Contributor Biographies
My Helpful Friends
Lisa M Billingham
https://linktr.ee/lisambillingham
Writing, Wellbeing, and a Little Bit of Woo-Woo on Black Country Radio Xtra. (Mondays at 11 am (UK time or On Demand)
As seen in The Express and Star

Hunter Boydell
Hunter is the creative genius behind an innovative media initiative called Breaking Jar, making short films on a budget.
You can find links to Paxford, an original short film created and produced by Hunter Boydell and Breaking Jar and current project Sparks May Fly on the Breaking Jar website:

Noel Wincote
Bryn says of Noel:
I first became aware of Noel through his poems, which (for the most part) have a charming innocence about them, which belie his advanced years.
To be able to convey through the medium of poetry the youthful innocence of a bygone age is both difficult and rare and for this reason, I believe Noel vastly underestimates his power as a poet.

Lorraine Buxton
Lorraine Buxton is the author of Tapestry of Life, a collection of poetry dealing with the issues life throws at us.
Lorraine’s first novel, A Second Chance is about a couple rebuilding a fragile relationship, finding family and believing in life giving them A Second Chance.
Lorraine’s second novel (and third book) is Mayfield Book Corner, the story of two sisters trying to rekindle their relationship.
They must share the secrets they have been keeping to remain in the place they call home.

Debbie Buxton
Bryn says of Debbie Buxton:
I became aware of Debbie through social media postings as Debbie is on her way to publishing her first book, Someday.
When I broached the idea of contributing something to Bryn and Friends, I think Debbie was a little shocked, but she rose to the challenge beautifully, and Believe in the Impossible (the resulting story) is both uplifting and heartwarming.
I believe Debbie Buxton is definitely an author to look out for.

T.J. Hannon
Tom is an accomplished author from Long Island, New York who writes mostly short stories that cover various genres.
Tom’s other interests include music and baseball.
Below are his available books on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback.
Tales with a Twist- Quench your thirst for drama, mystery, humor, romance, and fantasy with a collection of 25 short stories with a twist the reader won’t see coming.
Murder Works -When All Else fails.
Five Murderous tales, driven by greed, lust, scorn, and revenge.
Stocking Stuffers- Chuck full of laughter, nostalgia, hope, and feel-good Christmas stories, for adults and children of all ages.
Lady of the Lake – An author’s version of a myth that has mystified people for ages.
In a Not So Perfect World- Coming of age novel about the self-destruction of a teenage girl after the death of her mother.

Kelly Jeanne
Kelly lives in San Diego, Ca, with her beautiful 3½ year old cat Luna De Miel, which means Honeymoon in Spanish.
Kelly began writing at the age of 13 as an escape from an unstable home-life.
At age 61, Kelly started writing her memoir, which is proving to be difficult on many levels.
Thankfully, a friend introduced her to flash fiction, where her style is satirical.
Kelly says “I love putting my characters in off-the-wall situations with unusual monikers, placing them in bizarrely named, real locations around the globe.”
Her flash fiction piece ‘Bottom of the Barrel’ appeared in a Christian anthology, published annually by Christian Writers for Life.
Recently, her flash fiction piece ‘Helpless’ was adapted into an Old Time Radio format by Troupe of Lost Souls Entertainment, where they produce and direct modern, present-day stories for the 21st Century.
They have their own YouTube channel.
While writing for them, she goes by the moniker Kelly (Catwoman=^..^=) Jeanne.
Recently Kelly contributed a flash fiction piece for Bryn and Friends, entitled ‘Grey Poupon’.

Dave Pitt
My name is Dave Pitt. I was born in the West Midlands but have travelled the world and lived in many places.
Currently, I live in West Yorkshire, having got there via Edinburgh, South Africa, Australia, London and many other towns around the UK.
In my late twenties I began writing seriously, at first as a performance poet based in Stratford upon Avon and then as a short story writer in Edinburgh. In my forties, I branched out into playwriting and have seen five of my plays produced and performed.
It was during lockdown and in my fifties that I finally had the time to sit and write my first novel, The Life Machine. This was meant to be a stand-alone book but I soon realised there was a bigger story to tell.
I am a full time author now and will continue to be so, it’s what I love and you should always do what you enjoy the most.
I am currently working on a fourth part to my trilogy, a study of the effects of what happened in Alex and the Angel, and also I’m writing a pantomime for my local drama group because you should never turn down a paid gig.

Susan Mansbridge
2025 will see the publication of my sixth book, The Charred Blade, the first book in a quadrilogy, based on Norse mythology. My protagonist, Finlay Balder, suddenly finds himself plunged into fantastical realms that he knows only through books and Marvel films. Like all my stories, this one started with a picture in my head. A man peering through a wire mesh fence in the twilight, trying to make out a figure moving on an old stone bridge. I started asking myself questions. Who is the man? What is special about the bridge? Who is the figure on it, and what is it doing? My immediate thought was a troll who is there to take payment for crossing the bridge – a bridge that doesn’t seem to go anywhere. (The bridge actually exists across the road from where I live!) Over the space of an hour or so, I had fleshed out the bare bones of a story, including the end. I decided to do some research. Several hours later, my excitement ramping up and up, I had the beginning of my saga. Unbelievably, with only a few little tweaks, my story was a perfect fit into the mythology of the Norsemen, and the rest began to take shape. Interestingly, despite the plethora of stories and films, there is very little that survives of the Norse myths. Two longer pieces of work, The Poetic Edda, a collection of anonymous poems, and the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson, were both written around the thirteenth century after Iceland had converted to Christianity. The rest are fragments, or information gleaned from comparative cultures. As you can imagine, scholars still debate the veracity of these sources. For instance, we know there was a realm of the white elves, or Alfar, called Alfheim. And that is all we know. There are no descriptions of either the realm or its inhabitants. So, when my MC’s visit that realm, I had carte blanche when creating it. Probably the most famous piece of work derived from this mythology is JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. His interpretation has informed fantasy writers ever since, who use his descriptions of elves and dwarves without question. Even his names are rooted in the Old Norse language. Middle Earth is a direct translation of Midgard, the Norse name for our world. Gandalf is created from two Norse words: Gand, a magic stick, and Alf, 9 10 or elf. There are possible nods to characters like Vafthrudnir, who loved to engage in contests with riddles. Was he the source behind Bilbo and Gollum’s test of wits? Rather than stick slavishly to Tolkien’s interpretation, I wanted to make my own, although there is a wink to Tolkien within the fifth chapter. Despite that, I tried to stay as true to the mythology as I could, even while putting my own spin on it. Returning to the myths again and again has helped me craft all four books and get myself out of some tricky situations of my own making, When my MC became completely overwhelmed in the third book and I wasn’t sure how to get myself out of the corner I had painted myself in, I discovered a minor god who was the perfect “Get out of Jail Free” card. She also makes an appearance at the end of the last book, too. There are some characters who you won’t see within the pages of my books except for perhaps a passing mention. Thor and Loki are both absent. They have had far too much attention to comfortably cross into my worlds without bringing a lot of baggage with them, and I really didn’t want them to overshadow my MC. So they will remain firmly locked away within the Marvel universe. Writing this series has been a joy in so many ways. I have learnt a great deal about the Norsemen of old on this journey and my prayer is that my readers will appreciate and love the reimagining of the ancient myths.

Martin Dixon
Another new contributor to the Indie Writers’ Digest is the supertalented Martin Dixon, who has been writing novels and short stories for more than 40 years now. Martin has extensive experience as an author. Martin is originally from South London. He concentrates on creating entertaining characters involved in complicated plots that push stories along at a good pace, stories with intrigue and tension but with a strong element of humour to lift the narrative to another dimension. \Martin’s books are mostly set within the crime and mystery genre the books and provide an easy reading and entertaining experience. I give you the first installment of Martin’s submissions: It’s Cold Outside. Please note, Martin Dixon has a blog: https://www.shortstoriestoentertain.com/

James Gordon Yeo
My name is James G. Yeo and I was born in April 1979, in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. I am the youngest of three; I have an older sister and older brother. We moved to Saskatchewan, Canada in 1986 and we spent ten years there before moving to another town in Saskatchewan in 1996. After finishing high school I moved to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to attend N.A.I.T. for my Culinary Arts course. Once I finished my college I spent another two years in Edmonton to achieve my Red Seal in cooking. I moved back to my parents in 2001 to work in the oil field to pay off my school debt. Then I moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada which was a dream of mine. I would spend three years there and I would continue with school by taking some business courses. In January of 2005, I would be diagnosed with schizophrenia and I would move back to Saskatchewan the following spring. Since my diagnosis, I have changed my career to become an author with the goal to change the stigma on mental illness. I have more book projects that I am working on that I will be publishing in the future. For more information about my work and me check out my website at www.jamesgyeo.ca, as well follow my weekly blogs with updates of where I am with my present projects that I am working on.

James McLean
I am a Canadian writer who loves a good story. I was raised as an only-child thus allowing my imagination the opportunity to run free to keep myself occupied on my days home alone. I would also write horror stories during my spare time in an attempt to freak out my friends. I am proud to say it worked. Daniel, I’m sorry (not really). I’m still “young and budding” with my writing, but with more than forty novels planned, I hope to continue to provide the worlds of my imagination for many years to come. And I hope you will come to be as immersed while reading my stories as I was while creating them.

Gene J. Miller
As a new author, professionally I was a 44 year educator. After 19 years of secondary teaching English/History and coaching teens, I became a high school assistant principal for two years, 1997-1999. In September 1999, I was promoted to middle school principal grades 6-8 for the next 14 years. I know middle school! I retired after 35 years in public school education in southern New Jersey and was hired part-time by Stockton University’s School of Education to teach and supervise practice teachers for nine years. I retired May 5, 2023 due to medical conditions I became an author of 15 short stories based on my life’s challenges as a middle schooler for my two eldest grandsons headed into their middle school years. Many people forget how hard it is for an elementary child to transition into their teen years. It’s HARD! It has been rewarding reliving those transition years of middle school. WARNING: Short Stories for Middle School Boys Only, Because Girls Have Cooties! Is my heartfelt soliloquy reminder about those children transitioning from their elementary years into teenagers.

Jordon Cimenski
Jordan Cimenski grew up as a military brat, travelling all over the world since both parents were in the Air Force. After Jordan settled in Utah, she started writing poetry, short stories, and, eventually, novels. At Utah Valley University, Jordan published several poems and academic essays while working towards her Bachelor’s degree in Education. Now Jordan is an accomplished and award-winning educator, having most recently won the Utah Jazz Most Valuable Educator of the Year Award. After 6 years of working on her book, Jordan has most recently published her debut novel: The Last Door, a dark fantasy for young adults.

Adam Parsec
I never set out to be an author. Truth be told, I’m just someone who has always loved stories – the kind that whisper magic into your ear and make the world a little more wonderful. Life has a funny way of redirecting our paths. After school, I had dreams of writing, but responsibilities and life’s practical demands gently nudged me away. Bills needed paying, and dreams often take a back seat when reality comes knocking. For thirty years, my writing remained a quiet companion, never quite forgotten but not always at the forefront. Now, as I’ve found a bit more breathing room in life, I’ve rediscovered my love for storytelling. This book – well, it’s something special. It wasn’t born from a grand plan, but from something much simpler: a father’s desire to surprise his daughter. You see, my daughter was always brilliantly observant. Every children’s book we read together, she’d solve the mystery pages ahead. It became a playful challenge – could I write a story that would keep her guessing? Twelve years of quiet writing, of stealing moments between life’s responsibilities, led to these three interconnected tales. I write primarily in science fiction, but this story is different. It’s personal. It’s a love letter of sorts – to imagination, to my daughter, to the power of storytelling that can surprise even the cleverest readers. I don’t claim to be anything extraordinary. I’m just someone who loves stories and finally found the courage to share one that means the world to me. If it brings a moment of wonder or joy to even one reader, I’ll consider that a success beyond measure. 57 58 Thank you for taking the time to hear my story. I hope you might find something magical within the pages I’ve carefully crafted. With warmth and hope, Adam Parsec.
