Carmaine Ternes is a retired school librarian living in Wichita. She was a member of the Summer Institute for School Librarians planning committee for ten years. Ternes holds membership with several professional organizations and earned a master’s degree in library science from Emporia State University. She has served in a variety of educational and professional library endeavors, and completed several Kansas Leadership Center training programs. She participated in StoryCorps One Small Step Wichita, and completed the Climate Stories Ambassadors Project. She also co-authored Libraries Partnering with Self-Publishing: A Winning Combination from Bloomsbury Publishing. Her non-fiction writing has spanned academia, history, journalism, and some of you out there have already benefited from her editing skills! Welcome to the Club, Carmaine!
 Jaimie Kirby is an MFA graduate of the Rainier Writers Workshop. She currently resides in northeast Kansas, on a not quite two-acre postage stamp on the border of Atchison and Leavenworth counties. She affectionately calls her land “Phoenix Farms” though there is very little to do with farming, but the moniker is part of a larger narrative of loss and redemption. Her versatile professional career has included teaching, tutoring, and mentoring in higher education as well as negotiating contracts for cybersecurity companies. She ascribes to Dorothy Parker’s motto that “Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye.” Her forte is in creative nonfiction, especially lyric braided essays that explore memoir, landscape, and history, and a penchant for poetry. She is looking forward to connecting and attending the conference in October. And we'll look forward to meeting her there!
Hannah Dapogny was born and raised in China. She spent the first 13 years of her life there. Her family moved to Russell 6 years ago and now she's 19. She loves Chinese literature because it's a beautiful language, but she also likes English literature, especially prose, because it gives her a sense of freedom. She loves singing and did some lyric writing when she was younger, and she is very excited to learn about different types of writing. Glad to have you, Hannah. KAC members will be happy to share and support as you explore your new adventures in writing.
Fred Fanning and his wife Tammy are returning to Salina after living in Arkansas for three years. He is also returning to the Kansas Authors Club. Fred wrote part-time while he was employed; now that he is retired, he writes full-time. Fred writes primarily on Occupational Safety and Health. He has authored first and second editions of peer-reviewed books and chapters published by the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP). He self-published another five non-fiction books and two novels using Kindle Direct Publishing. Fred has authored over fifty technical articles in various publications and received awards for his writing. He received two finalist awards for his book Essential Safety Programs. The first award was from Reader’s Favorite and the second was from Book Excellence Awards. Fred also received a BRAG Award for his book Mystery at Devil's Elbow.
 Mark Landon Jarvis is a professor of Children’s Literature. He holds a Bachelor’s in education and a Master’s in English from Kansas State University. His novels in the Endless Tempest series are set in the Midwest but span the world. They are near-future, soft science fiction stories of characters overcoming crushing corporate control. Jarvis, a native Kansan, continues to thrive with his family on a hobby farm outside of Whitewater, Ks. He adds: "I am an award-winning author! When I was young, I won my one and only trophy from the Kansas Authors Club for a short story titled "Nomad." I'd say I owe it all to this organization!"  Delighted to have you, especially since KAC obviously set you on the right road!
 Barbara A Meier recently moved back to her childhood home of Lincoln, KS. Before that she lived in Southern Oregon for over 35 years and 3 years in Colorado. She likes to explore the different environments in her writing. She is enjoying reliving her memories and reacquainting herself with the prairies. She is a retired teacher who now works in a second grade classroom as a paraprofessional in Lincoln, KS. Her recent publications include: The Gentian, LIT eZINE, Pure Slush, The Mersey Review, Antler Velvet Arts, Piker Press, Linked Verse, Ars Sententia, Cafe Haiku, Bare Hill Review, Ephemeras Literary Magazine, The Green Silk Journal.Upcoming publications include Anomaly Poetry Anthology Series, Blood & Bourbon, DarkWinter Literary Magazine, Minute Musings, Hog River Press and The Cost of our Baggage Anthology. She has three chapbooks published: “Wildfire LAL 6," from Ghost City Press, “Getting Through Gold Beach,” from Writing Knights Press, and “Sylvan Grove,” from The Poetry Box. She loves all things ancient. Welcome back to Kansas, and to the Authors Club!
Morgan O.H. McCune recently retired from Pittsburg State University in southeast Kansas. Now based in Topeka, her home town, she holds an M.F.A. in Poetry from Washington University in St. Louis (1991) and an M.L.S. from Emporia State University (2002). Her poems have been published in River Styx, Flint Hills Review, and other places. She is co-editor of The Coop: A Poetry Cooperative (https://150kansaspoems.wordpress.com/) and Assistant Poetry Editor of The Midwest Quarterly. She is currently working on her first book. Always glad to have another poet (and librarian!) join us. Welcome, Morgan!
 Sean Purdue is an aspiring poet from Kansas City, Missouri. He was born and raised in Liberty, Missouri, and attended the University of Missouri - Kansas City (UMKC) to obtain a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in civil engineering from UMKC. Sean enjoys writing about the intersection of nature and mankind, the weather, and personal experiences. You can also look for him on Instagram. Happy to have you, Sean! You'll need to bring your canoe to try some of our Kansas rivers for inspiration.
 Diana (Giberson) Farthing is an author, poet, photographer, and retired Federal Aviation Administration manager. She has lived in Topeka, Kansas, for eighteen years, in a 100-year-old home she renovated. She calls her home “The Breton Manor,” although definitely not a European-sized manor. Think of the movie, The Money Pit. Diana has one grown child, a daughter, and two grandsons, who live a few miles from her. She lives with one dog, a Champion Portuguese Podengo Pequeno, named Pepper. She hopes to publish the first book of her Fantasy Trilogy soon. Plus, enter two short stories and a poem in the next contests. After retiring, Diana has been much happier having time to spend on her favorite obsessions: writing, reading, her camera, and traveling. Her love of books started very young, as her father frequently moved his family around the world and within the U.S. with his job in the oil industry. She based her life on fictional characters' experiences, lacking few social ties. To support her love of books, Diana taught electronics and avionics communications in the Air Force, starting when she was 18. After the Air Force, she worked as a computer technician for Control Data Corporation. Then, she was an instructor teaching electronics, computers, and robotics for Control Data Institution, ITT, and Mt. San Antonio College, in Southern California. She finished the last 30 years of working in the FAA. Diana recently created a new website, which is a lot different from the ones she built back in the late 1980s. She relates her new website to writing and shooting photos. Welcome to Diana! We're happy to have you.
(And your cute dog.) Jackie was born and raised in Newton, KS, but joins us now from her home in Edmond, Oklahoma. Here's what she shares with us:  I graduated from the University of Kansas in Lawrence with a Master's degree in Special Education: Behavior Disorders. I taught for the Shawnee Mission School District, and had two children. Then came the career move: after additional coursework and internships in Communication Studies, I was hired to produce news, interviews, promos, and mini-documentaries for several Kansas City television and radio stations. During this time I also worked as a Special Ed teacher for Olathe, KS district schools. I retired early in 2002. I published my first book, Under a Sunflower Moon, Cherokee Stories and Poems, with Quill Hawk Publishing in 2023.  :urrently I'm working on several writing projects: 1) A young adult book on my Swiss Ancestor J.J. Winterberg, an orphan at age 12, who came to the Smithville, MO in 1850. He worked in the underground railroad, fought in the major Civil War Battle of Westport, was a good friend of Isaac Cody, Buffalo Bill's dad, and later worked as a saddle maker in Leavenworth and Valley Falls, KS. 2) A mystery/thriller set at William and Mary College in Williamsburg, VA, in modern times, featuring a professor of history turned reluctant amateur sleuth. 3) A book of Chinese poetry based on the life of Meng, my favorite Chinese poet who lived in 700 A.D. 4) A cookbook of my Swiss family recipes. 5) An experience with UFOs and ETs set in Newton, KS 6) A spiritual book of positive thinking. Welcome, Jackie!
Kerri Vinson Snell has lived in McPherson, KS for the past 33 years. Originally from Oklahoma, she is a citizen of Choctaw Nation. She retired this year from the English Department faculty at McPherson College where she taught Creative Writing, Composition and Native American Literature. Her poetry has been published in several journals including Relief: a Journal of Art and Faith, Foothill, Ruminate, Oklahoma Review, Mikrokosmos, Broad River Review and others. Her MFA manuscript was named at finalist in Crab Orchard Review's first manuscript contest in 2015 and one of the poems from that manuscript was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. In addition, she was named a finalist in Ruminate Magazine's 2017 Poetry Contest and in Broad River Review's 2016 Ron Rash Poetry Contest. In addition to her poetry, she also writes some nonfiction. Before her teaching career, she worked for 15 years as a reporter and editor at the McPherson Sentinel. She sporadically contributes to a blog titled My Writing Life at ahsweetrejection.com, and hopes retirement will afford her more time for writing. Welcome, Kerri!
 Jeanice lives outside Clearwater, KS. She has this to say about herself and her writing: I have had works published, mostly poetry, and I am currently attempting to get a poetry collection (or maybe two) published. I write pieces of creative nonfiction in addition to poetry. I also have the bones of a book about modern dying, death, grief, and eulogy, but it has been a bit side-tracked by life and work. I inherited my small family farm a couple of years ago and my husband and I are building a small home on the property. I teach composition, creative nonfiction, and poetry writing at a small regional university in Claremore, Oklahoma (and yes, it is a long commute). I am also working on creating a website, but that will have to be added later! Thank you so much for making me feel welcome! Welcome, Jeanice - we're glad to have you!
Patrick lives in Topeka with his wife Lisa; they have three adult children. Here's what Patrick has to say: I grew up in the heart of wrestling country in northern Iowa and have been a wrestling enthusiast since my earliest memories (think high school, college, Olympics, and not the chair-throwing, predetermined outcome type of wrestling). I was introduced to the sport early and competed throughout my college years. Along the way, I read about every book about the sport and kept up with current happenings by subscribing to wrestling magazines and reading daily newspaper articles. After college, I became a teacher and coach. In the fall of 2024, I will embark on my thirtieth year in the classroom. In 2022 I retired from coaching at the high school level and began to devote more time to researching and writing about the sport, which I have dabbled in through the years. I have written articles for several wrestling publications and currently write a monthly article for WIN Magazine, a nationally circulated wrestling publication. Shortly after my coaching retirement, I began researching the Kansas State University wrestling program, which operated from 1922 until it was dropped in 1975. I found the stats and stories fascinating and worthy of a broader audience. I am putting the final touches on the manuscript of a book with a working title of The Undertold Story of Kanas State University Wrestling. I look for it to be out in late fall 2024. Let us know when the book is out and we'll post a Member Book News notice here! Welcome, Patrick.  Meet K.P. Kollenborn, new member from District 2. She has this to say about herself and her writing:  Greetings! I go by my pen name, K.P. Kollenborn, a name designed as tribute to my mother's maiden name. And as a writer who has a passion and respect for history, it's only natural to write with historical context. While I’ve been writing since childhood, I have a BA in History. I love studying history as much as wanting to evoke stories. I like to believe that after decades worth of introspection we have learned, hopefully more wisely if not conscientiously, what happened yesterday with a critical eye. Social consciousness is a process learned through observation and experience. Although writing can educate as well as entertain, yet what makes art incredibly amazing, to that of paintings, photographs, and music, it transposes emotion into another form of humanity, and therefore, it is our humanity which keeps all of us striving for an improved future.
Aside from writing, I have several YouTube channels that are either presented in mini documentary format or cultural awareness: Main one: https://www.youtube.com/user/kollenborn/featured, Kansas City Treasure Troves: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV01oSYL4Y3CbhRV--tYUJw, The Buster Clan: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh8WxiPvQh8PCMU55RuJZwg Always remember, Get Your History On! https://www.kpkollenborn.com Say hello to Mari Dietz, new member from Dodge City (District 7)!  Mari teaches full-time, so writes when she has the spare time. She mainly writes fantasy, and just had a book release this week. "After a long writing dry spell," she says, "it is wonderful to finally publish again." Look for her book, Torment (The Dragons of Tenghua, Book One), in paper or as an e-book, HERE or HERE.  Welcome to KAC, Mari! We're happy to have you.
Meet Abbi Lee of District 5!  Abbi says: I'm in Wichita and I write for young readers. The first book in my debut middle grade series, Geocache Club: Ghost Town Treasure Hunt, will be released October 1, 2024 with Chicken Scratch Books.  It's a contemporary adventure story about eleven-year-old Layton Clark. When his best friend moves away, Layton doesn’t know if he’ll ever have another adventure again. Then he meets Sherry who introduces him to the treasure-hunting world of geocaching. The thrill of adventure sends them hunting in an abandoned Kansas ghost town where they find deserted shacks, unmarked geocaches, an old diary, and more. Layton and Sherry must work together to unlock these mysterious geocaches, solve a century-old mystery, and convince Layton’s father not to move the family away. I'm also published in Kansas Country Living magazine and Spider magazine. Currently, I work as a copywriter for a local marketing agency. Prior to that I taught high school English and Social Studies. I also worked at a local museum as the Education Manager conducting tours, creating programs, and using stories to bring history to life. I'm happy to be a part of KAC and can't wait to make connections with fellow local authors. And we're glad to have you join us! Check out her website too: https://abbileebooks.wordpress.com/
District 1 welcomes Abby Bayani-Heitzman! Abby sends us this introduction:
I am a Filipino American writer born and raised in Northeast Kansas. I’m currently based in Topeka and working as a grant writer. My main passion is short fiction, and I primarily draw from magic(al) realist influences — I’m particularly inspired by Nick Joaquin and his “tropical gothic” stories. I’ve also got a novel in mind and hope to start writing it soon! Apart from writing, I enjoy making visual art and playing bass. I’m also a very active member of Malaya Kansas, a Filipino American community organization that focuses on political education and legislative advocacy for the Philippine Human Rights Act. My most recent writing success has been my essay on Bienvenido Santos for The New Territory magazine (forthcoming) as part of Humanities Kansas’ “Literary Landscapes in Kansas” project. An audio version will air on High Plains Public Radio, along with the other essays that were selected. Welcome to KAC, Abby - and do let us know when the radio piece airs!  District 6 welcomes Rob! To introduce myself: I grew up in Dodge City, where my father's family has farmed and ranched since the 1920s. Before that, the family farmed near Ellinwood. My mother's people are originally from Maple Hill, on the eastern edge of the Flint Hills, and I have a lot of family in the Salina area, as well. I attended KU as an undergraduate, majoring in English, and Washington University in St. Louis, where I earned my MFA. I also have a PhD from SUNY-Buffalo and an MA from Exeter University in England. My books include a forthcoming debut novel, The Last Rancher, which will be published by Meadowlark Press this summer.  I've also published two memoirs, Dragging Wyatt Earp: A Personal History of Dodge City (Swallow Press, 2013) and Headlights on the Prairie: Essays on Home (U P Kansas, 2017); and a work of criticism, Hicks, Tribes, & Dirty Realists: American Fiction after Postmodernism (U Kentucky P, 2001, 2009). Both Dragging Wyatt Earp and Headlights on the Prairie were named Kansas Notable Books, and Headlights was a finalist for the High Plains Book Award in the Creative Nonfiction Category.
I live in Indiana with my wife Alyssa Chase and a pair of ornery beagles. I teach creative writing at Indiana University in Indianapolis. Say hello to Jeffrey D. (J.D.) Cole, new member in District 6!
A writer of fiction in Harper, KS, he has published two novels with a military bent: Shadow Guard (2017) Enemy Crossing (2020) ...and he is working on a third, which he hopes to have in final draft by early summer. He is looking forward to meeting people in the KAC, and we're glad to have him join us!  Meet Larry Toerber, new member from District 5! I'm new to authoring books, with a focus on history, memoir, and nonfiction. In June of 2023, I published my first book: Exercise Tiger: The Silent D-Day “Link” of World War II. The book is a "never been told story" of how the Toerbers, an Iowa farm family in the 1940s, lost a member: son, brother, husband, and soldier, and how their families were influenced by their "Missing in Action" loss. The truths of an eerie nighttime practice before the D-Day invasion known as "Exercise Tiger" were never told to the affected families. The exercise went horribly wrong when seven German E-Boats savagely attacked the undefended American Forces aboard amphibious Landing Ship Tanks, killing my uncle Mearl and at least 749 troops. The Supreme Commander of Allied Forces, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, decided to cloak the terrible event as a National Security issue, and make sure all the information on the episode was buried with the 749 bodies. There were more American soldiers killed during Exercise Tiger than on D-Day! To this day, over 80 years later, there is speculation that the government deliberately falsified information forwarded to the next of kin. My parents and grandparents went to their graves not knowing the true story. On April 14, 2010, two military historians researching the first Naval officer fatality of WW II contacted me and set my investigative energies on an 11-year mission to explore this very secret military event. These two historians who discovered the Toerber link suggested I write the "untold story" of this secret military event. I accepted the challenge and never looked back. A link to preview the book is here: https://issuu.com/mennonitepressinc./docs/toerber-exercise_tiger; more details are here: https://www.amazon.com/Exercise-Tiger-Silent-D-Day-World-ebook/dp/B0CK2Z5H69. During my Exercise Tiger journey, I was employed by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration, traveling throughout the continental United States conducting investigations into railroad accidents, incidents, and safety concerns. I and my beautiful bride Zelma raised our family and still reside in rural Harvey County near Newton, Kansas. Glad to have you join us, Larry!
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