~Janna Zonder

Janna Zonder is a freelance writer living in Asheville, NC. She has recently completed her fi rst novel, a woman-centered mystery, called One More Crazy Thing. She can be reached at zonders@charter.net.

~Emily Paterson

Emily Paterson is a writer and social worker. She lives with her husband, son and two dogs in Atlantic Beach, FL, where they enjoy beachcombing, biking and playing Ultimate Frisbee.

~Valerie Weaver-Zercher

Valerie Weaver-Zercher is a writer in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and her essays, book reviews and features have appeared in Brain, Child, Sojourners, Christian Century, Christianity Today, and Books & Culture.

~Katrina Grigg-Saito

Katrina Grigg-Saito spent her summers in North Carolina and still wears her grandmother’s jewelry. She is a writer from Boston, living in Tokyo, where she writes for Metropolis Magazine. Katrina can be reached at katrinagriggsaito@gmail.com.

~Stephanie Hunt

Stephanie Hunt is a Charleston-based writer whose best fashion move was having three girls. They got all the latent style genes in the family, and now edit their mother’s outfits. They don’t do overalls.

~Jennifer Baumgardner

Jennifer Baumgardner is the author of Look Both Ways and a frequent contributor to Glamour, The Nation, and many other magazines. She lives in Brooklyn with her son, Skuli. This essay is a partial excerpt from “Ms. World of Wheels” in the new anthology About Face: 24 Women Writers Look In The Mirror And Talk About What They See.

~Tina Drakakis

Tina Drakakis is a freelance writer in Carver, MA. She finds humor in the chaos of raising four kids and tries valiantly to keep her husband unaware of thong-related family issues. She no longer wears white anklets with her high heels but will vehemently defend the fashion choices of yesteryear.

~Patti Digh

Patti Digh played bass clarinet in the marching band. Her third book, Life Is a Verb, is forthcoming in September 2008 from skirt! books and is based on her award-winning blog, 37days. Patti can be reached at patti@thecircleproject.com or 37days.com.

~Gretchen Clark

Gretchen Clark co-teaches an online Lyric Essay course at Writers.com and is also a Creative Arts Mentor for at-risk teenagers in the Phoenix area. Her most recent essay was published in Literary Mama.

~Stacy Appel

Stacy Appel is a writer in California whose work has been featured in the Chicago Tribune and other publications. She has also written for National Public Radio. Contact her at WordWork101@aol.com.