Faculty
Workshop instructors and panelists for ACFW Virginia’s Royal Writers Virtual Conference are successful agents, editors, and authors who share the common desire to help other writers grow in their faith, and the business and craft of writing.
Award-winning author LORI ALTEBAUMER’S writing has been referred to as atmospheric stories of mystery and suspense.
Her writing adventures include being a multi-finalist for the Selah award, as well as the BRMCW Directors’ Choice and the AWSA Golden Scrolls. Her short stories have won awards including the Foundations award and the Cascade Award for Short Fiction.
Lori is a regular contributor to online content aggregators, including Crossmap, and has launched her own publication, Stepping Forward. She co-hosts the weekly podcast show My Mornings with Jesus and Joe, and serves as president for Faith, Hope, & Love Christian Writers.
Find her online at lorialtebaumer.com, on Facebook, and Pinterest.
PEPPER BASHAM is an award-winning author who writes romance “peppered” with grace and humor.
Writing both historical and contemporary novels, she loves to incorporate her native Appalachian culture and/or her unabashed adoration of the UK into her stories.
She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she enjoys her family, these mountains, and her day job as a speech-language pathologist.
You can learn more about Pepper and her books on her website at pepperdbasham.com Also find her on: Facebook // Instagram @pepperbasham // X @pepperbasham
BARBARA M. BRITTON is a multi-published author of Christian Fiction. Her Tribes of Israel series brings little-known Bible characters to light. You can also travel to Whispering Creek, Tennessee with her sweet romance duology.
Barbara has a nutrition degree from Baylor University but loves to dip healthy strawberries in chocolate.
You can find out more about Barbara and her books on her website barbarambritton.com. She is also active on X/Twitter and Instagram.
E. STEPHEN BURNETT explores fantastical stories for God’s glory as publisher of Lorehaven.com and its weekly Fantastical Truth podcast.
He coauthored The Pop Culture Parent and creates other resources for fans and families, serving with his wife, Lacy, in their central Texas church.</p.
Stephen’s first novel, the sci-fi adventure Above the Circle of Earth, launched in March 2025 from Enclave Publishing.
Find him at estephenburnett.lorehaven.com, on Instagram, and X.
LISA CARTER is the Publishers Weekly bestselling and award-winning author of more than thirty contemporary romance, historical and romantic suspense novels.
Two of her books have won Carol Awards—Under a Turquoise Sky and The Christmas Bargain. The Stronghold won a Daphne du Maurier Award for romantic suspense.
When she’s not working on her next novel, she loves spending time with family and teaching writer workshops. Lisa enjoys traveling and researching her next fictional adventure. A native North Carolinian, she has strong opinions on barbecue and ACC basketball.
EMMA FAYE, the Clean Reads Queen, is an award-winning audiobook narrator and producer of over 100 books known for her passion for clean, wholesome storytelling.
She specializes in narrating clean/sweet romance, Christian non-fiction, YA fantasy, and middle-grade adventures. A strong advocate for clean media, Emma believes what we consume matters deeply.
She also founded a small audiobook production company, Cats Meow Productions, which also produces clean reads.
She loves to help authors along their audiobook journey. When she’s not in the booth, you’ll find her on stage, baking cookies or snuggling her many cats.
www.EmmaFayeNarrates.com
www.Facebook.com/emmafayeactor
www.instagram.co/emmafayeactor
USMC veteran and former newspaper editor LINDA FULKERSON is published in both fiction and nonfiction.
She and her husband, Don, live on a ten-acre plot in central Arkansas. They have five adult children (including their goddaughter) and thirteen grandchildren, two of whom are married.
Linda enjoys photography, RV travel, and spoiling her two dachshunds. In 2020, she founded Scrivenings Press.
https://lindafulkerson.com
https://x.com/lindafulkerson
https://www.instagram.com/lindafulkerson
https://www.facebook.com/lindanixonfulkerson
DANIELLE GRANDINETTI is an award-winning inspirational romance author fueled by tea, books, and the creative beauty of nature.
Her stories combine romance, mystery, and suspense against the backdrop of the 1930s to tell the tale of finding home and hope in hard times.
With a master’s in communication and culture and a passion for intercultural communication, storytelling has been her heartbeat for as long as she can remember.
Married to her hero, Danielle is a second-generation Italian-American, a dairy farmer’s granddaughter, and a boy mom from Chicagoland who now lives along Lake Michigan’s Wisconsin shoreline.
Learn more at daniellegrandinetti.com
instagram.com
facebook.com/danielleswritingspot
Multi-award-winning and best-selling author of inspirational romantic suspense, SARAH HAMAKER loves writing books “where the hero and heroine fall in love while running for their lives.”
She’s an AWSA certified writer and speaker coach, and podcaster of The Romantic Side of Suspense. She and her husband are therapeutic foster parents with UMFS. Sarah lives in Virginia with her husband, four children and three cats.
You can find out more about her on her website, her author Facebook page or on BookBub.
RACHEL HAUCK is a New York Times Bestselling, award winning author living in sunny central Florida with her husband.
TARA JOHNSON is an author and speaker, and loves to write stories that help people break free from the lies they believe about themselves.
Tara’s debut novel Engraved on the Heart (Tyndale) earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and was a finalist in the Carol and Christy awards. Tara has been published by Tyndale House, Annie’s, and Guideposts.
In addition to being published in a variety of digital and print magazines, she is a certified body language expert and has been on radio, television and podcasts. She, her husband, and children live in Arkansas.
Website: www.TaraJohnsonStories.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TaraJohnsonAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tarajohnsonministry/
MATT JONES is the president of Jones House Creative, a Tulsa-based design firm with a focus on helping authors achieve their dreams of growing a successful writing career. He and the Jones House Creative team have worked with with hundreds of authors since 2010 to grow their online platforms, connect with their readers, and market their books online. Jones House Creative’s mission is to empower dreams, breathe life into visions, and remove burdens by walking alongside authors and helping them grow their brand.
https://joneshousecreative.com
https://www.facebook.com/joneshousecreative
https://www.instagram.com/joneshousecreative/
ROWENA KUO is the CEO, Executive Editor and Producer for Brimstone Fiction, Brimstone Books and Media, and Brimstone Fire.
With over 20 years of ministering to children, youth groups, young adults, women, and family groups, Rowena advocates for writers to build God-centered support systems consisting of perseverance, practice, and prayer. Her specialties include Author Legacy and Financial Literacy.
She has written for Christian Devotions, Written World Communications, Splickety, the 168 Write of Passage, and Scrivenings Press.
When not working on words or films, she is a full-time mom with secret aspirations for spaceflight.
ZENA DELL LOWE is an award-winning screenwriter, writing coach, and founder of The Storyteller’s Mission, an online platform that equips Christian writers to tell powerful stories that matter.
With a BA in English and an MA in Apologetics from Biola University, she specializes in story structure, character development, and the integration of Christian worldview into fiction.
Zena hosts The Storyteller’s Mission podcast and teaches advanced writing classes to novelists, screenwriters, and storytellers across genres.
Follow The Storyteller’s Mission:
Website: www.thestorytellersmission.com
YouTube: @TheStorytellersMission
Instagram: @thestorytellersmission
JOY K. MASSENBURGE embodies her name when she enters a room. She serves on the ACFW executive board. As the CEO of Joy K. Massenburge & Associates, she leads a team of coaches who help focused-driven women declutter their daily calendars by co-authoring a schedule that generates clarity, not guilt, so they can be productive and a JOY to someone else.
To find out more about her:
www.joykmassenburge.com
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
DIANN MILLS is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure.
DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, an active member of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Mystery Writers of America, the Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild, and International Thriller Writers.
She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country.
DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on: Facebook, X, Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads, BookBub, YouTube, LinkedIn or her website: diannmills.com
Lt. DAVID W. NABORS (Ret.) is a nationally recognized expert in crime scene and criminal investigations with over 38 years in law enforcement.
He holds a Master’s degree, a Master Peace Officer License, and is a licensed Police Instructor, and he has completed 6,800+ hours of advanced police training.
David led his department’s Criminal Investigations Division and has managed numerous high-profile capital murder cases. A featured expert on CBS 48 Hours, NBC, A&E, and more, he has lectured extensively at law enforcement agencies, universities, forensic conferences, and writers’ groups across Texas and Kentucky.
Website: https://www.naborsforensics.com
Three-time nominee for Editor of the Year, ROBIN PATCHEN is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of Christian romantic suspense.
She started writing her first novel while homeschooling her three children. The novel was dreadful, but her passion for storytelling didn’t wane. Thankfully, as her children grew, so did her writing ability.
Now that her kids are adults, she has more time to play with the lives of fictional heroes and heroines, wreaking havoc and working magic to give her characters happy endings.
Connect with Robin at https://robinpatchen.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RobinPatchen
A fifth-generation Texan, PAULA PECKHAM has three novels. Her debut novel, Protected, Book 1 in The San Antonio series, was published in April 2022. Book 2, A Father’s Gift, and book 3, Accepted, finaled in the Selah contest. Her most recent is a contemporary romance titled Made for More.
Paula divides her time between Texas and Rio Bravo, Mexico.
Find Paula on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog.
www.paulapeckham.com
https://www.facebook.com/PaulaPeckhamAuthor
JAMES L. RUBART is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He thinks he’s still young enough to water ski like a madman and dirt bike with his two grown sons, and loves to send readers on mind-bending spiritual journeys they’ll remember months after they finish one of his stories.
He’s the best-selling, Christy Hall of Fame, Carol, INSPY, and RT Book Reviews award winning author of ten novels, co-author of the time traveling detective series, The True Lies of Rembrandts Stone, co-owner of The Rubart Writing Academy, and an audio book narrator.
He lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in eastern Washington. Learn more at jameslrubart.com and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JamesLRubart
Sara is a coffee lovin’, word slinging, clean Historical Romance author whose superpower is converting caffeine into novels.
She started in the world of traditional publishing and worked her way to being fully indie.
Her teaching is heralded as practical and concise. And her books feature a wide range of time periods and locations. Please find out more at https://saraturnquist.com/
Twitter: @sararturnquist
Facebook Author Page: @authorsararturnquist
Instagram: @sararturnquist
Pinterest: @sararturnquist
YouTube: @SaraRTurnquist
ROSEANNA M. WHITE is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes.
When not writing fiction, she’s designing book covers and interiors, managing a publishing company, and pretending her house will clean itself.
In addition to her own slew of historical novels, Roseanna brings her passion for all things bookish to WhiteFire Publishing Group, which she founded with her husband in 2005.
You can find out more about Roseanna as an author at www.RoseannaMWhite.com and WhiteFire publishing at www.WhiteFire-Publishing.com
KRISTI WOODS, author and speaker, writes stories about Jesus and other heroes in contemporary Christian romance and nonfiction.
Her award-winning work is published across the Internet and in print, including her gift book, 101 Prayers for Military Wives. Kristi, her Desert Storm pen pal-turned-husband, and three (now adult) children survived a nomadic, military lifestyle and have set roots in Oklahoma. There, she keeps a close watch for tornadoes and decadent chocolate.
Sign up for Kristi’s newsletter at KristiWoods.net
Award-winning author, speaker, and life coach, TINA YEAGER hosts the Flourish-Meant Podcast and Flourish Today radio show on Christian Mix 106 and publishes Inkspirations Online, a weekly writers’ devotional.
She has been licensed as a counselor since 2005. Yeager serves on the marketing team for the upcoming streaming series, STRUCK. She is also Director of Traditional Groups with Word Weavers International and NRB representative on the AWSA steering committee.
For holistic emotional wellness coaching, prayer-led creative journey mapping, purpose coaching, or event speaking, contact her at tina@tinayeager.com
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a
new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)