Laurie Gifford Adams, a proud resident of the Finger Lakes of Western New York, is a Jill of all trades. She’s a teacher, an author, an event coordinator, and above all else, a hopeless
romantic and dreamer of big things. To her recent writing credit, she has 8 published novels, a co-written full-length musical, and multiple articles for Country, Country Extra and Farm and Ranch Living. The wife of one, mother of two, grandmother to one, and pseudo mom to four cats and two horses, she leads a very busy life on her farmette in Upstate NY.
Dee Calvasina is an author and eight-year monthly columnist for the Finger Lakes Times wherein her piece entitled, Beyond the Fence highlights both the human and wildlife adventures surrounding upstate New York’s Deer Haven Park—a conservation site steeped deep in military history, as well as protecting the largest known herd of white, whitetail deer in the world. Due to substantial readership following, Dee’s recently published book, Beyond the Fence, The Amazing World of Deer Haven Park shares her passion for the white, whitetail and military history in a manner that allows her readers an adventure via the written word. Dee is a Finger Lakes native, speaker, and professional writer whose work has been published in numerous regional, national, and international publications. Spanning her career, in addition to environmental subject matter, her genres have included alternative medicine, health and fitness, and human interest. She resides in Upstate New York with her husband and two furry canines.
Dorothy has been plagued by stories dancing in her head since before she could read. This
began her obsession with writing, and she wrote her first full-length novel at age 15. Since then,
she has gone on to publish over a dozen books filled with snappy dialogue, sparkling wit,
headstrong women and the men who will do anything to earn their love. She shares her pre-
Civil-War home with two loyal dogs, a passel of demanding cats, and the most tolerant and
loving husband on the planet.
Jennifer Collins began writing novels in 2020. A retired physical therapist and college professor, she became inspired to write after experiencing the loss of several loved ones. Her debut novel, Comfort in the Wings, and its sequel, Wonders in the Waves, are now joined by Bridges Between Our Hearts to form the “Love That Does Not Die” trilogy.
Collins spends her time writing and running a family business alongside her eldest son. She does both from two residences – her long-time family home in upstate New York and Hutchinson Island in Florida.
Barb Warner Deane is the award-winning author of four published novels and a public speaker on the topic of American women in WW2. Barb graduated from Cornell University and the University of Connecticut School of Law. Barb, her husband, and family lived in the Chicago area for thirty years, other than two years in Frankfurt, Germany and two years in Shanghai, China, but have recently moved home to the beautiful Finger Lakes area of New York.
In addition to writing, Barb is a genealogy buff, loves to read, is a fan of all things Harry Potter, and is crazy for both U.S. and international travel. Now that she and her husband are empty nesters, she’s making plans to expand on her list of having visited 47 states and 42 countries on 6 continents.
In 1967, supported by a stipend, youthful exuberance, and rose-colored glasses, Maija (Lahti) DeRoche came to America from Finland. After retiring from a long career in developmental disabilities, Maija rediscovered her first love: writing. Her essays have been published in “Kuntta” (2019), an anthology about the meaning of “Finnishness.”
She also has essays in English in the Canandaigua Writers Blog. Her first novel will be available soon. Parents of two, Maija and her husband enjoy their retirement kayaking and hiking in the beautiful Finger Lakes.
Corky DeYulio is in his 36th year as an educator.
Through the years, he has been an English and Physical. Education teacher, Dean of Discipline, Athletic Director, coach and fitness instructor in schools, colleges, and the prison system.
He has received many accolades, including Teacher of the Year and Coach of the Year in his school district.
Before he became an educator, he was an editor, sportswriter, and photographer for various newspapers.
He is also a certified personal trainer.
Marci Diehl has been an essayist, humor writer, editor, and features writer for local, regional, and national magazines since 1980. Her first novel, What You Don’t Know Now, was published in 2014, and she keeps telling herself she’s working on a second. There isn’t a thing about the Finger Lakes she doesn’t love.
Lori Duffy Foster is a former crime reporter and the award-nominated author of the Lisa Jackson Mystery Series. NEVER LET GO, her debut thriller, released in December from Level Best Books and NO TIME TO BREATHE, book 3 in her series, releases in April. Look for NO STRANGER HERE, another thriller, in December of 2023.
An Adirondack native, Lori worked for more than a decade at The Post-Standard in Syracuse, N.Y. She is a graduate of SUNY-Oswego and Binghamton University.
Paul Mitchel lives in Middlesex, NY in the heart of the Finger Lakes Region. Since retiring as a Nurse Practitioner in 2018 he has been able to start his second career writing. He has self-published one novel, Mountains Can Move and plans to publish a second in 2022. He and his wife Joan share their hillside home with a small herd of alpacas. Joan spins and weaves their fleece into beautiful and warm clothing.
As a lifelong resident of the Finger Lakes, Paul enjoys the fruit of vine the many area wineries produce. He is an accomplished photographer and enjoys all things outdoors. His blog with essays and short stories can be found at www.eastthillviews.com
Tess Padmore has lived in New York City, New York, Rochester, New York, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Juneau, Alaska. A self-described citizen of the world she hopes to one day relocate overseas. She lives with her rescue Yorkie/Chihuahuas Beau and Ruby. Now retired, she has reinvented herself as an entrepreneur, inventor and writer.
Samantha Parish resides in the Finger Lakes region with her family and holds a degree in creative writing from Finger Lakes Community College and a bachelors in writing and rhetoric from Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Her first publication, Beautiful Burning Bitch, was a collection of poetry based on her own life experiences, published in 2018. Since then she’s published two adult psychological thrillers and a young adult thriller. She expects to publish two more books in 2025!
John M. Robortella of Canandaigua, N.Y., is the author and co-author of a number of books on western New York and Finger Lakes history including Steps West: The Field Notes of Col. Hugh Maxwell (1733–1739): Pre-emption Line and Land Surveys in Western New York, 2023; The Gates Police Department: Two Centuries of Public Safety (with William A. Gillette [Ret.], 2015; The Farmington Railroad Tragedy of 1900 (with Reginald W. Neale), 2014; Writing Home: Letters from the Hinchey Family Archive (with Mickey Schlosser), 2013; Frogleg George: The Legend No One Really Knew, 2009; and Coldwater: An Eclectic History of the Hamlet (with Donald G. Ioannone), 2019; among others.
He is the owner and publisher of Finger Lakes Historical Press and is a graduate of SUNY Empire State College. A former newspaper reporter and editor, John retired in 2012 after a 32-year career at the University of Rochester. He is a Life Member of the Gates (N.Y.) Volunteer Ambulance Service, a member of the Ontario County Historical Society and the Gates (N.Y.) Historical Society, and a past member of the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle Board of Contributors. From 2010 to 2016, he wrote the “Past Tense” Finger Lakes history column in the newspaper’s Canandaigua Magazine and Rochester Magazine.
Karen Shughart became hooked on mysteries in the second grade, when she read her first Nancy Drew book. Years later, after many twists and turns in her career, she decided to follow her passion and become a Cozy mystery writer. All books in her award-winning Edmund DeCleryk series (Cozy Cat Press) have a surprise ending, diverse group of characters, and historical subplots that provide clues to why the murder occurred right under the noses of criminal consultant, Ed, and his wife, Annie, head of the local historical society.
Annie often assists her husband in solving the crimes, but she’s also a gourmet chef, and each book contains recipes for dishes she prepares as the hunt goes on to discover the killer. Karen has co-authored two additional Cozy Cat Press mysteries and has written two non-fiction books. She is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association of the UK, North America Chapter; F.L.A.R.E.; Hometown Reads; and Rochester Reads.
Before moving to Sodus Point, NY, the prototype for the fictional village of Lighthouse Cove where the series is based, she and her husband lived in southcentral Pennsylvania where she ran a chamber of commerce and before that worked in public relations, and as a teacher, photographer, journalist, and editor.
Sally Valentine is a native Rochesterian who has been both a student and a teacher in the Rochester City School District. Over the years she has enjoyed many day trips to places in the Finger Lakes. These ranged from family get-togethers at Roseland Park when she was a kid to wine tasting tours as an adult. Two special days were the weddings of her daughters, one at Casa Larga and the other in Watkins Glen.
Ms. Valentine is the author of a series of books for mid-grade children, each set in a different Rochester landmark. She is now working on the 7th book in the series which will be set in Mt. Hope Cemetery. She is also the author of an award-winning book of poems entitled There Are No Buffalo in Buffalo. Each poem is about a different place in New York State. The poems are accompanied by color collage illustrations created by her sister-in-law, Suzanne Valentine.
Lindsay Jessica Evans is from Western NY but has called the Southern Tier home for the last three years. Lindsay lives with her husband and three fur babies.
She started writing her first novel in September 2021 and officially self-published in May of 2023. Lindsay found her groove with the online writing community that she helped found and now run, The Online Creative Collective. Lindsay writes contemporary romance and in double POV.
In her free time, she loves to read and add more and more books to her collection or onto her Kindle. She also enjoys photography and designs all of her own covers. Lindsay currently works in the healthcare field but would eventually like to pursue writing full time. Lindsay’s first book, Remind Me, came out in May 2023 and she has since published several. Her inspiration for writing comes from music, the people she writes with, and her own life experiences.
Greetings once again from the famed Keuka College field period student, Cas Allport. You may know me from my work, or at least I hope you do considering the time I put into those posters in regards to look, branding, and content. But of course if you hate them I absolutely did not make them. I have no idea who
Greetings to the FLARE blog from the newest Keuka College Field Period® student. Myname is Cassian – though I usually go by Cas – and while I was born in Binghamton and go toschool at Keuka, I’ve lived most of my life, and continue to live, in Pennsylvania in what isactually the only “town” in the state, Bloomsburg. Though I
I bet THAT got your attention! Disclaimer: it’s not what you think. Stick with me, here, as I lead you through this examination of the physiology of reading. What is your all-time favorite book? What book have you read over and over, even though you could probably now rewrite it yourself because you know it inside and out? I have
Merriam Webster’s definition of the word “cozy”:Enjoying or affording warmth and ease; marked by or providing contentment orcomfort; marked by the intimacy of the family or a close group. When I decided to write Murder in the Museum, the first mystery in my Edmund DeClerykseries, there was no question that it would be a Cozy. I had no idea what the market
It’s crazy to realize that we’re working our way into the fifth year of F.L.A.RE.’s existence, but here we are! What started out as a handful of local authors we coaxed into calling themselves F.L.A.R.E. members has blossomed into a pretty awesome author and reader network. To date, F.L.A.R.E. has over 80 authors affiliated with the group. Many of those
Greetings, As you read this, questions may arise about who this person is, feeding you information about themselves and why they’re here when you probably have better things to do. To respond to these metaphorical (and most definitely 100% real) questions, I offer both advice, and a challenge. I always commit to finishing a piece of writing when I start
