Highlighting the best independent publications in fiction and non-fiction. Your new favorite author is right here.

New Arrivals

Tim McKay

Tim McKay is an author, editor, and marketer from Ottawa, Canada. He used to be a pastor, still cares about good and evil, and still strives to create meaningful experiences for himself and others. Now he does it through writing.

He has degrees in history, theology, and public policy, along with a diploma in professional writing, but likes nothing more than hiking in the woods, running along the Rideau Canal, and connecting with the people he loves.

Oh, and reading a good book.

Tim’s author page

Ben Burgess Jr.

Ben Burgess Jr is the author of the award-winning novels “Monster,” “Wounded,” “Love and Happiness,” ” A Father’s Sacrifice: Daddy’s Girl,” “Defining Moments: Black and White, and the new novel “Mothers Vol 1.” He is an active performer of spoken word poetry. Ben Burgess Jr uses his love of writing to inspire and influence youths to strive for what they believe in and never give up on their dreams. His novels “Monster” and “Wounded” are used in schools on the lower east side of Manhattan. Ben Burgess has a BA degree in Business Management and an MA degree in Educational Leadership. He is the proud father of his daughters Jaelynn, Jaclyn, and Jocelyn, and he is active in improving urban neighborhoods and communities. Ben Burgess’s dream is to have his novels adapted into major motion pictures.

Ben’s author page

C.A. Meadows

C.A. Meadows is a native of Southern California who now resides in New Jersey, having lived in Virginia and South Carolina in between. She is a natural redhead with Italian and Irish heritage. She lives with her boyfriend of three years and their four children (two biological children each). She published her debut novel, Lost in a Nightmare, mid April of this year. Genres she enjoys to write and read are thrillers (mainly psychological), horror, suspense, historical fiction and fantasy.

C.A.’s author page

Jason Fink

As a former gorilla wrangler and elephant herder (or so he claims), this author has some serious skills. From the Peace Corps to public health, he’s had a winding path full of diverse experiences all thanks to his ADHD. He’s taught at an inner-city elementary school, worked at an eye bank collecting eyes, directed an allied health program and has done in-depth public health work. And when he’s not busy making the world a better place, he’s writing – he’s won awards for his short stories and has self-published many fictional works. So if you’re in need of a skilled and slightly unconventional writer this former gorilla-wrangler-turned-public-health-pro might just be the author for you.

Jason’s author page

Mesha Daniel

Mesha Daniel has been in the realm of education for over 31 years, providing training to other teachers, students, and administrators on integrating technology into their everyday lessons and learning opportunities. She is currently a Minecraft Global Mentor, a Google Certified Trainer and Coach, an Apple Teacher and Learning Coach, as well as a Microsoft Innovate Educator Expert. She is also the mother of identical twin boys, a wife for 27+ years, and a lover of everything tech. After writing two books for educators on using digital tools in the classroom, Google-izing the Blended Classroom and Minecraft EE for Your Classroom, she decided to try her hand at a fiction piece.

Mesha’s author page

Kathy Thompson

Kathy received her B.S. in Speech Communications from Wisconsin State University, River Falls, late in life After serving 13 years in the military; Air Force & Navy as a teacher, she joined Toastmaster. As a Public Speaker, she provides her own programs around the country. Kathy was born with a pencil in her hand and loves working with words and drawing. (floor plans.)
As a storyteller, she likes to ask “WHAT IF”, and make things up.

Over her lifetime she has written around 100 stories. She self-published 25 on Amazon. There are also some nonfiction wellness e-books.

Kathy’s author page

Maria Liviero

Maria based in the UK has received an award for her first book that had been in the planning for five years. With the many ups and downs of writing she is persistent and determined to reach her goal and to share how she managed her struggles and continues to self-develop because there is no end but a beginning.

Maria is a psychotherapist by training with a MSc in addictive behaviour and a Diploma in psychotherapy. In her experience, the dark side of human nature is of equal or even greater importance – without being conscious of our shadow we continue to live in fear, discord with ourselves and others. Maria believes to understand ourselves we must travel the path of self-discovery. This can mean transcending our false ego to live a fulfilling life without the shackles that we have created like the internet, mobiles phones, addictions, relationships, negative thinking, and statements like I want, I must, I need in spite of the other.

Maria’s author page

Colette R. Harrell

Colette R. Harrell has released her newest novel, Later. This fantasy adventure satisfies at every turn of a page. It provides a sometimes humorous, historical rendering of a family that follows their heart and, in return, receives the gift of justice, acceptance, and romantic love. It’s all about the Happily Ever After for her.

Colette’s author page

Stephen J. Phillips

With a lifelong passion for history, Stephen was fascinated to discover an ancestor who came to England in AD1200. Little was known of him, so he decided to create a story about what sort of man he might have been and interweave this with real historical facts (and a lot of imagination).

The result has been a nine-book series about the Pitt Family – ordinary people who become involved with the machinations of kings, lords, the church and – most of all – the equally feared and respected Knights Templar.

Stephen’s author page

Jason Prugar

Jason Prugar has always liked to make things up, and now as an author, he can do it and not get in trouble for it! He also makes films and is a king of useless knowledge (great for trivia!). He enjoys playing and watching sports, spending time with loved ones and consuming stories in all of their forms. He lives in Pennsylvania with his family.

Jason’s author page

Marie J.S. Phillips

Born in 1957, in Huntington, on Long Island, Marie J. S. Phillips, was driven by an insatiable love of writing, art, and the sciences since very early childhood.

Her love of animals and nature fueled her desire to create, which always appeared as stories from a non-human point of view. She invented her very first character at six years old, creating picture books with a tree as the main protagonist, with her very own publishing logo, complete with rainbow and shining sun.

Marie’s author page

Stewart Kouba

Stewart Kouba wears many hats. He is a pastor and teacher who promotes truth and classical education. He also works as a beekeeper who promotes wholesome living in East Texas. His most cherished roles encompass husband, father, and builder. He built his own house and barn, and enjoys the comforts of the country with his wife and children. As of late, Stewart is known as a voice-over actor and the author and creator of the Land of Grand® series.

While traveling the world as a graduate of Baylor University and Dallas Theological Seminary, Stewart fell in love with storytelling. His humorous and heartwarming style teaches ethics, theology, and politics to the toughest critics—children. His latest work, The Land of Grand® draws on the magic and beauty of our grandmothers. The Land of Grand® reveals to us all how grandparents become grand. The secret is out!

Stewart’s author page

Stephen Shaw

STEPHEN SHAW is a Globally Renowned Mystic, Spiritual Life Coach, Shaman, Tantra Master and Author of 12 bestselling spiritual self-help books. Winner of Book Authority’s Best Spirituality Books Of All Time. As seen on KTNV Las Vegas, NBC Palm Springs, multiple podcasts and digital media. Stephen teaches secrets and keys to help people transform their lives. He is the creator of Chakra Shamanism, a powerful combination of life coaching, clairvoyance and energy healing. He works with A-listers and celebrity clients, mostly in his home county Los Angeles and worldwide via Zoom.

Stephen originally studied Psychology at university, and also completed numerous post-graduate diplomas in a variety of healing modalities. At 39 years old, he gave up his therapy practice and home, and travelled the world for 10 years. His goal was to seek out the most powerful healers and teachers across the planet. Shaw unveiled common threads behind the healing work of advanced Tibetan lamas, Peruvian shamans, Tantra masters and other esoteric teachers. Along the way, he experienced a radical and deep spiritual transformation, which shifted him into deep fulfillment, self-love and joy. He then combined all the profound experiences and teachings from around the world with his own deep understanding of psychology and human nature, and wrote 12 bestselling spiritual self-help books.

Stephen’s author page

Poppy Prentice

Poppy Prentice currently resides in the desert heat of Arizona, concocting her next great literary adventure. She is snarky and witty, with a flair for sarcasm and loves to pour that part of her personality into her books. A dedicated author, Poppy writes every day but that doesn’t stop her from connecting with as many new people as she can.

Poppy knew from a young age that she had a story to tell. In time, it grew into a healing process for her soul. She hopes readers will find a good laugh and feel lighter at the end of each book, as if they were visiting an old friend after many years. Knowing we all have struggles to face, Poppy uses her humor to ease the pain and help readers relax.

She loves painting and doing craftwork and is a mean bargain hunter. Poppy has dreams of traveling the world, from the rolling hills of Spain with a nice rioja in hand to a custom-built home in Canada. Anywhere she can access the writing bug. A woman of experiences and memories over physical possessions, Poppy’s greatest passion in life is her family.

Poppy’s author page

Nick Haskins

Nick Haskins is the author of On the Edge of Heat, My Husband’s Wife, Betrayed, She’s Obsessed, and his latest novel dropping summer of 2022. Nick was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio where he currently resides. After years of aspiring to become a professional screenwriter, he began to shape his creative dreams and released his first African-American fiction book in 2011. Nick has been actively working on building his catalog of work, and readership, with plans to become a full-time writer.

Nick’s author page

J L Meredith

Born and raised in the rural community of Chatham-Kent in Ontario, Canada, and practically living in the classics section of the children’s library, Lance began writing tales of adventure and heroism in the fourth grade. An old soul, he tries to sing, and dance, and play, a little each day. He has degrees in political science and psychology.

JL’s author page

Marsha Mildon

A writer, a traveller, an adventurer, a dog mom—that’s Marsha, who loves to explore the world from prehistoric sites right up to today’s. Over recent decades, she has explored the Americas primarily and that travel has been one of many things inspiring her writing. She is especially in love with Peru and Guatemala, the countries where she’s have spent the most time.
For her 40th birthday, she decided to trek in Peru in 1987. Besides being amazing, that journey planted the seed for her novel, Dance Me a Revolution. It was a two-minute conversation between her and the guide at just over 16,000 feet.

Marsha’s author page

Matilda Swinney

Matilda Swinney is one of Medium’s Top Writers in Relationships, Mental Health, Life Lessons and This Happened To Me. She has received over 1 million views since joining Medium in December 2019. She is the author of the novelette, The Texts Before We Met, and the novel, The Girl Who Jumped. She is also a sticker book enthusiast and a proud mother of two daughters. Her debut novelette, The Texts Before We Met, is a collection of real-life text messages that took place the week before the meeting that changed her life forever.

Matilda’s author page

Michelle Miles

Michelle Miles believes in fairy tales, true love and magic. She writes heart-stopping urban fantasy, epic fantasy and paranormal romance with an action/adventure twist that will leave you breathless. She is the author of numerous series that includes everything from angels and demons to fairies, dragons and elves. She is married with one son and a black cat named Sir Dexter.

A native Texan, in her spare time she loves reading, listening to music, watching movies, cross-stitching, drinking wine and taking pictures of her cat. She can be found online at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Goodreads.

Michelle’s author page

Niamh Malone

Niamh always loved writing. Over the years she has written short stories and a book but never got them published.
When she worked as a clinical nurse specialist in stroke rehabilitation she published articles in healthcare within her area of practice.
Her life changed 8 years ago when she had a rare type of stroke. In 2019, she started writing her memoir. She had just moved, and it seemed the right time to start writing. She said the words just flowed out of her and onto the page. It felt like they had been trapped and needed release. Her first book is about the unusual relationship she had with her mother. She realised as she went on that it would take more than one book to write the full story, so there will be eight books in total.

Niamh’s author page

John Kovacich

John Kovacich, born in Oakland, Ca, started out playing music at age two and moved on to singing and acting in grade school. High School introduced writing and filmmaking which were followed by drawing and photography in college. In other words, he had a VERY LIBERAL arts education.

John published some poetry and some india ink drawings in literary magazines while in college and won critical acclaim for his acting in a cabaret theater, but was faced with a decision to pick out the arts he wanted to pursue. Of all the available opportunities, music and songwriting won the first round when he found himself performing with legendary stars of the sixties and seventies.

John’s author page

Jessica Tilles

JESSICA TILLES is an award-winning, best-selling author and has written over fifty books as a ghostwriter under www.LiteraryGhostwriter.com.

In 2000, Jessica founded TWA Solutions and Services (formerly The Writer’s Assistant), a full-service, creative design firm offering services in graphic design, book design, web design, editing, book/self-publishing, advertising, marketing, packaging/branding, and ghostwriting.

In 2006, Jessica opened her publishing company, Xpress Yourself Publishing, to talented authors, growing her roster to over eighty authors. In 2008, she received the prestigious title of Independent Publisher of the Year awarded by the African American Literary Awards Show.

Jessica’s author page

David C. Mahood

David C. Mahood is a sustainability consultant, environment writer, and poet.  His writing career spans two decades. He has long been fascinated by the natural world and all things therein and has expressed this in a variety of ways from an early age. Mahood holds a BA from the College of Wooster, and an MBA in Sustainability from San Francisco Institute of Architecture.  His articles have appeared in numerous publications including Interiors and SourcesInternational Ecotourism SocietyThe Environmental BlogNEWH Magazine and Living Green Magazine.  His poetry credits include Writer’s CrampFifth Street Review, and Prick of the Spindle.  His first book, One Green Deed Spawns Another: Tales of Inspiration on the Quest for Sustainability, was published in 2017, and a forthcoming book, Kings of a Lonely Kingdom: Earth Day Essays, Poems, and Musings on Nature, is due for release in summer, 2021.

David’s author page

C.J. Carson

From a very early age CJ Carson has been inspired by a great story, but what has brought her to this juncture in her life and inspired her to put pen to paper are the many rich experiences and opportunities her life has put in her path.

Her love of learning and new adventures has afforded her opportunities to reinvent herself many times over.

While working in the medical field she became a licensed massage therapist, attending a number of classes to learn energy work. She then went on to become a Polarity Therapist and Reiki Therapist.

As an artist, she has explored many modalities that have taken her on many a journey.

C.J.’s author page

Ann Jeffries

Ann Jeffries, the critically acclaimed author of the Family Reunion—Wisdom of the Ancestors Series, is a native of Washington, DC. As an only child, she enjoyed the benefits of a private school education at Allen in Asheville, North Carolina, and a public education at the University of Maryland. Ann began writing fiction for her own amusement.

Ms. Jeffries is the recipient of many awards for leadership and public service. A keynote speaker at colleges, universities, conferences, and conventions, she has extensively traveled the North American continent, Asia, and Europe. Among other endeavors, she is an entrepreneur, an avid supporter of public television, a genealogist, and a voracious reader.

Ann’s author page

Magen Cubed

Magen Cubed is an Eisner-nominated writer, essayist, and occasional critic, best known for her queer monster-hunting urban fantasy/paranormal romance series SOUTHERN GOTHIC. She has appeared in the critically acclaimed TWISTED ROMANCE comics anthology from Image Comics and has bylines on the award-winning Women Write About Comics. Her other works include her superhuman/urban fantasy novel THE CRASHERS and her debut horror novel FLESHTRAP. Magen lives in Florida with her girlfriend Melissa and a little dog named Cecil.

Magen’s author page

Sharon K Angelici

Sharon K Angelici, she/her, was born in the American Midwest, but her heart and soul belong to the mountains of Colorado. She began writing as a child, using words to recover from trauma-induced depression. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, she’s an advocate for depression awareness and suicide prevention. In 2016 she published her first book dealing with both subjects, Dear Kane; what I wish we would have said. Sharon is a full-time lover of life and all things Pagan and Magick. She’s an artist and blacksmith, which inspired her to create her new Maker series. Book one Mark of the Maker released in 2020, and the second, The Magick and the Maker, to release in July of 2021.

Sharon’s author page

Dimitri Liountris

Currently residing in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dimitri Liountris is the author of The Oracle’s Journal. While he has his MPhil in Criminology, Dimitri’s true interest has always been in the fictional worlds outside of crime and mystery – though he plans to dabble in them one day. At this moment, Dimitri’s entire life revolves around the amazing craft of writing. If he’s not developing content for college textbooks in his day job, he is either writing his next novel or working on his own blog, Professional Amateur Writers, which deals with all things storytelling, such as themes, narrative structures, and character development. In terms of novels, Dimitri is currently working on multiple projects. While he has an interest in most genres, his stories focus mostly on sci-fi and fantasy, where he feels the worlds are rife with opportunities to explore concepts, themes, and ideas better than any other genre. He enjoys exploring themes such as family, community, power, extremism, religion, death, and grief – and he hopes to continue exploring these themes in future stories.

Dimitri’s author page

Kyle Bentley

Kyle Bentley is a lifelong lover of science fiction and fantasy, who has been creating worlds and telling stories since he learned to talk. He’s a friendly chap, who will talk your ear off about one of any number of subjects if you give him the chance. Kyle lives in Ottawa, Canada, with his wife Kelsey, and enjoys playing games when he isn’t masquerading as a responsible adult. Besides fiction, he also writes and edits material for tabletop roleplaying and miniatures games.

Kyle’s author page

Elizabeth Allison

Elizabeth Allison is a wife, mom, stepmom, and dog mom. Elizabeth has been an educator for twenty-five years and currently serves as an elementary school principal. Her past jobs include waitress, security officer and greenhouse worker. Elizabeth lived and taught in Italy for two years. She speaks Italian, Dutch and French.

Elizabeth lives in the freezing north of London, Canada but dreams of retirement in Florida, as close to Walt Disney World as possible. A bakery connoisseur, she budgets her appetite to include maximum cake consumption. She is the eldest of four siblings, who are her best friends. In the summer, Elizabeth floats in the pool and walks the dogs. In the winter she watches TLC on the couch under a weighted blanket in front of a blazing fire.

Elizabeth’s author page

V.A. Lewis

V.A. Lewis is a first-time author who picked up writing in the early Winter of 2019. He was inspired to begin writing by the LitRPG Web Serial The Wandering Inn by pirateaba. His current main published story is a Monster Evolution LitRPG, but he has written an Isekai Fantasy before, and he is also dabbling into other kinds of progression fantasies such as Cultivation.

He specializes in writing fight scenes, with heavy inspiration from Japanese Light Novels and Anime in his writing style. Specifically, his main work, Salvos, is influenced by the highly popular Kumo Desu Ga Web Novel, with a stronger focus on the main character than the side characters above all else. He has gained over 10,000 followers across multiple web novel sites like Royal Road and ScribbleHub, with over 2 million views in Salvos, being ranked as one of the best stories on Royal Road.

V.A.’s author page

Amanda W. Jenkins

Amanda has found balance in her life, as a parent, in her marriage, and as a multi-business owner by devoting herself to the study and practice of yoga, modern anatomy, intuition, and the human stress response. Ever since she created a self-published library under her basement steps and walked to school with her nose in a book, she’s loved reading, writing, language, and literature.

Amanda’s author page

K. Leigh

K. Leigh is a 33-year-old once-painter, sometimes-freelancer, forever-artist living in Providence, RI. They write hopeful-tragic stories full of funny, horrible characters, in various genres.

Kira’s author page

A.M. Adiar

A. M. Adair is an active duty Chief Warrant Officer in the United States Navy with over 19 years in the Intelligence Community. She has been to numerous countries all around the world, including multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her experiences have been unique and provided her imagination with a wealth of material to draw from to give her stories life. Published in 2019 through KDP with representation by Story Merchant Books, Shadow Game was her debut novel and the first book in the Elle Anderson Series. In 2020, The Deeper Shadow, book 2 in the series was released. The explosive finale to the series, Shadow War, is anticipated to be released by the end of 2021. Also coming in 2021 is Shadow Game – the graphic novel. A.M. Adair has partnered with graphic artist Ray Lopez to bring the world of Elle Anderson to life. She lives in Virginia with her husband, Jake, her daughter, Arya, and son, Finn.

Ama’s author page

Carl Novakovich

Carl Novakovich is the author of The Watchers Series, a story that puts a little fantasy into our everyday lives. Carl lives just outside of Chicago and writes daily on the follow-up to the first book in the series, The Watchers: The Tomb, with his dog Callie – which you can see many pictures of her on his Instagram. He writes to bring a little peace to this ever-dividing world, showing that everyone, no matter who they are or where they come from, can find some common ground, and relate to a story in one way or another.

Carl’s author page

Wendi M. Lindemuth

Wendi M. Lindenmuth BS, MPH is an alternative healing specialist, public health specialist, and teacher with over 25 years of experience. She enjoys reading, writing, and publishing inspirational books, hiking, and rescuing dogs. She lives surrounded by the tranquility of Wisconsin Interstate Park with her husband and four dogs.

Wendi’s author page

Daniel Schiavello

Dan, originally from Philadelphia, has been a musician for over 40 years, playing in various bands throughout his musical career. He is currently a solo guitarist, who performs in the tri-state area, with a passion for poetry. He decided to use his talent for poetry in his book titled Thoughts of Expression; a book full of love, gained and lost, of emotion, held and cherished, and of thoughts, expressed and implied.

Daniel’s author page

Whitney Metz

Whitney Metz is the author of the Black Magick Series, a story about the world behind the one we see every day, and finding our true paths. She lives outside the town of Mannington, West Virginia with Riley and Petunia, two pigs she adopted during an internship with a farm sanctuary. She has been vegan for over fifteen years and likes to include animal rights and environmental undertones in her work. She writes about magic, spirits, gods, mythological creatures, all the things she hopes exist in the world.

Whitney’s author page

Mo Sweeta

Storyteller, Fiction Content Creator, Author of Urban Fiction, Romance, & Erotica.

Mo’s author page

Danny Skyfeather

Danny Skyfeather is an author, energy healer, hypnotherapist, avid meditator, runner, and father. Like many humans, he survived through a very traumatic and painful childhood. Much of his work is born from those early experiences, and from the 30 years of intense personal healing work that he has done since then. His books are written to help access and unleash the energy of love, and to spark transformational processes of healing and awakening within his readers.

Danny’s author page

Dominic Piper

Dominic Piper is an author, film & television writer, journalist and script editor. He lives in London, UK. Because of this, he is often mistaken for an English person, whereas in reality, he is half Welsh and half Scottish, being born in Cardiff, South Wales. However, he does not know Catherine Zeta-Jones and has no personal connection with her whatsoever. If there’s one thing he can’t stand, it’s name-dropping, but he has, as a television script dude, written for both Simon Pegg and Martin Freeman. He is the author of the best-selling, critically acclaimed thrillers Kiss Me When I’m Dead, Death is the New Black, Femme Fatale and Bitter Almonds & Jasmine, all featuring the enigmatic, London-based private investigator Daniel Beckett. All four novels are published by Opium Den Publishing.

Dominic’s author page

David Vorhees

David Vorhees joined the U.S. Navy after graduating Lima Central Catholic. Following his military service, he attended the University of Northwestern Ohio for Automotive business. He worked various factory jobs and attended the University of Phoenix online for a degree in arts with a focus in journalism. He recently worked for the Wapakoneta Daily News as a reporter/photographer/paginator.

He is the father of five and grandfather of five. He has always been interested in the occult and the scarier side of life. He loves history and the supernatural and truly believes there is nothing better than a good story.

David’s author page

Mikkel Høst

Mikkel grew up in a seaside town in Denmark. He has always had a fascination with adventure, mystery and mythology, picturing strange creatures that reside in spectacular places. He’s inspired by everything from books, movies and video games to the strange little moments that occur within his own life, as well as his own personal experiences.

In 2008, he dabbled in writing, but his ideas were too loose and his grasp on language too limited for it to achieve much popularity. This caused him to leave the dream behind and give up, but stories kept taking shape in his head, and the desire to entertain stayed with him.

Mikkel’s author page

Paolo Ruggirello

Paolo Ruggirello was born on Halloween in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. He and his family lived there until Paolo was eight years old, when his family moved to Oxford, Pennsylvania. In Oxford, he lived on large farmland. Paolo, his brother, and his two sisters played outside a lot, which allowed his imagination to roam freely in that wide-open space.

Paolo and his family moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania when he was about fourteen years old. In Harrisburg, he met his lifelong friend. Just before Paolo turned sixteen, he and his family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There he met many amazing people, many of whom he still connects with. Paolo graduated from Conestoga High School and was awarded a membership in the National Society of High School Scholars. It wasn’t until many years after graduation that Paolo would begin crafting his world.

Paolo’s author page

Donna Davis Lewis

Donna Davis Lewis retired from her dream job as a Travel Consultant during the pandemic. All of her personal vacations were canceled but rather than sink into despair, she returned to a first love…writing poetry. This book is the result. It is a collection of topical and whimsical poems–poems that reflect on the horrible year of 2020. Writing this book was therapeutic. Donna is passionate about travel, food, wine and social action. She really believes that doing good is good for you. She is a graduate of the University of Houston and a lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

From the celebration of female friendships to the struggle against racism in America to the simple joy of buying hats, these poems praise and lament that great journey we call life. This is a book equally suited to people who want to read accessible poems and to those who think they don’t like poetry. There is something here for everyone!

Donna’s author page

SD Turner

S.D. Turner has spent a lifetime studying humor and the medicine of laughter while growing up in Michigan, Alabama, and Florida. He proudly served his country (twice) in the U.S. Army Armor Branch, totaling six years of honorable service. He completed his training on the M1A1 Battle Tank at Fort Knox, Kentucky before being stationed abroad in Mannheim, Germany in the early 1990s.

He studied domestically and internationally and currently works globally as a chief marine engineer in the oil and gas industry. He has lived in, worked for, and visited well over twenty countries (five continents) in as many years. He loves seeing the world through eyes that find the joy and laughter in every facet of life, as well as in the characters he befriends along his travels.

SD’s author page

Carol Durant

Carol Durant is a poet, author, playwright and event host. Her first poem of 2021, Ode to Mac and Cheese was submitted and accepted in the Lucky Jefferson online digital zine Awake, Issue 2. Carol is the founder and host of Outliers Poetry Brunch, an in-person and online monthly poetry brunch for the last three years. She is the founder and host of Stage & Stanza, a bi-monthly online theater and poetry collaborative with Russell Sage College. Her 3rd book, a long-form poetic story entitled, How Will I Know It’s Santa and second book, Cold Pressed and Just Brewed Poetry were published in 2020. Her first book, Whole Phat and Gluten Free Poetry is the 2018 Book Excellence Award winner in poetry and was published in 2017. Her play, Center of Lying Down was recently cast and performed on Zoom by Quarantine e-Theater, as a wildly successful fundraiser for Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York.

Carol’s author page

Emily Stalder Johnson

Emily Stalder Johnson is an up and coming author whose specialty is writing unique, Christian fiction novels set in historical America, which get her readers thinking about the social issues we face today, and also which are meant to inspire them in some way. Emily is the author of six books in the Series of Hope, beginning with A New Hope: Second Chances and a Forgotten Boy. She has loved writing creatively as a child and that love has grown into what she’s hoping will become a full-time career. Emily resides in Lancaster, Ohio with her husband, Mark, and their friend Bill. Between the three of them, they have an adorable collection of creatures, consisting of three cats and two dogs.

Emily’s author page

Jennifer Leigh Pezzano

Jennifer is a poet, writer, and literary junkie. Ever since she could remember, she has had an avid fascination with words. Awed by the power they have to mold and shape our reality, to turn ideas into things of beauty that inspire us, move us and make us want to live bolder, brighter lives. But it wasn’t until recently that she decided to sit down and blend her love of poetry with her appetite for a well-crafted story… and hence “Awakening” was born.
Jennifer lives nestled in the beautiful valley of Southern Oregon with her partner and daughter. She spends her day furiously typing away at her computer while trying to balance the blend of motherhood and self-growth.

Jennifer’s author page

Sean P. Valiente

Sean Valiente was raised in Maine and grew up loving all things geek. In middle school he had the idea of a scene in his head and when he joined a creative writing club in high school, he finally penned the kernels of what would become the first book in his Knights of Nine series, The Lightning Knight. By day, he’s an ordinary finance and accounting professional for a tech company, and by night, he’s busy dreaming up stories for his series. He lives north of Boston with his wife, and loves pizza. He hopes to inspire others to follow their dreams.

Sean’s author page

D.W. Whitfield

D.W.Whitfield, born in the N.East of England, attended Sunderland College of Art before becoming engaged in various occupations over the years — including Cartography, Land Surveying, and Psychiatry (nursing). In parallel, he continued to paint and exhibit throughout the UK.

After early retirement, he moved to the Mid-West of France and continued to exhibit in the US, the UK, and most of Europe. He even went as far as India. It was later that his first book was published, of poetry, followed by two short story collections and a novel.

He continues to live in the beautiful French countryside, still painting, exhibiting throughout Europe, and writing new work.

David’s author page

Vrinda Pendred

Vrinda originally grew up in Arizona, but moved to England in 1999, where she now lives with her husband and their two sons. Her first novel was The Ladder, a story about two friends learning to grow through their difficult childhoods and find the light that lies inside themselves. She followed this with the YA sci-fi / fantasy series The Wisdom, and her YA dystopia Equilibria.

Vrinda also runs a publishing house for writers with neurological conditions, called Conditional Publications. Their first book, Check Mates: A Collection of Fiction, Poetry and Artwork about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, by People with OCD, was released in 2010 (Kindle and paperback), with future books in the pipeline.

In addition to her writing, Vrinda also does freelance proofreading and editing, and spent 9 years tutoring GCSE / A-Level English. She holds a BA Hons in English with Creative Writing, a proofreading qualification with the Publishing Training Centre, and has completed work experience with Random House. On the side, she sometimes writes and performs her own music and runs a herbal tea review blog with a friend.

Vrinda’s author page