Children's Chapter Books

Bercedoni, Stephanie

Author and artist Stephanie Bercedoni
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Biography

Sisters Stephanie Bercedoni and Christine Riley grew up in South Dakota, in the heart of the Black Hills. After completing their education, they took separate paths for many years until they reunited in Colorado Springs. Stephanie was now a mom and Christine a flight attendant. This duo teamed up to write a fun tale of adventure that reminded them of their times as children.

Local Authors Genres
Published Works Book Jackets
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Book cover for The Colorado Kids: Adventures at the Broadmoor Hotel by Christine Sigman and Stephanie Bercedoni
Speaker Availability
No

Riley, Christine

Author Christine Riley
Birth Year (-Died Year)
1987
Birth City
Oak Park
Birth State
IL
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Phone (Public)
(719) 460-2726
Biography

Sisters Stephanie Bercedoni and Christine Riley grew up in South Dakota, in the heart of the Black Hills. After completing their education, they took separate paths for many years until they reunited in Colorado Springs. Stephanie was now a mom and Christine a flight attendant. This duo teamed up to write a fun tale of adventure that reminded them of their times as children.

Local Authors Genres
Published Works Book Jackets
Image
Book cover for The Colorado Kids: Adventures at the Broadmoor Hotel by Christine Sigman and Stephanie Bercedoni
Speaker Availability
Yes

Baxter, William Edwin

Baxter, William Edwin
Birth City
Fullerton
Birth State
CA
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Civilian Contract Worker at Ft. Carson (Service Source Inc. hires people with disabilities to work as contract workers)
Biography

William Edwin Baxter was born on October 11, 1954 in Fullerton, California. He was born with developmental disabilities, but has strive not to let his disabilities defeat him in life, but to go above and beyond them by accomplishing great things and inspiring others to do the same. This became his legacy. He lived most of his life in Orange County, California; but currently lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. On July 9, 2016, William suffered a massive pulmonary embolism which almost ended his life, but he survived. Had he died in the E.R. at Memorial Hospital, his legacy would have died with him. Realizing this, he began to write his first book, entitled W.E.B. Tales (W.E.B. is his initial name for William Edwin Baxter). The book was published as an e-book in May 2018, and as a paperback in July 2018. Other books have been published since W.E.B. Tales which can be found on my author page on amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/William-Edwin-Baxter/e/B07GC44FVR

Awards/Honors
President's Team Award for Service Excellence - from Service Source Inc., August 2015
Employee of the Year Award - from Service Source Inc., in August 2018
Distinguished Toastmaster Award - Highest award from Toastmasters International, February 1996
Education/Training
B.S. Degree, Recreation, California State University, East Bay, 1979 - A.A. Degree, Liberal Arts, Ohlone College, 1977 -Thomas S. Wootton High School, Rockville, MD, 1974
Published Works Book Jackets
Organizations
Member of Toastmasters International since November 1990
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
I would like to talk about "Going Above and Beyond" disabilities and other obstacles which can stand in the way of working towards one's goals and achieving them (as chronicled in my keynote speech: https://webblog305448100.wordpress.com/2020/02/05/w-e-b-keynote-address/)

Troup, Roxanne

Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Children's Author
Biography

Roxanne Troup writes picture books that celebrate wonder and family. With a background in education, she also writes engaging nonfiction for all ages.

Published Works Book Jackets
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My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me
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Devils Tower
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The Alamo
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Homes Around the World
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Astronauts in Space
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Robots and AI
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World of Technology
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Magnets
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Circulatory System
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Nasty Parasites
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Deep-Sea Creatures
Organizations
SCBWI, PAL member - ASD20 parent
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Library story times; school visits and children's writing workshops; adult writing workshops; teacher professional development (see website for topics)

Wilson, Neil

Birth City
Tampa
Birth State
FL
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
US Air Force
Biography

Serving America in the US Air Force for 20+ years; spent 12+ years overseas (Korea and Germany) but now living/stationed in Colorado Springs. Interests include books (reading/writing - of course), travel, art, Asian languages, Asian food...my kids.

Published Works Book Jackets
Speaker Availability
No

Pease, Elaine

Pease, Elaine
Birth City
Boulder
Birth State
CO
Current Location
Boulder, CO
Occupation(s)
Children's Author
Biography

Award-winning Children's Author, Elaine Pease, has three picture books, a middle grade novel GHOST OVER BOULDER CREEK, the journey of a half-Cheyenne boy as he searches for his white father with Buffalo Bill in 1860s Colorado, and her most recent: an easy reader chapter book based on the true heart-warming stories at Colorado Horse Rescue, SAFE AT LAST.

Awards/Honors
SAFE AT LAST: TRUE STORIES OF HORSE RESCUES. 2016 1st Place CIPA EVVY. A 2016 Denver Public Schools Libraries Recommendation
GHOST OVER BOULDER CREEK. 2015 Youth One Book, One Denver Finalist. 2011 1st Place CIPA EVVY Juvenile Fiction
Education/Training
SDSU B.S. Journalism
Published Works Book Jackets
Organizations
RMSCSBWI - RMFW
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
I've spoken about or conducted workshops on topics such as self-publishing vs. traditional publishing (having equal exposure to both in my career), researching and writing the historical mystery middle grade novel ("Dust to
Dust Jackets" panel at Barnes & Noble), and writing and finding the right publisher for your picture book.

Manivong, Tai

Manivong, Tai
Birth City
Colorado Springs
Birth State
CO
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Teacher - Author
Biography

Tai Manivong is a fantasy author. Her first middle grade fantasy novel, Crimson, was published in 2018. She attributes her writing to reading lots of fantasy novels growing up. Some of her favorite authors are R.A. Salvatore, Anne McCaffrey, and Melanie Rawn. She is currently working on “The Dragon Keeper Chronicles” series and several other books. She teaches elementary school in Colorado and dreams of one day becoming a best-selling author. Visit her website at www.taimanivong.com or visit her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/taimanivongbooks.

Awards/Honors
5 Star Reader's Favorite Review - https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/crimson
Education/Training
Master of Arts in Teaching - Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Published Works Book Jackets
Organizations
Member of Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
I can speak about world building, character inspiration, my journey self publishing, formatting novels or education topics.

Oswald, Nancy

Oswald, Nancy
Birth City
Denver
Birth State
CO
Current Location
Cotopaxi, CO
Occupation(s)
Author - Writer
Biography

Nancy Oswald loves researching and writing historical fiction books for young readers. She has, however, written in a variety of genres including personal interest pieces, children’s plays, poetry, educational research, biography, and nonfiction articles. Oswald spent her growing up years in Denver but has lived as an adult in rural Colorado and the outback of British Columbia where she taught in a one and a two room school. She taught for 20 years in rural Colorado and is now retired. Nancy currently lives with her husband and their dogs, cats, cows, chickens, and one nearly human donkey on a family ranch near Cotopaxi, Colorado.

Awards/Honors
2017 Western Writers of America Spur Award Winner - Trouble Returns
2017 Colorado Author's League Awards Winner - Trouble Returns
2015 Spur Award Winner - Edward Wynkoop: Soldier and Indian Agent
2015 Colorado Author's League and Will Rogers Medallion Finalist - Trouble on the Tracks ​
2014 Cipa Evvy Award Winner - Insects in the Field
2009 Third Place Evvy Winner - Hard Face Moon
Colorado Book Award Finalist, Spur Finalist, and CIPA Evvy winner - Rescue in Poverty Gulch
Willa Literary Award Winner, Spur Finalist, and Notable Book for a Global Society - Nothing Here but Stones
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Please visit Nancy's website at http://www.nancyoswald.com/services.html.

Grant, Khadija

Author Khadija Grant
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Biography

Khadija Grant is a proud mother of three little girls and the author of two amazing books. She has published The Influenced, an inspirational book that encourages the reader to look beyond their current situation and to take control of their destiny, as well as an entrepreneurial book for children called You Can Start One Too! Her passion for writing realistic fiction started after she sent stories to her husband while he was deployed in Iraq. After hearing how it impacted his tour, each book she wrote was written to entertain, yet inspire her readers. Khadija is from Cleveland, Ohio, and when she is not writing, you can find her creating doll shows with her children or watching a TED Talks episode. Her dream is to touch as many lives as possible, especially those who come from unfortunate circumstances and help to build them up to become bold enough to fight for their dreams.

Published Works Book Jackets
Speaker Availability
Yes

Casale, Nicholas

Nicholas Casale
Birth Year (-Died Year)
1985
Birth City
Vendenbergh Air Force Bace
Birth State
CA
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Paralegal
Biography

Nicholas S. Casale grew up in Palmer Lake, which is a small town in Colorado. Shortly thereafter, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and began working as a paralegal.

From a young age he was attracted to history, myth, religion, and spent several years searching for the religion that best matched his personal beliefs; he is now a practicing Messianic Jew and is happily married to the woman who taught him Hebrew.

He first started writing stories when he was 6 years old. He invented a simple character named "Mousey," who was a mouse and a wizard. While his stories have grown more sophisticated since then, he has always had a love for the themes of that original story; the idea that the weak may overcome the strong through cleverness and imagination.

Education/Training
Bachelor of Arts Degree in History, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
The Novels - History - Mythology - Religion