Educator and author Andee Reilly has just released a new Christmas romance which would make perfect reading for Winter Break. Photo credit: Andee Reilly.

Looking for a relaxing Christmas read over your Winter Break? I recommend A Christmas Love Song, a romance novel just released by English educator Andee Reilly.

Andee is well-versed in the study and teaching of excellent writing. In 1988, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies at California State University, Northridge. She earned a Master’s degree in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from California State University, Los Angeles, in 1999. In 2010, she completed the requirements for a second Master’s degree in Creative Writing from the University of California, Riverside, in Riverside, California.

After earning her teaching credential, Andee inaugurated her career as an English teacher at Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, California. After a few years at the high school level, Andee was hired to teach at Moorpark College. She taught additional courses at Pierce College and the College of the Canyons, until securing a position at California State University, Channel Islands (CSUCI). While at CSUCI, Andee garnered a Maximus Award for outstanding teaching. A few years later, Andee moved  to Hawaii, where she accepted a teaching position at the University of Hawaii, Maui College. There she currently teaches composition to incoming freshman.

In addition to her classroom successes, the honored educator also enjoys success as a published novelist. In 2015, Andee published her first novel, Satisfaction. This entertaining book tells the story of Ginny Martin, a recent divorcee, who embarks on a road trip to attend every concert on the Rolling Stones’ North American tour. Along the way, Ginny learns more about herself than she expected. Andee’s second book, A Christmas Love Song, gives us a romance between a has-been pop star, Jake Wilder, and Mackenzie Stone, a reporter longing to become a serious and respected journalist.

You can purchase Andee’s new release on amazon.com at the link A Christmas Love Song. You can find Andee’s first book by clicking the Satisfaction. To visit her website, click on www.andeereilly.com.

Novelist Michele Young-Stone once taught high school and middle school English in Virginia. Photo credit: Michele Young-Stone.

Talented English teachers often make excellent creative writers. This is true of Michele Young-Stone, a teacher and successful novelist from the state of Virginia. To date, Michele has published three novels.

Michele was born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1971, although she was raised in Chester. At the age of 17 she moved to Richmond, Virginia, where she attended Denmark University. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English there in 1992. In 1994, she studied at Africa University, where she earned her Master’s degree in Teaching Secondary English.

Michele taught high school and middle school English in Virginia’s Nottoway and Henrico counties. In 2002, when she was 30 years old, she resigned from her teaching position and enrolled at Virginia Commonwealth University as a full-time student to study creative writing. There she earned her Master’s degree in Fine Arts.

Michele published her first book, The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors, in 2010. Her second book, Above Us Only Sky, was published in 2015. Her third book, Lost in the Beehive, published in 2018, enjoyed success as an O Magazine 2018 Book Pick.

Today Michele teaches an advanced fiction writing workshop through a local organization known as the Muse Writers Center in Norfolk, Virginia. She has also started working on her fourth novel.

“With every new book, there’s a new adventure,” asserts Michele. “Every time, I hope the process will get easier, but it never does because each book is its own beast, its own treasure, a unique act of discovery,” she says. “If you’re not putting down layers and scraping them away, you’re not really learning anything. You’re not, as John Gardner wrote in The Art of Fiction, making art,” Michele concludes.

To learn more about this talented teacher, see her website at Michele Young-Stone.

Former high school teacher Midori Snyder has published nine novels for children and adults, and numerous short stories and essays. Photo credit: Midori Snyder

Many fine educators also earn acclaim as published authors. One of these is Midori Snyder, a former high school teacher who has written nine books for children and adults.

Midori was born on January 1, 1954, in Santa Monica, California. As a young woman, she earned her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she studied European social history and East Asian literature. She completed her Master’s degree in English Literature and Literary Theory at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. While there, she studied African languages and literature, specializing in Arabic and Swahili oral narrative traditions.

Once she earned her degrees, Midori taught at Marquette University High School. The school is a private Jesuit Roman Catholic school for boys located in Milwaukee.

Midori’s novels include her first novel, Soulstring, published in 1987, is a Gothic, high fantasy tale based on the British folk song “Tamlin.” She also wrote The Flight of Michael McBride, published in 1994, and Hannah’s Garden, published in 2005. Her novel Innamorati, published in 1998, garnered a Mythopoeic Award. She has published various pieces of short fiction and poetry has been published in a number of anthologies, including Borderlands and The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. Her essays have appeared in magazines such as Realms of Fantasy. She has also collaborated with comic book artist Charles Vess to write the script for “Barbara Allen” in the acclaimed series Book of Ballads and Sagas.

After she left the classroom, Midori served as the Co-Director of The Endicott Studio, a nonprofit arts and literature organization founded in 1987. She also served as the Co-Editor of The Journal of Mythic Arts, founded in 1997. In 2007, she served as the jury chair for the James Tiptree, Jr., Award.

To read more about this talented educator, see her website at www.midorisnyder.com.