Featured Interview With Author ANNE RILEY

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Washington state, the 11th of 12 children, or as I like to say, one of ten middle children. I moved to the midwest in high school and college. After my husband I were married, we settled in Portland, Oregon where we raised our three kids. I moved back to Illinois to spend time with elderly parents. My dog Scout makes an appearance in my new book, but under disguise. I have two lovely grandchildren ages 3 and 6. I am very happy.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I've always loved reading. It didn't occur to me that I could write a book until I was in my 50's. At that point, I decided I had a few things to say.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Favorite Authors? All over the map. My all time favorites: Harper Lee, Robert Pirsig, Charles Darwin, Michael Rothschild, Stephen Jay Gould.

Favorite Genre: I like anything that is smart and well written and makes me think. Politics. Science. Mystery. Medical Fiction.

Inspiration? All my favorite writers inspire me, but I am mostly inspired by the idea that I need to stay true to the thing I want to say to the world.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
DINA: Nature's Case For Democracy is a sci-fi-ish story in which Dina, a mysterious, invisible creature chooses Sara Wallace, a middle-aged woman still grappling with the death of her daughter five years on, to explain that humans are on the edge of extinction. Nature has practiced pure democracy successfully for 2 billion years, but humans, newcomers to the game of life, are messing things up and are going to destroy themselves, and take a lot of other creatures with them when they do. Together Dina and Sara unravel the puzzle that is human existence and forge a a perspective that may allow people to survive.

From my earliest days, I figured that life had to make sense, that is, it all should fit together in a logical flow. The problem is, I couldn't figure it out. In 1990 I read Bionomics by Michael Rothschild, Rothschild argued that economic systems mirror life systems. It was a brilliant book. But the book left me with a major question: if economic systems mirrored life, shouldn't humans mirror life too? It was so obvious to me, that I was sure someone would write that book within a year or two.

In 2018, I was still waiting for that book. I realized finally that no one is going to write that book. I know, I'm slow on the mark. So I wrote it. It took some time to work out the theory, but it stays true to the idea that all life works the same way. It just doesn't look like it on the surface. THat's because everything is constantly changing and every once in a while some new form shows up that can do something previous forms could not do, Life does things matter cannot do. And humans do things life cannot do. This book makes the case that our human ecosystem works just like the natural ecosystem but it starts from a different place, so of course it will have different results. That difference may result in humans destroying themselves and the earth on which they live.

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ANNE RILEY’s Website

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Featured Interview With Author Lindsey Lamh

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Lindsey Lamh has been crafting creative playscapes her whole life. Her love of reading fuels her passion for storytelling. As a child, she read every book in the house and devoured whole stacks of novels from the library, working through classic literature with the excitement of a budding philosopher. Her favorite school assignments were creative writing and essays.

Lindsey attended college in Chicago at Moody Bible Institute, where her educational course was redirected from Christian ministry to the broader, more practical focus of Biblical Studies.

She married her husband, Jeffrey, in 2013 and they now have six children and a perfectly Golden family dog named Radagast. They live in South Carolina and keep busy with homeschooling, Jeffrey’s entrepreneurship, and Lindsey’s society for Christian women.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Lindsey's been mulling over her story ideas since high school, but didn't sit down to write seriously until 2015. Jeffrey passionately supported Lindsey’s “hobby” of writing, begging her to “stop starting new projects and just finish something!” (a plea every author needs to hear at some point).

Despite his excellent advice, Lindsey didn’t complete a project until 2021. Around this time, she received a diagnosis for a condition which is so rare and unresearched, a treatment plan has yet to be established. Suffering through an invisible type of illness alienated Lindsey from many of her support systems, resulting in a season of depression.

While slogging through this dark time, writing became a distraction from the inescapable gloom. Lindsey pressed onward by putting words on a page, learning more about herself and mental health in the meantime. She recognized she was grieving; she mourned the losses caused by her condition, and she mourned the shattered ideologies which had given shape to her life before depression broke the mold.

In 2021, Lindsey Lamh completed the first draft of a fantasy romance novel which weighed in at 170k words and was only the first installment of a 3 or 4 book series. The original idea for the story came from an email chain she and Jeffrey wrote back and forth—Lindsey giving a paragraph or two of story, and then a few optional directions the story could take from there, and Jeffrey writing back with his choice. It was a fun exercise, and one of the many ways Jeffrey has supported Lindsey in her creativity and self-expression.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Lindsey's favorite genres are historical fiction, Victorian fiction, fantasy, short stories, poetry, and literary fiction that doesn't fit neatly into a genre.

Within those categories C.S. Lewis is her favorite author–he's written plenty of fantasy, poetry, and literary fiction to satisfy her love of variety! Other inspirational others include Madeleine L'Engle, Alison Croggon, Laura E. Weymouth, Naomi Novik, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, and Helena Sorensen.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
A portrait hangs in Linwood Manor, depicting the Bancroft family with their matching grey eyes and brown hair. Seven years ago, they were together in the spacious old house. Alive. Now…

Only Ambrose and Matilda Bancroft remain.

Ambrose Bancroft returns to London society with his younger sister, hoping they’ll leave ghosts of memory behind. They have only each other left. While Ambrose attempts to draw Mattie out, dragging her to balls and threatening to seek suitors for her, his sister recoils from his meddling. Finally, when Ambrose compels her to attend art class before she’s ready, Mattie paints something horrific enough to banish them from society in public disgrace.

At Linwood Manor, Mattie and Ambrose aren’t as alone as they think. Taking advantage of Mattie’s desperate need to find freedom, a vanishing room lures Ambrose’s sister into an illusory paradise. When Ambrose vows to get his sister back, by force if necessary, he finds himself up against an otherworldly power bent on her destruction and Mattie’s bitterness turned to hatred.

When Mattie commits the ultimate betrayal, Ambrose realizes he never stopped protecting her long enough to learn what she really wanted. But before he learns to let her go, Ambrose is broken in body and mind, far beyond his capacity to endure.

When the dust settles, will Mattie be lost to him forever? Will Ambrose be the last of the Bancrofts?

"A Voracious Grief" is gothic horror about grief and friendship. Life-altering grief can wear the oddest clothing. For Lindsey Lamh, it looked like losing a family member, but not to death; chronic pain that’s depressing but not debilitating; suicidal thoughts underneath a calm, cheerful persona. When no one understood her hardship, when all they had to offer were platitudes, Lindsey longed to find empathy. That’s why she writes—because she’s not the only one who’s been there.

“A Voracious Grief” is a novel that asks big questions about how we evolve beyond our traumas. It gives voice to silent suffering, reflecting what it looks like to be overwhelmed by grief. It’s a story about family ties twisted with fear. It's about embracing pain, and daring to hope.

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Lindsey Lamh’s Website

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Featured Interview With Author Margaret Kay

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I currently live in Northern Illinois in a small town. My father worked in sales and we moved frequently when I was a child. Our last move was to where I live now when I was a sophomore in high school. That was where I met my husband of 39 years. We raised two amazing children who are now adults and we have two beautiful grandchildren I get to see weekly. We have always had dogs and a few cats along the way.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I wrote my first book in high school which started it for me. I never pursued anything with it of course. I wrote six more novels when my children were in elementary school, before the internet and self-publishing but then life got busy until 2015 when I picked writing back up and self-published my first novel shortly after.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like to read a wide variety – I actually make myself. I feel reading different styles and content makes me a better writer. I used to read Military Romance, my primary genre. But I no longer do as I don't want the other stories to influence my own writers voice which can happen without you even realizing it.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I wrote a Christmas Novella for my Shepherd Security Series, my first of this kind. Fourteen books into the series, fourteen couples plus other characters made it a lot to keep track of. Everyone was in the book! It was fun for me writing it and for the readers to catch up on the lives of their favorite characters. I even wrote my version of Twas the Night Before Christmas, which was so much fun!

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Margaret Kay’s Website

Margaret Kay Facebook Page

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Featured Interview With Author Jim Melvin

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up on the shores of western Florida and spent much of my childhood swimming in shark-infested waters long before the movie "Jaws" put a scare into everyone. At the time, I was too skinny to attract a bull shark's attention. About ten other boys my age lived on my same street, and we hung out morning, noon and night playing the usual sports that young boys love — football, baseball, "kill the carrier," etc. — but as a group we also played fantastical games that contained magic, monsters and superheroes. It was in this setting that my imagination was born and nurtured.

I lived in western Florida until about 20 years ago. My wife and I now live in the mountains in Upstate South Carolina.

I have owned many dogs and cats during my life, but I currently have just one gray cat who rules our 15 acres with an iron paw.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I began writing "books" in second grade and would read them in front of my class. But I lit up for real in high school during the early days of Stephen King. I wrote my first book when I was 20 and was signed by an agent. But the book didn't sell. I didn't care because it's the second, third, or fourth book that usually hits it big, right? As it turned out, I became a journalist at a large newspaper. And 25 years later, there was no second, third, or fourth book. In my mid-40s, I finally got revved up again and wrote a six-book epic fantasy called The Death Wizard Chronicles. Since then, I have written several other books, including Dark Circles, my teen fantasy adventure series.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I'm sure that most authors would say that there are too many to mention, and the same is true for me. But I have always been a huge fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and Stephen King.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Do You Believe in Monsters? is book 2 of my teen fantasy adventure series titled Dark Circles. Book 1 is titled Do You Believe in Magic?

Do You Believe in Monsters" is a full-blown launch into a fantasy realm loaded with magic, monsters, courageous acts, and a dash of sweet romance. When Charlie Magus enters a fantastical world hidden deep in the forest, his life is turned upside down.

The timid 13-year-old transforms into a powerful wizard wielding formidable magic.

In the real world, life goes on as usual. But in the fantasy world, a war is brewing that will dwarf all others. Charlie’s newfound powers stand between victory and defeat.

But in which world does he truly belong?

Dark Circles is an adventure of epic scope. Only those with a hero's heart will dare to stand at Charlie’s side as he battles an army of monsters led by an evil being of immense power.

I began writing book 1 in February 2024 and published it in May 2024. I finished book 2 in early October and published it at the end of that month. Book 3 will debut in February 2024.

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Jim Melvin’s Website

Jim Melvin Facebook Page

Jim Melvin Twitter Account

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