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Writing is all about creating, communicating, and sharing. As a paid EPIC member, we invite you to share your website and writing credits with the writing community.
EPIC members below have given permission to be listed, along with some of their credits. We will be updating frequently. If you are an EPIC member and would like your name, website, and writing credits added to this list, please contact us.
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2019-20 EPIC BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Judith Works, President
Biography: Judith, a founding member of EPIC Group Writers, is the author of a memoir about living in Rome and working for the United Nations titled Coins in the Fountain. She enjoys writing flash fiction and travel stories, and is working on a novel set in Rome.
Published work: Coins in the Fountain as well as articles in My Edmonds News and Wanted in Rome and several pieces of flash fiction in literary journals.
Social Media: FB Author's page: judithworks author; Instagram: worksjudith; blog:Https://aLittleLightExercise.blogspot.com; website: judithworks.net
Laura Moe, VP Development & Writing Group leader
Biography: Author, radio host, and writing teacher Laura Moe spent most of her working life as a librarian and English teacher in central and Southeastern Ohio, but moved to Seattle where she writes full-time and is an active member of SCBWI.
Published work: Parallel Lines (Fat Cats, 2015); Breakfast with Neruda (Simon & Schuster/Merit Press, 2016) - named by the New York Public Library as one of the Best Books for Teens in 2016. She is owned by a spoiled white cat and is working on a sequel to Breakfast With Neruda.
Social Media: https://bookclubbabble.com/interviews/interview-with-ya-author-laura-moe-on-breakfast-with-neruda/;
http://laura-moe.blogspot.com/; http://www.blogtalkradio.com/authorsontheair/2016/08/03/jacquelyn-mitchards-summer-scribes-presents-author-laura-moe
Susan Frederick, VP Membership
Biography: Susan Frederick is an award winning writer who has published poems, short stories and essays, and is currently working on a novel set in Washington State. She is a native of Washington state and grew up in small logging towns in the foothills of Mt. Rainier. She lives in Kirkland, Washington and is a member of EPIC Group Writers, Hugo House, and Pacific Northwest Writers Association.
Published work: Rise & Shine, (publisher: Gather Here, an imprint of Homeostasis Press); Timber Town (publisher: Gather Here); Ghosted, Northwest Prime Time magazine.
Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanfrederickwriter/; Twitter: @SusanFrederic11
Mindy Halleck, Secretary and Writing Group Leader
Biography: Mindy Halleck is a writer, an award-winning author, and writing instructor. Her debut novel Return To Sender was voted in the top twenty Indie books of the year by Kirkus Review, it also received the ‘Readers’ Choice’ award - she has won writing contests including a Writer’s Digest fiction contest. Halleck is an active member of the Pacific Northwest writing community, and in addition to being a writer, she is a happily married, globe-trotting beachcomber, gardener, proud grandma, and three-time cancer survivor.
Published work: Return To Sender. Publisher, Better Life Press, available on Amazon
Social Media: www.MindyHalleck.com; Twitter: @MindyHalleck
Valerie Spasojevic, Treasurer
[awaiting biography]
Nicole 'Nicki' Chen, Board Member at Large
Biography: I'm a writer and blogger living in Edmonds. My first novel, Tiger Tail Soup, a Novel of China at War, was published in 2013. I'm working on a second novel. It's the story of an expat who lives in the Philippines and then in Vanuatu, a woman who has her heart set on having a baby. I'm a graduate of Seattle University, and I have an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Published work: Tiger Tail Soup, a novel of China at war.
Social Media: Website/Blog: www.nickichenwrites.com; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NickiChenAuthor/; Twitter: @NickiChenAuthor; Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8261760.
Paddy Eger, Board Member at Large
Biography: Paddy is the published author of both non fiction and fiction books and materials, a presenter, a speaker, a blogger and a traveler. Currently her interests include writing YA, early chapter books and memoir.
Published work: Award-winning books including a YA trilogy: 84 Ribbons, When the Music Stops-Dance On, Letters to Follow-A Dancer's Adventure; and Tasman-An Innocent Convict's Struggle for Freedom
Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paddyegerfictionauthor; Twitter: @paddyegerwriter; Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/paddyeger; Website: www.paddyeger.com; Blogs: www.paddyeger.com/blog/author
Vanessa Arpin, Board Member at Large
Biography: Vanessa Arpin has won several awards for her writing. In 2017, she won a scholarship to the Mendocino Writer’s Conference for her Young Adult submission, and her book was a top finalist in the Young Adult genre. In 2014, she was recognized by the Seattle Public Library for her poetry.
Social Media: Vanessaarpin.com
Laura Kemp, Board Member at Large
Biography: After retiring from a career in public safety in 2013 (where my writing was limited to producing rather uninspired training manuals) I finally have the time to pursue writing fiction. I am a member of PNWA, SCBWI, and EPIC Group Writers, as well as a founding member my Kitsap-based critique group, Sound Writers.
Social media: Gamblecreekstudio.com
Gerald Bigelow, EPIC Board Member at Large & Poetry Group leader
Published work: Poetry, poems published in Arizona 100 Years, Between the Lines, Memories Looking Through a Screen Door, Soundings from the Salish Sea: A Pacific Northwest Poetry Anthology.
Alison (Ali) Eden Ersfeld, EPIC Board Member at Large
Biography: Ali is obsessed with Meade notebooks; they are her dearest friends. She has been traveling with them, filling them, and excavating her wounds in them since the 80's. When she's not writing, she's teaching creative writing, mythology, and English at Meadowdale High school, or she's instructing a yoga class at Bindi Yoga in Lynnwood. Ali also facilitates yoga and writing workshops, combining these two deeply reflective practices.
Published work: Unmasked Magazine; EPIC Group Writers 2018 Contest Winner - 2nd Place Poetry
Cynthia Heckman, EPIC Board Member at Large
(awaiting biography)
Diane Naab, EPIC Board Member at Large
Biography: Diane Naab is an artist, former art gallery owner, world traveler, and published author, now living in the Seattle area.
Published work: Poetry and short stories published in four consecutive issues of the annual literary review, Inside Passages, in southeast Alaska.
# # #
2019-20 EPIC MEMBERS (in alphabetical order)
Catherine Alexander
Biography: A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, Catherine Alexander has published stories in 34 literary journals and anthologies. Her work has been aired on NPR and performed in LA Word Theatre. She has taught fiction at the University of Washington and Write on the Sound Conference (twice). Currently teaching privately in Seattle, she is shopping her novel, Dogs Don’t Cook.
Website: www.catherinealexander.net
Donna Anderson
Biography: Donna Lee Anderson wrote her first book (three pages) when she was six years old. (It is unpublished.) She wrote stories for her children’s and student’s birthdays and holidays, and memories of her childhood living in a logging camp during WWII. She’s published anthology stories, three adult novels, one book of short stories, and one non-fiction book.
Published work: Books: I'm Just Curious; Project Emily; One Sentence Stories (Anthology 1/2/3); The Mighty Pen (Anthology); Potluck of Short Stories (Romance, Mystery, Poems, Memories).
Roma Anjoy
(awaiting biography)
James Backstrom
Biography: James Backstrom grew up exploring the forests and mountains of the Pacific Northwest. His poems have appeared in Soundings on the Salish Sea, Spindrift, The English Journal, Poetry Seattle and other publications. He is also a proud charter member of EPIC Poetry Group that meets monthly in the Edmonds library. A long-time teacher in the Northshore School District, he and his wife raised their three children just north of Snohomish. Whenever he can get away, you’ll find him hiking the trails of the Cascades and Olympics.
Publications: Soundings on the Salish Sea (anthology), My Edmonds, Spindrift, Yours Truly, English Journal, Poetry Seattle, and other publications.
Website: https://sbnwhiker.blogspot.com/
Teresa Bain
(awaiting biography)
Nancy Bennett
(awaiting biography)
Alice K. Boatwright
Biography: Alice K. Boatwright's career as a writer about public health, education, and the arts has taken her around the world. She moved to the Seattle area from Paris in 2014. As a fiction writer, she has published dozens of stories in literary journals, as well as four books. She is best known for the award-winning Ellie Kent mysteries and currently serves as president for Puget Sound Sisters in Crime.
Published work: Sea, Sky, Islands (short stories) -- Noontime Books, 2019; What Child Is This? (Ellie Kent mystery #2) -- Cozy Cat Press, 2017; Under an English Heaven (Ellie Kent mystery #1) – Cozy Cat Press, 2014; Collateral Damage (linked novellas) – Standing Stone Books, 2012.
Social Media: Website: http://alicekboatwright.com; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alicekboatwright/; Twitter: aliceboatwright; Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6508508.
Natalie Boisseau
(awaiting biography)
Petra Bosse
Publications: Worlds of Deception
Diane Buckshnis
Biography: Former technical writer that crafted many classified papers, reports and technical manuals. I spent two years living in Lithuania post the Soviet Union assisting in stabilizing their banking system. Many letters penned regarding the "wild times" that I would like to publish. Love writers as they challenge and create a varied society.
Publications: http://www.thestory.org/stories/2008-10/bankers-brokers-and-bandits-soul-scandal; THE 21st CENTURY’S AIRPORT WEATHER REPORTING SYSTEM; publication date: Nov 23, 2002; publication description: Coastal Environmental Systems. Authors: Patrick Kelly, Diane Buckshnis, Gary Stringer, Eric Tseo, Michael Lydon, DeLyle Ellefson.
Jeanette Bushnell
Biography: Jeanette writes and her mom likes to read it. Jeanette would like to write more for her mom. Jeanette also teaches at UW and is a game developer with The N.D.N. Player Research Group. Currently Jeanette is attempting to develop futurism, fantasy, and science fiction from an indigenous philosophy perspective.
Sarah Cannon
Biography: Sarah Cannon was born in Seattle and raised in Seattle’s north-end neighborhoods. Sarah holds an MFA from Goddard College, where she received the Spirit of Goddard award and for whom she later helped launch the Lighthouse Writers' Conference and Retreat in Port Townsend, Washington.
Social Media: Website:https://cannonsarah.com/; Twitter: @sarahmecannon; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cannonmesarah; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmecannon/
Published work: New York Times, Salon.com, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Brainline.org, and Bitch Magazine. Her memoir The Shame of Losing was named a Finalist "Best Book" Award by American Book Fest: Family category.
Mark Chamberlain
Biography: I’ve been writing since my elementary days starting with my stories and poems for school projects. I continued to write and in high school I took a creative writing class where I learned various forms of writing styles including sonnets. Since college, I’ve continued writing stories, articles, and poems.
Published work: I Didn’t Know Who I Was—Korean Me; Timeless Voices—Autumn Days
Mark's Website: https://dioslebendigo.wixsite.com/thetechfoodieandmore
Kimberly Christensen
Biography: Kimberly Christensen never strays far from the written word, whether she’s penning fictional worlds, engrossed in a book, or hand-lettering protest signs. She lives with her husband, children, dog, 40,000 honeybees and a mischievous house rabbit in Seattle.
Published work: "Still Waters," a short story available as part of the anthology 2047: Short Stories From Our Common Future or at Modern Literature Magazine https://www.modernliterature.org/2018/02/08/still-waters-by-kimberly-christensen/. "The Goodluck Camera," a short story available as part of the anthology Nothing Is As It Was. "Attracting Songbirds," a short story available as part of the anthology Resurrection Trust.
Curtis Colbert
Biography: Curt Colbert is the author of the Jake Rossiter & Miss Jenkins mystery series, set in Seattle in the 1940's. He also edited Seattle Noir for Akashic Books. In addition, along with Waverly Fitzgerald, he co-wrote The Barking Detective series under the pen name Waverly Curtis. Curt is a member of Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime.
Published work: Rat City; Sayonaraville; Queer Street; Seattle Noir; Dial C for Chihuahua; Chihuahua Confidential; The Big Chihuahua; The Chihuahua Always Sniffs Twice; The Silence of the Chihuahuas.
Saskia Davis
(awaiting biography)
Susan Ferguson
Published work: "Lopez Island", Images of America Series; "An Impossible Life", screenplay; professional writing and editing experience
Maggie Fimia
(awaiting biography)
Daphne Ford
(awaiting biography)
Linda Forst
Biography: Capt. Linda Forst (ret) Ed.D is a retired police captain and since 2001 has been the director of the Criminal Justice program at Shoreline Community College. She holds a doctorate in Adult Education as well as a Masters in Community College Education and a Bachelors in Criminal Justice from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL.
Published work: Introduction to Policing (3rd through 9th editions) @2019 Cengage/Wadsworth; POLICE 1st and 2nd editions Cengage / Wadsworth; The Aging of America: A Handbook for Police Officers (2001) Charles C. Thomas Publishers. She has also written numerous magazine articles as well as essays / chapters for other textbooks.
Tom Frank
Biography: Tom Frank was born in Ohio; moved to Southern California at 12; played ball with the Brett brothers; BA in history and teaching credential from UC Santa Barbara; insurance underwriter turned software engineer; retired after 38 years writing code to try writing something completely different.
Published work: With D. W. Willard - Green Water Strategy - The New Paradigm in Modern Business; Sound Investigations: A Deadly Dive; Sound Investigations: Bullets, Bones, and Bodies.
Kathleen Glassburn
Biography: Kathleen Glassburn earned an MFA in Creative Writing with a fiction emphasis from Antioch University, Los Angeles. She is managing editor of The Writer's Workshop Review.
Published work: The Santa Fe Trilogy; Making It Work; Where Do Stories Come From?
Social Media: Website: www.kathleenglassburn.com; Facebook: www.facebook.com/Kathleen.glassburn; Goodreads:
www.goodreads.com/author/show/8915733.Kathleen_Glassburn
Kent Hargrave
(awaiting biography / publications)
Lora Hein
Biography: Lora is returning to writing in retirement. Her first focus is a memoir based on her two month journey to the Galápagos Islands in 1973 and the life lessons she learned there. Lora lives in Edmonds where she enjoys gardening and creative cooking as well as dancing and reading. She makes every effort to retain her connection to nature.
Amber Hill
(awaiting biography / publications)
Rita Ireland
Biography: Former Edmonds teacher, librarian, travel and grant writer who happens to love meeting with my fellow writers at Savvy Travel once a month. We are an honest and friendly group who love to play with words.
Kizzie Jones
Biography: Children’s author Kizzie Jones blends her love of dachshunds and her love of the ocean to create whimsical tall tales to delight readers of all ages. Kizzie makes her home in Edmonds with her beloved Thom and three dachshunds!
Published work: "How Dachshunds Came to Be" (2012); "A Tall Tale About a Dachshund & a Pelican" (2016); "A Tall Tale About Dachshunds in Costumes"(2019); "Writing in Place: Prose & Poetry from the Pacific Northwest" Anthology (2019); Northwest Prime Time, Chaplaincy Today, Military.com, and CHSSM Diakonie, and has been a first-place non-fiction winner for Write on the Sound with her piece titled, "The Waters of Compassion."
Social media: Website: https://www.kizziejones.com/; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kizziejonesauthor; Twitter:
https://twitter.com/kizeliz; Goodreads: https://www.go:odreads.com/author/show/6615823.Kizzie_Jones
Beth Keating
(awaiting biography)
Wendy Kendall
Biography: I'm writing a Cozy Mystery book series. I podcast author interviews on Kendall & Cooper Talk Mysteries on YouTube, iTunes. I teach writing workshops at Conferences including PNWA, Rivers of Ink, and Write in the Harbor.
Published work: I write a Recommended Reads column through the MyEdmondsNews, and also book reviews for Chanticleer.
Hank Landau
Biography: Hank and his family have lived in Woodway, WA since 1973. He is the founder of Landau Associates, a regional engineering firm. Since his retirement he has been active in human rights, environmental organizations and bicycling and kayaking adventures.
Published work: The Misadventures of a Cross-Country Kayaker, a true story describing the author's Quixotic voyage from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.
Bruce Lawson
Published work: A story in the Skagit Valley Writers Leagues anthology Tales for a Lazy Afternoon
Jean Lightburne
(awaiting biography)
Gloria MacKay
Published work: Aquillrelle, home office Brussels Belgium, has published four of my books, some poetry, some essays and stories. My book Just Words: Loosely Strung, was recently published by Aquillrelle.
Bill Mayer
(awaiting biography)
Marcia McLaughlin
Biography: Marcia has lived in the Seattle area since she was in her twenties. Presently she lives in Lake Forest Park with her partner, Beth. She has written both prose and poetry for many years now. At first, it was part of her healing and now is something that can be more public. She is retiring this summer from being a spiritual director and look forward to having more time to write. She has a a blog – and has good intentions of actually putting more on it! https://marciamclaughlin.blogspot.com/ She has had a couple of poems published in the online Shoreline Area News. She is a photographer and enjoys writing poems to go with the photographs – ekphrastic poetry.
Rebecca Meredith
Biography: I’m both a prose writer and a poet. My poetry has appeared in a number of journals and anthologies, and from 2011-2013 I was Redmond’s first poet laureate. My novel, The Last of the Pascagoula, was published in 2011 and its sequel, Look Up From the Water is upcoming. I was a founder of RASP, Redmond Association of Spokenword.
Published work: Novels: The Last of the Pascagoula; Look Up From the Water; Chapbook: Inter-generational Delta Blues. Poetry Publications: Calyx; Pontoon; Between Hours; Here, There and Everywhere; Limbs of the Pine, Peaks of the Range; Chrysanthemum.
Bobbi Miles
(awaiting biography)
Loraine Mill
(awaiting biography)
Erica Miner
Biography: Former Metropolitan Opera violinist ERICA MINER is now an award-winning author, screenwriter, arts writer and lecturer. Erica won the Fiction Prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards for her debut novel, Travels With My Lovers. She recently released Death by Opera, the second in her “Operatic Mystery” series.
Published work: Travels With My Lovers; FourEver Friends; Murder in the Pit; Death by Opera
Patti Mook
(awaiting biography)
Peter Moore
(awaiting biography)
Gretchen Murphy
Biography: Gretchen is a native of Seattle and has lived with her family in Bothell since 1976. She worked in healthcare and education. She retired in 2017 as Director of the Master’s program in Health Informatics and Health Information Management at the University of Washington. Gretchen has enjoyed writing and contributing to textbooks over many years and is now interested in exploring new writing experiences.
Published work: Poetry: In the Blink of an Eye, Northwest Prime Time, April 2019. Textbooks: Electronic Health Records - Changing the Vision, 1999; Systems Analysis and Computer Applications in Health Information Management, 1983; Medical Records in Health Information, 1979.
Vivian Murray
Published work: Little Bookshop in Venice, Shanghai Spirits
Wendy Ogden
(awaiting biography)
Olivia Pariset
Biography: I am a paralegal by day and a crime writer by night! I read wide and deep from PNW authors Gregg Olson, Robert Dugoni, Susan Wiggs to books on Neuroplasticity and Antifragile. My new Grace Cavanaugh Series is well underway. The Missing Piece will debut in 2020. String Theory is in process.
Publications: Cara's Place
Website: www.oliviapariset.com
Victoria 'Tori' Peters
Biography: Victoria is writing a memoir about her life raising four children in Africa and Asia. She is a retired teacher and is treasurer for EPIC Group Writers. In the past three years, she walked the Camino de Santiago by herself all the way to the to the Atlantic Ocean and trekked in the Andes to Choquequirao, Peru.
Published work: Travel articles in My Edmonds News; Contributor to True Stories - The Narrative Project, Volume 1 (2019).
Joanne Peterson
(awaiting biography)
Christine Pinto
Biography: Writer, teacher, writing coach and living history enthusiast. Teaching Oregon Trail history and historical fiction writing to fourth graders. Writing historical fiction and fantasy for children and young adults, and picture books. Helping kids and adults bring their stories to life through writing exercises and coaching.
Social Media: http://www.christinepintowrites.com/
Susan Pittman
Susan's website: https://www.susanpittmanwriter.com
Patricia Power
Biography: I am a semi-retired adjunct professor of religious studies for Arizona State University and the Maricopa Community College District. This means I teach online courses for these institutions from the comfort of my home, or better yet, the open patio in front of Starbucks in Mill Creek Town Center! I’ve been writing one thing or another for as long as I can remember. A few pieces have even been published. While I enjoy writing non-fiction, I am trying my hand at fiction these days. On the agenda: a murder mystery set in the fictitious community of Cedar Creek.
Published work: A first-person feature article on working with the homeless in Charisma magazine; “Seppuku,” in Religion and Violence: An Encyclopedia of Faith and Conflict from Antiquity to the Present; “Dar al-Islam community (New Mexico) in Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History; “Blurring the Boundaries: American Messianic Jews and Gentiles,” in Nova Religio.
Joe Rice, Writing Group leader
Biography: I am a retired educator now working to complete a memoir and another nonfiction book on Multiage Education. I also write poetry, short stories and educational articles. I'm also an avid of many genre and love to participate in writing groups. Never too old to learn.
Published work: Nongraded Multiage Education - A Resource Book, Edmonds School District Press 1990, 1992; Short stories published in others' collections:- Joseph Rice: Generations, edited by Darryl Teruya 2003; "One Way Out," The Greater Good,: Life Lessons from Hawai'i's Leaders, by Evan and Kari Leong 2008; "Untitled," Do It Anyway by Kent M. Keith 2003; "A survey and Analysis of Oral Reading Miscues Made By Mexican and Mexican American Migrants 1979; "Kupu Hou: To Sprout and Grow Anew," A white paper on the future of education presented to the Directors of Mid-Pacific Institute, Honolulu, Hawaii 2012.
Donna Rudiger
Biography: Donna Rudiger began writing during her adolescent years growing up in Pennsylvania. She migrated to the Pacific Northwest in 1974 to study wildlife photography and wilderness living. She is an award-winning poet, a recent graduate of the Institute for Children’s Literature, an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the Skagit Valley Writer’s League, the Seattle Storyteller’s Guild and the EPIC Group Writers of Edmonds. She is a retired technical writer and lives with the wildlife at her home in the woods of Arlington.
Regina Sadono
(awaiting biography)
Cliff Sanderlin
Biography: Cliff is working on his memoir.
Carol Sanford
Published work: Three award-winning non-fiction. The Responsible Business, The Responsible Entrepreneur with Wiley; The Regenerative Business, with Nicholas Brealey and soon to be released No More Feedback self-published. 3 Podcasts and Blogs. The Regenerative Business, The Responsible Capitalist, Business Second Opinion. Producer The Regenerative Summit. Faculty @ Universities in Europe and UW. Senior Fellow of Social Innovation at Babson College.
Social Media: Website: www.carolsanford.com; Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carolsanford2; Twitter: carolsanford
Courtenay Schurman
Biography: Traditionally published in adult non-fiction, I'm currently working on MG novels featuring active girls who love the outdoors. I was chosen through SCBWI to participate in their 6-month Mentorship Program. When I'm not writing or training clients for their outdoor adventures, I serve on the WOTS Steering Committee, volunteer with the giraffes at Woodland Park Zoo, shelve books at the Olympic Hills Elementary School, and prepare for upcoming overseas adventures including trips to Ireland as a chaperone for my daughter's high school marching band, and New Zealand.
Published works: Train to Climb Mt. Rainier or Any High Peak DVD (Body Results 2002); Chapter 4 (Conditioning) Freedom of the Hills (Mountaineers books) editions 7, 8, 9; The Outdoor Athlete (2009; Human Kinetics); Quarterly columnist Mountaineers Magazine (Seattle Mountaineers) 2014-current
Lia Shierk
(awaiting biography)
Char Sligar
(awaiting biography)
Curt Smith
Biography: Curt is retired from Verizon where he taught management classes and was an organization specialist. Now he’s a volunteer literacy tutor at Everett Community College and enjoys writing as a hobby. In November 2019, Curt published the novel Marco's Redemption, a timeless story of success, failure, and starting over. Curt has also published in various management journals such as Quality Digest, Manage Magazine, the Journal for Quality and Participation, and has also written articles for The Journal Newspapers and Northwest Primetime. His self-published books are listed on his author’s page athttps://www.amazon.com/Curt-Smith/e/B007N8JLF2 . Curt welcomes readers of his blog, The Writer’s Corner, at https://mochateaoh.wordpress.com.
Cindy Speer
Cindy Lynn Speer has loved telling stories her whole life — stories make the world make sense. Some of her favorite authors are Neil Gaiman, Barbara Hambly, Terry Pritchett, Lee Child, Craig Johnson, Patricia Briggs. When she’s not writing or reading, she can be found practicing historical fencing (decently), sewing (impatiently), and gardening (horribly.). She also loves tea. Tea is a good bribe.
Published works: Blue Moon; Unbalanced; The Chocolatier’s Wife; The Chocolatier’s Ghost; Wishes and Sorrows.
Valerie Stein
Biography: Valerie Stein is publisher at Homeostasis Press and Gather Here: History for Young People. She is an independent school librarian and is at work on a historical fiction novel set in Washington State and Washington, D.C.
Publications: The Best of It: A Journal of Life, Love, and Dying, Homeostasis Press, 2009. The Traveler, Soundings Review, Spring/Summer 2015
Craig Stewart
Biography: Craig is a co-founder of Memoir Tours, a 10-day memoir writing retreat in County Mayo, Ireland. When not in Ireland, he lives in Mill Creek and works behind the page as a ghostwriter, content creator, and copy editor. He's working on the second draft of his first novel -- a coming of age story set on the Oregon Coast. Playing mandolin and guitar, baking artisan bread and walking along the creek with his granddaughter rank high on the list of his favorite things.
Howard Tinsley
Biography: I am a retired university professor with extensive experience editing and publishing in psychological journals and books. I began to study creative writing in the early 1990 but until now have written only for personal pleasure. I have now begun two fiction novels I hope to publish when completed.
Published work: Tinsley, H. E. A., Lease, S. H., & Wiersma, N. S. G. (Eds.). (2016). Contemporary theory and practice in counseling and psychotherapy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; Tinsley, H. E. A., & Lease, S. H. (Eds.). (2008). Encyclopedia of counseling, Volume 2: Personal counseling and mental health problems. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; Tinsley, H. E. A., & Brown, S.D. (Eds.). (2000). Handbook of applied multivariate statistics and mathematical modeling. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Social Media: I am on both Goodreads and LibraryThing but participate primarily on the latter. My LibraryThing profile can be found at: librarything.com/profile/Tatoosh
Tony Torzillo
Biography: I’m a science fiction writer who likes to explore the boundaries of scientific possibilities and their implications on society.
Publications: Finished a novel that I am querying, have a second work in progress.
Kim Votry
Biography: Kim is an educator and editor currently working at the University of Washington as a professional development trainer. She has provided both developmental and proofreading editing services on over 80 book projects, and is a past board member of EPIC.
Published work: Baby's First Signs; More Baby's First Signs; A Book of Colors; Out For a Walk; and My Own Magic.
Social media: Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/346474.Kim_Votry; Twitter: @kimvotry; Facebook: My Own Magic, by Kim Votry
Dorothy Van Soest
Biography: Dorothy Van Soest, is an educator, activist and author with a publication record of eleven books, including three novels, Just Mercy (2014), At the Center (2016), and Death, Unchartered (2018).
Published work: Just Mercy (2014); At the Center (2016); Death, Unchartered (2018)
Social media: Website: https://www.dorothyvansoest.com; Facebook: https://www.facebookcom/dorothyauthor; Twitter: https://twitter.com/dorothyjvs; Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/769770.Dorothy-Van-Soest
Carol Vein
(awaiting biography)
Sandra Walker
(awaiting biography)
Naomi Wark
Biography: Naomi Wark lives with her husband on Camano Island. She loves the natural beauty of living near Puget Sound where she enjoys long strolls along the water and exploring the many beaches of the island. When not writing, she is active in several volunteer efforts including the Stanwood Camano Food Bank. She loves spending time with family, a theme in her novels. To quote Archbishop Desmond Tutu, “You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.” It is up to each of us how we choose to view the gift of family which we have been given."
Wildflowers in Winter is her first novel. A prequel to Wildflowers in Winter, Songs of Spring, takes place in the Seattle and Puget Sound area during the quick-changing period of 1902 thru 1925, and is planned for release in late 2020.
Ingrid Wolsk
Biography: I was born in New York City and from childhood on I wrote poems and illustrated them,along with writing very short stories. As an adult I lived abroad for ten years working both in and out of the arts and theater world. I feel so privileged now to have the time to write, which is my true passion, and now finally am published.
Publications: 'A Screech of Warning' a flash fiction piece on Amazon Kindle. 'The Secret of Anja' a novel, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. For the moment it appears only as an eBook since it takes 2-3 weeks to get it to appear as a print version.
Bill Wood
[awaiting biography]
Leslye Wood
[awaiting biography]
Judith Works, President
Biography: Judith, a founding member of EPIC Group Writers, is the author of a memoir about living in Rome and working for the United Nations titled Coins in the Fountain. She enjoys writing flash fiction and travel stories, and is working on a novel set in Rome.
Published work: Coins in the Fountain as well as articles in My Edmonds News and Wanted in Rome and several pieces of flash fiction in literary journals.
Social Media: FB Author's page: judithworks author; Instagram: worksjudith; blog:Https://aLittleLightExercise.blogspot.com; website: judithworks.net
Laura Moe, VP Development & Writing Group leader
Biography: Author, radio host, and writing teacher Laura Moe spent most of her working life as a librarian and English teacher in central and Southeastern Ohio, but moved to Seattle where she writes full-time and is an active member of SCBWI.
Published work: Parallel Lines (Fat Cats, 2015); Breakfast with Neruda (Simon & Schuster/Merit Press, 2016) - named by the New York Public Library as one of the Best Books for Teens in 2016. She is owned by a spoiled white cat and is working on a sequel to Breakfast With Neruda.
Social Media: https://bookclubbabble.com/interviews/interview-with-ya-author-laura-moe-on-breakfast-with-neruda/;
http://laura-moe.blogspot.com/; http://www.blogtalkradio.com/authorsontheair/2016/08/03/jacquelyn-mitchards-summer-scribes-presents-author-laura-moe
Susan Frederick, VP Membership
Biography: Susan Frederick is an award winning writer who has published poems, short stories and essays, and is currently working on a novel set in Washington State. She is a native of Washington state and grew up in small logging towns in the foothills of Mt. Rainier. She lives in Kirkland, Washington and is a member of EPIC Group Writers, Hugo House, and Pacific Northwest Writers Association.
Published work: Rise & Shine, (publisher: Gather Here, an imprint of Homeostasis Press); Timber Town (publisher: Gather Here); Ghosted, Northwest Prime Time magazine.
Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanfrederickwriter/; Twitter: @SusanFrederic11
Mindy Halleck, Secretary and Writing Group Leader
Biography: Mindy Halleck is a writer, an award-winning author, and writing instructor. Her debut novel Return To Sender was voted in the top twenty Indie books of the year by Kirkus Review, it also received the ‘Readers’ Choice’ award - she has won writing contests including a Writer’s Digest fiction contest. Halleck is an active member of the Pacific Northwest writing community, and in addition to being a writer, she is a happily married, globe-trotting beachcomber, gardener, proud grandma, and three-time cancer survivor.
Published work: Return To Sender. Publisher, Better Life Press, available on Amazon
Social Media: www.MindyHalleck.com; Twitter: @MindyHalleck
Valerie Spasojevic, Treasurer
[awaiting biography]
Nicole 'Nicki' Chen, Board Member at Large
Biography: I'm a writer and blogger living in Edmonds. My first novel, Tiger Tail Soup, a Novel of China at War, was published in 2013. I'm working on a second novel. It's the story of an expat who lives in the Philippines and then in Vanuatu, a woman who has her heart set on having a baby. I'm a graduate of Seattle University, and I have an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Published work: Tiger Tail Soup, a novel of China at war.
Social Media: Website/Blog: www.nickichenwrites.com; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NickiChenAuthor/; Twitter: @NickiChenAuthor; Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8261760.
Paddy Eger, Board Member at Large
Biography: Paddy is the published author of both non fiction and fiction books and materials, a presenter, a speaker, a blogger and a traveler. Currently her interests include writing YA, early chapter books and memoir.
Published work: Award-winning books including a YA trilogy: 84 Ribbons, When the Music Stops-Dance On, Letters to Follow-A Dancer's Adventure; and Tasman-An Innocent Convict's Struggle for Freedom
Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paddyegerfictionauthor; Twitter: @paddyegerwriter; Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/paddyeger; Website: www.paddyeger.com; Blogs: www.paddyeger.com/blog/author
Vanessa Arpin, Board Member at Large
Biography: Vanessa Arpin has won several awards for her writing. In 2017, she won a scholarship to the Mendocino Writer’s Conference for her Young Adult submission, and her book was a top finalist in the Young Adult genre. In 2014, she was recognized by the Seattle Public Library for her poetry.
Social Media: Vanessaarpin.com
Laura Kemp, Board Member at Large
Biography: After retiring from a career in public safety in 2013 (where my writing was limited to producing rather uninspired training manuals) I finally have the time to pursue writing fiction. I am a member of PNWA, SCBWI, and EPIC Group Writers, as well as a founding member my Kitsap-based critique group, Sound Writers.
Social media: Gamblecreekstudio.com
Gerald Bigelow, EPIC Board Member at Large & Poetry Group leader
Published work: Poetry, poems published in Arizona 100 Years, Between the Lines, Memories Looking Through a Screen Door, Soundings from the Salish Sea: A Pacific Northwest Poetry Anthology.
Alison (Ali) Eden Ersfeld, EPIC Board Member at Large
Biography: Ali is obsessed with Meade notebooks; they are her dearest friends. She has been traveling with them, filling them, and excavating her wounds in them since the 80's. When she's not writing, she's teaching creative writing, mythology, and English at Meadowdale High school, or she's instructing a yoga class at Bindi Yoga in Lynnwood. Ali also facilitates yoga and writing workshops, combining these two deeply reflective practices.
Published work: Unmasked Magazine; EPIC Group Writers 2018 Contest Winner - 2nd Place Poetry
Cynthia Heckman, EPIC Board Member at Large
(awaiting biography)
Diane Naab, EPIC Board Member at Large
Biography: Diane Naab is an artist, former art gallery owner, world traveler, and published author, now living in the Seattle area.
Published work: Poetry and short stories published in four consecutive issues of the annual literary review, Inside Passages, in southeast Alaska.
# # #
2019-20 EPIC MEMBERS (in alphabetical order)
Catherine Alexander
Biography: A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, Catherine Alexander has published stories in 34 literary journals and anthologies. Her work has been aired on NPR and performed in LA Word Theatre. She has taught fiction at the University of Washington and Write on the Sound Conference (twice). Currently teaching privately in Seattle, she is shopping her novel, Dogs Don’t Cook.
Website: www.catherinealexander.net
Donna Anderson
Biography: Donna Lee Anderson wrote her first book (three pages) when she was six years old. (It is unpublished.) She wrote stories for her children’s and student’s birthdays and holidays, and memories of her childhood living in a logging camp during WWII. She’s published anthology stories, three adult novels, one book of short stories, and one non-fiction book.
Published work: Books: I'm Just Curious; Project Emily; One Sentence Stories (Anthology 1/2/3); The Mighty Pen (Anthology); Potluck of Short Stories (Romance, Mystery, Poems, Memories).
Roma Anjoy
(awaiting biography)
James Backstrom
Biography: James Backstrom grew up exploring the forests and mountains of the Pacific Northwest. His poems have appeared in Soundings on the Salish Sea, Spindrift, The English Journal, Poetry Seattle and other publications. He is also a proud charter member of EPIC Poetry Group that meets monthly in the Edmonds library. A long-time teacher in the Northshore School District, he and his wife raised their three children just north of Snohomish. Whenever he can get away, you’ll find him hiking the trails of the Cascades and Olympics.
Publications: Soundings on the Salish Sea (anthology), My Edmonds, Spindrift, Yours Truly, English Journal, Poetry Seattle, and other publications.
Website: https://sbnwhiker.blogspot.com/
Teresa Bain
(awaiting biography)
Nancy Bennett
(awaiting biography)
Alice K. Boatwright
Biography: Alice K. Boatwright's career as a writer about public health, education, and the arts has taken her around the world. She moved to the Seattle area from Paris in 2014. As a fiction writer, she has published dozens of stories in literary journals, as well as four books. She is best known for the award-winning Ellie Kent mysteries and currently serves as president for Puget Sound Sisters in Crime.
Published work: Sea, Sky, Islands (short stories) -- Noontime Books, 2019; What Child Is This? (Ellie Kent mystery #2) -- Cozy Cat Press, 2017; Under an English Heaven (Ellie Kent mystery #1) – Cozy Cat Press, 2014; Collateral Damage (linked novellas) – Standing Stone Books, 2012.
Social Media: Website: http://alicekboatwright.com; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alicekboatwright/; Twitter: aliceboatwright; Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6508508.
Natalie Boisseau
(awaiting biography)
Petra Bosse
Publications: Worlds of Deception
Diane Buckshnis
Biography: Former technical writer that crafted many classified papers, reports and technical manuals. I spent two years living in Lithuania post the Soviet Union assisting in stabilizing their banking system. Many letters penned regarding the "wild times" that I would like to publish. Love writers as they challenge and create a varied society.
Publications: http://www.thestory.org/stories/2008-10/bankers-brokers-and-bandits-soul-scandal; THE 21st CENTURY’S AIRPORT WEATHER REPORTING SYSTEM; publication date: Nov 23, 2002; publication description: Coastal Environmental Systems. Authors: Patrick Kelly, Diane Buckshnis, Gary Stringer, Eric Tseo, Michael Lydon, DeLyle Ellefson.
Jeanette Bushnell
Biography: Jeanette writes and her mom likes to read it. Jeanette would like to write more for her mom. Jeanette also teaches at UW and is a game developer with The N.D.N. Player Research Group. Currently Jeanette is attempting to develop futurism, fantasy, and science fiction from an indigenous philosophy perspective.
Sarah Cannon
Biography: Sarah Cannon was born in Seattle and raised in Seattle’s north-end neighborhoods. Sarah holds an MFA from Goddard College, where she received the Spirit of Goddard award and for whom she later helped launch the Lighthouse Writers' Conference and Retreat in Port Townsend, Washington.
Social Media: Website:https://cannonsarah.com/; Twitter: @sarahmecannon; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cannonmesarah; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmecannon/
Published work: New York Times, Salon.com, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Brainline.org, and Bitch Magazine. Her memoir The Shame of Losing was named a Finalist "Best Book" Award by American Book Fest: Family category.
Mark Chamberlain
Biography: I’ve been writing since my elementary days starting with my stories and poems for school projects. I continued to write and in high school I took a creative writing class where I learned various forms of writing styles including sonnets. Since college, I’ve continued writing stories, articles, and poems.
Published work: I Didn’t Know Who I Was—Korean Me; Timeless Voices—Autumn Days
Mark's Website: https://dioslebendigo.wixsite.com/thetechfoodieandmore
Kimberly Christensen
Biography: Kimberly Christensen never strays far from the written word, whether she’s penning fictional worlds, engrossed in a book, or hand-lettering protest signs. She lives with her husband, children, dog, 40,000 honeybees and a mischievous house rabbit in Seattle.
Published work: "Still Waters," a short story available as part of the anthology 2047: Short Stories From Our Common Future or at Modern Literature Magazine https://www.modernliterature.org/2018/02/08/still-waters-by-kimberly-christensen/. "The Goodluck Camera," a short story available as part of the anthology Nothing Is As It Was. "Attracting Songbirds," a short story available as part of the anthology Resurrection Trust.
Curtis Colbert
Biography: Curt Colbert is the author of the Jake Rossiter & Miss Jenkins mystery series, set in Seattle in the 1940's. He also edited Seattle Noir for Akashic Books. In addition, along with Waverly Fitzgerald, he co-wrote The Barking Detective series under the pen name Waverly Curtis. Curt is a member of Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime.
Published work: Rat City; Sayonaraville; Queer Street; Seattle Noir; Dial C for Chihuahua; Chihuahua Confidential; The Big Chihuahua; The Chihuahua Always Sniffs Twice; The Silence of the Chihuahuas.
Saskia Davis
(awaiting biography)
Susan Ferguson
Published work: "Lopez Island", Images of America Series; "An Impossible Life", screenplay; professional writing and editing experience
Maggie Fimia
(awaiting biography)
Daphne Ford
(awaiting biography)
Linda Forst
Biography: Capt. Linda Forst (ret) Ed.D is a retired police captain and since 2001 has been the director of the Criminal Justice program at Shoreline Community College. She holds a doctorate in Adult Education as well as a Masters in Community College Education and a Bachelors in Criminal Justice from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL.
Published work: Introduction to Policing (3rd through 9th editions) @2019 Cengage/Wadsworth; POLICE 1st and 2nd editions Cengage / Wadsworth; The Aging of America: A Handbook for Police Officers (2001) Charles C. Thomas Publishers. She has also written numerous magazine articles as well as essays / chapters for other textbooks.
Tom Frank
Biography: Tom Frank was born in Ohio; moved to Southern California at 12; played ball with the Brett brothers; BA in history and teaching credential from UC Santa Barbara; insurance underwriter turned software engineer; retired after 38 years writing code to try writing something completely different.
Published work: With D. W. Willard - Green Water Strategy - The New Paradigm in Modern Business; Sound Investigations: A Deadly Dive; Sound Investigations: Bullets, Bones, and Bodies.
Kathleen Glassburn
Biography: Kathleen Glassburn earned an MFA in Creative Writing with a fiction emphasis from Antioch University, Los Angeles. She is managing editor of The Writer's Workshop Review.
Published work: The Santa Fe Trilogy; Making It Work; Where Do Stories Come From?
Social Media: Website: www.kathleenglassburn.com; Facebook: www.facebook.com/Kathleen.glassburn; Goodreads:
www.goodreads.com/author/show/8915733.Kathleen_Glassburn
Kent Hargrave
(awaiting biography / publications)
Lora Hein
Biography: Lora is returning to writing in retirement. Her first focus is a memoir based on her two month journey to the Galápagos Islands in 1973 and the life lessons she learned there. Lora lives in Edmonds where she enjoys gardening and creative cooking as well as dancing and reading. She makes every effort to retain her connection to nature.
Amber Hill
(awaiting biography / publications)
Rita Ireland
Biography: Former Edmonds teacher, librarian, travel and grant writer who happens to love meeting with my fellow writers at Savvy Travel once a month. We are an honest and friendly group who love to play with words.
Kizzie Jones
Biography: Children’s author Kizzie Jones blends her love of dachshunds and her love of the ocean to create whimsical tall tales to delight readers of all ages. Kizzie makes her home in Edmonds with her beloved Thom and three dachshunds!
Published work: "How Dachshunds Came to Be" (2012); "A Tall Tale About a Dachshund & a Pelican" (2016); "A Tall Tale About Dachshunds in Costumes"(2019); "Writing in Place: Prose & Poetry from the Pacific Northwest" Anthology (2019); Northwest Prime Time, Chaplaincy Today, Military.com, and CHSSM Diakonie, and has been a first-place non-fiction winner for Write on the Sound with her piece titled, "The Waters of Compassion."
Social media: Website: https://www.kizziejones.com/; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kizziejonesauthor; Twitter:
https://twitter.com/kizeliz; Goodreads: https://www.go:odreads.com/author/show/6615823.Kizzie_Jones
Beth Keating
(awaiting biography)
Wendy Kendall
Biography: I'm writing a Cozy Mystery book series. I podcast author interviews on Kendall & Cooper Talk Mysteries on YouTube, iTunes. I teach writing workshops at Conferences including PNWA, Rivers of Ink, and Write in the Harbor.
Published work: I write a Recommended Reads column through the MyEdmondsNews, and also book reviews for Chanticleer.
Hank Landau
Biography: Hank and his family have lived in Woodway, WA since 1973. He is the founder of Landau Associates, a regional engineering firm. Since his retirement he has been active in human rights, environmental organizations and bicycling and kayaking adventures.
Published work: The Misadventures of a Cross-Country Kayaker, a true story describing the author's Quixotic voyage from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.
Bruce Lawson
Published work: A story in the Skagit Valley Writers Leagues anthology Tales for a Lazy Afternoon
Jean Lightburne
(awaiting biography)
Gloria MacKay
Published work: Aquillrelle, home office Brussels Belgium, has published four of my books, some poetry, some essays and stories. My book Just Words: Loosely Strung, was recently published by Aquillrelle.
Bill Mayer
(awaiting biography)
Marcia McLaughlin
Biography: Marcia has lived in the Seattle area since she was in her twenties. Presently she lives in Lake Forest Park with her partner, Beth. She has written both prose and poetry for many years now. At first, it was part of her healing and now is something that can be more public. She is retiring this summer from being a spiritual director and look forward to having more time to write. She has a a blog – and has good intentions of actually putting more on it! https://marciamclaughlin.blogspot.com/ She has had a couple of poems published in the online Shoreline Area News. She is a photographer and enjoys writing poems to go with the photographs – ekphrastic poetry.
Rebecca Meredith
Biography: I’m both a prose writer and a poet. My poetry has appeared in a number of journals and anthologies, and from 2011-2013 I was Redmond’s first poet laureate. My novel, The Last of the Pascagoula, was published in 2011 and its sequel, Look Up From the Water is upcoming. I was a founder of RASP, Redmond Association of Spokenword.
Published work: Novels: The Last of the Pascagoula; Look Up From the Water; Chapbook: Inter-generational Delta Blues. Poetry Publications: Calyx; Pontoon; Between Hours; Here, There and Everywhere; Limbs of the Pine, Peaks of the Range; Chrysanthemum.
Bobbi Miles
(awaiting biography)
Loraine Mill
(awaiting biography)
Erica Miner
Biography: Former Metropolitan Opera violinist ERICA MINER is now an award-winning author, screenwriter, arts writer and lecturer. Erica won the Fiction Prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards for her debut novel, Travels With My Lovers. She recently released Death by Opera, the second in her “Operatic Mystery” series.
Published work: Travels With My Lovers; FourEver Friends; Murder in the Pit; Death by Opera
Patti Mook
(awaiting biography)
Peter Moore
(awaiting biography)
Gretchen Murphy
Biography: Gretchen is a native of Seattle and has lived with her family in Bothell since 1976. She worked in healthcare and education. She retired in 2017 as Director of the Master’s program in Health Informatics and Health Information Management at the University of Washington. Gretchen has enjoyed writing and contributing to textbooks over many years and is now interested in exploring new writing experiences.
Published work: Poetry: In the Blink of an Eye, Northwest Prime Time, April 2019. Textbooks: Electronic Health Records - Changing the Vision, 1999; Systems Analysis and Computer Applications in Health Information Management, 1983; Medical Records in Health Information, 1979.
Vivian Murray
Published work: Little Bookshop in Venice, Shanghai Spirits
Wendy Ogden
(awaiting biography)
Olivia Pariset
Biography: I am a paralegal by day and a crime writer by night! I read wide and deep from PNW authors Gregg Olson, Robert Dugoni, Susan Wiggs to books on Neuroplasticity and Antifragile. My new Grace Cavanaugh Series is well underway. The Missing Piece will debut in 2020. String Theory is in process.
Publications: Cara's Place
Website: www.oliviapariset.com
Victoria 'Tori' Peters
Biography: Victoria is writing a memoir about her life raising four children in Africa and Asia. She is a retired teacher and is treasurer for EPIC Group Writers. In the past three years, she walked the Camino de Santiago by herself all the way to the to the Atlantic Ocean and trekked in the Andes to Choquequirao, Peru.
Published work: Travel articles in My Edmonds News; Contributor to True Stories - The Narrative Project, Volume 1 (2019).
Joanne Peterson
(awaiting biography)
Christine Pinto
Biography: Writer, teacher, writing coach and living history enthusiast. Teaching Oregon Trail history and historical fiction writing to fourth graders. Writing historical fiction and fantasy for children and young adults, and picture books. Helping kids and adults bring their stories to life through writing exercises and coaching.
Social Media: http://www.christinepintowrites.com/
Susan Pittman
Susan's website: https://www.susanpittmanwriter.com
Patricia Power
Biography: I am a semi-retired adjunct professor of religious studies for Arizona State University and the Maricopa Community College District. This means I teach online courses for these institutions from the comfort of my home, or better yet, the open patio in front of Starbucks in Mill Creek Town Center! I’ve been writing one thing or another for as long as I can remember. A few pieces have even been published. While I enjoy writing non-fiction, I am trying my hand at fiction these days. On the agenda: a murder mystery set in the fictitious community of Cedar Creek.
Published work: A first-person feature article on working with the homeless in Charisma magazine; “Seppuku,” in Religion and Violence: An Encyclopedia of Faith and Conflict from Antiquity to the Present; “Dar al-Islam community (New Mexico) in Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History; “Blurring the Boundaries: American Messianic Jews and Gentiles,” in Nova Religio.
Joe Rice, Writing Group leader
Biography: I am a retired educator now working to complete a memoir and another nonfiction book on Multiage Education. I also write poetry, short stories and educational articles. I'm also an avid of many genre and love to participate in writing groups. Never too old to learn.
Published work: Nongraded Multiage Education - A Resource Book, Edmonds School District Press 1990, 1992; Short stories published in others' collections:- Joseph Rice: Generations, edited by Darryl Teruya 2003; "One Way Out," The Greater Good,: Life Lessons from Hawai'i's Leaders, by Evan and Kari Leong 2008; "Untitled," Do It Anyway by Kent M. Keith 2003; "A survey and Analysis of Oral Reading Miscues Made By Mexican and Mexican American Migrants 1979; "Kupu Hou: To Sprout and Grow Anew," A white paper on the future of education presented to the Directors of Mid-Pacific Institute, Honolulu, Hawaii 2012.
Donna Rudiger
Biography: Donna Rudiger began writing during her adolescent years growing up in Pennsylvania. She migrated to the Pacific Northwest in 1974 to study wildlife photography and wilderness living. She is an award-winning poet, a recent graduate of the Institute for Children’s Literature, an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the Skagit Valley Writer’s League, the Seattle Storyteller’s Guild and the EPIC Group Writers of Edmonds. She is a retired technical writer and lives with the wildlife at her home in the woods of Arlington.
Regina Sadono
(awaiting biography)
Cliff Sanderlin
Biography: Cliff is working on his memoir.
Carol Sanford
Published work: Three award-winning non-fiction. The Responsible Business, The Responsible Entrepreneur with Wiley; The Regenerative Business, with Nicholas Brealey and soon to be released No More Feedback self-published. 3 Podcasts and Blogs. The Regenerative Business, The Responsible Capitalist, Business Second Opinion. Producer The Regenerative Summit. Faculty @ Universities in Europe and UW. Senior Fellow of Social Innovation at Babson College.
Social Media: Website: www.carolsanford.com; Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carolsanford2; Twitter: carolsanford
Courtenay Schurman
Biography: Traditionally published in adult non-fiction, I'm currently working on MG novels featuring active girls who love the outdoors. I was chosen through SCBWI to participate in their 6-month Mentorship Program. When I'm not writing or training clients for their outdoor adventures, I serve on the WOTS Steering Committee, volunteer with the giraffes at Woodland Park Zoo, shelve books at the Olympic Hills Elementary School, and prepare for upcoming overseas adventures including trips to Ireland as a chaperone for my daughter's high school marching band, and New Zealand.
Published works: Train to Climb Mt. Rainier or Any High Peak DVD (Body Results 2002); Chapter 4 (Conditioning) Freedom of the Hills (Mountaineers books) editions 7, 8, 9; The Outdoor Athlete (2009; Human Kinetics); Quarterly columnist Mountaineers Magazine (Seattle Mountaineers) 2014-current
Lia Shierk
(awaiting biography)
Char Sligar
(awaiting biography)
Curt Smith
Biography: Curt is retired from Verizon where he taught management classes and was an organization specialist. Now he’s a volunteer literacy tutor at Everett Community College and enjoys writing as a hobby. In November 2019, Curt published the novel Marco's Redemption, a timeless story of success, failure, and starting over. Curt has also published in various management journals such as Quality Digest, Manage Magazine, the Journal for Quality and Participation, and has also written articles for The Journal Newspapers and Northwest Primetime. His self-published books are listed on his author’s page athttps://www.amazon.com/Curt-Smith/e/B007N8JLF2 . Curt welcomes readers of his blog, The Writer’s Corner, at https://mochateaoh.wordpress.com.
Cindy Speer
Cindy Lynn Speer has loved telling stories her whole life — stories make the world make sense. Some of her favorite authors are Neil Gaiman, Barbara Hambly, Terry Pritchett, Lee Child, Craig Johnson, Patricia Briggs. When she’s not writing or reading, she can be found practicing historical fencing (decently), sewing (impatiently), and gardening (horribly.). She also loves tea. Tea is a good bribe.
Published works: Blue Moon; Unbalanced; The Chocolatier’s Wife; The Chocolatier’s Ghost; Wishes and Sorrows.
Valerie Stein
Biography: Valerie Stein is publisher at Homeostasis Press and Gather Here: History for Young People. She is an independent school librarian and is at work on a historical fiction novel set in Washington State and Washington, D.C.
Publications: The Best of It: A Journal of Life, Love, and Dying, Homeostasis Press, 2009. The Traveler, Soundings Review, Spring/Summer 2015
Craig Stewart
Biography: Craig is a co-founder of Memoir Tours, a 10-day memoir writing retreat in County Mayo, Ireland. When not in Ireland, he lives in Mill Creek and works behind the page as a ghostwriter, content creator, and copy editor. He's working on the second draft of his first novel -- a coming of age story set on the Oregon Coast. Playing mandolin and guitar, baking artisan bread and walking along the creek with his granddaughter rank high on the list of his favorite things.
Howard Tinsley
Biography: I am a retired university professor with extensive experience editing and publishing in psychological journals and books. I began to study creative writing in the early 1990 but until now have written only for personal pleasure. I have now begun two fiction novels I hope to publish when completed.
Published work: Tinsley, H. E. A., Lease, S. H., & Wiersma, N. S. G. (Eds.). (2016). Contemporary theory and practice in counseling and psychotherapy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; Tinsley, H. E. A., & Lease, S. H. (Eds.). (2008). Encyclopedia of counseling, Volume 2: Personal counseling and mental health problems. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; Tinsley, H. E. A., & Brown, S.D. (Eds.). (2000). Handbook of applied multivariate statistics and mathematical modeling. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Social Media: I am on both Goodreads and LibraryThing but participate primarily on the latter. My LibraryThing profile can be found at: librarything.com/profile/Tatoosh
Tony Torzillo
Biography: I’m a science fiction writer who likes to explore the boundaries of scientific possibilities and their implications on society.
Publications: Finished a novel that I am querying, have a second work in progress.
Kim Votry
Biography: Kim is an educator and editor currently working at the University of Washington as a professional development trainer. She has provided both developmental and proofreading editing services on over 80 book projects, and is a past board member of EPIC.
Published work: Baby's First Signs; More Baby's First Signs; A Book of Colors; Out For a Walk; and My Own Magic.
Social media: Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/346474.Kim_Votry; Twitter: @kimvotry; Facebook: My Own Magic, by Kim Votry
Dorothy Van Soest
Biography: Dorothy Van Soest, is an educator, activist and author with a publication record of eleven books, including three novels, Just Mercy (2014), At the Center (2016), and Death, Unchartered (2018).
Published work: Just Mercy (2014); At the Center (2016); Death, Unchartered (2018)
Social media: Website: https://www.dorothyvansoest.com; Facebook: https://www.facebookcom/dorothyauthor; Twitter: https://twitter.com/dorothyjvs; Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/769770.Dorothy-Van-Soest
Carol Vein
(awaiting biography)
Sandra Walker
(awaiting biography)
Naomi Wark
Biography: Naomi Wark lives with her husband on Camano Island. She loves the natural beauty of living near Puget Sound where she enjoys long strolls along the water and exploring the many beaches of the island. When not writing, she is active in several volunteer efforts including the Stanwood Camano Food Bank. She loves spending time with family, a theme in her novels. To quote Archbishop Desmond Tutu, “You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.” It is up to each of us how we choose to view the gift of family which we have been given."
Wildflowers in Winter is her first novel. A prequel to Wildflowers in Winter, Songs of Spring, takes place in the Seattle and Puget Sound area during the quick-changing period of 1902 thru 1925, and is planned for release in late 2020.
Ingrid Wolsk
Biography: I was born in New York City and from childhood on I wrote poems and illustrated them,along with writing very short stories. As an adult I lived abroad for ten years working both in and out of the arts and theater world. I feel so privileged now to have the time to write, which is my true passion, and now finally am published.
Publications: 'A Screech of Warning' a flash fiction piece on Amazon Kindle. 'The Secret of Anja' a novel, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. For the moment it appears only as an eBook since it takes 2-3 weeks to get it to appear as a print version.
Bill Wood
[awaiting biography]
Leslye Wood
[awaiting biography]