Jerilyn Ring was born and raised in San Francisco and later relocated to Sacramento. She has six grown children and lives with her husband and two dogs in Loomis, California. She enjoyed a career in nursing working in different specialties but found that hospice, mental health, and chemical dependency were the most rewarding.

While she enjoyed a career in nursing, writing has always been her primary passion while reading is her past time. Like any pursuit, she believes writing is one-part talent and nine parts application, applying oneself to the study of structure, the novel’s blueprint and craft, the elements of fiction. She’s currently working on her second novel and has recently published her first, Bridget. Her genre is upmarket fiction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pete Cruz was raised in Milpitas, California, a town adjacent to San Jose. He holds a bachelor’s in English from California State University, Sacramento. A member of Inspire Christian Writers and the California Writers Club–Sacramento Branch, he has won awards for his short stories, served on the editing team for Inspire’s annual anthologies, and presented talks and workshops during his professional career. Pete enjoys water volleyball, cruiser motorcycles, dancing, and watching football and basketball. Visit www.PeteCruz.com.

 

Mark’s first novel, Stevenson’s Treasure was published by Fireship Press in 2014, and was a finalist in the Eric Hoffer Book Awards. His screenplay about Shakespeare’s family, “Taming Judith” was a finalist in the Academy of Motion Pictures’ writing competition and was optioned by a film company. He earned residencies at the Vermont Studio Center, the Martha’s Vineyard Writers’ Residency, and the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center. A psychologist who in his day job researched the criminally insane, Mark lives in Sacramento where he is working on two more historical novels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeffrey Sommer has been writing from the time he was in high school. Starting with poetry, he soon began writing short stories and later screenplays, plays and novels.  Having taken time off to raise a family, he resumed his passion for writing by completing two novels in the past year, with another set to be published in the coming months.

When he isn’t indulging his love for creative writing, Jeffrey spends his days and evenings at home with his wife and daughter in the foothills of Northern California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Former Sacramento Branch president La Ronda Bowen (bowen.writer@gmail.com) has pursued writing and public policy her entire adult life. Her areas of expertise include economic development and global warming.  She served the US Environmental Protection Agency as an advisor and currently splits her time between Southern California and Sacramento, where she is the California Air Resources Board’s Ombudsman and Small Business Liaison.   Connecting citizens to their government in meaningful ways is her passion. La Ronda has written numerous articles, including on environment, business, and health. With a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction, she belongs to a critique group in Los Angeles County while maintaining her Sacramento Branch membership. When not working or writing, La Ronda travels internationally, reminding her that the best recipe for healthy communities is an informed, activist population, a strong small business community, and an open government. China, Indonesia, Korea, Cuba, Spain, Scandinavia, and many Latin American countries are among the destinations La Ronda has visited. In the early 2000’s, La Ronda worked hard to gather historical documents for the branch. She drafted the first Sacramento Branch history for which she interviewed Ethel Bangert, the longest serving member at the time and co-founder of Sacramento Suburban Writers.