DeVonna R. Allison is a renaissance woman who has held many professions, from stay-at-home mom, librarian’s assistant, church secretary, and United States Marine. She is a writer and a woman of faith who makes her home in Central Florida with her husband/life partner, Earl.
Catherine Ulrich Brakefield is the author of Wilted Dandelions, Swept into Destiny, Destiny’s Whirlwind, Destiny of Heart, Waltz with Destiny, and Love’s Final Sunrise. She has been published by Guideposts Books, CrossRiver Media, Revell, and Bethany House. Catherine and her husband of fifty years have two adult children, four grandchildren, four Arabian horses, two dogs, five cats, and seven chickens. See www.CatherineUlrichBrakefield.com for more information about her.
Deborah Camp is an award-winning writer of cat-themed stories, and she has authored hundreds of nonfiction articles on topics including entrepreneurship, humor, pets, and travel. Her stories have been published in Second-Chance Cats and The Cat in the Christmas Tree. She is a retired professor of graduate business studies who currently works as a freelance writer and editor. She lives in Memphis, Tennessee, with her husband and three cats.
Capi Cloud Cohen is a blessed daughter, wife, mom, and grandmother who writes stories, bakes cookies, and sews quilts and clothes in Tennessee. She is so thankful her parents were adventurous, as her experience of growing up in Venezuela shaped her life. Her children and six of her nine grandchildren speak Spanish with her and with each other. Capi’s stories also appear in Chicken Soup for the Soul books.
Lonnie Hull DuPont is an award-winning poet, editor, and author of several nonfiction books. Her poetry can be read in dozens of literary journals, and her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is a member of Cat Writers’ Association and Dog Writers Association of America, and her nonfiction is frequently about animals, including her memoir, Kit Kat & Lucy: The Country Cats Who Changed a City Girl’s World. She lives in southern Michigan with her husband and two highly evolved cats.
Hope Ellis-Ashburn is an award-winning author, dynamic educator, equestrian, and farmer. In addition to her bi-monthly column in Hobby Farms magazine, “From My Farm,” over one hundred of her articles have appeared in twelve iconic equestrian publications such as Horse Illustrated magazine. She is also the author of two books and a riding journal. You can read more about Hope, her books, and her magazine articles on her website, RedHorseOnARedHill.PubsitePro.com.
Jan Epp graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing. She had a very successful forty-eight-year career in correctional health care, from which she recently retired as a regional vice president. She lives in Michigan with all her adopted animals, including four burros from the Bureau of Land Management—her “California Girls.”
Glenda Ferguson (tgferguson@frontier.com) has contributed to All God’s Creatures, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Mules & More, and Sasee. Her writing encouragement comes from the Writers Forum of Burton Kimble Farms Education Center and the ladies’ prayer circle at her church. As an Indiana Landmarks volunteer, she conducts tours for two historical hotels and often visits The Stables, home of the trio of horses. Glenda and her husband, Tim, share an acre of land with Speckles the cat and a variety of wildlife visitors.
Tahlia Fischer’s passion for saving horses and donkeys is rooted in her childhood—animals seemed to come to her ever since she could walk. She founded her equine rescue, All Seated in a Barn, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and it has given her the platform to make a difference and help change the horse industry. Outside the barn, she enjoys spending her time with her dogs and her family. She and her rescues can be found at www.AllSeatedInABarn.com.
Barbara Ellin Fox has spent her life training horses and riders. She weaves her extensive background with horses and their people into exciting stories about happily ever after. Since leaving her home on Long Island, New York, and living in the Southwest, Barbara adds a unique East meets West flavor to her writing. She is an equestrian blogger at TheRidingInstructor.net, where she shares encouragement and teaching tips with other instructors.
Peggy Frezon is a contributing editor at Guideposts magazine. She’s the author of multiple books about the human-animal bond, including the bestseller Mini Horse, Mighty Hope (with Debbie Garcia-Bengochea), and a regular contributor to All God’s Creatures Daily Devotions, Pray a Word a Day, and other devotionals. Peggy and her husband, Mike, rescue senior golden retrievers and share their home with goldens Ernest and Petey, and two rescue guinea pigs, Petunia and Marigold. Connect with Peggy at www.PeggyFrezon.com.
Susan Friedland writes about horses and the equestrian lifestyle on her award-winning blog Saddle Seeks Horse, where you will find her blog post “Kissing Spine Hope.” Author of the books Horses Adored and Men Endured and Strands of Hope: How to Grieve the Loss of a Horse, Susan lives in Chicago and winters in Ocala, Florida. Connect with her and Tiz A Knight at SaddleSeeksHorse on Instagram or Facebook and at SaddleSeeksHorse.com.
Debbie Garcia-Bengochea is a former teacher and school principal. She is also a bestselling author, award-winning commercial artist and photographer, and the co-founder of Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses (www.GentleCarouselTherapyHorses.com). The 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity celebrated twenty-five years of service in 2022. Look for more information about the therapy horses in the book Mini Horse, Mighty Hope, an EQUUS Film and Arts Festival Literary Winner, and in Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses Inspirational Deck and Guidebook.
Jenny Lynn Keller is an award-winning writer whose Appalachian Mountain heritage infuses her writing with hope, humor, and a touch of Southern charm. Her beloved animal stories appear in Callie Smith Grant’s compilations The Horse of My Dreams, The Dog Who Came to Christmas, and The Cat in the Christmas Tree. Read her devotions in Guideposts’ Walking in Grace. Contact her at www.JennyLynnKeller.com.
After retiring from a career in marketing and public relations, Chris Kent (bruleridge@gmail.com) and her husband moved to a remote area of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where they live with their two quarter horses and a German Shorthair. Chris belongs to a group of North Woods writers and has been published in Equus magazine and in several volumes of U.P. Reader. She enjoys gardening, making maple syrup, beekeeping, traveling, horseback riding, and volunteering in the community. She finds inspiration from the woods and the water where she lives, and she enjoys sharing her love of nature and animals when children and grandchildren visit their north country retreat.
Andi Lehman freelances in diverse markets, writing nonfiction stories, articles, devotions, and grants, and she is also an editor and popular speaker (live and virtual) who enjoys working with children and their parents. Her education company, Life with Animals, teaches the wonder of all creatures and our responsibility to care for them. Her book Saving Schmiddy is the first in a conservation series for kids, and Andi is currently working on the second book for that series. To learn more about Andi’s work with words and animals, visit AndiLehman.com.
Nicole M. Miller is a longtime Arabian horse owner and enthusiast who works in human resources by day and writes historical fiction by night. Her debut novel will be released by Revell in June 2024, a story that follows the eruption of World War II and the dramatic efforts to save the priceless Arabian horses of Poland. She lives near Vancouver, Washington, with her husband and two boys and a vast assortment of horses, dogs, cats, and chickens.
Dani Nichols is a writer, cowgirl, and mom of three from Central Oregon. Her debut book for children, Buzz the Not-So-Brave, about her quirky and skittish quarter horse, released in summer 2022 and is available for purchase on her website. Her work has won several writing contests and has been published in Fathom, Oregon Humanities, Fallow Ink, and others. To read more from Dani, check out www.WranglerDani.com and @BuzzTheNotSoBrave on Instagram.
Fay Odeh is a mother of eight, a grandmother of fourteen, a baker, and a restaurateur. She and her late husband, Steve, opened a family-style restaurant in southeastern Michigan many years ago, and Fay continues to run it today. She is especially known for the restaurant’s cakes and pies that she bakes herself.
Jane Owen is a retired teacher and freelance writer whose short stories, feature articles, and devotional writings have appeared in works published by St. Martin’s Press, Bethany House, Guidepost Books, and others. Recently, Grace Publishing House included a story about her beloved grandmother in Grandma’s Cookie Jar. She and her husband, Ron, have shared fifty-five years together, and their three grandchildren are “icing on the cake!” Contact her at ladyjaneut@aol.com.
Katherine Pasour is an author, teacher, farmer, speaker, and a lifelong lover of horses. She blogs regularly at www.KatherinePasour.com with a focus on faith, wellness, and lessons that nature teaches. Katherine’s book, Honoring God with My Body: Journey to Wellness and a Healthy Lifestyle, published in 2022, encourages lifestyle choices for a healthier and happier life. You can connect with Katherine on Facebook at Sheltered by an Angel’s Wings and Instagram at KatherinePasourAuthor and on Twitter @KatherinePasour.
Carmen Peone is an award-winning author of young adult and contemporary Western romance. She lives with her husband in Northeast Washington and on the Colville Confederated Indian Reservation. With the love of history and the Western woman’s lifestyle, she weaves threads of healing, hope, and horses into her stories. Connect with Carmen and sign up for her newsletter at CarmenPeone.com.
Kim Peterson and her husband go out of their way to be near horses—Thoroughbreds, draft horses, ponies, they love them all. A freelance writer and conference speaker, Kim proofreads and edits for a small publishing house and also mentors writers online for Taylor University. Her writing has appeared in various anthologies, including Chicken Soup for the Caregiver’s Soul, The Cat in the Christmas Tree, and Moments with Billy Graham. Meet Kim at NatureWalkWithGod.WordPress.com/Welcome and encounter God’s creation through her blog.
Kristi Ross (also known as Kristi Kjeldgaard) is a former American Quarter Horse Association clinician and successful horse trainer and coach. She is the mother of Mika and grandmother of Rossi, who both love horses. Kristi uses her life experiences with horses and people and her faith walk with God to heal hearts and transform lives through her in-person and online coaching, trainings, and books. Connect with her at www.KristiRoss.com and on her Facebook page at Kristi Ross Author.
Claudia Wolfe St. Clair is an artist, writer, retired art therapist, and anam cara from Toledo, Ohio. She is the mother of three and grandmother of six. She and the love of her life have restored the family home and gardens on Lake Erie. You can read more from Claudia in the Callie Smith Grant collections The Horse of My Dreams, The Horse of My Heart, Second-Chance Dogs, Second-Chance Cats, The Dog Who Came to Christmas, and The Cat in the Christmas Tree.
Karen Thurman was born on Long Island in 1952. She always said the love of horses was born inside of her. Through her hard work and perseverance, Karen has made a home for blind horses and a life worth living for herself.
Connie Webster has been a lover of animals since her earliest childhood. She enjoys life in rural Michigan, living on the farm where she grew up and raised her children. When she isn’t riding the trails with her friends or exploring the countryside with her grandchildren, she adventures with her husband and tends her happy horses and her dogs.