As a kid, Elizabeth Carroll always loved stories and spent as much time daydreaming as she did playing Barbie with her sister. Because her imaginary friends hung around even when there was nothing more to say, she decided to try her hand at writing and has found great delight and purpose for all the little people in her head. She has published a young adult fantasy series, a historical women’s fiction novel, and several short stories. Currently, she has a children’s novel in the works as well as a historical mystery series.
Mary Camarillo is the author of the award-winning novels Those People Behind Us and The Lockhart Women. Her awards include the 2022 Indie Author Project Award for California Adult Fiction, the 2022 Willa Literary Award Finalist in Multiform Fiction, and the 2021 First Place Award in the Next Generation Indies for First Fiction.
Alex has been writing since the ripe ol’ age of 10, first cutting their teeth as a writer through fanfiction. A quarter of a century later, they have taken that love of fanfiction and branched out into doing their own thing. As a neurodivergent, nonbinary single parent whose child calls them “Mom,” Alex has been working on several novels—some nonfiction, some fiction—for years now, and wants to make their dreams of becoming a writer come true, despite their Dissociative Identity Disorder.
Sally Showalter was born and raised in rural Illinois. Much of her writing lingers through the four seasons and county of Pike. She settled in Tucson, Arizona in the mid-1980s with her husband, cats, and a backyard full of various plants from seeds collected from dozens of road trips over the years. Ms. Showalter has studied at the University of Arizona in the Creative Writing Program, Pima Community College, and the Center for Creative Writing Works. Her poetry has appeared in Pudding Magazine and Festival Writer and her fiction and memoir in collections of anthologies.
Cate McNider is a multi-disciplinary artist, and a psychophysical practitioner and movement educator registered as The Listening Body®. Since arriving in NYC in 1985, she has expressed her healing journey through poetry, multi-media movement performances and painting. She has performed her multi-media works in downtown venues and Brooklyn, and exhibited her paintings in solo shows in the East Village and NOHO. Poems from her first collection, Separation and Return, have been in several journals, in print and online. Escape Velocity is the follow-up on the success of her healing practices. Cate still lives in New York.
As a writer, the journey from the inception of an idea to the tangible reality of a published book is nothing short of magical. Yet, in the crowded landscape of the literary world, how do you ensure your book stands out, not just as a story, but as a brand? This is where author branding services come into play, acting as the unsung heroes that elevate your work from the shelves to the hearts of readers.
“A moving, insightful, and beautifully crafted story of losing one great love and finding another.” – Kirkus Reviews
Every year, more than a million women find themselves grappling with the devastating loss of a life partner—a loss that shatters their present and leaves their future in doubt. At 65, Margaret Mandell faces this heart-wrenching reality when she loses her husband of 45 years to a fast-moving disease. The bed is now half-empty, her body betrays her, and laughter seems elusive.
In the depths of longing and haunted by memories, Mandell embarks on a journey of healing through the written word. She begins to write letters to the man she loved in a poignant process of retracing their shared history. But when a tender-hearted college professor steps quietly into her life and listens attentively as Mandell reads her accumulating stack of letters out loud, her world is transformed in profound and unexpected ways.
And Always One More Time is a story that delves deep into the human experience, reminiscent of C.S. Lewis’s A Grief Observed in its wisdom and Joyce Carol Oates’s A Widow’s Story in its suspense. It offers universal truths about love, loss, and resilience, much like Steve Leder’s The Beauty of What Remains. With potent and swift-moving words, this book can be devoured in a single sitting. It is a beacon of hope for those navigating the aftermath of the greatest loss.
Scott lives and writes in a small village an hour north of Inverness, where he is encouraged daily by his wife Rachel. He has self-published six novels, two collections (both containing both poems and short stories), a malt whisky companion, and a book on cocktails. He is currently writing three more novels (all in separate genres), alongside a book on literary criticism and an Ancient Greek Theogony in the creative form. He is also completing the final semester of his honour’s degree in Creative Writing; works full-time; and sleeps less than the average giraffe. He plans to work on his Masters in Comparative Literature come the fall.
Award-winning author Katie L. Carroll began writing after her sixteen-year-old sister, Kylene, unexpectedly passed away. Since then writing has taken her to many wonderful places—both real and imagined. She wrote her YA fantasy Elixir Bound, winner of the 2019 Connecticut Author Project for Best YA, and its sequel Elixir Saved so Kylene could live on in the pages of a book.
Jasmine is a multiply neurodivergent licensed psychologist working from her psychology practice in Melbourne, Australia. In addition to providing professional supervision to students and other professionals, she works with clients across the neurodiverse spectrum in the context of both psychotherapy and assessment.
Mhlengi Skeelo ‘Melchizedek’ Khumalo has a lot of creative alter egos. He is a proud South African, the soon-to-be husband of his beloved Morgan, the dad of Destiny and Luzel, and the husband of Thandi Julia.
All people at one time or another in their lives find themselves suffering in some capacity. Their mental suffering and pain are usually the result of errors in thinking or wrong beliefs inculcated into their minds by deceptive error taught and practiced as truth.
Just Some Good Thoughts by Tony Washington invites us to reconsider our perceptions of life and to get in touch with a new and a fresh way to think. We learn to challenge long held dogmas and religion, and to replace them with the true realities of life as God intended for His creation to enjoy.
“If you could ride higher into yourself, you’d see we’re just a string of pearls along this saltless sea.”
I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You is an engaging and thought-provoking collection of poems by Ariana Moulton. With a keen focus on vivid landscapes and intertwining themes of nature, gun violence, teaching, and motherhood, the author masterfully creates a strong sense of place for readers to immerse themselves in. Through her heartfelt verses, Moulton delves into profound questions that resonate with both the emotions and intellect of her audience, while skillfully painting vivid images that evoke a sense of truth.
The central aim of this collection is to offer readers a glimpse into the author’s personal experiences and surroundings, all while raising a vital question that holds significance for everyone: “What’s at stake?”
The title serves as an invitation, drawing readers closer to explorations of post-Covid life, loss, inspiration, and the rich history emanating from the streets and lakefront of Chicago. I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You fearlessly embraces a range of compelling themes, including gun violence, homelessness, the struggles of dawn, and the timeless battles faced with aging. Through dreamlike imagery and narrative glimpses into Chicago’s history, Moulton allows space for the unimaginable and grants readers the freedom to embark on their own interpretive journeys.
Regrets are like birthdays—they keep coming, each one a new scar slowing you down and dragging you closer to your grave.
Ariel Fall, a seasoned private investigator, knew this well. After the devastating loss of his wife and young daughter, Ariel attempts to forge ahead, leaving behind the painful memories that threatened to ensnare him. But his quest for redemption proved more elusive than anticipated, and his entanglement in a series of harrowing investigations were proving rather useless, only serving to expose the darkest corners of humanity’s nature and the enigmatic depths of the human mind.
Haunted by the relentless pursuit of truth, Ariel embarks on a treacherous journey, encountering a seductive femme fatale and an enigmatic “guardian angel” along the way. As he delves deeper into the mysteries surrounding the Lavender Killer, the League of Damned, and the notorious Dirty Joe, he discovers the pervasive corruption lurking within the very heart of the London police force.
In a world where rules and morality blur, Ariel is forced to confront his own limitations and question the validity of conventional approaches. Struggling with the weight of his decisions, each one seeming to lead to his downfall, he realizes that true impact requires bending and even breaking the rules. With the specter of failure looming, Ariel must navigate treacherous waters where every choice feels like a waking nightmare.
Sarah Westbrook is a Licensed Professional Counselor and the founder of Westbrook Counseling Services and Daisy Girl Communications. As a trauma survivor, she shares her story of growing up with personality-disordered parents and working through c-PTSD with the hope of helping others develop the courage to speak their truth and have their voices heard. In her spare time, she loves creating content with her husband and co-host Mason, entertaining her children, and hiding in her closet so she doesn’t have to share her chocolate or caramel popcorn with anyone else.
Lauryne Wright lives in the Las Vegas area with her critter sidekicks hoping that one day soon, she’ll hit the jackpot and her novels will come true…or the truth will come to light.
In addition to having been a teacher’s husband, Steven Earl Kladstrup is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Syracuse University, with Honors degrees in both Geography and Anthropology. He also holds a Master’s degree with Honors in International Management from Thunderbird (the former American Graduate School of International Management). After making a career out of writing and editing myriad proposals, contracts, marcom, and software documentation for other people, he has happily returned to his first love, the writing of fiction, with Jane Raggedfir Was a Dike, his debut novel.
Oliver Sheppard is a Texas writer and poet whose Thirteen Nocturnes collection of Gothic verse was a finalist for the 2020 Elgin Award for Best Full-Length Poetry Collection.
Hello! My name is Jessie McDonald and I am a new author from Southern Indiana. Novels have always gripped me and writing has always been a way for me to process my thoughts and feelings about the world around me. My hobbies include reading, writing, playing video games, creating art, gardening, and playing music.
I.D.G. Curry is a fiction novelist who was compelled to bring what started as a dream into an entire universe of characters that interact and intertwine with the mythology he loves. He believes that fiction, folklore, and myths are the true essences of storytelling which open the reader’s mind to what could be possible or even what the truth might actually be. Curry aims to collide the world we live in with centuries of mankind’s imagination, even scattering elements from his own life into the journey. Fall of Immortals is the journey’s beginning.
