Featured Interview With Author Mandy Eve-Barnett

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I've lived on three continents – born in South Africa, grew up in England and now live in Canada. I draw from my life experiences for my writing from these cultural backgrounds and personal achievements and interests and love exploring the history and wildlife on road trips. I enjoy attending and presenting at various local events and writers conferences, walking in nature and spending time with my grown kids and friends.
I am across multiple social media sites under my name so it's easy to find me. I post on my blog twice a week (yes, I'm told I crazy). Tuesday's for readers and Thursday's for writers.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always been a voracious reader, but it wasn't until I came to Canada (late forties) that I found writing stories fulfilled my creativity in a way that sparked something deep within me. Although, I have experimented with multiple mediums all my life, from painting to pottery to sculpture and everything in between. My obsession with storytelling is something I am happy to admit to. I have been the Secretary to my local writing group since 2009, and host the monthly meetings and organize our two annual events, a Spring writers conference and a Fall book sale – Words in the Park. I take my advocacy of literacy and the writing and reading community seriously, and am pen to connections from both.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read and write multiple genres, so I can immerse myself in far reaching genres from romance to steampunk to fantasy to speculative fiction and more. My hero is Stephen King, the ultimate storyteller, but I also love M.J. Arlidge, Kate Morton, Felix de Palma, and Evie Woods among so many others. My inspirational mentors are within my writing group and favoured authors I meet, or converse with.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My next book is a western romance, Willow Tree Tears. Madison is a champion barrel racer, who finds herself in a love triangle between her ranch hand friend and a handsome Italian. The rivalry between the two men is fierce, but when Madison has an accident she finds her feelings tested. Should she stay with a man who knows her way of life, or risk leaving it for a charming foreigner?
This novel began life as a National Novel Writing Month challenge back in 2013. It has gone through multiple changes and revisions before submission to a couple of publishers.
During that time I was honoured to have a real champion barrel racer assist me with the technicalities of barrel racing and the rodeo life.
Launch date is 22nd July 2025.

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Mandy Eve-Barnett’s Website

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Featured Interview With Author Annie R McEwen

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
A career historian, I've lived in six countries and under every roof from a canvas tent to a Georgian Era manor house. They say every life has nine cats. I bid farewell to Number Seven last year and am waiting for Number Eight to turn up at my door. It might be a Welsh-speaking kitty, since when I'm not in my 1920s bungalow in Florida, I live, write, and explore castles in Wales.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I can't remember a time when I wasn't fascinated by books. The look, the feel, the content of them. The ease with which they transported me to Mars or the Amazonian jungle or Victorian London. By the time I was in secondary school, I was winning prizes in essay contests and the school literary journal. That's when I began thinking of writing as not just pastime, but career.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love (and write) historical romantic suspense. It's not surprising that I've read Joanna Bourne's books over and over. But I'm mad for strong historical fiction of any sort: Anne Perry, Diana Norman, Erik Larsen, Hilary Mantel, Diana Gabaldon, Deborah Harkness. I have a secondary obsession with memorable detectives, from Lord Peter Wimsey to Fiona Griffiths to Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Welcome to the London's dark side in the 1890s! I've just launched THE CORSET GIRL, UNLACED. The first of a four-book series of Victorian noir romantic suspense novels, the other books include UNBOUND, UNDONE, and UNLEASHED, all being released over 2025 and early 2026. The series – which builds on years of historical research, with each book taking a year to write – breaks the mold of conventional Hist Rom. No bared shoulders in ballrooms. No fortune-hunting earls. The series dives deep into the hard lives of four working class women – corset makers in a Mayfair shop – and the four hard men who love them. London street gangs, crowded streets, labour riots and rioting Suffragettes: that's the backdrop. The gilded edges on the grime? Wicked humour. Outstanding wardrobe. Soaring, searing, soul-shattering passion. If you like Peaky Blinders, you'll love THE CORSET GIRLS!

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Annie R McEwen’s Website

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Featured Interview With Author DJ Slater

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is DJ Slater, and I'm not an actual DJ, despite how cool that career path might be. My legal name is Dennis, but there are three of us (my father and late grandfather), so I had to differentiate myself a little bit. I started going by DJ in 8th grade and it's stuck with me ever since.

I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After graduating high school, I went to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, obtaining a double major in journalism and history. From there, my journey took me to Washington D.C. (I won a scholarship that gave me a month-long residency at The Washington Post), Green Bay (Go Pack Go), Madison (Wisconsin's state capital) and eventually Wausau (central Wisconsin) for my first full-time job as a newspaper journalist in 2006. I moved back to Milwaukee in 2010 for a role as a magazine editor. After 11 years, a marketing firm recruited me and I've been doing that job ever since. I'm still in the Milwaukee area, living with my wife and two kids. We have two cats (a mom and daughter pair), and our kids keep begging us for additional animals (snakes, birds, bunnies).

I have lots of hobbies that keep me entertained. Naturally, I love to write. I have my debut novel – Legend Has It – releasing Sept. 16. I'm already plotting out my next novel and working on some poetry as well. I also love acting, having done theater and musicals throughout high school and post-college. I try to do at least one community theater production a year (two if I can swing it). Milwaukee has a great local theater scene and I've met so many talented and amazing people in this circle. Singing is another passion of mine. I'm never one to shy away from an occasional karaoke throwdown, but my favorite is joining friends at open mic events and singing with a musical accompanist. Eventually, I'll improve my skills at playing piano (possibly attempt guitar) add that dimension to the mix.

Other hobbies and interests include playing sports (mainly basketball); watching movies (I grew up in the 80s, so I had a good diet of great films); TV series (nothing will ever top the original Twilight Zone); attending sporting events (Brewers baseball being my favorite); reading; and adequate self care.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I remember reading as much as I could at a young age. I was always fascinated with storytelling and the different mediums used to achieve it, particularly books and movies. Like many people, I would easily get lost in a compelling narrative.

I can pinpoint when I first started writing for fun. I was in third grade and computers were relatively new in schools. After watching my share of monster movies (I saw Aliens way too young), I wrote my first story during one of my third-grade classes. Called "The Alien", the story follows an alien that lands on Earth and goes on an eating spree. Eventually, some random person throws him back on his ship and sends him back off into space. I was so proud of this story – and still am. It was my first documented attempt to let my creativity shine.

I still have a copy of that story. I went on to write an "Alien" trilogy, but the two sequels suffered from the typical Hollywood tropes, as in, it was basically the same story but bigger each time. I didn't stop with these stories, though. I fell in love with the joy of creating my own stories. I went on to write a bunch of stories about dinosaurs. I wrote a trilogy about a Velociraptor running lose in a middle school (aptly named the "Terror School" trilogy); a human-turned-dinosaur that stopped a worldwide threat (The Dinosaur That Saved The World); and a story about a group of kids that travel back in time to Pangera and come face-to-face with dinosaurs (The Prehistorical World).

On the cusp of high school, I wrote my own treatment for the MYST video game. I basically took the game's setting (a mysterious island) and dropped a band of survivors on it with a violent creature. In high school, I wrote my first novel-length story about a detective who saved Detriot from an outworldly foe. I'll hold off on sharing the name of that one for now, but it's a silly name for a story with a grounded, serious tone.

My creative writing took a backseat when I went to college and early in my career. When you're writing papers and eventually news articles for a newspaper, finding the energy for your creative side becomes challenging. But when I moved back to Milwaukee, that creative struggled to stay dormant. New ideas began to flow and I started writing them down.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
This probably isn't typical, but I don't have a favorite author. If I really had to pick one, I'd probably go with Agatha Christie. I love a good murder mystery and have done several play adaptations of her work – And Then There Were None, Murder on the Nile, The Mousetrap. For me, a book's plot hooks me more than the author. That's not to say I won't perk up if I see Stephen King or Ernest Cline has a new novel, but the story is everything to me.

Some of my favorite books have great stories, such as A Christmas Carol (my favorite), Jurassic Park, Of Mice and Men, Ready Player One and To Kill A Mockingbird. When it comes to genre, I have the same feelings as I do with authors – it's hard to find a favorite. If a compelling story is contained within a romance novel, I'll read it. If something intrigues me about a horror plot, that book is going on my shelf. If I had to pick one genre, it would probably be thrillers or horror. Jurassic Park technically falls into the science fiction realm, but I would argue it's a solid horror story.

I don't have a person who inspires me when it comes to writing my stories. I have a few people who have inspired my poetry, but my stories tend to stem from cool concepts that I haven't seen explored or from what-if scenarios that I'd like to see play out. Actually, as I give it more thought, Rod Serling is my biggest writing inspiration. He crafted so many incredible stories for The Twilight Zone, many of which still hold up well today. The reason is those stories focused on the characters and their deep-rooted fears. Sometimes those characters moved past those fears. Other times, they gave in to them. But all of those stories carried the central theme of humanity and how we cope in an ever-changing world. It's why those stories remain timeless classics.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My debut novel – Legend Has It – centers around Seth McCartney, a horror enthusiast who loves visiting haunted house attractions every October. The luster of this childhood tradition, however, has dulled in recent outings, yet Seth isn’t ready to abandon this pastime. He longs for the same euphoric rush he had during his youth when haunted houses felt scary and intimidating.

His usual sidekick on these adventures is Peyton Fischer, who wants to help Seth stop clinging to his past and find new activities that can bring similar joy. His solution is to give Seth one final outing at an extreme haunted house with a group of friends.

One such house comes to mind, yet it is shrouded in rumor. This legendary haunted house is said to be so intense and terrifying that only a select few have been able to finish it. The house moves to a different state each year, popping up in isolated areas. The select few that find it are not contending with a typical haunted house. This one features 10 stories of unrelenting horror in the form of trap doors, hidden pathways and monsters that can not only touch you but also take you out of the house. Only those who are brave and cunning enough will reach the exit on the top floor.

The prospect ignites Seth’s curiosity, especially after his friends receive a tip on the house’s location. Once inside, Seth can barely contain his excitement, but some oddities become difficult to ignore. Why do the blood-splatted walls have a faint scent of iron? Why do those animatronics move so fluidly? Why did those “actors” try to stab us? Why is Peyton bleeding? Why did we come here?

Legend Has It stemmed from a simple idea I had when I was visiting a haunted house attraction in 2013 – what would I do if everything in this house was real and I had to survive it? From there, I recalled the rumor about the traveling haunted house that was too extreme to finish. I learned post high school that this house is just a rumor that has been passed down over the decades. I had real-life lore and I had a cool concept – put six friends in a haunted house with real threats and see what happens.

During the process, I played with the idea of my main character having a particular issue – he holds onto his past a little too tightly. I think we all do this in our lives (I'm more than guilty of this) and this story not only serves as a haunted house story but as Seth's journey to stop letting his past keep him from enjoying the things that are right in front of him. A lot of times, horror stories focus heavily on the monsters or the gruesome moments, but not so much on the internal struggle of the characters. Don't worry. Legend Has It has plenty of monsters and scary moments mixed with smart characters that don't fall victim to dumb mistakes or cliche horror tropes.

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DJ Slater’s Website

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DJ Slater Twitter Account

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Featured Interview With Author Drew Avera

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Mississippi. I was not an avid reader until I discovered comic books, and I collected hundreds of them. I started playing guitar when I was fifteen and played trumpet in the high school marching band. I graduated and enlisted in the Navy when I was seventeen. After boot camp and A-school, I spent the rest of my career stationed in Virginia as an Aviation Electrician's Mate, primarily working on the F/A-18 platform.
I'm married with two daughters and we continue to live in Virginia. I retired from the Navy a few years ago and now work in simulation. We have two cats (Edward and Chucky) and a German Shepherd/Great Dane mix named Misa. I call her Misa the Menace, but I love her anyway.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was big into comic books as a teen and I refused to read books until I was around fifteen years old. When I was sixteen, I discovered "What Savage Beast" by Peter David on the shelf at a local grocery store. That book was a novelization of The Incredible Hulk. I spent my lunch money on it instead of another stack of comic books and ended up reading it three times. I went from wanting to be a comic book artist/rock star/astronaut, to wanting to be a writer. It took me until I turned thirty to finally buckle down and write my first book as a participant in NaNoWriMo. Since then, I've written about thirty or forty books/stories. It's hard to keep count.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I enjoy reading military science fiction and space opera. Some of my favorite authors are Rick Partlow, James S A Corey, David Weber, and Neal Asher.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I'm currently rebranding and republishing several books this year, but one book I'm very proud of is Damaged Incorporated. As a disabled veteran, I wanted to write something that takes a wounded veteran who was taken out of the fight and give them an opportunity to return. Of course, I needed to put a twist on the concept. I wrote Damaged Incorporated after taking a year and a half off writing shortly after retiring from the Navy. I was in a new career and focused on learning a new trade. I started with very low daily word counts of around 500 words per day and gradually increased. I believe the first draft was completed in around four months, then another month or so for editing.
I took another break to pursue school for a while and I recently returned to writing once again. Part of my plan for 2025 is to edit, rebrand, and republish several books as well as write two new series. One is a space opera series focused on redemption. The other is a military science fiction series about humans vs aliens.
In typical fashion, I'll likely shoehorn in something else before the year is done.

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Drew Avera’s Website

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Drew Avera Twitter Account

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