Keynote Presenter
Jane Porter
NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author
Founder Tule Publishing
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Jane Porter holds an MA in Writing from the University of San Francisco and has written 75 novels since getting her first sale to Harlequin Presents in 2000. Jane’s runaway bestseller, Flirting with Forty, became a Lifetime movie starring Heather Locklear in 2008, and in 2021 Jane had two of her Tule Publishing romances adapted for GAC TV movies. A six time RITA finalist, and RITA winner in July 2014 for Take Me, Cowboy, Jane founded Tule Publishing in 2013 and is known for her passionate, powerful stories and relatable heroines. You can find more about Jane at www.janeporter.com.
Additional Workshop Presenters
Julia Amante – Julia Amante is a Women's Fiction author of multiple novels, the latest being Let Us Begin and Christmas Without You which was a 2024 Book Life Prize semi-finalist in romance fiction. Julia Amante writes emotionally rich stories about family, love, and the passion of chasing and achieving one’s goals. In 2022, Julia won the Book Buyers Best 1st place award for Mainstream Fiction for her novel, This is Now. Julia is a frequent speaker at writer’s conferences and non-profit organizations, including Southern California Writer’s Conference, Romance Writers of America, Inlandia Institute, and California State University’s Latina Rising Conference. Julia is also highly involved in giving back to her community. She is most proud of being nominated for the Dream Lifter Award – The Dream Girl Foundation – in 2018. And most recently in 2024, she was presented the Hispanic Lifestyle 2024 “Latina of Influence” Award. In 2020, Julia started Wise Writer Publishing, an author services company that support writers and helps them build their writing careers.
Samantha Ann – Born, raised, and still living in New Jersey, Samantha Ann started writing in the fifth grade out of boredom. At first, it was your run-of-the-mill journal entries but soon became stories of things she wished she had said or done, and soon simply stories about other characters and creatures. Samantha thanks her mother forever for the creative writing gene as her mother is a New York Times Best-Selling author. Samantha is half Cuban (mother) and half Italian (father) but speaks more Korean than either of the languages her parents desperately tried to teach her growing up. Samantha created the Korean from Context website and the Seoul Searching novel that were featured on the Forbes magazine blog as being a fun new way to learn Korean. Samantha has amassed over 20k TikTok followers in just over a year using fun creative ways to promote herself and her books Seoul Searching, Matching Set, Her Ult, Fan Cafe, Fan Service, and Traveler. When not writing, editing, photographing, creating TikToks, Instagram posts, and Tweets, Samantha is an EDI Specialist for a kids’ clothing company. You can find Samantha at www.koreanfromcontext.com.
Laurie Batzel – Laurie Batzel lives in the Poconos with her husband, four two-legged children, and two four-legged children, Stuart the corgi and Midge the Rescue Pup. Her Crystal Hill Romance series with Harlequin is available wherever books are sold!
Michelle Miles – Michelle Miles writes fantasy, paranormal, and young adult adventures filled with magic, danger, and swoon-worthy romance. Her stories feature fierce heroines, unforgettable heroes, and epic quests—whether battling demons, taming dragons, or traveling through time. When she’s not weaving new worlds, she narrates audiobooks and hosts Miles Beyond the Page, a podcast for book lovers and writers. A proud Texan, she enjoys hiking, movie marathons, and a good glass of wine.
L.G. O’Connor – L.G. O’Connor spends her free time spinning romantasy, contemporary, and mystery stories that touch the heart with themes of family, redemption, forgiveness, and most of all, hope. She’s the author of the award-winning romantic women’s fiction trilogy: Caught Up in Raine, Shelter My Heart, and Surrender My Heart, which follows a family of three women who must confront ghosts of the past to find redemption and second chances. A native ‘Jersey Girl,’ L.G. is passionate about health & wellness, interior design, and really good coffee. Find her books on Amazon and all things L.G. at https://www.lgoconnor.com.
Caridad Pineiro – Caridad Pineiro is a transplanted Long Island girl who has fallen in love with the Jersey Shore. When Caridad isn’t taking long strolls along the boardwalk, she’s also a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author with over a million romance novels sold worldwide. Caridad is passionate about writing and helping others explore and develop their skills as writers. She is a founding member of the Liberty States Fiction Writers and has presented workshops at the RT Book Club Convention, Romance Writers of America National Conference as well as various writing organizations throughout the country. You can connect with Caridad at www.caridad.com.
Paula Chaffee Scardamalia – Paula Chaffee Scardamalia is a book coach, dream and tarot intuitive and the author of the recently released mythic contemporary romance, The Tempting Voice, and a romantasy, In the Land of the Vultures. She also has written three nonfiction books on writing and the creative life, Enchanting Creativity, Tarot for the Fiction Writer, and the award-winning Weaving a Woman’s Life: Spiritual Lessons from the Loom. She publishes Divine Muse-ings, a weekly e-newsletter on writing, creativity, myths, fairy tales, dreams, and tarot.
Misty Simon – Misty Simon always wanted to be a storyteller…preferably behind a Muppet. Animal was number one, followed closely by Sherlock Hemlock… Since that dream didn’t come true, she began writing stories to share her world with readers, one laugh at a time.
Paulette Stout – Paulette Stout is the multi-award-winning author of stories with determined heroines, romance, and a fearless social pulse. Read in 43 countries, Paulette crafts vibrant settings and authentic characters you can reach out and touch. Her 23 book award recognitions span her four novels, What We Give Away, What Eyes Can’t See, What We Never Say, and Love, Only Better, adding to her three advertising industry awards, including a MediaWeek All-Star. By day, Paulette leads content marketing for a Nasdaq-listed, global software company, honing the marketing skills you hear on each episode she co-hosts on The Best of Book Marketing Podcast. Connect with Paulette on her website at paulettestout.com, on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @paulettestoutauthor.
Yvonne Ventresca – Yvonne writes suspenseful novels and short stories for tweens, teens, and adults. Her young adult thriller, BLACK FLOWERS, WHITE LIES (Sky Pony Press) won a National IPPY Gold Medal for YA fiction. Her debut novel, PANDEMIC, won a Crystal Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and was reissued in 2022. Ventresca’s other works include two nonfiction books and several short stories selected for anthologies such as THE SECOND BLACK BEACON BOOK OF MYSTERY, VOYAGERS: THE THIRD GHOST, 30 SHADES OF DEAD, and HERO LOST: MYSTERIES OF DEATH AND LIFE. You can find her on most platforms @YvonneVentresca, or visit her website, YvonneVentresca.com where she blogs about writing productivity and features writing resources.
Stacey Wilk – From an early age, I told tales as a way to escape. At six I wrote short stories in composition notebooks, at twelve I wrote a novel on a typewriter, in high school biology I wrote rock star romances in my binder instead of paying attention.
But it wasn’t until many years later, inspired by my children and a looming birthday, that I finally took my story-telling seriously. And published my first novel in 2013. Since then, I’ve gone on to publish thirty-one more so women everywhere could fall in love and find an escape of their own.
When I’m not writing books, I’m standing in front of groups large and small to educate, entertain, and motivate. My love of speaking began earlier than my love of writing. I even earned a degree in Speech, Theater, Communications.
Let’s face it. I have a lot to say.
Wanna chat?