Our Member bios:

Only those listed who have given bios so far. Stay tuned for more bios added as I receive them.

Christine Arness

Lori J. Ness aka Christine Arness

Also a member of RWA, Midwest Fiction Writers and Sisters in Crime.  Rosemary for Remembrance, published by HarperCollins, was nominated for Romantic Times award for Best Contemporary Romantic Novel. Lori's second contribution to literature (tongue in cheek!) is Wedding Chimes, Assorted Crimes.  She's also published in non-fiction and short fiction. 

Edna Curry

 Edna Curry lives with her husband in the scenic St. Croix River Valley in Minnesota where she sets most of her stories.  She will have 5 new novels out in 2010 and one reprint. Secret Daddy will be out in April. The others are: Bear Trap, Dead in Bed, Never Love a Logger, Best Friends and Runaway Mom. Watch her website for details.

 Her current novels are: Deadly Duo's #1 (contains two novels, Yesterday's Shadow and Circle of Shadows), Flight to Love, Traveling Bug, Angel Wings and Dead Man's Image.  Two of her magazine articles are also up as Amazon Shorts.

All are currently available in both download and paperback. Details at: http://www.ednacurry.com Come visit at http://www.ednacurry.blogspot.com

Denise Meinstad

 has had a passion for books since the second grade when she discovered Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She wrote her first book, a mystery, at age thirteen and has been writing ever since. She's a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and over the years has won or placed in numerous writing contests. Her current manuscript, This Time Forever is a contemporary inspirational romance.
In 2006, This Time Forever took first place in the inspirational category of the Winter Rose Contest and is currently a finalist in RWA's 2008 Golden Heart Contest.

Denise lives on six wooded acres in East Bethel, Minnesota with her husband, Steve and her cat, Mocha. She loves to read, write, study and travel. Come and visit me at http://deniseannette.blogspot.com/

 LuAnn Nies

LuAnn Nies lives in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis with her husband of twenty-three years, and two of her three grown children.

She loves music, dancing, and horseback riding. She enjoys reading and writing, Mainstream Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Western Romance, and Historical Romance. She hopes to one day visit England, Ireland, and Scotland.

She sums herself up by saying, “I’m not an actor that can act like several different people. But several different people forced to act only one way. Writing enables me to experience the adventure.”

Diane Pearson

“To me writing a novel is like jumping off a high cliff hoping to land in the deep part of the river. I have a slight idea where my target is, but there is a slim chance I could be wrong. Writing has the same thrill with the need to make a perfect landing. Even though every story starts with an idea fear keeps me on the edge of the unknown. Will I land it or hit the shallows? Only by writing will I know.”

Diane Pearson is currently working on her second manuscript now that she has the one tucked under the bed. Some day she plans to rewrite “510 Groveland,” which is about the people who temporarily move into the four unit apartment building. When Sebastian Conner hits the proverbial bottom of life he is forced to accept a stranger’s help to sell his house and move into the apartment building. What he doesn’t know is how quickly a temporary move could become permanent especially after one of the tenants is shot.

Diane’s current manuscript: “Making Up For Lost Time” is about a woman who after one failed marriage is about to embark on another. Only this time things are different and despite that her boyfriend won’t agree to the date she confidently pushes ahead with her dream.

Dead bodies, a missing boyfriend, and an ex-husband have ways of turning that girl’s plans upside down. Worse is the murder she’s accused of. Life would have been so much easier if her almost fiancé had listened to her.

Nancy Pirri

Nancy Schumacher aka Nancy Pirri Nancy Pirri started writing twelve years ago while raising four children.
Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America and her local chapter, Midwest Fiction Writers She is also one of the founders of a second Minnesota RWA chapter, Northern Lights Writers (NLW). Nancy is also one of twelve authors in the author-promo organization, Jewels of the Quill,
www.jewelsofthequill.com.
Her latest releases are: "The Music Master" in The Music Master and Other Christmas Tales Anthology from Romance At Heart Publishing, "To Tame A Gambler" in the Western Ways Anthology; a historical Christmas novella, "One Magical Night"; the release of two contemporary erotica romance novellas:
"Wishes & Kisses" and "When Maggie Loved Patrick.Then John." All are published by Midnight Showcase. "Riding Blue Steel", published by MS Fiction. Check them out at www.midnightshowase.com.
Additionally, Nancy has several stories in Jewels of the Quill anthologies, including  "Princess Sapphire" in TALES FROM THE TREASURE TROVE, Volume III. TALES III, which won the 2008 EPPIE Award and was also nominated in the
Romantic Times BOOKclub's Reviewer's Choice Awards (Best Small Press Contemporary Paranormal/Futuristic category)! Also available now are the first two books in her Sapphire Palace Series: "Sapphire Dreams", in TALES FROM THE TREASURE TROVE, Volume IV and "Annie's Outlaw", in CHRISTMAS WISHES, A Jewels of the Quill Christmas Anthology. Nancy's second 'Dame' collection, SAPPHIRE PALACE SERIES will be complete and available from
Whiskey Creek Press, www.whiskeycreekpress.com in March 2009.omplete the series and will be available from Whiskey Creek Press March 2009.

    Lauri Robinson

Lauri Robinson lives a few miles outside of Big Lake, Minnesota with her husband. They have three grown sons and one granddaughter. (Yes, finally a girl!) She is the Resource Development Manager for the local United Way and volunteers for several other area non-profits.  Besides writing and spending time with her family, Lauri likes to read, fish, watch NASCAR (yes, she’d been to a live race) and is a lifelong Elvis fan (yes, she’s been to Graceland). Her novels include A Message of Love and Mail Order Husband. Other published works include magazine articles and children’s activities. See what’s happening by visiting her blog at http://laurirobinson.blogspot.com.

Other members are: Becca Barnes, Jill Ann Dalton, Susan Hastings, Shirley Kalpin-Olson and Lori Larson. 

What is Club 100?

Club 100 is the brainchild of Avis Hester, a very busy mother who had little time to write and came up with this idea for a chat list we were both on. I've adapted her idea, along with my own changes, for our Northern Lights Writers chat list.

The idea is to write at least 100 words a day for 100 writing days in a row to cultivate the habit of writing regularly.  If you miss a day, you have to start over from day one. You see, 100 words is nothing. Anyone can write a hundred  words by adding a few sentences here and there to the work you already have on the page.

 But of course, once you start, it's easy to keep going. Hours later, you look up from your computer  and you have X # of pages done.

Also, working regularly keeps your manuscript in your head, so you don't have to re-read what you've done  before you can begin work each time!  And your unconscious mind will keep working on your story when  you're doing chores, waiting in the dentist's office or standing in line at the bank.

Try it, it really works!

We all set our own "writing days" rules. Some people write every day, others only on weekends. I use 5 days  a week, with 2 floating days off, to accommodate life's interference. I stick stars on my calendar to help me remember which days I've made my goal.

Five edited pages counts as 100 words if you're into the re-write stage of your work.  Or two hours of reading or  a page of notes if you're doing research for your upcoming book.

But remember, it has to be work on your MIP (manuscript in progress) - e-mail doesn't count!!

Edna Curry

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