Members

Our (Shuswap) Lake of Talents!

Our pool of talents from across the Shuswap includes writers, authors and poets - published and unpublished, famous and infamous, esteemed and not so esteemed.

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    EXECUTIVE  2018- 2019

President - Carol Mikkelsen -We are taking turns co-chairing

Vice-President - Judith Benson

Secretary -Sheilah Land

Treasurer/ Website/ membership - Carol Mikkelsen

Past President - Dorothy Rolin
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    MEMBERSHIP   -We are in the process of writing up our bio's and having our mugshots done and these are being posted as our procrastinating members ever so slowly get them into our webmaster.  If you really want to see what has been posted thus far, scroll way down and see our bevy of beauties.

Members

Judith Benson
Carol Mikkelsen
Dorothy Rolin
Richard Wallace
Susan McLellan
Ed McCarvill
Sheilah Land
Jeanne Hill
Alice Lewis
Kay Johnston
Blake Lyons
Ellie McGaughey
Ahn Van Mentz
Susan Shantz
June Welter
Roselyn Phare
Shirley Kealy
Elaine Sharp
Donna Benn
Dragana Gujic
Maureen Shaffer
Neroli Ladner

Carol Mikkelsen

Carol's Salmon Arm roots go back two generations. Special times in her life are her family, her garden, dragon boating, hiking, golfing and snowshoeing! All these things have inspired her to write fiction, creative non-fiction stories and poetry.
Carol is working on her bucket list of places to go. Her families everyday life and her adventures in the great outdoors have developed into many stories. Carol has several stories published in the Shuswap Writers' Kaleidoscope IV and V anthology.
Carol is the maker and keeper of the group's website. So if there are any horrible bloopers like, horror of horror's spelling mistakes it will be she who is now named at fault.

Dorothy Rolin

Dorothy has lived in Salmon Arm for the past 40 years. In that time, she has helped found the Shuswap Writers' Group (1989) and has been a member for its duration. She has emceed many Shuswap Writers' Coffee Houses and been active and supportive member of the Shuswap Association of Writers. She is the current President of the local Historical Society.
She writes fiction, non-fiction and poetry, but her love of the written word lies in the non-fiction genre. Dorothy has published work in many anthologies, a chap book, and has written articles for the Okanagan Historical Society. Her garden is her sanctuary where she finds inspiration for her art and writing.

Judith Benson

After teaching for 25 years, Judith and her husband Geoff retired to Salmon Arm, British Columbia. She devotes her time to writing for children and youth, supporting the local writing community, literacy and local nature conservation projects; cooking and attending an adult book club. She joins Geoff to sing with the community choir, study Spanish,travel, hike and camp. For fitness: there's dance, gardening and keeping up with eight grandchildren during their precious time together. She has translated The Noise In Grandma's Attic into Spanish to read in classrooms during her trips with Geoff to the west coast of Mexico.

Richard Wallace

Richard grew up in Nova Scotia and moved to BC when he was 19 years old. Richard has been a policeman, a farmer, a fork lift operator and a vinyl siding applicator. He can add a creator of prose and poetry to that list of careers! Except for a brief 5 years in Langley, he has lived in the Shuswap. BC has been been home. Richard has lived in Armstrong with his wife and family since 1976.
He has published Volume one of a short story The Old Man, which is available at selected book stores in Salmon Arm. His new book of short stories and poems was published in January 2015 - More Truth Than Fiction.
Richard did some writing when he was in Orkney, Scotland and The Orkney News published some of his works. To see the poem go to ... The Orkney News click on culture and scroll down to poets corner then go to back issue and see Freight Train and the story behind it. Richard has a play published see www.orkneynews.scot
He had two poems selected by the Poetry Institute of Canada in Victoria which will be printed the winter of 2019 in an anthology. The poems selected were Fourteen and Two Dads.

click on Datebook at top of menu for more information on his book launch date.

Susan McLellan

Susan divides her time between visiting family in Alberta, BC's interior and the lower mainland. When not travelling to visit relatives, she enjoys spending time with friends in the Shuswap. She also enjoys taking part in theatre and writing groups in Blind Bay and Salmon Arm. Her writing focuses on short stories and script writing. Participation in the 2016 Theatre on the Edge at the Shuswap Theatre in Salmon Arm, included both script writing and acting.

Ed McCarvell

After retiring in the mid-90's and living in his remote mountain shack in the Shuswap, Ed was writing so many pencilled stories that his wife purchased a laptop for him, and an author was born.
Ed's school years had him interested in mysteries of science and their solutions, which became the basis for many of his stories. He's written fictionalized truths about "Lucky Ray's Auto Maniacs", a stunt car story that took place in 1954. As a "ramp boy", Ed had the opportunity to witness the physics of impending crashes, how the cars appearances let him know some of the split-second actions that took place. He has also written poetry which has been recorded for broadcast on Voice of the Shuswap.

Sheilah Land

Having taught for 38 years in Manitoba, Sheilah is a relative newcomer to the Shuswap. With family living in Salmon Arm and Kelowna, the move seemed right. She has taught Canadian prairie literature to high school students with the goal of sensitizing them to this rich genre and to awaken students to their own family stories. She is influenced most by Margaret Laurence's writing and loves the detailed characters' lives in her writing. Sheilah also draws on three generations of her own family for inspiration.

Jeanne Hill

Jeanne had never considered of herself a writer but the Shuswap Writers' Group has helped her define this. She has been encouraged to value the art of writing in the broader sense be it in documenting events, record keeping, research, broadcasting or personal journaling. Jeanne has had a rich variety of experiences living in six different provinces as well as in Europe.Teaching English as a second language in Thailand and Canada has enhanced her interest in language. Writing book reviews with two separate book clubs, locally and in California, helps her hone my writing skills. She has been compiling scripts for a local radio program that she hosts on Voice of the Shuswap.

Ellie McGaughey

Ellie was raised in Calgary, Alberta, lived in the area of Ponoka and Red Deer for many years. She eventually moved to Fort Saskatchewan. She and her husband Mitch, have now retired and settled in Salmon Arm. Ellie has completed her first novel A Road Too Steep - Estelle's Story.

Blake Lyons

June Welter

June has written many short stories. One was printed in the BC Women's Magazine. A stage play production at Lakeview Centre. Two radio plays one of which was presented at the Cedar Heights community Hall in Blind Bay BC. Another radio play is in the process for presentation at a later date.
June has been a member of the Senior's Theatre Group in Blind Bay and in Salmon Arm for several years.
June retired and moved from Calgary to the Shuswap. She has two sons and four grandchildren,

Donna Benn

Dragana Gujic

Dragana is a creative, artistic and outgoing explorer in a variety of fields. She has been involved in many endeavors from medicine to history to natural sciences and philosophy. Dragana enjoys life, music and the different aspects of love.

Neroli Ladner - Neroli was born in London, Ontario and moved to BC when she was only 8 years old. The cross-country drive has inspired many family jokes and stories, most of which are still waiting to be written down. She now lives in Salmon Arm with her mom and a very mean cat.Neroli has been homeschooled her entire life, which has driven her to usually choosing a good book over socialization. She writes mostly fiction, with an occasional narrative thrown in.

Maureen Shaffer -Maureen was born and raised in Northern Alberta and trained as a nurse in Edmonton, Maureen choose Salmon Arm as home. She and her husband purchased one of Salmon Arm's original homes, the Ball house in 1977. It has been home since. Maureen's three children grow up on the heritage property and moved away to begin their own lives. Maureen's nursing career took her to several war zones working as a nurse/midwife for humanitarian relief NGO's. She has written for decades , and since her retirement , has become drawn into historical research, which fits in well with Maureen's primarily non-fiction genre. Pastimes include volunteer work, writing, gardening, maintaining her 1910 heritage home, and most importantly, grand parenting.