Chapter Leadership

Sarah Niebuhr Rubin is the author of short stories, poetry, and as yet unpublished mystery novels. She is a student of people and cultures holding bachelor’s and master’s degrees in anthropology and rabbinic ordination. Much of her work draws on mystical and cultural Jewish traditions. Sarah lives in her native Seattle with her husband and son who came into her life during her years east of the Mississippi. In addition to her own writing, she loves to read across a variety of genres and to encourage others to engage with reading and the art of writing.

Leslie J. Hall is the author of the Kaitlyn Willis Road Signs mysteries, a humorous, PG-rated, amateur sleuth series starring a NW code enforcement officer. Leslie loves to speak, teach, and share her passion for writing with others. She began her writing journey in elementary school where she co-wrote with a friend her first suspense story: How To Wash a Ghost. When not writing mysteries and women’s fiction, Leslie is a cheerleader for beginning writers through teaching and critiquing. After all that, you’ll find her at the beach with a book (or 2!) in her hand. Leslie lives in Bremerton, WA with her husband and cat, Mia.

Catherine Linka loves to put her characters in danger. Her three published YA novels include What I Want You to See, a Bank Street College of Education Best Book of 2021 for 14+. Catherine received her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and spent eight years as a book buyer for an indie bookstore. She speaks at workshops and writing conferences on character desire and the story core. She is a recent arrival to the Pacific Northwest.

Julie Hunter has been an avid reader of mysteries since her mother handed her the first Happy Hollister book when she was eight.  Although she has started writing a couple of mysteries, the books she has seen through to publication are biographies of extraordinary but little known ninetieth and twentieth century women—Fly Rod Crosby, Anna May Sevigny, and Harriet [sic] Stanwood Blaine.  She graduated from Dartmouth College and the Cooperstown Program in History Museum Studies, with a BA in history and an MA in history museum studies.  Her lengthy career in museums always included editing and writing. Since retiring, she has increased her daily reading of mysteries and has plunged into a family memoir project.  A transplanted Maine Yankee, she lives with her forbearing husband, for whom the recurrent mystery is when dinner will be served if she is writing.

Kathleen Easley is a lifelong denizen of the Pacific Northwest.  A country girl and animal lover, she has owned various horses, goats, rabbits, dogs and cats, as well as a cantankerous cockatiel.  Her work experience includes insurance claims, school bus driving, and a stint selling books at Barnes & Noble.  She also spent a number of years training and showing golden retrievers.  She loves deep blue water, tall green trees, and the Seattle Seahawks, and can often be found with her husband on their boat cruising the San Juan Islands.  She is the author of the Brenna Wickham Haunted Mystery series.  Set in Seattle, these are contemporary murder mysteries with a paranormal twist and a hint of romantic suspense.