Cynthia Minnick

Julie Moore

Julie Moore has spent much of her adult life serving her country in the U.S. Army. Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, Julie and her husband now reside in Southwest Florida. She has two children, Kate and Adam, and two grandchildren. While serving in the military, Julie completed her master’s degree in Performance Improvement and received a certification as a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma. She retired with numerous meritorious awards, but her greatest reward was the many friendships she developed over the years. Julie discovered journaling when she left home at the age of 18. Missing her family and friends she left behind she found comfort in writing about her daily routines, adventures, as well as new loves and losses. She continued this practice throughout her career and leaned on it heavily during her time as a caregiver. This book is the result of those writings of her experiences caring for her oldest brother and mother. Although she would tell you that she doesn’t have any hobbies, she does enjoy time with her family, the occasional quiet time alone, listening to nature like birds and waterfalls, a sip of fine bourbon, and dancing. She loves to dance!

Michael Nelson

I'm retired twice, first from the Air Force and then as a college professor. I'm not sure yet if writing is a third career or just something I enjoy - as I used to tell my students, if you're not making money at it then it might just be a hobby. I write mostly science fiction but I've also written a few short stories that can be classified as fiction, mystery, and/or just downright ridiculous.

Marjorie Newton

Mershon Niesner

Mershon Niesner is a Certified Life Coach and author. She writes the Ask the Life Coach column for the Coastal Breeze News and has four published books, Mom’s Gone, Now What? Ten Steps to Help Daughters Move Forward After Loss, The Bootmaker’s Wife,Angie, The Bee Lady, and It’s (Mostly) Good To Be Martha. Mershon and her husband, Ken, live in Naples, Florida. Between them, they have six children, nineteen grandchildren, and eleven great-grands.

Alice Oldford

Paul Anthony Petruzzi

Paul Anthony grew up in mid-twentieth-century Brooklyn surrounded by the cultural influences of his grandparents, who had emigrated from Italy at the turn of the century. This cultural background provided the inspiration and perspective for many of his characters, poems, and stories. Recent publications include: Brooklyn 4, New York: Lyrical Voices (copr Paul Anthony Publishing, LLC, November 2024) is a collection of narrative poems based on the experiences of early twentieth-century emigrants who arrived in America with little more than hope. "The Shooting Gallery" from this collection received a Bronze Award (Genre: Poem, Unpublished) from the Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Awards 2022. Sorrow: the legacy of cio-cio-san (copr Paul Anthony Publishing, LLC, July 2021) a lyric novella that chronicles the journey of Sorrow, son of Madama Butterfly and Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton, from the motherless toddler at the end of the opera through adulthood. "Sorrow" received a Gold Award (Genre: General Catch-All, Published) from the Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Awards 2022. Minimum Wage: Brianna received Third Place (Genre: Poetry) from the Gulf Coast Writers Association Writing Contest 2022. “on the morrow” was published in “Storm Stories: Hurricane Ian.” (copr Gulf Coast Writers Association, September 2023) Paul Anthony earned a Doctor of Letters (DLitt) in Literary Studies/Humanities from Drew University in Madison, NJ; and a Master of Arts (MA) in English Literature from Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ.

Amy Pontius

Amy Pontius is a former educator residing in southwest Florida and summering in northern Vermont. She is the author of the children's book Molly the Mockingbird. Her work has been published in Kaleidoscope™ Reflections on Women’s Journeys: In My Shoes; Voices of Cleveland: A Bicentennial Anthology of Poems; and Bacopa Literary Review. Her writing has also been recognized and published online by Press 53, Florida Weekly, Gulf Coast Writers Association, and Kaleidoscope WoJo.

Jan & Avery Porter

Malaina Purdon

Malaina Mote graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2015 with her bachelor’s degree in communications, concentration public relations. Since graduating, Malaina has held various roles within the nonprofit sector, including positions in community outreach, relationship building, education, program management, strategy, fundraising, and development. Currently, she is the Director of Development at Lee Health Foundation. She deeply believes in giving back to the community and inspiring others. In her spare time, she volunteers as a board member for the Florida Gulf Coast University Alumni Association and Our Mother’s Home, and she is vice chair of the City of Bonita Springs Outreach Committee. Recently, she concluded her term as a community board member of the Newspress-SWFL/Naples Daily News and a branch member of the Resilient Lee Housing Branch. She is a published author of a children’s book, Lavender, What Are You?, that sold copies in Italy, the UK, Canada, and the USA. She has been recognized by Gulfshore Business 40 Under 40 2021 and was awarded FGCU’s Soaring Eagle Award. When she is not busy in any of her positions, Malaina enjoys writing, doing anything creative, reading, spending time with her husband and watching her son make goals on the soccer field or plays on the football field.

Virginia Read

Margaret Roche

While the product of a Midwest upbringing, M.E. has lived and worked on both coasts as well as in Ireland. As a registered nurse, she has had the opportunity to work in many facets of nursing from pediatrics to geriatrics, from labor representation to administration, including the implementation of hospital information systems for nursing. While officially retired, she continues to volunteer at a neighborhood clinic where she lives in southwest Florida. When M.E. discovered that nothing had been written about nursing for young readers, since the 1950s and 60s, her first novels were written to address this deficit—to show young readers something of what nursing was like today. As she got to know her characters and their involvement with law enforcement, M.E. decided she needed more direct experience. She connected with her local sheriff’s department and began volunteering with the coroner’s division. Her adult novels have been a product of that experience, giving Nora Brady the somewhat enviable opportunity to merge her talents for that of nursing with those of law enforcement.

Linda Saether

Dr. Linda Saether is a Norwegian/American novelist, blogger, screenwriter, and playwright, who has also written historical articles based on her interest in Tudor history and her own journey to unearth treasures hidden in the Vatican archives for hundreds of years.

Sam Sancho

Sam Sancho has been a dedicated professional in library services for over 14 years. She has gained extensive experience managing library resources, organizing events and programs, and providing excellent customer service to patrons. Currently, Sam resides with her husband and two adorable dogs in the beautiful state of Florida. She is passionate about her work and takes pride in helping children discover the joy of reading and learning.

Catherine Sheehan

RICHARD SHERMAN

Richard Sherman is an author and full-time professional photographer who sells artwork primarily to the healthcare, hospitality, and corporate markets. His photography has been exhibited by Mary Williams Fine Art and Red Filter Gallery, and his images have appeared three times on the cover of Caribbean Compass magazine, and in advertisements in Yachts International and Classic Boat magazine. He has been a photography instructor at Princeton Photo Workshop since 2014, and his artwork is hung in more than 30 VA and DoD healthcare facilities. Rich has an MBA from Georgetown University, a BA from Lehigh University, and he holds certificates in professional photography and in videography from the New York Institute of Photography. He is fluent in Spanish and speaks conversational French. Rich is a former Navy Officer and Gulf War Veteran, and his photography business operates as a certified veteran-owned small business. He is also a member of the VFW and the American Legion. Before starting his photography business in 2011, Rich worked as a Wall Street analyst covering infrastructure technology companies, and was a partner at two boutique investment firms over the course of more than 15 years. You can see his images at www.RichardShermanPhotography.com. His book, "Never Home: Remembering the Military Heroes Who Never Returned," honors the more than 207,000 individuals interred in America’s 23 overseas WWI and WWII cemeteries and was published in April 2024. More information on the memorial book can be found at www.NeverHomeHeroes.com/index.