Between readings and signings, local authors recall how they found their voice

Last week Word Missouri told the story of a group of bookstores in St. Louis supporting each other through events like bookstore tours and literary speed dating. These events aren’t only good for booksellers – they also benefit local authors who write in niche genres and don’t have the support of an academic setting or a big-name publisher. Fortunately, the realm of social media is good to genre writers. 

There may only be a handful of people who write space opera romances, as J.C. Hay points out, but they tend to stick together, and blogs are a great place for that. I talked to a few of those authors during the tour, and asked them how they found publishers and got word out about their books - and whether they feel like they've really made it.

Profiled in the video above (click on the author's name to go to their website):

Children's book author and creator of Petalwink the Fairy, Angela Sage Larsen, interviewed at Rose's Bookhouse in O'Fallon

Gothic fiction author John McFarland, interviewed at Rebound in St. Louis

Sci-fi / paranormal romance author J.C. Hay, interviewed at Get Lost Bookshop in Columbia