Author Interviews

My interest in writing came not just from my own reading but also from the process of teaching others about reading, writing and understanding the written word. The ideas for my first novel came from my experiences in education and travelling in Europe, as well as my enjoyment of a well-told psychological thriller. I focus on human behaviour and individual motivation when faced with life-changing events and difficult decisions.

Rachel Baker is a queer, disabled writer who haunts the Pacific Northwest with her sister and their cat, Boo. She loves writing spooky stories, knitting warm things, and devouring every book in her path.

V. Walker is a poet and indie author whose work dives into the depths of the human experience. Exploring themes of grief, loss, love, and mental health, her writing seeks to connect and heal through raw storytelling. Walker was raised in the Southern United States and currently resides in GA with her husband, an Englishman from Birmingham, UK.

E.A. Loghry grew up as an avid reader, and the stories she read illustrated many important truths about life and her place in the world. Her passion is to share those truths in her own stories, and her hope is that her writing will change lives just as the stories she read changed hers. When she isn’t working as an aircraft mechanic in Dallas, Texas, she enjoys painting, writing, and reading.

I’ve always admired writers who can transport the reader’s mind into the scenes they are describing. John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, Peter Matthiessen’s Snow Leopard, and Huston Smith’s The Religions of Man. There are so many great poets that connect people to nature. A few that come to mind are William Wordsworth, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sara Teasdale, and Douglas Malloch.

Riley aims to encourage readers to fall in love with the world around them. Author of two independent chapbooks and currently working on her debut self-published poetry collection, Riley can be found anywhere spilling into the pages of her journal or plotting her next adventure. Sometimes both at the same time!

J. Paul Sheppeck, a renowned paranormal specialist, author, and musician, is known for his captivating storytelling and unique perspective on the supernatural. An explorer at heart, Sheppeck draws inspiration from fascinating people around him. His intriguing, engaging books invite readers to curl up with a cocktail and enjoy. Keep an eye out for his latest work as he continues to push the boundaries of storytelling and captivate audiences with his unique style and creativity.

Elle McFadzean is a Melbourne/Naarm writer, architecture graduate and fictional worldbuilder. She writes fantasy and science fiction novels. Her desk is covered in books, literary magazines, and sketched plans of imaginary cities.

Josephine Lamont is a Cuban-American author, living in Covina, California. She is a lover of all romantasy stories, and enjoys writing tales of strong women facing impossible odds and swoonworthy book boyfriends. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching ghost documentaries, camping, or hanging out with her family. Josephine loves connecting with her readers.

This book is about a perspective on the seasons of change as experienced by the Maiden and the Crone. The title, Bookends of Life, sprang to the forefront of my mind even before I started organizing my poetry. What better way to hold life together than with the generations shoring each other up?

I have been married for twenty-one years, have two teenage daughters, am a law enforcement spouse, and work part-time for the women’s ministry at my church. I have worked as a teacher’s aide, a missionary with Mission Aviation Fellowship, and a foster care mom. Life has not been boring!

Kellyn Carni lives in the mountains near Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband, baby boy, dog, cat, and chickens. When she isn’t cuddling one of the aforementioned (usually not the chickens) under a blanket with a good book, she enjoys camping, yoga, and live music. She works as a physical therapist assistant and holds a degree in International Politics. While Kellyn has been writing since childhood, Ricochet is her debut novel.

Michael Colon is a creative freelance writer and novelist, born and raised in the Big Apple, New York City. He uses his craft to profoundly impact the lives of others with thought-provoking words that breathe life into his characters. He often equates his writing to painting masterpieces with prose. His inspiration comes from various societal abnormalities, cultural differences, and his own life experiences. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys working out, watching sports, visiting museums, and exploring nature trails.

After realizing the extent of our climate crisis, I felt compelled to be a part of positive solutions. The story of Eat the Moon came into my mind like white lightning after reading Climaggedon by Lawrence Wollersheim.

I have always enjoyed writing. When I was younger, I’d write song lyrics and go with my mom to the studio. I wrote throughout school and got second place in a contest in high school. I started writing seriously when the pandemic hit and I got very depressed and needed an outlet.

William Finger grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating from Duke University in 1969, he went to India in the Peace Corps. In midlife, he completed a Masters in Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His first memoir, The Crane Dance: Taking Flight in Midlife (2016), was a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. He has been a freelance writer, an editor of a public policy quarterly, a consultant at the N.C. Legislature, and for the last twenty-four years before retiring in 2013, a writer and communications manager at an international public health organization.

British writer Elisabeth Conway has lived and worked in Southeast Asia for many years in an area that she now considers to be her spiritual home and from which she takes her inspiration. Elisabeth has written a historical trilogy set in and around Singapore between 1822 and 1831. She now lives in the UK but continues to visit Singapore/Malaysia whenever she can.

John “FEELSOUL” Futrell is an artist and musician known for blending evocative storytelling with innovative soundscapes. Drawing inspiration from life’s raw emotions and experiences, their work transcends genres, creating a unique auditory and emotional journey for listeners. With a passion for authenticity and creativity, FEELSOUL continues to captivate audiences worldwide through their art and music.

Allison Batty-Capps is a licensed marriage and family therapist, yoga therapist, Reiki Master, intuitive spiritual guide and channeler. She has lived experience learning to live with a complex mental health diagnosis that began after a profound mystical experience she had connecting to the divine within. She brings her trauma-informed training, lived experience, and education to bear on her spiritual teachings. Her unique insight into how divinity expresses itself in each of us comes not only from her education and training, but from her lived experience learning to use the tools in this book to manage her own mental health diagnosis and personal mystical experiences.

I’m a creative millennial and NG Veteran with a BA in Art (double major in creative writing and graphic design) who loves to sing, cosplay, read a variety of mediums, and swim like the mermaid I wish to wake up as one day. When I’m not writing song lyrics for my band, doing graphic design projects, or working on a book, I’m probably geeking out with my friends over anime (or Baldur’s Gate 3).