Nancy Brashear lives in Southern California with her husband, Patrick, where her grown children and seven grandgirls support her writing. She began her teaching career as a credentialed k-12 teacher and reading specialist and ended as a university professor. She has published short stories, poems, academic articles, textbook chapters, and educational website content. Gunnysack Hell, her debut thriller, was inspired by a true-crime event. And, yes, she did live off-grid with her family in a homestead cabin in the Mojave Desert when she was a child.
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!
Adam Horvath grew up in Bayside, Queens, and studied English at Columbia, where he was infected by Chaucerian irony and the “metaphysical ideas and scholastical quiddities” of John Donne & Co. He never recovered. After a two-year stint as Navigator of the cargo vessel USS Arcturus, he embarked on a career as a senior acquisitions editor at several university presses and a trade book editor for McGraw-Hill.
A.H. Zamparelli lives in New Jersey, U.S., with her husband Rick, and enjoys writing, and reading mystery novels and historical biographies. In addition, Annie enjoys sketching now and then, having provided the artwork for a children's story as gifts for her niece’s and nephew's babies.
Kristen Henderson began her writing career decades ago at the Stanford Daily (Stanford University), where she served as editor-in-chief. Her life has seen a lot of twists and turns through medical challenges, bringing her to understand that the creative process of writing fiction is where she thrives. During the pandemic, she founded Bright Flash Literary Review, an online journal for flash fiction and memoir. Through Bright Flash, Kristen has developed a vast online community of writers from all over the world.
Kim D. Brandon is a Poet/Artist/Activist/Storyteller. Her work has been included in stage performances, anthologies, and journals. She is a 2021 Brooklyn Poets’ Poet of the Week, and a VONA alum. Her poem “Love On the Front Line” was nominated for Best Of the Net. She has attended Women of Color Writers, Wild Seed Retreats and Cave Canem Writers Workshops.
Rayshell E. Clapper lives and loves in Martinez, CA, where she spends her time with words as a writer and a Professor of English at Diablo Valley College. She began her teaching career in 2002 and has found her dream job at DVC. She’s deeply involved with the literary community of her campus bringing authors to read, hosting the biannual Literature Week, and planning mini-workshops for creative writers. She loves teaching about the power of words, helping students tap into that power, and spreading her enthusiasm for writing and reading.
Michelle Lindsey has been writing professionally since she was 14. She has worked as a staff writer, columnist, feature writer and freelancer for newspapers and magazines. When she was 10, she interviewed President (then Governor) Bill Clinton for a small local newspaper of which she was the founder, publisher and editor. When she was 16, she won an international essay contest in USA Today. Her short stories have won awards in multiple contests.
Becky Houston is a former social worker turned poet who has been scribbling angsty musings in corners with night lights since she was a little girl. Her poetry explores themes of mental health, desire, sexuality, relationships, motherhood, feminism, and social justice. Her poem “Cold Floors and Blueberry Bread” was published in the anthology Song of Ourself: Voices in Unison, which was awarded the Bronze Medal for General Fiction/Literature in the 2020 Living Now Book Awards.
A. Drzal writes raw, honest poetry that carries the themes that have defined his own life: addiction, recovery, love, intimacy, trauma, healing, gratitude, and hope. When he's not writing, he's working as a public school teacher or playing music with his band. He lives in New York City with his fiancé and is currently working on his second poetry collection.
Louise Nayer has written two books of poetry and co-authored How to Bury a Goldfish about rituals for everyday life (Rodale). The award-winning Burned: A Memoir, an Oprah great read and winner of The Wisconsin Library Association Award in memoir, is a family story about a gas explosion in Cape Cod that burned her parents when she was four years old. She is also the author of Poised for Retirement: Moving from Anxiety to Zen and Narrow Escapes, her latest memoir.
