Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

Featured Interview With Michelle M. Pillow

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hi, I’m Michelle M. Pillow, a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author. I grew up in the Midwest, amongst open prairies as wide as my imagination. Now, I live in the American South, where the friendly people make up for the dreadful humidity. My constant companion is my cat, Bunny, who doubles as my writing buddy and manager. She’s a hard taskmaster–even demanding where I should work for the day. When I’m not crafting new worlds, you can often find me brainstorming story ideas with my husband or exploring our new location.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My love for books began early. My mom had us in the book a month club, and we loved new book mail. It created an excitement for reading. My dad would always take us to the library and bookstores. By the time I reached high school, I knew I wanted to be the one to create worlds. I loved to read and would love to find books that had not been checked out for decades in the school library. It was like a game, and ended up being a lot of the classics.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have a deep admiration for many authors. Anne Rice’s blending of romance, fantasy, and the supernatural has been a significant influence on my work. Jane Austen’s sharp wit and pushback against societal norms resonate with me, inspiring character-building in my stories. John Steinbeck’s ability to portray the human condition with such depth and empathy is something I strive to emulate. In terms of genre, I gravitate towards paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and science fiction, as they offer endless possibilities for exploration and creativity. As to modern-day authors, Mandy M. Roth and her Immortal Ops and Grimm Cove series are favorites.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, Merely Mortal, is an urban fantasy novel that explores the intricate dance between the mortal and supernatural. The story follows Tamara, an ordinary woman born into an powerful supernatural family where she must navigate dangers, uncover family secrets, and grapple with her own identity. Writing this book was a journey of discovery. The characters in Merely Mortal are richly developed, each with their own struggles and triumphs that readers can relate to. Tamara’s journey is one of self-discovery and resilience, and I hope it resonates with readers who enjoy emotionally charged stories. If you’re looking for a blend of magic, mystery, action, danger and heartfelt moments, please give Merely Mortal a try. Book one is currently released. Book two, Mostly Shattered releases Oct 2024.

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Michelle M. Pillow’s Website

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Featured Interview With Enid Langbert

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
In the sixties, I spent my time marching, sitting in, and raging against segregation and the war while, in raising three children in my spare time. Eventually, I went to law school. I loved advocating for my clients as an attorney, whether they deserved it or not, until my husband became ill and I closed my practice to care for him. After he passed, I traveled widely and enrolled in an English literature master’s program.

While I was raising my children, in a big old house in the country, I had dogs and cats and chickens. Now that I live alone on the 39th floor of a Manhattan tower.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Books are among my earliest memories. My mother, an avid reader, surrounded me with books which she read to me often. When I was as young as three, she wrote down and showed me things I said, including poems like: Birdies flying overhead; Please come down and eat my bread. Sadly, I have to admit that this doggerel did not display much talent.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am obsessed with James Joyce and am an avid fan of other Irish authors as well: William Butler Yeats – I attended the Yeats summer school in Sligo, Ireland; Brendan Behan – he spoke at Vassar when I was a freshman; Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde. I currently read mysteries — especially by Irish, Scottish and English authors. And, of course, Arthur Conan Doyle! I often re-read Dylan Thomas, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, e.e. Cummings, Alan Ginsberg, T.S. Eliot. I love Milan Kundera and always wanted to study with him. My favorite current author is Colm Toibin and I do enjoy many contemporary authors chosen by my long-standing book club.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Paula Levy is fourteen years old in 1956, a unique moment in time. Adults, traumatized by the Depression and the Holocaust, cling to sameness, safeness and prosperity. But restless adolescents feel the beginnings of the revolution which will explode in the 1960’s. A conspiracy of silence surrounds the Holocaust, which has not yet even been named. And there are no words for the coming revolution. My book is about living in the shadows of the past and celebrating the future in the birth of rock & roll.

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Enid Langbert’s Website

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Featured Interview With Vespasian Phantom

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Vespasian Phantom, and I’m a debut teen author, publishing my first crime fiction book. I was raised in a small country in the heart of Europe, called Slovakia. I’m currently studying in Denmark, and I plan to stay here. I was always in the presence of books, mainly from my mom, who is the biggest book lover I have ever met. She inspired me to write my own – the Unseen Cases of Detective Winston. Nowadays, I run my TikTok account where I teach other teen and adult writers on how to publish their dream book!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I read my first ‘adult’ crime book when I was 13. My mom used to work in a library, and they had a very small English section, and she brought me a Kathy Reichs book home. Ever since then, I read most of Reichs’s books and more. My most favourite book is The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara – I fell in love with the story and how the protagonist slowly became the villain. It really inspired the backstory of Detective Winston.
I started writing short stories when I was in high school, and I wrote Unseen Cases of Detective Winston the summer after I turned 16, a year ago. It took me roughly four months, and hundreds of hours of editing. I truly had no idea what I was getting into, but I enjoyed the whole experience.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I hate to say this, but I have so many favourite books from all the genres that I cannot choose one. My favourites include Kathy Reichs’s Bones series, Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code and Donna Tartt’s Secret History. I also enjoy authors like Murakami or Hanya Yanagihara. My least favourite books are in the fantasy genre. I don’t usually read non-fiction, but last year I started to read more memoirs and finally understood why people enjoy non-fiction.

What inspired me the most to write my book was the fact that there are many crime fiction books with thrilling story lines, apart from the usual unhappy detective who is searching for meaning in their lives. I have decided to writ the ultimate villain in my book as disguise him as a normal person. I don’t want to spoil any more facts, but I can tell you, the end will leave you at the edge of your seats!

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is also my debut book, called Unseen Cases of Detective Winston. It’s a crime thriller, with a variety of characters – I inspired it from my years of reading crime and thriller books, but it still includes its own twists and characters, like Detective Winston, a corrupted cop from New York, whose past is coming to catch up with him. It also explores the morality between the right and the wrong. He is a compulsive liar, manipulative and obsessive over his grand plan – order now to find out!
What makes my book different is the fact that each chapter is inspired by the different ‘unsolvable’ cases Detective Winston and Maxine take on. If you enjoyed books like Dexter, Gone Girl,Sharp Objects and The Silent Patient, you should definitely give my book a try!

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Vespasian Phantom’s Website

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Featured Interview With British Bombshell

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hey everyone! I’m the British Bombshell. I was born in Scotland, Edinburg and raised in London. Currently I’m in the states but travel everywhere!! I don’t have any pets but I have a robot dog, hehe.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always loved to read books and I’ve been writing since I was pretty young. First it was poetry and then papers in college, and now books!!! I’ve always had a skill when it comes to putting words down on paper. I’ve even written a few plays and a comic storyline in the past as well.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Honestly, I don’t really have any favorite authors to read but Stephen King and Richard Wright are definitely two great ones and as you can see from the types of books they write, my genres are vast.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called “How to get over your ex and rebuild your life”. I decided to write it because I’ve seen so many people get stuck after a relationship ends without knowing how to move forward and I wanted to provide advice and guidance to them. I also wanted to share a lot of life lessons that can be utilized to build yourself back under any circumstances.

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British Bombshell’s Website

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Featured Interview With Ian Johnson

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I’m currently writing from my parent’s house in Milwaukee, but I’ll be leaving for New York City in two weeks to begin work as an english language arts instructor for the fall semester. I do not have any of my own pets, but my mom has an absolutely adorable maltese.
I earned my bachor of arts degree in philosophy in 2023. I also studied political theory at Goethe University in 2022. I attended graduate school to study political philosophy and ethics at the University of Pardubice in the Czech Republic in 2023 and 2024, but I left the program before finishing.
I attended a German immersion school when I was in kindergarted and first grade. I still speak enough German to make small talk with natives. I also picked up French in 2022. My French is much better than my German.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My mother is a librarian, and I’ve always been highly interested in reading. I started writing short horror stories in middle school, after I discovered Stephen King.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am heavily influenced by existentialist literature (Dostoevksy, Sartre, Camus, Cioran, Kafka, Richard Wright etc.). I really appreciate Plato’s dialogues as well. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is also one of my favorite books.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My debut novel, Notes from After Dusk, is an epistolary exploration of depression, sadness, and relationships. The novel also explores Liberalism, Existentialism, Marxism, phenomenological ontology, Hegelianism, and a myriad of other thought provoking themes.

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Ian Johnson’s Website

Featured Interview With Stuart Stromin

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Stuart Stromin is an award-winning South African-American writer and filmmaker in Los Angeles. He was educated at Rhodes University, South Africa, the Alliance Francaise de Paris, and UCLA. His latest novel is Wild Cards (Close2theBone Publishing), and his latest poetry chapbook is Sea of Troubles (Bottlecap Press), and his latest collection of short stories is subspace (EMP Publishing).

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I love stories so much that I began writing as soon as I could write! I was published at an early age, and have made writing part of my life and career.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am stuck in the classics: Shakespeare, Dickens, Dostoevsky, Camus, Twain, Steinbeck, but sometimes a contemporary crime fiction treat, like Elmore Leonard.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
subpace, a collection of kinky tales and stories, dares to explore the deepest, darkest desires of the human psyche.

from the power dynamics of dominance and submission to the tantalizing allure of kleptomania and the raw exposure of exhibitionism, each story is sensually crafted in a high literary style.

encounter characters who surrender to their most forbidden fantasies and fetishes, who pursue gratification at any expense, and who venture into uncharted realms of passion, yearning, and redemption.

sometimes playful, sometimes poetic, always provocative, subspace embarks on a journey where kink intertwines with romance in a rich tapestry of tales which defy convention, and keep you begging for more.

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Stuart Stromin’s Website

Featured Interview With Kristina Elyse Butke

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hi! I’m Kristina, a YA Fantasy author based out of Ohio. I’m originally from Flushing, Queens, but have called Ohio home for most of my life, with the exception of two adventures–I lived in Wales for six months on a study abroad program, and lived in Japan for six years teaching English. The places I’ve lived influence my writing quite a bit, inspiring settings and even magical creatures. As far as creatures go, sadly I do not have any pets, but I absolutely adore cats.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was very young, in elementary school, when I realized I loved reading. In third grade I started writing stories. My teacher sold blank white hardcover books that you could illustrate and write in, and so my very first book was “The Fantasy Club.” I put all of my friends into that story, including myself, but stole the plot from TV. I was like that with writing for a while, using a sort of fanfiction way about it–taking something already made, and making the story last longer or changing it to suit my needs!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors to read are Margaret Rogerson, Alix E. Harrow, Juliet Marillier, T. Kingfisher, N.K. Jemisin, Holly Black, and more. But those authors specifically are auto-buys for me because what I’ve read of their writing, I’ve ended up loving. I read fiction but I also read manga, so I have two favorite genres: in fiction, YA Fantasy; in manga, BL. Authors of YA Fantasy influence my writing the most, but of all the ones I’ve mentioned, I’d probably choose Margaret Rogerson as my biggest influence. I’ve loved every story she’s written. Meanwhile, Juliet Marillier is the author who made me want to write fiction.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My debut novel, SON OF THE SIREN, was written while I lived in Japan, so my time there definitely ended up influencing the writing, from settings to creatures from folklore. It’s also inspired by fairy tales, namely three: Allerleirauh, The Wild Swans, and The Little Mermaid. I took motifs from each fairy tale and then gender swapped characters and mushed everything into a single story. If you know those fairy tales, you’ll definitely see pieces of them in the book, but if not, you’ll just get a tale you’ve never read before!

It’s about Lirien, a half-siren who calls on siren powers to bring his father, the King, back from the sea. But a siren song’s true strength is seduction, and Lirien ensnares his stepmother, the Queen, with its melody. The Queen uses magic to force Lirien’s love, but instead it steals Lirien’s voice and turns his siblings into animals. Lirien will risk everything to break the spells, but his own curse haunts him should he stray too long from the sea.

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Kristina Elyse Butke’s Website

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Featured Interview With Rachna Singh

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am Rachna Singh, author & Editor of The Wise Owl, an international literary & art e-magazine. I have authored 5 books in different genres, the latest being Phoenix in Flames, a collection of short stories about ordinary women who become extraordinary because of the resilience, fortitude and grit.

My father was in the Indian army and was posted to a different place every few years. My sister and I loved exploring new places and meeting new people. Our childhood was one big adventure. Dad was often posted to remote army stations, but I enjoyed the solitude because my dad had inculcated in me a love for books and I spent all my spare time reading anything and everything I could lay my hands on.

I now live in Chandigarh (India), which is a beautiful town at the foot of the Shivalik hills.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My father, before he joined the Army, had been a professor of English literature. He loved books and passed on his passion to me. As a child I would spend hours pouring over books and magazines, completely lost to the world around me.

I was probably twelve when I started writing. To begin with my writing was more in the nature of musings and scribblings about any subject that interested me. As I grew up, I began writing for the school magazine. In college I joined an Honours course in English literature and eventually enrolled in a masters program in english literature. I then began to write literary pieces for national dailies in India.

Then a whimsical fate beckoned and I joined the Indian Revenue Service. After several years as a Taxwoman, I decided to pursue my passion, quit the IRS and became a full-time writer.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love to read a well-crafted book, be it poetry or fiction or creative non-fiction. My favourite writers are Shakespeare (King Lear), TS Eliot (The Wasteland) and Jane Austen. Among the contemporary writers I love reading Paul Lynch (Prophet Song) and Audrey Magee (The Colony).

Life offers inspiration to write.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
‘Phoenix In Flames’ is a book dedicated to all ordinary women, who with their defiant resilience and fortitude become heroic and extraordinary. Sana, Sahar, Malini, Mrityunjai, Utkarsha and other female protagonists grapple with their personal demons and tragedies. Some arise rejuvenated and reborn like the Phoenix, others perish, consumed by their own torment. Although from different echelons of society, these women are soul sisters as they are united in their grief and their ability to face the adversities of life with a smile. The book also dwells on social evils like gender bias, under-age marriage and domes8c violence.

Will the irreparable loss of her son push Malini to the brink of a numbing emptiness, or will she be reborn as the nurturer of all? Will Sana break through the dark clouds of an impending tragedy or will she perish in the flames of her anguish, never to rise again? Will Sahar be able to fight the desire for self- annihilation triggered by an incestuous relationship? Will the scars left by Farhan on Kudrat’s psyche heal? The readers will find the answers to these questions as they traverse the dark landscape of emotional tales of tormented souls.

In weaving together the stories of these women, I also dwell upon the treatment of women in our society today (both in India and outside). Sahar is disregarded by her father as she is a girl and is forced into marriage with a man old enough to be her father. Safeena is given up by her parents for adoption as she is a girl. Kudrat becomes the vic8m of domes8c and psychological violence in an apparently progressive urban household.

My stories find an echo in the lives of all women. The stories at times elicit a smile as ordinary women scale extraordinary heights. At other times they leave you misty-eyed at the tragic turn of events.

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Rachna Singh’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 am a cookbook author I only bake gluten free desserts. I bake for people with celiac disease. My dream is to be on Food Network and really show people how to make and bake yummy gluten free dessert. And get my recipes out to the world to help so many more people! I was raised in South Deerfield Massachusetts. I live in Turners Falls Massachusetts. I have no pets at this time.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
When I was 41 years old and started writing cookbooks no one there to help me write a good cookbook. I have learned a lot through the years about being an author. Now I write cookbooks for adults and kids with celiac disease. I want to get my recipes out the world to help so many more people with this celiac disease.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Who is inspires me is Alex Guarnaschelli on Food Network she is just awesome my dream is to be on Food Network and meet her and get my recipes out to the world to help others with this disease. My genre to read is English. My husband and my mom when she was alive and friends have inspired me to write my cookbooks.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The last book I published was my Kid’s Gluten Free Dessert Cookbook. There is candy, cookies and cupcakes all gluten free. My passion is to bake for kids who have celiac disease. I have created this kids’ dessert cookbook in a way that kids can understand how to make the recipes.

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Tammy Aiken Facebook Page

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Featured Interview With Kim Carter Mystery Novelist

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised outside Atlanta, Georgia, and lived on the outskirts of town in Newnan for many years. When my husband passed a few years ago, I decided to move to Biloxi, Mississippi closer to many of my supportive friends. I have raised four beautiful grown children and enjoy time with my grandbabies. I enjoy walks on the beach with my dog Wally.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
There isn’t a time that I can remember that I didn’t love books.
My mother read to me incessantly as a child and I still have all the ‘well-worn’ childhood books to this day. I read them to my children as well as their favorites.

I didn’t start writing until 1999 when an illness left me homebound for a few years. So, I began to write different plots and stories, before I knew it my first mystery, not knowing I was good at it, and started writing my first book.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite genre is mystery/suspense which is also what I write.
I have so many favorites but to name a few….Sue Grafton, Iris Johansen, Karin Slaughter, and Mary Higgins Clark. My husband Jules was my #1 person who inspired me. Today my best friend, Lisa Mobley Putnam, Kelly Keylon my publisher, and of course my dear friend and expert marketer, Cat Lyon are my greatest supporters and inspiration. My sister, Pam, is my biggest fan and encourager!

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My newest novel, “The Root of All Evil” book three is part of the “A Clara and Iris Mystery Series” of novels and was released in February 2024. Book two is titled “Murder Among the Tombstones” and book one introduces the characters of Clara and Iris in “Sweet Dreams, Baby Belle.”
A little backstory of how Clara and Iris came to be while how other characters begin and my investment of the real “baby belle”…

‘Sweet Dreams Baby Belle’, was inspired by a child’s tombstone in a Biloxi Cemetery. It was broken and only had the name Baby Belle on it. There wasn’t a date of birth or death. My friend and I were so moved by it that we researched her for over two years and were eventually able to repair her broken monument while maintaining the integrity of the original base made by her family in the late 1800s.

Although the novel is completely fictional, ‘Baby Belle’ was the pure inspiration behind it. The book begins with Lizzie, who is a waitress in Atlanta but marries a cardiac surgeon who sweeps her off her feet and gives her a life of luxury.
However, Lizzie soon learns all that glitters is not gold when she discovers her husband’s drug development company is a Ponzi scheme. She realizes her life could be in danger if she doesn’t somehow escape the gated mansion on the hill. Her only hope is to go to Biloxi, Mississippi, and seek refuge with her sister, Maggie.
Maggie and her husband Leland quickly find a safe harbor for Lizzie in a house on the bayou. However, the house at the end of the street might not be the quiet retreat Lizzie was hoping for.

The confines of her hideaway soon get to Lizzie so she begins sneaking out in the middle of the night to walk in the historical cemetery next door. One night a damaged, carved lamb on top of the tombstone of a small child catches her eye, and the story of the baby/child captures her heart. But when Lizzie Chatsworth thinks her world can’t get any more complicated, she finds herself in the middle of a mystery from the 1800s pulling her in and demanding she seek justice.
As her husband’s empire begins to crumble, he’s more determined than ever to find Lizzie and kill her. But, will the mystery of Baby Belle’s death end Lizzie’s life first?

Books two and three share these two old retired private investigators opening their own PI business together and take readers off on both a gripping and some humorous mystery situations…

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Kim Carter Mystery Novelist’s Website

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Featured Interview With Dr Toula Gordillo

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a practicing clinical and Jungian psychologist who specialises in helping people to ‘tap into’ their unconscious through stories and images. It is part of a teaching and counselling method I have developed over the past fourteen years called Story Image Therapy (SIT) and it’s practical application: SIT Shadow Work™. Every day, I do regular teaching and counselling in schools, medical centres, private organisations, businesses etc. What I love the most, though, is helping people to REALLY know and understand themselves better on an unconscious level. Uncovering the cause and effects of deep seated issues, understanding the responses in our daily life that we were not consciously aware of… for me, it’s like panning for gold. When you find a ‘nugget’ of truth or explanation, it really does feel like you’ve struck gold. It’s the most rewarding thing you can do, and I believe, the most important.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I know I’ve always been a writer because I have a diary that I started writing in when I was just nine years old… and I never really stopped. I’ve also always had a fascination with storytelling, I think, due to my father’s narratives as a child. He would tell me a story (about life, work or some other lesson) and then we’d discuss it. These vivid stories always contained a moral or message that I could relate to. He’d also read me stories as a child too, or we’d listen to audiobooks containing stories like The Hobbit. This was during a time when audiobooks weren’t really popular – certainly not like they are today. I loved the stories and particularly the bonding that happened between us due to the stories and accompanying images. It really is the best way to learn about life, ourselves, and the other person.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
JRR Tolkein of course was one of my early favourites, Enid Blyton too, as well as more contemporary works. What I really love reading though is ancient quotes, like from the Stoic and Taoist philosophers as well as Dr Carl Jung’s quotes, and then thinking about how they can be applied to every day life. It’s deep, but old metaphors can easily be remembered, yet their effects can last a lifetime.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Rise of Jung in Me resulted from journalling during my own Story Image Therapy healing journey. Ironically, I’d been creating SIT as a form of therapy, and using it to heal others’ deep-seated issues for years, but I’d never really thought about using it on myself. That is, until my unconscious adolescent feelings of powerless, rejection and abandonment (we call them complexes in a person’s shadow in Jungian psychology) became triggered – first in my job at age 38, and then ten years later in my private life. I couldn’t ignore these old familiar feelings any more, and found I HAD to work on them. Healing my own adolescent shadow, (that’s issues in my unconscious that I’d suppressed since my teen years) and the subsequent creation of SIT Shadow Work™ to help others heal their inner ‘wounded adolescent’, regardless of age, is what the book is about. I also include six case studies of how I’ve used a combination of ancient and modern Science, Spirit and Story to help six amazing young people whose lives were transformed through SIT Shadow Work™.

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Dr Toula Gordillo’s Website

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Featured Interview With Gigi Kaur

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born and raised in the UK. I’m an anonymous author.

I’m a pharmacist, all I’ve known most of my adult life is how to be a pharmacist. When I decided that I wanted to write, and I wanted to write about things inspire by true events I knew that I couldn’t do it under my professional name. I am still a Pharmacist I still have my registration, I still practise and it is my primary profession and source of income. But writing is a passion, and life is too short not to embrace your passions. So I knew that I needed to write under a pseudonym- allowing me to remain an upstanding pillar of the community while moonlighting a steamy romance novelist. But its not solely my profession that lead me to writing anonymously, I am Indian. Being Indian and being open about sex is just not the done thing. Sex is still very much taboo within the culture which is surprising since the karma sutra very much highlights the importance of sexual desires and that scripture was created in India. But generally my family and wider community would not be very accepting to my style of writing. That and the fact that its inspired by true events!

I do have pets, I have 3 puppies- my little fur babies keep me very busy!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I actually really enjoyed creative writing at school… but I didn’t get top marks for my writing so I assumed I wasn’t very good at it. I tired to write a book just after university, I think I started the first few chapters but I just didn’t have the focus. It’s only now that I found the focus and the confidence to write my story- and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every minute.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have a very wide range of interest when it comes to books. But I would say I drew my inspiration for Jaia Lust from Eat, Pray, Love and 50 shades of Grey- not inspiration necessarily for the plot or the characters but for writing the book in general. There are so many books I’ve read, Harry Potter amongst many others in my childhood, books by Slyvia Day, Memoirs of a Geisha, Girl with a dragon tatoo series, Charles dickens, many many books. Usually when I go on holiday I take at least 4 or 5 books with me, at university I used to take text books but now thankfully it’s predominantly fiction.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Initially I was in two minds about even writing this book. I had heard about a lot of unrest within the Sikh community about interacial marriages and quite a lot of the explicit scenes are between Jaia (the main character) who is Sikh and her romance interests who range from white, black, and Hispanic. My worry was that the story itself would cause a lot of unrest but compounding that my pseudonym makes it very clear that I am in fact Sikh. But thankfully so far no concerns have been raised. The book takes a very modern view on romance its empowering with a strong female lead who is flawed and completely relatable. I wanted to create a character who was strong, smart, adventurous and sensual. I wanted a romance novel where happiness and fulfilment wasn’t hinged on a romantic relationship, with some self discovery and profound advice thrown in for good measure! It’s a feel good book with travel, passion and an element of real life.

As a pharmacist I know how important it is to talk about sex and sexual health feely and openly. So whilst I worry about the negative response this book might get I am hopeful that there will be some positivity in there too.

Jaia Lust:

Jaia has just finished university, ended her long-term relationship and has left her home town to start the first job of her career. The first job that actually means something, and will define her professional life.

All she has to do is focus; pass her pre-registration year, pass her exams and become the pharmacist she’s always wanted. How hard can it be? What could possibly go wrong? Will she be pulled astray? Dive deep into Jaia Lust, and discover the truth for yourself.

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Featured Interview With Sheri T. Joseph

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My family lived in a small beach town in New York until I was 10, with lots of messing around with boats with my brother and sisters. Then my Dad, a judge, realized his John Muir dream and moved us to Marin County in California, for wild sailing on the bay and endless hiking. I inherited his restless traveler genes, and backpacked and traveled around much of the world. A love of language and writing led me to some stressful years as a trial attorney before becoming Executive Director of a nonprofit that supports creation of affordable housing for families, veterans, and refugees. I married a Texan (gig ’em), and we raised three kids here in Marin. We also have a very hungry one-eyed yellow Lab named Bailey.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was lucky to grow up in a house crammed with books, where the favorite expression was “You could look it up!” I was reading what in hindsight were overly-adult books at a very young age, and in third grade won a writing contest with a poem about a flea and a fly getting drunk in a saloon. Seriously.
Jury trial work was a blessing and a curse for writing — you learn to craft persuasive and compelling stories, but the law still demands very linear thinking. I went back and took a series of writing courses from fantastic professors, moving from poetry to novels, and found my own creative voice.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love the authors who don’t give a damn about genre, have big imaginations, take risks, and explore complex ideas as well as feelings. They perform that magical shift from heartbreak to humor in a flash. Most importantly, they create characters you care about deeply. A short list of those who have inspired me over the years includes Margaret Atwood, George Saunders, Mark Helprin, David Eggers, Emily St. John Mandel, Simon Rich, and Kazuo Ishiguro. Patrick O’Brien’s historical fiction series is a master class in everything and stole several years of my life. And I’m in awe of Jennifer Egan — the last scene in The Candy House, seamlessly moving a family through time, just pierced my heart.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
To me, Edge of the Known World is a multi-faceted love story — the wild passions of first romantic love, the love between brothers, between father and daughter, and the tangled love of families. That story is wrapped in a speculative fiction thriller set in a near future when genetic screening tests, like 23andMe or Ancestry.com, make it impossible to hide a secret identity.
The idea came from a mention in a lecture about how Hitler had tried to develop a blood test to detect Jewish and Gypsy children who looked Aryan enough to be hiding in the open with German or Polish families. Such a test was not possible back then, but made me wonder how that would translate with modern science and tech—not just for any of the “inferior” ethnic groups during WWII, but in other historical events around the world, where people who did not stand out by physical appearance, and were perhaps even themselves unaware of their background, would have faced deadly consequences. What if in the Rwandan genocide, the Hutu militias had a screening test to detect Tutsis? Dalits who blended with the upper castes in India? Serbs and Bosnians, Chinese in wartime Japan, too many slices of American history, and countless others.
The problem, of course, is that technology has evolved, but people have not. Recent news was a hack into 23AndMe that stole information on accounts with Ashkenazi and Chinese ancestry to sell on the dark web: https://www.wired.com/story/23andme-credential-stuffing-data-stolen/
In my novel, Alexandra Tashen is a brilliant student, adoring daughter, merry wit, and exuberant prankster. She is also hiding in the open.
After a blissful childhood on a Texas ranch, Alex learns the truth: She is a refusé from a brutal regime, smuggled into the Allied Nations as an infant. Everyone from her birthplace carries a harmless but detectable bit of viral DNA from a regional vaccine. If detected by the rapid genetic testing now standard at security ID screens, Alex will be returned to the Federation and a likely death. Her adoptive father developed a gene therapy to mask her g-marker, but it is not fully effective. Every g-screen presents a nerve-racking one-in-ten chance of getting caught.
When her father goes missing, Alex abandons her cloistered academic life in San Francisco for a globe-trotting Commission in a desperate race to warn him of a trap. As Alex dodges g-screens on her precarious and often-hilarious adventure, a love triangle develops between her and two men: Eric Burton, a commanding and disgraced intelligence officer, and his sworn brother, Strav Beki, a charismatic and dangerously unhinged diplomat. Betrayals mount and secrets unravel, building to the most confounding choices that people can face—choices between love, family loyalty, and moral obligation.

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Sheri T. Joseph’s Website

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Featured Interview With Joel Shoemaker

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Joel Shoemaker has been a librarian for a decade and a magician for three! He lives in central Illinois with his husband, a frog, a colony of cherry shrimp, and his dog, Maximus. He consumes an inordinate amount of cheese.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I actually didn’t grow up a reader. I fell in love with it after being assigned the book FIGHT CLUB by Chuck Palahniuk in college. I instantly read everything he’d ever written and other authors he would recommend. While I don’t write like him, I found his style fascinating. It wasn’t until I became a librarian that I started writing and that was chiefly because I noticed a lack of affirming-faith based work for the LGBTQIA+ community, especially fiction work and especially for younger readers. I wanted to create that for people like me, if at all possible.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My writing teacher is Chelsea Cain, a good friend of the aforementioned Chuck Palahniuk. I lucked into that space and, because of that, their work as minimalist thriller writers has greatly influenced my work, albeit not at all…thrilling, shall we say?

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is SILAS ON SUNDAYS, an affirming-faith picture book that follows a gender nonconforming child to church. It uses they/them pronouns and subtly teaches/reinforces the days of the week while showing that a gender nonconforming child can thrive at home AND in a church community.

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Joel Shoemaker’s Website

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Featured Interview With Laura Fienor

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am an Australian author travelling the globe to inspire motivated citizens to employ a wide range of new and inventive strategies to create a better world. My new book, Cutting-Edge Ideas, is part of a grassroots revolutionary movement.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Over the course of my life, I have taken a multidisciplinary approach to the books that I have read and written – this includes both fiction and non-fiction genres (from Futures Studies, Education, and Law to Psychology, Philosophy, and Mystical texts!).

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My latest book, Cutting-Edge Ideas: Empowering Agents of Positive World Change, has been inspired by theories and ideas from many fields of inquiry. Writers like David Suzuki (Time to Change and The Sacred Balance); Tyson Yunkaporta (Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World); Richard Slaughter (Futures-Based Education); Daphne Rose Kingma (The Future of Love); James Van Praagh (Wisdom From Your Spirit Guides); and Carl Jung (on topics like Synchronicities) have all been key influences.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
CUTTING-EDGE IDEAS: EMPOWERING AGENTS OF POSITIVE WORLD CHANGE explores:
– Futures-Based Education System Transformation;
– Strategies for Revitalising Ideologies and Practices That Promote Sustainability, Equity, and Peace; plus
– Multidisciplinary Concepts and Practical Activities Enabling Individuals to Create Preferable Realities.
ENTANGLEMENT – INTERCONNECTEDNESS – UNITY – ONENESS – INFINITY!

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Laura Fienor’s Website

Featured Interview With Amin Masih

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Amin Masih. I’m a fiction writer from Durgapur, West Bengal, India where I was born and brought up. I still live in my hometown and work as an accounts executive. I’m not a professional writer but want to be soon. I’ve written dozens of short stories and three poetry collections so far. I don’t have any pets but I love pets.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve been fond of reading books since childhood. When I was in seventh grade, I became interested in writing. At that age, I wrote a short novel, which was never published. By the way, it was limited to a few pages. I published my first book as an ebook on Amazon in 2018, four years after finishing college. Since then, I have written dozens of short stories.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors are Ved Prakash Sharma and Surender Mohan Pathak. These authors and their books inspired me to write my own books. My favorite genres are adventure, thriller, suspense and horror.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is “The India Files” which is a poetry collection written on India and its people. Here India and its people refers to the history of India and the current social and political issues and challenges that India has faced, and is currently facing.

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Amin Masih’s Website

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Featured Interview With Barbara Mostella

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Ashville, Alabama, and I have a Bachelor of Science degree from Alabama Agricultural & Mechanical University (AAMU). I’m a retired Program Manager from the Department of Defense and I live in Georgia with my husband. We have no pets.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My passion for books ignited doing elementary school, and I found immense joy in frequenting the library and reading newspapers. I started my writing journey in 2019 after completing a training course on writing and publishing books.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
The late Stuart Woods, a renowned best-selling author and my biggest author fan was the source of my inspiration for writing. His books would capture your attention in the first chapter of his books and hold you until the last chapter. I’ve tried to replicate his writing in my own way. My favorite genre to read is fiction.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
On February 21, 2024, I published ‘Why Now’, the third and last book in my series ‘Who would have thought’. The last book took about 6 months to write. Each book in the series can be read independently. ‘Why Now’ is a gripping tale of resilience, self-discovery, and the relentless pursuit of the truth about the main character Alphonso. The suspenseful narrative and unexpected twists will keep readers on the edge of their seats, making it a compelling exploration of the main character memory, identity, and the consequences of a past deliberately erased.

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Barbara Mostella’s Website

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Featured Interview With Nassima Drihmi

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Nassima Drihmi. Moroccan author and writer. Born in Souk El Arbaa Du Gharb in Morocco and raised in Khenifra.
I am currently living in Souk El Arbaa Du Gharb near my grandmother Kassmia Aroui. I love pets. I have a beautiful cat named Katy.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve started reading books at a very young age. I remember my mother used to buy me different books in Arabic and French. I really enjoyed reading more day by day.
Later, I’ve started writing some texts and short stories in French at my teen days. Then English.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like romance books and also the stories about life and morals. I read many books of different authors like Victor Hugo, Henry Renard etc…
To write you need an imagination, and you have to set yourself free!

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I wrote a children story called “WE ALL NEED A FRIEND” for children all over the world. It is a story about the value and importance of friendship in life and what makes a friend specal.
We all need someone we trust and care about. A friend who can share our fears and dreams.

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Nassima Drihmi’s Website

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Featured Interview With Ahuva Batya Scharff

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am the daughter of Jewish pork producers (Truth!) and spent the first 11 years of my life on a hog ranch outside of Fresno, California. We also had raisins, but that’s perhaps not as interesting as Jews raising pigs.

When my parents divorced, I moved to Oregon with my mother and brother to live on a hobby farm in the Willamette Valley. Though I lived in Los Angeles for 15 years after university, I prefer rural areas with lots of trees and make my home in NW Washington, near Bellingham, in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I live in what is essentially a writer’s retreat filled with folk and tribal art from my travels, with two cats and a miniature schnauzer. My animals all have Hebrew names and love to sleep in the bed while I’m writing.

By training, I am a mental health researcher with a doctorate in the transdisciplinary field of transformative studies. Transformative studies looks at how change occurs–in humans, systems, organizations, etc. Our research is generally focused on solving a problem rather than “advancing the knowledge base” of a field. I don’t look at a problem through the lens of psychology or anthropology to advance our understanding of psychology or anthropology. Instead I use information from many fields to find solutions to sometimes very complex issues. In my case, I look at how we can improve wellbeing and resilience in humans around the world.

To that end, I am the founder of and principal investigator for the Institute for Complementary and Indigenous Mental Health Research. I am an explorer who travels to some of the most remote communities in the world to learn how non-Western, indigenous, and often marginalized groups address mental health concerns. It has been a fascinating area of inquiry that has given me the opportunity to learn from wonderful people in every part of the world. These encounters not only inform my writing, but have given me opportunities to learn new ways of connecting with the world around me and appreciating human resilience and courage.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
When I was a little girl growing up on the farm, I dreamed of being a writer and an anthropologist. I longed to travel to far off lands to meet the people who lived there, and write about my adventures. And that’s what I do. While I write fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, my “work” is to learn about complementary and indigenous mental health practices to improve overall wellbeing among people worldwide. I’m particularly interested in the relationship between trauma and climate change.

That’s where my novel, “The Path to God’s Promise” was born. How might people deal with potential hardships related to climate change, and are we willing to make changes–including radical changes–to prevent the worst outcomes? Fiction gives me room to explore those themes and ideas in a way that nonfiction doesn’t.

Funny story. When I was in kindergarten in the late 1970s, we were taken to the school library weekly for a reading circle. Kindergarteners were not allowed to check out books. It was assumed that we couldn’t read. I didn’t understand that we were only at the library to hear stories, not get books. I had been to the public library and thought that libraries were a place where you chose books you wanted to read. What I failed to grasp was the concept of the library card, that one had to have permission to take books, to check them out. I thought that if you were taken to the library, you had permission to take a book. I was five; what did I know? I was caught “stealing” a library book. In point of fact, I was returning a book I had borrowed. The principal wanted to expel me. Can you imagine expelling a kindergarten student for stealing a library book? My mom was called. I should probably mention that she spent more than 30 years as an elementary school teacher. Long story short, I was not expelled and the following day, there was a small reading group set up for the handful of kindergarten students who were already readers.

My first published work was in the fourth grade. I was taken on a school trip to the zoo and asked to write a poem about any animal that caught my fancy. I wrote a poem about a pygmy hippo. The poem was deemed so good that it, and a drawing of a hippo, were put into the school’s newsletter. My first brush with literary fame!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Margaret Atwood. Barbara Kingsolver. Neil Gaiman. Stephen King. Octavia Butler. Alexander McCall Smith. Jorge Luis Borges.

I like fantasy, often choosing stories that are about our contemporary world with a little magical overlay. Or books with ghosts. Or jinn. Or witches. Seanan McGuire does an excellent job of mixing the contemporary with the completely fantastic in the Wayward Children series.

I love stories centered on people from other cultures. I love folklore and learning about people who have vastly different lives and worldviews. How do the characters see the world? What are their motivations? Do they inspire me to action? Plus incorporate an angel or mad scientist if it works with the context. That’s what I like about Borges, a South American take on fantasy.

I like stories about wonderful characters. While not fantasy, I’m crazy about Alexander McCall Smith’s Mma Ramotswe and Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead. They’re brilliant people who I would love to meet in “real” life. I am not alone in wanting to have tea and fat cakes in Gaborone with Mma Ramotswe. While I might not want to meet her in my home or my dreams, Butler’s Shori Matthews is an interesting take on the vampire (and prejudice). I want to read characters who become alive through the telling of their story.

I love Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy, especially “Oryx and Crake.” I love the way Atwood draws on science, history, and the genuinely possible to create her dystopian worlds. My outlook is more hopeful than Atwood’s, but I aspire to her masterful world creation.

I don’t generally like when authors read their own works, with the notable exception of Neil Gaiman. “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” is an even more intriguing story when read by Gaiman. The oddity of his voice is the perfect match for the strangeness of his tales. Too, Gaiman’s ability to add magic to anything is exceptional. I am simply crazy about “The Graveyard Book.”

I also like that many of these authors talk about the process of writing. I know he isn’t the originator of the idea, but I consistently remind myself of King’s, “Kill your darlings…” as I edit. I read “It” on a canoe trip down a river in Oregon with a group of Girl Scouts and was pretty sure that a clown was going to come out from under the canoes and kill us all. “The Stand” is one of my favorites among King’s works. I also really enjoyed “Needful Things.”

Tell us a little about your latest book?
If God asked you to be a prophet, would you do it? Before you say yes, consider that doing so likely means giving up your goals for yourself and almost certain ridicule in your community. I mean really, if someone got on TV and said they were speaking on God’s behalf, wouldn’t most people laugh?

Yet that’s exactly what God asks of Elinor Simentov in “The Path to God’s Promise.” God’s request is loaded for Elinor. Prophecy is not accepted in contemporary Jewish practice. And Elinor isn’t “special.” She’s a recovered alcoholic and a trauma survivor who has no exemplars to recommend her for the job, except that she talks with God, and despite how she sees herself, God believes she’s exactly the right person to share His message.

Originally, I was going to write a nonfiction book about climate change, but with all the anti-intellectual pushback against climate scientists as propagating “fake news,” I decided instead to write fiction. Writing a fictional story allowed me to look at climate change from a different angle than nonfiction. I got to jump into the “what ifs” by taking Elinor through past historical and mythological (depending on your religious views) events, and potential futures, so that we could learn together what might happen if we indulge the best and the worst in us.

In Elinor, we have an unlikely hero. But then, aren’t we all unlikely heroes? The story doesn’t work if Elinor is exceptional. If she is, then there’s little hope for humankind. If we’re going to stave off the worst impacts of climate change, we’ll have to take collective action, not wait for the best and brightest to “save” us. Elinor has to look at herself–her feelings of low self-worth and the negative stories she tells herself that limit what she can accomplish. As much as the book is a climate change warning, it’s also about the deeply personal struggles we have to see the best in ourselves. If we’re going to change anything, climate/politics/community, we have to stop hoping solutions will come from outside. Elinor shows a path for us to become more empowered versions of ourselves.

It took me a decade to write the book. I dove deep into the history in and of the Torah, Jewish mysticism, and the roles of prophets and angels in Jewish stories. I studied Talmud and Jewish folktales. I also researched climate change projections and recent examples of extreme storms, fires, and other natural disasters in various parts of the world. Whether she was in the distant past or here and now, I wanted the world in which Elinor lives to become real.

Books take on a life of their own after they are published. Sometimes new themes develop that I didn’t initially see as the author. What surprised me is how much of the waves of antisemitism that are part of the book have played out since the novel was published a few months ago. “The Path to God’s Promise” came out only days after the October 7 massacre in Israel. It has been disheartening to see this particular potential future come to pass.

While it may be difficult to be a Jewish author at a time when antisemitism is at an unfortunate high, I have genuinely enjoyed the feedback I’ve gotten from readers, including and especially those who are not Jewish. What I call “service oriented” Christians and Catholics have rallied behind the story. By service oriented, I mean people who see their expression of faith to be through acts of service. At a book signing, one Christian reader shared that she fell in love with Elinor precisely because she was so broken. She appreciated the ways in which Elinor fights through her deficits in a commitment to her relationship with God. It’s a spiritual story I’m told inspires those of us who might need a boost. As an author, such feedback is heartening.

Because the book has moved so many Christian and “spiritual but not religious” readers, I feel I must underscore what prophecy is in a Jewish context. Prophecy is a warning, not a reading of a predestined future. It’s a parent saying to a teen, “put on your sunscreen so you don’t get burned.” We don’t force them to act, but do warn of potential consequences. The best prophets are those who are heeded and horrific outcomes averted. I hope that Elinor does not become a fortuneteller. I hope that like Job, she is able to be one of the voices to whom people listen and motivate all of us to create change.

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Ahuva Batya Scharff’s Website

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