We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Arthur Avalos a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Arthur , appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

This is a great question because I started my publishing career later in life but I have been working on my craft as a writer since I was ten years old. Growing up I loved to read and write and when I was ten I was blessed to be able to live in a community in Chicago, IL, in the Pilsen Neighborhood where I had opportunities that I took advantage of. In the neighborhood a women started a local newspaper called Newberry Times, based of the street we were located, and it was a newspaper written by kids for the entire community. Here is where my love for wiring and specifically journalism and news started. I remember my first big article. It was on the history of an old church that had burnt down but stood standing. I got the writing bug and never stopped. By High School I was publishing for my cousins independent ZINE. I wish I had continued on this path post High School but life got in the way, school and a career as a psychotherapist. I do think waiting was for the best as I have grown so much, encountered so much and now I have more influences to draw from.

Arthur , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

In 2023 I got into booktok as a means of distraction after loosing my mother. May intention was just to continue to be a reader but through the platform I connected with authors and began my journey. I thank booktok in a way but more so the reading community and the friends I gained on the platform. As a writer that part of me never ended but booktok gave me the confidence to publish and focus on my art.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Being able to express myself through ART in the form of Fiction writing. Although I write mainly write horror and thrillers, I work on a lot of poetry and through that I have worked through my grief, Anxiety and diagnosis of OCD. I love to create characters and scenarios that challenge myself and also readers of my work and my background as a therapist has helped me really develop and create great characters and drama for them to work through.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Becoming an author will be my fourth career and pivot. I started my creative arts journey as a Dancer/Actor and then went into retail business where I worked for over a decade. After a work injury I decided to hang up the retail hat, move from the sales floor as a manager and go back to school to become a licensed Psychotherapist. Pivoting again to becoming an author is the most exciting and biggest challenge I know I will face but I am ready for it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.arthuravalos.com
• Instagram: @arthuravalosauthor
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/groups/679018964391671/
• Other: Ticktok and Threads and Bluesky @arthuravalosauthor