Stacy Mantle is the owner and founder of PetsWeekly.com and has become known as the "…Erma Bombeck of animals" for good reason. Her humorous, take-no-prisoners, writing style is interwoven with poignant vignettes of courage and loyalty shown by the animals she shares her home with. Her books inspire her readers to new respect and appreciation for all animals, everywhere. Expanding her humor into pet product reviews, she has been able to offer a new look at some of the best products on the market for pets of all species.

HOME:
Stacy is a full-time professional writer, and works from her home studio and office located in the beautiful southwestern desert area of Arizona. Living the life she writes about, her household includes an ever-changing number of cats, dogs, fish, and turtles, as well as a coyote/wolf hybrid, and a very, VERY understanding husband.

COMMUNITY:
A dedicated animal activist and rescuer, Stacy regularly participates in Trap/Neuter/Release (TNR) projects, determined to help reduce the numbers of feral cats across the country and educate the world on their plight. She is also active in wolf hybrid and cat rescue, when room in her crowded home allows, often fostering young and/or abused animals in her home until they are healthy enough for adoption.

In 2004, teaming up with business partner and illustrator, Jill Carpenter, Stacy wrote an award-winning children's book called, "So, You Have a New Kitten!” aimed at educating children and their parents about the importance of responsible pet care. This book was quickly followed by "So, You Have a New Puppy!” in 2005.

This year thousands of these privately sponsored “Children's Learning & Activity" books are being donated to, and distributed by, humane and rescue organizations across the Southwest. She is currently the President of the International Animal Writers and Illustrators Association (IAWIA).

BUSINESS:
Stacy has been Managing Director of Southwest Educational Publishing for over a decade, and in 2005 became a Managing Partner in GrokQuest!, LLC. Both companies specialize in curriculum development and children's educational materials, with GrokQuest offering additional consulting services, corporate curriculum for custom management or employee training packages, as well as full commercial art and graphic design services for businesses.

ONLINE:
Stacy writes two monthly pet product review columns on her PetsWeekly website: On the Prowl: A Feline Purr…spective, and The Weekly Growl: A Canine Commentary. Featuring only the best of the newest pet products on the market, her reviews are based on rigorous, in-house testing by her menagerie of animals. As a result, her reviews and recommendations are greatly prized, and sought after by major vendors in today's booming pet product industry.

IN PRINT:
Stacy is author of several books, including the popular, Conquering the Food Chain: Living Amongst Animals (Without Becoming One). These books are available in Barnes & Noble bookstores nationwide, as well as online at www.bn.com or www.amazon.com.

Her stories, articles and reviews can be found in such print publications as The Arabian Horse Times, Today's AZ Woman, Pets Illustrated, Jackson Parents Magazine, Pacific Yachting and many others.

THE WORLD:
Many of her stories and articles have been translated into several languages, and now reach an international audience.

painting by immersing my entire self into a large vat of industrial strength Absorbine Jr.”, fearing that her spring chicken has permanently "sprung."

She also partners with Stacy Mantle in a great business called GrokQuest and is the artist and illustrator for many books that Stacy wrote and Jill designed and illustrated. They have worked together on one project or another for nearly five years and found that they make a great team. By 2003, they began talking about starting a business together; by 2004 they actually did it!
Over the last 3 years they’ve learned plenty of lessons, met some truly wonderful people, and had lots of memorable, often hilarious experiences. Their company has quite an entertaining history now.

Humor keeps our little boat afloat, optimism speeds us along, creativity is our fuel, family and friends are our foundation. Today we have a much better support structure for our business; talented people to work for us, as well as loyal customers that are gems to work with. This year thousands of the privately sponsored “Children's Learning & Activity" books that we have developed about responsible pet care, are being donated to, and distributed by, humane and rescue organizations across the Southwest. Life is good these days. Very busy, but good.

Ed Kostro is a freelance writer with a passion for nature, animals, our valiant veterans, world history, Native American culture, nostalgia, and humor. He's a member of The Society of Southwestern Authors and The Cat Writers' Association, and the Vice President of the newly formed International Animal Writers and Illustrators Association. He will be reviewing unique products for PetsWeekly beginning in September 2007, but has been a regular contributor with his heartwarming, humorous and realistic stories of animal rescue.

Ed is also a veterans' advocate, an environmentalist, animal rights activist, animal rescue worker, and proud member of The National Wildlife Federation, The World Wildlife Fund, Defenders of Wildlife, The Humane Society of the United States, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The Assisi Foundation, The Best Friends Animal Network, and Alley Cat Allies.

Ed's articles, essays, and short stories have appeared in Catholic Digest, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, ByLine Magazine, The Copperfield Review - A Journal of Historical Fiction, The Willamette Writer, Cats Do It Better Than People, GRIT Magazine, The Almanac for Farmers & City Folk, More Real Stories of Spirit Communication, I Love Cats Magazine, Betty Magazine, Whimsy (A Children's Magazine), Pets: part of the family, PetLife, Cats, The Cat Site, The Clever Kitty Almanac, TheCritterZine.com, TheDailyMews.com, PetsWeekly.com, and The Poet's Nest.

His nonfiction memoir, Curious Creatures - Wondrous Waifs, My Life with Animals, depicting his 50-year love affair with Nature and all non-human creatures - great and small - has received rave reviews from nature and animal lovers of all ages and the Discovery Website, the Animal Radio Network, the PetPages Website, Midwest Book Review, WGN Radio, and The Animal People Newspaper.

It was also awarded a Certificate of Excellence in the 2004 Cat Writers' Association International Communication Contest.
Ed's second book, Gold River Canyon, a Western novel set in 1870s Arizona, has been released by Booklocker.com. It contains an historical side story about a small group of very determined Native Americans who outfoxed the U.S. Cavalry.

And his second novel, Cemetery Island, an action/adventure time travel story that takes place in the Canadian Wilderness was recently published by iUniverse. It's loosely based on a near death experience he and his spouse endured on a wilderness houseboating adventure.

Ed's first middle reader for boys ages 8-11 is entitled Mystery of Madera Canyon, and it depicts the adventures of a very inquisitive young Hispanic boy and his loyal wolf dog in modern day Arizona.

Ed recently moved to haunted Thornwood Manor with his lovely wife Rebecca, six rescued felines, a tiny, hyper, mixed-breed city pooch, an 80-pound desert dawg from the Navajo Indian Reservation in New Mexico, and several more 'left behind' animals that he rescued in the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

His latest book, Through Katrina’s Eyes, Poems from an Animal Rescuer’s Soul, depicts some of the stories of the remarkable animals and rescuers he encountered on the Gulf Coast.

This book has been awarded The 2006 Merial Human-Animal Bond Award, and several poems from it were read at a Katrina Pet Memorial Ceremony on August 29, 2006, at the Animal Ark Sanctuary in Hastings, Minnesota.

Their moving video tribute to Katrina pet rescue efforts can be found at:

http://www.animalarkshelter.org/katrina/Katrina.html

And Podcasts of a few of Ed's Katrina poems can be heard on: www.unconditionalfriends.com and on www.allpetsradio.com.

The North Shore Animal League - the world's largest 'no kill' animal shelter - featured this book as its 'Book of the Month' in August 2006, and excerpts from the book are currently being used in an Animal Shelter Art Display in Utah to encourage more pet adoptions.

Ed's website tribute to the animals of the world can be found at: www.myspace.com/edkostro

A photographer and freelance writer, Lilian is a keen observer and has pursued her interest in the breed with a natural curiosity and a deep love and understanding for the IG’s idiosyncrasies. She has bred and finished over 50 champions. She is a past president of the Italian Greyhound Club of America and is the organization’s current corresponding secretary. She has been the IG breed columnist for the AKC Gazette since 1977 and writes regularly for the Italian Greyhound Magazine, was a feature writer for The
Windhound , and is a frequent contributor to Top Notch Toys and several other periodicals. Her first book, “The Italian Greyhound Guide”, was published in 1983, with the first edition of “The Complete Italian Greyhound” following in 1987. She has since published two hard cover IG books, including the current “The Italian Greyhound, 21st Century. In 2006 her autobiography, “My Mother Never Taught Me Songs” was published. The IG book and the autobiography are available from Amazon.com.

Always willing to draw on her many years of living with IGs to help anyone who loves the breed, Lilian corresponds regularly with a large number of fanciers and her husband, Don, complains that it is a rare occasion when dinner is not interrupted by an IG related phone call. Approved by AKC to judge IGs and several other Toy breeds, she has also served as president and as show chairman for the Kennel Club of Palm Springs. Besides Lilian and
Don and 10 Italian Greyhounds, the Barber household currently includes a 50 pound Sulcata tortoise, two Hermanns tortoises and and Eclectus parrot —a reminder that Lilian’s childhood ambition was to become a zoo director.

to Thoreau, Khalil Gibran, James Thurber, Chief Seattle, and James Herriot. Pieces of My Heart encompasses favorites such as "We Are Their Heroes," "How Could You?," "The Basset Chronicles," and "The Zen of Cat," as well as a treasure-trove of new writings. Included is an Appendix of suggestions and resources for helping animals; and a Foreword by Dr. Marc Bekoff, author of Minding Animals: Awareness, Emotions, and Heart and co-founder with Dr. Jane Goodall of Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals/Citizens for Responsible Animal Behavior Studies. Lavishly illustrated by Christine J. Head. (Softcover, 312 pages.)

Pieces of My Heart is a soulful, heartfelt tribute to animals and a plea for compassion. As you immerse yourself in its truths you'll reach for the nearest animal to hug, you'll smile through tears, and you'll feel the urge to run barefoot in the grass.