LEAD GRAPHIC DESIGNER, AUTHOR, EDITOR, SPEAKER
Suzanne Fyhrie Parrott | Website | Facebook
Suzanne Fyhrie Parrott (publisher) has an extensive background in graphic design and marketing. Receiving her B.A. degree from the University of Washington (1981) she went on to launch OneWay Advertising and Design in 1988 working with such notable clientele as Yellowstone Park, Winston Fly Rod Company and Montana Power Company. In 2009 Parrott founded UnrulyGuides.com to communicate her knowledge of marketing, design and formatting directly to the self-publishing market.
Suzanne is the author of the bestselling books the Ebook Formatting the Publishing Guide and The Lost Sigil Ebook Guide, both of which hit #1 spots on Amazon. The guides, which include step-by-step written and corresponding video tutorials were created in order to help the self-publishing author understand the process of moving from raw manuscript to a finished published work.
Her passion is writing primarily mysteries for the MG, YA, NA and children’s market. Her releases under the pen name Sumi Fyhrie, include Pandas on Parade, which she wrote and illustrated, as well as Hunting for Bear, Let’s Play Hide and Seek, Two Ghostly Tails, Billy Beetle Bug and his Beetle Bug Board, The Mysterious Flyer and Lisa Lady Bug’s Garden, illustrated by May Sofyan (Kabita Studios).
SUBMISSIONS,
MARKETING ASSISTANT
RJ McRoberts is one of those geniuses that work behind the scenes. He enjoys rock climbing, camping and privacy. You may never meet RJ, but he is always around, keeping everything running smoothly.
MARKETING
Andy (Andrea) Richards weaves words into captivating campaigns, spreading literary magic far and wide. When not crafting campaigns, you’ll find her immersed in a novel, sipping coffee, and exploring the world one page at a time.
EDITOR
Dawn Kinzer | Website
Dawn Kinzer is a member of the Christian Editor Connection, a nationwide, professional network of editors and proofreaders, and The Christian PEN, a nationwide, professional support organization for Christians who provide proofreading and various editing services for writers and publishers.
As a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), Dawn has been editing writers’ work for ten years through online and local critique groups. She currently meets with two other published authors who gather weekly to edit each other’s work, as well as discuss the craft of writing and the publishing business.
Dawn has edited numerous manuscripts for First Steps authors and currently resides in Seattle, Washington.
EDITOR
David Aretha | LinkedIn | Facebook
David Aretha has written more than 70 books and edited more than 300 books for 20 publishers, including Random House, HarperCollins, St. Martin’s Press, and Scholastic. He authored Malala Yousafzai and the Girls of Pakistan, which in 2014 was voted a Top 10 Young Adult biography by Booklist and earned a Moonbeam Children’s Book Award—one of two Moonbeam awards he won that year. For Malala, David was one of four authors, including Mitch Albom, to earn a Wilbur Award. David’s The Murder of Emmett Till was assigned reading for journalism students at New York University because of its exemplary journalistic prose. Books that he has edited have appeared on the Today show, CBS Early Show, NPR, and MSNBC. He has edited books with forewords penned by Walter Cronkite, John Eisenhower, Margaret Truman, Maureen O’Hara, and two U.S. senators.
EDITOR
Amanda Schrader | Website | Facebook
Mandie Schrader provides proofreading and copyediting services as well as freelance writing and other storytelling services.
“Every writer needs an editor regardless of whether they’re traditionally published or self-published. Having a second pair of eyes who shares your love of the written word can make all of the difference for your literary work. When self-editing, your brain tends to read what it knows should be on the page instead of what is actually there. Someone who isn’t as familiar or emotionally tied to the story has a different perspective when reading. This allows them to notice typos, grammatical errors and any plot missteps that you may not catch when self-editing. Working with an editor helps ensure that the story you present to the world is concise and well told.”
ILLUSTRATOR
Zoya Kruse-Wu | Website
Zoya Kruse-Wu is a brilliant artist, able to conceptualize and render the imagination.
“My work is about flow. The flow of Gesture, of objects and of people is something that fascinates me. I make objects and forms submit to the flow of the image. I enjoy creating spaces in my work that evoke a strong psychological presence. I am a huge proponent of traditional painting styles. I believe it is very important to make work reflect your voice and experiences. Artist such as Joao Ruas, Jamie Hewlett and Andrew Heim have a important impact on my work.”
Zoya is an exceptional artist, able to make any story come to life.
ILLUSTRATOR
May Sofyan | Facebook
May Sofyan is an illustrator who owns and operates his illustration studio: Kabita Studios. An excellent illustrator, First Steps Publishing has utilized his talents for several projects including: Hunting for Bear and Two Ghostly Tails. His range of works include: children books Illustration, novels, comics, potrait painting, game assets, emoticon, mascot, advertising storyboard and much more.
BOOK TRAILERS | VIDEO
Aimée Marie Bejarano | Facebook
Aimée Marie Bejarano is a Christian Author of inspirational, historical fiction, paranormal, science fiction, horror and urban fantasy novels. She’s a country girl living in the great state of Texas.
Aimée’s a musician and has worked with the youth for years. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys cooking, gardening, and playing with her four-legged kids or caring for her small fowl flock. Her inspiration and passion comes from the Lord. She delves into good books, movies and things of the supernatural and paranormal. She enlightens people to what God’s word (The Bible) says regarding the controversial subjects. On cool evenings, she loves taking leisure walks and adores thunderstorms. Aimee suffers from several diseases yet continues pressing on. Writing is not only a calling, but a means to fly away into the world of her imagination.
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