General Nonfiction

Jadusingh, Laul

Pseudonym
Maitreya B. Abhisambodhi
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Author - Translator
Biography
  • A resident of Colorado Springs since 7/2015. 
  • Active writer and translator. 
  • Have held three book-signings at Bookman bookstore on Colorado Avenue since October 2017.
Education/Training
* Harvard University, 1972-1976, Sanskrit and Indian Studies/Buddhist Studies
* U.C. Berkeley, 1987-1989, Buddhist Studies
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
* Buddhism
* Yoga Philosophy
* Comparative Philosophy (East-West)
* Comparative Religions
* Indian Philosophies/Religions
* Buddhism and Science
* Tantra: Buddhist and Hindu

Thomas, Roger

Thomas, Roger
Birth City
Oak Park
Birth State
IL
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Freelance Writer
Biography

Roger moved out to Colorado Springs from the Washington, DC, area, in 1994, and has been here ever since. The whole family grew up here and still live in the area. After a 30-year career in information technology, Roger decided to follow another passion- writing. After writing user manuals, training materials, and other writing assignments as a part of his regular IT duties, he launched his own career as a writer. He has six books published- two on bowling and four historical mysteries set in Laramie, Wyoming, in the 1880s.

Education/Training
BS in Political Science and History - MBA Project Management
Local Authors Genres
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Any topic related to writing: the process, my experiences, freelance, indie, etc..

Riley, Gina

Riley, Gina
Birth City
Detroit
Birth State
MI
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Former librarian and teacher - Cherokee Two-Spirit Shaman
Biography

I was still living as a man when I moved to in the year 2000. Having been outed as transgender, and fired at the Prep-School where I had been working, I was recruited at the National Librarians' Conference to be the Coordinator of Information and Technology at Mitchell High School, where I was again outed and fired. In 2007, after being outed and fired at CollegeAmerica, I transitioned to living full time as a woman. My storytelling-performances in The Story Project in Colorado Springs and for The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers are viewable on YouTube. I also sing karaoke and do an occasional standup open-mike.

Awards/Honors
First Place - Bowling This Month, Amateur Bowling Writers Contest
First Place - Best Creative Non-Fiction 2013, Loyola Maryland University Literary EZine
Education/Training
Master's Degree in Library Science - Bachelor's Degree in English, Wayne State University, Michigan
Published Works Book Jackets
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Storytelling - Transgender - Theory of Mind - Education

Gould, Peg

Birth City
Olean
Birth State
NY
Current Location
Manitou Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Journalist, author, chaplain, massage therapist, spiritual advisor
Biography

Author Peg Gould, MBA, RScP, LMT, a career writer/editor from upstate New York, moved west to Colorado, then Alaska, where she renewed her love of nature and photography on the stunning Kenai Peninsula. She is licensed both as a massage therapist and a spiritual advisor. Peg and her husband Todd raised a family with a diversity of pets in Manitou Springs, CO; they also enjoy working on their log home near Homer, AK.  Her work appeared daily for decades in newspapers in New York and Colorado, and later for years in Alaska Business Monthly. She also has freelanced for Vocational Biographies, American News Service, Colorado Springs Health, Springs Magazine, Women’s Edition, Compassion International, Convergent Performance, and for other businesses and nonprofits.

Awards/Honors
Mark Hellinger Award, Journalism
Sigma Delta Chi Outstanding Graduate, Journalism
First HS Journalism Award
Well Dones, Colorado Springs Gazette
Education/Training
* MBA, University of Colorado
* BA Journalism, Cum Laude, St. Bonaventure University
* Alaska's oral history
Published Works Book Jackets
Organizations
Member, AMTA (Message Therapy)
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
* Grief
* Bereavement
* Interviewing
* Self-publishing
* Travel
* Parenting
* Nature and Animals
* Outdoors

Pilch, Fran

Birth City
West Point
Birth State
NY
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Professor of Political Science
Biography

Dr. Pilch was awarded her MA and PhD from Yale University in the field of International Relations. She joined the United States Air Force Academy faculty in 1998 and became Professor Emeritus in 2015. She participated in a Fulbright Hays to South Africa and a Fulbright to Mongolia in 2012 and in 2011 was named the Case Carnegie Colorado Professor of the Year. Her expertise is in human rights, international law, and genocide.

Awards/Honors
Fulbright Scholar
Case Carnegie Professor of the Year (Colorado), 2011
Professor Emeritus, United States Air Force Academy
Education/Training
MA & PhD, Yale University, International Relations - BA, University of Connecticut
Published Works Book Jackets
Organizations
Zonta International World Affairs Council
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Cambodian Genocide - Genocide - Women in Conflict - International Relations - US Foreign Policy

Strauss, Robert

Strauss, Robert
Birth City
Augusta
Birth State
GA
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Owner of Global Perspectives Consulting - Lead Faculty at Regis University
Biography

Robert Strauss is owner of Global Perspectives Consulting in Colorado Springs, Colorado. GPC clients excel in complex global marketplaces through the acquisition of cultural competence. He is Lead Faculty of Program Development and Evaluation and Research Methods in the College of Business and Economics at Regis University in Denver, Colorado. Also, he is President of Worldview Resource Group, a not-for-profit organization that equips cross-cultural workers in a story-based worldview approach to cross-cultural communication. WRG works with agencies located in India, Southeast Asia, North Africa, Western Canada, Mexico, and all of Ibero-America. Robert is a member of the International Academy for Intercultural Research.

Awards/Honors
Member of the International Academy for Intercultural Research (IAIR)
Education/Training
Doctorate in Intercultural Studies from Biola University's School of Intercultural Studies in Los Angeles, California
Local Authors Genres
Published Works Book Jackets
Organizations
International Academy for Intercultural Research (IAIR) - Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research (SIETAR) - American Evaluation Association (AEA)
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Cultural Anthropology - Intercultural Communication - Cultural Intelligence (CQ) - Storytelling across cultures - Four overarching patterns of culture: justice, honor, reciprocity, and harmony

North, Natasha

Author Natasha North
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Teacher
Biography

My childhood was spent traveling the United States with my family, until I found beautiful Colorado and made it my permanent home in 2007. I have been teaching in Colorado Springs for ten years, and my favorite part is when children discover (and develop a love of) the world of books. I live with my husband, daughter, dog, ducks, rabbit, and parakeets. I love animals, nature, traveling, and epic board games. My wish for the world is that everyone can find their own version of happiness and realize just how connected we all are to each other and our earth.

Education/Training
Master's Degree in Administration - Bachelor's Degree in Education
Local Authors Genres
Published Works Book Jackets
Image
Book cover for Love, a Tree by Natasha North
Organizations
Colorado Springs School District 11
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Interconnectedness - Environmental Awareness - Philosophy

Cutting, Atwood

Cutting, Atwood
Birth City
Los Altos
Birth State
CA
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Author - Photographer - Publisher - Vocalist
Biography

This local author is both Kate Peters, (raised in California and Hawaii, a solo adventurer to Fairbanks, Alaska “to see a winter,” the pioneering wife and protagonist of Sleeping Moose Saga,) as well as Atwood Cutting, the fictionalized daughter and actual author of several books, including the historical fiction series about Alaska, and photo essay books designed "for areas of waiting." After leaving Alaska, and living in the Midwest for a quarter century, Kate Peters came to the Pikes Peak region in 2012, to re-immerse herself in the arts, and wade in some streams. Since retiring and moving to Colorado Springs with Tim, her husband of 40+ years, Kate has pursued her goal of producing a tome worthy of space on public library shelves. As Atwood Cutting, she is achieving it.

Awards/Honors
Phi Beta Kappa, University of Hawaii, 1972
Phi Kappa Phi, University of Hawaii, 1967
Gold Medal Soloist, Hawaii Music Educators' Awards, 1966
Education/Training
Stanford Elementary School; Punahou School Academy; Univ. British Columbia; Univ. Hawaii, BA 1972 Performing arts (Phi Beta Kappa); Univ. Alaska Fairbanks, art and music; Trans-Alaska Pipeline Construction Camp Bullcook; Homesteader on Kenai Peninsula; Alaska Pacific Univ. MLA 1986 (cum laude) Liberal Arts, Museum Education, Aesthetic Expression.
Published Works Book Jackets
Organizations
Writers' Group at Brookdale Skyline Senior Living - Concrete Couch community art outreach
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Geared for the general public, Kate is happy to share stories and answer questions about pioneering in "bush" Alaska before there were cellphones. Topics might include: off-road transportation, construction without electricity, life without running water, rural communications, wildflowers, and the "end-of-the-road" syndrome.

Geared for high school teachers and librarians, she would also be pleased to discuss her "Bildungsroman" as a personal venture into Emerson's vision of self-reliance and Transcendentalism, the art of memoir, personifying the women's movement before there was a women's movement, and "seeing the elephant" of American pioneering lore.

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.

McCraw, Doris

Pseudonym
Angela Raines
Birth City
Carthage
Birth State
IL
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Author
Biography

Doris McCraw,writing fiction as Angela Raines, is an Author, Speaker, Historian specializing in Colorado and Women's History. Born and raised in West Central Illinois, she grew up on history. She likes to say it's in her DNA. After moving to Colorado, Doris spent many a day traveling the state, soaking up the history. She has presented at three of the Pikes Peak Library District's History Symposia. She writes non-fiction and poetry under her own name and historical fiction under her pen name. Doris as also worked as an actor along with teaching the subject. In her spare time she has taught music, speech and writing workshops.

Speaker Availability
Yes