Ruthie-Marie Beckwith, Ph.D., has labored for the past twenty years seeking to liberate individuals with disabilities from oppressive and death-making institutions. Following graduation from the prestigious George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, she has worked as a disability rights activist throughout the country, promoting the dignity and worth of all people, regardless of their disability. Over 1,000 people in Tennessee and elsewhere owe new lives in community settings due to the efforts of those she has organized and supported. She resides in Murfreesboro, TN.

Harlen Campbell, a writer of mystery/suspense novels, lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His first novel, MONKEY ON A CHAIN, was released by Doubleday in 1993. In addition to favorable reviews (FIRSTS magazine recommended the book as a collectable), MONKEY was an alternate selection of the Book of the Month Club. The book is the first of a series built around the character of Rainbow Porter, who has been described as a "throwback to the outlaw/heroes of the old west."

Campbell's interests lie in the nature of the individual's relationships to society and to the world, but he is willing to apologize if they show up in his writing. In fact, he believes that a writer's primary obligation is to entertain, and that he should only be allowed to fool around with ideas if his readers don't notice what he's up to.

Although he admits to no hobbies and energetically avoids most forms of exercise, Campbell enjoys an occasional solitary walk. In general, he prefers beaches to mountains, warm to cold, indolence to industry.

Lloyd Olivia Davis is a self-confessed "reformed Californian," whose award-winning column, "Uppity Woman," appeared regularly in THE TOPEKA CAPITAL-JOURNAL and in other publications. She lives with her husband and various invited and uninvited guests in Lenexa, Kansas, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she reads, writes, and continues to look at the world from beneath a cocked (and formerly be-ringed) eyebrow.

Judith Van Gieson is the author of a children’s book, a collection of poetry and short stories, and thirteen mysteries. Her short stories have appeared in several mystery anthologies. In the first mystery series eight books, featuring female Albuquerque attorney/sleuth Neil Hamel, were published by HarperCollins. Neil’s work often involved environmental issues including endangered species and wildfires. Books in this series were published in England, Japan and Germany. It was optioned by CBS. The Lies That Bind was a finalist for the Shamus Award for best detective novel. The series won the Spirit of Magnifico Literary Award.

There are five books in the second series with heroine Claire Reynier published in paperback by Signet, in hardcover by University of New Mexico Press and in a large print edition by Thorndike. Claire works as an archivist and librarian at the Center for Southwest Research at UNM. This series involves rare artifacts and New Mexico history. The Stolen Blue was a finalist for the Reviewer’s Choice Award. The Shadow of Venus was a finalist for the Barry Award and won the Zia Award given by New Mexico Press Women for Best Work of Fiction by a New Mexico woman.

Both series have been regional and IMBA (Independent Mystery Booksellers Association) bestsellers.

Judith lives in Albuquerque’s North Valley and is currently working on a travel memoir.

Marsha Keener is an art therapist in private practice in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Marsha's brightly colored and artfully illustrated vignettes humorously follow our heroine, Viti Le Vu, through her derailed attempts to navigate the relentless pall of the belly fat dilemma.

Marsha Keener is an art therapist in private practice in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Violeta Parra's story captivated Karen Kerschen when she was caught in the Chilean coup d'etat, September 11, 1973, and forced to flee. A New Yorker by birth, Kerschen's lifelong interest in the threads of folkloric culture date back to childhood stories of her family's emigration from Eastern Europe. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in NYC and worked in both humanities and technology. Kerschen now lives with her husband in rural northern New Mexico.

Gary McKee divides his time between New Mexico and the Southeast. A lawyer, who for many years limited his practice to county law, McKee is also a commercial mediator. He developed the Bob McGregor Mystery series while co-authoring and editing legal manuals for county officials. Soon to be published is the second book in the series, Tomato Fog, a Bob McGregor Mystery. McKee is currently working on Calvin House - Book One, an historical novel authored by Bob McGregor about the infamous founding of Calvin County by the notorious Sheriff Clayton Calvin.

Born in a French nunnery in China, Stephen Scott was raised on the northwest frontier of India and educated (more or less) in England. Then he began his checkered career: selling encyclopedias, building 50 foot metal trees for London exhibitions, landscaping (poaching water plants from an absent Scottish laird to sell in London), and various tent shows. Never in prison. Lured abroad by cheap airfares to the US, he was persuaded to overstay his visa by a designing woman and apprehended by Texas Rangers. After marrying the designing woman in a Scottish fishing village in a howling gale, he returned to New Mexico, where he continues to write in a tower by the Rio Grande.