Hey everyone,
Ian Tan here, lead editor and project coordinator of UnCensored Ink: A Banned Book Inspired Anthology, set to release this October 29. Here is the UnCensored Ink interview series to introduce you all to the incredible writers, as well as the local bookstores and libraries that gave them safe creative spaces. Hopefully you can put these incredible places on your to-visit list, and feel inspired to support your own local bookstore, library and indie authors.
Today I am with Demi Michelle Schwartz from Pittsburgh, PA. Represented by Michelle Jackson at LCS Literary. She holds an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, along with BAs in Creative Writing and Music. Currently, she is a publicist at Wild Ink Publishing, the host of Literary Blend: A Publishing Podcast, and a freelance fiction editor through her independently-run services, Amethyst Ink Editorial. When Demi isn’t busy in the publishing industry, she’s chasing her music dreams as an award-winning songwriter and recording artist.
Demi has also contributed GREATLY to this interview series in her publicist duties, and offered me a ton of her time and helpful advice as I went about putting it together. We all owe Demi some well-deserved appreciation!!
1. You’ve written a fine piece for UnCensored Ink: A Banned Book Inspired Anthology. Can you give us a synopsis? How did the idea for this piece come about?
For UnCensored Ink, I wrote a middle grade dystopian story, “Age of the Vocaprompter,” which takes place in the United States in the year 5012. Books have been burned, writing utensils have been banned, and verbal communication is censored by a bluetooth technology system called the Vocaprompter. At age six, Americans are injected with speech serum that carries a liquid transmitter through their veins, which is paired to their Vocaprompter. Words appear on the tablet, and if someone doesn’t speak exactly what’s on the screen, the speech serum in their bloodstream electrocutes them. Once someone hits one hundred zaps, they die.
Lotus, my protagonist, wants to bring down the bluetooth technology system before her little sister, Alexa, turns six years old and loses control of her voice. Ever since her father died by the hands of the government’s wicked invention, Lotus has been sneaking into her mother’s room at night to steal her copy of the only book in the United States, which is about the Vocaprompter, and a folder of classified documents, since her mother works for the Department of Communication. Lotus has found a document with the technology’s self-destruct procedure, but the sequence’s last number is replaced by a question mark and Lotus can’t figure out what it is. She’s out of time, though, because Alexa turns six the next day. Left with no choice, Lotus takes her mother’s key to the government building that houses the pool of speech serum. The number pad that controls the technology is at the bottom of the pool, so Lotus must crack the sequence’s code fast and swim through the poison to reach the number pad. Little does she know her intrusion will get her locked inside the chamber with death mist, and once she enters the sequence at the bottom of the pool, she’ll have only a minute to escape the building before it explodes.
My idea for this story came from my fear of being restrained from using my voice as I wish. The scary thing about the Vocaprompter is that it isn’t totally beyond the realm of possibility. With technological advancements, a bluetooth system that pairs a liquid transmitter in a serum with a tablet that controls speech could actually exist some day far in the future. I have always been drawn to dystopian stories because they imagine societies that are damaged but reflect our present world in many ways. We may not have tablets censoring what we say, but we are dealing with book banning and other threats to intellectual freedom. Yes, my story is fictional, but I hope it makes readers stop and think about the horrors that could be lurking in the shadows of the future, waiting to turn our reality into a dystopia.
2. Now, we would love to know you more! What do you enjoy doing in your free time, what is your favorite book quote, and how did you get into reading and writing?
Me? Free time? Haha. Gosh, I don’t think that exists for me, since I’m always doing one thing or another. I’m an author, editor, songwriter, recording artist, podcaster, and publicist. Yeah, that last sentence made my brain hurt, too.
Anyway, I’m trying my best to make a conscious effort of working free time into my schedule, even though everything I like to do when I’m relaxing is tied to my passions. I love listening to podcasts, audiobooks, and music. Other than that, I enjoy spending time with friends and family.
There are so many amazing book quotes, but I’ll have to go with one from The Lightning Thief, which is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. The quote is, “If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.” I resonate with this one because I have always followed my heart and chased my dreams. Rather than living the life others may have wanted me to, I chose to write my own story. Every day is so meaningful and special because I’m doing what I love. So, this quote is one of my favorites.
As far as how I got into reading and writing, I have always loved stories as a child. I looked forward to silent reading time in school and enjoyed creative writing assignments. When I was a senior in high school, my creative writing teacher told me I should study English in college. I had already decided to be a music major, so I didn’t think much about what he said. Then, when I was a freshman in college, my professor for my honors writing course told me I should consider studying English, too. After this, I started giving it some thought. I added a creative writing minor that turned into a major, and then, another professor suggested for me to get a masters degree, which I did. I graduated with my MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in June 2022. So, the moral of the story is that my teachers and professors believed in my talent as an author before I did myself. I’m so glad they encouraged me to go down this path because I couldn’t imagine not being involved with the publishing industry now.
3. Do you have a favorite local library or bookstore? Also can you remember bookstores and libraries from your childhood, if they are not the same as the ones now?
Absolutely, my favorite is the Murrysville Community Library. I have loved this one ever since I was young. I remember going to pick out books with my sister. We had our own library cards, and I still have mine today. Also, my elementary school was right across the street, so we took frequent trips to the library, which was always fun.
4. Tell us more about this bookstore/library. What do you love most about it?
I have known this library since I started to read as a child. I feel like I have grown up with it, and I’m so grateful that my parents and teachers encouraged me to visit and check out books. This library played a role in shaping me into the reader and author I am today, and for that reason, it will always be special to me.
Also, something I love so much about the Murrysville Community Library is their support for local authors. I have attended quite a few events, and I’m always inspired by hearing others’ journeys and enjoy celebrating the publication of their books. Now, being an author myself, doing my own event at my local library and seeing my book on one of the shelves is a dream I hope will come true someday.
5. What do you have to say on the importance of sustaining bookstores and libraries?
Gosh, I could say so much, but what I want to stress is that bookstores and libraries are absolutely essential in giving people access to books, and more importantly, all kinds of books. One of the biggest things that upsets me about book banning and censorship of the written word is how works of art are being targeted and kept from readers. Books educate, offer an escape, build empathy, save lives, and so much more. If we fight against the censorship and do our best to support bookstores and libraries, we can join together in a collective effort to maintain the accessibility to all books.
6. Do you have any projects that your current and future readers can look forward to?
Yes, I recently received my first publication with Clio’s Curious Dash Through Time, another fabulous Wild Ink anthology. My short story, “The Scribe from the Lost City,” is a middle grade fantasy reimagining of the Atlantis legend.
I’ll also be published in Enchanted Tales & Twisted Lore: Fairy Tales, Folklore, and Fables Reimagined by Cabbit Crossing Publishing with my new adult dark romantasy short story, “Dabria’s Shadows,” which is a reimagining of “Death’s Messengers,” a lesser-known Brothers Grimm fairy tale. The anthology is coming in early 2025.
I have made writing stories for anthologies my whole personality at this point, so you can expect to see my work in more of them in the future. I’m also staying busy with my novels and hope to have a book deal soon.
7. Lastly, on what platforms can we find you?
You can connect with me on my website and social media. I’m very active and love interacting with others in the publishing industry.
Website: http://demimschwartz.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/demimschwartz
Instagram: http://instagram.com/demimschwartz
Well, that’s Demi Michelle Schwartz closing out the Pennsylvanian chapter of this tour, everyone! Stay posted till the next one, we’re moving on to Maryland!
Wild Ink Publishing 