Welcome to WOLF NOTES, where interview questions stray from the rest of the pack. It’s nice to know the usual stuff like where an author gets their inspiration and why they write, but sometimes we need a little fun in our lives.
Wolf: Say hello to Valerie J. Mikles.
Valerie is a PhD astronomer who found a home at NOAA working on weather satellites. She loves to travel and learn about other cultures, but considers herself a homebody the rest of the year. In September 2017, she published the first novel of her New Dawn series “The Disappeared,” and has since released several more. When not writing novels, she can be found at the community theater, acting, choreographing, costuming, or stage managing. She’s also written and produced a series of comedic short films about asexuality, inspired by her own journey of self-discovery. Her motto in life is “I can be everything I want, just not all at the same time.”
Wolf: That is a great motto. If you could be any animal in the universe, what would it be and why?
Valerie: I’d be some kind of fish living in warm, tropical waters. I love the ocean and I always feel cold, so a life at sea in a warm environment would be awesome. If I were a mermaid, I would occasionally beach myself on a rock and spend the night stargazing. I don’t know if I’d ever swim far north enough to see the Northern Lights (it’d just be too cold), but I could dip into the southern hemisphere to see the Magellanic Clouds. I think as long as being a mermaid didn’t require me to wear a sea-shell bra, I’d be okay with it. Otherwise, I’d want to be something simple, blue, and tropical, like a blue tang.
Wolf: How about a shell tunic? (Trying really hard not to start singing “Under the Sea”) If you had to pick a weapon, what would it be and why?
Valerie: I’m stuck between knife and trebuchet. I feel like the knife is infinitely practical, portable, and reusable. As a minimalist, I also like that it can be used for many different things, like killing chickens, cutting fruit, and stabbing enemies. However, the trebuchet allows me to launch any number of weapons of opportunities a great distance, saving me the trouble of hand-to-hand combat, which I have admittedly not trained in. I don’t really foresee myself launching rocks, but I could totally launch plague-infested corpses into anti-vaxxer territory… sorry, is this getting too political? Also, if I needed an escape, I could launch myself.
Wolf: Not too political. I’m very much pro-science and pro-vaccine. You’ve just been turned into a plant. Describe yourself.
Valerie: I have broad, soft leaves and bright, rainbow-colored, fragrant flowers. I love roses, both in softness and scent, but I wouldn’t be thorny like a rose bush, nor would I attract aphids and beetles. I am not the kind of plant that bugs crawl on. I naturally repulse them with my super-plant oils. I’d flourish in tropical climates with lots of humidity. When my seeds are tossed into flood waters, the water levels instantly go down, roots spread, and flowers bloom. I’m probably edible, too.
Wolf: Awesome! Do you consider yourself a cat person, or a dog person?
Valerie: I’m more of a cat person than a dog person, but one of my cats thinks he’s a dog. He barks at the squirrels in the back yard. (It’s a cat-like bark, but it’s not a meow.) I have three cats, but I’m a one-cat person. But when I adopted the first one, he was so sad and depressed, and my options were to take him back or try a friend. So, I went back to the person who’d fostered him and picked up a second cat. Things got instantly better for the first cat, but the poor second cat wasn’t able to handle his neediness 24-7. The third guy really balances the house, so now I have three happy cats and I just sit here constantly overwhelmed in my cat-crowded house. I hate when people call me a “cat mom” because I consider us to be more like roommates.
Wolf: Wow. You’re the second person who said their cat was like a dog, but the first on with a cat that barks. I’d love to hear a recording of that. While walking in the woods you come across…
Valerie: A snake eating another snake. True story. I grew up in Baltimore County, north of the city, before the houses turn to horse farms. My family went hiking with our dog almost every weekend. There were places nearby with dense woods, rocky trails, streams and rivers, and the occasional log bridge to challenge one’s balance. Once, we even did an Easter egg hunt in the woods, and left a hard-boiled egg for the woodland creatures because we couldn’t find it again. Though in retrospect, it’s possible something ate it. Which brings me to the snake. We didn’t often see snakes, but one day, I guess it was just that time of year, and the snakes were out. We jumped into a cool refreshing river after a long hike, and then jumped out five seconds later because a snake slithered in. Snakes are not the best swimming companions for humans. We bolted, and it seemed every time our heart rates slowed, another snake appeared on the path. After we crossed the snake eating another snake, we just kept running until we got to the car.
Wolf: That’s a lot of snakes. It must have been a snake holiday. What is your favorite body of water and why? (river, ocean, waterfall, puddle, bottle…)
Valerie: How do I choose? When you swim in a river, your skin and hair get all soft. Fresh water doesn’t have waves, but it also doesn’t sting when you get some up your nose. It’s good for skiing… But the ocean is the ocean. Salt water has this whole other healing effect on the body. It’s soothing to stare at, more-so if you can listen to the waves crashing on the shore. You can choose your shoreline for gentle waves or giant ones. My perfect afternoon is at an Atlantic Coast beach, somewhere in south Florida. So, I guess the body of water is the Atlantic Ocean, at the part where it kisses Crescent Beach, Florida.
Wolf: Nice. What story are you working on now?
Valerie: I’m working on several. Book 6 of my series is with my editor, and I expect to have feedback on that soon so I can get it out later this year. Book 7 is ready for beta-readers, but I promised myself I’d slow down on the series. I also started work on two original novels. I’m super-excited about one called The Qinali Vaccine, which features an astral projecting asexual astronomer who is trying to save the human race from extinction. I don’t have a release date yet because I’m still wearing the rose-colored first draft glasses.
Wolf: Sounds interesting. Let me know when you’re ready for beta-reader for that one. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Valerie: I do a little bit of everything. I’m a board member for my local community theater, and have filled many roles on and off the stage. My favorite role is choreographer. I love bringing stories to life through dance. I also love making films, playing piano and guitar, and sewing costumes. A few years ago, my antidepressants sent me into a hyper-mania, and I joined a gym to let off excess energy. I’ve really enjoyed getting stronger and learned some of the basics of power lifting. I can now lift a 50 lb. bag of cat litter with minimal effort. Also, I’m super excited to be able to open the fire doors at work without throwing my entire body weight behind the effort. Being strong is fun.
Wolf: It’s amazing how many writers also make costumes or another art form. The Arts are definitely connected. Thanks for visiting. Connect with Valerie through one of the links below.
Social Media Links:
http://www.valeriejmikles.com (books)
http://www.aces-sitcom.com (film)
http://www.facebook.com/vjmikles (books)
https://www.facebook.com/beanythingcosplay/ (cosplay)
twitter: @valeriebean
A voracious reader, Esther T. Jones has been writing stories in her head since she was five. She calls the United States her home, and when not writing can be found gardening, playing flute and piano, and designing costumes centered around her novels.
Esther: I favor the bow. One of my absolute favorite stories growing up was “The Adventures of Robin Hood” (and I’ve had the wonderful privilege of being able to visit Sherwood Forest) so I’ve practiced archery on and off since childhood, and I enjoy making my own bows for cosplays and such.
Heidi: There are worse things than living in a world of kings, queens, warriors, bards, and all manner of magical beings. After a life spent burying myself in the imagination of others and lamenting my inability to create such a story myself, I was challenged by my husband and a friend to bust down the barriers to my own creativity and just do it! I did, and the Kingdom of Uisneach series is the result.
Heidi: Every character in The Prophecy is my favorite for a different reason. However, I am really beginning to appreciate Briana as a force to be reckoned with. Readers have so far either loved her or have rolled their eyes and picked her apart. I guess she makes an impression and that is exactly what I like about her. She isn’t ordinary, though she thinks she is. Up until she walked through a tree in the woods near her house and ended up in Uisneach, she lived a pretty sheltered life. On the other side of the tree, she immediately discovers she is the savior to a land of gnomes, dryads, witches, druids and very mythic men and women and must adapt quickly to this new paradigm. She goes from being a young woman who cries at the drop of a hat and rejects most men because they don’t meet her dreamy expectations, to a woman who makes hard, sacrificial choices for the greater good of a kingdom she falls in love with. I freely admit it is cosmically cliché. I meant it to be. Her character arc seems complete in The Prophecy, but through the writing of the second book, The Runes of Evalon, it is clear she has room to grow, and is. She impresses me more and more with each passing day.
Rebecca Gomez Farrell writes all the speculative fiction genres she can conjure up. Her first epic fantasy novel, Wings Unseen, debuted in August 2017 from Meerkat Press. You can find her short stories in over 20 anthologies, magazines, and websites including Dark Luminous Wings, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and Fright into Flight. In California, Becca co-leads the 400-member strong East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Meetup group and organizes a chapter of the national Women Who Submit Lit organization, which encourages female writers to send their work out for publication. She also co-moderates Facebook discussion groups for female-identifying writers and is a regular participant in the Bay Area literary reading scene. Becca’s food, drink, and travel blog, 
Juliana Spink Mills was born in England but grew up in Brazil. Now she lives in Connecticut and writes science fiction and fantasy. She is the author of Heart Blade and Night Blade, the first two books in the young adult Blade Hunt Chronicles urban fantasy series. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies and online publications. Besides writing, Juliana works as a Portuguese/English translator, and as a teen library assistant. She watches way too many TV shows, and loves to get lost in a good book. Her dream is to move to Narnia when she grows up. Or possibly Middle Earth, if she’s allowed a very small dragon of her own.
Wolf: Dandelions are great. They also make great fritters. Do you consider yourself a cat person, or a dog person?
Juliana: I’m working on Star Blade, the third and final book in my Urban Fantasy trilogy. It’s a weird feeling, writing a series ending. There are so many loose ends I have to remember to tie up, so it’s almost overwhelming, but at the same time it feels good to finally work towards the happily ever after my characters deserve.
JE (Jayne) Barnard is a Calgary-based crime writer with 25 years of award-winning short fiction and children’s literature behind her. Author of the popular Maddie Hatter Adventures (Tyche Books), and now The Falls Mysteries (Dundurn Press), she’s won the Dundurn Unhanged Arthur, the Bony Pete, and the Saskatchewan Writers Guild Award. Her works were shortlisted for the Prix Aurora (twice), the UK Debut Dagger, the Book Publishing in Alberta Award (twice), and three Great Canadian Story prizes. Jayne is a past VP of Crime Writers of Canada, a founder of Calgary Crime Writers, and a member of Sisters In Crime. Her most recent book is When the Flood Falls, a small-town psychological thriller set in the Alberta foothills west of Calgary, and her upcoming one is the sequel, Where the Ice Falls (Dundurn, July 2019), set at Christmas in those wild lands.
Jayne: For all that I adore Goldens (and solicit donations for Golden Rescue Canada whenever I can although I’m in no way affiliated with the group; see 
Wolf: Sound interesting. Thanks for visiting. Connect with Jayne through these links:
LJ Cohen is a Boston area novelist, poet, blogger, ceramics artist, geek, and relentless optimist. After almost twenty-five years as a physical therapist specializing in chronic pain management, LJ now uses her anatomical knowledge and myriad clinical skills to injure characters in her science fiction and fantasy novels. When not bringing home strays (canine and human), LJ can be found writing, which looks a lot like daydreaming.
Welcome to WOLF NOTES, where interview questions stray from the rest of the pack. It’s nice to know the usual stuff like where an author gets their inspiration and why they write, but sometimes we need a little fun in our lives.
Karen DeMers Dowdall, PhD, MSN, BSN, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and spent her elementary-grade school years in the small farming community of Salmon Brook, settled in 1680 by a stalwart group of Europeans. She grew up exploring Salmon Brook’s Forest Preserve, swimming in Salmon Brook, and ice-skating on a “haunted” pond in winter.