Board of Directors
as of 26 August 2018
Charles A. Lieske, President
Charles A. Lieske has worked in economic development and mediation, and during his tenure with Nebraska State Probation, he had the opportunity to author and design manuals, workbooks, informational books for adult probationers, and juvenile probationers and their families. Additionally, Charles developed promotional materials for multiple agencies and most recently redesigned and facilitated the translation of a workbook for his current employer, Mediation West. Charles received a bachelor of Arts from Nebraska Wesleyan University and completed Master's level coursework in Public Administration.
Victorine E. Lieske, Vice-President
New York Times bestselling author Victorine Lieske has the ability to analyze and adapt to the constantly changing trends in today's publishing environment. Her ability to bring the complicated world of writing and publishing alive in terms that everyone can understand and execute has made her a popular panel member and keynote speaker. In 2018 she and fellow authors in the sweet romance genre launched The Writing Gals YouTube series.
Victorine’s commercial success began with her first self-published novel. In March 2011, Not What She Seems began its 6-week run on The New York Times bestselling eBook list. By May 2011 she had sold over 100,000 copies. Victorine's first romantic comedy novel, Accidentally Married, hit the USA Today Bestselling books list in January 2015.
She is active in many writing forums, including serving as a literary judge. Because of her service to fellow authors, she was chosen as the inaugural recipient of the CIR Strong Award, named for late Clean Indie Reads forum member Jessica Strong.
Victorine and her husband have raised their four children in Nebraska. In addition to having authored over one dozen books, Victorine also serves as a graphic designer for the publishing industry.
Contact Information: Victorine E. Lieske • PO Box 493 • Scottsbluff NE 69363-0493 • vicki.lieske@gmail.com
Faith A. Colburn, Treasurer
Faith A. Colburn is a gardener as well as a writer. She has grown things in pots, in full shade, on rocks, over chain link fences, and among the debris of old buildings. She has worked as a public information officer for a game and fish agency, a company that provides care for people with developmental disabilities, and a research and extension center— sandwiching in gigs as an over-the-road truck driver and a waitress. Wearing her information officer hat, she gave programs, and appeared on radio and television, wrote numerous articles for local newspapers and for NEBRASKAland magazine. A sixth-generation Nebraskan, she grew up with a retired big-band canary and a combat veteran. Ms. Colburn earned a Master of Arts in creative writing from the University of Nebraska in Kearney, an MA in journalism, and a BA in journalism and political science from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. Her memoir received the UNK award for Outstanding Thesis in the College of Fine Arts and Humanities in 2012 and she received the Outstanding Work of Fiction Award in 2009.
Contact Information: Faith A. Colburn • 803 West 8th Street, North Platte, Nebraska 69101 • faithanncolburn@gmail.com
Scott Childers, Recording Secretary
Scott Michael Childers is a native Nebraskan who has spent close to two decades assisting librarians to improve their skills in many areas such as technology, policy, intellectual freedom, and leadership. Currently, he is the Executive Director of the Southeast Library System, a non-profit organization that provides consultation, training, and advocacy for libraries in the southeast corner of Nebraska. Previously he served as the director of Kilgore Memorial Library in York, NE and before that as Associate Professor & Emerging Technologies Librarian for the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
Scott also writes outside of the library field, alternating between historical fiction, speculative fiction, and non-fiction works.
Vacant, Membership Secretary
Traci Robison, Historian
Storytelling has been a part of Traci Robison’s life from the beginning. She tagged along to eavesdrop as her older brother and sister traded ghost stories with their friends. She listened to her Grandpa’s perfectly-timed jokes and his vivid recollections of childhood adventures and tough times during the Great Depression. As soon as she could read, she was rarely seen without her nose in a book. Being surrounded by stories and storytellers, Robison developed the unshakeable urge to write her own.
Traci Robison published her first two novels, The Taking and Tangled, in 2014. A lifelong Nebraskan, she focused on medieval history and culture while completing her MA in museum studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Set in medieval and ancient cultures, and her completed novels and ongoing projects blend elements of fantasy, horror, and historical genres.
Contact Information: traci@tracirobison.com
Carrie Gray, Member-at-Large, and Social Media Chair
Carrie is an author of Contemporary Romance, New Adult and Adult Fiction.
Contact Information: gray.carriemarie@gmail.com
Cort Fernald, Member-at-Large
Cort Fernald is a professional writer/editor with newspaper and magazine publishing credits spanning more than 30 years. Cort has written news, features, and editorials in a variety of publications. He has published cover interviews with artists such as Boz Scaggs, Jay Leno, Ray Charles, Joe Strummer, Chuck Berry and numerous others.
Cort has a featured interview track on the CD Wam Bam, Steve Marriott Allstars released in 2007.
As a business editor for infoUSA Cort lived and worked in India for most of 2006 and 2007. He trained highly educated Indians on how to write American.
Cort is a facilitator and member of the Nebraska Writers Workshop. He has published four novels: ALGONQUIN (2013), SISTERS' SECRET (2014), KEEPER OF AN ORDINARY (2015) and KEEPER: TRIAL & VENGEANCE available from Amazon, B&N, and other retail outlets.
Wayne Anson, Immediate Past President
Wayne Anson is a dedicated blogger that writes in the genres of mystery/suspense, Christian curriculum, church histories, and plays.
Contact Information: Wayne Anson • 642 N Broadwell Ave • Grand Island, NE 68803 • wayne.anson@gmail.com
