What inspired you to start sharing your stories with a critique group in the first place?
Writing is often a solitary pursuit, but stories come alive when they’re shared. I joined a critique group because I wanted honest reactions from real readers—not just whether they liked a piece, but where they laughed, hesitated, or felt something. Those conversations have made me a better writer and reminded me that every story is ultimately about connecting with another person.
Did you expect your writing to evolve as much as it did once you began receiving feedback?
Not at all. I thought I’d be fixing commas and catching typos. Instead, I found myself rethinking pacing, characterization, dialogue, and even my own assumptions. Feedback taught me that sometimes the best edit isn’t changing a sentence—it’s cutting a page or adding one that was missing.
Your collection moves across genres—how do you decide what form a story will take when you start writing?
I don’t usually decide. The idea decides for me. Some concepts demand suspense, others lean toward humor or literary fiction, and occasionally they wander into fantasy or folklore. I try to listen to what the story wants instead of forcing it into a category.
Do you ever begin a story with a specific genre in mind, or does it usually reveal itself along the way?
More often than not, it reveals itself as I write. A simple prompt might start as historical fiction and suddenly sprout a supernatural twist, or a funny premise might uncover something unexpectedly emotional. That’s part of the adventure.
How do you think shifting between humor, heartbreak, myth, and realism affects your voice as an author?
I think it strengthens it. Life doesn’t stay in one lane, and neither do my stories. The common thread isn’t the genre—it’s the curiosity about people and the situations they find themselves in. Whether readers laugh or tear up, I want them to recognize something true.
Was there a particular story in this collection that surprised you the most while writing it?
That's a difficult question because several of them surprised me for different reasons. That Don't Impress Me began as an entertaining story but evolved into an opportunity to share a fascinating piece of history that many readers have never encountered. Syl's Natural Remedies took an even stranger path, blending dark humor with murder while borrowing inspiration from a lake where I nearly drowned as a child. And my stories about tinnitus came from a desire to shine a light on an invisible condition that people often dismiss until they've experienced it themselves.
If there's one thing these stories taught me, it's that the best fiction often grows from a seed of reality. A forgotten historical fact, a personal memory, or even a persistent ringing in the ears can become the starting point for something unexpected.
How did your critique group influence the direction or style of these stories, if at all?
They’ve been invaluable for identifying blind spots. Sometimes they’ll point out confusion where I thought I was being clear, or encourage me to keep a passage I was ready to delete. They don’t write the stories for me, but they’ve helped me shape them into stronger versions of themselves.
You describe the collection as a “literary road trip”—what does that metaphor mean to you personally?
When you take a road trip, you don’t know exactly what you’ll see around the next bend. There are scenic overlooks, unexpected detours, quirky roadside attractions, and moments that stay with you long after you get home. I wanted this collection to feel the same way—every story offers a different stop on the journey.
Do you see any common thread or theme that connects all these different pieces?
Absolutely. Curiosity. I’m fascinated by ordinary people in extraordinary situations and extraordinary people in ordinary ones. Beneath the different genres, many of the stories explore resilience, unexpected choices, and the strange little moments that can change everything.
How do you handle transitions between very different tones and moods from one story to the next?
I trust readers to enjoy variety. Just as a playlist can move from a ballad to an upbeat song, a collection can shift from laughter to reflection without losing momentum. In fact, I think those contrasts make each story stand out more vividly.
Were there any risks you felt you were taking by not sticking to a single genre?
Of course. Conventional wisdom says to stay in one lane, but I’ve never been very interested in fences. I’d rather surprise readers than become predictable. If someone finishes one story thinking they know what’s coming next, I enjoy proving them wrong.
Which story in the collection feels most personal to you, and why?
The answer changes depending on the day. Many pieces contain small fragments of my experiences, observations, or emotions, even when the plots are fictional. Rather than one autobiography disguised as fiction, the collection is a mosaic made from many pieces of my life and imagination.
How has your writing process changed from the first story in the collection to the most recent one?
I’ve become much more willing to revise. Earlier on, I treated first drafts as nearly finished. Now I see them as raw material. I write faster, edit harder, and have learned that deleting something good is sometimes the only way to make the final version great.
What do you hope readers take away from the unpredictability of the collection?
I hope they feel permission to expect the unexpected. If a story makes someone laugh, pause to think, remember an old memory, or stay up for “just one more page,” then it’s done its job. Ideally, readers will finish the book already wondering where the next road trip will take them.
How has been your experience with AllAuthor?
My experience with AllAuthor has been positive. It’s encouraging to have a platform that helps independent authors increase their visibility and connect with readers around the world. Opportunities like author profiles, interviews, and promotional features give writers another way to share not just their books, but the stories behind them.
