U.P. Book Review Team (in alphabetical order)
Hannah Brinza
Hannah Brinza received her Bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University and her Master’s from the University of Louisville. Born and raised Michigander, Hannah spent two years on an RV tour of the country before finally settling in the beautiful Keweenaw Peninsula. A published poet and technical writer, she is currently dabbling in several realms of fiction writing. Hannah is an ergonomic engineer by day and spends her evenings bartending, reading, writing and renovating her 110 year old miner’s house.
Sharon Brunner
Sharon Brunner has self-published seven books and is working on a historical fiction about her ancestors, a tribal maiden marries a French fur trader. One of her books is called “Lake Superior in the Moonlight” about Yoopers. You can learn more about Sharon from her web page SharonBrunner.com which needs to be updated regarding her books. Also, explore Amazon to check out all her published works. Visit her blog at sharonbrunnerwrites.blogspot.com.
Deborah K. Frontiera
Deborah K. Frontiera grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. From 1985 through 2008, she taught in Houston public schools, followed by several years teaching in Houston’s Writers In The Schools program. A “migratory creature”, she spends spring, summer, and fall in her beloved U.P. and the dead of winter in Houston, Texas, with her daughters and grandchildren. Four of her books have been honor or award winners. She has published fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and children’s books. She edits the newsletter for the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association. For details about her many books and accomplishments, visit her web site
Brad Gischia
Brad Gischia is a writer and illustrator native to the Upper Peninsula. His free time is split between his understanding family and scribbling pictures and words in a dark corner of his basement.
Donald M. Hassler
Donald M Hassler was trained at Williams College and Columbia University. He taught at Brooklyn Polytechnic and for four years at the University of Montreal. He came to Kent State University in 1965 and retired in 2014 after serving for a short time as Chair of English, for several years as Dean of Honors and one term as Chair of Faculty Senate. Mos of his published work has been literary criticism with books on Erasmus Darwin, Isaac Asimov, Hal Clement and Arthur Machen. He has also published many poems. He and his family started coming to the UP with a camp they bought in 1989 on Vermilac (Worm Lake) in the southern part of Baraga County. Many of his creative writing deals with the UP. He has had several poems in Analog, a lot of creative work in Academic Questions, several poems in the old Above the Bridge and is interested in all genres of writing— Much of his creative work is published as Mack Hassler.
Tyler Tichelaar
Tyler Tichelaar has a Ph.D. in Literature from Western Michigan University and Bachelor and Master’s Degrees in English from Northern Michigan University. He is the owner of Marquette Fiction, his own publishing company; Superior Book Productions, a professional editing, proofreading, book layout, and website design and maintenance service; and past president of the U.P. Publishers and Authors Association. He is also considered a local expert on Marquette history and is proud to be a seventh generation Marquette resident.
Victor R. Volkman
Victor R. Volkman is a graduate of Michigan Technological University (class of ’86) and current president of the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association (UPPAA). As Senior Editor of Modern History Press, he has helped shepherd the U.P. Reader anthology since 2017. Volkman is the author of several books on various subjects including psychology, computer programming, and history. Send your book review suggestions to victor@LHPress.com.
Donna Winters
Donna Winters has been a published writer since 1985 and is the author of the Great Lakes Romances® series. She has over twenty titles in print and has been published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Zondervan Publishing House, Guideposts, Chalfont House, and Bigwater Publishing LLC. Learn more about her and her books at amazon.com/author/donnawinters.