Interview Q&A with P.A. O’Neil
We present our first exclusive Q&A Interview with P.A. O’Neil whose literary works have graced our Spillwords pages and earned her the title of October’s 2025 Author of the Month.
- What does it mean to be selected as Author of The Month?
I consider it a great honor to have my writing recognized by my peers and readers.
- How have your friends and/or family influenced your writing?
I have written stories all my life, but an incident in college put me off for the next fifty years. When I decided to begin writing again, my husband did not laugh, my siblings encouraged me, and all my friends were glad I found something to represent my creativity.
- What inspires and motivates you to write?
Most of my inspiration comes from dreams, and the first novel I ever wrote (yet to be edited) was from one of these dreams. I needed to finish the story, the main character deserved a proper ending to her story. Mostly now, I tell people that I just need to give voice to the characters living in my head.
- Can you tell us about the catalyst that sparked your writing journey?
Nine years ago, I found myself out of work for the second time in a year. After spending the morning looking for jobs and putting in applications, I had my afternoon to either watch soap operas and old movies, or do something constructive. That was when I had my dream that turned into a novel. I happened to be hired just at that time, but I also had a jury duty notice, so my actual time of employment was postponed for three weeks. I spent the next week and half, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm, writing. I was hooked.
I shared the rough manuscript with friends who loved it, but one did say it was like a beautiful runway model with nothing to wear. In other words, it need a great deal of polish. I contacted some writing friends who suggested I write short stories to sharpen my skills with words. I fell in love with short stories and haven’t looked back.
- Please share a glimpse into your writing process.
I have several ideas and plots for stories, but I never begin writing until I know how the story begins and ends. What happens in between can often times be a surprise but knowing how the story needs to conclude helps to keep me on the proper road when faced with a fork.
- What do you find most fulfilling about the act of writing?
I love sharing the world inside my mind with others. Some of my stories are written for a specific audience, like my Sherlock Holmes pastiches, others are just Literary tales that blend with other genres. When a reader says, “I loved it”, or “yes, I was right there with your characters”, I know I have accomplished what I set out to do.
- How does the use of imagery contribute to conveying your story?
I do my best to help the reader see what’s in my mind’s eye. Mostly, I use dialogue to help move the story along. I will actually speak the lines as if I am the character and the way I feel, and my physical expressions will be repeated in the text so the reader will feel like then are in the room with the characters while the talk.
- What is your favorite reading genre?
It varies actually. Of course, I’m a sucker for anything Sherlock Holmes, but stories about magic and ghosts also call my attention. You should see my TBR pile!
- What human being has inspired you the most?
This was a hard one to answer because I have several people who giving me inspiration, both positive and negative, to mentor me through the process of becoming a professional writer. I have to admit though, my true inspiration came from the late radio playwright, Jim French. When I was a teenager, I would listen to his productions and be inspired to write radio plays someday. Of course, they mostly fell out of favor, but when I learned that Mr. French was still producing plays I jumped at the opportunity to offer a story I had written when a contest was offered for publication in their newsletter. I won the contest and my story was published online. This was just a few months after I wrote my novel and unfortunately, Mr. French passed away just a few months after that. His acceptance of my story was all I needed to know I was headed in the right direction.
- What message would you have for the Spillwords Press community that voted for you?
THANK YOU! No, really, I want all of them to know how much I appreciate this honor. It means someone read my story and was touched enough by the characters and their plight to say, “I liked her work.”
- What would you like your legacy as a writer to be?
I doubt the time will come when history remembers my stories for having touched millions of minds, but I do want those who did take the time to read my stories and my books to remember how I made them feel. The best reward they could ever give me would be to say to another reader, “You really should read P.A. O’Neil’s stories, they’re really good.”
- Is there anything else you would like to add?
Only that I have been both a reader and writer for Spillwords.com for almost as long as I have been a writer. Your website was recommended to me by the late Steve Carr and I take every opportunity to recommend it to new writers, and to readers too. I have a motto, “When one of us writers win, we all win.” So, my acceptance of the honor Author of the Month for October 2025 is for all of us, and on behalf of all of us writers, thank you.
- Interview Q&A With P.A. O’Neil - November 18, 2025
- Four Days in an Italian Village - October 23, 2025
- Bus Stop Therapy - April 28, 2025
