Candance Carrabus Rice

I  have written stories and ridden horses–frequently simultaneously–for as long as I can remember. I grew up on Long Island and spent my formative years in the saddle–just imagining. When not riding, you could find me hanging with the barn cat. After high school, I traveled to Ness, England and studied at a British Horse Society training school. This was an all-around amazing experience. When I left, I clutched a certification to teach riding in my hot little hand, and I enjoyed instructing riders for many years.

Who am I kidding? We know it is the horses who do the teaching. All we can do is try to remain open to what they have to say.

Now, I share a farm in Missouri with my family, and three dogs and five cats, but I have only one horse these days. Remi’s a Trakehner-thoroughbred-quarter horse cross, born on the farm and as easy a keeper and good minded as they get. We board him at a terrific place nearby.

After moving to St. Louis, I pursued my love of the language while continuing to teach riding and compete in local horse shows. I earned my BGS (Bachelor of General Studies–the custom-design-your-own-degree-program-for ‘non-traditional’-students) and Writing Certificate from the University of Missouri St. Louis and write short and long fiction, essays…sometimes, and dabble in poetry.

Not surprisingly, my stories are infused with the mystery and spirituality horses have brought to my life. Dogs and cats are usually around, too. A portion of my profits is donated to animal shelters.

” . . . she’s a very good writer, very level-headed, with all the right expectations and professional patience, who can write in both the  fantasy and the romance fields.” — Philip Martin, author/editor of The Writer’s Guide to Fantasy Literature.

My philosophy, in brief :: (No, not in briefs, but that’s a nice image, thank you very much.)

We are all immigrants in spirit, with our minds, hearts, and souls being the final frontier. This is what happens to all my main characters–whether by choice or accident or design–they go somewhere else.

They immigrate.

At first, this change is external–physical.  Over time, their journeys lead to a place of discovery and growth that is within each individual alone.  The final frontier to which we all can go.

Why don’t you hop on and come along for the ride?

Awards and such

Raver — Book One of the Horsecaller
First place, Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel, Oklahoma Writers Federation, 2003
First place, Paranormal, Toronto Romance Writers, 2005

Winterlight (now known as On the Buckle)
Third place, Single Title Contemporary, Toronto Romance Writers, 2005

A Farmer at Last
Second place, Essay, Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, 2003

Woman
Third place, Poetry Unrhymed Short, Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, 2003

Barbara Nelson

Barb Nelson opened Beacon Virtual Assistants in Spring of 2009 with the sole purpose of helping business owners and managers. The thought process behind her business was to take care of the items that they don’t have time or desire to do so that they can focus on their strengths, and managing and growing their business.Barb is passionate about her customers and really gets a sense of reward in helping to relieve stress from her client’s everyday lives, just by taking care of the “little things”. She focuses a majority of her time on CRM. This includes obtaining the business cards obtained from networking events and loading them into a clean database. She will also assist in e-mail drip marketing campaigns and e-newsletters.  Barb has vast experience in numerous fields such as: restaurant (hostess to management), retail, chiropractic and medical offices as well as manufacturing offices.  Through all her years, she was always the “go to” person when things needed to be done. Beacon Virtual Assistants is a Missouri WBE (Women’s Business Exchange) and is a Notary Public. Barb spends her free time boating, and enjoys working out at the gym and short distance running.

Denise Pellow

Your Inner Journey takes you to a place within yourself where wellness is realized. Our goal is to provide life skills, techniques and information with your overall wellness in mind. Through professional counseling, coaching, and enrichment the journey explores one’s self, life and relationships.