She has to recover enough to find the will and the way to destroy the ones who tried to destroy her.

She debuted with Taken not Destroyed in September of 2024, and came out with the second installment in the series Mission of Destruction in April of 2025.

You can add her books to your Goodreads page here!

I had the honor of asking S. Von some questions about her journey as a Self Published author. She gives some great advice regarding some of the struggles she faced, namely to not rush the journey and instead take your time and make sure everything is in place before hitting submit.

What is your Indie Author origin story? What got you into writing and why did you choose to go the self published route?

I wanted to write a book many years ago, but didn’t know how to go about it. So, I took an online class from an author, Lori Wilde. But at the time, I didn’t have a real ‘story’ to tell. So I put the dream on hold, lived my life, raised my kids, worked, read ALOT of books. Then one day I had a dream – this would become the Armas Locas duet. 

I chose indie because I met some fabulous indie authors at Sinners & Stardust 2024 who gave me wonderful advice. I went as a reader and learned so much about being an author. As an ebook reader, I’ve never attended a multi-author signing before, but that event was BOMB! The authors were great and they were all so willing to answer my questions. 

Did you encounter any issues along your Self Publishing journey? If so, what were they and what advice can you impart to help others avoid running into the same problems?

Holy cow! It’s not possible to remember ALL the issues. 

1. Take your time. 

   1. Make sure everything is right when you upload to your publishing service (i.e. internal matter file, cover, etc.) – My print cover had a flaw that I didn’t notice on my author proof… it took me over 6 months to fix it!! 

   2. Make sure your internal data is how you want it – you can update the extra material, but make sure the wording is edited – my Spanish needed proofing & I published prior to that being done. The timeline just didn’t work out – I fixed all the errors, then uploaded the fixed file, but it’s not the right way.

   3. to go with the above –  I didn’t make this mistake, but it’s sage advice I’ve heard from other authors – Scrape together the money for an editor! 

      1. It’s your job to write & be creative

      2. It’s the editor’s job to do English & look at the development of the story

      3. Once you publish – your book is there forever – you don’t SAVE any money by skipping this step – you lose money in sales by not putting out a polished product.

2. There’s so many other issues but the one thing I can say to avoid them – read what’s being offered… ask the community for advice & references BEFORE you spend money (⬅️for sure!)

You have not only one book, but two books out in the world! I’ve heard from a lot of authors that once their first book is out, they start to feel a lot of pressure when writing their second book. People often refer to it as ‘Second Book Syndrome.’ Did you feel this at all, and if so what were some of the challenges you had to face when writing and publishing your second book?

I did feel a lot of pressure to get the second book out before people lost interest.

I heard one author say – you should write two (maybe three) books before even publishing your first. That way you can time the releases and keep interest. So I really pushed myself to get the sequel to Taken, not Destroyed written and published. 

Then I prayed ALOT that it’s as enjoyable –if not more– than the first book. Because you don’t want to disappoint your readers with a flop. 

What inspired you to write the Armas Locas series?

I wrote the Armas Locas series to bring awareness to sex trafficking – as I’ve said in other interviews, being taken this way is not as common. Most traffickers groom their victims and know them personally. Yet situations like this do exist and awareness is the FIRST step to stopping this horrendous crime. Every person who reads my books is more aware, whether they know it or not. 

I’ll keep writing and publishing…but my next books won’t have such global messages in them. You’ll always find female power. An FMC who grows into something, who finds herself and becomes something more. For me, finding the strength within ourselves is important, no matter what the obstacles. 

Even if no one else reads my books –  I’ve touched lives with my message so far and that holds meaning for me.  
 

Looking back on your Self Publishing journey so far, if you could go back in time and tell past S. Von one thing that may save her a lot of trouble, what would it be?

Remember – it’s not a race or a sprint; it’s a journey and you’re in it for the long haul. Put your feet up every once in a while and breathe.

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