from Williamsburg, Virginia

Jean C. Keating is an author, speaker and freelance writer whose hobby is conformation showing of the tiny butterfly dogs called Papillons. She has been writing novels and stories staring companion animals for seven years. In 2005 she was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Paw Prints Through The Years. This third dog-related book by Keating was a 2005 national finalist for Dog Writers’ Association of America’s [DWAA] coveted  Merrill Award for best work depicting the human/animal bond.
         Keating’s second book, Pawprints On My Heart, was one of three finalist for DWAA’s Best Dog Fiction of 2001. Her first book, a mystery entitled Amorous Accident: A Dog’s Eye View of Murder, featured a Papillon named Sky and is in its second printing.
         In 2005, she collaborated with four other published authors to write a how-to book for authors on publishing and marketing entitled Published! Now $ell It!

 from St. Petersburg, Florida and Bridgewater, Virginia
 

                             from Virginia

Mary Diane Lang, born and raised in the German and Irish culture of Cincinnati, attended local Catholic schools before continuing her education at the University of Cincinnati, where she received a B.A. in English and a B.S. in Education. She also attended the Queen Elizabeth College in London, England, and studied Mortimer Adler’s philosophy of Paideia education at Xavier University.  Lang has taught high school English and drama in nine different school systems (due to her husband’s job transfers) over a twenty year period,  during which time her students nominated her twice for Teacher of the Year (Ohio and Atlanta public schools), voted her Star Teacher (Atlanta public schools ), invited her to be the key speaker at their graduation, and nominated her several times for Who’s Who of American Teachers. Over the years Lang has directed high school and middle school plays, and ventured to exotic places with student groups. These trips have ranged from scuba diving in the Caribbean to hiking through the rain forests of Costa Rica.  She has been a certified scuba diver and amateur archeologist since she met Michael Buchanan.

Lang enjoys writing of all kinds, including screenplays, short stories and poetry. She had her own arts column in The Lakewood Ranch News, Bradenton, Florida (2001-2003); and was a food critic for The Cincinnati Enquirer (2004-2006) before moving to Richmond, Virginia.  Micah’s Child, a novel about the wine drinking soccer moms of suburban Atlanta, is her first collaborative effort. Initially self-published, Micah’s Child has been re-released (April 2006) by a small, traditional Mid-western publishing house.  Lang and Buchanan are currently working on the sequel to Micah’s Child, as well as The Cry of the Quetzel, a historical romance set in Monteverde, and Please Don’t Read This Page, a fictionalized journal of an obese teenager.

Active in her communities, Lang started The Lakewood Ranch Creativity Circle, a bi-yearly festival featuring artists of all kinds; and recently co-chaired the Assistance League of Greater Cincinnati’s yearly Books and Brunch, a fund raiser featuring well-known authors.

A regular speaker on Celebrity cruise lines, Lang has been invited to share her writing, traveling, and teaching experiences at literary and educational conferences.

Lang and her husband Don currently live in Richmond, Virginia. They have two outstanding children, Donald Jr. and Sarah Elizabeth.

Robert Penn Warren’s writings have greatly influenced Lang, her favorite being “…. if you could not accept the past and its burden there was no future, for without one there cannot be the other….”

Albert Leichter been writing since 1973. His works include books on music, a newspaper column on 1940s – 1960s R&B and R&R music, fund raising manuals for non-profit organizations, and local history. He publishes his own works as well as that of other authors. His in-print books are available locally, and at such sites as Alibris, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Abebooks, etc. In addition to writing, he operates an Internet business selling his own books, collectible books, phonograph records, and related music items.

Al will be teaching a course on self-publishing spring 2005 at Blue Ridge Community College.

                             from Fishersville, VA

Shri Henkel, grew up in Augusta County and writes fiction under the pen name Nikki Leigh. Each book is centered around the Cape Ann coast of Massachusetts and includes lighthouse and coastal history. Stormy View is her contemporary novel which is about Kennalyn Stevens, a lighthouse keeper’s daughter and her evil mother in law and hard headed father. Widow’s Walk is the first book in the historic Misty Cove Chronicles and is about the great, great, great grandmother of Kennalyn Stevens.

Shri developed and facilitates a series of character development classes at an online writer’s university (Writer’s Village) and is a freelance writer, editor and marketing consultant. Under her legal name, Shri has three business management books in print. She has also ghostwritten a number of “how to” and “insider’s guide” e-books. In early 2006, Shri (Nikki) and a group of friends launched The Readers Station (www.readersstation.com) which is a place for readers and writers to meet and share ideas, questions and information. Anyone is welcome to join the message board. For more information about books by Shri Henkel and Nikki Leigh, feel free to visit, www.nikkileigh.com and www.sandcconsulting.com.

                               from Staunton, VA

Janet Lembke is the author of Virgil's Georgics, translation of a long poem on farming, The Quality of Life, Skinny Dipping, and Touching Earth. Her latest release, The Quality of Life, advises on how best to care for the elderly and make vital decisions for them when they are unable to do so themselves. The book was written as a result of caring for her mother during her final years and while her husband also was dying.

The Quality of Life is sure to tug at your heartstrings and cause you to think things through for your own life while you're still able to make rational decisions.

Ms. Lembke received a new award recently: the National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, 2005.

                        from Virginia Beach, Virginia

Kathryn Lively is the author of the Ash Lake Mysteries, including Saints Preserve Us, which won the 2003 Florida Writers Association Award for Best Mystery. She is also author of the EPPIE-nominated inspirational Little Flowers, Pithed: An Andy Farmer Mystery, and Dangerous Words, co-written with Bob Stanton.

She is also a regular contributor to Mystery Readers Journal, Mystery Scene Magazine, and This Rock Magazine. 

Rowan Lore's debut novel Orange, is the story of a young woman at a crossroad in her life.  Orphaned in her teen years she has spent the last 8 years running her own magazine that is about to go national and she has to decide if that is what she really wants.

Fall on Me picks up where Orange left off.  Demen is moving on with her life and her magazine.  Unfortunately, her closest friends all seem to need her help this time around.

The great dialogue between the characters continues, and the main character, Demen, is able to help her friends overcome their trials as they did for her. 

                          from Waynesboro, VA

                          from Fairfax, Virginia

Barbara Maitland was born and raised in England, but now lives in the United States. Her work has been translated into Chinese, Danish, Dutch, French, German and Korean.

Barbara will be signing the following books at Book 'Em:

Cathy Maxwell's checkered career includes stints as manager of a New England watch factory, a news broadcaster in Dodge City, Kansas, and six years as a naval officer.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee and raised in Olathe, Kansas, Cathy has been writing since 1991, authoring sixteen historical romance novels. Her books routinely appear on the USA TODAY "Top Fifty" list and the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list. Her latest title is THE PRICE OF INDISCRETION released from Avon Books August 2005.

Cathy enjoys lecturing about writing and was profiled in the 1996 edition of WRITER'S DIGEST'S ROMANCE SOURCE BOOK. One of the highlights of her career has been her participation in the Smithsonian Associates sponsored weekend seminars on writing. She lives in beautiful Powhatan, Virginia.

                       from Williamsburg, Virginia

                          from Maryland

               from Waynesboro, Virginia

Carol Newell has worked as a journalist, film critic, college instructor, and as a writing and reading tutor. She has published fiction and non-fiction in many magazines, including REDBOOK. Carol has an undergraduate degree in journalism from the State University of New York and a Masters in Fine Arts from The Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, where she studied under John Barth.

Blue Lewis and Sasha the Great is her first published children's book. Carol was born in Los Angeles, California, with blue nails and blue lips, like Lewis. After undergoing two heart surgeries, her lips and nails are pink. 

                from Richmond, Virginia