Recently at the IndieView

The most recent interviews at The IndieView starting with a refresher on the different kinds of interviews.

The IndieView

This is an interview with a standard set of open ended questions. While they focus on a specific book, they also delve into the author's history as a writer and the path they took in becoming an indie author.

The BookView

This is a shorter interview format for authors who have already done an IndieView which focuses just on their most recent book.

Reviewer IndieView

These are interviews with reviewers who have their own review blog that delve into their approach to reviewing. A great way to find other book blogs you might like to follow. (For authors, there is also an extensive database of indie friendly review sites you might like to check out.)

Allirea's Realm

By invitation only, these are quirky, often irreverent interviews done by longtime Books and Pals follower, Allirea.


(Authors and reviewers interested in doing an IndieView should visit this page for details.)



IndieView with Traci Borum, author of Painting the Moon

"But what helped me most with Painting the Moon is that, way back in my own teenage/college years, I developed some strong friendships (much like Noelle, Jill, and Adam).  I remember vivid late-night talks with friends about life and God, tedious study sessions over biology or history texts, spur-of-the-moment trips to the movies, football games, etc.   I really believe friendships that develop in our early years are special."


IndieView with Margaret Buckhanon, author of The Secret of Flying

"I thought about the problems in one-side relationships wherein one partner does all the compromising for the sake of keeping the peace at the risk of losing the sense of self."


BookView with Mark W Sasse, author of The Reach of the Banyan Tree

"I was quite amazed that every time I needed to make a crucial decision about the direction of the novel, ideas came to me that made perfect sense. The flow of the book was quite easy. I always knew what I wanted, so I just had to get there."


IndieView with Ralph Andrews, author of The Don’s Son

"I wanted to write a book about a fish-out-of-water and originally considered writing humorously about a gay Mafiosi, before developing the idea of a serious novel about Tom, an asexual, academically and business oriented protagonist who resists the pressure from his psychopathic father to join the world of organized crime for most of his life, but finally faces potential catastrophe after being sucked into the mafia world."


IndieView with K.Z. Morano, author of 100 Nightmares

"When writing drabbles, you have to make every single word count. Story is always king and there must be a beginning, a middle and an end to each tale despite the word limit."


IndieView with Debbie White, author of The Salty Dog

"I had a bad experience with my first self-published book so I was a little apprehensive. However, I’m so glad I decided to finish it and put it out for readers."


Reviewer IndieView with The Audiobook Reviewer

"A really good narrator can transform a story that is just ok into something special. Likewise a poor narrator can take so much away from a great story and turn it mediocre."


IndieView with Arpan Panicker, author of Wordscapist: The Myth

"I have always believed in the power of words. I have seen how words can change situations and how words can flip around your perspective as well as affect those in your circle of influence."


IndieView with Shoshaku Jushaku, author of The Cheese Stealer’s Handbook

"I would have thought I would have been real stubborn about letting someone tinker . . . but it was surprisingly easy to say:  “Go ahead . . . whatever you think is best.” I guess laziness trumps artistic integrity. And my editor was pretty."


Reviewer IndieView with Kim Dyer of Arkham Reviews

"At the end of the day, a reviewer is just another reader and no two readers are alike. If you get a lot of negative reviews that all say the same thing, it’s probably time to revisit your novel but a single bad review is nothing to worry about – just smile and move on."


BookView with Melissa MacVicar, author of Ever Lost

"Of course, I draw on the attributes and characteristic of real people to create my fictitious ones but no one real is portrayed in the book. This is often hard for people to believe though. Friends and family often think they see real people in my books."


Allirea’s Realm, Coffee and Conversation with Elaine Raco Chase

"It was my only strike …ever…but the manager came, confiscated my bowling shoes, put my name on a banned list…and escorted me out the door…"


Reviewer IndieView with Bee of Let Books Bee

"Reading for me is really just an escape from my own life. Being able to lose myself in a good novel for a few hours really helps me get through my days."


IndieView with Martin Preib, author of Crooked City

"In a larger sense, the book is my attempt to give a literary voice to Chicago’s corruption."


IndieView with Clifton K. Meador MD, author of Sketches of a Small Town

"My mother died when I was 13. I mention it in the stories but I have never been able to write that story in full. It was a pivotal time in my life and I hope the book captures the love I felt from the whole town after her death."


IndieView with Claire Ashby, author of When You Make it Home

"With Theo I wanted to tell the story of a guy adjusting after returning from war. At the time, more and more soldiers were returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and each story was so unique. I wanted to capture that."


IndieView with David Burton, author of Seven Sneezes

"My mother is a wonderful person, so loving and generous, yet she has suffered more than her share of heartache and loss, and I wanted to create someone who came even a little close to possessing and sharing her possibilities."


IndieView with Jake Carter-Thomas, author of Nineveh Fades, or, The Bomb Shelter

"I know it’s a cliché but once I had the set-up it mostly 'wrote itself.' What was incredibly useful to support this was research and reading about the time and all of the various ideas for shelters that existed. All of this reading went into a soup in my head and the novel came out."


IndieView with Gil Cope, author of The Amber Conspiracy

"I spent a great deal of time researching a wide spectrum of subjects – from torture devices used in the Inquisition to the what it was like to live in Paris under the Nazi occupation to the Temple des Serpents in Ouidah, Benin."


Reviewer IndieView with Tony Riches of The Writing Desk

"It’s great when I review a book I would never have normally chosen – and discover a whole new genre to add to my portfolio."


IndieView with Eden Baylee, author of Stranger at Sunset

"Part of writing fiction is the fun of expanding on certain traits, but there were a couple of characters I had to tone down from real world people I knew. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!"


IndieView with Veronica Knox, author of Second Lisa

"I get my ideas from studying art history and my need to know where lost art is, and a personal frustration to discover its secrets, now lost, that inspired the artist to write a story with paint."


IndieView with Doobie Shemer, author of Walking with Elijah

"My main struggle was with articulating my experience in the depth and the magnitude that will read appealing and intriguing."