Holli is a Fort Wayne native, but spent her twenties traveling to as many places she could. That led to her living in Thailand for a year, working for an anti-trafficking organization.

Holli fell in love with words at a young age, and since her dad worked for a book distribution warehouse, he made sure that she and her sister had every book they could ever ask for. Even as a child, she knew she wanted to impact people with her words, even if it meant making them cry over an angsty romance novel, which she is currently working on.

Holli holds a B.A. in professional writing with a minor in literature and an M.A. in writing studies. When she is not learning about engines and writing oil analysis reports, she is working on her first novel, reading, or spending time with her husband and two young kids who keep her on her toes.

Some people don’t discover their passion until late in life, but Deborah was not one of those people. She fell in love with the written word at seven and has known she wanted to be a writer ever since. To be sure, like all children, she went through phases of wanting other things, but writing was always what she came back to. Even while she worked towards her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in theatre, she still spent her spare time putting pen to paper. By the end, her time spent in theatre reaffirmed the written word as her first love.

It never occurred to her that she’d one day turn her craft to writing about oil; but her theatrical education taught her that storytelling demands a certain eclectic curiosity. Over years of world and character development, she has studied and written about a variety of subjects from historical sailing ships to planetary motion to glassblowing to architectural design. Engines and oil were just waiting for her to discover their immense fascinations.

When she’s not translating the story in the oil for you, Deborah is probably writing a story of her own while enjoying a cup of coffee or reading a book while enjoying a cup of tea (Earl Grey, hot).

Sometime around 1987 Susan sat in the driver’s seat of an Alfa Romeo Spider and her life-long love of engines was born. She recently bought a motorcycle, so she can be cool like her teenage son and embarrass him at the local meets. A lover of all things Genesis, when not writing about oil, she can be found digging in her garden, live- streaming volcanic eruptions in Hawaii, or adding to her impressive collection of radioactive vintage glass.  Lately, she’s been irrationally concerned about the slightly elevated iron reading from her WRX’s engine. She’s supposed to be renovating her 100-year-old historic home, but she doesn’t want to, as scraping old paint is the absolute worst. She and her husband share that disastrous money pit with two teenagers and way too many cats.

Lucy is part of a magnificent herd of children who all inherited the family tendency to be jacks of all trades (even if masters of none).

This might mean she’s had less of a career and more of a Series of Interesting Events, but it translates pretty well into fulfilling her designated role in almost every group as The Mom Friend. Formally, she’s been trained in English and history; informally, she knows a little bit about everything from construction (and destruction) to lutherie. When she’s not writing oil reports, Lucy can usually be found reading or writing a new book, turning curtains into costumes, chasing chickens, or eating bread.

Born and raised in Fort Wayne, Katie would love to tell you that she used to live in San Francisco. She is working on not mentioning it so often. She’s been a professional gift wrapper, a college instructor, a digital marketing copywriter, and a project manager, and now she is happy to be able to say she’s a full-time writer, aka her dream job. Katie has been a writer since she knew what words were, and stories and storytelling have always had her attention. Luckily, the other things she likes—cats, goat cheese, and fancy lattes—are good companions to settling down with a story, whether that’s a soap opera or a novel. Other than her two cats, Rupert and Ned, the other love of Katie’s life is her 1870s gablefront Craftsman/bungalow-style house in West Central. 

Before joining Blackstone Ethan worked with animals in Australia, but relocated to marry his true love. He’s survived encounters with man-eating sharks, deadly spiders, venomous snakes, something called a “stinging tree,” and a malevolent seagull who stole all his chips. Since moving, he enjoys great barbeque, great lakes, and free coffee refills.

Augustia holds a Bachelor of Arts in theatre performance and writing. She spent a couple years after graduation hopping around between food service jobs and the occasional seasonal position before finally landing the coveted Industry Job here at Blackstone.

When she’s not writing your report comments, you may find her jamming out to Hozier and mid-10s punk rock, reading a book, (cleverly avoiding) writing her own book, or on stage in a local production. She enjoys hiking, stargazing, baking, long walks in Eagle Marsh, and Lake Michigan beach days. Above all, she loves spending quiet nights at home (or any time anywhere else) with her husband and their four cats.

Sarah is a former library clerk who was excommunicated from the Allen County Public Library for spending too many of her working hours sniffing old copies of the Beckett Anthologies. A native of Warsaw, IN, she’s fluent in Pig Latin and Klingon, and she spends her spare time rolling in the dirt with her unathletic Jack Russell Terrier, Simon, who has his own line of designer handbags for other dogs. She dual majored in English and Business Administration and holds her school’s record for most Chicken McNuggets eaten in a single sitting (574). Her favorite game is Chutes and Ladders.

Before joining Blackstone as an analyst, Nick studied 3D Modeling and Animation at IPFW, then taught the subject for five years after graduation. He is an introvert who fluctuates between the mediator and adventurer personality types.

Outside of work, Nick enjoys spending time with his wife and son, playing tabletop or video games, watching films, or collaborative writing games with friends online. He enjoys imaginative activities like creative writing, world building, and designing assets like logos and maps for fictional worlds. He is most recently interested in trying his hand at 3D printing. Heads up: Nick is legally prohibited from entering any Jamba Juice establishment.