Featured Interview With Murray Blehart

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in the ‘burbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota. After college on the East Coast, I remained in New York and New Jersey. Currently, I still live in NJ, just east of Philadelphia with my wife and two feline overlords (cats, if you must).

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I don’t recall what age I became fascinated with books, but I know I was young. My parents took me to see Star Wars (now Episode IV – A New Hope) when I was almost 5. I wrote my first 50 page, illustrated sci-fi novel when I was 9 years old.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read a lot of different genres, but mostly sci-fi and fantasy, as well as self-help/mindfulness/self-awareness, psychology and science books. I read every morning for about an hour, two books at a time – one fiction, one nonfiction. Favorite authors include Paulo Coelho, Neil Gaiman, Lindsay Buroker, Alex White, and many many others. I love to read, love to learn, and feel it’s an essential part of my life.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I am working on a new sci-fi series called Savagespace that was plotted out as 6 books, but might be 3 or 5 books, if I combine a couple (debating if they should be approximately 200 pages or 400 pages each). I’m also plotting another fantasy book (series?) and another sci-fi book. Lots more to come!

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Murray Blehart’s Website

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Featured Interview With Angel Leigh McCoy

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in a sea of corn, beans, and sky. It made me more than a little claustrophobic whenever I’m in enclosed spaces. I’ve lived on the East Coast and the West Coast, and I recently moved back to Central Illinois to retouch my roots (family, not hair). I have only two pets (cats), unless you count all the furry and feathered creatures that come into my backyard through the magickal portal there.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing in earnest in grade school and got enough positive reinforcement for it that I was hooked. I’ve never stopped. Reading was a huge part of that, and books were my escape from a less-than-riveting real life. I started by reading gothic suspense (the ones with the woman in a flowing dress against a backdrop of spooky castle and doomy skies). Then I moved on to romantic adventure (I’m a recovering Harlequin addict), and then to horror. These days, I’m writing paranormal suspense and mysteries. I’ll be writing on my deathbed.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’m a big fan of Darynda Jones and Janet Evanovich. I like reading about sassy women who are smart and resourceful, despite their challenges.

On the other hand, I like Horror. The monster. The boo scare. The suspense.

In my books, I try to meld these things. Humor. Sassy women. Suspense. Even if I’m my only fan, I’ll be happy.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called “The Catsitter’s Conundrum” (book #1 in the Catsitter Mysteries series). I love cats! I started catsitting to make a little extra money and fell in love with every one of my charges. Then, it occurred to me that I was good at it too, and so I decided to leverage my cat-whispering talents to write a series about a woman–like me–who catsits and who–unlike me–solves mysteries.

This book takes place in the world I’m building, called Wyrdwood. So far, I’ve published four books and one novelette in the world.

Wyrdwood is, you see, a town on the Oregon Coast where people with magickal powers and supernatural ancestry are welcomed and protected. The first three books are a paranormal-suspense trilogy (The Wyrdwood Welcome trilogy) intended to give readers a solid introduction to the world and its inhabitants. The Catsitter’s Conundrum kicks off the second series set in the world of Wyrdwood. More coming.

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Angel Leigh McCoy’s Website

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Featured Interview With Saborna Roychowdhury

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Kolkata, India in a middle-class Hindu family. Like the characters in my
novel, I lived in a hundred-year-old house with my extended family—aunts and uncles, and
cousins. Our crumbling mansion had two wings and two floors. Years of neglect had left our
house in poor condition. The cracked tiles on the floor, the yellowing walls, and the broken
windows were in desperate need of repair. During the monsoon season, water dripped from the
roof and collected in plastic buckets. Blue plastic sheets covered our antique furniture, paintings,
old encyclopedias, and faded photographs. Maintaining this crumbling mansion was impossible for our family members. Spiders crawled behind the clothes horse and termites mud piles went up the wall like dried-up river beds. The old grandfather clocks chimed at the wrong hours and pigeons nested in the skylight holes.

Though I left Kolkata and moved to America when I was nineteen years old, this house
full of history remained alive somewhere inside me. And years later, in my novel, “Everything Here Belongs to You,” I used this house as the main backdrop.

I live in the suburbs of Houston now. Here my wooden house is relatively new with
central air conditioning and modern appliances. Soft carpet covers the floors and the walls have a
fresh coat of paint. Modern furniture adorns my spacious living room and the kitchen has
resplendent cherry wood cabinets. Every week, a lawnmower trims our lawn and prunes the
bushes to perfection. The pressure-washed driveway and sidewalk glisten like glass. My
existence here in Houston is neat, tidy, and hygienic.

Still, when I pick up the pen, I rarely write about the suburbs of Houston. I still find
myself circling the same old mansion in Kolkata pining away for what I left behind.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
When I was growing up, I dreamed about becoming a chemistry professor. I did
a bachelor’s and a couple of master’s in chemistry. Although I loved to read, I didn’t know any writers
at that time and the thought that I could become one never crossed my mind.

In 2004, I was looking for a teaching job and decided to take a creative writing class just
for the fun of it. The teacher gave us a writing prompt and I started writing my first short story.
When it came to sharing my story with the rest of the class—I was nervous. I was a chemistry
instructor and this was my first story. The class seemed to like the story and gave me very
positive feedback. My teacher asked me to send the story for publication and it got accepted in
“New York Stories.” That’s how my writing journey started.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am a big fan of Jhumpa Lahiri. I think she writes linguistically brilliant and innovative
prose. I sometimes find myself drooling over her sentences. But my favorite author is still
Rohinton Mistry. I have rarely seen an author choose such unremarkable people and turn them
into such extraordinary characters in a novel. The author’s honesty and empathy have the power
to melt even the stoniest of hearts. He understands Indian politics and class/caste issues like no
other author I have known.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is “Everything Here Belongs to You.” In my book, a lowly Muslim maid working for a middle-class Hindu family struggles between discovering her Muslim roots and conforming to the only family she’s ever known. Her struggle leaves a path of destruction that she could never have foreseen.

Parul is a Muslim maid sold by her father to a middle-class Hindu family. She lives
comfortably among the family but is always treated like a second-class citizen. When she comes
of age, she meets and starts a love affair with a radical Muslim, a jihadi, Rahim. He poisons her
mind against her Hindu family and toward America. When the Hindu father brings an American
boy to live with them while he trains for the Olympics, Rahim brainwashes Parul into sabotaging
the American boy however she can. The American boy, Michael, and the young Hindu daughter
fall in love after a rocky first few months of living together. The story unwinds as the readers learn
more about the background of each of the characters and come to a head when Parul commits
her final betrayal at the end of the novel.

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Saborna Roychowdhury’s Website

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Featured Interview With Julieta Smith

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
JULIETA L SMITH is an advocate, published opinion editorial writer, founder of House of Seven Literature, LLC, and law school graduate who enjoys doing photo shoots in parachute dresses in Santorini, Greece and in balloon skirts in Italy. Smith is a native Floridian, raised in Tallahassee, FL and resident of Atlanta, Georgia. As a prior dog owner, her debut book Moving beyond the Rainbow Bridge: Your Journey to Healing After Losing Your Dog, pays homage to the life lessons and love that her Yorkshire Terrier gave her before he crossed the rainbow bridge. It was through his demise, and working through the grief process that she birthed her debut book, which was released on June 20th.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was raised in a home where the library was a daily visit, and after-school babysitter for my siblings and I because my mother was a single parent. The safest place for me to be was the library, in the children’s section under the watchful eye of the librarian. There, I completed reading challenges, my school work and participated in the literary events hosted by the library, all while my mother was at work. Therefore, I have always had a fasciation with books and I have been creatively writing since my youth because I fantasized a lot and it was as an outlet to life’s twists and turns. As an adult, I have amassed a treasure chest of manuscripts.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love mystery and suspense. However, my favorite author does not fall into either genre. George Orwell, author of Animal Farm, has been my favorite author since I was 12 years old. The way he wrote fairy tales to make political statements fascinates me because, as a recent law school graduate, I learned to look beyond the narrative that is presented because the trust lies behind it. In a sense, it is mystery.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
THE INSPIRATION to create a book specifically for dog owners arises from my path to emotional healing after the unexpected loss of my Yorkshire Terrier, Chez.

After Chez unexpectedly crossed the rainbow bridge in 2022, I experienced an array of unexplained emotions which included deep sadness, and uncertainty in how to navigate the grieving process for my fur baby. Likewise, many dog owners are familiar with and share the unexplained emotions that I felt after the loss of their beloved dog. Such loss can suspend the dog owner in what feels like a perpetual space of sadness, guilt, and without closure.

By doing the work for my own healing, I discovered a blueprint for grieving dog owners to work through their emotional loss and transition into brighter days. Moving Beyond the Rainbow Bridge: Your Journey to Healing After the Loss of Your Dog is for a niche group of people – dog owners and the ones that love them. This carefully curated book of poetry, memoirs, guided journal prompts, and interactive activities assists the grieving dog owner accept the loss of their fur baby, process their new normal without their beloved dog, and focus on joy that their beloved dog brought into their life.

You will never forget your beloved dog because they left paw prints on your hearts. However, you can begin your healing with Moving Beyond the Rainbow Bridge

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Julieta Smith’s Website

Julieta Smith Facebook Page

Featured Interview With L. Ron Hubbard; Kevin J. Anderson; S. M. Stirling; Lazarus Chernik; Kristine Kathryn Rusch; Samuel Parr; Spencer Sekulin; L. H. Davis; Devon Bohm; Arthur H. Manners; David Hankins; David K. Henrickson; J. R. Johnson; Elaine Midcoh; Marianne Xenos; Jason Palmatier; and T. J. Knight

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
This is an international writing contest with winners from 9 countries this year. Each story and illustration includes a bio that introduces each author and artist.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
The international Writers of the Future Contest was created and endowed by L. Ron Hubbard. After several years of success in fostering new writers, the Illustrators of the Future Contest followed. The winning stories are illustrated and published in the annual L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future anthology. Described by critics as a perennial “glimpse of tomorrow’s stars,” a “must-have for the genre reader,” and “the bestselling science fiction anthology series of all time,” it is today the most enduring and top-ranking publication of its kind.

The blue-ribbon panel of judges is what makes this possible. The winning stories are selected by bestselling authors, including Brandon Sanderson, Orson Scott Card, Nnedi Okorafor, Kevin J. Anderson, Brian Herbert, Jody Lynn Nye, Larry Niven, Robert J. Sawyer, Katherine Kurtz, and many others. The best of the best are hand-picked each year.

There is no entry fee, and stories are judged blind, making it a fair competition for all authors and illustrators who enter from anywhere in the world. There are cash prizes. The winners are paid professional rates and maintain their rights.

It is an excellent program for new authors and readers, who often discover their next favorite writer.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
This is a science fiction, fantasy, and horror genre competition.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Writers of the Future Vole 39 is a collection of 12 award-winning debut authors, illustrated by artists who won the competition this year.

Twelve captivating tales selected by Brandon Sanderson, Orson Scott Card, Nnedi Okorafor, Robert J. Sawyer, Kevin J. Anderson, Jody Lynn Nye and others.

Join a team of time travelers who set out to save London from a terrorist’s nuclear attack … when a blast from the past changes everything.

Meet a vampire, a dragon and a shape-shifting Chihuahua in Key West … this is one beach party that’s about to get wild!

Follow Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I., who’s investigating the craziest case of his so-called life.…

Find out what happens when death and taxes come together in the form of one IRS agent, who faces the darkest audit of all.

From dark fantasy to space opera and time travel, you will love these sci-fi and fantasy stories because, as Locus magazine puts it, “Not only is the writing excellent…it is also extremely varied. Hot new talent.”

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L. Ron Hubbard; Kevin J. Anderson; S. M. Stirling; Lazarus Chernik; Kristine Kathryn Rusch; Samuel Parr; Spencer Sekulin; L. H. Davis; Devon Bohm; Arthur H. Manners; David Hankins; David K. Henrickson; J. R. Johnson; Elaine Midcoh; Marianne Xenos; Jason Palmatier; and T. J. Knight’s Website

L. Ron Hubbard; Kevin J. Anderson; S. M. Stirling; Lazarus Chernik; Kristine Kathryn Rusch; Samuel Parr; Spencer Sekulin; L. H. Davis; Devon Bohm; Arthur H. Manners; David Hankins; David K. Henrickson; J. R. Johnson; Elaine Midcoh; Marianne Xenos; Jason Palmatier; and T. J. Knight Facebook Page

L. Ron Hubbard; Kevin J. Anderson; S. M. Stirling; Lazarus Chernik; Kristine Kathryn Rusch; Samuel Parr; Spencer Sekulin; L. H. Davis; Devon Bohm; Arthur H. Manners; David Hankins; David K. Henrickson; J. R. Johnson; Elaine Midcoh; Marianne Xenos; Jason Palmatier; and T. J. Knight Twitter Account