Here's a look at some of our writers
and their published works:
Officers & Directors and Staff
Click photo for more about Diane
Diane Revell (President 2023, and Secretary of HWG from 2017 through 2021) Diane was well educated in California and Washington with a bachelor degree from UC Berkeley in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and a master degree from Seattle University in Software Engineering. She worked for 35 years in aerospace software development and technical management before retiring and moving from Washington State with her husband to Hawi, Hawaii. She did technical writing as part of her employment and as a member of the Society of Women Engineers, but since moving to Hawi has mainly written poems and very short stories. She has had some items published as single contributions in newspapers, but is considering compiling her current poems into a book. Dianne also serves as Director, Kohala Area 2023
Bruce Stern
Bruce Stern (Vice President of HWG in 2018, 2019-2023 Bruce has spent many years in a wide variety of business and technical roles, particularly in the areas of high performance materials, operations management, and large scale business systems. He is always passionate about his undertakings and that also applies to his eclectic writing. He has just published his first novel, The Fuel Saver Conspiracy, A Peter Jones Mystery. Prior published works were scientific papers and he branched out into other genres. Current projects include a sequel to his first novel, poetry, family history, science fiction, and technical mystery. Now retired, Bruce lives full time on the Big Island with his wife Debby and enjoys the freedom to write and to volunteer in support of the local community. Bruce has been a member of the Waimea Writers Support Group for several years.
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Donna Beumler (Secretary of Hawaii Writers Guild 2022 & 2023). Donna is the author of the legal thriller Criminal/Lawyer. Her credentials for writing such a novel include being a retired superior court judge, and a former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney. Plus, she has a very vivid imagination. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, she holds a bachelor’s degree in English from UC Berkeley and a law degree from McGeorge School of Law-University of the Pacific. Donna spent many years living and working in southeastern Arizona – in a community bordering the Republic of Mexico — before moving to the island of Hawaii.
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Bob Lupo (Treasurer of HWG in 2018 and 2019-2023)
Bob Lupo was born and raised in New York City, served in Vietnam, and enjoyed a successful 40+ year career on Wall Street, including 25 years as a High Yield Bond Analyst (Junk Bonds to those-in-the-know). Bleacher Heaven (2017), his most recent novel, weaves a gripping tale of good cops chasing bad cops in the South Bronx as the Nation gapes at the spectacle of the never-ending drama of the 7th Game of the 2016 World Series between the Yankees and the Mets. He has written two other novels: A Buffalo’s Revenge (2003), a Vietnam negative, explores the limits of a nation engaged in a struggle for freedom when the mirror reveals a fractured image. Extremities-4 (2003) is a satiric adult morality tale on the perils of being human and animal. Bob just completed Crazy Fates, his fourth work of fiction, about the dystopian 1960’s. He lives in Hakalau, Hawaii with Linda, his wife; Zinn, his yellow lab, and three cats reluctantly carrying the names Lily, Sistah Sistah, and Buddy.
Bob Lupo was born and raised in New York City, served in Vietnam, and enjoyed a successful 40+ year career on Wall Street, including 25 years as a High Yield Bond Analyst (Junk Bonds to those-in-the-know). Bleacher Heaven (2017), his most recent novel, weaves a gripping tale of good cops chasing bad cops in the South Bronx as the Nation gapes at the spectacle of the never-ending drama of the 7th Game of the 2016 World Series between the Yankees and the Mets. He has written two other novels: A Buffalo’s Revenge (2003), a Vietnam negative, explores the limits of a nation engaged in a struggle for freedom when the mirror reveals a fractured image. Extremities-4 (2003) is a satiric adult morality tale on the perils of being human and animal. Bob just completed Crazy Fates, his fourth work of fiction, about the dystopian 1960’s. He lives in Hakalau, Hawaii with Linda, his wife; Zinn, his yellow lab, and three cats reluctantly carrying the names Lily, Sistah Sistah, and Buddy.
Click Photo for more about Joy Fisher
Joy Fisher (Public Relations Director, 2017 - 2023)
In her 20s, Joy lucked into a job with the Las Vegas SUN. She loved journalism. But the Second Wave of the women’s movement swept her away and, in a delirium of idealism, she became a lawyer so she could change the world. She didn’t. Although she continued to practice law, the itch to write never left, and she scratched it wherever she could: writing poetry at the Women’s Writer’s Center in Cazenovia, New York for a year; in a writing group in Salzburg, Austria, as she struggled to learn the art of playwriting; and at the University of Victoria in British Columbia where she eventually got a BFA in Creative Writing, specializing in personal essays and playwriting. Now she’s found the Hawaii Writers Guild and feels like she’s finally home.
In her 20s, Joy lucked into a job with the Las Vegas SUN. She loved journalism. But the Second Wave of the women’s movement swept her away and, in a delirium of idealism, she became a lawyer so she could change the world. She didn’t. Although she continued to practice law, the itch to write never left, and she scratched it wherever she could: writing poetry at the Women’s Writer’s Center in Cazenovia, New York for a year; in a writing group in Salzburg, Austria, as she struggled to learn the art of playwriting; and at the University of Victoria in British Columbia where she eventually got a BFA in Creative Writing, specializing in personal essays and playwriting. Now she’s found the Hawaii Writers Guild and feels like she’s finally home.
Go to Bryan's Page
Bryan Furer (Director, Volcano Area) & (Events Director 2022 - 2023)
Bryan is a film industry professional for over forty years. He wrote, acted, and directed homemade monster movies when he was a kid. After moving to the island of Hawaii, Bryan phased out of the daily grind of make-up and pursued his writing career. He was able to use the wealth of knowledge that he gained from the film industry in his writing and has written several scripts, some of which have been optioned. He has now written two books based on his screenplays and writes under his pen name Elias Blackthorne. Five Steps to Sheep and Passenger are both available on Amazon and in bookstores now.
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Duncan Dempster (Webmaster since Noah built the Ark)
A freelance writer who, having spent the better part of a lifetime employing words as a matter of vocational expedience, has discovered late in life the joys and challenges of juggling language in a purely avocational mode. A retired career Naval officer, he is now fully retired and deeply immersed in living the good life on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island. He is an avid believer in the power of words to evoke emotion as well as the power of emotion to inspire words. Thus he strives to use language as a tool to paint the landscapes of human relationships and feelings and to employ those feelings to flesh out and define the limits and boundaries of words. His first novel, Chapel on the Moor, was published in 2014, and revised and republished along with an audiobook version in 2021. A sequel to Chapel entitled Where Are You? came out in 2019 A third novel in the works, tentatively entitled Trequel, is currently looking for a way out of his head and onto the printed page.
A freelance writer who, having spent the better part of a lifetime employing words as a matter of vocational expedience, has discovered late in life the joys and challenges of juggling language in a purely avocational mode. A retired career Naval officer, he is now fully retired and deeply immersed in living the good life on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island. He is an avid believer in the power of words to evoke emotion as well as the power of emotion to inspire words. Thus he strives to use language as a tool to paint the landscapes of human relationships and feelings and to employ those feelings to flesh out and define the limits and boundaries of words. His first novel, Chapel on the Moor, was published in 2014, and revised and republished along with an audiobook version in 2021. A sequel to Chapel entitled Where Are You? came out in 2019 A third novel in the works, tentatively entitled Trequel, is currently looking for a way out of his head and onto the printed page.
Members
Click photo for more about Eila
Eila Algood (Director, Kohala Area 2017 - 2022)
Eila has been writing since childhood with many published works including: On The Road To Bliss, Rhapsody in Bohemia, pieces in Frida Magazine, Think Pink Anthology. Speaking her written words in public readings is a favorite experience as it gives her the opportunity to share her positive, playful personality.
Click photo for more about Mina
Mina Apostadiro I am 22 years old and have always sought sincere self-expression and freedom in poetry. I attend the University of Hawaii at Hilo where I am actively pursuing a BSN in nursing. I indulge in poetry that takes an introspective manner. I am working on compiling a collection of poetry to publish. I have participated in spoken word events and plan to exchange spoken word art when the opportunity arises. I love connecting with other writers and journeying with new perspectives of creative voice.
Mina Apostadiro I am 22 years old and have always sought sincere self-expression and freedom in poetry. I attend the University of Hawaii at Hilo where I am actively pursuing a BSN in nursing. I indulge in poetry that takes an introspective manner. I am working on compiling a collection of poetry to publish. I have participated in spoken word events and plan to exchange spoken word art when the opportunity arises. I love connecting with other writers and journeying with new perspectives of creative voice.
Click on her picture to learn more about Meliha.
Meliha Avdic Meliha was born in Bosnia. She’s lived most of the life in the UK where she took refuge during the 1992-95 war. After a degree in Economics and a promise of a prosperous future in the financial markets, Meliha followed her own passion – the not-for-profit organisations. As a war child, she believes ‘peacekeeping’ is her duty. This is reflected in her professional life as well as her writing. In her book, Just Another Life, she has her characters in a café discussing various social issues. It is a reflection on our society and the role of ordinary people. Her latest work, Windows and Mirrors, although inspired by the Hawaii Five-0 TV show and written just for fun, has evolved into a story about victims of war and their role in peacekeeping. You can learn more about Meliha by visiting her website here.
Meliha Avdic Meliha was born in Bosnia. She’s lived most of the life in the UK where she took refuge during the 1992-95 war. After a degree in Economics and a promise of a prosperous future in the financial markets, Meliha followed her own passion – the not-for-profit organisations. As a war child, she believes ‘peacekeeping’ is her duty. This is reflected in her professional life as well as her writing. In her book, Just Another Life, she has her characters in a café discussing various social issues. It is a reflection on our society and the role of ordinary people. Her latest work, Windows and Mirrors, although inspired by the Hawaii Five-0 TV show and written just for fun, has evolved into a story about victims of war and their role in peacekeeping. You can learn more about Meliha by visiting her website here.
Click photo for more about Nancy
Nancy Baenziger Nancy's interests in science and creative arts offer hidden short stories and poetry plus visible 50+ bioscience research publications, from her Ph.D. thesis through now-retiree neuroscience faculty output at Washington University in St. Louis, which institution seeks to obliterate any evidence she was ever there. Living at Mauna Lani, Nancy is a health care policy journalist presenting biomedical concepts in terms understandable to a broad audience, explaining health care controversies, and offering practical solutions. Nancy's recent publications include pain (mis)management, the Big Island Dengue outbreak, and women’s breast health controversy. Several essays/op-ed pieces are still in her in-brain incubation period. She’s read her poetry at Living Arts Gallery in Hawi and is now compiling a book. Additional pending books include several murder mystery novels.
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Jordan P. Barnes Aloha, my name is Jordan P. Barnes. I live in Kailua on the island of O`ahu and write in the "Quit-Lit"/Memoir/Autofiction niche(s). As an addict in recovery (10 years clean on August 29th, 2021) I am motivated to tell stories that destigmatize substance use disorder and inspire hope where possible. I fell in love with storytelling when I worked up the courage to tell my own story (One Hit Away: A Memoir of Recovery) and the response inspired me to pursue writing full-time. You can learn more about me and my writing by clicking on my photo.
Click photo for more about Catherine
Catherine Becker Catherine is an Associate Professor at the University of Hawaii, Hilo, teaching courses in sustainability, leadership, interpersonal, family, and organizational communication. All of her published works explore ways that communication contributes to the transformation of individuals, systems, and cultures. It crosses methodological and disciplinary lines, creates new connections, paradigms, and possibilities. She is a black-market adoptee of Irish-Scottish descent raised in working-class Buffalo with a background in Native American and Hawaiian Studies. Her original parents met scuba diving, conceiving her under the ocean. She understands the vital interface between stories, identity, and reality. She is the author of Mana Cards: The Power of Hawaiian Wisdom, a collection of symbols, stories, and teachings designed to expand consciousness while perpetuating reverence for Hawaii. She is of currently writing a memoir, Moving Between the Lines: A Black Market Baby, A Motorcycle, A Quest for Real Across the American Landscape and Beyond.
Click photo for more about Dale
Dale Belvin These channeled Writings are shared from a place of love. The gifts I share come from a place deep within my heart, handed down from generation to generation through a long lineage of hands healers. This has allowed me to start to remember who I am and to rediscover what my true purpose is in this lifetime. That purpose is to love myself and others more today then I did yesterday. To share that wisdom through the simple gesture of the holding hands and to create and allow space for these writings to flow through effortlessly. I have been sharing this form of writing for over 30 years. The writings are shared with the intention to inspire a stronger heart connection. Love is who we are, Life is what we do with it. May your journey be filled with love.
Patty Bigelow
Patty Bigelow Patty is a long time resident of Hawaii, currently living near Waimea on the Big Island. She retired after a long career playing piano professionally. She wrote a musical play which was presented and well received at Parker School in 2001 and in 2002. The original title was "The Gift of Christmas" which she has since changed to "Christmas Makes Me Crazy," about a mother trying to stay sane while putting Christmas together for her family. The mother experiences a dream, both humorous and serious, of the Nativity which helps her regain her perspective. Patty is now working on converting the play to a choral production with a narration. Also in the works is another musical about the Cycles of Life. Patty is enjoying the input and camaraderie of the wonderful and talented group of writers in the Waimea area.
 Click photo for more about Richard
Richard Bodien Richard is a writer, painter, poet, translator and musician. In the 1960’s, his high school band was Nirvana, and he later formed Mycology on Vashon Island in the 80’s. After a lifetime in corporations, he moved to Hawi and started an art gallery that eventually became a world class destination for ukulele. His professional work spanned business research, technical writing, marketing, advertising, branding, and ghostwriting. At university, he studied classical Chinese language and literature. He printed small letterpress pamphlets in Chicago, presented cello and poetry performances with composer Scott Roller in Texas, and studied Buddhism in India. His work has been published internationally, recorded by the Outer Circle Orchestra, and performed by the Taos Dance Theatre at the Taos Poetry Circus. He is a former director of The Literary Center in Seattle, and hosted many well received poetry events in Chicago, Austin, and Seattle. His poetry and translations are available on Amazon.
 Click photo see some of Jamie's works
Jamie Brooks James R. Brooks, he/him, (M.A. Communication) research focuses on cultural productions of environmentalism(s). He is fixated on current relations with/to the environment as interelations of power. He publishes on transportation emissions policy in popular journals. Projects in progress include two academic articles currently in review: Climate Denial Rhetoric and Petro-masculinity: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Elite Responses to Environmental Risk and Climate Change Warning Labels on Gas Pumps: The Role of Public Opinion in Forming Sustainable Transportation Policy. Jamie is a climate activist and founder of the non-profit group Think Beyond the Pump, the organization behind a Cambridge, Massachusetts action January 2020 requiring a climate/public health warning label on City gas pumps. Jamie lives a blissful, middle-class queer life with his husband and dog Ranger, in Kapaau, HI. Malama `Aina. His published works can be viewed here.
 Click photo for more about Mark
Mark M. Brown Mark is the author of Outward Bound Lessons to Live a Life of Leadership: To Serve, to Strive, and Not To Yield. He worked as an Outward Bound wilderness instructor, course director, and senior facilitator for more than 20 years. Mark is a certified professional coach and earned a master’s degree in business/entrepreneurship. He designed some of the first corporate leadership development programs that Outward Bound offered, blending Outward Bound with organizational change. Mark currently lives in Waimea and continues his work as a master coach, consultant and facilitator, helping people and organizations successfully navigate the rapid changes of our modern world. When he’s not working he’s disappearing down a trail, fishing with his son, or paddling a canoe somewhere. The wilderness always calls! |
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Laura Burkhart Laura’s first book of poetry, Venus Rising (Hagios Press) was short-listed for two Saskatchewan Book Awards. A limited-edition hand bound poetry collection, Watermarks (Wild Sage Press), is now available in a second edition. Laura is currently completing a murder mystery set on O`ahu, and working on another poetry collection. Her background includes psychology, adult education and community, organizational and international development. She has worked in Canada, the US, Asia, South America and the Middle East. She holds an MFA in fiction and poetry from Vermont College. In 2004 Laura moved from Canada to North Kohala on the Big Island, where she works, writes, swims, and is a happy member of The Inkwells writers group. You can reach Laura here.
Laura Burkhart Laura’s first book of poetry, Venus Rising (Hagios Press) was short-listed for two Saskatchewan Book Awards. A limited-edition hand bound poetry collection, Watermarks (Wild Sage Press), is now available in a second edition. Laura is currently completing a murder mystery set on O`ahu, and working on another poetry collection. Her background includes psychology, adult education and community, organizational and international development. She has worked in Canada, the US, Asia, South America and the Middle East. She holds an MFA in fiction and poetry from Vermont College. In 2004 Laura moved from Canada to North Kohala on the Big Island, where she works, writes, swims, and is a happy member of The Inkwells writers group. You can reach Laura here.
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Janet Carpenter Janet, author/educator/hermit, has been a writer wandering all her life. Currently, she’s “wandering what she’s doing”... A literary nomad, she has traveled through the genres of drama, fiction, prose, and poetry; frequently visiting the realms of short stories, plays, poems, TV and screenplays, journaling, and song lyrics. Perhaps best known for her quirky comedic twists, she is unafraid to explore the darker side of the spirit world in Hawaiian myths, legends, and ghost stories from her own experience. In real life, she develops curriculum and is a part-time “educational commando” for Hawai'i Community College, teaching classes in order to support her writing journeys.
MK Chelius
MK Chelius As a biologist, she appreciates all life microscopic, as in, it is the little things in life. As an ecologist, she understands the impulse to head for the hills or seek the company of trees and rainbows, including double rainbows terminating in a forest of majestic trees that somehow channel consciousness or something vaguely but distinctly humanesque. In other words, who really knows what goes on in those biologically diverse woods? She would like to know. As a former academic, she is happy to never again grade anything, reject a hypothesis, or convince funders that her research proposal is not only novel and compelling, but also elegant. As a writer, she is drawn to literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction, genres represented in her three unpublished novels and short stories.
Susan Cysewski
Susan Cysewski. Susan is a writer, graphic artist and painter who has lived in Kailua-Kona since the 1990s. Her writing journey began after leaving Pittsburgh and attending UC-Boulder with a major in journalism. After arriving in Hawaii, she worked at West Hawaii Today and started a graphic design business, while her desire to write fiction lingered in the background. Susan then completed a degree in Creative Writing/English at SNHU to delve deeper into the literary elements of great fiction. Combining her interests in history and travel, she is currently writing an international crime/thriller, Pursuit of the Osorion… A young museum worker from Philadelphia embarks on an archeological vacation in Sicily. Her courage is tested and strengths revealed when she becomes the unwitting pawn between unscrupulous artifact dealers. Susan is also compiling a collection of diverse short stories.
Zack Ehrmann
Zack Ehrmann Zack Ehrmann was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. He has worked intermittently – and often unsatisfactorily – as a grocery clerk (fired for smoking cigarettes underage), a ticket-taker for entry into a local waterpark, a record store clerk, a help desk technician, a law firm runner, a musician, a captioner for telephonic devices utilized by the hard-of-hearing (fired for scoring below the accuracy threshold, and, rumor has it, doing so on purpose), a therapist, and a copywriter, amongst others. He comes from a long line of talented writers and has resolved to work hard enough to only be considered a mere embarrassment by way of comparison.
Go to David's Page
David Emerson A nobody from Los Angeles. 26. Voortrekker. Actively writing scripts for television and film but also trying to branch out. Currently working on a short story in addition to scripts and screenplays. Art should be meaningful and everyone is looking for meaning.
David Emerson A nobody from Los Angeles. 26. Voortrekker. Actively writing scripts for television and film but also trying to branch out. Currently working on a short story in addition to scripts and screenplays. Art should be meaningful and everyone is looking for meaning.
Go to Cheryl's Page
Cheryl Ann Farrell Cheryl Ann grew up in Colorado and lived in Los Angeles for 15 years before heading to Kauai. She has lived on Kauai for nearly 20 years teaching at the Community College as well as teaching online for other schools. She is also a Writing Tutor for Colorado State University-Global campus. Armed with a Bachelors in English and an MBA she became a copy writer for financial institutions in Los Angeles. She has dabbled in writing with short stories, poetry, humorous essays, and creating advertising copy. Photography is another creative avenue for Cheryl Ann. As she heads into retirement from teaching, she wants to combine both creative talents into a book. Being able to brainstorm with like-minded people and network within a writing community brought her to the Writers Guild.
More about Michael Foley
Michael Foley Michael Foley was born in London, England. He has worked as a stagehand and school teacher. His writing includes free lance research, poetry and memoir. His work has been published in Sightlines Journal of British Theatre Technicians, Resurgence magazine, Methuen’s Anthology of Theatre Verse and small press publications such as Trillium, Lookout and Fireweed. His poetry is collected in Watching the Egg Dance in the Pan and most recently, Hair of the Barista, available on Amazon. A second chapbook of poems written in Malaga, titled Beauty It Turns Out, is forthcoming; as is a larger collection of poems set in Hawaiʻi, One Good Ear. A memoir from his year as a stagehand in Stratford-Upon-Avon with the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, titled Tales From the Wings, continues to be a work in progress. He is a member of Na Kupuna O Kohala hula halau.
Go to Virginia's Page
Virginia Fortner Virginia Fortner, following an urge to express herself since she began to print, has published essays, poetry, fiction, and children’s stories, and one dissertation. Mostly retired, she met with Montana Writers after being part of Kansas City Writers for many years. Now she puts pen to paper with Hawi folks to write essays, articles, memoirs, poems, and fiction. She recently tried a 10-minute play. Virginia is presently co-writing a surfboard shaper’s adventurers, a German showgirl’s life, and a thriller set in Thailand. That leaves a little time for her memoirs revisiting “1949ers” as her family pulled a trailer house across 26 states. vfortner.wordpress.com describes more wanderlust as she taught ESL in China, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia. Her novel, At the Edge, is at North Kohola Library, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.com.
Virginia Fortner Virginia Fortner, following an urge to express herself since she began to print, has published essays, poetry, fiction, and children’s stories, and one dissertation. Mostly retired, she met with Montana Writers after being part of Kansas City Writers for many years. Now she puts pen to paper with Hawi folks to write essays, articles, memoirs, poems, and fiction. She recently tried a 10-minute play. Virginia is presently co-writing a surfboard shaper’s adventurers, a German showgirl’s life, and a thriller set in Thailand. That leaves a little time for her memoirs revisiting “1949ers” as her family pulled a trailer house across 26 states. vfortner.wordpress.com describes more wanderlust as she taught ESL in China, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia. Her novel, At the Edge, is at North Kohola Library, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.com.
Go to Steven's Website
Steven S. Foster After I served four years in the U.S. Air Force during the early ‘70’s, I yearned to be a writer. To accomplish my dream, I set out on a long journey. First, I worked as an aircraft welder at night to support my family, and fought a grueling battle to earn a BA degree in communications. This led to a stint in a smoke-filled newspaper office, and I sped through the fast lane in advertising. Later, I wrote numerous magazine articles and gave presentations in schools for nonprofit organizations. From there, I continued to refine the art of studying human behavior, and settled into a career in customer service. Through all this, I kept the photo of a bald eagle in flight on my desk with a quote from Langston Hughes. I still have the words in front of me that say, “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” I hope this will be an inspiration for any creative thinker who aspires for more than the status quo. Since my retirement, I have published three novels, Spirit of an Eagle, Summer Passage of ’66 and Hawaii’s Last Beekeeper. All are available on Amazon here. You can also access my three short stories that are published in the editions of Literary Review -- War Butterfly (2nd edition), Escape to Tiki Cove (3rd edition), and the recently approved Rescue Divers (when it’s published in the 4th edition).
Click the photo for more on Dave
David Fouts Blank paper has always had an effect on me. I want to write on it. I was raised in Indiana never traveling further than 40 miles from home until I joined the army in 1969. I was trained as an infantry/combat medic but was ever so fortunate to be sent to the Korean DMZ. My wife Linda and I moved to Alaska where we spent 26 great years. My three children, Henry, Monica, Cara were happily raised in the North country. I worked on a salmon seiner two years, 12 years in the Bush living in isolated Yupik Eskimo villages. And 12 years on the coast in some real beautiful country. All the time I was feeding the writing bug with what little excess time I had. In 03 we moved to Hawaii. My wife died in 2011.
Go to Jim's Page
Jim Gibbons From a beatnik hippie poet of the Sixties, to a high school teacher and newspaper columnist in the Eighties and Nineties, Jim Gibbons emerged in the 21st Century with enough flashbacks of the good old days for a book or two. His most recent essays can be read in the Anderson Valley Advertiser out of Boonville, California (theava.com). Matter of fact, Flashbacks: A Memoir was just published in 2017. See it here. Thanks to the HWG, his second book in 47 years, A Jog Down Memory Lane, has just been published as paperback as well as a Kindle and you can see or get it here. It is a collection of running articles he wrote for his weekly FootNotes column in the Willits News and the Anderson Valley Advertiser (both in Northern California). Jim got caught up in the running boom, traveling to races all over the country, from San Francisco to Eugene to Spokane to Chicago to New York to Boston to Florida and back to California. Between 1978 and 2016, he ran 528 races and has more medals and columns than he can count, or wants to bother.
Click the photo above for more about Amy Elizabeth Gordon
Amy Elizabeth Gordon Amy Elizabeth is a passionate communicator, weaving words in a poetic resonance of grit and grace. In a consistent fashion, her brave voice comes through in her poetry, prose and creative non-fiction. Watch for the upcoming publication of her teaching memoir. She is a resident of Hawai'i where she is active in the practices of hula, land stewardship, paddling, outdoor yoga, and olelo Hawai'i. This connection to a sense of place and natural great beauty helps to resource her mothering, coaching, and loving. She values the support of other writers, near and far. They remind her, though it has all been said before, it hasn’t been said in her voice. Amy Elizabeth has recently published Moonshot, a fascinating memoir subtitled "aim high, dive deep, live an extraordinary life." It's available from Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats.
Click the photo above for more about Gwyn Gorg
Gwyndolin Gorg Gwen grew up in Los Angeles, California where she met her husband when they were both involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Their documentary films Autobiography of a Hopi, and The Savages, have won awards nationally and internationally. Another of her films, Living the Blues, starred the legendary Blues man Sam Taylor, winner of Filmtrax award at Belgium’s Ghent International Film Festival. She co-created and performed the History of the Blues for students at The International House of Blues Foundation. Ms Gorg was president of African Americans on Maui Association from 2012 until 2021. She was an instructor at the University of Hawaii, Maui from 2010 until 2019. Darlene’s Awakening was her most recent book. I Am Bigger Than Nigger, Nice Lady a Lighter Approach To Alzheimer are other books she has written, in addition to I Am The Blues, a history of the Blues for children.
Carol Hannum
Carol Hannum My writing began shortly after college in 1956. Living in the University District of Seattle, Washington, I was fascinated with its Bohemian lifestyle, signifying to me that all chains and gags of the previous period had fallen to the floor. A shoddy looking renaissance was in its place. I desired to become a Beat Poet, so I drove to San Francisco at 2am in a '50s Ford with no hood latch. North Beach here I come. And it happened! Meeting Lawrence Ferlinghetti in the City Lights Bookstore was a highlight that sparked my creativity. The work of Denise Levertov, Gertrude Stein, and Kenneth Patchens were inspiring. T.S.Eliot's poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock stuck in my head. Publications offered an insecure venue. However, I did publish a poem in "Reverberations,“ a local journal. I kept on writing and people I trusted told me my poems were good. What does good mean? An evaluative instead of a personal/emotional response. I since learned to ask the question: which poem stirs you? In thinking about what to say in this biography, I asked the question of myself, “What about me makes a poet, architect, musician, cartoonist, painter, and medical remote viewer/healer?" The answer came soon. It is the MUSE behind it all. An intuitive, curious and beyond-the-box creative imagination laid the ground work.
Linda Heath
Linda Heath After growing up in small Ohio town, Linda earned a B.S. from Ohio State University, followed by a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Northwestern University, then spent five freezing years teaching at the University of Minnesota. She spent the next 33 years teaching at Loyola University Chicago. Along the way she married and raised a son and a daughter, retiring in 2017 to move to Hawaii with her new husband, Bob Lupo. Linda published over 50 articles in journals and co-edited 5 volumes on Social Psychological Applications to Social Issues. Her research focused on reactions to crime and causes of criminal behavior. Her most recent research examined the role of social media in the Arab Spring uprising in Tunisia. Now she is turning to memoir and light-hearted fiction writing.
Dawn Hurwitz. A Puna, Big Island resident since 1989. Originally from Chicago where I was an avante garde clothing and costume designer during the 80’s. Have operated two businesses here; a metaphysical bookstore cafe called "huna ohana" in Pahoa in the 90’s, and Mac Assistance a mobile tech help service in the 00’s. Now I do my best to write it all down before it escapes the short term banks. My first memoir is at the end of it’s first draft. In 2017, published author, professional script reader, and teacher Adam Sydney and I organized the Puna Writer’s Workshops at the “Stables” in Hawaiian Shores. Our aspiring writers meet weekly to hone craft, give and receive constructive feedback, and support. Currently we host two different types of groups; Entry, folks who need to brush up or learn the art of narrative storytelling; and Ongoing, folks working on projects.
Tamara Hynd
Tamara Hynd Born and raised in northern British Columbia, Canada, Tamara studied English at the University of Victoria and completed her Marketing and Sales Diploma with Scholarship from Langara College in 1995. Her sense of adventure and love of travel took her across the globe, providing fuel for her writing as she scribbled notes along the way. She began her journalism career in 2012 and has worked for the Nelson Star, The Free Press, Elk Valley Herald, and Coast Mountain News. Her story of two men surviving a grizzly bear attack in the East Kootenay town of Fernie was published in the Calgary Herald and Vancouver Sun, and many other media outlets. Tamara is currently working on her first novel and lives in the small North Kohala town of Kapa'au on the Big Island of Hawaii. You can contact Tamara at tamara.hynd@hotmail.com.
Tamara Hynd Born and raised in northern British Columbia, Canada, Tamara studied English at the University of Victoria and completed her Marketing and Sales Diploma with Scholarship from Langara College in 1995. Her sense of adventure and love of travel took her across the globe, providing fuel for her writing as she scribbled notes along the way. She began her journalism career in 2012 and has worked for the Nelson Star, The Free Press, Elk Valley Herald, and Coast Mountain News. Her story of two men surviving a grizzly bear attack in the East Kootenay town of Fernie was published in the Calgary Herald and Vancouver Sun, and many other media outlets. Tamara is currently working on her first novel and lives in the small North Kohala town of Kapa'au on the Big Island of Hawaii. You can contact Tamara at tamara.hynd@hotmail.com.
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Sabrina Ito Sabrina Ito lives in Honolulu, HI with her husband, Victor, and her son, Xander. An International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle School French and English teacher in Kailua, Oahu, Sabrina also enjoys writing, cooking, spending time with family, and is at her happiest in or near the ocean. A ‘sometimes poet’ for close to a decade now, Sabrina’s poems have appeared in many national publications, such as Bamboo Ridge, Clarion Magazine, Slipstream Press, Coachella Review and The Cossack Review.
Sabrina Ito Sabrina Ito lives in Honolulu, HI with her husband, Victor, and her son, Xander. An International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle School French and English teacher in Kailua, Oahu, Sabrina also enjoys writing, cooking, spending time with family, and is at her happiest in or near the ocean. A ‘sometimes poet’ for close to a decade now, Sabrina’s poems have appeared in many national publications, such as Bamboo Ridge, Clarion Magazine, Slipstream Press, Coachella Review and The Cossack Review.
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Cecilia Johansen After the death of her husband, Charles Kanewa, in Los Angeles in 2003, Cecilia met his cousin a year later at a Hawaii Marines reunion in Las Vegas. She fell in love with the handsome, virile cowboy, and after four months, she took a leap of faith and moved to Hawaii to marry Bernard Johansen and live in the lush up-country of Waimea on the Big Island. After his death, she joined a writers support group where she became a co-founder of Hawaii Writers Guild. She wrote and published her first novel The Canoe Maker’s Son in 2015. After fourteen years, she moved back to her home state of California, where she published Kimsey Rise A Family of Farmers in 2021, and in 2022 she published her latest book, a novella called The Captain and the Lady.
Cecilia Johansen After the death of her husband, Charles Kanewa, in Los Angeles in 2003, Cecilia met his cousin a year later at a Hawaii Marines reunion in Las Vegas. She fell in love with the handsome, virile cowboy, and after four months, she took a leap of faith and moved to Hawaii to marry Bernard Johansen and live in the lush up-country of Waimea on the Big Island. After his death, she joined a writers support group where she became a co-founder of Hawaii Writers Guild. She wrote and published her first novel The Canoe Maker’s Son in 2015. After fourteen years, she moved back to her home state of California, where she published Kimsey Rise A Family of Farmers in 2021, and in 2022 she published her latest book, a novella called The Captain and the Lady.
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Lucy L. Jones Like many of you, Lucy started writing when she was old enough to hold a pencil. She retired as an associate professor of psychology fo r Hawaii Community College (her third career) on September 1, 2021 at the age of 87. She is also a retired United Methodist pastor, and she spent many years working in the field of psychology. Now she claims to be in her fourth career as an author. All of her past private journal writing included the phrase, “All I really want to do is stay home and write,” so that’s where you can find her today. She writes lyrics for her brother’s music and other poetry. Her first mystery is Shadowy Tales and she’s finishing up the sequel, Washboard Tales. As a counseling aid when working with her clients, she wrote Feral Fables. She is also working on a memoir that includes interviews of more than 100 actively engaged women over 60 and in the Fourth Quadrant of their Heroine’s Journey.
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Johnson Kahili Past Marketing Director, 2021
Aloha, My name is Johnson Kahili. I’ve had the pleasure of calling Hilo, Hawaii my life-long home. By trade, I am a commercial driver. By passion, a moonlit author. Nearly a year ago, I triumphed over procrastination and wrote the most awful short story. After hundreds of videos on writing, a pallet of Pepsi Cola and a few patient readers, I was able to twist the tale into chapter one of a 95k word fantasy novel. I am currently editing the book, while educating myself on the publishing process. I have another novel in the works (About 12k words so far). In addition, I have written a number of original songs and short stories.
Aloha, My name is Johnson Kahili. I’ve had the pleasure of calling Hilo, Hawaii my life-long home. By trade, I am a commercial driver. By passion, a moonlit author. Nearly a year ago, I triumphed over procrastination and wrote the most awful short story. After hundreds of videos on writing, a pallet of Pepsi Cola and a few patient readers, I was able to twist the tale into chapter one of a 95k word fantasy novel. I am currently editing the book, while educating myself on the publishing process. I have another novel in the works (About 12k words so far). In addition, I have written a number of original songs and short stories.
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Mark Kelly Mark became hooked on science after Neil Armstrong took an epic stroll one Sunday morning in July 1969. He later served as a submarine officer based in Scotland and New England. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Bryant University, and Swinburne University. After leaving the Navy, he spent two decades teaching college physics and astronomy. Reading and writing mind-bending science fiction is his passion. His debut novel, Mauna Kea Rising, was released in 2019. As a flight instructor, he has also published a column on flying among the Hawaiian Islands.
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Don Kennedy Don Kennedy is a resident of Makaha Valley on Oahu, Hawaii. He was a long time Nevada resident of Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Reno. Kennedy was born and raised in Wisconsin and is a graduate of Concordia College in Milwaukee. A radio and television on air personality for a decade, Kennedy also worked for many publications as a reporter, editor and publisher in Nevada. His next career was as a Casino Resort Marketing executive in seven states: Nevada, California, Oregon, New Mexico, Louisiana, Indiana and Oklahoma. Kennedy is the author of the 2019 book Kids Say The Darndest Things To Santa Claus, and the 2020 book, same title, Volume 2, which chronicles his 25 years as a volunteer Santa Claus for hospitals, shelters, military bases, boys & girls clubs, churches, schools and more. Kennedy enjoys reading, music and travel.
Don Kennedy Don Kennedy is a resident of Makaha Valley on Oahu, Hawaii. He was a long time Nevada resident of Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Reno. Kennedy was born and raised in Wisconsin and is a graduate of Concordia College in Milwaukee. A radio and television on air personality for a decade, Kennedy also worked for many publications as a reporter, editor and publisher in Nevada. His next career was as a Casino Resort Marketing executive in seven states: Nevada, California, Oregon, New Mexico, Louisiana, Indiana and Oklahoma. Kennedy is the author of the 2019 book Kids Say The Darndest Things To Santa Claus, and the 2020 book, same title, Volume 2, which chronicles his 25 years as a volunteer Santa Claus for hospitals, shelters, military bases, boys & girls clubs, churches, schools and more. Kennedy enjoys reading, music and travel.
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Angela Leslee Angela has called the Big Island home since 1994. An avid reader her entire life, she has always envisioned writing. In 2016 after walking a 500-mile pilgrimage across Northern Spain, she wrote her first memoir: The Way of Love: on the Camino de Santiago. Her second, soon-to-be-published book, is entitled: Lucky to Live Hawai’i: A memoir of a midlife search for more – hopefully, the title speaks for itself. She has found inspiration and camaraderie with her Kona memoir writers group – the killer potlucks provide encouragement also. Angela is semi-retired from her ‘day job’ as a massage therapist and teacher. She founded the Aloha Massage Academy in Kainaliu in 2006. She lives off the grid in a Tiny Home in Kealakekua with her two dogs, a cat and a bevy of chickens. For more information about Angela and her books, go to her website: www.angelaleslee.com
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Sharon Ludan Sharon E. Ludan holds a B.A. from the College of New Jersey and an M.S. from Boston University.
As an American diplomat, Ludan has lived and worked in many countries throughout the world. Her work has been published by Proverse Hong Kong, Wingless Dreamer, Quillkeepers Press, Unleashed Press; the Kansai Scene; the OSIPP Journal, and elsewhere.
Sharon Ludan Sharon E. Ludan holds a B.A. from the College of New Jersey and an M.S. from Boston University.
As an American diplomat, Ludan has lived and worked in many countries throughout the world. Her work has been published by Proverse Hong Kong, Wingless Dreamer, Quillkeepers Press, Unleashed Press; the Kansai Scene; the OSIPP Journal, and elsewhere.
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Donna Maltz. Donna was born and raised in the suburbs of New Jersey and found out she had dyslexia in 3rd grade. After graduating from Evergreen State College Organic Farm Program in 1982, she went on a soul-searching journey to Alaska. Here, she started the first natural foods bakery and café, which she ran with her husband for 37 years. During this time, she pioneered a variety of ethical eco-businesses. Her writing career started with writing the menus and the marketing copy for her multiple eco-businesses. In 1992, she self-published her first book Yummy Wilderness Wonders, an activity book for Nature and food lovers. Donna was on a mission to help us live, eat and work like the future matters and was not going to let her dyslexia get in her way. It took her ten years to learn to be a writer, overcome fear and publish her next book in 2020, Living Like the Future Matters~ The Evolution of A Soil to Soul Entrepreneur. Shortly after the success of that book, in 2021, she published I AM ~ A Guided Journal to Cultivate Abundance and Conscious Cures ~ SOULutions to 21st Century Pandemics. In 2022 she published her 5th book, GET CULTURED ~Vegetable Fermentation Made Easy. Donna lives on the Big Island of Hawaii with her husband, a bevy of beautiful animals and plants and along with her writing she is a professional Nature photographer. She is a life and business coach, and she and her husband offer healing retreats at their upcountry farmstead, where every day begins and ends in Nature.
Go to TJ's Page
T. J. Michaels USA Today and New York Times bestseller, T.J. Michaels, is also an award-winning author of several romance genres, including paranormal, fantasy, sci-fi and urban fantasy romance.
No matter the genre T.J. is penning, her favorite thing to do is build worlds. To take you somewhere extraordinary. To transport you to a place where you can close your eyes and slip into your fantasy...
Learn more about Carol McMillan
Carol McMillan, Ph.D. (Past President of Hawaii Writers Guild 2021-2022) - Carol taught fourth grade in Oakland, California for three years; lived with free-ranging rhesus monkeys on Cayo Santiago; worked as an archeologist at Mesa Verde National Park; spent four months camping across the southern half of Africa with an entomology expedition; and taught social and natural sciences at Wenatchee Valley College in Omak for thirty years before retiring to Bellingham, Washington in 2010. She had the privilege of helping start the Colville Tribes’ Language Preservation Program and working with them to coordinate their classes for college credit. Carol has traveled in twenty-three countries on five continents. She has had poetry, short stories, and articles published in anthologies and academic journals. Her book, White Water, Red Walls, chronicles her two-week rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. Carol currently lives with her three cats in Kamuela, Hawai’i.
Hannah Michnya Hannah lives in Honolulu and works as a writer and administrator at a local nonprofit. She is passionate about environmentalism, food, plants, friends, yoga, and social justice. She is motivated and inspired by women and queer people everywhere; she mostly writes about women and for women. You can often find her on the beach or in the park, notebook in hand, writing short stories or novels. Though she feels most at home in the world of fiction, she does sometimes wander into personal nonfiction writings about veganism, death, infatuation, misogyny, anxiety, etc. New to regarding her writing seriously, Hannah does not have any published pieces as of yet; though she is determined to submit her work incessantly - to any and all publications that will take her - in the future.
Carla Orenella Carla Orellana, aka “Aleili,” has always danced her way through life. Whether it be sailing over unpredictable waves of the sea on a boat aptly named the Maisha, “Dance of the Sea”, or on land with an equally unpredictable snake, she manages to somehow keep her balance and dances to inspire others. Nature, music, dance, yoga, and her community relaNonships heal past trauma as well as open the doors to remarkable experiences which she loves to share with her wriNngs. She’s been called a “Free Spirit” by some who appreciate her inspiraNonal stories, dance, yoga and fitness classes and workshops, or “Crazy” by others who would prefer to read about her adventures and lessons instead. Her dance name of Aleili translates into “a gathering place to a high peak of inspiraion.” She lives up to that seriously responsible intenNon of serving to heal and empower not only herself as an example, but for others as well.
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Linda Petrucelli For most of her adult life, Linda Petrucelli has lived on islands—Taiwan, Manhattan and Hawaii. Her story, “Figure Eight on the Waves,” won first place in the WOW! Women on Writing Fall ’18 Flash Fiction Contest. Read an interview about her story here. Her poetry and fiction appear in the Spring 2019 issue of KYSO Flash. Another flash, “Should You Chance Upon An Ahinahina in Bloom” is scheduled to appear in Flash Fiction Magazine. Linda writes from her home in Hawi on the Big Island. She posts her flash fiction at jackrabbitfiction.com.
Carol Prescott Carol lives in North Kohala on Hawaii’s Big Island, where she shares a small farm with dogs, cats, sheep, chickens and ducks (and several humans). Since moving to Hawaii in 2016, she has been happy to meet other writers and participate in several writing groups, including those sponsored by HWG.
Originally from Southern California, Carol was educated in Maryland and Virginia and lived in the Mid-Atlantic region for 25 years before returning to California and then retiring to Hawaii. In her career as an academic psychologist she engaged in research, teaching and mentoring, and was able to travel around the world. Her research, funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIA, NIAAA, NIDA, NIMH), concerns genetic and environmental influences on psychological disorders and cognitive decline. Her published work includes 160+ articles in scientific journals, 20 chapters in edited volumes and one book. She served for eight years as an associate editor for two journals and enjoyedworking with authors to improve the clarity and accuracy of their writing.
Carol’s writing spans several genres, including fiction, memoir, essay and poetry. Credits include having her poem, Green is the Color of My True Love’s Socks, read on air for the Prairie Home Companion sonnet contest.
Originally from Southern California, Carol was educated in Maryland and Virginia and lived in the Mid-Atlantic region for 25 years before returning to California and then retiring to Hawaii. In her career as an academic psychologist she engaged in research, teaching and mentoring, and was able to travel around the world. Her research, funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIA, NIAAA, NIDA, NIMH), concerns genetic and environmental influences on psychological disorders and cognitive decline. Her published work includes 160+ articles in scientific journals, 20 chapters in edited volumes and one book. She served for eight years as an associate editor for two journals and enjoyedworking with authors to improve the clarity and accuracy of their writing.
Carol’s writing spans several genres, including fiction, memoir, essay and poetry. Credits include having her poem, Green is the Color of My True Love’s Socks, read on air for the Prairie Home Companion sonnet contest.
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Frank Reilly Frank is an ex-New Yorker transplanted on Kaua’i. As a screenwriter, he’s optioned three feature-length spec scripts and authored two scripts-for-hire. Frank received an Austin Film Festival Best Screenplay award, and his screen adaptation of Caroline Paul’s novel East Wind, Rain has been acquired by and is in development with Eleven Arts Studios. His short story “The Stirling Stone” will be featured in the Winter 2023 issue of The Baltimore Review.
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Tessa Rice. Hi, I'm Tessa Rice. I'm in my thirties (34) and I have Asperger's Syndrome. I'm currently working at the Kailua-Kona Safeway store. I was born and raised in Hawaii, still there, never lived anywhere else. I graduated from West Hawaii Community College, have attended several writer's groups and workshops in Kona. I have never been published, but I look forward to meeting people who will help me get my books out in the world. I enjoy writing science fiction novels, mostly dystopian and superhero, and I have a trilogy called Eternus currently in the works.
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Louise Riofrio (Events Director 2019 & 2020 & 2021)
LOUISE RIOFRIO is educated in physics and astronomy at University of California and San Francisco State University. She worked as a scientist at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, studying the Moon. Louise performed experiments with priceless lunar samples from Apollo. She is known worldwide for predicting and measuring change in the THE SPEED OF LIGHT, the subject of her first book. Her latest book, DISCOVERY: ALASKA TO HAWAII AND THE PACIFIC, is about the exploration of our Islands. Louise uses astronomy, oral history, DNA and the paths of wildlife to tell the story of the first Hawaiians from over 2000 years ago. She spent Summers in Alaska helping to rescue bald eagles. Louise enjoys swimming, bicycling and exploring strange new worlds.
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Heather Rivera Heather S. Friedman Rivera, RN, JD, PhD obtained her Ph.D. in Parapsychic Science in 2011, her Doctorate in Law in 2002 and is a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist specializing in Past-life Regression. Heather is also a retired Registered Nurse. She is the author of eight books and counting, contributing author in seven books, and author of numerous articles. Heather writes non-fiction, fiction, and books for young readers. She serves as an editor for the International Journal of Regression Therapy. She holds a creative writing specialization certificate from Wesleyan University. Heather has been featured in print, radio, and web television. Heather holds workshops on writing and past life regression. She lives in Hawaii with her husband, a puggle, and a bratty cat. Her superpower is bionic hearing. See her website here.
Zach Royer
Zach Royer I started KRG Publishing to help local writers with the book publishing process. I offer self-publishing services like editing and formatting, as well as full independent publishing services, and currently have published books for three other authors. I work closely with Kona Stories bookstore in Keauhou to promote my services and I spend a few hours each Saturday at their store where I meet and talk with other local writers. To date, I have published nine paperbacks of other writers, three e-books and have authored numerous blog posts across half a dozen websites. I am currently working on publishing a book for fellow HWG member Tessa Rice, set to release in March 2022.
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Karen Sellers K. Ka`imilani Leota Sellers received her BA from the University of Hawai`i, Hilo, in English Literature, a minor in Cultural Anthropology, and a Teaching Certificate for Secondary Education. She has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Eastern Kentucky University. Her work is published in a variety of anthologies, including poetry in Yellow Medicine Review, Hawai`i Review, Napantla An Anthology for Queer Poets of Color, The Chaffin Journal, and a few Lexington Poetry Month anthologies. She was recognized as a CNF Finalist for Center for Women’s Writing, Penelope Niven Award for Creative Nonfiction, 2019. Most recently, she was recognized as a BGWS Emerging Writer Award Winner for Creative Nonfiction, summer 2020.
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Youfeng Shen As the daughter of a Shanghai textile worker, I lived through the famine, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution in China from the 1950s to the1970s and witnessed the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989. In September 1989, I came to America as an international graduate student. After earning my Master’s in Education degree, I became a U.S. citizen and worked and taught in various settings. After retiring, I began writing and have published the story of my life in China and in America in a two-volume memoir. A Mountain on My Back and Embracing My New World are both currently available on Amazon.I look forward to connecting with my fellow writers and creating more literary work in the near future.
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Sara-Lynne Simpson Sara-Lynne enjoys words and how they dance on the page. She teaches writing to people of all ages. Her poetry and that of her students have won many state and national awards. Sara-Lynne feels honored to join the Hawai’i Writers Guild, and her WIP is a magical realism novel set on Maui in 1878 for YA readers. She is an active member in the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and the Oregon Poetry Association. She has given readings at Bloomsbury Books and the Library in Ashland, Oregon. Her work is published in The Caterpillar Magazine for children, Light Rising, Sudden Meteors, Verseweavers, and Haiku at the Robin’s Behest. Sara-Lynne holds B.A. and M.F.A. degrees in Dance Choreography, and yes, she’s a committed haumana of hula.
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Dan Sockle Dan’s career has been mostly in communications intelligence, criminal and civil investigations. Thirty-five years of report-writing, editing, separating facts supported by evidence from hearsay and “witness testimonials” subject to individual biases, have influenced Dan’s writing interests that tend to focus on personal responsibility, organizational accountability, and apolitical communications and collaborative problem-solving. In addition to creating, writing and editing individual contributions to America’s Jihad, Dan has continued his outreach to, and engagement with, a variety of fellow humans, attempting to better identify and describe “Islam vs. Islamism,” “Religion vs. Culture,” and how individuals acquire their own “Truths” through their life experiences and primary influencers. Having served as a community mediator, and “Braver Angels” moderator, Dan’s most recent project is creating a “Guest Speakers Bureau” website/resource drawing from our veteran, business, academic and other professions – delivering life experiences, and lessons learned, to our younger generations - in support of our area educators.
Linda Ulleseit Linda Ulleseit, Women Writing the West’s Marketing Director and a founding member of Paper Lantern Writers, was born and raised in Saratoga, California. She has an MFA in writing from Lindenwood University. Linda wrote two short fantasy stories in anthologies as well as a series of young adult flying horse books before delving into her true love—historical fiction. She is the author of Under the Almond Trees, which was a semifinalist in the Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Contest, and The Aloha Spirit, to be released in August, 2020. Linda believes in the unspoken power of women living ordinary lives. Her books are the stories of women in her family who were extraordinary but unsung. She recently retired from teaching elementary school and now enjoys writing full time.
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Tamara Williams Tamara is a poet and spoken word artist who hails from Guyana, the only English- Caribbean country in South America. This army wife and mother of three holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Communication Studies, and has a professional background in media production, marketing, voice acting and public relations. Her poetry is centered on inspiring and motivating people. She has produced a spoken word album titled ‘V Woman’ and other singles which were available in the Guyanese market. She is currently working on publishing the V Woman collection in book form. Apart from writing, she enjoys cooking, painting, and dancing. Above those, spending family time with her husband Tyrone and children Divine, Zion and Essa is precious to her. Tamara has just published a new podcast of some of her poetry called Virtue Light, the link for which can be heard at Anchor here.
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Wendy Wilson Born and raised in the suburbs of New York city, Wendy left the flatlands of Long Island for the mountains of Appalachia in the 80s. There she settled on a small farm and raised a variety of children, goats, sheep and pigs. She has worked in a library for most of her adult life and now, in retirement, has turned her love of reading books into a love of writing them. In December 2018 she won 2nd place in the online magazine Beneath the Rainbow’s Christmas contest with the short story “Wishes Can Come True.” “To Be or Not,” a story based on her published novel “Eternal Diet," was accepted into the “Hellfires Crossroads 7” anthology.
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Diann Wilson (President of HWG 2019 & 2020)
Executive and author of a business book, Diann now lives on a farm in Hawaii, and is writing a humorous account of her transition from mainland to island. When she's not harvesting mac nuts, grapefruit, avocados and pomelo, she enjoys swimming, yoga, paddleboarding, golf and kayaking. Diann and her husband, Steve Hoffmann, live in the quaint town of Hawi and share their home with Oscar, Sophie, Calico and Maia - a source of constant joy and frustration (and some good writing inspiration). She is co-author of The Other Blended Learning: A Classroom-Centered Approach. Watch for her upcoming children's picture book and entertaining memoir.
Executive and author of a business book, Diann now lives on a farm in Hawaii, and is writing a humorous account of her transition from mainland to island. When she's not harvesting mac nuts, grapefruit, avocados and pomelo, she enjoys swimming, yoga, paddleboarding, golf and kayaking. Diann and her husband, Steve Hoffmann, live in the quaint town of Hawi and share their home with Oscar, Sophie, Calico and Maia - a source of constant joy and frustration (and some good writing inspiration). She is co-author of The Other Blended Learning: A Classroom-Centered Approach. Watch for her upcoming children's picture book and entertaining memoir.
Circe Olson Woessner Circe is the founder of the Museum of the American Military Family & Learning Center. As an educator, she has taught in private and public schools and for the Department of Defense Schools in Europe and the Caribbean. She was an operations and training administrator at Kirtland Air Force Base and an instructor and innovations specialist at VA medical centers in Massachusetts and New Mexico. In 2019 she retired from federal service after twenty years.
She has illustrated dozens of children’s books and hosts MAMF Media, a podcast on the Podbean platform. As a freelancer writer, she has produced multiple books to include Shout: Sharing Our Truth: Writings of LGBT veterans and family members of the US Military Services, which received the American Association for State and Local History’s Albert B. Cory Award, and most recently On Freedom’s Frontier: Life on the Fulda Gap and Schooling with Uncle Sam, and A Covidtime Christmas. She has written monthly columns for several New Mexico newspapers and produces and curates content for ten blogs and an on-line comic featuring a variety of dolls, action figures and photography, and is the editor of a collaborative zine Circa.
She has illustrated dozens of children’s books and hosts MAMF Media, a podcast on the Podbean platform. As a freelancer writer, she has produced multiple books to include Shout: Sharing Our Truth: Writings of LGBT veterans and family members of the US Military Services, which received the American Association for State and Local History’s Albert B. Cory Award, and most recently On Freedom’s Frontier: Life on the Fulda Gap and Schooling with Uncle Sam, and A Covidtime Christmas. She has written monthly columns for several New Mexico newspapers and produces and curates content for ten blogs and an on-line comic featuring a variety of dolls, action figures and photography, and is the editor of a collaborative zine Circa.
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Greer Woodward Greer writes science fiction and fantasy poetry. Her work is in Star*Line, Illumen, Scifaikuest, Lupine Lunes and Zen of the Dead. She holds a doctorate in Educational Theatre from New York University and was a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. She wrote lyrics for Theatreworks/USA's Sherlock Holmes and the Red-Headed League and contributed to the Off-Broadway musical revues Pets! and That's Life!, an Outer Critics Circle Awards nominee for Best Off-Broadway Musical. Please see her comic poems "Demon Lovers" and "Crater Conundrum Pizza," 2015 SFPA Contest Dwarf Form Third Place winner.
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Margaret King Zacharias Margaret, born Canadian and American, earned Masters and PhD degrees in education, anthropology and psychology from Northwestern University, under a special Fellowship for interdisciplinary study. After decades designing and teaching writing workshops as an Iowa Arts Council Artist, she now lives part-time in Arizona's lush Sonoran Desert, and writes as often as she can from her home on Kauai's East Shore. Margaret is a certified Master Dream Pattern Analyst. She is currently completing additional certification in Fairy Tale Analysis through Assisi International Center for the Study of Archetypal Patterns. Five of her stage plays, including an Anniversary commission, have been professionally produced at Hoyt Sherman Place Theaters in Iowa. She has published essays, reviews, poems, and served as guest editor, for multiple regional and special-interest nonprofits. Her short stories appear in two anthologies published by Maui Writers Foundation and Triple Tree Press.
