Teen Fiction

Jodi Cox is an American dieselpunk author born on April 10, 1979 in Union City, Indiana. She graduated from Simon Kenton High School in 1997. Later she went on to graduate with a BFA from the College of Mount Saint Joseph, now known as the University of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio. After college, Jodi started writing for Citybeat magazine. Later she went on to become a pioneer in internet graphics and website development. After spending nearly ten years writing for everything from tax websites to poetry, Jodi began developing the world of the Nether After, unbeknownst to her that steampunk and dieselpunk was turning into a literary genre. Jodi enjoys all things speculative fiction, but has a pension for the weird and unusual. She describes herself as a comic book snob. She is often found with a stack of Japanese and American graphic novels in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. She enjoys drawing and painting, as well as writing. Her hours not spent on writing are devoted to geeking out over new computer hardware, or the latest video games. She loves ripping into electronics to see how they work, as well as cooking and developing new recipes. As a writer Jodi has been writing steampunk, dieselpunk, and fantasy of all types. She has even dipped her toe into science fiction.

Sandhya Menon is the author of the YA rom-com When Dimple Met Rishi (Simon and Schuster, May 2017), which has been hailed by Bustle magazine as "the arranged marriage YA rom-com we've been waiting for." She was born and raised in India on a steady diet of Bollywood movies and street food. She pretty much blames this upbringing for her obsession with happily-ever-afters, bad dance moves, and pani puri. Sandhya currently lives just outside Colorado Springs, where she’s on a mission to (gently) coerce her husband, son, and daughter to watch all 3,220 Bollywood movies she claims as her favorite.

Bob and Kathy Wernly write as a team under the penname of Kathy Clark for our adult romantic suspense novels and Bob Kat for our YA romance/mystery/time travel series (Timeshifters). We lived in Colorado since 1985 and in Colorado Springs for a year and a half. Several of our series are set in Colorado, including Denver Heroes, and an upcoming series set in Cripple Creek called Breathless. One of our YA novels (Forever Love) is a time travel ghost story set at the Stanley Hotel the year it opened in 1911. We have given workshops and speeches about writing and creativity all over the U.S. Kathy is a past vice-president of Romance Writers of America and a co-founder of Colorado Romance Writers.

Ashlee Cowles grew up an Army "brat" and has lived in many places, but her earliest memories are of Pikes Peak and she always seems to find her way back to Colorado Springs. She teaches literature/writing at an online high school, and philosophy at Pikes Peak Community College. Her debut Young Adult novel, Beneath Wandering Stars (Merit Press, August 2016), incorporates her love of international travel and her lifelong connection to the military community. Learn more at her website, www.ashleecowles.com.

Pam McCutcheon is the author of romantic comedy, paranormal romance, fantasy short stories, and how-to books for writers under her own name, and the Demon Underground YA urban fantasy series under the name Parker Blue. After many years of working for the military as enlisted, officer, and civil service successively, she left her industrial engineering and is now working full-time as a writer, editor, speaker, and as the “Parker” half of Parker Hayden Media, an assisted self-publishing business. She lives in Colorado Springs with her rescue dogs and can be found on the ’net at pammc.com or parkerblue.net.

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.

I have lived in Colorado Springs for over twelve years after living in the South Pacific as well as Mongolia in Central Asia - and I love it here! The mountains and nature of this region have influenced my writing and inspire me.

​​Cheri Gillard has been writing, editing, and publishing for over twenty-five years. As a hybrid writer and editor, she has worked for an international print magazine, written freelance for major publishing companies with projects published worldwide, and published both her own and clients’ Indie novels and nonfiction books. Offering everything from editing to formatting, securing quality graphic design, marketing with media coverage and successful book launches, she has helped authors achieve their aspirations to release the books of their dreams.

Isabel M. Peña was born and raised in Washington Heights, NYC to Dominican parents. She is currently a single mother of two wonderful boys and is residing in the majestic state of Colorado. She is a first time author who wishes to teach our youth that life is about choices, positive attitude, and love

Sandra Knauf was born in California and spent most of her childhood in Missouri. She moved to Colorado when she was a teenager and has lived there ever since. She is the publisher and editor of Greenwoman Magazine, a garden writing magazine, which she started in 2010. Her work has appeared in The Denver Post, GreenPrints, Colorado Gardener, and other publications, and she has been a guest commentator on KRCC's "Western Skies" radio show. (KRCC is NPR's southern Colorado affiliate station.) Zera and the Green Man is her first novel. She lives in Colorado Springs with her family, pets, and a big garden.