Secretary

Mytchel Chandler

Mytchel is an avid movie goer and severely part time cosplayer. He loves just about everything “geek” and is the writer of his own time travel Graphic Novel titled Chronic. Finishing edits on his debut novel, a YA Fantasy titled, The Dark and Dangerous Days of Sin Shadow, Mytchel strives to be the most fabulous version of himself every day! Connect with him at mytchelchandler.com or on Facebook and Instrgram @authormytchelchandler.

Treasurer

Charise Simpson

Charise is currently working on a humorous travel memoir, and developing a middle grade mystery series with her teenaged daughter. She has worked as a freelance journalist writing a weekly Q&A column for the business section of The Gazette. She has also written feature stories for the local Woodmen & Cheyenne Editions newspapers. As a member of the Pikes Peak Writers since 2010, she has served as a general conference gofer and moderator, Handout Coordinator, and Allergy Meals Coordinator, as well as committee member for Non-Conference Events.

Member At Large

Rick Buchanan

A military retiree, Rick has traveled the world eventually laying down permanent roots in Colorado where he lives with his wife, dogs and two obstinate cats.   By day, he works for a healthcare IT / analytics company; by night he imagines new and inventive ways to torment his stories’ protagonists.

A lifelong bibliophile, Rick reads widely across genres but can’t pass up a good sci-fi or fantasy novel.  Dog eared paperbacks by Terry Pratchett, Isaac Asimov and Douglas Adams are his particular Kryptonite.  Intent on becoming a better writer, Rick joined Pikes Peak Writers in the fall of 2018 and started serving on the board in late 2019.

When not hunched over a computer he enjoys travel, spending time in the mountains and live music.  Dislikes include bad movies made from great books and talking about himself in the third person.

Member At Large

Becki Davis

A member of Pikes Peak Writers for over 20 years, Becki has written dozens of lifestyle articles for local publications and has been published in a national women’s magazine. She has written several stories mostly for fun, but hopes one day to be serious and query a few of her completed middle grade stories. Currently she works as an advertising manager for a local newspaper writing copy and designing ads. She and her husband are graphic designers and have won numerous awards both locally and internationally throughout their long careers.

Member At Large

Laura Hayden

Laura Hayden is one of the founders of the Pikes Peak Writers and served as it first president. She’s been associated with PPWC since its inaugural year, 1993. In addition, she’s held the position of PPWC  director for an unprecedented eight years (non-consecutive).  She’s published thirteen fiction novels in a wide variety of genres, one nonfiction and many short stories. She owns Author, Author! a bookstore serving authors and co-owns Parker Hayden Media, an assisted self-publishing company. She resides in the Birmingham, Alabama area, but her heart remains in Colorado.

Member at Large

Kim Olgren

Kim has loved reading widely and voraciously as far back as she can remember. She devours stories like other people devour potato chips. Eventually she realized she had stories in her head she wanted to read that no one had written yet. She joined Pikes Peak Writers in 2016 hoping to find like-minded people and hone her skills to write the stories swirling around in her mind, and she was not disappointed. Kim writes speculative fiction, mostly, and is a frequent victim of “shiny idea syndrome” which causes her to work on multiple projects at a time.

When she’s not writing, Kim can be found running a real estate investment business and flipping houses with her husband, hanging out with her grandkids, camping and traipsing around the local mountainous areas with her family, in the kitchen creating modest, culinary masterpieces-and sometimes spectacular disasters, or tooling around on Izzy The Wandercycle with her hubby. A fan of anything artistic or creative, she also loves crafting beautiful things out of a variety of materials. Most recently, she is teaching herself how to crochet and knit.

Member at Large

Kathie Scrimgeour

Kathie Scrimgeour, is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors with PPW, she is also the Managing Editor of Writing from the Peak (PPW’s blog) and one of the editors of PPW’s first anthology, Fresh Starts. Her inspiration for blogging, flash fiction, short stories, and the long haul of novel writing comes from her many life experiences. You can follow her on her website, KJScrim.com and on Facebook. When she’s not writing you can find her somewhere in Colorado walking, hiking, or rock climbing at the local gym.