Featured Interview With Michael Springer

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am proud to say that at age 55, my first novel, The Flower Bed, was published on 30 April 2024. I am a practising Barrister-at-Law (I wear the wig and gown to court) who is married and has an 11-year-old daughter. I live in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, where I was born, but have lived in other Australian cities and travelled to distant lands. There must be some unique substance in the water at my home because my dog, Marley (yes, she was named after watching the movie), is in her fifteenth year, and our cat, Be-Be, is in her twenty-second year. I am a trained actor and singer and have had a passion for creativity since my earliest recollection. I am also a mental health survivor, having lived with various mental health conditions for most of my life, and I am a passionate online advocate to normalise mental health.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been fascinated with books for most of life, commencing with my grandfather reading to me from when I was about two years of age. I have intermittently written poetry since I was 17; however, The Flower Bed, which I commenced writing in January 2016, is the first book I have written. When I was studying acting in Sydney during the early 1990s I wrote a film script, a document that has been regrettably lost with the effluxion of time.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I find it difficult to nominate a ‘favourite’ author because I love reading fictional and non-fiction books, poetry, plays, essays and letters. However, I am doing my best to answer each question:

1. Ken Kesey, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mark Twain, Harper Lee and Oscar Wilde are my favourite authors of fictional books.
2. Mike Carlton and Peter FitzSimons are my favourite non-fiction authors.
3. William Shakespeare, Elaine May, Tennessee Williams and George Bernard Shaw are my favourite theatre and film scriptwriters.
3. I like reading any fiction genre; for me, it is more about how engaging the plot is than whether it is a crime story or a love story. For example, I loved reading Dr. Zhivago.
4. Maya Angelou, Blake and Shelley are my favourite pots.

Who inspires me in my writing? My answer is not meant to be obtuse because it is the truth- every single person who has dared to write and been published inspires me. After all, literature is the heart and soul of humanity.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Flower Bed is a blend of a psychological thriller, a crime story, and a love story, which spans continents and most of the central character’s lifetime. I otherwise will quote this Amazon review written by a retired educator who lives in Ohio: “As a former educator, I started my career teaching English literature for 20 years. Amidst the standard required “classics”, I always added modern authors to the year’s required reading lists. If I were still teaching those classes and students, I would add Michael Springer’s ‘The Flower Bed’ as a required read for the year. Very few novels have all these strengths overlapping at the same time: intricate, surprising plot turns; characters who are not caricatures; a narrative that reaches beyond the book jacket’s message, and some unique surprise … something that the author did differently than anyone else. Michael’s level of detail, his literal juggling of plot twists and turns, his recircling attention on Louis while veering in multiples of other directions … just, just superb. I would choose ‘The Flower Bed’ as required reading just for its demonstration of a writer’s craft.”

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Michael Springer’s Website

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Michael Springer Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Teni Ayo-Ariyo

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a Nigerian-American writer, raised in Los Angeles and currently living in Seattle Washington. Since moving from Lagos to Los Angeles at the formative age of 9, I have developed a thirst for immersing myself in new environments. I’ve since lived in New Hampshire, Texas and North Carolina before landing in Seattle.
I love deep connections, hot water w/ lemon, and the quiet hum of every day life. I am always searching for music and words that shift her heart and feet. Some days, I practice yoga, some days I use my business school degree, most days- I’m just trying my best to be human.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As most writers do, I started reading extensively before I started writing. During the harsh transition to U.S culture at the age of 9, books were my escape and comfort after leaving all that was familiar to me behind. In contrast to Nigeria , where my days were spent with cousins, family friends, aunts and uncles, I had no extended family in the U.S. so the characters in my books became my family and friends.

For as long as I can remember I have loved words. I love them big and bold. Small and dainty, and everything in between. Words strung together in a way that forces me to put the book down, catch my breath and ponder my entire existence. I am enthralled by strange, surprising ways to describe the everyday mysteries of our human experience. It is the same feeling I get when I eat warm bread or smell a fresh baby. Bliss.

I found my writing voice in college where for the first time, I was allowed and encouraged to have a voice that was different from the conservative religious norm I grew up in.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Lately I’ve been delving into African fiction by women writers. Their stories are where I feel most at home. I’ve enjoyed the works of Imbolo Mbue, Chimamanda Adichie, Buchi’s Emeta. These women empower me to show up exactly as I am into the page. To dig out the parts I think to hide and celebrate them loudly,

Tell us a little about your latest book?
wash between your toes is a book of poetry love letters I wrote as an ode to my college self. This tender poetry collection a celebration of the electric breathtaking power embedded in my nuanced experiences as a Black immigrant woman living in America.

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Teni Ayo-Ariyo’s Website

Featured Interview With Sarah L. Hicks

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My home state is Virginia, but I’m currently holed up at Fort Bliss, Texas, with my husband. If there’s water nearby, chances are I’ll be on my paddleboard. On solid ground, I’m enjoying the ride on my Royal Enfield Classic 350.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My love for a good story began when my grandmother read to me as a child. Throughout the years, I’ve dabbled in writing, both academically and for my own enjoyment. Now, in my fifties, my first book is finally published.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am a fan of mysteries and enjoy reading the books of Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. Along with the others, Charles Dickens, C. S. Lewis, and Jane Austen are at the top of my list.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Mystery on Maple Street is a fictional mystery story that highlights the often-overlooked role of women in Jesus’ ministry in a fun and engaging way. The protagonist, Maggie North, continues the work of the Biblical women we’ve often read about. The Magdala League, named for Mary of Magdala (Magdalene), is a modern organization that continues to fund and support Jesus’ revolutionary ministry. However, Maggie works in the Special Operations Section (SOS) which takes her on dangerous and exciting adventures.

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Sarah L. Hicks’s Website

Featured Interview With Amanda Nelson and Lisa-Marie Potter

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Amanda and Lisa-Marie are a co-writing team of best friends who share imaginary worlds, including a short story, Shivers, published in Moments Between. Lisa Marie Potter (BIPOC) is a mom of four who grew up in Nottingham, England, and now resides in Alaska with her husband and golden retriever. Amanda Nelson grew up in Maryland and moved to Arizona, where she attended college and currently lives with her husband and four kids. They review books on their socials, hike the Olympic National Park, and fight over the same fictional crushes.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Lisa-Marie fell in love with books when she was eleven after reading Five Go to Mystery Moore by Inid Blyton. Amanda, on the other hand, didn’t fall in love with books until her senior year in high school when she read Wuthering Heights and realized she was a hopeless romantic.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Both Amanda and Lisa-Marie love Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga books and Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater. It was the Twilight series that got them into writing in the first place. Something about the first book called to them, and they couldn’t put it down. After finishing the series, they decided to try writing something on their own, and years later, here they are.

As for genres, Lisa-Marie’s go-to is suspense, and Amanda loves romcoms. It’s hard to believe they could agree on a manuscript, right?

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Men In Books took years in the making. It’s actually our second manuscript. When our first didn’t get picked up, it’s a YA speculative novel; we decided to try our hand at romance. Both of us are romantics at heart and love the Pretty Woman movie, so when Lisa-Marie suggested a gender-swapped version, we brainstormed, tweaked the plot, and made it our own.
Here’s the official blurb:
Pressured by her looming deadline and an unfinished romance manuscript, author Molly Covington applies her immersive research skills and goes all in. She hires a male companion for inspiration during three days of research in Las Vegas.

Enter sexy, confident Jared Washington—an extreme sports enthusiast and relationship skeptic who moonlights as a Plus One male companion. Molly’s contract puts him within arm’s reach of buying his own business and making his dreams come true.

The chemistry between her and Jared is surprisingly easy. Before their Vegas rendezvous comes to an end, one of them will need to lay all their cards on the table to discover if they’ll be lucky in love.

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Amanda Nelson and Lisa-Marie Potter’s Website

Amanda Nelson and Lisa-Marie Potter Facebook Page

Amanda Nelson and Lisa-Marie Potter Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Nathan J. Murphy

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in the beautiful coastal region of Cornwall in the UK, but now I am based in Catalunya in the Spanish Pyrenees. The journey from Cornwall to Catalunya took twenty years and went via London where I lived for seven years. It was during these years that the embryonic questions that led to the writing of The Ideas That Rule Us formed; why do we live as we do? and why do we make the decisions we make when there are so many alternatives?

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
To be honest, I have never been deeply fascinated by books. I read a lot of non-fiction and scientific literature because I want to get useful insights from them. I started writing a book in my mid-thirties, sort of, by accident. I originally started developing a set of papers that described how ideologies worked and it got out of control and evolved into a book.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I enjoy non-fiction books that are the result of years, or decades, of research and work to distil very large and complex fields into a book that almost anyone can read. These are not books that are part of a three-book deal, but real labours of love, sweat and tears. Books that fit this category might be Behave by Robert Sapolsky, Loneliness by John T. Cacioppo, A New History of Humanity by Graber & Wengrow, or Happiness by Matthieu Ricard.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
‘The Ideas That Rule Us’ looks at how ideas and ideology works. This sounds a little dry at first, but once you realise that ideas shape who we are and what we become—and impact a vast array of human behaviour—it becomes more interesting.

Ideas are possible because human beings have developed the capability for abstract thought. This ability to imagine what does not exist—including the past, the future—is what defines the human experience. The resulting dichotomy of ‘the emotional’ and ‘the abstract’ leads to untold complication in our lives—a big part of being human is untangling the messy nature of our unlimited minds.

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Nathan J. Murphy’s Website