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Words from the wise

Author interviews

Author
interviews

Atmosphere Press is proud to bring readers the Atmosphere Press Presents author interview series. We’re happy to have this archive of excellent interviews and author success stories for you to enjoy. Learn about writers and their books, from book title origin stories to music playlists that relate to their writing to what it was like seeing the cover for the first time.
 
Atmosphere puts the author experience first, and these interviews make up just one facet of a meaningful and rewarding author journey. Please share your favorite interviews and author success stories on social media, and stay in touch so you can be the first to know when new posts are published. Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates on interviews, Atmosphere Press Presents readings, and other news!

Gene Turnbow is a writer and editor, painter, musician, animator, and maker, and has worked in everything from game design to special effects, film archiving and restoration, to industrial robotics. He is also the founder and station manager of SCIFI.radio, the world’s only science fiction and fantasy-themed radio station.

Ali R Jaber is a Lebanese-American author, writer, poet, and influencer who bridges cultures through storytelling. Born in the United States and originally from Nabatieh, Lebanon, Jaber writes with a voice rooted in heritage, resilience, and identity.

When Jessica Belshe was a rockabilly singer and burlesque performer, she thought that was adrenaline. Then she became an EMT, married a cop, became a mom, and took a job as a 911 dispatcher. But nothing gets her heart racing like writing a good plot twist.

Orange Pebbler is a pen name. I’m a small-island-born academic currently focused on computer science research – algorithms and applied work – and I tend toward aiming for practical benefit that can hopefully reach actual people beyond the papers. Research like that can be incredibly strict, so there’s freedom of thought in creative writing that I cherish. Here, as Orange Pebbler, I’m a new author who writes fantasy and romance.

Valerie Taylor is an award-winning author living in Connecticut, originally known for her romantic comedy trilogy What’s Not Said, What’s Not True, and What’s Not Lost. She also pens the A Venus Bixby Mystery series, including A Whale of a Murder and Switched at Death. A self-described ‘average Jane,’ Valerie draws inspiration from classic TV comedies, oldies music, and her lifelong love of storytelling.

Andrew Rubin is a filmmaker, writer, and cofounder of the mental health education company Symptom Media. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied film production and history, he has spent over a decade in the trenches of Hollywood development as a screenwriter. Andrew codirected the inspirational documentary Ride with Larry, about Parkinson’s, inspired by his father’s battle against the disease.

I’m a qualified teacher and tutor of English literature.

Born and raised in the Metro-Detroit area, Karis Smith got her BA in Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago. When she’s not writing or doing something else when she should be writing, Karis can be found listening to audiobooks at almost twice the normal speed, playing video games like Pokémon or Baldur’s Gate III, or going on a variety of adventures either on her own or with her family.

JL Daughtrey is a former police officer and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Fantasy novels, comic books, police experiences, mythology, and video games provide much of the inspiration for his writing. Emergence is his debut novel and the first book in The Orbit Stone Saga. Mr. Daughtrey enjoys travelling with his family, playing soccer, and spending time at the beach or on the water. He currently resides in South Georgia with his wife and daughter, where he works on nuclear submarines.

Jim D’Andrea was born and raised in New England, the last of five kids. After graduating from Fairfield University, he spent a year in San Francisco running a clinic for the homeless population as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.