Paul W. Anderson, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist in private practice, helps people connect with their own inner powers. “Learning how to trust ourselves and follow the light that shines from the inside out is the biggest challenge in life.” Contact him at his website: www.netPsychologist.com.

Robert M. “Bob” Anderson, Ph.D. is currently a Chief Master Sergeant in the Air Force Reserve assigned to the 917th Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. He holds Ph.D.’s in Human Resource Management and Safety Management, a Master’s degree in Police Science, and a B.A. in Social Psychology. He is a motivational speaker on leadership, communication, motivation, service, and relationships, and is founder and President of Back to Basics International. Contact him at www.yackityak.com.

George Arbeitman is a native of Brooklyn, New York. His parents were first-generation European immigrants. He draws inspiration for his writing from his family, his ethnic neighborhood, and his dreams. He is a contributor to several volumes of the Riverside Poetry workshop chapbooks. Contact him at Karlgalra@hotmail.com.

Michelle Auerbach is a writer living in Boulder, Colorado. She has published variously in journals, on websites, written stories, poetry, novels, pieces of long projective prose, and done translation from various languages, mostly dead ones. If she had the same magic powers she possessed as a child she would levitate Boulder and move it back to New York. Contact her at michelle.auerbach@pobox.com.

Charo Tataje de Baixarias is a native of Peru, born the fifth of 7 children. She has had “amazing and beautiful experiences” of spiritual connection and healing since childhood and says, “God, love and the Universe are my guides.” Contact her at charobaixarias@yahoo.com.

Walter Bargen has published ten books of poetry. The two most recent book are The Body of Water (Timberline Press) and The Feast ( BkMk Press-UMKC), both published in 2003. His poems have appeared in the Iowa Review, Boulevard, Beloit Poetry Journal, Notre Dame Review, and New Letters. He was the winner of the Chester H. Jones Foundation prize in 1997. He can be contacted at www.walterbargen.com.

Phyllis Becker is a graduate of Howard University and works in human services. She is on the board of The Writer's Place, Inc. and is involved in literary outreach to area schools. Her poems have been published in Kansas Quarterly, Cottonwood, Uncle, TIWA, Thorny Locust, Any Key Review, Kansas City Star, and Fathers: A Collection of Poems (St. Martin's Press). Her chapbook is Walking Naked into Sunday (Wheel of Fire Press). Contact her at pebpoet@hotmail.com.

Kathleen Craft Boehmig, a native Atlantan, loves writing about her Southern heritage. She lives with her husband and 7 year-old son in Roswell, Georgia. She writes feature pieces for local periodicals and is working on a book of essays. Her nonfiction essay about 9/11 won placement in O Georgia!, an annual anthology. Contact her at pkboehmig@charter.net.

Joyce Brady is a holistic health educator, writer, and photographer. She facilitates “wise women’s circles” using poetry and symbolism as vehicles for awareness. She consults symbols for organizations and individuals as well as ongoing teaching workshops in Symbolic Awareness. Her poems and essays have been published in journals and anthologies. She loves to travel. Contact her at sacredintention@cs.com.

Regina Murray Brault lived for 13 years in Barre, Vermont, which locals call “The Granite Capitol Of The World.” Her poetry has appeared in several publications, including The Comstock Review, Poet, and Mid-West Poetry Review. She has received numerous state and national awards, including the 1996 Clark College Award for Poetry, and the 1997 San Francisco Dancing Poetry Competition Grand Prize. Contact her at regina150@hotmail.com.

W. K. Buckley teaches at Indiana University (Northwest). He is editor of Critical Essays on Louis-Ferdinand Celine and New Perspectives on The Closing of the American Mind, and author of Lady Chatterley’s Lover: Loss and Hope. He has published widely in poetry journals and his chapbook By The Horses Before The Rains won 1997’s “Best Chapbook of the Year” from Modern Poetry. Latest chapbooks are Lost Heartland’s Found (2004) and Denver Green and Taos Red (2005).

Ted T. Cable, Ph. D., Professor of Park Management and Conservation at Kansas State University, has worked on nature conservation projects in more than 20 states, Canada, Latin America, and Africa. He is author of Commitments of the Heart: Odysseys in West African Conservation, 4 other books, and more than 150 articles. His book Interpretation for the 21st Century: 15 Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture has also been published in Chinese. Contact him at: tcable@oznet.ksu.edu.

Tonya Whitedeer Cargill lives in the mountains of Northern California in a town of 1,500. She and her husband, Threecrows, are dedicated to growing herbs, especially endangered medicinal plants. Their ten acres, Medicine Creek, provide them “the peace and serenity that we require for not only growing herbs but also for our business of hand-crafting Native American-style beaded leather products.” She writes and teaches for the healing of Mother Earth. Contact her at whitebuffalowoman@msn.com.

Ava Chambers grew up in the mountains of Northeast Georgia. Blessed with cold streams, rich fields, and glorious hills, she learned appreciation for the earth and its treasures. Writing brings great satisfaction. Her work can be found in several inspirational publications. She is an active member in the National League of American Pen Women, Georgia Writers, Inc., and the Atlanta Writers Club. She lives in Acworth, Georgia with her husband and 4 children. Contact her at acham922@aol.com.

Dru Clarke grew up in New Jersey and spent summers between the highlands and the shore, learning to love those landscapes in between. Originally in social work, she later became a science teacher, concentrating on Marine Science and Ecology. She lives in the Flint Hills of northeast Kansas with her husband, a herd of over 20 quarter horses, 3 dogs, many cats, and some chickens. Contact her at druc@kansas.net.

Patricia Clothier grew up on a ranch in the wilds of west Texas, taught art and language arts, and with her husband, Grant, built and operated for twenty years a children’s camp in the Missouri Ozarks. These experiences enhanced her love for nature and young people. Patricia is author of Beneath the Window (Iron Mountain Press, 2003), a narrative of ranch life in Big Bend country before that area became a national park. Contact her at PnGClothier@aol.com.

SuzAnne C. Cole, former college English instructor, wrote To Our Heart's Content: Meditations for Women Turning 50. She's also published more than 200 works of poetry, fiction, and essays in a wide range of anthologies and commercial and literary publications including Newsweek, the Houston Chronicle, the Baltimore Sun, and Writer's Digest. Her plays have been produced in New York City and Houston. She collects stones on all of her travels. Contact her at: SuzAnneCC@aol.com.

Rev. Karen Coussens’ delight is her gift for storytelling, discovered as the mother of 6, enhanced as the grandmother of 19 and great-grandmother of 1. Now living in a yurt on 80 acres in Northwest Michigan, Karen is learning new stories daily – stories of joy and peace in connecting with nature. She may be contacted at kaycee@coslink.net.

Barbara Crooker has published over 1,000 poems in magazines such as Yankee, The Christian Science Monitor, Smartish Pace, and The Denver Quarterly; anthologies, including Worlds in their Words: An Anthology of Contemporary American Women Writers (Prentice Hall), and 11 chapbooks. She has received 3 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowships in Literature, 16 Pushcart Prize nominations, and won the Thomas Merton Poetry of the Sacred Award in 2003. Contact her at www.barbaracrooker.com.

Joy Cummings lives in Moorpark, California and Port Townsend, Washington. She is the mother of 5 sons. She believes messages are all around us if we only learn to listen. In 2002 she and her husband, Curran, rode a tandem bicycle across America. She is writing a book about their adventure titled See a Penny, Pick It Up, for found coins literally guided them on their journey. Contact her at jocurr02@yahoo.com.

Janet Cunningham, Ph.D. is an internationally known board certified specialistin regression therapy, transpersonal counselor, and author. She is owner of Breakthroughs to the Unconscious®, a private practice in Columbia, MD; president of Heritage Authors™; and past president of the International Association for Regression Research and Therapies, Inc. Contact her at www.JanetCunningham.com.

J. P. Dancing Bear's poems have been published in Verse Daily, Atlanta Review, Seattle Review, Poetry International, Permafrost, and others. He is Editor-In-Chief of The DMQ Review and host of "Out of Our Minds," a weekly poetry program on public radio station KKUP. He is winner of the 2002 Slipstream Press Poetry Prize for his chapbook, What Language. His full-length collection, Billy Last Crow, was published by Turning Point Press (2004). Contact him at bearlaughing@yahoo.com.

Tony D'Arpino currently lives in San Francisco. Books include The Shape of The Stone (from which Petrified Forest is excerpted) and Seven Dials. His poetry has appeared in The Bloomsbury Review, Crossconnect, Branches, Chaminade Literary Review, and Runes, among others. An excerpt from his novel St Bonaventure's Island appears in Terra Incognita (Madrid). He has been poet-in-residence at Centrum and the Djerassi Foundation. Contact him at tonydarpino@netscape.net.

Will Davis is of Native American heritage and spends a lot of his time engaged in Native activities. He is an artist and writer. Will tries to walk a spiritual path and as part of that path likes to share some of his journey with others from time to time. It is his hope that this story will help others with a ray of hope or encouragement.

Phylameana lila Désy is a writer, Web publisher, and Usui Reiki Master. She operates a home-based healing practice in Southeastern Iowa. She is author of The Everything Reiki Book (Adams Media 2004). She also runs the popular Holistic Healing Guide site at About.com (http://healing.about.com), which features articles, information, and an international support community interested in all aspects of healing the mind-body-soul. Her personal Web site is www.spiralvisions.com.

Peggy Eastman is the author of Godly Glimpses: Discoveries of the Love That Heals, and editor of Share magazine, a spiritual quarterly. Her work has appeared in many publications, including SELF; New Choices, a Reader’s Digest publication; New Age; Guideposts; His Mysterious Ways, a Guideposts anthology; Family Circle; Washingtonian; The Circle Continues, an anthology of women’s writing; and many others. She has received an award for poetry from Writer’s Digest. Contact her at www.bookviews.com/BookPage/godlyglimpses.html.

Karl Elder, author of 5 collections of poetry, including Phobophobia, A Man in Pieces, and The Geocryptogrammatist’s Pocket Compendium of the United States, is Lakeland College’s Fessler Professor of Creative Writing and Poet in Residence. Among honors are a 2001 Pushcart Prize, the Lucien Stryk Award, grants from the Illinois Arts Council for poetry and fiction, and Lakeland’s Outstanding Teacher Award. For over two decades Elder has edited the literary magazine Seems. Contact him at http://www1.lakeland.edu/seems.

John R. Ellis’ active spiritual path began when he sustained back injuries in 1986. In addition to studying Shamanism and Native American healing traditions, he is a practicing Reiki Master also incorporating feather and stone healings, together with toning and color therapy. He conducts long distance Spirit releases for those in need. Contact him at jvliad@msn.com.

Margo Fallis, born in Edinburgh, Scotland with a lust for adventure, has spent most of her life traveling. When she's not exploring the world, she's writing about her experiences. Margo studies world history and ancient cultures, is teaching herself to read and write Chinese, and does watercolor and drawing. Married and mother of 5 children, Margo writes children's stories for her 7 grandchildren. Her adventures keep her young at heart! Contact her at margofallis@yahoo.com.

Maureen Tolman Flannery was raised on a Wyoming mountain sheep ranch where she developed a close and long term relationship with stones. Her first book was Secret of the Rising Up: Poems of Mexico and she edited the anthology Knowing Stones: Poems of Exotic Places. Her poems have appeared in over 100 journals and anthologies, including Atlanta Review, Amherst Review, Comstock Review, The Pagan's Muse, Intimate Kisses, and Woven on the Wind.

Richard Foerster is author of 4 books of poetry: Sudden Harbor and Patterns of Descent (Orchises Press) and Trillium and Double Going (BOA Editions). Fellowships and awards include: “Discovery”/The Nation Award, Poetry magazine’s Bess Hokin Prize, fellowships from National Endowment for the Arts and Maine Arts Commission, the 2000/2001 Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship, and the 2002 Hobart City (Australia) Fellowship for an International Writer. He lives in York Beach, Maine. Contact him at RAFoerster@aol.com.

Terry Forde lives in Nevada, writes poetry, and is working on her first novel. Since her years at Santa Clara University, California, she has collected a desk full of personal jottings on life and draws much of her poetry from these life experiences. She is a member of the Ash Canyon Poets and has been published in anthologies, newspapers, calendars, and magazines. Contact her at newchapter-3@juno.com.

Shirley Fritchoff is an art and sand tray therapist. She has lived on the Sea of Cortez in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico for 20 years. Here she discovered natural runes from the sea. She leads small groups in therapeutic journal writing in Mexico and Tucson, Arizona. Contact her at shirleyfritchoff@earthlink.net.

Martha H. Gill is an Interior Decorator and Certified Feng Shui Consultant. She also consults on Healthy Home Design, for people who are concerned about our environment and for those who can't tolerate chemicals used in the building process. Contact her at gillinteriors@earthlink.net.

Jennifer Goodenberger is a concert pianist, composer, and visual artist. Her inspirations are sacred sites, stones, archetypal symbols, and designs from ancient and world cultures. As a pianist, her original works range from deeply healing and spiritual compositions to passionate and romantic creations. To see two CD’s of original piano solos (“Return” and “Mystical”) and her artwork go to www.JenniferGoodenberger.com.

Susan Elizabeth Hale, singer, poet, and music therapist, is author of the forthcoming book Sacred Space – Sacred Sound, as well as Song and Silence: Voicing the Soul (La Alameda Press, 1995). Susan teaches workshops and classes throughout the US, Britain and Canada, and directs The Voice of the Rose: Songkeeper Apprenticeship Program in Taos, New Mexico. Contact her www.angelfire.com/nm/susong.

Carolyn A. Hall enjoys her Kansas farm heritage and newfound hobby, stonescaping. She writes memoir, satire, and mystery, which is also a good description of her life. She shares a river bluff residence with husband John and a little boy in a puppy suit named Jessie.

Sande Hart is founder of SARAH (Spiritual and Religious Alliance for Hope), a post 9/11 group of multicultural women designed to combat fear and prejudice by allowing women to come together in dialogue and community service. This experience, she says, has taught her “how easy it is to make a difference in the world when you come from the heart.” She also believes that “when you come from the heart, magic happens.” Contact her at www.sarah4hope.org.

Gordon Haynes is a writer of poems and a searcher of inner space. After a career in the corporate world, he studied Counseling Psychology and is currently completing studies in Spiritual Direction at the Sophia Center at Mount Saint Scholastica Monastery in Atchison, KS. He has begun a ministry using the ancient practice of spiritual direction and companionship, walking with others in their journeys of the spirit. You may learn more at www.spiritlifetransitions.com.

Anne Heath was born in Bronxville, New York and received degrees from Sarah Lawrence College and Antioch University. She is author of Between Earth and Sky: Poets of the Cowboy West (WW Norton & Co, Inc), winner of Western Heritage Award. A writer, poet, and fine artist, she currently lives in Bridgewater, Connecticut.

Penelope Holder was born into a theatrical and creative family and has always been interested in the arts, drawing, painting, acting, and writing. She is a member of the Roswell (Georgia) Fine Arts Alliance as well as the Atlanta Writers’ Club. She writes short stories and inspirational nonfiction. Contact her at penhold@bellsouth.net.

Mary-Lane Kamberg is an award-winning professional writer and writing workshop presenter, author of 7 nonfiction books, including The I Don’t Know How To Cook Book (Adams Media, 2004), and hundreds of articles and poems. She has served as president of Whispering Prairie Press and fiction editor for Potpourri Literary Magazine. She received the 1996 James P. Immroth Memorial Award from the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Roundtable. Her biography appears in Who’s Who in America.

William Keener is a writer and environmental lawyer living in the San Francisco Bay Area. His poems have appeared in numerous literary reviews, and his chapbook Three Crows Yelling, co-authored with Bill Noble and Michael Day, won the 1999 National Looking Glass Award from Pudding House Publications. His men’s group, meeting monthly for the past 18 years, created a closing ritual that is the subject of his poem “The Pebble Clock.” Contact him at bill.keener@comcast.net

Ted Kooser, Poet Laureate, lives near the village of Garland, Nebraska and teaches poetry writing at the University of Nebraska. His poems have appeared in The New Yorker, Hudson Review, Antioch Review, Kenyon Review, and others. Among other honors are the Hugo Prize (Poetry Northwest), the Kunitz Prize (Columbia), and Shenandoah’s Boatwright Prize, as well as 2 National Endowment fellowships. He has authored 9 collections of poetry and 9 chapbooks and special editions, including Delights & Shadows (Copper Canyon Press, 2004).

Ruth M. Laughlin received B.A. and M.F.A. degrees in sculpture at Portland State University and Arizona State University. She has taught special education in the White Mountains of Arizona and coordinated programs for The Center for Blindness and Low Vision. Ruth expresses concepts and experiences through poetry and sculpture. She enjoys outdoor activities and exploring Native American spirituality and the healing arts.

Patricia Lay-Dorsey lives in Detroit, Michigan and describes herself as an artist/activist/writer. She is also a political satire-singer with the Raging Grannies Without Borders, song circle-lover, online photo-journal keeper, woman-oriented festi-goer, and jazz nut. And you can't leave out her gratitude for time spent with children of Muslim Arab heritage in an art classroom every week in East Dearborn. She finds that being differently-abled just makes life more interesting! Contact her at http://www.windchimewalker.com.

Alison Leonard has written fiction for children and plays for BBC radio in Great Britain. All her life she has written sporadic poems when they have 'come', but since she moved towards an earth-based, goddess-oriented spirituality the poems have come more often and consistently. Her poetry has been published in The Edinburgh Review and in UK anthologies, as well as in The Friendly Woman in the US. Contact her at www.alisonleonard.co.uk.

Karen Lee Lewis is a contributing editor for Traffic East Magazine (www.trafficeast.com) and a teaching artist for Just Buffalo Literary Center in Buffalo, New York. She edited The Shadow's Imprint: Poetic Reflections on Death (Blarney Stone Books). She teaches workshops on developing writing groups and has an essay in The Writing Group Book (Chicago Review Press). Her poetry, prose, and photography have appeared throughout the US and Canada. Contact her at Kleelew@aol.com.

Bob Liebert, inspired by Native American ways from a young age, was fortunate to have been taught by Mandan and Lakota elders and has participated in many ceremonies. He is a practicing herbalist and member of the American Herbalist Guild. He lives with his wife, Jan, and family in a wild corner of the Missouri Ozarks. He is author of Two Ravens, Osage Life and Legends, and Medicinal Herbs of the Ozarks. Contact him at www.teetercreekherbs.com.

Denise Low teaches creative writing and American Indian Studies classes at Haskell Indian Nations University. Her fifth collection of poems, Thailand Journal, is from Woodley Press (2003). She has won fellowships and other awards from the Lannan Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Kansas Arts Council, Roberts Foundation, and Poetry Society of America (Pami Jurassi). Contact her at deniselow9@hotmail.com.

Maya (Mary Hebert) lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of Horatio Rides the Wind (Templar PLC) and contributing editor of not black and white: inside words from the Bronx Writers Corps (Plain View Press). Her poetry has appeared in several anthologies, including the 911 National Peace Poetry Project. She is currently compiling a text of sacred teachings, Everyday a Feather Finds Me. Contact her at maryhebert@sprintmail.com.

Kathaleen McKay has enjoyed a lifelong love for the outdoors. Her favorite activities include photography, hiking, canoeing, reading, and writing. She has produced a variety of creative freelance work over the years. Kathaleen lives in Canada with her cherished daughter Caroline and their adorable, yet often mischievous, canine pal named 'Bill'. Contact her at kaymck@sprint.ca.

Karla Linn Merrifield teaches English composition at SUNY College at Brockport, New York, where she earned her M.A. in Creative Writing. Her poetry has been published in journals such as Earth’s Daughters, Negative Capability, Mediphors, and Boatman’s Quarterly Review, and in anthologies, including Prairie Hearts: Women Write on the Midwest and To Honor Our Teachers. When not teaching, she travels widely throughout the US and Canada, writing poetry as she explores. Contact her at kmerrifi@brockport.edu.

Philip Miller's poems have been published in Poetry, Chelsea, Rattapallax, and other journals. His most recent books are Branches Snapping (Helicon Nine Editions) and Why We Love Our Cats and Dogs (Unholy Day Press), a book of poems and short fiction co-authored with Patrica Lawson. Contact him at riverfrontreadings@yahoo.com.

Warren Lane Molton is a pastoral counselor and couples therapist. He has served as a military chaplain in Korea, campus minister, professor of pastoral theology at two seminaries, and is the author of 5 books, including the popular Friends, Partners And Lovers, in print since 1979. He has published nearly 200 poems and articles in periodicals, with his most recent book, If God Is, available for review and purchase at www.forestofpeace.com.

Mary Oberg is a registered nurse and energy healer. She is a graduate of Core Star Energy Healing School and also completed an international certification in Healing Touch endorsed by the American Holistic Nurses Association. She provides energy healing upon patient/family request and with a physician order at the medical center where she is employed. She also has a private practice in energy healing. Contact her at healingtouch1@sbcglobal.net.

Father Bob Pagliari, a Redemptorist priest living in New York City, has held several university teaching positions, and was Senior Editor for Religious Publishing at Doubleday Press. He is Associate Director for Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of New York. He holds 4 Masters degrees (Psychology, Theology, Education, and Speech) and a Ph.D. in Human Communication. He authors a monthly column for the Catholic New York News website (www.cny.org) and can be contacted there.

Liz Palika is a professional dog trainer in Vista, California. Her emphasis is on teaching both pots and therapy dogs. Liz is also a professional writer and has been published in Newsweek, the Saturday Evening Post, and all the major pet publications. Contact her at www.lizpalika.com.

Colleen Palmer has worked for over 20 years in training and developing people, first as a psychotherapist, then as a business executive and consultant. She has a gift for being able to listen from the right side of the brain and has expanded this into a highly effective access for guiding people to remove repetitive obstacles. After living in Japan for five years, she now lives in Tucson, Arizona. Contact her at cpalmer@spatial-dynamics.com.

Beverly Partridge, for the past 10 years since her retirement from teaching, has been keeping a journal to find out what she believes. Her strong connection with the natural world stems from living and working on a Willamette Valley sheep farm for sixteen years. Since moving back to the city she also pursues acrylic painting. Her poetry has been published in Fireweed, Dakotah, Chadakoin Review and From Here We Speak, An Anthology of Oregon Poetry.

Timothy Pettet, born in Northern Idaho, 1948, born again the first time he skipped a rock on Coeur d’Alene Lake, moved 12 times by the time he was in 7th grade. In Kansas City, he’s as at home as he has ever been, touching water with the flat side of his fountain pen.

Anne Ewing Rassios, born in California of Texan roots, is a geo-scientist living and working in Greece the past three decades. Author of more than 40 articles in geological and environmental sciences, her research has taken her throughout (including underground) the lesser-known terrains of Greece. Her first novel, Godquake: Life on the Edge, set in Greece, was published by Moose Hill Books (2004).

David Ray's books include Demons In The Diner (winner of the Richard J. Snyder Memorial Award); The Tramp's Cup and Wool Highways (winners of the William Carlos Williams Award); The Maharani's New Wall, Kangaroo Paws, and Sam's Book (recipient of the Maurice English Poetry Award). Other honors: the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Poetry Award, the Allen Ginsberg Award, and an NEA fellowship for fiction. Latest books: One Thousand Years: Poems about the Holocaust, and The Endless Search: A Memoir. Contact him at www.davidraypoet.com.

Judy Ray is co-editor with David Ray of Fathers: A Collection of Poems (St. Martin’s Press). She is author of two books of poetry, Pebble Rings and Pigeons in the Chandeliers, and a prose memoir, The Jaipur Sketchbook: Impressions of India. Judy lives in Tucson where she spends time as a volunteer teacher of English as a Second Language to adults in the community. Contact her at www.davidraypoet.com/JudyRay.

Denise E. Richards is a sailor, traveler, photographer, chef, and amateur naturalist living in Portland, Oregon with her husband Charles and Zuma, their intrepid labrador/husky companion. An award-winning public relations practitioner and adventuress, she is currently writing a book on the humorous and complex challenges of building and running her own inn and restaurant “off the grid” in the Costa Rican rain forest. Contact her at lifescribe@comcast.net.

William Pitt Root's 6 books include Trace Elements From A Recurring Kingdom and Faultdancing, with more recent work in Atlantic Monthly, Poetry, Commentary, Artful Dodge, and Rattapallax. Translated into 20 languages, he's read recently in Sweden, Italy, Macedonia, and the Bowery Poetry Club. He's held Guggenheim, Rockefeller, Stegner, and NEA fellowships. Commuting weekly from his home near the Blue Ridge mountains, he teaches at Hunter College in Manhattan.

Robert Rubinstein has authored Curtains Up! Theatre Games & Storytelling; Hints For Teaching Success In Middle School; and two young adult novels: Who Wants To Be A Hero! and When Sirens Scream. Several anthologies have published his stories and he has published numerous articles on the state of education. He is a recipient of the National Storytelling Association's "Oracle" Award and has been featured in NEA Today, National Education Association’s publication. Contact him

Valorie J. Wells, Ph.D., is a transplanted New Yorker who has returned to Kansas City “4 times in 10 years, so I guess this is my nest.” Valorie is a certified clinical hypnotherapist and has a private practice within an integrative health care clinic. She is the proud mother of 3 daughters and has 6 grandchildren. Her hobbies include Kansas City jazz and art shows. Contact her at drvjwells@planetkc.com.

Hannah Wilson’s poetry and fiction have appeared in Calyx, Prairie Schooner, the Portland Oregonian, on Portland buses as part of Poetry in Motion, in baseball magazines, and in literary reviews. She has a poem in the 2004 Women Artists Datebook. Supported by a grant from Literary Arts, she is working on a linked story collection about old women. Contact her at hana@mindspring.com.

Jeanie Wilson’s poetry and short stories have appeared in various literary journals and anthologies. Her book, Uncurling, was published by Mid-America Press in 2000. Jeanie has presented her poems and short stories at numerous readings at universities, conferences, and other venues, including radio and television programs. Contact her at jeaniewilson1@msn.com.

Thomas Zvi Wilson's book, Deliberate and Accidental Acts, (Thorpe Menn Award runner-up and Byron Caldwell Smith nominee), was published by BkMk Press. His poems have appeared widely in journals and anthologies. He has guest-lectured in seven universities, given numerous readings, edited considerable poetry, was Poet at Large sponsored by National Endowment for the Arts, and also panel judge for seven years for the Marianne Moore Poetry Award and John Ciardi Prize for Poetry. Contact him at tzviwilson@msn.com.

Judith Diana Winston is a visionary artist, photographer, and writer. Her book Meditative Magic: The Pleiadean Glyphs, a channeled work based on Sacred Geometry, is in its second printing. Her forthcoming book is The Keeper Of The Diary. Judith Diana sees her work as a marriage of her creativity with her spiritual journey. She lives in Santa Monica, California, is a hugger of trees, and a lover of all things wild. Contact her at www.meditativemagic.com.

Christopher Woods’ recent books are Under A Riverbed Sky, prose poems, and brief fictions from Panther Creek Press, and Heart Speak, stage monologues for actors from Stone River Press. Personal Space Theatrics produced his play, Moonbirds, about census takers in an unpopulated desert country, in New York. Contact him at dreamwood77019@hotmail.com.

Cherise Wyneken is retired from teaching and raising four children. She lives with her husband in Albany, California and has enjoyed sharing her thoughts and experiences with readers through a variety of journals, periodicals, and anthologies such as Dorothy Parker’s Elbow, Stories From Where We Live: California Coast, and Surviving Ophelia. Seeded Puffs, her book of poetry, was published by Dry Bones Press, Inc. Contact her at cwyneken@sbcglobal.net.