Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is my first book. (Chews).

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is called the Father Christmas Freak Out!

It was inspired by the true story of a Father Christmas I caught sneaking into a house and taking presents back…

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to write best early in the morning.

Once I’ve had some cheese that tends to be me gone for the day…

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Of Mice and Men, King Rat, My life with Mickey, The Sewer Less Travelled.

What are you working on now?
I take Christmas off.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I tend to find biting people works.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes. Eat well. Write. Avoid large cats.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Look out!

What are you reading now?
The Cat of Monte Cristo.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am working on my second children’s novel.

It’s about a tree who climbs up a boy.

I’m serious.

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?
Is this a trick question? If I was stranded on a desert island, wouldn’t Tom Hanks and that volleyball with the face drawn on it be there??

I would take these three books: (serious)

Slaughterhouse Five

Bad Jelly the Witch

Meditations by Mickey Mouselius

Author Websites and Profiles
Rat Johnson Website
Rat Johnson Amazon Profile

Rat Johnson is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Although I am better known as the author of the Cassie and Chloe series of Children’s Adventure fantasy books, I recently had two cookbooks published which are geared towards adults.

I was born in the United States of America, but I have been fortunate to have been able to travel to quite a few countries and experience many wonderful sights, many of which I write about in my books.

I have lived on both the East and West coasts of the United States with my beloved canine “children”.I have a great love for film, television and stage productions, and enormous respect, admiration, and appreciation of actors and actresses.

I simply adore amusement parks, ghost stories, adventure activities, traveling, dogs,the paranormal, and of course, the theatre.

I have enjoyed white water rafting, surfing, para-sailing, mountain climbing,and sky-diving. I even studied piloting a single engine plane for awhile back in New York.

I enjoy conversations about my favorite films , books, movie stars and television series, as well as any travel destination I have had the pleasure of visiting. Oh, I also get a kick out of horror movies -especially the older ones, and psychological thrillers.

{So, if you ever meet me in person, these are sure fire conversation starters!}

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first vacation as a child was to a resort on the lovely island of Sanibel in Florida. Many real life events often inspire me to run with the basics, and then go wild embellishing bizarre but hopefully creative situations out of actual events. Dreams are also fascinating to me, and I often incorporate elements of my nocturnal dreams into my stories. My children’s book : “Cassie and Chloe’s Captiva Cutlass Criminal Caper ” makes full use of my affinity for dreams, and incorporates dreams right into the storyline via Carlita; the girls’ Mother.

I encourage you all to spend more time reading and discovering the many fascinating and incredible worlds inside the imaginations of my fellow dreamers.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am hopelessly old-fashioned and I still enjoy the quaint ( some may perceive it as archaic) concept of writing my stories out longhand for the first draft. I am also a nocturnal writer. Most of the fiction I have created has been thought out, put to paper, and then transposed into the computer between the hours of Midnight and 7 AM.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always loved mystery books. I have read all the older -but oh so wonderful -Agatha Christie, and Ellery Queen books, and {Australian goddess} Kerry Greenwood is a personal favorite. I do hope one day to achieve even a fraction of the poetry which Ms. Ann Rice so vividly paints with her words. Still, so many things influence me in addition to books and other authors. A crucial chapter in my first book actually came into being through a bizarre idea I flashed upon while watching the Alfred Hitchcock classic film”Strangers on a Train”. People have influenced me a great deal as well. The setting for “Cassie and Chloe’s Captivating Crystal Crawlspace Chronicles” actually evolved out of sad circumstances. A family member, and then a friend both experienced unthinkable tragedies, and in my mind to try and justify how such unbearable things could be allowed to happen, I had to reason upon the slightest justification of events, and out of that logic was born the locale of ‘Serendipity Springs’. I also once had a student, a little girl who clearly missed her sister enormously, and she was having difficulty dealing with her loss, and so, I thought my book might help other children like Kaitlyn, who were facing similar heartbreaking situations.

What are you working on now?
At present, I am actually immersed in composing two screenplays for grownup people. One is a suspense/mystery/horror type script , and the other is a romantic adventure – with FOOD playing a starring role.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have yet to find a perfect method. I have tried book fairs, advertising, press releases, giveaways, building websites, frequenting numerous assorted theme websites, and many other marketing type suggestions, but apart from resigning yourself to spending a lot of time doing these things, I couldn’t honestly say with 100 per cent certainty that one method works better than another.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up, and believe in yourself. So many people will try and discourage you -for their own personal reasons, or agendas. IF YOU K NOW YOUR STORY HAS WORTH, then don’t allow any one to take that away from you. Just keep trying until you have realized your dream!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Reach for the moon, because even if you miss, you will still land there up among the stars!

What are you reading now?
I like to read 2 or 3 books at a time. I enjoy reading the books by Heather Graham, and I had the pleasure of meeting her last June at the NY book fair. I just started her book about New Orleans tour guides which lead groups to go on “Ghostwalk” “s around that great city. I am also reading a non fiction book which teaches you how to read Egyptian hieroglyphics, and I am 177 pages into an adventure story written for young persons.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More Cassie and Chloe books, and {most likely} at least one additional cook book.

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 Memoirs of Cleopatra” by Margaret George. I think it is fair to say that it is the single most extraordinary book I have ever read. At almost a thousand pages -it definitely leaves one feeling as though you have quite literally tagged along with the Great Queen of Egypt, as she lived her entire life. Ms.George must have channeled Cleopatra, or was in fact Cleopatra herself -reincarnated this century as a great writer. I would bring along one of the Phryne Fisher mysteries by Miss Greenwood – “Murder in the Dark” or “Ruddy Gore”. I would want “Dracula” by Bram Stoker. I love the atmospheric tone and the fascinating way he crafted the story through diary entries/ Finally I would have a tough time deciding on my fourth and final book – it would be a toss up between an Ellery Queen book or an Anne Rice book or a horror story like “The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer”by Ridley Pearson, or “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson. However, if I were less of a book lover, and more of a survivalist, I should hope someone pens an “ESCAPING FROM A DESERT ISLAND FOR DUMMIES” book – before I embark on my 3 hour Gilligan’s cruise.

Author Websites and Profiles
Trinisse Chanel Website
Trinisse Chanel Amazon Profile
Trinisse Chanel Author Profile on Smashwords

Trinisse Chanel’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Trinisse Chanel is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m old enough to know better, and share a home with two young adults, and three dogs. Outside there’s a parcel of eccentric neighbours and a large and loving family.

My Books:

THE CELTIC COUSINS’ ADVENTURE SERIES:

“A Raucous Time” – perma free on Amazon.com. Book 1 in the CCA. The boys discover an ancient diary, leading to a legendary treasure trove.

“A Ripple in Time” Book 2 in the CCA. The Cousins must turn back time and ensure the Titanic meets her fate, in order to restore our world’s history.

“An Explosive Time” Book 3 in the CCA. DI Crombie of the Metropolitan police is hot on the trial of a disappearing elephant. No surprise that his investigations lead him to the door of the Celtic Cousins, who to his mind, are intent on making a career of being the bane of his life.

“The Griffin Cryer”. Book 1 in The Griffin Rider Chronicles. A teenager discovers she has a most unusual talent when she accidentally summons a griffin, and his rider from another dimension.

“The Griffin’s Boy”. Book 2 in The Griffin Rider Chronicles. In an alternative universe Britain remains an island of mists, populated by Celtic tribes and governed by feudal hierarchy. Evolution has taken a different path and mythical beasts exist. Only noblemen’s sons are recruited into an elite troop known as the Griffin Riders. The best a nameless nobody like Neb can hope for is to become the equivalent of a stable lad.

Various short stories, including Crombie’s Christmas, currently free to download on Smashwords: DI Crombie finds himself spending Christmas in the Italian equivalent of the House of Usher.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“The Griffin’s Boy”, inspired by – “The Griffin Cryer”. Surprisingly, the mysterious rider from TGC acquired a fan base, in spite of his superior attitude. Readers wanted to know more about him, and how his fate became entwined with the mischievous Balkind. “The Griffin’s Boy” is his story, and is published this Sunday, 15th December.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write the first draft on lavender scented paper. This ensures the story is sweet as from the get-go. My favourite gizmo is my phone. When walking, an idea will suddenly hit, or a particular character’s appearance or dialogue will come together. I snap the voice recorder, and dictate as I’m walking the dogs – so long as no-one else is in ear-shot.

Can you imagine coming across someone seeming to have a phone conversation and saying something like ‘Yes, he killed Benny, chucked the body into the meat grinder, then fed it to the pigs.’

What authors, or books have influenced you?
C S Lewis.

Madeleine L’Engle,

Tennyson

Arthur Quiller Couch

Harper Lee

Dennis Lehane

Stephen Spencer

Kate Atkinson

Diana Norman

Simon Singh

J Heller

What are you working on now?
Book 3, Griffin Riders’ Chronicles.

There’s another DI Crombie in the pipeline too – the fat old copper hasn’t finished having adventures yet.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The Awesome Gang of course:)

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read, read, read. Write, write, write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
See above.

What are you reading now?
Cleaver Square, by Dan and Sean Campbell.

What’s next for you as a writer?
The release of “The Griffin’s Boy” in ebook format. Publication of “An Explosive Time” in paperback.

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?
Definitely Bill Bryson’s “A Short History of Nearly Everything”

Simon Singh’s “The Code Book” – both these guys have a gift for explaining complicated ideas simply.

Diana Norman’s “The Morning Gift”

T S Eliot’s “Book of Cats”.

Author Websites and Profiles
Julia Hughes Website

Julia Hughes’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Julia Hughes is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
A graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, and the Art Institute of York, I have studied the fine arts, design, and writing for over 20 years. I concentrate in the areas of portraiture and wildlife, have been commissioned by numerous collectors within the community, and have won several awards in various shows and fairs throughout the state.

I attribute my success to the Lord, and the strength God gives me in order to persist and grow as a more patient and thorough artist and writer. Despite a 50% vision cut in both eyes from a failed brain surgery, with the Lord’s help, I continue to see more and more detail, and hope to improve with time.

I encourage you to explore and exercise your creative side, and enjoy what the Lord can do through it.

I have completed two novels, Grand Mal and Memory Lapse, and am working on my third book, Seizure.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest novel is Seizure. Its inspired by my life as a person with Epilepsy, and my ongoing effort to help readers better understand people with my condition.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I would say my style is clipped yet fluid. I try to switch up the style from scene to scene. You might see the clipped style when I am describing the seizures, and the latter style in other unrelated areas.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
To attribute influence to any specific author or book wouldn’t be fair. Over the course of my lifetime, I’ve read thousands of genre novels and academic classics. In one form or another, it all has worked to my benefit. I would like to think I’m a mix of them all.

What are you working on now?
The name of the novel I’m currently writing is Seizure. Its inspired by my life as a person with Epilepsy, and my ongoing effort to help readers better understand people with my condition. It is a continuation of Grand Mal, my first novel about life with Epilepsy.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t think you can do enough to self promote, however a mix of web and print advertising, banners, bookmarks, and postcards, act as ample reminders for my products, and I’ve had satisfying sales.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t stop reading!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stay focused

What are you reading now?
Soooooooo many

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to remain focused and continue to work on finishing current work and prepare for future manuscripts.

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, Shadow of the Wind, Best Kept Secret

Author Websites and Profiles
Joshua Holmes Amazon Profile

Joshua Holmes is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
The Distracted Yogi is my first book & has morphed into a trilogy-of-a-kind! I’ve felt compelled to tell the true story of becoming brain-injured and the subsequent Trauma-to-Dram-to-Transformation which soon followed. While I’m new to the writing arena somehow this book just flowed out & onto the keyboard, almost effortlessly. In less than 6 weeks the book was done but then the editing, cover design & formatting took more twice that time! It was a grueling process reliving & re-experiencing the trauma of my brain injury but more difficult was the pain of loss on so many levels: career, health, self-esteem, social circles, physical fitness & relationships to name a few. My story appeals to not only brain injury survivors or their care-givers but to a broader audience of persons who may be struggling through trauma of all kinds & also those who love them.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first & only published work is called The Distracted Yogi: How I reclaimed My BLISS After Brain Injury & Trauma. The sub title covers the journey after the fact & the Title refers to a description of my former & new selves-integrated. Yoga & Meditation were a huge part of my day-to-day life prior to me being hit by a car while riding my bike. I was a calm, centered & stable person before my accident but afterwards, well, distracted was probably the least of my troubles yet it was also the most persistent symptom post accident. I knew early on that I needed to write this book. It was apparent to me that very few people really grasped what had happened to me & what life was like for someone with a closed-head injury. Those people who were often referred to in some circles as ‘The Walking Wounded.’ I also discovered my own ignorance about head injury & concussion syndrome in the process of recovering from a brain injury & from the long, painful journey of reinventing myself.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know. I wake up at around 4-5 am & write until noon usually 1800-2200 words per day. I generally go for a short hike afterwards to refresh myself then leisurely hang out with my cat Martin or run errands & catch up with friends, is that weird?! I stay off the internet & ignore emails during my writing hours. I write seven days a week until the story is finished & there’s nothing more to be expressed. I don’t know how or why this routine came into being but I think participating inan online contest called The TransformationContest.com was pivotal in helping me establish good writing habits.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
F Scott Fitzgerald. His passion but also too the way he captured what sometimes seemed like a brutal bleakness of his inner world. Marianne Williamson, all of her books but especially A Return To Love. I met her a few years back & she even let me hug her! Wayne Dyer, Sol Mongerman, Louise Hay. I’m currently reading a few books by Martha Stout: The Myth of Sanity & The Psychopath Next Door, and probably one of the most influential books I’ve ever read, A General Theory of Love. Also, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.

What are you working on now?
I have 2 projects on the go. I don’t think I imagined I’d be writing 2 books simultaneously but it just seems to roll out that way! The prequel to The Distracted Yogi-The Reluctant Lesbian: The Closet Revealed, which chronicles my life prior to my accident & a subject that I believe is rarely told especially in mainstream literature, that is the inner world of Gays & Lesbians. A story told from the perspective of someone like myself who left a husband & the ‘Straight’ life but never really felt like I belonged anywhere & ultimately became just a caricature of the Gay Community in order to fit in.

The other book is my story post-Distracted Yogi & is titled ‘The Handbook of Harmony: How to survive & thrive in an Insane World!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’d say it has to be a multifaceted approach. Facebook fan pages are a great way to honor your readers interest in you & your work. People sometimes want & need to connect with the author so give your audience something in return for their interest. I post pictures related to my book which give that little extra to those who want to know more.

Put the time in on websites which promote free downloadable ebooks. There are dozens of them most are free & they want to display your works. Engage people with a blog…I know many people say that blogs are dead & on their own there is little chance of anyone ever landing on your page but link your blog by way of partnering with others. Form alliances & friendships & promote others as well. Their success is your success too.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get involved in a structured group of some kind such as Writer’s Groups on Facebook, Meetups etc. Become Social Media savvy & get comfortable with self-promoting. Start promoting your book Before it’s completed, as early as 3-4 months before. Some people recommend 6 months! Join a Toastmasters or other speaker-training group. Probably the most important step is the structured group because out of this connection your discipline will become established enough for you to actually complete your work. The most influential action I took was entering the transformation contest.com, I believe there is another one about to start. It runs for 90 days & provides free resources & a closed community of contestants, all online, for those committed to making a radical change(s) in their life in the next 90 days. It was critical for me because the structure of the contest meant my commitment to write my first book was completely accountable to all the other contestants, all 47,000 plus of them! Highly, highly recommended & it’s free to enter plus there are thousands of $$ in prizes.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Get a plan & stick to it. I purchased a very inexpensive eBook titled ‘How to Write a Book in 21 Days or less: That Readers will love!’ by Steve Scott. This little book gave me a simple map to follow which combined with a supportive community proved to be a winning strategy. Don’t go in alone…it doesn’t have to be that brutal! Also, about a month into my process I wrote something called ‘Ode to Newbie Writers’…here it is:
Learning to Write your first book is just like Military Basic Training & We are all running the same Obstacle Course!

You start out enthusiastic but once you’ve glimpsed the course ahead your feelings rapidly change into those of dread and insecurity. “I can’t do this, Can I?!”

Then, you start, looking around for a cue some clue from others; you slowly begin to move through the course laid out in front of you.

Then before you know it, you’re down on your hands and knees crawling around in the muck that is your thoughts, “What am I doing here I’m not even a Writer et al-am I?!”

Then, you’re on your feet again, dodging doubt, running ahead but then once again the path becomes confusing. “Do I jump or wade across the watery chasm that is my story?!”

You eventually take a leap, now you’re feeling fantastic because you know you belong, but then, an enormous wall looms just ahead, “Oh God, now what?!”

You grab onto the dangling rope-ladder and struggle and struggle to climb up the steep wall that is your nemesis, Doubt and Despair. You continually fall and slip-back several notches on the ropes but you keep going because you know the top of the wall is near. You look-up thinking you must be there but it continues to rise high above you and you feel frustrated and for a moment you consider quitting; packing it in completely. You ask yourself “Why am I even doing this?!,“Who would even notice if I didn’t finish?!”

Then it occurs to you-YOU Would Notice. Now you want to get over the wall just for you, because you must. This was exactly what you needed; a little burst of energy to get you up and over the top, the final obstacle-YOU DID IT!!

YOU ARE DOING IT, JUST KEEP GOING!

What are you reading now?
Martha Stout The Myth of Sanity, The Holographic Universe, The Stand, Stephen King.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m working on my speaking skills because that’s something I absolutely love to do-Talk! When someone asks to to describe my book(s) is a huge pleasure & opportunity to engage a reader. My first official speaking engagement is in a few months & I’m really stoked about 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?
A Return to Love, Marianne Williamson, Songs of Kabir, A General Theory of Love & War & Peace.

Author Websites and Profiles
Michelle Desgagne Website
Michelle Desgagne Amazon Profile

Michelle Desgagne is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a comedy writer based in Devon, UK. I graduated from university in 2009 with a 1st class HONS in scriptwriting and performance. I have gone on to write plays, screenplays and most recently comedy novels, featuring a madcap amateur gas and electricity meter reader named Walton Cumberfield. The first novel in the series is entitled ‘Dinosaurs and Prime Numbers’ and was released in December 2012.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
A few months after ‘Dinosaurs and Prime Numbers’ was published, I was approached by a fan in Denmark who was putting together a collection of short stories by emerging writers. I contributed a Walton Cumberfield novella to this collection entitled ‘The Trojan Hearse’. It was a fantastic opportunity to revisit the character and has served as a fantastic warm-up exercise in preparation for the second full-length novel, as well as drawing new readers to my series.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I always dress as a monk during my writing sessions, but it’s just the usual plain tunic and hood combination.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Elements of my work have been compared to Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Robert Rankin, though I never set out to emulate those authors. In fact, as a reader I am not drawn to comedy fiction at all, but moreover to serious science fiction like Stephen King and Michael Crichton. My comedy writing has its foundations on the stage, in plays, sketches and stand-up comedy. Indeed, the character of Walton Cumberfield began as a one-off character in a radio sketch back in 2006.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the second novel in the Walton Cumberfield series, entitled ‘A Debt to the Universe’. I have the entire thread for the second and third novels planned out on scraps of paper in my desk drawers, so now I just need to sit down and turn them into literary comedy gold (fingers crossed).

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Word of mouth is the most natural way to spread the reach of a book, and I am always overjoyed to hear from a fan that they have recommended my book to others. I have only just started dabbling in paid promotion and free listing sites, so I cannot pass comment on that side of things at present.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
When you’re at a party and people ask you what you do, don’t say ‘author’ or ‘writer’. They won’t be nearly as interested as you hoped, and the whole situation will become slightly awkward. I like to tell people that I’m an astronaut, and then excuse myself before they ask any more questions.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never try to make your own baked beans. They’ll never be as nice as the ones out of the tin.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading A Clash of Kings – the second book in George RR Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series. My wife and I have recently become obsessed with Game of Thrones on TV, so I’ve been getting into the books as well. They are exceptional.

I’m also reading The Mystery of Edwin Drood. It’s Dickens at his best, and I can’t wait to find out how it ends.

What’s next for you as a writer?
God only knows. I hope I’ll be able to carry on this series and continue to reach more readers around the world. I’d like to get back into theatre soon as well, and am currently resurrecting an old project for the stage.

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?
Outdoor Survival Handbook by Ray Mears (for obvious reasons)

The Complete Works of Shakespeare (because this counts as one book, so it’s really the best value I’m going to get in this deal)

50 Shades of Grey (because I’ve never read it, and could indulge my curiosity without anyone seeing)

War and Peace (mainly for kindling)

Author Websites and Profiles
Tom Moran Amazon Profile

Tom Moran’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tom Moran is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Breaking TWIG is my first published novel to date.

Born and raised in the Deep South, I grew up during the era of the Civil Rights Movement, integration, and Vietnam. I received a BS degree in biology and English in Texas, and later moved to Atlanta to work and pursue post graduate work. After working in the scientific field for twenty years, I turned to writing fiction and nonfiction. My nonfiction and poetry have been published in newspapers and magazines locally and nationally.

I like to tackle issues most people, especially Southerners, can identify with and like me, may have struggled to understand. I enjoy writing stories and characters steeped in the lyrical traditions and mystical surroundings of the Deep South.

A transplanted Texan, I have lived the last twenty years in Montana with my family. When not working on my next novel or article, I enjoy doing pet therapy work with my golden retriever and volunteering in animal rescue.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of the book is Breaking TWIG.

In college, I majored in biology and English and have always been interested in the issue of heredity verses environment in child development. Which one has the most influence on a child? At times, Becky (Twig) worries that she has inherited her mother’s “picker” ways and her gene for chicanery, but she also thinks having one person who loves and believes in you is all a person needs to keep hope alive.

Growing up, both Becky and Henry had one parent who berated and abused them, and one parent who gave them unconditional love and support. Helen had no such love or support system when she was a child. I wanted readers to think about how important the roles of love and a supportive environment—or the lack of these two influences—are in helping to shape a child’s development into an adult.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
As a scientist, you learn to lay out your experiments and make sure each step builds on the last step. This process helps me in laying out my storyline. I usually make a timeline first, especially if the story will cover several years, such as Breaking TWIG does. I do a loose outline. I know where I want to start the story, where it should end, and have several major scenes already percolating in my head. They are not set in stone. I want to give the characters time and space to develop as I get to know them better.

A lot of writers I know need music or some noise in the background when they write. I need silence, total silence. That’s the reason I like to write while everyone else is asleep. So, I usually write between midnight and 5 am.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is my favorite book. Being a southern fiction writer, it comes as no surprise that the women writers whose works have most influenced my own are a mixed bag of Southern ladies. From Dorothy Allison’s novel, Bastard Out of Carolina, to contemporary New York Times bestselling author, Deborah Smith, to Fannie Flagg, the Alabama lass that can tickle your funny bone with her words, the list is a long one indeed.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a romance-suspense called Caddo Girl. It is set in Louisiana in early 1970’s. After it is completed, I’m writing a sequel to Breaking TWIG because so many readers have asked me to continue Becky’s story. They have actually called me to ask about what happens next for Johnny and Becky.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Twitter and Facebook a lot. I really appreciate sites like Awesomegang that help indie authors get the word out about their books. I also belong to two writer groups and we cross promote each other’s books. Most writers are generous people. Help others promote their books, paintings, art, and they will help you in return. Donate copies of your book to libraries, book drives, and/or charity fund raisers. Offer your expertise to help judge al writing contest or talk to a high school English class. Let the people you meet know you’re a writer. When someone gives you their business card, give them one of your own, one that includes a link to your website or book.

Also, study what is going on in the marketplace. Rules change, agents move to new agencies, and so forth. What worked last year or even last month, might not work today. Be ready to spend a lot of time researching trends and learn to filter the facts from the hype. Remember your book may be your baby, but it is also your business.

The best promotions come from readers. I answer every email I receive from readers and answer any question they might have. I’ve become friends with several of my readers, even though we have never met except via FB and email. Word-of mouth may seem old fashion in this day of flash internet, but it is still the best and most trusted form of promotion.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t expect others to do all the marketing for you. Learn how to use social marketing sites like Facebook and Twitter (ask a teenager for advice). I belong to a great local writers’ group. We share our resources, pool our knowledge, and celebrate each other’s success. I urge every writer I meet to join a supportive authors’ group, but beware of toxic groups that view everyone as their competitor rather than their colleague. And when you don’t know something—ASK! And keep asking until you find someone who has the answers.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Two things:

The first is from William Shakespeare’s, Hamlet. I like this so much that I put it on page 1 in the paperback version of Breaking TWIG.

“This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

The second is from my late mother. She told me life is about the choices you make. When you get knocked down, choose to get up.

What are you reading now?

“Your Heart: Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease in Women, Men & Children” by Dr. Betty Kuffel (nonfiction)

“Death Al Dente” a mystery by Agatha-award winning author, Leslie Budewitz.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My husband is retiring soon, so I’m going to take the next couple of weeks off. Then I will start edits for Caddo Girl and hopefully get it out by summer. While doing that, I will begin working on ideas for the sequel of Breaking TWIG.

I plan on getting a lot of writing done this winter because I have a long “honey-do” list come summer.

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?
A first aid/ survival in the wilderness book

A picture book about dogs

The Bible

A thick journal of empty pages (with pencil) to write in.

Author Websites and Profiles
Deborah Epperson Website
Deborah Epperson Amazon Profile

Deborah Epperson’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Deborah Epperson is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am wrapping up my 3rd book, I truly enjoy writing despite it being like having multiple bi-polar personalities. I enjoy hearing back from so many people that have been helped from my books, from young teens to adult soldiers and to other cancer patients.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I started with “Glass Screams” a book about a young teen girl whom had to learn to overcome having been molested as well as face down her attacker in court while struggling to thrive through physical rehab post car accident. I followed up with “3rd Hand Ranch” which deals with teen bullying and follows a group of girls and their own individual challenges. I am finalizing my third novel called “As the Rains Break” which follows a family and one mans challenges to get his family through the Dust bowl coupled with the Great Depression.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I often don a hoodie, hide under my headphones as retire to my office in my basement, I fend off most forms of distraction possible. My office is a disaster, with several hundred book plots and related notes, the desk ,the walls and even the bed are strewn with things, from packets of paper for each book to a roll of butcher paper to map out whole towns, if I didn’t have such a mass of intel in my mind and know exaclty where everything was, I might get lost myself.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The successful ones, honestly I dealt with dyslexia growing up so reading was painful, yet I can write for sixteen to twenty hours before realizing the time has gone by. I truly enjoy writing and it’s flattering that I’m seeing so many interested readers.

What are you working on now?
I am wrapping up “As The Rains Break” and am aiming for a release date towards the end of January, once I submit all of my work and finish with my graphic designer than I immediately head into another novel. I am aiming to hve my 8th novel out my xmas 2014, as a single parent I take my summers off from writing and I don’t write in the afternoons.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have been navigating many of the promo sites and abilities on my own, I have a small team that helps with so much of the smaller details but alot of the promo stuff boils down to being my responsibility for now still. I have a graphic designer to help with covers, a part time editior I added to my staff and a media person, the rest is still on me.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Editing is the bane of my existence, writing isn’t about making money, it’s about getting out whatever it is that you need to get out.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write drunk, Edit sober -Hemmingway

What are you reading now?
I am to busy writing to read, but someday maybe

What’s next for you as a writer?
more and more books, I love starting a new novel, the potential, the characters ,making everything work and fit. I also love wrapping up a book even though I feel sad to let it go and hope that others find the enjoyment within the pages that I did while writing.

I have hundreds of story lines, plots and makings of novels, I can only hope to continue to enjoy writing my 300th novel as much as I’ve enjoyed my first, second and now third.

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?
wouldn’t even know where to begin

Author Websites and Profiles
L.R. Claude Amazon Profile

L.R. Claude’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

L.R. Claude is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a creative writing tutor, photographer, and published author. I trained as a photojournalist many years ago and have an Honours Degree in Drama and English Literature. I used to be an actor/director and scriptwriter, but gave it all up when I moved to Suffolk and fell in love with the scenery. I live in a 17thCentury timber-framed cottage in Suffolk UK with my husband and many feral/rescued cats.

After gaining a Creative Writing Diploma, I entered and won the Suffolk Book League’s Short Story Competition 2011, with Glimmer. The next year I was short-listed for the Escalator Genre Fiction Competition with an extract from my book Echoes from the Lost Ones, the first in the series The Song of Forgetfulness. Echoes was published by Fable Press in July 2013 and is receiving excellent reviews.

I have written two books in the series The Song of Forgetfulness and I have just self published a collection of short stories entitled, Glimmer.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Echoes from the Lost Ones is my latest book, apart from my short story collection Glimmer.

‘Echoes’ came about due to a challenge from some pupils that attend a creative writing group I teach at my local High School. They asked me to write something for their age group that included subject matters that they were concerned about, such as global warming, disease, and cloning. Also the fact that characters never seem to go to the toilet. After discussing what they liked to read and what they felt was lacking in most YA books, I came up with the idea for The Song of Forgetfulness. After researching about technological advances such as 3D printing, super strong-lightweight materials, and ‘invisible cloth’, I came up with several ideas for inclusion in the book. Adara’s invisible super lightweight Synthbag and self replicating Sterichoc, to name a few.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to get ideas at the oddest of moments, so I keep a sticky pad and pen in every room of the house, in the car, in the greenhouse and in the pocket of my coat, and I write down my thoughts. I then stick these pieces of paper on th ewall of my room, which looks a bit like a crime scene wall in a police station.

I also have to have a bottle of water and some kind of fruit to nibble on when I write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ursula Le Guin – The Wizard of Earthsea

Sylvia Plath – The Bell Jar

Gunter Grass – The Tin Drum

Theodore Sturgeon – More than Human

Ray Bradbury – The Martian Chronicles

Joh Kennedy Toole – A Confederacy of Dunces

Alun Garner – The Owl Service

Flann O’Brian – The Third Policeman

Annie Proulx – Any of her short stories

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the third book in the series, The Song of Forgetfulness, and a children’s book, Marauders of the Missing Mummies.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Facebook and Twitter a lot, but find KBoards really good for promoting eBooks. I also have a website and blog site too.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up, even if publishers or agents reject you.

Write what you want to write and not what you think would sell.

Don’t self-proof read. Get someone you trust to it for you. It is too easy to miss mistakes when

reviewing your own work.

Consider self- publishing. These days there is a lot of support and free marketing out here to resource.

Use online media platforms to promote yourself.

Converse with other authors, share books, and reviews and get yourself noticed. Do book readings and

signings if you can. It’s a great way to actually meet readers who might enjoy your work.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what you want to write, not what others think you should.

What are you reading now?
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am going to collaborate on a book with a young writer. It is something I’ve never done before and I find it really exciting. It is also a genre I’m not used to – Chick Lit – so it will be quite a challenge for me. I enjoy trying to write in different genre’s. I believe it helps you grow as a writer.

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?
A Christmas Carol by charles Dickens

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake

Author Websites and Profiles
Nicola McDonagh Website
Nicola McDonagh Amazon Profile

Nicola McDonagh’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Nicola McDonagh is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m the mother of two very active boys and they keep me hopping! Ever since fifth grade I’ve known that I wanted to be a writer, but it wasn’t until I was home with my kids that I was able to pursue publication.

I’ve written three books so far, all of them for the Super Spies Mystery/Thriller Series. I’m working on a Coming of Age Young Adult Novel that I’m really excited about. It’s almost done! When I’m not writing I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, running, and hiking. I especially love hiking through the woods, it’s a great stress reliever.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is titled “The Super Spies and the Pied Piper.” The first three books in this series all focus on the disappearance of Sarah and Lacey’s parents. The third book is the final chapter in that mysterious saga. I’ve received great reviews on all three books.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to write with some chocolate near by. When I get stuck in a scene I’ll reach for the chocolate first. If that doesn’t solve the problem I’ll go for a run or a hike. The physical activity seems to stimulate my creativity and any problem seems to work itself out.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Harper Lee

Stephen King

J.R. Tolkien

Gayle Forman

John Green

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a Coming of Age Young Adult Novel and I’m really excited about it! I love the story and I hope my writing does it justice!

Do you have any advice for new authors?

Keep on writing!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever heard was keep on writing.

What are you reading now?
I’ve been so busy writing that I haven’t had time to read. But the last few books I’ve read are “Looking for Alaska” by John Green and “Where she went” by Gayle Forman.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, I’ve got a couple of books in mind that I need to start working on. One is the sequel to the Coming of Age Young Adult Novel that I’m writing and the fourth Super Spies book that I’ve got mapped out in my head. Then there’s this third book that I just came up with the other day! I’m going to have to make a list because my ideas are coming faster than I can write them!

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 the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and a couple of Gayle Forman’s books.

Author Websites and Profiles
Lisa Orchard Website
Lisa Orchard Amazon Profile

Lisa Orchard’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Lisa Orchard is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Goodness, where to start? Up until six years ago, I’d been convinced I’d make a living doing musical theatre. As you can tell, I’ve never been in touch with reality. Ha! Once I realized my horrific stage fright wouldn’t let up so I could even audition for plays, I decided to find something behind the scenes to do and thought I’d become a screenwriter. That morphed into a flood of short stories, one of which evolved into my first novella, Be Ours Forever. After BOF released, I found a home with Just Ink Press. They released Enslaved (The Inbetween Novels), and the prequel to Be Ours Forever, In Too Deep. Currently I’m working on the sequel to Enslaved. Wrangling an incubus isn’t as easy as it seems.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The newest novel, In Too Deep, came out of no where. I knew I wanted to go back and tell Jarlan and Meghan’s story. They’d won me over while writing Be Our Forever. What I didn’t know was, Meghan hid a lot from me when I originally created her. I kinda needed to know she’d been a CIA agent. But I guess even characters I create keep secrets when they’re trained to do it in order to survive. Research for this book likely landed me on every government watch list known to man. I don’t blame them. How often does someone dig deep into KGB and CIA Cold War facts?

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Talk about a loaded question. Aside from the act of typing, everything I do is unusual–hoarding gummy bears, downing coffee like water, singing along to musicals (Repo! The Genetic Opera, The Devil’s Carnival, Nine, Phantom of the Opera, and more), standing and physically taking myself through a fight scene, and hours upon hours of weapons and injury research to make sure I’ve got everything *just* right. Then there’s editing, for my own books or clients, where I can be heard muttering dialog aloud to make sure it doesn’t sound weird. Occasionally my nephew hears my muttering and thinks I’m talking to him. He’s used to it, though.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Laurell K. Hamilton showed me that not every paranormal mystery has to include sex, which was a huge reason I hadn’t read paranormal books until I was around nineteen and a friend suggested I pick up a copy of Guilty Pleasures. Up until then, I read a lot of Stephen King, who is my teacher on effective methods to add texture to a novel. Sherrilyn Kenyon is another huge influence, both her writing and Sherri as a person. The struggles she went through before–and even after–becoming a best-selling author showed me that even though I’m not well-off financially, I’d be even poorer if I gave up on my writing dream before it had a chance to flourish.

What are you working on now?
At the moment, I’m wrangling a rather willful incubus, Garik, for the second Inbetween book. There’s no name for the new book, yet. But I can tell you, Garik’s book is a lot darker than I’d anticipated. There’s a preview for it in the back of In Too Deep.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
It’s been a mixed bag as far as promoting goes. Right now it’s me and my publisher acting as a street team of sorts. There’s only so much we can do on our own via Twitter, Facebook, and sites like this one. In time we’ll have a system down. But right now, word-of-mouth seems to work the best.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing.

I tell every single one of my writer friends the same thing at least once a week. You can’t finish a book unless you put in time at your keyboard. A book cannot create itself. Even if you’re only writing a paragraph a day, that’s another paragraph toward a finished manuscript.

Also, ignore your inner editor. Unless there’s a huge, glaring plot hole that’s preventing you from moving on with the book, leave it as-is. The quicker you release a book onto the page, the harder it is for it to run away and become lost in the myriad of things life throws your way.

Lastly, take notes. I’ve lost so many wonderful plot ideas because I didn’t want to get out of bed when one of those almost-asleep, yet brilliant ideas pops up. No, you won’t remember in the morning. Write it down. I travel everywhere with pen and paper handy.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t be afraid to screw up. Not sure who said it, but it stuck with me.

What are you reading now?
I just finished all but the last Psy/Changeling novel by Nalini Singh. Her world-building techniques are awe-inspiring. I ended up devouring the entire series in roughly two months. And somehow still found writing time. No wonder I ran out of coffee again.

What’s next for you as a writer?
First thing’s first, survive Christmas. Once the holidays are behind us, I’ll be locking myself in my office to get Inbetween 2 finished by February. After that, I start the final book in my vampire trilogy.

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 like asking what children to save from a fire! Okay, let me look at my (overfilled) bookcase….

The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny

Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Hannibal by Thomas Harris

Lover at Last by J.R. Ward

Honestly, I’ve love to take more. These are just a handful of the books that’ve stuck with me in some way or helped me heal emotionally. None of them are exactly light reading.

Author Websites and Profiles
R.C. Murphy Website
R.C. Murphy Amazon Profile
R.C. Murphy Author Profile on Smashwords

R.C. Murphy’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

R.C. Murphy is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in Sedgefield, South Africa, near the sea (a 5 minute walk, actually). I have a 7-year-old son who is the love of my life. I began writing as a career almost 4 years ago. Before then I wrote for myself, and for fun. I got into writing eBooks for a company (ghost-writing). Some of the books were in my name, as I chose the topics (and asked for 10% of sales to go to various animal charities) but they were signed to my employer on a ghost-writer’s rate (fine by me). For Animal Totems and Spirit Animals, I requested royalties as I put a lot of effort into that one! The company then turned to website design, which I had no interest in, so I turned to oDesk and I haven’t looked back since. I love writing. I then decided to create my own books (hire my own illustrators) and ‘It Means Something To Me’ was born. The second in the series (The Fairies’ Message) will be available soon.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It Means Something To Me. What inspired it? Well, my son often asks me to tell him stories at bedtime. This one came to mind. I wanted to tell him a story about a boy who collected rubbish along his walk, only to find that the rubbish he’d collected was valuable to someone else – and worth a mansion! I wanted my son to learn to look closer at things in life and make use of absolutely everything he has. It’s touching for me, and it saddens me to see how much is wasted in this day and age – especially young talent.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure which habits are usual – so I can’t be sure if I have any that are unusual. I guess one would be that I type with my right hand only?!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
J.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Helen Dunmore

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m on holiday at home (well-deserved)! In this time I am also tying together the loose ends on The Fairies’ Message (they can’t make up their minds – I finish the message then they want to add something, or change a phrase…)!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still figuring that out…

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t write to impress, write to express.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t write to impress, write to express!

What are you reading now?
Nothing at the moment.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have no idea. New doors open for me on oDesk just about everyday. I’ll see what the new year offers there, and also I need to see if It Means Something To Me will get the response I hope for.

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 Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis

Ingo – Helen Dunmore

The Hobbit – J.R. Tolkien

Author Websites and Profiles
Carly Van Heerden Website
Carly Van Heerden Amazon Profile

Carly Van Heerden’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Carly Van Heerden is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been a (mostly full-time) professional ventriloquist for the past twenty eight years. I’m also a pianist, screenwriter, martial artist, Yiddish teacher/translater and single dad to two teenage daughters whose myriad talents dwarf mine. I have written five feature film screenplays and one short film. The latter, Oxford Park, was produced several years ago in England and screened at more than a dozen film festival world wide. While the Village Sleeps is my first novel.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I’ve always written all of my material for my ventriloquist act. I’ve had to write material for all ages and kinds of audiences and venues, so it has amounted to a vast amount of writing. About fifteen years ago, my passions for both film noir and ventriloquism led me to the idea of wedding the two in the form of a noir-ish ventriloquist/detective who solves crimes with the help of his wooden partner. Over the ensuing decade or so I wrote a few feature film screenplays featuring the ventriloquist/dummy detective duo of Van Trillo & Sam Suede. While the Village Sleeps is the novelized version of my most recent screenplay. I think that it works particularly well as a novel.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I find that I generally do my best writing in the middle of the night.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Raymond Chandler, Elmore Leonard, Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, Agatha Christie, Woody Allen

What are you working on now?
I’ve been too busy with performing ventriloquist shows – and raising two daughters as a single dad – to write another novel yet. But I plan to make time for it soon.

The next novel that I plan to write is set in Shanghai, China. It will be based on another one of my Trillo & Suede screenplays, and I’m excited about how the exciting, romantic, foreboding locale will serve as a backdrop for the novel version of the narrative.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?

https://www.facebook.com/pages/While-the-Village-Sleeps-the-NOVEL/655918007770884?ref=hl

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be concise. I think that is the most important lesson that I’ve had to learn and of which I still have to continually remind myself. I received valuable feedback from a British director/producer, Ian Lewis of Farnham Films, on each of the screenplays that I wrote. One of the notes that he kept repeating was to be brutally tough with myself in editing my own work. Most writers by nature hate to cut anything they’ve written, which is why most of us need an editor when all is said and done to make our work better. But it is important to go through our own first draft (and subsequent ones) and constantly ask ourselves, “Is that word truly necessary? Or that phrase/sentence/paragraph/chapter?” If the answer is no then delete it, no matter the pain.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Elmore Leonard wrote something to the effect that he tries not to write the parts of novels that readers skip. In other words, be fanatically concise.

What are you reading now?
A Yiddish novel by Moyshe Kulbak, “Zelmenyaner”

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to write novelized versions of several of my other Trillo & Suede screenplays.

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?
Lord of the Rings trilogy. I’ve never been able to get through it, but I think that in the above circumstance I’d finally have the time to do it!

Author Websites and Profiles
Jonathan Geffner Website
Jonathan Geffner Amazon Profile

Jonathan Geffner’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Jonathan Geffner is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is my first book.

When I finished college, I taught Theater for 20 years at several different universities and art schools. I then made the transition to corporate training and development, and for the next 20 years I did professional training on several subjects and directed learning management projects, ending up as a Director of Talent Development. Then I got laid off in 2010 (for the third time in six years), and haven’t been able to get a job since.

I started doing more and more around the house and eventually made it a full time career, developing fascinating and exciting approaches and techniques. (My family would describe them as “goofy and weird”.) But behind it all was my general attitude about any job: Play your work. So in an attempt to live what I had always taught — even in corporations — which was that you could do your work and live your life as a form of art, I started to write about the things I was doing and what fueled my notions about all of this stuff in the first place. And now I have a book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Laid Off and Crazy Happy – Memoirs of a Houseband.”

Here’s one of my book synopses I use that tells the backstory pretty well:

“This book was written on a dare and a lark.

One Summer day, while sitting in the shallow end of a public pool and extolling the merits of my unique approach to housework, my wife turned and said to me, “Why don’t you write about this stuff?” So I did. And my intent was to just capture some of that “uniqueness” which makes up my surprisingly enjoyable daily routine. It was just going to be a fun, diary-like thing that would perhaps preserve my uncanny strategies for posterity.

Little did I know that several months later I would be involved in actual book writing, and considering publishers and marketing campaigns. And while it was indeed fun, it became something of an obsession and accrued a life of its own. As I started to get feedback from friends, it turned into an authentic endeavor to describe not only my present activities but my whole life, and the way it has defined me and brought me to where I am now.

As of July 1, 2013, I have been out of the corporate workforce for exactly three years. The struggles and the joys of being home all the time drive the content of this book, but the real story is the way I do the things I do. My thinking, shaped by my experiences and my relentless optimism, guides my approach. And for all its peculiarity I honestly believe that others can benefit from a good dose of quirk in their work.

So for those that are recently out of work, and those that have been so for much longer than they expected, this is for you. But it’s also for those that find it hard to enjoy their situation in any situation. If the simple, everyday tasks of housekeeping can become the vehicle for the best parts of us — and they can — then that’s true for anything we do. The upshot of this book is that it offers a way to help others see things differently and live their lives with more playful joy than they might imagine possible. Which is what I think everyone wants. So, logically, everyone will like this book.”

The real inspiration for this book was my lifelong dedication to helping others do what they do with more joy, more passion, more creativity and more playfulness. It’s what I love the most, and I sincerely believe that it’s easier than most people think.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write in bursts, usually lasting anywhere from an hour or so to 8 or 9 hours straight. Not much discipline… mostly inspiration. And I only write when I have something to say, or when I’ve been slapped on the side of the head with an idea or realization of some kind.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Very eclectic. Many of the classics, lots of plays and books by actor/directors, early science fiction, a few random novels. But what I enjoy reading the most is non-fiction, historical and philosophical works. Comparative religion, progressive scientific thought, Eastern Philosophy, mythology, occultism and spirituality, even some New Agey stuff.

Even recent works on Quantum Mechanics and Theoretical Physics, written for the layman. Some very exciting stuff there.

What are you working on now?
Marketing. It’s extremely painful. Although I have never had any problem talking about what I do and the things I think about, the whole self-promotion thing is a real challenge, and I don’t know much at all about it. If I had the money I would definitely pay someone else to do it. I need to find someone who would be willing to work for a percentage of my eventual smash success of a business. (hint)

I’m also considering writing a blog, but it’s pretty exhausting just filling out this interview form.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
As mentioned, I’m new to the art of S.S.L. (Shameless Self Promotion). I’m getting an real education on marketing and promotional techniques and tools, and it’s been very interesting. Lots of incredibly helpful people out there sharing the benefits of their experience and knowledge. But the possibilities are endless, and there’s a lot of work yet to do.

So far the best efforts I’ve made have been with Amazon and Goodreads, and the author assistance programs they have. I’ve yet to see how my other attempts at getting attention will do. I’ve really just started. I just published in October and in the last two months I’ve done two book release events, which have been great for getting the ball rolling. Facebook has been very helpful, too. But my real focus is on how to develop my professional speaking business, presenting both on the book and on several other topics. I consider myself as much a professional speaker as an author. (Been speaking for over 20 years, but this is my first foray into the wonderful world of writing.)

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do your homework. Besides the options of self-publishing or going with the big publishing houses, there’s a ton of stuff out there about blogging, social media, author communities and groups, and marketing. Read it all, but don’t get too freaked out about all the choices. Just start making some. And expect things to move slowly. With some good research and a solid plan you should do fine.

Oh, and I always think you should play your work, like a musician plays an instrument. Much more fun that way, and will most likely produce better work.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Worry is a misuse of the imagination.

What are you reading now?
Grave Matters by Mark Harris

Lighting the Eye of the Dragon by Dr. Baolin Wu

The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer

Monsters and Magical Sticks by Steven Heller and Terry Lee Steele

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’d like to be on Ellen.

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?
“How to Survive on a Desert Island”

“Making Sea Food with No Equipment”

“Things To Do in the Desert”

Author Websites and Profiles
Andy Weisberg Website
Andy Weisberg Amazon Profile

Andy Weisberg’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Andy Weisberg is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I served in the Army National Guard and Army Reserves for a total of 21 years. In 2003, I was deployed as a Civil Affairs Officer to Iraq, where I sat at a desk, in an abandoned building equipped with air-conditioning.

I live in Oneida, New York. I was until recently a Mission Continues Fellow, and now I’m a published author. I was interviewed on CNN in 2010 about my experiences in Iraq, specifically about how humanitarian aid contributes to our national security.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?

My first book, Does My Suicide Vest Make Me Look Fat?, is a collection of my experiences in Iraq. They’re about all the strange, idiotic, and funny things that happened while I was there. It took me nearly 10 years to finish it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I make an outline on sheets of paper, the ideas eventually become chapter titles. Then I just fill in the blanks.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Joseph Heller; Catch 22

Tim O’Brien; The Things They Carried

James Webb; Fields of Fire, A Sense of Honor

Winston Groom, Better Times Than These

John Le Carre; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Anything by Frederick Forsyth

What are you working on now?
I’m working on my next book, This Might Have Been A Bad Idea. It’s about more funny, idiotic, surreal events, both in and out of the military.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have a website, www.soldierpress.com and a blog, www.unclesugar.com. The Kindle version is on Amazon.com

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up! Push through any obstacles that you or anyone else has put in your way. Don’t assume that nobody wants to read what you want to publish.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Write that book…” COL David Hackworth, author of About Face and Steel My Soldiers’ Hearts

What are you reading now?
The Outpost, by Jake Tapper

What’s next for you as a writer?
Learning to market what I’ve busted my hump writing.

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 Fourth Protocol, by Frederick Forsyth

The Outpost, by Jake Tapper

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre

Author Websites and Profiles
John Ready Website
John Ready Amazon Profile

John Ready’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

John Ready is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written two books – three if you count the fact that I completely rewrote my first book from scratch. Not a word of the original remained. I changed it to third person from first; I dropped characters, added some. All of was different the second time around. And better. So I’ve written the same story twice over, plus my published book, Either Side of Midnight. I’m a mum of four and one of seven. I have a big immediate family, but strangely, no cousins, no aunts and only one uncle. My dad was an only child and my mum only has one brother, and he never had a family. Being part of a big family is wonderful. We’re close. We cushion one another. There is no competitiveness at all and no bad feeling between any of us. I have three sisters, all of whom have read and reviewed my book. They’re the people I most trust in the world, along with my mum and my husband. I grew up in Greater Manchester in a scary old house that had a cellar and three floors. It was cold all year round. It was a stone build Victorian mansion that had been divided into four. Our part never really got the sun, so even in summer, the house wasn’t warm. In winter, it was freezing. OK, so it had a magnificent hallway and staircase. We had the entrance part of the original house (please don’t get the impression we had money. Just the opposite was true. That house was cheaper when my parents bought it that the semi-detached houses around it. It’s worth a small fortune now). Who wants character in a house when you can see your breath in the morning? We had a coal fire in the main family room. We all congregated in this room which was attached to the kitchen. Families spent time together back then. It all sounds very primitive from our modern perspective. The seventies seem so distant in terms of the kind of life I had to the kind of life my children have. It’s impossible to conceive of the changes really.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest and only published book is called Either Side of Midnight. I wrote it while I was waiting for a decision on my first book. My first book is a paranormal YA suspense. Once I’d rewritten it, I was ready to send it out to literary agents. Two London agencies asked for my book in full (the usual arrangement is sending three chapters, and this will be routinely rejected), which was an achievement in itself. They took four months each to decide to reject my book. Each time, it was an intense period of waiting. I’ve only realised since that the waiting influenced my writing. My subconscious mind threw up a plot at that time – of a girl who had been abducted on her wedding night. She doesn’t know who’s holding her, what he wants, where she is, or whether or not she’ll ever get out alive. Her future was in the hands of someone else. I suppose that’s how I felt. Not surprisingly, I wrote a suspense thriller during my long wait. I honestly don’t know what inspired the characters. The protagonist is a pianist like me. It’s natural to write about things you know about, and foolish not to really. Ultimately, the culmination of my life so far was the inspiration for the book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
At the moment, I’m struggling to have any writing habits at all! Since publishing Either Side of Midnight, my focus has been on managing and promoting the book. Finding time to write new material is very difficult. My time is short, my life more complicated. My premise for writing is that it has to be quiet. And I absolutely have to be alone. It’s hard to be alone with more than 2,000 followers on Twitter and hundreds on Facebook. The world beckons too often these days, and I answer the call! I need to become much more disciplined if I am to successfully write a sequel to Either Side of Midnight, which I fully intend to do. Writing feels like wading through treacle at the moment. Oh to be logical, methodical and disciplined. Instead, I’m impulsive, responsive, and I can so easily get distrac–

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Too many to name really. When I was younger, I read all of the C S Lewis books in the Narnia series. Those books were magic to a child in the seventies. It was the age of no distractions. I grew up with three TV channels. My kids can barely comprehend it. Channel 4 was born in the 80′s. It was the perfect reading opportunity; the ideal time to get lost in Narnia. Those books influenced me. I was an adult when Harry Potter came out. I read them anyway because my children were reading them. I have to take my hat off to JK. Those books really are incredible. JK Rowling’s inspiration has spanned generations of people. She’s fired the imagination of the whole planet. I once read a quote about the Twilight series (which I admittedly enjoyed very much) which said, ‘Move over JK Rowling.’ I hope Stephenie Meyer will forgive me for saying that the Twilight books are not in the same league. More recently, I have read all of the Jack Reacher books, Lee Child’s creation. I think they’re fantastic. Each one has been a page-turner for me. Each has had me reaching (please pardon the pun) for the next one. Many books interest and inspire me. I don’t have a prescription when choosing a book. I like variety. I do have one condition for reading a book, whatever the subject matter – it has to be well-written. The author’s voice has to intrigue me. The subject matter isn’t half as important to me as the voice. I’d read happily read about someone’s day and a visit to an old folks home, so long as it’s engaging.

What are you working on now?
A sequel to Either Side of Midnight. It’s terrifying writing a sequel. Either Side of Midnight has hit the spot with many people. I almost don’t know what I did right and I always doubt I can do it again. This thought disables me sometimes. I constantly tell myself that it’s quite ridiculous to be intimidated by my own book!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t have a method. Promoting my book is an ongoing experiment and something of an enigma. I always think that everyone else knows what they’re doing and I’m the one person who’s always ‘winging it’. Self-publishing literally means that! It means learning to be a publisher, which is very daunting. My favourite social media option is probably Twitter. I haven’t got the hang of Facebook really. I don’t have a website yet or a blog, which every other author seems to have. Honestly, between blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, and posting all manner of other things online, I don’t know how people find time to eat, let alone visit the toilet or actually write anything new. Most people who write who are self-published have a job too. Many have families. I think there is a great need for balance. Social media and promotion can take over if you’re not careful. I’m trying to balance this crazy self-publishing life with my four children and 25 piano students. I’m spinning tons of plates, none of them very successfully, I don’t feel. Still a learner, with a great big red L.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I am a new author. My advice to anyone self-publishing would be, don’t rush. Set up the social media platforms in advance of publishing. I didn’t and it was both a huge shock and a big mistake. I also think that if I could turn back the clock, I would write the sequel before publishing the first book. It is prudent to be a step or two ahead. I wish I’d taken another year to get the second book going before I entered the circus. I hadn’t realised how all-consuming it would be and how it would rob creativity. When you self-publish, you turn into a compulsive checker! Check emails, check Twitter, check Facebook, check emails – oh, done that. OK, check Amazon for reviews. Check the US Amazon site also. How many books have sold today? Oh, look, five people have retweeted my ad for the book. Better check their page and return the favour. And on, and on, potentially all day long. Then there are the free promotions where readers download thousands of copies a day. Check, check, check. Constant stimulation. It’s exciting and exhausting and all-consuming. My advice would be – write as much as you can stomach before you present it to the world. The world can wait. Nothing is the same after publication. Also, make sure it’s ready. If it isn’t, the bad reviews will point out all the flaws and finish you pretty quickly. Work, work, work some more. A book never really feels ready, but as the author, you have to feel you’ve done absolutely all you can. You literally have to give it your all.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I haven’t taken enough advice to be able to comment on that. You really have to do what’s best for you. No two people take the same journey when it comes to writing or self-publishing. We do what we can with the resources we have available. Thinking about it, the best advice is the general advice that is out there – be yourself. In all writing pursuits, whether publishing or promoting or actually writing, be yourself, be true to yourself and have integrity.

What are you reading now?
Nothing. I’m too busy. I have a stack of books waiting to be read and feel overwhelmed by them. The last book I read was the latest Jack Reacher novel. I’m definitely going to get lost in a book or three over Christmas. I’m looking forward to it (reading that is, not Christmas – bah, humbug).

What’s next for you as a writer?
Managing my time and getting things into perspective. In the new year, I want to get back to set writing times every day. I need to reassure myself that I’m still capable of writing!

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

Engleby by Sebastian Faulks

A manual about how to build a raft by I B Crappingit

Author Websites and Profiles
Tori de Clare Amazon Profile

Tori de Clare’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tori de Clare is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a romantic at heart with a love for classic films and fine chocolate – white is my favorite. I love writing romantic suspense. My writing career started with writing short stories. I sold my first short story, The Wedding, to Today’s BlackWoman magazine. I’ll never forget when the editor called and told me they picked up the story for the September 2001 issue. I was floored. I headed to Chapters bookstore and bought all the magazines in the store.

I’ve written five books to date: two short story collections (The Wedding and Other Short Romantic Stories and The Invitation and Other Short Stories) and three romantic suspense novels (Hide ‘N Seek, Cat ‘N Mouse and Hit ‘N Run).

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Hit ‘N Run. It’s the third book in my romantic suspense series. Sydney’s best friend is involved in a hit and run. She set out to find the truth with Carlos, but they get more than they bargain for.

In the first book of the series, Hide ‘N Seek, Sydney and Carlos were secondary characters. I’d hinted at a romance between the two, but wasn’t sure if I’d wanted to pursue it. I got a few emails from readers wanting Sydney to find a love of her own and I thought, why not Carlos. Hit ‘N Run was born.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can’t start a book or a short story without a title. Nine times out of ten, the title I initially choose I stick with. I may have the story idea but my fingers don’t hit the keyboard until I have a title. Is that an unusual writing habit?

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like Cindy Gerard’s writing style, and enjoyed her Bodyguard series. I also like A Memoir of the Craft On Writing by Stephen King. The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck is another gem I keep on my bookshelf.

What are you working on now?
The book I’m working on now is called On The Wild Side. Sparks fly when a city girl falls for a caretaker at a cabin in the country. It’s a contemporary romance, which will be released on February 14, 2014.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Social media is a big part of it. I use Facebook quite a bit, my website and other sponsorship platforms. My family is really great. My mom sells a lot of my books. She has sold my books to the ladies at the post office, the card shop and even at the bank. I can’t ask for a better marketing person.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write and read. You have to keep writing to hone your skills. I read somewhere you should read everything. I don’t agree with that. Read what you enjoy. If you don’t enjoy what you’re reading you won’t learn from it. When I’m not writing, I read. I love romantic suspense. When I’m not reading romantic suspense, I enjoy biographies. I’m fascinated by people’s life story. I also love legal suspense. Another piece of advice I would give to other writers…Go for it! Don’t get discouraged. I think you have to write because you love it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve read is by John W. Campbell, a science fiction writer, who said, “The reason 99% of all stories written are not bought by editors is very simple. Editors never buy manuscripts that are left on the closet shelf at home.”

What are you reading now?
Born to Win by Muriel James and Dorothy Jongeward.

What’s next for you as a writer?
A new romantic suspense five-book series. I’m in the early stage of developing the character sketch and storyline for each book.

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?
It’s hard to choose. The Bible, The Color of Love by Sandra Kitt, Reap the Wind by Iris Johansen and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Born to Win will be packed as I may want to read it again.

Author Websites and Profiles
Yvonne Harriott Website
Yvonne Harriott Amazon Profile
Yvonne Harriott Author Profile on Smashwords

Yvonne Harriott’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Yvonne Harriott is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi. By day I’m a Professor at Thee University of California Medical School at Davis. By night and weekend I write mystery stories. Presently there are four novels, two novellas, and an anthology of short stories available on Amazon Kindle featuring Los Angeles based P.I. Roger Bowman and his wife scientist Suzanne Foster. Most of the stories are set in South America, especially in Uruguay and the surrounding Mercosur countries. The most recent published novel, “The Deadly Dog Show”, is a celebration of my wife Elaine’s lifelong hobby of breeding and showing German Shorthaired Pointers. Currently in the oven and planned for an early 2014 appearance is another Roger and Suzanne mystery novel (#5 in the series) set in South America’s Galapagos Islands, “The Origin of Murder”.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book is an anthology of short stories in the Roger and Suzanne series, entitled “Five Quickies for Roger and Suzanne”. The anthology contains two whodunit-type mysteries set in Los Angeles featuring Roger and Suzanne and another mystery featuring our detective couple investigating the murder of Suzanne’s father in Salta, Argentina. There’s also a short story about Roger’s first case entitled “The Dog With No Name”, featuring another German Shorthaired Pointer. Finally, there’s a combination whodunit and ghost story set in Fortaleza, Brazil. This anthology is a great place to start reading the series because it introduces the reader not only to Roger and Suzanne, but also to several of the other recurring characters in the series. What inspired this book? I went through a phase of writing where it seemed appropriate to experiment with different lengths of story shorter than the conventional novel. These stories are the best of what came out of that phase.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Probably, but they seem normal to me. I’ve published over 200 scientific papers in my career so writing has been part of my life for a very long time.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The California mystery writers of a long time ago: Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Ross MacDonald. The more recent California writers Michael Connelly and Robert Crais. Robert B. Parker (with a Boston-based P.I., Spenser, and a German Shorthaired Pointer named Pearl). A lot of others.

What are you working on now?
“The Origin of Murder”, which is going through several rounds of editing. I’m also just starting to write the next book in the series, which seems to be heading towards Alaska as a place for the dead bodies to fall.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Facebook a lot and I have a blog at http://rogerandsuzannemysteries.blogspot.com.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep your day job!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
That I should marry Elaine.

What are you reading now?
A mystery novel I downloaded from Kindle entitled “Unleashed”. Perhaps you’ve guessed by now that I like dogs and dog stories.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Several more Roger and Suzanne novels, I think. I like writing in the mystery series format.

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?
An iPad with a very strong WiFi connection and an unlimited account on Amazon Kindle.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jerold Last Website
Jerold Last Amazon Profile

Jerold Last is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello, I’m Angie.

Little pleases me more than to explore the dark fantasy and horror stories in my head. Knowing other people like them is second only to the magic of this new career. As a die-hard Cincinnatian, I much prefer writing to the stresses of being a city Taxicab dispatcher. Thank you for making my dreams possible.

Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, lets you and I take a little stroll. There’s a story I need to let out of its cage and I think it’s one you need to hear. It’s about the end of the world as we know it…

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?

I have 17 books and novels available, most fantasy/science fiction centered around the apocalypse. Six of those are free, so people can check out my work before they spend their cash. My latest release is: Where We Stand. It is book six in my Life After War series. The first 2 books are free in the LAW series. here is a blurb of that popular saga:

“This is Safe Haven Refugee Camp. Can anyone hear me?

Hello? Is anyone out there?”

“The End of the world has given us a harsh, merciless existence, where nature tries hard to push mankind to the very brink of extinction. Everything is against us, between us…

“Untold miles of lawless, apocalyptic roads wait for our feet, and the Future, cold and dark, offers little comfort. Without CHANGE, there will be no peace. Only Survivors.”

Try to imagine… … fated to lead New America, seven extraordinarily gifted people survive a nuclear apocalypse, only to find themselves on a cross country quest that will shake the very core of who they thought they were. These long-denied descendants are destined to rebuild their country, their world…if they can stay alive long enough to find each other.

From dangerous trips into dark, apocalyptic cities, to patriotic rescues and furious revelations, Life After War is an action packed fantasy series where those left alive must come to terms with their mistakes in the old world, while fighting for a place in the new one. It’s the apocalyptic fantasy series that Stephen King fans have been searching for. This way, please…

“Set along the lines of The Stand and The Postman, this is a chilling vision of the collapse of all society, and the rebirth of a nation by those who survived. It’s so much more than just another fantasy series.”  -The Review Shop

Summary in 20 words or less

An action adventure quest, with a supernatural romance, and many other subplots, set during the aftermath of the apocalypse.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m one of those odd authors who can write at any given time and in most environments. Crowded place, screaming people, blaring music–doesn’t bother me when I get into the zone. In fact, I have to have some type of ‘static’ noise, or those zones can be hard to enter. I usually have a movie or music roaring while I write, along with people moving in and out of the room.

I also write in multiple genres. I currently have work in: non-fiction, sales and marketing, fantasy, science fiction, romance, action-adventure, mystery, horror, and poetry.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King was my hero for a long time. I used to collect his work every time he had a new release, but since becoming a published author, I find myself disappointed in my idol. Now that I know how ‘cheap’ it is to make an ebook, I hate it that he still charges so much for his. Paperbacks are expensive, I understand that intimately, but ebooks? Come on, Mr. king. Give those ‘constant readers’ a break.

What are you working on now?
The final book in my Bachelor Battles trilogy. Here’s the blurb for that series:
500 Years into the future, nine of every ten babies conceived are female. Men have been enslaved for their own protection and the only way to get a mate is to enter the Network Games and fight for one. The catch? It’s a live battle to the death and the competition is fierce.

Who’s ready to play? Are ya? Are ya really?

Let’s meet the Players…

Candice Marie Pruett- Just barely 18, this intimidating Bounty Hunter resides in the Recovery Zones of Ohio and has a long record of excessive force. Recently fined over one million UDs for injury to a family member, this brutal Changeling only wants one thing. – To get back what was stolen from her. Rank at the start of competition: 5/10.

The Blonde Bombshell- As reigning champion, this scarlet-wearing Dock Worker is heavily favored to repeat her vicious victory and claim a second Bachelor. Trying to amass a harem to stand between her and the Change, she starts the games ranked 1/10.

The Ex-Defender- Fresh from tracking fugitives in the deserts of Nebraska, this former Network guard seeks to make amends by winning and donating her prize to charity. Baker, the dangerous, untrained male she allowed to escape, is still missing. It has lowered her rankings on day one, to just 7/10.

And their prize: A choice of…

Daniel is a 20 year old Bachelor with excellent home skills and no memory of his life before being sold to the Network. Calm and unaggressive, he has been trained to be the perfect, harmless mate, and now hopes for a kind and loving owner to take him home.

Or…

One of the eight other brutally brainwashed males sharing his Cell. They are lot #21198.

Who’s ready to play? Are ya? Are ya really?

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I run several blogs and use a huge list of freebie sites. I also believe that if you’re good to your readers, they’ll come back. To that end, I have 6 free books and always include things like a large extras section at the end, links to more character information, and even interactive features.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My Magic Formula is reasonably priced and has inside details about how to do things on the big retailers that most people can’t. It will even tell other authors how to get Amazon to lower their book price to free.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up.

I’ve had more than a hundred rejection letters in my lifetime. Now, I have retired in my 30s, completely supported by my writing. Don’t ever give up!

What are you reading now?
The Hunger Games, again. I’m about to go see the second movie, and I like to compare the films and novels.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Movies, of course. I’m working on a script of one of my series, and will be in contact with several companies when it’s ready.

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?
An A-Z encyclopedia, the SAS survival manual, a gigantic book of porn (“Now called erotica,” she adds sarcastically), and the Harry Potter series in one file…these are ebooks and I can take my Kindle, right? Grin.

Angela White is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Isabel Saenz is a recent college graduate from McMurry University in Abilene, Texas. During her undergraduate career, she participated in numerous extracurricular activities including
involvement in a women’s social club. Her far-reaching imagination allowed her to take up writing as a means of releasing negative energy and stress relief. She finds inspiration in the
most unlikely of places. Death of a Socialite was inspired by a bad break-up, in which she chose to capitalize on to release the lingering last impressions of the failed relationship. While

Death of a Socialite is her first novel, she has also penned numerous stories under the Fiction Press pseudonym of LuckyLady’10. Currently, she manages a blog entitled Grad Angst, which is aimed to provide a forum for recent college graduates to adjust to post-graduate life. She is now a graduate student with a focus of International Relations at St. Mary’s University in SanAntonio, Texas.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first and most recent book is entitled Death of a Socialite. It was inspired by my time in college and interactions with people. I am fascinated by human psyche even though I do not consider myself a people person. I like to really explore why people make certain decisions over others and how they treat other people.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I just sit and write with my headphone blaring whatever music I am in the mood for. I do have playlists for each project that I am working on. I like to mix up these playlists to generate more thoughts for projects.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
J.K. Rowling of course! I love the way her characters are all connected to one another. She really does a good job of exploring through her characters. I am also a Stephen King fan. I’m currently reading Dr. Sleep.

What are you working on now?
I am working on another psychological thriller about a wealthy college student who lures in an unsuspecting freshman girl to help with her murderous plots. It’s currently in the works while I am on break from graduate school.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still creating my marketing plan since this is my first time promoting a book. I’m exploring all my options. If any one has any suggestions, let me know.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep trying and love your work. If you’re not fully behind the project, you can’t love it and will constantly fill your head with doubts.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?

What are you reading now?
Dr. Sleep by Stephen King. Next up is The Cuckoo’s Caling. Then it will be back to academic texts for school.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Not sure yet, hoping to put out my next project in the Summer or Fall of 2014.

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 Shining by Stephen King (even though it will scare me being alone on the island), The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling, and of course, my own book. (But will probably write more given the time that I will have).

Author Websites and Profiles
Isabel Saenz Website
Isabel Saenz Amazon Profile

Isabel Saenz’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Isabel Saenz is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Kit Yan is Malaysian Chinese and, author of Deathrow High and God of the Game.

Born in the Pearl of the Orient, grew up in the ex mining capital of the world, I now spend most of my time in the city that houses the tallest twin towers in the world.

Writing is a love I developed over the years. Deathrow High is my first book.

Written in 2001, it’s a contemporary Malaysian tale (in English and Manglish – Malaysian English) revolving around the relationship between the narrator and his best friend on death row, Frank. Wrought in love and guilt, Deathrow High deals with a religious upbringing the narrator tries to shake off, a new love of his life and an old one he can’t forget, and his gradual but in-mollifiable loss of respect for Frank as the man deteriorates in his cell wanting nothing more than to be reconciled with his wife before the date of his demise. O’ yes, and the narrator discovers the joy and liberation of dance.

I was not happy with it for a long time; but I think I have improved as a writer over the decade. Deathrow High was published in 2007. But the deal was rushed and I was inexperienced and glaring grammatical errors came rushing out of the pages. In retrospect, it was premature to have the book out; I’d not matured as a writer. Ecstasy overtook rationality when the manuscript was wanted. I was given free rein, the publisher trusted me, and I did my best. But it wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t ready. Thankfully Deathrow High was only released in Malaysia, and soon it set sail into silent obscurity. Perhaps I can blame local reading habits or my risqué content or even bad marketing, but I’m glad it didn’t make a splash and instead, died a quiet death. However, I’m looking forward to its resurrection having recently reedited its body. I’m proud of it; don’t get me wrong, the prose needed tinkering, that’s all. The mistakes, unless intentional, have been obliterated. Story wise, it remains the same.

In tandem, God of the Game is an abstract continuation of Deathrow High set in the afterlife. To surmise the two, Deathrow High gives insight of the narrator as a man, and God of the Game after, when he is god – how would (everlasting) life be if anything and everything was possible?

They’re both part of the Dreamstate Series – a collection looped round life on Earth and slung-shot across infinity and eternity to return to the Third Rock once again, culminating, or rather coinciding, with the Second Coming (whatever that may be).

Currently, I am more than halfway through my third novel. Hope to see it out in 2014, or latest, I promise, by 2015.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
How would (everlasting) life be if anything and everything was possible?

That’s the premise for God of the Game

Set in the afterlife, past the second coming, beyond singularity, life now is a conglomerate of videogames. Join our nameless hero as he effortlessly traverses dimensions, jumping from multiverses to metaverses, pursuing a mindless selection of violent, sexual vocations. Existence here is a hedonistic pit. With unlimited choice and eternity at his disposal, life should be meaningful. But it is not. Poor fool is stuck in his human past, continuously digs up the grave of his mortal time on Earth. Unresolved desires, ex-girlfriends and aimless addictions, the makings of a flawed deity; one that pisses on everything he creates, screws everyone he makes. No rules, and purely anarchic, so meet a motley crew of divine characters ever ready to crush the fragile egg of sanity.

Dear reader, pray your faith saves, for your convictions of infinity, of heaven and hell, may never be the same after this.

The real challenge came after what I thought was the final draft. Looking for a literary agent had been a difficult and humbling affair, and after a possible 100 rejections – avoiding drowning and managing to come up for air after each paddle to the head – I realized destiny’s way was to dig with my own hands the path ahead.

I thank God however for the invaluable encouragements and advice the agents gave that’d led to countless hours of revisions and editing; and finally, I have something in my hands I’m proud of.

I was not literary trained. I just have a stupendous imagination. Grammar was based on what sounded nice, not right, and I often confused words that sounded alike, not to mention my atrocious spelling. Thank the heavens for spellcheck! I think I would not have started writing if I was left with the typewriter and my own handwriting. Too many changes and corrections. Technology brings out talents in us, but the rest is hard work and the determination to improve and see things through. Bringing a novel to your hands was the journey, my journey, a journey that went beyond just a story, or the right words, but into the night of little details, discovering my own lack, carelessness, at times ignorance, and fixing them. A good book to me has to tickle your feet, agitate your groin, grab at the gut, wrench the heart, open up the mind and liberate fantasy. I hope mine does yours.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I confess I’m not a natural writer. I can’t sit in front of my laptop and automatically pump out the words. The first hour I try to write I end up mulling around, picking at the internet doing unfruitful stuff. And then, all of a sudden, it comes and I write my page or two within the hour or less, usually averaging between 500-1000 words depending on mood and flow.

Oh ya, I write without a plot. I’m the first person to discover and read the story, and that’s one of the main reasons why I love writing. Often, I’d been surprised by the twisting and turning of the tale. For example, I never expected two characters to fall in love, or one to die, but the prose, somehow, led to that outcome quite naturally.

I do have a rough concept of the book when I start, but it’s fluid and the idea can change. When I reach a particular scene, the following one sometimes falls on me and i realize the fate of the character; yet at times, while pursuing his or her destiny, the marriage of words changes everything.

And I drink lots of thick black coffee. Sometimes I think it is the caffeine writing through me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov, Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde, To Kill a Mocking Bird – Harper Lee, Atonement – Ian McEwan to name a few

What are you working on now?
The second of the Dreamstate series following God of the Game. My third book (Deathrow High is the prelude to the series) involves killer transvestites, a fat mama, cybernetic consciousness, a leper, and rock band cloned from the spirit of Jimmy Hendrix sent from the future to save, or destroy – I don’t know – the universe.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m new and I’m still learning.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m a new author myself, but an advice I would give is to listen to that little voice in your heart.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up!

What are you reading now?
I will be reading Margaret Atwood – Oryx & Crake, Year of the Flood & MaddAddam

What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep writing.

Writing is the equivalent to a striptease.

Agree?

You better be comfortable with your body if you’re gonna remove your clothes in public amid wolf whistles and cat calls; the harsh light casting shadows of your nudity on the lustful audience, and hopefully, bring easy, skanky money.

An author is a prostitute. You pay her for the solace of your soul.

I make music too, and hope to make movies someday

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’m a narcissist, so they would all be mine! And a life’s supply of paper (one won’t know how long one would be marooned) so I can continue writing `cos I doubt I would be able to use my laptop.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kit Yan Website
Kit Yan Amazon Profile

Kit Yan’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Kit Yan is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written 6 books and am in the middle of my seventh.

The first 2 x books are about life purpose and life path and clarifying identity. The next group of books are around how to write and publish either a fiction or a non-fiction book. My other area of interest is around finding the right career and performance management strategies. The seventh book concerns the area of personal branding and how to quickest way to do that is via writing a book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of the latest book, which is on Amazon Kindle and has its FREE promo days this weekend: Dec 21st and Dec 22nd is titled: ”How to Write and Publish a Non-Fiction Book in 10 east Steps”

I was inspired to write this book to help budding writers become published authors is a cost-effective manner. There is so much information out there about self publishing packages that t is very confusing for the newbie to work out what to do, where to go and how much they should/could be paying, which is generally way too much.My aim is to help these writers do what I have accomplished cost-effectively.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am a creative. This means that I need to be totally focussed before I can get started, to the exclusion of everything else. I cannot write for 1/2 hour and then do something else. I need to do just that one thing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love fiction, mainly detective, crime thrillers, romance and historical romance, however, I also love non-fiction book, mostly how-tos. If I need to learn about a topic I generally go for the how to …. for dummies category.

At present my favourite author is Ruth Rendell.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a book on personal branding.

This is for Kindle and for a series of workshops I will be doing with a colleague.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I now have a social media manager who organises my Twitter and FB, so to me that is the most effective. I think you can’t go past Amazon Kindle.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes. Just start and do it as quickly as possible. It’s not about perfection It’s about getting it down and then getting it professionally edited.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As above: get your manuscript professionally edited!

What are you reading now?
Ruth Rendell and blogs on personal branding

What’s next for you as a writer?
After my personal branding book I will get back to my first love which is spirituality and healing and life purpose and life path and clarifying identity.

When you clarify your identity you change your 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?
They would be : crime thrillers, historical romance, life purpose and one on spirituality, about how to take control over your life

Author Websites and Profiles
Patricia Healy Website
Patricia Healy Amazon Profile
Patricia Healy Author Profile on Smashwords

Patricia Healy’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Patricia Healy is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Geraldine Evans. At the last count, I had twenty novels published as well as four non-fiction books. Eighteen of my novels were traditionally-published (Macmillan, St Martin’s Press, Severn, Worldwide, Hale and Isis (audio).

But in 2010, I took the momentous decision to turn indie. I have now digitally published nearly all of my backlist, as well as two new novels Kith and Kill #16 in the Rafferty and Llewellyn procedural series, and The Egg Factory, a standalone suspense set in the fertility industry. I also published the four non-fiction books myself (How to eFormat Your Novel for Amazon’s Kindle, Palmistry Pointers For Lovers, Palmistry Pointers for Writers and a spoof relationship guide, all but the first of these written under pen names.

Originally a Londoner, in 2010, George, my late husband and I moved to a Norfolk market town. I now enjoy the pleasures of coast, countryside and easily-reached city, while enjoying my tranquil small town idyll.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Kith and Kill, my latest in the Rafferty and Llewellyn procedural series was inspired by the number of murders within the family that were prevalent (and still are) in the media.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Like lounging around in my dressing gown for half the day, do you mean?! Though I don’t think that’s particularly unusual amongst the writing fraternity. If you work from home, as I do and probably the majority of other writers, I see no need to contribute to my laundry pile if I don’t need to.

Other than that, I generally start a book in longhand and then switch to keyboard when I have something worth keeping for posterity (let posterity be the judge!).

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I far prefer crime novelists who can add some humour to the proceedings. The prevalence of endless serial killers I find profoundly depressing. So I would number the late Reginald Hill, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles and Ruth Dudley-Edwards amongst some of my favourite British crime authors. American authors I enjoy? Who wouldn’t enjoy the thoroughly engaging Stephanie Plum and Grandma?

Jean Plaidy, the prolific historical novelist, was another major influence on my writing. It was Ms Plaidy who first stimulated my love of history after it was crushed in infancy by a school curriculum that concentrated on Factory Acts and Corn Laws and dates – all deadly dull stuff. It’s people who make history and that’s what I wanted to learn about.

I also love the historical novels of Sharon Penman and Philippa Cregory.

What are you working on now?
At the moment, I’m playing catch-up and steeling myself for numerous unanswerable questions about my year-end accounts from my money man. Fun, huh? It’s not all pleasure in the life of a writer, you know. We still have to do the detested figure-work.

Other than that, I’m trying to catch up on my reading on blogs of authors’ interest, trying to get through my email inbox before the torrent engulfs me and finishing my preparations for Christmas.

In 2014, I intend to get on with some more writing. I have two novels planned; the first Asking For It #16 in the Rafferty series and the research for a second historical. The latter on its own, should keep me out of mischief for the rest of the year.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I haven’t settled on a best one yet. Everything is still so much in a state of flux, I’m just trying to keep up.

But I’ve used a number of sites recently: The Fussy Librarian, ENT, Kindle’s Book Discovery and several others.

I’ve also posted to my own blog and those of others (thestoryreadingape.com is amongst my most recent).

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t be afraid to consider all your publishing options, rather than just thinking you need to be ‘validated’ by the Big Six (Five? Four?).

Be wary of firms offering to takes a chunk of your royalties for providing services you could manage yourself. I’m thinking formatting and purchasing covers if you decided to self-publish. There’s no need to pay more than a one-off fee for each book.

Don’t be afraid to ‘fail’. We’ve all failed in our time. And no doubt we’ll all fail again. Not to fail is to not even try.

Try not to be a quitter. If you doubt your ability either talent-wise or time-wise, to complete a novel, try short stories. There are still lots of markets out there for them. Just do your research to find out who requires what.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If at first you don’t succeed…

What are you reading now?
Magpies by Mark Edwards. It’s very good. I’m about a third of the way through. He’s adept at creating the fear that something dreadful is about to happen.

I’m also reading The Wars of the Roses by Peter Bramley, as a refresher on the timeline of events during those tumultuous years in 15th Century England before I start research in earnest for my second historical.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to be pretty well occupied for the next year. But after that, who knows? That’s one of the joys of the writer’s life – the idea that anything is possible.

Apart from anything else, I have a number of finished or nearly finished novels, which I may well give another turn through the keyboard and digitally publish. They encompass romances, romantic suspense, mysteries and the rough draft of another historical. Some may never see the light of day again, but I thought at the time they were worth writing, so they might yet prove worth publishing. I’ll have to wait and see.

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 – plenty of stories there.

An Encyclopaedia

A book on Survival Techniques and Self-Sufficiency

A book on food cultivation in different climates

And a VERY LARGE! book – of matches. I can’t see me doing the Boy Scout trick of rubbing two sticks together. Not successfully, anyway.

Author Websites and Profiles
Geraldine Evans Website
Geraldine Evans Amazon Profile
Geraldine Evans Author Profile on Smashwords

Geraldine Evans’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Geraldine Evans is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Stupid or Liar – The Truth about Sex, Bubbles, Investing and America is my first published book. I am not an author by ‘trade’, but I found myself compelled to write after seeing so many people taken advantage of by the financial advisory system. I reluctantly ‘became a writer’, but I am so happy I did. It feels so empowering to tell the truth and know I am helping people…

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Stupid or Liar – The Truth about Sex, Bubbles, Investing and America – was inspired by the corruption and ignorance that is so pervasive in the retail financial advisory business; hence the title, ‘Stupid or Liar’.

The title suggests what I have observed about financial advisors, they are either ‘stupid or liars’. This is to say, that many are simply not intelligent enough to know they cause more harm than good. Nor, is there a financial incentive to ‘ask too many questions’. The other ‘type’ of retail financial advisor, knows they are lying; they just don’t care.

I explore this dynamic where the worst type of people are attracted to, and then promoted within, the financial advisory business.

My goal in writing ‘Stupid or Liar’ is to educate the public about how things really work, and hopefully empower a shrinking middle class America.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a habit, but the more I speak to other writers, the more I realize I am not alone in my habit: I write early in the morning.

I wake up at 4 AM, make some coffee, and write in total solitude until around 11AM. I notice I lose my critical and creative thinking skills the longer the day goes on. I reserve the morning for important things like, reading and writing and thinking. The afternoon is for things that don’t require much brain power (responding to e-mail, phone calls, etc).

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Still, to this day, the most accurate and useful ‘investing book’ remains ‘ Reminiscence of a Stock Operator’ By Jesse Livermore, 1923. Anyone whom has actually traded for a living will attest to the timeless lessons shared in this book.

Regarding more recent authors, I believe Nassim Taleb’s book ‘Anti-Fragil’ is one of the most important books on risk taking – and life – written in the past 50 years. Nassim articulates what only someone who has ‘traded in trenches’ can understand.

What are you working on now?
I am Buddhist, and I am working on a sort of ‘Zen and the Art of Investing’ book. Many (most) Zen Buddhist tenets have a direct application to successful investment strategies. This book is very different from ‘Stupid or Liar’ in that the message is delivered in a far less ‘aggressive style’. I am excited to share this new book as I feel it has as much or more value than ‘Stupid or Liar’.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I wish I knew the best method to promote books!

This is my first book launch. As of now (Dec. 18, 2013) ‘Stupid or Liar’ is the #1 free download on Amazon in Futures Investing. All I did to achieve this was do a KDP 2 day free promotion and promote the book as free on all the free ebook promotions sites I could.

Here is a great link to all the ebook promotion sites I used:

http://authormarketingclub.com/members/submit-your-book/

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I believe you have to write for yourself! Write what YOU would want to read and what YOU are proud of. Put your brain and heart into your work, release it to the world, then forget about it and start another book.

The act of sharing your art with world takes great courage – far more courage than most people have. Just writing a book is a massive accomplishment that very few people can complete. If you release your ideas to the world on Amazon you are a published author! That is something to be proud of.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I have heard is, ‘no one cares about you’.

This may initially sound negative and harsh (it did to me at 1st!) but there is amazingly powerful in it.

It simple means, people think about you, and your successes, and your ‘failures’, far less than you do! Who cares what they think! Your writing is for you! And, if you get criticism for your writing, just ask the person criticizing you ‘how many books they have written’…I suspect the answer is ZERO.

One concept I try to stress in ‘Stupid or Liar’ is positive asymmetry. Meaning, anything you can do where you have a small and fixed amount of downside risk and unknown and unlimited reward, is a RISK WORTH TAKING!

What do you have to lose in writing your book? NONE! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain! Go for it!

What are you reading now?
Sadly, I am not reading nearly as much as I desire at the moment – I am promoting ‘Stupid or Liar’.

I have noticed I can not think (read, write, be creative) AND ‘sell’ at the same time. Thinking and selling really require opposite sides of the brain; if you are good at thinking you are probably bad at selling (lying). If you are a ‘great salesman (saleswoman)’ you’re probably not that smart. This has been my experience across various disciplines from art to trading.

I started reading the writings of stoic Lucius Seneca 4BC – 65AD. Stoicism is similar to Buddhism, but with more of an ‘edge’. I can’t wait to be done ‘selling’ so I can get back to ‘thinking’ about Seneca’s ideas…

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am quietly pleased with the progress of my next book, ‘Zen & the Art of Investing’. I look forward to sharing this with people – I sincerely think it can help people become more empowered not only financially, but more importantly, personally.

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?
Great question!

1.) ‘How to survice on a desert island’ – preferably a water proof copy

2.) Nietzche – Human, All Too Human

3.) Original Teachings of the Buddha

Author Websites and Profiles
Joel Nelson Website
Joel Nelson Amazon Profile

Joel Nelson’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Joel Nelson is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been dabbling in this since diapers, but my first real novel was The Red Church, published in 2002, which was a Stoker Award finalist. I’ve since written more than 30 books, 80 short stories, six screenplays, and some children’s books and comics. My next book is SOLOM: THE SCARECROW, releasing on Dec. 21.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
McFALL is the third Littlefield book, set in the supernatural world of THE RED CHURCH and DRUMMER BOY, from Amazon’s 47North imprint. It’s not a series, exactly, just books that share the same universe. basically I wanted to discover what happened to the characters when they were older.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I listened to nothing but Death Cab for Cutie while writing McFALL. That was weird.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King is obvious, as well as Dean Koontz and Shirley Jackson and James Lee Burke, but also less conventional writers like Kurt Vonnegut, Richard Brautigan, and Dr. Seuss are really great, too.

What are you working on now?
Two books at once: the second book in the Solom series, THE NARROW GATE (already up for preorder on Amazon) and the third in my AFTER post-apocalyptic series. I’m a little behind on that one!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use many promotional outlets, because you never know where that next great reader or fan is coming from. I do count on my loyal followers to help spread the word, so I like to reward them with freebies and contests.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, learn the ropes, and, especially these days, learn how to run a business. If you self-publish, your job is selling books, not writing books.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Keep your head down and write,” from Bentley Little. But that was some years back!

What are you reading now?
Hideaway by Dean Koontz.

What’s next for you as a writer?
The third book in the Solom series and maybe another McFALL book if enough people buy 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?
War and Peace, This Perfect Day by Ira Levin, and The Stand.

Author Websites and Profiles
Scott Nicholson Website

Scott Nicholson’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Scott Nicholson is a post from Awesome Gang