Originally posted on Amy's Bookshelf Reviews on February 4, 2019

Q: In three words, describe yourself.

A: Award-winning Writer / Cartoonist

Q: How many books have you written? How many of those are published?

A: I have written eight books. Seven of them are currently published: To Squeeze a Prairie Dog, Sammie & Budgie, BOYS, The Meteoric Rise of Simon Burchwood, The Spectacular Simon Burchwood, Modicum, and Mr. Grieves. One is out of print.

Q: Do you have an upcoming release? If yes, tell me the title and impending release date.

A: To Squeeze a Prairie Dog: An American Novel was released yesterday, February 1, 2019.

Originally posted by Anthony Avina's Blog on October 5, 2018

This interview discusses To Squeeze a Prairie Dog: An American Novel by Scott Semegran, which Anthony Avina gave a rating of 10/10 for his book review.

1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?

I began writing in earnest literally the day after graduating college with a degree in English way back in 1993. Over the years, I have published poetry, short stories, comic strips, and novels. Novels and short stories are what I have kept at the longest and find the most joy in writing and publishing these days.

2) What inspired you to write your book?

Oh, man. That’s a loaded question. I have a few answers: 1) To be honest, I wrote this story for my wife. Having written quite a bit before that didn’t particularly tickle her fancy, I set out—as a challenge to myself—to create a story that would inspire and affect her deeply. She said I accomplished that so I consider it a success. 2) I wanted to write a novel that was endearing but not saccharine and quirky but not snarky. That was a huge challenge! 3) I wanted to explore the power of friendship amongst a group of people with very different backgrounds and personalities. I felt the current state of the U.S. needed that.

3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?

That camaraderie amongst kind-hearted friends wins the day over evil intentions. I truly believe that.

4) What drew you into this particular genre?

I have mostly written literary fiction, usually with elements of humor or satire. That’s my jam. I’ve been inspired by Kurt Vonnegut, Tom Robbins, Charles Bukowski, Michael Chabon, and the like. I hope to have a lasting legacy like these authors.

Originally posted by IndieReader.com on January 30, 2018

BOYS received a 5 star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.

Following find an interview with author Scott Semegran.

What is the name of the book and when was it published?

BOYS by Scott Semegran. It was published June 27, 2015.

What’s the book’s first line? 

“The little boy sat on the floor in his room surrounded by his toys–Micronauts action figures, Hot Wheels race cars, Star Wars action figures and vehicles, Evel Knievel doll and motor cycle, Shogun Warriors in various sizes, and a pile of Legos intermixed from various sets.”

What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”. 

BOYS is about three young, male characters growing up in central Texas during the 1980s and 1990s: a third-grader, a high-schooler, and a recent college graduate. All struggle with finding love and acceptance, either because their family life is unfulfilling or they are trying to navigate through life on their own for the first time. They long for friendship and companionship and ultimately find it in unlikely places. I put as much humor and raw emotion as I could into each story, allowing the love these characters have for their friends to shine through the darkness that life throws their way.

What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event? 

BOYS is a compilation of a short story, a novelette, and a novella. It didn’t start as a single project. After completing all three at the beginning of 2015, I saw the thematic thread through all three stories, although it was not intentional. They were intended for different purposes i.e. literary journals, magazines, or a book of some kind. It seemed to me that they would make great companion pieces to each other in one book so I hired a graphic designer for the cover and a couple of editors for the manuscript. As for inspiration, all three stories were inspired by my nostalgia for growing up in Texas. Although BOYS is not autobiographical, it was written with a loving nod to the friendships and connections I made as a boy and a young man growing up in central Texas.

Originally posted by ManyBooks on January 3, 2018

When Scott Semegran isn't drawing cartoons, brewing beer, cooking, whistling or bending metal, he enjoys writing books. Evidently readers also enjoy reading them - Semegran is a Kindle bestselling author. As our Author of the Day, Semegran tells us about his latest book, Sammie & Budgie, talks about his characters and explains why humor is excellent subterfuge for finding the truth.

Please give us a short introduction to what Sammie & Budgie is about.

Sammie & Budgie is the third book in the Simon Adventures series. The first book, The Meteoric Rise of Simon Burchwood, delves into Simon's obsession with becoming a famous writer. The second, The Spectacular Simon Burchwood, dives into the aftermath of a failed writing career and divorce. Sammie & Budgie explores Simon's relationship with his children, particularly Sammie, who he discovers can see the future. I wanted to examine a realistic response to a single parent's discovery of this type of paranormal dilemma. When Sammie foretells that his grandfather is in some kind of trouble, it propels the family on a road trip to visit the prickly patriarch.

You are also a cartoonist - how much different was writing a book from creating comic strips?

Well, the inspiration comes from the same place but the mechanics and structure are obviously very different. The comic strips I created had weekly deadlines for newspapers and each one usually had a humorous premise to workaround or conclude with. Then there was the cartooning part. Writing a novel takes months and months of rough drafts and edits and rewrites and more edits. But Sammie & Budgie is an illustrated novel, so I was able to use both of my creative tool boxes to create this book. I illustrated the chapter title pages and gave my daughter and co-illustrator, Mia Ryan Semegran, art direction for Sammie's cartoons.

Which character in this book did you find the most challenging to create?

Sammie was, by far, the most challenging to execute. I wanted him to be cute and funny but also inquisitive and melancholy. His power to see the future overwhelms him and he has so many questions. He's embarrassed and ashamed by it, too.

Originally posted by IndieReader.com on November 30, 2017

IR’s second AUTHOR 2 AUTHOR post stars multi-hyphenate author (novels, short-stories and comic books) Scott Semegran. Scott shares his (almost) 25 year journey from early indie (1995) to over 35,000 books sold (to-date!) in 2017.

IndieReader (IR): When did you start writing?

Scott Semegran (SS): I began writing in 1993, the week after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English. In the years following, I garnered publication credits here and there: some poetry in journals (1996), a comic strip in a city paper (1999), and a short story in a literary journal (2002). I also began a career as a web developer.

IR: When did you decide to publish your first book?

SS: I completed two novels, one of which I self-published in 1995, back in the days when it was still called vanity publishing and was frowned upon. In 2003, I completed a draft of a novel but abandoned it after the death of my father. In 2004, I created a comic strip that eventually found its way into several alternative, weekly newspapers and I focused on that for many years. The money was meager but I was building a body of work: fiction and comic strips.

In the mid-2000s, I started reading articles about self-publishing paperbacks through the internet with companies like Lulu Press and the success some authors had dusting off their manuscripts and publishing them on their own. In 2008, I reread the draft of the novel I had shelved and discovered that I still loved it. I cleaned it up then published it but I didn’t know how to market it. I didn’t make much money but I loved the entire publishing process. I learned about typesetting and cover design. I later discovered Smashwords and Amazon KDP and learned about publishing eBooks as well. I continued to write fiction and create comic strips, building my body of work. I had one year I made a few thousand dollars in royalties. I had another year I made $12 in royalties.

Seven books later–four novels, two books of short stories, and one compilation book of comic strips (Simon Adventures Boxed Set, Sammie & Budgie, Boys, The Spectacular Simon Burchwood, The Meteoric Rise of Simon Burchwood, Modicum, Mr. Grieves)–I’ve learned to wear several hats: writer, graphic designer, typesetter, web developer, marketer, and publicist.