DJ is a proud writer of young adult paranormal-romance who suffers from Sexy New Idea Syndrome and currently writes from his bedroom. His novel HUNTED will be published by Pendrell Publishing in 2011. In addition to novel-writing, he is also a singer/songwriter and book blogger. His reviews and songs can be found on his site, DJ's Life in Fiction. As he continues to grow as a person and a reader, DJ hopes to continue growing as a writer and can't wait to see where his stories take him. Find HUNTED on Facebook and GoodReads! LEIGH FALLON
Leigh was born in South Africa, raised in Dublin, Ireland and moved to Cork in her 20s. While living in beautiful Kinsale, Co Cork she discovered a love of writing. When Ireland's rich history and magical tales combined with Leigh's convent school upbringing, her brain became a breeding ground for inspiration. She writes mainly for the young adult market. Her debut novel, CARRIER OF THE MARK, is being published by HarperTeen and will be released in September 2011. You can check it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads.
Leigh has another two books in the Carrier series and a few other projects she's working on. She can be found lurking in cyberspace on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Inkpop, and many more. On the odd occasion when she steps back into reality, she spends her time with her husband and four children, sharing her time between her homes in Massachusetts and Ireland. You can find out more about Leigh at http://www.leighfallon.com/
Represented by: Tina Wexler - ICM (International Creative Management), New York.
CHANELLE GRAY
Chanelle Gray is a 23-year-old from London who enjoys a multitude of things, including reading, writing, shopping, and eating! Currently, she works for the Ministry of Justice, where she is the deputy manager of her team. There are no kiddies in her life yet, but she does have two naughty dogs and one adorable nephew, who she dotes on. Her current literary preferences include paranormal romances and all contemporary works. She has completed over eight novels, and spends any free time she has on completing more or reviewing any book she gets her hands on.
Her debut novel MY HEART BE DAMNED will be published in Fall 2012 by kNight Romance publishers. Add it to Goodreads here.
Chanelle blogs over at Beyond Words and also uses twitter, where she tweets about not only writing related matters, but anything that randomly comes to mind. She is represented by Victoria Marini of the Gelfman and Schneider Lit agency.
WENDY HIGGINS
Wendy Higgins is a former high school English teacher turned on-the-go mom. She lives with her husband, two children, and their mutt in Northern Virginia. Wendy earned a B.A. in Creative Writing from George Mason University and a M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford University. An avid day-dreamer, she prefers to safely shake-up her stable life by escaping into literature and her own active imagination.
SWEET EVIL, Wendy's debut novel, is being published by HarperTeen in 2012. It came to her in a rush of inspiration when she was feeling disheartened about no longer teaching. Writing for Young Adults has given her the opportunity to delve into the ambiguities of those pivotal years before adulthood. You can follow her writing journey on her personal blog and Twitter.
SHARON JOHNSTON (aka ME!)
Sharon is a corporate communication manager and a former journalist from Australia who writes in her spare time. SLEEPER is Sharon's first novel that she is currently querying. Although she normally writes about the strange and the weird, her first publication will be a general fiction short story call GROWTH as part of The Australian Literary Review's anthology THE BASICS OF LIFE.
Sharon loves YA, science-fiction, speculative fiction, paranormal and anything that comes from the deepest darkest parts of someone's mind. She draws inspiration from local writers who have made it in the tough Australian publishing industry such as Tara Moss, Kerri Arthurs, Karen Brooks and Emily Rodda.
Well-known for her fantastic taste in shoes, Sharon has actually been stalked by women wanting to know where she got her high heels from. She invites you to read her personal blog and she is a Twitter fiend so follow her @S_M_Johnston.
SARAH NICOLAS
Sarah is a twenty-something who currently lives in the Florida Keys with her family, four chihuahuas and one 50-lb wannabe chihuahua. Fantasy and Sci-Fi are her favorite genres, but she loves all YA - especially anything written by Laurie Halse Anderson. Sarah believes that some boys are worth trusting, all girls have power, and dragons are people too.Sarah’s a proud member of the Gator Nation and has a BS in Mechanical Engineering (That’s a “BS ME” for those of you keeping track) with a minor in Sales. Volunteering and non-profit work is important to her and she's always raising money for one cause or another. She interns with a small publisher, reading manuscripts.
She also blogs at http://www.sarahnicolas.com/ and is obsessed with Twitter, so she'd love for you to follow her @sarah_nicolas. Tumblr is her newest favorite distraction. Sarah and her sister, Kayelee, can be seen vlogging every Saturday at the YA Rebels.
KELLEY VITOLLO
Kelley Vitollo was one of those girls who dreamed of growing up and writing stories. Young at heart, her passion has always been writing about teens. Now, in her early thirties (shh, don’t tell), she’s finally working on making that dream come true. Her YA novel, LET'S GET PHYSICAL is currently on submission. She recently finished FREEING CARTER, a book that is extremely close to her heart. She has a passion for character-driven stories and is a total romantic at heart. In her books, she adores exploring the whole journey of falling in love; from stolen glances, to innocent touches, and ultimately falling head-over-heels in love.
When not writing or devouring books by some of her favorite authors like Sarah Ockler, Cassandra Clare, and Jenny Han (amongst others), you can find her online at her personal blog or on twitter at @KelleyVitollo. Kelley lives in sunny Southern California with her incredible husband and two beautiful daughters.
KELLEY YORK
Kelley York has been a writer and artist for as long as she can remember, and she has a goofy-looking trophy from a first grade story contest to attest to that. She has always been fascinated with character creation and story-telling, leaning toward the dark and slightly morbid side of things in her writing. She's married to a fantastic wife who puts up with all her craziness.
Within young adult, she enjoys writing and reading a variety of genres. The darker, the better. Give her tragic characters and sympathetic villains all the way. Romance is super, but it takes the back-burner to great character development and growth. Kelley likes chasing her characters up trees and pelting them with rocks (and small explosives) before giving them their happily ever afters.
Kelley's dark YA thriller, HUSHED, is now available from Entangled Publishing.
Kelley keeps her own blog at Flowers for Ghosts, and you can follow her on Twitter, @elixing.
