Board Member Bios Photos

Melody Jones is a published writer and poet, speaker, coffee enthusiast, and Colorado native raised in Palisade.

After a 20-year social work career working with at-risk teens in the foster care system, she became involved in various writer and author groups on Colorado’s Front Range.

Born and raised in upstate New York, John taught for over thirty years at Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusetts, where he remains a professor emeritus in the department of Religious Studies. He holds degrees in classics, ministry, and religion from NYU, Notre Dame, and Harvard. After retiring, he moved to Grand Junction in 2020 to be closer to his family and to finally enjoy life in high desert country after decades of high humidity, lush mosquito-harboring vegetation, weeks of cloudy days, and periodic hurricanes. He has published two books and a monograph on the Bible as well as a number of academic articles on religion and pedagogy. Now he writes for fun.

Colorado is the eleventh state John has called home. He’s a Midwestern jack-of-many trades including pilot, army veteran, artist, entrepreneur, and outdoor advocate. Pursuing outdoor maintenance and environmental education has been his passionate focus with several federal agencies. Bridging people back to nature manifests a connection to the world and our cultural commonality.

Writing short stories started as an escape during his deployment in Iraq. Since then, John has delved into medieval fantasy, dark comedy, science fiction, and collaborative storytelling. Writing continuity has been the easiest and cheapest art form throughout life. While at home, he sketches cartography, designs cities, short character stories, cultural myths, and other fictional world-building. He enjoys researching natural environments, animal psychology, archaeology, warfare tactics, and architecture.

Madison R. Hadley is a dedicated fiction writer from Southern California with a BFA in English and Creative Writing from SNHU. Currently immersed in revising and editing her fantasy novel, A Touch of Salvation, she explores the darker, more compelling complexities of the human condition. Madison also indulges in crafting short stories and poetry, finding them invaluable for writer’s block.

Stepping into the role of Secretary for the Western Colorado Writers’ Forum in 2022, Madison has adored finding her place within the local writing community.

If not found at her favorite coffee shop or library, she’s likely lost in the fantastical world of a good book.

James Van Pelt has been selling short fiction to many of the major venues since 1989. Recently he retired from teaching high school English after thirty-seven years in the classroom. He was a finalist for the Nebula, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, Locus Awards, and Analog and Asimov’s reader’s choice awards. Years and years ago he was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. He still feels “new.” Fairwood Press recently released a huge, limited-edition, signed, and numbered collection of his work, THE BEST OF JAMES VAN PELT. He can be found online or on Facebook.

Born and raised mostly in Ohio, Josh Noble is a veteran of the Navy and worked ten years in the nuclear power field as an operator on the USS Ronald Reagan and as an instructor at Nuclear Power Training Unit, Ballston Spa, NY. After separating from the Navy in 2018, he moved to Grand Junction to attend Colorado Mesa University and be closer to friends he had made while serving. He initially started in the engineering program before switching to English, which he enjoyed much more. He completed his bachelor’s in 2023 and is now an aspiring writer after falling away from it for years. He is happy to call Grand Junction home now, and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

As a boy, I had an iron deficiency, so Popeye was a good Influencer.   My grandparents lived far away, and long-distance phone calls were expensive.  I wrote them letters.  I am their age now and it’s fun.

My high school English teacher would not allow the word ‘thing.’  It’s a rule I still follow.

Bobbie, my wife, and I ski, camp, hike, and bike. We decided to seek a new playground.  Bobbie picked Colorado, and I found Grand Junction, a perfect fit.

I write letters to friends. They especially enjoy our excursions written in present tense.  I include pictures and label the envelope, “Old-fashioned Facebook.”

“It feels like we are there,” they say.

My letters are journaling and communication.  I encourage all to share their words via letters and US Mail.  Friends will say, “Thanks for the letter.  It made the day better.”