Author Interviews

Dr. Peter J. Ramos, Jr. lives in Southern California. He is an author, artist, and Doctor of World Religious Studies. He is the Creative Director and Founder of Hous of Ibiko. He has written books such as Hello Enzo: What Does Enzo Like To Do? and Happy In A Thousand Dark Places. His soon-to-be-published book, And Then I Woke Up, Screaming, is his first collection of short stories.

Diane Lefer is the award-winning author of five published novels, three story collections, and more than 100 stories. Learn more about her fiction, plays, essays and journalism at her website, www.dianelefer.weebly.com.

A graduate of the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) with a BA in French and PhD in physiology, Christina taught college-level anatomy and physiology for close to twenty years before concentrating her passion on writing and editing. She's the author of Rewrite the Stars and The Weight We Carry, and she's co-author of Historic Photos of University of Michigan. She lives in Ohio with her husband, four children, and a rotating cast of pets.

Gemma Lees is a Romany Gypsy, disabled and neurodiverse fine art installationist, performance poet, actor, facilitator, journalist and theatre-maker from Bury, Lancashire. Her practise focuses on protest, advocacy and telling the stories that no one else is.

I have always loved to write! I have also always loved to spin a tale verbally, whether it be truthful, or a slightly elaborated version of the truth. My best friend and I used to team write full-length stories when we were younger, one of which my Sophomore English teacher actually thought was good enough to be published.

Valeriya Salt is a multi-genre author from the United Kingdom. She studied history and earned her master’s degree in Art Expertise at St. Petersburg University of Culture and Arts.

Deborah L. Staunton’s work has appeared in the New York Times, Pretty Owl Poetry, Six Hens, and the MacGuffin, among others. Her poetry was featured at HBO’s Inspiration Room exhibit in New York City. She is a Best of the Net and two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and a finalist in the David Wade Hogue Rocket Man Poetry Award. Her poetry and short prose collection, Untethered, is the recipient of a PenCraft Best Book Award. Her children's picture book, Owls Can't Sing, is forthcoming from Two Sisters Press. She holds a B.S. in Education and a B.A. in Theatre Arts and lives with her husband and two children on Long Island, NY.

Gary Green grew up on a small dairy farm in central Minnesota. He has worked in many different occupations, finally settling on mental health. He is the author of three published books, two of which are award-winners. He lives on a small farm with his wife, Tammy, dog Basil, and a small flock of chickens.

Rekha Valliappan is an award-winning multi-genre writer of short stories, poetry and creative nonfiction. She has been widely published online and in print in hundreds of literary and genre magazines and anthologies including New World Writing, Ann Arbor Review, The Museum of Americana: A Literary Review, Adelaide Literary Magazine, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, The Cabinet of Need, Queen Mob's Teahouse, Bending Genres, Lackington Magazine, Aphelion Magazine of Science Fiction & Fantasy, Saturday Evening Post, and other places. She was nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Besides being published in winners' anthologies her work was also named Poem of the Week and Best of Fiction by Red Fez and Across the Margin respectively.

T.R. Slauf was born and raised in Michigan, originally studying and working in the field of Biochemistry. After having open-heart surgery for congenital heart disease, Slauf changed career paths to pursue the passion of storytelling and published their debut novel, Hidden Realm, two years later. Slauf now lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with their spouse and two cats.