My hearts, I am excited to introduce you to my friend Kristina Carmela. Kristina and I met through the Indieverse Awards she innovated this year. It’s been lovely getting to know her through that lens. I invited her to talk to us about her books, Indieverse Awards, and her newest podcast. Let’s get started.

I’ll let her introduce herself.

KRISTINA: Hi. I’m Kristina, the author of the Nelsonville series. Being creative has always come natural to me. I’ve always gravitated toward creating or challenging myself with making something new. It probably all started as a kid who loved to write songs. I had no musical talent at all, but songwriting was a unique way to express what was happening in my busy mind. Over the years, I have taught myself to sew, paint and probably tackle every kind of DIY project imaginable. But writing a book has always been the one thing that scared me. When I’m not writing—or now thinking of new stories to write—I enjoy spending my time with my dog Goob, my family and friends. I love animals more than humans usually, so you can often find me at the Bronx Zoo or finding people’s dogs to pet. I love exploring new places and having new adventures with my favorite people. I’m a classic Leo who loves dreams and numbers. I have an irrational fear of ceiling fans and the monkeys from the Wizard of Oz still give me the heebie-jeebies.

JEN: Oh goodness, me too. Those and Oompa Loompas. The worst.

I’m so excited you’re willing to let me pick your brain, Kristina. Thank you. Let’s start with writing and reading. What are you into?

KRISTINA: I write contemporary fiction which also includes romance storylines, and some readers say there’s also some thriller elements in the books. I’m a total mood reader, so I will try a lot of different genres. I’ll also read multiple books at once in a few genres because of that.

I’m a proud self-published author. I only briefly considered trad or hybrid. For me, having the overall control and ability to do things how I wanted drove me to self publishing. It worked out because the only way I’d be able to write a 15 book series with a sub novella series is doing it solo... at least for now. I would love to give trad or hybrid a try down the line with a standalone, I think it would be a cool experience.

JEN: Let’s talk about that. Let’s talk about the Indieverse Awards you founded this year. The website says, “Being an indie author is hard. That’s actually a massive understatement.” I couldn’t agree more. What inspired you to set up the Indieverse Awards?

KRISTINA: I always joke that I set these awards up because I was being a little selfish. As a self-published author, I quickly learned how limited opportunities for us are. After talking to a few other indie authors about it and about awards specifically often excluding self-published authors from recognition, I decided to take things in my own hands and put together something I’d be excited to participate in. That meant, not just coming up with fun categories and voting. It meant setting something up for readers to be introduced to indie authors and for indie authors to showcase their work. It’s why nominees are announced nearly nine months before we vote. It gives us a platform and it gives readers time to read these amazing books.

JEN: How much has it cost you—in time, talent, treasure—to do this thing for us? How can we repay you?

KRISTINA: Putting on something like this was a much bigger undertaking than I really anticipated. It’s not a bad thing at all. It’s because there has been a great interest and support this first year. Like many indie authors, I work full time and I write (a lot). So, I’ve had to weave in time to plan, organize and create fun things for the awards. I’m, thankfully, somebody who can get into a groove to get things done and I have utilized that skill to balance everything. How one chosen to run the awards, does cost money. Not a ton, but enough. This year, I started $5 Tuesdays and with the generosity of so many people, I raised enough to cover the bigger costs like the website.

I hope as the years continue and this grows, that more people will donate a few bucks to help this out and that it’ll eventually run itself financially. I also am setting up volunteer teams for next season to help me with lots of the new things we’re going to test and to keep getting the word out. Because the more people who know about the awards, the more we can shine light on the world of indie books and authors.

JEN: What are your plans for 2025 and how else can indie authors get involved?

KRISTINA: 2025 is going to feel a little different. But in a great way. Now that I’ve had a year to experiment, try new things and see what’s worked, I’m going into 2025 much more organized, with bigger plans and ideas. That means really fun new categories, more opportunities for nominees, virtual fundraisers to help curb the cost but to do fun bookish things. Some of my favorite things will still happen like author-on-author live interviews, giveaways and challenges for readers and just an outpouring of love for our authors.

NOTE FROM JEN: Kristina will host author interest sessions on Zoom this fall. Fill out an RSVP and check out dates and details on the Indieverse Awards website.  

JEN: What kind of feedback and involvement have you been seeing from readers and indies?

KRISTINA: I’ve been so blown away with the love and support from the community so far. I really wanted to give indie authors with any size platform a place to shine and connect. The nominees who have participated in our bonus fun, have really enjoyed the fun prompts about their books and just getting more visibility. It’s so hard to do that as an author when there are so many books out there. I love hearing from authors who have connected with other authors and now they’re friends or they collaborate. The reader support has been awesome too. Readers have really given indie books a shot and have found some favorites of the year. I can’t complain about that.

JEN: What partnerships have come out of this? I know you teamed up with Indievisible Events for a sale. Any others?

KRISTINA: I was so excited to collaborate with Indievisible Events to kick off the season. It was a great way for both of us to come together to expand the voice of indie authors. That collaboration has really inspired me on how we can do more for next year. They kind of inspired the expansion of categories for next year—so I’m hoping to celebrate more platforms giving indies a voice and space. I’d love to connect our nominated blogs and podcasts with our nominees too and just keep growing the network. I think so much is going to come with each season, and I’m really excited to see it grow.

JEN: Oh, that’s a great idea. Wow. I might dig into that this fall even. Good thinking.

Alright, my hearts, let’s take a break here. Kristina and I go on about her books so let’s save that for tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in!

Are you a human author? A human who narrates audiobooks? A human who designs book covers? Or a human who does PR and promotion for other authors? I'd love to interview you, too. Let me know when you’re ready!