General Fiction

Burke, Vincent

Author Vincent "Vicenzo" Burke
Pseudonym
Vincenzo
Birth City
Newport News
Birth State
VA
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Regional Senior Librarian Associate
Biography

Vincent Burke III is a cultural anthropologist and fiction writer who specializes in queer storytelling. His degree in Cultural Anthropology comes from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, where he began writing short horror fiction in 2016. Soon after having published his first story, The Remains of Adrian Hewitt, Vincent began formulating a plan for Flesh and Bone, a sprawling series that would encompass his studies, his love of reading, and his own tumultuous past. Growing up in a divided house, Vincent's experiences with abuse and survival ultimately led him into the United States Army where he started developing an understanding of his own queerness and spirituality. After briefly serving as a combat engineer, Vincent moved back to Colorado where he began pursuing his degree in Anthropology at UCCS. Now living safely and comfortably with his boyfriend, best friend, and their cat, Orpheus, he spends the day reading, writing, playing lacrosse and thinking of the next best American novel.

Education/Training
BA in Cultural Anthropology, concentration in History and Memory
Published Works Book Jackets
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Awakening
Organizations
Member of the Pikes Peak Library District - National Archives (Citizens Archivist)
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Queer Storytelling, Embracing Gay Spirituality, Writing as Therapy, Fiction as Healing.

Gillings, Bowen

Author Bowen Gillings
Birth Year (-Died Year)
1973
Birth City
Oshkosh
Birth State
WI
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Author, Park Interpreter
Biography

Bowen Gillings is an award-winning author writing to bring fun back to fiction. He has been featured in anthologies, periodicals, and podcasts. Bowen is a member of Pikes Peak Writers, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and The League of Utah Writers. He's a former actor, financial advisor, personal trainer, defense contractor, and Army officer. He's been hiding among us for over a decade disguised as a park interpreter at Garden of the Gods Park. Bowen holds five martial arts black belts and hikes whenever he can. He loves travel, cooking, and a fine adult beverage. He lives in Colorado Springs with his wife and daughter.

Awards/Honors
2018 Third Place, Zebulon Fiction Writing Contest: SciFi/Fantasy
2019 Finalist, Colorado Gold Rush Literary Awards 2019
Education/Training
Bachelor of Science, Mass Communications (St. Cloud State University)
Master of Education, Adult Education (University of Alaska Anchorage)
Published Works Book Jackets
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Book cover for A Night to Remember
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Book cover for Exceptionals
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Book cover for Fresh Starts
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Book cover for Journeys Into Possibility
Organizations
* Pikes Peak Writers
* Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers
* League of Utah Writers
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
* Writing fight scenes
* Getting the most out of a writers conference
* Self-publishing
* How to critique writing
* How to conduct a critique group
* Turning a short story into a novel
* History of Garden of the Gods
* Charles Elliott Perkins (Perkins family gave the original piece of land that would become Garden of the Gods)
* The Civilian Conservation Corps in Colorado Springs

Miura, Susan

Author Susan Miura
Birth Year (-Died Year)
1958
Birth City
Chicago
Birth State
IL
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Author, speaker, editor, book reviewer
Biography

I recently moved to Colorado Springs, where my daughter has been living for four years.

Awards/Honors
Healer: 2018 Readers' Favorite Award/5-star Review: Young Adult Fiction
Healer: 2018 StoryMonsters Royal Dragonfly 1st Place Fiction
Healer: 2018 StoryMonsters Royal Dragonfly 1st Place Young Adult Fiction
Shards of Light: 2019 StoryMonsters Royal Dragonfly 1st Place Young Adult Fiction
Shards of Light: 2020 Bronze Medal: Illumination Book Awards: Young Adult Fiction
Shards of Light: 2020 Readers' Favorite Award/5-star Review: Young Adult Fiction
Shards of Light: 2020 Bronze Medal: Moonbeam Book Award
Signs in the Dark: 2020 Readers' Favorite Award/5-star Review: Young Adult Fiction
Signs in the Dark: 2021 StoryMonsters Royal Dragonfly 2nd Place: Young Adult Fiction
Signs in the Dark: 2021 Readers' Favorite 5-star Review
Signs in the Dark: 2021 Wishing Shelf Awards-Red Ribbon Recipient
Surviving Carmelita: 2021 Christian Inspirational Finalist (American Fiction Awards)
Surviving Carmelita: 2021 Christian Market Novel of the Year, 2nd Place (Advanced Writers & Speakers Assoc.)
Organizations
* SCBWI
* ACFW
* Served as ACFW-Chicago Chapter Vice President for 3 years
* Served as ACFW-Chicago Chapter President for 3 years
* Taught workshops at the Write to Publish Conference and the ACFW-Chicago Conference
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Please Note: All topic descriptions can be found on my website at https://www.susanmiura.com

AUTHOR VISIT: I talk about my books and provide insight on the writing & publishing process.

WRITING WORKSHOPS:
* The Art of Imagery
* Nail That Pitch: How to Talk to Agents & Editors
* Query Letters That Get Results
* Dynamic Dialogue
* The Allure of Foreign Settings
* Write What You Know (for teens)
* Nail that College Admissions Essay (for college-bound high school students)

TRAVEL PRESENTATIONS:
* Florida Keys Journey
* Chocolate USA! (a combination of travel and chocolate)
* Sensational Sicily (one of my books is set in Sicily)
* Roaming the Midwest
* Greek Island Voyage
* Intriguing Italy
* Explore the Smokies
* Savor the 60s (a year-by-year glimpse of the 1960s)

Stanecek, Taylor

Taylor Stanecek
Birth City
Monument
Birth State
CO
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Author, Broker, & Commercial Property Manager
Biography

Taylor Stanecek has spent most of his life in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He's currently a commercial property manager with a drive to write in his spare time. His passion for writing sparked in grade school with the help of a motivational teacher and has pushed him to continue to strive for creativity through short stories and poetry over the years, finally moving into fictional novels. Identifying as gay, Taylor has focused his first coming of age trilogy on LGBT culture.

Education/Training
Master of Business Administration – Finance
Real Estate Broker License
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science / Minor in Writing
Local Authors Genres
Published Works Book Jackets
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Bad Blood
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Blood Ties
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Cold Blood
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Writing & Becoming an Author
The route to Self-Publishing
The Steps in Finding Editors & Cover Artists
LGBT+ Culture
Struggles of Family Dysfunction

DeSye, Davyne

DeSye, Davyne
Birth Year (-Died Year)
1963
Birth City
Frankfurt, DE
Occupation(s)
Author
Biography

Davyne spent her life traveling the world and has lived in Germany, Bolivia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Japan, Korea, Mexico, and the United States. She came to Colorado in 1993 and now writes from a cozy spot nestled at the base of the Pikes Peak in beautiful Colorado Springs. One of the settings in her book, Phantom Rising, is loosely based on Glen Eyrie Castle in Colorado Springs.

Awards/Honors
Reader's Favorite Five-Star Rating (For Love of the Phantom)
Reader's Favorite Five-Star Rating (Phantom Rising)
Education/Training
Juris Doctorate, 1992
Bachelor of Science - Decision Studies/Computer Science, 1987
Associate of Science - Business Administrations, 1987
Associate of Science - General Studies, 1987
Organizations
Member, Romance Writers of America
Member, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
Member, Colorado Bar Association
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Various aspects of writing

Bergling, Christina

Author Christina Bergling
Birth City
Colorado Springs
Birth State
CO
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Author, Solutions Architect, Engagement Manager
Biography

Christina Bergling has been writing since childhood. She has written a variety of styles. A blog from Iraq, software user guides for software, articles for a numismatist magazine. More than anything, she is a horror author. In college at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, she pursued a professional writing degree and started publishing small scale.

It all began with “How to Kill Yourself Slowly.” Crystal Lake released her latest novel, Followers. Limitless Publishing published her novel The Rest Will Come. HellBound Books published her two novellas, Savages and The Waning. She co-wrote Screechers with Kevin J. Kennedy. She is also featured in numerous anthologies, including Collected Christmas Horror Shorts, Demonic Wildlife, Colorado’s Emerging Authors, and Graveyard Girls. Bergling was born and raised in Colorado Springs. She lives with her family in Colorado and spends her non-writing time working in IT, hiking mountains, dancing, and sucking all the marrow out of life.

Education/Training
BA in English with an emphasis in Professional Writing from UCCS, 2005
Local Authors Genres
Published Works Book Jackets
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Followers
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Anything though I have previously focused on the writing/publishing process and the horror genre

Emanuelson, K. L.

Author K. L. Emanuelson
Birth City
Milwaukee
Birth State
WI
Current Location
El Paso County, CO
Occupation(s)
Author
Biography

K. L. Emanuelson is an Army veteran. She was a working cowgirl for many years, a horse trainer and a riding instructor. As a Beowulf scholar, she's presented at academic conferences and been published in the proceedings. She's entered the poetry, essay and short-short fiction divisions and won, at the Colorado Veterans Arts competitions, but now focuses upon writing her novels. She shares her ranch in the beautiful, historic Bijou Basin with her horses, dogs and cats. She's a historian with a focus upon pre-Viking early 6th century Scandinavia and the 19th century American West.

Awards/Honors
First Place, "Blue Agave," Colorado Women's Poetry Competition, open division
2018 Colorado Veterans Arts Competition: First Place Essay, First Place and Best in Show in Writing for a Short-short Fiction piece
2019 Colorado Veterans Arts Competition: First Place Essay, First Place Short-short Fiction, First Place Poetry
Education/Training
MA-English/Language Arts
Published Works Book Jackets
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Book cover for The Woman Who Rode Destiny by K. L. Emauelson
Organizations
Pikes Peak Writers
Sons of Norway
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Beowulf, horses, including accurate horse portrayals in film and fiction, Viking and pre-Viking Norse culture, and cowboys/cowgirls

Carter Close, Alli

Carter Close, Alli
Birth City
Johnson City
Birth State
NY
Current Location
El Paso County, CO
Occupation(s)
Freelance journalist and author
Biography

Alli Carter Close is a freelance journalist who lives in the shadow of Pikes Peak. She lives with her husband, two children and four dogs.

Awards/Honors
2021 Silver award for Western historical fiction from the Historical Fiction Company
Published Works Book Jackets
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Struggling Towards Hope: A Novel
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
The history of the Ute in Colorado

Hatfield, Lisa

Photo of author Lisa Hatfield
Birth City
Glen Ellyn
Birth State
IL
Current Location
Monument, CO
Occupation(s)
Wildfire risk reduction
Biography

Lisa moved to Monument in 1990 with her husband and the Air Force. She has also lived in Illinois, Ohio, and Colombia, South America. She's been a computer mapper and editor, newspaper reporter and managing editor, teacher of English as a Second Language, and member of a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Now, she has learned to run a chainsaw and wood-chipper, and to do public speaking (even scarier) to promote wildfire risk reduction and emergency preparedness.

Awards/Honors
2019 Volunteer of the Year: Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce
2020 National Wildfire Mitigation Award (with Tri-Lakes United Methodist Church Emergency Preparedness Group): National Association of State Foresters (NASF), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), and the National Fire Protection Assn.
2021 Service to Mankind Award: Gleneagle Sertoma
Education/Training
Geography B.A, University of Illinois
Western State University, Certificate in K-12 Linguistically Diverse Education
Community Emergency Response Team - Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management
NFPA Assessing Home Ignition Potential From Wildfire
Local Authors Genres
Published Works Book Jackets
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Book cover for To Starve an Ember
Organizations
Pikes Peak Regional Community Emergency Response Team
Tri-Lakes United Methodist Church Emergency Preparedness Group
Our Community News reporter
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
* The Story of the Flying Ember - 20-minute tale for property owners about how to co-exist with wildfire
* Wildfire risk reduction for homeowners
* How to prepare today: your home's "ignition zone" & wildfire's flying embers (10 minutes or 2 hours - let me know)
* Emergency preparedness for everybody
* Emergency preparedness for seniors
* Solar oven cooking