Off The Chain

GARRETT WALKER'S mom and dad were both singers and musicians. When he was a very young child they would often take him to gigs with them. He'd hang out in the back room and listen to the show - breathing in the music like air. After the break up of his parents at age 8, his life changed forever, and he uses his songs to paint the pictures of his journey since - songs about love and pain, hope and faith, and always about reality. Garrett's goal is to use his talent for all the right reasons. And talent he has - you'll hear it in the songs he writes and sings. From the heartfelt Wasn't Done Loving You and All The Above to the fun and cool vibe of Leave My Guitar Alone, you will be moved and entertained. This talented singer/songwriter is making his dreams happen in Nashville, as Charlie Daniels himself, told Garrett he needed to be in Nashville, after he did The Charlie Daniels, and will chat with me about his music career, his songwriting, performing - and much more. Tune in and get up close & personal with Garrett and hear three of his songs signed with his manager and co-producer, Susie Marshall of The Producer's Room in Nashville, Tennessee.

Marty Roppelt was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He was brought up with Grimm's Fairy Tales at bedtime. Marty later ran across horror novels that his mother borrowed from the local library, by contemporary masters of the horror genre—Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Peter Straub.   Small wonder. Marty's parents emigrated from Transylvania.   Marty's original profession was acting. He lived in New York for a while, and appeared in a few shows Off-Off-Broadway at the Spectrum Theater, and as an "extra" on the soap opera, Guiding Light. After returning to Cleveland, he continued acting on stage, in local commercials and training films, and in feature and cable films.   Marty also worked a wide variety of day and night jobs. He has cleaned swimming pools, delivered newspapers, been a security guard, waited tables, and tended bar. Today, when he's not writing a new short story or novel, he works as a Starbucks barista. He enjoys finding ways to use his diverse life experience to enhance his story-telling.   A pet project involves St. Herman's House, a men's homeless shelter in Cleveland. Always a bit controversial, the home ran into bad press, through no fault of the men living there. Nevertheless, donations dwindled dangerously in 2011. Marty saw a financial need he could not fill. So, over four years, he wrote short Christmas stories which he published and sold online to raise money for St. Herman's. He continues to look for ways to help the home.   Marty lives in northern Illinois with his wife, Becky, and their eccentric cat, Fritz. Mortal Foe is his first novel.

Jane Jordan was born in Essex, England, and grew up exploring the history and culture of London and surrounding counties. In the 1990s she immigrated to Detroit, USA, eventually settling in Southwest Florida. She returned to England after a fifteen-year absence, to spend six years in the Southwest of England living on Exmoor. Here, inspired by the atmosphere, beautiful scenery and the ancient history of the place, she began writing. Jane's writes in the dark romance genre. She has four published novels. She also writes short stories and being a trained horticulturist, she occasionally writes for a Florida gardening magazine. Jane returned to Florida in 2013, and lives in Sarasota.

KM Johnson Davis, your Visionary Leader™, is the CEO & Founder of KM Johnson International, which is a Coaching & Consulting Firm that specializes in teaching Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders how to do Life, Business, and Faith By Design™. She is an internationally known motivational speaker, consultant, author, minister & entrepreneur. She has served as an Officer in the US Army, been the Business Operations Manager for a Fortune 500 Company, and ran 2 successful businesses along with her ministry.   Previously KM hosted the live radio talk show "Faith By Design", which was produced by KM Johnson International Ministries and aired weekly on Christian talk radio station 100.7FM The Word. KM is A Contributing Writer for Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global and the author of “Knowing the Struggle Is Over” and “It Starts with You!” (Fall 2017). Currently, KM travels Nationally and Internationally conducting seminars, talks and trainings on Faith, Leadership + Success, Vision + Purpose.    Because inspiring others to build their faith and live in the vision and purpose that God has given them is what KM is most passionate about, she focuses most of her time Speaking and Consulting.

Making my home in Ridgeland, Mississippi, since 1999, I'm, a native of Laurel, a graduate of University of Southern Mississippi with a BS in psychology, Belhaven University with a Master of Arts in Teaching, and gifted certification from Mississippi College. I'm an author, editor, and educator. My short pieces have appeared in Letters from the Soul, Brick Streets Press: 2010 Winners' Circle, Mississippi Profiles, The Magnolia Quarterly, and I've placed as a semifinalist or higher at the Pirate's Alley Faulkner Wisdom Competition, 2012-2016, with Broken finishing in the top twenty novels.

'm Bob Coltrain Kennedy from the small town of Dudley, North Carolina. Bobby to family and old friends. I am not good at bios because I hate to sound self absorbed. There are so many far more talented artists and writers, but people have been kind to me. I  grew up listening to traditional Country and Southern Gospel. Charlie Daniels, Marshall Tucker Band and Lynard Skynard were played on Rock stations during high school, so I was influenced by their styles as well. I started writing first, as songwriting was my goal. I only started singing my songs to give voice to them. My father was a part time preacher, but earned his living working, and I first sang in church. One night I sat up in a biker bar for tips. I sang my songs and others. To my surprise they gave a good amount of tip money and people seemed to enjoy it. That led to other bookings every time. I've played about every venue imaginable..many nightclubs and bars, private parties for rich and poor (no charge there, just supper and sweet tea), festivals, fairs, Prison, military base, Beach events, churches, Country Clubs, Weddings & Receptions, America Legions, VFWs, Tootsie's Orchid Lounge and other Nashville clubs, etc.  I was signed as a Nashille artist and songwriter with an indie label in the nineties (Killer Records/TNT Promitions). I've had 24 songs published, mainly recorded by regional bands all over the country.

I am a long time contributing writer for the Northside Sun  and was winner of the General Interest Column, Mississippi Press Award, 2007 and was a second place winner in 2014. I have written and published four books: a memoir, Come Up Churning and Keep your Buckets High,  Streams of Mercy, a book about my rescue dog, June Cleaver and a walk she and I took up the Natchez Trace to Savannah Tennessee; I have written two novels, Redemption Ridge and Saleta's Secrets and  quite a few short stories and essays.

Patricia Loofbourrow was born in southern California in 1962, and currently lives in Oklahoma. Learning to read at the age of three, she grew up on Heinlein, Bradbury, and Asimov, and found at an early age that she loved science.   Earning a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology with a minor in Chemistry from Cal Poly Pomona then an MD from Rush University, Dr. Loofbourrow practiced family medicine for ten years before becoming a stay at home mom in 2000. After leaving medicine, Patricia Loofbourrow ran one of the first “ask a doctor” patient education websites from 2000-2004.   Patty wrote her first novel during the 2005 National Novel Writing Month, going on to write ten novels, four novellas, and well over 100 short stories, mostly speculative fiction. Her debut novel, The Jacq of Spades, was self-published in 2015, making the NY Times and USA Today best seller lists as part of the Dark Humanity science fiction and fantasy box set in February 2017.   She has been a long-time member of the Forward Motion Forums, and was the founder of Fifty Word Fiction on DeviantArt. She has also worked as a freelance non-fiction writer and editor since 2000, and currently runs an informational website on edible landscaping.

Body on the Bayou, the second book in Ellen’s Cajun Country Mystery Series, recently won the Left Coast Crime Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery, and is nominated for an Agatha Award in the category of Best Contemporary Novel. Ellen's debut novel in the series, Plantation Shudders, was nominated for Agatha, Lefty, and Daphne awards, and made the USA Today Bestseller list. Book three, A Cajun Christmas Killing, launches October 10th. She’s written over 200 national magazine articles; published plays include the award-winning Graceland; TV credits include Wings, Just Shoot Me, Fairly OddParents, and pilots. Visit her at http://www.ellenbyron.com/

Ian Mackenzie was born in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa and grew up in Johannesburg. He was schooled at Queens College, Queenstown and at Parktown Boys High in Johannesburg. He served with the Rhodesian military during the bush war where he met his wife Rosemarie Kennedy. He has two sons in their 30’s and lives with his wife in Johannesburg. Clouds In The Wind is his first novel.