Tom Knight is a husband and father who lives and works in Toronto, Canada. After reading Chicken Soup for the Soul he realized he had his own stories to share and he hopes that his first published story will not be his last. He is eternally grateful for the love and support of his wife and children, without whom none of his dreams would ever have been realized.
Marla Stewart Konrad is the author of several books for children, including the award-winning picture book, Just Like You. She lives with her family near Toronto, Canada.
Nancy Julien Kopp grew up in Chicago and now lives in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Her work is in ten Chicken Soup for the Soul books, other anthologies, magazines and newspapers. A former teacher, she still enjoys teaching through the written word. Learn more at www.writergrannysworld.blogspot.com.
Aletheia D. Lee lives with her husband and son in Georgia where she teaches English as a Second Language to elementary school students. They are expecting the addition of twin girls very soon. She has had three poems and three short stories published previously. She can be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
Glenda Carol Lee is a published author of two bulletin board idea books, numerous magazine articles and poems. Her first story was published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings. She enjoys writing, reading and spending time with her family. Please e-mail her at [email protected].
Janeen Lewis is a writer living in central Kentucky with her husband and two children. She enjoys reading, sewing and spending time with her family. Contact her via e-mail at [email protected].
God’s deliverance from an abusive childhood frames the joy that Delores Liesner shares with her readers. God “sightings” have been shared via speaking, magazines, Examiner.com, CBN.com, radio, television, anthologies, devotionals, Bible studies, and her column in Prime Magazine. Delores welcomes contact at [email protected].
Brooke Linville and her family moved home in February 2009. She writes about their journey after the fire at www.lifeafterthefire.com and is working on a memoir. Contact her via e-mail at life_after_the_ [email protected].
Barbara LoMonaco received her BS from the University of Southern California and has an elementary teaching credential. Barbara has worked for Chicken Soup for the Soul since 1998 as an editor and webmaster. She is a co-author of Chicken Soup for the Mother and Son Soul and Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Resolution.
Nyx Martinez is a travel TV host for Living Asia Channel, and Managing Editor of Mabuhay and Mango travel and lifestyle magazines. She lived in Uganda as a full-time volunteer and radio presenter for three and a half years. Visit her at www.nyxmartinez.com.
Teresa Ann Maxwell lives in Washington with her favorite fisherman and husband, Richard. She has many fond memories of snowy, white Christmases celebrated, with family, in her home state of Idaho.
Erin McCormack is thirteen years old and lives with her parents and brother, Matt. She is preparing to attend high school in the fall of 2010. Erin enjoys reading, writing, and many sports, including soccer and running. Erin plans to continue writing both fiction and nonfiction stories and books for children and teenagers.
Chantal Meijer is a freelance writer whose articles, stories, and essays have appeared in regional and national magazines, newspapers, and anthologies, including Chicken Soup for the Soul: Empty Nesters. Chantal and her husband Rick, proud parents of four grown children, live in Terrace, British Columbia, Canada. Contact her via e-mail at [email protected].
Martha Miller is a Texas-based, freelance writer. Her work has appeared in Family Circle, Parents, The Christian Science Monitor and www.LifeInItaly.com. Her syndicated columns, “Living Greenly” and “Living Online,” are published in regional parenting magazines across the country. E-mail her at [email protected].
Susan H. Miller lives in Coldspring, Texas, where she works periodically as an R.N. Case Manager. She lives to draw from her own life experiences for her stories, but hasn’t quite figured out what her genre is. Susan loves adventure, and will travel anywhere, anytime. E-mail her at [email protected].
Mike Morin co-hosts a morning radio show at WZID-FM in Manchester, New Hampshire. In addition to his forty years as a radio and TV personality, Mike writes humor columns and features for New England newspapers and magazines. He enjoys baking artisan breads for local charity auctions. Please e-mail Mike at [email protected].
Carrie Morris married her high school sweetheart, Chris, who is now a Marine stationed at MCAS New River in North Carolina. They have two furbabies, Lily and Duke. She is currently working on her first novel.
Beth Morrissey is a freelance writer and writing instructor living in Dublin, Ireland. Christmas has always been her favorite time of year, and she truly believes in the magic of the season. Visit Beth online at www.bethmorrissey.com.
Irene Morse is a freelance writer. When not hanging out with her husband Gary and their large family, she enjoys travel in search of adventure and examining the human condition through drama and community theatre. Her column on theatre appears regularly in the local newspaper. Please e-mail her at [email protected].
As a journalist and screenwriter in Northern California, Russell Nichols likes to travel and write stories that explore the crevices of society. His work has appeared in The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times and Sactown Magazine. Contact him via e-mail at [email protected].
Barbara Nicks grew up in lower Wisconsin and now resides in East Texas. She has been teaching for twenty-five years, spending two of them in Portugal. She enjoys traveling with her husband and two teenage sons, sewing, reading, and learning about technology. E-mail her at [email protected].
Mark Parisi’s “off the mark” comic, syndicated since 1987, is distributed by United Media. His cartoon feature won the National Cartoonists Society’s award for Best Newspaper Panel in 2009. His humor also graces greeting cards, T-shirts, calendars, magazines, newsletters and books. See www.offthemark.com. Lynn is his wife/business partner. Daughter Jen contributes inspiration, as do three cats, one dog and an unknown number of koi.
Lisa Pawlak is a creative writer of nonfiction, who stands firmly behind the belief that writing is cheaper than therapy. She received a B.A. in Communication and since has developed a professional background in marketing and non-profit management. In more recent years, Lisa left her career behind to focus on the challenges of motherhood.
Ann Peachman has two degrees in theology, has run a home daycare, and currently works with the elderly. She is a widow with three grown children and one granddaughter, and lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Ann enjoys family, friends, scrapbooking and knitting. She is working on her first novel.
Julia G. Powell received her Bachelor of Arts Degree, with honors, from Lycoming College (Williamsport, PA) in 1973. She is a federal employee/educator in Tennessee. She enjoys her grandsons, writing, gardening, and painting/drawing. Her plans are to write from her heart. Please e-mail her at [email protected].
Lisa Preston (www.lisapreston.com) lives in the Pacific Northwest where she kayaks, writes, trail runs, rides fast, and tortures her guitar, fiddle and mandolin. She remembers Winston and his boy throughout the year, every year.
Tracy Rasmussen is an award-winning journalist, essayist, author and stay-at-home mom. She lives in Pennsylvania with her hardworking husband, spirited twin daughters and an over-achieving Standard Poodle. Tracy is currently working on an adoption memoir. Please e-mail her through her website www.tracyrasmussen.com.
Natalie June Reilly is a single mother of two extraordinary teenage boys, a full-time football mom and the author of the children’s book, My Stick Family: Helping Children Cope with Divorce. Natalie lives and loves in gratitude every day and she welcomes you to reach out to her at [email protected].
Bruce Robinson is an award-winning internationally published cartoonist whose work has appeared in numerous consumer and trade periodicals including the National Enquirer, The Saturday Evening Post, Woman’s World, The S
un, First, Highlights for Children, etc. He is also the author of the cartoon book Good Medicine. Contact him via e-mail at [email protected].
Marilyn (Lynn) Ross, a graduate of Arkansas State University, teaches special education in Prince William County, Virginia. Her other stories appear in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Celebrating Mothers and Daughters and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Empty Nesters. Marilyn’s favorites include writing, photography and album making. E-mail her at [email protected].
Ann M. Sheridan has contributed stories to three other Chicken Soup for the Soul books. She founded Bimbo’s Buddies in 2002 to distribute her children’s book, Dogs Get Cancer Too, to pediatric cancer patients. Ann resides in Long Branch, New Jersey. E-mail her at [email protected].
Deborah Shouse is a writer, speaker, editor and creativity catalyst. Deborah is donating all proceeds from her book, Love in the Land of Dementia: Finding Hope in the Caregiver’s Journey, to Alzheimer’s programs and research. So far, she has raised more than $80,000. Visit her website at www.TheCreativityConnection.com.
Paula L. Silici is an award-winning, multi-published author. She firmly believes in the dictum, “Peace begins with me,” and endeavors to practice at least one random act of kindness every day. Contact her via e-mail at [email protected].
Carol Slamowitz is a graduate of the College of Charleston. Currently she practices massage therapy in Richmond, Virginia. She is married with two amazing kids. She enjoys reading, travel, fitness and adventure... she plans to continue to lead an interesting and unconventional life.
Lynetta Smith lives with her husband and two daughters near Nashville, Tennessee. When she is not writing or homeschooling, she can be found at the local community theatre.
Sue Smith shared her story, “The Garbage Can Christmas,” with Linda LaRocque. Linda LaRocque is the author of several award-winning plays. Linda is a retired self-employed interior designer. She writes from her South Haven, Michigan home.
Erin Solej teaches Language Arts Literacy at Mountain View Middle School in Mendham, New Jersey. She loves to read and write with her sixth graders and her children, Lucas and Hanna. Please contact her via e-mail at [email protected].
Laurie Sontag has been a humor columnist for California newspapers since 2001. Her work has appeared in various books and magazines and her popular blog, Manic Motherhood, has been featured on Yahoo’s Shine Network. You can see more of her work at www.lauriesontag.com.
Jean Sorensen’s cartoons have appeared in Good Housekeeping, The Washington Post Magazine, The Lutheran, and numerous textbooks. Her work has also been featured in greeting cards for Oatmeal Studios. Jean lives in the Washington, DC area with her high school sweetheart and three children, who always keep her laughing.
Diane Stark is a former teacher turned stay-at-home mom and freelance writer. She loves to write about the important things in life: her family and her faith. She is the author of Teachers’ Devotions to Go. Diane can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
Melanie Stiles is an AACC Master Life Coach, award-winning author and speaker who enjoys sharing life journeys and tools that help others to become all God says they can be. Her favorite experience to date is when her granddaughter rushes in yelling, “YaYa I’m here!”
Teri Stohlberg received her bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1996. She now lives in Woodstock, Connecticut with her husband and two children. Teri will always believe in miracles. Contact her via e-mail at [email protected].
Nancy Sullivan has multiple degrees and has written extensively over a long career in the disability arena. Her passion is writing mysteries with a paranormal flair. An animal rescue volunteer, Nancy delights in her own rescued menagerie and her avocation working in energetic healing alternatives. Contact Nancy via e-mail at [email protected].
From belly dancer, to fitness trainer, to speech pathologist, to memoir teacher, Tsgoyna Tanzman credits writing as the supreme “therapy” for raising an adolescent daughter. Published in four Chicken Soup for the Soul books, her humorous essays and poems can be read on more.com, motheringmagazine.com, and in The Orange County Register. E-mail her at [email protected].
Jan Vallone was once a disillusioned lawyer. In 2001, she took a job teaching English at a yeshiva—an Orthodox Jewish high school—where she learned what fulfillment means. Jan’s first book, Pieces of Someday, published in 2010, recounts her yeshiva days and benefits several charities. For details visit www.janvallone.com.
Beverly F. Walker lives in Tennessee, with her retired husband. She enjoys writing, photography, and scrapbooking pictures of her grandchildren. Beverly wrote this poem right after she married her husband and became stepmother to his three little girls. She has stories in many Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and in Angel Cats: Divine Messengers of Comfort.
Since 1990, Joseph Walker has written a weekly newspaper column called “ValueSpeak.” Some of his columns were published in three other Chicken Soup for the Soul books. His books include Look What Love Has Done and Christmas on Mill Street. Joseph and his wife, Anita, have five children and seven grandchildren.
Growing up playing in her clubhouse filled with the contents of an abandoned one-room schoolhouse, Barbara Briggs Ward realized she wanted to be a writer. Published in Highlights for Children; author/illustrator of two children’s books, Barbara invites you to go to www.snarlysally.com and www.thereindeerkeeper.com. Please contact her via e-mail at [email protected].
Stefanie Wass’s essays have been published in the Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, Christian Science Monitor, Akron Beacon Journal, Akron Life and Leisure, Cleveland Magazine, The Writer magazine, A Cup of Comfort for Mothers, A Cup of Comfort for a Better World, and eight Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies. Visit her website at www.stefaniewass.com.
Gerri Wetta-Hilger recently retired after thirty years teaching. She received her Bachelor of Science in English from Pittsburg State University in Kansas and her Masters in Education from Wichita State. Gerri now has more time to enjoy her four children, twelve grandchildren, read, write and travel with her husband.
Kathy Whirity is a syndicated newspaper columnist who shares her sentimental musings on family life. Her first published book, Life Is A Kaleidoscope is a compilation of some of those columns. Please e-mail Kathy at [email protected].
Ernie Witham writes the humor column “Ernie’s World” for the Montecito Journal in Montecito, California. He is the author of two humor books: Ernie’s World the Book and A Year in the Life of a “Working” Writer. He has been published in many anthologies including more than a dozen Chicken Soup for the Soul books.
Ferida Wolff is author of seventeen children’s books and three essay books, her latest being the award-winning picture book The Story Blanket and Missed Perceptions: Challenge Your Thoughts Change Your Thinking. Her work appears in anthologies, newspapers, magazines, online at www.seniorwomen.com and in her nature blog http://feridasbackyard.blogspot.com. Visit her at www.feridawolff.com.
Sandra Wood received her BA in communications and worked as a marketing executive for twenty-four years. Today, she writes short stories about everyday miracles. Favorite things: Children, chocolate, puppy breath, long talks with loved ones, international travel, and watching God paint the sky with new mercy every morning.
Dallas Woodburn is twenty-three years old and the author of two collections of short stories, a forthcoming novel, and articles in Family Circle, Writer’s Digest, and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications. She is also the founder of Write On! For Literacy and Write On! Books youth publishing company. Visit www.writeonbooks.org for more information.
Barbra Yardley is a wife and mother of three delightful young women. She works as a legal secretary in a small town in Utah. She enjoys the outdoors, quilting, biking, reading, spending time with family, and being a grandmother to two active little boys.
Meet Our Authors
Ja
ck Canfield is the co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, which Time magazine has called “the publishing phenomenon of the decade.” Jack is also the co-author of many other bestselling books.
Jack is the CEO of the Canfield Training Group in Santa Barbara, California, and founder of the Foundation for Self-Esteem in Culver City, California. He has conducted intensive personal and professional development seminars on the principles of success for more than a million people in twenty-three countries, has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people at more than 1,000 corporations, universities, professional conferences and conventions, and has been seen by millions more on national television shows.
Jack has received many awards and honors, including three honorary doctorates and a Guinness World Records Certificate for having seven books from the Chicken Soup for the Soul series appearing on the New York Times bestseller list on May 24, 1998.
You can reach Jack at www.jackcanfield.com.
Mark Victor Hansen is the co-founder of Chicken Soup for the Soul, along with Jack Canfield. He is a sought-after keynote speaker, bestselling author, and marketing maven. Mark’s powerful messages of possibility, opportunity, and action have created powerful change in thousands of organizations and millions of individuals worldwide.
Mark is a prolific writer with many bestselling books in addition to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Mark has had a profound influence in the field of human potential through his library of audios, videos, and articles in the areas of big thinking, sales achievement, wealth building, publishing success, and personal and professional development. He is also the founder of the MEGA Seminar Series.
Mark has received numerous awards that honor his entrepreneurial spirit, philanthropic heart, and business acumen. He is a lifetime member of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas Magic Page 28
