Vallorie Neal Wood

"I have been writing all my life. I cannot think of a time when I have not been working out some plot, fitting all the pieces together. I grew up in the television generation, watching my favorite spy programs. Kelly Robinson, Alexander Scott, Napoleon Solo, Illya Kuryakin … all entered my early writing world, including my own recurring character, Jessica West, who traveled the globe with them. My alter ego kept a journal, and that collection of stories got me in trouble as a young girl. Calling my father home from work on an emergency, my mother insisted he read my notebook. My mother said I was immoral; my father said I needed to be a writer. And that I am." Years of trials and joys, disappointments and triumphs mixed with maturity and experiences only add to Wood's stories. "Writing remains my one sustaining passion. I live within these stories that move about in my imagination and characters who visit me in my sleep (and even correct their dialogue over my shoulder). Their tales enter the written page, permanently recorded like a family history meant to be shared." Dr. Richard Welch, a native of Pittsburgh, retired as a senior lecturer in Journalism and Public Relations at Georgia State University. He has been a college teacher for 32 years in journalism and public relations at the University of Denver, Villanova University in Philadelphia, Kennesaw State University in Atlanta and Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA., He has also worked as the executive director of the Anti-Prejudice Consortium (2005-2008), as an advertising designer, a public relations & advertising coordinator for a manufacturer and a newspaper reporter. Dr. Welch spent four years in the USAF as a photo interpreter including a tour in Vietnam & Thailand, where he met his wife, Jill Williams, who was an assistant director of the USO on Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base. Dr. Welch has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and a master's in mass communication and Ph.D. in speech communication from the University of Denver.