Sheri Sandoval

Reading fills Sheri Sandoval's soul with joy. As a child she got lost in the worlds of classic 19th Century British novels, Agatha Christie and Nancy Drew mysteries, and various children's classics. Over the years her tastes have evolved to include Smithsonian magazine and women's biographies. But even more than reading, Sheri loves to guide students in the art of writing. The ability to effectively communicate unique ideas is the foundation for success in any endeavor, and Sheri believes developing this ability begins by putting pen to paper.

Sheri graduated with honors from Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas. While pursuing her B.A. in English, she served as editor of and contributor to the campus's creative writing magazine and bi-weekly newspaper. She also worked as a Peer Tutor for Writing, Communications, and Spanish.

Since then, she has worked at IBM as the communications focal for an organization of 500+ employees, served as editor of a quarterly women's newsletter, and volunteered for three years as a reading and writing mentor for an elementary school ESL student.

Paul Schwarz

Paul Schwarz is a freelance editor/writer living in Lancaster, PA. Several magazine articles he has either written or edited have won awards from trade associations. Having lived in Florida from 1993 to 2005, Paul helps homeschoolers in the Sunshine State by serving as the publications editor for the Florida Parent-Educators Association. When not working on his or other people’s writing, Paul can often be found reading, working around the house or exercising.

Karen Shoaf

Writing didn’t come alive for Karen Shoaf until she found a subject about which to be passionate; food! Having been raised in New Orleans around the best food in the world, Karen found an outlet for her creative juices in a local tourist magazine. This opportunity allowed her to effectively communicate both the good, and the not-so-good flavors that she experienced in the many restaurants of the city. Her work in radio management and sales afforded her many opportunities to write advertising copy for local businesses.

Judy Silcock

Judy grew up on a farm in Northern California, but moved to Orange County after college and fell in love with Southern California's beaches, mountains and weather. She received her Bachelor's degree in English from Chico State University with the intention of becoming a teacher. However, at the end of her schooling she fell in love with computers and a natural progression turned her into a technical writer. She loves the challenge of learning a complicated software program and making it simple for others.

Judy enjoys being active in her church, her sons' water polo teams, their schools' PTA groups, and has recently started helping build houses with Habitat for Humanity. She and her husband have been married for 20 years and enjoy the hectic life of living with two teen-age sons and a big, active dog.

Teri Skidmore

Teri earned a B.S. in computer science and worked as a computer system engineer. Since leaving the full-time work force in 1992, Teri has operated a home-based publishing business, serving as editor for numerous print publications. She lives on several pristine acres with her family and a menagerie of animals, including horses, barn cats, and a black lab. Teri and her family have been involved in a home school co-op, where she teaches writing and history to Rhetoric and Dialectic students.

Jolene Stieb

Reading and writing have been part of Jolene's life since before she started school. Jolene started writing in a journal as a child and would read any book she could find. Since then her interest has blossomed into educational and work careers rooted in this field. From participating in high school creative writing classes to researching topics for presentations in extracurricular activities, Jolene has been educated in many forms of writing. Journalism has also been a staple throughout Jolene's writing education and work. Jolene worked on the newspaper staff from high school to college and beyond. After college Jolene was a staff member of the Special Sections department and editor of the "Kidsports" page at The Vindicator, an eastern Ohio newspaper. She has also been a freelance writer and editor for the past eight years. Jolene is currently working with another writer on a children's book.

Dao Strom

Dao Strom is a homeschooling mother, author, and musician who lives on the Oregon coast. She has taught creative writing to all ages, from beginning to advanced students. She is the author of two books of fiction, Grass Roof, Tin Roof and The Gentle Order of Girls and Boys. She is also a singer-songwriter who has toured and performed in Austin, Chicago, New York, and along the West Coast. She has a ten-year-old son who loves to write his own comic books and make Lego stop-animation movies.

Rachel Starr Thomson

Rachel Starr Thomson wrote her first novel, Theodore Pharris Saves the Universe, when she was thirteen. Since then, writing has become her chief discipline. Her articles on wide-ranging subjects have been published in various magazines, ezines, and Web sites. She also serves as copy editor for Home School Enrichment Magazine.

As CEO and chief bottlewasher of Little Dozen Press Rachel has published several of her books in the last few years. She also oversees the multi-author serial fiction project entitled "The Romany Epistles." She loves drinking tea, collecting books, going for long walks, and waxing eloquent on many topics.

Sherri Tobias

Sherri Tobias grew up as a nomadic missionary kid, visiting and living in more countries than she can count on her fingers and toes. Because of her frequent moves, Sherri's writing career began by writing long epistles and newsletters to her many friends scattered around the globe. Being more interested in theatre than writing at the end of high school, Sherri earned a B.A. in Communications with an emphasis in Theatre Arts from Messiah College. Changing directions after graduation, she completed her M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) from the University of Findlay, while working as a graduate assistant. She taught university-level English as a Second Language classes to international students for several years at the university, as well as teaching in an English program in Southeast Asia for a school year. When her children were young, Sherri began writing dramas for her church drama team as well as exploring the art of novel writing. Sherri and her family reside in the mountains of Western Pennsylvania.

Melanie Troxell

Melanie Troxell is a high school English teacher, a free-lance writer and a mommy to three small boys. She and her family currently live in Michigan while her husband is in graduate school. She spends her days tending her little ones and is active in church life, health and marriage counseling and seminars. She is currently working on two books, one which is currently at the publisher.

Nancy Vest

Nancy Vest wrote her first short story in second grade in response to a Norman Rockwell painting of a doctor and a little girl with her ‘sick’ doll. Nancy continued to write stories and poetry throughout her school years, completing her first novel at age 13 and being a contributor to her high school’s annual literary magazine. She earned an associate’s degree in Respiratory Therapy and worked in the medical field for several years, during which time she married her husband, Jim. Nancy has continued to write and has had several pieces published, as well as participating in National Novel Writing Month. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Bethel Bible College in Sanford, NC. In her ‘off school’ hours, Nancy enjoys reading, movies, playing cards and board games, jigsaw puzzles, sudoku, spending time with her husband and girls and, of course, writing.

Jerry Voltura

Teaching and adult education have been Jerry’s area of concentration for 25 years. After studying philosophy as an undergraduate and receiving a B.A. in philosophy, he continued studying the great thinkers in graduate school and earned an M.A. in applied philosophy and public policy. He was as a faculty member of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), and now teaches courses in writing, critical thinking, philosophy, and logic for several colleges. He joined the University of Phoenix (UOP) in 1995 and helped open the Nevada Campus. He also worked as an instructional designer for the University of Alaska Anchorage where he designed courses to help faculty integrate technology into their teaching. With Accelawriter he does what he loves: helping students achieve their dreams!