ABOUT J.L. FREDRICK
"No, a stranger from some exotic land didn't steal my heart, or anything else, for that matter! I'm probably the most unlikely person to become a writer... I grew up on a Wisconsin farm, and eventually, after college, the Army, and retirement from a drag racing career, I became an Interstate Transportation Specialist (truck driver) and I never learned the cello. (Blew a mean trumpet when I was in high school, though.) I've traveled the entire U.S., much of Canada, a tiny bit of Mexico, and did that tourist thing on a cruise to the Bahamas. Learned enough Spanish to order breakfast in Laredo, Texas, and enough Eastern-ese to know not to order "regular" coffee in Gloucester, Massachusettes. If I could travel back in time to meet any one person, it would be a hard choice between Will Rogers and Mark Twain. They say every writer puts a little of himself into his stories. Reckon that's so, 'cause the Mississippi River, steamboats, thunderstorms, and old buildings fascinate me, and you'll find a heap of all that in my prose."
Born into a farm family in the late 1940s, J.L. Fredrick lived his youth in rural Western Wisconsin, a modest but comfortable life not far from the Mississippi River. His father was a farmer, and his mother, an elementary school teacher. He attended a one-room country school for his first seven years of education. Wisconsin has been home all his life, with exception of a few years in Minnesota and Florida. After college in La Crosse, Wisconsin and a stint with Uncle Sam during the Viet Nam era, the next few years were unsettled as he explored and experimented with life’s options. He entered into the transportation industry in 1975 where he remained until retirement in 2012. Since 2001 he has thirteen published novels to his credit, one non-fiction history volume--Rivers, Roads, & Rails--and a collection of short stories. He was a featured author during Grand Excursion 2004.
J.L. Fredrick currently resides at Poynette, Wisconsin.
About Don Monroe
Don Monroe has made Wisconsin his home for life. He was born in Columbus and at age three, the family moved to Clinton, near Beloit. After high school, he received an associate degree from Blackhawk College. After serving two years in the Army during the Viet Nam era, he worked 40 years at Blain Supply distribution center in Janesville as a supervisor. Summers are spent golfing and coaching golf at Clinton High School. Winters are spent working in his wood shop and writing. This is the second book featuring Duke Moran, and the third in the series is in the works. Don lives outside of Beloit in a rural setting with his wife Gayle and dog Lilly.
About Harlan Flick
Harlan Flick was born and raised in De Soto, Wisconsin. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. His life has been spent as an educator teaching in public schools in Fennimore, Waunakee, Prairie du Chien and Richland Center, Wisconsin. He then broadened his horizons with teaching stints at international schools in Jakarta, Indonesia for 16 years and Suzhou, China for 3 years.
His overseas experience has taken him to more than 25 countries and allowed many opportunities to travel. Some highlights he has had include: walking the beaches of Bali, trekking out of Kathmandu, Nepal, visiting the Taj Mahal in India, viewing Paris from atop the Eiffel Tower, viewing the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, Cambodia, walking on the Great Wall, visiting Shangri-La, and viewing the Terra Cotta warriors of Xi’an, China. He has stood next to prehistoric Stonehenge in England, boated up the Fjords of Norway, spent time with stone-age Dani tribesmen in Irian Jaya, ridden elephants in Thailand and spent a month walking the streets of the walled city of Chang Mai.
All of these experiences have helped shape his view of the world and made him appreciate the beauty that is the driftless area of southwest Wisconsin.
He lives in Richland Center, Wisconsin with his wife, son, and his many fly rods.
About MaryAnn Berkshire
Wautoma, Wisconsin, is the home of MaryAnn Berkshire who has achieved every author’s dream of publishing a book. Berkshire has published fifteen books since 2004, and to her credit has written nine novels and has expanded into children’s books. She has a passion for writing and will be happy to answer questions from “would be” authors and others who just want to know what it takes to reach this achievement.
MaryAnn was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After her husband Jerry retired, they purchased a farm for their two alpacas, a Dachshund named Sailor and a cat named “Gutsy”, much to the delight of children who visit their farm.
About Len Harris
Len Harris was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in June 1957, one of six children of Jane and Len Harris Sr. His mother and father decided the big city was no place to raise a growing family, so they moved to Gays Mills, Wisconsin. There, life was simple for Len Jr. until he was ten. Then things drastically changed with the death of his father. Len followed in his father's footsteps and continued hunting and fishing in the hills and valleys of southwestern Wisconsin. His father had given him the love of the outdoors and his mother cultivated that love. The outdoors taught him many life lessons that he uses to this day.Len married Barb Jurgensen from that same small town where he grew up. They have one beautiful daughter named Anna. The family resides only 32 miles from their hometown. Len has shared his love of the outdoors with his family. He also has shared those memories in written form in numerous publications.Len is a staff writer and photographer for Midwest Outdoors. He also does freelance work and has appeared in American Angler and Field & Stream. There are numerous other magazines and newspapers that Len writes for. His love for trout fishing has been shared on numerous Midwestern television shows. He also does quite a few presentations at local schools to spread his love for the outdoors to the youth of the area. Len recently started speaking at nursing homes. He says:, "They can't go to the streams anymore so I bring the streams to them."
About Donna Christoph Huegel
A native of New Hampton, Iowa, Donna Christoph Huegel is a writer, artist and archivist at the La Crescent Area Historical Society since she started the organization’s archives in 1993. After attending Mount Mercy College and the University of Iowa, she has been writing for over 30 years, being published in the Tulsa World Herald, Des Moines Register and Milwaukee Journal. She currently writes historical articles for the Houston County News. She authored Many a Grove and Orchard—The Story of John S. Harris and contributed stories and a poem to the anthology, America’s Heartland Remembers—Words and Pictures Before During and After September 11, 2001. A volunteer in school, church and community for over 25 years, she was instrumental in naming a local park for Minnesota’s first apple grower, John S. Harris; placing a marker at a local cemetery for unknown victims of the 1874 diphtheria epidemic; and using her artistic skill to paint a mural and do decorative work to help save the historic Concordia Ballroom in La Crosse, Wisconsin from closing. Ms. Huegel is listed in the 2004 Who’s Who of American Women. She lives with her husband, Len, near la Crescent, Minnesota. They have two grown sons, Eric and Ryan.
About Paul Huebner
Born in 1946, Paul Huebner has lived in Portage, Wisconsin his entire life. After working as a painter with his father, a two-year stint at the local Post Office, and numerous forays in the retail business, he graduated with a B. S. in Natural Resources from the University of Wisconsin—Madison in 1977. Paul was then a local county’s first parks and solid waste manager before accepting a position as a hydrogeologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. While working for the Department, he coauthored several technical publications on the site selection, design, construction, operation and monitoring of engineered solid waste landfills and much of the State’s current solid waste landfill rules and regulations. He also led the Solid Waste Team for several years and was the Program’s liaison with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency before taking retirement in 2001. Paul became a recreational rock climber and mountaineer in 1985 at the age of 39. He’s ascended peaks in the western United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Ecuador and Bolivia to a height of 21,205 feet.
About Dan Bomkamp
Dan Bomkamp has made his home in the Wisconsin River valley all his life with the exception of his college years in La Crosse. He has been an avid hunter and fisherman his whole life. For many years he was in the sporting goods industry and began writing in the 80s for outdoor magazines. He is active in the Foreign Exchange Student program having hosted 33 boys from 13 countries over the years. Golden Retrievers have also been a big part of his life. He had at least one Golden sharing his home for 33 years. He lives in Muscoda with his cat, Tigger and his Boston Terrier, Buster.
About June G. Paul
June G. Paul has a B.S. in Psychology from UW-LaCrosse and a M.A. in Religious Studies from Edgewood College. She has served as a lay minister and leader in her church, volunteered in schools, founded a parental support group, and provided pastoral care. Her mission is to share the saving grace of Jesus Christ with others through her writings.
She lives with her husband Dale in Portage, WI, and loves spending time with her four children and eight grandchildren.
About John H. Sime
John H. Sime, born 1952, Viroqua, Wis.; graduated in Comparative Literature BA/MA from University of Wisconsin-Madison 74/76; served U.S. Peace Corps in Mali, West Africa, teacher at École Normale Supérieure teachers college in Bamako, Mali 76-78; graduated Kentucky School of Mortuary Science, Louisville, Kentucky 1980; funeral director in Western Wisconsin; published in: Kickapoo Free Press, Wisconsin Poets Calendar, Verse Wisconsin, Lake City Lights, Hummingbird, American Funeral Director magazine, Poetry Motel, LaFarge Epitaph News, Crawford County Independent, Kickapoo Scout, and the Broadcaster Censor.
About Mary Buford
Mary Buford grew up Catholic in a small Midwest town. Oldest of six, she learned to be creative in storytelling, which inspired her writing early in life. As an adult, she has been volunteer-teaching religious education for the past ten years, often being referred to as funny, honest, and someone students can relate to.
In her spare time, Ms. Buford enjoys attending adoration, where she prays for those in need. She takes pride in making rosaries, which is a time honored family tradition, passed down through the generations. In addition to regularly attending Mass, she enjoys going on impromptu day-trips with her family.
By reading her books, she hopes people will gain a respect for Catholic clergy, as her focus is on their works of the church. She draws her inspiration from a cousin who is a Bishop, who leads by example, the church's teachings and prayer.