Category: Meet A New Member

Welcome New Member Katie Rathburn

8/22/2022

Today we have the honor of introducing our newest KAC member, Katie Rathburn, of Ottawa (D-2).

We'll let Katie share a bit about herself:

I currently live in Ottawa and I work as a psychologist at Osawatomie State Hospital. I don't have a website. I can't say that I have any projects that I'm working on; however, I've got some short-story ideas that I want to pursue that fall in the categories of science fiction or fantasy (or at least in the general category of fiction). I've been interested in becoming a writer for some time. At this point, I probably meet the ultimate definition of a novice writer, in that I have no prior publications. However, I hope to become a published author eventually.

Welcome, Katie!

Welcome New Member Elaine McAllister

8/15/2022

Today, we welcome Elaine McAllister to the Kansas Authors Club. We've asked her to tell us a bit about herself and her writing.

Meet Elaine:

I'm excited to be a part of the Kansas Authors Club, and look forward to meeting some of you at some point.

My 'short' bio is I'm an award-winning writer, author, speaker, columnist, and blogger who is the wife of one, mom of two, and BFF Gramma of eight!

I am Elaine "York" McAllister on FB. I'm intentionally not on Instagram and Twitter. I'm not very active at all on Linked In. Seems I keep busy enough without trying to keep up with every social media outlet that's OUT there!

If you want a longer version of my bio, here goes:

I'm a Midwestern gal, having lived in six states between kindergarten and high school, but I love that I have friends from all over. Though not fun at the time (to leave friends) our adventurous family life helped me to be the person I am today. I learned to adjust to new surroundings and make friends with new people to survive! It's all good. No regrets.

I'm a recent retiree. I've always loved to write, but until I retired, I really didn't pursue it other than on-the-job and/or occasional freelance articles for local newspapers.

Since retirement, I've been quite busy!

My debut book (Celebrate Grandparenting: 101 Ideas to Intentionally Connect with your Grands) was published (self-published) in June 2019. Book #2 was a ghostwritten memoir (Harvest of Joy) for a lady I'd never met in Arizona; published in December 2019. My first children's book was published in January 2020 (The Road to Explode). Then, ghostwriting gig #2 came along for another out-of-state lady (Lost Child of Greece: One Orphan's Incredible Journey Home); published in August of last year - 2021. My fifth book was published in January 2022 (My Brain is Amazing).

I'm attaching the front and back sides of my newest Promo Card, which will have more about each book, plus some fun pics.

As you can tell, my writing isn't confined to one genre. I do prefer non-fiction to fiction, but the two children's books are truly fictional (but they're 'self-help' and educational for kids who struggle, whether with explosive temperaments and strong wills OR learning difficulties because of their brains not working as they should).

My husband and I live in Hillsboro KS; lived north of McPherson for 35 years, previously. We have a son (in Hutchinson) and a daughter (in Galva), four biological grands, and four bonus grands; plus a dog named Shotgun (because he rides shotgun w/Jim) and a cat named Mufasa (who rules the house but allows us to live here, too).

I've attended several writers conferences over the last few years. A couple, even before I retired. And, I've taught at a few smaller events; I've also spoken at women's retreats, genealogy groups, and family heritage conferences. I've been published in several magazines, and for several years was a monthly columnist for an area newspaper (on the topic of senior living and grandparenting).

I've served on planning teams, and advisory boards for a few writers groups; have been involved in online (and in-person) critique groups and am a regular on online writers groups.

In my spare time (ha!) I (and my hubby) follow our grandkids' sports schedules as often as we can. I enjoy gardening (flowers) but NOT in this year's heat. I took up motorcycle riding when I was past 50, and have been across much of the nation on three wheels (I didn't try on two! Not as an almost senior citizen at the time. Jim rides on two, I ride on three, Shotgun rides shotgun!)

We're happy to have you with us, Elaine!
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Welcome New Member Karis Ens

7/18/2022

Karis Ens - Welcome to District 6 and to the Kansas Authors Club!

Here's a bit of information about her:

Karis Ens studied and graduated from Friends University in Wichita KS. with a Bachelor of Arts in Music in Piano Performance and Music Composition in 2016. She teaches piano, classical guitar, violin, sewing lessons, and does clothing alterations at her home.

She published her first book "God is Real (So is the Devil)" in 2016. In 2020, she returned to her laptop to write a children's series entitled "Piano Boy." As of now, there are three books in the series: "Neighborhood Hero," "Teacher's Hero," and "Sidetrack Mission."

Her newest children's book "A Girl and Her Cat" is about her beloved cat, Pepper, whom she had for eighteen years. Purchase her books on Amazon.com by searching "Karis Ens" in the search box.

Welcome, Karis!

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Welcome New Member Mike Durall

7/18/2022

Today we welcome Michael Durall of Salina to D-4 and the Kansas Authors Club.

We asked Michael to share a little bit about himself:

I was the champion sentence diagrammer in my 6th grade English class and majored in English at Fort Hays State. But I never imagined myself as a writer. That changed in the 1990s when I began publishing a newsletter for my nonprofit consulting practice. I had never felt so energized. Over a 15-year period, I wrote nine books about my work.

I currently write a weekly column for the Salina 311 newspaper which focuses on Kansas people, culture, and history. The greatest compliment I ever got was from a reader who said, “Your text is so clear — you take me by the hand, lead me down the path, and don’t let me get lost.”

Welcome, Michael!

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Welcome New Member Stacey Kielhorn

7/5/2022

Today we have the honor of welcoming Stacey Kielhorn to the Kansas Authors Club and to District 3.

Stacey Kielhorn's pen name is Lady Daisy. Here's a little information about her.

Lady Daisy is a retired Chief Warrant Officer 2 with over 20 years of combined service in the United States Army, Minnesota Army National Guard, and Kansas Army National Guard. She is a nurse at a Veteran’s Home and works with precious Residents in long-term care.

Lady Daisy has been blessed with a loving husband and enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She suffered many years with debilitating social anxiety and one day decided to act and quit living in fear. With professional help, life experience, and stubborn perseverance, she went from avoiding almost all social settings, to giving presentations to as many as 100 people during her military career.

Her goal is to write and illustrate whimsical children-style books with a meaningful message for adults. The goal of the messages is to recognize the humanity of other people, help people with social anxiety overcome obstacles, and increase emotional freedom. Lady Daisy is not a mental health professional. Her messages are based on her observations, personal struggles with social anxiety and desire to reach out to others.

Welcome Stacey Kielhorn, aka Lady Daisy! We're happy to have you with us.

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Book illustrations by Stacey Kielhorn/Lady Daisy.

Welcome New Member Sara Neiswanger

6/2/2022

Today we welcome Sara Neiswanger of Topeka, D-1. to the Kansas Authors Club.

Sara Neiswanger is an aspiring picture book author. She is currently developing her first picture book that combines lessons from the history of her hometown, Topeka, KS, with true characters that reflect timeless qualities to instill in our youth. What will result is a pride in where we came from and where we live, along with a boost of ‘anything is possible’.

Sara has a bachelor of business administration degree from Washburn University and works full-time for a non-profit trade association advocating for its mission and cultivating a sense of belonging.

When not writing or working, Sara stays active playing tennis and riding her bike on the local trails. She also enjoys expanding her palate, trying new recipes and sampling microbrews.

Welcome, Sara!

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Welcome New Member Clyde Toland

5/15/2022

Today we have the honor of welcoming Clyde Toland of Iola to the Kansas Authors Club. He'll be a part of District 3.

In 1995, working with the Allen County Historical Society, Clyde Toland helped raise funds to move Maj. Gen. Frederick Funston's childhood home into Iola. That's when he got the idea of writing a book about Funston.

Toland has now published the first of three volumes of a biography of Iola's favorite son, "American Hero, Kansas Heritage: Frederick Funston's Early Years 1865-1890."
The other two volumes will be published later this year.

Welcome New Member Ralvell Rogers II

4/25/2022

Today we have the pleasure of welcoming Ralvell Rogers II to the Kansas Authors Club. He's from the Kansas City area, District 2.

Here's a little about Ralvell:

Ralvell Rogers II is the Founder and CEO of Ambitious Stories, LLC, an independent publishing company that focuses on uplifting often unheard, yet riveting voices of the Midwest, especially Kansas City.

With Ambitious Stories, Ralvell has published “The Kansas City Boys Choir: Providing Hope For Tomorrow” in collaboration with Mr. Ah'Lee Robinson and The Kansas City Boys Choir, and “Improvise: Poems and Sketches” by Kevin Rabas, who is the former Poet Laureate of Kansas (2017-2019).

Rogers was the youth reflection speaker for the Kansas City Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s 2016 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, and before graduating with his BA in English, Creative Writing at Emporia State University, Rogers founded and presided over the Black Artists’ Club and was the first student-recipient of the Presidential Award for Distinguished Service to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in 2018.

Currently, Ralvell is diligently working through edits for his first book while reviewing applications for The Ambitious Stories Book Scholarship. He looks forward to graduating with his MFA at American University in May, 2022.

Welcome, Ralvell! We're glad to have you with us.

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Welcome New Member Kathleen Kaska

3/30/2022

Our newest KAC member is . . . Kathleen Kaska. She's a Texan who lives in Washington state, BUT she has a Kansas publisher, Anamcara Press. Welcome, Kathleen!

Here's a little info about Kathleen:

Kathleen is a Texas gal. Except for an eighteen-month hiatus living in New York City after college, she continuously lived in the Lone Star State for fifty years. Since then, Texas has been hit and miss—a little hit, but a heck of a lot of miss. There was a time when she thought she would happily die in Austin, Texas. But circumstances and weather—especially weather—changed that. Now she spends most of the year on Fidalgo Island in Washington State, with a view of the bay and the mountains. When she gets homesick, she and her husband plug in the iPhone to Willie—as in Nelson. Soon they are dancing the two-step, imagining they are at their favorite honky-tonk in Tokio, Texas, where the mayor is believed to be a dog. Who wouldn’t miss that?

Kathleen writes the humorous Sydney Lockhart Mystery Series set in the 1950s in historic hotels and the Kate Caraway Animal-Right Mystery Series. She also writes about Sherlock Holmes, birds, and quirky things that come to mind. Her blog, “Growing Up Catholic in a Small Texas Town,” sums it up.

Murder at the Menger, her latest Lockhart mystery, will be released on June 26, 2022, by Anamcara Press. She is currently writing Murder at the Pontchartrain.
www.kathleenkaska.com

Kathleen is the owner of Metaphor Writing Coach, a mentoring and editing service for writers. www.metaphorwritingcoach.com

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Welcome New Member Marian Riedy

3/30/2022

Today we have the pleasure of introducing Marian Riedy, a new member of the Kansas Authors Club. Here's a little bit about her:

Marian is an attorney, professor emeritus of Emporia State University, entrepreneur, and, most recently, author of the legal thrillers Fatal Accusation (Black Rose Writing, 2020) and Surprise Witness, to be released June 16, 2022 (Black Rose Writing).

She is a KU graduate (B.A.), obtained her J.D. from Harvard Law School, and has an MBA from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business. She calls both Washington, D.C. and Kansas home. Her website is mariankriedy.com

Welcome, Marian!

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Welcome New D2 Member Jim Tiller

3/15/2022

Today we have the honor of introducing Jim Tiller of Olathe as the newest member of the Kansas Authors Club! Welcome, Jim!

We'll let Jim introduce himself.

First, my full name is "James H. Tiller III". My official title is "Lt. Col James H Tiller, USAF, Ret". (Forgive the ego ride!)

My wife Frances and I live in Olathe, Kansas (18 yrs and staying put). I am a hobby wood worker, we are avid square dancers and enjoy local theater presentations.

Through out the years I have enjoyed music (classic and folk) art (tried to become one, failed) and during my first combat tour in Vietnam, I took up poetry. The result was 14 poems- mostly about my experiences in Nam but with 1 that sold to a North Dakota farmers magazine and the others published in the far east version of AF magazine (does that make me a published author? not likely.) One poem, written as my first wife neared death from Alzheimer's I submitted to a mensan poetry contest and got an honorable mention. Did I mention I am a
mensan ? No longer dues paying.

I have had this story floating in my mind for years. An incident that occurred at 35,000 ft, 100 miles south of the North Pole on an airborne alert mission carrying 2 nuclear weapons. It lasted about 3 secs., but in an effort to understand what happened I have slowly created a picture of a story. So finally, I decided to write the story. This is my first attempt at fiction writing. 5 chapters done, edited 4 times, and the realization I need help to see it I am doing it right. That led me to join.

I hope for opportunities to get my efforts critiqued before I get too much further into this challenge.

By the way, there is a hard cover book entitled "Because I Fly", a collection of aviation poetry, by Helmut H. Reda page 102. you will see it. It was written from the heart!!

Jim Tiller

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Welcome New Member Holly Friesen

3/2/2022

Today, we welcome Holly Friesen of Manhattan to the Kansas Authors Club.

Here's a little about Holly:

Holly Catherine Friesen grew up surrounded by Kansas relatives who were musicians, artists, authors, and storytellers, so naturally, she loves to sing, draw and write. Ms. Holly earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design and later Elementary Education from Kansas State University. She is a trained puppeteer, singer/songwriter, watercolorist, loves to draw especially with watercolor pencils. She created lessons for her class she calls “The Joy of Drawing from Real Life and Pictures”. Since 1994, she has been teaching children and adults to draw, paint, use pastel, and make original pop-up cards with paper cuts outs and designs to give away.

She has always wanted to be an illustrator, a children’s book writer, and publish her poems and stories. This year, her dreams are coming true. Her first self-published children’s book, with over 100 of her illustrations, along with students’ artwork from her Joy of Drawing Classes, Janey Olsen, Famous Artist of the Beach, has sold close to 100 copies the first month. It showcases her method for teaching drawing in the location of the Atlantic Ocean on the Outer Banks of North Carolina through the eyes of 10-year-old Janey, who wants to hang her pictures in the family booth and become famous.

An upcoming book in production is called Five True Rusty Stories, taken from her husband’s memories of the beagle he grew up in Tampa Florida. Includes: Rusty and the Pancakes, Rusty and the Cheese, Rusty and the Bones, Rusty and the Postman, and Rusty and the Cat. Other poems, skits, and songs are in the line for release as funds are made available. A few past awards: At age sixteen, her poem The Looking Glass-about a cat who sees “The Other” in the mirror was published in the Young Kansas Writers. Her short biography called Lestle Wilber Newcomer, the Kansas Man, won the Jesse Perry Stratford Award for Excellence in Historical Writing, presented by the Butler County Historical Society(1988).

She has three grown daughters, five lively grandchildren and lives in the “Art House” in Kansas with her Russian Blue cat named Prussia. To see more of Ms. Holly’s watercolor cards, prints, and children’s books, order current books from her website, go to HCFriesen.com.

Welcome New Member Kiesa Kay

2/6/2022

Today we have the pleasure of introducing Kiesa Kay. She's part of District 2.

Here's her story, in her own words:

I'm a fifth generation Kansan, grew up in Gardner, Kansas, and graduated from the University of Kansas with a B.S. in journalism and an M.A. with honors in English. Inspired by time at Hedgebrook Retreat for Women Writers, I founded Oleander Cottage, a writing retreat in Montgaillard, France, where several writers found haven from 2004 to 2014. I wrote the first draft of my memoir, Tornado Alley, at the Cottage. Also I spent time in France researching a play about Camille Claudel, the sculptor. My plays include Love Makes a Home: The Life of Rebecca Boone, which has been presented in 15 venues in three states, including Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, the Thomas Wolfe Center for Narrative at Lenoir Rhyne University, White Horse Black Mountain, and as a convocation for Berea College and the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center in Kentucky. My first public play and grant recipient from the Fine Arts Guild of the Rockies, Thunder is the Mountain's Voice, was presented at Rocky Mountain National Park and Park Village Playhouse.

My work as a nationally certified child forensic interviewer led to the creation of What Every Grandparent Needs to Know About Childhood Sexual Abuse, and I am a Darkness to Light Stewards of Children facilitator. My first anthology, Uniquely Gifted: Identifying and Meeting the Needs of the Twice Exceptional Student, united experts nationwide in the study of twice exceptionality. My second, High IQ Kids, co-edited with Deborah Robson and Judy Brenneman, received the Legacy Award as the Best Book for Parents and Educators in its publication year. Elaine McAllister Dellinger joined me to create Images of America: Yancey County.

Adventures at three intentional communities led to my novel, The Cicada Year. My writing celebrates survival and reinforces resilience. I taught undergraduate English classes at the University of Kansas, and now lead writing workshops and provide mentorship to others who want to share their stories. Writing brings connections and comforts. I led a writing workshop for secondary trauma survivors at the Violence Intervention and Prevention Summit, and worked with the Forest Children to complete my friend Robin Carrington's children's book after she passed away. Now that my children have grown, there's time to play old time fiddle and psaltery, and to direct plays as well as write them. Writing interweaves the threads of this treasured life.

I write articles for magazines and newspapers, and some of my poetry has appeared in literary journals, including the I-70 Review, Sentinel, Trivia, Sisters Today, and Coal City Review. I have self-published a memoir, Tornado Alley, which I hope to have published by a Kansas press in the future. I write a lot. It's like breathing; without it, I start sinking!

My website is https://kiesakay.wixsite.com/courage. I haven't updated it since the pandemic began; I direct plays and do workshops on the Healing Art of Writing, and everything got cancelled in one fell swoop, so now I am bouncing back. I also have helped eight writers complete their first books, as a coach and encourager.

I would love to have a community of Kansas writers, and feel so glad to have found this group!!! It feels like a homecoming.

Many blessings,
Kiesa

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Welcome New Member Tom Holmquist

2/5/2022

We have the pleasure today of introducing Tom Holmquist to the Kansas Authors Club. Tom lives in District 4.

Here's a brief introduction:

Tom Holmquist is a farmer/rancher who lives on the family farm homesteaded by his great-grandfather in 1868 near Smolan, Kansas. He is a retired teacher who taught vocal and instrumental music, history and agriculture in the Smoky Valley school district. He is a graduate of Bethany College and Emporia State University and studied as a Fulbright Scholar in Japan.

In 1991, the Holmquist family represented Kansas farming and Swedish American Culture at the Smithsonian Institution’s Festival of American Folklife in Washington D.C.

Mr. Holmquist published three books on Swedish American Culture and History and the settlement of the Smoky Valley of Kansas, including; Pioneer Cross, Swedish Settlements Along the Smoky Hill Bluffs, 1993; Bluestem, 2000; and “Salemsborg: A History of the Salemsborg Lutheran Church, 1869-1939,” 2019. This book was awarded the 2020 Award of Commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute, St Louis, Missouri, “in recognition of your significant contribution to literature and research in the field of Lutheran archives and history in North America.”

Mr. Holmquist writes about Swedish culture and is a frequent guest speaker on the subjects of Swedish Immigration, Kansas History and Kansas Agriculture.

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Welcome, Tom!
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Welcome New Member Eileen Anderson

2/5/2022

Today we have the honor of welcoming Eileen Anderson of Hays, District 6, to the Kansas Authors Club.

She's a self-starter, well into her first book.

A few words from Eileen:

I am very new to writing, I just took it up as a kind of hobby about a year ago. I had this story that just kept rolling around in my head, so I decided to write it down.That little story has turned into 57.000 words and not done yet! During this process I realized I quite enjoyed writing as I can create my own little world and it's kind of nice there.

I am hoping to become better at this new venture and I thought I could learn from others who are much more proficient than I. So here I am, a 59 year old grandma living in Hays with a new hobby hoping to learn as much as I can.

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Welcome New Member Kitty Hamilton

2/3/2022

Today we have the pleasure of welcoming Kitty Hamilton, a new member from Allen, Kansas (District 2).

We'll let Kitty tell you a bit about herself:

Most of my professional life, I wrote and administered grants in the Flint Hills region for projects such as community development, child care, youth leadership development, substance abuse prevention, violence prevention, social entrepreneurship and job creation. These are large technical writing projects written under a strict deadline with little, if any, room for creativity. About fifteen years ago, I started a little folder on my desktop for the fun story bits that danced around my head while I was trapped at my desk trying to hold my focus on the grant details. Many of you may recognize this challenge. My home is never so clean and organized as it is when I am feeling pressure from a writing deadline! Over time, this desktop folder of distraction became a collection and now I look forward to exploring it.

The Kansas Authors Club members in Emporia area have always been welcoming and generous with their time and advice over the years, even though I was not yet a member. It's exciting now to take the step of making it official!

I am a first person narrative storyteller with the Kansas Alliance of Professional Historical Performers and this hobby led to my first publication, Racing: Indian Style. I transcribed, edited and self published the material; presumably written by Charles Curtis who would later become Vice President of the United States under Herbert Hoover. Charles is the first person of significant Native American heritage and the first person from Kansas to reach the highest levels of our executive branch.

I live in north Lyon County, near the Santa Fe Trail and the home of the Kanza people before they were relocated to Indian Territory in 1873. My life and my writing are rooted in the tall grass prairie; both the history and the present.

Welcome, Kitty!
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Welcome New Member Martha Danielson

1/28/2022

Let's give a hearty welcome to Martha Danielson of Lindsborg! (District 4)

My Writing Journey- Martha Danielson

I remember the first story I wrote. I was in grade school and the story was about aliens invading a small town, a Twilight Zone kind of piece. That brief dabble in writing ended but I becoming a avid reader. Writing did not capture me as a teenager or young adult, nor did I have the opportunity to take writing classes. It was years later with the invention of a word processor and then the computer that unearthed a seed that, as a child, had been buried in my heart. I began to believe that maybe I could write. Spell check and adjustable fonts, whats not to love.
Dark times in my personal life drove me to begin journaling at a time when I was incapable of writing a postcard, but what I put onto endless pages of legal forms and in spiral bound notebooks saved my life. What poured from my heart became stories that I could share with others. Autobiographical works morphed into fiction and poetry. It took the second time of retiring from full time jobs and moving to Kansas to put me into the position of being able to audit writing classes at the local college. I absorbed it all and found such joy in the words I was putting on the page.

With the effects of the pandemic putting me into a place where I had so much time at home and after exhausting all my other methods of amusement, cleaning, sewing, painting, cooking (lots of muffins and cookies), I was inspired to begin writing again. What I had been doing for years was stored on my computer just waiting for reviewing and editing, lots of editing. I was surprised to find that some of what I had done was quite interesting. The idea came to me that perhaps I could publish a piece that could be shared with others. So here I am, a writer living in a new place with no one who might give me the support that I feel I need to carry on. Huge fears loom in my mind when I think of putting what I have done out into the world. I'm hoping my courage will not fail me as I continue on this writing journey.

Welcome New Member John Swainston

1/27/2022

Today we have the honor of welcoming John Swainston of Gardner, District 2. His first poetry book will be published soon!

John Swainston started writing poetry to cope with feelings of isolation during COVID. He learned the craft by taking Zoom classes in poetry and writing at Turning Point, a cancer support organization. He is a Member of the Mystic Poet Society and the Kansas City Writers Group. An alumnus of Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow, and recently joined KAC.

He has had several poems published: a poem in Veterans’ Voices – received Editor’s Choice Award. His first book of poems is schedule to be published spring 2022. A retired Finance Executive, College Adjunct Professor, and Army Veteran.

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Welcome New Member Kristie Clark

1/24/2022

Kristie Clark is our newest KAC member. She's a physician and an author. Let's give her a good welcome to KAC and to D-7.

Here's what Kristie Clark has been up to:

Greetings fellow Kansas authors! I’m happy to have found you. My name is Kristie Clark, and I write sci-fi thriller sea adventures. I’m also a pediatrician, wife, and mom to two teen sons, two border collies and one very privileged cat named Bonsai. We live in west Kansas in a small rural town not far from Dodge City. I enjoy cooking, scuba diving, and practicing yoga. My books incorporate my travel, diving, and spearfishing experiences. They’re like a Jurassic Park of the Sea

The Order of the Dolphin series includes three books so far: Killing Dragons, Dragon Gold, and Dragon Clan. Book four: Dragon Song is currently with my line editor. Although I have a marine biologist protagonist, truly the stars of my novels are the dolphins who also have their own POV chapters. Exciting news is that both Killing Dragons and Dragon Clan made the short list for Chanticleer’s Global Thriller Award for High Stakes Fiction. The award-winning short story historical prologue to the series, Dragon of the Sea, is available free on my website for signing up for my newsletter; it was a finalist for the Chanticleer Short Story Awards in the Chaucer category. My newsletters share information I’m interested in, like animal communication and intelligence studies as well as news about dolphins rescuing lost swimmers, and I also let readers know about new releases.

These fun books are available wide wherever eBooks are sold, and print books may be found online at Barnes & Noble or Amazon. In Kansas, these independent bookstores carry my books: Ad Astra Books in Salina and Bookends in Hutchinson. Also, I believe that the Kansas library association bought my eBooks recently, so they should be available for free, at least to the South West Kansas library patrons. My books, both in print and eBook, are also available online directly from my website www.kristieclark.com which is a great way to support an independent author. I also have signed copies available if anyone would like them—if so contact me directly please.

Many thanks, and I’m happy to connect with other authors in Kansas!
—Kristie

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Welcome New Member Deborah Linn

1/23/2022

Today, we have the pleasure of welcoming a new member to KAC and District 5. From El Dorado, we welcome Deborah Linn, teacher and author.

When I was still in grade school, my dad introduced me to the stories of Mark Twain. Now, as a high school English teacher, I'm on a mission to connect modern readers to classic literature. My blog KeepingClassics.com encourages teachers not to give up on reading classics in the classroom. I recently published the young adult, modern reimagining of the Great Gatsby, Just Daisy: A Gatsby Retelling. Conversations with my students inspired the writing of this novel. Every year, the same question comes up regarding Daisy Buchanan. If she had been from a different era with different role models and societal expectations, would she have still made the same decisions? Just Daisy attempts to answer that question. It can also be enjoyed as its own story even without in-depth knowledge of the original Gatsby.

Years ago, my original entrance into the writing arena started with writing lighthearted romance. I hope to get back to those someday because they are so much fun to write. For now, however, I'm focusing on my next YA classic retelling. It's an Outer Banks meets Tom Sawyer adventure set in the 1980s with two female descendants of the original treasure hunters.

When I'm not writing or teaching, I like visiting small-town museums and trying to beat my husband at board games. My four adult children are spread throughout the US, living the most interesting lives. My grandson likes to Facetime with me to watch SpongeBob movies together. As often as possible, I visit my parents to share a bottle of wine and laugh over our favorite Twain stories.

My goal in joining the group is to connect with other Kansas authors. One can never have too many writer friends! I'm looking forward to meeting you.

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