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2024 Attending Authors
Allie Marie
Award-winning author Allie Marie grew up in Virginia, where her favorite childhood pastime was reading Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden mysteries. She never expected to grow up to be a real-life police officer herself. Eventually working her way up through the ranks, Allie retired - four times - as her experiences kept leading her to other law enforcement adventures in the US as well as overseas.
Amber Joi Scott
Amber Joi Scott or the Wicked Writing Wench, born and raised in the South with a snarky attitude and kiss my ass mentality.
She lives in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley with her big, burly husband and their many animals. When deciding on her pen name, she dedicated all her children by using parts of their names as her pen name.
She doesn't plan to stop writing anytime soon and hopes that people fall in love with her characters as much as she has.
www.amberjoiscott.com
She lives in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley with her big, burly husband and their many animals. When deciding on her pen name, she dedicated all her children by using parts of their names as her pen name.
She doesn't plan to stop writing anytime soon and hopes that people fall in love with her characters as much as she has.
www.amberjoiscott.com
Betsy Ashton
Betsy Ashton is an award-winning author for the 2021 Firebird Book Awards for Out of the Desert and Betrayal and the 2023 Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite Silver Certificate for Betrayal.
Born in Washington, DC, Betsy claims she was raised in Southern California where she ran wild with coyotes in the hills above Malibu, even though her mother challenged her memory. She writes primarily suspense and mystery novels.
Born in Washington, DC, Betsy claims she was raised in Southern California where she ran wild with coyotes in the hills above Malibu, even though her mother challenged her memory. She writes primarily suspense and mystery novels.
Beverly Belcher Woody
Beverly Belcher Woody was born and raised in the Big A community of Patrick County, Virginia. Beverly grew up with a passion for history, conducting her first interview with mountain folks at the age of 10. Beverly teaches US History to sixth graders at Martinsville Middle School and writes a weekly local history column called Patrick Pioneers for Patrick County’s oldest newspaper, The Enterprise. She was named “Teacher of the Year” in 2023 by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
Cindy Ray Hale
Cindy Ray Hale loves to write romcoms set in small towns and has been writing and publishing books since 2012, all the while, laughing at her own funny stories. She is married to the sweetest guy and has a blended family with him, consisting of seven kids.
She loves nerding out on video games, creating book covers, and drinking too much caffeine. When she can find a moment, she loves to sing and play the piano and often includes acting and singing somewhere in her stories.
She was born and raised in the hills of Tennessee in a large crazy family and as an adult, has moved all over the United States. She's finally settled down in a small town in the mountains of western Virginia where she loves to go hiking, boating, and dig in her garden.
She loves nerding out on video games, creating book covers, and drinking too much caffeine. When she can find a moment, she loves to sing and play the piano and often includes acting and singing somewhere in her stories.
She was born and raised in the hills of Tennessee in a large crazy family and as an adult, has moved all over the United States. She's finally settled down in a small town in the mountains of western Virginia where she loves to go hiking, boating, and dig in her garden.
Debbie Youngman
Debbie Youngman is the author of Laughter in the Library which was published in 2019. The book is a result of the journal the former school librarian kept for 37 years as an elementary school librarian. The book is a culmination of the funny, unfiltered things her students said to her as well as to her fellow teachers. Debbie is working on her second book entitled The True Story of the Christian Cat and the Distillery Dog.
Donnie Stevens
INSPIRING NOVELIST AND AUTHOR
Born AND raised in Bassett, Virginia, (the foothills of the Appalachian, Donnie likes to boast), he now spends his time between Danville, and Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. Where he and his wife, Jackie enjoy leisure time with friends, his son, daughter-in-law and three beautiful granddaughters. “Okay, he’s being a little impartial.” LOL On any given day you can find Jackie curled up reading a good book while Donnie sits alone in his quiet place writing his next story.
His first novel, Old Man Missing was written and published in 2009. This story setting in Floyd County, Virginia, garnered a lot of interest from readers asking him to not only write a sequel to it, but for him to write more stories. He honored their request with two more published novels and others ready to publish. One of his venues for inspiration to write comes from many of the Historical resorts and Bed and Breakfast Inns he loves to visit. Any place bubbling with a good bit of history and a story to tell.
Passionate about writing, Donnie’s stories often highlight his hero or heroine overcoming difficulties as they weave through real life challenges and conflict. And when Donnie isn’t writing you can find him giving back to his communities by serving on non-profit Boards or lending a helping hand to others in need.
Born AND raised in Bassett, Virginia, (the foothills of the Appalachian, Donnie likes to boast), he now spends his time between Danville, and Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. Where he and his wife, Jackie enjoy leisure time with friends, his son, daughter-in-law and three beautiful granddaughters. “Okay, he’s being a little impartial.” LOL On any given day you can find Jackie curled up reading a good book while Donnie sits alone in his quiet place writing his next story.
His first novel, Old Man Missing was written and published in 2009. This story setting in Floyd County, Virginia, garnered a lot of interest from readers asking him to not only write a sequel to it, but for him to write more stories. He honored their request with two more published novels and others ready to publish. One of his venues for inspiration to write comes from many of the Historical resorts and Bed and Breakfast Inns he loves to visit. Any place bubbling with a good bit of history and a story to tell.
Passionate about writing, Donnie’s stories often highlight his hero or heroine overcoming difficulties as they weave through real life challenges and conflict. And when Donnie isn’t writing you can find him giving back to his communities by serving on non-profit Boards or lending a helping hand to others in need.
Gale Buck
Gale Buck fell in love with writing when he had a problem with Christmas. His creative solution led him into a tradition of creating stories for his family, over 200 short stories, and now seventeen published works ranging from the Magic of Christmas and Tales of the North Pole to flying with dragons to surviving in the uncivilized Scottish Highlands and exploring the intricacies of time. His first mystery novel, Lost Finder, is set to be released in Summer of 2024.
Heather Weidner
Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She writes the Pearly Girls Mysteries, the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, and The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries.
Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.
Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.
Joyce Graham
Joyce Graham is a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. She enjoys being outdoors and spending time with her family. Telling stories to her children inspired her to begin writing children’s books.
Katelyn Beck
Katelyn Beck, Author from Surry County, NC. Katelyn has been a writer since 14 years of age. Katelyn self-published "A Choice with A Promise to Keep" in April 2023, and "A Choice with Hidden Secrets" in February 2024. Katelyn enjoys spending time with family, reading both nonfiction and fiction, and writing in her spare time.
Les Epstein
Les Epstein is a poet, playwright, librettist, stage director and educator. Epstein’s books include Sleep Cinematic: A Golem’s Quartet (Gnashing Teeth), Kip Divided (Finishing Line) and Lorenzo by the Ghost Light (Gnashing Teeth). Gnashing Teeth released his new book, Teddy Orloff and the Three Onions in April. Recent journal credits include Reedy Branch Review, Empyrean, Otherwise Engaged, Clinch Mountain Review, and Jelly Bucket. He teaches in Roanoke.
Melodie Parrish
Melodie Parrish can be found traveling to new places to experience vibrant cultures and beautiful people. You will see her anywhere there is water, or a park bench, reading the latest nonfiction book that caught her eye. Melodie was born and raised in South Carolina and is a small town gal at heart. Her love for reading and the written word began when she read bedtime stories with her deddy. This love continued into adulthood.
Michael Rigg
Michael Rigg has been an attorney for over four decades. He writes mysteries and thrillers set in two very different locations: Virginia Beach and New Orleans. He is a member of several professional writing organizations, including Hampton Roads Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters-in-Crime. Published works include a novelette, Ghosts of the French Market, and short stories in several anthologies.
Miski Harris
Miski Harris was born and raised in NY with her younger siblings. She’s a nurse, and a veteran who raised five sons while traveling the world. When she sets her mind to achieve something, she’s unstoppable.
Her two lifelong constants have been her faith and love of books. Reading is her mainstay, and she is rarely seen without her Nook which holds over 2,000 books.
Her two lifelong constants have been her faith and love of books. Reading is her mainstay, and she is rarely seen without her Nook which holds over 2,000 books.
ML Nystrom
I grew up in Collinsville, VA, reading and writing stories but never published until 2018. I'd turned 50 that year and had an epiphany. All those somedays I’d been saying for years were coming sue. Someday, I'd write a book. Someday, I'd travel more. Someday, I'd take that craft class. It was time to turn those somedays into todays. Fifteen books later I'm still going strong. I write mostly MC, contemporary, and romantic suspense for now. Who knows what's next? Welcome to my world. Enjoy! ,
Nancy Naigle
USA Today Bestselling Author Nancy Naigle whips up small-town love stories with a dash of suspense and a whole lot of heart. Nancy's 2021 release The Shell Collector debuted in the top #20 on the ECPA bestseller list, and was adapted for television in a book-to-movie deal with Fox Nation. Several of Nancy's books have also been made into television movies.
Pamela C. Cobler
Pamela C. Cobler, Ed.D. lives in Southwest rural Virginia and is an avid-cat lover. Combined with her love for cats, her educational and writing experiences turned into a dream of a life-time called Kuddle Kitty Book Series.
Dr. Cobler has published Kuddle Kitty Children's Books and Products. Book 1: Manners Matter & Book 2: Definitely Different.
Dr. Cobler has published Kuddle Kitty Children's Books and Products. Book 1: Manners Matter & Book 2: Definitely Different.
Robert "Bobby" Bailey
Local author Robert "Bobby" Bailey shares much experience with the characters in his two novels centering around the Nolichucky River and his Cherokee lineage. He is currently working on his third book in the series to be titled Cherokee Awakening and also a collection of short stories. He has published a collection of poems titled Random Thoughts From the Gunk Room.
Rose Cushing
Rose has 35 years of experience in marketing. She has worked at the corporate level as well as a being an entrepreneur in her television, film making and podcasting. She published a ten state regional magazine for 12 years. Leadership and marketing are her best traits.
Samson Ray
Hi, my name is Samson Ray and I wrote a book at the age of 7, in the 2nd grade. My book is title "Samson and Jesus' Adventure". My favorite color is purple and I have five little brothers and no sisters. I am working on a short story book and hope to have my second book done following up on Samson and Jesus' Adventure.
Stephen Mark Rainey
Stephen Mark Rainey is author of the novels Balak, Dark Shadows: Dreams of the Dark, Blue Devil Island, and many others. Mark's work includes six short story collections; over 200 published works of short fiction; and the scripts for several Dark Shadows audio productions, which feature members of the original ABC-TV series cast. For ten years, he edited the award-winning Deathrealm magazine and has edited numerous anthologies. Mark lives in Martinsville with his wife, Kimberly.
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