Supernatural/Paranormal

Hayden, Laura

Pseudonym
Elle Vaughn
Birth City
Birmingham
Birth State
AL
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Author and bookseller
Biography

Brought to the Springs twice thanks to the Air Force, Laura and her family returned for a third time for keeps. Originally from Alabama, she's the author of fourteen novels, and eight short stories/novellas. She also writes as "Elle Vaughn" in collaboration with Yvonne Jocks and Evelyn Vaughn. In addition, she's the owner of Author, Author! and supplies authors with their own books at deep discounts. 

Awards/Honors
Golden Heart Winner, 1993
Education/Training
BS in Industrial Engineering, University of Alabama
Organizations
* Past President and Founder of Pikes Peak Writers
* Ten-time director of the Pikes Peak Writers Conference
* Member, Mystery Writers of America
* Member, Novelists Inc.
* Member and faculty, Superstars Writing Seminars
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
* Creativity: Thinking Outside of the Box
* The Subliminal Writer: Using music to influence your writing
* Reverse Engineering your Suspense/Mystery Plot

Kunkel, Donna

Author Donna Kunkel
Birth City
Cincinnati
Birth State
OH
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Writer
Biography

Donna Kunkel is a paranormal romance author. Within the pages of her tales, you can visit with witches, wizards, shape-shifters, and other fantasy creatures. Figurines of the magic realm surround her computer for inspiration. She lives at the edge of the Colorado mountains with her husband of many years and her two dogs. When not writing, you can find her browsing the fabric shops for her next quilt, stitching Japanese embroidery, or curled up with a good book. She enjoys spending time in the mountains, at Lake Tahoe, or relaxing on a beach in Hawaii.

Education/Training
BSME - MSIE - MSE
Local Authors Genres
Published Works Book Jackets
Image
Cover of Australia Burns: Show Australia Some Love
Image
Cover of Magic in the Mountains by Donna Kunkel
Image
Cover of Magical Pistachio Macarons by Donna Kunkel
Organizations
Romance Writers of America - Pikes Peak Writers
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Not giving up when faced with rejections

Daniels, Avery

Daniels, Avery
Pseudonym
C.G. Abbot
Birth City
Colorado Springs
Birth State
CO
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Biography

Avery Daniels was born and raised in Colorado Springs, graduated from college with a degree in business administration and has worked in fortune 500 companies and the Department of Defense her entire life. Her most eventful job was apartment management for 352 units. She still resides in Colorado with two brother black cats as her spirited companions. She volunteers for a local cat shelter, enjoys scrapbooking and card making, photography, and painting in watercolor and acrylic. She inherited a love for reading from her mother and grandmother and grew up talking about books at the dinner table.

Education/Training
BSBA University of Phoenix
Published Works Book Jackets
Image
Iced
Image
Nailed
Image
Spiked
Image
Arrowed
Image
First Bite
Image
The Society
Organizations
Sisters in Crime - Women Fiction Writers of America
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Writing murder mysteries

Lawrence, Shannon

Author Shannon Lawrence
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Biography

I'm a writer, reader, blogger, podcaster, hiker, amateur photographer, wife, mom, fan of frights and flights of fantasy, and more.

My guilty pleasures include cheesy horror comedies, Garden of the Gods, true crime podcasts, anything clown related, unsolved mysteries, sarcasm, the Wild West, and chocolate. Lots of chocolate. Specifically frozen chocolate in ice cream form, but I'm not picky.

Published Works Book Jackets
Image
Cover image of Blue Sludge Blues & Other Abominations: A Collection of Short Stories by Shannon Lawrence
Image
Cover image of Bruised Souls & Other Torments: Short Stories by Shannon Lawrence
Image
Cover image of The Business of Short Stories: Writing, Submitting, Publishing, Marketing by Shannon Lawrence
Image
Cover image of Happy Ghoulidays: Holiday Horror Short Stories by Shannon Lawrence
Organizations
Horror Writers Association, Colorado Authors League, Pikes Peak Writers, and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
I do workshops on short stories, business tips for writers, the building blocks of horror, critique groups, building suspense, self-publishing, and using the senses in writing.

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

Abraham, S. J.

Birth Year (-Died Year)
1978
Birth City
El Paso
Birth State
TX
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Writer - Stay at home father
Biography

As a child raised in the Southwest United States on the border of one of the largest oil fields in the country, S. J. Abraham was a lonely nerd. With no interest in rodeo or baseball, he spent his time reading. His heroes were fictional characters and great novelists. It wasn’t long before he started scratching out his own stories. In recent years he has embraced his geekiness and has set to work turning his writing hobby into a career as a novelist. While he originally wrote for adults, he has since realized he is still fifteen at heart, so he now focuses on writing for young adults. S. J. lives in the beautiful city of Colorado Springs, where all the exciting outdoor activities are wasted on him, though the ever-changing views fire his creativity like few things can. He spends the shreds of his free time playing with his wife, children, brothers, sisters, friends, nephews, and little nieces.

Education/Training
Bachelor of Arts, Multimedia Production - Associate of Arts, English and Literature - Associate of Science, Media Production
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Writing art and craft - Technology - Video production - Web design - Graphic design - Indie press

Hall, Elizabeth

Birth Year (-Died Year)
1958
Birth City
San Jose
Birth State
CA
Current Location
Kingston, WA
Occupation(s)
Author
Biography

I spent most of my life in Colorado, beginning in 1962, and only moving away in 2014. My book Miramont's Ghost is set at Miramont Castle in Manitou Springs, and though fiction, it includes local history and places. I spent several months researching the book, in both Colorado and New Mexico, and included much of the material that I found.

Education/Training
Master of Arts in Education, Adams State University, Alamosa, CO
Published Works Book Jackets
Speaker Availability
Yes

Stetler, Tena

Stetler, Tena
Birth Year (-Died Year)
1954
Birth City
Onawa
Birth State
IA
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Author
Biography

Tena Stetler is a paranormal romance and cozy mystery author with an over-active imagination. The second book in her Demon’s Witch series, A Warlock’s Secrets, comes out spring of 2017. Her recent novels are A Demon’s Witch, Charm Me, A Witch’s Journey, and sequel A Witch’s Holiday Wedding. She wrote her first vampire romance at the age of twelve, to the chagrin of her mother and the delight of her friends. Colorado is home; shared with her husband, a brilliant Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a forty-year-old box turtle. Any winter evening, you can find her curled up in front of a crackling fire with a good book, a mug of hot chocolate and a big bowl of popcorn.

Education/Training
Paralegal degree, Creative Writing and Broadcast Journalism, Pikes Peak Community College - Workshops presented by Romance Writers of America, Pikes Peak Writers, and Pikes Peak Library District
Local Authors Genres
Published Works Book Jackets
Organizations
Romance Writers of America - Pikes Peak Writers
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Paralegal - Craft of Writing - Attractions of the Colorado Front Range - Travel in an RV

Fristoe, Angela

Occupation(s)
Young adult author and elementary educator
Biography

Angela was born and raised on the Canadian prairies. She spent her summer days running down the coulis listening to the gentle rattle of the not-so-friendly snakes and her winters trekking through the snow to go tobogganing at the local park. As a child, she had grand aspirations of becoming the next Jane Goodall or Dian Fossey and amassed a huge collection of stuffed monkeys and gorillas until she realized that nature just wasn't her thing, particularly in light of her aversion to insects and bugs.

She decided kids were close enough to monkeys that teaching was the next best thing. After earning her her degree from the University of Alberta, she spent the next decade living and working across the United States, before home sickness kicked in and she returned to Canada.

Angela continues to immerse herself in the book world. When not teaching, she is writing angst-filled stories for teens, and steamy romances for adults. She has also merged her love of art with her love of books to develop Covered Creatively, her book cover design business.

Education/Training
Bachelor of Education Degree, University of Alberta
Published Works Book Jackets
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Writing for young adults