Chatting with Sherri

Chatting With Sherri welcomes award-winning writer; Spencer Sekulin!

Chatting With Sherri welcomes award-winning writer; Spencer Sekulin!
When Spencer Sekulin isn’t on the road as a paramedic or studying medicine, he is most likely writing. Born and raised in Ontario, Canada, Spencer fell in love with books at a young age, with authors like Terry Brooks and Eoin Colfer giving him an appetite for speculative fiction. Though he didn’t begin writing until university, he quickly discovered that it was just as fun as reading—and the rest is history. His passions include emergency medicine, homemade coffee, travel obscura, and of course, writing. 
Writers of the Future is Spencer’s first professional sale. “The Children of Desolation” started as a story title with no story, and sat for several years before he stumbled across it again, whereupon several separate ideas happened to click together. “Sometimes stories take us by surprise, and then drag us on rides we didn’t expect. In my case, this one started running right away, leaving me to catch up in its dust.” Most of it was written on a covered porch during a torrential downpour.
Regarding the story itself, Spencer felt drawn to its protagonist, Tumelo Laska. His burden of heritage, and his moral struggle between doing what is right and putting family before all else, lends well to the sense of desperation of the post-apocalyptic setting. Though the world may end, humans have always loved, lost, and sought redemption—and always will. 
Spencer hopes it is a story that conveys the importance of family, the indomitableness of the human spirit, and power of forgiveness. He hopes you enjoy reading it. 
 
Spencer Sekulin. and his winning story will be published in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 39  which has been on bestseller lists numerous times in recent years.  

Chatting With Sherri welcomes award winning illustrator and artist; Chris Binns!

Chatting With Sherri welcomes award winning illustrator and artist; Chris Binns!
Throughout childhood Chris Binns was always the “good drawer,” a pastime that was encouraged by his family over the years and heavily inspired by the plethora of fantasy novels his father would read on a weekly basis. The covers of these fantasy novels were a shining beacon to what would become his most coveted genre. Despite his love of art, Chris found himself graduating high school and heading off to electrical engineering school at Oregon State University to follow in his father’s footsteps.
While taking a break from university in 2005 Chris moved to England in 2005 to work in a pub in Manchester for the summer. This was when Chris found his wife Lindsey who would eventually become the mother of his two children and the summer turned into six years. Deciding to take his art more seriously Chris attended the University of Huddersfield on an illustration degree program. After graduating with honors and some newfound knowledge and skills Chris moved back to America. While struggling to kick-start an art career and needing to provide for his family he took an engineering job at Intel. Finding his footing as an engineer and thriving in this new role, Chris learned to feed both vocations. 
These days art is still very much his passion as he seeks new challenges to test his skill sets and push his art to the next level. However, like the children’s books he writes and illustrates for his children, he creates art for fun and enjoys every minute of it. Chris winning art was published in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 39 
 
 
 
 
 

Chatting With Sherri welcomes award winning author; E. Graziani!

Chatting With Sherri welcomes award winning author; E. Graziani!
E. Graziani is a teacher/librarian by day and the author of the YA time-travel series, Alice of the Rocks & Angel of Time. Her new release ALICE OF THE ROCKS was in BARNES & NOBLE’s Top ten YA summer indie reads 2023!! It was also recognized as one of Barnes & Noble's Top Ten Young Adult Indie Summer Reads. She has written Magenta and Everything That Was Us. She is the author of Breaking Faith (Second Story Press), a contemporary YA novel, listed on CBC Canada's Must-Read Books for Spring 2017, selected for the 'In the Margins' Book Award 2018 Recommended Fiction List, and one of CCBC Best Books for Kids and Teens. Graziani is the author of the YA historical memoir, War in My Town (Second Story Press), also one of CCBC's Best Books for Kids and Teens, and a finalist in the Hamilton Arts Council 2016 Literary Awards for Best Non-Fiction. Graziani has also written the novella, Jess Under Pressure. E. Graziani regularly appears on CHCH Morning Live to discuss new releases in Canadian KidLit and has spoken at many school events and book clubs. She loves to connect with her young and not-so-young readers. She resides in Canada with her husband and daughters.
To contact the author or for more information on new releases or events, please visit her website;
egraziani1.wix.com/egrazianiauthor.

Chatting With Sherri welcomes culture expert and author; R.C. Staab!

Chatting With Sherri welcomes culture expert and author; R.C. Staab!
Do you want to be a part of it, New York, New York? Then here’s your chance. Let NYC Scavenger be your guide to more sides of the city than you ever knew through 15 artfully designed scavenger hunts. Decipher the clues to find the place where Bebop was born, the tavern where Lincoln and Grant were patrons, and the most famous subway grate in movie history.
Each of the clues includes a four-line riddle and a visual aid to help you find your way through iconic Manhattan neighborhoods such as Greenwich Village, Central Park, and Soho. Whether you’re in it to win it or taking a more leisurely route, you’ll definitely discover some hot spots for incredible food in Harlem or Little Italy, celebrated statues, and the remarkable stories that line New York’s unique streets at every turn.
 
Author, travel writer, and playwright/lyricist R. C. Staab walked every Manhattan neighborhood from Battery Park to Inwood and from river to river to set you on this one-of-kind journey. Gather up your family and friends and embark on this epic scavenger hunt to discover the most famous island in all the world—then brag about it like any good New Yorker would.
From his first trip to NYC as a teenager, R.C. Staab imagined living in Manhattan to experience its theater, museums, and incredibly diverse neighborhoods. That dream came true when he and his wife, Valari, moved to Manhattan to live near Clue #1 on the Upper West Side. For more than 40 years, he has been a tourism and culture expert who has been quoted by and had photos published in numerous publications.

Chatting With Sherri welcomes back award-winning Cinematographer Roger Lanser!

Chatting With Sherri welcomes back award-winning Cinematographer Roger Lanser!
Roger Lanser  After many years as a Loader and Focus Puller he became camera operator to DP Peter Hendry on many ABC dramas such as Patrol Boat, Captain Cook, and Boy in the Bush where he met acclaimed British actor Kenneth Branagh.  Kenneth asked him to come to England and film the British comedy Peter’s Friends. Over the years he went on to do eight feature films for Branagh including three Shakespeare’s, and the big screen opera Mozart’s The Magic Flute in 2006 for which he won the Australian Cinematographer's Society; Cinematographer of the Year! 
In Australia he did  Australian films such as The Cliff Young Story, Till Human Voices Wake Us, Charlie and Boots, and Strange Bedfellows, these last two with Paul Hogan. Roger has had the opportunity to work in the USA where he shot a comedy feature called A Weekend in the Country with Jack Lemon and Betty White and has photographed many USA co-pro tele movies here in Australia. He has been the cinematographer on three series of the very successful Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries based in Melbourne as well as, Miss Fisher and The Crypt of Tears, which Roger shot in Morocco and Melbourne, premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and opened in Sydney and Melbourne to booked out screenings. 
 

Chatting With Sherri welcomes award-winning artist & illustrator; Helen Yi!

Chatting With Sherri welcomes award-winning artist & illustrator; Helen Yi!
Helen's passion towards art started out as simply copying characters from comic books, but as she slowly got to know more about movies, digital platforms, games, and many other new and professional ways art can be shown to the world, she has been dreaming of working as a visual development artist one day and create art that can entertain others and let the audience dream like she did when she was little.
Currently Helen is a sophomore studying Illustration in Ringling College of Art and Design where she can improve her skills and work towards her dream step by step. She is always thankful for the facilities and curriculum in RCAD that allow her to pursue working digitally at school as well which also helped her work on this entry for Writers and Illustrators of the Future.
Helen's winning art will be published in the international bestselling anthology, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 39. 

Chatting With Sherri welcomes award-winning author; David Hankins!

Chatting With Sherri welcomes award-winning author; David Hankins!
David Hankins writes from the thriving cornfields of Iowa where he lives with his wife, daughter, and two dragons disguised as cats. His writing journey began in the oral tradition of convincing his daughter to Go To Sleep with inventive stories. That usually backfired. After years of Just One More Story, David began transcribing his midnight ramblings in an attempt to keep his storylines straight. David writes lighthearted speculative fiction because that's what he loves to read and—this is the important bit—there's not nearly enough humor in the world. David aims to change that, one story at a time.
David joined the US Army, he has lived in and traveled through much of Europe, central Asia, and the United States. Now that he’s retired from the Army, David devotes his time to his passions of writing, traveling with his family, and finding new ways to pay his mortgage
“Death and the Taxman” was born as the writing community mourned the passing of Writers of the Future coordinating judge Dave Farland. David wrote this story hoping to bring laughter in a time of grief. To any tax auditors reading this: you are lovely people. Please don’t audit David again.
David Hankins. He is a winner in our international contest, The Writers of the Future published in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 39.

Chatting With Sherri welcomes back producer, director & actor; Jamal McWhorter!

Chatting With Sherri welcomes back producer, director, screenwriter & actor; Jamal McWhorter!
Jamal McWhorter is an actor turned film producer/director born and raised in Atlanta, GA. With a strong passion for making quality films, Jamal starts with a great story and bring it alive with eye-catching visuals. Dramas, horrors, and comedies are the genres he loved growing up, and he likes to have fun with those elements of his films today. In 2013 he wrote, produced, and starred in his first production LOUD, a semi-autobiographical tale about a young musician trying to make it. Shortly after completing the movie, Jamal and his business partners started L.O.U.D. Films, an indie film company committed to excellent storytelling. His upcoming feature-length directorial debut Switched at Love, a romantic comedy set in Atlanta, is set for release in Winter 2022. His latest film is Blood Money!
 

Chatting With Sherri welcomes country singer and songwriter; Rob Wolf!

Chatting With Sherri welcomes country singer and songwriter; Rob Wolf!
Rob is relatively new to the Nashville Country music scene, formerly a part of a brother and sister duo based in Nashville, TN. He hails from Southern Montana. Rob Wolf writes his songs from personal experiences, books and stories heard from friends and strangers. On August 19, 2022, Rob released his debut single, “Home.” His sophomore single, “Everything to Me” dropped October 14, 2022 and his final single for 2022, “For the Best” released December 16th of that year. “What’s Yours,” a self-penned single about cheating, with a “spaghetti western” type melody, dropped February 24, 2023. Rob released his autobiographical single, “How I Live My Life” April 21, 2023. Coming in early summer 2023 is “Banks of the Yellowstone,” another Montana-inspired single.
 

Chatting With Sherri welcomes actor, producer and director; Douglas Vermeeren!

Chatting With Sherri welcomes actor, stunt performer, producer and director; Douglas Vermeeren!
Douglas Vermeeren interest in the film business began at young age being inspired by blockbuster films like Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Back to the Future. He first got on the set at a young age in Canada participating in a CBC show playing a newspaper boy.
He began his efforts in stunts at 13 years old with his first stunt riding on the roof of a speeding car. Since that time he has done an extensive training in martial arts, motorcycles and race cars, horse back riding and stunt falls, fire and gun play.
Vermeeren is also the producer and director of 4 of the top personal development documentaries.
Doug's new movies this year are;
Monster Hunters Inc-Based on a Steampunk comic (2007) this film follows the origins of Monster Hunters Inc. hunting werewolves, vampires, zombies and other dark creatures in London during the late 1800's. Stars Douglas Vermeeren plays Rufus Gideon Bennett.
And; How to be a Hitman; Douglas Vermeeren plays Samuel Finch.