Author interviews

I write how I feel, and when I started writing this book, I was just so upset and angry at quite a lot of recent cases of animal cruelty that had appeared in the news. This novel was my way of venting my anger and creating the ultimate form of punishment for people who think it's okay to be cruel to animals as, in my opinion, there is no justice for the animals who fall victim to these cruel people. I wanted to create a system that would keep them safe, all of them, and protect them from the darker side of humanity.

Oluwabunmi Ajao holds a bachelor’s degree in German and French Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and a master’s degree in Intercultural German Studies from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, as a DAAD Scholar.

Olivier is a writer and cosmopolitan thinker working in San Francisco. She is committed to humanistic perspectives and the importance and power of the narratives we share. Olivier won the 2023 Hicks Prize in Fiction, and has been featured in The Lawrentian newspaper.

Nicki's debut novel, Ellis River, won the Independent Book Publishers Association's Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book - Fiction. The next year, it won IBPA's award for Best Audiobook - Fiction. The novel was also a finalist for the Eric Hoffer First Horizons Award, received an Honorable Mention for the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize, and was a semi-finalist for the Publishers Weekly Booklife Prize.

As an author, Michelle is passionate about creating stories that help children (and adults) build strong social-emotional skills in a fun, approachable way. Through her books, she tackles everyday challenges like learning patience, calming a busy mind at bedtime, and using art to manage emotions like anger.

Hampton County native Michael M. DeWitt Jr. is a multiple-award-winning journalist, longtime editor of the 144-year-old The Hampton County Guardian, author of four books, including Wicked Hampton County and Fall of the House of Murdaugh, and host of the Wicked South Podcast.

Mesalie Feleke is a doctor, biologist, peer reviewer, and postdoctoral cancer researcher based in Perth. She has a passion for literature, art, and storytelling, and draws on her diverse experiences to craft thought-provoking narratives that explore change, resilience, and human complexity.

Mark Bowsher has been a freelance writer and filmmaker since 2013. He's written four award-winning short films and had short stories published by Fish Publishing and Breakthrough Books. He's directed promo films for Jaguar Land Rover, VSO, and Unbound. He's also written and directed several chart-topping documentaries for Dan Snow's History Hit.

Malcolm Farrell-Mitchell is an Australian-born migrant to Ireland. He is a fan of absurdism, escapism, and humour. Whilst his head is based in Dublin working in the world of travel and events, his heart is in the clouds with fantasy, elves, and magic. He has loved writing all his life, and never had an interest in doing anything with it until his mother (also see ‘Editor’) encouraged him to submit a story to a writing competition. He has been miserably trying to write a book for almost five years, and this is the closest he has gotten to something he likes. But more importantly, it brings him immense joy. He’s now getting freaked out by writing in third person for so long.

Lynn Shattuck has been publishing essays on the topic of sibling loss for more than a decade. She was a paid columnist at Elephant Journal for ten years; several of her essays on the topic of grief and sibling loss have gone viral. Her writing has also appeared on The Huffington Post, Human Parts, Vice, The Fix, and Al Jazeera.