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Paula Baker 

Interview With Author Paula Baker

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
With my son, Aidan Davies, I have written The Hawks Trilogy, including Rebels of Halklyen, The God Sword and The White Wolf. We also have a duology called Cairnisle that is nearly ready for publication. It includes The Magisters and Balinus.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Hawks Trilogy, which includes Rebels of Halklyen, The God Sword and The White Wolf came to life on the first day of summer holidays after Aidan finished grade 9. We were jumping on the trampoline and decided to write a book. Aidan made Flint. I made Fleta. From there, the world with its story took off.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Aidan and I write together but writing is essentially an independent activity because you have to settle into the scene and write from the part of your unconsciousness that you can only reach alone. As a result, we have developed a strategy that works for us. First we talk our way through the scene. At this point there is a great deal of good-natured argument. Then, Aidan outlines the chapter and gives a few key dialogue lines. He is excellent at plotline and cliffhangers. Finally, I take the outline and settle into the scene to bring it to life for the readers. Aidan proofs it for me and I make his suggested edits. And we start all over again.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice, Christopher Paolini’s Eragon, Darren Shan’s Demonata, R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps, J. K. Rowlings’ Harry Potter, Alison Goodman’s Eon, Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield… The list is nearly endless. There is so much great writing for young adult and middle grade and we have read far too many of them.

What are you working on now?
The Cairnisle Duology is almost ready for publication. Set in the same world as The Hawks, it takes place a thousand years later. On the surface, everything seems fine, but a rumble of discontent threatens the stability of the city. It is with the editor now and covers are being designed. We are just finishing the first draft of Darkest Intelligence, the second in the Lords of Chaos Trilogy. The first in the series, Loftiest Intelligence, is complete and ready for editing. Elisabette, the main character lives in a world where magic is learned rather than inherent from birth. She is fascinated–and absolutely obsessed–with learning all she can about it. At the same time, she is plagued by bouts of mental instability that leave her incapable of doing anything in a rational manner. We have had a lot of fun playing with a character who can flip to craziness at the drop of a hat.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
TikTok seems to shift the needle on book sales.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read. And while you are reading, use your editing brain. Think critically and pay attention to how the great writers bring their worlds to life. Then edit your manuscript. Expect the same level of exellence and work until you achieve it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Pay an artist to create your cover.

What are you reading now?
Hedy’s Folly by Richard Rhodes

What’s next for you as a writer?
As indie-authors, our world has expanded into the marketing. This transition has brought a whole new set of skills to master. It is almost as exciting as creating a new story and bringing it to life.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
This is the most difficult question in the world. Although I always enjoy re-reading an old favourite, I cannot imagine being restricted. If forced to pack for an end-of-the-world trip, I would take fat books. How about: The Great Dune Trilogy by Frank Herbert, A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon (because it is the longest one), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (because it is the longest one), and David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.

Author Websites and Profiles

Paula Baker Website

Paula Baker Amazon Profile

Paula Baker’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

Facebook Profile

Twitter Account

James Rutter 

Interview With Author James Rutter

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Just released my first crime fiction book – a 46000 word novella called Rat Trap but have been working on two other novels that will be released shortly.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
RAT TRAP and it is inspired by real events that happened to me. My chequered history includes owning an off-road motorcycle business in the UK. Set during COVID lockdowns of 2020, RAT TRAP follows the owner (Simon Whitby, aka me) as he tries to catch the thieves who stole £120,000 worth of motorcycles from his business. The police and insurance have let him down, so he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. Seen through Simon’s eyes and that of his partner Georgia, RAT TRAP is a fast-paced revenge drama that re-traces the dramatic twists and turns of his perilous and increasingly desperate plan to recover his business, his life and his self-respect.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I drink far too much coffee (nothing unusual there as far as writers go) but I will occasionally skip for 5 minute sessions to think about the plot and other possibilities before returning to the laptop. Burns off a few milky coffee calories as well.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Plenty – but a few recent reads include :
John Marrs – The One, The Passengers, When You Disappeared
T.M Logan – Trust Me
Dandy Smith – One Small Mistake
John Boyd – Crippen
Catherine Ryan Howard – The Nothing Man

What are you working on now?
Promoting my novella. As an indie author, that’s a big chunk of time you have to find as well as working on other books. I have two novels that are close to completion. They are :

LIFE SWAP INCORPORATED
Set in the 1980’s North West England, 24 year old Jim Verne is offered the chance to swap his mundane life as a junior accountant for 12 months of fun, adventure and possibly romance. Sound too good to be true ? Jim is willing to take the risk, but soon realises that there is more to Life-Swap than fancy cars, smart apartments and skiing holidays.

APARTMENT 3.2
How can inheriting a luxury penthouse Apartment in Manchester be a bad thing ? For Tom Wiggins, it was a dream come true, but he soon realises that the apartment comes with a lot of history and dodgy baggage.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still finding out – hopefully Awesome Gang ! . . .I’ve heard good things.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m too new to writing to offer advice. But, I’ve been running my own business since I was 23 and the same principles apply. You have to care, be passionate, listen, change and adapt when necessary, and above all work hard.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To succeed you need a bit of luck. But the harder you work, the luckier you get.

What are you reading now?
Lars Kepler – The Hypnotist
. . . and the Yamaha Tenere 700 owners manual as I need to do a 6,000 mile service on my bike.

What’s next for you as a writer?
As a writer, it’s always about the next book. I want to get my next two books out but develop a couple of other storylines I have already sketched out. Also to create Audiobooks to attract those who aren’t quite as keen to read.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Either 3 books I hadn’t read, or 3 books on a) raft building, b) log cabin building, and c) making tasty soup from palm trees and seaweed.

Author Websites and Profiles

James Rutter Website

James Rutter Amazon Profile

James Rutter’s Social Media Links

Facebook Profile

B. Jane Turnquest 

Interview With Author B. Jane Turnquest

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Bahamian author. I was destine to write, my first school was accidentally a library where I went to work with my grandmother. I have written twenty books (all during the pandemic).

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My upcoming book is my first upper middle grade fantasy, ‘Tell Tail.’ I attended a workshop where the Head of our National School’s Librarian relayed that there were no middle grade books for Bahamian student. I wanted to change this.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like writing what I cannot find out there. I love the challenge of championing something new or odd or unthought of and daring. I wrote book in alliterations (The Memoir That Makes You Go Mmm, and though it was turned down by Guinness World Record for being immeasurable, I know there is no other book out there like it.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I loved Enid Blyton books as a child. I love how her imagination flows and made the unbelievable appealing.

What are you working on now?
Working on a prequel to Still Above Rubies, my first romance novel. Also about to launch my fantasy middle grade, so I will be learning to market this genre that is new for me.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have used paid advertisement on Amazon. I am still learning to promote and will admit that I am often writing and not promoting.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Ensure that your work looks professional and study the genre of books like the ones you are publishing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what you love.

What are you reading now?
Chronicles of Naria collection

What’s next for you as a writer?
Producing content to help promote my books and cleaning up my website so readers can reach me directly.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible, dictionary, A Basket of Flowers

Author Websites and Profiles

B. Jane Turnquest Amazon Profile

B. Jane Turnquest’s Social Media Links

Facebook Profile

Richard Cullen 

Interview With Author Richard Cullen

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a traditionally published author over around a dozen novels. I write historical fiction as Richard Cullen, and have several epic fantasy series as R.S.Ford.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Oath Bound, and was inspired by the rebellions that followed the Norman Conquest of England.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
For historical fiction I’m a big fan of author such as Matt Harffy, Giles Kristian and Ben Kane. My fantasy influences include Joe Abercrombie and David Gemmell. I’m also a great admirer or Ian Banks and Elmore Leonard.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently writing the final books in two trilogies – firstly is Crimson Winter, the last in the Wolf of Kings series, and Engines of War, the climax to the Age of Uprising trilogy.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I think the best advice I’ve ever seen is to ‘write like you don’t care – edit like you do!’

What’s next for you as a writer?
Who can tell? I’m currently about to complete two series – one epic fantasy, one historical fiction. I think after my recent award nomination for Oath Bound that I should perhaps concentrate on the genre that has been kinder to me over the years. So essentially – more history!

Author Websites and Profiles

Richard Cullen Website

Richard Cullen Amazon Profile

Richard Cullen’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

Facebook Profile

Twitter Account

Joan Peck 

Interview With Author Joan Peck

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in a family of readers. Every Sunday afternoon you would find my parents, me, and my siblings with a book. There’s nothing better than a good book in my opinion.
To date, I have completed 13 books and am writing my 14th to go out next year. After the death of my son, I wrote 4 spiritual books and then decided to have fun writing mystery books, beginning with my 6-book Death Card series about a tarot card reader.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book due out June 21st (summer solstice) is about three women from very different backgrounds who meet in a waiting room of a doctor’s office and become life-long besties. Allison’s roommate is found dead and they become entwined in that. The book is a delightful romp about the glory of girlfriends, inspiring you to share this story with all you consider as a girlfriend. I also just finished Santa Baby, a light romance.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Good and bad, I’m a “pantser” writing by the seat of my pants. This is not the easiest way to write but the storyline expands on its own as I write. I also go back and edit as I’m writing which ensures that the storyline is in order. I wouldn’t recommend either for a new writer especially since most say just write your story and embellish later.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are too many to name from romance writer to women’s fiction to mystery – both female and male authors.

What are you working on now?
I’m writing The Cousins, a mystery waiting to be solved by two neighbor girls who called themselves sisters until Emily’s older brother insisted he didn’t need another sister. Her Emily suggested the girls call themselves cousins and the name stuck.
As middle-aged women, they are called to help Emily’s ex-husband who is accused of murdering his girlfriend (ex-girlfriend insists Emily).

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I guess it would have to be my own website www.joanspeck.com. I’m trying out new marketing groups. BookBub is the most successful, although I have yet to be approved since it is reserved for successful books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Editing is so important to ensure you present yourself and your story in the best light. Keep the storyline flowing so that you don’t give the reader an excuse to put the book down. Keep writing and don’t give up!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read, read, read!

(Make sure you edit your book properly and have a great cover to catch a reader’s eye.)

What are you reading now?
I just downloaded Bloom Bay Beginnings by Lilly Beckett

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m increasing my exposure as Editor in Chief of Chic Compass magazine – an international magazine located in Las Vegas and as an individual columnist.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’ve always wanted to read “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho and “A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawkins and any of Ken Follett’s books, including “Pillars of the Earth.”

Author Websites and Profiles

Joan Peck Website

Joan Peck Amazon Profile

Joan Peck’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

Facebook Profile

Ethan Grimes 

Interview With Author Ethan Grimes

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Ethan Grimes, I am 31 years old, I live in Mesa, AZ with my wife and our 2 children and I have written one book so far.
Other than writing, I enjoy playing the drums, playing videogames and occasionally doing standup comedy. Of all the things I enjoy, I realized that writing books is the career that would make me the happiest. During the 2020 covid lockdown I poured most of my free time into completing my first novel and self-published it early 2022.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first book is called The Death of Customer Service. They say you should write what you know, so after 10 years of working in Customer Service I decided to write my first book about this industry. I had written pages and pages of interactions with customers that I experienced personally. I outlined a comedic science fiction story and used my personal experiences to string it all together. I’ve had plenty of story ideas that would fit more into more traditional genres, such as fantasy or apocalyptic science fiction but ultimately decided against starting my writing career with these stories. For me personally, it made the most sense to write a completely original story for the far lesser known genre of call center focused, customer experiences.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to rough draft individual chapters by pen and paper, including important moments, quotes and actions that are absolutely necessary for making the chapter progress the story. Then keep I the paper with me for reference while I flesh out the full chapter by typing it up in a google doc. For the first 10 chapters I didn’t have a computer so I had to type them up with my smart phone.

A lot of the time when I write dialogue or character interactions I would make the facial expressions of the characters into the mirror, then try to describe those expressions to the best of my ability.

I stuck pretty hard to the idea of “write drunk, edit sober”, it worked really well for punching up the comedy in the book.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
One of my favorite book series is called Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines, its a very different kind of story than what I’ve written but I referenced it frequently while doing my own formatting.
The biggest influences behind the book are Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Rum Diaries and the movie Clerks.
I also really like the books written by comedian Doug Stanhope.
I feel that I don’t read nearly as much as I should.

What are you working on now?
I’m mostly working on promoting the book and outlining my next book. (The current working title is, Crater) Other than that I like to stream on Twitch and watch old movies.
Most of my time is occupied by taking care of my 2 children (My wife works full time so I’m a stay-at-home dad) and doing doordash in a futile attempt to catch up on bills.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
First thing I did was build a website ethangrimes.com where you can purchase the paperback or order the e-book for free. I’ve had a lot of luck posting the book on specific subreddits where its relevant. I’ve also posted the entire book on Twitter as a kind of promotional experiment. It’s going alright.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m not really successful as an author yet so I don’t know what credibility I have, but I would say to just keep writing whenever you can. Keep access to your project at your fingertips, pinning the google docs app to my phone’s home screen worked really well for me. If you think of a new piece for the book write it down immediately, even if you’re not sure that you’ll ever use it. Throughout the writing process of my first book I would frequently write down future events or out of context quotes that I wanted characters to say, I didn’t use all of it but most of my favorite lines from the book I wrote down in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep. If had not taken the time to pin that stuff down the second I thought of it, the story would have suffered for it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
C.M. Kösemen (The author of All Tomorrows) said in a podcast that the traditional routes for publishing and marketing are no longer viable methods for modern aspiring authors. I’m paraphrasing because I don’t recall exactly how he said it. I really took that to heart and I’m feeling really good about the future because of it. Once I ditched the idea of “how you’re supposed to write a book” that freed me up to edit and format the book in whatever way felt write for telling my story. I think the end result is a book that may not be for everyone, but it is undeniably unique.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading Running the Light by comedian Sam Tallent. Its a fictional story that follows a road comic through wild nights in the world of standup comedy. Its fantastic so far, I highly recommend it.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I feel like I’m still in the early stages of promotion for The Death of Customer Service, I hope to gain enough traction that I can focus more time on my next book. Hopefully I can have a first draft in the next year or so, and if I have to self publish my second book so be it. At this point I’m all in as an author, so no matter what there will be more books to come.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
If I get to pick books that aren’t currently written I would definitely pick Wind of Winter, A Dream of Spring and Ex-Tension, but I’m assuming that’s not an option.

I’d probably take Running the Light, it’d be a bummer to not finish it. Other than that I’d take Fear and Loathing in America, The Lost World, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Necronomicon just in case I lost hope and wanted to commit suicide by Kandarian Demon.

Author Websites and Profiles

Ethan Grimes Website

Ethan Grimes Amazon Profile

Ethan Grimes’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

Twitter Account

Tom Mock 

Interview With Author Tom Mock

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi, I’m Tom, I live in North Carolina, and I’m a fantasy and horror author. I have one completed and published urban fantasy novel, The Long Nights. I’ve also published a few literary short stories. I currently have two other novels, one a prequal to The Long Nights, in various stages of revision.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My debut The Long Nights took 13 years to get right, so over that time it soaked up inspiration from a lot of different sources, and it needed every one of them. I had read a bunch of Steven Brust’s Taltos books about a human (he says) assassin in a world of 7-foot elves (they call themselves human) and I loved the noir voice, which sent me into Raymond Chandler’s work, and later James Ellroy. But then I read Brust’s stand-alone horror urban fantasy called Agyar and it was one of those books that I couldn’t put down. It really blew the top of my head off. Inspired by Dracula, it’s an epistolary novel about a vampire but from the vampire’s point of view. It might have been a typical horror novel if the POV were inverted, but that one subversion changes everything and makes the novel, I think, one of Brust’s greatest achievements. It’s a horror told from the opposite perspective we’d expect, and that conceit made me think about writing a novel with a similar inversion. Instead of a shift in perspective, I thought, what if I wrote a novel that begins where a paranormal horror usually ends, with the mysterious deaths having been solved and the monster (in this case a vampire) dispatched? What would a story like that look like? What if the problem now isn’t the monster, but the threat of his vampiric infection spreading? Enter our telepathic detective Joe whose going to use the vampire’s memories to track down the missing victims before any wake to feed.

Some influences I don’t want to tell because they might give away twists and turns of the novel, but I’m also a big fan of cyberpunk stories that deal with memory, such as Blade Runner, which also influenced the use of abandoned spaces in the novel.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
The more writers I follow, the more I think there’s nothing unusual about any of us. I sit down and get to work, just like everyone else. I strain desperately to separate the good ideas from the bad. At times I run from the creative discomfort of not knowing what to write next. I get things wrong, write poor misguided scenes, wander, ramble, doubt, but then I come back once I’ve thought it all over and tell the story better and clearer, and so far, sooner or later, things seem to come together all right.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I mentioned Brust. I still think he’s one of the best close narrative voice writers ever in fantasy. Greatly overlooked, I think because of … well, skip that. Just go buy his first book Jhereg. The Lord of the Rings is, of course, a book like no other that has more to give, it seems, with every reading. Recently I’ve found the Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski and they’ve been wonderfully immersive, dark, comedic, and surprisingly heartfelt. I think Michael Moorcock’s Gloriana is one of the best and most surprising low-magic fantasies I’ve ever read. Chandler and Ellroy are quintessential noir voices for me; so too are Elmore Leonard and Louis L’moir for their westerns. I love a big cozy British mystery from the likes of Agatha Christie. I’ve read all of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes a few times over, loved the swashbuckling Romances of Alexandre Dumas, the adventures of Robert Louis Stevenson and Rafael Sabatini, and have been positively blown over recently by Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin novels. I am always looking for my next favorite book.

What are you working on now?
I am rewriting an adventure fantasy, Dannica of the Wind, inspired by True Grit, Treasure Island, and His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik. The project has been great fun to write, and a real challenge. It’s a very different story for me. I’ve had to do more world building than ever before, but the tone has been a great departure. It’s been great to work on a story that isn’t dark for a change.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve been most active on Twitter, and meeting readers and fellow authors has been a rewarding experience apart from any books I’ve sold.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write the book you want to read, then learn to read what you wrote, not what you intended. Know you’re not going to get it all right. That’s fine. They say writing is a process and if you learn anything you should learn that process. You put together some ideas, you rethink the ideas, and then you put them together better, just like you and your friends do with bad books or almost perfect shows. Realize revision is a superpower. It can make you look brilliant. You just have to take the time to do it. Don’t get too caught up in word counts, either. As long as you’re attending to the creative task of thinking about your project, actively planning and asking tough questions and reasoning out different possibilities, you’re still writing. Remember, you’re a storyteller, not a typist. It’s okay. Come to your work with a light heart. Enjoy it as much as you can. Art is already tough enough, so try not to be hard on yourself. I learn slow and I’m still learning, but I’ve done all right. Also, set a timer and get up every thirty minutes for a five-minute break. It really helps.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Treat yourself like someone it’s your responsibility to take care of.”

Though, honestly, lately I’ve been a bit sad. I’ve had a lot of dogs in my life and now so many of them are gone. My parents are getting older. Mom broke her ribs in a horse-riding accident. Dad is the age now his father was when he died. We’ve all been inside and not meeting friends and wearing masks and living with death and the indifference of our neighbors to what’s happening in one way or another for over two years. I’m not sure what to do about the way I feel now. The years went by and I’m looking at old pictures and wishing I could go back. It’s hard not to be sad, but I guess the thing that’s helped me is realizing I’m sad now because of how happy I’ve been, even though I didn’t always realize it at the time. It’s like Kurt Vonnegut said, it’s amazing how often people don’t realize when they’re happy. I’ve been trying to realize it more. We’ve got a new stray cat at the horse barn. We think he’s the grandson of our last stray cat, Puma. He’s really something.

What are you reading now?
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien, Dracula by Bram Stoker, and An Altar on the Village Green by Nathan Hall.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve entered The Long Nights into SPFBO 8 and am eagerly watching as the judges post their reviews. Here’s hoping The Long Nights gets some more positive attention. I’m still learning how to be a published author. There’s more to learn than I thought and I’m doing my best, but the more time I can find to write, the better.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I love books, but, really, my favorite book is always the next incredible book I get to read for the first time. I just wish I knew now which books those books would be. Right now, as I said, I’ve been having the most remarkable experience sailing, quarrelling, loving, and daring death with Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin

Author Websites and Profiles

Tom Mock Amazon Profile

Tom Mock’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

Twitter Account

Randa Knight 

Interview With Author Randa Knight

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m about to release my second book in the Boys of Bragg series. The series was inspired by a creative writing assignment in college. I have four gorgeous and sweet boys along with my husband all of which are in the Army.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Art of Love will be released in July. I’m not sure what inspired this book, but I kept seeing Mike’s younger sister while writing A Change of Heart. I wanted to know her story and why she put up with what she did from their family. Also, what makes this sweet family-oriented gal break.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I write while my husband plays video games in the evening. He sits on the loveseat while I type away on the sofa.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I adore Meghan Quinn that girl cracks me up so much.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on characterizations for book 4 and the outline too.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t think I have a best method. I do use TikTok and Insta quite a bit. I also send a bi-monthly newsletter.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Even if you don’t feel like it, write badly. Bad writing can be fixed in revision, but you can’t revise a blank page.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Know your characters. Treat them like real people.

What are you reading now?
Meghan Quinn Not so cute meet.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Drafting book 4!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
For one, I would try to cheat by bringing my Kindle. But if I was busted and could only bring paperbacks then I would grab:
The Great Gatsby –I love Daisy even if I should hate her. It’s a classic.
Stephen King’s On Writing–he admits his writing fears which are not much different than mine.
Meghan Quinn–The Brentwood Series

Author Websites and Profiles

Randa Knight Website

Randa Knight Amazon Profile

Randa Knight’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

Facebook Profile

Twitter Account

 

Mariam Shapera 

Interview With Author Mariam Shapera

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi! I am a graduate of the University College of London Medical School and currently work as a Family doctor. I currently live in San Diego, CA with my husband and three young musical and outer-space-loving kids. I have always had a passion writing children’s books and poems but there never seems to be enough time in the day!

After having my 3 curious babies, I sadly suffered a stillbirth last year. This was at the same time as the COVID pandemic. I felt closer to my children than ever before and I finally fulfilled my dream.

My middle child, Joseph, has a big love and talent for music and space! The book, Up, Up, You Go Jo! was inspired by Joseph and dedicated to all children whose love for music and space is out of this world.

I believe a child’s determination and curiosity needs to be constantly met and more with self questioning beyond just reading and understanding the words

This is my first published book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Up up you go Jo! Inspired by my son, Joseph as mentioned above.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I prefer to write at night, maybe like most moms when the kids are asleep! Maybe not so unusual then!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Goodnight Moon has definitely had a positive influence. Also books by Mo Willems are amazing and very unique.

What are you working on now?
My second book, also inspired by my middle son, Joseph, and his experiences of living with autism focusing mainly on his gifts.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Through Instagram and Facebook

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Start Marketing early especially for self-published authors! Also self edit your work many times before sending to a professional editor.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what you are passionate about!

What are you reading now?
Right now reading a book titles ‘Natural language Aquisition on the Autism spectrum’ about self generated language in these unique individuals.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Currently working to find an illustrator for my second book, and then focus on marketing and hopefully release for next year in 2023.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Uniquely human by Barry Prizant
Pride and Prejudice by jane Austen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Author Websites and Profiles

Mariam Shapera Amazon Profile

Mariam Shapera’s Social Media Links

Facebook Profile

Zwahk Muchoney 

Interview With Author Zwahk Muchoney

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an Eclectic witch from the Seattle area, I’ve only recently published my first book which is essentially a collection of spells and recipes I’ve found work over the last 20+ years of working in the craft.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Arcane Delights”, I wanted to make a witchcraft book that had a collection of delightful things for the reader, my work not only feature spells and recipes but also very is witchcraft movie reviews, short story reviews and a bonus Cosmic horse at tire at the end short story reviews and a bonus Cosmic horror satire at the end. The term Arcane is normally associated with the occult and I’ve used the book as a kind of basket of delights so the name made sense.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wrote the entire book with nothing but voice activation and one finger on an Android phone, does that count as unusual?

What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was younger I went through a William Burroughs phase, I found him to be more interesting that a lot of the other beatnik writers although the obsession with Heroin to get grating after a while. When I’m in the right mood for it I greatly enjoy the works of Lovecraft, even if he does occasionally right things that make me cringe as a modern person. Lately I’ve been getting back into the Dune series, I’m currently reading the third book and I’m looking forward to the fourth book “God emperor of Dune”

What are you working on now?
What will likely be a novella, it’s a kind of Science Fiction dystopian story oh, many years ago I went through a terrible experience where I couldn’t sleep for 8 days due to the effects of a drug that my doctor put me on. During this period of time I had the most Vivid hallucinations no, they went away after the medication was out of my system but during this. Of time I had incredible visions of a horrific place were collectivism is a literal way of life in the most cellular manner

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This is my first book and I only got it printed up a few days ago so that remains to be seen.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
When you’re editing your book read it aloud as if you were reading the book to an audience. This method will allow you to get a better grasp of which sentences sound right and which words don’t fit.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Cash up front

What are you reading now?
“Children of Dune”

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to take a very short break to focus on producing some digital art for my Instagram, meanwhile I’ve already started working on an outline for my next story.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Well, regardless of what books I took with me I would become completely bored with them after reading each of them a dozen times and short succession but I suppose I would pick War and Peace because I’ve never read it and it would take a long time to get through.

Zwahk Muchoney’s Social Media Links

Twitter Account