The 2019 Fox Cities Book Festival presents a panel discussion from romance authors, Jennifer Trethewey, Melonie Johnson, Virginia McCullough and Kayla Bain-Vrba.
Millions of readers have stopped referring to romance as a guilty pleasure, preferring to acknowledge the power of the happily ever after the genre provides. The Wisconsin Chapter of the Romance Writers of America presents a panel discussion on the today’s romance genre, its impact on the publishing market, and its role in the women’s movement. Join us for a revelatory and lively conversation. Panelists belong to the Wisconsin Chapter of the Romance Writers of America.
About the Authors
Jennifer Trethewey is the pen name for Jennifer Rupp. Her Highlanders of Balforss series features brawny Scots, sweeping romance, and non-stop adventure laced with a liberal dose of humor. Her foundation for story-telling is grounded in her long career in theater as co-founder and former co-artistic director of Renaissance Theaterworks. As an actor-turned-writer, she has moved her performances from the stage to the page and invites you to enjoy the drama of the Scottish Highlands in her Highlanders of Balforss series: Tying the Scot, Betting the Scot, Forgetting the Scot, and Saving the Scot.
Melonie Johnson Award-winning author Melonie Johnson—aka #thewritinglush—is a two-time RWA Golden Heart® finalist who loves dark coffee, cheap wine, and expensive beer. A Star Wars junkie and Shakespeare groupie who quotes both Yoda and the Bard with equal aplomb, she met her future husband in that most romantic of places—the mall—when they were teenagers working in stores across the hall from each other. Today, they live happily ever after in the magical land midway between Chicago and Milwaukee with their two redhead daughters, a dog that’s more like a small horse, and a pair of hermit crabs. After earning her Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from Loyola University Chicago, Melonie taught high school English and Theatre in the northern Chicago suburbs for several years. Now she writes smart and funny contemporary romance and moonlights as an audiobook narrator under the pseudonym, Evelyn Eibhlin. Declared a “writer to watch” by Kirkus and a “fizzy, engrossing new voice” by Entertainment Weekly, her debut series from St. Martin’s Press, Sometimes in Love, has appeared on the Amazon Best Books of the month, and was featured in Cosmopolitan and Woman’s World. Melonie is represented by Pamela Harty of the Knight Agency.
Virginia McCullough
Virginia McCullough started her career writing nonfiction books, but now focuses on contemporary women’s fiction, including Amber Light , Island Healing, and romance for Harlequin’s Heartwarming line, including her recent release, A Family for Jason . Virginia’s stories always explore hope, healing, and second chances. She lives in Green Bay.
Kayla Bain- Vrba
Kayla Bain-Vrba is the author of more than twenty romantic stories. Her first was released the year after she graduated high school, and she met her other half shortly after—making it a pretty good year for someone who was just winging it. She strives to write stories where the characters fall in love with themselves before falling in love with their soul-mates.