Mae Tingstrom is the owner of Smitten Bookstore located in Ventura, CA. After opening her first successful venture with Red Kettle Coffee, Mae decided to follow her dream of opening a bookstore that reflected her taste in romance and women’s fiction.  We met Mae through an author event that she hosted through Smitten in Santa Barbara, CA. This event was BookBase’s first attempt at reaching out to interview authors and where we met author Amy Spalding. 

To learn more about Mae and her entrepreneurial journey with opening a bookstore, check out the interview below!

Jennifer Wood is a monster romance writer who enjoys creating stories that center around looking for love while finding acceptance of one’s true self. Jennifer Wood has written the Abandoned on Niflheim series, gaining a large following of fans who show appreciation for the genre.

We met Jennifer at a book panel event for her book series. Jennifer was kind enough to share her writing process in creating memorable stories in the monster romance world while also giving great advice to new writers. Check out our interview with her below.

Alex Kenna is a mystery writer, prosecutor, and amateur painter.  Her first novel, What Meets The Eye, was a 2023 Shamus Award Finalist for best first P.I. novel. Her second novel, Burn This Night, was released in November 2024. Alex lives in Los Angeles with her husband, sons, and giant schnauzer, Zelda.

We met Alex at a book signing event for her book, Burn This Night. Alex was our second author to collaborate with us through hosting a BookBase Gold chat. Alex not only shared with us a great murder mystery novel but some context on how she went about creating such a thriller. 

Carole Hopson is a Boeing 737 captain for United Airlines, based in Newark, New Jersey. After a twenty-year career as a journalist and an executive, Carole followed her dream to become a pilot. A century after Bessie Coleman soared over seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Black women in the U.S. account for less than one percent of all professional pilots. Inspired by Bessie’s spellbinding accomplishments, Carole founded the Jet Black Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to sending one hundred Black women to flight school by the year 2035.

We met Carole at a book signing event for her book, A Pair of Wings. Carole was our first author to collaborate with us through hosting a BookBase Gold chat. Carole not only shared with us the story of Bessie Coleman, but she also gives amazing advice on how to persevere with your dreams in life. 

Dash Shaw is an American comic book writer/artist and animator. He is the author of the graphic novels Cosplayers, Doctors, New School, and Bottomless Belly Button, published by Fantagraphics. Additionally, Shaw has written Love Eats Brains published by Odd God Press, GardenHead published by Meathaus, The Mother’s Mouth published by Alternative Comics, and BodyWorld published by Pantheon Books.

We met Dash at a book signing event for his book, Blurry, at The Secret Headquarters Bookstore in Los Angeles. Dash explained to us the difference between writing a novel versus writing a graphic novel. He also shares his writing process for creating his graphic novels, which can be seen in the video below!

Jesse Moynihan is an American artist, animator, composer and director. He is best known for being a writer and storyboard artist on the animated television series Adventure Time and as the creator of the graphic novel Forming. He also released the animated short Jesus 2, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2025.

We met Jesse at a book signing event at The Secret Headquarters Bookstore in Los Angeles. Jesse gave us a lot of insight in what the industry looked like for independent graphic artists. 

Amy Spalding is the author of several novels, including the bestselling For Her Consideration, We Used to Be Friends and The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles), which was named a best book of 2018 by NPR, the Boston Globe, Kirkus Reviews, and more. She is a recipient of the 2023 Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award for the authentic, funny, and diverse representation of the LGBTQ+ community in her books.

We met Amy at a Santa Barbara Reads event where we had the chance to get a chance to interview her about her journey as an author. Check out the video below.