Author Interviews

James Marquart resides in Frisco, Texas, with his treasured wife, Kimberly. They enjoy traveling, spending time with their beautiful grandchildren, and relishing each other’s company, along with their sassy pup Abbey. James graduated with a BA in Law Enforcement from Western Illinois University, an MA in Sociology from Kansas State University, and Ph.D. in Sociology from Texas A&M University while working as a prison guard. He has served in such positions as Program Chair, Dean, and Provost. He was President of The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and has published many papers and authored several books, three with the University of Texas Press.

Besides launching breakfast sandwiches, Mr. Peecow writes songs, sings stories, and has a large appetite for sensory-deprived swimming lessons. It’s been two years since he succumbed to his frightening habit of climbing slippery slopes, but all in all, the wind blows where it does. Eat chips successfully!

Susan McLeod resides with her husband, John, in Alplaus, New York. She is originally from Southold, Long Island, New York. In the fall of 1975 she moved to Troy, New York, attending Hudson Valley Community College Nursing Program where she received her A.A.S. In 2007 she obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Russell Sage College in Troy, New York. Susan made a career change from nursing to work in a Nursing Home Activities/Recreation Department. Her favorite group activities were reading and writing poems with the residents. She volunteers in her community and enjoys outdoor activities, traveling, and pet-sitting for friends. She is an avid reader of historical/cowboy romance novels as well as poetry. She started writing her poems at age fifty-one and continues to write today.

Steven Barron is originally from Atlanta, Georgia, but spent many formative years in Southern California. He currently resides in Leawood, Kansas, with his wife, Renee, and their two kittens, Hazel and Henry. Steven enjoys (in no particular order) books, espresso, anytime rain or snow, cycling, and staying in touch with family and friends—he also adores cats and still loves rock ’n’ roll. Madame Curie’s Piano Tuner is his first published work.

Carlota Josefina Bérard has a Ph.D. in Drama & Performance from the University of Exeter, England, a Diploma in Art Therapy from L’Atelier, Geneva, Switzerland, an MLitt in Art History from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Universidad de Monterrey, Mexico.

Marian Vallotton has been practicing yoga and mindfulness since 2004. She is a certified yoga teacher through the Yoga Alliance and a Y4C Yoga Certified Instructor specializing in supporting cancer patients. She has been a Corporate Coach and Leadership Speaker/Trainer/Facilitator for more than twenty years. Marian has combined her business background, yoga, and her spiritual training to de-mystify mindfulness, introducing it to the workplace and making it more accessible to employees in the corporate setting.

I live in a suburb of St. Paul, MN, with my husband, cat, and kids.

Siddiq started his legal career in 2000, qualifying as a solicitor in 2003 and eventually working as a partner in a leading law firm in London. He has acted for mostly vulnerable clients, motivated by his strong sense of justice. He started his self-development journey in 2008 when he realised that he wanted more from his life. He qualified as an accredited life coach in 2019, as an NLP Practitioner in 2020, and as a licensed trainer in DISC personality profiling in 2022. He is passionate about helping people understand themselves, achieving what they want from life, and enhancing their relationships with the people around them.

Scott Looney was born and raised in Caldwell, Idaho. As the second-born in a family of six kids, he learned to share, play fair, and mediate disagreements at a young age. When not working and traveling, Scott loves hiking, playing tennis, and golfing with friends and family. He has enjoyed many travel opportunities throughout his life—including some involving baseball—and is looking forward to returning to his favorite places. He attended Boise State University and lives in Boise. Finding the Elixir is his first published book.

Freeman Smith is an American artist and writer. His new book, Society, Suspicious, is available through Atmosphere Press everywhere books are sold and is getting some terrific reviews. Check out his website freemansmith.com for more details.

I was born and raised in the Bronx, NY. I had a very happy childhood with my brother, Ruben, and my mother, Andrea. I graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School, then served four years of active duty in the U.S. Army as a member of NATO. I attended college in Houston, Texas, and graduate school in Connecticut. My career began with a one-year commitment as a FEMA Disaster Assistance Loan Officer primarily assigned to the Northridge earthquake declared natural disaster. I went on to build a successful career as a business banker but found my calling in climate risk mitigation. I am happily married and live in a nature preserve community on the Oregon Pacific coast. I am a life learner who draws strength and inspiration from my connection with humanity and the natural environment that sustains us.

My name is Dianne Lindsay. I have an outreach ministry by the name of JC’s Outreached Ministry and International Network where we feed children, widows, and do medical missions for people in need. I also partner with different organizations to feed people. Godly Riddims is my first book and it was a blessing for me to write.

My name is Patrick Barry and I have been writing novels and short stories for the last several years. As of now I have two completed novels, both unpublished, and three other books I have been bouncing around on. I hope to finish all three in one fell swoop and then continue on with something new.

The secretary of White Rock and Surrey Writers’ Club, Ekaterina Lobanova (penname Kate Valery) is a professional musician, journalist, and writer. She was born in Moscow, Russia, and educated at Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music. In 1996, she immigrated to Canada, where she started to write in English—her second language—and authored seven books. Her latest novels are Midget or Symphony of the Ocean (2020), and Clay Mask (2022). They are both winners of the Gold Seal award for literary excellence from the US Review of Books and now both are accepted by British Columbia Libraries. Currently she is working on her eighth book, memoir/anthology Why I Like Being a Writer

Sarah Westbrook is a Licensed Professional Counselor and the founder of Westbrook Counseling Services and Daisy Girl Communications. As a trauma survivor, she shares her story of growing up with personality-disordered parents and working through c-PTSD with the hope of helping others develop the courage to speak their truth and have their voices heard. In her spare time, she loves creating content with her husband and co-host Mason, entertaining her children, and hiding in her closet so she doesn’t have to share her chocolate or caramel popcorn with anyone else.

Spent my childhood in Upstate New York. In school, I was very much a math and science nerd so, of course, when I enrolled at Harvard for college I took up History & Literature as my area of concentration. (This all makes sense later, I promise.) I graduated with honors having written my senior thesis on Edgar Allan Poe. I moved to NYC in the mid-nineties and started working in fashion public relations. In 2002, I left and headed to Los Angeles where I continued in PR while also picking up freelance work as a travel writer for OUT and The Advocate. That led to me becoming the editor of OUTTraveler and then at Logo News (part of the MTV networks.) Currently, I’m a features contributor to The Onion. It was from writing daily that I mustered up the wherewithal to attempt writing a book.

Sami McKay (she/her/they/them) is a Canadian illustrator and writer. Her work is deeply symbolic and leans on themes of curiosity and exploration, (dis)connection, and navigating the human experience. Fixated on the abstract and strangeness of our existence, Sami looks to share the paradoxical, existential, and confusing aspects of life, death and coping with the conditions of being. She aims to display through art and writing, the rawness, complexity and beauty of existence.

This is a collection of 50 + years of my photographs with text by my son, the poet and writer Sebastian Matthews.

Shobana Gomes is a poet and writer from Malaysia who has gained a prominent place in the literary world through her published works on Amazon. Her storytelling prowess can be read in stories like An Author of the Past, Where the Rain Falls, The Goddess of the Himavan, and other books published under the ancient and classical literature category. The Goddess of the Himavan and Where the Rain Falls have reached the No.1 best-seller list on Kindle’s new releases.

Fred Falcón believes that the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships is the greatest sporting event in the world. He still collects music CDs (1,255 at last count), is amazed that the same albums he bought as a kid for $5.99 at the Warehouse now sell for five times that much, and still brags about seeing Queen when he was a teenager. Still the best concert he has ever seen, and he’s seen plenty. He has run 28 marathons, is a terrible swimmer, has somehow morphed into a “cat-guy,” and enjoys debating top five lists with his brother. The Box: A Time Travel Sci-Fi Thriller is Fred’s first novel. He lives in Utah with his wife, kids, two cats, and his Great Dane, Dan.