Authors
LifeLines' six authors report that their Wednesday evening writing group was cheaper, more efficient, and more fun than therapy. The six women, who met each other in writing workshops, nurtured the lifeline that their writing had become, and became the voices that resonate in the book.


Susan Tully has a Masters degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and currently teaches in the graduate program in Occupational Therapy at Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona. In addition to her private OT practice, she maintains a professional organizing business. Her work has appeared in Phoenix New Times, and Raising Arizona Kids, aired on NPR affiliate KJZZ, and has been read at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts. Her performance piece, How to be A Good Wife, debuted at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and is included in, and credited with spawning the idea for the play, Pearls: Motherhood Unstrung. She is married and raising three sons in Scottsdale.

Raising comic consciousness is just part of the work day for Susan as she keeps multiple irons in the fire. When she isn't engaged in her "part-time" work, she is either busy cleaning her house, knitting, making jewelry, running, leading a Bible Study, or launching a grassroots effort to elevate the act of 'going out for coffee with friends' to an art form. E-mail Susan Tully at susantully@lifelinesweb.com.


Linda Levitt has both her B.A. and M.A. in Special Education from Arizona State University with an interest and emphasis in Behavior Management. A veteran of thirty years of classroom teaching, specializing in gifted education, she is the author of What To Do When Your Kid Is Smarter Than You (AppleStar Publishing). Through her newest venture, Educating Exceptional Learners, Linda consults with families and school districts. She supervises teachers for Arizona State University, sits on the board of directors for Scottsdale Supporters of the Gifted, and manages the nonprofit organization, Environmental Connections. Linda is a writing member of Sisters on the Fly, Baby Boomer Women, and the National Association of Women Writers. She is married, raising two sons and two step-daughters in Paradise Valley.

Linda continues to write and write and write and to seek solace in outdoor spaces in the Arizona desert. Her eye for the unusual and reusable creates gardens of art and wildflowers as well as a new twist on her life-long career in education. E-mail Linda Levitt at lklevitt@gmail.com


Amy Landa holds Certified Public Accountant certificate # 13101 issued by the State of Washington. During her thirty-year career, she specialized in accounting system design and implementation, mainly for entrepreneurial enterprises. Her own entrepreneurial endeavors include AppleStar Publishing, a vehicle for delivering authentic women’s voices to the marketplace. She has read her stories at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. Her work is included in the play, Pearls: Motherhood Unstrung. LifeLines is her first publication. She is raising two children in Phoenix.

Amy has double-buckled her maternal seatbelt for the thrill-ride of raising teenagers. When not distracted by terror or terrible behavior, she finds her way back to pen, paper and the community of writers. She remains active in the publishing industry where she is currently leaping at the opportunity to work on several exciting projects. E-mail Amy Landa at amylanda@lifelinesweb.com.


Ann McCoole Rigby has a Bachelors degree in Special Education from the University of Missouri at Columbia, which she applied as a teacher in special education classrooms for emotionally handicapped children. Ann also enjoyed a career as an astrologer with a specialty in the healing arts. She wrote a monthly astrological column for seven years, and has been published in Welcome to the Planet Earth, The Mountain Astrologer, and Chicken Soup for the Kids Soul. Ann is still married to her high school prom date and has raised two daughters.

Life's journey took another detour for Ann when she encountered the need for multiple hand surgeries and the patience to go with them. Discovering a whole new level of resourcefulness, Ann is hunting and pecking her way across her computer keyboard with whichever hand is free, and basically continuing to apply the same approach to life in general. When not in a cast, Ann can be seen doing finger exercises as she enjoys her still full days with her incomparable husband Dan, their long-distance daughters and a nationwide web of loved ones. Ann gratefully looks forward to emerging from the surgical roundabout experience with two good hands on the wheel and a zest for more creative exploits. Email Ann McCoole Rigby at annmccoolerigby@lifelinesweb.com.


Diane Amento Owens holds a B.A. in English from the University of Iowa. She taught English at the middle school level and spent a decade in mental health administration before becoming Program Director for FearlessFlight.com as well as editor for Chicken Soup for the Soul Presents The Fearless Flight Kit™. Her work has appeared in the Arizona Republic, Scottsdale Tribune, and Arizona Together. She has read her stories at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. As a vehicle to empower women through writing, she facilitates Wise Women Write workshops for AppleStar Publishing, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, and Borders Bookstores. She freelances as editor, writer, and tutor. She serves on the Adult Education Board for her church, facilitates trainings for leaders of childrens’ liturgy, and is active in the MOMS ministry. Diane is married, raising four daughters in Scottsdale.

Diane continues to multi-task her way through raising her girls, staying married, answering three separate cell phones, managing the worlds of several employers, balancing everyone else’s life except her own, and writing in her free time. She would rather clean up a paragraph instead of her messy house and prefers creating an interesting article over cooking. She believes God has placed people, experiences, and obstacles in her path for reasons that sometimes aren’t immediately apparent. She cites the random discovery, in 2002, of the Mothers Who Write workshop that led to her association with the five other writers and ultimately LifeLines. She has been happy to discover that 55 is not an age that requires slowing down on life’s adventure way. E-mail Diane Amento Owens at dianewrites@gmail.com


Missy Martin holds a masters degree in Public Administration from Arizona State University in addition to a bachelors degree in Studio Art. Her latest creation is OmniArts, LLC, an anthology factory dedicated to creating collections of true snack-sized stories on contemporary subjects. Her first anthology, Bombshells: War Stories and Poems by Women on the Homefront, was released in February of 2007. Missy’s work has aired on NPR affiliate KJZZ, appeared in Phoenix New Times, and is included in the play, Pearls: Motherhood Unstrung. She is married and raising three children in Ahwatukee.

Missy aims only to save the world three kids at a time, starting with her own. A quintessential black sheep wrapped in white wool, she is who she is. Whether navigating the haute Phoenix scene, or the isolation in the placid New Mexico woods, she scopes out the Authentic amid the PR of Life, and then marks its spot on her heartmap with a pen. Having lost much through ordinary tragedies, she doesn’t pine for things she doesn’t have, but remains eternally grateful for her lot. She writes, when time permits, to leave a legacy for her children, an example that life can be infinitely good, despite everything that life throws your way. E-mail Missy Martin at missy@omniartsllc.com.