Carolina Writers Speak

Charles M. Clemmons was born at home in the countryside near Clayton, North Carolina, on what is now a state forest. Growing up in the American South, working on his father's farm, and exploring 300 acres of forest accompanied solely by his faithful dog Snowball, proved to be formative life experiences.

He received an engineering degree from NC State University in 1966; an MBA from the University of Connecticut in 1976; and an AAS degree in Film & Video Technology from North Lake College in Irving, Texas, in 1994. In his 27-year career in the corporate world, he traveled extensively and resided in North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Connecticut, and Texas.

Retiring from a corporate career in telecommunications in 1994 at age 50, he refocused on his real passions: documentary filmmaking, photography, writing, being a father to his three children, and discovering the history and lifeways of his parents’ families in Brunswick County, North Carolina. 

In 2004, he was awarded two Boston/New England Emmys® (writing and production) for the American Public Television documentary, Mystic Voices: The Story of the Pequot War. After 40 years in Connecticut, Charles returned to his roots in North Carolina in 2016.

His inspiration for Aila’s Journal came from his own experiences and aspirations growing up in the American South, his own family's history, and his historical research of the Civil War and Southern Reconstruction.

https://charles-m-clemmons.com

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Before turning to writing for children, Carol Baldwin published Friendship Counseling: Biblical Foundations for Helping Others and Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8. Carol enjoys teaching writing and has presented at many educators and writing conferences. She has published widely in newspapers and magazines and along with Rebecca Wheeler, co-publishes Talking Story, a newsletter for educators and media specialists. She served as a SCBWI-Carolinas critique group leader and blog coordinator for many years. In addition, she manages the Write2Ignite blog; a group dedicated to inspiring and educating Christian kid lit writers. Most recently, she became a volunteer publicist for Monarch Books. Find her thoughts on the writing process, book reviews, and giveaways on her blog. When she isn’t writing or blogging, you’ll find her golfing, walking, biking, or enjoying books with one of her eight grandchildren.

Half Truths a middle-grade historical novel that takes place in Charlotte, NC in 1950 is scheduled for publication in June 2025 with Monarch Educational Services. She is working on a graphic novel, Nightmare in Nuremberg and dreaming about two other historical novels.

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Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, an enrolled citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and resides in Qualla, NC with her husband, Evan and sons Ross and Charlie. She holds degrees from Yale University and the College of William and Mary. Her debut novel, Even As We Breathe, was released by the University Press of Kentucky in 2020, a finalist for the Weatherford Award and named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020. In 2021, it received the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. Her first novel manuscript, Going to Water is winner of the Morning Star Award for Creative Writing from the Native American Literature Symposium (2012) and a finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction (2014). Clapsaddle’s work has appeared in Yes! Magazine, Lit Hub, Smoky Mountain Living Magazine, South Writ Large, Our State Magazine, and The Atlantic. After serving as executive director of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, Annette returned to teaching at Swain County High School for over a dozen years. She is the former co-editor of the Journal of Cherokee Studies and serves on the Board of Directors for the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and is the President of the Board of Trustees for the North Carolina Writers Network. Clapsaddle established Bird Words, LLC in 2022 and works as an independent contractor and consultant. In 2023, in partnership with Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Clapsaddle launched Confluence: An Indigenous Writers’ Workshop Series that seeks to bring indigenous writers to the Qualla Boundary (Cherokee, NC) to work with aspiring writers several times throughout the year.

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Cherilyn Bisbano Author of Shine Don’t Whine. Cherilyn is part of the Billy Graham Library Staff and more!

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Debra Lewis is a retired CPA and lives in Tarboro, North Carolina  She wrote a wonderful book about being an entrepreneur. I know you will enjoy it. 

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Dr. Jen Lowry is North Carolina born and raised, still holding on to that country slang that is unique to the small town of Maxton she loves so much in Robeson County. She's the owner of Monarch Educational Services, a traditional press publishing MG and YA clean reads. She is an avid enthusiast of all things horror, and UFC, and binge-watches old episodes of Quantum Leap. She finds herself comfier in a pair of pajamas and would make all public appearances in them if she could get away with it. When she isn’t literacy coaching, life coaching, or homeschooling her two fabulous boys, she can be found napping or singing loudly, probably napping. Check out Jen’s official author sites all over the net from podcasts, YouTube, Instagram, and more by searching up Jen Lowry Writes or following her on @jenlowrywrites. Contact Jen for special author appearances and teaching opportunities or stay up to date with her journey at www.jenlowrywrites.com. For publishing inquiries, please visit monarcheducationalservices.com

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Alison Hendrix is an author of childrens books.. Multiple titles are available on Amazon. Her latest work The Talking Tree is a huge success! I know you will enjoy getting to know this very sweet mom and author!

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Donna Everhart is the USA Today bestselling author of vivid, authentic Southern fiction, including the Southeastern Library Association Award-winning The Road to Bittersweet, the Indie Next Pick, Amazon Spotlight/Debut Pick, The Education of Dixie Dupree, The Forgiving Kind, and The Moonshiner’s Daughter. Her fifth novel, The Saints of Swallow Hill is out now.

Born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, she now lives with her husband just an hour away in the Sandhills area of the state. Please visit her online at DonnaEverhart.com.

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Michelle Berger is the past President of the North Carolina Writers Network..  Michele Tracy Berger is a professor, a blogger, a creativity expert and a pug-lover. She’s passionate about all of these ways of being in the world and plays with the order that she avidly pursues them. She is associate professor in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and has several academic books on subjects that range from HIV/AIDS activism to the value of a women’s and gender studies education. Her creative writing has appeared in The Chapel Hill News, Glint, Carolina Woman, Trivia: Voices of Feminism, Ms., The Feminist Wire, various zines, and Western North Carolina Woman. In 2013 she became a “My View” monthly columnist for The Chapel Hill News and is at work on short story collection of speculative fiction. She also has a coaching practice called The Creative Tickle® and is on a mission to tickle your genius awake. Come visit her: https://creativetickle.com/. Studio Hour Leader

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If you like Charleston and southern cooking do not miss this wonderful curation A Taste of Living in Charleston. It is filled with things that will trigger all your senses and make you want to cook, eat, cook and eat some more.

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