Yasmin John-Thorpe is a co-founding member of Penticton Writers and Publishers. She is the creator and co-writer of Lovescape, The Romantic Novella Magazine. Yasmin enjoys writing romantic fiction, children’s stories, poetry and narrative non-fiction stories. She has written numerous articles for the two Penticton newspapers. In 2002, she compiled her first cookbook titled: Taking The Heat: Canadian Politicians In The Kitchen. Yasmin hosts writing workshops at the local college, instructs young students on genre writing at area schools and continues to mentor emerging young writers. She is also working on her BA degree in English. Contact her at yasie1@shaw.ca

Learn more about Yasmin's books:

• Taking The Heat: Canadian Politicians In The Kitchen
• Hammer and Shadow: Adventures in Outer Space

Penny Smith is also a co-founding member of Penticton Writers and Publishers. Penny has been writing for over twenty years. She has published numerous articles and has several novels looking for homes.

Learn more about Penny's book: Ogopogo - Dead or Alive

OTHER FOUNDING MEMBERS

Janelle Breese Biagioni is an author, public speaker and a long-standing advocate for families and survivors of brain injury. Her published work includes non-fiction books, articles and short stories on bereavement and coping strategies for families. Her work has been published in Grief Digest, Bereavement Magazine, and in Chicken Soup for the Soul books.

Of all her writing, Janelle is most proud of her book A Change of Mind: One Family's Journey Through Brain Injury, which originally was published under the title Head Injuries: The Silent Epidemic. In this book, Janelle shares the pain and frustration that her family endured following a tragic motorcycle crash that left her husband in a coma with a severe brain injury.

Janelle has completed her Certificate in Death and Grief Studies through the Colorado-based Center for Loss and Life Transition and Colorado State University and she is currently working towards a Diploma in Professional Counseling. www.soulwriter.com

No longer with PWAP, Lorraine Pattison continues to write on her own. She has completed a children’s novel and is searching out a publisher. She has recently completed The Children and Teenager’s Writing Course from the Institute of Children's Literature in Connecticut, and is enrolled in another one of their courses, entitled Writing & Selling Children's Books.
E-mail:  lpattison@shaw.ca

Cindy Fortrin, another original member of P.W.A.P., has moved on to pursue other directions.