Author: Author's Answer

Phil Halton is a Toronto based novelist and screenwriter. Before turning to writing full-time, he worked in conflict zones around the world as an officer in the Canadian Army and as a security consultant. In particular, he has extensive experience in Afghanistan. He is the author of a novel set in Afghanistan, This Shall Be a House of Peace (Dundurn Press, 2019) and a contrarian history, Blood Washing Blood: Afghanistan’s Hundred-Year War (Dundurn Press, 2021). His latest novel, Every Arm Outstretched (Double Dagger Press, 2020), is set in 1978 during the Nicaraguan revolution. He has published stories and articles in such publications as Thing, Ricky’s Backyard and the Canadian Army Journal. He founded Toronto-based literary journal Blood & Bourbon. He holds a Master’s Degree in Defence Studies from Royal Military College of Canada, and a Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing from Humber College.

Daniel G. Newman is a national expert on government accountability and money in politics. He is president and co-founder of MapLight, a nonpartisan nonprofit that promotes transparency and political reform, earning a Knight-Batten Award for Innovations in Journalism, a James Madison Freedom of Information Award, a Library Journal Best Reference award, and a Webby Award nomination for Best Politics Website. Newman has appeared in hundreds of media outlets, including CNN, CBS, MSNBC, FOX Business, and NPR. He led a ballot measure campaign establishing public funding of elections in Berkeley, California, and was named one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business. Newman received an MA in political psychology from U.C. Berkeley and a BA from Brown, and was a Fellow at the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Teressa Shelton is the author of The Sergeant’s Daughter (She Writes Press, August 11), a memoir reminiscent of The Glass Castle. It follows Teressa and her sisters through a childhood of abuse and torment, aided only by the solace of books, music, and family found outside of their home, until Teressa ultimately escapes to build a better life for herself. She has lived in nine states and three countries. After graduating from Belmont University in Nashville, she embarked on a career in managing medical practices. The Sergeant’s Daughter is her first book. She lives with her family in Springfield, IL.

Len Joy is the award-winning author of the novels, American Past Time (2014), Better Days (2018) and Everyone Dies Famous (August 2020). He is a nationally ranked triathlete and competes internationally representing the United States as part of TEAM USA.

Martha Hunt Handler grew up in northern Illinois dreaming about wolves and has always understood that her role in this lifetime is to tell stories and be a voice for nature. She has been an environmental consultant, a magazine columnist, an actress, and a polar explorer, among other occupations. She has also driven across the country in an 18-wheeler and been a grand-prize winner of The Newlywed Game.

Laura Jamison is the author of the debut ALL THE RIGHT MISTAKES (She Writes Press), an uplit novel about the relatable messiness of adult friendship and life ambitions in the vein of Camille Pagán’s I’m Fine and Neither Are You and Allison Pearson’s I Don’t Know How She Does It. Jamison is an attorney from Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, where she lives with her husband and their four children. When she is not practicing law or writing, she is driving her kids to one of their many activities in her minivan. Laura is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Michigan Law School. This is her first book.