AUTHORS

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Sharon Mabry is the author of The Postmaster’s Daughter (Thorncraft Publishing, 2022), a mystery novel set in East Tennessee, and the humorous, memoir story collection, The Blue Box and Memories that Live in the Bones (Jan. 2024). 

Prior to creative writing, Mabry, who is an award-winning mezzo-soprano soloist and recording artist, premiered works by more than forty composers and made nine critically acclaimed recordings. She was a featured writer for the NATS Journal of Singing. Her book reviews and featured articles on women composers have appeared in several major music journals. She is the author of two books about music, Exploring Twentieth-Century Vocal Music (Oxford University Press, 2002, 2009) and The Performing Life: A Singer’s Guide to Survival (Scarecrow Press, Rowman and Littlefield, 2012). 

Mabry holds the Bachelor of Music degree from Florida State University, the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from George Peabody College/Vanderbilt University, and a performance certificate from the prestigious Franz-Schubert-Institut in Austria.

In addition to her concert career, Mabry established a long tenure as professor of music at Austin Peay State University, where she received the university’s highest award for creativity (the Richard M. Hawkins Award) and for teaching (the Distinguished Professor Award).

Sharon Mabry is an East Tennessee native, having grown up in Newport, Tennessee. She currently lives in Clarksville, TN.  

Khristeena Lute is a writer and English professor currently residing in upstate New York, where she spends as much of her time outdoors as possible—running, hiking, and camping—or following whatever projects or topics interest her that week. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Ohio University before she became a junior high literature teacher in Yuma, Arizona. During her time as a teacher, she completed a Master of Arts degree in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University just as the Army shipped her family across the country to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. While there, she finished both a Master of Arts in English from Austin Peay State University and a Doctorate in English from Middle Tennessee State University, specializing in American women writers from the Civil War to present.... Khristeena's book: Finding Grace and Grit (2021). Read more here.

Khristeena's second novel WHIPPOORWILL SING (Forthcoming June 2026)

Wanda McNabb is a writer, poet, playwright, actress, and musician. She graduated with a master's in English from Austin Peay State University. She retired as Academic Assistant to the Chair in the Languages and Literature Department from APSU. Canopies of Bones and Breathable Air (May 2025) is her first book of poetry. 

Nikki Martin is a Writer and full time Yoga Teacher living on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia. Her love of stories, both reading and creating them, started very young and with the release of her first fictional novel, A Momentary Darkness, in August 2018 and its follow up The Beginning’s End in 2021 comes the realization of a lifelong dream. She has become a passionate advocate for diversity in yoga; working hard to make her classes accessible, empowering her students to look within for what they need, honoring the tradition of yoga and all it encompasses, and working in her community as a leader to make change. In her time off you’ll find her near the ocean, in the woods, or under the stars, forever listening for another story to share with the world.

 Books by Nikki: 

THE BEGINNING'S END (2021) 

A MOMENTARY DARKNESS (2018) 

Shana Thornton is the author of four works of fiction, RIPE FOR THE PICKIN' (2022), THE ADVENTURES TO PAWNASSUS (2019), POKE SALLET QUEEN AND THE FAMILY MEDICINE WHEEL (2015) and MULTIPLE EXPOSURE (2012). She also author of the nonfiction, THE NUDGE WRITING PROMPTS (2023), and co-author of SEASONS OF BALANCE:ON CREATIVITY AND MINDFULNESS (2016). She created the BreatheYourOMBalance® brand and yoga book series, and she is a Series Editor for BreatheYourOMBalance®. She is the Founder of the Clarksville/Montgomery County African American Legacy Trail (2019). Shana earned an M.A. in English from Austin Peay State University. Shana lives in Tennessee with her family.   

Jennie Passero is a writer, traveler, and explorer. She moved to Oregon in 2016 where she knew she was home and felt like she belonged. In 2020, she began traveling throughout the States with her dog in her travel trailer while living a nomad lifestyle. She has been in love with writing and painting pictures with words since she was nine years old. Creating stories, poems, and songs was her passion from a young age. Jennie is working on her first books, due out when she finishes writing them. The catalyst for her books was the death of her parents and her urge to travel, explore, and have an intimate relationship with the world around her. Out in the world Jennie is driven by discovery whether internally or externally, and she continues to learn more about herself and the natural world. Her writing continues to be inspired by what she experiences and feels. Jennie spends her time running and hiking in the woods and kayaking on any body of water she is near.

Jennie's blog is Amor Fati

Beverly Fisher graduated from the University of Memphis and Vanderbilt Law School. She has appeared on “60 Minutes” in an expose about insurance scams. She was a staff attorney for Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee for many years before going into private practice, retiring in 2019. She has climbed Mt. St. Helens and many Mayan pyramids, canoed countless Southern waterways, and hiked a multitude of trails. Author of a novella, Grace Among the Leavings, and a one-act play, My Daddy Said “He.” Beverly is the Edition Editor for BreatheYourOMBalance: Yoga and Relationships, volume three. She is a co-creator, contributor and co-producer of a YouTube channel, “Kooky Kitty and Luna C. Bass.”

Melissa Corliss DeLorenzo is the author of the novels, TALKING UNDERWATER (2015) and THE MOSQUITO HOURS (2014). She received a BA in English Literature from the University of Massachusetts and a Master’s of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Naropa University. She is a homeschooling mother, yogini, avid reader, blogger and part-time librarian. She loves books and matcha green tea beyond measure. Melissa lives in Massachusetts with her husband and children. You can find her blog and more about her work at www.MelissaCorlissDeLorenzo.com and her co-authored book blog at www.ReadingAtTheKitchenTable.wordpress.com.

​"As a recovering approval addict, I turned to what seemed to be my place in this world and allowed myself to become self-aware by beginning a personal yoga journey in 2014. My inner artist and creator emerged.  "Through photography and prose, I came home to who I was always meant to be--an artist. As I took on many shapes and forms artistically, my approval obsession silenced while my art grew. I began to breathe in this new life for myself. All I needed was a little salt." ​S. Teague is the owner of Salt H2OPhotography. S. Teague is co-author of Seasons of Balance: On Creativity and Mindfulness (2016). She is also a contributor and the introductory author for the yoga book, BreatheYourOMBalance: Writings about Yoga by Women (2016).