Lisa J. Lickel

Lisa Lickel is a multi-published, best-selling, and award-winning Wisconsin author who writes inspiring fiction, short stories, radio theater, and occasional articles. She is also a freelance editor, avid book reviewer, and blogger. A longtime supporter of fellow writers, Lisa is a member of the Wisconsin Writers Association and the Chicago Writers Association and serves as a book coach for Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp and Writing Retreat, Inc. She is editor of Creative Wisconsin magazine. When she’s not writing or editing, Lisa enjoys gardening, collecting dragons, and traveling with her husband. They live in western Wisconsin near the peaceful rolling hills, where they cherish time with their two grown sons, daughters-in-law, and a growing crew of adorable grandchildren. Learn more at http://www.LisaLickel.com.
Love can heal even the deepest scars … It’s been years since Ann Michel Ballard’s husband went missing. With the world in turmoil and Mark Roth, a handsome younger man from her past offering her hope, she’s ready to move on. But secrets and lies from everyone around her threaten their fragile world. When tragedy looms, Mark, working with a highly classified government program, must decide how to face an uncertain future.
Love can heal even the deepest scars … It’s been years since Ann Michel Ballard’s husband went missing. With the world in turmoil and Mark Roth, a handsome younger man from her past offering her hope, she’s ready to move on. But secrets and lies from everyone around her threaten their fragile world. When tragedy looms, Mark, working with a highly classified government program, must decide how to face an uncertain future.
Love can rectify the past… Rachel Michels made a poor choice which resulted in her biggest blessing, her daughter, Maeve. When a grown-up Maeve’s father shows up decades later, she knows what he wants. Rachel has lived in near seclusion and mistrust, fearful of losing the one person who’s kept her life from coming unglued. She must stop Maeve from making a risky mistake. But Maeve’s choice unwittingly sets her on a path to salvaging humanity’s future.
Love can rectify the past… Rachel Michels made a poor choice which resulted in her biggest blessing, her daughter, Maeve. When a grown-up Maeve’s father shows up decades later, she knows what he wants. Rachel has lived in near seclusion and mistrust, fearful of losing the one person who’s kept her life from coming unglued. She must stop Maeve from making a risky mistake. But Maeve’s choice unwittingly sets her on a path to salvaging humanity’s future.
Love can keep hope alive… Maeve Michels, a genetics counselor, hit earth hard, falling in love with a former Air Force test pilot. No longer in the military, Harry Kane’s mysterious work consulting for a space engineering company piques Maeve’s interest. Maeve’s sixth sense says there’s more to Harry than he’s telling her, but with the world about to fall apart, she must decide to trust him with her and her family’s future.
Love can keep hope alive… Maeve Michels, a genetics counselor, hit earth hard, falling in love with a former Air Force test pilot. No longer in the military, Harry Kane’s mysterious work consulting for a space engineering company piques Maeve’s interest. Maeve’s sixth sense says there’s more to Harry than he’s telling her, but with the world about to fall apart, she must decide to trust him with her and her family’s future.
Love can define humanity. Since the Year of Arrival, people from Earth and eight indigenous people from tau Ceti Epsilon minor work together to establish a home on an alien world they rename Mir. Genethicist Stella Roth Kane Singh wants a normal, comfortable life for her family, but when purists question survival as unaltered humans or not at all, she must take a stand.
Love can define humanity. Since the Year of Arrival, people from Earth and eight indigenous people from tau Ceti Epsilon minor work together to establish a home on an alien world they rename Mir. Genethicist Stella Roth Kane Singh wants a normal, comfortable life for her family, but when purists question survival as unaltered humans or not at all, she must take a stand.

Lisa Crafts “WHAT IF”

stories imbued with grace, exploring the complexities of relationships, family, mystery, and personal triumphs. Her work reveals the unseen aspects of individuals—especially those within faith communities—and aims to provoke thought, offer hope, and spark meaningful conversation. She writes to inform, inspire, and illuminate.
Lisa writes across a rich tapestry of genres, including Christian fiction, mystery, family drama, inspirational romance, and faith-based storytelling. Her works resonate with readers who appreciate heartfelt narratives grounded in faith and layered with emotional and relational depth. To learn more about Lisa, explore her books, or connect with her directly, visit her website, follow her on Facebook, or browse her titles on her Amazon Author Page.
To learn more about Lisa by exploring more of her books, or connect with her directly, visit her website, www.lisalickel.com.
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Lisa J. Lickel
Jack Kruse
S.W. Strackbein

Jack Kruse

Jack Kruse's background includes service in the United States Navy where he acted as aircraft navigator and airborne anti-submarine warfare tactical coordinator. His training included jet air combat maneuvers and low-level visual navigation. He studied combat aircraft used during World War II including aircraft structure, combat usage, performance, strengths, and weaknesses. Jacks's blog, jackkrusewriter.net, includes articles on Soviet and German aircraft as well as descriptions of the battles in which they were involved.
Katrina Safronova, along with a handful of other woman fighter pilots, find themselves assigned to a squadron led by a Soviet Air Force commander who has rejected women pilots before. A veteran pilot, wounded at the battle of Staling she must again prove her valor against relentless German forces. As Katrina leads her flight of women pilots on dangerous missions, she's immersed in vicious aerial combat where no mercy is ever given. Set during the fall and winter of 1943 to 1944 above the Southwest Soviet Union, Katrina takes part in engagements from the Soviet retaking of Kharkov to the battle of the Korsun Pocket. When her senior officer professes his love for her she believes love amid combat must end tragically.
Katrina Safronova, along with a handful of other woman fighter pilots, find themselves assigned to a squadron led by a Soviet Air Force commander who has rejected women pilots before. A veteran pilot, wounded at the battle of Staling she must again prove her valor against relentless German forces. As Katrina leads her flight of women pilots on dangerous missions, she's immersed in vicious aerial combat where no mercy is ever given. Set during the fall and winter of 1943 to 1944 above the Southwest Soviet Union, Katrina takes part in engagements from the Soviet retaking of Kharkov to the battle of the Korsun Pocket. When her senior officer professes his love for her she believes love amid combat must end tragically.
The German attack to pinch off the Kursk Salient begins with a tremendous artillery assault. Captain Alexei Demetrovsky’s unit of Lavochkin fighters defends the Soviet positions as Operation Citadel explodes across the Ukrainian Steppe, while he is investigated by the Soviet political officer of his squadron for disloyalty to the party. On July 4, 1943, the largest tank and aircraft battle in history initiated a blistering fifteen-day period of intense combat.
The German attack to pinch off the Kursk Salient begins with a tremendous artillery assault. Captain Alexei Demetrovsky’s unit of Lavochkin fighters defends the Soviet positions as Operation Citadel explodes across the Ukrainian Steppe, while he is investigated by the Soviet political officer of his squadron for disloyalty to the party. On July 4, 1943, the largest tank and aircraft battle in history initiated a blistering fifteen-day period of intense combat.

Jack writes gripping, historically rich fiction

centered on the high-stakes air battles of World War II. With a focus on Soviet fighter pilots—both men and women—his novels bring to life the tension, sacrifice, and complex loyalties of war-torn skies. Whether depicting the Soviet defense during the Battle of Kursk or the perilous missions flown by women aviators in Ukraine’s frozen airspace, Jack’s work immerses readers in meticulously researched aerial combat and emotionally charged human drama. A lifelong student of military history and aviation, Jack lives in the Midwest, where he spends his time researching battle maps, building scale models, and imagining what courage looks like at 15,000 feet.
To learn more about Lisa by exploring more of her books, or connect with her directly, visit her website, www.lisalickel.com.
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S.W. Strackbein

Strackbein began writing in his early thirties, during his military training in the final days of the Iraq War. That season of intensity and reflection sparked a lifelong pursuit of storytelling—one rooted in a fascination with human nature and the hidden forces that shape people’s lives. He went on to earn degrees in Psychology, Mental Health Counseling, and an MBA, each one deepening his understanding of human behavior, motivation, and the struggles that define us. His writing reflects that layered insight—an exploration of the choices we make, the relationships we forge, and the moments of joy and despair that transform us.
softcover
Mourning
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Stackbein crafts intense, emotionally layered stories

including science fiction and post-apocalyptic thrillers that explore the brutal intersections of loyalty, sacrifice, and survival. A veteran and mental health counselor, his writing is shaped by a deep understanding of human nature and the cost of war—both external and internal. With cinematic pacing and morally complex characters, Stackbein’s stories pull readers through ravaged landscapes, fractured alliances, and the quiet hope that rises when everything else has fallen. When he’s not writing, he mentors fellow authors and runs Sisyphus Triumphant Publishing, a company dedicated to helping writers bring their stories to life. He lives in Wisconsin with his family and far too many books.
Strackbein’s characters are his passion. Whether noble or morally gray, beloved or loathed, he inhabits their lives fully, pushing them to their limits and watching them stumble, break, and rise again. When they fall, he feels it. When they triumph, his heart lifts with theirs—often with the sobering awareness that meaningful victories rarely come without cost. For him, writing is not just storytelling; it’s an act of understanding. It’s about capturing what it means to be human in all its messy, beautiful contradictions—and crafting stories that resonate with readers who recognize something of themselves in the journey.
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