Linda Townsdin writes the Spirit Lake Mystery series inspired by her childhood in northern Minnesota—called “complex murder mysteries with bone-chilling thrills and a bit of romance.” The fifth book in her series will be published in 2024. Her short fiction has been published in several anthologies. Most recently, her short story Hyde and Seek was selected for SinC NorCal’s Invasive Species 2024 Anthology. Re-entry was selected for the 2020 Bouchercon Anthology, California Schemin’ and received an honorable mention in the 2021 Best American Mystery and Suspense anthology. She is a member California Writers Club and Sisters in Crime—NorCal and Sacramento Chapters. She lives in Sacramento, adores her family, friends, and pets and believes the true measure of success in life is your joy.

http://lindatownsdin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/LindaTownsdinAuthor

Carol Menaker is a writer living in the Sierra Foothills in Northern California, where she retired after a career writing and managing communications for universities and nonprofits. She was raised in a Jewish family in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She holds a BA in theatre arts/acting from Pennsylvania State University and an MS in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her memoir has been recognized as a finalist by the American Bookfest Award and the North Street Book Prize. 

Nancy writes historical fiction and has published a well-received middle-grade/young adult book, All We Left Behind: Virginia Reed and the Donner Party. She finds extensive research, such as following the Donner Party’s route by automobile from Independence, Missouri to Sutter’s Fort (followingthedonnerparty.com) to be one of the most rewarding aspects of writing. She is currently writing a young adult historical novel about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, The Girl on Valencia Street. Nancy grew up in Watsonville, earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from San Jose State University, and worked as both a marketing communications writer and a technical writer in the Bay Area for several years before moving to the Sacramento area. She is also a member of Women on Writing and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Lynda Smith Hoggan is Professor Emeritus of health and human sexuality at Mt. San Antonio College in Southern California. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Westwind UCLA Journal of the Arts, the anthology Art in the Time of Unbearable Crisis, and more. Her first book is Our Song: a Memoir of Love and Race. She blogs at her website https://www.lyndasmithhoggan.com.

Retired from a career as an attorney and law school lecturer, Tim Schooley is a novelist, writing historical fiction. His novel, The Wool Translator, won the University of Pacific Creative Writing Conference’s Jameson Award and was shortlisted for the 2021 Chaucer Book award. Tim’s forthcoming novel, The Circus of the Vanishing Elephant, is based (very loosely) on his employment many years ago as a clown with Ringling Bros., and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Tim lives with his wife in Fair Oaks. His website: www.timschooley.com