Author Interviews

I am eighty-two and experiencing the most fulfilling and joyful time of my life. I live in gratitude for a life always full of blessings despite the speed bumps that come with living in a complex world. I have been blessed with two amazing daughters, four wonderful grandchildren, and a husband who was always supportive, caring, and challenging. I am loved.

Partelow is an actress and director who has appeared in multiple theatrical productions, readings and films over the years. She has developed a play entitled NEIGHBORS! on the impact of racism in our community and society. It was written in collaboration with other writers of diverse backgrounds. It is available to be used by schools, churches and any other organizations wanting to stimulate discussion on this very difficult topic.

Melissa Clark Bacon was raised and stayed in Little Rock, Arkansas. She writes stories and makes photographs using historic and alternative printing processes. Her short story, The Handkerchief, where her character Millie first appears, won Best in Show Adult Fiction Short Story at the Grand Prairie Festival of the Arts. Her current creative work focuses on revealing unnoticed women from the past through captivating stories and photographs that aspire to elevate their contributions and offer them up as role models to women today. Through Her Lens is her debut novel.

Claudio A. Téllez–Soto is of Chilean origin, with a master’s degree in philosophy with a mention in chemistry, from the University of Chile. Téllez is the author of Hurtado, hombre de Dios (Ed. ZigZag–Santiago de Chile–2005), Los Enigmas de Shavi (Ed. ZigZag–2009), Vinho Velho (Ed. Horus. Portugal–2022), A música das moléculas (Ed. Horus, Portugal–2022), Thol, a história de um golfinho (Ed. Biblioteca 24 horas. Brazil–2011), and Manhazinha (Ed. Biblioteca 24 horas. Brazil–2011). He is also the author of the following works: Don Alonso, caballero de amor y Guerra, Tango em Vietnã, Natxis y Gobe no mundo do átomo, The mystery of the snow crystals, and Pevenerete.

I must mention my co-author, Kristi Shalla. Writing a book aimed at English-speaking readers was an intimidating task for someone like me, whose native language is not English. Kristi, who has a deep affection for Korea, particularly the city of Seoul, was the one who first suggested we write this book together. Accepting her proposal has been one of the best decisions of my life.

Thomas Penn Johnson was born on August 22nd, 1943, in Greensboro, North Carolina, where in 1961 he graduated from James B. Dudley High School and in 1968 he received an MA in English from UNC-G. In 1966 he received a BA in Classical Studies from then-Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He also pursued graduate studies in English literature and history at Syracuse and Wake Forest Universities. From 1974 to 1981 he resided in Valparaiso, Indiana. In 1992 he published a collection of poems entitled If Rainbows Promise Not in Vain. In 2009 he retired from then-Edison State College in Fort Myers, Florida after serving for twenty-six years as an instructor of English and humanities. In retirement, he has published a few poems and a dozen short stories in various literary journals.

I have enjoyed appearing on all the late-night TV shows and dazzling the hosts and audiences with my brilliance and my witty extemporaneous repartee, and savor waiting expectantly for the early morning telephone call congratulating me on the Nobel Prize for literature.

I’m a novelist, translator, and translation scholar, not necessarily in that order. I have taught, lived, and written in the US, Finland, Russia, Spain, Hong Kong, and Mainland China, where I currently spend seven to eight months out of every year. Insecticide is my third published novel; the second was also an Atmosphere Press book, a “pseudotranslation” of J. I. Vatanen’s “memoir,” The Last Days of Maiju Lassila (2022). My first novel was written in English but first published in Finnish: Pentinpeijaiset, which plays on Finnegans Wake (“Pentti’s Wake”).

Lenore serves as the Associate Creative Nonfiction (CNF) Editor for the Mud Season Review. Her environmental novel Pulp into Paper was published on Earth Day by Atmosphere Press. Around the same time, she gave birth to her newest poetry collection, Video Game Pointers, from WordTech Communications. Lenore earned an MFA degree in fiction from San Francisco State University and lives in Oakland, California.

In the topside world, I teach academic writing at a community college in Honolulu, Hawaii. In the river that flows beneath, I am a writer, collage artist, and photographer.

Lucineh is the proud author of Lost Souls, published earlier this year. She is of British and French nationality and of Armenian descent. Lucineh has been an educator for nearly fifteen years and holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree. Lucineh is passionate about music, literature and languages and fiercely believes in the power of writing. When putting pen to paper, Lucineh loves to fully embody her characters’ thoughts and feelings, giving them the authenticity that each one deserves. Through her writing and creativity, Lucineh hopes to inspire both readers and aspiring writers!

Ricardo Moran’s writing has been published or is forthcoming in Beatific Magazine, Cider Press Review, Midwest Quarterly, Perceptions Magazine, East Jasmine Review, The Seattle Star, and Willa Cather Review. Ricardo is a member of the Nebraska Writers Guild;serves on the board of San Diego Writers Ink;and works as a content writer. He currently lives in Albania, enjoys traveling, and learning how to say “good morning” in as many languages as possible.

Kathryn Jeanne can usually be found somewhere by the beach. Whether she’s walking her dog, reading a book, or working on her next novel, she loves to be by the water. That is why she resides in sunny Santa Monica, California. Writing a novel was not in her original plans, but having read countless summer romance books she decided it was time to create her own. The more she wrote, the more she fell in love with the process and A Summer in Nixie came to life. Kathryn Jeanne doesn’t plan on stopping with just one book. She is already in the process of her second with more ideas on the way.

Kim Berkley is a fantasy author, narrative designer, and freelance writer with a talent for productive procrastination and a fondness for cats.

Janet is a multi-genre artist and design consultant. She’s a shining example of turning challenges into opportunities. Being creative to the core, her inspiration comes from nature and she’s following the urge within to dwell in the quiet stillness she has come to know. It is here that the words come—expressed through her writing, poetry, photography or art. She knows she is here to make a difference and help others get through the suffering and learn how to soar.

Originally from Penang, Malaysia, I came to the United States on a full scholarship to attend Wellesley College. Without the scholarship, I would not have become a doctor. I was a Harvard Medical physician in the Boston area. In 2006 I left my position as a full-time professor of medicine dedicating part of my time to humanitarian work;in HIV/AIDS and aiding in disaster relief in various parts of the world, including the Ebola outbreak, the Syrian, Rohingya refugee crises, the war in Yemen, and the COVID-19 pandemic in New York and the Navajo Nation. I am a three-time recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award. My work has appeared in peer-reviewed professional journals, The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, The Infectious Society of America Science Speaks, MedPage Today, Balloon Literary Journal, Literally Stories, Vine Leave Press, Synapses, and others. I am the author of Lest We Forget: A Doctor’s Experience with Life and Death During the Ebola Outbreak, Into Africa, Out of Academia: A Doctor’s Memoir, and The Girl Who Taught Herself to Fly.

Lahari Mahalanabish (Chatterji) is a writer and poet from Kolkata, India and currently based in Sydney. She is the author of the recently published short story collection Tales of the Anointed Skeletons and Love (Ukiyoto Publishing) and One Hundred Poems (Writers Workshop, 2007). Tales of the Anointed Skeletons and Love was nominated for the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2023.

I am from Toronto Canada, I love creative writing and have been writing for most of my life. I write poetry, short stories, children’s story book, and I have some novels in progress. I have won several prestigious awards and honour for my work in the education community.

M.J. Schwartz lives in Longmeadow, MA, with their wife, Jena, and bulldog, Chalupa Jane Schwartz, Esq. They are a graduate of Smith College, with a B.A. in psychology. Their essays have appeared in The Hong Kong Review and Ghost Girls. M.J. was the 2023 recipient of the Gertrude Posner Spencer Prize for Excellence in Nonfiction Writing, as well as the Gertrude Posner Spencer Prize for Excellence in Fiction Writing, through the English department at Smith College, and the 2024 recipient of the Tryon Prize in Writing through the Smith College Art Museum.

Kimberly Hockaday is a poet and author from Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, and is the 2014 Distinguished Student Poet of Eastern North Carolina. She created a monthly poetry reading gathering called Poetry Reading Extravaganza in 2013 and has had her works published in newspapers and literary magazines.