Author Interviews

Leissa Shahrak experienced the Iranian Revolution firsthand when she taught English in Iran. Her writing credits include stories published in Del Sol Review, the Bellevue Literary Review, and a British anthology, The Final Chapter: Writings on the End of Life.

Lindsay Brown is the author of The Dolan Girls: As The Seasons Go By, a sweet, cozy, coming-of-age middle-grade novel. Aside from writing and storytelling, you’ll find her gardening, baking bread, woodcarving, and playing games with her family. Her favorite spot is curled up in a cozy chair with a book and cup of tea, listening to the rain outside.

Gavin Thomas was born in Salisbury, MD, and raised in Ocean View, DE. Growing up, he was sometimes bullied because other students and teachers didn’t understand him, due to him having autism. Despite this, he treated them with kindness and made friends with many of his classmates, mostly girls, as a result.

Dr. Zuzana Plesa is a Zurich-trained Jungian Analyst and a Marriage and Family Therapist. She provides counseling to active duty military and their families. She resides in Florida.

From living above her parents’ hardware store in Brooklyn to living down a gravel road in Central Texas, Eva Silverfine has meandered through urban to rural landscapes. A biologist by training, she works as a freelance copyeditor for academic presses. Her short fiction has appeared in a variety of journals, and her novels, How to Bury Your Dog and Ephemeral Wings, were recently published by Black Rose Writing.

R.A. Howitt founded New2theScene in 2022 to help the discovery of new talent in fiction. He creates competitions, podcasts, articles, blogs, all with the aim of unearthing great people in fiction that book lovers may not have heard of.

I have always loved reading and writing was a natural extension. I remember choosing my first poem book from the library as a young child. I really enjoyed it. I wrote short stories and poems throughout my life. I wrote a great many poems when my children were small. That same Children’s Literature class with Professor Brody was the catalyst for my renewed interest in poetry. Another assignment was to draft a poem. I submitted My Little Sunshine, a poem about my first son. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching a poetry unit and converting students who were extremely reluctant at first. I encouraged them to play with words and find joy in creating pictures with words.

Danielle Ariano was born and raised in the Philadelphia suburbs, but became a Baltimorean when she moved to the city for college. She was charmed by Baltimore’s quirky, artsy vibe. Ariano’s memoir, The Requirement of Grief, is a meditation on the complexities of the sister bond and the grief that comes when that bond is broken by a sibling’s suicide.

Native New Yorker and an Active Duty component of the United States Army stationed at Fairchild AFB, WA, the works of Ray Harryhausen, Robert Jordon, Robert Wise, Howard Hawks, and L. Sprague De Camp are just some of the influencers for J.L. Stewart.

The Days Are Long But The Years Are Shorter: It wasn’t hard, or at least I don’t think so. In the music business, the days are very long. You spend hours and days behind the glass cage, as I like to call the studio’s control room. And before you know it, the years have passed you by. Hopefully, your spouse is supportive, but your children are grown, and you’ve missed a lot of quality time.

Jesse Stein is a Chicago-based novelist, who finds the most joy in writing stories centering around oddly magical worlds, creatures, and the poor people that inhabit these spaces. He received an MFA in Creative Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and is currently working as a painter and carpenter for a Fabrication Studio.

I’m working on a couple of stories as always, but I’d like to keep them a surprise until I’ve written the gist of them down. Other than that, I’m making all my characters into dolls and making other miniatures and homes. I’m dreaming and finally logging my dreams instead of remembering it all.

Milton L. Brown’s songs have found success in radio, film, television, and social media. His songs have been recorded by artists like Blake Shelton, Jimmy Buffett, Clint Eastwood, Merle Haggard, Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, Ernest Tubb, Loretta Lynn, Glen Campbell, and so many more. Among his many awards, one of his favorites is the Music Creators Award from the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

Jacob Reina graduated from Fresno State in December 2023 and earned a BA in English Studies. Some of his poems and short stories have been featured in New York Quarterly, Twisted Vine Literary, Free Spirit, Rougarou, Watershed Review, Allegory Ridge, Paper Dragon, and elsewhere. Aside from reading and writing, Reina enjoys photography, cinema, hiking, running, visiting art galleries, and exploring new places.

Retired among the beaches of Florida, Dawn Bragg is an avid reader-turned-author who holds a deep passion for the literary arts. Author of numerous poems and short stories, she is a lifelong advocate for literacy. Dawn devotes her time to creating children’s books that celebrate differences, champion the underdog, and encourage children to find acceptance in others and in oneself. When not writing, Dawn can be found traveling and enjoying the Florida beaches with family and friends.

Diane holds an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, as well as a M.S. and B.S. from the University of Houston. A sagacious facilitator of student experiences, she has woven firsthand experiences into dissertation vignettes and into peer-reviewed articles: “Blue Dragonflies are ‘Dandleflies’. . .” for the Affective Reading Journal and “A Challenged Third Grader Connects with Meaningful Books” for the Indiana Reading Journal.

Dr. Emily Colwell is a licensed and board-certified naturopathic doctor and therapist whose extensive career spans three decades. She earned a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of Social Work and a doctorate in naturopathic medicine from Bastyr University. Emily’s personal encounters with anxiety, childhood trauma, family addiction, chronic illness, shifting sexual orientation, and cancer have been her teachers, showing her the capacity for healing, regardless of the circumstances.

I have had the good fortune of working as a psychotherapist in New York City. for over twenty-five years. I was a mental health first responder post-9/11, which solidified my expertise in trauma and loss. I’ve spoken to Fortune 100 companies, and to smaller companies and groups on trauma. When the pandemic started I was listening to clients and found a gap in how to handle the stress without accessing traditional supports. I started the blog, “In the Time of Coronavirus” which included self-care tips, along with mindfulness, creativity, humor, and empathy. I was encouraged by others to create a book, and that is how I came to write this book following Atmosphere Press’s acceptance.

Matthew J. McKee’s micro-fiction and short stories have been featured in Meat For Tea and two of his novels have been published by Atmosphere Press. He graduated from the University of Montana with a Bachelor’s in Archaeology and currently teaches English in Japan.

Eda lives in the Midwest, where the weather is unpredictable, with her husband, son, and daughter. During the day, Eda is a bookkeeper at a local consulting firm. Her evenings (and weekends) are filled with children’s activities and spending time with her family. At night when the children go to bed her passion comes to life. Unless there is a concert, then you will find her there.