About

My Momma had words with me...

I don’t know if it’s true anywhere else, but in the South, to “have words with” someone means to fuss, argue, or reprimand. My momma had another purpose for having words with me, for me, and around me. We didn’t discuss why people read or why it was important. My siblings and I just read. The power, magic, and glory of words surrounded us. No lectures were needed. No punishment was forthcoming to make us read. It was second nature to read.

Momma and her "reading students" 

And how glad I am that she did! I'll love her forever for teaching me to love reading. Now, I keep her Kindle full of good stories. She will read anything I write. That's love. ;-)

Since 2004, I've written two devotionals and two church histories. I've edited church histories and a TBI survivor's memoir. I was nominated for the Georgia Author of the Year in Creative Nonfiction in 2009 for AN EASTER WALK and have written three other nonfiction books. I have contributed to WFWA’s online magazine, Write On! I also serve as the Goals Thread Leader of the CompuServe Books and Writers Forum and am a member of the ACFWA. I have advanced degrees in history and education.

I'm currently pitching my first novel--MOTHER'S DAY--and have several more stories in the works. All my stories are set in Cherry Hill, Georgia, and all of them fit my motto--Hope Comes Home.

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And now the more formal version... ;-)

Zan Marie Steadham is a graduate of the University of West Georgia with a BA and MA in History and an EdS in Education. Since retiring from teaching History and Latin, she's followed her heart and written two devotionals, two church histories, and edited histories and memoirs. She's a 2009 Georgia Author of the Year nominee in Creative Nonfiction for An Easter Walk. As an active member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association, the Women's Fiction Writers Association and serves at the Goals Thread Leader at the Books and Writers Forum, she's actively seeking representation for her first novel while working on two more.

Her writings include An Easter Walk, A Christmas Walk, two church histories, one of which she also edited. She'd the editor of Head Lights for Dark Roads by Diane Quinby. In 2009, An Easter Walk was nominated for Georgia Author of the Year in Creative Nonfiction.

She lives in Temple, Georgia with her college sweetheart and husband of nearly forty years and their two toy poodles, Max and Casey. Their house is a family heirloom and is surrounded by flowers and cherry trees. 

Awards and Honors

~Nominee for 46th Annual Georgia Author of the Year Award (GAYA) for An Easter Walk
~Finalist in the "No Fear Blogfest," January 2010,
Writes of Passage

Published Stories and Articles

Listen To Your Mother Show/Atlanta--participant reading "My Momma Had Words With Me" April 29, 2017
"Imagine My Surprise: Why Returning to the Same Hotel for WFWA Retreat is a Blessing and a Curse" and "Libraries and Book Clubs: A Perfect Place to Seek Out (and Educate) Women's Fiction Readers"--WFWA Quarterly Magazine Write On!, Fall 2016
"An Occupational Hazard: Characters, Both Real and Imagined"--WFWA Quarterly Magazine Write On!, Fall 2015
"It's a Boy...and a Boy" --WOOF Dog Tales, February 25, 2011

Appearances

~Thursday Night Book Club, Neva Lomason Memorial Library, Carrollton, GA--July 21, 2016
~Adult I Sunday School Department, First Baptist Church Carrollton, December 11, 2010
~Bethel Ladies Circle, Bethel Baptist Church, December 7, 2010
~Carrollton Civic Woman's Club
~Current Events Class, First Baptist Church Carrollton, November 28, 2010
~Wiley's Book Exchange, November 27, 2010
~Women's Bible Study, Deeper Life Christian Center, November 24, 2010
~Adult Fellowship Class, First United Methodist Church, Carrollton, October 17, 2010
~MeccaFest, October 2009
~MeccaFest, October 9-10, 2010
~Interview on "Reach Out and Touch" on the Unity Broadcast Network, March 31
~Carrollton Creative Writers Club, Neva Lomason Memorial Library, Carrollton

Articles

~Times-Georgian, January 3, 2010, "Writing One's Own Way Onto the Bookshelves"
~Times-Georgian, January 7, 2010, " 'Resolve to Read' at Neva Lomason"
~Times-Georgian, February 21, 2010, "Author Uses Religion as a Foundation for Her Writing"
~UWG Perspective, Spring 2010, Class Notes and Book Notes
~The DLCC News Report, Sunday, October 17, 2010, "Who Is Jesus" from A Christmas Walk

~Times-Georgian, December 19, 2010, "A Christmas Walk"