Smashwords Interviews

Sylvia Rhett

What are you working on next?
I'm working on the sequel to Mafia Prince. It's Andreas and Fiore's story and I am so excited.
Who are your favorite authors?
Cassandra Clare, Alessandra Hazard, Rick Riordan, Sarah J. Maas.
Published: March 9, 2024. Read Full Interview

Steve Becker

What motivated you to become an indie author?
I was facing a dilemma. On one hand, if you can't get in with a publishing company that has their own marketing budget or connections, then you have no one to help you spread the word. On the other hand, I could hand over what I'd written to one of the Twelve Step programs - AA, Alanon, CoDA, NA, OA, GA, etc. There were two problems with this:

First, if I did this they might publish it as "program approved literature", but they might not, or they might make complete and drastic changes to it. I've written this book the way I wrote it for multiple reasons, but the main reason is to make it as accessible to every single person as I can. Allowing other people to own and change what I wrote could destroy the value in the effort I've made to make this material as accessible as possible. Second, once a program publishes something as "program approved literature" it is, by default, not approved literature for any of the other twelve step programs, and I believe the material in my book is applicable to all programs, so I could be severely limiting the potential benefits people could have if they find my book and write it off because it "belongs" to one program or another that they don't identify with.

For better or worse, I've decided to retain ownership of what I've written. I wrote it the way I did for multiple reasons, and I can only hope that I can share this information with as many people who need to see it as I can.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Sharing knowledge by writing a book is a "force multiplier". It took me over a decade to learn what I've written, but can learn it in a matter of hours. Also, I only had to write it once, and now it can help a hundred, or a thousand people. I hope the things I'm sharing here can help change the world, maybe even after I'm gone.
Published: March 8, 2024. Read Full Interview

Karen Barkan

What motivated you to become an indie author?
I'm a natural dreamer. I was born in a boring place, that naturally fertilized my imagination. My imagination took me to magical places where everything I want is possible. I spent a lot of time day dreaming. Later in high school I wrote my first short story, and continued writing in college.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
The greatest joy of writing is in the creation itself. Being able to create characters, plot, a whole world - this is magic!
Published: March 6, 2024. Read Full Interview

Dawood Mamoon

What motivated you to become an indie author?
Well I have a PhD in Economics. Once I read in a Magazine that every good thing that has been done in this world is because of a Woman. So, I wondered why I would like to create a difference in this world. I have two lovely daughters and I want this world to be a better place than it is. In few thousands of years, we have already achieved a lot as a human race. But still issues like equity, digital divide, poverty, happiness still looms and economists like me work on these themes. Few years ago, I thought about it, and I wondered how I can explain the human story in simplest of the ways using my expertise in Economics that is to understand human behavior, nevertheless. So, I started writing. And I have been writing since 2016.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
I am a New Bee to Smashwords. I am hoping to become a successful writer.
Published: February 25, 2024. Read Full Interview

Steven Blair Wheeler

What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Writing is my art, my creative outlet. I enjoy discovering a story and the characters within it. A writer's imagination is his gift to share with readers. When that gift resonates with people and is accepted and appreciated, it's a wonderful feeling of validation and a fine encouragement to continue writing.
Writing is story telling, and I love a great story, well-crafted and well written. When a writer achieves those goals, he or she is a fine practitioner of the writing art form. Any artist aspires to perfecting their art to the best of their ability.
It's so great to have in your life something that calls for your best efforts and always affords room to grow and improve. It's like a violinist who masters her techniques to take on the wonderful challenge of a beautiful and difficult piece of music.
And writing always allows the author to explore subjects and learn new things that are needed to tell a story. That is part of what makes writing ever-fresh.
What are you working on next?
My latest novel, The Second American Civil War, relates events that occurred just after the 2020 national election. To avoid spoilers, I'll just say that the end of the shooting war did not fully resolve underlying issues that caused it. So, just like the actual Civil War that ended in 1865, the second civil war would usher in the need for a new Reconstruction to create, in Abraham Lincoln's words, "a more perfect union."
What would US democracy look like after a civil war in which the divide in the nation is not geographic as much as demographic?
How can the nation reunite in the face of a significant minority who ascribe to an alternate universe of facts?
What should happen to those who incited insurrection? How can they be re-admitted as citizens in good standing?
So the challenge is to try to look ahead a couple of years to tell that story in the near-future.
Published: February 25, 2024. Read Full Interview

Eileen Putman

What motivated you to become an indie author?
I really like being able to control my content and cover! Indie authors have more flexibility and more choices for format and distribution. I was traditionally published for years, but now I'm my own boss!
What are you working on next?
Book 4 of my Maitland's Rogues series! And "Lord Difficult," Book 3, is making its way to the publisher now. Very excited about that! A brief summary:

A failed matchmaker who doesn’t believe in love faces her greatest test in Robert Tavish—an intimidating beast of a man who refuses to comply with even basic requirements for a prospective husband. He won’t dance. He won’t learn manners. He won’t even try to please a woman. Robert, a reluctant earl whose only noticeable passion is studying fossils, is pretending to seek a bride at his uncle’s behest to learn whether Emmaline Stanhope is betraying her country and linked to a murder. Although Emmaline doesn’t believe in fairy tales, Robert awakens a disturbing desire to believe in the very fantasies they conjure. But with only one decent frock and her feet planted firmly on the ground, she knows she’s not the Beauty to claim this Beast. Oh, but then he saves her life. Whisks her off to Scotland. Reveals dark secrets. Can she turn away from the spark lurking in those stone-gray eyes?
Published: February 23, 2024. Read Full Interview

John Kyle

Hi! I'm Natalie Nguyen (pen name)
John Kyle is a writer, under my publication.
Where To?
I tried to get Help from Craigslist, in several ads; to help me manage my Smashwords account. But, I don't like using the term Manager, so I just listed the job position as Assistant.
Published: February 22, 2024. Read Full Interview

Vobonteremo

What is the meaning of HEREDIANBE?
Hereditas Angeli Benedicti (HEREDIANBE) carefully selects and shares the unique insights and transformative experiences of Philosopher Saint Angelus Benedictus. Our extensive collection of more than 10,000 letters and conversations provides an invaluable treasure trove for seekers of Soul, Truth, and Conscious Immortality. We are committed to producing high-quality definitions of authentic principles, awareness, and the subtle-level background of human life.
What are you offering?
Our series of books provides the conceptional basis of Soul Awareness by discussing the subtle-level background of human life. The Subtle Level is an invisible part of everyone’s reality and personal daily routine. This hidden reality invariably dominates and manipulates human life, but it is normally suppressed and swept under the carpet of consciousness. As people function in a mode of automatic suppression, they pretend that everything they experience is very real. Through diligent examination of our literary works, readers will gradually come to a different understanding. They will comprehend that the intricacies of human existence are far more profound than it seems at first. The contrast will be comparable to that of night and day.
Published: February 22, 2024. Read Full Interview

Tomazo Pagonis

What is your writing process?
There is a simple "recipe": Find at least two genuine characters, interrogate them, dig into their minds and discover everything about their lives. Then, let them write the story themselves. The more honest the characters, the better the story.
However, discovering even one fictional yet genuine character who can write a real story is complicated. Like the Homeric hero Odysseus, one needs to travel around the cities of the people and carefully study their minds. Feel the vice and the virtue. See the insanity and the reason. Feel the power of nature and the weakness of humans.
What are you working on next?
Greek Mythology. I am writing down the ancient Greek Myths in chronological order. From Chaos, Gaia and Eros, to Ouranos, Cronos and Zeus. I have divided the myths to three major subjects, I.e.: 1.The genesis of Cosmos, 2.The humans of the gods, and 3.the gods of the humans. Up to now I have written about 1,100 pages ...
Published: February 20, 2024. Read Full Interview

Frances Ive

How do you approach cover design?
I always have something in mind for what I want and then I try to find a designer through a website who can fulfil it. Sometimes this goes brilliantly well, and other times I have to keep asking for changes. For one book I noticed something that didn't look good when the image was enlarged, and had to ask for a radical change.
What are your five favorite books, and why?
Alice in Wonderland as it made such an impression on me as a child. I loved all the strange characters, particular at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party and even now I still enjoy seeing it in film or reading it again.
Dr Zhivago which also made an impression on me but I was a teenager when I read it. It is a sad story but told so beautifully, although as a teenager the political implications were lost on me.
Where the Crawdads Sing. What a fabulous and very different book. I loved the description of the vegetation and the wild life around where she lived.
The Mayor of Casterbridge or any Thomas Hardy books. I first read one of his books when studying it at school. His description and depth make all his books very readable. What I find too much these days is how sad they are.
The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes. Based on a true story, it captivated me. It is grim in places, but has an uplifting angle to it all the way through and I love books to be uplifting.
Published: February 19, 2024. Read Full Interview