Jo Parillo, of Concord, North Carolina, consults with pharmaceutical and medical device companies. She is an Oncology-certified Registered Nurse and holds an MBA. Joanne’s principal writing experience has been for scientific journals and magazines. In 2017, she published a faith-based, nonfiction, large-format book and workbook titled, Have You Been Pruned? She is currently revising both for possible re-release this year while pursuing a doctorate in theology. During the past ten years, Joanne has begun writing more for personal enjoyment. She is a member of Charlotte Writers Club.

In his career as professor and academic administrator, Joel Stegall wrote more than 35 journal articles, book chapters, opinion pieces and other such. None of these gained him widespread acclaim. Since retiring to Winston-Salem, NC, he has written a family history tracing his ancestry back to 1735. Though documentation is elusive, he has found considerable evidence that his ancestry began even earlier. Several of his stories, often about his ancestors, have appeared in the Personal Stories Publishing Project. Joel continues to write because he likes to.

Suzanne Cottrell, a member of the Taste Life Twice Writers and NC Writers’ Network, lives with her husband in Granville County, North Carolina. An outdoor enthusiast and retired teacher, she enjoys reading, writing, knitting, hiking, and Pilates. Her prose has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including the Personal Story Publishing Project, Inwood Indiana Press, Quillkeepers Press, and Parks and Points. She’s the author of three poetry chapbooks: Gifts of the Seasons, Autumn and Winter; Gifts of the Seasons, Spring and Summer ; and Scarred Resilience, and Nature Calls Outside My Window, A Collection of Poems and Stories.

Charles Bruce McIntyre, or “Bruce” to those who know him, is a retired business owner and cancer survivor. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is a member of the Charlotte Center for Literary Arts and the Charlotte Writers Club. Bruce believes in storytelling and “story listening” and how it is in listening that we start to understand. He began posting his stories at www.choicesdomatter.org, a weekly blog that ran for four years. There Are No Answers Here, Only Questions is his first published work. Learn more at www.charlesbrucemcintyre.com.  

Lisa Miracle Ballard lives in Huntersville, North Carolina. An active volunteer and advocate in her community, her heritage inspires her writing which has been shared in community publications, newspapers, schools and churches. She is currently working on a collection of essays, poetry, and short stories reflecting her Appalachian roots. Her story, “The Gift,” appeared in the 2018 Personal Story Publishing Project anthology Bearing Up.

Bob Amason is a retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who was a college professor for 25 years. A Florida Writer’s Association member, Bob writes under his pen name, Frank A. Mason. Bob’s works include historical novels and modern suspense novels. Two of his Journeyman Chronicles series on the revolutionary war are Amazon.com Best Sellers. His writing has been published in two anthologies, academic journals, and books. Bob lives in Florida with his overachieving wife, a professor who is the author of a series of children’s books.

Nell Whitehead lives in Wake Forest, North Carolina. She has been writing or teaching writing since childhood. Her family was her first audience when at age 12 she wrote a Fractured Fairy Tale Christmas, performed by nieces and nephews, and received with wild acclaim. As a Language Arts teacher, she was part of the Capital Area Writing Project. In more recent times, a writing group in Carrboro created by Nancy Peacock has been the inspiration for short stories, memoirs, and two novels.

Growing up in the South means learning life lessons from family stories. Ginny Foard learned a few things that way. She also found out that later you get to tell stories, too. Depending on who’s in the room with you, you might need a few hours to get to the bottom of what all happened. Ginny likes exploring, sharing, and listening to the stories around her. She lives in a little post office box on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina.

Martha Rowe Vaughn lives in Mount Airy, North Carolina and is a member of a local writers group that has been meeting for over 15 years. During that time, she has published two books: Grandma’s Trunk (non-fiction) and Crossroads (fiction). An interest in genealogy and family history prompted her to write both books. She graduated from The University of Kentucky with a degree in horticulture and owned and operated a tree nursery for 22 years. In retirement, she volunteers her horticulture knowledge and skill to local non-profit organizations.

Carroll Taylor is a writer, poet, and playwright. She is the author of two young adult novels, Chinaberry Summer and Chinaberry Summer: On the Other Side and two children’s books, Feannag the Crow and Ella’s Quilt. Her poems have appeared in anthologies and online. A retired educator, Taylor is a member of NC Writers’ Network-West and the Georgia Poetry Society. She and her husband live in Hiawassee, in the North Georgia mountains, where she feeds a crow family whose antics inspire her to write every day.