Invaluable Insights and Support

As you scroll through the profiles below, you’ll discover the rich backgrounds and unique specialties of our faculty members. Each one brings a unique perspective to writing and publishing, ensuring that every attendee leaves with a broadened outlook and enhanced skills.

Prepare to be inspired, educated, and encouraged by our faculty at the Blue Lake Christian Writers Conference. With their guidance, you’ll not only hone your skills but also gain the confidence to navigate the complex path to publication. Let’s meet the minds behind your next creative breakthrough!

Cheri Cowell

Publisher, EA Books Publishing

Cheri Cowell is the owner/publisher of EA Books Publishing. She is both a traditionally and independently published author and award-winning author of 365 Devotions for Peace (Zondervan) and Parables and Word Pictures Bible study (AMG Publishers). Her other books include Direction: Discernment for the Decisions of Your Life (Beacon Hill) and the One Story, One Mission, One God Bible study. She’s published over 500 articles and countless devotions. With her experience as an author and publisher, Cheri has a unique approach and grace when working with authors to bring their dreams to reality.

Submission Guidelines
Looking for a publishing option that blends the creative control of self-publishing with a focus on quality from seasoned professionals? EA Books Publishing utilizes the Partnership Publishing Model with your print-on-demand, ebook, and audiobook publishing. Our talented and dedicated team gets behind you and your project. We love to hear about your book and your dreams to help you see how partnering together can make those dreams come true.

Laine Lawson Craft

Laine Lawson Craft is celebrated as a best-selling author, the revered host of the Warfare Parenting Podcast, and a leading parenting expert. Her pivotal work, The Parent’s Battle Plan, not only clinched the 2023 Nonfiction Book of the Year but also set a new standard for its pioneering strategies and profound spiritual depth.

Now, Laine is also at the forefront of AI integration in the writing and marketing world. She seamlessly harnesses AI’s power to amplify her message and reach more readers without sacrificing the authentic, compelling voice that resonates deeply with her audience. Laine is passionate about empowering others to harness the potential of AI while upholding their core values and maintaining genuine expression.

Ginny Cruz

Ginny Cruz, MPA, PT, is a pediatric physical therapist, an award-winning author, and a Speak Up Certified speaker. She is a member of Word Weavers International and was the founding president of the Pensacola chapter. Ginny is an encourager and teacher at heart. All of her work aims to help others, especially mothers. Be on the lookout for her first traditionally published book, The New Mom’s Guide: Help and Hope for Baby’s First Year, coming in 2025. She is the mother of two grown sons (both internationally adopted), married to her college sweetheart, and enjoys hiking, camping, reading, and cheering for her Florida Gators. She’d love to connect with you on Instagram @growwithginny or at ginnycruz.com.

Jane Daly

Jane Daly is the author of two nonfiction books and eight novels. As an acquisitions editor with Elk Lake Publishing, Inc., she loves to encourage new authors. After a career in banking, Jane and her husband retired, sold everything, and moved into their motor home She’s been across the country four times. Jane is a member of Cascade Christian Writers, American Christian Fiction Writers, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and Christian Indie Publishing Association.

Submission Guidelines

Elk. Lake Publishing is a traditional publisher that partners with you in a nontraditional way. ‘Publishing the positive’ expresses our focus. We come alongside authors to ensure your work is published in the most professional manner possible. We function as a community, a family where cheerleaders and prayer warriors support you on your journey. A publisher is a text or phone call away, we welcome queries, and proposals are answered in less than a month. We publish fiction and nonfiction. We are NOT accepting children’s picture books at this time.

Jesse Florea

Jesse Florea has written and edited for Focus on the Family for more than 30 years. Currently, he oversees Clubhouse (for kids 8-12) and Clubhouse Jr. (for kids 3-7) magazines and cohosts the “Official Adventures in Odyssey” and “Official Average Boy” podcasts. Jesse has written or co-written more than 40 books, including the Defend Your Faith apologetics Bible for kids, The Case for Christ Young Readers Edition, The Case for Miracles for Kids and The One-Year Devos for Sports Fans. Jesse often speaks at Christian writers conferences around the country, teaching up-and-coming authors how to write for children. He lives with his wife, Stephanie, in Colorado Springs and enjoys hanging out with his married children and his two grandkids.

Submission Guidelines
The appointments will be focused on discussing children writers’ manuscripts, whether they are works in progress or completed projects, providing advice and guidance on them. There is a particular interest in speaking with authors who are aiming to write for Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. magazines.

Linda Gilden

Linda Gilden is a bestselling writer, speaker, award-winning editor, marketer, and speaking coach, ghostwriter, and writing coach. Author of 40 books and 1,800+ magazine articles, Linda appreciates a great story and believes with our stories we can change the world one word at a time. She loves to encourage others through writing coaching. Her newest book cowritten with Dana Russell was released in November: Trading Shadows – Exchanging a Life of Secrets, Fear, and Doubt for a Life of Freedom with the Almighty.

Linda’s greatest joy is family time where their secret love note is folded potato chips. She loves to be in the pool with a good book surrounded by the cutest seven grandchildren in the world – great fodder for writing!

Linda Goldfarb

Linda Goldfarb is co-founder of the LINKED® Personality System, multi-book, award-winning author, international speaker, award-winning podcaster, conference speaker, and emcee, and a board-certified advanced-level Christian life coach.
Whether sipping frothed coffee with friends, hiking with Sam, engaging in deep conversation with her children and grandchildren, or speaking truth with gentle boldness.

Dr. Katherine Hutchinson Hayes

Dr. Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes is an author, editor, and speaker, with extensive experience in the fields of education, writing, and publishing. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English, a master’s degree in education, and a doctorate in education, leadership, and supervision. Katherine has conducted creative writing and poetry workshops for the public library circuit in New York and Arizona for several years. Her passion for writing and education is evident in her role as an instructor, where she has guided both adults and children in exploring their creativity through poetry and other forms of writing. Her expertise in teaching poetry has empowered many writers to find their voice and articulate themselves through the power of words.

A member of Word Weavers International, FWA (Florida Writers Association), ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), CWOC (Crime Writers of Color), and AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association), she also serves on the board of two non-profit organizations. Her upcoming thriller, A Fifth of the Story, releases February 2024 through Endgame Press.

John Herring

Publisher, Iron Stream Media

John Herring, the CEO/Owner of Iron Stream Media, has dedicated over 40 years to serving churches or church-related entities. His expertise spans publishing, curriculum development, strategic thinking/planning, discipleship, staff development, mentoring, and bridging connections between ministries and people.

John’s favorite topics of discussion are his Lord, his family (especially his grandsons), missions, business as ministry, and coffee. He holds a Doctor of Educational Ministry degree and a Masters in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a bachelor’s degree from Samford University.
John and his wife, Stacy, reside in Birmingham with their little dog, Bo, short for Bogey. They are blessed with two children and four grandchildren.

Submission Guidelines
Iron Stream Media (ISM), drawing inspiration from Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another,” focuses on the process of discipleship. ISM provides a range of solutions for churches, missionaries, and non-profits, including comprehensive Bible study curricula, Christian book publishing, custom publishing, and consultative services through its division, Brookstone Creative Group. Its web-based offerings feature full-year and short-term Bible study teaching plans, along with printed devotionals, Bibles, and discipleship curricula. The ISM family includes Iron Stream Books, Iron Stream Fiction, Iron Stream Kids, Life Bible Study, and Brookstone Creative Group.

Bob Hostetler

Bob Hostetler is an award-winning writer, editor, and speaker from southwestern Ohio. His 50+ books, which include the award-winning Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door (co-authored with Josh McDowell) and The Bard and the Bible: A Shakespeare Devotional, have sold millions of copies. Bob is also the founding pastor of Cobblestone Community Church in Oxford, Ohio, a church he led for eleven years. He and his wife, the lovely Robin, have two grown children, Aubrey and Aaron, who with their adorable spouses have given them five beautiful grandchildren.

Jill Roman Lord

Jill Roman Lord is an award-winning author of over thirty children’s books including a Selah Book of the year award, That Grand Easter Day! She loves teaching at conferences and helping others pursue their writing passion. It is her dream to help children feel loved through her writing, to grow closer to God, and be encouraged to love others as they grow, like through her recent book, Love Well, My Precious One.
She lives in Denver, NC, with her husband, Bill. Jill also works as a nurse anesthetist when she’s not writing. She enjoys running, playing pickle ball, visiting her adult children wherever they may be, traveling, and indulging in dark chocolate.
jillromanlord.com

Mike Logan

AV Technology Guru – Assistant Director

Mike enjoys retirement from corporate America and keeps busy as a Tour Guide at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. Mike has been affiliated with the Blue Lake Christian Writers Conference since 2016 and has been our computer and technology person since 2016 and at the Florida Christian Writer’s Conference since 2021. Mike won a Living Waters Honorable Mention Award in 2022 for a non-fiction work he is still working on, Poppy’s Proverbs.” Now living in Lexington, Kentucky, Mike and his wife Brooks live their best life between Church, writing, and six grandchildren. No website currently.

Alice Murray

After 35 years as a Florida adoption attorney, Alice H. Murray now pursues a different path as Operations Manager for End Game Press. Her work includes contributions to several Short and Sweet books, The Upper Room, and Chicken Soup for the Soul. Alice is a regular contributor to GO!, a quarterly Christian magazine in the Florida Panhandle, and she has three devotions a month published online by Dynamic Women in Missions. Her devotions have also appeared in compilation devotionals such as Ordinary People Extraordinary God (July 2023) and Guideposts’ Pray A Word A Day, Vol. 2 (June 2023) and pray a word for Hope (September 2023). Alice’s first book, The Secret of Chimneys, an annotated Agatha Christie mystery, was released in April 2023.

Submission Guidelines

GO! Magazine is a quarterly Christian publication based in Northwest Florida. The magazine offers quality content to an audience of more than 30,000. Writers receive $50 per article published with pieces running 600 to 1,000 words and being edited prior to publication. Articles need to include faith testimonies in order to lead people into relationship with Jesus. Other topics run the gamut from book reviews, marriage and family, financial help, and health with all pieces pointing people to faith in Christ. Add to your writing resume by having an article published in GO! Your article has the potential to reach readers beyond the local area as the magazine is distributed in a tourist destination and has subscribers in more than 20 states.

Susan Neal

As a Certified AWSA Writer Coach, Susan Neal RN, MBA, MHS, desires to help others publish and sell their God-given message. She is the author of eight healthy living books. Her self-published, award-winning, best-seller, 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates, won the Selah award and sold over 20,000 copies in four years. Susan won the 2020 Christian Author Network Excellence in Marketing Award for Outstanding Broadcast Media for her book marketing campaign. She is a trusted advisor for authors and helps many sell more books. Susan is the Director of Christian Indie Publishing Association (CIPA) and Christian Indie Awards.

Edwina Perkins

Edwina Perkins is the assistant director of Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. She is the managing editor for Harambee Press, an imprint of End Game Press. As a longtime member of Word Weavers International, she now serves on the advisory board. Edwina has served as the Emerging Leader Coordinator with ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishing Association) As an award-winning writer, experienced teacher, speaker, freelance editor, an authenticity/sensitivity consultant, she has been published in numerous publications. One of her passions is to address the need for authenticity and diversity in the publishing industry.

Submission Guidelines

For Harambee Press, I’m looking for submissions from people of color I meet at conferences. For End Game Press, I’m looking at submissions for Fusion: https://www.endgamepress.com/fusion

Marilyn Turk

Award-winning author Marilyn Turk has written over twenty historical and contemporary novels and novellas laced with suspense and romance. She especially likes writing World War II era books. Calling herself a “literary archaeologist,” she loves to discover historical tidbits not widely known to include in her stories. In addition to fiction, Marilyn is a contributor to Guideposts’ Walking in Grace and other Guideposts books. She and her husband are lighthouse enthusiasts, have visited over 100 lighthouses, and served as volunteer lighthouse caretakers at Little River Light off the coast of Maine.

She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), Faith, Hope and Love Christian Writers, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA), Word Weavers International and the United States Lighthouse Society.

Marci Seither

Marci Seither is a creative storyteller whose writing career began after her humor article was published in a small-town newspaper. Since then, she has authored three books and hundreds of articles for local papers as well as Guideposts, World Magazine, and Focus on the Family.
Her devotional, Lakeside Retreat, with Tyndale Publishers was released in May 2022. Besides writing, she enjoys teaching workshops, speaking, food photography, and capturing drone footage.
She and her husband of over 38 years have six kids, and she loves being grandma to seven of the cutest kids in the western hemisphere. After living most of her life in CA, she now calls Knoxville, TN, her home.

Don’t Miss Out!
Marci is ready to capture your professional headshots.
Only $40! Sign up at the conference.

Jim Watkins

James is an award-winning author of 20 traditionally-published books and over 3,000 articles. He has spoken at conferences, colleges and churches across the States as well as overseas. He has served as an editor, an instructor at Taylor University and currently helping students with their dissertations at Wesley Seminary.

But you only really need to know is that he is a beloved child of God, a husband, dad, and “Papaw” to eight wonderful grandchildren. He loves to encourage authors with hope and humor. Read his works at www.jameswatkins.com.