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Indie Author Spotlight, Episode 23

Hello! S.E. Reed here! I'm an Indie Author who has been on the hunt for the last year to meet new and interesting people in the writing world. Along the way I've had the chance to interview some great writers, like today's guest, Carol Parris Krauss.


Carol is a power house with a very large body of work. She's been featured in a wide variety of literary magazines and journals. Make sure you take the time to find and read her work as she is a master at her craft. Having waited to be published until later in life, I think Carol was saving it all up to gift us with her mighty words. I was very pleased to have this opportunity to meet her. I know you will be too. (Also, she has a super cute dog).


Carol Parris Krauss

Hey Carol! So happy to meet you. Can you tell everyone a little about yourself?  


From my Bio: Ms. Parris Krauss is honored to have published poetry in Louisiana Lit, the Arkansas Review, Salvation South, Eclectica, One Art, Story South, The South Carolina Review, and the Mid/South Sonnet Anthology, among others. Fernwood Press published her full-length book (Mountain.Memory.Marsh.) in November of 2025. Carol was born in S.C., to mystical mountain people, raised in NC, and attended Clemson University. She currently lives in Virginia with her St. Bernard, Martha June. 


Tell us about your writing style.


I write ecopoetry and poems of place. I often use place as a vehicle for my theme. My poems are frequently set in the Mid-Atlantic/Southern/Appalachia Regions, and Appalachian regions and are considered rural poems. I have about 300 journal/magazine publications, three hard-copy indie print chapbooks, and one online microchapbook. I have been writing and publishing poetry since 2000. My very first piece was published @ Story South


book cover: Mountain.Memory.Marsh; foggy morning over a marsh

Tell us about a project you’re proud of and we will link it for everyone to see.. 


I am proudest of my recently released (by Fernwood Press) full-length book of poetry entitled Mountain. Memory.Marsh.(https://www.fernwoodpress.com/2025/10/30/mountain-memory-marsh/). It is my first full-length book.  I also have a series of H. Tubman poems that were published @ Salvation South that I am extremely proud of (https://www.salvationsouth.com/author/carol-parris-krauss/).


Okay, so can you spill the tea, what are you currently working on?


My next book is called Three Jagged Rips in the Sky, and I am currently shopping it around to indie publishers. Here is the collection description: 


Section Titles:

  • I. Mountain Blood & Memory

  • II. Tethered to Home

  • III. Everyday Blessings & Burdens

  • IV. Southern Roots & Reckonings

  • V. Becoming & Unbecoming

  • VI. Praise & Witness

  • VII. When the Unholy Walk Hallowed Ground


Project Description:

Three Jagged Rips in the Sky, my full-length poetry collection, maps the geography of memory, ancestry, and witness across the American South. I braid together personal narrative with historical reckoning, exploring how place shapes identity and how the past insists itself into the present.


Carol sitting with two dogs

What is your biggest/best piece of advice for other Indie Authors?


My first book was not published until I was 60 years old, so believe in yourself, be persistent, edit, then edit again, and have a muse. My muse is my St. Bernard, Martha June.


Who is your favorite Indie Author? 


A tie between Richard Jordan and Christine Potter.


Where can someone find your work, social presence, etc. drop some links, we'd love to share!

 



Feel free to check out our entire IAS series here. Or hop over to Writing With Reed and see a number of additional interviews by our wonderful guests.

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