Check out my latest author interview with Winnie Winkle!

Alexis: Tell us about yourself! What would you like readers to know about you?

Winnie: I'm Winnie Winkle, a Florida based writer, and most of my books are fiction stories in the funny urban fantasy, sci-fi comedy and humorous PNR/SFR genres. I also write non-fiction meditation books as JS Netwal. Many of my books take place in Florida and focus on its eclectic, goofy side. Florida weird has a unique flavor!

Alexis: What book or books have most influenced you as a writer?

Winnie: I love Kaye Gibbons, Louise Erdrich, Stephen King, Janet Evanovich, and John Irving. They all have a deep skillset with character development, and I love tapping into that wealth of ability and using it to boost the vibrancy of my characters. (Well, I guess I'm mostly a conduit for their snarky immensity.)

Alexis: What are some tropes of fiction in your genre that you love/hate? Why?

Winnie: I dislike books with weak female characters in any genre. If the woman is a mere foil, it's often a DNF for me. Woman make the world function, and they deserve the acknowledgment.

Alexis: Who is your favorite character in your book? What do you like about them? (or, which character do you hate most and why)

Winnie: Cleopatra (Patra) O'Keefe in The Record series (funny urban fantasy) is my favorite, closely followed by Haseya in Messing Up Magic (PNR) but for different reasons. Patra is a feisty fatalist stuck in a can't leave role, and she just embraces the entire ludicrous situation. Her guts, snark, and intelligence blow my mind. I never plot a book, and yet Patra consistently sticks the landing on the story's twists. I love her so much. Here's a snippet: I waded through the exodus and stood fifteen feet from the pair, hands on hips, unhurried, and unafraid. Living an extraordinary life will do one thing for you; it took a hell of a lot to scare me. These boys did not fit the definition. “We want to go to the other bar,” the darker one’s clipped monotone gave me the willies. He walked closer, tossing the grenade, pin intact, into the air and catching it with one hand before crowding into my space. “You stink,” I offered. “Also, where, exactly, would I have a spare bar? Might want to tone the meth down, it’s messing with you, my pungent friend.” “Bitch, blowing this place apart works for me, but you can save it by not being stupid. I know it’s here. Get us inside.” “In where? You come here, blow a hole in the rear corner of my building, and ask for admittance to a secret bar? I think whoever draws the straw to do your psych eval will have a good time tonight.” ___ Haseya is loosely modeled after the Navajo Skinwalkers. The nation closely guards their lore, so I present Haseya as a complex healer who struggles with her origin and future. I find her to be such a relatable yet untouchable force for justice. Dark, light, and every shade in between. Here's a taste: “Haseya,” the oldest one said, “is both light in the ability to heal, but despite that, is a Skinwalker. She leaves her body in the night in the form of an owl and flies beyond our seeing.” “She has tried to remain in the light, and this is her true heart,” the other woman spoke up, “but we say here, to all Navajo, that she cannot stop being who she is.”

Alexis: What do you like to do other than read or write? Do you have any interesting hobbies?

Winnie: I enjoy meditation, Reiki, and love to teach others how to repair and elevate their sense of peace. Giving back is important to me.

Alexis: What TV shows/Movies do you like to watch or stream?

Winnie: I'm an HGTV junkie with a robust opinion of the value of grey in decor.

Alexis: What’s your favorite animal?

Winnie: My tiny condo faces the ocean and I love watching the pelicans. Until I moved here, I had no idea there are so many different types. They are strong flyers, and when they skim the waves from a few feet above, they're simply inspiring. Well, not to the fish, I suppose, but everything eats.

Alexis: What advice do you have for other writers or people just getting started in writing?

Winnie: Start a newsletter and make building it a priority. Any social media presence you develop is great, but you don't own that audience and if your account closes for any reason, it's all gone. Your readers read, and a well written NL will take your relationship with them farther with better results.

Alexis: How do you choose what books you want to read?

Winnie: I like actual book books. I tend to read the blurb and flip through a few pages, and then I'll know if it's for me.

Alexis: Do you like Greek/Roman/Norse/Asian/African mythology or folklore? What’s your favorite myth?

Winnie: I use the Greek pantheon in my humorous series The Record. I don't have a particular myth that is a favorite, but I do use the actual mythology as a foil for my much more unusual take. Here's a quick example from Salt Shaken: The Record, Book 2: Of course, families being what they are, this headed to hell, and fast. A lot of stuffing and swallowing of offspring ensued, both by Uranus and later, Gaia’s son Cronus. While intending to upset the power applecart, the upshot was the fall of Cronus, the Titans, and the eventual tossing over of Uranus, henceforth the star of nine-year-old humor for several millennia.

Alexis: If you write scifi, what technology or innovations or scientific discoveries have inspired your work?

Winnie: My sci-fi comedy series is based on the first contact trope. While it has ships and an orb that makes cocktails in space, the heavier focus in on how the personalities work in that scenario. Here's a bit from Bongo and Delilah Crash Cassadaga..

Bongo and her friend's dog, Sallie, hid in an orb they were moving via a truck. It lifted off thanks to Sallie's tail hitting the dashboard: The tumble didn’t hurt either of us. I found my balance in time for more wagging that whapped the controls, which lit, flashed, and beeped. Fatal error. We started spinning, a chaotic whirl, the pickup whipping above, below, off to the side, as Sallie and I tumbled and thumped. My ass landed on the control panel, and the entire inside of the orb illuminated. A disembodied voice spoke.

“Florkmorigan purlinket. Florkmorigan purlinket.”

“What? Help!”

“Florkmorigan purlinket?”

“No idea! Help! Do you know English?”

A boop. “Engage self-destruct?”

Oh shit! “No! No self-destruct! None!

Share your links!

Winnie Winkle fiction books: https://www.wwinkle.com JS Netwal non-fiction books: https://cosmicpocket.com

Follow Winnie on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/winniewinkle11

Follow Winnie on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/winniewinkleauthor/

Follow JS Netwal on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=6155739303999