Who We Are

Kathy Akins began writing as a teenager, but her serious pursuit of the craft started when she retired from a 30-year career with the United States Postal Service. She has won several awards with her poetry, articles, and short fiction. Her short stories, memoirs, poetry, and devotionals were published in Blackbirds Third Flight, Prosateurs: Tales & Truth, and Yule Tidings. A love for history, family, and animals touches her everyday life and inspires her story ideas and characters. She lives in Oklahoma and shares her home with miniature longhair dachshunds. She is a member of Prosateurs, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and American Christian Fiction Writers. Visit her website at kathyakins.blogspot.com.

Debbie Anderson wrote the suspense novel Friend or Foe, and recently published Lizzie, a story for pre-teens and young adults. A long-time storyteller, she has written and shared stories since she was a child. The oldest of eight children she used these stories to entertain her siblings as well for her own enjoyment. She learned the love of travel going on family vacations and spent eighteen years in the travel industry. As a result, she has been to nearly every state and six countries. She left the travel business after 9/11. Since then she has written business documents such as manuals and procedures for the electronic and oil industries. In addition to writing, she enjoys sewing, quilting, crafts, painting, and spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren. She finds humor in everyday people and events and incorporates them into her writing. She writes short stories, memoirs, novels, children’s stories, and how-to books. She is a member of Prosateurs, Oklahoma Writers Federation Inc., Ada Writers, and Writing for Fun. She has been published in the Creations anthologies, Yule Tidings, Prosateurs: Tales & Truth, and other publications.

Stephen B. Bagley’s latest book is Floozy Comes Back, a collection of humorous essays. He co-wrote Undying, a collection of poetry. He wrote the cozy mysteries Murder by Dewey Decimal and Murder by the Acre. His other books include Tales from Bethlehem, Floozy and Other Stories, and EndlesS. He wrote the full-length plays Murder at the Witch’s Cottage and Two Writers in the Hands of an Angry God and co-wrote Turnabout. His poetry, articles, short stories, and essays have appeared in Yule Tidings, Writer’s Digest, Blackbirds First Flight, Blackbirds Second Flight, Blackbirds Third Flight, ByLine Magazine, Nautilus Magazine, Prosateurs: Tales & Truth, Pontotoc County Chronicles, Tulsa World OKMagazine, Free Star, the Creations anthologies 2012-2015, and other print and online publications. He graduated from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. He is a member of Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc., Christian Indie Writers, 10 Minute Novelists, Real Authors, and the founding president of Prosateurs. Visit his website at StephenBBagley.blogspot.com.

Wendy Blanton started writing when she learned to string words into sentences. She is the author of The Balphrahn trilogy. The first book, Dawn Before The Dark, is available now. Her short stories and articles have been published in Yule Tidings, Prosateurs: Tales & Truth, Blackbirds First Flight, Blackbirds Second Flight, and Blackbirds Third Flight. Currently, she writes epic fantasy novels and short stories. She has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Business Management from the University of Mount Olive, Mount Olive, North Carolina, and served on active duty for the United States Air Force for eight years. When she isn't writing, she can usually be found in her garden or puttering in the kitchen. She lives in Missouri with her husband and cats. She is a member of Realm Makers Consortium and Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc. and a founding member of Prosateurs. Visit her website at wendyblanton.com.

D.E. Chandler wrote the Nova Wave series, which includes Nova Wave and Bone Silver. Her book Weathered gathers her short stories and poetry in her first collection. Her poem, “Oppenheimer” and short story “One Way Window” won honorable mention and publication in Outside the Lines. Her poem “Carroll After Dark” won first place and publication in a Tulsa Review’s Spring contest issue. Her short story “LiveLash Challenge” was published in Ghostlight Magazine. Her other short stories, poems, photographs, essays, and articles have been published in Yule Tidings, Prosateurs: Tales & Truth, Blackbirds Third Flight, The Green Country Guardian, Sapulpa Herald, and Sapulpa News and Views. She received her Master of Fine Arts from Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma. She lives with her husband Tom in Oklahoma. She is a member of Horror Writers Association, Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc., and a founding member of Prosateurs. Visit her website at dechandlerwrites.com.

Heath Stallcup was born in Salinas, California, and relocated to Oklahoma in his teen years. He joined the US Navy and was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, and Bangor, Washington, shortly after junior college. After his second tour, he attended East Central University, Ada, Oklahoma, where he obtained Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Chemistry. He then served ten years with the State of Oklahoma as a Compliance and Enforcement Officer while moonlighting nights and weekends with the local sheriff’s office. He and his wife live in rural Oklahoma. His many books include Whispers of the Past, Forneus Corson, Flags of the Forgotten, Burning Bridges, the Monster Squad series, the Caldera series, the Nocturna series, and the Hunter series. His short stories have been published in several print and online anthologies. Visit his website at heathstallcup.com.

Joanne Verbridge was born in Oakland, California, spending her early life experiences in Northern California. Family brought her to Oklahoma where she enjoys writing memoirs and crafting. She works to inspire her young nieces and other youth people to take an interest in storytelling and writing. She is a member of Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc., and a founding member of Prosateurs. Her memoirs, short stories, and articles have been published in newspapers, Yule Tidings, Prosateurs: Tales & Truth, and the Creations anthologies.

Sooner than You Think