Inspirational Indie Authors Archives

Inspirational Indie Authors Podcast 2021: Authors’ Own Backstories Just As Fascinating As Their Books

On my Inspirational Indie Authors podcast 2021, I discovered that indie authors usually have lived varied and interesting lives before they ever decided to become authors. They have backstories that inform their worldview, writing style, genre choice, and usually a deep well of experience from which to draw. I have selfish reasons for hosting the Inspirational Indie Authors podcast, too. These authors inspire me to use my own backstory to become a better writer.

Author Interview with Ankur Mahajan: Book Captures Rich Cultures in War Zones — Inspirational Indie Authors Podcast

My ALLi author guest this week is Ankur Mahajan, who turned his childhood desire to travel into a career of working to help people who live in war zones like Afghanistan. Along the way, he learned all the rich subtleties of foreign cultures. In his book, Life Beyond Bullets, Ankur wanted readers to walk away with a sense of what it's like to live in these beautiful places, and perhaps get a feel for what they're like in peacetime.

Author Interview with Julie Gray: Unlikely Friendship with Holocaust Survivor Leads to Book, Documentary — Inspirational Indie Authors Podcast

My ALLi author guest this week is Julie Gray, a writer who was fleeing grief after the death of a family member. In fact, she fled from California to Israel, where she found a new chapter in her life story and an unlikely friend in a Holocaust survivor. She decided to take a chance and write his story as kind of an extension of her own, and found not only great success as an indie author, but Netflix is producing a documentary about her. It's a fascinating journey that only Julie Gray can best tell.

Author Interview With Tom Evans: Former BBC Sound Engineer Taps Into Cosmic Creativity — Inspirational Indie Authors Podcast

My ALLi author guest this week is Tom Evans, a former BBC sound engineer who discovered that he could do much more than manipulate music and vocals. He can try to reverse-engineer the brain and figure out how to tap into creativity itself. The result was an indie publishing career that covers everything from hypnotherapy to metaphysics to fiction about the end of the world. And all with a cosmic soundtrack. I'll let the author and composer tell you the rest.

Author Interview with Charles Bolam: The Voice of Indie Audiobooks — Inspirational Indie Authors Podcast

My ALLi author guest this week is Charles Bolam, who is not an author himself, but indie publishers depend on him to sell books in the fastest-growing segment of publishing: audiobooks. Charles is a man of many talents, and many accents, as his voice makes characters come alive. He's traveled the world and come back with storytelling techniques that indie authors and listeners have grown to love. For a change, though, Charles is telling his own story.

Author Interview with Alice McVeigh: Hearing a Symphony in Every Word — Inspirational Indie Authors Podcast

My ALLi author guest this week is Alice McVeigh, who also goes by the pen name Spaulding Taylor when she writes science fiction. But those two names are only two aspects of a multidimensional talent. She's a ghostwriter, an editor, and a performer whose voice has peaks and valleys, like that of a musician. In fact the music you hear right now, is Alice McVeigh playing the cello. I'll let Alice begin to talk about her journey.

Author Interview with Pete Fu: Romancing the Data for Indie Authors — Inspirational Indie Authors Podcast

My ALLi author guest this week is Pete Fu. You may not have heard his name before, but if you're a fan of indie romance novels, you've probably come across at least one of his many pen names. Pete combines his writing talent with knowledge of the genre, and an instinct for marketing to create a wildly successful indie publishing career. And, through his company called Publishwide, he's helping other indie authors use the power of data to become more successful.

Author Interview with Amy Rivers: Psychology of Crime Takes Her Thrillers to Dark Places — Inspirational Indie Authors Podcast

My ALLi author guest this week is Amy Rivers, who writes crime thrillers and mysteries that are very much based on real people and events. Amy's writing is infused with her lifelong curiosity over what makes people do the things they do, which can take her writing into very dark places. Although her books are fiction, they are never gratuitous or exploitative. Here's how Amy came to write her unique blend of reality-based fiction.

Author Interview with Helen Baggott: History Comes Alive in Postcards — Inspirational Indie Authors Podcast

My ALLi author guest this week is Helen Baggott, a UK-based author and editor whose love of history drives her unique books that feature historic postcards as a way to tell the story of individuals. And, to her delight, some of the descendants of those she has featured have contacted her. Helen is also an editor who has advice for writers in these stressful times. But first, I'll let Helen tell her story.

Author Interview with Helen Hollick: Reimagining King Arthur — Inspirational Indie Authors Podcast

My ALLi author guest this week is Helen Hollick, who writes historical fiction about fantastical topics like King Arthur, but reimagines the legend as if Arthur was a real man, without the magic, without Merlin. What she ended up with was a successful trilogy picked up by a major publisher. Then, after creative differences with Random House, she decided to go indie and hasn't looked back since. Today, she devotes much of her time to helping other indie authors of historical fiction find their audience.

Author Interview with Tim Lewis: #IndieAuthorChat Host Hates to See Writers Ripped Off — Inspirational Indie Authors Podcast

My ALLi author guest this week is Tim Lewis, who many of you might know as the host of the ALLi-sponsored #IndieAuthorChat on Twitter. What you may not know is that he's the author of time travel and fantasy stories, works on software to make people more productive, hates to see indie authors get ripped off, and he first became a self-published author more than a decade ago after tragedy struck in his life. But I'll let Tim Lewis tell the story.

Author Interview with A. A. Abbott: Accountant Turns to a Life of Crime Thrillers — Inspirational Indie Authors Podcast

My ALLi author guest this week is A. A. Abbott, a British author who loved telling stories as a child, but never thought she could write professionally until she broke out of her accountant's cubicle and gave it a try. Today, she researches her crime thrillers with the mathematical precision of a CPA, making sure every detail is perfectly accurate.