Claudia Fleming is a retired securities dealer and has held licenses for all types of insurance. Within that industry she worked (tirelessly) in public relations, marketing, sales, and public speaking. Writing has always been Claudia’s passion, mainly poetry. After retiring, she worked as a columnist for a local newspaper in Northern California and wrote stories about the gold country’s earliest colorful settlers and present-day famous residents. Claudia continues to expand her craft through both poetry and prose. She is semi-retired and currently lives in Arizona.
Linda O’Connor has worked for the state of Ohio in various workforce development capacities for over twenty years. She is now an assistant director for career technical education. She received her master’s degree in education from Ohio State University and her bachelor’s degree in business from the Ohio Dominican University.
Linda has worked in workforce development, business, and industry/manufacturing, six-sigma, economic development, curriculum development, and post-secondary education. She has served as president for the National Association of Industry-Specific Training Directors, is a member of the National Consortium for Health Science Education, and serves as president of the non-profit Compassionate Communication Center of Ohio.
Patricia Kleiven was seventy-five years old when she wrote her story in this book. She is a registered nurse, retired with a psychiatric specialty. She did floor nursing with some emergency room and intensive care background. Kleiven also taught five years as a nursing assistant/health education instructor for high school students. She has written human interest stories for community newspapers for over forty years and also writes eulogies, biographies, and wedding ceremony announcements. She is currently volunteering a monthly story for her local church.
Mara Petrie has spent her whole life mastering her craft: multi-disciplinary design and art direction. Inspired and encouraged as a child by winning local art contests, Mara went on to pursue her formal training in graphic design and fine art (BA, MFA). Her expansive professional career began in 1976 as Decorating Ideas magazine designer and associate art director for Meredith Publishing. In the twenty-five years that followed, she evolved into creative director and president of m.p. imago.
Following the world tragedies of 9/11, Mara took a sabbatical and devoted herself to a not-for-profit venture for opening a Ronald McDonald House in Westchester. Following its successful completion, Mara moved to Tucson, Arizona in 2006 to manage family obligations and related business responsibilities. In September 2013, she founded 6th Taste Saucier, a national firm based in Tucson.
Julie Paulson loved writing creatively from an early age, although her adult years took her down the path of business writing. For fun, she wrote poetry. It was not until she was almost taken in by a conman on an internet dating site that she found her voice and returned to creative writing. Julie’s degrees are from Wellesley and Wharton.
