Machelle Berglund

Howdy, howdy! I am Machelle Berglund. I may appear as a human bean, but well…Have you ever met an author that’s three opossums (North America’s only Marsupial) and several ferrets that split rent in a trench coat? No? Well, now you have!

I am, of course, referring to my silly self.

You may be asking just how many ferrets I am made of. Well, you can ask anyone who has ever done ferret math. Then you’d learn that the amount of ferrets keeps mysteriously multiplying. The count is never quite settled. That’s just how ferret math works.

Thankfully, all the critters I am made of have a lifelong love of writing and storycraft.

Currently, I have three published poetry books out in the world with several more to come. And not all of them are just poetry. I love to write stories that dwell within the realms of horror, fantasy, and sci-fi. And you can bet your sweet bippy that I inject what I write with lots of subtle humor, puns, and whimsy. Oh! And some heavy handed ethics and philosophy. Just the very things everyone ever enjoys!

I don’t plan to ever stop. Nor will I.

“Ha ha, wow! What an intro. Let’s kick things off—tell me a bit more about your published works.”

Well, there’s the first book. It’s called Whimsy and Weirdos: Poetry for the Unique. It wouldn’t have come about if it wasn’t for the wonderful Andrea Standifer.

We met at a cheese factory that we worked at. We got to talking and found out we were both writers. She had actually published a very cute children’s book previously (Gracie the Clinic Cat). Eventually, we decided to put some of our poetry together into a collection. Thus, Whimsy and Weirdos came to be!

I probably wouldn’t have started self-publishing without her encouragement and, well, without her wonderful, beautiful existence.

My second poetry book, Through the Shards of My Heart, is my first solo foray. It came about from many things, as most poetry does. It’s an exploration of the different views of love at different points of life; from teenagedom to where I am in my adulthood now. And, secretly (but not so secretly), there’s a lot about a long-term friendship sadly ending. And then finding someone who helps you feel safe.

The Shadow on the Wall is my latest release. I absolutely love horror. I love humor. I love both smashed together! And that’s basically what Shadow is. It’s a tribute to horror, Halloween, and some of the tropes associated with it.

“Fascinating! What inspired you to write?”

I’ve loved crafting stories for as long as I could remember. I spent a lot of time in my room, just making stuff up.

I think my love of writing really started in 3rd grade. I was going through a very rough time in my life. My teacher, Mrs. Schneider, encouraged my writing. At the end of the year, she gave me a custom journal to write in. I didn’t write as much for some time but, I didn’t eventually fill it. And yes, it’s full of awful, cringey, angsty poetry.

But, you know, we all gotta start somewhere, right?

“We sure do! How would you best describe your writing journey?”

I always think of a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The one with the witch where John Cleese’s character is all like—

“She turned me into a newt!”

“A newt?!”

“Well…I got better.”

I was a total newt (noob) when I began. Who wasn’t a total newt at least once or twice in their lives? As time went on, I continued to practice and practice. I got better!

I’m still always working to get better at my craft. And that work will never end. It’s totally worth it and I love it.

I’m challenged at every turn!

“What are some of your toughest challenges when it comes to writing?”

Punctuation.

I love to use a variety of punctuation. However, I don’t always know what’s appropriate for different things. I’ve looked things up several times but the knowledge just leaks from my brain and out of my ears.

I need to make a little cheat sheet for myself.

“Oh interesting! I assumed you’d say something like finding motivation or time.”

I’m lucky that I can find plenty of time. And I have a deep desire to do so.

Sadly, I do find I sometimes have to swim through molasses to write. With how things have been in the US, things have been pretty stressful. And I’ve been dealing with some unfortunate health stuff. What exactly? Well, can’t say for sure yet. It’s notoriously hard for doctors to take chronic pain issues seriously without chalking it up to solely anxiety.

Still, I try to remember that writing is rebellion. It’s one of the best ways for me to protest and help people when I feel too icky to go to rallies and such.

“So I’m assuming you're from the United States?”

Indeed I am. Specifically, I’m from South Dakota.

I’m both very proud of where I am from but I am also full of contention and embarrassment. My state ends up in the news for a lot of disappointing reasons.

I know we can all do better. As the mayor of my home city, Ope Niemeyer, said, 

“Hate has no home here.”

And I strive to make that true. Instead of fostering hate and xenophobia, I want to promote and work towards a better South Dakota.

“That is a beautiful thing to work towards. Speaking of work—what are some projects you’re working on right now?”

I have many WIPs at the moment. But, there are some I’ve been focusing on more than others.

I’m hoping to have my next project, Fairy Seasons, published by the end of 2025. It’s another poetry affair. I originally was going to weave short stories and poetry together. I’m still debating on that. I’ve been finding that a lot of the stories I’ve been working on don’t end up fitting the vibe I was going for.

I’m also working on a chapbook called Soul Ocean.

As for things that aren’t poetry related, well, I have a lot in the works. No titles yet. I’ll say more as I get more done!

“Sounds exciting! Do you do a lot of research for your projects?”

Sort of. If you count reading to improve my art. Then yes.

I do like to look back at things in history to help inform some of the things I write about as background details. There’s a lot of things we get wrong about the day-to-day lives of people in time periods.

Interacting with a lot of other indie authors has really helped to improve my writing, honestly. There’s some people out there who are just soooo good at it.

“That’s pretty solid. What are some of your biggest influences?”

Oh, there are plenty! There was one author I used to respect and love a lot. Sadly, they turned into a disappointment. I can’t exactly shake how they’ve helped shape my writing. Thankfully, they weren’t the only one.

Around the same time I started reading that other author, I started to read Garth Nix. All of his series were so awesome. The world building! The characters! The different systems of magic! It’s been too long. I need to reread all of those books.

Meredith Ann Pierce has also been quite the influence. I only read three of her books and desperately want to read them again. I always thought they were some sort of fever dream until recently.

Vampire Hunter D and The Legend of Zelda have been super influential on my writing as well.

“What’s your experience been like as a self-published author?”

It’s been interesting. I love the freedom I have with all of my work. I can work on things as much as I’d like, and I can fix it.

I like to have more control over my work. I’d easily consider myself a control freak when it comes to my art. I don’t have much control over much else in my life. So, at least I have control over my writing and art!

I love and loathe having to do everything myself. Like, I could hire someone to do my editing or to even do my covers but, I’m pretty broke. Beyond paying my bills and putting away stuff for savings, I don’t have much left over to pay for that.

There are wonderful people out there who have very well-priced services available though! And they’re awesome!

Another downside is that I have to do all my own marketing. I just don’t like to post all the time, yelling into the void, trying to convince people to buy my books. I know how frustrating that can be. For everyone.

“Oh wowzers! Are there other things aside from writing that you enjoy?”

Well, I am quite the crafty fellow. I crochet, paint, draw, and make hemp jewelry.

I also play video games and looooots of Dungeons and Dragons.

Above all, I sit around and listen to music. I have a deep, deep love of music.

“Any particular favorites?”

I love music of all kinds. I think metal is my absolute favorite. On any given day, I can go from Spiritbox to Steam Powered Giraffe, to totaldeadcenter, to more metal, to bluegrass or something.

As for favorite songs, well, I keep a list of my favorites of all time. However, my number one has been Con O’Neill’s La Vie en Rose cover from Our Flag Means Death ever since I heard it. It’s so beautiful and heartfelt.

I love to listen to stuff and recommend it to others. It’s a great feeling when someone likes something that I recommended, especially when it’s a more obscure work of music. I think I’m a bit of a hipster when it comes to music. But, like, a friendly hipster?

“That’s awesome! Where can people find your work?”

They’re pretty much available anywhere that books are available (internet wise).
If you don’t have the extra funds, my books are available for free on my ko-fi page. Or, if you do have the fun, you can pay whatever you want that way!

Ko-fi page: https://ko-fi.com/spookyssplendors

They’re available on Hoopla and Libby, too.

If paperback books are more your thing (they are mine) then bookshop.org is a good place to buy my books! It helps indie bookstores make some money via the internet. And, with my affiliate link, I earn a little more as well.

Bookshop link: https://bookshop.org/shop/MachelleBerglund

Also, this!

Universal Book Link: www.books2read.com/machelleberglund

“I love that! Why make some of your work free?”

Well, basically, I know that people don’t have a lot of money to go around. I’m one of those. I believe in artists getting paid for their work. I don’t believe people should work for exposure.

But, I also believe in sharing my work and my poetry.

So far, free hasn’t exactly been going too crazily either. But, not everyone is into poetry. Except for when it’s read to them. I know a lot of people love that!

Now, not all of my stuff will be free. My short story anthologies and novels? No. Probably won’t be free (except for limited times only). Those will take more time than my poetry works. Though, don’t think I don’t put a lot of work into those. I definitely do.

By the way, I publish short stories that are free to read on my Ko-fi. I also have some on Medium. For now, the ones on Medium are just from The Shadow on the Wall. I’ll have human interest stories on there, too.

“Any final words for the audience?”

Oh goodness, I don’t know…I guess, choose kindness. And, when you don’t understand something, don’t react with fear and anger. Or at least, try not to. You don’t have to understand something completely. And if it’s not hurting anyone, it’s fine to exist.

I wish you all kind mornings and sunshine for your souls!

“Thank you for joining me and sharing your writing journey with us.

To our readers:

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Until next time!”