LIGONIER VALLEY
WRITERS
Marge Burke
Marge Burke has written two historical fact-based novels.
Letters to Mary is set during the Civil War and is based on letters sent from Daniel Crouch to his wife, Mary. Those who went to battle were not the only casualties of the war; families were torn apart and left to struggle on their own at home, raising family and taking care of their homes. As Daniel tries to come to terms with the uncertainties of war and missing his wife and young children, Mary struggles with raising the children alone and trying to keep their farm afloat. The letters within the text of the book are actual letters from Daniel to Mary, who lived in Erie County, northwestern Pennsylvania, in the late 1800s.
Fields of Blue is a story for middle graders depicting life in the late 1700s in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania. The Blackburn family knows the importance of their flax crop. It provides all the material they will need for clothing, blankets, and rugs for the coming year. A ruined crop means disaster. Young Sarah and Ben take on the responsibility of tending to the crop in the absence of their father, who has not yet returned from war.
When fire threatens a neighbor’s crop, it all hits home. And what happens when Sarah’s older sister falls for the neighbor’s son? How could anything possibly turn out all right?
Letters to Mary is available through Barnes & Noble and Amazon in ebook and paperbook format. Fields of Blue is available from the author at www.margeburke.com.
Marge works part-time for a local auto dealership, spends hours weekly in her flower gardens, and delights in her two grown children and five grandchildren. She also volunteers at Hanna’s Town and posts daily on the Word Garden at www.margeburke.com.
Linda Ciletti
Romantic Fantasy
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Linda Ciletti began her writing career penning medieval and time travel romances. She now writes romantic fantasy. Her Hearts of Faerie series is three books in with a fourth book on the way.
Hearts of Faerie Series
Book One in the series, Faerie Dust, follows the journey of Alasdair (a fae prince) and Leisa (a human) as they face the dangers of Faerie to save her abducted daughter from being tithed to Hell. They fall in love—a love forbidden by the queen.
Book Two, Faerie Knights, is the story of Edeline (the new queen of Faerie) and Lysander (the queen’s guard), lifelong friends the law dictates cannot be together. When Edeline nearly dies, both realize that even for a fae life can be short and they profess their love for one another. But when the evil king of Willow Wood threatens to take over Galandore, they must stop him.
Book Three, Faerie Dreams. Alasdair & Leisa's recent college graduate daughter, Fayre, has prophetic dreams of trouble in Faerie. But Faerie is just myth, right? Soon she discovers that not only is she fae, but Faerie is far from myth. And as the queen is ill, Fayre must step up as proxy queen as she is next in line for the throne. Thrust into a role and a world she knows nothing about, she and her new found soulmate must save the Sanctuary Fae from the Dark Fae. And time is running short.
Linda suggests these books be read in order.
Linda has also published four standalone novels:
Lady Quest: In this humorous medieval romance, a kidnapping goes all wrong.
Through Time for Love & Honor: A knight chases a serial killer from the 12th century to modern-day Chicago and meets the love of his life.
Dream of the Archer: A modern American woman visiting Sherwood Forest finds herself among Robin Hood’s men, where she meets the man of her future.
Draegon’s Lair: Lord of Shadows. Draegon, a reclusive nobleman, rescues Alys from her abusive fiancé and gets more than he bargains for.
You can find all seven of Linda’s novels on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Linda has become so prolific that her Hearts of Faerie trilogy is turning into an open-ended series. She is working on Book 4 (Faerie Treasures) now.
Romance
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Judith Gallagher
Judith Gallagher has just published Brigid’s Cauldron, Book 2 in the YA (young adult) fantasy series Tales from Tír na nÓg. It’s inspired by the mythical Four Treasures of Ireland.
In Book 1, Into the Rainbow, fifteen-year-old Colleen Blackburn finds a door into Tír na nÓg, the Celtic land of eternal youth. She and her reluctant sidekick, Jeffrey, must save not only themselves but the faerie inhabitants from a sorcerer who wants to steal the faeries’ immortality. Only the humans can save the fey—if they can stay alive long enough.
It’s a lifelong dream. A life-threatening quest. A gripping tale of the dark side of magic and two teens who risk everything to defeat it.
In Book 2, Brigid's Cauldron, Colleen coaxes Jeffrey back to Tír na nÓg because he's been sick since they came home. Some fferylits are sick too. The human teens must take Brigid's Cauldron of Healing to Prince Elihorn. When the Cauldron is stolen by a suicide cult, Colleen and Jeffrey must track it down and recharge its magic to save many lives, including one of their own.
The Cauldron gives life, but those who steal it give death. In this heart-pounding story, two human teens who outwit a terrorist group and save the magic cauldron that can bring fairies back from the dead. You don’t need to read Book 1 to follow and enjoy Book 2.
Judith is now at work on Book 3, The Sword of Light.
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Karen Malena
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Karen Malena has published a memoir, Bushel and a Peck: Hope, Healing, and Unconditional Love, the story of her mother's journey from suffering mental illness to becoming a strong businesswoman and then descending into Alzheimer’s disease later in life.
“Bushel and a Peck” was born out of the testimony of the survivor, the little girl who’d carried loads of anxiety. It became a healing balm to Karen to write after she lost both her parents.
Karen mentors young writers and speaks at local libraries, schools, and care facilities. She belongs to AlzAuthors, a loving community of writers dedicated to encouraging caregivers and family members of loved ones with dementia and Alzheimer's. Several of Karen’s stories were recently chosen by Guidepost’s sister magazines for publication. “The Earrings” appeared in Mysterious Ways magazine and “The Memory Blanket” in Angels on Earth.
Karen has also published two novels about dementia: Love Woven in Time and Love Finds a Way. Reflections from My Mother’s Kitchen: A Journey of Healing and Hope, is a heartfelt novel inspired by conversations she and her mother shared through the years.
Sound of Silence is a cautionary dystopian tale about a society forbidden to utter the spoken word. Piggy, a fun cat story, showcases friendship and carries an anti-bullying message. Karen also has a story in the anthology Rescued Two: The Healing Stories of Twelve Cats through Their Eyes.
Karen blogs at The Finch's Nest on blogspot. You can also find her on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband. Visit her website.
John Negich
John Negich has published the first book of a trilogy, Retribution.
By either fate or divinity, amidst the horrors of WWII an Army Ranger serendipitously discovered true love, as well as a desire to confront and eliminate evil wherever it exists on this earth.
Now ninety, living out his final days in a nursing home, the reclusive, foul-mouthed old soldier recounts his dark and miraculous tale to a young priest.
You can purchase Retribution on Amazon.
John has also published My Life in Rhymes, a collection of musings, songs, and poems.
Learn more about the author here: amazon.com/author/janegich.
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Alicia Stankay
Alicia Stankay is a fiction writer and nature photographer. Find her books on Amazon and Kindle.
Her first book, Between Two Bears: Short Stories on the Journey of Life, was co-written with another writer, Bruce Midkiff. The authors paired up fifteen of their stories, giving each pair a theme. The stories often surprise the reader with many unexpected endings.
Her second short story book was Tales of Twenty Women: Reflections on Love. This time Alicia focused on women and their experiences in life and love. This love includes boyfriends and husbands, but also other family members.
Alicia then wrote a mystery novel, Beyond the Bridge, which is a story of young love lost, a crime, and how the repercussions touched many lives for nineteen years.
She also wrote two Stonecliff Mystery books, the first one titled Summer of Secrets. It introduces Kyra Martin as she discovers a secret about her Aunt Mary that changes her life, just as more surprises occur and life becomes dangerous.
Autumn of Discoveries keeps many of the same characters, who now find themselves dealing with issues that lead them to hidden money and perilous forest trails.
Alicia’s two coming-of-age books introduce young teen girls searching for the place where they belong. The setting is Old Economy Village, a real museum of living history in Ambridge (Beaver County), the author’s hometown. In both Cathi and Katrina and Sarah’s Journey the teens believe that shifting into the past is the key to where they belong. Or is it?
All seven of Alicia’s books feature her photography on the front cover and are designed by Amber Custer, her professional graphic designer daughter, who also formatted some interiors. She has designed covers and formatted interiors for other authors. Interested writers may contact Amber at custerdesign@verizon.net
D. J. Stevenson
D. J. Stevenson uses several pen names and publishes under the Bluetrix Books imprint. Most of the works, but not all, are science fiction and fantasy.
From gritty outer-space sagas to a murder mystery threatening to derail a Broadway musical to a gangster targeting a church for demolition, variety reigns.
In Rigel Ailur’s Tales of Mimion, people have seven senses instead of five, and the social order is determined by telepathic ability. The magical Patel Family Chronicles harken back to historic Earth.
Reid Alan describes the Breakaway success of a hockey legend’s daughter who wants to play in the NHL. In contrast, although her corporation owns an NHL team, Trillionaire Dr. Nosizwe Samanya prefers anonymity. So do the elusive millionaires of The Vagabonds’ Adventures.
In Masquerade, Jess Barry goes behind the scenes at Phantom of the Opera, where the two lead actors vie for the hand of the actress playing Christine.
Azure Avians suffuses Serulean with magic in The Lure of Cats and writes sagas of the ancient Amazons.
Kris Katzen zooms from planet to planet, ship to ship, in her many stories of the Earth Military Force and its fine crews. Explore the universe of the Curai’Nal where a brand-new captain must win over her crew while saving millions of lives on a besieged colony star systems away. For an outer space epic, check out A Little Piece of Home, with its planet-sized ship sailing the cosmos thousands of years in the future.
Cats, warriors, ghosts, royalty, aliens, pirates, and modern millionaires (and one trillionaire) abound. For all of D. J.’s titles under all of her pen names in all of her genres, from novels to flash fiction, visit Bluetrix Books to see them all.
AVAILABLE TO BUY
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Dana Thomas Weber
Dana Thomas Weber weaves decades of East Coast, Deep South, and international travel into playful storytelling tinged with the mysterious ways of the universe. As an elementary teacher, she turns young writers into authors through her "In a Flash" program. When she's not writing, you'll find her restoring her centuries old farmhouse and hobby farming alongside her husband and daughters in Ligonier, Pennsylvania.
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