by Amy Newmark
Rita Gigante dedicates her life to healing people spiritually, emotionally, and physically using energy therapy, intuitive healing, and angel readings at her practices in New York and New Jersey. Her autobiography, The Godfather’s Daughter: An Unlikely Story of Love, Healing, and Redemption, was published by Hay House in 2012.
Teri Goggin-Roberts fell in love with writing after receiving a baby blue typewriter for her ninth birthday. Her first efforts were rough (as was her typing). Thankfully, both have improved. Teri’s writing has appeared in many outlets and she recently wrote her first novel, The Charm Academy. Teri lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Halia Grace is a writer, hiker, psychotherapist, and crazy dog lady. She lives in a one-room shack in the Catskills with five rescued dogs and her long-suffering husband.
Darla S. Grieco holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in writing and a master’s degree in school psychology from Duquesne University. She is married with four children and resides near Pittsburgh, PA. Darla shares lessons she has learned along life’s journey at dsgrieco. wordpress.com.
Bonnie Compton Hanson, artist and speaker, is author of thirty-seven books for adults and children, plus hundreds of articles, stories, and poems (including thirty-four for Chicken Soup for the Soul). A former editor, she has taught writing at colleges and writers conferences—plus loves cats! Learn more at www.BonnieComptonHanson.com.
Carol Goodman Heizer, M.Ed., resides in Louisville, KY. She is an eight-time published author whose books have sold in the U.S. and overseas. Her work has appeared on several occasions in Chicken Soup for the Soul and Christian Communicator. Her works may be purchased through Amazon.com, CreateSpace, and at bookstores.
Ann Hoffman is a retired university lecturer of English and music. Her hobbies are choral singing, patchwork quilting and writing. She has five children and eleven grandchildren, and lives with her husband in the small coastal town of Port Elizabeth in Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa.
Immaculée Ilibagiza is the author, with Steve Erwin, of several books including the New York Times bestseller Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. A recipient of the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation, she travels the world speaking about forgiveness. Please visit her website: www.immaculee.com.
Jeanie Jacobson is on the leadership team of Wordsowers Christian Writers in Omaha, NE. She’s published in four Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and is writing a Christian-slanted young adult fantasy series. Jeanie loves visiting family and friends, reading, hiking, praise dancing, and gardening. E-mail her at [email protected].
Mary Pat Johns is currently a Bible teacher at Faith Family mega-church in Victoria, TX. Her teaching venues include assignments for Ladies Bible Study and instructing for Destiny Bible Institute. A mother and grandmother, she lives with her husband and their miniature Dachshund Ike, who runs the show.
Since retiring as an educator, Edward A. Joseph has been working as a freelance writer. His work has appeared in regional newspapers and magazines, as well as national publications. His memoir, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Teacher, is available at Amazon.com. E-mail him at [email protected].
Janet Sheppard Kelleher, graduate of Sweet Briar College, authored Big C, little ta-ta: Kicking Breast Cancer’s Butt in 7 Humorous Stories, the first of an inspirational gift book series based on how she used humor to whip cancer. Big C, Bosom Buddies and Big C, Big Difference debut in March and September. E-mail her at [email protected].
Deborah J. Kinsinger is a life coach, writer, traveller, and mom. She has a private practice in Canada. Deborah believes in the power of positive thinking, in listening to one’s own inner intuition and in the magic inherent in everyday life.
Mary Ann Klein received her Bachelor of Science and two Master of Science degrees, with honors, from Adelphi University, NY. She was a resource room teacher for twenty-eight years and now privately tutors and teaches piano and religion. She loves spending time with family and friends and hopes to write inspirational children’s books.
Elizabeth S. Kline earned her B.A. degree with honors from Vanderbilt University in 1977. A medical biller by day, she continues to write and is delighted to have her second story published by Chicken Soup for the Soul. She enjoys metal detecting, crafting and keeping up with her two kids, two cats and a dog named Linus.
Joyce Laird is a freelance writer living in Southern California with her menagerie of animal companions. Her features have been published in many magazines, including Cat Fancy, Grit, Mature Living, I Love Cats and Vibrant Life. She contributes regularly to Woman’s World and to the Chicken Soup for the Soul anthology.
Cathi LaMarche is a novelist, essayist, poet, and educator. Her work appears in over two dozen books. Residing in Missouri with her husband, two children, and three dogs, she is currently working on her second novel.
Stephen Lautens is a writer and lawyer who has written a weekly column for a number of major Canadian newspapers including the National Post, Toronto Sun, Calgary Sun and The London Free Press. He also appears on TV and radio. When not writing he can be found on Twitter. E-amil him at [email protected].
Scarlett Lewis is the mother of Jesse Lewis, who was killed in his first grade classroom during the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. She founded the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation and wrote the book Nurturing Healing Love based on a prophetic message her son wrote on their kitchen chalkboard.
Dana Liesegang is a certified life coach, expert in spinal cord injury recovery, and 2014 Hero of Forgiveness Award recipient given by the Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance. Her memoir, Falling Up: My Wild Ride from Victim to Kick-Ass Victor, will be published in fall 2015 by Hay House Publishing. Learn more at Danaliesegangbook.com.
Julia Lucas has always loved ghost stories, and dreams of being an author. But for now, she designs needlework projects for magazines. She has been married for thirty-seven years, has two stepsons and two grandchildren.
Jesse Malarsie is a stay-at-home mom with three young children and works as a child photographer in the Great Salt Lake City area. She also helps manage her husband’s business endeavors and is a fan of traveling. Jesse likes to read, craft, be outdoors and is an avid NHL and college football fan.
Kristen Margetson is passionate about education and travel. She was a high school social studies teacher for fourteen years and spent many summers traveling to other nations in an effort to inform her students about the global community. Her favorite writing companion is her neurotic Jack Russell mix, Bosley.
Tina Wagner Mattern is a Portland, OR writer who has been blessed with more miracles in her life than she can ever count: She has a wonderful husband, two awesome kids, and is a fifteen-year cancer survivor, to name only a few. This will be her eighth story in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. E-mail her at [email protected].
Claudia McCants calls herself a survivor, and she believes God guides her life. She encourages people through her writing, showing them that even the worst circumstances can be survived when you trust in God. Her latest novel, Broken Angel, was published in 2013. She is currently working on a book about prayer.
Though her career is in music, Cynthia McGarity has an international following for her blog, God’s Daily Message . . . for the terminally dense. She’s a Master Teaching Artist for The Young Americans and The Walt Disney Company. Her latest project, the Branching Out in Faith app, is available through iTunes. God is the greatest!
Kathy McGovern is a founding member of the Christian music group Ekklesia, and the composer of the popular Christmas song, “Mary Had a Baby.” Kathy writes a weekly scripture column, “The Story and You,” which appears in parish bulletins around the country. Visit her website at www.thestoryandyou.com.
Curt Melliger grew up in the middle of America and left at age seventeen to see the rest of it. During his travels, he worked a variety of jobs before beginning his writing career. Since then, over seventy of his
articles have been published. He currently writes a column for the Four Corners Free Press, and lives near Cortez, CO.
Jan Penton Miller graduated with honors from the University of Southern Mississippi. She is the mother of three wonderful children and grandmother to two beautiful grands. Jan is a remarried widow whose heart’s desire is to honor God and encourage others with her writing. E-mail her at [email protected].
Marie-Therese Miller is the author of nonfiction books for children and teens, including the Dog Tales series, Managing Responsibilities, and Rachel Carson. Eight of her stories appear in Chicken Soup for the Soul books. She is completing her doctorate in English at St. John’s University. Learn more at www.marie-theresemiller.com.
Jackie Minniti is a former teacher and the award-winning author of Project June Bug, a novel about a teacher’s efforts to help a student with ADHD. She is a columnist for The Island Reporter in St. Petersburg, FL, and is a previous contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul. Learn more at www.jackieminniti.com.
Linda Newton is an Empowerment Educator, helping people find healing and strength for a better life. See her blog at youtube.com/user/ answersfrommomanddad. She has written three books, including 12 Ways to Turn Your Pain into Praise. Learn more at www.LindaNewtonSpeaks.com.
Sandy Novotny is a dedicated wife and homeschooling mother with a passion for writing. Describing her life as “joyfully rooted in our Creator,” she prioritizes her time in pursuit of His truth. She is currently working on a new blog project and eBook series at www.beconvicted.com.
Cheryl Bland Oliver has been blessed to be a stay-at-home mom for twenty years to daughters Anna, Kathleen and Lauren. She is co-creator of the Lauren and Kathleen Oliver Scholarship Fund (see Facebook page for details) and is currently writing an inspirational memoir about grief, love, and hope.
Beth Huettner Olsen is a wife, mom, daughter, sister, and aunt. She taught school for thirty years, most all of them at Immanuel Lutheran School in Columbus, NE. Beth retired at the end of the 2013-2014 school year, and is now substitute teaching. She loves nature, quilting, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.
Nancy Emmick Panko is a retired RN who loves to write. She belongs to The Light of Carolina Christian Writers group and the Cary Senior Writing Circle. Her story “A Journey of Healing” appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Find Your Inner Strength. She and her husband, George, live in North Carolina.
Kathleen Pellicano is a transplant from a cool, crisp North Shore, Long Island town to the dramatic, steamy city of Savannah. She likes to use her writing to share her experience and observation of the world around her. She doesn’t claim to pursue mystical or spiritual topics but finds they present themselves to her unbidden.
Laura Lee Perkins is a writer, educator and musician (flutist—ten CDs). She has earned five Artist-in-Residencies, eleven grants and third place in the 80th Writer’s Digest Awards (Inspirational category). Her book, Lighting Your Spiritual Passion, was recently published. E-mail her at [email protected] or learn more at www.LauraLeePerkinsAuthor.com.
Connie Pombo is a freelance writer, author and speaker. Her stories have appeared in numerous publications and compilations, including the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Connie enjoys traveling, running and swimming. She is working on her first fiction novel based in Sicily. Learn more at www.conniepombo.com.
Beckie Pruder is a married mom of two girls and has worked as a financial services manager in Canada for forty years. Beckie also loves gardening, spending time with family and friends and is an avid hockey fan. This is her first published story!
Heather Rodin is a freelance writer and author of Prince of Vodou-Breaking the Chains being released later this year. She serves as Executive Director for Hope Grows Haiti, and lives with her husband Gord on an acreage near Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.
Beth Saadati is an English teacher and has invested her time and heart into the lives of hundreds of teenagers. She is currently teaching writing classes, homeschooling her son and daughter, drafting two books, and sharing a message of hope in the aftermath of her beloved firstborn’s suicide. E-mail her at [email protected].
Theresa Sanders is honored to be a frequent Chicken Soup for the Soul contributor. She lives with her husband near St. Louis, MO, and has four grown children. Theresa loves connecting with readers. Stop by and chat with her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Theresa-Sanders-Author/208490939276032.
Eloise Elaine Ernst Schneider is a writer and artist. She has published several books, including Taking Hearing Impairment to School and Jesus is Born. EloiseArt can be found in several physical and online galleries. Her most popular renderings are located at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/eloise-elaine-schneider.html.
Bette Schumann teaches sixth grade and is a school nurse in a small Christian school in Georgia. After her five children and fourteen grandchildren were grown, she has returned to writing and oil painting. Some day she hopes to write and illustrate a book for tweens. Learn more at bschumannartist.com.
Gail Sellers enjoys writing, in particular inspirational, animal (cat), and children’s stories. She enjoys spending relaxing days at the cottage with her husband Tony. E-mail her at [email protected].
Marti Davidson Sichel graduated cum laude from the University of Connecticut with a BA degree in English. In the constant pursuit of knowledge (and trivia fodder), she loves to travel and read, takes in a ton of film and theater, adores a good podcast, is always looking for her next best recipe and totally geeks out on science.
For twenty years Sandra Sladkey wrote and produced an internationally syndicated Christian children’s radio program. Since the mid-1980s, she has presented live Bible-based children’s programs at churches, conferences, and retreats. Her passions are writing, acting, and directing plays. Read her blog at heaven-headed.blogspot.com.
Reverend Jim Solomon, a former businessman, has helped over 1,000 families and individuals across the nation experience life-change through counsel and care. He lives with his wife and two children in Newtown, CT, serving as Pastor of New Hope Community Church and chaplain to the Newtown Police Department.
Judee Stapp has written stories and poems all her life. She lives with her husband John of twenty-three years, and has three children, two sons-in-law, and three grandchildren. She loves Angels baseball, reading and travel. Judee plans to continue to inspire adults and children with her writing about hope and miracles.
Diane Stark is a former teacher turned stay-at-home mom and freelance writer. She loves to write about the important things in life: her family and her faith. She lives with her husband and their five children in southern Indiana. E-mail her at [email protected].
Jolene Starr, M.D., worked as a psychiatrist for over twenty-five years, but is now a writer and a poet. Her soon-to-be published memoir is entitled Thirteen Days: Psychedelics and Self-Discovery in the Mexican Jungle. She has three daughters and one granddaughter, and enjoys traveling, hiking and skiing.
Cathy Stenquist is a mother of three who loves to write about everyday connections with God and with each other. You can follow her creative explorations on her blog: cathystenquist.tumblr.com, where she shares her love of writing, painting and cooking. She is currently writing her first inspirational children’s book.
Dani Stone is an author from the flatlands of Kansas. When she’s not writing marketing copy for Lee Media Group or romantic comedy stories, she’s probably lost in a book. Dani is proud to be founder of VOGMParents.org, an organization created after her daughter battled a rare brain disorder, vein of Galen malformation.
Julia Shepherd Tang is a grant writer and teacher of the Art of Living Happiness Program. She received her masters in education from Harvard University in 2003. She enjoys hiking, sailing, traveling and meditating. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband Jonathan and her two beautiful girls.
Since 2006, Carol Marsden Taylor has lived in beautiful Sedona, AZ with her hu
sband Steve. Carol has always been interested in the afterlife, and feels a close connection to her friends and family members who now live in that realm.
Leslie Tierney lives in New Jersey and is a dance teacher/choreographer for children and adults. For over twenty years, she’s found joy by encouraging and inspiring women in their faith through Bible study and prayer. Her latest endeavors include writing and speaking at women’s conferences. Learn more at www.leslietierney.com.
Deborah Voigt is one of the world’s leading dramatic sopranos, revered for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss, and for her portrayals of iconic heroines in Italian opera. Her memoir, Call Me Debbie: True Confessions of a Down-to-Earth Diva, was published by HarperCollins in January 2015.
Pat Wahler is a grant writer by day and award-winning writer of essays and short stories by night. She is proud to be a contributor to six previous Chicken Soup for the Soul titles. A lifelong animal lover, Pat ponders critters, writing, and life’s little mysteries at critteralley. blogspot.com.
Beverly Walker loves her time with grandchildren when she isn’t writing, Facebooking, scrapbooking or being caregiver for her husband who is battling cancer. She and their cat Maya take good care of him.
Nick Walker is a TV meteorologist with The Weather Channel in Atlanta, GA, and a songwriter/author of Sing Along with the Weather Dude, a CD/book teaching children weather basics, and Don’t Get Scared, Just Get Prepared, a CD of songs teaching storm preparedness. Contact Nick at his “Weather Dude” website at www.wxdude.com.
Terri Webster wrote Markers for Single Moms: Finding God’s Direction in the Chaos, available on Amazon.com. She’s working on two more to complete a series. Her single, “When All Seems Lost,” featuring Sara Oliver, is available on iTunes and Google Play. She founded Spring Ministries, a 501c3 ministry to single parents in 2011.
Elizabeth Adinolfi West is a full-time English instructor at Central Piedmont Community College. She is married to her husband Mark and has two children, John and Colleen. She enjoys reading, traveling and most of all teaching her students how to love writing. She contributes to a weekly blog shared with her sister.