Sue Hinkin – Traditional Writer of the Year
Originally from Chicago, Sue Hinkin is a former television news photographer, NBC-TV Art Department manager, as well as a college teacher and administrator. A Cinematography graduate of the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, she now lives in Littleton, Colorado where she is a new grandmother of twin girls. Hinkin writes the Beatrice Middleton & Lucy Vega thriller series. Her fourth installment, The Mermaid Broker, was published April 1st 2021 to strong reviews. See more at www.suehinkin.com.
I joined RMFW in the late winter of 2014 seeking a critique group and was blessed to find outstanding support from the Littleton Writers, led by Mike Hope and Mindy McIntyre. This dedicated crew taught me so much about writing. I think I practically completed an MFA at the tables of Panera and in the broken-down over-stuffed chairs at Tattered Cover in Aspen Grove. I first attended the Colorado Gold Conference in the fall of 2014, entered the contest and was a finalist in the mystery division. This was the encouragement I needed to feel like maybe I could succeed in this crazy business. Through RMFW I also met my publisher, received my golden pen for newly published authors and am a member of PAL!
Andre Gonzalez – Independent Writer of the Year
Andre Gonzalez is the international bestselling author of the Wealth of Time Series. He writes time-travel, thriller, and horror books after spending many years reading and studying the works of Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Keeping readers up late and their hearts pumping a bit faster than normal is his ultimate goal.
Andre is currently serving in his third year as the IPAL Liaison for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. When he’s not writing, you can find Andre buried underneath a long to-do list and/or his three very hyper children. He and his wife are raising their family in their hometown of Denver, CO.
L. R. Braden – Traditional Writer of the Year Finalist
L.R. Braden is the bestselling author of the Magicsmith urban fantasy series. Her debut novel, A Drop of Magic, came out in July of 2019. By July 2020, she had four books and three audiobooks published in the Magicsmith series, had achieved #1 bestseller status on several Amazon lists, and been honored with multiple awards, including the RMFW Pen Award for new authors, the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Sci-fi/Fantasy, the First Horizon Award for outstanding debut authors, and the Imadjinn Award for Best Urban Fantasy Novel. Her fifth book, Of Mettle & Magic is set to release on May 14, 2021, and several more are under contract.
Despite being a socially anxious introvert, L.R. attends the yearly RMFW Gold Conference and joined the PAL group on Facebook, where she’s enjoyed interacting with many other writers and even made a few friends. She’s also taken to creating “author spotlight” posts on her blog to help support other authors’ work. (Shoot her a message if you’d like to arrange an interview). When not writing, L.R. spends her time hiking and gaming with her wonderful husband and precocious daughter or curled up with a mug of tea, a blanket, and a good book.
Cindi Myers – Traditional Writer of the Year Finalist
Cindi Myers became one of the most popular people in eighth grade when she and her best friend wrote a torrid historical romance and passed the manuscript around among friends. Fame was short-lived, alas; the English teacher confiscated the manuscript and suggested they should spend more time brushing up on grammar and spelling. Since then, Cindi has written more than 100 published novels. Over 1 million copies of her books have been sold around the world, and her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and regularly appear on Publisher’s Weekly’s best seller lists. She is a past Rita finalist, a Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Writer of the Year (2005) and winner of the Colorado Book Award for genre fiction (2013). Cindi has been a member of RMFW since 2001, regularly presents at conference, and is grateful to have found ‘her tribe’ at RMFW.
Find out more about Cindi at www.CindiMyers.com
Helen Starbuck – Independent Writer of the Year Finalist
Helen Starbuck is a Colorado native, former OR nurse, and award-winning author of the standalone romantic suspense novels Legacy of Secrets, Finding Alex, and the Annie Collins Mystery Series. She loves mysteries, suspense, romance, and any book that is well written. She’s a huge fan of books with independent, strong, women characters and, as Neil Gaiman says, “…stories where women save themselves.”
Visit her https://www.helenstarbuck.com
Tom Farrell – Independent Writer of the Year Finalist
Tom Farrell has worked as a golf course starter, a chemist and clerked at City Hall in Chicago while attending law school. He has served as Vice President of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, a nonprofit corporation, and was a past finalist in the Pikes Peak Writer’s Contest in the Mystery, Suspense and Thriller category.
Now retired from practicing law, when he’s not writing he can be found on the golf course or at a local jazz club. Tom Farrell is the author of WagerEasy, a Sports Betting Mystery Thriller, and the first book in his Wager Series. The book is set in Chicago in November, 2018, as sports betting is on the verge of being legalized. The second book, Wager Tough, will be available soon.