Editor-in-Chief & Publisher: Lorie Lewis Ham has been writing since age seven and publishing since age 13. She has published many poems, short stories and articles in various magazines including Traffic, worked off and on for the Reedley Exponent, and published five mystery novels set in the San Joaquin Valley. One of those novels, Deadly Discrimination, is being serialized here at Kings River Life. Lorie has lived in Reedley her entire life and recently became a member of the Reedley Historical Society Board. She is married to Larry Ham; they have two teenagers, Jessica and Joseph. Explore Lorie’s creative side at Mysteryrat’s Closet.
Arts & Entertainment and Editing Staff: Christine Autrand Mitchell was raised in Europe and the United States, which profoundly influences her literary fiction, plays and screenplays. She’s not only written copy but edits and coaches writers, teaching acting as well. She is the owner of Entandem Productions, specializing in casting and production services.
Arts & Entertainment and Graphics: Chris Lang is a theatrical designer and theater technician for Kings Canyon Unified School District where he has been employed since 2000. Chris, along with his lovely wife, Claire, and his daughter, Mary, have been living in Reedley since 2005. He attended California State University Fresno as a Theater Arts Major.
Arts & Entertainment and Photography: Corey Ralston is a freelance writer & photographer. He has worked for The Selma Enterprise, Kingsburg Recorder, Talk Magazine, The Fresno Bee, Totts Magazine, Lifestyle Magazine and Valley Response Magazine. He resides in Hanford with his partner of 12 years where he sings, acts and directs local theatre. He also runs his own portrait photography business called Corey Ralston Photography.
Arts & Entertainment and Downtown Doings: James Garcia, Jr. was born in Hanford then moved to Kingsburg just before starting school when James Sr. began a career with the Kingsburg Police Department. After graduating from Kingsburg High School, he attended Reedley College where he met his wife. His first novel, Dance on Fire, was published in 2010. James is an Administrative Supervisor for Sun-Maid Growers of California.
Downtown Doings & Hometown History: Diana Bulls is a Central California native and has called Reedley home since 1977. She and husband, Jim, have two daughters, Rebecca who lives in Falls Church, VA and Amanda who is married and lives in Reedley. A recent retiree, she now spends her time writing, working on genealogy and making “Honey-Do” lists for husband Jim. Diana is a church organist and involved with the Reedley Historical Society. Her hobbies include collecting red vintage kitchen utensils, scrapbooking, photography, reading and making a lap for one or more of her cats.
Downtown Doings & Hometown History: Cheryl Senn is a freelance writer/photographer, a mother and local business owner, and is also involved with many community service organizations in and around Sanger. People can visit www.facebook.com/thesangerscene to see what is happening with the author and Sanger.
Everything Education column, Sports Spotlight: Larry Ham was born and raised in Southern California, and moved to the Central Valley in 1982. He has worked in radio in the Reedley/Dinuba area for 24 years, broadcasting local high school sports throughout that time and, for the past 15 years, Reedley College Football games as well — first for the KRDU radio station and now on the internet.
Food Fun, Going Green & Weekend Wanderer: Margaret Mendel was born in San Jose and has a Master’s degree in Counseling from the University of San Francisco & a Master’s of Fine Arts in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. Currently residing in New York, she has had several short stories and articles published.
Food Fun, Going Green & Weekend Wanderer: Irene Morse is a freelance writer. When not hanging out with her husband, Gary, and their large family, she enjoys traveling in search of adventure and examining the human condition through drama and community theatre. Read her family’s Christmas story in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Christmas Magic, 2010. Her column on theatre appears regularly in the local newspaper. Email her at irene [at] ingramct.com
Food Fun: Alicia Lieu grew up in Cupertino, California. She has Master’s Degree in Music Composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Bachelor of Art from UC Santa Barbara. A New Yorker with the heart of a Californian, she currently resides in Queens, NY and blogs about food in Jackson Heights
Helping Hands: Tom Sims is a local pastor, writer, and blogger. His congregation, “The Fellowship of Joy,” is part of a larger collaborative called “4141 Ministries,” of which he is Executive Director & he is an active Toastmaster. You can also find him on Facebook.
Helping Hands column, Spiritually Speaking: Christopher Lewis is an evangelist, pastor and the founder of Nothing is Impossible Ministries. Raised in Reedley, educated in Scotland, he just recently became the pastor of a church in Leeds, England.
Hometown History: Jim Bulls is a long-time resident of Reedley. Now retired, he can be found at the Reedley Museum or having coffee with the “Spit and Whittle Club” at one of their downtown hangouts. He is married to Diana and they have two daughters, Rebecca and Amanda. Jim is a charter member of the Reedley Historical Society and serves on the board. He belongs to the First United Methodist Church and the Reedley Nomad’s Car Club. His hobbies include collecting and restoring vintage cars, and completing “Honey Do” projects for Diana.
Hometown History & Weekend Wanderer: Maria Ruizwas born in Santa Barbara, California; her family had been there since the Spaniards first converted the Indians & created small towns. She graduated from the University of San Diego State in 1972 & taught for 8 years before starting her own business. After retiring she began a ten-year odyssey to visit and live in 57 countries around the world. Presently, she lives in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Her blog can be found at http://pastprimetravelers.blogspot.com/ and her travel photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/langton64?vhost=community.
Kings River Reviewers: Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).
Kings River Reviewers: Terrance V. Mc Arthur is a California-born, Valley-raised librarian/entertainer/writer. He is recently wrote a stage adaptation of Jack London’s The Call of the Wild for the Fresno County Public Library’s next The Big Read. He lives in Sanger, four blocks from the library, with his wife, his daughter, and a spinster cat.
Kings River Reviewers: Jesus Ibarra is a college student at UCLA from Parlier, currently living in Los Angeles. He loves to watch television and especially likes House, Bones, and Fringe. Jesus reads anything and everything. He also loves to listen to rock music and hang out with friends, new and old.
Kings River Reviewers: Roy Runnels is a 21 year old aspiring writer currently working on becoming an English teacher. He has a great deal of interest in television as well as video games, when he is not busy writing. Roy was born in Lake Jackson, Texas and moved to Reedley, California in late 2012.
Kings River Reviewers & Intern:Jessica Ham is 20 years old and will be attending AMDA in New York this fall. While at Reedley High she was actively involved in Drama Club, Madrigals and concert choir, and competed in Forensics. Jessica dreams of being on Broadway someday and currently performs with the Reedley River City Theatre Co. Her parents are Lorie and Larry Ham, and she has lived in Reedley her whole life.
Mental Health Matters: Muffy WalkerMuffy Walker graduated with a Master’s of Science in Psychiatric Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania & has worked in the mental health field for over 18 years. She is the founder and President of International Bipolar Foundation (IBPF). After learning that her youngest son had Bipolar Disorder, Walker joined other mental health boards and ultimately started IBPF and has dedicated the past 10 years of her life championing the education of the public about mental illness.
Ministry Musings: Karen Lewis was born in Scotland and worked as a dental assistant for several years. She is now married to Christopher Lewis from Reedley. Karen and her husband are now living in Leeds, England where he is pastoring a church. Read about their ministry at her blog, Beyond The Horizon.
Mysteryrat’s Maze: Marilyn Meredith is the author of nearly thirty published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series; the latest is Dispel the Mist from Mundania Press. Under the name of F. M. Meredith, she writes the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series; An Axe to Grind is the latest from Oak Tree Press. She is a member of EPIC, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Marilyn was an instructor for Writer’s Digest School for ten years, served as an instructor at the Maui Writer’s Retreat and many other writer’s conferences. She makes her home in Springville, which is much like Bear Creek where Deputy Tempe Crabtree lives. Visit her at fictionforyou.com.
Mysteryrat’s Maze & Pet Perspective: Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the arch, in the land of blues, booze and shoes—St Louis, Missouri. While writing magazine articles to support her mystery book habit, she secretly polishes two mystery books of her own, hoping, someday, they will see the light of Barnes and Noble.
Mysteryrat’s Maze & Rodent Ramblings: Diana Hockley is an Australian mystery author who lives in a southeast Queensland country town. She is the devoted slave of five ratties and usually finds an excuse to mention them in her writing, including her recent novel, The Naked Room. Since retiring from running a traveling mouse circus for 10 years, she is now the mouse judge for the Queensland Rat & Mouse Club shows. To learn more, check out her website.
Mysteryrat’s Maze & TV Talk: Deborah Harter Williams lives in Half Moon Bay, CA and works as a mystery scout, seeking novels that could be made into television. She blogs at Clue Sisters and was formerly a mystery bookstore owner.
Pet Perspective: Joyce Brandon is co-founder of Animal Compassion Team, has lived in Squaw Valley for 21 years and has always had lots of four legged friends sharing her mountain home along with her husband Jim, and five children. Joyce works part time for Mountain Valley Community Church and splits the rest of her time between family and animal rescue work. Joyce believes animal rescue is a mission field God has called her to and has given her a passion for.
Pet Perspective: Jackie Dale is a freelance writer who lives in Reedley with her husband of 21 years, Frank, and their 2 children. Jackie currently writes for Traffic Magazine and for The Cat House on the Kings Feline Rescue. A former ballerina, Jackie now teaches yoga and fitness classes privately and at local area gyms.
Pet Perspective: Lee Juslin is a graduate of Bucknell University with a master’s degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and a freelance copywriter who lives in NC. Until recently, she was active in pet therapy with her certified therapy dog, Frosty, and owns I B Dog Gone, an embroidery business dedicated to supporting several terrier rescue organizations.
Rodent Ramblings: Rebecca McLeod, enslaved by the whimsical charms of pet rats in her early twenties, spends her evenings slicing up vegetables and fruit for the vermin, chauffeuring them to the vet, and bragging about their many accomplishments to anyone who will listen. She & her husband Matthew run Bec and Matt’s Rats, a hobby rattery based out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Canada) and are an active part of the Canadian rat fancying community. Rebecca holds a B.A. Hons. in English from the University of Saskatchewan and is a freelance writer. Visit Bec and Matt’s Rats on Facebook!
Pet Perspective: Sheryl Wall is married to Brian and they have a daughter, Kiana. She has four dogs, two cats, a degree in Child Development and works part time with children along with doing Therapy work with her two Westies at T.L. Reed School and Palm Village Retirement Community. Sheryl’s favorite pastimes include Dog Agility, photography, and reading at Starbucks.
Weekend Wanderer: Brian Wall lives in Reedley with his wife, Sheryl, and their daughter, Kiana. He is a professional software developer and has a B.S. degree in Ag Business from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
Weekend Wanderer & Kings River Reviewers: Christina Morgan Cree lives in Santa Cruz with her three children and divides her time between fashion design, performing on stage and writing. Finding inspiration everywhere, she squeezes the most she can out of each day chasing ideas, over-analyzing everything and loving the people around her.
Lauren Tashjian is a 17 year old senior at Immanuel high school. She played volleyball for 4 years, loves to write and loves photography. Lauren plans to attend Fresno State and to become a special education teacher.
Andraya Hamilton is a senior at Reedley High School, where she is taking several AP classes & is the president and founder of the Book Club. Andraya plans to attend a university on the East Coast, major in English, and someday become an editor/publisher.
Ryne Preheim is a junior at Immanuel High School, he enjoys acting, and improv comedy. He has acted for four years now mostly for the Immanuel High School drama program. He has lived in Reedley his entire life. He is the son of Paul and Candi Preheim and has three siblings, Mallory, Courtney, and Hayley.
Ashley Brandon is 14 years old and a freshman at Reedley High School. She enjoys playing guitar, writing and track and hopes to attend UCSF to become a psychologist.
D.J. Reimer has lived all of his life in Reedley and is a senior at Reedley High School where he serves as President of the Associated Study Body & Editor in Chief of the Yearbook. He is also very active in student clubs, choir, and drama at Reedley High School. After graduating, he intends to pursue either international business or political science and improve the world in which he lives.
