Author Interviews

Lia Woodall (she/her) is an award-winning essayist who experiments with form to explore her experience of twin loss to suicide. Her hybrid chapbook Remove to Play (The Cupboard Pamphlet, 2020) was a 2019 contest winner. Other work appears in Best American Experimental Writing 2020 (digital edition), under the gum tree, Literal Latté, Sonora Review, The Rumpus, Bomb Magazine, and elsewhere, and has been recognized with Pushcart Prize nominations and as notables in The Best American Essays series. She is at work on a collection-across-genre called Leaving Twinbrook: A Memoir of Duality.

T.D. Flenaugh, the host of the Falling for Learning Podcast, has served as a teacher-mama for elementary, middle, and high school for over two decades with the distinction of National Board Certification. As a teacher consultant, Flenaugh has developed curriculum and courses for the Los Angeles Unified School District, San Bernardino City Unified School District, University of California Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Loyola Marymount University, and California State University Fullerton. In addition, she has worked extensively with the UCLA Writing Project and the National Writing Project. Flenaugh also worked to change education policy through fellowships with Educators for Excellence and Teach Plus. She enjoys yoga, writing, and streaming many different shows. Flenaugh lives in California with her family.

Judy is a professor, certified grief mentor, chronic pain support group facilitator, breast cancer advocate, author, and speaker. An American by birth, grew up in Africa, returning to the United States at the age of 20. No stranger to the rain, she draws on her lived experience and training to write inspirational fiction and non-fiction, and contributes her expertise in webinars and talks. Having raised two beloved sons, she and her husband divide their time between California and Montana. She enjoys spending time with loved ones, reading, being in nature, photography, and music.

I. S. Bashirah is a 25-year-old poet based in Canada. In 2023, she received the English Society Creative Writing Award for Poetry at the University of Waterloo Department of English Language and Literature Awards Ceremony. In 2024, she was also honoured with the Albert Shaw Poetry Award.

Bruce Golden’s short stories have been published across more than two dozen countries and 40 anthologies. New Myths magazine said of his novel Red Sky, Blue Moon, “With thematic echoes of Dune, Dances with Wolves, and The Last Samurai, it’s an epic tale of adventure and arrogance, discovery and desire, courage and greed.” Asimov’s Science Fiction described his novel Evergreen, “If you can imagine Ursula Le Guin channeling H. Rider Haggard, you’ll have the barest conception of this stirring book, which centers around a mysterious artifact and the people in its thrall.” His book Monster Town, a satirical send-up of old hard-boiled detective stories featuring movie monsters of the black & white era, has been stuck in TV series development hell for some years now.

Cedar Ecker is an NYC based writer, narrative designer, and collaborative storyteller. They have written for the animated series Secrets of Grandelva and Figments, and their short fiction is featured in the Promethean and Progenitor literary magazines. Across genres their work aims to evoke themes of human connection, wonder, and what it means to be acceptable to society.

Pam McGaffin is the award-winning author of The Leaving Year (SparkPress, 2018). She is a former journalist who returned to her original passion of writing fiction after a long career in newspapers and public-relations. Her short stories have appeared in online literary journals, and her articles and essays have been featured in newspapers and magazines. She and her family live in Seattle, where there are many crows.

I am a 73-year-old retired psychologist living in Washington State. I’ve also lived in Florida, California, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Oregon. I am married and have a overly excitable but very lovable Golden Retriever.

Hua Ai (Nikolina) is from Shanghai, China. She is an educator based in London. She holds an English Literature degree from King’s College London. She is a published feminist fiction writer in Mandarin. Her English poetry has been featured in print by Crumps Barn Studio and online by The Field Guide Magazine, The87 Press, Otolith, Literary Yard, and Writing in a Woman’s Voice.

Jackson’s work has been featured in the Riverfront Times, Curiosus Magazine, and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. For the past decade, he’s managed Frotoon Press, an independent publisher of personal comic narratives exploring music, politics, culture, and identity. He is the two-time winner of the North Street Book Prize for Graphic Novel & Memoir. His creative inspirations include Ben Passmore, Ralph Bakshi, Hunter S. Thompson, Spike Lee, Thelonius Monk, and The Simpsons.

I’m a retired teacher living in the mountains of North Carolina where I write and illustrate children’s books. I’m a member of SCBWI and Storyteller Academy. My debut picture book Get Real, Lucille, published by Monarch Press will be coming out July 1, 2025. I’ve illustrated numerous picture books by other authors such as Pearl Girl by Stephen Rabley, published by Penguin, There’s A Dog On My Head by Patricia Pollock and The Songbird and the Flower by Chip Brogden

Andrea Corwin is a Washington State adventure novelist and scary-story writer. In years past, her free verse poetry was published in the Christian Science Monitor Home Forum, small press literary magazines, and local newspapers. She has written human resource blogs and local opinion pieces and has been published in Bereavement Magazine. After a small break, she now has short fiction stories, non-fiction, and poetry, as well as “first chapter” contest entries online with Vocal Media.com and reedsyprompts.

My name is Parisa Ally Ahmadi. While my given name is Parisa, I go by “Ally” in my personal and creative endeavors, a name that resonates deeply with my soul. I was born in Iran in 1996 as a refugee and later returned to my motherland, Afghanistan, when I faced rejection in Iran during my second grade. This experience not only shaped my identity but also inspired the name “Ally,” which I hold dear.

N. Thomas Padilla has been under the sway of literature since reading Indian Two Feet and His Horse when he was six. When asked by his mother’s friends what he wanted to be when he grew up, little six year old Tommy said, “An author!” to the delight and giggles of the ladies present. His passion found a path to an English degree from several institutions. He has taught writing and literature at the high school and college level since 1995. He is happily married to his wife Joan, and they have four beautiful children and four grandchildren, so far. Travel and live music keep Tom buys when he does not have his nose in a book or a laptop, working on his latest writing. He has self-published a book of short stories, Ite, Missa Est: Stories from the Edge of Faith, and he has two novels completed and seeking publishers.

Harker Jones is the author of the best-selling love story Until September and nine screenplays, revealing truths through humor and horror. His short thrillers Cole & Colette and One-Hit Wonder have been accepted into more than 60 film festivals combined, garnering several awards. Managing editor of Out magazine for seven years, he is a member of both the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and Mensa.

I spent my professional life as an academic (studying social aspects of information and computer technologies, and in particular, how women experience technological change in healthcare settings). I’ve published 6 books (1 sole authored, 4 edited books, and most recently a co-authored book) as well as numerous book chapters, journal articles and conference papers.

I am a poet and an essayist. Been writing since my junior years in secondary school. Wrote my first short story, “A Greeen Snake In a Green Grass” at age 12. I split my time between writing and working as a cellphone technician. Ash Wednesday is my first serious novel.

Priti Ghai, hailing from the picturesque state of Uttarakhand, India, is a passionate poet and aspiring author. Her love for literature was kindled by the timeless verses of renowned poets such as John Keats, William Wordsworth, Edgar Guest, Rudyard Kipling, and Maya Angelou. Their words left an indelible mark on her creative soul, shaping her artistic journey.

Eve Elliot is a Canadian/Irish author of over a dozen published short stories and a self-published romance novel. She has also written and produced a full-cast radio drama in homage to Agatha Christie entitled The Death of Doctor Davidson. She is currently completing her chapter-by-chapter release of her latest novel with the working title Noah and Kate, which is supported entirely by fans on Patreon.

C. W. McClain is an aspiring writer based out of North Carolina. He is also a husband, a father, and a pet parent to WAY too many cats. At the time of this writing, he is working towards his BA in Creative Writing (Fiction) with plans to further his academic and professional careers in the near future.