Anna J. Stewart: Romancing a Writing Career

Anna J. Stewart: Romancing a Writing Career

Anna Stewart personifies the phrase “dedicated writer.” Since her first novella with Harlequin in 2014, Anna has written and published more than forty romances in multiple sub-genres. As a USA Today and national bestselling author she writes sweet to sexy romance for Harlequin’s Heartwarming and Romantic Suspense lines with one of her titles, Recipe for Redemption, optioned for a TV Movie aired on Uptv in the 2019 holiday season. Early obsessions with Star Wars, Star Trek, and Wonder Woman set her on the path to creating fun, funny, and family-centric romances with happily ever afters for her independent heroines.

Laura Davis: Wholehearted

Laura Davis: Wholehearted

Laura Davis, author of seven bestselling non-fiction books, including The Courage to Heal, I Thought We’d Never Speak Again, and forthcoming memoir, Wholehearted, teaches writing workshops in Santa Cruz, California, and leads transformative writing retreats in Tuscany, Peru, Bali, Spain, and other international locations. As the creator of The Writer’s Journey Roadmap, Laura sends out free evocative writing prompts by email each Tuesday.

Matt Nightingale: Choosing Gratitude

Matt Nightingale: Choosing Gratitude

As a gay Christian, Matt Nightingale is passionate about the intersection of sexuality and spirituality. He works to create safe, sacred spaces for people exploring these identities. His TEDx talk, “Choosing Gratitude and Hope,” with his former wife, Luanne Nightingale, tells their story of their 23-year mixed-orientation marriage, an evolving understanding of faith and sexuality, and the choice to end their marriage with gratitude and hope. When he first acknowledged his authentic sexuality, Matt believed he needed to be cured, and tried to do this in the confines of the church where he then worked. Eventually, he grew to accept his sexuality though it cost him his marriage and the job he held in his church.
Matt is now a spiritual director and support group facilitator with The Christian Closet, which offers web-based counseling, coaching, and spiritual direction for LGBTQ Christians.

Shannon Curtis and Jamie Hill: Music Our Way—A Chat with Industry Trailblazers

Shannon Curtis and Jamie Hill: Music Our Way—A Chat with Industry Trailblazers

Shannon Curtis writes and performs art pop music; Jamie Hill produces and creates music with all sorts of bands and artists. They’re both writers and authors and speakers … oh, and also, they’re married!

For the last decade-plus, the pair have been building on their shared delusion that a married pair of working artists can make a successful life together – far outside of any industry mainstream. Their journey on this unpaved path has led them to the heart of the community-centered work they do and has given definition to the life they aim to live: one in which they share themselves honestly, make authentic connections with others, and create opportunities for people to make deeper connections with themselves and with each other.

Karen Haycox: Life is a Perpetual Lesson

Karen Haycox: Life is a Perpetual Lesson

As CEO of Habitat for Humanity New York City, Karen Haycox has pulled from every aspect of herself, her history, her losses, and her talents to help her teams provide housing to those who might otherwise never have the homes they need. The lessons
she’s learned from losing one she loved, to embracing sobriety, and even her background in filmmaking all serve her now in the highly demanding role of
wrangling all of the entities and overcoming all of the obstacles required to create homes for others. Determination, talents, and wisdom gathered along turn out to be the perfect constellation of skills for doing exactly the work she never aimed for, but which she now knows she was meant to do.