STAR’s membership is comprised of both published and unpublished writers. Several of them are award finalists and winners.
To find out more about their accomplishments, visit their websites.
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2023 Board of Directors
President – Rebecca Landis
Treasurer – JoAnn Wilber
Secretary – Michaele Stoughton
RWA Liaison – Carol Henry
Jennifer D. Bokal
Winner of the Sexy Scribbler for 2015, JENNIFER D. BOKAL is the author of the best-selling Ancient World Historical Romance, The Gladiator’s Mistress and the second book in the Champions of Rome series, The Gladiator’s Temptation. She is also the author of Her Rocky Mountain Hero and Her Rocky Mountain Defender, both part of the Rocky Mountain Justice series with Harlequin Romantic Suspense. Jen holds a master of arts in creative writing from Wilkes University and is a member of both the Romance Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. Happily married to her own Alpha Male for twenty years, she enjoys writing stories that explore the wonders of love. Jen and her manly husband live in upstate New York with their three beautiful daughters, two aloof cats, and two very spoiled dogs.
Website: https://jenbokal.com
Carol Henry
CAROL HENRY lives with her husband in the beautiful New York State Finger Lakes area where they are surrounded by family and friends. A world traveler, Carol writes about her visits to exotic locations for major cruise lines’ deluxe in-cabin books, and takes pleasure in sharing her adventures with her readers in her romantic suspense adventure novels. She writes Destination: Romance–Exotic Romantic Suspense Adventures for The Wild Rose Press where the heroine discovers more than the ‘wild and wonderful’ world around her—she finds her inner courage, and a once-in-a-life-time love (think Indiana Jones meets Joan Wilder in Romancing the Stone).
A member of Romance Writers of America® since 1984, and a member and past president of Southern Tier Authors of Romance, Carol took an early retirement from Cornell University after 30+ years to pursue her travel and writing career. She is the co-founder and chairman for the Write Now Writers’ group, is a New York State Historian for her hometown, and has written several history books on the town and village, as well as her historic fiction novel: Ribbons of Steel.
Website: http://www.carolhenry.org
Zara West
ZARA WEST loves all things adventurous, mysterious, and
heart-stopping as long as they lead to true love. Born in Williamsburg,
Brooklyn, Zara spends winters in New York where the streets hum with life,
summers in Maritimes where the sea can be cruel, and the rest of the year
anywhere inspiration for tales of suspense, mystery, and romance are plentiful.
and non-fiction. Her short stories have appeared in several anthologies, and
she has received awards from Women on Writing, Stone Thread Publishing, Tryst
Literary Magazine, and Winning Writers. Her novels have placed first in the I
Heart Indie, Romance Through the Ages, and Pages from the Heart contests,
second in the Touch of Love Contest and InD’Tale Magazines Rone Awards, finaled
in the Slam Jam Emma Award, and long-listed for the Mslexia Award.
stories of romances gone very wrong and written a contemporary romantic
suspense series The Skin Quartet set in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the place she
was born. The four book series includes Beneath the Skin, Close to the Skin,
Within the Skin, and Under the Skin, all
published by Wild Rose Press.
Website: http://www.zarawestromance.com
M.L. Stoughton
M.L. STOUGHTON (Michaele) has been an ice-cream scooper, a wedding DJ, a balloon-toting clown, a travel agent, and a dental assistant. Now she adds Award-Winning Author to that list. M.L. lives in upstate New York with her husband, has two grown daughters, and loves all things paranormal – especially when there’s kissing.
Writing for young adults, her first in a two-book series, Pleasantwick, won a gold medal in the 2017 Readers’ Favorite Awards and was the “Official Selection” winner in the New Apple Summer E-book Awards.
M.L. also writes historical western romances under the name MICHELE LINDSEY. Her first western, Yetta’s Yearning remained in Amazon’s top #100 for American Historical Romance for five months, launching her “Sunsets and Saddles” series.
Website: http://www.mlstoughton.com
Karen Brey
KAREN BREY began writing late at night to fulfill a lifelong dream of being a novelist and has published one romance. She is now working on her next writing venture, a series set in the Adirondacks based on the experiences of her ancestors who arrived as immigrants in the 1800s and settled in upstate New York.
Thea McGinnis
A long-time member of STAR, THEA MCGINNIS writes medieval romance.
Colleen Wood
A reiki healer and news reporter, COLLEEN WOOD writes romantic comedy. She is currently working on a paranormal romance.
Jo-Ann Wilber
JO-ANN WILBER lives on a farm in NE Pennsylvania. She loves the outdoors, scrap booking, reading, and writing. Having always enjoyed writing, she has tried to find more time to do it over the past few decades, while being a caretaker, home educator, dance mom, etc. Many of her characters come to her in dreams, and she writes to get the voices out of her head. Jo-Ann writes paranormal romance and fantasy under the name AnnaLeigh Skye. She released the first two books in Heart Island Sanctuary series in 2022.
Website: http://www.annaleighskye.com
Rebecca Landis
Southern Tier Authors of Romance President, REBECCA LANDIS, is a human resource manager looking to write romance full time. Previously the chapter’s Vice President, she has published both stories and articles in magazines and anthologies. A former theater brat with over thirty shows under her belt, Rebecca’s favorite roles were Lucille Ball and Agnes in Agnes of God. She enjoys story telling, hiking, and spending time scavenging for wild herbs as a certified herbalist.
If you are interested in joining STAR, contact a STAR Administrator, or click here