Categories

All Works

Fiction

Nonfiction

Essay

Plays

Screenplays

Poetry

Discover More

Publisher Type

Interviews

Publish and Distribute with Smashwords

Community

Smashwords Interviews

Most Recent Most Popular Avg. Book Reviews Favorite Authors

Brett O'Reilly

What do you read for pleasure?
My reading interests are pretty eclectic; in addition to horror, I read sci-fi, cyberpunk, and fantasy, as well as classical literature, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, and of course, William Shakespeare. I don't read much non-fiction with the exception of Malcolm Gladwell—I love his books.
Describe your desk
My desk is actually buried in the garage. Which isn't a problem; I write my first drafts long-hand, so I've been known to write on the beach, on the lakeshore, by the campfire, as well as all around the house. For second+ drafts, they're typed up on my laptop, so again, I can be found in coffee shops, at poolside, or most frequently, at my kitchen table when I write.
Published: March 18, 2022. Read Full Interview

Bob Hovatter

How do you discover the ebooks you read?
I usually use TikTok if you can believe it! They have great suggestions in BookTok! I also use tags to search my favorite genres.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
I was in kindergarten and wrote a book about a bunny and a frog. It was a hit and the teacher wanted to enter it into a contest. It won first place but I never received the prize money. The teacher pocketed it.
Published: February 19, 2022. Read Full Interview

Cassidy Black

What do your fans mean to you?
I would never consider myself to have "fans" but I sincerely appreciate anyone who enjoys my writing. As much as I write for myself and about things that titillate me, I always have the idea of the Reader in mind and hope they like what I've written! Every person who has ever left a comment/review, ever bought anything I've written or encouraged me in any way has spurred me on to keep writing in ways they'll never understand.
What are you working on next?
I actually have a spreadsheet of works in progress! The next thing I think I will publish is a MLM dom/sub series with an age gap and maybe some caretaking aspects to it, too. But don't hold me to it because like I said, I have a whole spreadsheet of sordid goodness!
Published: February 10, 2022. Read Full Interview

Katherine Lionheart

In your book you write about the small town where you grew up. Can you share some more about it?
We moved there when I was two. My Dad called it “Frog Hollow” because frogs and cows made up the bulk of the population. One of my best memories was taking my younger sister adventuring in the nearby creek. She was Barbie doll crazy so she would dress up like Barbie with hair and makeup and our Mum’s old clothes and follow me through the neighboring farm paddocks. I love adventure so I always chose the hardest route. If there was a spot where we could easily cross the creek, I would avoid it and have us scrambling over logs and rocks instead. There was a pomegranate tree growing by the creek. Sometimes I would bring the fruit home, but we never quite worked out what to do with it. Now pomegranates are like liquid gold!
Was your family close?
We were. I think that stability is part of the reason I have mostly managed life well. Family meals were important. My Mum always cooked, and we sat down together at the table, no TV. We always said grace. My Dad died recently, and it is one of the things my children remember about him. He would start with the same grace he said as a child then he would launch into other prayers of thanks whilst my Mum pulled impatient faces, indicating that the food was getting cold. When I was in high school, I loved to come home and make cheese on toast and tell my mum all about my day. She was a good listener, and she gave good advice. My sister was only 15 months younger than me, so we were close. She was often jealous of me, but I was protective of her and loved her to bits. I put up with a lot of bad behaviour from her. When she was smaller, she would do things like steal her own teddy then accuse me of taking it. When she was older, she jammed my fingers in the car boot because I had been given a skirt she wanted. I always forgave her. We are still close.
Published: February 6, 2022. Read Full Interview

VB Beringer

What's the story behind your latest book?
The Rift Walker is a erotic fantasy adventure featuring all kinds of kinks and monsters. I wanted to write a sword and sorcery adventure with a great story and memorable characters, but also have explicit erotica with those characters. It came to me while playing Dungeons & Dragons and I thought to myself: why can't we make this sexy? Look at all these creatures and monsters!
What motivated you to become an indie author?
Erotica is a tricky genre. Self-publishing in the indie space is the best option from what I can tell. I love the community so far. Plus, if you want to be explicit publishers won't touch you.
Published: December 14, 2021. Read Full Interview

Kryssie Fortune

How do you approach cover design?
I want eye catching and bold. Fortunately, I have some great friends who give me feedback when I get it wrong. I have bought covers, but rarely get exactly what I want, so my husband made me learn how to work photoshop. If I can, I make the covers for my self-pubed books, but there's some great offers on Fiverr.
What are your five favorite books, and why?
I read too much to have favourite books. I do have five favourite authors, though. I found parnormal romance when I discovered Sherrilyn Kenyon so she tops my list. I also enjoy Honey Phillips and Laylah Roberts. I used to alsways rebound to Kresley Cole and her Immortals after Dark series, but she hasn't written anything for a while. I'll devour anything by Grace Goodwin within hours.
Published: December 5, 2021. Read Full Interview

Shemouna Goldhill Sulemana

Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in a small town in Ghana. Even though I had a talent for writing interesting essays in school, I never thought I would spend my retirement years writing full books.
When did you first start writing?
I started blogging for a sports website in September 2018, but writing my first book was in June 2021.
Published: November 14, 2021. Read Full Interview

Stephen DiCenso

What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
That people who struggle with forgiveness will see how great our Lord Jesus's grace truly is.
Who are your favorite authors?
The Holy Spirit.
Published: October 26, 2021. Read Full Interview

Yamkela Lekhoana

Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in a small village Mafube, Mateu in Matatiele, in the province of Eastern Cape. I can say losing my father in 2004 and poverty, influenced a lot on my writing.
When did you first start writing?
I started writing when I was doing grade 10, I was 16 years. My first book or manuscript was in English, Ntja is my second manuscript.
Published: September 16, 2021. Read Full Interview

L.F. Nielsen

Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Yes, I do. It was in Junior school and we would have a Friday afternoon class for creative writing.

I was fascinated by The Empire Strikes Back film when it came out and wrote a space fantasy story inspired by it. Each week I would write another chapter in a lined exercise book just for that class. I filled most of that book with just that one story.

A little later when our family got a flash new Atari 130XE home computer, I typed up that story in the word processor and saved it to a 5.25 inch floppy disk! It seemed so futuristic at the time and appropriate for a space saga fiction story.

Alas, I no longer have either copies of that story. The school book got misplaced somewhere and the Atari was discarded, more than likely pushed aside for a much newer Apple Macintosh.
When did you first start writing?
After a few decades of working in other careers.

I've done some interesting things, with some that have taken me around the world a few times.

The decision to finally publish came after a failed attempt at making an app. It was a bit too niche, but I learnt from the convoluted process of getting approval from Apple.

This gave me the confidence to seek out the process of independently publishing.
Published: June 27, 2021. Read Full Interview