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Mike Nelson
Travel essay: A Brief Encounter with the Mexican Army
Biography: “Mexico” Mike Nelson has been driving Mexico since 1968 and has not gotten smarter with age. He’s written dozens of books about Mexico. His web site, www.mexicomike.com (born 1996) actually has useful and factual information to keep you from ending up in stupid situations like this. Maybe he should read it. He specializes in driving, unusual destinations, spas, hot springs and living in Mexico info. Seldom read, but worthwhile is a section of literary nonfiction or maybe fiction like this.
“Estamos perdido,” I shouted at the two young soldiers approaching the car. 

Julie Pelc
Essays: Support Group, Leaving Los Angeles, Coffee, A Rabbi and a Priest Walk into a Casino
Biography: Julie is the recipient of a Wexner Graduate Fellowship and she published a book, Joining the Sisterhood: Young Jewish Women Write Their Lives.  Julie survived a ruptured brain aneurysm in 2003 and has found deep personal and spiritual meaning in creative non-fiction writing  classes, called "Writing the Healing Story" through UCLA Extension, and in writing and researching her Rabbinic Thesis on the Book of Job: "Talk to Me: (Or, When More Bad Things Happen to Good People)".

Roy L. Pickering, Jr.
Fiction: Lucky Day
Biography: 
Roy is a freelance writer living in New Jersey. He has published several short stories and is now looking for a publisher for his debut novel, "Patches of Grey." FYI, check out Roy's website.

Victoria Reggio
Essays: Sister Mary Psycho, The natural Woman, Dirty Old woman,
The Lady is a Temp, Imaginary Boyfriend, The Breakup, Fertile Minds, Under the Knife, The Boyfriend, Mom, The Bridesmaid, Being There
Biography: Victoria Reggio is a freelance writer living in Manhattan. Her personal essays have appeared in "Skirt! Magazine," and "Straight From The Heart." She has had readings at The National Arts Club and the Cornelia St. Cafe.

Lina E. Rehal
Essay: Pack Rats Anonymous, My Best Foot Forward
Fiction: Johnny Danger
Travel: My Vegas Vacation
Biography: Lina is an Executive Secretary and freelance writer. Married, with two grown children, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband. Her feature stories and travel articles have been published in the Lynn Daily Item. 

Hal Reichardt
Essays: Where's My Trophy, Dads Eat the Darndest Things, The Country Singer, 
Cat Fu, Kitchen Floor as History
Biography: Hal Reichardt is a freelance humor writer whose work appears frequently in The Oregonian ("the largest newspaper in the Pacific Northwest"}. Born in Glen Cove on the north shore of New York's Long Island, Hal graduated from the SUNY at Stony Brook with a B.A. in English. He currently writes from Beaverton, Oregon, where he lives with his wife Shannon, daughter Lindsay, and son Conor.

Zaphra Reskakis
Essays: False Alarm,  Mechanically Speaking, Another View from the Bridge, Olympus Magic Wand, Damned if you do, The Intruder, The Christmas Present,
Baby, the poodle with a past, A Stone Around Your Neck, Absolution, The Circus
Biography: I am a Greek American semi retired clinical pharmacist, I worked as the Director of Pharmacy of a hospital for seventeen years but now do consultant work. I am a mother of two and a grandmother of five. Since retiring, I have been taking workshops and have a work in progress, my memoirs, tentative titled," Daughter of Zeus and Hera". I read a piece this year at the Equal Opportunity office for Women's History month. I am also involved in storytelling and have presented memoir pieces at Cornelia Street Cafe and the Storytelling Center. Other than pharmacy publications, I have been published in Reminisce magazine. 

Barbara Riccio
Essay: Unexpected Visitor
Biography: I am a native of Watertown, New York, 48 year’s old, married and have two adult sons. Four years ago I began my college education, and graduated in 2003 from Skidmore College with a bachelor’s in Business Administration. During the course of my studies, I discovered that my interests were quite varied. I  took courses in art, literature, anthropology, history, environmental science and more. Various professors, local artists and family members have encouraged me to continue working in these fields. To date, I have one ink drawing that has been published, and this is my first piece of writing to be published. In addition to my interests in art and writing, I enjoy reading, listening to music, gardening, traveling and  nature.

Monique Rider
Essay: Success Begins Within, The Desert in Winter, Like to Eat?, Hiking the Camelbacks of Tempe, Arizona, Aruba, one happy island, I Love New York City, Danger on the Trail: hiking Nevada's Mt. Charleston
Biography: Monique is the owner of Trinity Coaching Services, a business that offers fitness training and personal development services to clients worldwide.  Monique's mission is to use her life experiences to help others grow.  To learn more about Monique visit her website or  monique_rider@msn.com

Rebecca Rochat
Travel essays: Aphroisias, Turkey and the Goddess of Love, Off-Road Trekking on Bora Bora
Biography: Rebecca is a frequent contributor to Clever Magazine.

Craig Rondinone
Poem: Platonic
Biography: 
Craig is a syndicated columnist who writes weekly columns on fantasy baseball and football for SportsTicker that can be seen on the Internet. He also has a collection of short stories that will be published by Publish America in May 2004.

John Rosenberg
Essay: A Year on the Grand Jury
Biography: John is a third generation Californian.  He was born in Oakland, grew up in Piedmont, and went to the Univ. of California, where he received his AB degree in economics and his JD degree from that university’s Boalt Hall School of Law.  After practicing law with his father for six years in Oakland, he relocated to Marin County where, for almost 40 years, he practiced construction law, had a government contracts practice, and represented a number of local municipalities.  He is now retired from private practice and is devoting himself to the field of Alternate Dispute Resolution as a mediator, arbitrator and special master on a part-time basis. He is married to Susie Rosenberg, a long-time Marin resident, and has two adult children, three step children and a recently-born grand daughter.

Terry Sanville
Essay: Motel Camping
Biography: Terry lives in San Luis Obispo, California with his artist-poet wife, Marguerite Costigan (his in-house editor), and two cats (his in-house critics). He is also an accomplished jazz and blues guitarist. Since 2000, Terry’s stories have been accepted for publication by GRIT Magazine, BEGINNINGS, R-kv-ry Journal, The Circle Magazine, Falling Star Magazine, Pipes & Timbrels Journal, Distant Echoes Journal, Wanderings, The Red Dirt Review, Foliate Oak, Tales From the Corner Anthology, a Kearney Street Books Anthology, Storyteller, The Arabesques Review, The War Journal, The Catnip Chronicles, The Noo Journal, The Scruffy Dog Review, and by the About Alzheimer’s Association.

Cynthia Saracco
Essay: The Gift, Finding that Special Place, Rite of Passage
Biography: Cynthia's previous publications include two text books as well as more 30 non-fiction articles on ceramic arts, business, and technology topics. She also writes a regular column for an art guild newsletter. 

Patti Schaffer
Columnist: DearClever ~ beginning Spring 2005
Biography: A native New Yorker and long time California transplant, Patti is a brand new collage artist. She is owner of Tabor Sarah Books, publishing her own works and those of her siblings.

Wayne Scheer
Fiction: Miss Candy Derriere
Essay: Southern Breeze
Biography: Wayne retired from college teaching to follow his own advice and write. Some of his work has appeared in The Pedestal Magazine, Laughter Loaf, Stationaery and Moonwort Review. His literary awards include a nomination for a Pushcart Prize. Wayne lives with his wife in Atlanta, and can be contacted at wvscheer@aol.com

Jonathan D. Scott
Fiction: Root of Evil
Biography: Jonathan Scott won first prizes and publication for the first short stories he wrote. Totally inspired, he took a great many years off to do things like raise his kids. Today though, he is back in the saddle, and many of his stories appear in e-zines. He is also the author of two wildly unsuccessful novels, LENEGRIN and THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS.

Eric Shackle
Essay: Aussie Artist Chris McClelland
Biography: Eric Shackle is a retired Australian journalist whose hobby is searching the Internet and writing about it. His work has been published by the New York Times (U.S.), Globe and Mail (Canada), Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) and Straits Times (Singapore). He is copy editor of Anu Garg's Ohio-based A Word A Day free newsletter, which is e-mailed five days a week to more than half a million wordlovers in 210 countries. He has written a free e-book, LIFE BEGINS AT 80 ... on the Internet. See also UNSHACKLED BY COMPUTER

John Sheirer
Essay: Syrup
Biography: John teaches at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, Connecticut. He is the author of a collection of poems, Saying My Name: Selected Poems, 1982-2002, and a book of essays, Free Chairs. He is currently completing a memoir, Growing Up Mostly Normal in the Middle of Nowhere.

Andrea Shumovsky
Poetry: Familiar Spring
Biography: Although a Canadian, I did live in the United States where I attended Glassboro State College before returning to Canada to complete my education. I do miss the oceans along the east coast, the big cities, Philadelphia and New York, but the vast and ever changing Canadian landscape calls me home and inspires me. I have been writing for many years, and only recently found the courage to share my work with others thanks to my loving family.

Jonathan Skurnik
Travel Essay: Riding the LA Bus
Biography: Jonathan has produced, directed and shot numerous award-winning documentaries and has recently completed his first two fiction films as writer/director. His three most recent documentaries include: “The Elevator Operator,” a documentary about a Ukrainian immigrant who runs a manual elevator in Manhattan. It has screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, won Best Documentary at the Urban TV film festival in Madrid and had its broadcast premiere on PBS and Ukrainian TV this year; the award-winning “Spit It Out” which is in the middle of an extensive festival run in the U.S. and abroad and is being broadcast on PBS this Spring and Summer; and “A Day’s Work, A Day’s Pay” which won the prestigious Harry Chapin award for films about hunger and poverty and was broadcast on PBS and in Europe in 2002. Jonathan is currently directing American Shaman about two ill women who use shamanic practices to heal. He is also a frequent contributor to several on line and print magazines. Read more about his work at www.jskurnik.com.

Molly Smith
Fiction: The Treatment
Biography: Molly resides in rural Indiana with her husband, two teen daughters. She has always had a passion for writing, but never had the time to pursue it full time until recently. She home schooled her two children for eight years before reluctantly allowing them to sign up for public school last fall. Her other hobbies include gardening, cross stitching, and reading. Her short stories have also been published by Bewildering Stories and Barfing Frog Press.

Jane Starbird
Travel essay: The Peru Papers, Parts I and II, Bear Country
The Peru Papers, Parts I and II
Biography: Jane K. Starbird is a mom with three grown sons, one of whom is a marine biologist. She has always been fascinated with animals. She volunteers time each month to lead bird walks for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The rest of her time she spends being a pet for her dogs.

Erica Stux
Humorous Essay: Faunal Touch, Whales & Wails
Biography: I started writing when my children were young - first poems for kids, then light verse and prose pieces for adults. Much later I tried doing book-length stuff. My third biography for children will be published later this year. But my more than a dozen picture book texts are still looking for publishers. I write mostly about animals and the environment.