Interviews

Interview with Author – Amanda McKoy Flanagan

Interview with Author – Amanda McKoy Flanagan

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A native New Yorker turned Coloradan, Amanda McKoy Flanagan blends street smarts with tree hugging for a sensible and spiritual approach to love and loss; she is no stranger to either. Author, blogger, motivational speaker, and podcaster, Amanda recently released her debut inspirational memoir, Trust Yourself to Be All In: Safe to Love and Let Go, and is co-host of the podcast, Sol Rising. Co-founder of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Castle Rock Clubhouse, a recovery clubhouse that serves as meeting space for various twelve-step programs, Amanda is passionate about sobriety, meditation, and spirituality. Through her commitment to climate action, she holds the spirit of loving-kindness, faithful perseverance, and compassionate service in high regard. A lover of horses, drumming, running, vegan eating, and dancing, she also enjoys singing with abandon to loud rock music, sometimes while driving a little too fast! Amanda holds a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany in English and journalism and a master’s degree in social work from Stony Brook University, New York. Nevertheless, life has been her greatest teacher by far.
She lives in Castle Rock, Colorado, with her family and pup, Dolly.

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Interview with Author – ANGELA THOMAS(SMITH)

Interview with Author – ANGELA THOMAS(SMITH)

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Angela Thomas Smith is an inspirational force to be reckoned with! As a multi-talented author, life coach, magazine owner, and the founder of AAALAC-African American Author Literacy Awareness Campaign, Angela has dedicated her life to spreading awareness about literacy and the importance of reading. She is a passionate advocate for literacy, self published authors, domestic violence survivors, suicide attempt survivors, and so much more. Angela has been featured in publications such as Women of Influencers Magazine, Authentically You Magazine, SwagHer Magazine, Transdisciplinary Agora for Future Discussions, Inc. – TAFFD’s Magazine, Anderson Independent-Mail Newspaper, and has been featured on various blogs, she has been interview on WSPA Channel 7, Fox 5 Carolina, podcasts and radio shows all over the USA and abroad since 2012. She is a Certified Life Coach Since May 2020, Who’s Who Urban CEO, Nominee 2020, ACHI Magazine Awards Nominee 2021, Cast member of “The mask behind the mask Monologue” 2021, Cast member of “For my Good & God’s Glory” Monologue” 2021, Best Book Trailer 2021 (nominated for Author of year & anthology of the year) by Black Author Rock INC 2021, and Top 100 Author of the year by UWBA- 2021. Angela Thomas Smith is truly a Queen of Collaborations and a leader in her community.

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Interview with Author – Philip La Croix

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Philip La Croix is a long-time knight at Medieval Times in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is constantly looking to expand his talent beyond his use of the sword and lance. He graduated from California State University Fullerton with a BA in theater and has been an entertainer all his life. He is channeling his many experiences into telling new tales.

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Interview with Author – Jamee Natella

Interview with Author – Jamee Natella

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Jamee Natella – Author & Global Storyteller

Jamee Natella is a film, commercial, and live event producer whose career has taken her around the world. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, she has lived in Los Angeles, London, and Tokyo, immersing herself in diverse cultures along the way. Her global adventures inspired her passion for storytelling, particularly after traveling with her curious young son, Sam.

Sam’s endless questions about different cultures—why some countries have kings and queens instead of presidents, why people drive on the left side of the street, or why chopsticks are used instead of forks—sparked Jamee’s realization that there was a gap in the marketplace for books that help children understand cultural diversity and global traditions.

Determined to fill that gap, Jamee created Worldride Adventures, a brand dedicated to inspiring curiosity about the world through engaging stories, cultural education, and immersive experiences. Its flagship project is her debut children’s book Sam in London: Cheeky Kids, Medieval Blokes, and Giant Trousers, the first in a three-book series. The book playfully explores cultural differences through the eyes of an adventurous American boy navigating life in London.

Beyond the books, Worldride Adventures features an immersive website, a backpack line, and a global newsletter aimed at helping children ages 6-12 explore cultural diversity in a fun and relatable way. Through its charitable arm, Worldride Impact, Jamee’s mission extends even further—providing grants that allow underserved children to experience cultural travel, whether virtually or in real life.

When she’s not producing films, commercials, or live events—or developing new stories—Jamee enjoys hiking, reading in the sunshine, traveling, and embracing her favorite role: being a mom to her now 16-year-old son, Sam. Sam also serves as Chair of the Youth Consumer Board for Worldride Adventures, keeping Jamee connected to pop culture and ensuring her brand stays relevant and relatable to today’s youth. His perspective helps shape her creative work and keeps her continuously inspired to explore new stories and cultural experiences.

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Interview with Author – Kylee Marshall

Interview with Author – Kylee Marshall

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Kylee Jean Marshall is a writer, public speaker, and recovering perfectionist. Of Dirt and Wildflowers is her first published book. She was born and raised on a sheep ranch in rural western Colorado and now lives in Grand Junction, CO with her husband, Travis, their children—Rylee, Candon, and Max, a golden retriever, Winston, and their black cat, George. When she is not reading and writing, she enjoys being outdoors hiking, biking, running, and skiing. Her mission is to inspire audiences by encouraging them to dig into the dirt of their lives to curate the courage to bloom.

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Interview with Author – Lori Soard

Interview with Author – Lori Soard

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I’ve been writing since 1991. I write both fiction and nonfiction, creating copy for businesess, designing websites and creating social media marketing for small businesses as my day job.

I’m married to my high school sweetheart. We live in southern Indiana in a tiny town of about 3,000 people. We have gorgeous hilled knobs to our west and a river to our south. I love rural, small-town living. I’m a born and bred Hoosier and love everything about living in the geologically diverse state of Indiana.

My husband and I have two grown daughters and two granddaughters. We have a houseful of pets, but dote on our two miniature dachshunds, Daisy Mae and Dolly Pawton. Guess which country music singer I’m a huge fan of?

I love to get to know my readers and chat with them.

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Interview with Author – Jessica Berg

Interview with Author – Jessica Berg

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Hello! I’m a Midwest girl, born and raised, and my farming/rural background has played an integral part in who I am and what I do. I live in South Dakota with my husband of twenty years and four children (two boys and two girls), and a supposed-to-be miniature Australian shepherd. Something must have jumped the fence, however, as Fitz is a bigature and larger than even normal Australian shepherds. Welcome to my world!
I love my job as a high school English teacher and the 23-24 school year will be my 19th year! I also am an adjunct English professor with two local universities.

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Interview with Author – Helen Starbuck

Interview with Author – Helen Starbuck

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Helen Starbuck, no relation to the coffee bunch, is a Colorado native, former OR nurse/nurse editor, and award-winning author of the Annie Collins Mystery Series and standalone romantic suspense novels. She loves mysteries, suspense, romance, and any book that is well written. She’s a huge fan of books with independent, strong, women characters and, as Neil Gaiman says, “…stories where women save themselves.” When not writing you can find her ballroom dancing, talking to her cat Bean, and gardening.

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Interview with Author – Cheryl Ilov

Interview with Author – Cheryl Ilov

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Please allow me to introduce myself. I am a dancer, martial artist, and a recovering physical therapist turned Amazon #1 best-selling and award-winning author. I never planned on becoming an author, nor did I even consider myself a writer. However, I have always had a passion for storytelling, and I suppose my writing career began by chronicling medical documents and progress reports for thousands of patients as a medical professional in the fields of both respiratory and physical therapy. Along the way, I discovered that weaving stories along with treatment modalities helped educate my patients and was a powerful tool in their recovery and ongoing progress.

I started a blog in 2011, when a marketing “expert” I was working with set one up for me, even though I had no idea what a blog was or why I would possibly want one. But once I was able to figure it out, I began writing about health, fitness, and life in general, integrating my knack for storytelling and fine tuning my writing skills at the same time.

After a few years of writing blogs and attracting many followers, I had a mental head smacking moment when I realized that those blogs could be organized to create an outline for a manuscript and subsequent book. And that is when my new career as an author was launched, at the tender young age of sixty-one.

When I am not writing, you can find me in a ballet class dancing with my barre buddies, hanging out in a martial arts dojo beating up bad guys, hiking in the glorious Rocky Mountains, or relaxing at home with my handsome husband and our two adorable Italian Greyhounds. Life is good!

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Interview with Author – Polly Letofsky

Interview with Author – Polly Letofsky

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Polly Letofsky spent five years walking around the world, and six years writing the book about it. But it was worth it, her long awaited first book, 3mph: The Adventures of One Woman’s Walk Around the World has won top honors at the 2011 IPPY Awards as Best Travel Memoir, Best Memoir at the 2011 Writer’s Digest Best Book Awards, and was a Finalist in the USA Book Awards.

You can invite Polly to your book club! Polly has made a unique offer to readers of 3mph. If your book club reads 3mph she would be honored to visit your book club as well! She can visit by Zoom, or if you’re in the Denver metro area the club usually has a pot luck of the foods represented in her book. (She tended to talk about food a lot…), and sure, maybe some of the wines of the various countries as well.

Polly’s GlobalWalk — The Documentary has been produced by Newcastle Productions, currently showing on PBS channels across the United States (and available on Amazon).

After a horrible experience publishing her book, 3mph: The Adventures of One Woman’s Walk Around the World, she started her own publishing company, My Word Publishing, where her team of 15 Publishing Consultants help authors through the maze of self-publishing — all while they keep 100% of their rights and royalties. She was awarded Best Woman Owned Business by the Colorado Business Women.

She currently lives in Denver where she continues to work hard on behalf of authors, and is also a motivational speaker, teaching the lessons she learned on the road. She loves biking, her cats, and still walks.

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Interview with Author – Marieke Lexmond

Interview with Author – Marieke Lexmond

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Marieke Lexmond reads tarot cards and loves food, photography, and travel. She has three sassy little dogs that she likes to take everywhere and even have their own Instagram account @urbandogsquad. Her background in filmmaking enabled her to travel and live around the globe. Storytelling is in her blood, from saving her allowance from a very young age to buy books to her master’s degree from the Dutch Film Academy. Fantasy and science fiction are her favorite genres. She prefers to write fun and mystical stories. Her attraction to nature and places with a magical history brought her to New Orleans and the West Coast of Ireland. As a pagan, she felt an instant connection to the land; it feeds her imagination and has become the inspiration for the Madigan Chronicles.

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Interview with Author – Faye Hall

Interview with Author – Faye Hall

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I am from rural northern Queensland, and I write Historical Romantic suspense novels set in and around the Burdekin region. As well as romance, my books contain local history, place names, crimes, drama and scandal.

I used to be published with Venus Press, Red Sage and Beachwalk Press, but since the closure of these companies, I have taken to independently publishing.

As well as a published author of 15 novels, I am a wife, mother of 5 school-aged children, stepmother to 4 adult children and carer for my elderly mother.

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Interview with Author – Brett Wallach

Interview with Author – Brett Wallach

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My name is Brett Wallach, and I’m a father of two daughters from the Philadelphia area. The protagonist in my Phil Allman, P.I. series of mysteries is a misanthropic, sentimental, bitter, funny, romantic, lustful, tough, sometimes amoral, slightly (?) insane divorced father of two daughters from Philadelphia. Any resemblance to myself is highly coincidental. I’ve tried to create a character who often says and does the wrong things, after reading so many books in this genre where the main character, despite quirks, is usually unrealistically virtuous. Think Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, only funnier. My favorite authors are John Steinbeck, Graham Greene, Raymond Chandler, Elmore Leonard, Dennis Lehane, Walter Mosley, Gillian Flynn, and many others. I have no delusions that my novels are on their level, but as my reviews (please see them as well on Goodreads) show, most people seem to find them entertaining. After my former publisher recently went out of business, I decided to self-publish, and my nine books (so far) in the series (Jesse Garon, And I Love Her, Young Blood, Freeze Out, Susceptible,Torment, Man Out Of Time, The One You Never Seen Before, The Last Shot) are all available on Amazon, and candid, objective reviews are always welcome. My most recent noir novel, The Last Shot, has been published by The Wild Rose Press. My tenth book, and the only one not in the Phil Allman series is The Last MAN On Earth, a sci-fi/social and sexual satire, and I hope that you like that as well. My email address is brettswallach1@gmail.com, and feedback is welcome.

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Interview with Author – Christopher Link

Interview with Author – Christopher Link

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Christopher Link, male – Age 48 (9/25/1973 to present). I was born in Gary, IN. To Italian/multi-racial-American parents. In the early years, growing up and high school was in Walton, Indiana. Graduation came in 1992 and college was in Vincennes, Indiana. For an associates degree until 1994, with studies ranging from general/advanced metals/ tool and die to creative writing and business. After a short Stent in the Tool and Die business done with college, my life path shifted to Jacksonville, FL. To pursue a career in the flooring industry as a Hardwood Floor Technician. Sanding and Finishing/Installing Hardwood Floors for over to decades to present. Still living in Jacksonville, further education has come in the form of success mentoring/self-education, seminars and online business training. Other interests include, further education and training to become a Spiritual Life Coach, Musicianship as a drummer/learning and playing music with others. With determination and raw talent/skill in the creative writing department, my first book – “Coming Out of the Illusion: Realizing the real you,” was written in 2016 following a Spiritual Awakening. This has led me to a new found life purpose/light mission, with a passion for creative writing to be in service to others through Spiritual book writing/teaching(s). The goal of Christopher Link is to assist as many people as possible to realize their own Spiritual selves and personal magnificence.

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