Los Angeles Regional Chapter

A dedicated animal welfare advocate, Heidi Mastrogiovanni lives in Los Angeles with her musician husband and their rescued senior dogs. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University. Heidi is the author of the comedic novel Lala Pettibone’s Act Two (finalist, Foreword Reviews Book of the Year) and the sequel, Lala Pettibone: Standing Room Only. With series creator Cristina Negrón and Deb Martin, Heidi is having way too much fun writing The Classics Slacker Reads… series. Heidi and James Napoli (The Official Dictionary of Sarcasm) are co-hosts of the Movies Not Movies comedy podcast. Heidi is a contributor to the Washington Independent Review of Books and the New York Journal of Books. She is fluent in German and French, though she doesn’t countenance both those languages needing more than one definite article.

Paul Peress is a poet and fiction writer. He uses both mediums to allow insight into his philosophical views of existence and the human condition. Peress is hard at work finishing up his first novel–an international action thriller, featuring a very capable and effective greater-than-life protagonist destined to return in future stories. His other passionate pursuit is as Music Producer, Composer, and Drummer, and his band, The Paul Peress Project, has appeared in over 20 countries. He has also been Music Director/Drummer for Chaka Khan, Moby, Brenda Russell, Deniece Williams, and many other well known artists.