Hello riders and readers. Today I am sitting down with International Bestselling Author Stephanie Ayers. She has a new book coming out this Halloween season and I plan to ask questions about it and her journey as an author. I hope you enjoy getting to know Stephanie and make sure to preorder your copy of her book today. I honestly have read The 13 Series before and own each book. I am a die hard fan and am sorry to have this be the last book but super excited to get my hands on it. Happy reading everyone :).
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Author Interview with Stephanie Ayers
Hi! Quirky multi-genre author and creative unicorn here.
What genres do you write in?
Well, practically all of them except smut. Not much sci-fi, though you might find a few aliens hanging around.
You have a current preorder that is live…can you let us know about the book “The 13: Tales of Finality?”
10 years ago, I started putting my horror shorts together and publishing them. Now, I’ve made my final collection—the best one yet—and it releases October 13, 2026. I’m excited to have this series finished, and sad at the same time. I will miss these sometimes weird but always horrible characters and their settings.
There are 13 stories and none of them are the same. There’s a graphic that helps explain some of them.
This collection plays with quite a few horror tropes—haunted places, cursed objects, isolation, supernatural entities, technology gone wrong, and that wonderful realization that the place you thought was safe absolutely isn’t. I’m also a big fan of slow-building dread and the final twist, so readers may think they know where a story is going… but I wouldn’t get too comfortable.
I really enjoy outings with my husband, creating promo graphics for others, and hanging with my granddaughters.
Can you share what a day in the life of you as an author is like?
Honestly? It’s probably not nearly as exciting as people imagine. Coffee comes first. Always. Then I check email, wander through Facebook, chat with my online friend Jessica, check email again, somehow end up back on Facebook, and somewhere in all of that, I hopefully get some words written.
Then I switch hats and drive Lyft until dark. After that, it’s dinner, a little online gaming to unwind, and eventually bed. Wash, rinse, repeat.
It may not sound very glamorous, but somewhere between the coffee, conversations, driving, and everyday life, books keep getting written. I’m still not entirely sure how, but I’m not questioning it.
Do you have any fuzzy buddies that sit at your side as motivation to write throughout the day?
Max, my mini Aussie, is almost always by my side. Then there’s Sahara, my cat and the undisputed Queen of the Castle. She prefers to make periodic appearances by sticking her face directly into mine and interrupting whatever I’m doing—for absolutely no reason at all. Apparently, keeping the author humble is part of her job.
My favorite memory is when I had an office where I could turn the playlist on, add the headphones, and just let the characters loose in my head. For a little while, the rest of the world disappeared, and it was just me and whatever story they wanted to tell me that day.There’s nothing quite like getting lost in a world you created.
Tell us where fellow readers can find you this year for book events and on social media…
I’m so excited to be a part of the Ohio Author’s Book Fair this month, and at Authors & Dancers Against Cancer in Perrysville, OH next month. And I’m always thrilled to see new unicorns in my pasture. Please stalk me: https://linktr.ee/stephanieayers
Not as much as I used to. Never as much as I’d like to.
I read a lot of fantasy and have a new love for cozy paranormal mysteries. I write both, but I’m not as interested in horror as much as I used to be.
What do you have planned for your next book after “The 13: Tales of Finality?”
I’m currently working on republishing an updated version of one of my older horror stories about a nun who collects praying hands—yes, you read that correctly. I’m also finishing up another book in my cozy witch mystery series for a Christmas release. Apparently, my brain has no problem bouncing between creepy nuns and cozy Christmas magic.
What is something you have been debating on trying in your author career for the first time?
I’m slowly building a website where I can sell my books and author services myself.
What advice would you give a new author that is starting off in the industry?
Just write. Don’t get so caught up in whether it’s good enough, whether anyone will read it, or whether you’re doing it the “right” way that you never finish the story. You can fix bad writing. You can’t fix a blank page. Write the story you want to tell, finish it, learn from it, and then write the next one.
What is something unique you would like to share about yourself that hasn’t been revealed yet in this interview?
Something people might not expect is how easily my imagination jumps genres. I can spend the morning writing something dark enough to make you afraid to turn off the lights, then switch over and write a cozy mystery or a sweet romance that afternoon. Apparently, there are a lot of different people living in my head, and thankfully, most of them pay rent by becoming books.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A creative ninja with a dark mind and quirky nature, Stephanie Ayers spins imaginative tales that blur the lines between genres. An international bestselling author with a trunk full of tricks courtesy of a checkered past, she haunts Irish castles and snowy mountaintops in her dreams while living the unicorn life in Ohio disguised as a human. When she isn’t listening to the voices in her head, she spends her days as a mom, Gigi, fur mom, and Netflix binger, all while avoiding housework at all costs.
With ink in her blood, an absence of fear, and a passion for storytelling, Stephanie is always chasing the next adventure. When she isn’t lost in her overactive imagination or entertaining her mini-unicorns, you can find her on social media or browsing her growing catalog on Amazon. After all, even villains deserve happy endings.
Stalk me: linktr.ee/stephanieayers
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ABOUT THE BOOK
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