Author Interviews

Irena Smith is a former Stanford admissions officer, long-time college counselor, and relatively new author. She emigrated from the Soviet Union with her parents when she was nine, and after vowing strenuously that she would never learn English, she earned a PhD in Comparative Literature and taught literature and composition at UCLA and Stanford before transitioning to admissions counseling and writing. Her memoir, The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays, recently won the 2023 Best Book Award for creative nonfiction. Forbes lauds it as “captivating and smart,” an antidote to conventional thinking about elite college admissions.

Debut author Emily Hood is a primary school teacher from Warwickshire, UK. She started writing nearly two years ago and is incredibly excited for her debut release, The Black That Surrounds Us. She has several other works in progress, all based around the fantastical Vadorian Universe. When she isn’t writing, she is spreading her love of creativity through teaching, drawing animals, or taking long walks.

Jessica K. Foster is an author of young adult contemporary romances including Andy and the Extroverts and the forthcoming Andy and the Summer of Something. She lives in West Michigan with her husband, two boys, and ragtag crew of rescue animals. Find out more at jessicakfoster.com.

Ian D. Feldman writes page-turning, apocalyptic fiction that explores Christian themes in the real world with unique characters who challenge common thinking and shed light on issues we all face. Because no life is free from catastrophe, the apocalypse is a useful meme to explore the impact of disasters on our lives while being entertained along the way.

Jessica Genia Simon began writing poetry at age seven. As a teenager based in Rockville, MD, she competed and won a spot on the Brave New Voices D.C. National Youth Poetry Slam Team. She earned a B.A. in English and Textual Studies and Policy Studies at Syracuse University and her M.S. in Education from University of Pennsylvania. She works at a gun violence prevention nonprofit in D.C. and lives with her wife and daughter in Silver Spring, Maryland. Built of All I Shape and Name (Kelsay Books, 2023) is her first poetry collection. The poem Even After in this collection was nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Laura Taylor Cox was born in Nashville, TN, and raised in Lewisburg. She earned her BS degree from Vanderbilt University and holds a Masters of Communications in Theater Arts from Regent University. While studying at Regent, she met her husband, Bill. They have been married over forty years and have four children and seven grandchildren.

Daniel is a history nerd with a passion for all things historical fiction. As an English and ESOL teacher, he spent a decade living in Italy, Japan, Poland, and the UAE. He is now back in his native Yorkshire with his young family.

Morgan Solis is an American author and piano composer who is known for The Backrooms novella, which has created a new buzz around psychological genres.

G. S. Gerry is an award-winning author and master storyteller, bringing a unique blend of humor, satire, and captivating narratives to the literary stage. With nine prestigious awards and multiple Amazon #1 Best Sellers, Gerry’s work transcends genres, inviting readers into worlds where laughter and insight coexist seamlessly.

In 1987, a young man was born to a young couple of 24 and 25 years old. As life went on, this young man, Robert J Nugent, defined his life through education and the culinary arts and found himself gaining four associate degrees within a ten-year span at Brookdale Community College. Most importantly, Robert channeled his artistic abilities through the writing of poems! However, it was the inspiration from his mother’s poem Speak, Hear, or See that made him want to write.

Torrey Francis Malek is an American poet hailing from Greenville, Delaware. He was the Poet Laureate for the Valley Forge Military Academy his sophomore year and was later a featured poet for the Shortlist of the Letter Review Prize for Poetry in 2023. He has published works in the Red Wolf Periodical, Hive Avenue Literary Journal, and is a frequent contributor to the Plants & Poetry Journal. Glory Hill is Torrey’s first published work of poetry.

Years ago, Kristin A. Oakley wrote The Bomb, a flash fiction piece about a character named Paul. She was also working on a third book in the award-winning Leo Townsend series, but Paul couldn’t be ignored, so Leo had to wait. The Bomb is now the four/five-book Devil Particle Series. In addition to creating Paul and Leo’s stories, Kristin reviews books and writes about being a novelist in her newsletter, available at kristinoakley.net. She lives in the Milwaukee area and likes to hang out in coffee shops, drinking chai lattes, and writing characters into impossible situations.

Theo J Malloy (he/they) is a transmasculine author from Cleveland, Ohio. They attended Cleveland State University and New York University and teach theater in addition to writing. Theo and his husband Oliver live in Cleveland with two cats, a corgi, and far too many books.

Pamela lives and works in rural Cumbria. She is mother to three (fully fledged and succesful) home-educated boys, an asylum-seeking cat from the Calais Jungle, and multiple stray dogs. Her writing life began early when she won “most inventive story/essay” at primary school, which she based on a dream she’d had the night before about Martians sailing into the schoolyard to hand out grapes at lunchtime! Since then she has won several awards including Writing Magazine Winner of Winners with a ghost story set in a refugee camp. Her other works comprise of commissioned children’s fiction, short stories, general interest articles, a series of animal information pamphlets and a fair bit of blogging for a London pet store. At present she is concentrating more on personal projects and has recently had a children’s picture book accepted by independent publisher Chapeltown Books.

I am a born storyteller. At age five, I taught myself to type on my dad’s typewriter, and I’ve been creating worlds and characters since then. I also have a self-published illustrated children’s book about growing up with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) titled I Am A Heart Warrior. Also, I collaborated on a pineapple passion project called A Pineapple Republic, for which there is a companion book and a feature-length documentary film that I narrate. Both books are available on Amazon. Born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, I now live in Honolulu. My day job is as a Mental Health Professional for the State of Hawaii’s Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation. My hobbies include needlework, Hawaiian outrigger canoe paddling, and cycling.

Morgan Liphart’s work has appeared in anthologies and journals across the US, Canada, Italy, England, and Scotland, such as Oxford University Press’ Literary Imagination, Popshot Quarterly, and The Comstock Review. Her chapbook, Barefoot and Running, was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award. When she’s not writing, she enjoys her career as an attorney and loves to adventure in the wild spaces surrounding her home near the Rocky Mountains.

I was born in India and moved to the US in the late 90s. I was an avid writer from a young age, penning exciting magical stories exploring relationships, and weaving in notes of strength, generosity, and perseverance through simplistic stories. I am a debutant children’s book author with an upcoming fiction novella in production and multiple children’s books in different languages. Being raised multiculturally, I enjoy sharing my experiences and intermingling my learnings through these stories. I have a BS in Chemistry and an MS in Bioengineering. While currently employed in the life sciences industry, my passions are writing and social work.

Ceaseless creative with a penchant for history, mystery, and magic. Has never knowingly taken herself seriously.

Johan Twiss is an award-winning author who’s passionate about writing exciting science fiction and fantasy stories that are suitable for tweens, teens, and adults alike. He has nine published works, including his award-winning novel, Four Years Trapped in My Mind Palace, and the I Am Sleepless series.

David Atkinson lives in Edinburgh with his wife, two teenage daughters, and a Labrador called Bea. He is fortunate enough to be traditionally published with Harper Collins and independently published with Collective Charm Books.