Meet the Instructors
Jane Bernard has had the pleasure of being a professional writer and educator for the past 25 years. Starting as a technical writer working for educational thinktanks, then educational television, ghost writing speeches, re-writing books, screenplays, proposals, etc, Jane continues to write and re-write for the fields of entertainment, medicine and art. At the same time Jane has been a writing professor at several colleges in NY and conducted creative writing workshops. She has been published on and off line, had work optioned and readings of her theatrical scripts. Recently she has written "Fine Tuning" which teaches people how to use their 5 senses to recognize and tune in to their intuition. Jane loves writing and believes that the great things we accomplish in life pale next to the great effort that went into them. Through writing there is no greater opportunity in any of our lives than daring to be as great as we might yet become. Her book, Fine Tuning, Connecting with Your Inner Power is available. www.jane-bernard.com
Poet/novelist Perry Brass has published 14 books, including the Mirage trilogy of science fiction novels, The Lover of My Soul, The Harvest, Angel Lust, Warlock, and The Substance of God. His newest is Carnal Sacraments, A Historical Novel of the Future. A finalist 6 times for prestigious Lambda Literary Awards, he has been given IPPY Awards from Independent Publisher for Warlock, A Novel of Possession (2002) and Carnal Sacraments (2208) which was also named a ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award finalist. He has had 50 poems set to music by such composers as Chris DeBlasio, Ricky Ian Gordon, Christopher Berg, Mary Carol Warwick, and Paula Kimper; and been included in 25 anthologies, including the groundbreaking Male Muse edited by Ian Young and The Columbia Anthology of Gay Literature, edited by Byrne Fone for Columbia University Press. He lives in the Bronx, where he reads, writes, and watches the Hudson River. He can be reached through his website, www.perrybrass.com, at MySpace/PerryBrassbooks, or through http://urbanmolecule.wordpress.com.
Mayra Calvani was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She has been writing for most of her life and been a professional book reviewer for the past ten years. Her 100+ reviews have appeared on sites such as Midwest Book Review, The Compulsive Reader, Curled Up With a Good Book, TCM Reviews, Scribe & Quill, Book Review Club, The Muse, and Habitual Reader, among others, as well as on prestigious print publications like The Bloomsbury Review and Mosaic. Mayra writes non-fiction and fiction in a variety of genres — horror, paranormal, satire, mystery, literary fantasy, and children’s. Her stories and articles have appeared in Enigmatic Tales, Twilight Times Ezine, New Mystery Reader, Long Story Short, Musings: A Magazine of Words, Writer Gazette, Scribe & Quill, Absolute Write, and El Nuevo Dia newspaper. She is editor of The Fountain Pen Newsletter and co-editor of Voice in the Dark Ezine. In addition, she keeps two blogs, Mayra’s Secret Bookcase (www.mayrassecretbookcase.blogspot.com) and The Dark Phantom Review. She is a member of Broad Universe, Sisters in Crime, and The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators. She is the co-author of THE SLIPPERY ART OF BOOK REVIEWING (Twilight Times Books, Fall 2007). To learn more about Mayra’s other books, visit her website at: www.mayracalvani.com. For her children’s books, please visit: www.MayrasSecretBookcase.com.
Francis "Sohne" X. Curry learned his basic writing skills at Gonzaga University, Spokane Washington. Poet, novelist, textbook writer, Francis X. Curry has published five books, one novel, two books of short stories, and two textbooks. He has experience as twenty years, Industrial Trainer, five years reading teacher. Sohne lives in Florida with his wife, enjoying retirement and his grandchildren.
Jennifer Svendsen Delaney's manuscript Stealing Monkey won Colorado University’s Jovanovich Imaginative Award for best graduate thesis, as well as receiving finalist status in the Nidus Literary Journal Competition. A chapter from her memoir, Coyote Heart, was published in the October 2006 issue of Sojourn Journal. She received her B.A. degrees in English and dance from the University of California in Santa Barbara. A writing coach, editor, reporter and teacher, Jennifer’s poetry, memoir and fiction have been published online, as well as in literary journals, magazines and two books by Lucia Cappachione. Also inspired by the muse of dance, she most recently performed in the Boulder International Fringe Festival 2008. Read our interview with Jennifer. Contact Jennifer at www.thewritersarbor.com.
Roseanne Dowell: As the second youngest of six children, Roseanne always had a vivid imagination and loved to make up stories. She often sat and daydreamed about imaginary characters and lost herself in books and make-believe worlds. Roseanne especially loves reading and writing mystery and romance – mysteries combined with romance are her all time favorites. Her love of writing began as a teenager, but it wasn’t until recent years that she pursued it seriously, when she admitted in a discussion at her book club that she always regretted not writing. With encouragement from fellow book-club members, NEORWA and her husband, Roseanne began writing and submitting her work. Although Satin Sheets is her first published novel, she has over forty articles and stories published in magazines such as Good Old Days, Nostalgia, and Ohio Writer along with several online publications. Satin Sheets was nominated for the IPPY Award and was a finalist in the Reader’s Choice Award from Author Island. You can visit Roseanne’s website at: http://www.roseannedowell.com.
Ed Green is one of the industry's leading voice-over talents. For many years, he has been the voice of major sporting event projects, motion picture trailers, and television narrations, as well as the voice for the most familiar commercial and product advertisers in America. His commercials have currently passed the 30,000 mark, and are still climbing. This includes his well-known work as an audio personality for Fortune 500 Corporations - working on their national campaigns while creating a unique image for internal corporate projects and shareholder meetings. Hosting the advertising industry's annual ANDY and CLIO awards ceremonies is usually a once-in-a-career honor for voice-over talent. Ed has presented both - several times. See Ed's website: www.edgreen.com.
Floriana Hall attended Akron University, has been married to Robert Hall 56 years. She has five children and nine grandchildren. She is the author/editor of six nonfiction/ inspirational books, SMALL CHANGE, THE SANDS OF RHYME, DADDY WAS A BAD BOY, OUT OF THE ORDINARY SHORT STORIES. Founder/coordinator of the Poet's Nook at Cuyahoga Falls Library, Editor of The Poet's Nook's two books, THROUGH OUR EYES, POEMS OF BEAUTIFUL NORTHEAST OHIO, AND POET'S NOOK POTPOURRI. Floriana has always loved rhyme, even as a child, for it was 'fun for the tongue.' Excellent Literature and English teachers enhanced her love for poetry in high school. Inspired in church at sixty eight years of age, she started writing rhyme and some free verse again. She has won many poetry contests and has been published in U.S. England, and India. Her works were compared to the styles of Poe and Hawthorne by Taj Mahal Review.Recognition and awards: WHO'S WHO IN US WRITERS, EDITORS AND POETS, WHO'S WHO IN INTERNATIONAL POETRY, MARQUIS WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA.
Chandra Ghosh Jain was born in Calcutta and spent her formative years in Delhi. She graduated in Economics (Honours) from Miranda House, Delhi University. and received my her graduation in Economics from Jawahar Lal University New Delhi. For a brief while she taught Economics in Delhi University as a lecturer. She did her research on the 'Changing Agrarian relations and its socio-economic impact on development' from Rajasthan University. Marriage brought her to Rajasthan a desert state, where time appeared to stand still. The veil separating the past from the present was thin. One could sense the fact that the history, which shaped the destiny of the place, hadn't been lost. The violent and blinding sandstorms which blows through the hot summer months, revealed new shapes and contours, telling a different tale each time. Her husband's postings offered her an opportunity to travel in the state, which boasts of palaces and forts of a bygone era; which forms a backdrop to many of her tales. She is presently working on an anthology of short stories, Quixotic Quest and Other Tales. Chandra's Web page.
T.C. McMullen began her first novel shortly after finishing the Breaking Into Print course from Long Ridge Writers Group in 1995. She continued to study the writing craft, found an agent, worked with an editor, then chose a new way of publishing. In 2001, she published her first novel, Whispers of Insanity, followed by her second, Gone Before Dawn in 2003. She worked as senior editor and head artistic development editor of Global Authors Publications before going freelance with both her editing and designing services. She has since written The Manipulated Evil Trilogy with The Unseen: Book One and Scattered Souls: Book Two in print and Scorching Eden: Book Three. She also heads Silver Moon Magazine, a magazine geared toward the darker genres as well as StarPublishllc.com, a small press.
Violinist turned author Erica Miner has had a multi-faceted career as an award-winning screenwriter, author and poet. A native of Detroit, she studied music at Boston University and the New England Conservatory of Music. In New York City, Erica won the coveted position of violinist with the Metropolitan Opera Company. But one day her life became even more challenging, when as a result of a car accident she was no longer able to perform on the violin. Searching for a new creative outlet, she drew upon her lifelong love of writing for inspiration. She studied poetry writing and screenwriting, winning a number of awards in both categories. Her six screenplays have won awards and/or placed in such competitions as American Accolades, WinFemme, Santa Fe and the Writer’s Digest. Now a Southern California resident, Erica honed her screenwriting skills with author and script guru Linda Seger of "Making a Good Script Great" fame and with Ken Rotcop, the author of “Perfect Pitch.”
Eventually Erica set out to write about her life as a musician and single mother and published her first novel, Travels with My Lovers, winner of the Fiction Prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards. Inspired by her journals written during her travel adventures in Europe with and without her children, Erica penned her novel with a dual goal: first, to entertain; and second, to speak to all generations of women and encourage them to express their emotional freedom. Erica has recently completed screenplay adaptations for this novel and for her suspense thriller, Murder In The Pit, which takes place at the Met. She is currently at work on a novel series with ‘baby boomers’ in mind, chronicling a young girl’s coming of age in the volatile 60s and 70s. In addition, Erica has developed a number of writing lectures and seminars related to Travels With My Lovers, which she has presented at various venues across the West Coast and abroad. She is a top-rated speaker on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and her writings have appeared in San Diego Vision Magazine, WORD San Diego and numerous E-zines. Details about Erica’s novels, screenplays, seminars and interviews can be found on her website, http://www.ericaminer.com.
Dorry Catherine Pease is a native of upstate New York. After graduating from New York State University at Brockport with a degree in Elementary Education and a second in Secondary Education in Social Sciences, she continued her educational ventures with graduate work in Creative Journalistic Writing and Adolescent Psychology with completion courses at St. Louis University in 1989. Via San Diego, CA., she and her husband, Robert, moved to the St. Louis, Missouri area in the spring of 1982 where she now lives on a mini farm complete with dogs, chickens, rabbits, a goose named Lucky and several goslings. Dorry retired from the Educational field in 2001 after thirty-eight plus years working with young people as a teacher, counselor and administrator. With time to focus on her own goals, Dorry has devoted herself to her love of writing and to the education of others in the writing field and has become a moving force in the writing groups of Jefferson County and Metro St. Louis. Visit her website: www.dcatherinewritersweb.org
Sharon Poppen, Lake Havasu City, AZ - author of After the War, Before the Peace a novel of historical fiction and ‘Hannah’ a western on-line serial (www.virtualtales.com). Awards - Arizona Authors Association, National League of American Pen Women. She has been published both online and in print.
Anna Maria Prezio, Ph.D., author of Confessions of a Feng Shui Ghost-Buster is a professional Feng Shui Consultant. She has audited hundreds of Feng Shui sites. Her clients include: Hollywood producers, directors, actors, doctors, architects, and corporate executives. As a marketing consultant in health care, entertainment, and the non-profit sectors she has incorporated her knowledge of Feng Shui and its effects on personal environments to enhance people’s lives. Ms. Prezio’s mission is to help people gain the knowledge and tools of Feng Shui to improve and enhance their wealth, health, creativity and relationships. Ms. Prezio is a writer. She has published screenplays, articles and books. Her love for the visual arts has led her to produce feature films, film shorts, music videos, and photography. Her experience, Feng Shui knowledge and highly intuitive talent gives her the ability to sense people, places and things which help to nurture and facilitate her clients’ lifestyles. www.prezio.com
Lea Schizas is Founder and co-Founder of 2 Writer's Digest 101 Best Writing Sites of 2005 and recipients of the Preditors and Editors Most Useful Writing Sites: Apollo's Lyre and The MuseItUp Club. She is an award-winning writer with several honorable mentions in both screenwriting and fiction contests. Her Young Adult Fantasy Novel, The Rock of Realm, was released April 2005, the first in a series of adventures and quests of Alexandra Stone and her friends. For more information on Lea Schizas, link here: http://leaschizasauthor.tripod.com. She is also founder of the Muse Online Writers Conference.
Carma Spence-Pothitt has more than 15 years experience in marketing communications, as well as writing and editing, in the fields of health care, food and wine, computers, business, television, biology and agriculture. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, a Master’s degree in Journalism from the number one public relations graduate program in the nation (according to U.S. News & World Report), and education in video production, science communication and dance. In the late 1990s, she expanded her skills into the world of the Web, developing content for a variety of websites and, more recently adding WordPress web design skills. She launched and still manages an online travel magazine for science fiction, fantasy and horror fans, as well as numerous blogs on a wide variety of topics. An award-winning editor, she has managed newsletters, magazines and e-zines, and has edited books, as well. She was a Toastmaster for six years – earning her Competent Toastmaster (CTM) Award and working half-way to her Able Toastmaster (ATM) Award, she even wrote, directed, starred in and produced a 27-minute video introducing new and prospective members to the Toastmasters experience. She takes this knowledge of science, marketing and communication, and a passion for the potential of the Internet, to help her clients and students meet their product development goals. Visit her website.
Betty Jo Tucker serves as Lead Film Critic for ReelTalkReviews.com and is the author of two movie-related books: CONFESSIONS OF A MOVIE ADDICT and SUSAN SARANDON: A TRUE MAVERICK. She writes monthly film commentary for The Colorado Senior Beacon, and her movie reviews also appear on Z Review as well as on The Romance Club Website and on News First Online, an NBC-affiliate television Website. Her latest adventures involve hosting two radio shows, Movie Addict Headquarters for BlogTalkRadio and the ReelTalk Radio Show for the iTRC network. While serving as Dean of Humanities at San Diego Mesa College, Betty Jo supervised expansion of the film studies curriculum, designed an “Exploring Human Values through Film” course and coordinated the “Reel to Real Film Forum” program. She belongs to the Online Film Critics Society and is a founding member of the San Diego Film Critics Society. Because of a passion for film, Betty Jo and her husband Larry see approximately 200 movies a year. They live – where else -- only ten minutes away from Cinemark’s Tinseltown, the only multiplex theater in Pueblo, Colorado. Visit Betty Jo at her website: www.bettyjotucker.com, www.authorsden.com/bettyjotucker or at www.theromanceclub.com/. Check out her movie reviews at www.ReelTalkReviews.com and her blog at http://Memosaic.blogspot.com.
Patrika Vaughn is President of A Cappela Publishing, Inc. and CEO of eLit Agent. She is a widely published author of articles, books, audiobooks and online classes for writers.She has been awarded the Order of Excellence by Who's Who in the 21st Century and is listed in Outstanding People of the 21st Century and The International Authors and Writers Who's Who. A widely published author herself, Patrika is known as the world's foremost Author's Advocate. She guides authors through the processes of writing, marketing and publishing (see www.acappela.com) and is the pioneer of electronic literary agenting (www.eLitAgent.com).Patrika's mission is to help new authors get published. To accomplish this, she has created a ‘"one-stop shop." Through A Cappela Publishing, Advocate House and eLitAgent, Patrika works with authors from concept through publication, offering both consulting and editing until a marketable work has been achieved. She also helps authors pinpoint their markets and can either produce books for self-publishers or represent them to publishing houses through her innovative electronic agenting service.She holds a B.A. in Literature and Anthropology from New College (the honors program for the State of Florida) and did her postgraduate work in World Literature at the University of Arkansas. www.acappela.com/
Rose Walker is president and CEO of Writing4Success PR and Marketing, which offers public relations and marketing for writers, an editing service and an education division where she teach writing classes. An international freelance writer with a five article miniseries that is currently running on public relations and marketing for writers in the British magazine, The New Writer. She also has published articles on PR and marketing for Absolute Write and Writing For Dollars. Rose has published over 175 articles for several publications, including The Writer Parent, Island Oak, Busy Freelancer, WriteforCash, Working Writer, eHow, The Cordova Appeal and The Mid-Town Appeal. Rose taught a freelance writing class through continuing education at The University of Memphis, a six week course on publishing at Christian Brothers University and eight workshops for writers that were sponsored by Writing4Success. She also developed and sponsored a writing conference, “Breaking into the Writing Business” that was held at Christian Brothers University . Ms. Walker has spoken on PR and marketing at the 11th Memphis Black Writers Conference and Southern Film Festival and the 10th Annual Life Press Christians Writers Conference.
Jamieson Wolf has often viewed the world with a different eye than most people. Anything can be a story; a conversation, a flight of birds, a song. Words come from inspiration. Currently his work is available in: Susan Sarandon: A True Maverick and Fantasies: The World's Greatest Short Stories. He has also had his fiction published in: The Dark Krypt, Clean Sheet's Erotica, Mytholog, The House of Pain, The Twilight Times and others. He is currently a Senior Reviewer at Linear Reflections and is currently working on his fourth serial novel and a dark children's tale. He has written several e-novels, Electric Blue, Electric Pink and Garden City.Jamieson currently resides in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. More information on my writing is available at my web site: Jamieson Wolf.
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