Retreat Leaders

Cathleen O'Connor, PhD is an author, developmental editor, book designer and coach who loves helping other writers get their words out in the world. Her lifelong interest in metaphysics led her to dream and tarot work and to her book, The Law of Attraction Dream Dictionary and being quoted on the Huffington Post as a dream analyst. She loves working with fables as her book High Heels on the Hamster Wheel: A Fable for the Modern Woman shows. Co-Author of two anthologies: 365 Days of Angel Prayers and The Collection: Flash Fiction for Flash Memory, she is now pitching her first romantic suspense novel. Her articles have appeared in Canada's ALIVE magazine and Australia's The Sphere. As a writer who writes in all genres, she has offered workshops in creativity, the narrative arc, and creating a successful anthology for the International Women's Writing Guild and local women's writing groups in the Northeast. She writes a weekly inspirational column to her newsletter audience about issues on her mind.

Paula Chaffee Scardamalia is a book coach, dream and tarot intuitive and the author of Enchanting Creativity: How Fairy Tales, Dreams, Rituals & Journaling Can Awaken Your Creative Self. She wrote the award-winning Weaving a Woman’s Life: Spiritual Lessons from the Loom, as well as Tarot for the Fiction Writer, and her novel, In the Land of the Vultures. For 20 years, Paula's presented workshops across the country for national and regional Romance Writers of America events; the San Diego University Writers Conference; and the International Women's Writing Guild. She’s written articles for both print and digital publications including “Faerie Magazine,” and “The Crafts Report,” and book reviews for “Foreword Magazine.” Paula publishes Divine Muse-ings (diviningthemuse.com), a weekly e-newsletter (since 2009) on writing, creativity, dreams, and tarot, and an occasional author newsletter.