Indie author Graham Smith might have never stepped into a college or university as a student after leaving school with eight O levels and two highers, but not attending a college never stopped him from pursuing what he loves doing most: writing. Speaking to the Literary Express in an exclusive interaction, the author says he has no formal writing qualifications other than forty years of being an avid reader. He lets us know that he began writing about a decade ago.
I mind the days we swam,
the nights we confabbed too.
But face recalled not, damn!
Who could state what to do?
When author Jack Turley was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a bowel disease similar to Crohn’s, he didn’t lose hope or curse his fate. Instead, he turned an evidently painful episode to one that is now bringing him name and fame from right across the globe. ‘Writing only started getting significant time and attention in 2018 after I was diagnosed with the disease. Incapacitated and in and out of hospital, I couldn’t go to work, exercise, or socialise. Throughout the last two years of illness-imposed isolation, writing was my escape,’ begins the twenty-four-year-young author, speaking to the Literary Express in an exclusive interaction.
It was a tour that author Eric Johnson took about a decade ago that inspired him to come up with his first-ever novel. In an exclusive interaction with the Literary Express, the author said that his first novel fictionalised the time he had spent in Afghanistan, a country he happened to visit ten years ago. The forty-four-year-old Maryland-based writer, who has an Associates degree in Business Management and Arts, stated that he had published twenty-three books and that his later book is entitled ‘Operation Crescent Moon’. ‘It is the fourteenth book in the 2-4 Cavalry Series. It takes place in the future and is about a future conflict that the unit goes through in the book,’ he explained.
Have thou beheld the greatness of this land, my child?
Ours is a realm that none may’ve hitherto usurped.
But this land of brave hearts now diseased stands still, beguiled.
Frozen arctic hearts
Caged in cold shells
Imitating elegiac eskimos
Incarcerated inside
Icy igloos idling while
Introspecting intensely
Writing had become a true passion for author Lanie Goodell by the time she was a teenager. As a matter of fact, she would narrate stories to her mother, who would, in turn, write them down before Ms Goodell could spell. ‘I have been writing for as long as I remember,’ begins the Denver-based author, speaking to the Literary Express in an exclusive interaction. She tells us that somewhere in a box in the state she grew up, she has her first manuscript. ‘It is all handwritten, and the story follows a girl who falls in love with a ghost,’ she says with a smile, adding, ‘Even at that age, I was writing non-conventional endings, so it is a strange story, but I still enjoy it… as much as I can remember.’
Indie author Tamuna Tsertsvadze was just seven years old when she wrote her first ten-page story. And since then, there has been no looking back. The Georgian author, who primarily writes in Georgian and Englishes her works, says that although writing was a hobby of hers for a long time, she eventually decided to make it her career. ‘When I was fifteen, I self-published my first book, The Young Pirate, on Amazon. And I have been self-publishing my books since as well as pitching short stories to various websites,’ she begins, speaking to the Literary Express in an exclusive interaction. ‘Besides that, I’m a game writer and a screenwriter. The main genres I write are juvenile fantasy, Sci-Fi, and historical fiction,’ she lets us know.
Fourteen nights he spent at the Himalayas great,
each night speaking about one world;
He touched topics good and bad, spoke at length of fate;
A ‘secret’ the last day unfurled.
‘We have our souls quite well covered
by a layer we all call body,’ he declared.
Then as if smitten by thoughts, roared:
Life’s uncertain, what matters is now, not how you fared.
While Mr Martin makes it clear that he never really thought of becoming a full-fledged writer until Pretty Flamingo happened, he says now it has become next to impossible for him to stop writing. ‘When I came up with the concept for my first novel, I believed that would be the only novel I would write. But then I found I enjoyed the whole process and I started getting ideas for other novels, so I figured I might as well keep at it. Now here I am working on my fifth novel,’ he shares with a smile.
The men who dwell on land theirs state they have an open mind;
No trouble may happen upon they feel; ‘We are always kind!’
Some biding with those men but sense there is something amiss;
They say they’re having a tough time; ‘A thing or two we miss.’
When author Vince Stevenson was just twenty-nine years old, he’d moved to London, and for the first time, began living alone. That was exactly when he felt he’d all the time in the world. Before relocating to London, the author, now sixty-two, had worked for big companies and was heavily involved in communication. ‘In the old days, we had large dictionaries on our desks. I attended meetings and was often responsible for disseminating and documenting material, and it had to be accurate. If anything left my desk with a typo, I’d be cross with myself,’ begins Mr Stevenson, speaking to the Literary Express in an exclusive interaction. That was exactly when he started attending writing classes and meeting people with similar interests. ‘And I found that incredibly inspiring. I began to write short stories about the IT world, and I had many published in Computer Weekly,’ he tells us with a beatific smile.
While being grateful for having a micro-press publisher that enjoys his Kink Noir series, the author emphasises that without a contract from the big-five, becoming a full-fledged author is not about to happen. ‘That is because self-publishing has led to a deluge of books hitting the market at a daily rate. The competition is fierce, and there is a bottleneck of novels to choose from. I can only hope that writing non-traditional neo-noir thrillers with erotic elements will carve out a niche,’ he explains.
I stood in the middle of the room, looking at the open door, at the chipped tile. The memories of that horrifying night flooded my mind. All that blood, all that pain. Tears welled in my eyes. It wasn’t deserved, it wasn’t right what they did. But what was right was what came to them. All of them.
Two weeks was what it took renowned Kenyan author, entrepreneur and keynote speaker Laban T M’mbololo, Esq to write the manuscript of his debut book Influence: The Secret of Selling. The author says that the book was received so well that he happened upon many a person who complimented him for bringing about a transformation of sorts in their lives.
What makes a woman a mother?
Oh, pain and patience will I say;
She sure knows not how to other
or to keep care and warmth away.
Oh! A mother hits not the hay
when her kids are hungry or sad;
Embodies love, for kids does pray.
A mother’s selfless, with love clad.
Indie author Jamie Sonnier, a trans male and a vehement advocate of LGBTQA+ rights, avers he is a plotter. As a matter of fact, before putting pen to paper, he has everything figured out. Speaking to the Literary Express in an exclusive interaction, the author says he is quite wont to take extensive notes before setting about writing a book. ‘Occasionally an idea might come to me while I am writing the story, but typically, if I sit down to begin writing, the entire story is already thought out,’ he tells us with a smile.
Hangs a mirror on the wall of the abode seen
with a demeanour mystic, queer, fine, indiscreet.
Shows it to each who sits in front a stolen sheet,
telling truths revealed to none, a shaming scene.
Oh! The past returns to haunt those who there have been.
To the owners and operators of The Literary Juggernaut, I’d like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to express my thoughts in an interview I recently did for you. Many authors try to get some form of public recognition and publicity for their efforts; you have given me both. I only wish that more blog sites would do the same!
As a writer, it is never easy. We spend long hours writing and rewriting, advertising on Twitter and other forums, chatting with fellow writers on techniques, and just plain doodling around until inspiration hits. It is good to know sites like yours exist that help us spread the word about our work.
Once again, my greatest thanks!
I wanted to thank you for interviewing me on your e-gazette, The Literary Juggernaut. You posed a number of interesting questions, and it was a wonderful experience.
Without the support of a big publishing house, indie authors must find every opportunity they can to reach new readers. Your efforts to spotlight indie authors and their work, introducing them to your readers is much appreciated!
Having been interviewed by Vatsarah Stavyah (you can read the interview here), I can say that The Literary Juggernaut is AHEAD OF THE PACK. It is perceptive, astute, caring. It is curious, interested, unafraid, committed. It is there. It is all that you would most want from a literary journal, especially now with so much overload. It is a path, that is, to something new and true and real. Of all the journals out there, The Literary Juggernaut is just that, a juggernaut, and it is worth your time. Trust it. Read it.
