Our Featured Writers page lists recent authors, their information, and links who have previously spoken at general assembly meetings of Tampa Writers Alliance, Inc.
Angela Hunt
Christy-Award winner Angela Hunt writes for readers who expect the unexpected in novels. With nearly five million copies of her books sold worldwide, she is the best-selling author of more than 140 works ranging from picture books (The Tale of Three Trees) to non-fiction books, to novels. Angela Hunt’s books have touched on such diverse topics as cloning, immortality, breast cancer, mental illness, angels, family issues, spouse abuse, stuttering, adoption, divorce, dating and man’s relationship to animals.
Her novel, The Note, was made into a Hallmark Channel movie with the same name. It premiered in December 2007, and two other novels have been optioned for film (Uncharted andThe Elevator). Hunt was awarded and Angel Award from Excellence in Media eight times, as well as a 2000 Christy Award (for By Dawn’s Light). She won the 2006 Romantic Times BookClub Lifetime Award, and three of her novels have been finalists for a Romance Writers of America RITA Award. She was also awarded the 2000 Holt Medallion for Inspirational Fiction for The Truth Teller. Her novel, “The Face,” was listed in Publisher’s Weekly “Best Books of the Year” (PW, 11/03/08). Hunt often speaks and teaches at major writer’s conferences and she participates as a founding instructor in the Glen Eyrie Writer’s Summit. She lives in Seminole, Florida with her family and mastiffs. In 2001, one of her dogs was featured on Live With Regis and Kelly as the second largest dog in America.
Roy Peter Clark
Roy Peter Clark has been called “America’s writing coach” as his stated mission is to help create “a nation of writers.” Since 1977 he has taught writing to small children and to Pulitzer winning authors from his mother ship, The Poynter Institute, a school for journalism and democracy in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is the author or editor of 17 books on writing, language, and journalism. The latest, all published by Little, Brown, are “Writing Tools,” “The Glamour of Grammar,” and “Help! for Writers,” which is now also a mobile app. His work has been featured on the Today Show, NPR, and the Oprah Winfrey Show. More than a million of his writing podcasts have been downloaded on iTunesU. On five occasions he has served as a Pulitzer juror and twice has chaired the jury on nonfiction books. His honors include induction in the Features Hall of Fame, an honorary degree from Goucher College, and a stint at Vassar College as Starr Writer-in-Residence. His latest book, is “How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times.”
Kristen Stieffel
Kristen Stieffel is a writer specializing in speculative fiction and an editor and writing coach. She is the associate editor of Havok, a flash fiction magazine. She has edited nonfiction and fiction novels for the general market and the Christian submarket and teaches at writers conferences. Her editing credits include The Ghosts of Emily Gray by C. Keith Carpenter,Veiled Destiny by Shirin Humzani, and Winter by Keven Newsome. She is currently writing a book about editing. She belongs to the Editorial Freelancers Association, Christian Editor Connection, and The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network.
Dan Walsh
Dan’s novels have received popular and critical acclaim, getting rave reviews from USA Today and magazines like Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal and RT Book Reviews. His very first book, The Unfinished Gift, won two ACFW Carol Awards. It’s still in print 6 years later and has sold over 60,000 copies. It’s available in hardback, paperback, Ebook, audiobook, large-print and in several languages. His other books have won numerous awards and appeared on several national bestseller lists.
Carol J. Post
Carol writes fun and fast-paced inspirational romantic suspense. Her book Out for Justice was nominated for an RT Reviewer’s Choice Best Book award, and Mistletoe Justice was an RT Top Pick. When Carol isn’t writing, she enjoys sailing, hiking, camping—almost anything outdoors. Her two grown daughters and grandkids live too far away for her liking, so she now pours all that nurturing into taking care of a fat and sassy black cat and a highly spoiled dachshund.
Tina Yeager tyeagerwrites.com
Wife, mom, and latte junkie, Tina enjoys helping clients optimize their lives through her online coaching business, Divine Encouragement, LLC. She writes non-fiction and speculative fiction from a Christian worldview. She is an inspirational speaker and former president of Tampa Word Weavers, she has won several awards, including FCWC’s 2013 Writer of the Year. You can go visit her for a virtual cup of java at divineencouragement.com and tyeagerwrites.com.
Ivy Tobin
Author of My Life as a Doormat. Ivy Tobin’s recently released novel has won rave reviews on Amazon . . . and her character maintains her own blog and Facebook pages! My Life as a Doormat follows the adventures of Rose Gardner. It’s 1980. Naïve and fresh out of college Rose moves to Manhattan against her parents’ wishes to pursue an acting career. Anxiety-ridden and insecure, Rose fights to maintain her sanity, while establishing herself as an actress and coping with bad relationships, unpredictable roommates, bad decisions, bad jobs, and bad friends.
John Chaplick
Currently an instructor in the field of forensic and investigative accounting, fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering, John is also a member of the Florida Writers Association. As a former business owner, auditor, and partner in a national CPA firm, John bases his novels on the lives of his clients . . . and an unusual lot they were.
Mat Hooper
Mat is an African-American writer who lives in Tampa. He comes from a writing family, as he is the son of long-time Tampa Bay Times columnist Ernest Hooper. He graduated from Florida State University with a degree in creative writing and presented an honors creative project on speculative fiction and race. His writing has appeared in the Tampa Bay Times, Poynter.org, Tallahassee Magazine, and the FSView. He’s been a member of the Tampa Writers Alliance since 2017.
Mark Mynheir
Mark is a popular writing teacher and conference speaker, drawing on his extensive law enforcement experience to help writers, novices and professionals alike to understand police culture and use that knowledge to strengthen their stories and characters. He has taught at The Space Coast Writers’ Guild, The Glen Eyrie Writers’ Conference, The Blue Ridge Writers’s Conference, The American Christian Fiction Writers’ Conference, The Florida Christian Writers’s Conference and in numerous book and writing clubs.