Mountain Girl Press

Wilhelmina S. Banks is the director of NYUMBA YA TAUSI-Peacock Museum in Bristol, Virginia where she was born. She is a writer, storyteller, and; has lived in New York and Africa for forty-four years. Her publications include numerous free lance and Op Ed Page pieces for several newspapers and periodicals. You may contact her at wsbanks@chartertn.net.

Elizabeth Barker first began writing while growing up on a farm in North Carolina. She has also lived in Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, and South Carolina. She, her husband, and their two sons were all born in different states. With all that moving around, she has still managed to publish her first novel, Journey of the Brass Bed, her Mountain Girl Press debut. She now lives in Bristol, Tennessee, with her husband, a cat, a dog, and many fish. You may contact Elizabeth at fineline200@charter.net. Her website is www.elizabethbarker.com.

Lisa D. Barrick is a transplanted Hoosier with Southern roots.  An avid writer and reader of fiction, her recent accomplishments include 2nd place for fiction in the 2008 Tennessee Mountain Writers Conference.  She enjoys her friends, her three cats and her wonderful family.  She may be reached at poohbah200@hotmail.com

Lissa Creola was raised in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina.  She has written several works, including a stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a children’s book, and a full length novel from which her short story in this collection was extracted.  She lives in Exeter, England with her husband, daughter and newborn son. You may e-mail her at lissacreola@yahoo.com and view her website at
PrideandPrejudicescript.com.

Kay Smith Elliott lives with her husband and son just north of Gate City, Virginia.  She is an I/T Systems Technician but, in her spare time, enjoys writing stories and songs as well as genealogy research, jewelry-making, and needlework.  Reading has been a favorite pastime since childhood, and she especially enjoys local history.  While "Up in the Mountain" is her first published piece, she is currently preparing genealogical information and a story for submission to The Appalachian Quarterlymagazine.

Rebecca D. Elswick the daughter and granddaughter of coal miners, lives in Grundy, Virginia with her husband, three children and four dogs. Her fiction has appeared in the Literary Journal of the Virginia Writing Project, Jimnson Weed, and Bewildering Stories. She is currently at work on her first novel. Contact her at rdelswick@hotmail.com.

Kori E. Frazier completed her undergraduate degree in creative writing with a professional writing minor at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio in Spring 2007.  Her poems have appeared in Genie Magazine and North Central Review, and she attended the West Virginia Writers Workshop in Morgantown, West Virginia during the
summer of 2006.

Padgett Gerler grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.  Now she resides in North Carolina where she is a CPA and CFO of a Raleigh corporation.  Her novel, The Summer the Air Changed, is a coming-of-age story set in the Appalachian Mountains.  She is currently working on two novels, Now, Where was I? and Getting the Important Things Right. Please contact her at Padgett@genesislight.com and visit her website at
www.genesislight.com/summerair/.

Lisa Hall lives in Fall Branch, Tennessee with her husband and two young daughters. She is the author of the celebrated series, The Cutie Pies Chronicles, published by Mountain Girl Press.  The third installment of the series, Play Dates, Pies, and Sad Goodbyes, is due for release in December 2009.  She has also had short stories published in the Mountain Girl Press short story collections, The Zinnia Tales, Self-Rising Flowers, and Christmas Blooms as well as Zeniths and Zephyrs, an anthology by MtnValy Publishing.  You may read about Lisa and her books, or contact her at http://lisahall-7.tripod.com.

Susan Noe Harmon is a native of Harlan County, Kentucky. Although now living in Florida she considers herself an Appalachian writer. She writes passionately about life in the mountains as her heart remains in the hollers of Kentucky, and with its people.  Her first novel, Under the Weeping Willow, published by Mountain Girl Press, tells the story of three generations of Kentucky women.  Her second book, due out in November 2009, is a memoir of her childhood growing up with an abusive and alcoholic father.  It is ultimately a story of redemption as Susan learns that forgiveness is her ticket to freedom.  The book, titled To Hide the Truth is published by Little Creek Books, an imprint of Mountain Girl Press. You may read more about her latest book at www.littlecreekbooks.com. Susan has also published several short stories, most recently in Zeniths and Zephyrs, an anthology published my MtnValy Publishing. Her website is www.snharmon.com.

Judith Victoria Hensley is an award winning teacher, writer, and photographer. She was born in Harlan County, Kentucky and returned to teach elementary and middle school twenty five years ago.  She is a weekly columnist for the Harlan Daily Enterprise, having written over 500 columns.  Her photography and articles have also appeared in a variety of magazines.  The acapella women's trio, Mountain Spirit, recorded the soundtrack for the documentary Above the Clouds which was released in the spring of 2007.  Her first juvenile novel, Sir Thomas the Eggslayer, was published in 2006 by Ascended Ideas Publishing and a companion novel is in progress.  Her second children's novel, Terrible Tina, is pending publication.  Most recently, Ms. Hensley edited the book Mountain Mysteries: Stories that Make You Wonder.  You may view her website at http://www.judithvhensley.com/.

Linda Hudson Hoagland has had two novels released by Publish America: An Awfully Lonely Place, 2008, and The Little Old Lady Next Door, 2006.  She is adding to her collection of short stories constantly, with many essays, short stories, or poems published.  She is married with two sons, and works for Tazewell County Schools.

Susanna Holstein is the writer of the story “Yellow Roses,” which was an award-winner at the 2007 West Virginia Writers Conference. A professional storyteller and librarian, Susanna writes poetry, essays and children’s stories, and maintains an active online journal at www.grannysu.blogspot.com. Her storytelling and mountain ballads are showcased on the CD “Mountain Story, Mountain Song,” and she has self-published several collections of her poems and stories. The mother of five sons and granny of twelve, Susanna lives in Jackson County, West Virginia.

Pam Keaton has been a professional portrait painter and closet writer for over twenty years.  We were introduced to Pam in 2006 when her short story "Road Trip to Albany" was included in The Zinnia Tales; and in 2007 she painted the cover art for Secrets, Lies, and Pieswritten by Mountain Girl Press author, Lisa Hall. In 2008 she provided the artwork for Lisa's second novel, Cheaters, Pies, and Lullabies; doing the same for the third installment of the series, Playdates, Pies, and Sad Goodbyes.  Pam is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and lives in Hillsboro, Ohio, where she helps her husband renovate properties as well as being a real estate appraiser.  More information as well as samples of Pam's artwork can be found at www.pamkeaton.com.

Betty Kossick holds a successful thirty eight year writing background. Betty is the author of a writer’s manual: Basic Writing Skills, published by Advent Source. She interviewed most of the subjects for Jane Boucher’s book Escaping Domestic Abuse (2009). Recently, her work appeared in books published by Mountain Girl Press and MtnVly Publishers. Betty’s early traumatic childhood, her emerging walk with God, and an unexpected career as a writer, all supply the fodder of her autobiographical book Beyond the Locked Door (2006.) Her published articles, stories, and poems in newspapers, magazines, books, and anthologies are too numerous to list. However, many are available to read via her name on Google.  Her latest work, Heart Ballads, a potpourri of poetry, is published by Little Creek Books.  You may contact Betty at bettykossick@gmail.com.

Kathy Loyd lives in Gray, Tennessee with her husband and two children.  She is a graduate of East Tennessee State University and loves the Appalachian area.  Kathy enjoys reading and hiking with her family and is currently working on her first novel.

Jennifer Poteet Mullins is a former third place winner in the Virginia Highlands Festival’s Creative Writing Contest.  Her short story “The Jungle Monster” took first place in the Lonesome Pine Short Story Contest in 2003.  Also in 2003, she was awarded first place in the short story category, second place in the essay category and third place in the poetry category of Mountain Empire Community College’s Art Competition. Her work has been published in Writer’s World Magazine, The Bristol Herald Courier, and in Mountain Empire Community College’s on-line magazine Explorations. Jennifer lives in Big Stone Gap, Virginia with her family.

Jo Ann Scott is the author of "Preacher Donavan's Nephew" published in Self-Rising Flowers.  She lives in Pennington Gap, Virginia, with her
husband and son.

Tricia Scott grew up in rural Ferrum, Virginia where she developed an affinity for superstitions and tall tales, morning glories, and a pan of good cornbread. Currently a home schooling mother residing in Roanoke, Virginia, Tricia is hard at work on a novel also set in the mountains of the Blue Ridge. Her short story is in The Zinnia Tales.  She can be reached at triciascott@cox.net.

Tammy Robinson Smith published her first novel, Emmybeth Speaks (Mountain Girl Press), in 2005.  The first chapter of the novel was awarded second place in the adult short story category at the 2003 Virginia Highlands Festival. The novel was nominated for a 2006 Appalachian Book of the Year award as well.  Smith also had a short story published titled, "Jeanie Claire has left the Building," in the Second Volume of the Lost State Writers Guild Collection.  She is currently working on a new novel called Didama's Garden.  After numerous years working as a broadcast reporter, then in the marketing and public relations profession, she founded Mountain Girl Press in 2005. In 2009, Smith started an imprint of Mountain Girl Press called Little Creek Books.  You can read more about LCB at the website www.littlecreekbooks.com.  Smith and her family reside in Bristol, Virginia.  She may be contacted at publisher@mountaingirlpress.com.

Mary McMillan Terry is an adjunct professor of composition and American literature at Pellissippi State Technical Community College in Knoxville, TN.  She grew up in the mountains of North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before moving to Knoxville for graduate studies.  She enjoys teaching, writing, and research and has written an article on No Child Left Behind for a book on teaching, and entries for The Continuum Encyclopedia of Young Adult Literature.  Her short story is published in The Zinnia Tales.

Maggie Thomas feels blessed to have grown up in the tranquil mountains of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.  She is working on a young adult novel and other projects set in the Appalachian Mountains, her research allowing her to spend lots of time outdoors.  Ms. Thomas lives in Bristol Tennessee with her husband and "children," their beloved pets.  She has a short story published in Self-Rising Flowers.

Teresa Artrip Wardlives on her family farm with a flurry of pets. Her time is spent as wife, mother, librarian and avid reader!  Her writings have been widely published from academic journals to local magazines. She has been the recipient of various literary awards, especially for poetry, locally and nationwide.

Donna Akers Warmuth, a 7th generation native of Washington County, Virginia, has written several books about Abingdon, Virginia, Washington County, Virginia, Boone, North Carolina and Blowing Rock, North Carolina.  She is also the published author of Plumb Full of History, A Story of Abingdon, Virginia, and Legends, Stories and Ghostly Tales of Abingdon and Washington County.  You may reach her through her website at www.donnawarmuth.com.  She lives near Boone, North Carolina.

Mary Kuykendall Weber was born on a farm in West Virginia and now lives in Middle Grove, NY.   After leaving GE, she wrote a book on corporate greed, The House that Jack Blew Down, and a play, “Gold Collars,” a new category in the traditional blue, pink and white collar workers.   She has written thirty four short stories and one novella based in West Virginia. She received a “Semi Finalist” award in the 2005 Faulkner competition for “Revelations.”  Another short story, “Farm Sentinel,” was published by Outrider Press earlier this year and “Fending” is being published by Goose River Press this fall.  

Rebecca Lee Williams is a 4th generation descendant from Gate City, Virginia.  This is her second work published by Mountain Girl Press; her short story, "The True Beauty," was featured in The Zinnia Tales.  Her feature animation script, "Ready Set Fly," was awarded third place in the 2006/07 Wisconsin Screenwriters Forum contest.  She enjoys writing screenplays and short stories.  Along with being a Human Resource
professional at one of the leading trauma and research hospitals in the nation, she is also a locally recognized supporter of early childhood education and the Girl Scouts.  She resides in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband, daughter, and two rambunctious terriers.  She can be reached at rlwms@ameritech.net.

P. J. Wilson lives in Bedford, VA.  She writes about food, farming and Appalachian folks with colorful lives well lived.  Her work was featured last year in The Zinnia Talesand again this year in Self-Rising Flowers.  She can be emailed at Pjwilsongross@aol.com.

Tammy Wilson was a contributor to The Zinnia Tales and Self-Rising Flowers. She has published more than four dozen stories in literary journals, most recently MoonShine Review and the Lavanderia anthology by City Works Press, San Diego. She lives in Newton, NC and is working towards her MFA at the University of Southern Maine.