Laura Lyndhurst

I was born and grew up in North London, England, but was unable to attend university when young due to family financial circumstances. Instead, I worked at various occupations, including dental nurse, laboratory assistant and shop assistant. I married just before I was 20, and travelled to some interesting places around the world, including Egypt and Cyprus, following my husband’s career. I spent much time reading, a passion, but in order to keep further occupied I took office jobs when these were available to me; I hated the work, but the money was useful.

When we were back in the UK I took evening classes at various times and gained ‘A’ levels in Psychology, Sociology and English, eventually settling in Kent with my husband and becoming a mature student and gaining Bachelor's and Master's degrees in English and Literature before training and working as a teacher.

In 2016 we moved to the peace and quiet of rural Lincolnshire, and my sporadic writing activies became more permanent. I self-published 'Fairytales Don't Come True', my debut novel, in May 2020. In this work, aimed at the Literary Fiction market, I wanted to highlight the growing issue of students (mainly female) funding their studies through arranged sexual relationships with rich, older, men and how they can get in over their heads. Here Mags, who lived such a life, recounts her life story to Dora, a nurse with a very different lifestyle but her own issues.

Since then, I have written and published two books of poetry, 'October Poems' and 'Thanksgiving Poems & Prose Pieces'. I have also just published, in January 2021, a a sequel to 'Fairytales' entitled 'Degenerate, Regenerate'. I have a psychological suspense story, 'You Know What You Did' ready for publication, and a third book in progress to make a trilogy with 'Fairytales' and 'Degenerate'.

I usually go for a long walk each day (weather permitting; I’m a fair-weather walker) in the beautiful countryside around us, and exercise for a couple of hours each morning, including use of a hula-hoop and stepping machine. I love food and drink and have spent half my life battling a weight problem. I managed to lose 5 stone of unfortunately-gained weight two years ago and am determined to NEVER regain it! So every other day is a diet day (for hubby too), but when not being careful we enjoy a good meal with wine; going out to eat is something which I enjoy.

For other leisure activities I have taught myself to play the recorder; badly, but it keeps the brain cells ticking over. I also listen to music of many types; Tracy Chapman is playing while I write this, and will later be replaced by Leonard Cohen or Katie Melua or any one of dozens of other artists, or by some classical music or opera, another passion. And of course there’s reading, something which I have loved since I was a child. I’m just about to subscribe to the Kindle Unlimited programme, because although I love physical books, my bookcases are groaning under the weight and I don’t have room for any more.

Please find Laura’s books, on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=Laura%20Lyndhurst...

Please follow Laura on;

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/.../show/20336562.Laura_Lyndhurst

Please read her blog on Goodreads, as above,

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Laura-Lyndhurst-355512115558230/?view_public_for=355512115558230
https://www.facebook.com/laura.lyndhurst.

Patricia Leavy

Patricia Leavy, Ph.D. is a bestselling author with a background in sociology. She was formerly Associate Professor of Sociology, Chair of Sociology and Criminology, and Founding Director of Gender Studies at Stonehill College in Massachusetts before leaving academia to write full time. She has published over twenty-five books, selling over one million copies worldwide, earning commercial and critical success in both nonfiction and fiction including earning numerous bestseller and instant bestseller certifications, and her work has been translated into many languages. She is also series creator and editor for ten book series with Oxford University Press, Guilford Press, and Brill-Sense, including the ground-breaking Social Fictions series. She is also cofounder and co-editor-in-chief of Art/Research International: A Transdisciplinary Journal. A vocal advocate of public scholarship, she has published hundreds of blogs and op-eds, is frequently called on by the US national news media, and more than one hundred media profile and interview pieces have been written about her pioneering work. She has received numerous accolades for her books. Recently, her novel Spark won numerous awards including the American Fiction Award for Inspirational Fiction and the Living Now Book Award for Adventure Fiction. She has also received career awards from the New England Sociological Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, and the National Art Education Association. In 2016 Mogul, a global women’s empowerment network, named her an “Influencer.” In 2018, she was honored by the National Women’s Hall of Fame and SUNY-New Paltz established the “Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice.” She has residences in Maine and Massachusetts where she lives with her husband, daughter (when she’s not away at college), and her dog.



Pick up Patricia’s Recent Novels:

Film at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9004414010?pf_rd_p=183f5289-9dc0-416f-942e-e8f213ef368b&pf_rd_r=T9KR75BHQWNC9FB2R22C
Spark at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HBSG483/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3
Low-Fat Love at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9462099901/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i9
Blue at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9463003533/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i10
American Circumstance at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9463005749/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i19

Learn More about Patricia Leavy and follow her on social media:
http://www.patricialeavy.com/
https://www.facebook.com/WomenWhoWrite/
https://www.instagram.com/patricialeavy
https://independent.academia.edu/PatriciaLeavy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJu4At61n2E&t=2347s
https://onmogul.com/patricia-leavy

Lily Iona MacKenzie

I don’t have hayseed clinging to my trousers, but growing up on a Canadian farm gave me a unique foundation as a writer. I sprouted under cumulous clouds that bloomed everywhere in Alberta’s big sky. They were my first creative writing instructors, scudding across the heavenly blue, constantly changing shape: one minute an elephant, bruised and brooding. The next morphing into a rabbit or a castle. These billowing masses gave me a unique view of life on earth.
As a girl, I prowled the land, talking to chickens and pigs and lambs, creating scenarios for them. I also tried to make perfume from the wild Alberta roses and captured caterpillars, watching with wonder when they transformed themselves into butterflies. Everything around me seemed infused by nature spirits waiting to be released.
I soon realized that all objects are in motion, waiting for stories to illuminate them. The clouds’ shifting form also schooled me in the various possibilities open to me as a writer. So did Jack Frost’s enchanted creations that enlivened the windows in wintertime, forcing me to view my surroundings as if through a bewitching prism. These early experiences helped me to envision multi-dimensional characters. No wonder magical realism pulses at the heart of my narratives, and my work celebrates the imagination.

Poetry Collection: All This: https://www.amazon.com/All-This-Lily-Iona-…/…/1935656112/ref
Three novels:
Fling! https://www.amazon.com/Fling-Lily-Iona-Mac…/…/1942428200/ref; 
Curva Peligrosa https://www.amazon.com/Curva-Peligrosa-Lily-Iona-MacK…/…/ref; 
Freefall: A Divine Comedy https://www.amazon.com/Freefall-Divine-Lily-Iona-MacK…/…/ref
I blog weekly at https://lilyionamackenzie.com.

Pat Spencer

In addition to Story of a Stolen Girl, Dr. Pat Spencer authored a textbook, several short stories, newspaper and magazine columns, trade and scholarly articles. She is currently working on her second novel. Pat speaks at community and service organizations on the topic of human trafficking.
Pat received degrees from Riverside Community College, University of La Verne, and theUniversity of California, Riverside. She began her academic career as a community college teacher and retired as a college president. When Pat is not writing, she is golfing, reading, walking on Southern California beaches, or hanging out at book clubs or with family and friends.
She can be found online at http://patspencer.net. Story of a Stolen Girl is available on Amazon, Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Goodreads, Google Books, etc. CLICK HERE to see her novel and textbook on Amazon.

Susanne Bacon

Susanne Bacon was born in Stuttgart, Germany, has a double Master's degree in literature and linguistics, and has been working as a journalist for over 20 years. She lives with her husband in the South Puget Sound region in Washington State. Apart from an early German historical novel translated into English, Susanne has created the Wycliff novels, small-town romances loosely interconnected, with a lot of Western Washington flavor and recipes of her own creation. She also writes non-fiction, such as the essays published under the Title "Home from Home". Reviewers have compared her romance writing to Debbie Macomber, Maeve Binchy, and Hallmark movies.

https://www.amazon.com/Susanne-Bacon/e/B06Y16DNPY?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1558373325&sr=8-1

https://thesubtimes.com/author/susannebacon/

https://www.facebook.com/susannebaconauthor/  

Toni Kief

Toni Kief, from a small Midwestern town and a family of high spirits and laughter. Presently lives in a small town in Washington state, she plans to stay for the view, trees, and friends. Her life story includes decades in Insurance claims as one of the first women outside casualty investigators. A longtime civil rights activist, she shares stories about lunches with politicians, leaders, and artists. Toni didn’t start writing until she was sixty years old as a challenge. She joined a writer’s group that specialized in flash fiction, presently she is writing novels. Toni prefers to write about people of “a certain age.” Finally retired she continues to gathers stories prime for embellishment in extraordinary situations. Toni is a founding director of The Writers Cooperative of the Pacific Northwest and is a driving force it the continued growth.

www.tonikief.com.

https://www.amazon.com/Toni-Kief/e/B01CR8V3RG/ref
 
https://www.facebook.com/tonikief8author/