Just Write Chapter
Writing Bios for some of our Members
Ann Gordon, Chapter President
Ann has been president of the Just Write chapter for over twelve years. She likes to write ghost stories, flash fiction, and spec fiction. She's published both fiction and nonfiction and has won writing contest awards in short story, creative nonfiction, media article, poetry, and book trailer. Ann has co-authored four historical novels and has edited and published books for several authors. Each year she serves as a judge in fiction and nonfiction writing contests. She mostly writes short stories, which have been published in newspapers, magazines, and anthologies, including the LUW anthology At First Glance. She taught in both K-12 and junior colleges before working for over 20 years in the corporate world as a technical writer, instructional designer, and copy editor.
Ann grew up in Utah where she earned a B.A. in English, German and Secondary Ed. Later she earned a Master's degree in Computer Information Systems. She's an active member of LUW, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and STC (Society of Technical Communication). She recently retired from tech writing and instructional design, hoping to finish her creative writing projects.
Nancy Roe, newsletter editor
When Nancy was twelve, she wrote an autobiography for a sixth grade English assignment. In the last chapter, Nancy wrote that she wanted to be an author. Dreams do come true!
Nancy writes and publishes both fiction and nonfiction. She has self-published nine books and is currently working on her seventh mystery novel. She's a Midwest farm girl at heart and lives in Utah with her husband and their four-legged children, Max and Addison.
Website: www.NancyRoeAuthor.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NancyRoeAuthor
Twitter: http://twitter.com/NancyRoeAuthor
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/NancyRoeAuthor
BookBub: BookBub.com/profile/Nancy-Roe
Lisa Vickers Forsyth, past V.P.
I write novels about magical doorways, stones, and masks for young audiences. So far I’ve penned seven novels with many other books in the works. Some of my books have been published. I’ll be working toward the goal of publishing my latest YA books in 2023.
My inspiration has come from the likes of C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman, and H.P. Lovecraft.
David Alan Armstrong, website assistant
David Alan Armstrong fell in love with writing when his seventh grade English teacher praised an essay and suggested he join her journalism class. The realities of life and family sidelined serious writing endeavors until he turned 60. Since then, his non-fiction indie publishing credits include Searching Isaiah (Gold Quill 2020), Flooding My Life with the Book of Mormon (Gold Quill 2021), and A Walk with the Master (Gold Quill 2023). Fiction indie publications include In the Days of Lachoneus, The Porch (Silver Quill 2019), I Will Always Love You - The Duet Series, and Ere You Left Your Room This Morning: Reflections on Living with Prayer.
He earned a B.A. in Elementary Education at BYU and a M.S. in Instructional Technology at USC. He retired in 2020 from a 40-year career in software development and project management.
Learn more about his books here: https://davidalanarmstrong.com
Linda Smith
Linda F. Smith has had a career as an attorney and a law professor. At the U of Utah College of Law she has been overseeing the Clinical Program—where students engage in actual practice—for over 35 years. Linda has recently retired and hopes to devote a lot of time to writing short stories.
Her stories typically deal with conflicts like those she has encountered as a lawyer, especially in the area of criminal or family law. Some day she hopes her stories will be published! That's the goal, anyway.
Shawn Pollock
Shawn Pollock was bitten by the writing bug early in life. At age 18, his short story, "Hats," won The New Era magazine's annual fiction contest. He is the author of the novels The Road to Freedom and The Cowboy Ninja Murders (Book One in the Royal City Mysteries Series). His short stories have appeared in Frontier Tales, Flash Fiction Magazine, Mysterical-E, We Are Dangerous: The League of Utah Writers 2023 Anthology, Cinnabar Moth Literary Collections, Once Upon a Future Time Vol. 4, and Lucky Penny. Mystery is his favorite genre. Steve Hockensmith and Ray Bradbury are his favorite authors. He is an active participant in the League of Utah Writers Just Write chapter, writes in the evenings when time and energy allow, and has several stories in various stages of completion. Follow him on Facebook at @authorshawnpollock.
Linda Allison
Linda K Allison is a recovering banker who lives among the trees in The Woodlands, Texas. She began writing creative nonfiction and poetry after retiring from JP Morgan Chase in early 2021. Her writing has been included in The Sun, The Milk House, Moon Park Review, The Bluebird Word, a number of anthologies (including several published by the League of Utah Writers), and elsewhere. Linda is also an amateur photographer. Her photographs have been published in The Sun, Burningword Literary Journal, Thimble Lit, Alchemy Spoon, and others. Her photo “Autumn in Hell’s Kitchen” was selected for the cover of the Fall 2024 edition of Persimmon Tree.
When she’s not writing or taking pictures of everything in sight, Linda enjoys traveling, rock hunting, hiking, and the occasional barre class. Should you happen to come across her on a golf course, duck.
Mary Jensen
Mary writes fantasy and poetry. She enjoys the fantastic and creating new worlds, creatures, and magics. She lives in Utah with her husband and son. When growing up, Mary was the middle of nine children; she escaped the loudness of reality by immersing herself in books and poetry. From chaos comes creation.
Follow Mary on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryWJensenFanPage
Visit her website: https://marywjensen.weebly.com/
Lorraine Jeffrey
After living and working in Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, Georgia and Oregon, Lorraine delights in her closeup view of the Utah mountains. She earned a Master’s degree in Library Science and managed public libraries for over twenty years, all while she and her husband raised their ten children (eight adopted and two biological). Lorraine has published a lot of prose and poetry.
Her prose has appeared in many publications, including Persimmon Tree, Focus on the Family, Elsewhere, Ocotillo, Utah Senior Review, and Mature Years. Her first novel, Death is Always a Resident, was published in 2015 by Cedar Fort Press. In addition, she has published over 200 poems in journals and anthologies, including the LUW anthologies: Shadowed Hourglass, Chasing Tomorrow, At First Glance, and Volatile When Mixed. Recently she published two books of wisdom and poetry: When the Universe Brings Us Back, Tethers, and Saltwater Soul. Her chapbook titled String-held Kites will be published in 2026 by Kelsay Books.
You can find Lorraine's books and the mentioned LUW anthologies here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Lorraine+Jeffery
Alissa Holyoak
Alissa’s writing journey began in second grade when her story about a soccer-loving Easter bunny won an award. After that, she kept writing – secretly at first – until her tales could no longer be contained. She has sold several stories to children’s magazines and her debut novel, The Questfields: A Summer in Yosemite, was released in May 2023.
With the support of her incredible husband and their four rambunctious children, Alissa dabbles in a wide range of genres from picture books to science fiction. When she’s not writing, Alissa enjoys spending time with her family, baking, traveling, attending the theater, and reading. The library is one of her favorite places and she is proud to say that her children feel the same way.
You can find Alissa online at: www.alissaholyoak.com
Her debut novel is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Questfields-Summer-Yosemite-Alissa-Holyoak/dp/B0C5GQT8XD
Nicole Dvorak
Nicole Dvorak Klunder, originally from Long Island, New York, fell in love with writing after getting back into reading romance novels in 2020. She picked up a prompt book and created something she had no idea she could. Shocked, she hasn’t stopped since!
She’s working on many different types of romance stories; loves short, quick poetry; and short stories for a fast-paced world.
Nicole has published four poems in The League of Utah Writers’ anthologies, as well as over twenty reflective blog articles on Instagram and Linktree, and counting! Her blog articles reflect on her writing journey and other topics. Her blog articles also appear on Utah writer critique groups’ websites and newsletters. She enjoys critique sessions because she loves being a cheerleader to fellow writers, and a lot of learning comes along with it.
You can find her work and anthologies here: https://linktr.ee/klunder
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dazzlingradiance@yahoo.com
She would love to publish a romance novel one day in addition to her own poetry anthology!
Haley Cavanagh
Haley Cavanagh is a military veteran, wife, and mother. She is a multiple award-winning and best-selling author, honored with the League of Utah Writers’ Silver Quill Award in 2020 and 2024, and the Bronze Quill Award in 2025 for her YA dystopian fantasy romance Shadowed Skies.
Haley is an alumna of Columbia College, a musical theater nut, and she loves to dive into any book that crosses her path. Haley resides with her family in the United States and enjoys spending time with her husband and children when she’s not writing. She loves to hear from her readers and encourages you to contact her via her website and social media.
Learn more about her and her books on her website: https://haleycavanaghbooks.com/ and on her Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Haley-Cavanagh/author/B07J5RKVF8
Erica Richardson
Lover of both fantasy and reality, Erica Richardson can’t seem to get enough of dragons or good, clean romance. She is a wife and a mother, and loves creatures of all kinds. She can be found in her home in Utah, snugging young children, caring for pets, and sitting with her nose in a book or her fingers on the keyboard.
Erica was awarded the Olive Woolley Burt Honorable Mention Award for her poem "Chains of Compulsion." This poem was also published in Utah's Best Poetry and Prose 2023. In the 2023 LUW Quills writing contest, her novel, Dragonbreath and Prejudice, received a "Recommended Read" award.
Website: www.ericarichardsonauthor.com
Instagram: EricaRichardsonAuthor
Facebook: Erica Richardson Author
Sharman Ober-Reynolds
Sharman Ober-Reynolds was born in LA and completed an MFA at Arizona State University. She worked as an FNP in autism research and is the primary author of The FRIEND Program for Creating Supportive Peer Networks for Students with Social Challenges, including Autism. Sharman received the League of Utah Writers’ Olive Woolley Bert and Silver Typewriter Awards. She was a short-list winner in the Essays category of the 9th Annual Adelaide Literary Magazine Award Contest. Her creative non-fiction has appeared in bioStories, Adelaide Literary Magazine, and Storyhouse Weekly Reader.
Read her creative non-fiction at www.sharmanoberreynolds.com.
Molly Walker
Molly wrote her first book at age seven, at the behest of her elementary school writing teacher. Molly had been hospitalized in conjunction with her great-grandfather’s dying, and through writing, she was able to make sense of it, save space for it, and get better. Since then, she has found many other ways to get sick and is sure of one cure: writing. Molly received her bachelor’s in English at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and went on to earn her master’s in creative writing from Columbia University in NYC. After six years of teaching everything from emotional regulation to toddlers to creative writing to members of NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illnesses), Molly now uses writing to explore her questions about divisive perspectives, societal roles, personal identity, and the extent to which our choices inform our character.
JM Cullen
An avid adventurist, JM enjoys traveling to new places to learn about the wonderful world we all live in. He grew up in Yakima, WA, earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska, and currently lives and works in Utah and Idaho.
A self-proclaimed nerd, he attends Comic Conventions and Renaissance Fairs (yes, he dresses the part), and follows technological breakthroughs. He began wondering how these gadgets would change our lives, and how they could go wrong, and writes about the things that keep him up at night.
Find him traveling and SCUBA diving all over the world! Go to his website for information on appearances, speaking engagements, and more incredible works. https://johncullennovels.me/home/
Kylee Lawyer
Kylee has been writing stories since she could hold a pen and has dreamed of being a published author for just as long. Most recently, she has worked as a stained glass artist at a renowned studio in Utah, painting and building windows for a variety of projects, and will soon earn a BA in Political Science with a minor in Creative Writing.
She plans to break into the publishing world this year with her literary short fiction. Her current long-form project, a contemporary fantasy novel about a woman who stumbles into a world of Kylee’s favorite things—folklore, secret societies, and magical bookstores—is what she hopes will be her debut novel. Kylee lives with her husband in a small apartment tucked against the side of a mountain in Utah and creates stories about magic whenever she can. You can find her on Instagram at @kylee_r_lawyer.
Carol Nicolas
Carol Nicolas likes to write fantasy for young adults or for anyone with an imagination and a young heart. She self-published 3 novels and has also published two short stories, one in an LUW Anthology and one in a Utah Horror Anthology. She has written a fairy tale web serial, available on her webpage.
Carol completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from BYU and is an active member of the League of Utah Writers. She is currently working on a sequel to The Sea Child and a fairy tale.
Webpage: https://carolnicolas.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolnicolaswriter
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/7787241?ref=nav_mybooks
Books:
The Sixth Power – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B4MHICQ
Double Play: A Novel of Magic – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q5E8UZC
The Sea Child: Selkie King Mysteries Book One – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0786ZW5P7
Short Stories:
"The Cellar" in It Came From the Great Salt Lake: A Collection of Utah Horror – https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997197099
"A Little Magic" in Volatile When Mixed: An Anthology of Poetry and Prose – https://www.amazon.com/dp/0988236745
Web Serial:
The True Adventures of Jay B R Wokky – https://carolnicolas.wordpress.com/the-true-adventures-of-jay-b-r-wokky-2/
Morgan Shaw
Morgan Shaw was born in Washington along the steady Columbia and raised in Utah under the shadow of Mt. Timpanogos. After tearing her hair out in corporate America, she decided to take a sabbatical to focus on her biggest mountain to climb yet: bringing readers into the fantastical world of her mind. When she isn’t busy shuffling her cat off her desk in a vain effort to write, Morgan devours books like a starving woman, searches for games that give her the same high as when she walked out onto Hyrule Field when she was a child, and sweats out her stress trying to break the blue board and get her next belt in Tae Kwon Do.
Morgan has worked as a technical and creative writer for the last decade, a freelance editor intermittently, and now focuses on writing SFF adult novels. She's written many short stories, two full-length novels, and has another WIP on the way.
Morgan writes wonderous stories about worlds she wants to discover and people she wants to meet. Hopefully, you want to explore alongside her. Follow along her journey at https://authormorganshaw.com/ and on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/authormorganshaw.bsky.social
Josie Hulme
Josie Hulme (aka Josie Hume) has a BA in creative writing, with a minor in literary editing. She has published eleven works of short fiction and poetry in anthologies, literary journals, and elsewhere. She is a 14-time winner of various competitions. She has taught creative writing and presented her work at several national literature conferences. As a grant writer, she secured more than $1 million in funding. She worked as her school’s literary journal editor, and she’s active in her community through service, continuing education opportunities, and efforts in literacy. She has written eight novels. You can find her at: josiehume.com.
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