Artist and Writer Bios

Deborah Riley-Magnus	Riley has been writing and telling stories most of her life and writing no less than seven hours a day for the past six years. Her muse was charged into overdrive in 2004 when she began writing for online Russell Crowe fan fiction site Isobel's Lair and soon became a member of the Sisterhood of the Diarists. During her year there, she had written a dozen short stories, over seventy diaries under three different names, and joyfully participated in several group stories. Her work is also found on the erotica site, Aphrodite Unlaced as well as here at Whispers of the Muse. Fun and games aside, Riley is also a serious writer working on a series of spiritually inspired fiction novels. She recently moved from Pittsburgh, PA to sunny Los Angeles, CA. An artist as well, Riley had spent twenty-seven years as a designer, having owned two advertising agencies and a consulting firm. The muse Mr. Crowe brings alive in her had inspired the pencil and charcoal drawings featured in Another Take, an all new and original saga of the Crowe characters and their journeys. She and Natalie Preston have developed Whispers of the Muse with the sole intention of helping other writers develop their talent to the maximum, use their blessed muse, explore creative challenges and connect with other writers and readers. Riley is a member of the Chronicles Collective.
Natalie Preston	Natalie was born with a pencil and eraser in her hand, or at least it seems that way. She's been drawing as long as she can remember. Several years ago, she began studying graphic design and has done a number of logos, cd's, pamplets, presentation packages and other items. *Whispers of the Muse* is her first foray into web design. Having been a fan of Russell Crowe since seeing L.A. Confidential, she became hooked on fan fiction after reading several stories at several different sites. Eventually she stumbled upon Isobel's Lair and was inspiried to write a story herself, the first since taking a writing class in college! She soon became a "sister," and wrote several individual pieces along with participating in several group stories. After deciding to strike out on her own, she and Riley established *Whispers of the Muse, a site created to help and support other writers and artists. Natalie is a member of the Chronicles Collective.*
Meredith	Meredith is Riley's real-life exuberant daughter-in-law. Having seldom written before, she discovered Hando and let her imagination fly when she collaborated on the story Skin and Bone, originally seen on Isobel's Lair and reposted here at the Whispers of the Muse. Her writing time is often interrupted by everyday life; such as raising three wonderful, energetic boys as well as working a full and part-time job. Mere lives in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania with her sons and her chef husband Eric. She is currently working on another collaborative and large project with Riley; a narrative biography currently entitled This Heroine's Journey. Meredith is a member of the Chronicles Collective
Jessie Dalton	Jessie is a California native, originating from Los Angeles and now lives in San Diego where she is fortunate enough to have her place of employment located across the street from the HMS Surprise. Daily inspiration and hormone induced visions of Captain Jack Aubrey led her to the world of Russell Crowe fan fiction. When she isn’t working, she’s busy playing, digitally manipulating images of Russell – she recently completed the Crowe Tarot and will one day get off her butt to get her RC inspired web site up and running. In the meantime, she busies herself with role playing over at the Muse’s Playground and writes Crowe character inspired fan fiction as the mood/muse grabs her. Jessie is a member of the Chronicles Collective.
Amy	I enjoy writing screenplays. I wrote this with the idea that it would be produced and festivaled, and with the hopes of distribution. "The End" means a lot to me as it is being shopped around to co-producers and I have an associate producer already on board. I am an independent filmmaker, & screenwriter with two short films: "Too Far From Texas" and "Going Under" being shopped. "The End" is my first feature film.
annsmac	Sense of place has been an important element to Ann's writings...it should come as no surprise that she uses Louisiana as the setting and flavor for the majority of her stories. From New Orleans, her home, to bayou country, where her mother's family have deep roots, she lets her characters roam freely. A former political journalist, she only began writing fiction a few years ago.
Beej	Beej has not been writing all that long, maybe about four years. Her first effort at Fan Fiction was a Russell Crowe inspired piece 'starring' her hero, Terry Thorne. She has enjoyed writing a couple of stories posted on The Gaslight Hotel, in the Crowe's Point section, featuring Jack Aubrey as the main character. Writing is a release for Beej from a stressful life of caring for her parents full time, and having Russell as her muse has brought her peace, joy and a whole bunch of new friends.
Skip Brown	Born in New York City, Skip spent his formative years in Austin Texas. After prep school outside Philadelphia, he continued his colligate and graduate studies at Auburn University and Cornell University with brief stints at Georgia State and Harvard. Much of his life, education and professional business life was spent traveling throughout the world consulting, writing analytical business reports and teaching management and personal effectiveness. As a public speaker, Skip has spoken on four continents and delivered commencement addresses at six international colleges. After moving to southwest Florida, he continued writing as a freelance columnist and now enjoys himself as business owner and novelist.
Darcy	The author of one unpublished novel, and of numerous fan fiction and a short story that are published onthe World Wide Web, Darcy is a secretary in her day job. She edits the work of several other authors, as well. Life with her husband in Western Pennsylvania keps her busy enough, but she finds time for friends, writing, gardening, and devouring novels and research material on her favorite subject, the American Civil War. A second novel that fictionalizes her father's experiences in the Army Air Corps during the occupation of Japan is in the planning/research stage.
Isobel	Technical writer by day, creative writer by night and weekend (and sometimes stolen time at work) Isobel was drawn into the world of erotic fan fiction in 2002, and soon created her own website, Isobel’s Lair. She is also a published newspaper columnist and journalist, magazine editor, and is currently working on her first screenplay. Izzy lives in San Jose, CA with her cat Queenie, and loves music, traveling, and indulging in practical hedonism. To paraphrase a great man, even though our stories are pretend, they’re the truth.
Jackie	Jackie read Dutch and English linguistics in Amsterdam. After a short stint in a vintage guitar shop she started working in publishing. First as an editor, product developer and R&D manager for a business publisher, then developing and running a magazine, and currently, in general publishing, she is the acquiring editor for the largest commercial fiction list in The Netherlands. She lives in Amsterdam with her drummer/graphic designer/mortician (not necessarily in that order) husband. In the evenings - and sometimes during the day as well, if she can get away with it - she either writes poetry, songs and stories, or she goes out to play gigs with one of the two bands she’s in. In the past, some of her poems have been published and some of her songs have been recorded professionally. Around 2002, she discovered the Power of the Crowe and quickly succumbed, and after a suitable initiation period she delurked and started to write fanfic. Much to her enjoyment, and hopefully to that of others as well.
Rose Lucas	Rose was introduced to story-telling at an early age when sitting on her father's lap during family reunions listening to her relatives tell stories about growing up in the country. Her first attempt at writing came at ten when she wrote a MASH story. She has gone on since then to write for: Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5, Quantum Leap, Magnum P.I., Mike Hammer, Simon and Simon, Spenser: For Hire, Tour of Duty, China Beach, the X-Files, NYPD:Blue, NCIS, CSI:NY and CSI:Miami. In 2002, her muse got kicked started in earnest when she joined the role playing game, The Great Peninsular Game (inspired by the Richard Sharpe novels), over at Ezboard. She spent nearly three years causing mayhem for a cast of original characters who tried to survive life in Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. In 2004, while looking for other fandoms to join, she discovered the wonderfully talented actor/musician, Russell Crowe. She joined the ladies over at The Gaslight Hotel where some of her stories are archived. Last spring when an online friend wanted to write a Proof of Life story and needed help with a certain redhead, she was re-introduced to the charming and talented David Caruso. (Her heart was stolen by Dino.) Currently, she is participating in The Fanfic100 Challenge at LiveJournal.com. She has four claims and may be bald by the time she gets all four hundred stories written. She has a Bachelor's degree in History from Frostburg State University. She has traveled to Europe several times following in the footsteps of Rifleman Richard Sharpe. She lives in the hills of Western Maryland with a tailless cow kitty named Patrick Harper.
Michael McLean	Michael McLean is a college instructor in New Mexico. His hobbies include reading, daydreaming, and writing. He is currently working on the next mystery in this series, Whom the Gods Destroy.
Leigh Michaels	Leigh Michaels has an MA in history, and teaches college history, literature, and writing. She has written a number of books, mysteries as well as historical fiction. Her hobbies include reading, dog walking, hiking, and watching old movies. Leigh lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with her Blue Heeler mix, Addy.
Monique	Monique lives in Southern California with her husband, their two children, and assorted cats, rats, weiner dogs, and a cockatiel. At the age of 5, Monique’s parents took her out of school to debark upon a 3 year journey around the world on their 40’ Newporter, Caprice. Out of sight of land for days at a time, and rarely provided the opportunity to play with children her own age, Monique turned to books for entertainment and solace. Her father introduced her to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and the Trilogy, and John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee series; she then moved on to “brown bagging it” – rowing over to neighboring yachts with a shopping bag full of books to trade. And so began her life-long love of the written word. In her youth, Monique created many short stories and poems but gradually put her writing aside as she started working full time and raising a family. In January 2008, she was laid off from her job as a legal secretary and went back to college to obtain her paralegal certificate. To balance out the “stuffy” law classes, she signed up for a creative writing class. To her delight, Monique rediscovered her writing talents, and her dreams of becoming an author were revitalized. So far this year, Monique has written a half dozen short stories and is working on the first in a series of novels. They revolve around the genetically created psychic bond between a dog and his man, their altruistic lifestyle spent traveling around the country in a battered R.V., and the evil that seeks to control or destroy them.
K.L. Preston	Karen is Natalie's real-life sister. Having grown up in Los Angeles, she has done a bit of acting, comedy, and modeling in her past. Currently, she has several creative passions: writing, film, and jewelry making. She lives in Long Beach, CA with her dog, Ivy, a cute, lively chichihua mix.
Marie S.	She wrote for herself until a few years ago when she got caught up in reading at Isobel's Lair and hooked on fan fiction. She's been writing fan fiction for several years. Switched to writing nonfiction articles last year on movies and got two published in local newspapers at the urging of her writing professor. Writing is most definitely a hobby and a fun passion. Gladiator in May 2000 ignited the spark of Russell Crowe although she saw him as early as 1994 in a screening of The Quick and the Dead and sat up and took notice. Bud White in LA Confidential cemented her respect for the actor. The career is nursing by way of Penn State University. Very time consuming which takes away time for the writing hobby as does her lifelong passion of film. She has her own blog which has been greatly neglected since starting to write fan fiction again last year (of the Smuss variety) which can't go on the PG-rated blog.
Scarlett	A military brat, born and raised in North and South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama and Texas. Married to the same man since she was 18. Started reading Smussell at a lot of good sites after seeing Gladiator. 3 children, 2 daughters and a son, one granddaughter and one dog. Was first encouraged by Darcy to write and have met some wonderful people. Love to read, write, do crafts, cook, baking and decorating cakes, and doing pig cooking contests.
Uma	Living in S.E. Asia and teaching as little as possible these days, Uma writes historical fiction as her main interest with a liberal dose of fan fiction on the side for fun. Most of her work in this genre is hosted on her own site Delirious Burning Blue.
Elise VanCise	Elise is a full-time author. Her first novel, In The Dark, was published August 2007. Living in sunny Florida all her life, Elise started seriously writing Star Trek fan fic in high school. Now on the bigger and better things, has moved on to Russell Crowe character inspired fan fic as well as writing original novels for publication. She teaches Creative Writing and works as a graphic artist for several companies. More of her writing and artwork can be found on her website.