Authors

Geri Spieler is an investigative journalist and award-winning speaker who has written articles for the Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Huffington Post, Westways, and was a featured correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Since she fell in love with writing in high school, Anne Shaw Heinrich has been a journalist, columnist, blogger and nonprofit communications professional. Her first article appeared in Rockford Magazine in 1987. She’s interviewed and written features on Beverly Sills, Judy Collins, Gene Siskel, and Debbie Reynolds. Anne’s writing has been featured in The New York Times bestseller The Right Words at the Right Time, Volume 2: Your Turn (Atria 2006) and Chicken Soup for the Soul’s The Cancer Book: 101 Stories of Courage, Support and Love (2009). Anne’s debut novel, God Bless The Child, is the first in a three-book series, The Women of Paradise County, to be published by Speaking Volumes. She and her husband are parents to three adult children. Anne is passionate about her family, mental health advocacy and the power of storytelling.

Marc Zappulla is an American author from the Boston suburb of Medford, Massachusetts. He has worked as a ghostwriter for celebrity figures such as Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Gerry Cheevers, and former MLB strength and conditioning coach Brian McNamee.

He was inspired to write his first novel The Last Longshoreman by his father’s thirty-year career as a longshoreman. Zappulla currently lives in Boston.

Art Twain, childhood friend of Larry Belling, has written and produced over 3,000 radio and TV spots. He is a copywriter, author, musician, music composer and arranger. His award-winning voice work has been heard by tens of millions. Art took the Gap from one store to five hundred stores with his creative and marketing skills. He’s won Clios, Emmy, International Broadcast awards and much more. He plays several instruments, which has helped him in the creation of his jingles and music tracks. He has written and produced musicals and performed humor on stage. He also wrote and produced a five-minute-a-day humorous radio series aimed at school-age kids. Art and Larry were together in a popular comedy music trio at UC Berkeley.

Larry Belling’s creative history includes playwright and former writer/producer of Clio award-winning advertising campaigns for clients including American Express, Greenpeace (Save the Whales) and The African Wildlife Foundation (Save the Elephants). His first play, a dark comedy called “Stroke of Luck,” was a success at the Park Theatre in London, which has optioned three of his one-act plays for next season under the title “For Art’s Sake.”

Nadine Haruni is the award-winning author of The Hat Diaries™ middle-grade fantasy series and the Freeda the Frog™ children’s books. THE HAT DIARIES The Secret Life of Ryan Rigbee is the first book in The Hat Diaries™ trilogy. The Hat Diaries™ collection is written for teens and adults, expanding readers’ imaginations as they enter Ryan’s secret world. The Freeda the Frog™ books focus on acceptance for every type of family and comfort children as they experience real-life situations. Nadine frequently does author events, radio & TV interviews, and podcasts; she is also a practicing attorney and Certified yoga instructor and the proud mother of a blended family of five children.

Cynthia Austin is a multi-published author who lives in Northern California with her husband, two boys, and Sheepadoodle named Chowder. They love all things horror, gothic, and Victorian which prompts her friends to dub them as “The Adams Family.”

A writer, lecturer and consultant, Ray Dan Parker lives in suburban Atlanta with his wife of more than forty years. When not writing, he spends his time working outdoors, teaching and serving in his community.

Jacque Rosman (Jacqueline Corcoran) lives outside Washington D.C. with her husband, two children, and two adopted cats. She is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a psychotherapist at Arlington Behavior Therapy. She is the author of A SURREALIST AFFAIR. MURDER IN GEORGETOWN is the first in the Academic Mom Mystery Series.

Native Chicagoan Charlene Wexler is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She has worked as a teacher and dental office manager and as a wife, mom, and grandmother.

In retirement, her lifelong passion for writing has led to her creation of several essays, short stories, and novels. Among her novels are: Lori, Murder on Skid Row, Elephants in the Room, Murder Across The Ocean, and Milk and Oranges.