Indie Author Spotlight, Episode 22

Hello! It's me, S.E. Reed, an Indie Author and volunteer at The Writer's Workout. I've made it my mission to help you find out more about others like me. Each of these episodes features a Q&A-style interview with an Indie Author so you can get to know more about them and their writing. In addition, some of the authors have chosen to participate in a 2nd interview on my website, Writing With Reed, which I'll link at the end.

Today I'll be interviewing Kelly Esparza. She's a poet, author, and editor I'd never met before this, so as you can imagine I was really excited to get to know more about her and her books, style, vibe, you know—the whole shebang! I know you're going to adore Kelly as much as I do now. Make sure to follow her across various platforms (which I've linked at the bottom).

Thanks so much for taking time to chat with me! Can you tell us about yourself? 

My name is Kelly Esparza, and I’m a writer and freelance editor who also lives with a chronic illness. I hold a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona and live in California. I write poetry, short fiction, nonfiction, and novels, so everything!

I have been writing since I was a kid and knew early on I wanted to be an author. Primarily, I am a fiction author, but I also dabble in nonfiction and love writing poetry! I was previously represented by an agent, but she left the industry. I am back to querying and have written four novels, one a year. I am writing short pieces as a palate cleanser in the meantime and have gotten my short fiction, essays, and poetry published in various literary journals and anthologies. 

I am also the editor-in-chief of FLARE Magazine, a literary journal that publishes literature and art about chronic illnesses, disabilities, and mental health. 

Tell us about your writing style.

For novels, I write mostly mysteries, but I also like writing fantasy, dystopian, and romance. If I can genre-blend, that’s fun, too. I started out as a YA author for these genres, but I’m also writing adult now and dabble in writing picture books! I love whodunnits and the Knives Out movie series. 

For poetry, I write free verse typically and write about topics like mental health or in this latest case, chronic illness.

When it comes to writing style for fiction, I’m a pantser, meaning I do not plot or outline anything. I might write a few notes here and there to add eventually in the story, but otherwise, I write by the seat of my pants, and I picture it all like a movie in my head.

Tell us about a project you’re proud of and link it. 

I would love to share my new poetry chapbook published by small press Bottlecap Press. I think because poetry is so niche, it’s treated differently from novels. You can’t query a poetry book to an agent; it’s just not the same process, so I keep both careers different and separate.

My poetry chapbook is titled A Spoonie’s Guide to Self-Acceptance, which is about what it’s like to live with my chronic illness, lupus. Since my diagnosis in 2024, I am striving to spread awareness and shed light on the harsh realities, triumphs, and everything else in between regarding chronic illnesses. 

Buy it here: https://bottlecap.press/products/aspoke?keyword=kelly%20esparza

Paperbacks are $10 each, and digital PDFs are $3.50 each.

Spill the tea, what are you currently working on?

I’m about to query my newest novel: my first adult speculative mystery. It was so fun to write, and I hope this one lands me my next agent!

I am also working on a longer poetry collection about lupus.

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

As many indie authors likely know, marketing is everything. I think my biggest piece of advice is to be creative when marketing. It’s not just social media. You can contact magazines, newspapers, organizations to get your work out there. I think there are many avenues to get your work noticed out there. 

Who is your favorite Indie Author? 

Hmm…I’m not sure I have a favorite one, but I enjoy Sofia Aguilar’s poetry books. In general, I read a lot and widely, so as long as there’s a good story, you can count me in.

Where can someone find your work, social presence, etc. drop some links. 

People can find my work on my website: kellyesparza.wordpress.com, and I created a merch store for my poetry chapbook at: https://kelly-esparza-merch-and-books.square.site/. I also have an Etsy store (Designs Studio by Kel), where I sell my photography, illustrations, and paintings: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DesignsStudiobyKel?ref=dashboard-header.

Additionally, I am on social media, such as:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/kellyesparza.bsky.social

Twitter: https://x.com/Kelly_Esparza7

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelwritesbooks2

For those who want to follow updates for my literary magazine, FLARE, I run a Bluesky account (@flaremagazine.bsky.social – 700+ followers) and Twitter (@flarelitmag - 300+ followers). The Instagram account (@flarelitmag – 1.6k+ followers) is the most active account and the most for a following, which is still crazy to me because I started FLARE in January 2025!

Bonus Interview on my website:

https://www.writingwithreed.com/post/bonus-episode-with-kelly-esparza