Daniel Johnston
Daniel grew up in Wyoming. His wife, and children were born in the DFW Area.
He is a petroleum economist, and has worked worldwide for governments and industry. As the author of a number of books on accounting, finance, international petroleum exploration economics, and risk analysis, his work has been translated into Russian and Chinese (published by PennWell Books, Tulsa). They are used as textbooks in universities around the world.
He has authored over a hundred articles in publications such as the Oil & Gas Journal, and Offshore Magazine. For over a decade, he wrote a column in the Petroleum Accounting and Financial Management Journal. In 2007, he cofounded the Journal of World Energy Law and Business (published by the Oxford University Press).
There are over 1,200 known citations of his work in industry literature.
Get to know Daniel at www.danieljohnston.com.
Darrell Bartell
Actor, playwright, short story writer, US Army Veteran, future radio broadcaster and cancer survivor, Darrell completed his M.A. degree in Drama at Texas Women’s University and MA in English from Southern New Hampshire University.
Plays “When the Echos Whisper My Name,” and “The First One-Hundred Days,” received awards in the Oklahoma Writer’s Federation Inc. playwright contest. Publications include an anthology of short stories, Ten-Five :You’re Going Home, Marine! and Barry and the Vampire.
David Standeven
David was born in the oil town of Midland, Texas and has spent most of his life in the DFW area. Since childhood he has been an appreciator of Tolkien, Dumas, Dostoyevsky, fellow Texan Robert E. Howard, and many of the classics. Over the years he has added Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, Jo Nesbo, Stephen King, and numerous others to that list.
While Software Engineering is the day job supports his wife, daughter, and dog, writing fiction is the hobby that has kept his gears turning for over ten years.
David has one published fantasy novella to his name and is finishing multiple other novels. His work encompasses fantasy, adventure, westerns, swashbuckling pirates, science fiction, and the hero’s journey.
When not reading or writing David can be found smoking meat, learning to cook new dishes, or fermenting his own mead with local honey.
Debbie Gillette
FWW-Fiction, Poetry, Memoir & More:
Blood on Tap
A Rich Legacy
Weatherford Democrat:
Living a Rich Life
Emily Williams
Emily Williams is the author of Restless Soul, her novel set in the UK. She wrote a monthly column for Episcopal Life national newspaper. Publishing credits include articles in the Fort Worth Star Telegram and the Signature newspaper. Her short stories and poetry have appeared in Sharing Liberty Connection and Travel Magazines as well as several Christian anthologies.
John R Ballew
John R. Ballew is a retired Texas History Teacher who spent 25 years in the trenches fighting ignorance. He says he has read every book on Texas history, and now his life desire is to find all the history that has not been written.
He spent six years researching Memphis and Hall County, Texas History. His Facebook Group about the Heart of the Upper Red River Valley, Memphis on TNE Red, has over 250,000 entries and over two million likes.
He wrote his first book about how his grandfather, Raymond Ballew, was framed, got rich on his way to prison, and was pardoned by the Governor of Texas during the Depression. Get ready to poke the bear with the biggest bootlegger in Texas history.
Meet John at the Facebook group Memphis on the TNE Red!
Mariana Mendez
Born and raised in the beautiful country of Belize, Ms. Mendez’s rich background is the foundation of her diverse perspectives. Her time living in the vibrant streets of Cuba further broadened her view of the world, together her experiences infuse her writing with a unique cultural richness. She discovered her love for storytelling early, publishing her first poem at 15—an experience that fueled her enduring passion for writing.
Now living in America, her experiences influence and inspire her current projects: a novel set in Cuba and a Children’s book exploring Belizean culture. Writing under the pseudonym Ramon Perez, she values the honest feedback that comes with anonymity, which allows her work to be appreciated purely on its own merits. In addition to her literary pursuits, she is also pursuing a career in Medicine.
As a member of the Fort Worth Writers community, Ms. Mendez is eager to engage with fellow writers and readers, sharing stories that not only reflect her journey but also aim to inspire and resonate with others.
Marilyn Gilbert Komechak
Getting Yourself Together (Self Help)
Morals and Manners for the Millennium
Paisano Pete: Snake Killer Bird (Juvenile)
Tales From the Bumpity Road (Children’s Story Collection)
Deborah Sampson: The Girl Who Went to War (Historical Novel)
Signs of Life (Short Story Collection)
Painted Poems: Interior Scapes (Art Speaking to Art)
Life Songs: poetry and lyrics by Marilyn Gilbert Komechak, Blackbead Books, Fort Worth, Texas, 2017.
Michael S. Bumagin, M. D., FACS
Michael Bumagin first came to Texas in 1968 as an intern at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. He pursued training in general and plastic surgery, and spent three years as a medical officer in the United States Army. He eventually settled in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, but the pull of Texas was overwhelming and he returned in 1987 to practice in Fort Worth.
After thirty years of practice, he almost figured it out and retired in 2016.
Along the way, he authored thousands of operative reports and a book, Exploring Fort Worth with Children, as well as two short stories about his favorite character: The Vampire.
He was a founding member of Fort Worth Writers—and its first president—and remains active to this day, in spite of the ravages of age (he has one artificial hip and a knee which keeps asking to be replaced). In retirement, he tries to avoid the politics of the day (it’s way too nasty) and spends most of his time reading, writing and visiting grandchildren.
His favorite themes are fantasy, sci-fi, horror and thrillers. His favorite authors are Dean Koontz, John Sandford, David Baldacci, the Kellermans, Stephen King (before the accident), Vince Flynn (and even the Kyle Mills version) and John Grisham.
He is also a fan of Anne McCaffrey, Greg Iles and the famous physician/writers: F. Paul Wilson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Alan E. Nourse, Stephen Joseph Bergman(aka, Samuel Shem), Michael Crighton and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.(Father of the Chief Justice).
He has several unfinished manuscripts in various drawers, boxes and hard drives and is currently working on a tale of a typewriter with the power to make stories come true.
Michael is married to his true love, Myra. They have five children and 11 grandchildren, none of whom want to become doctors or, so far, writers.
Nancy Craig
The Liar’s Legacy tells the story of a narcissistic habitual liar who has destroyed her relationships with everyone she’s ever known. When her professional life falls apart, she has no where to turn for help. Can she rebuild her life and find peace and self respect? It’s a road filled with dangerous curves and unexpected surprises.
Nancy Boo series: Birthdays, Bicycles and Braids, Tadpoles, Picnics and Field Goals, Babysitting, Lifeguards and Yard Sales and Movin’. (Children’s)
Nigel Blackwell
Nigel Blackwell was born in rural Oxfordshire in England. He has a love of books, a PhD in Physical Chemistry, and a black belt in pointing out the obvious.
He collaborated with New York Times best-selling author Diane Capri on the Jess Kimball Thrillers. Alone, he authored the caper’s Paris Love Match and Paris Rematch, the WW1 thriller The Devil’s Bible, and verse and novellas with a supernatural twist in By The Light.
After driving trains, crashing single-seat race cars, and traveling much of the world, he now lives in Texas with his wife, daughter, and an adventurous Tuxedo, where they enjoy the sunshine and listen to coyotes howl at night.
Visit Nigel at www.nigelblackwell.com.
Olyve Hallmark Abbott
Olyve graduated from S.M.U. and studied voice at the Juilliard School of Music. She has enjoyed a career in opera, television, and on stage.
Her work has appeared in several anthologies, and her extensive list of published books includes paranormal to epic western.
Most recently, she edited the memoirs of women who once lived in The Rehearsal Club, from the book Cinderellas of West 53rd Street. Some of the ladies include Carol Burnett, Kim Cattrall, and Denise Pense. Blythe Danner wrote the foreword. In April, Olyve appeared on “Author Talk,” an Online program presented by the Fort Worth Public Library.
For the past nine years, she has enjoyed writing monthly articles for Overton Life, a Fort Worth magazine. For six years, she has been writing a monthly series for STROLL Tanglewood, a tradition she hopes to continue.
Richard Bauer
Richard is a retired finance professor. He is the author/coauthor of three nonfiction books and over 25 published papers.
Currently he is finishing his first novel, Zenman, which is a mix of golf, Buddhism, and three love stories.
Roger Latham
Roger Latham, born under a Pisces moon, is awash with poetic rhyme, mystical musings kissed with pastels of kinky romance. The delicious decadence of love’s caress adds zest to every word. He brings quill to page, scribing poems, short stories, essays, memoirs and one play, to share with the world his deepest yearnings. Roger is a raconteur issuing his literary offspring with total abandon. He’s enjoyed an entertaining existence, to some, worth the read.
Roger is the unofficial poet of the Navy Blue Angeles
Sean Strange
Sean Strange published his first novel, Cross, in April 2015 and is currently working on a second story for the Scott-Green series. He has served for 20 years as an English teacher at Fort Worth’s North Side High School.
Steven R. Southard
A former submariner and engineer, Steven R. Southard writes science fiction about characters grappling with new technologies and journeying on strange voyages. Steve’s short stories appear in over a dozen anthologies, including The Science Fiction Tarot, Not Far from Roswell, and Re-Terrify. Fourteen of his tales form the What Man Hath Wrought series. He co-edited the anthologies 20,000 Leagues Remembered and Extraordinary Visions, Stories Inspired by Jules Verne.
Explore Steve’s website (where he’s known as Poseidon’s Scribe) at www.stevenrsouthard.com.