SLO NightWriters

Susan Tuttle – President
Susan was elected president of NightWriters in June of 2007. She is moderator of NW’s Red Ink Critique group, and a member of Ginger Lasher’s South County Writers group and a professional book editor.
Susan’s first suspense novel, Tangled Webs, was published in 2005 to great acclaim from readers.
Her work has won many awards. Recently: A double 1st place in the 2009 CVWW Short Story Contest; 3rd place and Best Use of Setting in the San Joaquin Chapter SinC 2009 Story Contest; 1st place in the Lillian Dean First Page Competition in Creative Nonfiction/Memoir at the 2008 Central Coast Writers Conference (for Summer of ‘72), and 1st place in the Sisters In Crime (San Joaquin Valley Chapter) competition (for her mystery short story The Telltale Death). She was also a judge in the 2008 Lillian Dean First Page Competition in the Novel and Short Story categories.
She now working on the first three volumes of a paranormal suspense series, as well as two stand-alone suspense books and two sci-fi novels, finalizing the format for her 3-year spiritual program, Lord Let Me Walk, and seeking representation for the first volume of a series of Bible Studies based on the Parables. More information on her work, and her professional critiquing and editing services, can be found at her websites, www.susant-creations.com and www.susant-writer.com.

James Leonard – Treasurer
REPLACEMENT NEEDED
James Leonard is a retired technical writer and manager of technical, management, and cost proposals. He is located on the Central Coast of California to be near family and learn to “see as a child” again through interactions with his grandchildren. His personal spiritual journey led him to the California Old Missions and Benedictine Monasteries. In 2005 his book, A Little Bible Guide For Carly, was published by Trafford Publishing. James is co-founder of and contributor to the www.KritiqueKritics.com family of websites for writers, children, and spiritual explorers.

Judythe Guarnera – Secretary, Tolosa Press Submission Manager
Judythe, who is retired, is a freelance writer, Mediator and Senior Peer Counselor.  She writes to entertain and influence.   Much of her writing focuses on connection through communication.   Judythe won two third-place awards in the Lillian Dean First Page Contest at the Central Coast Writers Conference.   She is published frequently in local publications including the Tribune, Tolosa Press and Women’s Press.  Judy is a graduate of the “Breaking Into Print” Writing Program. Contact her at follow.yourheart@sbcglobal.net.

Willy Brujins – Membership Director
Willy Bruijns is a recent transplant to the Central Coast. In 2008 she left Los Angeles and a long and successful career in magazine publishing and moved to Los Osos, where she lives with her husband, two cats, and the ghost of her late dog Jake. She took up creative writing in 2006 at UCLA’s extension program. Willy writes short and short, short fiction.

Nancy Moore – Program Director REPLACEMENT NEEDED
Nancy is a native Californian who has spent most of her adult life somewhere else in search of adventure, education, and an income. She recently moved to Avila Beach from Chicago, where she worked as a freelance editor and writer. Nancy holds a PhD in Theatre and Dance History from Northwestern and an MA in English from the University of Iowa. She has published many articles on dance, most recently in PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art.
Lest anyone imagine that Nancy is a dancer, she must emphasize that although she has taken many dance classes, she finds it much easier to end a paragraph than to land a pirouette. In fact, she started off in the early 1970s as an award-winning poet but turned to journalism because she thought it would provide a more reliable source of income. Right now, she is collaborating with several French writers on a book about Valentine de St.-Point, a Parisian contemporary of Isadora Duncan.

Christine Taylor – Publicity Director REPLACEMENT NEEDED
Christine Taylor (aka mousewords) is a California writer, artist, and social media consultant who loves mystery and adventure, is convinced that dreams can come true, and considers it her mission in life to help others realize that fact. She and her sister Stacy survived carbon monoxide poisoning, and used the experience to inspire a mystery novel, The Rosewood House, which is the first in the Barrister Mystery Series. Christine blogs at www.mousewords.net, where she rarely writes about herself in the third person.

Anne Schroeder – Contest Director, Workshop Director
A fifth-generation Californian, Anne Schroeder writes about the American West in novels, short stories and memoir. She teaches writing courses through RWA and Women Writing the West. Anne has held several positions with Nightwriters, and has been a member since 1988. Anne believes that writers must encourage other writers. She enjoys both attending and presenting the many workshops that NightWriter offers to the public. Her writing creed is: “I write so that my handful of pebbles, cast into still waters, will create a ripple.” Her published works, including Ordinary Aphrodite and Branches on the Conejo: Leaving the Soil after Five Generations, can be found on her website, www.readanneschroeder.com

Dennis Young – Photographer and Art Director
California’s Central Coast has become home to classically trained photographer Dennis Eamon Young. The San Luis Obispo art and business communities are an excellent fit for Dennis’ range of talents and interests. With over 38 years experience, Dennis has conquered all areas of photography, specializing in travel and adventure photojournalism as well as product and portraiture photography. Dennis’ unique ability to synthesize passion and technical expertise is evident in his varied portfolio of images. Dennis’ photos have appeared in major publications and newspapers, such as GQ and Cosmopolitan, and his travel landscapes have appeared in several established galleries. Examples of his photography can be viewed at his website, www.denniseamonyoungphoto.com

Anna Unkovich – Greeter
Anna retired from teaching for 31 years in Michigan, and moved to California in 2001. She had her own newspaper column titled “Classroom With A View” and is co-author of Chicken Soup For The Soul In The Classroom. She teaches part-time at Hancock College and continues to write poetry and short stories.