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An Interview with Author Michael W. Shurgot

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Michael W. Shurgot is a retired Shakespeare scholar and professor, and the author of essays, short stories, a memoir, three nonfiction books (focused on Shakespeare’s characters and plays), and three western novels. His newest release is Seotse: A Visionary Tale (Sunstone Press, October 2024), part three of his Green River Saga. Look for Michael on MichaelShurgot.com, on Facebook, and his Amazon author page.

At its heart, what is Seotse about? What do you hope readers will take away from it?
Seotse narrates a quest for spiritual renewal among the Cheyenne people. Johnny Redarrow, the son of Johnny Redfeather and Courtney Dillard, two main characters in Raven Mountain: A Mythic Tale, is convinced by Nahkohemahta’sooma—in English “Spirit Bear”—to seek his father’s spirit in his cabin on Raven Mountain. “Spirit Bear” is both a physical and a spiritual being. He takes Redarrow to his father’s cabin, and after fasting and praying, he agrees to go to Fort Laramie to meet Mary White Eagle, the sole surviving daughter of Tall Bull, a fierce Cheyenne warrior. Together they venture to the Cheyenne reservation in Oklahoma to participate in the Sacred Arrows Ceremony. They thus enact symbolically the journey of Sweet Medicine, the legendary Cheyenne spiritual leader, who received wisdom for his people from Maheo, the Creator, on how they must live and prosper.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
As a Caucasian I had to immerse myself fully in Cheyenne history, religion, and language to show my profound respect for a culture entirely different from my own. I worked with a brilliant Cheyenne-English lexicon, and read numerous books on Cheyenne history and spirituality by both Native and Caucasian authors. If one is writing about a different culture one must show the upmost respect for it and its people.

Tell us how the book came together.
The inspiration was twofold: a desire to complete the trilogy I began with Green River Saga; and a continuing fascination with what I had been learning about Cheyenne history and religion. Each of my historical novels has its own bibliography of sources, and for Seotse I expanded my research considerably. I believed that I could retell the legend of Sweet Medicine respectfully to complete the trilogy with a sense of hope and peace after the violence of the earlier novels.

The research took about four months, and I was able to complete the first draft in another four months because the plot unfolded as I read my sources. Editing, revising, cover design, etc. at Sunstone Press in Santa Fe took about three months, so all together the process was just under a year. Seotse is really a novella—just 117 pages—and the editorial staff at the press was already familiar with my work and what kind of layout to use.

The cover is a photo of a dream catcher that my colleague Dale Croes gave to me when I retired from South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, Washington. Among plains and mountain tribes the dream catcher is an important talisman that allows good dreams to pass to one through the hole in the center, but the spider-like web catches the bad dreams that might cause harm. Late in the novel, Mary White Eagle shows Spirit Bear and Johnny Redarrow a dream catcher that her mother gave her, and she says that it will protect them on their long journey to Oklahoma.

Who are your main characters and why will readers connect to them?
There are three: Spirit Bear, Johnny Redarrow, and Mary White Eagle. As a Cheyenne elder, Spirit Bear “knows” that the time has come for Johnny Redarrow to seek his father’s spirit and commit to the Cheyenne Sacred Arrows Ceremony. Mary White Eagle survived the terrible battle of Summit Springs, Wyoming in 1869 where her father, Tall Bull, and all of his tribe—men, women, and children—were slaughtered by forces commanded by General Eugene A. Carr’s Fifth Calvary.

Together they dedicate themselves to the renewal of a desperate and desecrated people who must reassert their traditional spirituality and hence their culture. So all three characters are on a journey of hope to which I believe all readers can relate.

Describe one or more of the main settings in the book. Why did you decide to use these particular settings?
Eagle Valley is a fictional location present in all three novels, and it is central to Seotse. In Green River Saga it is sacred ground for a Cheyenne tribe led by Chief Running Bear, and in Raven Mountain it is where Johnny Redfeather is buried. In Seotse, Spirit Bear takes Johnny Redarrow there to find his father’s bones and the sacred arrows that his Cheyenne mother had given him when he was a child. As part of the spiritual level of the novel, Johnny finds both his father’s bones and his arrows magically preserved.

Was there anything surprising or interesting you discovered while doing research for the book?
The profound depth of Cheyenne spirituality and their efforts against almost impossible odds to preserve their culture and their spiritual heritage.

What does “Seotse” mean? If choosing the book title was a long process, tell us about that journey.
“Seotse” in Cheyenne means “spirit.” Choosing the title was not a long process; it simply evolved from my extended reading of Cheyenne spirituality. Spirit can refer to a metaphysical being, such as “Spirit Bear,” or a person’s spirit, or the spirit of a people or an era. Readers can decide how the word operates for them in the novel.

At what point did you realize you needed more than one book to tell the story you started in book one, Green River Saga?
Four months after Green River Saga was published. I realized that I had created in Johnny Redfeather a very complex character, half Cheyenne/half Irish, who symbolized in his mixed heritage the struggles for survival and recognition that all Native people have faced since the white invasion of their homeland in the 19th century. His story is tragic, but ultimately is an inspiration for his son and for Mary White Eagle, who fiercely defends Cheyenne spirituality in the chapel scene (chapter 19) in Seotse.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
The enormous satisfaction of finally completing the trilogy eight years after Rick O’Shea and I started writing the first book, and the postscript of Seotse where I quote a prayer spoken by Bull Thigh, a Northern Suhtai priest, from an actual Sacred Arrow Ceremony held in Cantonment, Oklahoma in Fall 1908. As I wrote after the prayer: “What began in violence ends in prayer.”

Seotse is the third book in your Green River Saga. Do people need to read the first two books to understand the third?
Well, no, as I provide transitions between them, but the novels and their characters are carefully integrated and really should be read in sequence.

Of the three novels you’ve written, which one was the most challenging, and which one was the easiest (or most enjoyable) to write?
Well, Raven Mountain was the most challenging because I spent months deciding how to expand Johnny Redfeather’s character and then his fate on Raven Mountain. Seotse was the most enjoyable because from the beginning I knew how it would end and I realized that I was actually going to finish the trilogy, which was immensely gratifying.

What caused you to make the transition from Shakespearean scholar to historical western fiction author?
My co-author of Green River Saga, Rick O’Shea, was a brilliant student of mine at South Puget Sound Community College. After he completed his BA at St. Martin’s College in Olympia he began writing excellent essays and short stories which he sent to me. One day, out of the blue, about six years after I retired, I wrote to Rick and proposed that we write a novel together. He wrote back, “Sure! Let’s write a western.” Thus was the Green River trilogy launched.

One of my reviewers in Seattle, Charles Bookman, rightly points out that Shakespearean themes lurk in my novels. Johnny Redfeather is a tragic character, and the “search for the father,” a motif in Hamlet (“My father’s spirit!”), animates Johnny Redarrow’s quest in Seotse. So, some of my Shakespeare scholarship has crept into my fiction.

Looking back to the beginning of your writing/publishing career, what do you know now that you wish you’d known then?
How damn hard writing fiction is! By comparison, writing Shakespeare scholarship is a breeze!

What writing projects are you working on now?
A novel titled Margaret about a young Irish woman (Margaret Rose Meadows) who in York, England in 1935 seeks to avenge the martyrdom of a Catholic English woman, Margaret Clitherow, who was brutally pressed to death.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
Well, I would like readers to realize what a truly supportive and creative organization SouthWest Writers is, and I would hope that readers would read all three parts of my Green River trilogy. I honestly believe it is a worthwhile journey.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner loves creating worlds of fantasy and science fiction. Her current work in progress is The Last Bonekeeper fantasy trilogy and short stories in the same universe. A member of SouthWest Writers since 2006, Kat has worked as the organization’s secretary, newsletter editor, website manager, and author interview coordinator. Kat is also a veteran, a martial art student, and a grandmother. Visit her at klwagoner.com.



An Interview with Author A. Michael Hibner

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Since starting his first book during the Covid-19 pandemic, retired engineer A. Michael Hibner has published three historical fiction novels inspired by family history. His newest release, The Gangs of Santa Fe (February 2025), follows Nazario Alarid as he struggles to walk the straight and narrow in nineteenth century New Mexico. Look for all of Mike’s books on Amazon: The Gangs of Santa Fe on this page and his first two novels here.

What would you like readers to know about The Gangs of Santa Fe?
The Gangs of Santa Fe is historical fiction—well, that’s not quite correct. Fictionalized history might be a better definition. Every named character in the book actually existed. Every incident in the book actually happened. The fictionalization is the relationships between the characters. For instance, Billy the Kid was in Santa Fe when Nazario Alarid was about age five. Whether they actually met is unknown, to my knowledge.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
When writing historical fiction, the facts must be correct, or else someone will call you on it. So, dates and places must be accurate. Finding pictures can also be daunting. It took a lot of searching to find a photograph of the Capitol Cafe. I was ready to send the book to be published when I finally found the postcard photo I used in the book on Ebay. I paid twenty bucks for it and was happy to get it!

Share a little about your main characters and why you chose them to carry your story. Will those who know you recognize you in any of your characters?
Nazario Alarid is the main character and the narrator. I think that he must have been a good person that got put into bad situations and handled them the best he could. Had Ramon Garcia been a good father and husband, Nazario could have lived with that, but Ramon was not a good person. He would have, sooner or later, harmed his wife and daughter, and Nazario could not let that happen. When given the facts about his son, Ramon Garcia’s dad bore witness in Nazario’s defense, and that was a fact, not fiction.

Same with Camilo Martinez, a bad person that was going to kill Nazario sooner or later. Nazario was just quicker. This was a time when “he needed killing” was a viable defense in a murder trial. Had Nazario gone to trial for the murder of Camilo he most likely would have been found not guilty, but the fear was that if he had been convicted he would have been executed. Who knows?

I can think of no character in The Gangs of Santa Fe that would be mistaken for me. My other books, sure, I am probably the protagonist. But in those books the protagonist, while based on someone who actually lived, is in a fictional situation. Thus, probably based on my Dad, my brothers, my uncles, and, certainly, me. In The Gangs of Santa Fe, every character is a depiction of someone that was discussed in the Santa Fe New Mexican or some other newspaper or tome.

Why did you choose New Mexico as the setting for the book? How does the setting impact the story and the characters?
Santa Fe is where the actual story happened. I can’t think of any other place where the story could have taken place.

Tell us more about how the book came together.
After writing three historical novels based on ancestors in my family tree, I thought I’d see if I could find anyone interesting in my wife’s family tree. I did. Doing a search on one of her great-uncles, Nazario Alarid, I found that he might not have been of good character. In fact, I found a blog run by Qwen Kubberness (she does criminal genealogies) that had documentation concerning the murder of Camilo Martinez by Nazario. Since it was likely that any murder that took place in the late 1800s would be covered in the Santa Fe New Mexican, I bought access to their archives. A query on the name Alarid between 1885 and 1925 yielded over one hundred hits. I was on my way!

I don’t keep track of the time it takes to put out a book. I would guess, from talking to other writers, that I am quick about it. I think six books in six years would bear that out, though some authors turn out two books a year. I do my own editing. By the time I’m done with a book, I’ve probably read it four or five times. I read it through once with Microsoft Word’s read function. That catches a lot of things. When I’m happy with it, I send it to my son, Rhian, and my wife, Priscilla, and they read and check it for errors that I’ve missed. Then Rhian turns it into book format acceptable by Amazon Publishing. I don’t have an agent or editor other than that.

The book cover is significant to me. The book covers for my first two books have been public domain paintings that have some significance to the book. For this book I knew I was unlikely to find a suitable painting, so I looked at photographs that might work. They had to be at least seventy years old to be public domain. The front and back cover is a continuous photo of Saint Michaels College and the San Miguel Church. The college building no longer exists (the college does, but not at this location) but San Miguel does. I looked at the photo several times before I noticed the two children sitting on a wall in the foreground. “Hmm,” I thought. “Could this be Nazario and Rebeca walking home from school?” It would have been where they would have walked. The photo was taken in 1885 as I recall. Nazario was born in November of 1876, so would have been eight or nine when the photo was taken, Rebecca two years later, so, it’s possible. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Bernardino Sena is buried under the floor of the San Miguel Church. He is an ancestor of Gregorio Sena, the blacksmith and a classmate of Nazario in the book. Bernardino is also an ancestor of mine, my mother being a Sena from Santa Rosa. All Sena’s, most likely, at least in New Mexico, are descendants of Bernardino.

Any “Oh, wow!” moments while doing research for the book?
I think the biggest “Oh, wow!” for The Gangs of Santa Fe was, “Oh, wow! They actually hanged my wife’s great-great uncle!!!”

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
I love this book and story. I grew up in Española, New Mexico and Rio Arriba County. Thus, I can picture these people in my head. My books that took place in Europe are tougher as I’ve never been there, other than walking the towns and countries in Google Maps. But I’ve physically walked the streets and plaza of Santa Fe hundreds of times. I love Santa Fe, but wouldn’t want to live there full time.

If choosing the book title was a long process, tell us about that journey.
I thought early on that the book was about the confrontations between political parties and thus had some similarities with the book and movie The Gangs of New York. I’ve not seen that movie nor read the book. Maybe I should, now. But it seemed to me that the Democrats and Republicans in the book were a bunch of hoodlums—sometimes I think they still are.

What sort of decisions did you make about including or portraying historical figures or events in order for your book to work?
I think Thomas Benton Catron comes off better in this book than he actually was. But then, this book is not about the Santa Fe Ring (powerful politicians, attorneys, and land speculators in New Mexico from 1865 until 1912). I seem to recall a conversation that took place many years ago, and might have been with my father-in-law about his grandfather in which he told me that his grandfather—I assume it was Canuto Alarid—had been a member of the Santa Fe Ring. But this book is not about the Santa Fe Ring, but rather the Alarid family.

What first inspired you to become a writer?
I think I’ve always been a writer. English composition was the one class that I could count on to make an ‘A’ throughout my scholastic endeavors. When Covid struck, I decided that I would put my writing prowess to good use and write a book. I’m now working on my sixth book since 2019.

What is it about historical fiction that draws you to write in that genre?
I don’t have enough imagination to make up characters and plots, so I must use actual people and facts, and can then make up the story to fit them. I don’t think I’ve ever written any pure fiction. Maybe in high school or college classes.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I’m finishing the story of my Dad’s Navy career. A couple of years ago I sent to the National Archives for his equivalent DD-214 form. For non-military, that’s the form you get after discharge from the military. My Dad talked little about his time in the Navy during WWII. I found that he had been a Torpedoman’s Mate on submarines for the two years he was in. He had been drafted into the Navy, which was not common, but did happen. When I found out he was on USS Redfish, a Balao class submarine, I went back to the National Archives and found the boat’s logs for the year that Redfish spent in the Pacific in waters surrounding Japan and the Philippines. What a year it was! I was born a little less than nine months after my Dad left for bootcamp in San Diego—I now tell my younger siblings that they are lucky that I was not an only child!

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
You are never too old to write. I started in my late seventies. I sometimes wish I had started when I was younger, but truth be told, I would never have had the patience to do research at the local library, so I had to wait for the internet. Google, Wikipedia, and MyHeritage are my research library. And I do a lot of research. I suspect I have three or four hours, maybe more, of research for every hour of writing.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner loves creating worlds of fantasy and science fiction. Her current work in progress is The Last Bonekeeper fantasy trilogy and short stories in the same universe. A member of SouthWest Writers since 2006, Kat has worked as the organization’s secretary, newsletter editor, website manager, and author interview coordinator. Kat is also a veteran, a martial art student, and a grandmother. Visit her at klwagoner.com.



An Interview with Author Wendy Johnson

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Dr. Wendy Johnson is a clinician, public health expert, teacher, and mentor, as well as an activist and author. Her 2025 book release, Kinship Medicine: Cultivating Interdependence to Heal the Earth and Ourselves (North Atlantic Books), “maps a way forward to a sustainable, hopeful future with wise and compassionate directives, encouraging us to step into wild places, engage in community-building partnerships and endeavors, and be informed and inspiring activists in the creation of a better world.” You’ll find Dr. Johnson on WendyJohnsonMD.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Substack. Look for Kinship Medicine at North Atlantic Books and major retailers including Amazon.

Why did you write Kinship Medicine, and who did you write it for?
The impetus to start writing Kinship Medicine came out of a lifetime of frustration in my chosen field of medicine. I always felt that Western Medicine’s focus was too narrow and if we could know patients better and employ “treatments” that were broader than procedures or pills — interventions that were social as well as biological — we could have a much bigger and earlier impact in the course of their illnesses, and in many cases prevent them altogether. My hunch about this led me to discover the community health movement and the field of public health, but again, I felt frustrated because there was no way to apply all I learned about the effects of environment and social context on health within the confines of our profit-based healthcare system. I wrote the book for all those folks, health care workers and patients, who feel the same frustration with our healthcare system, or with commonly dispensed wellness advice, and think there’s something missing. I hope this is part of that missing piece.

Tell us about the journey from inspiration to completed book.
The idea for the book probably popped into my head over 10 years ago, and I may have even sketched out an early outline, but the book changed substantially over time. The first and most important spark that really got the book going was my friend Nassim Assefi. Nassim is a fellow global health physician and novelist, so I went to her with the beginnings of a book proposal and asked her advice. I had always been a writer on the side, and had majored in English as an undergrad, but mostly op-eds, academic papers and one book chapter, but a book was a whole other endeavor. This was around 2018 or so. Nassim loved the idea and she helped improve the proposal. With her encouragement, I got a couple of essays published in literary journals that eventually turned into chapters. Also, with her encouragement, I applied for a Hedgebrook residency and, miracle of miracles, I got it. That was really the turning point and made me feel like a “real writer.” Our cohort of six was the last group to complete a three-week residency before COVID shut things down in March of 2020. Five years later, the group still meets monthly on Zoom to workshop each other’s work.

I started writing the book in earnest during that residency, sitting at a desk where so many amazing writers sat before me. I did another important residency at Mesa Refuge in 2022. Being a part of those communities of writers has been critical for the development of the book. I sought out many other mentors and developmental edits along the way, including book coach extraordinaire Carolyn Flynn, Lesley Poling-Kempes and Robin McLean, David Martin of Middle Creek Publishing, The Writer’s Hotel (Shanna McNair and Scott Wolven), and Hugo Houses’ Book Lab taught by Sonora Jha. All helped improve the book immensely.

Finding my publisher was a funny serendipitous story. Rosh Joan Halifax had recommended me to her agent (Stephanie Tade) and she took me on and tried to place the book for about a year or so without luck. Almost a year after we parted ways, she sent me an email saying one of the publishers had asked to see my manuscript, but for some reason I didn’t see the message for another year. I had just finished Hugo House’s year-long Book Lab and was ready to start querying again, so I dug up all my old rejections to see what I could glean from them and lo and behold found the old email from Stephanie. I contacted Tim McKee at North Atlantic Books and he was still enthusiastic to look at the manuscript. In the end, I feel like it was fate. It was a much better book after the Book Lab. Tim loved it, felt it was ready to go, and so it was less than a year from signing my contract to pub date. I couldn’t be happier with my publisher — they are a non-profit social-justice-oriented publisher and no one there makes more than 2.6x the lowest paid employee. I feel that it’s the perfect fit.

How is the book structured and why did you choose to put it together that way?
I try to take the reader on a journey of discovery that mirrors my own and answer the questions — how did we get here and what might be the path forward? The chapters are building blocks to understanding and encompass public health, anthropology, sociology, ecology and many other fields. Woven through are examples from my own life and those of my patients.

The book starts off by grounding the reader a little in my life, my career, but also in New Mexico. I really began to understand the importance of the natural world and community to my own health over this past decade being a parciante in an acequia system and living in Chupadero. The introduction and first chapter are both set in New Mexico and use local examples to illustrate the principals I talk about throughout the book.

In the following chapters, I make the case that we seem to be stuck. After many decades of advances in health and well-being for humans, we seem to be backsliding as a species, and our healthcare system doesn’t seem to have the answers. At the same time, we’re harming the very environments we depend on for our well-being. I discuss the roots of our disconnection from each other and the natural world and how we began to think of ourselves as hierarchical beings ruling over nature. I explain that we are nature and show how even our bodies are ecosystems of symbiotic beings that must work together for all to flourish.

The last part of the book takes the reader through a process that I hope will shift their thinking from “human-centric” to “life-centric” and inspire them to take collective action through that new way of looking at the world.

Share a few surprising facts you discovered while doing research for Kinship Medicine.
I loved learning about Lynn Margulis’ contributions to how we understand evolution. Her thesis was that cooperation and “symbiosis” was a much more important contribution to evolution than competition. She was a woman scientist working in the 1960s and had these revolutionary ideas about how cells gained complexity by joining together symbiotically, not by “conquering” each other. She was unable to publish her first papers, getting rejected by more than 15 journals, but she kept at it. In the end, all her significant hypotheses were proved true using genetic evidence. It just turns our entire idea of who we are and how we came to be on its head when you let go of “survival of fittest’ as the myth that it is.

Another fun thing I discovered was about the first scientists who developed the germ theory of disease, including Louis Pasteur and Elie Metchnikoff. They both had far more nuanced ideas about germs than I was led to believe in my medical school classes. They understood that some were harmful and cause illness, but thought that others were helpful and necessary to our well-being. Their interpreters for the most part decided that if germs cause disease, then all germs must be bad, so our century of declaring war on all things microbial ensued. Of course, some of that was wildly beneficial, but the overuse of antibiotics and pesticides has also had a dark side.

What was the most rewarding aspect of putting this project together?
That’s easy. My friend Robin McLean says writing is a team sport and I have been blessed with a wonderful team. Getting to be a part of the community of writers, especially women writers, has enriched my whole life.

Do you have a favorite chapter in the book?
I am most fond of the chapters set in New Mexico that have a lot of my own stories in them. Which is surprising because the book started out devoid of much of that. I like the introduction, “Out of the Fire,” the first chapter, “The Wild Tithe,” chapter 11, “The Path Forward” and the epilogue, “The Coyote and the Cottonwood” best (that’s way more than one!)

Amazon lists Kinship Medicine in three categories: Sociological Study of Medicine, Nature Writing & Essays, and Sociology Reference. If you didn’t have the limitations of Amazon categories, how would you characterize the book?
I think it’s kind of sad we have such atomized categories. But if I did, I would say it’s a new genre – a “collective-help book” (rather than self-help, it’s anti-self-help).

Why did you choose this moment in time to write/publish Kinship Medicine?
The moment chose me, I think!

Do you have a favorite quote from the book that you’d like to share?
“We are at a crossroads. Will humankind continue down a path of separation from nature, of domination and destruction, or will we harness our intelligence toward finding new ways of achieving integration, reciprocity, and sustainability?”

When you tackle a nonfiction project, do you think of it as storytelling?
Yes, absolutely.

Which creative medium would you love to pursue but haven’t yet?
I have dabbled in photography. I think next is using photographs as a base for encaustic painting.

Do you have a message or a theme that recurs in your writing?
My parents instilled in me my sense of fairness and justice and that comes through in my writing, I hope.

What writing projects are you working on now?
Thinking about the next book — maybe more focused on the healthcare system and how we could reverse engineer it to address that 80% of our health is dependent on our social context and community connections and environment.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner loves creating worlds of fantasy and science fiction. Her current work in progress is The Last Bonekeeper fantasy trilogy and short stories in the same universe. A member of SouthWest Writers since 2006, Kat has worked as the organization’s secretary, newsletter editor, website manager, and author interview coordinator. Kat is also a veteran, a martial art student, and a grandmother. Visit her at klwagoner.com.



An Interview with Author Sequoia Rudolph

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Author Sequoia Rudolph is a retired special education teacher whose first book started out as an essay that stretched into a memoir but ended up as a novel. Her debut release, In Time Out (September 2024), brings readers “a fun, sexy mid-life adventure that blends humor, heartache, healing, and wisdom” with “a powerful reflection on the challenges of education, colonization, and life’s obstacles.” You’ll find Sequoia on Medium and Amazon.

When readers turn the last page in the book, what do you hope they will take away from it?
First, I want people to realize that teaching special education is a very difficult career and rarely is there a concrete resolution to the challenges both teachers and students face. Secondly, people have a view of what living and working in Paradise is like. It is very different from staying in a resort where the locals are paid to be nice to tourists. And third, women of a certain vintage often make changes to their lifestyles and it takes a lot of courage to leave a situation that does not work.

What challenges did this work pose for you?
This book started out as a nonfiction essay about the unfair treatment of special education students and teachers in the Department of Education in the state of Hawaii. Then it became a memoir, finally I decided to write a novel because making stuff up was a lot more fun than telling the absolute truth.

Who are your main characters and what do they have to overcome in the story? Will those who know you recognize you in any of your characters?
The main character is a clueless middle-aged runaway, Cynthia Ferguson, who had never been to Maui and decided to leave her husband. Yes, people would know this is my story. However, when I landed on Maui my life was totally different than hers in that I immediately made myself explore and connect with the island and the community. Cynthia was more afraid and cautious. Matthew, her young colleague, is a composite of various people who teach in every place I have ever worked. There is always an adorable young guy who gets away with not doing his job, and everyone loves him. No one ever calls him out because he is funny and makes people laugh.

All of the students in this novel are familiar to every special education teacher in the world. They are at a disadvantage and it is the teacher’s job to level the playing field. Not always possible or realistic. The evil principal, Ms. Yamamoto, is a combination of three of the worst administrators I encountered in my 25-year career. Maui is definitely one of the main characters. She adds beauty and adventure to the story.

Tell us how the book came together.
The story came from my teaching career, not just on Maui but in Kentucky and Arizona as well. In Time Out took 12 years to write and underwent many changes along the way. When I retired three years ago, I decided to finish the book and so I devoted a great deal of my time and resources to do so.

Hawaii is one of the main settings in the book. Why did you decide to use that particular setting as the place your story unfolds?
I have a love/hate relationship with Maui and could never really leave for good. I moved back three times and tried to make it work for me financially. In all, I lived there for over ten years and have gone back to house-sit or visit countless times. I still miss living there. It is a special place, but entirely unsustainable.

Is there a scene in your book that you’d love to see play out in a movie?
From the very beginning I pictured this book as a movie. It has humor, heart, romance and, of course, the island paradise of Maui.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
My favorite part of the project was the actual writing of the first draft. I would get up at 4:30 am and work on it until I had to go to work and live the story. Everything after writing the first draft has been difficult. And now that the book is completed, I feel stuck and need assistance in the next step.

How did you chose the title of the book?
The titles I wanted were already used in other books and movies. In Time Out surfaced at the last minute, and I really liked it. It describes Cynthia’s time on Maui and a reference to teaching as well.

You began your writing career later in life. What did your mature self bring to the writing table that your younger self never could have?
My younger self was busy raising children and working hard in other endeavors. Writing a novel requires motivation, focus and, most of all, time.

When did you consider yourself a writer?
Not until this book was published in September 2024.

What are the hardest kinds of scenes for you to write?
Without a doubt, the romance and sex scenes were not easy and I didn’t want to add them. I attempted to make it fun and lighthearted. Various beta readers and consultants convinced me that it was necessary and more realistic. As it turns out, they were right.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I’m a reporter for the Nob Hill News. I’m also published in Unbreaking the Circle: Stories of Service (the SWW 2025 military anthology), and I have a blog on Medium.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
Everyone has a story to tell. I hoped to tell the story of special education in a fun and entertaining way.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner loves creating worlds of fantasy and science fiction. Her current work in progress is The Last Bonekeeper fantasy trilogy and short stories in the same universe. A member of SouthWest Writers since 2006, Kat has worked as the organization’s secretary, newsletter editor, website manager, and author interview coordinator. Kat is also a veteran, a martial art student, and a grandmother. Visit her at klwagoner.com.



An Interview with Author Daniel Pedrick

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Daniel Pedrick is a retired attorney and mental health judge who started his third career as an author with his 2017 debut Once, A Walking Shadow (Mercury HeartLink). Dan’s newest release, Liv’s Story: An Iowa Girl’s Rebellion (RMK Publications, June 2024), was inspired by the life of his stepmother Jo Ann Pedrick. Look for Liv’s Story on Amazon.

What would you like readers to know about the story you tell in Liv’s Story?
I have tried in this story to use important experiences that my stepmother had because she had a remarkable life. I also wanted to write a short novel with a female as the lead character.

Tell us about your stepmother. What was it about her that made you want to write a book inspired by her life?
Jo Ann Pedrick was like a second mother to me. She was a positive, resilient type who led such an interesting life. Her father passed away when she was an young teenager. Her mother had to be the provider which was very hard for women in the 1930s and 1940s. Jo Ann traveled extensively as an adult and never had children. We (me and my three siblings) were her children. She was taught by her mother to be self-reliant. She was a psychiatric social worker when she met my dad. She later ran for office in the Arizona legislature, and after that was appointed head of the Arizona Department of Aging, a cabinet position.

What was the most challenging aspect of writing/publishing Liv’s Story, and what was your favorite part of the process?
The most challenging aspect was capturing the voice of the heroine. My favorite part was capturing that voice in times of her stress, romance, and adventure.

When did you know you wanted to write the book and how did it come together after that?
The book was prompted by the reading of Jo Ann’s diaries up to her father’s death. It took me about four years to write the book, about two months to finish the editing due to the keen eye of my publisher Rose Marie Kern (RMK Publications), and a couple of weeks to procure the rights to the cover which is a watercolor painting done by Win Martinson, my son-in-law’s mother.

Why a fictionalized account instead of a nonfiction memoir?
A fictionalized account gave me more latitude with characters and timelines.

Did you discover anything surprising or interesting while doing research for the book?
I learned about the prowess of Japanese women pearl divers, college football dynamics in the 1940s, and the dangers of cave diving in Belize, to name a few.

How has your experience as an attorney and mental health judge benefited your writing life?
Working as an attorney for 20 years and as a mental health judge for 12 and a half years gave me good organizational skills which I desperately needed. It also helped with my vocabulary.

What first inspired you to become a writer? When did you actually consider yourself a writer?
I was inspired to be a writer after reading James Michener’s book Hawaii in the 8th grade. I considered myself a writer after completing my second novel which involved the fictionalizing of the life of my best friend growing up, as well as explaining difficult mental health issues.

Who are your favorite authors, and what do you admire most about their writing?
My favorite writers are T.C. Boyle and Abraham Verghese. I admire their ability to tell and weave together sometimes complicated plots. I also admire their extensive vocabularies.

What has writing taught you about yourself?
Writing has reaffirmed my tenacity as a person.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I am currently writing a memoir/eulogy of my late friend artist Ted Gibson, truly and undeniably a unique person.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
I have been truly blessed in this life and appreciate the help of SouthWest Writers.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner loves creating worlds of fantasy and science fiction. Her current work in progress is The Last Bonekeeper fantasy trilogy and short stories in the same universe. A member of SouthWest Writers since 2006, Kat has worked as the organization’s secretary, newsletter editor, website manager, and author interview coordinator. Kat is also a veteran, a martial art student, and a grandmother. Visit her at klwagoner.com.



An Interview with Author Donna Pedace

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Since the publication of her second nonfiction book, Scandalous Women of the Old West (2020), author Donna Pedace has focused her research and writing on women who have achieved something deserving of public recognition. Her newest release, Women Warriors: The Hidden Spies of WWII (RMK Publications, July 2024), brings readers the stories of 50 female agents who went on dangerous missions behind German lines during World War II. You’ll find Donna on Facebook and her Amazon Author Page.

Women Warriors tells the stories of female spies who worked behind the scenes in Nazi-held France. When did you discover the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a secret British organization created in 1940? What was the kick in the pants that started you on the book?
While researching material for another book, I came across a small slip of paper with just a few sentences about the women who served in the SOE. I was familiar with the SOE, but I hadn’t realized that women had been among its field agents. I tucked the note away, only to rediscover it a year later. That rediscovery sparked my curiosity, and I began delving into their stories. I was captivated by what I found — these women had led extraordinary lives. I felt strongly that their contributions deserved far greater recognition.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
Researching women is always more difficult than researching men. Until just 15 or 20 years ago, most history was written by men — and they often overlooked, minimized, or entirely omitted the influence of women. In the case of the SOE, the challenge was even greater. The organization was disbanded almost immediately after World War II, and its records were scattered. A devastating fire at England’s National Archives later destroyed a significant number of documents. To make matters worse, all files on the SOE women agents were classified by the British government — some of them still were when I began my research. Fortunately, I was successful in having them lift those restrictions.

Tell us about one or two of the women from the book who you respect the most.
Nancy Wake was an extraordinary woman. She initially worked with the French Resistance, but after a Gestapo bounty was placed on her head, she was forced to flee France. Determined to continue the fight, she joined the Special Operations Executive and later returned to France as one of their agents. Unlike the other women, Nancy lived side by side with the Resistance fighters — sleeping in barns, hiding in forests, and operating out of abandoned houses and fields. She earned their deep respect and often led them on missions. Remarkably, she was the first woman reported to have killed a German soldier in hand-to-hand combat, using a karate chop technique she had learned during her SOE training.

Another remarkable woman was Noor Inayat Khan, a descendant of Indian royalty and a devout follower of the Sufi faith. Despite her belief in nonviolence, she volunteered as a radio operator for the SOE — one of the most dangerous roles in occupied France. After many of her fellow operators in Paris were captured or killed, Noor defied SOE orders to evacuate and chose to remain behind, maintaining the critical communication link between London and six different Resistance networks. Eventually, she was captured by the Gestapo, brutally tortured, and later executed. Yet, throughout her captivity — longer than that of any other female agent, German records tell us that she never revealed a single piece of classified information.

How did Women Warriors come together?
The serious research took just over a year, and during the final four months of that period, I began drafting the chapters. The actual writing process took about six months, during which I wrote for four to five hours each day. My editor began reviewing the manuscript after I had completed the first ten chapters and continued working on it intermittently for about four to five months. Since my editor was based on the East Coast, we relied heavily on both email and frequent phone calls to maintain close communication. This ongoing dialogue was essential to ensure he fully understood the details, my focus, and the intent behind each chapter.

How is the book structured, and why did you choose to put it together that way?
I chose to devote a separate chapter to each woman to clearly distinguish their individual stories and allow each one to stand on its own. The chapters are arranged in chronological order, following the timeline of the women’s work with the SOE.

Any “Oh, wow!” moments while doing research for this book?
Despite being fully aware of the dangers, their courage never ceased to amaze me. The average life expectancy for radio operators in the field was just six weeks — yet they volunteered to do what they could to fight the Germans. Eleven of the women were executed, two others died from illness in concentration camps, and several more were captured and brutally tortured. I was deeply moved to learn that, according to German records, not a single one of them ever revealed classified information.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
I truly enjoyed the research process — it was exciting to uncover so much I had never known before. Writing, on the other hand, has always been hard work for me. I don’t particularly enjoy it, but the thrill of discovery through research kept me motivated and made the effort worthwhile.

As a nonfiction writer, how do you choose your next writing project?
I focus exclusively on women from our history, guided by two criteria: whether the topic genuinely interests me, and whether I believe the women have achieved something deserving of greater public recognition.

What does a typical writing session look like for you? Do you have any writing rituals or something you absolutely need in order to write?
My research schedule tends to be quite erratic. Once I start learning about a woman, I often spend long, long hours diving down various rabbit holes to uncover every detail. I usually have to order research books, which means I’m often waiting for them to arrive. I prefer to buy these books so I can keep them on hand for frequent reference. While much information is now available online, I make a point to double- or even triple-check information to ensure as much accuracy as possible. Online research also allows me to connect directly with others who have studied the same women, and we compare notes to deepen our understanding.

When it’s time to write, I typically dedicate four to five hours each afternoon. After lunch, I close the door to create a quiet, uninterrupted space because I don’t handle distractions well — I need to maintain my train of thought. Fortunately, my husband is very understanding of my need to separate myself.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I have already conducted extensive research on early women pilots, and that may become the focus of my next book.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner loves creating worlds of fantasy and science fiction. Her current work in progress is The Last Bonekeeper fantasy trilogy and short stories in the same universe. A member of SouthWest Writers since 2006, Kat has worked as the organization’s secretary, newsletter editor, website manager, and author interview coordinator. Kat is also a veteran, a martial art student, and a grandmother. Visit her at klwagoner.com.



An Interview with Author Heidi Marshall

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Before coming to the United States, author Heidi Marshall wrote more than 50 radio scripts of children’s stories. After immigrating, she became an award-winning short story author published in several anthologies. In September 2024, she released The Town That Lost Its Colors, her debut children’s chapter book “written in the tradition of fine tales of courage and respect, with modern themes of inclusion, forgiveness, and kindness.” You’ll find Heidi on her Amazon Author Page.

What would you like readers to know about the story you tell in The Town That Lost Its Colors?
It began in Spanish, my native language, as a short radio script, with the title El Pueblo que Perdió sus Colores. The story had a few elements of the book as published many years later, but vastly different themes and characters.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
Finding the right ending, once I committed to re-write the book for a grandniece’s birthday, after it had been set aside, sometimes for years, because of life’s more demanding expectations. I tried several endings that only brought the book to a standstill — until that Eureka moment. After that, ideas flowed, and the sentences practically wrote themselves. I never did tell my grandniece which birthday I was talking about…just in case.

Who are your main characters and why will readers connect to them?
Princess Imogen, the main character, wants to help her people but has no notion how to go about it. She figures things out as she goes, improvises, and that makes the readers want to help her succeed. I hoped to draw enough empathy for the little unicorns’ plight for the reader to take part in their story. The monster, well, his broken horn broke my heart, and I was just making that up.

Who did you write the book for? What topics does The Town That Lost Its Colors touch on that would make it a perfect fit for the classroom? 
I feel that the topics of acceptance, forgiveness, inclusion, and respect for differences have become more important now than ever before.

As to the first part of the question, I could never have written this book for a specific age group. My respect for children’s wonderful ability to imagine is too much to box them within age brackets. I wanted my words to trigger the children’s own imagery of the story. I understand that a book “for all ages” seems to be a bad idea nowadays commercially, but I believe that if parents love a story, the more likely they are to read it to young children, or gift it to children beginning to read chapter books.

How did you feel the first time you held your book and saw your story come alive in the artwork of illustrator Adrienne Kinsella?
It was wonderful to hold a complete version, although it was only a proof.

Tell us how the book came together.
The story and I changed and grew old together. It took that long! The illustrator Adrienne, from a talented branch of the family, happened to be available at the right time. The editing process evolved from my SouthWest Writers Sage challenge submissions.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
Seeing the book become real. I learned so much! Illustrations coming to life by Adrienne’s hand. The book falling naturally into chapters, which made the illustrations also fall in place as introductions to each chapter — captions and all! Kathy Louise Schuit with her considerable talent and attention to detail making all the book elements come together seamlessly with her design and layout.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer? What is the first piece of writing you can remember finishing?
It was when I read in front of my elementary school fourth grade teacher and classmates an assignment about the first Hispanic woman ever to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral. The kids looked blank, but I saw my teacher surreptitiously wipe a tear from the corner of one eye. I wanted my written words to cause that reaction in people. I realize now that a lot of youthful, heartfelt purple prose could have caused that tear.

What is the best encouragement or advice you’ve received in your writing journey?
Learn the craft. Talent is only the beginning.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner loves creating worlds of fantasy and science fiction. Her current work in progress is The Last Bonekeeper fantasy trilogy and short stories in the same universe. A member of SouthWest Writers since 2006, Kat has worked as the organization’s secretary, newsletter editor, website manager, and author interview coordinator. Kat is also a veteran, a martial art student, and a grandmother. Visit her at klwagoner.com.



An Interview with Author Christie Palmer Lowrance

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Christie Palmer Lowrance has used her passion for writing in her many careers including as editor, biographer and historian, speaker and instructor, and journalist, as well as author of two non-fiction books. Her most recent release is The Last Heath Hen: An Extinction Story (May 2024), written for young readers to show them the complexity of conservation and the importance of valuing all wildlife. You’ll find Christie on ChristieLowrance.com, on Facebook and LinkedIn. Look for The Last Heath Hen on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

When readers turn the last page in the book, what do you hope they’ll take away from it?
I hope adult readers feel they have just had the great good fortune to discover a children’s book they MUST share with friends and colleagues running conservation programs or are Middle Grade classroom teachers — and I hope children feel the beginning of a call to stewardship of wildlife and nature.

What was the spark that got you started researching and writing about the plight of the Heath Hen?
The Heath Hen extinction story is well known to US conservationists. They strongly believe it is uniquely important because, as US Fish and Wildlife Service historian Mark Madison told me, the Heath Hen may be the only North American avian extinction of which the last individual in the wild was documented. I believed it was a worthy and valuable story for children.

In Nature’s Ambassador: The Legacy of Thornton W. Burgess (Schiffer, 2013), my biography of naturalist and children’s author Thornton Burgess, I devote seven pages to describing his role in the Heath Hen story. Burgess actually held briefly the last bird of its kind as it was being banded. My website site ChristieLowrance.com has video footage and more detail. My LinkedIn page has a link to my April 22, 2025 Earth Day presentation at US Fish and Wildlife center in West Virginia with actual film footage. It’s very exciting, knowing what you are watching, and it was exciting knowing what I was writing about.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
Working with an illustrator and a book designer were firsts for me as a writer. Never wanted to self-publish, also a first. However, 2024 was Thornton Burgess’ 150th birthday anniversary, so if I was going to publish the material as a book, it was necessary to get it done quickly.

The technical challenges of publishing would have been, for me as a researcher/writer, insurmountable without the incredibly talented book designer Rose Kern (who obviously needs no SWW introduction!). Ingram Spark has our book in hardcover, but they were impossible to work with for paperback. Amazon has it in hardcover, paperback and e-book.

It was a challenge to tell this extinction story for children without being grim or scary. I thought and thought and my ending finally came to me as a whole idea. Many people have said the ending is perfect. It soothes me and I hope it soothes readers young or old.

How did the book come together?
The text had been written shortly after my Burgess biography was published in 2013, figured I would use it sometime as a magazine article or maybe a book. Found the illustrator at a Sandwich Arts Alliance meet-and-greet of writers and illustrators, my very lucky day! Rose and I worked hard on all aspects of book layout and design. Couldn’t have done it, literally, without her expertise and ideas.

I knew the basic Heath Hen story well because as it was part of my research for the biography of Thornton Burgess. To flesh it out carefully and artistically, fact check, and create a narrative suitable for children took a year in all. The creation of the book with illustrations and design, in all maybe another year.

What was it like working with illustrator Michael Berndt? Do you have a favorite image or page spread from The Last Heath Hen?
Michael Berndt was a writer’s dream. I picked him because he could paint people, landscape and animals; he was effortless to work with: flexible, receptive, creative, supportive of the project. He knew nothing of Burgess or Heath Hens as he explained in his Illustrator Notes (which I asked him to write, to accompany my Author Notes, to explain our process). My PowerPoint presentations include many of his paintings, I admire them all but I so love the gorgeous cover illustration of the bird itself: so beautiful, so alone, expectant, alert, composed. A dessert plate with a painting of two game birds I bought on my 1968 honeymoon in Bermuda was a basis for the cover.

What was the most rewarding aspect of putting this project together?
I have been a professional writer for 50 years. My travel books, articles, etc. were to provide information. But this book has a bigger mission. It is intended to support the work of conservationists and teachers by giving them a teaching tool, a true, child-sized story of a small bird on a small island off Massachusetts, not dinosaurs millions of years ago. It is intended to help children understand extinction, a complex and increasingly common event in nature that we need to be fiercely attentive to. And as Burgess knew, children are the right and perfect audience to inspire.

What first inspired you to become a writer? When did you actually consider yourself a writer?
I simply love to write. Use of the written word has always made sense to me. It has always felt good. I wrote a story when I was 10, describing an old scary house up the street; seeing my thoughts down on a blank page felt so deeply satisfying. No one had required it of me, the idea and the words came from me, it was my child’s knowledge that had produced them. I think I was born feeling this way.

Being a Writer, however, that was a different matter. Even though I had literally hundreds and hundreds of bylines as a reporter for the Bath-Brunswick Times Record in Maine and the Cape Cod Times, I would never call myself “a Writer.” I wrote but that did not mean I was “a Writer.” I had to earn that title by some unknown internal standard. It was a matter of identity. After seeing my first major magazine article for Cape Cod Life magazine, probably 3,000 words, it started to change; as I wrote for regional and national magazines and publications, I became by my own standard a Writer. Over my career I’ve been an author, editor and marketing specialist, and taught writing at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Cape Cod Community College. I love writing’s versatility.

Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently if you started your writing/publishing career today?
Nothing comes to mind. That said, it would be enormously helpful to be more tech savvy; when I started writing professionally, I used a manual typewriter and carbon paper and had a family and a household to care for.

Do I wish I had started writing books earlier? Sort of. But I was freelance writing, and every assignment was interesting, I was always learning. Also, I believe in the writing process. It’s a variation on “when the student is ready, the teacher appears.” With writers, it’s “When the writer is ready, the material appears.” So maybe I’m writing books when I’m ready to write books?

Do you prefer the creating or editing aspect of writing? How do you feel about research?
I love it all. I gave a talk a while ago for SouthWest Writers on “Finding the Story,” on the amazing and unexpected things a researcher comes across, deliberately and accidentally. Research is like free falling, you open up your mind, step forward and fall into it. Of course, I love the creating and the editing (who could stand being a writer if they didn’t). Editing is quite pleasant, creating is harder. I once edited two novels, 800 and 700 pages, for a non-native English-speaking writer gifted with narrative development but his use of idioms was constantly off, like a singer who is always flat. I wouldn’t have edited a third book.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I am writing a biography titled Ships and Shards: The Legacy of Dr. George F. Bass. It is tremendously important to me because it is a privilege and a massive challenge. Archaeologist George Bass, world renowned as “the Father of Underwater Archaeology” loved my Burgess biography and provided me with five years of interviews. I have amazing material to work with.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
I don’t believe in writers block per se, but maybe it’s different with fiction and non-fiction? Don’t know. When things don’t come, I get up, go for a cup of coffee, a walk, anything to release my focus from the problem. Shifting my attention helps restore the clarity I need. That said, I do know what it feels like when your brain is tired and refuses to work. That happened with the Bass project I’m working on now, work started in 2015, and in 2019 I finally had to stop writing. I’d been working on biographies for 10 years. I took a break for two years (book not under contract) and when I returned, not only was I refreshed, but I had a stronger, seasoned, and more informed view of my subject. Lesson learned.

I’m working on Ships and Shards daily now and will be looking for an agent/publisher later this year.

…feel free to check out my website, which also soothes me.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner loves creating worlds of fantasy and science fiction. Her current work in progress is The Last Bonekeeper fantasy trilogy and short stories in the same universe. A member of SouthWest Writers since 2006, Kat has worked as the organization’s secretary, newsletter editor, website manager, and author interview coordinator. Kat is also a veteran, a martial art student, and a grandmother. Visit her at klwagoner.com.



An Interview with Author Peter Gooch

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Author Peter Gooch is a painter and former art professor whose short fiction appears in numerous literary magazines. Apprentice House Press published his debut novel SEREN in April 2025 and his second literary fiction release LIPS: Kiss The Lips That Lie in June 2025. You’ll find Peter on PeterGoochAuthor.com and Instagram, and his Amazon Author Page.

What is your elevator pitch for LIPS?
In a world defined by old money and calculated moves, LIPS uncovers the hidden currents of desire, secrets and vulnerability beneath the surface of privilege, where navigating relationships becomes a game of survival.

Share a little about your main characters. Why did you choose them to carry your story?
Selene Ormond, a British banker’s daughter, works as an au pair in a Midwestern university town. She came to the USA after college on a lark, but also to shed the burden of a careless sexual past involving a set of posh ex-pats from her school days. Davis Beckwith (DB), scion of old money, and heir to the family accounting firm, lives a life freighted by the expectations of others. When DB’s tendency to sexual voyeurism collides with Selene’s capricious exhibitionism, sparks fly. Both major characters are haunted by the past and by family secrets which shape their choices. LIPS is the story of their struggle to escape a destiny shaped by others.

In my mind, Selene and DB are the story. They embody fundamental dichotomies which propel the narrative: exhibitionist/voyeur; middle class/upper class; pan-sexual/straight are all contrasts that create literary friction. Also, both Selene and DB are characters surrounded by a Greek Chorus of friends and family, each of whom embodies the different ways the past can be a prison. Both primary players are haunted by their parents—DB’s father is a kind of ghost, and Selene’s father appears to her only in her dreams. Gillian, Selene’s friend and ex-lover, ties Selene to a lifestyle that she would sooner shed. DB’s only friend, Walter Blanchard, is a woebegone bachelor who shares DB’s desire for connection and permanence. Other ghosts of different sorts populate the main character’s histories and inform their choices going forward.

All of my characters are a composite sketch of people I’ve known closely over the years. Traits and habits of the fictional roles are drawn directly from observing life and listening to the tales of others. I try my best to write people who interest me, and who I wouldn’t mind spending time with in real life.

What sparked the story idea and how did the book come together after that?
LIPS is the distillation of a much longer, more disjointed story that I started working on more than a decade ago. Structurally, the original version was a compilation of vignettes—episodes if you will—without connective tissue. Many of the scenes focused on intense sexual obsession. Gradually the piece drifted more toward issues of caste and family history. Nowadays, when I look at the actual, physical book, I’m surprised it’s so long. I intended a much shorter novel, akin to Damage by Josephine Hart (177 pages) or Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill (224 pages). The fact that LIPS weighs in over 300 pages suggests to me that the narrative expanded well beyond the dyadic tale of a relationship.

One inciting element of the initial concept for LIPS was the familiar romantic trope of little white lies that lovers tell each other in the bedroom. These innocent fibs form the psychological grease of relations between the sexes. Generally, they go unremarked upon—almost nobody thinks they represent actual truth, but we keep whispering them into each other’s ears. Another analogous set of lies reside in the family myth, that is to say, the sustaining fictions families create to justify themselves over generations. There may be a litany of horrors buried in any given family tree, but those are often glossed over, denied, or ignored. Generational wealth gained through nefarious practices is one of the foundational realities of this country, and Western Civilization as a whole. DB’s family in particular, has a battalion of skeletons rattling around in the Davis family closet, that have been covered up through decades of wealth accumulation.

“Kiss the lips that lie,” the quote from George Sand can refer not only to deceptive spouses, but also family traditions that perpetuate a congratulatory image of ourselves.

What are your main settings? Why are they the perfect choice for your story world?
I chose the sleepy, college town of Ann Arbor, Michigan as the setting for LIPS because I was born and raised there; went to school there; and worked there for a while. Many of the locations in the book actually existed at one time or another. For example, Café Felix was a town staple for many years, and the kind of place DB and Walter Blanchard might have habited. I also felt the locale suited the tale because Ann Arbor is a magnet for intellectuals from all over—many from other countries. British ex-pats are not uncommon—either teaching at the University of Michigan or working in healthcare or scientific research. All the characters in LIPS are very much the kind of person you might meet in Ann Arbor. Plus, the quaint conformity of the Midwest allows the actions of the characters to stand in slightly higher relief than if the action took place in NYC.

DB’s family cottage on Lake Michigan actually exists and is very familiar to me. I made a few modifications for the book, but in general it’s a real place. I spent many happy hours in the house itself, and thought the setting might be appropriate for DB’s mother, Miss Addy. I also felt the proximity to the lakeshore provided a scenic frisson between elements—land, sea, and air.

What did you learn in writing/publishing the book that you can apply to future projects?
My biggest takeaway from LIPS was the necessity to face, acknowledge, and accept the process: write, revise, cut, revise, and cut. Cut until bone begins to show, then cut some more.

Why did you choose the title of the book?
The title LIPS came very early on. The George Sand quote from the subtitle is well known, and I liked the brevity and simplicity of a single word—LIPS which suggests whispers, kisses, and sex.

What was the most rewarding aspect of writing LIPS?
At the end of the process, I found myself most interested in the atmospherics of language, and the languid pace. I wanted the scenes to feel as if they were viewed through the clouded eye of a small, intimate camera.

Did you find it challenging to write from the point of view of a female character?
One of the early and ongoing aspects of writing LIPS was the variety of dissatisfactions coming from editors regarding the scope and agency of Selene. Much of the unhappiness people experienced was the result of projecting their own prejudices and ambitions onto a limited and purely fictional being. Criticisms ranged from her hypersexuality to wanting more about her dance studies. I took all comments to heart and examined them through the lens of artistic unity. Some wants were acted upon, some not. The breadth of human behavior and motivation is limitless. My major hope for Selene was that she be plausible, and a catalyst for reaction. As with the other characters, I had no desire to make her “likable” but rather interesting and disquieting. Like many addicts, she is at the mercy of her drug—which in this case is sex.

Do you prefer the creating or editing aspect of writing? How do you feel about research?
I love revising more than anything. I try to draw most elements in any book from my personal experience, but don’t mind researching when necessary.

What does a typical writing session look like for you?
I make up stuff in the morning and revise whenever I can.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a sequel to my first novel SEREN—working title: AIX. The plot follows the main character, Fairchild Moss, and his girlfriend, Claudine Boatwright, as they resume their quest to find the elusive and deadly muse, Seren, in the south of France.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner loves creating worlds of fantasy and science fiction. Her current work in progress is The Last Bonekeeper fantasy trilogy and short stories in the same universe. A member of SouthWest Writers since 2006, Kat has worked as the organization’s secretary, newsletter editor, website manager, and author interview coordinator. Kat is also a veteran, a martial art student, and a grandmother. Visit her at klwagoner.com.



Author Update 2025: Ed Lehner

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Retired professor Ed Lehner is an author and poet who has published three novels and a short story collection. His newest contemporary fiction release is Sunset in Paris (Alkira Publishing, March 2025), book two in the Jennifer Morse Series. You’ll find Ed on Facebook and Twitter, and on his website ELehner.com. Look for the Jennifer Morse Series on his Amazon Author Page, and read more about Ed and his writing in his 2020 and 2022 SWW Interviews.

What would you like readers to know about the story you tell in Sunset in Paris?
Jennifer Morse, now a successful author, has been required by her publisher to spend a great amount of time away from her home on book tours. Consequently, her health and relationship with her partner, Chris, have deteriorated. Then she finds out he is cheating on her with another woman and throws him out.

Recovering her health and from her breakup, she decides to visit her grandparents who are spending several months in Paris. On a side trip to Monte Carlo, she meets a race car driver who becomes completely smitten with her. While she is attracted to him, she is not yet ready for another relationship. All her doubts about men and betrayal from her abusive childhood, have been stirred up by Chris’s deception.

An unpleasant encounter in a dark Paris alley stirs up old childhood trauma and she returns to the U.S. and departs on a road trip to the California coast to escape, forget, and work on her new novel. By chance, she meets someone from her father’s past which sets her off in a new direction. Circumstances arise that cause her to return to France and to Paris where she finds new resolve to move forward from her past.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
I would say the main challenge was doing the research (most of which was done for Book 1, San Juan Sunrise) to understand the difficulties of abused children and recovery as an adult. Nevertheless, I did a lot of review and learned some new things, especially about anger.

Tell us about your main character, Jennifer Morse, and what she has to overcome in this story. Did you ever worry you wouldn’t be able to write from the point of view of a female protagonist?
I have a daughter and two stepdaughters. Watching them grow up into women, I learned a lot. Albeit, far from being an expert on women. As a university professor in small studio classes, when someone wasn’t doing well, I would have a talk with them. Some things I learned about their lives and early lives, especially from some of my female students about their abuse as children astounded me. So, I sent a lot of my students, over the years, to student health for counseling. And I received much gratitude. From all these experiences, I have become an advocate for women’s rights and freedom from abuse. So, with all this, Jenny was created as a catchall from the encounters I have had with the opposite sex. As a young woman, she still struggles with the trauma of her youth, her abuse and bullying resulting in the subsequent anger and mistrust of others, especially men. It is also difficult for her to trust in herself.

How did the book come together?
I started this book about three years ago, then I got Covid-19 followed by long Covid and then congestive heart failure from the long Covid, all of which sort of fried my brain as well as my creative juices. The editing and design took maybe six months. Also, I don’t plot out or outline when I write. I let the story unravel as I go along.

What was the inspiration for this second installment in the Jennifer Morse series?
I always thought there was more to Jenny’s story. Then the Paris angle hit me and I put them together along with the racing aspect. It was a fun book to write. And we still might not be finished with her exploits.

In a previous interview for SWW, you said you wished you’d had more guidance at the beginning of your writing/publishing career. What lessons have you learned in the eight years since publishing your first book that you applied to Sunset in Paris?
My publisher got on my case about ‘show, don’t tell.’ It was a hard concept for me to grasp but she (Tahlia Newland of Alkira publishing in New South Wales, Australia), the delightful and helpful person she is, gave me a crash course. That was one of several things she helped me with. She is a gem and I owe her a lot.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
It was all fun to write. Especially the Paris parts as I spent a week there about 10 years ago and the experience has never left me. I’m also a Formula 1 aficionado and loved writing about the racing and Jenny’s rides with Jean Luc.

At what point did you realize you needed more than one book to tell Jennifer’s story?
After I finished San Juan Sunrise, I realized how great a character Jenny was. I couldn’t let that feeling go to rest and realized there was more she had to say.

What are the challenges of writing a series?
The biggest challenge I had was writing the second book as a stand-alone. It was difficult revealing just enough of Jenny’s backstory necessary for this book to work without retelling the whole first book. How much was too much? How much was not enough?

What writing projects are you working on now?
Regretfully, I have no projects going at this time. I finally feel well enough and have the energy to try to do some marketing. However, I do have several ideas floating around in my head, just have to get focused again after a two-year hiatus of health issues.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner loves creating worlds of fantasy and science fiction. Her current work in progress is The Last Bonekeeper fantasy trilogy and short stories in the same universe. A member of SouthWest Writers since 2006, Kat has worked as the organization’s secretary, newsletter editor, website manager, and author interview coordinator. Kat is also a veteran, a martial art student, and a grandmother. Visit her at klwagoner.com.



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