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Janeen O’Kerry 

Interview With Author Janeen O’Kerry

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am the author of ten historical fantasy romances set in ancient Ireland. These books form the Celtic Journeys series and were written from 1996 through 2020. All were released by Leisure Books/Dorchester Publishing except for the last one, *Seven Castles in Ireland,* which was self-published.

I also have *April’s Christmas,* a sweet holiday romance that I co-wrote with a friend back in 1994; and *21 Ways to Improve Your Fiction Right Now,* a little book of writing tips that I released late last year.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
*Seven Castles in Ireland* began with the thought of one place in Ireland and seven generations of one family – at different times through history – who had lived there.

But there was a curse on the land that left it barren and dead, which was a very strange thing in normally green and beautiful Ireland. What had happened to this place?

In the course of the story, our heroine, Alexandra, and the hero, Morgan, encounter the ghosts of her ancestors. The ghosts remain because of the curse on the land and need the help of a descendant to lift the curse and make things right again.

Alexandra and Morgan will have to work together to solve a mystery that extends far back into the past; right a great wrong; and face the ancient and powerful Irish gods themselves.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I go out and hike or run errands in the mornings, and then curl up and write and/or edit for the rest of the day. You have to become comfortable with the process when attempting a long-term process like a novel (or a series of novels.)

What authors, or books have influenced you?
J.R.R. Tolkien and the *Lord of the Rings* series

Ray Bradbury and *The Martian Chronicles*

Frank Herbert and *Dune*

What are you working on now?
I would like to do more with Ireland and ghosts. Some do need help to get home or to find peace and justice, you know.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesome Gang promotions, of course!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Learn your craft as well as your art. If you want your readers to understand you, you’ve got to learn your grammar and punctuation and word choices.

I’m also an editor. Loads of people can come up with a great story idea, but they have no interest in learning the mechanics of writing. That means the writer will understand it, but no one else.

If you want to be successful, Learn Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation, and Word Choices. You will immediately be far ahead of the crowd just by doing that.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t write throwaway stuff. Make everything you work on as good as you can possibly make it. Quality, not just quantity.

What are you reading now?
Re-reading *The Silmarillion*

What’s next for you as a writer?
More Ireland and ghosts, as mentioned above

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 same three I mentioned above

Author Websites and Profiles

Janeen O’Kerry Amazon Profile

 

Liz Kellebrew 

Interview With Author Liz Kellebrew

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve lived in western Washington my whole life, and the landscape here comes out in the things I write. This is such a special place: we have mountains and high desert, beaches and temperate rain forests, estuaries, rivers, and fjords, and the rain keeps our trees green. I recently volunteered for Kitsap Salmon Tours as a docent and learned a lot about our local salmonids.

I was homeschooled in a working-class family and fortunate to have parents and grandparents who read to me from a young age. I started writing because I loved reading, or rather, I loved stories, and I wanted to create some of my own. I’ve written short fiction and prose poetry that’s published or forthcoming in four anthologies, and I have nature essays, poems, hybrid work, and other short fiction published in several journals.

I have nine (and a half) book manuscripts (mostly short story collections), but I’m most excited about Unsolicited Press publishing my debut poetry book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Water Signs was largely inspired by my commutes across Puget Sound on Washington State Ferries. I wanted to write something on the boat ride and I didn’t have any lofty conceptual ideas like I sometimes get for my stories, so I decided to start writing about what I was experiencing, both on the ferry and on the walking portions of my commute. A year of that and I realized I had enough poetry for a book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I grew up writing in my notebook in my parents’ car when we’d go for drives in the countryside. I still love writing from a moving vehicle, becoming particularly productive on boats or planes. Something about the expansive scenery expands my mind.

Similarly, when I’m writing at home or elsewhere, I like to write by a window so I can stare outside for a while, especially if I can look at trees. Writing often comes to me in images while I’m doing this. I’ll see scenes in my head like clips from a movie.

During the COVID pandemic, I missed being able to go to coffee shops and write, so I bought a coffee-scented candle for my home writing space. The smell of freshly ground coffee inspires me!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many that I love. I think it’s safe to say that every book I’ve read has influenced me in some way. Even the books I didn’t like helped me realize what it was that I did like.

For now, I’ll list a few favorites that come to mind. Bruno Schulz, The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories. These stories, written by a Polish Jewish artist who was killed by Nazis for walking in the “wrong” part of town to get a loaf of bread, are so unutterably vivid and strange, like waking dreams that are equal parts beautiful and terrible. His prose helped me understand that it is possible to write in images and still write compelling work.

Also influential: Can Xue’s Dialogues in Paradise (stories) and Frontier (novel). She’s a Chinese avant-garde fiction writer whose surreal work evokes deep, almost subconscious reactions in me. I also aspire to write fiction like Clarice Lispector and Sjon, and moving poetry like Ilya Kaminsky, Nazim Hikmet, and Mary Oliver.

What are you working on now?
Lately I’ve been writing nature essays with some memoir woven in. There’s one out in the Spring 2022 issue of Catamaran that talks about Mt. St. Helens, eulachon smelt, and my experiences growing up near the Cowlitz River during the twilight of the old-growth logging industry in Washington State. I have two more forthcoming in Lime Hawk and Gaia Lit. The first essay is about ferries, jellyfish and pollution in Puget Sound, and father-daughter relationships. The second essay is an in-depth look at wildfires and their effects on the forests of the western Cascade Mountains, with some historical context from my grandfather’s early childhood experiences.

Of course, I’m still writing poems. I’m also expanding a short story about a golem into something longer. Will it become a book? Time will tell.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m a newbie when it comes to book promotion. My current work has a local focus, so I’ve been reaching out to local bookstores and libraries about stocking the book and I’m also actively seeking book reviewers. I try to keep Twitter and my author website up to date.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get out of your head and engage with the real world once in a while. It’s good for both your well-being and your writing.

Oh, and don’t take any advice that you wouldn’t give.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I believe everyone has something to teach me, so I’ve collected a lot of advice over the years and it’s hard to pick just one. How about this: Damien Echols was a featured speaker in my MFA program, and he talked about how you can improve your art by working on yourself. It reminded me of Tolstoy’s quote, “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

What are you reading now?
Thrust by Lidia Yuknavitch. I’m halfway through and once again astounded by how she structures her work. It’s like peering into a complex clockwork mechanism where each part seems to move independently but creates something bigger and more complete out of the whole. And in classic Lidia style, it is visceral and deeply felt in the body. I feel both grounded and like I’m floating when I read her work.

What’s next for you as a writer?
At this point I get grumpy if I don’t write, so I guess I’ll be doing more writing. I believe art grows organically from life, so I won’t try to predict what the future will hold. Just show up and do the work.

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?
Assuming that I would be responsible for my own survival, I’d bring some kind of survivalist handbook.

After that, it’s all about entertainment value, things I can come back to again and again. Maybe Calvino’s Italian Folktales—that’s quite a tome. Zaehringer’s Sorry I Ruined Your Childhood is a comic strip collection that never fails to amuse me. And since I’m being forced to choose no more than 4 books out of the many I adore, I have to say the fourth one would be a blank book (and several pens). Whether I survive or not, I intend to get a book out of it!

Author Websites and Profiles

Liz Kellebrew Website

Liz Kellebrew’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

Twitter Account

Matthew Taylor 

Interview With Author Matthew Taylor

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Mathematics Teacher in Sài Gòn. I have recently discovered I like to write. I like to travel and write adventure novels based on the places I have visited.
There are currently two books on the Market –
Hot Air rising, and
Jessalyn’s Adventures – Home In the Bush

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Hot Air Rising.
I like adventure movies and I found myself running possible adventure scenes through my head, based on where I was travelling at the time. Ideas about the main character(s) started to form and I started to type up my ideas.
From there the book came together quite effortlessly.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Only the same as any other writer, once I start writing I lose track of time.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There have been many different books across many different genres. However, I like adventure movies and Hot Air Rising is based on an adventure movie I pictured in my head.

I was looking at some pictures of my daughter and I thought I could put these into a fun children’s book- Jessalyn’s adventures was created.

What are you working on now?
Marketing Hot Air Rising and marketing Jessalyn’s Adventures.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
No idea, I am just starting out, although Jessalyn’s Adventures has been on Amazon for a while and there have been no sales.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I am the new author.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I don’t remember how it went, but it was something along these lines-
If you don’t like the book (or movie, not sure which one), write your own.

What are you reading now?
Unfortunately, I have not made time to pick up and read a book for a very long time.

There is lots of BBC news to read, students’ homework, emails and responding to them, reading how to market my book, and reading how to write author profiles for different media.

What’s next for you as a writer?
A children’s book- Immy & Bens’ Big Bike Ride.

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?
Gardening on a Desert Island, if on exists. Mmm, that could be a fun book to write.
Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, or a Spike Milligan Book- something with lots of humour and chuckles.
Yoga and meditation book.

Author Websites and Profiles

Matthew Taylor Website

Christine Pattle 

Interview With Author Christine Pattle

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I wrote my first book when I was ten years old. It wasn’t very long, and it wasn’t very good either. Since then, I’ve had a lot more practice! Not including that first book, I’ve written three thrillers: The Theft, a novella; Secrets Never Die; and The Fraud, which will be published in September. I love writing action-packed books with interesting characters, and great stories that make you want to read on.

When I’m not writing, I’m an accountant, with a passion for horses and cake-making.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Secrets Never Die is my first full-length novel. The inspiration came many years before I wrote it at a student party. Some weird guy started telling me how he was interested in black magic. I love fashion and glamour, so I thought adding a fashion model into the mix would be an interesting mixture.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Sometimes I discuss tricky plot points with my horse. I guess that’s not normal, is it?

What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many authors have influenced me. I particularly love Liane Moriarty and Claire Macintosh. My guilty pleasure is Lee Child, although I could never be quite as violent as that in my own books. One book I read last year is Fatal Attraction by Kathy Lockheart. She put in so much emotion and builds up suspense throughout the book. Although it’s a slightly different genre, I learnt things from that which have helped my write my own books.

What are you working on now?
My current work-in-progress is called The Cover-Up. It’s a sequel to The Fraud, featuring the same main character. I’ve planned a whole series. It’s a thriller, set in a pharmaceutical company, which is developing a ground-breaking drug to treat cancer. I’m very excited by it so far.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My author newsletter is brilliant. And, of course, Awesome Gang is fantastic.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, write, write, even if it’s a little at a time. It all adds up. Learn as much as possible about the craft so you can keep improving. And start learning about book marketing much sooner than you think you need to.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Start an author newsletter and build an email list.

What are you reading now?
I’ve just started Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Definitely get the rest of my series written. One of the characters in it is going to get their own spin-off series after that. And I have a million more ideas. I need to learn to write quicker.

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?
That’s a difficult question. I would probably pick Hostage by Claire Macintosh, Fatal Attraction by Kathy Lockheart, The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans, and Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty. I’d also like a book about how to survive on a desert island.

Author Websites and Profiles

Christine Pattle Amazon Profile

C.S. Kjar 

Interview With Author C.S. Kjar

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a retired natural resources technical writer/editor that finds fiction much more fun to write. It allows my imagination to run wild. I’ve self-published nine books, all wholesome and full of adventure and fun. Some have a touch of fantasy, and some are sweet romances. My children’s book is based on a dream about my four granny friends and I winning a beauty contest. It evolved into a fairy tale called The Five Grannies Go to the Ball.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Finding Love in the Snow about a woman who is pulled from an avalanche by a man who was in the right place at the right time. Their lives intertwine in ways they don’t expect and not for a great reason. It was inspired by three crosses on Red Mountain Pass in Colorado in honor of a family that was killed by an avalanche there. When we drove by them, especially in winter, I wondered about what might happen if someone else got stuck there.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I share an office with my husband which isn’t the best configuration for a writer. He’s always wanting to tell me about what he’s found on the internet. I need a hair clip that has the words “Do Not Disturb” on it so he will get the hint. I love him, but he’s cramping my style.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love the broad sagas of James Michener books. Now they would be broken into a series, but he wrote them as large tomes. His books have inspired me. I met the best-selling author Jodi Thomas a number of years ago, and she’s had quite the impact on me. She’s kind and encouraging to other writers, and I want to be just like her.

What are you working on now?
My current WIP is set in 1948 when a woman fresh off the war factory floor doesn’t want to give up her freedom or new-found skills to become a wife and mother. She works as a mechanic at a small service station but is ostracized by the townsfolk who think she’s taking a man’s job. Murder and a new gentleman in her life bring intrigue to her life.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve been a quiet wallflower most of my life so calling attention to me and my books has been a personal challenge. I tell everyone I can about my books and accept almost every opportunity to speak about writing. I’m involved in several writing groups where I can talk about my books. My advertising in various newsletters offering discounted books has proven an effective way to market.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Learn the craft. Practice, practice, practice writing and using new skills. When imposter syndrome hits, push it aside. The world needs your voice. Persistence pays off.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Learn the craft of writing fiction, then learn the craft of writing your genre. You may have the gift of writing and storytelling, but it doesn’t substitute for learning the skills and mechanics involved in writing a great story.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading a paranormal story written by Colleen Story on my Kindle and a cozy mystery by Candace Havens. I read regular books in the daylight, and I read my Kindle at night.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to finish the book I’m working on, then continue working on a historical fiction about the Black Hills of South Dakota that will be akin to a James Michener book, but not as broad. I’ve had this idea for a very long time and trying to get it down on paper is daunting. I have high expectations for myself, and I’m not sure I can meet them. But I won’t give up.

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 would take a Bible, a dictionary (lots of reading in that), and Harry Potter book and James Michener books because both are so long, they will keep me entertained for a long time.

Author Websites and Profiles

C.S. Kjar Website

C.S. Kjar Amazon Profile

C.S. Kjar’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

Facebook Profile

Twitter Account

 

Joshua Veridical 

Interview With Author Joshua Veridical

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Joshua Veridical is my pen name. I belong from India. Stories have always kept me breathing.
I want to share with the world my understanding of various subjects.
I am also an Astrologer and i have been helping people through my website joshuaveridical.com
I take questions anonymously because i know people are not comfortable discussing their pain in life.
I have written five books till now.
I Am Not God
Love Thrills But Kills
Magical Witch and Noble prince
Learn Astrology in 3 Hours
Astrology of Love and Break Up
I am a working professional and writing is my escape from the chaos of the world.
I am married and i have a lovely son who is a special child , which has also made me explore the world of Autism.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I am always fascinated by the passion and commitment of true love. My inspiration has come from the amazing stories of our country where love has always triumphed.
This book “Love Thills But Kills” will make you nostalgic of your love and will also take you through the geopolitical scenario which ups the thrill quotient

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, I write when i have a clear story in mind

What authors, or books have influenced you?
You may think very naive of me, but it is a fact that success of Chetan bhagat inspired me to write majorly. That showed that simple writing can work.

What are you working on now?
I am working on two stories right now.
One is a love triangle and the other is a story on the subject of the Divorce

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think Book Reviews and that too very genuine are the best tools, because they bring in certain credibility of the unknown Authors like me and also help the reader give a head start of the story

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Stay Put, Keep Promoting and Writing

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Respect the perspective you have and believe in yourself, Try to build and be in good company and not waste time with friends or relatives who cant support you in your quest.
If you think you are right , give your 100%

What are you reading now?
“The monk who sold his ferrari”

What’s next for you as a writer?
I guess now is the time to bring in visibility of joshua veridical

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?
Devdutt Pattnaik- All books

Author Websites and Profiles

Joshua Veridical Website

 

Maxwell Winshire 

Interview With Author Maxwell Winshire

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi I’m Max! I’ve written three books in the “What’s your problem?” Trilogy, a dark dystopian TV satire set in 2084. Each book features a Patient vs Counsellor to either win a prize or do a forfeit designed for maximum personal humiliation. Book 1 is “Katy’s Loss”, and features Katy Lawrence, a former black beauty queen, vs Captain Boglosovic, a former military investigator. Book 2 is “Tony’s Cross”, and features Tony O’Brien, a former schoolkid, vs Odin Folie, a convicted pedophile. And Book 3 is “Matt’s Shadow”, and features Matthew Meaks, alcoholic schoolteacher vs Sister Mary Elizabeth Xavier. Yeah, pretty dark.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “Katy’s Loss; A Dystopian TV Satire” and it was inspired by asking what would The Jerry Springer Show be like in a hundred years. It’s pretty bad already, but how bad could it really get in your worst nightmares? Needless to say the result is not for the faint hearted and contains profanity and graphic binary and non-binary sex. But I did an awful lot of research on psychology and psychotherapeutic techniques which I hope helps to challenge and engage the reader. Never mind, exploring the secrets of the Freakmasons!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I did a lot of throwing up while writing this series. Sometimes the worst thing I could imagine was too much for me to stomach! Lol! (But true!) Still I felt a moral obligation to be immoral! A passion to be discompassionate. After all, isn’t that what entertainment on these shows is all about? Exploiting the weak, gratuitous sex and violence, porn…

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love authors that challenge the status quo and I’m a massive fan of Charles Bukowski, “Notes of a Dirty Old Man”, Ken Kesey, “One flew over the cuckoo’s nest”, Tom Wolfe, “The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test”, Martin Amis, “London Fields”, Julian Barnes, “The History of The World in 10 1/2 Chapters”, Stephen King, “The Stand”.

What are you working on now?
That would be telling! Expect the unexpected!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website is my name Maxwell Winshire dot com. And then if you add a foreward slashplus the name of any of my books, it will open a page dedicated to them with ‘secret info’! For example, if you want to read Katy’s psychiatric assessment you go to www.maxwellwinshire.com/katysloss, if you want to read Tony’s wishlist, you go to www.maxwellwinshire.com/tonyscross and if you want to know why schoolteacher Matt Meaks might drink so much, you go to www.maxwellwinshire.com/mattsshadow

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My best advice for new authors is don’t care what anyone thinks and never apologise.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I have ever heard is be yourself.

What are you reading now?
I just finished “Down and out in London and Paris” by George Orwell, which I loved more than his classics, “Animal Farm” and “1984”. It reminded me a bit of the excellent “The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists” by Robert Tressell. I am currently reading “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky, which sounds highbrow (at least to me!) but is actually very down to earth – couldn’t be more down in the earth! Lol!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am dreaming of the day when someone actually ‘gets’ what I am trying to do and gives me a a review of more than two or three stars on Amazon! I wrote a blog about it on www.maxwellwinshire.com/blog recommending burning effigies and the hiring of a private hitman!

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 [New International Version], The Buddhist Bible by Dwight Goddard and The Collected Works of Mark Twain (If that’s not cheating!)

Author Websites and Profiles

Maxwell Winshire Website

Maxwell Winshire Amazon Profile

Maxwell Winshire’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

Facebook Profile

Twitter Account

 

Ami Turnbull 

Interview With Author Ami Turnbull

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in Ipswich, England and am a solo parent to my 10 year old son.
I have always loved reading, and romance is where my heart is. I like erotic romance, but only when the erotica is one layer of the book, the most important thing for me is that there is a good romance story.
More! Is my debut novel.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
More!
It’s sounds silly, but the initial idea came about because I liked a work colleagues aftershave and it grew from there. I wrote for escapism, I was in an unrewarding relationship in my mid thirties and I wondered what it would be like to start over again, so I wrote what it could be like.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No. I’m not a disciplined writer, hence my book took 7 years in the making, with some significant time outs when life got in the way.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Polo by Jilly Cooper was the first book that I just couldn’t put down. So in love with it was I that I ended up writing my BA dissertation on it. Jilly definitely sent me down the romance genre. Fifty Shades also had an impact as it made me realise that first person is what I should be writing.

What are you working on now?
More! Has only been out for around 2 weeks, so currently trying to get the word out about my workplace romance!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m very much at the beginning of this journey and learning. Hoping this website will help!!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Enjoy writing, that’s my main tip.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I think it was from a very dear male friend from university who told me to put the betrayal in to my writing. That helped!

What are you reading now?
The Flat Share by Beth O’Leary.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I know I want to write again, but currently waiting for the inspiration to hit. In the meantime, I really want to spread the word about More! And get some readers who hopefully enjoy it as much as I did writing it.

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?
Polo by Jilly Cooper; Me Before You by JoJo Moyes; Trying by Emily Phillips and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Author Websites and Profiles

Ami Turnbull Amazon Profile

Ami Turnbull’s Social Media Links

Twitter Account

Will Holcomb 

Interview With Author Will Holcomb

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I came late to writing. I didn’t start writing until I was 45. It was never something I planned on doing, or even thought about doing. One day, on my hour and forty-five minute commute, I was listening to an audiobook that gave me a story idea. My sister is a writer, so I called her up to give her the book idea. She loved the idea, but said she couldn’t write it. She said if I gave her an outline she could write it from that. Even in college, if I had to turn in an outline, I wrote the whole paper first and created an outline from that. So, I started writing. I wrote for about six months and gave my sister a rough draft of the completed story. It logically divided into four parts so we spent two years rewriting and editing the first part.

Then … we put it out into the world. It was a scary time thing to do. I mean, I wasn’t a writer. Who was I to think people would want to read what I have to say? Then the first review came in and it was 5-stars with glowing praise, comparing it to two of the biggest names in the genre. Then more 5-star reviews and more. So, my sister and I started editing part 2. It was a huge effort but when it was done, the audience loved it. The same with part 3, and I am currently working on part 4.

After I wrote the first draft, I learned something about myself I never realized before. I always had stories running through my head. For as long as I remember I was annoyed by stories in my head and would try to ignore them. Eventually they would go away only to have another story start forming. After I wrote that first draft, I started paying attention to the story and letting it form. One weekend, I wrote the current story in my head down. I have been involved in theater for many years so I decided to write it as a play. Over that weekend I wrote “Clinically Un-Depressed”. That show has been produced about ten times now and sells out almost every time. People love it so much they bring others back to see it.

I didn’t start writing until I was 45, and never planned on being a writer. With three published books, three produced plays, currently writing the forth part of series, my forth play scheduled for next fall, the start of five other books, I discovered I don’t want to be a writer, I am a writer.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My series “The Infinite Jeff: A Parable of Change” started forming after listening to “Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions” by Edwin Abbott Abbot, published in 1884. Flatland gave me the idea of a being from the forth dimension visiting the third dimensional world. How would he see the world and how would he explain things? The Infinite Jeff was born from that idea. The book is vague about exactly what Jeff is and where he comes from, but that idea is what started me writing.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
One piece of advice I hear writers give other writers is “write everyday”. To me, that sounds like hell. I don’t want to be a writer. I am a writer. I write when I have ideas in my head I need to empty out. I have articles on Medium.com which are simply there to empty my head of ideas that are taking up too much space. I write the article and it frees up space in my head. When I don’t feel called to write, I don’t write. I just enjoy the break.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
For most of my life, I wasn’t a reader. When I was about twenty, I read Richard Bach’s “Illusions: Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah” for a college class, and wall in my brain exploded. That opened up a part of my brain I had never used before and I became a reader.

Because I wasn’t a reader earlier in life, I’m a very slow reader. With a world full of books and the amount of work it takes me to read one, I rarely read books twice. “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” by Robert Pirsig was a difficult book for me to read but it never left me. I knew there was so much I missed while reading it. When I read it the second time, it was so much more than the first time. I’ll be reading it again someday.

What are you working on now?
Part 4 … part 4 … part 4. So many reviews and comments say, “I loved ‘The Infinite Jeff’!!! When will part 4 be done?” So, part 4.

I also have a rock opera, “An Unsafe Place: A Love Story” with 20 original songs that will be produced next season at a local theater.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Goodreads is where most of my readers come from. “The Infinite Jeff” is #1 on their Best Spiritual Fiction list and that has helped readers find my work.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
When I get asked for advice I always say, “Be willing to suck.” I can’t read the rough draft I handed my sister because the writing is so bad. I was always amazed my sister put the effort into helping me. I asked her about it later and she said, “I can teach someone to write, I can’t teach someone to be a storyteller. When I read that, it was clear you were a storyteller.”

Learning any skill goes from being bad at it, practice, improving, and then proficiency. If you throw your hand up and give up because your first attempts suck, you’ve stolen your future from yourself.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write the book you want to read.

You have to be your #1 audience. If you are writing to please someone else, give up now. It isn’t art. “The practice of offering oneself or using one’s talents for an unworthy purpose, especially for personal gain” is one of the definitions of prostitution in dictionary.com.

What are you reading now?
I just finished “I Wanted More Than This” by Carrie Ann Paulo. She’s a local author. One thing I try to do is read books by authors I know. I want people to read my work, so I figure it’s only right I read their work.

I’m currently working on “I’m Okay, You’re Okay” by Thomas A. Harris and “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle

What’s next for you as a writer?
Part 4! It’s haunting me.

I have the start of plenty of books and plays but right now … part 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?
I have a stack of books that I don’t want to start until I have time to focus on them. A desert island would be great.
• Critical Path – R. Buckminster Fuller
• Tertium Organum – P. D. Ouspensky
• The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• And I would probably like the time to read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance again

Author Websites and Profiles

Will Holcomb Website

Will Holcomb Amazon Profile

Will Holcomb Author Profile on Smashwords

Will Holcomb’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

Facebook Profile

Twitter Account

Pete Moon 

Interview With Author Pete Moon

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Pete, I live in Bracknell in the UK
I live with my wife, two kids and our Goldendoodle
I’ve written one book so far but it’s the first in a series of Startup books in the business category.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
STARTUP MINDSET: Help Me Start a Business: 10 Lessons on How to Overcome Fear, Learn the Millionaire Start-up Mindset, & Become a Confident Leader

I would consider myself as a reluctant entrepreneur – reluctant to accept that’s what I was and now I’m onto my third business, I wanted to be able to share some of the mindset to help others overcome their fears or lack of confidence and step into the world of entrepreneurship

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really, I just need help with formulating my words, as I”m an introvert who needs time to think!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Erwin McManus
Pete Grieg
John Mark Comer – especially his book called “Ruthless Elimination of Hurry”
Gino Wickman
Richard Branson
Steve Bartlett

What are you working on now?
The second in the series which will be on Startup Communication – How to Talk Like a CEO, Communicate Effectively in Business and Manage People Well.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon KDP and PPC
Trying TikTok!!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just do it!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Love the Lord God with all your heart and Love your neighbour as yourself!
The greatest commandment ever!

What are you reading now?
Crucial Conversations
The EOS Life

What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing more widely than business
Eventually getting some help to write fiction

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

Author Websites and Profiles

Pete Moon Amazon Profile

Pete Moon’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

 

Dani Julian 

Interview With Author Dani Julian

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Greetings and Salutations! I’m Dani, an illustrator and fiction writer living in Southern California. I write Urban, Epic, and Paranormal fantasy, with a dash of Horror thrown in. I have two series thus far, Black Dog and Rebel Rose (Adult) and Shale City: A Punk Fairytale (Young Adult/New Adult). All of my books are illustrated, which I think makes them stand out!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Black Dog and Rebel Rose, a paranormal fantasy/horror title for adult readers. I originally published this one back in 2009, but resurrected it alongsinde my amazing co-writers, Amanda Schrader and Vincent van Hinte. Vincent is an actor/producer who has appeared in a number of films and television productions, including Star Trek: Into Darkness and The Walking Dead. He approached me about turning BDRR into a feature film, and in doing so we reworked the overall story and re-released it to the public. BDRR follows a half-angel huntree and half-demon hunter who run into each other while hunting vampires in an abandoned town. It’s great fun and a perfect Halloween or summer vacation read.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I always drink wine and some kind of adult beverage side-by-side while I write. Going “sideways” keeps the creative juices flowing!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh gee…so many! The top would be China Mieville, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and Tanith Lee. Definitely scraping the tip of the iceberg there, though.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on the third book in the SHale City sries while conceptualizing the second Black Dog and Rebel Rose book. I tend to try and put out 1-2 titles a year.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Instagram! The reaction to my character art has been huge.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Put out quality work, use betas, hire a good editor, and never give up!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Don’t be such a pussy, use a bigger f***ing brush.”

What are you reading now?
House of Leaves

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hopefully a film! Been waiting for that to finalize for the last year.

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?
King Rat by China Mieville, The Lord of the Rings, House of Leaves, one of my own books (to keep honing the craft!).

Author Websites and Profiles

Dani Julian Amazon Profile