangwrites.
Website: https://twoteenauthors.com/kylie-wang/

Amilee Weaver Selfridge

If you don’t find Amilee’s nose in a book, wandering through a fictional universe; you will find her happily at home with her husband and two sons. Family is her first and favorite. A lover of all things books, her spare time is often spent reading and writing. Creating The Bad Day Book Series has been a dream come true. Anything to make people laugh and find more happiness in their lives. She also loves her time serving with a non-profit for other families (like hers) that deal with varying Special Needs and Disabilities.

Robert Runté, PhD

Robert Runté, PhD, is Senior Editor with EssentialEdits.ca. A former professor, he has won three Aurora Awards for his literary criticism and currently reviews for the Ottawa Review of Books. His own fiction has been published in over fifty venues, and several of his short stories have been reprinted in “best of” collections.  

Rosemary McKinley

Rosemary McKinley began writing to both entertain and inspire others. Her book, 101 Glimpses of the North Fork and Islands describes life in this agrarian area about one hundred years ago. Her short stories, essays and poems have been published online by the Visiting Nurse Association of Long Island and in Lucidity, LI Sounds, Clarity, Canvasli, Peconic Bay Shopper, Fate Magazine, Examination Anthology, Wormwood Press, Newsday, and The Poet’s Arts. The Wampum Exchange, takes us back to 1650 through the eyes of a settler’s son and a Corchaug boy.  Her third novel, Captain Henry Green, a whaler, showcases whaling life in Sag Harbor in the 1800’s through the early days until its waning.

www.rosemarymckinley.com

William Craft

William N. Craft is a former high school teacher who now splits his time between his small farm in Southern Illinois and a retirement place in the Ozarks of southern Missouri. He is a writer who just published his first book, “The Great Split” and has had articles published in several magazines. William lives with his wife of many years, Barbara, and has two grown sons.

A. C. Blake

Anne Catharine Blake, an accomplished author/illustrator, has delved into 80 diverse subjects across children’s books, short stories, poetry, and comics. Her illustrations have adorned galleries and museums globally, including New York, Paris, London, Toronto, Portland, Chicago, and Atlanta. Noteworthy institutions such as the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection, the Museum of American Illustration, and the Brooklyn Art Library proudly showcase her work. With an MA in Illustration from Syracuse University and an MFA from the Hartford Art School, Anne also shares her expertise as a visual storytelling professor at Sessions College of
Professional Design. She resides in Columbia, SC. Learn more at www.annecatharineblake.com.

Gary Koppel

Gary Koppel has been working as a writer/producer in the entertainment industry
for over 20 years. He has been published in a number of literary magazines and is
currently teaching memoir writing and storytelling to older adults with The City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks’ Wellness program. For more information, see his website:
Koppelconsulting.weebly.com

Victoria MacDonald

Victoria MacDonald is a retired elementary school teacher. Writing memoir is her current
passion. She has published a book about her challenging experiences with intergenerational addiction entitled Coming to Terms, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Friesen Press. On the lighter side, her short stories reflect her ability to laugh at herself. Her stories have been
published with Off Topic Publishing, Inscape Magazine 2022 (Editor’s Choice Award), and Zooanthology, 2022 compiled by Steve Carr. Her website is: www.victoriaemacdonald.com

Saul Greenblatt

The road to my future began when I was a teaching assistant at Emerson College, in Boston, where I taught Phonetics and public speaking. After graduating with an MS in Rhetoric and Public Address, I secured a teaching position at Greenfield Community College in Greenfield, MA. While I was learning how to teach, I acted in community theater plays. We (my accountant wife who is the brains of the family) started a family. We have two wonderful girls, from whom I have learned a great deal, and we have a brilliant grandson, who is our personal IT guy. Writing allows me to capture the ideas that are lurking in my imagination: love stories, sad stories, weird stories, creepy stories, horror stories that make me wonder where the idea came from, and humor. I like plays. Many of my stories could become plays.  The most difficult challenge was my father’s biography. Thus far, I have written approximately 220 stories (short stories, long stories, novellas, a biography, and plays.), thirty of which have been published, and two of which will soon be published. I am 85, and I believe that writing keeps my brain from solidifying. My Apple watch is now reminding me to get my old bones away from my computer and hobble around for a while. 

Teagan Durkin

Since she was a babbling baby, Teagan Rose Mary Durkin has been after books to read and stories to write. A published author with short stories in two anthologies, Teagan is a student at Franklin and Marshall College where she creates and edits for several campus publications. Growing up in Philadelphia, she is well-aware of what constitutes a good cheesesteak, and pained by poor imitations. Outside of pen and paper, Teagan also enjoys embroidery; all of her jeans now have sunflowers, poppies, and vines sprouting from the pockets. Teagan is happy that her humiliating hijinks and embarrassing endeavors have found a place in the Bad Day Book, and hopes that readers find the silver-linings in their own horrendous, treacherous, not-great, very beastly days. 

Instagram Link: @lighthouselullaby

Geary Smith

Geary Smith has been writing for children and young adults for over 35 years. His work has been published in such venues as Highlights for Children, Child Life, McGraw-Hill, ProQuest, Kids Imagination Train and many other publications. He won the Pewter Plate Award by Highlights for Children. Geary Smith is the Mayor of the city of Mexia, Texas, Vice President of the Executive Board of the Heart of Texas Council of Governments and Director of Region 9 of the Texas Municipal
League. Geary Smith has a B.S. in Psychology from Morehouse College and M.Ed. from Stephen F. Austin University.

Maggie Nerz Iribarne

Maggie Nerz Iribarne is 54, lives in Syracuse, NY, writes about witches, cleaning ladies, priests/nuns, struggling teachers, neighborhood ghosts, and other things. She keeps a portfolio of her published work at https://www.maggienerziribarne.com

Cheryl Anderson Davis

An avid history buff, Cheryl Anderson Davis lives south of Atlanta, Georgia on a picturesque country road complete with a neglected graveyard and an abandoned railroad. After she retired
from a local county government (where she honed her insight as to the strange behavior of the human species by supervising a busy Computer Center Help Desk), she subjected herself to more studies of strangeness by working in a law office. She and her husband have three children, four grandsons and a clowder of rescue cats.

Joyeeta N. Chowdhury

Joyeeta is a published author of contemporary fiction. She hails from Kolkata, India and her
characters shape themselves from the colourful experiences of her years. Mother to a daughter and a skillful dreamer/procrastinator, Joyeeta resides in sunny Singapore. She fancies her characters, loves and loathes them. Writing is her pride and joy; so is mothering her ten-year-old and working and teaching Literature. When she is not busy doing any of these, she daydreams about owning a beautiful garden, and traveling the world. Read her published work at:
 https://notionpress.com/read/the-sentenced

L. G. Reed

The writing bug bit L. G. Reed after winning a creative writing contest sponsored by The Detroit News in high school. She attended Michigan State University and California State University- Long Beach.  After two successful careers, one in advertising and the second in engineering, she left corporate America to focus on writing. Her first novel won the Cygnus Awards 1st Place for Women’s Fantasy/SciFi. Her second and third books are middle-grade novels. Reed lives on a ranch on the Central Coast of California where she writes fiction and poetry. Hobbies include gardening, photography, volunteering to help at wineries, and continually redecorating the house. Follow her at Authorlindareed.com

Marta A. Oppenheimer

Marta A Oppenheimer is a twice divorced woman searching for love in Miami, the land of palm trees, hurricane warnings, and Kim Kardashian lookalikes. In between dates, Marta is a published writer, graphic artist, spoken word performer, and a non-profit animal rescue group volunteer. Marta’s stories have appeared on Chicken Soup for the Soul, Miami Living Magazine, TrueHumor.com, Ariel Chart International Literary Journal, and performed on The Moth Miami StorySlam, Miami Book Fair, Lip Service Stories: True Stories Told Out Loud, Raw Storytelling: Live True Storytelling Show, and The Only in Miami Show on Jolt Radio. The short story, “Love in a Pumpkin”, became a short film and an Official Selection 2022 for the Havana Film Festival in New York City. You can read more about her romance perils at: thedatingdaysofmartao.com and on Facebook: @thedatingdaysofmartao but keep in mind that dating after 40 is for the brave. 

Larry Perkins

Larry Perkins has been a soap salesman, a rocket scientist, a race driver, a sailor, and a bronze sculptor.

For decades he’s been piling up memories of his adventures in many and varied pursuits. (Oddly, his degree is in Geology, about which he no longer remembers much of anything!)

Now in his 90’s, Larry relishes writing stories drawn from a long life in the “loony bin,” as he tends to call the world around us. His work is enhanced by guidance from his wife, award-winning author Petra Perkins.Somehow, Larry’s bad days have nearly always ended with an amusing or redeeming twist.

Lucy Giardino Cortese

LUCY GIARDINO CORTESE is a freelance writer and owner of Lucy’s Lines ‘N Lyrics. She co-authored Do You Know Me? Poems About the Sea, a children’s poetry and science book. Her articles are published on-line and in print in local, national and international media. The technical writing of her professional life evolved into more creative genres of poetry, short fiction and memoir. Lucy’s goal is to invoke the entire spectrum of human emotions in readers: longing to laughter, pain to promise, despair to discernment. A career spanning forty years included positions of special education teacher, school principal, district administrator, and executive director of Tree Hill Nature Center. In retirement, Lucy enjoys travel, reading, volunteering and beach combing with her grandchildren. Through her writing, Lucy fulfills her personal mission:
Each One, Teach One. Married to Mario Cortese and mother of two, she lives in Jacksonville
Beach, Florida.

Marrianne Brems

Marianne Brems is a writer of trade books, textbooks, short stories, and poetry. She has an MA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. She is the author of three poetry chapbooks: Sliver of Change (2020), Unsung Offerings (2021), and In Its Own Time (2023). Her poems have also appeared in literary journals including The Bluebird Word, Front Porch Review, Remington Review, and Green Ink Poetry. She lives, cycles, and swims in Northern California. Website: www.mariannebrems.com.

Vickie Goodwin

Vickie Goodwin lives in Douglas, Wyoming. She writes fiction and nonfiction stories and is currently working on a memoir. Her husband died of brain cancer in 2020. They had been married 51 years

Elizabeth Spencer Spragins

Elizabeth Spencer Spragins is a fiber artist, writer, and poet who taught in North Carolina community colleges for more than a decade before returning to her home state of Virginia. Her work has appeared in more than 100 journals and anthologies in 11 countries. She is the author of three original poetry collections: “Waltzing with Water” and “With No Bridle for the Breeze” (Shanti Arts Publishing) and “The Language of Bones” (Kelsay Books). www.elizabethspencerspragins.wordpress.com.

Chuck Gaston

Chuck Gaston is a retired engineer, scientist, professor and inventor, now focusing creative energies largely on writings that are not technical or pedagogical papers.  He and his wife have lived in six different states, and have visited all fifty, plus four other countries. In his writings, Chuck sometimes visits worlds that do not exist.

Marlene Devere

Now living in Tucson, Arizona, Marlene DeVere has lived in several regions of the country and in the Middle East; however, it has been the inner journey—explored through writing her
memoirs—that she finds most satisfying. Her multi-faceted career has been full of challenges starting as a 1 st grade teacher, a college instructor, a broadcast journalist and an advertising copywriter. She mostly spends her time reminiscing and writing, continuing her search in the attic of her mind for even more magical storylines.
She has been published in tiny essays, Lalitamba, Harpy Hybrid Review, Scarlet Leaf Review,
The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, Bright Flash Literary Review, Oddball Magazine,
Writing in A Woman’s Voice and Angels on Earth. She won the SOOP Curator 1st Place Humor and Entertainment Award in 2021 and was a Finalist in the Bellingham Review’s 2021 Annie
Dillard Award for Creative Nonfiction.

Marcia McGreevy Lewis

Marcia McGreevy Lewis (she/her) lives in Seattle and is a retired feature writer for a Washington newspaper. Literary Journals: F3LL Magazine, Life in Lit, Freshwater, redrosethorns journal/ Magazines: Saturday Evening Post, Idaho Magazine (2 articles), Today’s Christian Living, Third Act/ Travel Magazines: GO World (4 articles), ROVA/Books: Chicken Soup for the Soul. Reach her on Facebook and Instagram: marcialewis25, Twitter: @McGreevyLewis and Linkedin: marcia-lewis

Sheri White

Sheri White’s stories have been published in many anthologies, including an essay in the Notable Works for the HWA Mental Health Initiative, Flashes of Fantasy, published by Wicked Shadow Press, Tales from the Crust (edited by Max Booth III and David James Keaton), Halldark Holidays (edited by Gabino Iglesias), and The Horror Writers Association’s Don’t Turn Out the Lights (edited by Jonathan Maberry).
She can be found on Facebook and Twitter @sheriw1965

https://amazon.com/author/sheriwhite1965

Jill Baggett

I have always been fascinated with the written word and enjoy creative writing in all
its forms. Many of my 150+ published stories, articles and poems are based on real life
experiences. I also enjoy playwriting and seeing my words come to life on the stage. Fifteen of my
plays have been produced on stage, they have been performed in Sydney, Bathurst,
Dubbo and Mudgee in Australia and also Malaysia and Virginia USA. I have written manuals on diabetes used by the Health Department for adults and
children. Am currently presenting workshops on creative writing, editing manuscripts for friends, judging competitions, hosting the Krazy Korner page in FreeXpresSion
magazine and for 11 years The Ink Spot column in the Mudgee Guardian newspaper. Writing has lead to me receiving an Australia Day Arts Award, Mudgee Senior of the
Year Award and Distinguished Service Award from the Fellowship of Australian
Writers.

Kurt Lipschutz

Kurt Lipschutz is a poet, songwriter, and occasional literary journalist, primarily under the pen name klipschutz. He is the author, most recently, of Mr. Congeniality (2021). His first book. The Erection of Scaffolding for the Re-Painting of Heaven by the Lowest
Bidder, long out of print, is a collector’s item. He has also co-written a hundred songs
released by Chuck Prophet. Along with Jeremy Gaulke, he edited Four by Two. (A
complete set, 12 issues, of the handmade minimag resides in the Special Collections
Library at UC Berkeley.) Kurt lives in downtown San Francisco with Colette Jappy and
three cats.

Nuala McEvoy

Nuala McEvoy started writing poetry during the pandemic and hasn’t looked back. Her poetry has been published in Little Old Lady Comedy, Lighten Up Online, Funny Pearls, The Hooghly Review. Dark Winter Literary Magazine and Tap into Poetry.  She has provided Podcast readings for Eat The Storms and Coalition for Digital Narratives.

Nuala is of English/Irish descent, lives in Germany, but has made homes in Romania, Turkey, North Africa, and many cities in Spain over the years.  Her other interests include painting and learning languages.  She has two adult children who have flown the nest, meaning she has plenty of free time to pursue her hobbies.

Twitter @mcevoy_nuala

Kelly Douglas

Kelly Douglas has a passion for words and a lust for life. In 2016, she graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Law and Society, and she has since established her career as a content writer and editor. She has secured bylines on Thought Catalog, HelloGiggles, and POPSUGAR, and her work has also been featured on Yahoo!, MSN, and YourTango. Kelly is formerly a Contributor Editor for The Mighty, the world’s leading health community. She is currently a Santa Barbara-based freelance writer and a Senior Editor for Unwritten, a site dedicated to millennial life. When she’s not writing or editing, Kelly loves immersing herself in true crime shows, losing (and finding) herself in Taylor Swift songs, and trying to endear herself to every cat she meets.

Sunayna Pal

Sunayna Pal was born and raised in Mumbai, India, now calls Maryland home, where she resides with her family. She has made her literary mark with her debut poetry book, Refugees in Their Own Country (B&W Fountain), which explores the Partition of India. Her evocative poetry graces the pages of numerous esteemed international journals and anthologies, resonating with readers across the globe. Beyond her writing, Sunayna serves as the Director of The Poetry Academy and is dedicated to the practice of Heartfulness meditation. For a deeper insight into her work and journey, please visit sunaynapal.com.