Author Interviews

Ted Virts’ life has wandered and wondered through preschool teaching, labor in startup manufacturing, Planned Parenthood management, ministry and pastoral supervision. There were stops along the way: Korea, the Philippines, China, the Caribbean, Mexico and the Arctic. There were stumbles and sorrows, play and puzzles: SCUBA diving, triathlons, friends lost and found, dulcimer playing, academic degrees, divorces, a happy marriage of forty-two years to Charlene, and homes in desert, suburbia and forests of the Western US. Ted and Charlene are recent residents of southern Arizona.

Marinela was born with a rare form of Retinitis Pigmentosa, where she lost her central vision but not her peripheral vision. She has written her blog, Nerdy Shique Universe, which is a variety blog that aims to all types of nerds, such as books, anime, music, and more. She has also done press for conventions and interviewed such actors as Richard Epcar, Tia Ballard, and Christopher Kayman Lee. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Humanities and a Minor in Writing & Rhetoric in 2014 from the University of Central Florida and her Master’s in Assistive Technology from George Mason University in 2023.

Former journalist for a short time before I married. Studied journalism (dah) and international politics. Taiji player. Bridge bum. Genealogist focusing on family stories. Cat lover. Destroyer of almost any houseplant. Hockey fan. Bite at poetry but I have written a novel that’s in the drawer and am halfway through with another. Student of Don Maass and Lorin Oberweger and graduate of their Breakout Novel Intensives, which is my version of getting an MFA.

Carol A. Taylor is a Texas-born poet who loves meter, form, and rhyme. Her poems are more intellectual than emotional. She has four chapbooks, including the bilingual Sonetos del Inglés, and in 2023 she gathered up her complete works to date and had them printed as a private legacy to her children. Houston Skyline is her first commercial book. Her poems have appeared in a number of journals and anthologies.

Nancy Golden is a wordsmith with an inquisitive mind and adventurous spirit. She has held many positions in her life, ranging from assistant manager of a pet shop to a semiconductor test engineer, and most recently, a mentor and coach to software boot campers. She has always had a heart for pouring into her community, including teaching ESL and starting a writers group. Nancy has always loved space and has been a Trekkie for as long as she can remember. She has a love for learning about other cultures and believes we are much richer when we open our hearts and minds to one another.

Susan Scheid is the author of After Enchantment, which was inspired by beloved fairy tale characters. Scheid’s poetry has appeared in The Southern Quill, Blue Heron Review, The Mid-Atlantic Review, The Orchards Poetry Journal, Burgeon Press, Gargoyle, About Place Journal, Truth to Power, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Little Patuxent Review, The Sligo Journal, Silver Birch Press, Tidal Basin Review, and other journals. Her work is also included in the anthologies Poetic Art, Enchantment of the Ordinary, and Dear Vaccine: Global Voices Speak to the Pandemic. Scheid served for a number of years as the Board co-chair for Split This Rock. She lives in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, DC.

Harry Edgar Palacio is a U.S.-born celebrity: an award-winning author, prize-winning fine artist, and critically acclaimed underground indie/alternative musician. He reached #1 on Luxembourg’s indie/alternative charts with the single “Coral Relief” and has performed with Grammy winners and nominees, including Ari Up of The Slits (godmothers of punk) and former members of The Raincoats—bands championed by Kurt Cobain. He has been featured on MTV.

Elaine taught middle school Language Arts for thirty-six years, co-authored The Great Debate Project and Educators Take Charge, and her plays won the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival and the Premiere Stages New Play contest. She’s a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the Dramatists Guild, NEA and NJEA, and is an avid tennis player.

Originally from Austin, I grew up in Dallas and Waco and attended Texas Tech University, where I received a BA in Spanish with a minor in public relations. After teaching Spanish in Midland and Richardson ISD, I received a master’s degree in curriculum. Bruce grew up in West Texas and attended school in Wichita Falls and the University of Houston. We retired together in 2020 after returning to Texas from Brazil and currently live out in the country near Horseshoe Bay.

I’m Tinu Abass, a UK-based writer with a passion for telling stories that uplift, educate, and reflect the beauty of African culture. I write both children’s books and fiction, with recurring themes around confidence, identity, healing, and the celebration of self.

Angelino Donnachaidh is a Mexican-American father, author, and Japanese-English translator, and longtime resident of Osaka, Japan. His works include the middle grade historical fiction illustrated novella Tamiu: A Cat’s Tale (North Street Prize Winner), the YA post-cyberpunk AI heist adventure screenplay Brother, and an upcoming samurai scifi-fantasy action-thriller novel entitled The Mayhem Protocols.

Victoria Lopez is a writer, poet, and educator passionate about inspiring individuality and fostering creative exploration. As the Executive Director and Founder of Unfolded: Poetry Project, she has been a driving force in creating accessible spaces for self-expression and connection through poetry in the Rio Grande Valley and beyond.

Ron MacLean is the author of the story collections Apocalypso (forthcoming), We Might as Well Light Something on Fire, and Why the Long Face?, as well as the novels Headlong and Blue Winnetka Skies. His fiction has appeared in GQ, Narrative, Fiction International, Best Online Fiction, and elsewhere. MacLean is a recipient of the Frederick Exley Award for Short Fiction and a multiple Pushcart Prize nominee. He holds a Doctor of Arts from the University at Albany, SUNY, and teaches at Grub Street in Boston.

After attending a grammar school in the East End of London, Keith joined the East London Advertiser newspaper at the age of 20. After working on newspapers in Oxford, Sheffield, Cardiff, Bristol, and Essex, he eventually went to work on The Sunday Times in London.

Rebecca Lake-Bonenfant lives in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, minutes from Lake Winnipesaukee. She lives with her supportive husband, book-crazy daughter, and old-soul little boy. She enjoys spending time in nature, reading, writing, and being a wife, mother, and dog mom to her two doggies.

Tracy Carter graduated from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, with a Master’s degree in History. Her lengthy career as a legal assistant has included stints at international law firms and prosecutors’ offices, followed by jobs as the Horse Identifier at two thoroughbred racetracks―all while training dogs in obedience and rally. Tracy’s first book is the Gold Medal winner in the 2023 Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest in the Fiction-Animals genre, and her second book is a 2024 BookFest First Place Award Winner in the Fiction-Detective-Women Sleuths genre.

Laurie Bowler is a bestselling author based in Hampshire, UK. She is known for weaving compelling stories across fantasy, young adult, and sci-fi genres. Her books resonate with a wide audience, drawing in readers who crave richly imagined worlds and deeply layered characters.

Jamie Lynn House grew up in Pennsylvania before heading west to study film and fashion in California, where she later earned her degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills. Now living in North Carolina with her husband and two children, Jamie brings a passionate voice to fiction, writing stories that center strong, complex women navigating personal and social upheaval.

J.F. Hopper writes mythic fantasy through the voice of Lirian Ever-Weaver, a bard born of firelight and fading memory. Rooted in Celtic myth and shaped by a love of storytelling, his work blends the epic with the intimate—where ghost-kissed warriors rise, ancient powers stir, and the long echo of song may yet shape the fate of a world. He lives in Kansas City, where he writes, teaches, and keeps the storyfire lit.

A life spent in Texas led to a relocation adventure, and native Texas author Russell J. Sanders now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. He and his husband were compelled to set out for parts unknown, and that led them to Vegas, where they are supremely happy. But they don’t stay put. They’ve traveled the world, journeying to England, France, Italy, Japan, India, Bali, Jakarta, Toronto, Quebec City, Nova Scotia, Vancouver, Alaska, and Hawaii. And his novels are infused with locations as near as Ft. Worth, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, and as far away as Halifax. Who knows where he will lead readers next?