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Sally Apokedak is a literary agent who has been working in the field of children’s book for over 20 years. She represents a few, select, authors, and also works as a small publisher, putting out children’s books that are slanted to the right side of the political center.
Visit Lynne at LynneMarieDavis.com
A lover of mountain cultures and lingo, Lisa Fowler has lived her entire life in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains in the quirky—sometimes downright peculiar—city of Asheville, North Carolina
Life’s always better in the mountains—especially when your days are spent hugging trees and enjoying sourwood honey—but it’s absolutely beyond description when it’s shared with two wacky but loveable rescued dogs and one, exceptionally talented, and extraordinarily beautiful daughter.
She been published multiple times in Chicken Soup for the Soul, God Makes Lemonade, Faithwriters, and Spider Magazine, and her first middle grade novel, Snakes and Stones, is available through Amazon or your local bookstore.
Abi has been drawing for as long as she can remember. Her conscious love for art began when she got hold of coloring books, watched cartoons, made handicrafts, and read picture books. Her first story was written and drawn on printer paper, folded and stapled into a half-size book. She was in grade school then, and she hasn’t outgrown that dream.
Her career in children’s book illustration started while she was working as a software engineer in 2018. Having received a B.S. degree in Information Technology, she continued as a self-educated artist and illustrated for both local and international clients.
Her works showcase themes of wonder, nostalgia, fun, and humor. She often draws inspiration from life’s experiences, looking at the mundane in a different light.
When she’s not doing client work, she enjoys making hand-drawn designs for t-shirts, greeting cards, and stickers, among other things.
It’s her ultimate dream to be an author-illustrator one day.
Visit her website at Sketch Book ni Abi.
Ellen Injerd has been drawing since childhood. After taking some time to start a family, Ellen recommitted herself to seriously pursuing art and studying illustration. She enjoys creating picture books together with her mother, Cheryl Secomb, as well as working with publishers and indie authors. She lives with her husband and four children in Oregon.
When Kelly Pulley was very young he dreamed of being a cowboy, unfortunately he didn’t have a horse, a hat or a rope, so his range riding dreams were temporarily corralled. However, he did have a Deluxe 64-count box of Crayola Crayons with a built-in sharpener — so instead of cow poking, he became an artist. .
Now Kelly is a full-time writer and illustrator of children’s picture books. He teaches and entertains kids with his humorous books and inspires them to discover their own creative voices through his YouTube videos. He has illustrated numerous children’s books including many in the Best-selling Beginner’s Bible and Veggie Tales series.
He has authored and illustrated several picture books, including the outlandish and wacky Ten Unusual Features of Lulu McDunn (Gauthier Publishing), and the humorous, Bicycle-themed Bicycling Rules of the Road, and The Cycling Wangdoos, (Schiffer Publishing).
He has authored and illustrated several picture books, including the outlandish and wacky Ten Unusual Features of Lulu McDunn (Gauthier Publishing), and the humorous, Bicycle-themed Bicycling Rules of the Road, and The Cycling Wangdoos, (Schiffer Publishing).
Dana Redrick is a bio mom, foster mom, and adoptive mom who loves spending time with her kids, and with her husband, a man who loves the Lord, loves their children and makes her feel valuable every day. She also loves church, walking with friends every week, and hot Pilates. She and her family live in Ocala, Florida.
Cheryl resides in Oregon with her husband, not far from their children and their families. She is currently writing children’s board books and picture books. Some of her projects include working with her daughter, Ellen Injerd, as an author/illustrator team.
Cheryl’s desire is to create books that children and parents and grandparents can enjoy reading together. Her heart is that children can discover the joy of reading and become lifelong readers.
Taryn was born in Dallas, Texas and lived all over before settling down in Florida with her husband, David, and their three kids, two cats, and one dog.
She never planned to be a writer—she was a middle school math teacher for a couple years. But being a voracious reader as a kid gave her a love for words (and working with middle-schoolers gave her a sense of humor). It seemed like a good idea to combine the two (words and humor) and voila, a book was born.
Taryn’s middle grade novels have been named to multiple state award lists, including the Pennsylvania’s Young Readers Choice Awards, Georgia’s Children’s Book Awards, Alaska’s Battle of the Books, Ohio’s Buckeye Children and Teen’s Book Awards, Wisconsin’s Golden Archer Awards, Alabama’s Camellia Children’s Choice Book Award, Nebraska’s Golden Sower Awards, Missouri’s Mark Twain Book Award, Indiana’s Young Hoosier Book Award and Florida’s Sunshine State Young Readers Awards.
While she’s somewhat decent at math, Taryn’s terrible at science, and she has an intense dislike of tarantulas.
Janine is a high school biology and environmental science teacher and loves her job every day. Creating children’s poetry and art has been her dream since kindergarten. She has two sons and two fluffy, ridiculous dogs.