Author Interviews

A full-time student and carer, I’ve loved writing my whole life. I have a problem with procrastination and fixating on a task that is definitely not the one I’m supposed to, so I’ve only recently finished the final draft of my novel.

Rebecca Bischoff is the award-winning author of several novels, including a YA novel titled The French Impressionist, a historical middle-grade mystery, The Grave Digger, a humorous middle-grade novel, Hole in the Rock, and a YA historical mystery, Streets of Shadow. Rebecca loves to read everything from mysteries to paranormal to historical novels. She tends to research quirky and little-known facts from the past and loves anything that might make her laugh. A dedicated Anglophile, Rebecca loves watching BBC shows and reading mysteries that take place in the British Isles.

Ericka Jordan is a recent NMSU undergraduate with a degree in English Language, Literature, and Culture, as well as a minor in Creative Writing. She has a deep love and passion for writing of all sorts but is particularly fond of poetry, believing that it connects individuals of all walks of life through shared experiences and emotions.

Emerging from the vibrant streets of Brooklyn, NY, where he first entered the world, O’Leary’s journey has been nothing but remarkable, serving as a true inspiration. Raised within a family deeply connected to their German and Irish heritage, O'Leary's formative years in Brooklyn were characterized by a profound inquisitiveness about the world and a keen intellect, leading him to graduate from the esteemed Brooklyn Technical High School at the tender age of 17.

Jasmine Griffin (she/her/they/them) is a black queer writer based in Cincinnati, and a teaching artist with Women Writing for (a) Change, Clarion West, Lighthouse Writers Workshop, and Hugo House. Jasmine previously held roles with Lighthouse Writers Workshop, the Mercantile Library of Cincinnati, and Carve Magazine. Jasmine was recently published in Sage Cigarettes, Writer's Digest, midnight & indigo, Coffin Bell, Vast Chasm Magazine, Eunoia Review, Random Sample Review, Cincinnati Refined, Genre: Urban Arts, and Cleaning up Glitter.

Thom Cree is a writer, poet, and screenwriter. His debut screenplay, Seagull, from the collection Briefs, earned him Quarter-Finalist victory in the Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards Winter 2024. His work has been published in literary journals worldwide and his science fiction novella, Eidetic, features in Temple Dark Books’ Channel the Dark Anthology. His previous work, The Man Who, is an epic collection of tales of morality, love, violence, and depravity set against beautifully evoked landscapes of nineteenth-century America's West; tombs and sacred temples of Egypt and Nubia; and the internal machinations of British Intelligence.

Eric experienced a lightbulb moment after exploring various fields in college—accounting, teaching, and geology—when he finally embraced his childhood passion for writing stories. From there, he published his first novel after a decade of hard work, drawing inspiration from his life experiences and keen observations of the world around him. Eric uses his writing as a way to articulate the often dueling opinions and emotions inside him and believes a great book showcases relatable characters, despite their moral standing.

J. A. Merkel writes speculative and science fiction filled with multiverses and second chances, and his worlds are packed with anti-heroes, love as magic, and tragic reversals. For Merkel, writing isn’t a chore. It’s a fantastical kingdom with thousands of doors where readers can stumble into their own special adventures, laughing, shouting, and journeying to find home, wherever that may be.

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Frank Demith joined the Army right after graduating from high school and spent twenty-eight years serving on active duty. A 1983 graduate of the United States Military Academy, Demith received a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Russian Area Studies. He currently lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

James Flanagan is an author of speculative fiction with short fiction publications in Macrame Literary Journal, SciFiShorts, Literally Stories, and EverydayFiction, among others. His debut sci-fi novel, GENEFIRE, won several awards and is garnering excellent reviews. By day he is an academic scientist with a Ph.D. in cancer genetics, working at Imperial College London.

Victoria loves spending time with her three grown children. She has two daughters and a son. All her children share her love for animals. They each have more than one pet—dogs, cats, a guinea pig, a rabbit, a turtle, a bearded dragon, fire-bellied frogs, a parrot, and fish. Victoria is a volunteer at FAAS, which is an animal shelter in Alameda, CA.

Monroe is an award-winning children’s author celebrated for her enchanting and inclusive storytelling. Known for her ability to blend warmth and empathy into timeless tales, Monroe’s works inspire young readers to embrace acceptance and celebrate differences. With a deep love for animals and a passion for children’s literature, she crafts stories that entertain and foster a sense of compassion and understanding.