Norm Clark

Norm Clark has two action packed thriller novels available (“Resurrected” and the recently published “The Saladin Strategy”) in the Jack McDuff series in ebook and print formats. Work has begun on number three.
The genre and writing style of his work was dictated by his upbringing and choice of friends through the years. He was born and raised in a military environment, which, to a large degree, set the tone for the genre. Input and stories from friends (a couple of Navy Seals, a Force Recon marine, and a Viet Nam era Air America pilot) greatly influenced the plot-lines and writing style.

Amanda Watkins Bretz

This is who I am:

Hi, I’m Amanda Bretz. I’m an old soul, lover of all things vintage, kitcsh, weathered and shabbily chic. I’m a foodie, but give me a simple home-cooked dinner over a fancy five course meal any day. I’m frugal and I love a good thrift store, which I think goes hand-in-hand with my penchant for vintage items. I love talking to people, but prefer to hear their stories rather than share my own…this blog is helping me work on that. Being outside is awesome…unless it’s hot. I think the best way to see the world is through the lens of a camera.

This is what I do:

I write romantic fiction and I have a B.A. in Communication, which means I’m a trained journalist, but I shared stories long before I thought about going to college. As a small child I created dramatic scenes and acted them out, when I got a little older I asked for a typewriter for Christmas, so I could write a novel. By the time I was an adolescent, I was writing poetry and short stories. In college, I studied-and fell in love with-the British greats like Milton, Blake and Shelley. I took creative writing, learned the craft and wrote my first book. Since entering the “real world” I’ve worked in community journalism, both in print and online, written several books and currently work as a freelance writer.

Fedora Amis

Fedora AMIS won the Mayhaven Fiction Prize for her Victorian whodunit, Jack the Ripper in St. Louis. She dons corset and hoop skirts to perform as real historical people and imagined characters from the 1800s. Fedora loves live theater, travel, plants and cooking.
She has one son, Skimmer, who partners Fedora in writing science fiction and fantasy.
“Why do I write? I love words–always have–reading them, writing them. I even like looking them up in the dictionary. So call me eccentric. Call me crazy–but call me a writer.”

Fedora

Piper Punches

Piper Punches grew up in a rural Missouri town in the far west suburbs of St. Louis. As early as kindergarten, Piper began her adventure as a storyteller. It wasn’t long before others caught on that her talented storytelling was actually a disguise for her tendency to be a pathological liar. Luckily, by the time high school rolled around she got her act together and began to channel her bad girl tendencies into something constructive.

By the age of 16 she had written her novel, Silent Witness; a John Grisham- like tale about the treachery and brutality of the Colombian cartel. Before ever hitting the book shelves, Silent Witness was adapted into a screenplay that was picked up by a major Hollywood studio. It was at this time that Piper learned the harsh lessons of Hollywood and the literary world. NEVER pay an agent one measly dollar until you have a contract in your hands and  listen to your parents when they advise you against blindly sending $500 to have your dreams come true overnight.  Sometimes parents actually know what they are talking about.

For the next several years (okay, about 20 years) Piper held onto her dream of becoming a published novelist, but decided to take up procrastination instead. It didn’t pay well, but it sure felt great to get nothing accomplished and pursue other random dreams. Finally, in 2012, after an eight year period as a social worker and a seven year stint as a business owner Piper decided it was time to get back into the habit of storytelling . . . err, writing. She began freelancing and ghost writing for several popular websites, while continuing to postpone writing her original work.

Piper’s mother had told her during her teenage years that writers write what they know. Of course, she didn’t take her mother’s advice back then and continued to write about drug cartels (because didn’t you know that every 16 year old living in rural Missouri knows about drug cartels? Meth – maybe. Colombia drug runners – no). However, in true Piper fashion, after 20 years she finally took that parental advice.

In late fall of 2013, Piper will debut her first novel as a bona fide adult. The Waiting Room is a novel that started as the title of a short story collection, but quickly proved it could be so much more. It evolved into a story about the complexities of family, the invisible bonds that connect people, and the pain that can reverberate through the choices we make.

Piper Punches lives 45 minutes from downtown St. Louis with her husband and two daughters. She continues procrastinate and write on a daily basis and is excited to share her stories with new readers each and every day!