Ivan Avetissian is an aspiring essayist, humorist and satirist. And of course by "aspiring" he means he would like to convince someone to pay him for it someday. After 7 years of mostly positive feedback from readers of self-published email columns he submitted his work to several e-zines and is now a staff writer (strictly pro-bono) for The CynicMag. Ivan's writing is best described as a weird amalgam of the late Jack Smith (long-time columnist for the LA Times), a pre-Republican Dennis Miller, PJ O'Rourke, and Erma Bombeck. He uses his day-time income as a marketing manager to feed his habits which are (in ascending order of skill): poker, baseball statistics (yes ... really), Little League umpiring, Little League coaching, fly fishing and writing. Ivan is a recently divorced father to his two much beloved children: Alyssa (14), an aspiring actress, and Steven (12), one heckuva good third baseman. If you enjoyed Ivan's story you can read more of his work at www. cynicmag.com or members.cox.net/avetissian/. Ivan can be reached by email at iavetissian@cynicmag.com .

Roger Greer is Program Director of KXCI Community Radio. He was one of the original founding members of the station 27 years ago. Before then he ran several of his own businesses. He is married to Susan and has four children; two still living at home but they both are still nurturing all four.

Mark Fontes, 22 years old, struggling actor and gay man, reflects on anniversaries of many significant events.

Sedona Sunrise is a Life Coach who works with people whose lives are not going in the direction they want and who are ready to make changes to their lives that will allow them to live a life they have only dreamed of living. Besides coaching she also reads the tarot professionally and facilitates past life regressions. Her background incorporates a very successful 25-year career in business with extensive time and energy devoted to self-awareness and spiritual growth. A New Englander until 1989, she moved from Cambridge, MA to Parker, AZ. Wanting more “culture” and the “opportunity not to have to drive 40 miles to buy underwear”, she came to Tucson in late 1991. She loves the city, the people and the land of Southern Arizona, however she does spend most of the summer either traveling or on the coast of New England. Because February is the anniversary of her beloved Husky Michael's passing, she will honor him by telling the story of his passing. To learn more about her, please go to her web site  www.sedonasunrise.com

Chandra Hershey Lear lives downtown with her husband Robert, dog Kootzey and cat Buddha. She is an artist and a singer.

Sharon Katz spent her first 29 years in the San Francisco Bay Area and doesn't know how her “3-week trip” to Tucson, ostensibly “on the way” to Seattle, has ended up spanning 13 years and counting. (She has heard that the Vortexes in Tucson are even more powerful than those in Sedona, which might explain it. Or not.) Sharon is proud of having been one of the mothers of her 20-year old son, and she hopes to be a surrogate mother and help a childless family on their own journey to parenthood. She is also a social worker, grantwriter and wannabe "real" writer. At age 7, she received the following comment on her Report Card: “She has a good mind, but oh, that desk!” Her approach to life has not changed much in the intervening years. Sharon believes in the transformative power of Story and is happy to have this opportunity to participate in Odyssey. She may be reached at skatzcats@msn.com .

Bonnie Marson is a native New Yorker, longtime Tucsonan. She was an artist all her life - paintings, drawings and other media - with other careers on the side (for those adorable, steady paychecks!). A few years ago, she wrote her first novel, Sleeping With Schubert, about a woman who gets inhabited by the spirit of Franz Schubert, composer of the "Unfinished" Symphony. Random House published it in June 2004, Paramount holds the film rights, and Sony Classical released a companion music CD, and Bonnie is grateful for it all. She thinks of her journey from artist to novelist as a natural step along the creative continuum - all of it celebrating the storytelling tradition. Visit her webpage: www.bonniemarson.com

ODYSSEY STORYTELLING PHOTOS and BIOS