P. J. O'Rouke

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P. J. O'Rourke was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, and attended Miami University and Johns Hopkins. He began writing funny things in 1960s "underground" newspapers, became editor-in-chief of National Lampoon, then spent 20 years reporting for Rolling Stone and The Atlantic Monthly as the world's only trouble-spot humorist, going to wars, riots, rebellions, and other "Holidays in Hell" in more than 40 countries. He's written 16 books on subjects as diverse as politics and cars and etiquette and economics. His book about Washington, Parliament of Whores, and his book about international conflict and crisis, Give War a Chance, both reached #1 on the New York Times best-seller list. He is a contributing editor at The Weekly Standard, H. L. Mencken fellow at the Cato Institute, a member of the editorial board of World Affairs and a regular panelist on NPR's Wait... Wait... Don't Tell Me. He lives with his family in rural New England, as far away from the things he writes about as he can get. 

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 Richard V. Battle is a business consultant, speaker and the award-winning author of six books including his latest Conquering Life’s Course. Richard has been a public speaker and trainer for over 30 years on topics including volunteerism, leadership, sales and faith. 

He currently serves on the board of directors of Alpha Kappa PSI, international professional business fraternity, and was a past chairman. He was an executive with KeyTrak (a Reynolds and Reynolds company), and has more than 40 years of experience in sales, executive management and leadership in various business entities.

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Beth Benedix is a Professor of World Literature, Religious Studies, and Community Engagement at DePauw University. She is the author of Reluctant Theologians: Franz Kafka, Paul Celan, Edmond Jabès (Fordham University Press, 2003), editor of and contributor to Subverting Scriptures: Critical Reflections on the Use of the Bible (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), and a contributor of chapters, articles, introductions and reviews to a variety of collections and journals. She is Founder and Director of The Castle (www.castlearts.org), a non-profit organization that provides integrated-arts and project-based workshops in Putnam County, Indiana, public schools. Beth lives in Greencastle, IN with her husband and two sons.

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Deb Brandon is a weaver, respected textile artist and enthusiast, recently retired math professor, mother, avid traveler, and award-winning author. She is also a brain injury survivor. Her journey toward reclaiming her life began with three brain surgeries, and has continued with new insights and discoveries every day since. She’s a popular speaker, talking openly about brain injury with hundreds of students and adults. She also shares her love of textile arts, especially ethnic and traditional textiles, with diverse audiences. Deb’s an active blogger and regularly participates in social media platforms including Facebook, where she discusses brain injury and its impact, and Twitter, where she posts observations about the sometimes absurd, sometimes bizarre, and always intriguing world of long-term brain injury survivors. Her books include the award-winning memoir But My Brain Had Other Ideas, and Threads Around the World, also an award-winner. Her essays have been widely published, including in HandEye Magazine, Weaving Today, and Psychology Today.

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 More than fifty years ago, I was drafted into the US Army and a few months later I was provided an all-expense paid tour of Southeast Asia. I served a year in Vietnam (1969-70) as an Army enlisted man in the America l Division. When I returned from Vietnam and was admitted to graduate school at West Virginia University, I decided I would write about my war experiences. I actually wrote a couple of chapters of a novel and sent them off to a few literary agents - all of whom uniformly replied that no one would pay to read and be reminded of that awful war.
 

I found the time to write a story about Vietnam. The novel, Augie’s War, focuses on how one soldier dealt with that awful experience, and how memories of his Italian-American family upbringing was the crutch he used to get through a very difficult time in his life. I had never harboured any illusions that my novel would be commercially published, but I knew that finishing the project would be personally rewarding. After all, it was number one on my bucket list of things to do. 

But Low and Behold! In May 2018, my debut novel, Augie’s War, was published. And it’s received excellent reviews from readers all around the world, and from independent reviewers and publications. My latest novel, Augie’s World, follows Augie when he returns home from Vietnam and tries to deal with PTSD as well as mortal threats from The Mob directed at both he and members of his Italian American family. 

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Joel Burcat is an environmental and energy lawyer. Author of several published short stories, this is his debut novel. He was selected as the 2019 Lawyer of the Year in Environmental Litigation (for Central PA) by Best Lawyers in America. He has been designated by both “Super Lawyers” and “Best Lawyers” for environmental and oil and gas law. Also, he was selected by the Pa. Bar Association as a recipient of its annual award in environmental law plus other awards as an environmental and energy lawyer. In addition to his law practice, he has edited two works on environmental and energy law and has written numerous professional articles on environmental law. He lives in Harrisburg, PA with his wife, Gail. They have two grown daughters, a son-in-law and granddaughter. For information about the author, visit joelburcat.com

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Lisa Butowsky is a Certified Etiquette Instructor and Founder of Your Charming Child ~ Etiquette Instruction. She has a BS degree in Infancy and Early Childhood Development from Penn State University. Ms. Butowsky has spent much of her career working with children in various settings and has worked with troubled teens as a Mental Health Technician. She firmly believes that strong interpersonal skills contribute substantially toward workplace and relationship success. Teaching these skills is ideal starting at a young age but it’s never too late! 

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A public school administrator and counselor for 34 years, Shannon Bennett Campbell served as President of the West Virginia Counselor Association, West Virginia liason to the American School Personnel Association, and received an International Scholarship from the Delta Kappa Gamma Society Internationale for study of values and character education at the Union-Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia. Additional Post-graduate work was done at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D. C.

Developing an early interest in her native Appalachian state, West Virginia, Campbell won a Golden Horseshoe for outstanding knowledge of West Virginia in 8th grade, was selected by those attending Rhododendron Girls State to represent them as a Senator to Girls Nation, and headed a college committee that created Mountaineer Week at West Virginia University, an annual event. She was a member of 4-H for nine years. She is currently a correspondent for The Inter-Mountain newspaper in Elkins, West Virginia where she writes a monthly column about state tourism and inspirational issues. She performs in churches with her puppet “Anderson” as the Gospel Storyteller, and is past district president of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs and now serves as State Leadership Chairman. She and her husband, Rick, reside in Randolph County.

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Thomas Conway has taken on many interests since graduating Cornell with a degree in Economics.  In the 1990’s he ran a startup computer firm.  He followed that success by working his way up to Chief Information Officer before switching direction again to run contact centers across the country. 
Thomas has more recently pulled back from the business world to pursue his passions across various fields.  He is the Chair of his Borough’s Environmental Commission, an active ocean racer, a photographer and, most of all, an author.

His first book, The Naughty List, won the broad E-Book: Fiction category in the 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the world’s largest book awards program for independent publishers and self-published authors.

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Award-winning author Melinda Spiker Chambers grew up with a flock of sheep behind her house. She fondly remembers waking up in the middle of the night from the “baas” of lambs her father had put in a box next to the heater to warm up because lambs had been near death from the cold.

Several of her previous books, We Are Whoo We Are, The Day the Snapdragons Snapped Back, Fraidy Cat, And We Helped, have all won Mom’s Choice Awards—designating them among the best in family-friendly products. Melinda is a retired educator, with degrees from West Virginia University and Ohio State University. She has worked as a WVU Extension Agent and then middle school teacher, followed with Nutrition Director for Hampshire County. Melinda currently lives in Hampshire County, West Virginia with her husband, Byron. Together they have two children and five grandchildren. Melinda currently volunteers her time as a Sunday School teacher, creative writing teacher, 4-H volunteer, counselor, and mentor. She is also available for school visits.

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Kelsey N. Clark resides in small town West Virginia with her family on their farm. Kelsey is a registered and licensed Occupational Therapist but enjoys mostly the blessings of being a mom. She enjoys keeping diaries of her experiences with her children, and the phases and phrases that they share with her throughout their daily life. Through their interaction and adventure, Kelsey offers a glimpse into the mind of her children and their child-like perceptions of life and lessons-learned.

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Eileen L. Cooley Ph.D. earned her degree in Clinical Psychology from Emory University. She has been a Professor of Psychology at Agnes Scott College and a licensed psychologist in Georgia for over 20 years. Based on her clinical and parenting experiences, she developed these scenarios to help children understand and solve their dilemmas of everyday life.

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Dreama Denver was married for three decades to TV icon Bob Denver, known to millions worldwide as the star of the television classic Gilligan’s Island. The two met when they were cast opposite one another in a theater production, and toured the country for many years performing together. An author and speaker, Dreama keeps Bob’s legacy alive via her work with The Denver Foundation, supporting special needs children and U.S. veterans. This is her first children’s book.  Visit www.dreamadenver.com to learn more.

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Pat DiCesare is widely considered to be one the fathers of the rock and roll concert business, not only in Pittsburgh, but nationwide. After an illustrious career spanning five decades he retired in 1999 to his home in Greensburg, Pennsylvania with his wife, Kathy, and they have three sons. Pat now makes numerous public speaking engagements and writes for various music and business publications. Hard Days Hard Nights is his first book.

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Lee Doty, retired from the practice of law, received her MFA in Creative Writing from the Rosemont School of Graduate Studies. Ms. Doty received her undergraduate degree from Duke University and law degree from Georgetown University. She divides her time between West Dennis, MA and Kearneysville, WV. She teaches Creative Writing in the Shepherd University Lifelong Learning Program and is a staff writer for the Shepherdstown Good News Paper.

 
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Award-winning author Colleen Driscoll is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Her books, Piper the Elf Trains Santa, Piper the Elf and Santa’s Rockin’ Band, and Piper the Elf’s Big Surprise are Mom’s Choice Award recipients. The Driscoll family recorded the companion Piper the Elf audio books with original music. Colleen especially enjoys meeting her fans and inspiring others to write. She is part of the Headline Kids School Show Program and visits schools regularly. For more information visit www.PiperTheElf.com.

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Award winning author, Heather Dugan, is the founder of Cabernet Coaches®, an “all ages, all stages” group for women that fosters self-betterment through face-to-face friendships and social connection. Her 2015 book, Date Like a Grownup: Anecdotes, Admissions of Guilt & Advice Between Friends, was a finalist (self-help/relationships) in the USA Book Awards and the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and she speaks on topics pertaining to dating, relationships, social connection, and effective interpersonal communication. She has also worked as a professional voiceover talent for more than twenty-five years. An Indiana University alumna, Heather resides in Columbus, Ohio, but is an avid traveler and outdoor enthusiast who keeps hiking poles and her passport within easy reach. The proud mom of three adult children, she blogs about relationships, transitions, and better living at Tips from the Tightrope on her author website. Find her on Facebook, Instagram, at Cabernet Coaches, or visit www.heatherdugan.com.

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Steven DuPin (a.k.a. Stevie D.) is a Kentucky-born comedian, writer and producer. After spending years performing in some of the best-known comedy clubs in Hollywood, he executive produced and starred in Rockstars of Comedy, a live concert DVD featuring some of the most recognizable comics in the industry, including Whitney Cummings of NBC’s Whitney and Steve Burns, star of TBS’ Sullivan & Son. Stevie is president of his own production company, Blue Moon Media, which develops reality television series and other projects. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

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