Author Interviews

Born and raised in Canada, Ruth's adventures have taken her to the Arctic, China, and she is currently living in the Caribbean. Everywhere Ruth goes, she takes her trusty notebook, sketchbook and camera phone for when inspiration strikes! She finds inspiration in even the smallest of things and her award-winning picture books are filled with tiny characters from geckos and bugs to frogs and birds. She has named all the birds at the birdfeeder, several stray cats who frequent the food dishes on her patio and is particularly fond of an orange tom named "Oscar (who doesn't live here)" who…

Lia Woodall (she/her) is an award-winning essayist who experiments with form to explore her experience of twin loss to suicide. Her hybrid chapbook Remove to Play (The Cupboard Pamphlet, 2020) was a 2019 contest winner. Other work appears in Best American Experimental Writing 2020 (digital edition), under the gum tree, Literal Latté, Sonora Review, The Rumpus, Bomb Magazine, and elsewhere, and has been recognized with Pushcart Prize nominations and as notables in The Best American Essays series. She is at work on a collection-across-genre called Leaving Twinbrook: A Memoir of Duality.

T.D. Flenaugh, the host of the Falling for Learning Podcast, has served as a teacher-mama for elementary, middle, and high school for over two decades with the distinction of National Board Certification. As a teacher consultant, Flenaugh has developed curriculum and courses for the Los Angeles Unified School District, San Bernardino City Unified School District, University of California Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Loyola Marymount University, and California State University Fullerton. In addition, she has worked extensively with the UCLA Writing Project and the National Writing Project. Flenaugh also worked to change education policy through fellowships with Educators for…

Judy is a professor, certified grief mentor, chronic pain support group facilitator, breast cancer advocate, author, and speaker. An American by birth, grew up in Africa, returning to the United States at the age of 20. No stranger to the rain, she draws on her lived experience and training to write inspirational fiction and non-fiction, and contributes her expertise in webinars and talks. Having raised two beloved sons, she and her husband divide their time between California and Montana. She enjoys spending time with loved ones, reading, being in nature, photography, and music.

I. S. Bashirah is a 25-year-old poet based in Canada. In 2023, she received the English Society Creative Writing Award for Poetry at the University of Waterloo Department of English Language and Literature Awards Ceremony. In 2024, she was also honoured with the Albert Shaw Poetry Award.

Bruce Golden’s short stories have been published across more than two dozen countries and 40 anthologies. New Myths magazine said of his novel Red Sky, Blue Moon, "With thematic echoes of Dune, Dances with Wolves, and The Last Samurai, it's an epic tale of adventure and arrogance, discovery and desire, courage and greed.” Asimov’s Science Fiction described his novel Evergreen, "If you can imagine Ursula Le Guin channeling H. Rider Haggard, you'll have the barest conception of this stirring book, which centers around a mysterious artifact and the people in its thrall." His book Monster Town, a satirical send-up of…

Cedar Ecker is an NYC based writer, narrative designer, and collaborative storyteller. They have written for the animated series Secrets of Grandelva and Figments, and their short fiction is featured in the Promethean and Progenitor literary magazines. Across genres their work aims to evoke themes of human connection, wonder, and what it means to be acceptable to society.

Pam McGaffin is the award-winning author of The Leaving Year (SparkPress, 2018). She is a former journalist who returned to her original passion of writing fiction after a long career in newspapers and public-relations. Her short stories have appeared in online literary journals, and her articles and essays have been featured in newspapers and magazines. She and her family live in Seattle, where there are many crows.

I am a 73-year-old retired psychologist living in Washington State. I've also lived in Florida, California, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Oregon. I am married and have a overly excitable but very lovable Golden Retriever.

Hua Ai (Nikolina) is from Shanghai, China. She is an educator based in London. She holds an English Literature degree from King's College London. She is a published feminist fiction writer in Mandarin. Her English poetry has been featured in print by Crumps Barn Studio and online by The Field Guide Magazine, The87 Press, Otolith, Literary Yard, and Writing in a Woman's Voice.

Jackson’s work has been featured in the Riverfront Times, Curiosus Magazine, and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. For the past decade, he’s managed Frotoon Press, an independent publisher of personal comic narratives exploring music, politics, culture, and identity. He is the two-time winner of the North Street Book Prize for Graphic Novel & Memoir. His creative inspirations include Ben Passmore, Ralph Bakshi, Hunter S. Thompson, Spike Lee, Thelonius Monk, and The Simpsons.

I’m a retired teacher living in the mountains of North Carolina where I write and illustrate children’s books. I’m a member of SCBWI and Storyteller Academy. My debut picture book Get Real, Lucille, published by Monarch Press will be coming out July 1, 2025. I’ve illustrated numerous picture books by other authors such as Pearl Girl by Stephen Rabley, published by Penguin, There’s A Dog On My Head by Patricia Pollock and The Songbird and the Flower by Chip Brogden