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    Member Websites

    To have your website included on our member directory page send us an email. Please include a brief bio and your web address!  We'd love to include you in our on-line community of writers.


    • Gwynneth Anderson - is a freelance finance and technical writer who researches historic cemeteries in her free time. She writes a blog called Beyond The Ghosts, that includes musings on such topics as preservation, funky tombstone carvings and personal interviews. In 2009, Anderson was awarded a 4Culture Heritage Special Projects Grant and an Allied Arts Foundation Heritage Preservation Grant to produce a photo-documentary on Seattle’s pioneer cemeteries. However, for those who enjoy the great outdoors and pets more than historic cemeteries, her general photography can be found at StudioG Photos.


    • Noah Ashenhurst - Noah Ashenhurst is the author of COMFORT FOOD: A NOVEL (Old Meadow Publishers, LLC), winner of the 2006 Independent Publisher Book Award--Best Regional Fiction (West-Pacific). An excerpt and more information is available on his website. He grew up in Boulder, Colorado and attended Western Washington University, the University of Colorado, and earned his MFA from Rainier Writing Workshop (PLU). In his free time he enjoys being with his family and writing poetry and short stories. He is currently working on his second novel.

     

    • Patricia K. Batta, a Michigan native, has been writing since was ten years old but only began publishing after retirement.  She attended Northwestern Michigan Community College in Traverse City, received her B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico, and finished at Oberlin College in Ohio with a Master’s in Teaching.  After teaching elementary grades in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Pat moved to Seattle, Washington, where she lived for 21 years.  Her Marge Christensen Mystery Series is set in the Bellevue, Washington, area.  In addition to teaching, she has worked as an editorial assistant, a document librarian, and in records management.  After retiring and being widowed, she moved back to Traverse City, where in addition to writing she is active in her church and in the Love In the Name of Christ (INC) organization.  By the time she made that move Pat had drafted two mystery novels and was working on a third.  The first of the Marge Christensen Mystery Series, What Did You Do Before Dying?  was published in 2008.  Why Did You Die In the Park?, May 2009, is the second, and the third will arrive in 2010.  You can find information about Pat and her books at her web page, patriciabatta.com, or her blog, patriciabatta.blogspot.com. 

    • Joe Beernink - I came to the United States from Canada in 1996, and have lived in (or near) Toronto, Detroit, Denver and Seattle. I currently make my home in the Pacific Northwest, with my wife and two young children. I earn my living as an Application Architect for a small software consulting firm in Seattle. Writing has always been my hobby, but it has really picked up steam in the last year, thanks to the support of my wife, Lisa, and a long rail commute that enables me to write at least an hour a day.

      When not working, writing or playing with my kids, I like to garden, read and watch football.

       

      Some of my favorite authors include Bernard Cornwell, SM Stirling, Stephen King, Dan Simmons and John Grisham.
    • Skie Bender - The Knife Beneath My Shirt is the story of an outsider artist whose only companion is a dog.  The artist paints and self-mutilates to feel complete. She takes a job rehabilitating injured birds and identifies with one crow in particular, that has a three-pronged fishing hook lodged in his throat.  It is through the process of rehabilitating the crow that she inadvertently begins to rehabilitate herself. Though the subject matter is complex, The Knife Beneath My Shirt is a very poetic and simple story.mail@thefireants.com

     

    • Julie Bergman – is the author of Deadly Vengeance, a novel of suspense set against the backdrop of the steel industry. Her extensive background in technical writing and research adds scientific elements to powerful characters and sharp-edge suspense. Julie resides in the Seattle area with her husband, Lou. They have three grown sons who also live in the area, making the empty nest bearable. She is now a full-time author working on Death Within – the assassination of high-ranking state official and interlacing web of murder sweeping Seattle’s homeless community. Author quote: “At the age of 9, I read my first adult novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.  That book and so many others opened up new worlds for me.  My hobbies are few but, as long as I have a book in hand, I can claim to be a woman of unlimited interests.”

     

    • Pam Binder - Pam is the president of PNWA.  She found her agent at the 1999 PNWA Summer Conference and in January 2000 The Inscription was published by Pocket Books, a division of Simon and Schuster.  Pocket Books has published five of Pam's novels, including the New York Times best selling anthology, A Season In The Highlands.  Pam is an advisory board member for the Writer's Program at the University of Washington and an instructor in the University's Popular Fiction extension program.


    • Jade Blackwater - writes copy by day as the owner of the Brainripples creative consultancy.  By night, Jade is a prolific poet and fiction writer who encourages others to pursue their own, unique voice. Jade’s poetry has been published in The Monongahela Review. She can be found blogging independently at Arboreality, Brainripples, and AppleJade where she writes about ecology and conservation, art and creativity, and sustainability and gardening, respectively.  She is a Co-Manager for The Festival of the Trees blog carnival, a monthly online celebration of trees and forests.  Jade is a member of Willamette Writers, and she serves on the Board at Pennwriters, Inc., a nonprofit organization supporting writers at all levels. When Jade isn’t writing she can usually be found getting dirty in the garden or hiking the local forests.
      www.jadeleoneblackwater.com

     

    • Karen K. Brees is a freelance writer and editor. She's the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Preserving Food (Alpha Books, 2009) and The Everything Health Guide to Depression (Adams Media, 2008).
       
      Karen is co-writer of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Arthritis (Alpha Books, 2009), The Complete Idiot's Guide to Secrets of Longevity (Alpha Books, 2008), and The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Power of the Enneagram (Alpha Books, 2007). She is a contributing author to Raging Gracefully - Smart Women on Life, Love, and Coming into Your Own (Adams Media, 2006).
       
      Karen holds a Ph.D. in Adult Education and has an M.A. in history. She lives on a ranch in Idaho's west central mountains with her husband John. While she enjoyed being a Complete Idiot, she really wants to find an agent for her mystery novel. Her website is www.karenkbrees.com. Her blog is www.practicalpreserving.blogspot.com, and she tweets as FoodPreserver1.

     

    • Marilee Brothers – Marilee lives east of the Cascades in the Yakima area. After raising a family and a career in public education, she finally has time to write full time. Her first book, Castle Ladyslipper, is a medieval romance with paranormal elements and is now available on Amazon and in book stores. The Rock and Roll Queen of Bedlam, Marilee's second book, is a chick lit mystery and will be an October, 2009 release. Marilee's young adult fantasy novel, Moonstone, was published August 2008, the first in the Unbidden Magic series. It was the debut young adult (YA) fantasy for Bell Bridge, a new imprint of Belle Books. Marilee has just accepted a Bell Bridge offer for five books, which will include at least two more in the Unbidden Magic series. Marilee is a member of RWA, PNWA and a local writing group. Visit her website at www.marileebrothers.com.

     
    • Glenda Burgess – Just signed a deal with Doubleday/Broadway for publication of her manuscript, the nonfiction memoir “The Geography of Love.” Estimated release date April 2008. Presentation Kimberly Cameron and Elizabeth Evans, of Reece Halsey North Literary Agency, CA.

     

    • Ted Butler – is a past PNWA award winner and is the author of five books in his Belt Republic Series. That series is intended for teens (but has adult readers too) and is considered hard science fiction. He often speaks at schools and libraries, sharing his “personal recipe for writing a novel.” He is a retired computer consultant and loves to quote from on of his grandsons, “I never had a favorite author before but now I do.” Ted is currently on the first book in a new series.


    • Abigail Carter  - Carter wrote The Alchemy of Loss: A Young Widow’s Transformation as a form of catharsis after her husband’s death in the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. Toronto's Globe and Mail calls it “Eloquent and honest. . . Reading it is like sitting at your own kitchen table listening to Abigail Carter’s story, a story that is unnerving, uplifting and occasionally humorous. . .  remarkable.” The book was also listed it as one of The Globe’s top 100 books of 2008. A Canadian National Bestseller, The Alchemy of Loss is also published in Australia and translated into Dutch. Her work has appeared in SELF magazine, Reader’s Digest Canada, MSN.com and MORE.com. Abigail moved from New Jersey to Seattle in 2005, where she now lives with her two children. www.abigailcarter.com

    • Matt Cates: Matt Cates works and plays on beautiful McChord Air Force Base, Washington, where he's been stationed with his family for over three years.  He's lived and travelled all over the country and around the globe, and plans to retire in Europe, living in style off the royalties from his novel-in-progress, The Crimson Web of War. 
       
      A graduate of Excelsior College (B.S. in History) and National University (MFA, Creative Writing), Matt runs a few small websites in his "spare" time:
      www.catesbury.com - his main writing and artwork site
      catesbury.wordpress.com - his blog about the frustrations of novel writing
      conspiracyoftheday.wordpress.com - his latest effort, a humor startup dedicated to conspiracy theories

      Matt's publication and awards history to date:        The Crimson Web (screenplay) - Quarter-Finalist, PAGE International 2008 Screenwriting contest; "Turkish Firebrand"  (short fiction) - published in The Gnu, literary journal of National University, CA; "If Life is a Prison..." (short fiction) - published in The Gnu; "The Box" (short fiction) - selected for publication in Fiction International; "The Decisive Factor" (essay) - winner of a $2500 AF Clubs scholarship; "Frayed" & "Pa's Pause" (poems) - published online at The Houston Literary Review; "Goth Dots (Paris), Steam Grid (Rapid City), Cloud Mosque (Istanbul), Hot Range (Kabul)" (visual art) - displayed online at The Houston Literary Review. 

    • Pat Detmer- Has always written humorous essays, but was whisked away in her thirties into sales, sales management, and marketing. She came to her senses in her late forties and began writing again, and since then has been published in Seattle-area newspapers, Newsweek, and several short story anthologies. She also had a regular column in a Whidbey Island newspaper which she put into book form: "Laughing All The Way: Riding Herd on My Middle-Age Spread." She also has a blog on the EPPY – winning site: www.boomergirl.com. Pat has won numerous writing contests – usually having to do with speed and brevity – and won several speaking awards as a Toastmaster. She is also a copywriter and sales and marketing consultant.

     

    • Arlene deWinter - I was born and raised beside the woods in witchy old Massachusetts.  I was born clairvoyant, and have spent a lifetime seeing spirits, lucid dreaming, and flying about outside of my body. Though my first love has always been the arts, I was a professional psychic and healer for most of my adult life.  I am also a prize winning, published poet. I recently returned to Seattle after living for nine years in London and traveling in Europe. My work draws heavily on European settings, history, folklore, and culture.

      Over the years I have written four novels of Dark Fantasy and have outlined two more. They are all in various stages of needing more work. I sent my dark fairy tale, based on Rapunzel, entitled The Golden Stair, to DAW last year. It got through two layers of editors, then the economy crashed, and I got a rejection letter. The book needed more work anyway...

      This experience made me aware that it may be very difficult for new writers to break in at this time, so I started a blog. It is a memoir about my many amazing adventures, held together with earth magic, psychic perception, witchcraft, and the weirdest cast of characters in international settings. I wanted to gather my stories in one place and hoped to make the blog a platform for publication of my writing. It has evolved into an Occult blog with essays, reviews, and interviews in addition to my life stories. Lately, I am trying to master podcasting for audio interviews.

      This blog is at www.winterspells.com -- Winterspells: Life on the Magical Path, Legacy of the Witch Blood.

      Wanting to refine my fiction, I recently started another blog at www.gothicfaerytales.com: Gothic Faery Tales: For the Dark Side of Faery Tales. I am posting essays, reprints of old dark faery tales, newer ones, and my own short stories. I hope to print and reprint works from others, as well as art and poetry. I really hope to interview Tanith Lee.

      That's my nutshell. Please visit my blogs and if anyone writes in the Dark Fantasy genre, or likes to write essays, or reviews, and can afford to publish on a blog, I would be happy to take a look.
      Cheers


    • Elizabeth Dost - Elizabeth Dost is the translator and editor of Home Alone in America, a remarkable collection of correspondence which tells the story of a young boy sent alone to America from Berlin shortly after the end of World War II.  The edited writings that comprise this book were written over a nine-year period of separation from 1946 to 1955 and include reciprocal letters exchanged by the young immigrant in the United States and his mother and brother in Berlin.  When Mrs. Dost discovered these letters she was excited by their riveting story and recognized their value to students as a unique primary source that could bring history to life.  Home Alone in America was published in 2005 by Heritage Books in Westminster, Maryland.  Mrs. Dost is a former newspaper writer and editor.

     

    • Christine Echeverria Bender - Christine Echeverria Bender has been awarded a project grant by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Idaho Commission on the Arts to assist in the research of her next historical novel, which will tell the story of the first Basque whalers to set foot in North America.  Preliminary research indicates that the Basques may have arrived as early as 1372, and Christine will explore this possibility and other recent finds when she travels this summer to Red Bay, Labrador to visit the site where four ancient but well-preserved whaling galleons have been found just offshore.  She will also journey to Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick to study right whales, the same whales hunted in small boats before the dawn of the Renaissance.  For more information about Ms. Bender and her writing, please visit her website.
     
    • Sheri Fresonke Harper - a science fiction writer, poet, wife, and former systems analyst. She's written two science fiction novels, short stories, articles and two poetry chapbooks. Her stories and poems have most recently appeared in Aoife's Kiss, Tabloid Purposes IV; Kaleidoscope; Dragons, Knights and Angels; Whispering Spirits; Kaleidoscope, Wild Violet, Yellow Mama; and Kinships.


    • Joe Follansbee – Joe would like to announce the availability of my new non-fiction book, Shipbuilders, Sea Captains, and Fishermen: The Story of the Schooner Wawona. The 230-page trade paperback details the fascinating, 109-year history of the endangered schooner Wawona, now berthed at South Lake Union Park in Seattle. Wawona is an official city and state landmark, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Wawona is the sister ship to the newly restored C.A. Thayer, located at the San Francisco National Maritime Historical Park. Complete with detailed illustrations, crew lists from the 1930s, 25 historical photos, and compelling stories of life on board, Shipbuilders, Sea Captains, and Fishermen recreates a world that ended with the last sailing ships. I am an award-winning Seattle writer who has contributed to Maritime Life & Traditions, The Seattle Times, Seattle Magazine, Pacific Northwest Quarterly, The Mariner’s Mirror, and Gastronomica. I am also the author of three technology books. More information is at www.wawonabook.com. I can be contacted at joef@speakeasy.net.

     

    • Milton Ghivizzani - Read about Milton's debut mystery novel, Employee of the Year. A corrupt police detective is killed making love to a married woman in her home. Many people have reasons to celebrate the detective's death. But the woman's husband is accused and contacts his old friend, attorney Joe Bari, to defend him. A seeming slam-dunk case takes on labyrinthine dimensions that lead to murder and conspiracy, and forces Joe into the ultimate test of friendship and personal ethics. Bari enlists the aid of his brilliant partner and his ace investigator-- then Bari pulls out all the stops.

     

    • Theodore ("Ted") D. Henkle is a retired USAF TACP (Tactical Air Control Party) member and is now working for Washington State Emergency Management as an Emergency Operations Officer. When he's not at his day (night & weekend) job, he spends his free time working out, playing wargames (table-top strategy games), and writing.  Ted utilizes his writing skills to promote the wargaming hobby and to improve the public's knowledge of military history.  His articles have appeared in Miniature Wargames (in the UK) and the Historical Miniature Gamer (USA) magazines and local gaming newsletters.  In 2008 he launched his gaming & writing blog Stern RakeStudio, http://sternrakestudio.blogspot.com/  which is described as "a blog about wargaming, writing and other wackiness."  Ted started making movies of his table-top adventures and posting them on You Tube. 

     

    • William Hood – his newest book, The Winding Road, will be available this summer from Llumina Press.  It is a true story about the life of a Korean neighbor of mine -- his boyhood in old Korea, his experiences in the Korean War, from refugee to spy to POW, and his life afterward as a fireman before coming to this country. A little spinout from the book has brought about a different kind of publishing, as I began producing an ancient, Korean family game, the game of Yut Nori, which I am selling myself and through Amazon.

     

    • David D. Horowitz founded and manages Rose Alley Press. He earned bachelor's degrees in philosophy and English from the University of Washington and a master's degree in English from Vanderbilt University. In 2007 he edited and published Limbs of the Pine, Peaks of the Range, an anthology of contemporary poetry of the Pacific Northwest. His own most recent poetry collections, all from Rose Alley Press, are Wildfire, Candleflame; Resin from the Rain; and Streetlamp, Treetop, Star. Many of his poems are published in fine literary journals, such as Candelabrum and The Lyric, and he gives frequent readings in and around Seattle, where he lives. David won the 2005 PoetsWest Achievement Award. Rose Alley Press was founded in 1995 by Seattle poet David D. Horowitz. David still manages the company, which primarily publishes books featuring rhymed metrical poetry and an annually updated booklet about writing and publishing. David has published work by some of the Puget Sound area's finest poets, including William Dunlop, Victoria Ford, Donald Kentop, Douglas Schuder, Michael Spence, and Joannie Kervran Stangeland. In 2007 David published Limbs of the Pine, Peaks of the Range, which features poetry by twenty-six Northwest poets. He also sponsors numerous readings around the Puget Sound region and exhibits Rose Alley Press books at book fairs around North America. For more information, visit www.rosealleypress.com.

     

    • Steven Houchin - is the author of two unpublished novels. The first, entitled Linear Descent, is a suspense novel set in 2005 with chapter flashbacks to the 1800's. The second, entitled Double Fire, won the 2007 Pacific Northwest Writers Association's Zola Award in the Mystery/Thriller category. It is an historical suspense novel set in the 1800's. Steven is also editor of Weekly Review - a newsletter for the Lake Forest Park Writers Workshop critique group. When not writing, Steven works as a freelance software developer and is the owner of Forest Park Lab, a Seattle-area software consulting company.