Now Accepting Submissions!

Due to publishing costs and time restraints, we have decided to begin as an online publication. We will feature two writers per week on our blog, and our submission guidelines will be changing to fit this. For all of the people who have been accepted at this time, we will contact you to let you know when you will be featured on our blog. Thank you for your continued support!

If you are interested in submitting, please send your poetry and short stories to 

dreamminerspublishing@gmail.com.

http://dreamminerspublishing.blogspot.com/

AUTHOR/POET INTERVIEW: Getting to Know Paul Tristram

      Tell us a bit about yourself and your background

     

      I’m a Welsh man. From Neath in the Southern region of Wales. I was born into a dysfunctional family of hell raisers, criminals and alcoholics. My mother was pregnant with me whilst in reform school (juvenile prison) in Swansea for being out of control. She gave birth to me just after being released, aged 15. My father (the most demented and craziest Tristram that ever lived) was 21 years old at the time, and serving time up in a notorious Scottish prison. I was expelled from school and have no qualifications. We were poor and had nothing at all, [which is] the best position to prove your strength and character from.

     What kind of writing do you do?

 

     Creative writing of any kind. Novels, short stories, flash fiction, journal entries… anything that keeps the engine oiled and ticking over. I write at least one poem every day.

     When did writing become something you wanted to throw yourself into?

   

     I wrote my first poem when I was 18 years old, without trying or planning. It just popped out one night. I sat staring at it for awhile thinking ‘and where did you come from?’ The same thing happened a few years later when it was time for me to start writing stories. I sat there with pen and paper ready to write the day’s poem and the first chapter of my novella ‘The Candletree Graves’ just leapt out. It was a little like being possessed by a mental, derailed locomotive… I could barely keep up. But getting back to your question, after I had written the very first poem, I knew everything had changed for me and there was no going back.

     When did you feel confident enough in your writing to unveil it to the public? 

    Not being academic, and not knowing anyone else who wrote anything, I did not think in those terms. I simply composed and filed it away. I wrote my first poem in 1988 and sent off my first poem, which was accepted and published on the Arts Page of The Cornish Guardian in 1996. Then, a second poem in 1998 in the homeless magazine The Big Issue. I must add, I only submitted to these two places because I saw other poems from the public printed there; I wasn’t looking for it, really. Then, a couple of years later, I got hold of a copy of The Writers Handbook and Light’s Literary List and started storming the walls of every magazine and journal listed there.

     Tell us a bit about your most recently published book.

    My book Scribblings Of A Madman was released in December of 2015 by Lit Fest Press in America.It’s a strange beast. A collection of short stories mixed in with journal entries, thoughts and daydreams.I wrote it as I was coming out of a 5 year relationship. I ended up in a block of bedsits surrounded by other lost, half-crazy people, drinking themselves to death, and gnawing away at the loneliness. I joined them, but took an hour out of every day to type a page of the book. Some of these characters made it into the book… they are all dead in real life, a long time now… apart from me.

     What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?

     My novel Kicking Back Drunk, based roughly upon my late teenage years in the pubs of Neath, is being published by Lit Fest Press later this year. The hardest part of writing that book was the first draft! The flow was tremendous and I literally had to jump away from it each day and then get drunk, because I could not switch my head off after each session. I found the revising and all other drafts quite pleasant really.

      Do you draw from personal experience while writing?

      Yes and No. A lot of it is, but unless it’s a large work like a novel, I don’t plan. I just get my space ready and write every day. Whatever decides to come out… comes out. Sometimes it’s pure imagination, or something I heard in the pub.

     Who are some of your literary and poetic influences?

     I am a voracious reader. I like quite a few of the classics, [including] Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, Dostoyevsky. Charles Bukowski. Baudelaire, Dylan Thomas, Auden, William Blake, Celine, Rimbaud, Hunter S. Thompson, Carver, Hemingway, Ballard, Plath, Sexton, Emily Dickenson, Selby, Kafka, The Fante’s. Chekov, Huxley, Henry Miller, William Burroughs, Ginsberg, and quite a few of The Beats… the list goes on and on.

      Have you read any good books lately that you'd recommend to other readers?

    Franz Kafka’s The Castle is just magical. Ernest Hemingway’s short stories. At this exact moment in time I am reading Chekov’s short stories, Dylan Thomas’s collected poetry, and Irvine Welsh’s Porno.

      Do you have any current works in progress or ready for publication?

       Yes, a couple of night ago, actually. I finished collecting all of my previously published (in magazines and journals) short stories and flash fiction together, along with the novella, which I talked about earlier, into one manuscript. Hopefully, (fingers crossed and all that) I’ll give it one more look over and see about getting it in front of someone.

      What advice would you give aspiring writers and authors?

       I don’t know? If you are going to do it… you’ll do it. It might break you down at times, have you screaming at the God’s, raging in despair… but you’ll keep doing it. If writing is what you were born to do… then there is nothing else.

      Where can readers view your writing? Where can they purchase copies of your published work? 

     My book Scribblings Of A Madman is available through Amazon and quite a few other book places. The new novel, Kicking Back Drunk, will be the same when it appears sometime in Autumn. I have vast amounts of poetry and short stories published in online and print magazines and journals. If you Google my name, be sure to ‘poetry’ after my name; there are a few people with my name, and not all of them be me.)

         Paul's Blog

        Paul on Twitter

        Paul on Facebook

        Paul on Blogspot

        Scribblings of A Madman

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Getting to Know James WF Roberts

          

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background?

Well, where to begin? My name is James WF Roberts, I am a 34 years old, Melbourne, Australia based poet and writer. I am currently doing my Masters of Communication and Media Studies at Monash University. I have just come back from a two week long media and the city, cultural economy study tour of Shanghai, care of Jiatong and Monash University. Several years ago I completed a double honours degree from La Trobe University, in Philosophy, Religious Studies, Literature Art and Film.  My family background is an extremely creative one. My immediate family is involved in the Arts to some degree. My late father was a multi-instrumentalist, organist and music teacher, he even is referenced on Wikipedia as a ‘notable player of the Yamaha Electone organ’. He came like fifth or something in 1977 in Japan in a major competition. My eldest sister is a music teacher worked in piano bars and in ska band and led a choir, in Holland, Tokyo and Hong Kong. My brother is a very gifted multi-instrumentalist too; my other sister used to sing in choirs, play the organ, and taught music also. And, my mother was a singer and actress before she met my father. So, I guess being in Arts is in my blood.  I have worked as a freelance writer, journalist and editor on and off for years. I used to host a late night community and digital radio show in Bendigo for almost ten years.

     What kind of writing do you do?

That is a really, really hard question. I don’t think I have a particular style that can be easily labelled.  The genre of writing I normally do is spoken word poetry. I am quite good in the erotic style, transgressive. I guess I call myself transgressive, or post-structuralist, or meta-fiction writer, maybe even a bit of a magical-realist. I think being a writer in the 21^st century is an interesting time to be a writer. I write a bit of everything though, short stories, horror, speculative fiction, erotica. Academic essays, a few articles here and there and the usual stuff, writers never admit we do to make some bread….

When did writing become something you wanted to throw yourself into?  

That is always a hard question. I guess I was always writing short stories and other ideas down for a very long time. I don’t really know when I actually made the conscience decision to be throw myself into writing as it were. I guess, when thinking about it what made me throw myself into my writing as it were, was when I was about 19 when I was in the Army. I was going through basic training at Kapooka Base just outside Wagga Wagga and I was diagnosed with high functioning Asperger’s Syndrome at the same time. I discovered I was better living in my own head instead of doing other things. I don’t know it is always a hard thing, I don’t know whether most people actually have those big reveal moments. I think most people become writers by accident, after trying their hands at many different things, it’s almost like by accident you write something good and bang! You’re a writer now!

When did you feel confident enough in your writing to unveil it to the public? 

It was about 2003 or something like that I think, or maybe even 2002 after I left the Army I was living in working in a tiny little place in Northern Queensland, called Cooktown and I sort of got this job by accident working for the Cooktown news and my first articles were published up there. I don’t have copies of them. I used to do that self-indulgent, embarrassing thing of destroying copies of old works and that usual thing, so I don’t have any copies of them anymore. They were probably crap, judging by the writer I am now, and the writer I was back then.   

Why do you write? 

After all, when you’re artist, your art is like Junk! It’s an addiction and you have to mainline, nearly every day, otherwise it’s not worth it. A writer writes. He doesn’t practice writing or rehearse writing. He just does it.

What inspired you to write your latest book? 

Satyr is based on an idea I have had for a very long time, a sex and relationship memoir from the point of view of a modern man, using the modern sexual and mild fetishistic ideas. Many of the things in the collection are based on my own misadventures and experiences with sex, polyamoury, recreational drugs and depression. It is essentially a book about a man trying to find himself through sex, drugs and booze, after a really insidious and destructive, manipulative relationship ends. What happens when have lost everything emotionally, psychologically  and spiritually—one addiction gives way to another one.  And, also as an Autist, as an ‘aspie’ as we call ourselves I wanted to investigate, develop and write about the sensuality of a person with a hyper-sensitivity to things like touch, smell, taste and light. People don’t understand Asperger’s, people think we are emotionally retarded—we are like robots. The real truth of the matter is that we feel too much. We are too intense in our emotions so we have to control our emotions as much as possible—but often that leads to not being to turn it on at all, or worse, when you re-open the seal it overflows like a flood.

What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book? 

Being honest about who I am, about my condition. Being frank about my sexuality and my passions.

What was the easiest thing about writing this book?  

Same thing really. It’s always a double edged sword being open and frank about things.

Who are some of your literary and poetic influences? 

I have a few. I studied William Blake, Allen Ginsberg and Plato and Nietzsche in my under-grad days, so have always been obsessed with those writers. Edgar Allen  Poe is a major influence on my poetic style, especially my murder and love poems.  But my major contemporary influences are, well Vanessa de Largie, is a great poet and writer and actress she is a blogger for huffington post, she has been a major influence and source of encouragement of mine over the last few years, she did a lot of proofing of this collection for me. Other Australian poets like Steve Smart, Amanda Anastasi, Hamish Danks Brown, Michael Reynolds, Omar Musa and so many others in the Melbourne and Sydney poetry scenes. Other poets like Tishani Doshi and the American Catherine Zickgraf have also been incredible sources of inspiration and poetic determination over the last few years.

Do you have any current works in progress or ready for publication?

Well, besides the Satyr collection just coming out, I am working on a piece to perform at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, in a collaborative event between designers and poets of Melbourne. I am working on putting some performance pieces into a short film idea, work on my Masters. Also working on some poem ideas I started on my recent trip to Shanghai, and finishing part 4 of Tuesday Suicide, ‘Descent’.

What advice would you give aspiring writers and authors?

There’s a Tina Arena song I often think about when I get asked this question, there’s a line in one of her songs, ‘if you wanna be a poet then write’—that is the best advice I can give to any writer. Just write. No matter how terrible, or lame or sappy or whatever you think it is. There is no such thing as bad writing. There are things that are not delivered well. But there is no such thing as a bad poem. I remember once at a writer’s festival in Bendigo, there were so major poets talking about some their collaborations and workshops they had done with people grieving over the loss of loved ones and also a poetry collection done through a major radio station, about pets or something….it was amazing how much the students from the local TAFE College bagged out those activities as being lame or beneath them, even denigrating poets working with prisoners doing hard time.  You don’t need to be an academic or university educated to be a poet, most of the great poets of history weren’t.  They just wrote. Write about your own experiences. Write about your relationships. Write about things that piss you off. Write about your fears and write about the world around you, or the world you wish was around. It doesn’t matter….just bloody WRITE!

Where can readers purchase your work?  How can they get in touch with you? 

I have several books on amazon and a spoken word collection on band camp that should all be currently for purchase.  

Hell is Other People 

Tuesday Suicide Confessions

Tuesday Suicide Spree

Tuesday Suicide Revenge

Satyr

You can find my blog and website here: 

http://redwolfpressaustralia.blogspot.com.au/

My Facebook pages where you can find me: 

https://www.facebook.com/redwolfpress/

https://www.facebook.com/Tuesday-Suicide-Confessions-206048932920031/ 
https://www.facebook.com/JamesWFRobertswords/

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Getting to know J Matthew McKern

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background 

I’m from Walla Walla, Washington—home of the Quicksilver Vacuum Cleaner Company and ACME Manufacturing. You get here by taking a wrong turn at Albuquerque. I really am from Walla Walla, but we’re better known for wine and onions than vacuum cleaners, to be honest. 

I was a fine-arts major with a creative writing minor—ish. Didn’t complete the minor because I took classes I really wanted to take. So careless of me. 

What kind of writing do you do? 

I write fiction. I’m primarily interested in writing for middle-grade readers and the YA audience. I’m also the Managing Editor of the Oddville Press. 

When did writing become something you wanted to throw yourself into?

When my daughter was born, we decided a house that smelled constantly of oil paint and turpentine might not be the best thing. I had recently made the acquaintance of an author named Patrick Carman. He had recently published the first of 30-some books and watching his career unfold inspired me. I’d always felt my paintings had a “narrative problem” and writing turned out to be a way to let the narrative run free. 

When did you feel confident enough in your writing to unveil it to the public? 

Too early. I’m not shy, and having an art background, I was interested in gathering feedback. The copy editors among us will understand. 

Tell us a bit about your most recently published book. 

The last book I released was Raven’s Secret—a YA title. My characters were inspired in several ways. I’m from a small town (as previously mentioned) and I’ve always been fascinated by urban environments. Raven’s Secret was inspired in part by a trip to Hong Kong, trips to Seattle (where the book is set), and the urge to create characters with hidden secrets. I may or may not be related to the actor, Leo McKern (The Beatles “Help,” Blue Lagoon, Ladshawke, and Rumpole of the Bailey) who may or may not have inspired a certain character in Raven’s Secret. 

What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?

My latest book is in Beta. It’s a ghost story, of sorts, inspired by a trip to an old sanatorium for tuberculosis patients that had been abandoned for decades before having been refurbished. The hard thing for me is sorting through the ideas, sticking to the outline, and not allowing my mind to run away with itself. I’m not about writers’ block; I have too many ideas rather than too few. 

Do you draw from personal experience while writing?

As you can see from my previous answers, yes. I do. Though my books tend towards the fantastic, they’re grounded in experience.

Who are some of your literary and poetic influences?

I was a fan of John Irving’s work, from The World According to Garp to A Widow For One Year. In the realm of poetry, I was a fan of e.e. cummings, T.S. Elliot and perhaps other poets who go by their initials. When I was studying poetry, I was into the abstract. 

Have you read any good books lately that you'd recommend to other readers?

Lately, I’ve been reading Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Ransom Riggs has a fun voice. I’m having a great time experiencing a children’s book written for teens. 

Do you have any current works in progress or ready for publication?

I’m working on a book entitled Matchstick. It’s a supernatural story for teens. The ideas came from visiting a former sanatorium where tuberculosis patients had been treated from the late 1800s through the 1930s. It had been standing empty for decades, inhabited mostly by birds. An artist had begun converting it into a hotel. It was halfway completed when we stayed there. The following day, I learned it was listed in the 100 most haunted motels. Great inspiration. 

What advice would you give aspiring writers and authors?

Read—as often as possible. Write as often as you can. Write journals, lists of ideas, and conversations you find interesting. Find your voice.  

Where can readers view your writing? Where can they purchase copies of your published work?  

http://jmatthewmckernbooks.com
http://amzn.to/1ay0z6a

POET INTERVIEW: Getting to know Greg J. Muscroft

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background.

My full name is Gregory James Muscroft, but most people call me Greg. I am 35 years old, I was born in Rotherham in England on the 9th of April, 1981.

I attended East Dene Junior & Infant School and then Clifton Comprehensive before going on to study for a BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts at Rotherham College Of Arts & Technology

My Dad is very intelligent, but nothing like me in personality. I am much more like my Mum. I have 1 younger brother.

I worked for 15 years in the bingo industry, but now I work as a barman and, of course, a writer.

 How and when were you first introduced to poetry?

I stumbled upon poetry a bit by chance in September 2011, when I was invited by a friend to an open mic event in my hometown. I had no idea at the time if the people were reading recognized poets' work or poetry they'd written themselves. I discovered it was the latter, and I wrote my first poem, "They Came In Planes," a tribute to the 911 terrorist attack in America, there and then, while listening to others perform. Unfortunately, I have since lost that poem.

 Would you say you have a certain style of poetry writing?

My writing style has changed over the years. I started out thinking it was important to rhyme everything, only to be told, quite rightly in my view, that I should look for other words that didn't rhyme. I started to really think about what it is I truly want to say. I guess my writing now is more prose poetry. I usually write poems about love and loss.

Where do you draw inspiration from for your poems?

An ex-girlfriend is my muse for the most part. Most of what I wrote before the break up was for or about her. I continue to write about love, but in the past 12 months it is probably on a broader scale.

My inspiration for writing comes from listening to my poet friends' words. 

I also find that songs are a big source of ideas where my writing is concerned.

When did you feel confident enough to unveil your work to the public? 

I have always been confident about performing as an actor. I am used to performing in front of people. 


I do, however, find poetry harder to perform, as it is opening my heart up to people. One is never quite sure how people will react. So yes, I unveiled my work straight away, and it was well received, much to my relief.

 Do you only write poetry, or do you dabble in other styles of writing?

I used to short plays at college and imaginative stories at school, but now just stick to poetry.

 Name some of  your poetic and/or literary influences.

My main poetry influences to be honest are my writer friends.

 Do you have any current works in progress or ready for publication?

I am working on a book of my poetry and hope to publish in the near future.

 What advice would you give aspiring poets?

 My advice to other aspiring poets I guess is to not let rejection stop you from doing what you enjoy, oh and also write from the heart no matter what anyone says. Be true to yourself.

 Where can readers read and/or purchase your work?  How can they get in touch with you? 

I have a Facebook page where I enjoy sharing my work and videos of open mic readings. 

You can view it here: Greg J. Muscroft Poet

SUMMER BOOK BLOWOUT SALE!

Summer Blow Out Sale!
I don't know about you, but I LOVE a great book and a great bargain. When I can get both at the same time, even better! My shelves can never have too many books, right? DreamMiners Publishing is having a Summer Blowout Sale to prepare for their new fall titles. All books are up to 40% off their already low prices. No coupon code required!

Check out these great titles today!

The Gift That Keeps on Givin' by A.J Scott (fiction)

Off the Beaten Path by Nina Athena (poetry)

In Retrospect by Nina Athena Radke (poetry)

Shadows in the Moonlight by Moonstone

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Getting To Know George L. Babec

            

      Tell us a bit about yourself and your background (where you're from, education, work, family and family, anything you would like to share.)

I am a father of three daughters and currently live in Tennessee. I have been an electronic engineer for many years. My composition professor back in college said that I should consider writing as an option because I have a very creative imagination. I had never really considered writing as a career choice, but have enjoyed it as a hobby over the years. Due to my profession, I am a very deep thinker, keeping track of many diminutive details on a daily basis. I think this has really impacted the depth of my writing.

 What kind of writing do you do?

Up until recently, most of my writing was technical in nature revolving around electronic engineering. My first article was published in the August 1995 edition of Nuts & Volts magazine. Two years ago I decided to step outside my comfort zone and write my first novel. Voncara Cove is a sci-fi fantasy adventure wrapped around a developing love story. I wanted my readers to connect with the emotions of my characters and it seems I accomplished this since I am told that a box of tissues is required while reading.

When did writing become something you wanted to throw yourself into?

After visiting a renaissance festival during pirate week, I came up with a story that I just had to tell. I had most of the story in my mind before writing the very first page. I was unexpectedly surprised how it made me feel when my characters seemed to come to life before my eyes on the paper. They seemed to develop their own personalities which were dissimilar to mine own. This was both exciting and strange at the same time.

When did you feel confident enough in your writing to unveil it to the public? 

I was hesitant for quite some time, but finally decided to send my book to an editor. When the editor told me she was deep into the story and crying like a baby, I figured I had something worth sharing.

What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?

The hardest thing, by far, was keeping the word count down. I was actually sad when I finished Voncara Cove. I missed my characters. One morning I thought; why do I have to stop there? So I added a few lines of text leading into a second book.

Do you draw from personal experience while writing?

Absolutely! My personal life, career, military service, and family have definitely impacted my writing.

Who are some of your literary and poetic influences?

Jules Verne has impacted my life since I was a child. I love to read his works.

Have you read any good books lately that you'd recommend to other readers?

Stardust, by Neil Gaiman. I like the way everything ties together in such an imaginative way. I also like the way the adventure is wrapped around a developing love story.  The action keeps you on your feet and interested in the story-line.

Do you have any current works in progress or ready for publication?

My problem is having enough time to complete the many ideas that I have. I currently am working on developing story-lines for five novels, including the next Voncara Cove. I also am working on a motion sensor design book for electronic engineers. Many nights my mind races and I cannot sleep so I write in a notebook as the ideas flow uncontrollably.

What advice would you give aspiring writers and authors?

Go for it. Publishing a book these days is easier than ever! Don't deprive the world of your inspirations.

Here are a few of my links:

http://www.georgebabec.com

https://www.facebook.com/voncaracove

https://www.facebook.com/georgelbabec