Scott Minor – COO and whip cracker

Scott Minor Headshot

Scott Minor’s role in Realm Makers has grown over the years as the organization has expanded to provide services across many facets of the writing and publishing life. 

Scott’s vision for the Realm Makers Bookstore began with running that aspect of the annual conference, but now involves taking books by our award-winning authors to live events across the country to help those books find new readers. He also oversees our pool of volunteers, providing direction and vision for the Realm Makers livestream, the membership program, and dedicated online community, The RealmSphere, while also handling the logistical aspects of the annual conference. He is truly a jack-of-all-trades whois always looking for new ways to solve the challenges Christian authors of speculative fiction face.

 

 

 

 

Rebecca Minor –  CEO and shindig crafter – becky@realmmakers.com

Becky Minor lives by the continual mantra, “If you’re going to be a geek, go all out.” From serving as Drum Major of the junior high and high school marching bands, to founding the University of the Arts Gaming Society, to founding the Realm Makers annual conference,  her pattern of bringing geeks together has a long history.

Besides directing the Realm Makers Conference with her husband Scott and amazing committee of volunteers, Becky occasionally writes fantasy novels of the sword and sorcery variety.  She is the author of The Risen Age Archive and The Windrider Saga, along with several spinoff short stories set in the same story universe.

The Minor family makes their home about an hour outside Philadelphia, PA, where foam sword fights on a trampoline are just part of a normal Saturday afternoon. You can connect with Becky on FacebookTwitter, and RebeccaPMinor.com

Brian Burleson–Project Manager

Bio coming soon


Conference Planning Committee:


Kristen Stieffel – Registrar – registrar@realmmakers.com

Kristen Stieffel is a writer and freelance editor specializing in science fiction and fantasy. She provides a full range of editorial services and has worked on projects for both the general market and the Christian submarket. She is the author of Alara’s Call, a fantasy novel, and Tales of the Phoenix, a science fiction novella collection about a Martian airship crew. Website: kristenstieffel.com


Bethany Kaczmarek – Faculty Coordinator – faculty@realmmakers.com

Bethany Kaczmarek loves to get lost in a good story. She’s been known to wear out books and highlight her favorite lines to go back to again and again. Even better? A fantastic story world and a voice that carries her along. These are a few of the many reasons she’s loved being involved with Realm Makers. But for most of the year, Bethany is an author and a professional editor. An ACFW Editor of the Year finalist, Bethany has worked with writers all along the spectrum—from multi-published, award-winning authors to beginners. Though her debut novel, Strains of Silence (summer 2017) is merely a contemporary romance, she loves world-building and logs many wee-hours crafting a vastly different series—a medieval mythology and fairytale mashup. She and her sister share an editing umbrella—A Little Red Ink—and they love editing fiction (especially spec-fic). Using her love for story and story worlds, she makes sure every thread is woven consistently throughout a manuscript—whatever the genre. Her goal is to help hard-working writers sound like gifted writers. Strangely enough, she believes a healthy dose of humor can make the revision process fun.


Ralene Burke – Volunteer Coordinator

Whether she’s wielding a fantasy author’s sword, a freelance writer’s pen, or social media wand, Ralene Burke always has her head in some dreamer’s world. And she wants to encourage others to #ShineBeyond their circumstances!
When her head’s not in the publishing world, she is wife to a veteran and homeschooling mama to their three kids. Her Pinterest boards would have you believe she is a master chef, excellent seamstress, and all-around crafty diva. If she only had the time . . .


Stephanie Dooley–Exhibit Hall coordinator and online host

SL Dooley is just a girl looking for a neverending story to go boldly through the wardrobe into another adventure. She’s the author of the Portal Slayer trilogy and numerous short stories. She lives in Texas where she collects old books and new journals.


Ronnell Gibson – Appointment Coordinator  appointments@realmmakers.com

Ronnell is an award-winning author specializing in contemporary stories with a sprinkling of the fantastical. She is an editor for HAVOK Publishing and coordinator for her church’s food pantry. She has dubbed herself a font snob, a cupcake Jedi, and a Marvel geek. Though she loves to travel to foreign places, highest on her bucket list is to someday attend San Diego Comic Con.

 


 

Lauren H. Brandenburg – Conference Emcee

Lauren H. Brandenburg is an author and storyteller who happily blurs the lines between traditional genres in both middle grade and cozy fiction. She was longlisted for the People’s Book Prize in the United Kingdom and recipient of the ACFW Carol Award in contemporary fiction for The Death of Mungo Blackwell, as well as a two time Selah Award finalist. Lauren is a former junior high and high school English teacher who stepped away from her profession to raise and homeschool her two children. She currently lives with her husband  and their two children in a lovely little town just south of Nashville, Tennessee where they cook, play games, and laugh a lot.



Realm Makers General Staff


Kat Vinson–Membership Coordinator  and Assistant Registrar

membership@realmmakers.com
Bio Coming Soon


Ted Atchley, KayLyn Cummins, Sarah Rodecker, and Ralene Burke

Social Media Team

Wendy Heuvel

Graphics Coordinator