Category: Author’s Answer

Dave Tamanini lives in Pennsylvania. His life experiences, combined with a desire to entertain, shape his writing. As a former civil rights investigator, and an attorney for 30 years, he learned a lot about human strength, frailty… and hypocrisy.

Christina Consolino is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in multiple online and print outlets. Her debut novel, Rewrite the Stars, was named one of ten finalists for the Ohio Writers’ Association Great Novel Contest 2020, and she is the co-author of Historic Photos of University of Michigan. She serves as senior editor at the online journal Literary Mama, freelance edits both fiction and nonfiction, and teaches writing classes at Word’s Worth Writing Center. Christina lives in Kettering, Ohio, with her family and pets.

Beth Kirschner grew up in upstate New York, and thought she knew everything there was to know about winter snows until she moved to Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula for college. There she discovered an average snowfall between 200 and 300 inches, and a record winter snowfall of 390 inches. In addition to the harsh winters, she found a place rich with history, personality, and the world’s only known source of pure, native copper. The Keweenaw Peninsula is the setting for her debut novel, Copper Divide.

Her writing has moved from poetry to travel journals, short stories, and novels. When not writing, she works as a software engineer, flies single engine airplanes, and enjoys exploring Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She has two grown children, two large cats, and a room of her own for imagining her next story.

James A. Stewart was born in Baton Rouge, LA. After graduating from Louisiana State University with a BS in Industrial Technology, he spent twenty-five years on active duty with the U.S. Navy. He also holds a BA in English from National University and an MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside. He lives with his family in San Diego, CA. The Blue Sea Cottage is his first book. 

Bradley Sides’ writing appears at Chapter 16, Chicago Review of Books, Electric Literature, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Millions, The Rumpus, Southern Review of Books, and elsewhere. He holds an MA in English from the University of North Alabama and is an MFA candidate at Queens University of Charlotte. He lives in Florence, Alabama, with his wife. Those Fantastic Lives, his debut collection of short stories, is forthcoming from City of Light Publishing (2021).

Rishikesh Upadhyay, aka RK Upadhyay, was born and raised in a small Nepalis’ hamlet, Bhanjang Basti, via Mahadev Tilla, Haflong, the district headquarters of North Cachar Hills, India. He is a research writer, author and assistant professor. He is the author of “The Secret of Plants in the ENVIRONMENT.” His writing has appeared in several international journals of repute, mostly in Elsevier science, Springer science and Taylor & Francis. He’s recently awarded the Albert nelson lifetime achievement award, the Pencraft literary excellence award and the literary titan award.

Ramsey Hootman is the author of Courting Greta, Surviving Cyril, and Cyril in the Flesh. Her fiction is often set in the northern California town of Healdsburg, where she was born and raised. She currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two rambunctious boys.

Michael Rose was raised on a small family dairy farm in Upstate New York. He retired after serving in executive positions for several global multinational enterprises. He has been a non-executive director for three public companies headquartered in the U.S. The Sorting Room is his debut novel. He lives and writes in San Francisco.

Sarah Echavarre Smith is a copywriter-turned-author who wants to make the world a lovelier place, one kissing story at a time. When she’s not writing, you can find her hiking, eating chocolate and perfecting her lumpia recipe. She is the author of Faker, Simmer Down, and On Location.

A native of Western Pennsylvania, Tammy Pasterick grew up in a family of steelworkers, coal miners, and Eastern European immigrants. She began her career as an investigator with the National Labor Relations Board and later worked as a paralegal and German teacher. She holds degrees in labor and industrial relations from Penn State University and German language and literature from the University of Delaware. She currently lives on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with her husband, two children, and chocolate Labrador retriever. Beneath the Veil of Smoke and Ash is her first novel.