Teen Fiction

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

Susan Miura is an author, editor, and speaker as well as a former Chicago-area journalist and public relations professional. She believes book characters should reflect the world in which we live, and therefore includes characters of various ethnicities, abilities, and cultures in her novels. Her award-winning young adult books are clean fiction with suspense, danger, and touches of romance and humor. Susan also writes inspirational women’s fiction and has one children’s poetry book that features several of her wildlife photos. Hobbies include nature photography, hiking, baking, and reading. Susan recently moved to Colorado Springs from a Chicago suburb and loves the sunshine, mountains, and hiking opportunities.

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)

Herbert, Amber

Herbert, Amber
Birth Year (-Died Year)
1993
Birth City
Anaheim
Birth State
CA
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Writer - editor
Biography

Amber Herbert is a published author/poet living in Colorado Springs with her husband and two sons. She has a BA in English Literature and has worked as a freelance editor since 2018. She writes high fantasy, horror, science fiction, and YA and New Adult fiction. Lipstick Covered Magnet is her first novel.

Education/Training
BA in English Literature - developmental and copy editor since 2018 - judge for Colorado Book Awards and the Colorado Gold contest
Published Works Book Jackets
Image
Book cover for Lipstick Covered Magnet by Amber Herbert
Organizations
Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
I am more than happy to speak about writing, editing, or critiquing fiction.

McWilliams, Kelly

Birth City
Rockville
Birth State
MD
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Author
Biography

Kelly is a mixed-race writer who has always gravitated towards stories about crossing boundaries and forging new identities. Her upcoming young-adult novel, Agnes at the End of the World (Little, Brown, Young Readers, 2020), benefited from a We Need Diverse Books mentorship. Kelly has previously worked as a staff writer for Romper, covering issues important to women and families. When she's not writing, she's reading, cooking (with mixed results), or hiking in the gorgeous Colorado mountains. She lives in Colorado Springs with her partner and young daughter.

Awards/Honors
DOORMAT was a Junior Library Guild selection
Education/Training
Bachelor of Arts, English, Brown University, 2010 - Walnut Hill School for the Arts High School, 2006
Local Authors Genres
Published Works Book Jackets
Organizations
Rocky Mountain Chapter Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
The Craft of Writing (young adult, science fiction; outlining) - The role of faith and prayer in my book and in coming-of-age literature - Spirituality and feminism in the science fiction tradition - As a Southwest native, growing up with the legacy Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS)(the polygamist cult whose crimes inspired the novel) - Writing apocalyptic fiction for a generation raised in the shadow of global warming - The impact of mainstream patriarchy on girls growing up in our society (and how feminist narratives can help make a better world) - How AGNES AT THE END OF THE WORLD benefited from a We Need Diverse Books mentorship (and how her biracial identity manifested in this story about forging your own identity from the ashes of injustice)

Berge, Bekah

Author Bekah Berge
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Biography

Bekah Berge fell in love with all things mystical at a young age. Her love of stories led to her writing her first book in her early twenties, and she's never looked back since. When not scribbling down fantastical tales, she enjoys traveling, baking, hiking in the nearby mountains, and brewing the perfect cup of tea.

Local Authors Genres
Published Works Book Jackets
Speaker Availability
No

Martinez, Amaya

Birth City
Upland
Birth State
CA
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Student
Biography

Inspired by her grandfather who is a published author, Amaya wrote her first book at the age of 12 and published it at the age of 13. Amaya is committed to her craft and writes on a daily basis. She originally started writing her first book on a manual typewriter. She loves to share her love of writing with other people and has been complimented on her use of dialogue at such a young age.

Local Authors Genres
Published Works Book Jackets
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Being a teen novelist

Maschger, Eileen

Maschger, Eileen
Birth City
Rome
Birth State
NY
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Biography

Eileen moved to the Colorado Springs area with her family when she was 8 years old. Although she had lived in three different homes before then, Colorado Springs is where she grew up and has her most fondest memories. After becoming an Army wife she has lived on the west coast, the east, and on the Gulf Coast as well. But now he is back in Colorado, raising her own family in her hometown. She is inspired every day by her children and various friendly faces that help her to imagine a world of stories. She has a newfound love of writing to help bring these stories to life for her young readers in age and in heart.

Education/Training
Associate degree, Psychology, Pikes Peak Community College
Local Authors Genres
Published Works Book Jackets
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Inspiration for Youth confidence and pursuing their dreams - Self-confidence - Encouraging individual creativity to shine

DeHerrera, Holly

DeHerrera, Holly
Birth City
Mountainhome
Birth State
ID
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Writer - Author - Teacher
Biography

Holly is a military-brat-who-never-lived-anyplace-for-very-long turned local after marrying her born-and-raised-in-Colorado-Springs husband. Together they are raising, home schooling and trying to keep alive five kids. Culture shock was Holly’s childhood, moving from Taiwan to Norway to England to Turkey to Germany and back to Turkey again, establishing in her a love for travel and for different people and for outdoor cafes and castles sitting in the middle of the sea. Holly is a writer, her stories sprouting directly out of her life experiences, giving voice to a young Old Order Mennonite girl solving mysteries in the middle of Indiana farmland and a young woman returning to Turkey to find closure from her past. Holly currently writes life stories for Good Catch Publishing and has one novel out, The Orphan Maker's Sin, with several books coming out this year through Blackside Publishing.

Awards/Honors
2018 - Author of the Year, Good Catch Publishing
Education/Training
Bachelor of Arts degree, English Education
Local Authors Genres
Published Works Book Jackets
Organizations
Pikes Peak Writers
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Creative writing topics (description, setting, turning points, characterization, voice), multi-genre, especially for tweens/teens - Creating stories from real life, drawing inspiration from your ordinary

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

Manivong, Tai

Author Tai Manivong
Birth City
Colorado Springs
Birth State
CO
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Occupation(s)
Author and Voiceover Actor
Biography

Fantasy author Tai Manivong was inspired to write a children’s novel while she was a third grade teacher, six years ago. But the seed was planted well before when, as a teenager in high school, a class assignment resulted in her first “book,” a story about a girl on a quest in a magical land.
Tai believes a great book is one with believable characters that readers can relate to. With many of her own books’ characters on a journey of self-discovery and finding out where they fit in the world, she hopes her young readers come away from her fantasy novels with a self-acceptance that stays with them long after the book is closed.

When she isn’t writing or being creative, Tai records audiobooks and enjoys spending time with her daughters. They live in Colorado along with their three dogs and two horses. 

Education/Training
Master of Arts in Teaching - Master of Arts in Psychology
Local Authors Genres
Published Works Book Jackets
Image
Book cover for Crimson (book 1 of The Dragon Keeper Chronicles) by Tai Manivong
Image
Book cover for Azuran (book 2 of The Dragon Keeper Chronicles) by Tai Manivong
Image
Book cover for Chalcedony (book 3 of The Dragon Keeper Chronicles) by Tai Manivong
Image
Book cover for Onixian (book 4 of The Dragon Keeper Chronicles) by Tai Manivong
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
I can speak about world building, character inspiration, my journey self publishing, formatting novels or education topics.

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