2025 Lakes Area Writers Alliance Fall Conference

He writes poetry, CNF and paranormal, mystery, and horror fiction from near the Halloween Capitol of the World. His alter ego, A.W. Powers, has created the Psychic Guardian Angel series. The closest either Powers or Anderson is to becoming Jacob Daniels, the protagonist of the Psychic Guardian Angel books, is figuring out how to use scenes from the book to create fun photos.

She has been creating and writing stories since she was six years old. In 2008, her dream of becoming a published author came true when "Murder in Winnebago County," the first installment in the Winnebago County Mystery Series, was launched.

Husom draws on her real-life experiences in the criminal justice system and her interest in what motivates people to commit crimes to craft intriguing plots with compelling characters.

She served with the Wright County Sheriff’s Department and trained with the St. Paul Police Department, where she gained firsthand knowledge of law enforcement policies and procedures.

Husom is a national best-selling author of two mystery series, has stories in six anthologies, wrote a collaborative novel with eight other authors, and co-edited Festival of Crime for Nodin Press. She belongs to Mystery Writers of America, the National Sisters in Crime, and is an active member of the Twin Cities Sisters in Crime.

She has been nominated for several book awards and has both moderated and participated in author panels at Malice Domestic, Bouchercon, Left Coast Crime, Killer Nashville, and various events in Minnesota and Wisconsin with the Sisters in Crime.

Husom resides in Wright County, Minnesota, where she also serves as a County Commissioner.

Likes to imagine how things might have been. She combines her love of history with her Scandinavian heritage in historical novels that examine the early days of Minnesota and North Dakota. “I write historical novels to share painless history lessons about the fascinating and unique history of our region.”

Her historical novels include: Sister Lumberjack, book five in the Abercrombie Trail Series (North Star Press, March 2024) Follow Whiskey Creek (Sweet Honey Press 2023) Escape to Fort Abercrombie (Five Star Cengage 2018) Shelterbelts (North Star Press 2015), Blooming Prairie (North Star Press 2012) Birdie (North Star Press2011) Pomme de Terre (North Star Press 2010), and Abercrombie Trail (North Star Press 2009). Her short story collections are Dear Homefolks (River Place Press, 2017) and The Glory of Ordinary Time (Wolfpack Press, 2018). Farm Girls (River Place Press, 2013) is a book of poetry co-written with her sister, Angela Foster. Candace’s short stories have been published in the anthologies: Spoilt Quilt (Five Star Cengage 2020), Librarians of the West (Five Star Cengage 2021), and Why Cows Need Cowboys (Two Dot Press 2021).

Simar is a Spur Award winner and Spur finalist from the Western Writers of America for her Abercrombie Trail series. Shelterbelts was a finalist in both the Willa Literary Awards in Historical Fiction and the Midwest Book Awards. Escape to Fort Abercrombie holds a Will Rogers Gold Medallion and a Peacemaker Award from Western Fictioneers.

Her short stories and poetry have received awards from the Bob Dylan Creative Writing Contest, Lake Region Review, League of Minnesota Poets, National Federation of State Poetry Societies, Dust and Fire, and the Laura Awards for Short Fiction.

Ask her about herself, and she has this to say, “Who really cares about the author? Yes, I write these stories, and I love them. My heart, soul, and even sanity go into every page. Beyond that, I don’t matter. Only the story and characters do. They’re what you came for, and I’d rather not dilute the experience by talking about myself.

Imagine the love child of Rambo and Ma Ingalls. That’s Jason Lee Willis. Overly nurtured by his Vietnam War veteran father and Lutheran church secretary mother, he grew up in the fantasy realm of South Dakota before his exodus brought him to mysterious Minnesota for college.

His love of mythology and storytelling led him to a career as a high school English teacher, where he guided his students in writing poetry, short stories, and even screenplays. As a professional storyteller, he’s done historical lectures, book talks, radio segments, podcasts, and a video channel on YouTube, The Minnesota Alchemist.

Willis currently lives in Minnesota, where he lives the life of a hobbit by gardening, writing, walking around barefoot, wearing vests, fishing, and going on adventures with his wife, Julie.

She is an Indie author of romantic suspense and historical romance novels. Her three romantic suspense novels, The Gangster's Daughter, The Gangster's Mistake, and The Gangster's Game, all received three 5-star reviews from Readers' Favorite. Always a daydreamer, Jodie started reading at a young age and writing short stories based on her daydreams, along with her reading hobby. Those short stories grew into longer stories as life went on, eventually turning into full-length novels. With technical writing as a part of her career, Jodie jumped into a role of Staff Writer at a local newspaper for a short time and moved into a position as a Proposal Writer at her full-time employer while writing her first novel. The Gangster's Daughter was published in 2023. Jodie is a member of The Author's Guild and Women's Fiction Writers Association. She will be a panelist at this year’s Lakes Area Writers Alliance Writers Conference.

He is a Minnesota-based author and speaker with multiple published novels in the Mystery, Thriller, and Romance genres. He writes character-driven driven entertaining stories with humor, heart, and a social conscience. Happy endings are guaranteed! He also happens to be the president of Lakes Area Writers Alliance.

He is a systems engineer, currently performing data analysis for a major aerospace company. In the past, he calculated trajectories for a commercial launch rocket start-up, operated satellites as a US Air Force officer, and selected orbits for government and commercial satellites. Karl lives in Minnesota with his family.

Joe Porisch is an author of short stories and fiction podcasts with a flare for horror, science fiction, and fantasy. His writing has been produced and performed by The No Sleep Podcast, Meduspod, and Metaphorosis Magazine. The first collection of his short stories is titled Machines, Monsters, and Maniacs and is available in audio, digital, and softcover. He is a father, husband, dog-father, hunter, sportsman, and US Army veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He lives with his wife and kids in the Brainerd Lakes Area.