My Interview With Mother Combs, A Self-Published Author On Vocal

Interview With Mother Combs
March 2026

Mother Combs joined Vocal in July 2021 and has written over 967 stories. In December 2023, she created the Facebook group Voices In Manor (VIM).

She has two daughters, rescue pets, and has self-published two books.

Mariann: How many books have you self-published?

Mother Combs: Good morning! I've self-published 2 books, a children's book and a book of love poems.

Mariann: What's your favorite genre to write?

Mother Combs: I love to write horror, but I also enjoy my poetic sagas. Not all my horror becomes published; some I write just for me.

Link above is her Top Horror Story.

Mariann: What inspired you to self-publish?

Mother Combs: Several Vocal friends encouraged me to turn Sunshine and Butterfly Kisses: Sean and Old Lady Moore into a picture book. With so much encouragement, I knew I had to publish.

Mariann: What's your favorite story on Vocal?

Mother Combs: Oh. Wow. That's a hard one. I guess if I had to pick it'd be Strigen's Forest, Life Ain't no Rock~n~Roll Song, or The Cave in Younger's Holler. But I don't think I could narrow it down further.

SF, because of the ballad feel; Life Ain't, because of the empowerment I felt while writing it; and Younger's, which was written from a dream, with the words just flowing from my pen.

Mariann: What do you hope readers take from your books?

Mother Combs: My children's book is a simple book about friendship and loyalty. I hope people enjoy it for itself.

For the love poems, I hope they keep hope alive for those who have given up on love, add fuel for those wanting to keep love burning, and reignite feelings for those whose love is fading.

Here’s a fun fact about our family: That's Duke, a 9-year-old beagle we adopted as a puppy. He’s the biggest jerk in the world, but we love him.

Fun Fact # 1 Mother Combs was born in Fort Worth, TX. She grew up around there, mostly outside of Texarkana. She left Texas in her mid-twenties.

Mariann: Describe your writing Space.

Mother Combs: I have a sturdy wooden desk set up in a corner of the living room, with an old comfy desk chair. Beside me is a TV tray, holding my laptop. My desk has my lamp, Internet box, phone, my as-needed and emergency pills, and, in the center, Klingon, taking up the prime writing space.

While this house is smaller than our previous one, it offers more lighting and windows, which contribute positively to my writing environment.

By the way, Klingon has been by my side for almost 90% of my writing sessions. He’s acted as my muse when I was stuck, my sounding board when I needed to work through ideas, and my comforter when my work went unread. He's provided support throughout my writing process.

Mariann: How do you fit your writing into your daily routine?

Mother Combs: I try to write when I first wake up, when everyone else is still asleep, before the commotion starts. Otherwise, my two adult daughters will keep me so distracted!

Fun Fact # 2 : She has 32 Top Stories. One of her Top Stories was later moved by Vocal to their Resources. She was also awarded three achievements.

Above is the link to her Top Story, which Vocal added to their Resource.

Mariann: What would you like your readers to know about you?

Mother Combs: Oh. Wow. I've never really thought about this. Most of my readers are friends, and a few of my family. So most of you already know me, but if someone new were to read my work and wonder about me, what I'd want most for them to know is that I am a Survivor. I've been to Hell and lived to walk out those doors to tell the tale. AND THEY CAN TOO.

Another fun fact: She has 11+12 strays. After losing two dogs shortly after moving in, they soon gained one. The household now includes four dogs—Duke, Daisy, Frodo, and her daughter’s dog, Talos—as well as three cats: Klingon, Irene, and Clementine. Irene’s kittens are Aegon the Headless, Lyonel the Fleet, and Syrup.

As for the strays outside, they felt bad for them and decided to put out feed and dewormer.

Mariann: What was your biggest challenge in writing your books?

Mother Combs: Courage and confidence. I've never had much of either of those two while growing up, being the next-to-youngest of 9 kids.

Through the years, I've had professors and teachers tell me to be a writer. Never really took anyone seriously until one encouraged me back in 2021. That's when I found Vocal, and it took Vocal and all my friends here another 4 years to talk me into publishing.

One technical challenge I faced was aligning text, pictures, and pages to the fonts and page sizes selected for publishing. Once that was sorted, everything else became easier. I was happy with the end result, and both my daughters enjoyed their copies.

Mariann: What advice would you give someone who wants to publish their books?

Mother Combs: Take things easy. Don't stress anything. Just have fun with the process. At the end of the process, what really matters is whether YOU are happy with the product, and you won't be if you make it a huge ordeal.

Mariann: Sorry, one more question: You have created a Facebook group called Voices In Manor(VIM). Can you tell me the purpose of this Facebook group, and are you still accepting members?

Mother Combs: Celia and I created Voices in Manor a couple of years ago to offer a safe space for Vocal writers—one that is SPAM, AI, and drama-free. Our intention was to give the group a pub-like feel, where creators can share their work and discuss writing topics freely. We are still accepting new members. Right now, I am dealing with a personal matter that requires some of my time, so I won’t be in the group as often. Once that’s resolved, I will return to posting riddles and other content in the group.

Link to her Facebook group ⬆️