About the Authors

Beth Anderson is the published author of five books: COUNT ON ME, Harlequin Superromance; ALL THAT GLITTERS, Ivy Books; DIAMONDS, Leisure Books.  Her new publications are NIGHT SOUNDS, Clocktower Books, October, 2000 and MURDER ONLINE, Clocktower Books, October, 2000.  She recently contracted with Clocktower Books for three more novels to be published in 2001. Beth grew up in Baltimore, Md., Metropolis and Pekin, IL., and Washington, DC.  She now lives in a Chicago suburb, where she resides as a full time author with her husband, Stan.  Her four children are grown and live in various states.  She is a cum laude graduate of Illinois Benedictine College, with a degree in business administration, and has taken many forensics courses both at the university level and online.  She has appeared on Chicago's WGN Judy Markey and Cathy O'Malley show,  the ABC Evening News, and numerous other radio and television shows in the Chicago area.  She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, and EPIC, and has guest-lectured many times at Purdue University and at various writers' conferences . 

Miles Archer is the pen name of a Pacific Northwest writer who cut his mystery teeth on the classics in the genre, ie. Christie, Gardner, Chandler, Hammett, Stout, et al. Like many authors, Archer has had a checkered career: reporter, sales clerk, process server, free lance undercover operative, sales executive and registered nurse. More than enough careers for three lifetimes. He lives on five acres in the woods and loves the rain.

William E. Heft writes for nine Chicago area newspapers, writing news and feature articles and doing photo work for these publications as well. He also writes for a national magazine that enjoys worldwide circulation, that magazine is entitled ‘Walnecks’  Other magazines include Chilton Publication and Woman with Wheels. In the area of television, Dr. Heft has written and produced 25 hours of half hour programs, with some of this programming being in the format of half hour teaching programs at Michigan State University, Lansing Mich. Another Television program was a half hour special in association with A&E Television entitled “Strange Universe.” He is also involved in writing a script for a possible new movie called, “The Lady Rode to Brazil. Outside of writing Dr. Heft is an ordained minister, and a professor of theology and retired as dean of a Bible college. Dr. Heft has one other interest, and that is in being executive director of APRO, Aerial Phenomena Research Organization, the world's oldest UFO research organization, founded in 1952 by Jim and Coral Lorenzen.

Sharleen Johnson now has three published novels to her credit with more in the  works.  She has been active in the local chapter of the Romance Writers of America, and has lectured beginners on the art of writing fiction.  She began writing historical mysteries while researching her family tree, but later switched to contemporary romantic suspense.  Her other interests include training dogs for AKC competition, gardening, genealogy, and playing casino blackjack for never more than $3.00 per bet. Sharleen lives in Ooltewah, TN, with her husband, Joseph Rhinock, and their Norwich Terrier, appropriately named ³Tiger.²  They have a son, daughter and seven grandchildren. 

DR. GAY TOLTL KINMAN coordinates Workshops for Writers at California State University, San Bernardino; has published over 100 articles in writing , law enforcement, library, law, political, and professional publications. Kinman has a library degree and a law degree and worked in the Los Angeles Police Department for ten years. She is on the Board of Sisters in Crime / Los Angeles, an active member of Mystery Writers of America, and Romance Writers of America. Her play, `"The Wicked Well" was produced in Cambria, California: and a short story, "Miss Parker and the Cutter-Sanborn Tables," was chosen for "The Deadly Dozen: Tales of Murder from Los Angeles," a mystery anthology., Kinman co-edited the non-fiction anthology, "Desserticide II aka Just Desserts and Deathly Advice." Her middle-reader mystery series featuring super detective, Alison Leigh Powers, beginning with "The Mystery of the Missing Miniature Books" is published by Starlight Writer Publications.

Two articles about the writing of "Castle Reiner" appeared in "Futures," April-May, 1999 ("The Cat in the Castle (Reiner"); and in "Sex, Sin and Murder: Writing the Crime Novel for Page and Screen," for the MWA Workshop, May, 2000 ("Chapter Management"). Kinman participated in a Bouchercon 2000 panel, "Editing the Mystery Anthology."

The motto for FUTURES, a magazine I publish, is "fire to fly" and I am often asked if I have always had that fire. As a child I lived to pretend. I was so timid that it was painful to speak, yet, by junior high I was in every school play and when the theatre went dark the audience disappeared and I was someone else. I am obsessed with every aspect of art and story. Beautiful works of art make me cry, I have many hundreds of books, I collect paper because I find the shades and textures excite me. I don't labor over a story, it burns and bubbles from my soul. So, yes. I have the fire.

My husband and I have had a motorcycle high performance shop for the past sixteen years. I learned about engines and grew to appreciate the beauty, the art involved in building these machines. My husband builds race engines for motorcycles and he works on all kinds of street bikes. He makes an art of it. Perfection in a machine is his thing and people come to him from many states around to have him do their motors, touch their metal! All things mechanical were Greek to me but now I love the sight, smell, the roar, of a finely tuned motor. Between us we have four daughters, a son and ten grandchildren. Fantastic!

I was working at our shop full time when I broke my leg -- after fifteen years in the car business (yup, I sold used cars, too!) the time 'home alone' prompted me to write my first novel. I wrote three complete novels (and many other things!) before I started the magazine. I'm going to begin writing screenplays for the Spirit books soon. I am very attached to these characters. I hope you will soon feel the same. Doing the magazine and writing novels keeps me very busy! Here's a quote about FUTURES from that very first issue three years ago. It says a lot about the magazine and plenty about me. "This is a prophetic magazine. It is about spunk, and guts, and never saying never." Molly Essau

In the Fall of 1998, I wrote a storyline for the first Alfred Hitchcock film, BLACKMAIL. My work was accepted and I was optioned by John Bennett, son of the original screenwriter Charles Bennett, to do the adaptation for film. Recently, Mr. Bennett asked if I'd like to do the novelization of that screenplay. I love the story, so perhaps...

Here's the best advice I ever received and it's from my mom who died of cancer last September.

My mother tells a story of how, as one of ten children during the depression, her family would harvest whatever they could on their farm. Her mother would divide the food and ask her to help take it to those around them. My mother, who was always hungry in those days, would say, but mom, this is our food, we haven't enough, and grandma would say, but they have less. Mother taught me to give without regret. I have been told that I am good at bringing people together and I think this is the reason. I believe that if we live our lives as a unit, we never lose the strength to forge ahead. Does that make sense? That is the core of why I never give up. Someone is always there, giving strength. My advice to writers?  Persevere. There is no such thing as failure...every lesson learned is part of your future.

Dan MacGregor has been a writer for over ten years. In that time he‘s had eight short stories published and sold seven novels. He writes science fiction, fantasy, and action/adventure. A former Army helicopter pilot and retired police officer, Dan now makes his home in Dallas, Texas.

Robin Marchesi was born March 1951. He was educated at London and Oxford universities. He traveled widely as a child and young adult. In 1990 his first book was published, 'A.B.C. Quest', by Cosmic Books. In 1996 he published 'Kyoto Garden', a book of poems, by March Hare Press. He is currently working on a book entitled: 'The Poet of the Building Site', about the Sculptor Barry Flanagan.

Deborah is a mother of four...two boys, 16 & 14 (yes, you may groan!), a little girl we adopted from Korea a little over 6 years ago and a new baby daughter, whose very existence continues to amaze us all.

Forty years in the newspaper business was an excellent training ground for Dan Murr. He had written for football and basketball magazines, The Sporting News in St. Louis, and learned about people by dealing with coaches and athletes from high school to college and to professional sports. He became an award-winning sportswriter, plying his craft from the Southeastern Conference to the Big Ten, Notre Dame, and finally boxing, professional golf, the major leagues and National Football League. He started his newspaper career at The Reflector, Norwalk, Ohio, then went on to The Journal, Lorain, Ohio, The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, The St. Augustine Record, Gainesville Sun, also newspapers in Florida, then to The Journal-Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, before finally taking the position at The Beacon-News in Aurora, Illinois. He retired in 1990 after an eleven-year career at The Beacon-News, second longest stint for a sports editor at that newspaper, and his most successful years  He returned to Florida in 1992 and now lives at Jacksonville Beach. Dan's first literary work "We Never Said Goodbye (And Other Stories) is available through Dark Star Publications. "A Need to Know" is coming soon with Clocktower Fiction.

Ariana Overton is an American writer living in Oz. She is an author who loves to travel and write about many different places, people and things. She crosses genres the way she used to cross state lines in her travels; always in search of the next great story.

She writes murder mysteries (TRAPDOOR, THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS, DRUID), Romance/Time Travel (TAPESTRY), Paranormal Thrillers (GLASS HOUSE, A GLASS DARKLY & LOOKING GLASS). She also writes Children's picture books (A GIFT FOR ROO, GREEN EGGS FOR ROO, ROO & STUMPY, ROO & THE EASTER BILBY and A GECKO IN MY ORANGE JUICE- A series in progress). All are available at Clocktower Fiction in 2000.

Born in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, Ariana became the family gypsy, traveling the United States, meeting new people and finding new places. After adventuring to Australia, she met Max Overton. He teaches at James Cook University in Biology, Zoology, Chemistry, Physics and Geology, but his passion is butterflies, which his personal site at http://www.angelfire.com/in2/butterflynet will show. Max supplies the original wildlife photos for the Roo books. He also writes Historical novels and soon will impress the readers of the world with his own writing talents. They met, fell in love and were married in July of 1999. Ariana now lives with him in Queensland, Australia, finally fulfilling a life long dream of traveling and writing.

Ariana is a member of the Australian Society of Authors, Australian Writers Association, EPIC, a former Senior Editor and Director of Services for Romance Writers of America/Australian Chapter and a Contributing Editor to Suite 101 with articles she writes about other authors. Her articles have been published in Inscriptions Magazine, Suite 101, Disceptatio, an e-magazine, Bamboo Grove and the Romance Writers of American/Australia Newsletter. She currently is a Content Editor for Sharpwriter, and Senior Editor for Clocktower Fiction.

Max Overton started out as a teacher in Australia. He taught Biology, Zoology, and Botany at James Cook University in Queensland. That is, he did until he met his wife, Ariana. Now, he lives and works in the United States, still teaching but now a novelist too.

His first book, Lion of Scythia will be published by Clocktower Books this year, with the POD version available in October.

Bob Rich was a research psychologist when he was little, but changed this sad state of affairs by retiring at 35. (That's nothing -- his daughter retired from being an accountant at 30.) He became a mudsmith, handcrafting adobe houses, and soon teaching others to build too. This naturally led to writing on topics like owner-building, various crafts, self-sufficiency and conservation. He has been a freelance writer since 1980, and has a long-standing byline column in 'Earth Garden', one of Australia's most popular self-sufficiency magazines.

In 1987, Bob co-authored 'The Earth Garden Building Book: Design and build your own house'. This book is still selling, in its third edition, and has been reviewed as the 'owner-builder's bible'. His second book, 'Woodworking for Idiots Like Me' is a set of autobiographical short stories that also teaches woodcraft. Every now and then Bob has had a splurge of entering writing competitions, and has an impressive list of wins and awards. He started writing full length fiction in 1995. The fruit of his work is the series, 'The Stories of the Ehvelen', which are being rapidly published by http://wwwbookmice.com/ The start of the series is a trilogy, 'The Travels of First Horse', which has been nominated for the Franfurt e-book award. Bookmice have also published his short story collection, 'Striking Back From Down Under'.

Bob is a very capable counseling psychologist, with a private practice. He offers internet counseling at http://www.angelfire.com/co2/counseling, and his self-help book, 'Anger and Anxiety: Be in charge of your emotions and control phobias' has been published by http://red-e2.com/.

Last year, Bob took a break from the Ehvelen series to write his first SF book, 'Sleeper, Awake'. Actually, this is not SF at all, but a historical adventure, set 1500 years in the future. Bob can attest to its truth, having just returned from there.

I am the stay-at-home mom of three children. I was born in the small town of Dyersburg, TN and developed a love of reading through my grandmother's example and because there wasn't much else to do. At this time, I also began to write short stories and poetry. I graduated from Dyersburg High School in 1983, then attended Newbern Area Vocational Technical Center and was awarded a diploma for Architectural Drafting in 1985. In 1988, I graduated from Dyersburg State Community College with an Associates Degree in Pre-engineering, graduating with honors. I also attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville for a while before having my first child. My family and I currently reside near Knoxville, TN. I read all genres of literature, cross-stitch and enjoy playing computer games when not working on my writing. I am currently writing my second novel, a murder mystery, while editing my first. I have published several articles which are available online at ThemeStream.com as well as contributing articles to my father's company newsletter, which has approximately 500 readers, for several years. 

J.B. Scott is an Australian author who writes Mysteries and Thrillers guaranteed to keep eyes wide open, the mind guessing and pages turning! This brilliant new author will have a first novel published by Clocktower Books in the October 2000. 'Nightmare' will stun the reading public with it's depth of characters, twists and turns of the plot and an endings guaranteed to stun. Watch for it's release later this year.

J.B. Scott is also an Acquisition Editor and Review Coordinator for Clocktower Books, and Review Coordinator for the informative Sharpwriter site.

A.L. Sirois cites creative influences as diverse as Firesign Theatre, the Beatles, Pieter Brueghel, Wally Wood and Frank Zappa. An artist as well as a writer, he has done hundreds of illustrations, including drawings for Lullaby Angel, a children’s book written by his wife, Paula, and for Penguin Island, a children’s book of his own now available from Hard Shell Word Factory. Two of his short stories made the Top 25 in Eternity’s Best of the Web ‘98 contest -- more than any other author. The stories, March 11 1936, 5:30 AM and As Bad As It Gets, originally published in Deep Outside, each received Nebula recommendations. His first novel, Blood Relations, is available on the World Wide Web from Clocktower Fiction. Its sequel, Blind Ambitions, is also available from Clocktower Fiction. His collection, The Beginnings of Forever from Clocktower Fiction, includes the Pushcart Prize-nominated story In the Conservatory, and others that have appeared in Amazing Stories and Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. Sirois lives in Flemington, NJ with his wife Paula, daughter Kira and son Daniel. He works as a technical writer/web developer. For recreation he plays drums and sings for the rock band Bedbug Eddie.

Fay Zachary is the author of 4 published suspense novels. ...Cradle and All, the second of these novels, sold 60,000 copies before going out-of-print as a result of a publishing merger in 1989. Her next 2 novels, Blood Work and A Poison in the Blood, were published in Norway as well as in the United States. Zachary has been active on the Internet since the early '90s, when she became an assistant system operator on the CompuServe TWauthors Forum. There she moderated the Sisters-in-Crime section. Her interest grew, and she decided to develop her own Internet site, the Free Gallery of Authors to Voices, a promotional site for authors.

Ultimately, her relationship with many e-book authors convinced her that the future of publishing lies in the creative use of multiple publishing formats. She chose Clocktower Fiction as her publisher because it offers the widest array of possibilities available online today. Zachary lives in Scottsdale AZ where she spends most of her time online managing her site and writing.

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