Authors

About the Author

Danielle Sartorelli never planned to become a writer. Her debut memoir, Life in Instalments, wasn’t born out of a publishing dream—it was born out of survival. In the midst of personal turmoil, when life felt like it was falling apart, Danielle turned to writing as a way to process the chaos and pain around her. What began as therapy—one raw, unfiltered chapter at a time—evolved into a powerful story of love, loss, and resilience.

In Life in Instalments, Danielle shares the deeply personal journey of "Donna," a reflection of herself, as she confronts the heartbreaking realities of loving a brother caught in addiction and crime. With courage and honesty, she explores the emotional and relational toll that addiction takes—not just on the one struggling, but on everyone who loves them.

Danielle’s voice is authentic and painfully human. She writes not just to be heard, but to connect—with those who’ve lived through addiction’s ripple effects, those still fighting, and those who want to understand. Her work invites readers into the often-silenced spaces of grief, guilt, and hope, offering a story that’s as much about survival as it is about healing.

Danielle lives in Western Australia with her husband and their two incredible sons—her greatest sources of strength and joy. Their love has carried her through life’s challenging chapters, and their unwavering support has been the heartbeat of this journey.

When she’s not writing, Danielle works as a dedicated school teacher—a role that has long fulfilled her desire to inspire and connect. Teaching allows her to channel her creativity and compassion into something lasting, guiding young minds and nurturing potential in others, just as she’s learned to nurture it in herself.

Life in Instalments is her first book—and it’s a brave beginning.

Max escaped London and followed his heart to France. There he knew he would find good food, peace and, in the less fashionable inland region of the Picardy Triangle, perhaps a little house in need of a bit of love. How hard could it be to paint a few walls and patch up a roof?

What Max did not bank on was that the vast skies and stunning vistas of the North coast and the little villages with their charming but neglected houses. What is more Max had thrown himself amongst a particular kind of people. People passed over by the urban sophisticates and ignored by the swarms heading south. People whose young escaped to the big cities but who stayed because they were married to a way of life.

People, as it turned out, who were fond of a glass of wine.

Whether it was the postman, pausing thirstily on the threshold, or a builder’s merchant celebrating the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau, it turned out that a glass and a half of a little something was just the ticket.

A Glass and a Half of France is a delightful and intoxicating collection of short stories that takes you into the heart of the wondrous, anarchic, and quirky rural life of a very particular corner of France. With each sip, Max uncorks the essence of the region, immersing himself in the stories, traditions, and unforgettable encounters. Come for the wine and stay, as Max did, for the characters.

Kat Hausler is a translator and author of the novels What I Know About July and Retrograde. Originally from Virginia, she lives in Berlin.

Expat New Yorker James Penha (he/him🌈) has lived for the past three decades in Indonesia. Nominated for Pushcart Prizes in fiction and poetry, his work is widely published in journals and anthologies. His chapbook of poems American Daguerreotypes is available for Kindle. His story collection Queer As Folk Tales is out from Deep Desires Press in October 2025. Penha edits The New Verse News, an online journal of current-events poetry.

Raised on a cattle ranch in the Colorado Rockies, Wm Howard grew up in a saddle. He is the author of numerous fiction and non-fiction books using various pen names. He currently resides in coffee country; Jardin, Antioquia, Colombia with his Colombian wife. His days are spent tending a garden, preparing gourmet dishes, and drinking the freshest coffee in the world while doing research or spinning another yarn.

Admiral Paolo Treu’s distinguished naval journey began in the cockpit, where he earned multi-engine aircraft and helicopter licenses from the U.S. Navy, along with advanced jet qualifications—including the elite certification for catapult launches and arrested landings on aircraft carriers. Over the decades, he commanded some of the Navy’s most storied assets: the minehunter Milazzo, the Harrier Squadron, the frigate Espero, the aircraft carrier Garibaldi, the Navy Air Forces, and the High Seas Forces alongside the 30th Naval Group, formed for the historic campaign Il Sistema Paese in Movimento (The Country System in Motion). In a career spanning 44 years, Admiral Treu rose to the pinnacle of command, concluding his service on July 15, 2021, as Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet—the operational heart of the Italian Navy—where he led a force of nearly 18,000 women and men. His exceptional service has been recognized with some of the nation’s highest honors, including Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Officer of the Military Order of Italy and the Navy Gold Medal of Merit.

I sometimes write under the name J. D. Stiver. It is not my real name. It is a pseudonym that I use because I like it. Or at least I did before J. D. Vance came along and nearly ruined it for me. I decided to keep it because I believe I give off less of a J. D. Vance vibe and more of a J. D. from “Heathers” vibe, and I can work with that.

SCRYING GLASS is my first novel. It was fun and challenging to work on because I entirely failed to plot it out before writing it. I just made it up as I went along. Doing so made it feel less like I was writing and more like I was reading it while keeping notes. It only became a problem a few times when I would think, “Man. I have no idea how Brad is going to get out of this one.” … Long pause … “Oh, shit, right. I’m the one who is supposed to know the answer to that.”

I haven’t written anything in over twenty years. I thought I would get back to it.

I recently got accepted to Full Sail University in Florida, where I will be studying creative writing. Before that, decades ago, I attended Rose State College in Oklahoma, where I studied journalism. I have written for various newspapers in Oklahoma, both in college and professionally. In that capacity, I was telling other people’s stories, though I’d rather write my own. I have won dozens of awards, which I still have. They make excellent paperweights, and, on one occasion, aided in my efforts to commit homicide against a particularly irksome fly that had plagued me several days prior to its well-deserved death.

And with that, let’s see where this writing thing goes from here.

M.R. Gardner was born on Chanute Air Force Base, the youngest of eight children and has been a well-respected and independent business owner for over 30 years. M.R. has a loving family including his wife of over 31 years and the two grandchildren they proudly raised from early childhood.

M. R. started writing The Farm when his family briefly lived in Martinsville, Indiana and much of what is written about Martinsville is inspired by their actual experiences. Growing up in the big city of Indianapolis but raised by parents that had a small-town upbringing and sense of values, M.R. was unfamiliar with and shocked by how the family’s experiences in the small, but notorious, town of Martinsville stood in stark contrast to what they expected.

M.R. has spent 15 years researching the topics and times explored in The Farm and has incorporated as many factual and accurate historic references as possible including names, businesses, people, and places. Incorporating actual documented stories from the past and personal experiences from the modern day, M.R. creates a story that explores how past transgressions can parallel current times. Whenever possible, historic locations mentioned in The Farm were explored by Gardner to add relevancy and historical value to the story.

The challenge presented in The Farm is for the reader to discern what is fact, and what is fiction in the story, if possible.