Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers

This time on the Rocky Mountain Writer podcast, a chat with the co-editors of the next Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers short story anthology, to be published in 2024. Those co-editors are Linda Ditchkus and Paul Martz.   Linda (L.V.) Ditchkus has written her whole life. But until eight years ago, her writing was either technical, scholarly, or in travel magazines. In 2015, she jumped into novel writing with both feet. After drafting her first chapter, which only amounted to a few hundred words, she realized she had plenty to learn. So she found a network of writing friends—many through RMFW—who gave her writing tips and pointed her toward writing resources like how-to books and classes. She’s grateful for her fantastic writing pals. Being a judge for the 2022 Self Published Science Fiction Competition and a 2023 youth writing competition has deepened her understanding of what makes books and stories stand out. Since her Sasquatch Series won First Place in the Colorado Authors League 2021 Book Awards for Sci-Fi

Chris Goff is an award-winning author of six novels based on environmental themes and two international thrillers. A longtime member of RMFW, she has served as in nearly every capacity from critique chair to President, received a Jasmine Award in 1997, received her PEN Award in 1998, was named Writer of the Year in 2002. She counts among her best friends, many of those she met upon joining RMFW. Chris’ most recent book, RED SKY was a 2018 Colorado Book Award Finalist. Set in Ukraine and Asia, Agent Raisa Jordan must test the boundaries of diplomacy as she races to prevent the start of a new Cold War. Catherine Coulter had this to say: "Breathtaking suspense, do not miss Red Sky."  Goff's series debut, DARK WATERS, was dubbed “a sure bet for fans of international thrillers" by Booklist. DARK WATERS was a Finalist for the 2016 Colorado Book Award, 2016 Colorado Authors' League, Genre Award, and the 2016 Anthony Award for Best Crime Fiction Audiobook. This interview is one of a series of conversations with RMFW

Donald Paul Benjamin is an American novelist who specializes in cozy mysteries and high fantasy. He also writes about Colorado history. A U.S. Army veteran, he served three years as a military journalist, including a tour in Korea. Before retiring, the Colorado native worked as an educator for five decades. He lives in Cedaredge, a small town on the Western Slope of Colorado, where he hikes and fishes in the surrounding wilderness. He and his wife, Donna Marie, operate Elevation Press, a service which helps independent authors publish their works. More: https://elevationpressbooks.wordpress.com/ For video versions of this podcast, subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBP81nfbKnDRjs-Nar9LNe20138AiPyP8 Mark Stevens' website: https://www.writermarkstevens.com/ Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/  

Luann Koester taught high school language arts, as well as college composition for over 26 years. A fellow of the National and Colorado Writing Projects, she considers herself a writer teaching writers.  Luann graduated Cum Laude from Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, received a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Colorado College, and a Post Graduate Certificate of Expertise in Writing from the University of Denver. In 2003 and 2021, she was recognized by the Boettcher Foundation as a Boettcher Educator. And In 2009, MIT (Massachusetts  Institute of Technology) named her an MIT Influential Educator. Recently retired, Luann enjoys teaching, traveling, spending time with her immediate and extended families, writing, and playing golf.  In addition to her children's book, Gran Kissed the Blarney Stone, Luann is a published poet and novelist. Her latest book, just out, is a novel for young adults, Hawk’s Cry.  Luann lives on a cattle ranch near White Butte Creek in Northeastern Col

Mike Torreano is an award-winning author with a military background and a particular interest in American history and the Old West. His debut western mystery, The Reckoning, set in South Park, Colorado in 1868, was released in 2016 by The Wild Rose Press. The sequel, The Renewal, also set in South Park, was released in 2018, with a third western mystery, A Score To Settle, released in 2020. White Sands Gold is his latest western mystery, and was just released by Wild Rose in September 2022. He has a coming-of-age novel due out soon, Fireflies At Dusk, which is set during the Civil War. His short story, The Trade, a tale of the Yukon Gold Rush, was his first published work in 2014. Mike has written for magazines and newspapers for many years. An experienced editor, he’s taught English and Journalism at both the United States Air Force Academy and the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He’s a member of the Historical Novel Society, Pikes Peak Writers, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Western Writers of Am

Debra Bokur is the author of The Dark Paradise Mysteries series from Kensington. She’s traveled the world as a writer, journalist and staff editor for various national media outlets, with more than 2,000 print pieces carrying her byline to date. Debra's work has garnered multiple awards, including a 2015 Lowell Thomas Award for Travel Journalism. For more than a decade, she served as the poetry editor at a national literary journal, and her poetry and short fiction have been widely published. Among her favorite writing credits are a series of original literary essays commissioned by the Celestial Seasonings tea company that appeared on the artfully illustrated boxes of ten separate tea flavors. Debra continues to travel in her capacity as the Global Researcher and Writer for the Association for Safe International Road Travel, and as a monthly columnist for Global Traveler Magazine. Debra is also an experienced voice actor and voiceover artist, and is currently in production for several audio books for fellow

Jasmine Cresswell was born in Wales and educated in London, England.  Recruited by the Foreign Service, she was assigned to the British Embassy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  While in Rio, she met and married Malcolm Candlish and together they immigrated to the United States where he had been offered a job with Colgate Palmolive at corporate headquarters in New York City.  Malcolm's career took him to Australia, Canada and five different American states.  Jasmine tagged along with their growing family.  They finally settled on the West Coast of Florida where  Jasmine, now widowed, is fortunate enough to live close to all four of her children,  along with eight of her twelve grandchildren and three great grandchildren.   Originally intending to pursue a career in academia, this became impossible due to her frequent long-distance moves.  Instead, as a lifelong lover of fiction, Jasmine decided to write a novel since a writing career could be pursued from anywhere in the world. Her first book was published by Briti

Dr. Dan Lutz began his education career and passion for international education as a high school teacher in the Teacher Corps in New York and the Peace Corps in Afghanistan. His career has included training new Peace Corps Volunteers in Iran, helping initiate the development of Korean Heritage Camp for families with adopted children from that country, serving on the Board of Directors for Colorado Heritage Camps, co-founding the International Studies Schools Association (ISSA), and teaching graduate global education classes for teachers. He developed a high school international studies magnet program which he directed for twenty-one years. He expanded that  program into the Denver Center for International Studies (DCIS), a DPS magnet school for grades 6-12, where he served as principal for four years. Subsequently he designed and established three more DCIS schools for DPS and consulted with a national network of international studies schools to which the DCIS schools belonged. From his professional experienc

Sharon Mignerey is an author who loves sharing what she has learned with other authors.  She has been a workshop presenter at local and national conferences, including Romance Writers of America, RMFW's Colorado Gold conference and Pikes Peak Fiction Writers.  She has taught numerous online classes on the art and craft of writing. She is the author of 12 published novels, and has been a contributor to the Writer Magazine where one of her articles was chosen for the 2005 Writer’s Handbook.  She is also a contributor to Many Genres, One Craft sponsored by the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University.  Sharon taught college composition for more than five years at Lone Star Community College.  She has an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hall University. Her novels have been the recipient of numerous awards including the Golden Heart, the Reader’s Choice Award, and the Keeper Award. More about Sharon http://sharonmignerey.com/ For video versions of this podcast, subscribe: https://www.you

Paulla Hunter is a long-time resident of Cheyenne, Wyoming. She lives in the historic downtown area of the city with her husband, Roger Schreiner, a volunteer and past chairman at Cheyenne Frontier Days. She is a member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime, and Wyoming Writers. She earned her B.A. from the University of Wyoming in English, Speech and Drama. She has a passion for history, reading, theatre, travel, and obviously writing. Rough Ride, published in 2022, is her first published novel. It's the first in the Darcy Moreland Mystery Series and all take place in Cheyenne, WY. With shows like Yellowstone, 1883, and rising popularity of all things Western, her book fits perfectly into this popular genre and is loosely based off of Cheyenne Frontier Days. More about Paulla: https://www.paullahunternovels.com/ For video versions of this podcast, subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBP81nfbKnDRjs-Nar9LNe20138AiPyP8   Mark Stevens' website: https://www.writermarkstevens.com/ Intr

Jason Evans always wanted to be a writer, he just didn’t know it. He grew up in Southern California and taught high school social studies after college until he got married and moved to Denver in 2004. He continued in education and earned an MA in History, until he realized his heart was in fiction. Since 2012 Jason has had over a dozen short stories and essays published, ran an online magazine, and became a regular panelist at local conventions. He blogs regularly on his own website and newsletter. The Whimsycon Anthology was published March 2nd, 2018, giving Jason his first editorial credit. His debut novel, The Gallowglass, was published in July of 2019. Since then he has published three other novels of historical fiction.  On the podcast, we talk about a new short story collection Jason is publishing in 2023 and a day-long education event he is coordination for RMFW on January 28, 2023: A Day Of Genre. More about Jason: https://jasonhenryevans.com/ For video versions of this podcast, subscribe: https://w

Ffor the first time in more than seven years of producing this podcast, the host, Mark Stevens, takes the hot seat as a guest. The excuse is The Fireballer, a novel coming out rom Lake Union on January 1, 2023.  The writer firing the questions on this episode is Shannon Baker, the author of the Kate Fox Mystery Series, the Nora Abbott Mystery Series, the Michaela Sanchez Southwest Crime Thrillers, and a standalone novel, The Desert Behind Me. Shannon was twice named RMFW’s Writer of the Year—in 2014 and 2017. The conversation includes an update on Mark's work on publishing the works of the late Gary Reilly.   For video versions of these podcasts, follow: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBP81nfbKnDRjs-Nar9LNe20138AiPyP8 Mark Stevens' website: https://www.writermarkstevens.com/ Shannon Baker’s website: https://severnriverbooks.com/authors/shannon-baker/ Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

tenderbastard is a songwriter, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, activist, pancake enthusiast. He and his dog are public intellectuals. The tenderbastard pledge: "I do solemnly swear to be intelligent, kind, helpful, and to have fun as often as possible," reflecting our commitment to inspire creative conscientiousness. tenderbastard’s latest novel, released in September, is Poof. More: https://www.tenderbastard.com/ For video versions of these podcasts, follow: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBP81nfbKnDRjs-Nar9LNe20138AiPyP8   Host: Mark Stevens: https://www.writermarkstevens.com/ Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

Tamara Cribley is a self-professed formatting junkie who believes beautiful books don’t happen by chance. Having worked as a Commercial Photographer, Graphic Artist, and Art Director, Tamara’s unique skills enable her to put together classy and professional books that keep the reader focused on the story. She resides on the Palmer Divide and, in her free time, enjoys reading, photography, and exploring with her dog, Sammy Sue. More: https://deliberatepage.com/staging/ For video versions of these podcasts, follow: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBP81nfbKnDRjs-Nar9LNe20138AiPyP8 Host: Mark Stevens: https://www.writermarkstevens.com/ Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

Award-winning journalist Gwen Florio has covered stories ranging from the shooting at Columbine High School to the glitz of the Miss America pageant and the more practical Miss Navajo contest, whose participants slaughter and cook a sheep. She’s reported from Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia, as well as Lost Springs, Wyoming (population three). Florio turned to fiction in 2013 with the publication of her first novel, Montana, which won the Pinckley Prize for Debut Crime Fiction and a High Plains Book Award. Four more novels followed in the Lola Wicks series, termed “gutsy” by the New York Times. Silent Hearts (Atria, July 2018) was a standalone novel set in Afghanistan. In the last few years she has launched two series, one featuring amateur sleuth Nora Best and one with public defender Julia Geary solving cases. Florio is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and was named Writer of the Year in 2018 by RMFW. Her latest book, due

Karen is a hopeless foodie, award-winning novelist, produced screenwriter and writing coach. Many of her stories are inspired by her experience marrying into a Taiwanese family. Mu Shu Mac & Cheese and American Moon: A Chinese Immigrant Story are available on Amazon. She, her husband, and their two boys have traveled the world as she researches recipes for a literary cookbook.  She teaches for Princess and Celebrity cruise lines and writers conferences in Colorado where she’s part of a rich author community.  On the podcast, Karen talks about the many experiences she has had in working with literary agents, including one troublesome situation that did not go well.   More: www.karenalbrightlin.com For video versions of these podcasts, follow: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBP81nfbKnDRjs-Nar9LNe20138AiPyP8 Host: Mark Stevens: https://www.writermarkstevens.com/ Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

T.O. Paine is a suspense novelist whose authentic characters triumph over extreme situations in challenging, true-to-life settings. Though his novels are contemporary, things always get out of control. Cults are real, anger is a disorder, and everyone loses when a friendly competition becomes an obsession. T.O. holds multiple degrees in computer science and spends extreme amounts of time running and cycling through the mountains of Colorado, USA. He has run over thirty marathons, ridden over twenty 100-mile cycling events, and completed an IRONMAN. He is supported by his wife and a Boston terrier/ogre mix named Fiona. More: https://topaine.com/books/the-excursion/ For video versions of these podcasts, follow: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBP81nfbKnDRjs-Nar9LNe20138AiPyP8 Host: Mark Stevens: https://www.writermarkstevens.com/ Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/

Warren Hammond is known for his gritty, futuristic KOP series. By taking the best of classic detective noir, and reinventing it on a destitute colony world, Hammond has created these uniquely dark tales of murder, corruption and redemption. KOP Killer won the 2012 Colorado Book Award for best mystery. His last novel, Tides of Maritinia, was released in December of 2014. His first book independent of the KOP series, Tides is a spy novel set in a science fictional world. Josh bio: Joshua Viola is a 2021 Splatterpunk Award nominee, Colorado Book Award winner, and editor of the StokerCon™ 2021 Souvenir Anthology. He is the co-author of the Denver Moon series with Warren Hammond. Their graphic novel, Denver Moon: Metamorphosis, was included on the 2018 Bram Stoker Award™ Preliminary Ballot. Viola edited the Denver Post #1 bestselling horror anthology Nightmares Unhinged, and co-edited Cyber World—named one of the best science fiction anthologies of 2016 by Barnes & Noble. His first novel, The Bane of Yoto, won

David R. Slayton grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma, where finding fantasy novels was pretty challenging and finding fantasy novels with diverse characters was downright impossible. Now he lives in Denver, Colorado and writes the books he always wanted to read. David’s debut, White Trash Warlock, was published in October 2020 by Blackstone Publishing and was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award. Book two in the series, Trailer Park Trickster was released in October 2021. Book three, Deadbeat Druid, will be released in October 2022. In addition to writing, David is a regular presenter and speaker on writing. He has appeared on panels at Fan Expo Denver and taught workshops at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, the League of Utah Writers Quills Conference, and the Seymour Agency Winter Retreat. He also regularly speaks to library, college, and high school audiences. If you’d like to contact David for a school visit or appearance, please email him at author@davidrslayton.com. More abo

Francelia Belton’s love of short stories came from watching old Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents television shows in her youth. Her fiction has appeared in various publications, including "Dreaming of Ella" in Denver Noir by Akashic Books, and most recently, "Red Riding in the Hood" in Bizarre Bazaar by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Francelia's short story, “Knife Girl,” was a finalist in the 2020-2021 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Competition and a semi-finalist in the 2021 Outstanding Screenplays Shorts Competition. Her short story, "The Brotherhood of Tricks and Tricks" was a quarterfinalist in the 2022 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Competition. She also published a  collection titled, Crime & Passion: Three Short Stories.  Francelia s an active member of Sisters in Crime and has served as Vice President and President for the Colorado chapter. She is also a member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color, and Short Mystery Fiction Societ