Writing Award Finalists

Christopher Maroney first fell in love with writing, and books in general, as a young child. There was a library close enough to his home that his parents took him there to visit on a almost daily

Elizabeth Goodhue is a freelance writer and blogger. When challenging a student to publish her work on a blog, Elizabeth also started one called ecgpoetry.blogspot.com. Since then she has written a

Reading and writing is second nature to me. It’s as natural to me as breathing. To describe me as a bookworm is an understatement. I am never without a book, a pen, or a notebook in my hand or my bag

Born in Flushing, Queens, NY, U.S.A. in 1952.
Graduated Bronx High School of Science in 1970.
BS Biology from Ball State University in Muncie, IN, U.S.A. 1975.
MA in Community Health Education from

Miry Brook Johnson is Andria’s first completed novel. Women’s Fiction. Set in the Plains of Oklahoma, it is about a sweet, lonely, insecure girl and how she learns to become a grown-up.
Andria is

As a child I can remember the thrill of a notebook, the excitement of a new book. I was always writing and reading. I grew up in Kent, studied Optometry, worked in Middlesex and along the way married

Steve Rush’s experience includes tenure as homicide detective and chief forensic investigator for Burton & Associates, a national consulting firm in the field of forensic and environmental pathology

Walt Larimore is a Colorado-based family physician and a prolific writer having authored or co-authored over 30 books and over 1000 in a wide variety of lay and professional journals and magazines

I live in rural Wisconsin and work full time as an artist-potter. In collaboration with my wife, Cynthia, we are multiple award-winning ceramic artists. (www.lindenhillspottery.com/about.html).

I

I am Shaunna Rodriguez, an award-winning, international bestselling author. I have a degree in psychology and English Literature from UOP and am a law student in Missouri. I’m certified in forensics

My background has been a diverse mix of youth work, complementary health and PR and in recent years, I have self-published two guides to using flower remedies.

Throughout my life, I have written

In the realm of virtual currencies, Bitcoin has gained popularity. However, high value also comes with great responsibility. Prioritize your bitcoin security, just as you wouldn't leave a suitcase

Clennell Anthony was introduced to romance and its subgenres when she was given a book as a teenager. Shining Through by Susan Issacs was her first adult novel. From that moment on, she was an avid

Born and raised in Ontario, Canada, Cheryl had an early consciousness there was more to life than what she saw, heard and experienced. She believed "everything happens for a reason" and made a

C.L. Wells is an indie author who writes in a variety of genres including murder mystery, YA, paranormal fiction, and even the occasional non-fiction piece. He is the founder of Creative Writing with

I am a writer who has recently found true joy in fatherhood and story writing from a Creative Writing degree from the University of Washington. Now in Colorado with wife and child, I have continued to

BIO - Cheryl K Sharpe - Cksharpe1@att.net

Cheryl worked in corporate management with an emphasis on Computer science, budget and finance, and project management for thirty years at Caterpillar

Paul Nabil Matthis was born in Sugarland, Texas to a Syrian mother and father of Welsh-Irish descent. After growing up in the American south, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Dubai, he finally

I live in rural Wisconsin and work full time as an artist-potter. In collaboration with my wife, Cynthia, we are multiple award-winning ceramic artists. 

I am a writer. My 11th grade English

I live in Hervey Bay, a beautiful, quiet seaside city in southeast Queensland. My family escaped here from Palmerston North, New Zealand, after experiencing a family tragedy. We'd never been to

Alex Tremari is a Pacific Northwest transplant who took way to long to make her 6th grade declaration, "When I grow up I'm going to be a writer" a reality. Her unpublished novel, Dragoncast, placed

I'm an assistant headteacher from West London, husband and father of 2.

Part of my job has always been to bring a love of reading and books to the pupils in my school, as well as the awesome power

John has delivered medical aid to orphanages and hospitals across the globe, including Romania during the revolution, and South America and Bosnia during the war. His Rogues novels are based on the

Following a career in education, Mary qualified as an aromatherapist at the Tisserand Institute in London in 1999 and later worked there as an anatomy and physiology lecturer. Her aromatherapy studies

I am an anthropologist who has lived and worked in Tanzania for several years since the mid-1990s conducting long-term fieldwork in remote rural areas. The worlds I describe in The Grymcat Conspiracy

When he’s not writing, Bryan is addicted to flash mob videos on YouTube. He loves buskers and will always toss a few dollars in the hat. He enjoyed a stint as a journalist and was the recipient of an

Hi! I’m Suzanne; a proud Mum & Mamgu (Welsh for Grandmother), English Teacher, Usui Reiki Master Teacher, NLP Practitioner, Mental Health First Aider, Counsellor and Coach from South Wales who

Dan McCrory has been an officer of the National Writers Union, UAW Local 1981 for the past 15 years. After being pushed out the door (actually, lured out the door with money) at ATT after 37 years, he

Rosemary Esehagu is a mom, a novelist, and a poet who was born in Nigeria. She is a believer in pursuing different interests and embracing one’s self. Her works typically focus on identity, self

M.A. McComas grew up in Western Pennsylvania and went to school for teaching. However, his real passion has always been for stories. He started reading before he began Kindergarten, completed his

I grew up in a small town in the heart of Scotland. It’s a place of abandoned mills, Fingalian legend and high, windy fields where the voices of the past are always present. A life-long bookworm with

I am a lifelong resident of Oklahoma and a retired administrator in higher education finance. After retirement in 2017, I picked up my writing habit and decided it was now or never to begin a serious

About the Author 

I loved books even before I could read, and I memorized such picture books as Madeline’s Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans so that I could recite them to my mother saying, “Look, Mom!

Min Day is a freelance writer and has worked with public and health organisations as well as in the corporate world. Min developed Love Letters, a dark, psychological novel, after writing about

I am a long-time writer and yet-to-be author and I spend more of my time time thinking about fictional worlds than real ones. I've been telling stories since I learned to talk, writing since I could

Travis Guberud is a fantasy and horror writer originally from La Crosse, Wisconsin, along the Mississippi River. He was raised on the masterworks of giants —Tolkien, Lovecraft, and King to name a few

A Murder on the Border formed in my mind over the course of nearly ten years. It filled my dreams, haunted my steps on the treadmill, and robbed my attention during meetings at work. Finally, in 2018

As an author, I'd be best described as a ‘late bloomer’. I've lived and/or worked in every State of Australia, in a variety of occupations from a serviceman (RAAF), factory worker, pro musician

Christina Mitchell has a deep love and respect for the women in her Italian family. Their ability to triumph in a sexist culture motivated her to write the mafia series, The Italian Rose. Christina

Hi, I'm Chas, I come from a film background, so I'm going from one form of storytelling to another hoping I can better broaden my craft and keep creative in these uncertain times.

I've made a few

I am a high school counselor by day and aspiring writer by afternoon, evening, late night, and weekend. I grew up in both New Zealand and California, but have finally found a home in the wild and

Maddie Adams is an aspiring YA author. She lives with her fiancé and cat, both of whom inspire many characters. Ever since she learned Christopher Paolini wrote Eragon at sixteen, she has dreamed of

Working behind the scenes of theatre touring shows during the 1980s gave Chris his love of creative writing and the desire to succeed as a writer. However, after discussions with his bank manager and

Born and raised in rural Illinois and received a B.S. degree at Oklahoma State University. I enlisted in the U.S. Navy for four years then attended Catholic seminary at Seton Hall University and St

I am a nineteen-year-old writer from Hertfordshire. I like to think I am unlike any other author out there, I constantly chase perfection in everything I do, am possibly the most competitive writer in

Tom Bierdz, a retired psychotherapist, was born and raised in Kenosha, WI. He earned a BA degree from Marquette University and a Master’s degree in social work from the University of Chicago. He

D. E. Stockman was reared in a small town in the Midwest U. S. A. and now lives outside Chicago. After serving in the U. S. Air Force as a Russian translator, he graduated from Northeastern Illinois

Michael Salort has been a TV reporter, TV producer, investigative producer for national newsmagazine programs, screenwriter, business writer, and novelist. 

In novel writing, Michael Salort is the

When I was young, I wrote a book and sent it to Terry Pratchett. He wrote to me to tell me he'd enjoyed it and gave me advice on how to present it to a publisher. I was astounded he'd replied and

Emily MacNevin is a freelance music journalist, currently writing for Prog, Spin (USA) and Record Collector magazines. She has been freelancing since she was 21 after completing multiple work

Tee has been a playwright and script writing lecturer for over twenty years. Her plays have been produced and awarded prizes from all around the world. She has written several biographical plays and

Joanne Clague is an NCTJ-qualified journalist who has worked for thirty years in print, radio and broadcast media in the Isle of Man, a Crown dependency in the middle of the Irish Sea famous for its

Working as a self-publishing consultant in sunny Southampton, I have an absolute passion for books!

As the founder of SWATT Books, I help independent authors through to process of self-publishing

Shawn Steen is an insomniac who discovered lucid dreaming as a way to calm his overactive mind. In doing so, he realized he was writing stories in his sleep. Now semi-retired he has the time to share

Emmanuella Hristova was born in Oakland, California and grew up in the Bay Area. She is the third daughter to Bulgarian parents who immigrated to California shortly before she was born. She began

The first story Sam wrote in 3rd grade had his classmates and teacher in stitches. The adulting business of a full-time engineering career, home ownership, marriage, parenting, and consuming mass

Catherine Fearns is from Liverpool, UK. In previous incarnations she was a financial analyst, a cocktail pianist and a breastfeeding counsellor, but nowadays she writes novels, with a bit of music

Mark Stibbe is a full-time published author and the founder of BookLab, a company dedicated to helping emerging writers. Mark was adopted in 1960, along with his twin sister Claire. In the 1940s

"The Unfolding of Time," by Peryn Roel, is about three siblings who embark on an incredible adventure through the Realms of Llalethar. The story centers around a prophecy said to involve three human

I am a part-time marketing manager, with a PhD in 20th-century literature and a life-long passion for medieval history. Years ago I won a national short story competition, but motherhood and work took