Our Authors

My name is Christy Diane Farr and I am The Unruly Woman. It is my heart’s mission to help women change their lives. What’s “normal” feels too formal and doesn’t capture the most powerful parts of my story. Yes, I have a degree. Yes, I went to school to learn to be a life coach. Yes, I’m a published writer, I belong to relevant professional organizations, and I’ve collaborated with oodles of extraordinary women over the last seven years. And sure, these statistics are important but only in that they represent the experiences that carried me home to the truth of who I am. These are but a handful of the many pieces woven into the fabric of life and frankly, I prefer to collaborate with women who want to know about my unruly bits because that is what makes it possible for me to do this thing I do.

Claudia Sternbach is the author of two previous memoirs, Now Breathe, a very personal journey through breast cancer (Whiteaker Press) and Reading Lips, a memoir of kisses (Unbridled Books). Claudia was a newspaper columnist for many years and has been published often in The San Francisco Chronicle, The San Francisco Examiner, and The Chicago Tribune. She has also been published in several anthologies and is the former editor-in-chief of the literary journal, Memoir. When she isn't writing, Claudia paints. When she isn't writing or painting, she can be found on her daily walk on the beach. And at the end of the day she enjoys a cocktail on her back yard swing while watching the squirrels trapeze branch to branch in the redwoods. Claudia lives on the coast of Northern California with her husband, Michael.

Flavia was born and raised in Arena, a medieval hill town in Calabria, the ancient "instep" of the Italian Peninsula, and studied Classics and European Literature at the University of Naples. She wrote her first short story when she was 12, and ever since then, writing has been the most important thing she does. When she was 28, she came to live in San Francisco, where she learned English by watching children's television programs with her son Adam, then four years old. She loves English as much as she loves Italian, for different reasons but in the same measure. She writes in English and in Italian, she thinks in English and in Italian, and she dreams in English and in Italian. In 1984, she graduated Summa Cum Laude in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, where she also got her Master's Degree. The six years at SFSU were without a doubt the happiest of her life; she remembers those long hours spent in the library with books as a wonderful time spent with dear friends. From a student of Creative Writing at SFSU she went on to become a teacher of Creative Writing, a most rewarding job where she met many young people with a true gift for writing. She was the recipient of the Emily Dickinson Award sponsored by the Poetry Society of America. She has taught Italian at the Italian Institute of Language and Culture in San Francisco and in several other schools throughout the Bay Area. She has also worked for many years as a translator and consultant for the Italian Consulate General, specializing in Citizenship applications; another rewarding job where over her fourteen years she has helped hundreds of people of Italian descent reach their goal of reconnecting with the land of their ancestors. She lives in Pacifica, California, right at the edge of the ocean where the continent ends. She can be found at Flavia's Voice.

Jory Post was an educator, writer, and artist who lived in Santa Cruz, California. He and his wife, Karen Wallace, created handmade books and art together as JoKa Press. Jory was the co-founder and publisher of phren-z, an online literary quarterly, and founder of the Zoom Forward reading series. His first book of prose poetry, The Extra Year, was published in 2019, and was followed by a second, Of Two Minds, in 2020. His novel, Pious Rebel, also appeared in 2020. His work has been published in Catamaran Literary Reader, Chicago Quarterly Review, Rumble Fish Quarterly, The Sun, and elsewhere. His short stories “Sweet Jesus” and “Hunt and Gather” were nominated for the 2019 Pushcart Prize.

As a sexual trauma survivor, Leah RS Braun is committed to helping others discover that recovery and joy and a fulfilling intimate life are fully possible when we ask for help, do the work, and practice new thoughts and behaviors. A life‐long guide at heart, Leah spent the first half of her career as a wellness professional, personal trainer, and yoga studio owner. She now coaches private clients and groups to find and do the work they love as #thework4joycoach. Leah lives in Minnesota with her family. She is available for speaking engagements, professional coaching, copy writing, and other collaborative projects.

Lisa Jacob has been writing since she could hold a pencil and draw a straight line. She wrote fan fiction before branching out into novels and short stories. In the early 2000’s, Lisa was a carny in a traveling circus for a summer, where she met her husband. Interested in magic(k), cards, and divination, she lives in Rhode Island with her son and three cats. Lisa is also the author of the "Grimaulkin" and "War Mage" fantasy series, as well as Real Magic for Writers. You can find out more about Lisa Jacob at her website, lajacob.com.

Marlene Anne Bumgarner was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England. Following World War II she and her parents sailed to New York, then lived on a family-owned poultry farm in Zephyrhills, Florida and in a rural community in Victoria, Australia, before settling permanently in California. Marlene put herself through college working as a technical writer, then felt the draw of the land. In 1973, she moved to a piece of rural property with her husband and daughter. Following a decade teaching elementary and preschool children, Marlene taught Child and Adolescent Development for 30 years at a community college. Her first book, The Book of Whole Grains, grew out of a cultural history curriculum she developed for fourth grade. Organic Cooking for (not-so-organic) Mothers was inspired by letters written to her by readers of the "Naturally Speaking" newspaper column she wrote for the San Jose Mercury News. Working with School Age Children was written for the thousands of young people working in before- and after-school programs around the country, and is used as a textbook in many colleges and universities. In 2001, Marlene was awarded the Educator of the Year award by the Chamber of Commerce of Morgan Hill, California. Since retiring from full time teaching, she volunteers in the Young Writers Program at local schools, and writes a monthly blog addressing topics of interest to parents and grandparents. Find out more about Marlene’s family life, cooking, and gardening at marlenebumgarner.com.

Before settling into the writer’s life, Mary taught environmental education, English, and art for over twenty-five years in California public schools. She lives in a cottage on the Central California Coast with her husband — a retired NASA climate scientist — and their dog, koi, chickens, and gopher herd, where she spends her time practicing permaculture gardening, plein air painting, making pottery, bird watching, swimming, and enjoying life on the Monterey Bay … and, of course, writing. An early draft of Fruit of the Devil was a finalist for the Pen Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. Fruit of the Devil is Mary’s first published novel.

Matthew Legare is what happens when you tell someone they can be anything they want to be — but provide no further guidance. A performer and creator of “stuff” since he was able to stand upright, he can check off the boxes for “actor”, “writer”, “director”, “renter of fishing boats”, “painter of bathrooms”, “wrangler of technology”, and a number of other jobs which look good in an author’s biography. Unable to stop making stuff up (he’s tried; we checked), Matthew is credited (or blamed) with a number of radio plays and spoken-word performances, as well as being “Tobias the Adequate” at fairs, festivals, and themed gatherings. Since so many people responded to “I’m a magician.” with “Oh? What instrument do you play?”, Mr. Legare has branched into geeky, nerdy, goofy music with his “Troubadork” show, streaming regularly and coming to the aforementioned gatherings. Matthew lives in an undisclosed location in San Antonio, Texas, with his extremely patient and supportive partner, Ami, and somewhere between zero and too many cats.

Michael Thal is a freelance writer and author in Los Angeles, California. Michael began his career in public education. Due to a severe hearing loss, he left his tenured sixth grade teaching assignment to learn the writing craft. Michael has written over 80 articles for magazines like Highlights for Children, Fun for Kidz, Writer’s Digest, and San Diego Family Magazine. His novels include Goodbye Tchaikovsky, The Legend of Koolura, Koolura and the Mystery at Camp Saddleback, Koolura and the Mayans, and The Abduction of Joshua Bloom. You can learn more Michael and his works at michaelthal.com.

Nancy Wood grew up in various locations on the East Coast and now calls Central California home. Recently retired, she spent 35 years as a technical writer, translating engineer-speak into words and sentences. She likens it to translating ancient Greek — when you’re not too familiar with the Greek part. Since retiring, she and her husband have been traveling the world. So far, they’ve visited France, Spain, England, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Belgium, the Netherlands, India, and Vietnam. They are not anywhere close to done and have many more trips planned. Nancy is also a passionate photographer, focusing on macro photography. She can be found at Nancy Wood Books.

Paola Bruni is a writer, wife, and doggie mom living on California’s Central Coast. She is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, winner of the Morton Marcus Poetry Prize, and winner of the Muriel Craft Bailey Poetry Prize judged by Ellen Bass, as well as a finalist for the Mudfish Poetry Prize. Her poems have appeared in such prestigious journals as The Southern Review, Ploughshares, Five Points Journal, Rattle, Massachusetts Review, and Catamaran Literary Reader, among others. Her short plays have been produced by Actors Theater, Santa Cruz as well as short-listed for play festivals around the globe. You can learn more about the world and works of Paola Bruni at paolabruniwriter.com.

To bring new works of fiction and art to light. To give people a chance to realize their dreams.

Paul S. Moore was born in the Missouri Ozarks, raised in St. Louis, and eventually settled in the sand of central Florida. He calls each of these places home. His inner mix of hillbilly river rat, lowlands daydreamer, sand road hermit, and reader of nineteenth-century history writers form the base of a non-elite education. These roots allow imagination to turn historic events into serendipitous thoughts. Those thoughts organize into stories, and stories become novels. With the remedial help of a good critique group, and the birth of publishing companies that read a manuscript without asking first, "What are your credentials?", he's found a voice to share those stories. Paul is also the author of the "Stories in the Glass" series and "The Alchemist Daughter".

Paul Skenazy grew up in Chicago and studied at the University of Chicago and Stanford University. He taught literature and writing for thirty-five years at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His nonfiction works include a book on James M. Cain, a collection of essays on place in San Francisco literature, and a selection of interviews with Maxine Hong Kingston. He has published more than three hundred reviews of fiction and nonfiction for newspapers and magazines nationwide, and was twice nominated for the National Book Critics Circle award for reviewing. For a dozen years, he was a mystery review columnist for the Washington Post. His short novel, Temper CA (2019), won the Miami University Press Novella Contest. He revised and edited La Mollie and the King of Tears (1996), a posthumous novel by Arturo Islas, and his autobiographical piece on Chicago and Saul Bellow was a “Notable” essay in The Best American Essays, 2015. His stories and essays have recently appeared in Catamaran Literary Reader, Chicago Quarterly Review, and elsewhere. He lives in Santa Cruz, California with his wife, the poet Farnaz Fatemi.