The following authors will speak:

Teresa R. Funke, freelance writer, author, speaker, and writer's coach. Teresa Funke is the author of Remember Wake, an award-winning novel based on a true story from WWII of American men taken prisoner and the women they left behind. Her short stories and essays have appeared in numerous commercial and literary magazines. Teresa's latest book, Dancing in Combat Boots: Stories of American Women in WWII, is due out in 2007. From the front lines and the home front come the stories you've never hear about American women during the war. www.teresafunke.com .

Jennifer Heath, author, and founder of Seeds for Afghanistan and the Afghanistan Relief Organization Midwife Training and Infant Care Program. Heath has written eight books of fiction and nonfiction, including The Veil: Women Writers on Its History, Lore, and Politics, due out in 2008, and The Scimitar and the Veil: Extraordinary Women of Islam (2004). Her writing has also appeared in numerous anthologies. Heath came of age in Afghanistan, has traveled extensively throughout the Muslim world, is an avid environmentalist, gardener, and peace activist. www.jenniferheath.com/

Sara Sheldon, freelance writer and author. Sara Sheldon's interest in the US Marine Corps began in 1990 when her son joined and she learned about the training and values of the military. She spent a week with Marines on an amphibious helicopter carrier in 1994, published a novel, Operation Restore America, about a nuclear threat to New York in 1998, and survived a helicopter crash landing on a ship off Monterey Bay in 1999. In 2005, she traveled to Iraq to embed with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Fallujah to interview women Marines about their mission and dedication in the Iraqi war. Her book, The Few, The Proud: Women Marines in Harm's Way, will be out in 2007.

Sybil Downing, writer, author, and columnist. Sybil Downing is the award-winning, bestselling author of four historical novels, a biography, and thirteen books for young readers. Her latest novel, The Vote, set in 1918, was declared a “must read” by the Boulder Camera and named by the Rocky Mountain News as one of the best-fiction picks for 2006. The great granddaughter of Colorado’s first congressman and US Senator and co-founder of Women Writing the West, her books reflect her lifelong passion for politics and love of the West. www.sybildowning.com

Moderator: Rosemary Carstens, freelance writer, author, and Internet marketing consultant. Rosemary Carstens is the editor of the quarterly e-zine FEAST, about books, art, film, food, and travel. She is the author of DREAMRIDER: Roadmap to an Adventurous Life (2003) and co-author of Sustaining Thought (2007). She has been published in regional and national magazines and is an avid adventure traveler. Two of her favorite leisure activities are surfing the 'Net and riding cross country on her motorcycle, the Road Goddess. www.CarstensCommunications.com