Many twenty-somethings dream of crossing oceans and social barriers to have that one, life-altering experience that will give us direction and perspective for the rest of our lives. Very few of us, however, actually have the cajones to make our dreams into reality.

Instead, we can eagerly devour Moustrapped, the self-published debut of Irish author Cath Ryan Howard, someone who actually did take a risk and journey across the Atlantic to spend a year and a half living and working at Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

I picked up Cath’s book to find a good quote for this blog (promising I would reward myself by reading it in its entirety after suffering through the last few chapters of my current read, Warrick Dunn’s memoirs Running for My Life) but an hour later I found myself still seated on the couch, engrossed in Cath’s witty, but honest tale of her adventures in the land of the Mouse.

We will have a full review of Moustrapped to offer very soon, but in the meantime we have a great interview with Cath about her experiences writing and self-publishing her first book, which is available in several locations including the UK and US versions of Amazon.com.

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When we originally posted our call for self-published authors for our series, we never thought we’d hear from someone like Stephen Tiano. Stephen isn’t a self-published author, but an experienced book designer who has vast experience in the industry and truly loves his craft. While we didn’t necessarily set out looking to interview a book designer, I’m sure glad we did! Stephen’s enthusiasm for the interview concept and passion for book design and layout artistry truly are an inspiration, and his views are a great read for everyone involved in the self-publishing process. Now, on to the interview: (more…)