Meet the Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewers

PRG Reviewer

Ulysses Grant Dietz grew up in Syracuse, New York, where his Leave It to Beaver life was enlivened by his fascination with vampires, from Bela Lugosi to Barnabas Collins. He studied French at Yale, and was trained to be a museum curator at the University of Delaware. A curator since 1980, Ulysses has never stopped writing fiction for the sheer pleasure of it. He created the character of Desmond Beckwith in 1988 as his personal response to Anne Rice’s landmark novels. Alyson Books released his first novel, Desmond, in 1998. Vampire in Suburbia, the sequel to Desmond, is his second novel.

Ulysses lives in suburban New Jersey with his husband of over 41 years and their two almost-grown children.

By the way, the name Ulysses was not his parents’ idea of a joke: he is a great-great grandson of Ulysses S. Grant, and his mother was the President’s last living great-grandchild. Every year on April 27 he gives a speech at Grant’s Tomb in New York City.

PRG Reviewer

In writing this bio I am taking a rare break from reading! I always have a book on hand just in case there is time to sneak in a chapter or two. As a military spouse and a mom of two boys, it is amazing how often I am hurrying up to wait. Luckily for me I don't have a favorite genre so I get lots of fun authors to choose from. My education was in sociology and mental health counseling, so stories with strong character development are my favorites. Happily Ever After is the best part of romance for me because real life is hard enough.

Toni Sweeney was born in Georgia after the War between the States but before the Gulf War. Her writing career began during an extended convalescence following an automobile accident. Since her recovery, she has survived hurricanes in the South, tornados and snow-covered winters in the Midwestern United States and currently lives amid the sunshine, earthquakes, and forest fires of Orange County, California. She's now trying for her second 30 years as a resident of the Great Plains. She has myspace, twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook pages, and a number of videos on YouTube. Currently, she reviews books for amazon and is also on the review staff of the New York Journal of Books and the Paranormal Romance Guild. She was recently named a Professional Reader by netgalley.com. She is also promotion manager for Class Act Books publishers. She presently has 58 novels in publication, as well as several short stories featured in magazines and online, while also juggling writing done under the pseudonym Icy Snow Blackstone.Her novels have received award every year from 2010 onward from both Preditors & Editors and Paranormal Romance Guild. In 2008, her novel Earthman's Bride won 1st place in the Maryland Romance Writers' "Reveal Your Inner Vixen" Contest, and Icy Snow's Jericho Road placed 8th in the 1997 National Writers Novel Writing as well as placing 2nd in the Paranormal Romance Guild's Reviewer's Choice award in 2012. In 2014, her western NEBRASKA: Vengeance from Eden was voted #1 in General Genre by Preditors & Editors Readers Poll, and the romantic suspense novel Tuesday's Child was voted best in contemporary romance by Paranormal Romance Guild's Reviewer's Choice.

PRG Guest Reviewer

Premium Member

My name is Sandy Wolters. I am an author and blogger. My genre of choice is contemporary romance and romance/suspense/thriller, both with a ghostly paranormal twist. Nothing beats a good romance, especially when those you love and have lost come back to assist you in unexpected ways when you need them most.

I host a blog called Sandy's Spotlight that I introduce fabulous authors to avid readers every other Friday. I provide information about the author and a book review for the featured book. Starting mid December 2011, I will host a book discussion to run simultaneously with the author and book that is appearing on Sandy's Spotlight for readers to interact with the featured author. No invitation needed! Everyone is welcome to join in.

Click View More to view Sand's full bio

PRG Reviewer

I am an avid reader the mother of 3 sons and grandmother to seven grandchildren. Since retiring I have been doing more reading while volunteering as a CASA worker. CASA is an organization that works with the family court system to ensure that children are in the best living situation. There are way too many children that get overlooked in the foster care system and I visit homes and make visits to the parents. I was born and raised in New York and my husband of 50 years and I live in Upstate New York.

PRG Reviewer

Well, after spending a lifetime working in or with the military, I finally had made enough money to sit back and do as much (or as little) as I wanted to, and since I had always been an avid reader, the jump to making it one of my major pastimes was easy.

I have traveled all over the world, been to the top of the Eiffel Tower and to the Devil’s Anvil in Saudi Arabia, been on top of the highest mountain in the Middle East and the lowest in the USA. No complaints here.

I have read many different genres over the years but stumbled into Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy after many years of reading mostly books in the Fantasy genre. Found out I liked books that did not spend pages and chapters telling the color of grass and the feel of a rock, I wanted a good story about people of action and passion that did not always end up in some tragedy. I have been married (somehow) for 30+ years and have 3 daughters and one son (presently in the Mideast working for the military…runs in the family).

To be honest, other than reading and doing those myriad tasks that come with owning a home, I spend a bit of time honing my weapon skills. I always felt that people should be able to defend themselves, but people that did not take the time to get skilled in weapons were a danger to people around them. I go to the range and take my daughters most of the time (and my son if he is in country) so they do not fall into that category of victims who did not know how to defend themselves.

Senior PRG Reviewer

Review Chairperson

Premium Member

I am Gloria Lakritz/ aka grammy, and I am the Chairperson and Senior Reviewer for the The Paranormal Romance Guild. I am a reader of all genres and I love everything written. My excitement a few years ago, in meeting a group of Small Published and Indie writers on Amazon, had put me on a course to have them form a group for the benefit of their field. Here we are today, a little over 1 yr old and 50 strong. I am proud of them, and I think that we can grow and help all who dare to dream!!!

In my spare time, I am the President of a Financial Services Company, ENG Financial Corp, with 3 full service brokers. I have lived and worked in New Port Richey, Fl since 1989 and am the Proud Mother of two daughters and Prouder Grandmother of 4 grandchildren.

I am a Member of West Pasco Chamber of Commerce, A Woman in Philanthrophy for Morton Plant Hospitals, a Board Member for the PTA of Cypress Elementary School, Chair Captain for the Cancer Relay of New Port Richey's Relay for Life, and Treasurer for the Paranormal Romance Guild.

Click View More to submit a review to me via prg.booksonreview@gmail.com

PRG Reviewer

I'm a mother of 4, a grandmother of 9, and married for 19 years to my Beloved husband. I was a technical writer for several years and have an associate’s degree in Technical Writing and a bachelor's degree in History with a minor in English. I used to write technical training manuals for Compaq back in the day. I wrote the training manual for technical support department and I wrote the training manual for their very first handheld computer. I also have written a lot of magazine article writing over the years but I have never attempted a novel until now.

I love reading Paranormal Romance and I have started writing my own. I think I jumped not only into the deep end but I may have found the whirlpool in the deep end, the book is showing every sign of wanting to have sisters and brothers! And the most fun is that my 10 year old oldest granddaughter is working with me on parts of it. She helped me pick out the good guys and bad guys, and she has asked me the plot line and she wants me to tell her where I am on things when she sees me. She's my cheering section.

Click View More to see my blog, which holds all the reviews I have done and a few of my writings

PRG Reviewer

A geeky guy with a passion for politics, history, and science fiction, Bruce Denney has been involved in science fiction and fantasy fandom since his college days back at University of Oklahoma in the late 1970s. A chemist by degree, a systems analyst by experience, Bruce has been known as a “computer whisperer” by people who have watched him work. His reading passions include David Weber’s “Honor Harrington” series, the C.S. Forrester “Hornblower” series, and Kim Harrison’s “Hollows” series. He’s also into Firefly, Dr. Who, Supernatural, and True Blood. He married Charlayne Elizabeth Denney after a whirlwind six-month romance in 1993 and they combined their vast libraries, which now take up three rooms of their Houston-area house.

PRG Dual Reviewer

My name is Penelope Adams; I am a proud mother of, without a doubt, the best son in the world. I work in a 9 to 5 job as an office administrator to make money to support my reading habit.

According to my mother, I have been reading since before I could actually walk. That might be an exaggeration but since I can't remember a time I didn't love to read, I'm going with it. I don't have a favorite genre or author, all books are good to me. I'm fascinated with history and love to travel and have been fortunate enough to get to combine the two interests and see many places around the world. My other interests include, exploring the ocean, photography (both above and below the water) and anything that takes me outdoors.