Debut Author Podcasts

September 16, 2018: Johanne Levesque

Johanne has worked in sales and management most of her career.  In 2017 she did a complete flip and now works in a group home for adults with developmental delays as a personal service worker. She graduated from York University with a bachelor degree in psychology. Once a year, she and her husband visit orphans in Tanga, Tanzania to make sure they can afford to go to school, as they believe education is the key for their future. She has two grown children and is grandmother.  She lives in Tottenham, Ontario Canada. When she’s not researching or writing, she likes to swim, train her Doberman puppy to become a therapy dog, and most weekends you’ll find her at street fairs, meeting her readers in person, and selling her books. 

September 8, 2018: Sally Crosiar

Sally Crosiar lives in the Finger Lakes of New York State where she reads incessantly, enjoys time in and on the water, savors dark chocolate with red wine at every opportunity, and teaches about health and play for Empire State College. She is the author of Find the Love of Your Life, based on her own true story, My Uncle Dave, a children’s book with an adult message, and co-author with Dr. Sidney B. Simon of Love Builders: Tools to Build Every Relationship. Come Back is her debut novel.

September 4, 2018: Rachel Dacus

Rachel Dacus is a poet, essayist, and novelist who writes about love’s timeless truth. It’s the theme of her debut novel, THE RENAISSANCE CLUB, the romance between a young art historian and her historical hero, fiery 17th century Italian artist Bernini. Rachel enjoys reading and writing, preferably set in exotic places. She has traveled to Italy and India and plans to expand her journeys beyond countries that start with the letter “I”.

Elena Mikalsen was born in Ukraine and came to New York City as a refugee with her family at age 17. She is somewhat obsessive about travel, but, when at home in San Antonio, can be found browsing through bookstores or antique shops with her family and two adopted pups. When not writing stories, primarily about women who have a chance to change their lives, she is a Pediatric Psychologist, working at a Children's Hospital, helping children cope with chronic medical illness. She actively blogs on issues of mental health for teens and adults and also provides consultation to authors writing about those issues. Wrapped in the Stars is her first work of fiction. 

You can connect with Elena on her website, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

August 20, 2018: Denitta Ward

Denitta Ward writes historical and contemporary fiction from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. After decades of writing legal briefs and contracts, Denitta picked up her pen and decided she'd write the stories she really wanted to tell - about young women discovering their own resilience in times of transition. ​ Denitta is a member of the Women's Fiction Writers Association, the Historical Novel Society, and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Somewhere Still, written as a Mother's Day gift, captures a society in transition - the world of jazz, baseball's Negro League and a burgeoning Prohibition bootleg trade -- all a backdrop for this story of the price of love, the hurts that are slowest to heal and a certain kind of infinite redemption found when women band together across race and class. You can connect with Denitta at www.denitta.com.

August 13, 2018: Eldonna Edwards

Eldonna Edwards grew up in a large family nestled between cornfields and churches in the provincial Midwest. She eventually escaped the harsh winters, moving to California where she expanded her career from massage therapist to journaling facilitator to author to beloved writer’s conference instructor and public speaker. Her bestselling debut novel, This I Know, won over the hearts and minds of readers everywhere and was a Delilah Book Club selection. In her second novel, Clover Blue, Eldonna once again explores themes of otherness and belonging, and the true definition of home. She is also the subject of the award-winning documentary Perfect Strangers that follows one kidney patient and one potential kidney donor in their search for a possible match. Her 2014 memoir Lost in Transplantation chronicles this life-changing decision. Eldonna currently lives and writes in a tiny pink house with her best friend, Brer. Please visit her at http://www.eldonnaedwards.com. 

August 6, 2018: Carrie Mumford

Carrie Mumford has lived on both the East and West coasts of Canada, and many places in between. She completed a degree in English literature at Saint Mary’s University, and went on to complete a master’s in information studies at the University of Toronto. Carrie now lives in Calgary, Alberta, with her husband, three naughty cats, and one rambunctious dog.

Her short fiction has appeared in Full of Crow Fiction, the Bella Online Literary Review, Vine Leaves Literary Journal, the WCDR’s Whispered Words anthology and other fine journals. Her vignette, “The Blemish Collector”, was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2012. In 2013, her short story “Ashes to Ashes” was short-listed for the Room Magazine contest. Her first novel, All But What’s Left, was released in June 2018. You can find Carrie here: Website (www.carriemumford.com), Twitter (@CarrieMumford), Instagram (instagram.com/carrie.mumford), and Facebook (CarrieMumfordAuthor), GoodReads (www.goodreads.com/carriemumford).

August 3, 2018: Irene Frances Olson

Irene Frances Olson writes from passion and experience. She was her father’s caregiver during his struggle with Alzheimer’s disease, and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Having previously worked in the assisted living and memory care industry, she was not new to the disease—nor was her family immune.

After her father’s 2007 death from Alzheimer’s disease, Ms. Olson worked as an Alzheimer’s Association support meeting facilitator and concurrently, she worked for the State of Washington as a Long-Term Care Ombudsman (LTC) – an advocate for adults living in LTC settings. The author maintains a blog www.babyboomersandmore.com, focusing primarily on elder issues, and her writing journey can be found on her author website: www.irenefrancesolson.com. Irene hopes to make a difference in the lives of others by writing novels that encourage those who just might need another cheerleader in their corner. It is her hope that her debut novel, Requiem for the status quo, provides such support.