Q&A with Jared Schoch

  

Jared Schoch is the author of the new memoir Solar Coaster: The Untold Story of the Solar Industry and One Man's Journey Leading with Soul. He is the founder of TurningPoint Energy, and he's based in Colorado. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Solar Coaster?

 

A: I felt spiritually called to share what I’ve learned after almost 30 years in business and life. This is about paying it forward and helping, educating and inspiring others to navigate their own path with more clarity and purpose.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: “Solar coaster” is a phrase people in the industry have used for years to describe its incredible highs and lows. Policy changes, financing, interest rates, technology, commodity prices, and politics can completely change the economics of a project or the direction of the industry. You learn very quickly that you have to adapt.

 

It was the natural title because that has been my professional life for nearly 20 years. But it also describes my personal journey and the importance of leading with soul. There were tremendous highs and some very difficult lows, and I learned that what keeps you grounded through all of it is knowing what you value and why you're doing the work in the first place. 

 

Q: What do you see looking ahead for clean energy?

 

A: Solar energy, battery storage, and wind energy are the dominant forms of new energy generation coming onto the energy system in the U.S. and globally for the foreseeable future. 

 

If you combine solar, wind, hydro and nuclear, we are at roughly 46 percent of total energy generation combined for the U.S. today, which is a huge leap forward over the last 20 years. If you look forward, we will soon be over 50 percent carbon neutral energy sources on our way to 60 or 70 percent in the coming 10 to 20 years. 

 

While I'm optimistic, the road ahead will not be simple. Electricity demand is growing dramatically, particularly with AI and data centers, and we're going to need a lot more power.

 

Solar, wind, and battery storage can play a major role because they can be deployed relatively quickly, but we also have real challenges involving the grid, transmission, interconnection, permitting, land use, and community acceptance. 

 

I don't think the future is about one technology winning. It's about building a more flexible, reliable energy system and figuring out how different technologies can work together. Solar has already proven that it can adapt, and I believe it will remain an important part of that future.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: I hope readers come away understanding that Solar Coaster isn't only a book about solar. It's about finding and leading with your soul,  navigating uncertainty and change without losing yourself along the way.

 

One of the biggest lessons of my career is that success can't be measured only by money, titles, or the size of the company you build. You have to ask what you're building, who you're becoming while you're building it, and whether your decisions are aligned with your values and doing the ultimate good you are meant to do, that you are meant to contribute to the world. That's what I mean by leading with soul.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: After more than a decade building TurningPoint Energy, I've stepped away from the day-to-day management of the company but am running the board as chairman. 

 

This shift has given me  more freedom to think about where I can have the greatest impact next. I'm still deeply engaged in clean energy, but I'm also spending more time on writing, speaking, and exploring ways to support work around climate change, education, poverty, and spiritual growth.

 

The book is part of that next chapter. I'm trying to take what I've learned from business and put it to work in ways that have a broader impact. Similar to every other major phase of my life, I am faithfully walking a path I don’t know where will lead me trusting that God will lead me to what I am to do next. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: This is more than a book. It’s a project about educating, inspiring, and starting conversations, working with students, businesses, and communities, and helping people lead in a more purposeful way to create a better world.  Paying it forward. 

 

One hundred percent of any net profit I make from this book will go directly to for- and not-for-profit investment funds set up to help move the needle on education, homelessness, climate change, and/or spiritual growth…as my wife and I have felt called to do.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Marc J. Gregson

  

 

 

Marc J. Gregson is the author of the new novel Behind the Glass. His other books include the young adult Above the Black trilogy. He is a former middle school English teacher. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Behind the Glass, and how did you create your character Malcolm?

 

A: Well, I wanted to explore a universe where the earth is dying because people are living in very powerful simulations—as real as life—and so people escape the real world to live in a false one. But the earth’s only dying because of the reactors that power these simulations. It’s a horrible cycle.

 

When writing Malcolm, I wanted to challenge myself by writing a character that needs redemption even if he doesn’t recognize it or feel worthy of it.

 

When he is conscripted by the corporation that’s killing the planet, he’s forced into addiction to SICO (Synthetic Incentive for Combat Operatives). This gives him a little jolt of joy from his brainchip whenever he kills an enemy soldier.

 

At the beginning of the book, he’s an addict, and more beast than man, and I wanted to explore his journey back to his human side.

Q: This is your adult science fiction debut—why did you decide to write for a new audience?

 

A: Interestingly enough, my agent and I initially submitted this to publishers as a young adult title. It wasn’t until we started getting some feedback that we realized this needed to be shifted to the adult audience. So, I had to do some revisions and smooth over a few details.

 

That being said, I do believe older teen fans of my Above the Black series will still find lots to enjoy here. It feels like a crossover title to me.

 

Q: Can you say more about the inspiration for the world in which the novel is set?

 

A: Some of it came from my fears of how people are living their lives digitally through social media and online and maybe not always living in the real world anymore. I also had some concerns about the power that some major corporations we have now.

 

I wrote this before data centers and AI were a fear (I signed with my agent for this book back in 2020) but I think the book’s timely on those subjects now, too.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the novel?

 

A: I hope readers enjoy the plot, characters, and worldbuilding, but I also hope they realize the dangers of false realities. Some of us are addicted to social media, living out our lives on screens.

 

Beyond that, I hope they recognize the dangers of automation, corporate rule, greed, and data centers and what they will do not just to humanity, but the planet itself.

 

Ultimately, Malcolm’s story is one of redemption in the face of overwhelming obstacles, so I hope readers find hope in that message.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am working on Bright Sky and its sequel. These are the first two books in a prequel trilogy set hundreds of years before the events of my Above the Black series. I went back in the timeline a bit because I didn’t want to run into the prequel trap where readers can predict what will happen at the end.

 

It’s been a lot of fun expanding the Skylands universe, and while the Below the Black series doesn’t launch until fall 2027, I can tease readers about the main character in this new series has creature companions and they’re awesome.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Readers can follow me on TikTok, Instagram, Threads, or Twitter with my handle @mjg_write or on my YouTube channel MarcJGregson. They can also find me at my website at www.marcjgregson.com.

 

Beyond that, I’m also open to events and you can reach out on my contact page. I’m a former teacher, so I have lots of experience in schools if you’d like me to come speak.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Marc J. Gregson. 

Q&A with Matthew Aquilone

  

 

 

Matthew Aquilone is the author of the new novel The Stager. He works for the staging company Vesta, and his work has appeared in a variety of publications, including The Bellingham Review. He lives in Brooklyn. 

 

Q: How much did your own experience in staging inspire your new novel?

 

A: Ironically, I started this book before I ever staged an apartment. I was working for an interior decorator who was designing model apartments for a new luxury high rise. 

 

That's similar to staging of course, but it wasn't until I began to work for an actual staging company that I saw what the industry itself was like. It's nowhere near as idiosyncratic (or expensive!) as full interior design.

 

Fundamentally though, the idea is the same: to give a human presence to an otherwise unoccupied home, and to give the prospective buyer a chance to imagine themselves inside it.

 

Of course, my background in design - as a stylist, window dresser, showroom designer - played a big part. For years I had wanted to write something that touched on that other part of my creative background.

 

Q: Why did you decide to set the novel during the Covid pandemic?

 

A: The pandemic provided the perfect vehicle in which to let Maya's character play out - her insecurity, self-delusion, denial, as well as her optimism and persistence all got flame tested in her isolation.

 

Also, The Stager is a real New York story, and we were hit in a particularly hard way by the pandemic, but we also came together in unprecedented way. I wanted to show all that too.

 

Q: How did you create your character Maya?

 

A: I knew I wanted a character who just wouldn't give up, although I wasn't going to make it easy for her. Framing the book in the first person really helped. Let's face it, Maya lives a lot in her head. Once I put myself in there with her, she just blossomed.

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: I didn't have the ending until very late in the process. I wanted Maya to be transformed by the end and I knew that she and her friend Clarissa were going to have to come to terms with their broken friendship. 

 

So I knew generally where I was headed but I made a lot of changes along the way. It was so much fun following Maya and watching as she made decisions good and bad.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am finishing a novel based on my experiences in the fashion industry. It's centered around another female protagonist, a fashion exec who is confronting life choices as she balances motherhood, middle age and a changing industry. It's another New York story, funny and satirical. 

 

I am also continuing work on a memoir project based on the AIDS crisis and how it affected my family. It is a story of our Brooklyn brotherhood.

 

I had a writing residency this summer in Connecticut. I had a lovely little cabin beside a pond. It was the perfect environment to concentrate on challenging material like this, and to recharge my creative energies.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: The Stager is the tenth book that I've written and the first to get published. I had a lot of close calls along the way. If I'm like Maya at all it's that I've learned that maybe the biggest part of success is just refusing to give up. If you believe in your work and in yourself you're 80 percent there already.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Suzanne Leonard

  

 

 

Suzanne Leonard is the author of the new book A Feminist Guide to Marriage. Her other books include Wife, Inc. She is Professor of Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Simmons University in Boston. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write A Feminist Guide to Marriage?

 

A: Ever since I was 8, when I watched Princess Diana’s wedding on television, I’ve wanted to get married. Even after I grew up, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my life wouldn’t be complete until that happened.

 

As I became an expert in gender studies, I thought a lot about whether that aspiration conflicted with my feminism, or my politics. I wrote the book to show myself and others that this wasn’t the case.

 

Q: The scholar Catherine Rottenberg said of the book, “[T]his counterintuitive book is smart, funny, extremely accessible and scholarly all at the same time!” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love that characterization!

 

I call the book part crash course in feminism, part social guide, part memoir, and part manifesto. It’s meant to help readers learn about feminism, without it seeming like this scary, off-putting ideology. I hope it clears up the misperception that feminism destroyed marriage, and that feminists hate marriage.

 

I was particularly glad that she found the book funny because, as someone who makes their living as an academic, it was important to me to seem approachable and honest.

 

Q: How did you research the book, and did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: This book represents the culmination of over 25 years of thinking about marriage, first as a graduate student in English, and then as a professor of women’s and gender studies. My research consisted of returning to books and articles I have taught, and talking to my students, friends, and family members.

 

I was most surprised by the conclusions I didn’t expect to reach, regarding prenuptial agreements (not such a good idea), sharing money in marriage (actually a very good idea), and divisions of domestic labor (easier to manage if you stop trying to divide everything equally).

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: At its heart, my book has a basic message, which is that human relationships are the best things in life. We can’t make a better world without thinking about how we conduct those relationships.

 

I hope people reading the book will come away from it feeling like it they have a better understanding of how feminist ideas can be operationalized to make all our lives more fulfilling.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am switching gears, and about to embark on a project on feminist documentaries made in the 1970s in Boston, which is where I live. These films were visually and narratively groundbreaking in that they centered real women’s stories of love, friendship, motherhood, and sex.

 

I am currently in the processing of interviewing the women who made these films – all of whom are in their 70s and 80s – to make sure their stories get recorded, too.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Nov. 12

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Nov. 12, 1943: Wallace Shawn born.

Q&A with Monica Arya

  

 

 

Monica Arya is the author of the new novel The Favorite Girl. Her other books include The Favorite Daughter. She lives in North Carolina.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Favorite Girl, and how did you create your character Demi?

 

A: The Favorite Girl was born from my fascination with the darker side of human nature, particularly the secrets people keep and the lengths they'll go to protect the world they've created. I've always been drawn to stories that explore the psychology behind human behavior, especially when it comes to power, trauma, and survival.

 

When I created Demi, I wanted to write a character who was deeply flawed, complicated, and unapologetically human. I didn't want her to be the perfect heroine who always made the right decisions or knows what to do. I wanted readers to question her, root for her, become frustrated with her, and ultimately understand her.

 

As an Asian American female author, representation is also incredibly important to me. Growing up, I rarely saw women who looked like me at the center of dark psychological thrillers or books in general.

 

I remember, as a reader, craving more main characters from diverse backgrounds and realizing that, as an author, I had the opportunity to help bridge that unfortunate gap in books and publishing. I wanted Demi to exist in a world where she could be messy, vulnerable, flawed, and strong, all while defying the odds stacked against her.

 

I think there's something incredibly beautiful about readers being able to see pieces of themselves reflected in a character, but I also believe there's just as much beauty in stepping into the shoes of someone whose ethnicity, culture, or background is entirely different from their own.

 

That's one of the most powerful things about storytelling. It allows us to experience lives beyond our own, and I wanted to contribute to that in a meaningful way.

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: I actually knew how I wanted The Favorite Girl to end before I started writing it! The entire book played out like a movie in my mind for a while. As a psychological thriller author, I love building a story around its final reveal and then carefully planting little breadcrumbs throughout the book. There's something so satisfying about readers reaching the last page and suddenly questioning everything they thought they knew.

 

That being said, my characters have a tendency to take on lives of their own, and sometimes the story evolves in ways I didn't initially anticipate. I allow myself the creative freedom to follow those unexpected turns because I think some of the most unnerving moments happen organically.

 

I also knew I wanted to leave just enough room for the story to continue if readers wanted more. I never wanted to force a sequel, but I loved the idea that Demi's world could expand beyond the first book.

 

And, as it turned out, readers absolutely wanted more! That incredible response is what led to The Caged Girl and eventually the third and final installment, The Favorite Daughter.

 

It's been such a surreal experience watching a story I initially envisioned as one novel grow into an entire trilogy, all because readers weren't ready to leave that dark, twisted world behind.

 

Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: Growing up in the South as a minority female wasn't always easy, and I think a part of me felt deeply connected to Demi because we both shared this desire to fit in, to belong, and to be accepted. When you're growing up feeling different from those around you, there's often this unspoken longing to be chosen, to be seen, and to feel like you have a place in the world.

 

That's really where the title The Favorite Girl came from. I started thinking about how deeply human the desire to be someone's favorite really is. Whether it's wanting to be the favorite daughter, the favorite friend, or simply the girl who finally gets chosen, I think so many of us can relate to that feeling in some capacity.

 

For Demi, that desire takes on a much darker and more twisted meaning, which made the title feel especially fitting. But beneath all the disturbing layers of the story is something incredibly universal: the longing to be accepted for who you are.

 

I think that's what makes the title so meaningful to me. Because at some point in our lives, haven't we all just wanted to be someone's favorite?

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: More than anything, I hope readers walk away from The Favorite Girl with a sense of resilience and strength. Life has a way of throwing unimaginable storms at us, and sometimes those storms feel impossible to survive.

 

But I truly believe that no matter how dark things become, the sun will always find a way to shine again. That sentiment is part of the book's dedication, and it's something that means a great deal to me personally.

 

I hope Demi's journey reminds readers that we are often so much stronger than we give ourselves credit for. That our circumstances don't have to define us, our past doesn't have to dictate our future, and even when the world seems determined to break us, we can find a way to rise.

 

And on a more personal note, I hope readers know just how incredibly grateful I am that they took a chance on my dark, twisted thriller. There are so many wonderful books in the world, and the fact that someone chose to spend their time in a world I created is something I'll never take for granted.

 

I hope they experienced something unique, something that challenged their expectations, and perhaps met a main character they don't often encounter in this genre.

 

Whether readers saw a piece of themselves in Demi or stepped into the shoes of someone entirely different from them, I hope her story stayed with them long after they finished.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm currently putting the finishing touches on my next dark psychological thriller. While it features an entirely new storyline and cast of characters, it follows closely in the footsteps of The Favorite Girl series when it comes to that pitch-black darkness my readers have come to expect from me. It's disturbing, twisted, and creepy in all the ways I love to write.

 

I'm excited to introduce readers to this brand-new world, especially those who fell in love with the darkness of The Favorite Girl. It’s almost a blend of thriller and horror in ways and might even be scarier than The Favorite Girl.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: The Favorite Girl series has received a gorgeous new glow-up with its paperback editions from my publisher, Simon Maverick.

 

My upcoming spring release, Let Me Show You, is a completely twisted standalone psychological thriller that I cannot wait to share with readers. All of these new books are up for preorder through Simon Maverick.

 

There are so many fun, dark, and exciting things happening in the world of Monica Arya books, and I’m beyond grateful to have readers along for the ride.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Karen Foxlee

  

Photo by Esther Visser

 

Karen Foxlee is the author of the new middle grade novel The Wondrous Tale of Lavender Wolfe. Her other books include Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy. She lives in Queensland, Australia. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Wondrous Tale of Lavender Wolfe, and how did you create your character Lavender?

 

A: It was really the inspiration for the character Lavender that started this story. It began with a few lines repeating in my head – I had three names, the first was Lavender, a pretty name but with too many letters if you’re no good at spelling. I’m not a plotter, but I immediately knew I had to find out who she was.

 

Lavender was a tiny scrap of an idea to begin with but as I wrote she became a pickpocket in an alternate 18th century England. She’s stolen aboard a cursed and magical pirate ship by the ship cook, Big Agatha. She’s a small, fair headed twig of a child, but filled with courage and resilience (and some magic too).

 

I wanted to create a character like the ones that I loved as a child. Think Gerda from The Snow Queen meets Bastian from The Neverending Story. Inspiration grew as I wrote. The more I knew about Lavender the more I wanted to write about belonging, and about the strange places where we might find our families and ourselves.

 

Q: The novel is set in the year 1719--why did you choose that time period?

A: When I discovered that Lavender was on a cursed ship called The Good Marchioness, I knew the story l had to be set in the Great Age of Sail. I was both excited and terrified to write about this time period, but like all my stories, I decided if I stuck with my main character Lavender everything would work out fine.

 

I think when writing about another time period it’s good to start small and think about what’s at arm’s distance from your characters. The 18th century world I discovered was different in so many ways, yet all those big universal emotions were still there. Lavender misses her mother and she wants to get home. She true finds friends on her journey. She learns about herself along the way. 

 

Q: Did you need to do much research to write the book, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

A: I loved the research I had to do for this story! For starters, I had to learn so much about sailing ships, from the names of the sails to how time was measured. I also became fascinated by 18th century food. 

 

But in the end The Good Marchioness is a magical sailing ship, and this is a children’s fantasy, so I also took some artistic liberties and had a crazy amount of fun making it exactly the type of pirate ship I wanted.

 

The research I loved the most was discovering Regency slang and the old-fashioned words associated with sailing, which never ceased to amaze me.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the novel?

A: Foremost, I hope young readers (and young at heart readers) go on an amazing adventure with Lavender in this story. I hope they think about magic again and feel that thrill and excitement that magic can cause.

 

On a deeper level, I hope they take away some of the messages about resilience and perseverance, how hope can be found on even the darkest days, and that sometimes home ends up being with people rather than a place.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: At present I’m writing a story about a 12-year-old, a mysterious dress pattern, and her grandmother’s very old sewing machine. It’s set in the tropical north of Australia in 1982. I’m wholeheartedly channeling my childhood; big hair, synth music, and simpler times.

 

It combines so many things that I love – history, nature and stories about sisters. It is most definitely a passion project, and I’m really enjoying every minute with it. It’s making me cry and laugh on a daily basis. 

Q: Anything else we should know?

A: I love writing about complex and flawed mothers. Lavender’s mother is a renowned thief on the Whitby wharves who seemingly abandons her daughter.

 

When Lavender is stolen onto The Good Marchioness, Big Agatha (the ship cook) becomes her mother figure. She’s the most complex and flawed mother I’ve ever written. I adored creating her. She’s loud, prone to the doldrums and often mean but also filled with ferocious love.

 

She’s a story within a story because she has an entire other person trapped inside her. She was an incredible presence to create, and I loved how she filled these pages and how readers have reacted to her. 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb