RONALD GENE BLISS has combined a career as a teacher and a writer since receiving his B.S. degree from Newman University, a M.A. degree from the University of Missouri and a B.A. degree from Kansas State University. He has worked as a city hall reporter for the Findlay, Ohio Republican-Courier, as news editor for the Colby, Kansas Free Press-Tribune, an investigative reporter and Director of Public Affairs for KSN— a four-station TV network, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. His fiction and non-fiction stories have been published in TV Guide, Runner's World, and numerous other publications. His books include Indian Softball Summer (Dodd, Mead) and Child of The Field as well as Eagle Trap (md Books). He is currently a publication editor for The Boeing Company in Wichita and resides in Maize, Kansas.

KEVIN CASEY was born in New York City, raised in Long Island, received a BA degree in Psychology at Fordham University, NYC in 1988.He then served as a street outreach case manager at a shelter for runaways and teen prostitutes in Hollywood, CA. In 1991, the teen shelter Covenant House published his first book, Children of Eve relating to his experiences driving a van through the streets of Los Angeles for 8 to 12 hours a night offering food, shelter and access to medical care to runaway and homeless youth. The Runaway Game began as his thesis that earned him a MA degree in education from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1993. At present Kevin Casey is a U.S. Navy journalist, currently head of a television news department at American Forces Network, Sasebo, Japan.

CONSTANCE D. CASSERLY is an English teacher in the Fairfax County Public School System. Although much of her past class experience has been with adolescents at the Enterprise School—a Fairfax County Alternative School for behaviorally disadvantaged adolescents—it was in the mainstream at the public high school level where she realized how often normal teenage females became involved in relationships with young men who would abuse them and treat them like possessions. A Fine Line is the result of her efforts to help young women regain their flagging self-esteem and to gain the strength to stand on their own. Mrs. Casserly's writings have appeared in the English Teacher's Quarterly as well as other educational publications. She resides in Herndon, VA.

CLAUDIA CHERNESS studied Human Services and Writing in college, and has operated a children's day care facility for many years. As a mother of five, her interest has long been in nurturing and developing self-esteem in children. Her studies in Human Development along with her many years spent in caring for children brought strongly to her attention the correlation betwen a child's self-esteem and how that child grows into a happy, healthy adult. She has spent over ten years exploring the inner self and desires to bring what she has learned from her hopes to touch something in the reader that reminds them of the personal power and strength they have within. Leroy The Lizard is a fine example of her writing. The author resides in San Juan Capistrano, California.

MAY M. DAVENPORT has a B.A. in Drawing and Painting from George Washington University, D.C. and teaching credentials in elementary and secondary education from San Jose State College, San Jose, CA. She taught portrait drawing & painting, had one-person Art Exhibitions in U.S.I.A. libraries in India and in Guyana, but what started out as a hobby of printing her illustrations as coloring books for her two sons, culminated into a career. Her first children's story was published in The Sunday Statesman, a newspaper in Calcutta, India, which is reprinted in the appendix of her autobiography, Blow Away Seaweeds! Now editor-publisher of May Davenport Publishers, she lives in Los Altos Hills, CA. with husband Robert, son Byron, and two grandchildren, Taylor and Kealani.

MAY M. DAVENPORT was born in Hilo Hawaii, one of ten children, and was educated by Franciscan nuns at St. Joseph's School in Hilo. Writing closet plays was May's first love, then playing the piano, next drawing and painting, to publishing children's/young adult books. Some of May's paintings are reproduced in A Sequel to Blow Away Seaweeds! her memoir which was published in 1994.

PAT DELGADO has been a social worker and teacher in two states and in six schools. She has hung out with teenagers most of her life, most recently as an English teacher at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington, Kentucky. She wrote Drivers' Ed is Dead for both students and teachers. For students, she feels the subject will interest even reluctant readers. For teachers, she hopes the book will provide fun and an easy approach to teaching basic reading and comprehension skills. Besides teaching and writing, her current passion is promoting TPN, a positive TV network that teaches both young and old how to be successful in life. The author resides in Lexington, KY.

ANNE DERSON A long-time resident of Houston, Texas, Anne is actively involved in city government, schools and community development. She attributes her success as a children's author to her real-life main characters, John and Trina, who provided her with years of humorous writing material, especially for the character Miggs McClue—the main character in Something in The Air. Besides writing other Miggs McClue mysteries, she writes adult novels.

JULIE  DONOHUE started drawing when she was 8 years old. Her uncle had over 40 aquariums in his home, and she would sit and watch the fishes for hours. She enjoyed drawing fishes then. She hopes the young, as well as the elderly, will enjoy reading about her unusual fishes, and coloring her illustrations with the key numbers to reproduce their brilliant or subdued hues in The Fancy Fish Coloring Book. The author received a degree in dental hygiene as well as a degree in archaeology. She resides in Beaverton , Oregon.

COLBY K. FARLEY was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, received a B.S. from Devry Institute of Technology in 1989, and has worked for the federal government ever since as a computer programmer. He began writing as a teenager, mostly poetry, and "A Warm Familiar Feeling" is his first novel. His five children are a never-ending source of inspiration and adolescent dialogue. Colby K. Farley had written essays that won second place in 2001 and first place in 2002 in the Public Service Recognition Essay Contests. The 2002 essay theme of "How 9-11 Changed Perceptions of Public Service" was published in the Columbus Federal Times as well as The Unqualified Opinion.

ROBERT NORMAN FARLEY taught math for 38 years from grade school through high school and community levels. Mr. Farley's interest in California history compelled him to write A Taste of The Elephant—A California Gold Country Mystery. "I'd rather ride shotgun on a Concord Stagecoach than fly as a passenger on a Concord Jet," he said. His thoughts and feelings are conveyed humorously in his novel. The author holds a B.A. degree from the U. of Miami and a Master's degree from the U. of Michigan. He lives in Sacramento, CA with his wife Irene.

DAVID FINKLE is a native of upstate New York, where Making My Escape is set. He holds a B.A. degree in English with a minor in Theater from Stetson University, and has been teaching English in middle and high schools in Florida since 1990. During college, he wrote and directed one act plays for young people. With composer Brett Templeton, David has written a musical play Stargazers, about the astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. His comic strip about teaching, Mr. Fitz, currently appears in the Daytona Beach News-Journal five times weekly. He lives in Deland, Florida, with his wife Andrea and two children, Christopher and Alex.

SHELLY FREDMAN is a former Philadelphian. She attended Finletter Elementary School, then Olney High School, and graduated from Temple U. with a B.A. in Elementary Education. As a teacher, she was constantly looking for ways to motivate kids to read. When she tested Creeps on several 8th graders, they responded favorably. They could relate to the assinine dialog, peer pressure and teen anxieties. This inspired her to write "half my material. The rest I drew from memories of my own sordid past in Junior High." The author, her husband, Dud and daughter, Corey lived at Canoga Park, CA.

ASHLEIGH E. GRANGE is a trilingual teenager attending a Francophone high school in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. In her own words, "I have been writing and telling stories whenever I need to emphasize a concept, to make a point or to teach someone a lesson subtlety through the use of our poetic English language. I have a passion for writing and with over thirty-three short stories to my name, countless poems and four ripe novels dealing in different aspects with the teenage nature to date, I prove it daily. As a teenager perhaps I'm not qualified to entertain adult fiction, but that's not my goal. My goal is to examine a variety of different aspects of the human nature through the eyes of a teenager. They say, write about what you know, but know more than you do. If that's the case, then I doubt anyone is more qualified to write about teenagers than I. I'm living the life of one, and I can tell you, there are times you want to shout into the wind, the world seems so perfect and so full of love and peace. It's exhilarating! Then there are times when you want to crawl into a ball and simply sob forever...Writing for teenagers is hard, but living the life of one is even harder."

BLAKE GRANT is a generalist with a classic education in the life sciences, physiology and biochemistry. He graduated from Oklahoma U./post doctorate at Yale and has worked in nine states from Connecticut to California as well as on projects in Europe, South America and Asia. In "Windriders" his love of aviation comes in strongly; he incorporates his rich experiences with diverse cultures. He lives in Hagerman, Idaho.

In KURT HABERL'S own words: "Because I am an experienced high school teacher I have concerned himself with real problems young people face in a setting which reflects my first-hand knowledge of schools and troubled teens...I am convinced that The Newman Assignment is more than a problem novel because its fabric also contains threads of friendship, of humor...and the dramatic irony of life where a retarded man can teach something to a bright, rebellious teen, in fact, to all of us." Author has a Master's degree in creative writing from the U. of Illinois and is currently English department chair at Addison Trail High School in Chicago, IL.

JUDY HAIRFIELD has been writing stories, poems, plays, essays for many years. An essay of hers was published in TEEN magazine when she was in the 9th grade. She has a B.A. in English and Theatre Arts from Mary Washingon College as well as a secondary teaching credential. The novel When the Dancing Ends was the culminating project for her Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies. She resides in Fredericksburg, VA.

DIANE HARRIS-FILDERMAN has always enjoyed writing as a hobby and decided..."to develop an adventure story that also deals with wholesome relationships between parents and children. In a society with so many broken families and daily stresses, it's important to remember that there are good marriages and happy families like the Whitcombs [in Mickey Steals The Show]. Children between the ages of 7 and 10 will surely identify with and enjoy the antics of Max, Bridgette and Mickey." The author has a Theater and Arts major and lives with her husband and now grown children since she wrote her novel in Columbia, MD.

MICHAEL HORTON The author resides in Kodiak, Alaska, with his wife, Sheila, and three children. He has been a Mental Health Clinician for many years and has watched again and again people overcome their own tragic curcumstances and flawed nature. He loves to write about the strength, beauty and endurance of the human spirit. A Life on the Line was his first novel. Original Animals is his easy and fun-to-read children's book with fictional characters in fur, feathers and fishtails coming to grips with life after "mankind left paradise."

WAR CRY HOWELL wrote Gramma Curlychief's Pawnee Indian Stories. "I was the son of working parents and left with gramma a lot...I was too young to know what a wealth of Pawnee Indian heritage I had in my hands. This book is written for gramma... and for the sake of Pawnee Indian children who can't enjoy the heritage I grew up with, much of which is gone forever." Author has a Ph.D. in Education and lives in Lakewood, Colorado.

PHILIP R.JOHNSON "I loved a good adventure story as a kid. I always made up additional episodes for the characters when the book was over. Then I began to imagine my own set of characters and to work out circumstances for them. I often dreamed of actually writing a book..." and he did eventually, incorporating his work experiences and his admiration for an old model Harley bike in The Chase of the Sorceress. The author graduated from U. of Alabama with a B.S. in Education, taught English at Marietta Junior High School, Marietta, GA then joined the Coast Guard. He resides in Slidell, LA with his family.

ELLEN LANGILL is a native of Webster Groves, Missouri. She received her B.A. in Classical Languages, Grinnell College, Iowa, and a Ph.D. in American Intellectual History, U. of Wisconsin. She is an instructor at University Lake School, Hartland, Wisconsin and teaches part-time at the U. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. She lives in Waukesha, Wisconsin with husband and daughter Kjersten, for whom she wrote Pompey Poems...Celebrating a Cat.

DINAH LEIGH resides in Dutchess County, NY, with her husband of 43 years, Peter Hernandez. She has three married sons and five grandchildren. Her first book Surviving Sarah took her twelve years to write. She was a working mother then with three growing boys. It took her three years to write Surviving Sarah, The SequelÑBrown Bug and China Doll. The empty nest scenario made it easier for her to write, she noted, "...but she missed the noise and commotion when the nest was full."

RAY J. LUM was born in St. Louis, MO and educated at Washington University in St. Louis. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and his engineering career included 26 years in Federal service which kept him busy with projects all over the U.S.A. and in Europe. Reading many children's books to his son Robin interested him in writing The Rebus Escape. The author lives in Mclean, VA.

PAUL LURIA described his novel Magda Rose as "...a gentle love story...the 'ultimate diversity book'...not devoid of humor...is informative but not pedantic...it's education via entertainment." The theme of diversity and how we view the world nonjudgmentally appears in much of his work. His writings have appeared in various publications; "...it won't be long now"—short story, Epoch/Winter, 1970; "The Way It Was in 1968 and So On"—short story, Poetry Forum/Jan., 1996; "Town Pool"—poem, Northwoods Journal/Summer 1997. Author lives in Fitchburg, MA.

JAMES C. McCOY is an alumnus of Fordham U. and UCLA. He is the co-author of "Herbie and The Gumball Monsters" and enjoys writing for Westmart, an animation production company in Studio City, CA. Darby was one of his children's stories.

JONATHAN MIDDLETON has been writing for 15 years and his stories and articles have been published in religious and academic publications. He has a B.A. degree in Liberal Arts, and works as a graphic artist and media technician for Northeastern Oklahoma A& M College. His color-and-read book—Grandpa McKutcheon's Kangaroomatic Rocking Chair—is one of his comic strip stories. He now resides in Olathe, KS.

ESTHER MOK grew up in a tin mining town called Ipoh, Malaysia, where she studied in a school with Irish nuns. Later she attended the U. of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. During ecology field trips to the rain forest, she was amazed at the rich fauna and flora . Before pursuing an M.A. degree in film production at the U. of Iowa, Esther taught in Malaysia and Singapoor. Today, an impromptu story about the rain forest and imaginative Sumo The Wrestling Elephant captures her reluctant reading students' attention at the high school where she teaches biology and math. The author lives in Daly City, CA.

LYNN A. MORRISON —seemingly a lifelong student—attended Southern Illinois U. of Cabondale, IL. and is continuing his education at Daytona Beach Community College at Daytona Beach, FL. With a passion for writing, Wind Shadow is the author's first published book. Drawing from a broad background of employment, hobbies and pastimes, the author offers a presentation of "How it must have been" in this brief biography of the Morrison family. He celebrates the family's accomplishments and shares some of his heart-felt thoughts. The author lives in Deltona, FL., the father of five children, grandchildren, and is a caretaker of his Labrador "Bear."

FRANK J. NUCHOLS, M.D. is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, has taught and practiced adult and child psychiatry. His stories have been published in POCKETS, in I LOVE CATS and, psychiatric articles in professional journals. Now retired, he diagnoses and untangles conflicts of fictional characters mysteriously, humorously in The Ghost, The Gold and The Whippoorwill. He lives with his wife Jane in Birmingham, AL.

MARION PAGE has been writing since an English teacher inspired her in high school. She now has two grown daughters and lives in Groton, VT with her husband and a demanding cat. She enjoys the long winters which gives her time for snowshoeing, hiking, and especially for reading and writing about teenagers. Dirty Mary is her first published novel.

LINDA ROPES has been writing creatively for years, but until recently, hadn't had the time to stop and smell the roses. In Just a Little Off The Top she recalls: "My beauty shop was a dream fulfilled for me; however, the friendships I made while working there were an added bonus. I try to go with the flow and absorb life's little lessons along the way. My family and friends are constant inspirations to me. I've had a great life so far!" The author lives in Camarillo, CA.

ANDREA ROSS juggles many careers as a designer, performer and writer. Her play "Pogosticks" was produced by The Black Spectrum Theatre Children's Company Jan. 21, 1984, St. Albans, NY, with a grant from the NY State Dept. of Cultural Affairs and NY State Council on the Arts. To Touch The Sun her latest novel, reflects feelings of sympathy for a young wardrobe person's apprenticeship in a theatre in Cincinnati then in San Francisco. At present, she lives in NYC and works as head of wardrobe at CBS, NYC.

BARBARA A. SCOTT holds a B.A. in Special Education and M.S. in Computer Education. As a resource teacher, she works with students with learning and behavior disabilities. Experienced with reluctant readers, she knows it takes a novel with lively characters and plenty of action to motivate them to read, especially if the topic is history. Her desire to appeal to that difficult audience, as well as to a more general readership, helped to shape Tug of War. The novel was entered in a literary contest sponsored by the Romance Writers of America and was awarded the Golden Heart for young adult fiction in 1992. The author is a member of the Missouri Romance Writers and lives in Florissant, MO.

PHILIP R. STONECIPHER a native of Shreveport, Louisiana for 24 years is a fan of Cajun culture—especially the distinct musical style known as ZYDECO. In Boudreau of de Bayou he captures the rhythm and texture of bayou country to paint an allegorical tale about racism. He holds degrees from both Louisiana Tech U. and The U. of Tennessee. He now resides in Grapevine, Texas with his wife Susie and daughters, Rachel and Meredith.

TATE THOMPSON is a high school teacher in Junction City, Kansas, who lives in the world of teens. "Many of those kids are alive in my head," he said, "so I wrote their fictional characters' voices out to make a fast-paced page turner that keeps the attention of all my students." His low-level readers and his high-level readers love his book "The Space Between". "Senioritis" was geared specifically for the TV-oriented teenagers.

ALLISON WAGONER holds an M.Ed with a specialization in reading as well as a California Reading Certificate. Her love for children and passion for teaching inspire her book writing endeavors. When not in the classroom, she can be found traveling, reading, painting and leading an active lifestyle. She is a devoted mother of two and resides in beautiful San Diego.

FRANCES DRUMMOND WAINES was born in Tulsa, OK, lived in NY, NJ, FL, CT and graduated from Petersburg High School, Petersburg, FL. She has a B.S. in Education and has taken graduate courses at Ohio State U., Ashland College, and Bowling Green State U. She spent 5 years teaching Home Economics and Physical Education to senior high students and 28 years, with special education students in elementary schools in Ohio. While teaching, she helped to write and critique practical teaching activities to develop employability skills in handicapped children for the Montgomery County Board of Education. She is now a volunteer schoolmarm at the restored Morton One-room School in Shelby, Ohio. Students come from area schools to spend a day at Morton to experience a school day from the past, including McGuffey Readers and outhouses.

JAMES D.WARWICK graduated from Davenport High School and received his B.S. from Washington State U. at Pullman, Washington. Later he earned his Master's degree at Southwestern Oklahoma State University at Weatherford, OK. He taught English in Micronesia for four years and has since taught English in Geary, OK., where he has worked with students to help prepare them for state writing tests, college, and the greater world beyond the classroom. The author was motivated to write I Told The Spotted Fish "to give something special to my Mom who suffered unmercifully, until her death." At present he resides in Geary, OK.