Roz MacLaren

Author, Arini Vlotman, kindly agreed to be interviewed ahead of A Wild Run‘s release date. For those who don’t know, A Wild Run is a multi-genre short story anthology due out in September. Arini’s contribution is a short story entitled Bluebells In The Forest.

Tell me a little about yourself.  

I’m a South African author, living my best life in my world of delusion – it’s fun here! I write feel-good contemporary romance, and the bookish community definitely make me feel good about writing lol.

How did you get involved with the anthology? 

When I saw the call for submissions I was so intrigued. One prompt, and all our author voices? The possibilities are endless! I couldn’t help myself, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work alongside out amazing group.

What’s your story about and what inspired you to write it? 

[SPOILER ALERT]

I decided to challenge myself, and the prompt by writing outside of my usual comfort zone – and it was definitely tougher than I expected but definitely worth it. My story is an urban fantasy set in two universes, but in the same timeline. I write romance, so of course, my characters running through the woods have a happily-ever-after and in such an unexpected way. My usual readers may be surprised by the writing style I chose, it’s far from my usual voice, and I hope readers will enjoy it.

Does it tie into an existing story you’ve written? 

Bluebells in the Forest is completely new, and I think I may have inadvertently given myself yet another full length story idea lol

What sparked your decision to sprint out your first romance novel in just a month and how did that creative explosion shape your journey toward publication? 

All I can say is that I didn’t know it was possible until I wrote it. I learnt that the only one holding me back is myself – isn’t that so relatable? But if I could write one novel, I could write more, and so I did. I wrote with intent to publish though, and research along the way. Writing and learning helped me develop and grow while also staying motivated, but whoa – it was a big learning curve!

You’re a self-described panster who thrives on letting your characters lead the way. Can you walk us through how you write, revise, and eventually plot the narrative structure backward? 

Since writing Pretty Average, I’ve learnt to become more structured by mapping out a loose plot. The setting, tropes, and plotline makes for easier writing, and prevents me from creating distractions for myself while writing. Once I’m ready, I write the first line, and my characters take over until I write ‘The End’. Then I stew lol I don’t edit (or try not to) as I write, because that’s when the doubts start and I find myself over complicating my WIP.

What was your experience navigating the publishing process, especially when you encountered pressure to tone down BIPOC representation? How did that shape your commitment to keeping your cultural authenticity intact? 

There was one thing I knew for certain – I was going to write the type of characters I’d like to read about it so the fact that some people think there’s no space for representation was almost a challenge. I thought to myself “we’ll see about that” and I proved them wrong. It didn’t occur to me change anything, I just  decided to find the write spaces for me and my stories and I’m happy to report I was successful!

Transitioning from Pretty Average to Pretty Bossy – and even the festive novella Pretty Unexpected – what led you to explore themes like sports romance, corporate chaos, or holiday magic? 

One of the best parts of writing romance is that we can explore worlds we’ve never seen before but can realistically imagine. I like writing fast-paced action, and somehow these themes seemed perfect. A little bit of everything, what’s not to love?

Romance can be delightfully nuanced. Your works are known for being clean and sweet, sometimes fading to black. What draws you to that tone, and how do you balance emotional intimacy with restraint? 

I’ve been asked this before, and I don’t have a definitive answer. Perhaps it’s the characters that lead me, or the fact that I’m still always learning how to improve my craft or both. Either way, emotions will always come first, I think that’s the case for most romance writers, but I’m looking forward to exploring physical intimacy in my future works. 

Hearing from your readers is a highlight for you – especially when they message you about plot twists or how they relate to your characters. What’s a moment from fan feedback that truly touched you?

Every time a reader tells me they related to a character I do a happy dance and want to shriek at the top of my lungs. I work hard to create layered characters, FMC’s who are real, but also inspirational, fun and dynamic. When readers see a little of themselves in my FMC’s I celebrate, because it means I’ve done something right – we all long to feel seen. Mission accomplished.

What’s next for you? You mentioned you’re working on a three-book standalone series about women in their 30s discovering themselves through love. What excites you most about exploring these new voices and stories? 

I’ve just submitted my third full length novel in the Femme Facades series so I’m excited to start sharing more about it in the upcoming months. The release is set for March 2026 and these MMC’s showed me flames lol I tried to flip a few of our beloved romance tropes, and it was challenging, frustrating and incredibly satisfying. ‘Seeing’ the characters evolve and take me to unexpected places is exhilarating.

Pre-order A Wild Run now and don’t miss Arini’s story.

Author, Avery Timmons, kindly agreed to be interviewed ahead of A Wild Run‘s release date. For those who don’t know, A Wild Run is a multi-genre short story anthology due out in September. Avery’s contribution is entitled Out In The Cold.

Tell me a little about yourself.

I’m Avery, an Illinois-based author. I am the author of two upcoming YA fantasy novels, Thicker Than Water (September 2025) and Maimed (April 2026), and I’ve also had short stories and photographs featured in anthologies and literary magazines. While I primarily write YA focused on protagonists figuring out where they belong and who with, I love exploring a variety of genres, from fantasy and mystery to contemporary romance. My work can be found at https://averytimmons.carrd.co!

How did you get involved with the anthology?

I follow Melanie Mar on social media, so when I saw her call for authors for the anthology, I thought it sounded like a great idea and reached out!

What’s your story about and what inspired you to write it?

My story is a flash fantasy piece that follows Aventine, a young Faerie princess, who escapes her home of the Winter Court after being treated like nothing but a trophy by her parents—and she takes their most prized possession with her.

Does it tie into an existing story you’ve written?

Yes! It’s not fully written yet, but it’s a backstory of sorts for a YA fantasy novel in the works.

What inspires you as an author?

Music really inspires me. If I’m in a writing slump, I’ll listen to some songs or make a playlist with the vibes of the story. Soon enough, I’ll find myself imagining scenes that would go with it, which usually gets me eager to get them down on the page.

Can you share how your lifelong love of storytelling has led you to where you are now as a writer?

I think it’s given me a lot of time to improve my craft. I was writing short stories from age eight, which led to my first attempt at writing a novel when I was sixteen. Objectively, none of it was exactly good, but I was having fun, so I consistently kept writing and kept working at it. I’ve also been a voracious reader since childhood, so that also contributed to my love of storytelling and my understanding of story structure and all those other important elements of writing.

You mention using a mix of outlining and spontaneous writing—starting with a clear beginning and end, while letting scenes evolve organically in between. How does that hybrid “plantser” approach benefit your storytelling?

I think it allows for a lot of creative freedom in the moment. Other than the biggest plot points, I like to let those other scenes unravel freely. This can lead to a lot of scenes not making the final draft, because sometimes they’re not really driving the story forward, but as long as I had fun writing them in the moment, that’s what matters to me. I don’t like feeling too tied to an outline, because I’ve found it can kind of kill my motivation.

Pre-order A Wild Run now to read Avery’s story.

Author, K.P. Knupp, kindly agreed to be interviewed ahead of A Wild Run‘s release date. For those who don’t know, A Wild Run is a multi-genre short story anthology due out in September. K.P.’s contribution is a short story entitled The Fate Of The Pack.

Tell me a little about yourself. 

Hii! I’m Kelsey (K.P. Knupp) I graduated with a Masters of Science in Biology specializing in Microbiology, Ecology, Aquatic and Marine Biology at UHCL. I currently live in SE Minnesota with my husband, son, and our wild GSD. 

I love writing, I’ve really got into it in high school and haven’t stopped. I’m pushing myself now that I’m settled in life, I want to get my stories out there and find readers. I’m a big dreamer and champion of others following their dreams. Life is hard, let’s add some magic. 

I have way too many hobbies on top of my day job, but it keeps life interesting!  I love writing (obviously), I have a library level collection of books, I love mug and sticker making and have recently started bookbinding. 

How did you get involved with the anthology? 

I’ve been following Mel for a while now, randomly chatting online. When I saw her post asking if anyone would be interested, I thought it was such a cool idea and a great way to meet new authors. 

This experience has been so much fun, I can’t wait to do more collaborations. It’s cool looking at all of our different stories stemming from one prompt. 

What’s your story about and what inspired you to write it?

My story is The Fate of the Pack. 

Following a night of horror, a young alpha must escape or face a torturous future as her kidnapper’s bride—but running means leaving what’s left of her pack behind.

This is the first chapter for a larger story that is demanding to be written. A young alpha is stolen by an enemy pack who wants to force her to submit, the ultimate challenge. But she runs, and she has a lot of tough choices to make. Does she change her name and go into hiding, her entire family is dead now. Or does she raise an army and try to save the rest of her pack? Running lands her in the most feared territory known, the one her family warned her about. 

I’ve always loved shifter novels, but I haven’t dove into writing one yet. The idea of my main character running through the woods took off in my brain and I couldn’t stop it. I could see the MC in a white dress sprinting for her life, determined to not be a victim. 

This story is very prominent in my mind. I need to finish my current book first, but I’m sure the entire story will be on its way. 

Tell me about your other two books.

Fade is a very short ghost story I had done for a competition years ago. I wanted to start putting work out, so I thought why not a cute ghost story for spooky season. I revamped some of it, changed the ending and hit submit. 

This Mess We Live In is a collection of poetry/inspirational writing that spanned my emotionally abusive marriage, going through divorce, and learning to love myself and trust my heart again. This one I wanted out for anyone who needed it. When I was going through it I was constantly looking for words that would help me figure out what I was feeling. It’s such a messy time, but I couldn’t always find things that worked. I journaled a lot and within that I created. Years later I compiled some pieces and put them together in a book, hitting publish. It’s raw, there’s no hiding, and you’ll see the good, bad, and ugly of life. 

What are you currently reading? What was the last book you read and adored?

I’m currently slowly finishing Hunting Adeline, mostly because I’m trying to write more when I have time. 

Before that I really loved The Northwood Series by Evi James, and I’m very excited for book 3 this October! 

What are you working on at the moment?

Snowed In at the Cabin – cover and official blurb coming soon! 

This will be a cozy winter romance that I’m planning to release this winter January or February, official date when we get closer. 

Alexandra up and quits her job after another bad encounter with her boss, leading to a series of unfortunate events. She needs to find a way back to her creative self and figure out if she can make a living on her art. She books a secluded getaway at a cabin in the woods. Chance has it she ends up snowed in with the owner of the cabin, who happens to be her new neighbor she can’t stop bumping into.

Snowed in at a cabin in the woods seems fine until the power goes out and they’re left with one bed in front of the fireplace to stay warm. Will the bubble break once they’re free from the cabin? 

I post teasers on TT, Instagram and Threads under @kpknupp. 

I also have some fun art commissions in the works! 

Pre-order A Wild Run now and read K.P.’s story.

Author, Lauren Ysaguirre, kindly agreed to be interviewed ahead of A Wild Run‘s release date. For those who don’t know, A Wild Run is a multi-genre short story anthology due out in September. Lauren’s contribution is a short story entitled Fetch.

Tell me a little about yourself. 

Hello! I’m Lauren, I’m 26, I’m working to get my bachelors degree in psychology and hopefully after go back for my masters and eventually get my license for counseling. I have always wanted to write! I have so many stories in my mind that I want to get down and actually write! 

How did you get involved with the anthology? 

I get involved with the anthology because of my lovely sister who introduced me to her wonderful friend Mel! I followed her on Instagram and saw that she was looking for authors and I took my chance! I thought the idea was so cool and I was so excited! 

What’s your story about and what inspired you to write it?

[SPOILER ALERT – SCROLL PAST IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ SPOILERS FOR LAUREN’S STORY]

Fetch is about the love between a girl and her dog! And about the fact that love overcomes fear. Also a sort of things might not be what the seem situation. I was inspired to write Fetch because of my dog, Apollo! He’s the same breed as the dog in the story! When I sat down to think about the story I spread out my computer on my dining room table. Underneath the table my puppy Apollo was playing with his big brother who was much larger than him at the time, Apollo chased for my attention while bullet his brother whined and jumped up and down trying to get apollos attention and I thought hmm that’s interesting! The theme was running through the woods and I thought what if I made a story about a creature who looks scary and dangerous but is actually trying to play with a dog. I liked the concept that the humans in the story are freaking out because of how monstrous this thing is and the monster is just omg a puppy! The monster just sees the humans as obstacles or play things for the dog and him to use and abuse. I’m not sure if I was able to convey that but it’s what I was trying to convey haha! 

Does it tie into an existing story you’ve written?

At this point Fetch doesn’t tie into anything I have now I’d love to go back and tune it up maybe without a word limit it could have been better. 

What else are you working on? 

Currently I have two stories I’m working on but I don’t see either of them being done soon. But I’m really excited for both of them. one is the story that I’ve thought about basically my whole life, it’s changed as the years have passed but I love it nonetheless. The second is a siren inspired story that might just stay as a personal story but I would love to expand it to maybe get it published. 

What’s been your favourite experience of contributing to the anthology? 

My favorite experience has been not only the writing but also the mesh of ideas and discussions in the author chats.

What’s next for you in the future?

Next for me at the moment is hopefully completing my last year for my bachelors. And continuing to expand and most importantly write my stories. The experience has really shown me that I need to start writing. It’s the only way to get better. I think all writers and creators have a bit of perfectionism in each of us and that can sometimes freeze the progress of a project.  

Pre-order A Wild Run now to read Lauren’s story.