Racquel Henry (Writer’s Atelier Founder and Director), is a Trinidadian writer, editor, and writing coach, with an MFA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She spent six years as an English Professor and owns the writing studio Writer’s Atelier, in Maitland, FL. In 2010, Racquel co-founded Black Fox Literary Magazine, where she still serves as an editor and recently joined Voyage YA Journal as Editor-in-Chief. Since 2013, Racquel has presented and moderated panels at writing conferences, residencies, and private writing groups across the U.S. She is the author of Holiday on Park, Letter to Santa, and The Writer’s Atelier Little Book of Writing Affirmations (Writer’s Atelier Books, 2018). Her fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have appeared in Lotus-Eater Magazine, Reaching Beyond the Saguaros: A Collaborative Prosimetric Travelogue (Serving House Books, 2017), We Can’t Help it if We’re From Florida (Burrow Press, 2017), Moko Caribbean Arts & Letters, among others. When she’s not writing, editing, or coaching writers, you can find her watching Hallmark Christmas movies.
Megan Fuentes is the administrative assistant and a content creator for Writer’s Atelier. She is also an author by many other names that smell as sweet. Whatever your question for or about her is, she’ll get back to you after she makes a list about it and takes a quick trip to Starbucks. All of the links she wants you to click can be found here.
Angelique Bochnak is a dreamer and believes all things are possible with a lot of hard work, persistence, and determination. She writes science fiction and fantasy under her pen name A.M. Bochnak, with her focus on epic fantasies, apocalyptic and dystopian fiction. Fortitude Rising, a sci-fi dystopian fantasy, is her first published novel. Angelique writes contemporary romance under the pen name Aria Bliss. Aria’s first novel is In Charge: An After Hours Affair. Angelique is also the founder of the indie publishing company Misadventure Press, where she offers several author services including cover design and interior layout. You can follow A.M. Bochnak on her various social media platforms, and Aria Bliss by signing up for her newsletter. She is an American author and publisher, born and raised in southern Ohio and now lives in Gainesville, Florida.
Amy Christine Parker earned her degree in elementary education at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, and then proceeded to try out many different jobs, including collectible doll maker, fondue waitress, and inner-city schoolteacher. It wasn’t until she became a mom and began making up bedtime stories for her children that she finally realized what she was meant to do. Now Amy writes full-time from her home near Tampa, Florida, where she lives with her husband, their two daughters, and one ridiculously fat cat. She is the author of the novels, Gated, Astray, Smash & Grab, and Flight 171. Visit her at amychristineparker.com.
Christina Farley is the author of The Dream Heist, The Immortal Secret, the bestselling Gilded series, and The Princess & The Page. Gilded was nominated for Korea’s Morning Calm award, Ohio’s Buckeye award, and Tome’s It List. It also was hailed in Epic Read’s anticipated reads, PriceStyle’s recommended summer reads, Book Riot’s favorite myth inspired reads, and BuzzFeed’s 21 amazing series they’ll miss. She is a certified teacher holding a master’s degree in education and has taught writing workshops worldwide.
L.E. Perez is a proud Latina author who has several books, short stories and poems under her belt with many more in the works, ranging from thrillers to reapers, time travel and the paranormal, to romance for all ages. She writes the stories that need to be written which unfortunately makes her a bit of a genre slut. Her motto is: Strong Women, Strong Stories. She has recently branched out to help doctor action and fight scenes for other writers as The Fight Whisperer and provides sensitivity reads for writers. She thrives on paying it forward, helping writers achieve their publication dreams. L.E. lives with her partner in life of over 30 years and runs Palmas Publishing. You can find more about her on her website, or follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, and Amazon. You can also follow Palmas Publishing on Twitter.
Past Guest Instructors
Denise N. Wheatley is a lover of happily-ever-afters and the art of storytelling. Her first novel, I Wish I Never Met You, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2004. She has since written (and ghostwritten) over twenty novels and novellas, including suspense, contemporary, paranormal, and steamy romance. Denise currently writes for Harlequin Intrigue, with her fifth book, Backcountry Cover-up, on shelves now and four more releasing in the coming months. A few of those suspense titles include Cold Case—True Crime, Bayou Christmas Disappearance, and The Heart-Shaped Murders. Her Tule Publishing novel, Christmas in Full Bloom, has been optioned for film. Denise earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago, the city where she was born and raised. When she isn’t sitting behind her computer, you can find her in a movie theater, on a tennis court, watching true crime television, or chatting on social media.
Kandi Steiner is a bestselling author and whiskey connoisseur living in Tampa, FL. Best known for writing “emotional rollercoaster” stories, she loves bringing flawed characters to life and writing about real, raw romance — in all its forms. No two Kandi Steiner books are the same, and if you’re a lover of angsty, emotional, and inspirational reads, she’s your gal. When Kandi isn’t writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, talking with her extremely vocal cat, and spending time with her friends and family. She enjoys live music, traveling, anything heavy in carbs, beach days, movie marathons, craft beer, and sweet wine — not necessarily in that order. If you’d like to start reading Kandi’s books, check out Book one in the Becker Brothers series: On the Rocks. You can also visit her Amazon page for more books! Kandi hangs out on Instagram, TikTok, her Facebook page, and her Facebook group (Kandiland).
USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author Melanie Harlow writes sweet, sexy, feel-good romance. She likes her martinis dry, her heels high, and her history with the naughty bits left in. If she’s not writing or reading, she’s probably at Orangetheory or watching Schitt’s Creek again. She lifts her glass to readers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit. You can learn more about Melanie, connect with her, and browse all her books on her website: https://www.melanieharlow.com/
Lauren Gibaldi Lauren Gibaldi is a public librarian who’s been, among other things, a
magazine editor, high school English teacher, bookseller, and circus
aerialist (seriously). She has a BA in Literature and Master’s in Library
and Information Studies. She lives in Orlando, Florida with her
husband and daughters. Her novels include The Night We Said Yes,
Autofocus, and This Tiny Perfect World.
Heather Lang Cassera served as the 2019-2021 Clark County, Nevada Poet Laureate and was named Las Vegas’ 2017 “Best Local Writer or Poet” by the readers of Nevada Public Radio’s Desert Companion. She is a 2022 Nevada Arts Council Literary Arts Fellow. Heather holds a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry with a Certificate in Literary Translation from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Her poems have been published by Cider Press Review, december, Diode, Lumina, The Normal School, North American Review, Paper Darts, Pleiades, South Dakota Review, Whiskey Island and many other publications. Her chapbook, I Was the Girl With The Moon-Shaped Face (Zeitgeist Press), is housed in the Poets House library in New York City. Essays by Heather have appeared at Berfrois, KNPR’s Desert Companion, Queen Mob’s Teahouse, and elsewhere. Heather has recently been awarded Nevada Arts Council grants, a Murphy Writing of Stockton University Get Away to Spain scholarship, an Orcas Island Artsmith scholarship, a statewide Nevada System of Higher Education Regents’ Teaching Award, among other honors and awards. Her poetry was also named a 2022 Ninth Letter Literary Awards honorable mention, a 2019 Paper Nautilus Vela Chapbook Contest Finalist, a 2016 Subito Press Poetry Prize Finalist, and a 2014 Tupelo Press Snowbound Chapbook Award Semi-Finalist. Her poems have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize four times, and they have been on exhibit in the Nevada Humanities Program Gallery, Left of Center Art Gallery, and elsewhere. Heather serves as World Literature Editor for The Literary Review and a founder and Editor for Tolsun Books. She served as an AWP16 moderator/panelist for “One By One: Editors Explore Single-Story & Single-Poem Issues” and was an AWP17 nonfiction panelist with “No, YOU Tell It! True-Life Tales with a Twist.” Heather is a Nevada State College Lecturer teaching College Success, Creative Writing, and more where she also serves as a faculty advisor for the student club, the Blue Sage Writer’s Guild; a faculty advisor for their literary magazine, 300 Days of Sun; as well as a founding member of their Arts and Culture Council. Contact Heather.
Kristin Durfee grew up outside of Philadelphia, where an initial struggle with reading blossomed into a love and passion for the written word. She has also been a writer since a very young age, writing short stories and poems, though now is focusing on longer works. She is the author of the Four Corners Trilogy. Durfee currently resides in Central Florida, and when not enjoying the theme parks or Florida sun, she spends most of her time with her husband and their quirky dog. She is a member of the Florida Writers Association.
Vivi Barnes was raised on a farm in East Texas where her theater-loving mom and cowboy dad gave her a unique perspective on life. Now living in the magic and sunshine of Orlando, Florida, she divides her time writing, working, goofing off with her husband and three kids, and avoiding dirty dishes. She is the author of the novels Olivia Twisted, Paper or Plastic, and Olivia Decoded.
Ashley Inguanta is an author, art photographer, yoga teacher, and holistic writing guide. She is the author of three collections: The Way Home (Dancing Girl Press, 2013), For The Woman Alone (Ampersand Books, 2014), and Bomb (Ampersand Books, 2016). Her fiction, poetry, art films, and essays have appeared or are forthcoming in places like The Rumpus, the Iron Horse Literary Review, The Los Angeles Review, Bartleby Snopes, Adrienne: A Poetry Journal of Queer Women, OCHO, The Good Men Project, SmokeLong Quarterly, PANK, Wigleaf, and Sweet: A Literary Confection.
Jenny Torres Sanchez is a full-time writer and former English teacher. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, but has lived on the border of two worlds her whole life. She lives in Orlando, Florida, with her husband and children. She is the author of The Downside of Being Charlies, Death, Dickinson, The Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia, and Because of the Sun.
Lori Anne Goldstein is a creative writing instructor, manuscript consultant, and the author of four novels for young adults (Sources Say, Penguin Random House, 2020; Screen Queens, Penguin Random House, 2019; and the Becoming Jinn series (Macmillan, 2015, 2016). She credits her BA in journalism with giving her the skills and desire to devote herself to the extensive research that forms the core of her adult historical debut, Love, Theodosia. She lives in the Boston area and can be found online on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Ella Martin is a young adult author and self-described “prep school survivor” from Southern California. With a keen sense for combining relatable teen characters with engrossing stories, her books blend aspects of romance, angst, and intrigue. Her Westgate Prep series tackles female friendships, quirky characters, and sensitive topics with equal tact. She can be found on Goodreads and Twitter.
Tawdra Kandle is a USA Today bestselling romance author. She loves unlikely pairings, strong women, sexy guys, hot love scenes and just enough conflict to make it interesting. Her books include YA paranormal romance, NA paranormal and contemporary romance, and adult contemporary and paramystery romance. She lives in central Florida with a husband, kids, sweet pup and too many cats. And yeah, she rocks purple hair.