Big Blue Marble welcomes two Philly authors - Ruth Rouff and Flo Shore. Ruth will be introducing her new book Pagan Heaven: Poems and Stories.

Ruth Rouff is an English instructor and freelance writer living in Collingswood, New Jersey. After earning a BA in English from Vassar College and a MS in Education from Saint Joseph’s University, she has taught for a number of years in Philadelphia and Camden NJ. Her work has appeared in various literary journals, including Exquisite Corpse, Philadelphia Poets, and Wilde.  In addition, she has written two young adult nonfiction books: Ida B. Wells: A Woman of Courage and Great Moments in Sports.

Flo Shore has been an avid writer and poet since childhood. Raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia; creative writing and the arts have always been her passion. A graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Flo worked in graphic design for a number of years and for nearly three decades she has worked in industrial sales and service. Flo has been a part of the Women’s Writing Circle in Exton, PA practically since its inception and contributed to the first anthology “Slants of Light”. Flo feels strongly that memoir not only preserves our individual stories for those who come after us, memoir serves as an  adhesive that keeps pieces of social history intact. She believes that as memoirists we have the opportunity to expose varying perspectives and to drive attitude change.