Deanna Jones-Guinasso was a pioneer in the sport of women’s bodybuilding. In 1977 she helped organize the first bodybuilding competition in northern California to include women. When females began using steroids, Ms. Guinasso shifted her focus placing 7th in the Ms. National Fitness, where the other competitors were half her age.

She participated in a number of athletic activities throughout her fitness career including running marathons and 100-mile roller-skating events. Ms. Guinasso is a long-time student of anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology. In 1992 she invented an exercise device (patent #5,399,138), the ButtMaster®, marketed by Suzanne Somers.

At sixty she was involved in the equine sport of endurance racing and competed in the Tevis, a one-day 100-mile race from Squaw Valley down to Auburn. At 73, she spends her days working out, gardening, painting, and writing.

Angie Sherbondy I taught French and Spanish for 31 years. I create and sell curricula for world language teachers and have been writing blog posts for over 10 years. I have written hundreds of short stories in Spanish and French, but I have never written a book in English.

I have just begun writing a novel and am enjoying the learning process.

C.T. Blatchley is the author of the science-fiction novel The Weavers of Khro Atan. He has spent 30 years working on various projects with some of the world’s greatest illustrators. They include Angus McBride, an artist considered by many publishers around the world to be the greatest historical artist of the second half of the twentieth century. C.T himself is recipient of awards for painting and sculpting. He believes that novelists require imagination like plumbers require a pipe-wrench. Imagination is the writer’s most important tool, active every waking moment. The audiobook version of Blatchley’s novel was recorded by Jim Frangione, who has narrated hundreds of books and is known for the Dennis Lehane books. When not writing or otherwise creating art, C.T. reads and listens to music. Among his favorite authors: Sholokhov; Bulgakov; Goethe; Hardy; Conrad; Herbert; Bradbury; Heinlein; Christie; and John Le Carre. He loves the novels And Quiet Flows the Don, The Smiley Trilogy, Blood Meridian, The Brothers Karamazov, The Master and Margarita, Dune; Long Day’s Journey Into War, and The Great Siege. C.J. also enjoys opera, musicals, jazz, big bands, old films, and silent films.

Monica Stark is the Editor at Valley Community Newspapers, which includes the Land Park News, East Sacramento News, Arden-Carmichael news and the Pocket News. She also edits the West Sacramento News-Ledger. Community journalism is a passion and she’s enjoying taking her writing to new heights with her first novel.