2016 RONE Judges

KJ Montgomery

KJ Montgomery likes to take the ancient myths and legends and use them as a basis to weave a tale that both entertains and encourages the reader to think about what they’ve been taught about history.

Joanna D'Angelo

Joanna D'Angelo is Editor in Chief of Lachesis Publishing Inc. Genre fiction at its best! Joanna also manages Love Romance Novels, one of the original romance fiction pages on facebook. Joanna is also a filmmaker and the director of the documentary Who's Afraid of Happy Endings? about the world of romance fiction. The documentary aired on Bravo! Canada and has been broadcast around the world.

Thomas A. Knight

Thomas A. Knight is a fantasy author and database developer from south western Ontario. His novels chronicle the trials and tribulations of characters living on the alternate world of Galadir, a place with as much mystery as it has magic. When he's not writing or working, he spends time with his family, and enjoys role-playing and collectible card games.

Tracy James Jones

Tracy James Jones is an indie author, blogger, and book reviewer from Dallas & Waxahachie, Texas who writes multicultural, romantic drama with an LGBT twist. Hobbies include singing, networking on social media and supporting equal rights for women and the LGBT community.

Madge H. Gressley

Besides her YA Sophie Collins Mysteries Series, “The Red Coat” and “The Secret of Trail House Lodge,” Madge has written and illustrated two children’s picture books—“Dexter’s Wonderful Day” a Purple Dragonfly Book Awards winner, and “Totally Terrible Tommy” a 5 Star Readers’ Favorite choice. She is also a Black Opal Books author with her first romantic suspense novel release due out in 2017.

Merry Farmer

Merry Farmer is an award-winning novelist who lives in suburban Philadelphia with her two cats, Butterfly and Torpedo. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized one day that she didn't have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. She then went on to earn not one but two degrees in History so that she would always have something to write about. Her books have topped the Amazon and iBooks charts and have been named finalists in the prestigious RONE and Rom Com Reader’s Crown awards.

Katheryn Lane

Katheryn Lane is the bestselling author of The Desert Sheikh, which spent over 3 months at #1 on Amazon’s bestseller lists when it was first published. She is also the author of several other bestselling sheikh romances, including The Royal Sheikh, The Sheikh’s Beloved and A Bride For The Sheikh.

Opal Campbell

Opal is an industry professional, having worked as review coordinator and executive assistant at Astraea Press. She also makes book trailers, a number of which have appeared on the USA Today book blog, Happy Ever After.

Cynthia Shepp

Cynthia Shepp is a freelance fiction editor for Clean Teen and Crimson Tree Publishing. She has a BA in English/Literature and has edited over two hundred books. Her passion is working with authors to polish their dreams into well-edited realities. She offers affordable, quality editing services to authors.www.cynthiashepp.com

Donna Michaels

Donna Michaels is an award winning, NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author of Romaginative Fiction. Her Harland County and Citizen Soldier series are Amazon bestsellers, and she’s recently joined Amazon Publishing with Cowboy-Fiancé now an AmazonEncore imprint. Next fall, it will also be translated into Japanese and hand drawn into a MANGA.

Debbie Brown

Graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature, author of the award winning Amethyst Eyes series, busy mom, military officer, musician, martial artist and teacher, Debbie is finally devoting herself to her writing, helping fellow authors and mentoring students.

Linda Rae Sande

A former technical writer, Linda Rae is now the author of ten popular Regency romances and a frequent presenter at book conventions. She also runs a commercial print shop where she's able to work with very talented designers and is surrounded by pretty papers.

Ginger Ring

Seldom will you find Ginger without a kindle in hand. Publishing a book has been a lifelong dream and one that came true just a few years ago. Her first book, Getting Down to Business, was a finalist last year for a RONE award. She writes both contemporary and historical genres.

Lisa Wolff

A lover of all things romance and part time reviewer on Rogues Under the Covers, Lisa is a reader of mainly historicals (those dashing rakes and bold ladies for that time period!), contemporaries are becoming a new guilty pleasure with the explosion of ebooks.

Tiffany Halliday

Tiffany Halliday is an avid reader who blogs at A_TiffyFit's Reading Corner (http://tiffyfit.blogspot.com) where she loves to promote authors, books, and the love of reading. She is also one of the Head Bookworms at Grammar Inspection Task Force (www.no-more-typos.com).

Emily Mah Tippetts

Emily Mah Tippetts is a former attorney who now writes romance as E.M. Tippetts and science fiction and fantasy as Emily Mah. When she isn't chasing her small children or writing, she designs jewelry, sculpts with polymer clay, and runs her formatting/author services company, E.M. Tippetts Book Designs.

C.E. Black

Bestselling author of Paranormal Romances, C.E. Black writes books she wants to read. Action packed scenes staring captivating, romantic characters are a must. Her full time job is keeping up with her husband and two children, though she has been known to leave the housework behind for a good book.

Sue Toth

Sue Toth is currently the owner of Editing—And More--By Sue, offering developmental editing, copy editing and proofreading of a wide variety of genres of fiction. She also works on nonfiction. She works closely with authors on the entire self-publishing process. Check her out at editingbysue.wordpress.com or contact her at [email protected].

Wendy Ely

Wendy Ely is a USA Today bestselling author who writes some romantic suspense, really hot stories, and the wonderful happily-ever-after. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her own real-life hero, three teenagers, and two crazy cats. When she isn't busy writing new stories, she enjoys time outdoors by taking trips to the hot desert or swimming at the lake.

Ashley Nemer

Ashley Nemer has published over sixteen stories. She thrives on creating new worlds and memorable characters. Most notably her loveable assassin Mr. A in her Maverick Touch series. With the support of her husband, Ashley continues to write engaging fiction that she hopes one day can spark a young woman to pick up her own pen and write.

Becky Johnson

Executive Editor and CEO of Hot Tree Editing, Becky Johnson lives and breathes literature. A lover of the classics, a fan of urban fantasy and a hardcore romance lover across genres, she is never far away from discovering a new, amazing read.

Cristy Watson

Cristy is a writer who loves to enter writing contests, especially ones with demanding time limits. Benched and Living Rough (Orca, 2011) are her two YA novels aimed at the reluctant reader. She also has three self-published chapbooks of poetry. Her new novel On Cue will be released in 2016

Kay Springsteen

Freelance editor and best-selling Regency and contemporary romance author, Kay Springsteen lives in Virginia. She enjoys long hikes in the woods with her rescued dogs and occasionally stops in at Starbucks to people watch. But if she spots you, watch out! You might find yourself in one of her books.

Alisha Costanzo

Alisha is editor-in-chief at Transmundane Press, is a college professor, a published author, and a corrupter of young minds. She is best known for her Broken World series.

Amanda Dority

Amanda is employed as a Legal Assistant. She's never far from a book or her Kindle. Her mom said that when she was little, she couldn't go to the mailbox without a book. She is involved in reviewing books for authors. Her ideal job would be a book reviewer!

Amanda Ward

Amanda Ward lives in Bedfordshire, England with her husband, three children and two insane cats. She writes romance about over 40s couples. www.amandajward.weebly.com

Angela Fristoe

USA Today bestselling author Angela Fristoe has published six young adult novels and recently transitioned to writing for adults with a new paranormal romance series. Angela holds a B.Ed and a M.Sc in Education. After spending 13 years as an educator, Angela left her day job to focus on her writing and design business. http://www.angelafristoe.com/

Becky Lower

Amazon best-selling author Becky Lower has traveled the country looking for great settings for her novels. She loves to write about two people finding each other and falling in love, amid the backdrop of a great setting, be it on a covered wagon headed west or in present day small town America. Historical and contemporary romances are her specialty. Becky is a PAN member of RWA and is a member of the Historic, Young Adult and Contemporary RWA chapters.

Caren Davis

I grew up an Air Force brat and learned to love reading early in life. Now that my kids are grown I work from home and spend all my spare time reading, talking about books or posting about them.

Claudette Melanson

Claudette Melanson is the award-winning author of the Maura DeLuca YA vampire trilogy and children’s book, Butters Comes Home. She graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a BA in English and an MA in Literature and is currently working on her next novel, a YA mermaid fantasy.

Cissie Patterson

Cissie Patterson is a romance book lover, mother of two, wife, and works in higher education. She spends her free time promoting her favorite books, proofreading manuscripts, beta-reading for several authors and running kids around to various activities. Her favorite genre is historical romance and she reads all steam levels.

Courtney Marsh

Courtney is an avid reader with a history in online radio marketing and writing (for herself). Her online station, Dreamers Radio, spanned 3 years and focused on digging into the creations of some of her favourite authors. Now she devotes her spare time to reading and creating her own tales.

Deborah Dunson

My name is Deborah Dunson, I'm a wife, mother, minister of the gospel and a avid reader of Christian fiction. I love reading, reviewing books and supporting authors. I'm fascinated with the writing craft and I often wonder how does an author come up with the idea for stories.

Eeva Lancaster

Eeva Lancaster is a Book Designer, an Editor and a multi-published non-fiction Author. She owns The Book Khaleesi, where she aims to raise the standard of Self Published books by providing affordable author services, and the group, the Alliance of Self Published Authors.

Frank Steele

Frank Steele is an editor, proofreader, and fact-checker, with more than 30 years of experience. Frank loves a good book, and enjoys helping authors produce their best work. He’s lived in more than 20 countries, which has taught him to laugh at himself.

G. A. Edwards

G. A. Edwards spends her days as a writer and speaker sharing the joys of literature one word at a time. Well, when she’s not planning a murder or two. Her gritty contemporary thrillers for teens and young adults feature flawed heroes you’ll want to come out on top.

Gwen Hayes

Gwen Hayes is a freelance editor and writer of kissing books. For more information about her editing, please visit www.fresheyescritique.com. For more information about her romantic fiction please visit www.gwenhayes.com. If you just wanna hang out, try Twitter because that's where she usually is. https://twitter.com/gwenhayes

Hillary Dodge

Most recently a Library Branch Manager in Boulder, CO, Hillary Dodge now writes full-time from her home in Santiago, Chile. She is a long-time member of the Horror Writers Association and American Library Association. She has several publications in the Library and Information Science field and is working on a horror novel. She discusses the art of creativity on her blog: injectcreativity.blogspot.com, speculative fiction and authors on thehorrorlibrarian.blogspot.com, and blogs her travels in South America while co-writing a cookbook with her husband at gourmetfamily.blogspot.com.

Jasmyn Novachek

Jasmyn is the main reviewer and writer at Bitten by Romance and publicist/editor with Barlcay Publicity. She enjoys reading just about anything, but books with fantasy and paranormal aspects will always top her list of favorites.

Jenny Zepeda

Jenny's a freelance book editor with a BA in Literature. She's been an avid reader since she bought a copy of Wicked when she was twelve. Since then, she's been in love with the written word and has made it her goal to spread the magic of reading to others.

Viv Drewa

I am a Michigan native who has enjoyed reading and writing since 1963. Though I studied medicinal chemistry at the University of Michigan my passion has always been writing. I write general genre books, and have three published a short story.

Tammy Northington

Tammy developed a love of books when introduced to "The Talisman" in high school. I have a book addiction (or so my hubby tells me). I am an avid book reader (reading at least 10 or more books a month) and reviewer for several authors. I keep hoping my muse will hurry up & visit because I have wanted to become an author for years.

Teresa Meerschaert

I own Indie Editing Services, getting to use my love of reading to earn a living, while helping authors create their best books. My book of poetry is Looking Back under my pen name Teesa Mee. I have works in several anthologies and my Thesaurus Erotica releases in June 2016.

Malia Mallory

NYT and USAT Bestselling author Malia Mallory lives in Chicago. She's been working with words since alphabet blocks rolled into her crib. She has loved to read about relationships since she first sneaked off with her mother's Harlequin. She is the author of several contemporary romance series, including Dominating Billionaires and Champion Hearts. Connect with Malia on Facebook (fb.me/MaliaMallory) or check out her web site for free reads (http://www.maliamallory.com).

Susan Hughes

Susan is the copy editor for Addison magazine and owner/editor of My Independent Editor, a freelance editing business with a wide array of clients from around the world. She’s an active social media marketer, supporting and promoting her clients via a variety of platforms. Drop by her website at myindependenteditor.com.

Meg Collett

Meg Collett is from the hills of Tennessee where the cell phone service is a blessing and the Internet is a myth of epic proportions. She and her husband live in a tiny house with three dogs and not enough couches. She’s the author of the bestselling Fear University series, the End of Days trilogy, and the Canaan Island novels. Find out more at her website www.megcollett.com.

Philomena Callan

I am a 41 year old living happily with my partner and 3 fantastic kids in UK. I'm Irish and proud to be. I've been reading since I was young but really got into reading when I was about 18 & my aunt handed me some books to read. I only got blogging when I met my friend Sue online and realised how important reviewing and blogging is for authors. We started up 2 facebook pages and a facebook group to help authors get there name out there. I've also got a blog.

Teresa Kennedy

Teresa Kennedy is a publishing veteran and the author of more than 30 published books under my own and various pseudonyms. Her novels have been translated into 19 different languages. She has served as an editor for several major publishing houses at the Senior and Acquisitions level and has worked as an editor author coach for literally hundreds of independent authors in readying their books for market. Currently, 7 of my clients are selling at the top of their category on amazon.

Martina L Arguijo

Wife to an alpha male. Mother of a future astronaunt. Lover of all books from Romantic Comedy to the horrors of the Holocaust. Currently work for Pediatric Surgery Dept in a Central Texas Children's Hospital. Former US Army Medic. Books are my escape into another world after a rough day.

Laxmi Hariharan

Laxmi Hariharan is an award winning International Bestselling Author. She writes speculative romance and has worked with MTV, Syfy and the BBC among others. She blogs for the Huffington Post and has been covered in the Guardian and The Times of India. Find her @laxmi

Kelliea Ashley

Kelliea Ashley is an Indie Author who lives in Northern New York with her husband and a menagerie of pets. She is the author of three print books and several e-books ranging from Paranormal Romance to Contemporary Romance. She can be contacted at http://www.facebook.com/kelliea.ashley.5 or emailed at [email protected]

Mary Lodes

Mary Lodes retired from state service after 32 years working with mentally ill and developmentally disabled individuals. She dabbles in writing fiction and poetry, raising rescued American Eskimo dogs and is an avid reader of most book genres.

Kate Robinson

Kate Robinson, aka @katerwriter, began her lit career writing bad poetry in Des Moines, Iowa, and continued to hone her writing chops in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, Wales, and Kenya, which serves her well as chief wordwhacker at Starstone Lit Services and Tootie-Do Press, Los Angeles.

Karen Sue Burns

Karen Sue Burns is a retired CPA who now spends her days living her passion--writing political thrillers, cozy mysteries, and Texas ghost novels sprinkled with romance. She enjoys cooking and creating recipes so her heroines do the same—all her books include one of her favorite recipes. Check out her books at www.karensueburns.com!

Karen Branch

Karen began reading when she was just a small child, going from one book to another as soon as she was finished. As a dedicated, passionate reviewer she now has one goal in mind, to read as many books as possible by indie authors and review them in order to get the word out about this wonderful group of author's.

Lori Soard

Lori Soard has a PhD in Journalism and Creative Writing. She's worked as a writer and editor since 1997. She's had a dozen books published and been included in anthologies. Her articles have appeared in Woman’s World, on USA Today Travel, and in multiple newspapers and magazines around the nation. Her latest releases are a contemporary romance titled Cupid's Quest and a historical romance titled Dear Viking. You can learn more about appearances and contests at www.LoriSoard.com.

Judy Small

I am originally from Texas and after 23 years of following an Air Force husband around the world, we settled down in Arizona. I enjoy the fact that I am now retired because now I have plenty of time to read and play with the grand kids and great grand kids.

Trish Leger

Trish F Leger lives in South Louisiana and also has a full time job--other than the writing. She is married and from a loving, boisterous family. Since food is so important in the south, it is also important to her, ranking right up there with writing, reading and watching movies.

Jessica Nelson

Jessica Nelson is a freelance copyeditor at Rare Bird Editing and Indie Books Gone Wild, and writes speculative fiction as Jessica Dorn. She enjoys critical analysis of pop culture, a well-turned phrase, and social justice. She lives and works in the southern US with her two offspring and co-progenitor.

Suzanne Kneeves

Suzanne is a publisher/content editor at Bottom Drawer Publications, and its fiction imprint Driven Press. Suzanne has always been obsessed with reading, and is still devastated, decades after the fact, that her parents gave away all of her books to the little girl next door when moving. The rumor that she hugged our first paperback for days is true.

FS Meurinne 

She is a mother of two boys, who started her reading addiction at the age of ten, when her new school teacher did a competition to see who would read the most books throughout the year. Then she watched a certain vampire movie and started writing some fanfiction stories for fun,  that took her to meet wonderful friends, who then became published authors, and started asking her to read and review their books. Now, she has become a book reviewer, started her blog and she has even done some book-cover designs.