Featured Interview With Asha Nyr

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Marin County, and though I am very open about my history, it’s a difficult topic to discuss. Having survived sexual assault, psychological abuse, and physical abuse, I developed PTSD, and as soon as I could go to college, I left my hometown as quickly as possible.

At first, I wanted to be a marine biologist, having a great love for animals and being fascinated by the mysteries of the deep, but I ended up switching to art with a minor in electronic music. It was my stronger suit, having illustrated since I was a child and written music since hitting my teen years. I worked hard and ended up being valedictorian at my second college for animation and visual effects.

My career didn’t progress how I’d expected, as it often doesn’t. I sold my soul to a tech giant for a while to pay the bills, but then I became disabled from worsening POTS and hEDS—genetic conditions—and lost my job. I couldn’t work anymore. I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area now, trying to restart my life.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
October 10, 2021, was the date I started writing my first book, The Mistake and the Lycan King. I’d been in therapy for years, chipping away at my PTSD, major depression, and anxiety disorder. When trauma started making it hard to leave my apartment, I took to writing as an attempt at exposure therapy.

Exposure therapy is gradually exposing yourself to the element of your trauma. Since my trauma was not, let’s say, a fear of dogs where I could slowly approach a dog over time, I tried writing for the first time in my life. Putting characters through traumatic events and taking them through an adventure that provoked healing offered me a chance to follow along, understand myself better, and desensitize myself to intimacy, invalidation, and other topics that challenge my mental health.

I’ve never stopped.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’m not caught up on current novels because I have a habit of rereading my favorites, which were predominantly Sabriel by Garth Nix, The Belgariad epic by David Eddings, and the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. I think, due to rereading, each ended up contributing to my writing style.

Garth Nix inspired the concept of merging a little horror into fantasy, something I’d never considered before then, and allowed me to better push my boundaries. The Belgariad inspired me to write elaborate lore however I dreamed it and had me appreciating personality diversity. I fell in love with the characters. Piers Anthony had me falling in love with humor and how it could enhance the experience with levity. I felt like he permitted me to use puns, a type of humor that has people groaning… but not my readers! They eat that stuff up, and nothing feels better than making a reader laugh uncontrollably.

All combined, in my novels, the humor balances out the darkness, and the world is rich with lore and diverse personalities.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I’ve written twelve novels so far across two different series, but I’ve only published three of them so far. It’s just taking time to get them all professionally edited and designed. The latest is The Packless and the Fae Prince, which brings back beloved characters from the first book.

Externally, it’s about fated mates, one being a wolf-shifter from a remote pack, the other being a fae prince from another realm. When Hekla is forced to move into the Realm of the Fae, she struggles to adapt to their lifestyle. Her status as Belenus’s soulmate is rejected by the queen, who forces him into an engagement he doesn’t want, and the rest of the book follows the struggle of escaping both that and a tyrannical rule.

But to me? The book is about escaping the bubble of a warped reality. It mirrors how I felt when I went off to college, learning that the rules I grew up with weren’t healthy or the standard. The world felt bigger after that, seeing happy or content relationships. It brought me to my knees. I still suffer though, looking to build that for myself, and the book helped me find ways to cope with that pain.

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Asha Nyr’s Website

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Featured Interview With Tammy Aiken

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Northampton, Massachusetts. I have lived in South Deerfield Massachusetts most of my life before moving to Montague. I love nature I love walking, love horses and love singing my favorite Holiday is Christmas. I am a farm girl hung around on my grandparent’s farm growing up loved everything about farming. I have written 12 books.
I am an author from Turners Falls Massachusetts. I was featured on Mass Appeal to promote my cookbooks. Received my diploma April 7, 2002 through Thomas Education Direct for Catering & Gourmet cooking. I was featured in Wordsmith magazine US writing articles.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Age 21 I really wanted to be an author later on in years I started to create gluten free cookbooks to help kids with celiac disease to have a safe desserts.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Alex Guarnaschelli
gluten free cookbooks to read or older cookbooks
kids with celiac disease inspires me to write

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Kids gluten free Christmas cookbook there is Christmas recipes for kids to make and have fun making.
There is easy recipes like bars, pie, and cupcakes and more. This cookbook with bring out your child”s creative side out in the kitchen.

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Featured Interview With Marjorie Kaye Noble

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
During my childhood I zig-zagged. I was born in California. My parents moved to Tennessee, then Kentucky and returned to California when I was fourteen. When I was sixteen, my mother died of cancer at age 36, leaving me and my four younger siblings to cope with a sadly overwhelmed father. After high school, I worked and went to school and after almost seven years, I graduated from UCLA (theater major). I was an actress for a split second until I moved to Reno and raised children. In Reno, I started a locations casting company, and then I moved back to LA to work as a casting director. After that, I became an English teacher, the biggest challenge yet. Seeing donated boxes of YA novels, I decided to give writing a try. How hard can it be? Incredibly hard. Still, I started with a story about one of my great uncles, a prisoner in 1930’s Ohio. He escaped right before the prison burned down, killing almost all the inmates. My story depicts a prison fire, but ends on Christmas Eve in 2004 as mall rats fight demons in a burning shopping mall. Now I live in Northern California with Arthur, a tuxedo cat, Henry, a fierce chihuahua and my husband, Daniel Oldis, also a writer. Currently, I’m finishing my second sci fi novel. a sequel to my novel, Babylon Dreams which takes place in an after death VR world..

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
When I was nine I read The Black Stallion. I loved it. For a while, I wanted to be a horse. That didn’t work out, but reading did. When I was twelve, I lived in a small town in Kentucky. Every week, I’d go to the library and check out books. There are so many I remember. Heinlein’s Have Spacesuit Will Travel, a book on the Longs of Louisiana, and I read Charles Dickens. I love his humor and insight. My mother read constantly. I remember her reading James Michener’s Hawaii, another author whose work I love. I started writing in mid-life when I began teaching. Writing became my vacation.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend novels, Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy are two. Science fiction that explores what it means to be human.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Dark Side of Dreams is a sequel to my speculative science fiction novel, Babylon Dreams. Both take place in the near future (22nd century and 23rd), when mind uploading has created, a new industry–the after-death destinations programs. The first book focuses on Gunter Holden, a ruthless businessman and creator of Bali Hai, an after-death custom paradise. Sixty years after his suicide, Gunter is bored and desperate. There are rumors of a company merger, something that alarms him. His file is beginning to fragment which causes him to relive moments best forgotten. On the advice of Miranda, the Bali Hai AI, he tells his life story to Tom, a new Bali Hai resident. The mergers happen anyway, and Gunter tries to protect the virtual people of Bali Hai. Still, as the paradise of Bali Hai slides into a new form of hell, Gunter learns the devastating truth of his childhood. It ends when Gunter and Tom ride Babylon Dreams, a virtual rollercoaster and self- delete. But Gunter returns in The Dark Side of Dreams. He is a digital copy of the original, made years before Gunter’s death. Stored in a closet for over one hundred years, his descendent, Mira intends to use him to take back Bali Hai and the company he lost.

Several years ago, I read an article in Psychology Today by Ray Kurzweil on the potential of mind-uploading into a virtual reality environment. He said we could copy ourselves and meet friends for lunch. Even better, we could customize our appearance, for example “raspberry eyes.” I was working on a film at the time and I mentioned the article to the writer/director, along with a story idea: A love triangle that continues in virtual reality after all three people are dead and mind-uploaded to the same VR program. He liked it and suggested I write it. At the time, I didn’t write, and when I did, it was another novel. Still, I kept the thought. Being someone who loves films, I thought of a character who tells his story long after his death. Gunter Holden is a murderer and an impossible narcissist who finds redemption in Babylon Dreams. As it tells this Gunter’s story, The Dark Side of Dreams connects us to the “bio” world as it is in the 23rd century. Gunter’s descendent, Mira Patel risks everything to take back Gunter’s company and his legacy.

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Marjorie Kaye Noble’s Website

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Featured Interview With M. C. Ryder

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’ve been a writer most of my life, but became an official author at the end of 2022. I choose the path of publishing independently in which allows me to be in full creative control. I have accomplished many achievements, including becoming an award-winning author to being on the cover of DE MODE Magazine. I was born and raised in the Keystone State and live with a clowder of felines who rule the house. When I’m not providing a warm lap, I enjoy exploring off the beaten path both figuratively and literally especially during the cozy tinge of Autumn which is my favorite season.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Very early on, after devouring every book I could get my hands on and starting to lose interest in the predictable plots, is when I tackled writing my own stories. I thirst for more relatable characters that were getting harder to find that dared to bend the rules. There is something to learn from every book read.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Some of my favorite authors include, Kristin Hannah, Iris Johansen, Carlene Thompson, Rachel Caine, Chevy Stevens, Dan Brown, Linwood Barclay, Tia Torres, W. Bruce Cameron, David Clement-Davies, Ruta Sepetys, J. K. Rowling, and Stephenie Meyer. I enjoy reading in a variety of genres. Authors who can keep me hooked from page one and late into the night help inspire me to want to do the same. There are so many who inspire my writing process that include musical artists, people I meet, pets that are current and past, and family.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My soon to be released memoir, My Journey as an Author, is a depiction of what it’s like during the first year of becoming an independent (indie author). There are many highs and lows. Each journey an author takes is unique. Many are quick to give up. If you want something bad enough, you will fight for what you want even when feeling down. Included in my memoir is a chapter of the process that went into creating each of my YA Fantasy books in The Dark series. Also, to be released before the end of the year, is the last book in The Dark series, When Darksome Falls, which takes the fantasy world to the next level. It’s a story about self-discovery.

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M. C. Ryder’s Website

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Featured Interview With Gene J. Miller

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in a small town for my first 14 years ,called Delanco. It is located in South Jersey along the Delaware River, approximately 10 miles north of Philadelphia. In the middle of my sophomore year we moved to Vincentown, a town 45 minutes east of the river within the largest preserved forests and farms of one million acres within the South Jersey Pinelands. Mom bought a toy poodle named Pierre that in high school we nick named “Pirahna.”

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As an only child there was always a lot of downtime alone. Early on in second or third grade I began purchasing Scholastic Books from order forms in class. Sports books, especially on football, basketball and baseball all drew my reading attention. Later on, my reading expanded into the Hardy Boys series. My favorite book that I checked out of the school library was entitled, “Someday You Will Go to The Moon.” I believe I owe the school library a huge fine-it’s still on my bookshelf today! I began writing stories in sophomore year of high school in a Creative Writing class instructed by my English teacher, Susan Mannion. Later, in college I had another Creative Writing Course taught by Professor Toni Libro and I instantly declared as an English/History major.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I enjoyed the novels of Steinback, Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, as I was introduced to those writers first. Later, I became hooked on Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, then Kurt Vonnegut. I know it sounds strange, but in my junior year of high school as I was beginning to write short stories and musical lyrics, a baseball teammate, George Spellman, introduced me to two rock albums. George said,” Take these home and turn them up on your turn table. They both will change your life.” One was Greetings from Asbury Park by Bruce Springsteen. I was changed for life. He had ” Spirit in the Night” and “Growing Up” on that first album and I believed in those lyrics and in that story, he had taken me home. Greasy Lake was the Delaware River. His later album “The River” just captured my childhood/teen years and inspired me later to write my short stories connected to growing up and life along the river.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My first book is a collection of 15 nonfiction time capsule short stories from 1965-1970 of attempting to grow up along the Delaware River in South Jersey. I wrote them for my two oldest grandsons (we now have 8) who were about to enter middle school. Those middle school years growing up along the river led to many humorous and unbelievable adventures and experiences. We were alive while in the river, on the river and along the river. We were truly free there, no cell phones, no parents, no computers, no Xboxes and no internet. We discovered there and we created there. My book was designed to share that time period and the challenges of attempting to grow up in the middle school years. Adolescents today can see similarities and the differences in growing up almost 50 years apart.

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Gene J. Miller’s Website

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Featured Interview With Steven Milliken

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in sunny Southern California, back in the days when being “out” meant you were on the patio furniture. I quickly realized my best path was to make people laugh—and if they were laughing, they weren’t asking too many questions! Today, I’ve channeled that class-clown energy into my book, LATE BLOOMER BABY BOOMER, a collection of essays about being gay back in the day and finally finding my way. It’s proof that sometimes the journey to authenticity is a comedy of errors—and I have a front-row seat!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I can’t pinpoint the exact age I became fascinated by books, but it was somewhere between Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein. Dr. Seuss taught me to love rhyme; Shel Silverstein taught me how to make people laugh with twisted humor – Uncle Shelby’s ABZ Book gave me my first “comedy routine” in seventh grade English, where I presented it as a speech and got huge laughs which might’ve gone to my head! I always thought writers were like rock stars, and when a high school friend said my emails were “David Sedaris-worthy,” that seed planted itself deep. Two decades of sporadic writing later, I finally published my own book, a collection of humorous essays. The hook? “What happens when the class clown becomes the teacher? Oh, and by the way, I’m gay…” So, if you want to laugh out loud, grab a copy and let’s make my rock star dream a reality!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My reading tastes are all over the map. David Sedaris is my modern-day muse—I like to think I have my own collection of embarrassing stories to rival his, and I try to keep up! As a teen, I clung to Catcher in the Rye like it was a life manual; and later, A Confederacy of Dunces taught me to embrace the oddities of life. As an English teacher, I spent years dissecting The Crucible and “The Raven”—I probably know more about Puritan angst and ravens than anyone should. And then there’s Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes—classics from my childhood that taught me everyone’s a suspect….

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My book tackles the burning question: What’s it like when a class clown grows up, comes out, and stands in front of a classroom? (Spoiler: it involves more laughs than lesson plans.) LATE BLOOMER BABY BOOMER is my humorous, slightly self-roasting account of navigating the world as a gay baby boomer during my long and winding journey toward coming out, teaching in the urban ghetto, and all the mishaps along the way. This one’s for everyone—gay, straight, or simply a guy who once matched his belt to his shoes.

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Steven Milliken’s Website

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Featured Interview With Michael Colon

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a creative freelance writer and novelist, born and raised in the Big Apple, New York City. I use my craft to profoundly impact the lives of others with thought-provoking words that breathe life into his characters. I often equates his writing to painting masterpieces with prose. My inspiration comes from various societal abnormalities, cultural differences, and my own life experiences. When I am not writing, I enjoy working out, watching sports, visiting museums, and exploring nature trails.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been writing my entire life. I started taking writing seriously five years ago.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I mainly get inspired my life experiences, music, and other art works.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Gift From Aelius, is an experience for the reader as they dive into the deep parts of living consciousness through an artificial intelligence growing awareness of purpose and life. The protagonist, A191, wants to bring together the two dominant species in his world for peace and unity. His adventure begins by risking it all. Will he succeed?

My book is a joy to read. Full of action, introspection of life, and future ideologies and philosophy to take in. There is not a science fiction tale as poetic and thought provoking.

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Michael Colon’s Website

Featured Interview With Sarah Ivette Morales

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Sarah Ivette Morales is a novice author who took a leap of faith. After thirteen years
as a dedicated teacher, she transitioned to stay-at-home mother of two girls. Cancer
was not on the agenda. Turning to writing, she used her pain into a labor of love to
share hope during the hard seasons in life. As a cancer survivor, she gained a renewal
of faith. Her journey has now taken a new and exciting turn as she embarks on a
career as an author, using her experiences to motivate and uplift others through
writing. Sarah always had a love for God, but she learned to fully surrender.

Her latest novel , Shoes of Peace on the Desert Road was published in May 2024 with
Christian Faith Publishing. It comes down to five things: God, faith, family, friends,
and a positive attitude. Sarah lives in Deep South Texas. She lives with her loving
husband, two precious daughters and two dogs, Max and Peaches. She enjoys reading,
listening to music, and traveling.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I always loved listening to stories and reading around five years old. Now my young daughters, who are three and five love reading too. Pete the Cat and Miss Nelson is Missing are their current favorites. I started writing at 38 after I received my cancer diagnosis.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Paulo Coelho and lots of children’s book authors! I generally don’t have a favorite genre, I feel that you learn so much in reading something out of your norm. My daughters inspire me in my writings, I wrote my book out of love for them and a promise I made to God.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Sarah went about her daily life as a planner, living by deadlines and goals. She planned to take a break from her 13-year teaching career to transition to a stay-at-home mother of two girls. Cancer was not on the agenda. What happens when you don’t plan for the unimaginable? The daily walk one takes through the worst storm of one’s life brings the ultimate test of faith.

Knowing this was out of her hands, Sarah turned to God’s love. Sarah always had a love for God, but she learned to fully surrender. It comes down to five things: God, faith, family, friends, and a positive attitude.

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Sarah Ivette Morales’s Website

Featured Interview With J.D. Rasch

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a New Yorker, raised primarily in the Bronx. I now live in Westchester NY, married for over 40 years (same woman) with three grown kids. In the past we’ve had cats, guinea pigs and rats (all as pets – we’ve had mice, but they weren’t pets). Right now we have a chihuahua puppy, whose got tons of energy (although that’s redundant for a chihuahua).

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always been interested in books since a young child. I would gravitate to science fiction and then to fantasy. I liked being transported to a different world. I used to write a lot for business and was a pretty good writer. As I looked at all the different problems of the world I thought I should add my voice to the solution. I didn’t initially think of writing a novel, but more writing essays, but when I sat down to do that the “advice” seemed too simple – don’t do bad stuff. So I started thinking of other ways of approaching writing. I thought of writing fiction and putting my characters in different situations and see how they react. I decided on fantasy because first, I was familiar with the genre and the conventions, and second because I get to create the world so I had fewer constraints. I always felt fantasy was an underused genre for addressing the issues we face in the world. I started writing almost 40 years ago, but I only did a bit here and there. I started really being serious about it maybe 15 years ago.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
The authors who initially influenced me were Frank Herbert and how he created such an intricate world in Dune, weaving social and political concepts. Also Ursula LeGuinn for similar reasons. I also like Isaac Asimov for how forward-looking his novels are. More recently I’ve been looking at literary fiction such as Fredrik Backman (A Man Called Ove) and Toshikaz Kawaguchi (Before the Coffee Gets Cold). I enjoy their imagination and quirky characters. Finally, I’ve read a lot of Alexander McCall Smith, but less for inspiration and more just a fun escape.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The book is titled The Quasi-Crystal. It is about relationships, but not just interpersonal ones, it’s about the big issues we face in society. How we interact with each other. More specifically, the book is about two lands, Bracat and Ognita. Bracat has changed since the Moment—the collective joining of minds—opened up new possibilities for peace for its people. Even the rogue wizard Malzus is seeking forgiveness for his past sins. But this new feeling of unity is tentative, and the future is never certain.

In the midst of this change, gem cutter Theb discovers something curious: it looks like an ordinary stone, but he knows it is something extraordinary. A crystal that exists in two realms at once, but only Theb can see how unique it is.

Then Theb begins to have dreams of a woman, calling for help from a deserted island far away from Bracat. An impenetrable fog is threatening the island, and the strange crystal seems to be the only answer.

There are others who hear the woman’s call. To find the source, Theb joins with a reformed wizard, a former thief, and an old enemy. Together, they vow to find the voice, braving the turbulent ocean to discover what is hidden behind the fog.

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J.D. Rasch’s Website