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Jude Berman, author of Shot, A Dictionary of the Lost
Can you share a little bit about your latest book? My latest book is Shot: A Dictionary of the Lost, a collection of short stories about the epidemic of gun violence. It is organized like a dictionary, with one chapter for each letter of the alphabet. So, A for Anna, B for Benjamin, C for…
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Anup Dahal, author of The Unspoken Words
What inspires you to write? I write because silence hurts louder than any scream. Growing up in a culture where emotions are often buried beneath duty, expectations, and fear of judgment, I realized that many people carry entire oceans in their hearts, but are never taught how to swim. What inspires me to write is…
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Kay Hanifen, author of The Last Ballard
Why did you choose to write in your genre? I’ve always loved monsters and mythology and have used it to fuel my writing. In my high school freshman year creative writing class, we practiced writing horror for Halloween, and I just fell in love with the genre. The love became an obsession in 2020. I…
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Of Mothers and Daughters…
Years ago, a reader shared with me how much she appreciated the focus on motherhood in my stories. This caught me by surprise because I’m not a mother and hadn’t intentionally made motherhood a theme in my writing. But this reader’s comment made me think about the role of mothers in my novels, and I…
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R.L. Baxter, author of Blue Lunar & The Apex Grail
What inspires you to write? That’s such a good question! I am usually inspired by anything and everything. I may be inspired by a really good song, people and even random moments. Often times, I go through a little ritual of reflecting on all the interesting things that I experienced throughout the month, then I…
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Bobby Nash, author of In the Wind
Why did you choose to write in your genre? I am fortunate that I can write multiple genres, but the one I return to most often is mystery/thriller. I love them, both as a writer and reader. I have been fond of mysteries since I was a kid, inspired by Encyclopedia Brown and Scooby Doo.…
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Mary Kathleen Mehuron, author of Down on the South Beach Drag
Why did you choose to write in your genre? Women’s fiction (which some call Book Club Fiction) often explores themes that move readers, such as relationships, personal growth, and the challenges of balancing the roles of our lives. This genre has allowed me to address subjects, such as the opioid epidemic, catastrophic hurricanes caused by…
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Julie Hatch, author of The Very Best of Care
Why did you choose to write in your genre? As the adage goes, write what you know. I’ve spent over twenty-five years as a nurse practitioner in pediatric and neonatal intensive care. My love for medicine started in 5th grade when I learned about white blood cells and their role in clearing the body of…
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R.C. Dickens, author of Crown of Blooms
What inspires you to write? I am driven by a compulsive desire to inflict my emotions on others. So much of my writing is based on what I find intriguing or compelling about the world and the human experience and the fun thing about writing is that if you do it well enough, people are…
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J.D. Rasch, author of The Quasi-Crystal
What inspires you to write? As I looked at all the different problems of the world I thought I should add my voice to the solution. I didn’t initially think of writing a novel, but more writing essays, but when I sat down to do that the “advice” seemed too simple – don’t do bad…
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By Berneta L. Haynes
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