Connie Miconi
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Connie began reading at the age of five and never stopped. Her childhood was filled with multiple readings of Gone With the Wind, the ultimate tragic novel. Connie got her own HEA when she married her retired military hero, Gary, in 2010. She began Lucky 13 in 2015 as a result of her love of reviewing, sharing, and talking about her favorite books, mostly romantic suspense and stories featuring strong alpha heroes, especially law enforcement and military. Lucky 13 quickly evolved from a blog to share book reviews and news about books and authors into a service to make things easier for readers by sharing information and for authors by providing services that will allow them to focus on creating and perfecting wonderful stories that we can get lost in. Connie worked for the government for over 37 years in various management positions, including serving as a technical and policy editor. When she realized that she was editing books as she was reading them, Connie decided to offer her edits to authors as feedback, and a new career was born. Connie also partners with another author services company to plan and host book signings and book related events. When not writing, reading, or promoting other authors and books, she enjoys loving on her grandchildren, traveling, golfing, and cheering on her beloved Baltimore Ravens.
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Wendy Hodges
Wendy is our international connection, representing Lucky 13 in the United Kingdom. Wendy reviews, promotes, and posts book info, and serves as admin on Lucky 13's facebook page and reviewer group. She started reading properly at the age of eight, loving mainly the Enid Blyton books. Another favourite was 101 Dalmations, and she eventually progressed to Westerns and Mills and Boon/Harlequin Romances, and Danielle Steele. As an adult, she enjoys a wide range of reading romances of all types, including military, cowboy, law, billionaires, BDSM, etc., as well as murder mysteries, historic, true stories, vampire/werewolf/witches, and autobiographies. Wendy is married to her best friend. They have been together since they were 17, but have been friends since the age of 4, and went through school together. Wendy says that getting involved with Lucky 13 has taken her reading to another level and she's loving it, enjoying having somewhere to post her reviews and helping both authors that she already follows and the new ones she is finding.
Shelly Asher
Shelly provides PA support, writes reviews, attends events, and posts on social media for Lucky 13. She started reading when she was five and was a proud card-carrying member of the Baby Sitters Club. Growing up, she and her mom would have summer reading marathons, often reading into the wee hours. In elementary school, Shelly’s love for reading and writing led to her being asked to start a school newspaper. She continued through high school and served as sports editor during her senior year.
She follows a number of her favorite authors on social media, and after joining an author fan group, Shelly met and began working with the Lucky 13 crew. We are thrilled to have her working with us! When she’s not reading, Shelly is Mom to three boys, a wife, and an avid sports fan. For eight years, she worked as an assistant teacher, and is currently a stay-at-home mom in Kentucky.
She follows a number of her favorite authors on social media, and after joining an author fan group, Shelly met and began working with the Lucky 13 crew. We are thrilled to have her working with us! When she’s not reading, Shelly is Mom to three boys, a wife, and an avid sports fan. For eight years, she worked as an assistant teacher, and is currently a stay-at-home mom in Kentucky.
Maria Celaschi Clark
Maria provides PA support, edits, writes reviews, attends book events, and posts on social media. Maria started reading and playing librarian at age five. Little did she know she would grow up to do just that. She is an avid reader. She started her career as an elementary teacher but decided to return for her MLS. Obtaining her MLS brought her back to reading and the rest is history. Around 2015, she started blogging and attending book signings. That led to some editing and PA work. After a chance meeting at a signing with Connie she decided to join Lucky 13. She currently lives in Florida with her husband of 30 years, her 3 children, and 1 fur baby. She loves to read and enjoys supporting her favorite authors and discovering new ones. Aside from promoting and PA work, when she is not reading, she spends time with her family and enjoys crafting with her daughter.
Gwen Smalls
Gwen is Lucky 13’s California girl and supports us by managing reviews and attending events. Gwen liked to read from an early age. Unfortunately, she took time off from reading when she entered the working world, but then re-discovered her love for books when someone left a copy of Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire on the train. That was many moons ago and she’s never looked back. Gwen has found new discoveries, like military romance (thank you, Cristin Harber!) and author signings. Gwen is married to a wonderful nerdy/techie guru (David) who’s an amazing husband and father. He loves to read as well, but their tastes don’t crossover often. But when they do, it makes for great discussions! They have a teen age son who also likes to read. He started with the Harry Potter Series when he was 10, and loves The Outsiders and The Iron Druid Chronicles. Gwen has worked for AT&T (formerly Pacific Bell) for 32 years doing various jobs ranging from administrative, to operations, and management. Gwen’s family is very much into indoor volleyball. Gwen’s son plays club and has been invited to train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Both Gwen and her husband continue to play in the adult league with their respective teams.
