Melody is a free spirit born and raised in Vancouver, BC. She is a recognized painter and a poet. Her art has been showcased in local galleries and she published a book of poetry, Life Lyrics, in 2011. She now lives outside Vancouver with her husband Arric, where their backyard, affectionately known as the “Fowler Vineyard,” continues to produce amazing wines and jellies.
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.
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Laurie Alberswerth is a writer, photographer, senior community edu-tainer, and mechanical engineer who enjoys confusing both her left- and right-brain hemispheres. A native of St. Louis and an in-law to farm life, she brings Missouri settings to her readers through the Jude and Audie West Mystery series. Where the Wests tackle clients' genealogy roadblocks (and avoid digging their own graves), Laurie has camped with her hubby in their little blue tent. Her own family tree proves that life is lived in the dash between dates on the tombstone.
Coming from a working-class background, writing is definitely not something that runs in the blood. I didn't know any published authors growing up, it didn't even seem like an option for me. However, I English was always my best subject at school, and I was a prolific reader, with strange taste (I read Bram Stoker's Dracula when I was nine). I can't pinpoint the exact moment I realized this, but at a certain point it dawned on me that fiction allows truth to be expressed in ways that are not possible in the ordinary world. I was learning much more from the stories I was reading than the teachers at my school.
Kyo Lee is a queer, Korean-Canadian high-school student, writer, and dreamer. Her literature has been recognized or published by the RBC Bronwen Wallace Award, CBC Literary Prizes, PRISM International, Nimrod International, University of Toronto, Ringling College, New York Times, and more. She loves peaches, sunsets, and the idea of summer but not summer itself. She is trying to love more.
L. E. Brooks is an indie author, RN, musician, bad feminist, worse LGTBQ+ fringe member, and reader of all genres. She has been writing songs, poetry, short stories, and fan fiction for more than two decades, and recently finished her first full-length original novel, Avelina, due to be released May 4th, 2024. She lives in the Midwest with her husband, two kids, and a ferocious pack of hell hounds.
Kay Smith-Blum, named Western WA Woman Business Owner of 2013 and a former Seattle School Board President, is an avid gardener and lover of nature. Smith-Blum founded Environmental Endeavors, the first greenhouse program in Seattle Public Schools. Intrigued by the tropes of mid-20th-century history, Smith-Blum has penned two novel-length tales set in Texas, but the recent upheaval over leaking waste tanks at the Hanford site drew her in. A meticulous researcher, Smith-Blum felt compelled to write the Hanford story in a way that would entertain as well as educate readers about this important story.
One of my poems was published by International Poetry Press Books in From the Heart: the most heartfelt and meaningful poems of the year in 2018 in the UK. I also was awarded Elite Writers Status in 2018 for the best original poetry of the year.
Regina is a non-fiction writer currently based in South Wales. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, she lived in the Midwest for 30 years including 8 years eating and drinking her way through the food mecca that is Chicago.
Ex-CIA intelligence officer Carmen Amato writes award-winning crime fiction loaded with danger and deception. Beginning with Cliff Diver, her Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series pits the first female police detective in Acapulco against Mexico's cartels, corruption, and social inequality. Optioned for television, it’s a two-time winner of the Outstanding Series award from CrimeMasters of America. First in her new Prohibition-era thriller series, Murder at the Galliano Club won the 2023 Silver Falchion award for Best Historical. Carmen is a recipient of both the National Intelligence Award and the Career Intelligence Medal. After globe-trotting careers, she and her husband reside in Tennessee. Find out more at carmenamato.net.
My first short story was published in 1994 when I was 40, and it took 20 years before my first short fiction collection, Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories, was published in 2014, followed six years later by my second short story collection, Peripheral Visions and Other Stories. And it wasn’t until 2023 that I released my first novel: Reinventing Rita, along with my third collection, Mistletoe Magic and Other Holiday Tales.
