Inspirational Indie Author Interview #221: David Somerfleck Imagines a Dystopian American Future

My guest this episode is David Somerfleck, who spent decades in digital marketing, journalism, and politics before returning to his childhood passion for science fiction. He moved to Portugal, where the stormy weather and isolation provided the perfect setting to write his first novel, a chilling vision of America's future. Now, he draws on a lifetime of experiences to build a new career as an indie author. We invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. About the Host Howard Lovy is an author, developmental editor, and writing coach with a long career in journalism and publishing. He works with writers at many stages of their careers, with a focus on helping them develop their ideas and strengthen their work while preserving their unique voices. He lives in Northern Michigan. About the Guest David Somerfleck is a speculative fiction author and poet based in Chesapeake, Virginia. He studied creative writing at Old Dominion University under poet Bruce Weigl and has worked as a newspaper reporter, copywriter, digital marketing agency owner, political campaign messaging writer and adviser, and teacher. His dystopian novel One Grain of Sand, the first book in the Shards of a Shattered Sky trilogy, is set in the United States in 2096. Kirkus Reviews called it "riveting and frighteningly plausible," while BookLife described it as an "inventive high-stakes thriller." The novel also won the 2026 NYC Big Book Award for Science Fiction. David is the author of four poetry collections and The Illustrated Guide to Digital Marketing. He publishes through his imprint, Boldly Blue Press, and is writing the second and third books in his trilogy back-to-back. You can find David on his website, learn more about One Grain of Sand, or purchase the e-book from major retailers.

On this week's Self-Publishing News podcast, ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway shares what authors asked most at SelfPubCon 2026: newsletters and copyright, including why registering before the new year's fee rise could save you money. He also covers Audible's beta feature that lets listeners explore a story and talk to its characters, starting with Dracula. Then he reports that the plaintiffs in an OpenAI copyright case have dropped Tuhin Chakrabarty's market dilution study, and that Books by People has launched to certify human-written books. About the Host Dan Holloway is a novelist, poet, and spoken word artist. He is the MC of the performance arts show The New Libertines, He competed at the National Poetry Slam final at the Royal Albert Hall. His latest collection, The Transparency of Sutures, is   available on Kindle.

In this episode, ALLi's Nonfiction Adviser Anna Featherstone chats with author and learning strategist Maria Doyle about the production and distribution decisions behind her book Everyone's a Teacher. They explore questions including: Might your nonfiction book serve readers better if it asked more questions? How can QR codes enhance the reading experience? How do you turn a book with visual elements into an audiobook? And what if you gave readers a quiz to see whether your book is really for them? This episode will give you fresh ideas for producing and distributing a book in a way that really engages readers. Sponsor This podcast is proudly sponsored by Gatekeeper Press — your partner in premium independent publishing. Empowering authors with expert guidance, 100% rights, 100% royalties, and global distribution. From editing to marketing, their all-inclusive services help you publish professionally and confidently. Gatekeeper Press — Where Authors Are Family. About the Host Anna Featherstone is ALLi's nonfiction adviser and an author advocate and mentor. A judge of The Australian Business Book Awards and Australian Society of Travel Writers awards, she's also the founder of Bold Authors and presents author marketing and self-publishing workshops for organizations, including Byron Writers Festival. Anna has authored books including how-to books and memoirs, and her book Look-It's Your Book! about writing, publishing, marketing, and leveraging nonfiction is on the Australian Society of Authors recommended reading list. When she's not being bookish, Anna's into bees, beings, and the big issues of our time. About the Guest Maria Doyle, author of Everyone's a Teacher, has more than thirty years' experience in teaching, learning, teacher training, developing curriculum, and managing education projects in Australia, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the Pacific, North America, and Scandinavia. Her areas of expertise include instructional design, curriculum and learning resource development, teacher training, project management, assessment and evaluation, and professional development.

In this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi Member Q&A podcast, hosts Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black discuss whether AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT can run an author's book marketing, from managing Amazon ads to updating metadata and delivering weekly trend reports. Other questions include: Should authors get an EIN, a DBA, and a separate business bank account? Is hiring an accountant worth the cost for a writing business? Are Goodreads giveaways worth the money? How long should authors market a book before publication? How do ALLi members list their books in the ALLi bookstore? Why do so many writers stop writing in the summer, and what is the "time of great forgetting"? And more! Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our Self-Publishing Author Advice Center, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. About the Hosts Michael La Ronn is ALLi's Outreach Manager. He is the author of over 80 science fiction & fantasy books and self-help books for writers. He writes from the great plains of Iowa and has managed to write while raising a family, working a full-time job, and even attending law school classes in the evenings (now graduated!). You can find his fiction at www.michaellaronn.com and his videos and books for writers at www.authorlevelup.com. Sacha Black is a bestselling and competition winning author, rebel podcaster, speaker and casual rule breaker. She writes fiction under a secret pen name and other books about the art of writing. When Sacha isn't writing, she runs ALLi's blog. She lives in England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son. You can find her on her website, her podcast, and on Instagram.

On this week's Self-Publishing News podcast, ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway digs into Audible's new Nielsen IQ study of 18,000 listeners, which finds audiobook fans buying the same books in multiple formats — and still seeking out human narrators. He also covers Smashwords adding pre-orders and pre-sales through Draft2Digital, and a Bookseller report on how AI is splitting the ghostwriting market in two. About the Host Dan Holloway is a novelist, poet, and spoken word artist. He is the MC of the performance arts show The New Libertines, He competed at the National Poetry Slam final at the Royal Albert Hall. His latest collection, The Transparency of Sutures, is   available on Kindle.

In this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Orna Ross and Joanna Penn discuss how book marketing is changing—and what still works. Drawing on their experiences updating their own marketing guides, they explore the growing role of AI, alternatives to social media, the renewed importance of print and in-person marketing, and why email lists remain essential. They also discuss how authors can develop marketing strategies that fit their goals, personalities, and resources, rather than trying to do everything. About the Hosts Joanna Penn writes nonfiction for authors and is an award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller author as J.F.Penn. She's also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker. Orna Ross launched the Alliance of Independent Authors at the London Book Fair in 2012. Her work for ALLi has seen her named as one of The Bookseller's "100 top people in publishing". She also publishes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction and is greatly excited by the democratizing, empowering potential of author-publishing. For more information about Orna, visit her website.

My guest this episode is Liz Harris, a historical romance author whose path to publication took her from a lifelong love of reading and writing through teaching, travel, traditional publishing, and eventually self-publishing. She talks about how history and place shape her fiction, the freedom she found as an indie author, the importance of treating publishing as a business, and why she chose to remain indie even after returning to traditional publishing. We invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. About the Host Howard Lovy is an author, developmental editor, and writing coach with a long career in journalism and publishing. He works with writers at many stages of their careers, with a focus on helping them develop their ideas and strengthen their work while preserving their unique voices. He lives in Northern Michigan. About the Guest Liz Harris is an award-winning author of 30 novels, most of them historical. Her latest series, set in Scotland in the 1880s, was a joy to research for someone who loves to travel, as Liz does, and took her to Scotland for several weeks. After graduating with a law degree in the UK, Liz moved to California, where she led a varied life—from cocktail waitressing on the Sunset Strip to working as secretary to the CEO of a large Japanese trading company. Upon returning to England, she earned a degree in English and taught at a secondary school for a number of years before developing her writing career. Liz now lives in Windsor, Berkshire. Her two sons have left the nest and now have families of their own. In what little free time she has, she loves to travel, go to the theater and cinema, do cryptic crosswords, and, above all, lose herself in a novel. To learn more about Liz, visit her website. Sign up for her newsletter to receive a free full-length novel.

On this week's Self-Publishing News podcast, ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway previews SelfPubCon 2026, running free over the weekend of October 17–18 with a Jane Friedman keynote, sessions on Kickstarter crowdfunding and local marketing, and an indie author lab for pass holders. He also opens the Written Word Media Indie Author Survey — whose past results tied higher earnings to bigger backlists — and reports on OpenAI's bid to have a key market dilution study thrown out of court. Show Notes Written Word Media Indie Author Survey SelfPubCon26 About the Host Dan Holloway is a novelist, poet, and spoken word artist. He is the MC of the performance arts show The New Libertines, He competed at the National Poetry Slam final at the Royal Albert Hall. His latest collection, The Transparency of Sutures, is   available on Kindle.

On the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, host Howard Lovy talks to poet and editor Anna Davidson about the art of editing poetry. They discuss what editors look for in a poem, why every word, line break, sound, and even blank space matters, and how editors can help poets strengthen their work without losing their individual voice. Anna also explains why trust between poet and editor is so important and how indie poets can find the editorial support that best fits their work. Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center, with a huge archive of 2,000+ blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. We invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. About the Host Howard Lovy is an author, developmental editor, and writing coach with a long career in journalism and publishing. He works with writers at many stages of their careers, with a focus on helping them develop their ideas and strengthen their work while preserving their unique voices. He lives in Northern Michigan. About the Guest Anna Davidson is an editor, editorial trainer, writer, and poet who publishes under the name A. K. Davidson. She studied modern languages at the University of Oxford and has worked in trade book publishing for three decades. Her past in-house roles include head of editorial management at Faber & Faber and publishing manager at DK Books. Anna writes poetry and fiction as A. K. Davidson. Her poems have appeared in Good Housekeeping, Pennine Platform, and other magazines, and her debut collection, Poetry for Life and Other Chronic Conditions, is available from all good bookshops. Anna is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading and a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors and the Society of Authors. She runs the Writer Meet Editor community on Substack, which offers information and connection for writers and book editors across traditional and indie publishing. For more information, visit Writer Meet Editor or The Right Word.

On this week's Self-Publishing News podcast, a hoarse ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway covers Amazon's new KDP limit of two titles per week per format — down from ten, and another move aimed at the flood of AI-generated content. He also looks at a study suggesting AI detector Pangram may be more accurate than its critics claim, and at the SCBWI's tightened AI policy, which will ask award entrants to document the human creative process behind their work. About the Host Dan Holloway is a novelist, poet, and spoken word artist. He is the MC of the performance arts show The New Libertines, He competed at the National Poetry Slam final at the Royal Albert Hall. His latest collection, The Transparency of Sutures, is   available on Kindle.