Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers (RMFW) is governed by an all-volunteer Board of Directors. The Board ensures that RMFW abides by its bylaws, state and federal laws, and all regulations relating to a 501(c)(6) trade organization.
RMFW is successful because of the hard work of a group of dedicated individuals. There are far too many to list here but include:
Executive Officers
President — Bernadette Soehner
#1 International Bestselling Author Bernadette Marie writes contemporary romances and believes in Happily Ever After. The married mother of five believes in love at first sight, quick love, and second chances. Bernadette is the 2020 Independent Writer of the Year, the 2022 Jasmine Award winner, and past retreat and volunteer chair for RMFW. Having published nearly 60 titles, she is often called upon to teach workshops for organizations such as RMFW, WHWA, RWA, Pikes Peak Writers, Wyoming Writers, Lighthouse Writers, and more.
Bernadette is also the Founder and CEO of 5 Prince Publishing, a mid-sized, traditional publishing house in Arvada, Colorado. An entrepreneur at heart, Bernadette owns 5 businesses, having opened her first at the age of 20.
An avid martial artist, Bernadette Marie is a certified instructor and holds a third-degree black belt in Tang Soo Do. She loves Tai Chi, traveling to Disney parks, and having lunch with friends. When not writing, or running her own publishing house, Bernadette is probably immersed in a Rom Com, from which she will often quote one-liners.
Vice President — Kevin Wolf
Kevin Wolf needed to write a novel, but he didn’t know how. He attended his first Gold Conference in 2002, became a regular at Saturday workshops, entered contests, and critiqued with the Southwest Plaza Group. Wanting to give back, Kevin judged for the Gold Contest, guided conference newbies and, in the COVID year, was part of the team that put together the month-long YouTube slate of virtual workshops.
His 2016 novel THE HOMEPLACE was the winner of the Tony Hillerman Award. Western Writers of America chose BELTHANGER as the 2021 Spur Award winner for short fiction.
Kevin and his wife live in Estes Park. He helps coach the high school basketball team, facilitates a Zoom writers’ group, and tries to add common sense to several non-profit boards. Each morning he watches elk, deer, bobcats, and coyotes from his office window and still ponders how to write a novel.
THE BOOTHEEL will be published in 2023 by Thorndike Press.
More than anything else he wants RMFW to be a welcoming place for all writers and help the organization keep pace with all the opportunities in the dynamics of storytelling.
Secretary — Tara Trujillo
A Chicana writer, poet and all-around logophile all her life, Tara grew up in northern New Mexico but now takes inspiration from the Rocky Mountains further north in Colorado, where she lives with her husband, daughter and fairly adorable Schnoodle. She enjoys reading, writing and running and can be found on weekend afternoons exploring new metro area coffee shops with good writing vibes (always happy to exchange suggestions here!). She has authored a short book of poetry and other full-length romance and contemporary literature novels under pen names. Tara is looking forward to connecting with other writers through Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and supporting new and established authors in their creative journeys.
Treasurer — Pam Chiaro
Pam Chiaro is a western Colorado native, born into a family of avid readers. She has been an RMFW member for five years – since her sister invited her to her first RMFW conference. She spent most of her career managing accounting and operations for a variety of industries and now spends her time working on the fantasy romance series that first invaded her mind at that first Colorado Gold conference. Life doesn’t get much better than when she can travel and write at the same time. She’s happy to be able to give back to this wonderful, welcoming organization.
Communications — Oliver Blakemore
Oliver Blakemore‘s writing career is the result of sidestepping two or three other careers. At twelve, he started writing when directing movies proved to involve too many hurdles—like talking and wearing dopey hats. At seventeen, he forgot to learn how to play guitar and start a metal band, because he had a short story due. And at twenty-one, he was kicked out of seminary. That probably impacts some of the themes he tackles. The result: music, movies, and a sense of grounded oddity inform all his writing, for better or worse.
Oliver has mainly written fantasy and science fiction. He’s self-published a collection of short stories, Ragged Museum, and an urban fantasy novel, City Song. He is pursuing his BA in English, Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Writing from Metropolitan State University. He is currently president of their Creative Writing Club, and he was on the editorial staff of their recent online literary journal, The Roadrunner Review.
Conference Chair — Bridgett Ochoa
Bridgett Ochoa is a disabled author who writes spicy horror novels. She got her start telling stories in theatre as a designer and stage manager. She became a member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and attended her first Colorado Gold conference in 2018. In her free time, Bridgett is an avid dancer and loves to bake (especially bookish cakes).
Education Chair — Vicki Law
Vicki attended her first Colorado Gold Conference in 2006. Thirty minutes after walking into the hotel, she agreed to co-chair the 2007 conference. Since then, Vicki has served in a few positions for RMFW. She runs a somewhat successful bookkeeping business from her front room. She writes fantasy there too when she isn’t writing at her sister’s cabin or in Fairplay. Possibly she works and volunteers more than she writes. Vicki lives in Montrose with her husband, Mike Ruchhoeft, also a writer, and too many animals and house plants.
PAA Liaison — Andre Gonzalez
Andre Gonzalez has been a member of RMFW since 2016, and has served as the liaison for the Professional Authors Alliance since 2019. He oversaw the merger of the former PAL and IPAL groups into the now united PAA. He is the recipient of RMFW’s 2021 Independent Writer of the Year Award.
Andre enjoys connecting with other authors and is always happy to talk about writing and publishing. You’ll likely find him buried under a long to-do list or his three young (and energetic) children.
Director Chairs
Anthology Co-Chair — Linda Ditchkus
Linda (L.V.) Ditchkus is the award-winning author of the sci-fi Sasquatch Series. Besides writing, she’s been to over 100 countries and hiked or climbed in many of those. She and her husband live selfish lives (i.e., without plants or pets) in Salida, Colorado where she finds writing inspiration from the five 14ners outside her window.
Anthology Co-Chair — Paul Martz
Paul is an award-winning science fiction author and technology blogger. His edgy, techno-smart stories were influenced by his career as a virtual reality software developer and the time he spent drumming for punk and alternative bar bands. Originally from Flint, Michigan, Paul resides in Erie, Colorado, where he sips lattes while the snow sublimates. He is still teaching his cat to play drums.
Critique Chair — Wendy Barnhart
International bestselling author Wendy Barnhart received her first library card at age two, and a few years later started writing her own stories. Her debut novel, The Rampart Guards (February 2016), earned a Kirkus-starred review and was named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2016. She was 2017-2018’s Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Independent Writer of the Year.
Contest Chair | Membership Development — Amber Herbert
Amber Herbert is a (mostly) speculative fiction author living in Colorado Springs with her husband and two gremlins. She writes everything from contemporary standalones to sweeping fantasies. Lipstick Covered Magnet, her first novel, was independently published in 2022. She holds a BA in English Literature and has judged sci-fi and fantasy for Colorado Gold since 2018. She has been involved with RMFW since 2018 and has sat on the board of directors as the Tech Chair, Front Range Programs Chair, and 2024 Conference Admin. Connect with her at amberherbert.com.
Front Range Programs Chair — Oliver Blakemore
Oliver Blakemore‘s writing career is the result of sidestepping two or three other careers. At twelve, he started writing when directing movies proved to involve too many hurdles—like talking and wearing dopey hats. At seventeen, he forgot to learn how to play guitar and start a metal band, because he had a short story due. And at twenty-one, he was kicked out of seminary. That probably impacts some of the themes he tackles. The result: music, movies, and a sense of grounded oddity inform all his writing, for better or worse.
Oliver has mainly written fantasy and science fiction. He’s self-published a collection of short stories, Ragged Museum, and an urban fantasy novel, City Song. He is pursuing his BA in English, Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Writing from Metropolitan State University. He is currently president of their Creative Writing Club, and he was on the editorial staff of their recent online literary journal, The Roadrunner Review.
Membership Chair — Saytchyn Maddux-Creech
Saytchyn Maddux-Creech survived the MFA program at Colorado State University with her love of all things creepy intact. She writes horror, fantasy, and mystery with a literary accent.
Social Media — Kirk Rafferty
Kirk Rafferty is a native Coloradan who has lived in many places worldwide but has always managed to return home. Kirk writes historical fiction and fantasy and is still looking for his first breakout novel. A former US Navy Cryptologist, Kirk loves reading and writing about Cold War-era intrigue, technology, and a wide variety of nerdy topics from dragons to starships. Kirk is a husband to a wonderful wife and father to four fantastic children. Validation from strangers on the internet is crucial to his mental health. You can connect with Kirk at http://kirkrafferty.com.
Volunteer Chair | Historian — Ryanne Glenn
Ryanne Glenn started writing short stories when she was ten and was first published in Fruita’s local newspaper. She took her first creative writing class in high school, and was inspired to expand her writing into poetry and longer stories. After struggling with depression in her first year at college, she turned back to writing as a healthy outlet for her emotions. She wants to write strong female role models and is excited to share her stories with the world. Ryanne Glenn works in Denver for a digital pathology company. She loves to golf, though after playing for twelve years, her handicap should be much lower than it is. Between writing and classes, she often visits her hometown of Fruita, Colorado to spend time with her family and dog, Captain Carl.
Western Slope Programs Chair — Justin Weaver
Justin Weaver lives in small town Colorado, where he enjoys the bountiful great outdoors with his wife, daughter, and three dogs. When his infant child isn’t demanding his complete and undivided attention, he enjoys writing edge of your seat thrillers with thought-provoking twists. J. Warren is the author of the award winning, international bestselling In the Shadow of a Spy trilogy.
Writers Retreat Chair — Sunshine Knight
Sunshine was born and raised in Colorado, a place she dreamed of leaving as a child, now it’s the only one she writes about. She has two full-length novels published – The Ka Series – written from the perspective of a narcissistic ghost and has several more in the works. With a degree in Creative Writing from Colorado Mesa University and a passion for continuous education through groups like RMFW, she continues to hone her craft. She’s had a long-distance relationship with RMFW since 2014 and has met the most delightful people through the organization. A small town on the Western Slope of Colorado is where she shares her empty nest with three psychotic cats and her husband whose only flaw is he thinks he’s The Brain and she’s Pinky.
Youth Programming Chair — Sue Duff
Sue Duff is an award-winning, bestselling author of The Weir Chronicles series and has several published short stories with Wicked Ink Books and in RMFW’s 2018 anthology, False Faces. She’s been an active member of RMFW since 2009. Over the years, she’s volunteered at yearly RMFW conferences, worked the registration desks, stuffed swag bags, served as room monitor, as a presenter, and has supported other writers at conferences in the Mentor Rooms. She served as Volunteer Chair in 2017 and since 2018 has coordinated Youth Programming. She won the Jasmine Award in 2023.
Past President — Z.J. Czupor
Z.J. is a former winner of the Colorado Gold Literary Awards in the Mainstream category. His noir short story, “The Man in the Corner” was featured in RMFW’s “Crossing Colfax” Anthology. He’s a past vice president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter Mystery Writers of America and writes a monthly column, “The Mystery Minute”, which appears on the website www.rmmwa.org and for Rogue Women Writers at www.roguewomenwriters.com. He is represented by AKA Literary Management. In 1990, he and his wife co-founded The InterPro Group, one of Denver’s leading marketing and public relations consulting firms.
Program Coordinators
Podcast — Mark Stevens
Mark Stevens writes the Allison Coil Mystery Series—Antler Dust, Buried by the Roan, Trapline, Lake of Fire and The Melancholy Howl. Trapline won the Colorado Book Award. Mark was RMFW’s Writer of the Year in 2016 and 2023.
Blog — Kelley J. P. Lindberg
Kelley J. P. Lindberg writes YA and adult fiction, magazine articles, essays, and award-winning how-to books. She’s also a contract medical, technical, and business writer. Her fiction and essays have appeared in The Citron Review, 99 Pine Street, In Layman’s Terms, Chicken Soup for the Wine Lover’s Soul, and others, and in the Tellables app for the Amazon Alexa platform. When she isn’t writing, she’s traveling as far and as often as she can. Visit her at www.KelleyLindberg.com or follow her on Twitter at @KelleyLindberg1.
It’s a Book! — Laura Reeve
Laura Reeve grew up near Boulder, CO. Her parents fed her SF novels and provided her with a typewriter, but had no idea they were creating a lifelong obsession with building worlds. To keep a day job, she got degrees in Chemistry and Systems Analysis. She spent nine years as a USAF Officer, holding operational command positions and having the opportunity to escort Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty inspectors. Her civilian jobs have ranged from Research Chemist to Software Development Lead. Her first novel debuted from Roc (Penguin/NAL) and began a military SF series about Major Ariane Kedros. Her fantasy series, called The Broken Kaskea, starts with a murder-by-magic mystery and builds to epic fantasy. She currently lives in Monument, CO with her husband and a Shiba Inu who runs the household.