MEET THE TEAM

We’re here to support indie authors and share great books with the world—one story at a time.

Contact Us

SUSAN VIOLANTE
Managing Editor

Susan Violante is the one that communicates with you and creates the e-Magazine.  She’s an author herself so understands the needs of her fellow authors.  She also contributes with editorials and articles about the book Industry for Authors, and subscribers as well a other relatable topics. 

Susan completed a BA in Political Science and in Business Administration back in 1987. Although she built a career as a Business Analyst/Accountant, she also kept herself active as a freelance writer publishing articles, poetry, children’s stories, and illustrations since 1996. She is also 100% fluent in English, Spanish, and Italian; and enjoys doing English to Spanish and Spanish to English book translations as well as Spanish editing. She published her first book in 2009, and released her revised edition: Innocent War: Behind An Immigrant’s Past – Book 1 in 2011.

Susan Violante is the Founding Managing Editor/CEO/Partner of I Have Something to Say Press and Book By Book Publicity, as well as  Author, Reviewer, Publicist and Publisher. She has also been the editor of First Chapter Plus e-Magazine since 2010.Feel free to email her at admin@firstchapterplus.com

SHERI HOYTE

Editor/Contributor

Sheri Hoyte brings content to the magazine through author Interviews about their own writing and publishing experiences. She is also the Managing Editor/President of Book By Book Publicity and Reader Views.

Sheri has extensive experience in editing, social media marketing, and working directly with independent authors. She specializes in helping authors build visibility and credibility through professional reviews, interviews, and promotional services. She also serves as the Program Awards Manager for the Reader Views Literary Awards and is the host of Inside Scoop Live, a podcast dedicated to spotlighting indie authors and their work.

To learn more about Sheri visit readerviews.com. Email her at sheri@readerviews.com.

EVE PANZER
Librarian/Contributor


Eve Panzer, MLIS is the Barefoot Librarian and a retired school librarian with decades of experience working with children from pre-K through fifth grade. With a master’s degree in library science from the University of Texas, she brings both professional expertise and a deep passion for children’s literature to every review she writes. Eve has been a trusted voice in the field since 1999, reviewing and curating diverse, high-quality children’s books for schools, libraries, and families. Learn more at : https://barefootlibrarian.com/

CAROLYN HOWARD-JOHNSON
Author/Contributor


Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of the multi award-winning series of HowToDoItFrugally books for writers including USA Book News’ winner for The Frugal Book Promoter. An instructor for UCLA Extension’s renowned Writers Program for nearly a decade, she believes in entering (and winning!) contests and anthologies as an excellent way to separate our writing from the hundreds of thousands of books that get published each year. Two of her favorite awards are Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment given by members of the California Legislature and “Women Who Make Life Happen,” given by the Pasadena Weekly newspaper. She is also an award-winning poet and novelist and she loves passing along the tricks of the trade she learned from marketing those so-called hard-to-promote genres. Learn more on her website at https://HowToDoItFrugally.com.

DAWN COLCLASURE
Author/Contributor


Dawn Colclasure is the third of seven children. She began telling stories as a child during the many times her parents moved the family from one state to another. A burn survivor, she has third degree burns on her left hand, arm, her left side, and the left side of her face. This was the result from a vehicular accident she survived at the age of 22 months.  At age 13, she caught spinal meningitis and lost her hearing. Her experiences with the paranormal inspired her to write about this topic and she gets many story ideas from her dreams.

It was during one of her many hospital stays that a nurse encouraged her to write poetry. From there, she went on to write stories, articles, essays and book-length fiction. Her first poem was published when she was 11. She went on to publish novels, nonfiction books and a collection of essays.  Learn more about Dawn and her work at: https://dawnsbooks.com/