Tag: Indie Author

Author Interview

Author interview with writer Olivia J. Bennett

Mandy Webster

Olivia J. Bennett (she/they) is the award-winning author of the novel, Casually Homicidal. In 2018, her flash fiction “Clutching Roses” was awarded a National Gold Medal from Scholastic Art & Writing, and her creative nonfiction and short stories have been published in literary journals such as Euphemism and Outrageous Fortune. 

Their writing has been described as “visceral, honest, and evocative” and “gritty, yet poetic,” and their work often explores themes of mental health, being an eldest daughter, and overcoming past trauma. She loves to include morally-gray female heroines, atmospheric settings, and genre-bending horror in her contemporary, fantasy, and science fiction works.

When not creating, Olivia is most likely baking cookies, binge-watching Naruto or Lost with their partner, or cuddling their two cats, Baloo and Bagheera. She can be found somewhere between the corn and the big blue sky in Illinois.

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Author Interview

Author interview with Christina Wallace

Mandy Webster

Christina Wallace is an author of Middle-Grade, YA, & Romance novels. She has been a lifelong writer, but didn’t enter the world of publishing until 2023. Wallace grew up in a military family and has lived in many places. During her own time in the U.S. Navy, she was deployed to Afghanistan and the Philippines, where she met her husband, who was stationed with another unit. Even during her Navy career, she worked tirelessly on her writing.

The idea for Wallace’s novel, The Light Keeper, first appeared during NaNoWriMo 2017, and from there, it was developed into a novel and eventually grew into a series.

Now, Christina enjoys sharing her stories far and wide, while also inspiring children to explore their creative side and to follow their dreams. She lives in Florida with her husband, two children, a dog, and a cat.

Q: When did you first catch the writing bug? What drove you to persist?

A:  I began writing obsessively when I was in Middle School, about 22 years ago! I’d always had a very active imagination, my friends and I role-played our favorite shows all of the time. In the middle of 7th grade we moved and I didn’t make friends easily. So, I poured myself into writing. The characters I wrote all had tight friend groups, and it made me feel less lonely. The more I wrote, the more I knew sharing stories was what I was made to do.

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Author Interview

Author interview with Dr. Joel Anthony Hamilton

Mandy Webster

Dr. Joel Anthony Hamilton is the author of the Mud Crab Kingdom series, which is set in a world where “being mud-skinned is worse than murder, and being “different” is worse than being mud-skinned.”

Hamilton’s works include three books in the Mud Crab Kingdom series: The Soft-Shelled Prince, My People or My Peace?, and Let It Be Known, I Exist and Black Brilliance, the unheard ancient Egyptian tale of the great musician and scientist, Aqil.

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Author Interview

Author interview with suspense/horror author Sue Rovens

Mandy Webster

Sue Rovens is an indie suspense/horror author who lives in Normal, Illinois. She has written five novels and two books of short horror stories.

Track 9, her second novel, received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly (May 2018). Roven’s short story, “Coming Over,” from her book, In a Corner, Darkly (Volume 1) was turned into a screenplay and short student indie film by the theater department of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.

Another short story, “When the Earth Bled,” won 2nd place in the Support Indie Authors short story contest. Her three most recent books (Buried, Rage, and Sanctum) are under Plump Toad Press.

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