Bios

Aspiring authors John, Jenn, Candi and Marie-Claude all met while critiquing each others work on the online critique group of the Romance Writer Community run by Charlotte Dillon. Their journey started together as they became fascinated by their stories of magic, pirates, cowboys and more. They’ve become fast friends as they continue to critique each other, share writing tricks and provide each other with tremendous support. The journey to publication is a long and difficult one and they’ve decided to do it together.

Jenn Bray-Weber

Aspiring Author – Historical/Paranormal/Contemporary

Born and raised in the great state of Texas just outside of Houston, I grew up with wide open spaces and free reign to express myself. Always a “good girl”, I had a penchant for trouble. With that comes plenty of entertaining tales and a brassy attitude.

After high school. I received a degree in Music & Video Business. Locally, I managed rock bands, booked clubs, wrote reviews for a music rag, ran lights and video for a cable show, and worked promotions for various organizations. Meantime, I carried on a real (i.e. “paying”) job. I gave my lifeblood in the aftermarket car industry for 10 years conducting every aspect of customer service and logistics known to man.

A husband, daughter, 3 cats and 2 tattoos later, I went back to school – a career student, of sorts, earning another degree. Somewhere in my pursuit of a Masters in history, I took a creative writing course. It was a thrill to write and share my stories, which often were darker than a cemetery at midnight. My professor suggested I pursue writing a novel. I don’t imagine he meant for me to quit school, but I did just that.

I seriously began writing in January 2007, finishing my first manuscript 7 months later. So what has happened between then and now? For one, I’ve hooked up with these three crazy compadres. I’ll share with you here my hair-raising take of this roller coaster ride to publication. Get in, buckle up and please keep your hands inside the car at all times.

You can contact me at:  jenn@jbrayweber.com

 

 

Marie-Claude Bourque

Aspiring author – paranormal romance/urban fantasy

A former oceanographer and fitness professional, I am now a stay-at-home mom to my two beautiful boys. Originally from Montreal, I immigrated to the US in my thirties, first living in Rhode Island, then recently settling in the Pacific Northwest.

I was raised with French legends, told and sung by my late father, traditional stories that I now sing to my sons at bedtime. The sadness I feel over the fate of tragic lovers from these ancient legends and my interest in Celtic mythology have inspired me to use paranormal elements in my writing to reunite these torn couples in happy-ever-after endings.

 

 

John Roundtree

Aspiring Author – Paranormal / love stories

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one that is most adaptable to change.” — Charles Robert Darwin

That’s just great, Charlie! Neither the smartest nor the strongest — my complete bio in only six words. What credibility is this for writing believable heroes or heroines?

A native of New Orleans, born to parents with an unwonted sense of adventure, I was dragged, at a youthful age, from the city’s garden district and raised in Louisiana’s version of a Darwinian primordial soup – an exotic wilderness of bayou wetlands. Soon enough, I’d learned to fight or outrun nearly anything that slithered, crawled, or walked. But to quench a parent’s never ending thirst for amusement, I was later compelled, in adolescence, to sheathe the knife and discover other worlds beyond this primitive existence.

Off to college with backpack and motorcycle, completely out of my element and totally unprepared, I’d encountered a creature more formidable, more dangerous than any I’d ever wrestled – woman. And wrestle, we did! At every opportunity. Regretfully, I could not conquer this crafty prey, though I confess the entwined bliss of mind and body was undeniable. So before graduation, we chose to wed in the university’s chapel.

Of course there were sequent achievements along the way – a couple of business degrees with an accompanying USAF commission as an officer (certainly, no gentleman). And in the true spirit of Darwinian evolution, I’d somehow crawled out of the turbid broth of a Louisiana swamp and reached my own evolutionary pinnacle — Top Gun, a modern-day fighter pilot. Ahh…the difference between men and boys, measured by the price of their toys.

A few years, two awesome kids, and still in the company of the woman who remains a rather pleasurable wrestle, I’d somehow found my way back to New Orleans. Oh, I did indeed love doing it with more thrust than most any man alive, feeling that mighty cannon between my thighs, grinding off round after round with wanton abandon (I’m talking about flying fighters – just so there’s no confusion). But I’ve since set aside these things to become a full time airline pilot.

And now, along with these three talented and beautiful women you see above and below, I’m exploring a new challenge – writing. …It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, not even the most intelligent; it’s those most adaptable to change. Okay, Charlie…let’s see where this new evolutionary leap takes us.

You can contact me at: Roundtree@Earthlink.net

 

Candace Wall/Danci Llaw

Aspiring author – Contemporary/Historical/Erotic

VOTE for STAY at www.textnovel.com

Living on the beautiful coast of Maine with my wonderful husband, four great kids and a menagerie of four legged critters, I am a part time stay at home mom, part time writer, subsitute teacher and animal control officer. I grew up all over the world as an Army brat, and finally settled in Maine when I was nineteen. That was sevente… well, let’s just say it was a long time ago, and I still love the beauty of the coast. Though the winters could be a touch less brutal.

Yep, my plate’s pretty full, but there is one undeniable passion that I have. One thing that will not let me ignore it for long. And that’s writing. After years of putting off my dream of becoming an author, in Feb. 2008, I finally made the time to sit down, do some research and start to learn what I needed to know to get published. Boy was that a shock. Didn’t you just have to sit down and write the book? Yeah, okay.

Thank goodness for this great crew who keep my head tightly screwed on, and my lines neatly corrected. With their wonderful support and incredible wealth of knowledge, I have started the journay towards publication. Visit often for great info, the funny stuff we just have to share, and an all around good time.