Author Interviews

Mark Henry Thienes is the great-grandson of Steve Gillis, author and best friend of Mark Twain. Unraveled is his first novel.

Karen J. Laakko has explored many forms of fantasy and science fiction, and that varied experience inspires her to use and combine the genres’ motifs in different ways. At the same time, her love of imagery comes through in her simple yet rich setting descriptions (and her many references to glowing objects!). She strives to create immersive, innovative fictional universes in which those who read her words can both see and feel the action.

Janice Laakko likes to have fun! When she was a young child, she enjoyed doing character imitations and performing in backyard plays (she was once an explorer, and another time a “professor of magic tricks”!). As a mother, she threw themed birthday parties for her kids and their friends. Whether they were baking in her kitchen, building spaceships from giant boxes and foil, or competing in backyard Olympics, a good time was had by everyone!

Roger Danchik has had one of those lives that is much more interesting to talk about than to actually have lived. The stories of a life like this can be great. For instance, how he almost decided to climb Mount Everest when he was in Nepal—where pot was legal in the 60s—because it didn’t look that high.

My wife and I have resided and traveled extensively in Russia and Eastern Europe, which provided valuable cultural context for Lost Roots. We now live in New Jersey with our mouthy cat, but I was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul and earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. For ten years I taught history at the university level and published many academic articles and one book.

Cecil Homer grew up on an Illinois farm and survived the shock of applied science studies at the University of Illinois. From milking a cow in the early winter morning to sleeping through a lecture on Taylor series expansions, it was a long journey in ever-evolving iron cages. CH revels in the midwestern humor but only observes the real tragedies of life—his good luck.

Amy J. Schultz is an author and award-winning photographer who explores unique aspects of modern culture that hide in plain sight.

Kathryn Lund lives in the historic city of York in the north of England. She studied archaeology as an undergraduate and postgraduate before doing her masters in Creative Writing. It was from her masters’ submissions that she created her two books, a collection of short stories called The Things We Keep in the Cupboard and her critically well-received novel The Things We Left Sleeping. Released in 2022, The Things We Left Sleeping was named an Indie Top 100 by Shelf Unbound Magazine.

I was born in Mexico. My first language is Spanish. When I immigrated to the United States at age fifteen, I learned English, finished high school, then college, earned an M.A., and finally a Ph.D. I then taught at Harvard and other American colleges and universities. I was also a university administrator, the first director of La Casa Latina: The University of Pennsylvania Center for Hispanic Excellence, and the resident director of a study abroad program in Seville, Spain, for students of Cornell, Michigan, and the University of Pennsylvania. I am now a full-time poet, essayist, and independent researcher.

Daphne Birkmyer’s background as a teacher and biologist continues to exert its influence on her written work. Born overseas and currently living in California, she observes Americans through an immigrant’s eyes. She shares her home with a multitude of reptiles and mammals and the occasional child who comes home to roost. Book four of the Comfrey, Wyoming series is nearing completion.

Bryan McBee is the author of Vector Zero, also from Atmosphere press. After serving in the U.S. Army, he attended Boise State University, graduating in 2018 with a degree in writing and communication. He is an avid bookworm, movie nut, and gamer. He lives in Idaho with his wife and daughter.

Alana White is the author of the award-winning Guid’Antonio Vespucci historical mystery series set in Renaissance Florence, Italy.

Dr. Mel Baker grew up in Sydney, Australia. From a young age her artistic flare came out in her writing, acting, and painting. At age nine, Mel finished her first book, Is it a Dream or Reality?, on a typewriter. At seventeen, she designed, edited, and published a newsletter to encourage and inspire youth. Mel’s writing continued throughout life in various genres.

Just a woman who turned passion into purpose and experiences into chapters. With a little romantic flare, of course. Thanks for coming along on this wild ride.

Aiyanna has just finished high school with a book under her wing, excited to write more material soon! She enjoys reading (and writing) romance as well as exploring the outdoors, cooking, baking, and spending time with her family, friends, and boyfriend.

Cynthia J. Bogard has reinvented herself as a novelist after a successful career as a Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies at Hofstra University in New York. Born and raised in rural Wisconsin, she’s lived in Kuwait, Greece, Mexico, New York, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

Maria A. Arana is a writer, poet, and editor from the Los Angeles area. She has published many poems and short stories in various publications. Formerly a teacher who encouraged a love of reading and writing, she now channels that passion to create magical stories for a wider audience. She lives with her family, four dogs, and one cat (who thinks she’s a queen herself).

Co-authors Pearl Wolfe and Evelyn Anderton each have over two decades of experience with issues related to violence against women. Both grew up in homes where domestic violence and child abuse were the norm, bringing an intimate perspective to their writing. In the 1990s, while working together in a Eugene shelter for those fleeing domestic violence, they witnessed daily the trauma and damage caused by violent relationships. They have co-authored a riveting new novel, Walk Out the Door, with Atmosphere Press that explores the process of leaving a relationship that confronts so many women facing such violence.

Author J.A. Adams, PhD, is currently retired in Northern Colorado after teaching English for sixteen years at Louisiana State University. She is the author of Pillars of Salt. Inspiration for her latest novel, Bomb Cyclone, came from Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and addresses the effect of the resulting unrest on a Ukrainian American émigré and the beautiful spy sent by the SVR to acquire the bomb coordinates in his possession.

Mona Semerau lives in Stoughton, Wisconsin. She has a few friends, too many books, and is insatiably curious about things she cannot claim to fully understand.