In 1986, I received my Bachelor of Science Degree (Cum Laude) from Adelphi University in Garden City, NY. As the small business liaison officer at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in Upton, NY, I wrote two proposals that both won the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Dwight D. Eisenhower Award of Excellence in the research and development category, one in March 2009 and the other in May 2016. Both awards were presented at the White House, in Washington, D.C.

S.G. (Sam Gavin) Hyde is an author based in Exeter, UK. He is a passionate advocate for disability services and serves as a trustee at Disability Together. Living with cerebellar ataxia, he champions resilience in others. After a twenty-year business career ended unexpectedly, he dedicates himself to personal growth through exercise, mindfulness, and seizing new opportunities.

A middle-aged mom who dreamed of writing poetry, left her corporate career to do just that. Found. is the result of a spiritual awakening that changed Eve’s life forever. May all who read it feel Found. too!

Leslie Swartz is an author, ex-poet, and mother of three. She enjoys long walks in the stationary aisle and uninterrupted sleep. Biggest fears include failure of gravity and The Wizard of Oz.

I am an unlikely writer. I was born more years ago than I care to remember, a stone’s throw from Heathrow airport. Even back in those days, I loved stories but never imagined writing them. My bent was always technical. In the 1980s, I started writing articles for a computer magazine. That ended when the publication folded. I didn’t return to writing until I retired, but this time it was fiction. I was actually writing stories that other people wanted to read.

When I first started writing poetry, it was during one of the most tumultuous times of my life; writing became a safe form of expression that, in turn, helped with my journey of healing. Under the alias ‘Nina Deveaux,’ I launched and published my first poetry book, Mythology. When I’m not writing or working on my business, I am taking naps or kissing cats.

I’m Lorraine, mother to Lexie-Rose and currently in chapter fifty-two! Lifesaving surgery in 2020 meant I was going to have to live with a stoma. Diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2004 following a trip to India was where it all began. In 2023 I made the decision to make my ileostomy permanent...the Barbie butt...well, if it’s good enough for Barbie, it’s good enough for me!

Johnzelle is a licensed therapist by trade, and believes in the power of storytelling to heal, imagine, disrupt, and inspire. His writing focuses on mental health, race, relationships, and identity.

Dixie L. King has been writing since she was seven years old, when she taught herself to type on her father’s big metal Smith Corona typewriter. She wrote her first novel at eleven; however, despite the fact that it was about drug trafficking (about which she knew nothing), took place in New York City (which she had never visited), and involved a woman working at the United Nations, not only did Harper and Row refer it to the children’s lit editor (she was insulted), but they rejected the book. Dixie gave up writing novels and became a cultural anthropologist. She has since returned to her first love.

Cathy Schieffelin is an avid reader and writer. Years of adventure and travel contribute to her daily writing life. She is a regular attendee of writing workshops and participates in writing contests whenever possible. Her short stories and essays have been published in Adanna Literary Journal, Halfway Down the Stairs online literary journal, Renewed: A New Orleans Public Library Anthology, and the Frontier Nursing Service quarterly newsletter. Her first novel, The Call, came out in December 2024 and was awarded an International Impact Award for Mystery/Thriller genre. Snakeroot and Cohosh is her second novel, published with Atmosphere Press in March 2026.