Of her part in the
Chicken Soup
family, Patty says, “I'm always encouraged, amazed, and humbled by the storytellers I meet when working on any
Chicken Soup
book, but by far the most poignant have been those stories of women in the working world, overcoming incredible odds andâin the face of all challengesâexcelling as only women could do.”
Patty is also the coauthor of several other bestselling titles:
Chicken
Soup for the Christian Soul, Christian Family Soul,
and
Christian Woman's
Soul, Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul, Chicken Soup for the
Sister's Soul,
and
Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul.
She is married to a successful international entrepreneur, Jeff Aubery, and together with J. T. and Chandler, they make their home in Santa Barbara, California. Patty can be reached at:
Self-Esteem Seminars
P.O. Box 30880
Santa Barbara, CA 93130
Phone: 805-563-2935
Fax: 805-563-2945
Peter Vegso arrived in South Florida from Canada and founded the publishing company Health Communications, Inc., in 1976. HCI's first
New York Times
bestseller,
Adult Children of Alcoholics
(Woititz), appeared on the list in 1985 and has been followed by dozens more self-help and inspirational titles, including
Healing the Shame That Binds
You
(Bradshaw),
A Child Called It
and
The Lost Boy
(Pelzer), and many titles in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Recognized twice by
Publishers Weekly
as the #1 Self-Help Publisher, HCI is guided in its publishing program by its mission statement, “Making a difference in the lives of our readers and the people they come in contact with.”
Peter's other business interests include a professional publishing and conference company that provides training, licensing, and certification for members of the mental health community, a custom design and architectural elements manufacturer, and real estate development.
Peter enjoys his 140-acre farm in Ocala, Florida, where he continues to expand his successful thoroughbred breeding and training facility. Daily operations are handled by the hardest-working manager in the world, Chuck Patton, who shares Peter's intention to not only win the Kentucky Derby but also the Triple Crown before their spirits leave this planet.
Peter Vegso
Health Communications, Inc.
3201 SW 15th Street
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
phone: 954-360-0909 ⢠fax: 954-360-0034
website:
www.hcibooks.com
Elena Aitken
is a freelance writer with her own copywriting business, Ink Blot Communications, in Calgary, Alberta. She keeps busy parenting her four-year-old boy/girl twins, volunteering in the community, and writing when she finds the time. You can contact Elena at leenie [email protected] or on her new website at
www.inkblotcommunications.ca
, which is coming soon!
Janice Alonso
enjoys being with her family, inspirational writing, and traveling. Her work has appeared in
Grit, Lutheran Digest, Standard, Palo
Alto Review,
and
Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul II.
Please visit her at
www.janicealonso.com
and leave her a message.
Paula F. Blevins
and her husband, David, live in southern Ohio with three wonderful kids and their pets. She is the author of the
For Hymn
mystery series and a variety of Chicken Soup stories, and she enjoys writing for children as well as adults. Contact Paula through her web-site at
www.paulafblevins.com
.
Arthur Bowler
, a U.S./Swiss citizen and graduate of Harvard Divinity School, is a writer and speaker in English and German. His work has appeared in several bestselling anthologies and in bestselling books in Switzerland. Look for his book,
A Prayer and a Swear.
Visit his website at
www.arthurbowler.ch
.
Julie Callas
is a homemaker and mother of three inspiring children. She is a freelance poet and magazine writer who enjoys the Bible, the beach, and writing. She plans on publishing her first volume of poetry in the next year. Please e-mail her at [email protected].
Anne Carter
, a native New Yorker and freelance writer, dedicates this story to her two grandsons, Daniel and Dylan Delacruz, in memory of their beloved mother, Donna. May her amazing spirit always be with you. Anne's inspirational stories have appeared in major publications. Contact anne at [email protected].
Emily ParkeChase
writes for teens on relationship issues. Her first book was
Why Say No When My Hormones Say Go
? which was followed by
You,
Me, and WHO? 5-Minute Devotionals for You and Your Date.
She speaks hundreds of times each year in schools and conferences on these topics.
JoAnn Clark
was the founding editor and writer for her church newsletter.
Sally Clark
and her husband live in the Texas Hill Country, but they love retreating to the sea. Sally has published humor, greeting cards, children's stories, and award-winning poetry, most recently in the
2007 Texas Poetry Calendar
and
Relief: A Quarterly Christian Expression
Journal.
E-mail her at [email protected].
Lisa Ricard Claro
enjoys writing personal essays, women's and children's fiction, and short stories in every genre. She has recently completed her first women's fiction novel. In addition to writing, Lisa's loves include her husband, their three children, reading, and beaches everywhere. Please e-mail her at [email protected].
Helen Colella
is a freelance writer from Colorado. Her work includes educational materials, articles, and stories for adults and children. She operates AssitWrite as a consultant for self-publishers and writing coaches. E-mail her at [email protected].
Margaret P. Cunningham
lives on Alabama's beautiful Gulf Coast with her husband, Tom. She enjoys reading, writing, and “beaching it” with family and friends. Her stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies, including several Chicken Soup for the Soul books. She is currently working on a novel. Please e-mail her at [email protected].
Susan Allsbrook Darke
has been in human resources management for more than thirty years. Currently living in northern Virginia, Susan and her husband plan to relocate to the Outer Banks in North Carolina in the near future. Susan enjoys reading, singing, dancing, writing, and spending time with family. E-mail her at [email protected].
Bonnie Walsh Davidson,
M.Ed., of Marion, Massachussetts, is the author of
Breast Friends
. Davidson has turned her breast cancer experience into an avocation, publishing numerous pieces on breast cancer in several national magazines as well as
Chicken Soup
for Every Mom's Soul
(March 2005) and
Chicken Soup for the Sister's
Soul
(October 2006). Her husband, Paul, encouraged her to spread her wings with a website, PinkRibbon.com, in the hopes of assisting other women diagnosed with breast cancer. Davidson is a mother of three and a full-time real estate associate for Jack Conway & Company, Inc., in Mattapoisett, Massachussets, and chairperson of the Relay for Life in her community.
Sue Diaz
is an essayist, author, and writing teacher whose work has appeared in numerous regional and national publications, including
Newsweek, Family Circle, Christian Science Monitor, Woman's Day,
and
Reader's Digest.
She is also a frequent on-air essayist on National Public Radio. She can be reached via her website:
www.suediaz.com
.
Judy DiGregorio
, a freelance writer from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, has published more than one hundred humorous poems and essays, including columns in the
Writer
and the
Army-Navy Times
. She was recently nominated by the Tennessee Arts Commission to their online registry (
www.SouthernArtistry.com
) as an outstanding southern writer.
Avis Drucker
retired to Cape Cod with husband Al as “washashores” in 2001. Her memoirs and poetry have appeared in
Chicken Soup for the
Soul Life Lessons for Women; Chicken Soup for the Shopper's Soul; World of
Water, World of Sand
anthology;
The Philosophical Mother; The Aurorean;
Primetime;
and in syndication with King Features Syndicate. She has two daughers, Leslie and Vicki.
Stefanie Durham
is a freelance writer living in Florida with her husband and three amazing daughters. She captured a love for writing while attending East Tennessee State University and is currently working on her first novel. She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].
Karen Falk
grew up on Long Island in New York. She received her degrees from SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Oneonta, and CUNY Queens College. She is married and lives in Las Vegas. She is currently teaching third grade. This piece was written to model the writing process for her students. Karen vacations at any beach. She has wonderful memories of her family growing up at the beach club.
Carolyn Mott Ford
lives near the ocean and enjoys walking along the beach. She writes poetry, essays, and stories, as well as early learners for children, and her work has been published in general, juvenile, and literary magazines, as well as anthologies.
Sally Friedman
spent her summers growing up at the New Jersey seashore, where her mother taught her to love the ocean. She has transmitted that legacy to her own children and grandchldren. A longtime freelance writer, Sally has shared many of her reflections with readers of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. E-mail her at [email protected].
Paula Gunter-Best
received her bachelor of arts with high honors from Eckerd College. Her hobbies include showing and breeding rabbits. She combines her love for children and for rabbits into a ministry providing practical messages of pet ownership with messages of divine love and acceptance for all God's beings.
Pamela Hackett Hobson
(Peggy's daughter!) is the author of two novels:
The Bronxville Book Club
and
The Silent Auction.
Pam's debut novel,
The Bronxville Book Club
, was featured in the
New York Times
. To learn more about the author and her writing projects, visit
www.pamelahobson.com
or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Patrick Hardin
is a freelance cartoonist whose work appears in a variety of books and periodicals. He may be reached by phone at 810-234-7452.
Roberta Beach Jacobson
considers herself a free spirit. At age twenty-one, she left Chicagoland to explore Europe. After more than two decades of wandering, she settled on the Greek island of Karpathos, where she spins words and feeds cats. Her website can be found at
http://www.travelwriters.com/Roberta.
Karen R. Kilby
resides in Kingwood, Texas, with her husband, David. She is a certified personality trainer with CLASServices, Inc., and a speaker for Stonecroft Ministries. Karen has had several short stories published and can be reached at [email protected].
Betty King
is an author of three books, a freelance writer, and a lifestyle and devotional newspaper columnist and speaker who lives with the disease multiple sclerosis. Visit her website at
www.bettyking.net
or e-mail her at [email protected].
Dolores Kozielski
is a certified Feng Shui practitioner in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. She is an author and award-winning poet, published with major publishing houses including HarperCollins. Dolores is a contributor to
Chicken Soup for the Soul Healthy Living/Stress
and
Chicken Soup for the Soul Sister's Soul 2.
She may be reached at
www.FengShuiWrite.com
.
Jaye Lewis
is an award-winning writer who, at age sixty, finds the trials of life, and its lessons, the best way to find out who you are. You can read more of Jaye's inspirational stories on her website at
www.entertainingangels.org
or e-mail Jaye at [email protected].
Heather Cook Lindsay
received her bachelor's from Mount Holyoke College and her master's from Harvard University. Heather is writing a memoir about her highly unusual life. She grew up in an oxygen tent, was disabled by thirty, and can usually be found writing or laughing with her husband. E-mail her at [email protected].
Andrea MacEachern
currently resides in St. John's, Newfoundland, where she works from home as a freelance writer and volunteers with a local cable station as a camera person. She enjoys photography, swimming, and walking.
Audrey D. Mark
is an award-winning writer and graduate of Northwestern University. Her humorous columns appear in the
Raleigh News & Observer
and other publications. She has three great kids and an adoring husband, who thinks that even her grocery lists are cleverly written. Please e-mail her at [email protected].
Janet Matthews
is a writer, editor, professional speaker, and coauthor of the bestselling
Chicken Soup for the Canadian Soul.
She has a new book entitled
The Navy's Baby,
for which she is currently seeking a publisher, and she is working on another book entitled
Discovering Your Spiritual
Purpose.
To learn more about Janet or contact her, go to
www.janetmatthews.ca
, or call 905-726-8000, or e-mail [email protected].