Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I currently reside in Texas (sweltering) with my wonderful husband, amazing and spunky daughter, our two cats and three dogs. For as long as I can remember I have loved to put a pen to paper but I never had the courage to show anyone my work. Until now.

I just published my first YA book, A tale of two witches and I am working on two others books that will be ready to publish by the end of the year.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
This is the first book that I have published so far. It’s called A tale of two witches. It’s book 1 of my Lexi Reed series. A lot of things inspired me to write this story. My daughter for one, and almost anyone that I have came into contact with as well as some childhood wishful thinking thrown in there as well. I enjoyed writing this book and getting lost with my characters in their world.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am not sure what you would consider unusual, but I write my first draft in a notebook before I type it out. I can take a notebook with me anywhere a lot easier than my laptop. Plus, I do a lot of writing in the car pick up line while waiting for my daughter to get out of school.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Over the course of my life so far I would say Stephen King has had the most influence. He’s the reason I started to write. I read Pet Sematary when I was nine and fell in love with story telling.

What are you working on now?
I am working on book 2 of my Lexi Reed series called By the light of the moon as well as a paranormal teen romance currently titled Tormented Soul, however I may be changing the name.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am still working on that since this is my first book. I have started blogging, I have a website, I am involved with social media, and of course websites like this one that offer author interviews as well as letting you submit your book information in hopes to reach more readers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, read,write,read, write, read and then write and read some more. And never give up. Also, I keep my notebook by the side of my bed so if I bolt straight up from a dream or something I can write down my thoughts or whatever it is so I don’t forget.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice is what I shared with you already. Read books and write all the time.

What are you reading now?
I am reading H.P. Mallory’s Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble

What’s next for you as a writer?
To keep writing and publish more books.

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 guess it will be the 3 I am about to read. Stephen King Mr. Mercedes, H.P. Mallory Better off Dead, and Luke Young Friends with Full Benefits.

Author Websites and Profiles
Lisa Dawn Website
Lisa Dawn Amazon Profile
Lisa Dawn Author Profile on Smashwords

Lisa Dawn’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Lisa Dawn is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My first book “The New York Doll” is now available on Amazon ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M9YT3TE ) and I’m very excited about it! So far this is the only book I’ve written but I’m currently working on my second one, “The Brooklyn Boys’ Tales”.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I came to the United States right after graduating from the faculty of foreign languages in Moscow, Russia. My impressions from the first years in New York were put at the base of my book “The New York Doll”. Here’s a little blurb from it:

This is a story of a young girl of Russian-Jewish heritage Mila, who came to New York in search of true love and the American Dream. But after struggling to survive and keep a roof above her head, she turns to an option that she never even considered before: she becomes an exotic dancer. On her way she meets a lot of people, both good and bad, and she depicts every single one of them with incredible honesty. She falls in love with the owner of the club, the powerful Italian-American mobster R., and now they both have to fight for their bright future together.

This is the story of love and hatred, of friendship and betrayal, and everything else that takes place behind the closed doors of a gentleman’s club.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if it’s considered unusual, but I like to handwrite before I type, that’s why I always walk around with a notebook where I can put some sketches of the future chapters. My first book was completely handwritten before I started typing it on my computer, so I guess that’s the only weird thing about my writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I tried not to read anything on the related topic while working on my last project, just because I didn’t want to be influenced by anybody’s work. I wanted to create my own story, with my own structure that would be completely different from everything else in this category. I hope my readers will enjoy reading it!

Speaking of inspiration, not the influence, I would say that Paulo Coelho is one of my favorite authors who always comes up with something incredible to say. Every time I read his books, even if I read them many times before, I always find something new and inspiring for myself, and I think it’s very important, to always inspire your readers.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on my second book under the working title “The Brooklyn Boys’ Tales”, which depicts the lives and personal stories of several members and people affiliated with one of New York mob families. It’s going to be very different from the rest of the stories already written in this genre, as it’s going to tell the stories nobody heard before. It’s something that you can’t find in Wikipedia and official police reports, so I think it’s going to be a very intriguing and interesting reading.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I try basically everything when it comes to promotion: I use my Instagram, blog, Goodreads, BookDaily, twitter, whatever I have. I also love contacting bloggers and offering them a free copy of my book in exchange to a review or feature on their site, this is a really great promotion tool as well. I also love exchanging books with my fellow-writers, I think it gives both sides a great opportunity to promote each other’s work.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up on your dream. Whatever the ratings of your book are, whatever the sales rank is, it doesn’t matter. You already did such an awesome thing – you wrote a book! You are already outstanding! So just keep working on your promotion, inverts your time and money in your own marketing and the results won’t take long to show! Always keep moving forward!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Again, never give up. I keep telling myself that even if I fall seven times, I have to get up eight. And never listen to what the others say, this is your life and you know better what to do with it. Everybody has his own path in life, so just follow your and don’t compare yourself to the others. They have a different path.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently re-reading “Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Bulgakov. It’s one of my favorite books and I really enjoy coming back to it from time to time. It’s a great love story that’s written in a very unusual way, there’s a lot of supernatural elements in the story, but it only makes it more appealing. And you can’t help but to fall in love with the main characters, even though they are not one hundred percent positive, but they’re very realistic. If you like the stories where the good conquers the evil and all the negative characters get what they deserved, you should definitely read it.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I just want to keep doing what I love doing the most – writing, whether it’s a new book or a blog post, I’ll consider myself very happy if I “can make it” 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?
Definitely “The Alchemist” and “Warrior of the Light” by Paulo Coelho for the never-ending inspiration, “Memoirs of a Geisha” for a great love story and “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov – if I ever get to be in a weird mood when I don’t know what I want.

Author Websites and Profiles
Ellie Midwood Website
Ellie Midwood Amazon Profile
Ellie Midwood Author Profile on Smashwords

Ellie Midwood’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Ellie Midwood is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was a Standup Comic for over 8 years. I spread the joys of humor from the midwest of the United States to the east, south, and west. A lot of my routine was just plain silly, but I did like to slide in the occasional,thought provoking pun from time to time and then sprinkle it with just the right amount of sarcasm.

I also scribed sitcom scripts, short stories, and a book. Unfortunately, none of my amazing words of wonder ever made it to the screen or shelves.

After a move to LA, I fell out of entertainment and into the world of business management. It was interesting and exciting and all in all a good experience, but now it’s time to write!

So become a friend and catch my oh so meaningful views on life, liberty, and the pursuit of a Best Seller.

I’ve just completed my first Novelette and hope to have a full blown novel out by end of 2014

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Chaise is the name of my current novelette. I was inspired by my wife’s chaise lounge. I little weird right?

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure. What are “usual” writing habits? For me, I get a thought in my head and then just start typing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Tough question. I’m not sure anyone has truly influenced me. Kurt Vonnegut woke me up to the world of books. I had read some classics, but Breakfast of Champions showed me that books could be fun and effective.

John Irving was the second author to impact me. The World According to Garp jarred me awake with a story that effected my deep emotions. That was powerful.

What are you working on now?
I’m working, or should say reworking, on a novel that I started a long time ago. It’s a fiction/drama. After going through the whole process – from idea to draft, to redraft, and repeat – of publishing my novelette, I learned a lot about how to write. I”m hoping to have it out by the end of 2014.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
That is yet to be answered. I”m all over the place right now. Google+, Twitter, Goodreads, etc. It’s been just as eye opening as the writing process.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Believe in you. Which means me, but you don’t have to believe in me. You can just believe in you, but you can believe in me, as an author.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Believe in you. Which means me, but you don’t have to believe in me. You can just believe in you.

What are you reading now?
My novel that is in the works and all my marketing formats. I think it’s going to be a while before I can sit down and have a nice read by someone else; too many ideas floating around in me gourd.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Did I mention my up and coming novel?

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 Complete Works by William Shakespeare.

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx.

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft.

The Republic by Plato.

The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: Vols. 1-4 by Edward Gibbon

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: Vols. 5-8 by Edward Gibbon

The Mind and Society by Vilfredo Pareto

Boy Scouts Wilderness Survival

50 Shades of Grey – I still haven’t read it.

The top 8 are books that changed the world, but if they bore me, I’m sure the Boy Scouts’ book will tell me how to use them to survive.

Author Websites and Profiles
Brian J. Walters Website
Brian J. Walters Amazon Profile
Brian J. Walters Author Profile on Smashwords

Brian J. Walters’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Brian J. Walters is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am the co-author and creator of the children’s green book series “Jordan & Justine’s Weekend Adventures.” I am also the author of the new media young adult novels with music “Cameo by Tanille,” and “Broken by Tanille.” Th­e Undercover Starlet Journal is a title I created to inspire young women.

I have 6 titles so far. I am from New York City. I started writing when I was 16. I love to do yoga in the morning. I take nature walks a few times a week now that it is warm out. I get so many ideas and inspirations when I’m with the trees:) I like to horseback ride, and watch movies.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Broken. It was inspired by a few elements. Young love, a love for teen movies and a sign language class I took in high school. I really wanted to create a character full of life regardless of the cards she had been dealt. I wanted to show her hunger for independence and self knowledge. And I wanted to create a compelling love story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write my best work at 3AM or 4AM. Also I keep post its everywhere with ideas and important character events.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I would say my teen novels are mostly influenced by movies. I love teen movies. Everything from Freaky Friday and Mean Girls to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Clueless. I do have a thing for mysteries. Agatha Christie being one of my favorite mystery authors. I think this is where the thriller element keep showing up in my romance novels.

What are you working on now?
I am working on Milan in the City. Part 2 in the Broken trilogy.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think website that get directly to readers especially ebook readers. Readers are so loyal and focused on the genres they love.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Finish your book no matter how long it takes. Then show it to anyone who will read it and ask them to give you everything they don’t like. Those are the things to consider fixing first. Also don’t be afraid to jump out there especially with so many programs out there.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Writing is rewriting.

What are you reading now?
10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace by Wayne Dyer. Trying to get more zen in my life. It is tough in New York City.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing my romance series and then I want to go back and write some more children’s books. I have a wonderful idea for an inspirational character to lead a new series for girls. I think it could be so much fun.

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?
Miss Marple: The complete short stories, 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace, Game of Thrones books

Author Websites and Profiles
Tanille Edwards Website
Tanille Edwards Amazon Profile

Tanille Edwards’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tanille Edwards is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m in my early thirties and recently “retired.” I’ve written dozens of parts of dozens of stories in my head. Only one has actually made it to the end.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first novel is titled The Secret Lives of Emails. It was inspired by a certain senator’s speech years ago regarding the Internet being a series of tubes. With Net Neutrality in the headlines I figured it was finally time to write the story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not that I’m aware of. My dogs do seem to stare at me a lot though so perhaps I’m doing something weird.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Douglas Adams, Jasper Fforde, and Joseph Heller to name a few. Hitchhikers Guide to Galaxy in particular is a big influence. Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series is also one of my favorites.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on book two in “The Tubes” series as well as a post-apocalyptic novel. (I know. I know. Post-apocalypse, how original.)

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Aweseomgang.com of course.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I don’t feel qualified to answer this question. Why am I answering it then? I don’t know. It was a blank box so I thought I would fill it in.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Stop talking about it and just write the stupid thing already.”

What are you reading now?
Rereading the Thursday Next series from the beginning.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More 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?
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Catch-22, The Eyre Affair, and a hollowed out medical reference filled with matches and cupcakes.

Author Websites and Profiles
A.J. Ramsey Amazon Profile

A.J. Ramsey’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

A.J. Ramsey is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written four books so far. The fourth one is in post-production, shall we say. It is book 3 in my crossover vampire series which began with “Dance on Fire” and then its sequel, “Dance on Fire: Flash Point”. I began the year with my latest book, “Seeing Ghosts”. It is a stand alone paranormal book with a bit of romance in it.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest completed novel is “Seeing Ghosts.” It is a stand alone, and more of a romantic story for me. I actually read horror novels, but watch romantic comedy films. With that in mind, that was how this book came about. It was an opportunity for me to finally write the haunted house story I had always wanted to write, and to blend the two genres together a bit. It’s dark, but has its sweet moments.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, I actually work a 12 hour day job, so when I feel it’s time to write the next book I have to find the time to sit down and do that. That usually entails getting up early on weekends or finding quiet moments while at work. Somehow I managed to write the 143k word first draft in four months. Don’t ask me how. When I do write, I usually have already pictured the next bit of scenes like a movie in my head, and then simply write it down. I do some outlining, but only 20-30 pages of paragraphs; the meat of the story.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
It was horror novels in general that did it, but I would say Stephen King, Clive Barker and Michael Slade to name a few. I was looking for something to interest me while a teen, and it was hard rock music and horror novels that did it. Having said that, there are other books as well. Pat Conroy is the master. “Beach Music” is in my opinion as close to genius as one can get. He writes the most beautiful prose and the most real dialogue I have ever read.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on the third novel in my “Dance on Fire” crossover vampire series. The book is in the hands of my beta readers at the moment. I’m looking forward to some time away from it while I await their verdict. This will also give me opportunity to recall things I neglected to do, or to recall something touches I can add.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best method of promotion is the fact that I set my novels in my hometown. I didn’t set out to do that in the beginning. It was simply a natural progression of things. I was spending so much time world-building way back for my first novel that I just finally decided to set it here in Central California. I have a built-in demographic here that I am working on tapping into. I have been spending time doing book signings and any event that will have me. Beyond that there are sites like this one that help a great deal. I just haven’t had a ton of time to work those angles or travel down those avenues. A 12 hour day job doesn’t leave a lot of time for anything else beyond the writing.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Everyone says to read and write every day. Beyond that, we writers are a different animal. No one in our immediately family or group of friends understands why we do this, or why we feel we need to do this. Get involved in networking and meeting other writers out there. The blogs and social networks are fantastic for this. Other writers are so important to celebrate those victories with, and to provide shoulders to lean on when we’re feeling low and just want to give up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Truthfully, I don’t know where it came from; however, in my late thirties I began to feel the regret I was facing if I failed to give my writing a chance. I had begun writing in my teens and then had set it aside while my wife and I got married and started our family. As I approached 40 years old, I began writing in earnest. I will soon have 4 novels written and the readers I have managed to locate seem to really like them. Have no regrets. I know I didn’t invent that advice, but it’s what I live by, and what I try and encourage everyone I meet with. Have no regrets. No one is going to tell me when my life has ended that I didn’t try hard enough.

What are you reading now?
Since becoming an indie writer I have spent most of my reading time with other indie authors. I do still read the big mass market writers, but I read a lot of indie stuff. I did just finish the Keith Richards bio. If you love music, especially the classic rock stuff, you’ll eat it up.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have promised my wife that I would back off a bit. Once this new book is published, I plan to simply work on promoting it and everything else I have next year. We’ll see. I say that now, but may find myself excited to write the next thing. I have lots of things I’d like to write. I have something buried in my virtual desk that has been clamoring to get a re-do. It’s another ghost story. I may give that a go.

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?
Pat Conroy’s “Beach Music”, Michael Slade’s “Headhunter”, Clive Barker’s “The Thief of Always” and Jay Anson’s “The Amithville Horror”.

Author Websites and Profiles
James Garcia Website
James Garcia Amazon Profile

James Garcia’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

James Garcia is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi, my name is George Shetuni. I self-published my first book right out of college. But I was no typical college age graduate of 22. I was 27. Since then I have published a book a year. 4 books total.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“This Is Who I Am: Essays” Over the years I kept writing essays, whether about my life, or maybe to an interesting place i had visited, or maybe a philosophic idea that I have about gravity. I collected them and they turned into a full length book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
no, none that i’m aware of

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Brave New World
Anna Karenina
Emerson’s Essays
Short stories by Robert Louis Stevenson

What are you working on now?
Now I’m working on promoting This is who I am.
Each essay by the way has been individually released as an ebook.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
LinkedIn. I’ve learned so much. I can’t believe it’s free. People will generously share business info with you all for nothing.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
don’t worry. don’t expect sales. No one is paying attention to your first five or ten books. Just go out there and have some fun.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Wow, so much good advice out there.

For today, I’ll pick “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

What are you reading now?
Tales by Leo Tolstoy. There is a spiritual aspect to this book and it makes you feel good.

What’s next for you as a writer?
i want to become a better marketer. Authorship is an art and a business, if you want to sell your work.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Depends where the Island is. I may need a Hawaiian dictionary.
I would bring Gilligan’s Island DVDs and an eReader.
You never know where you’ll find Wi-fi these days, even in deserted islands.

Author Websites and Profiles
George Shetuni Website
George Shetuni Amazon Profile

George Shetuni’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

George Shetuni is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Kentucky girl. I am a UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY Basketball fan. I love the Big Blue Nation #BBN I love to spend time with my family and friends. I have been married for 16 years and I have 3 kids. I work in the healthcare field. I enjoy a nice bottle of wine and a whole lot of Karaoke. Writing is something that calms me. It takes me on a trip to any country, city and state I want to be in and experience. I guess you can say it is an escape from reality just in the moment of writing.

I have written one book so far Exposed Secrets. I cannot wait to share with you all my work.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Exposed Secrets It was published, July 16,2014 . Inspiration came from a lot of my surroundings. Friends, co workers but most of all the “I think I can” that seemed to always be in by head. I have always wanted to write and I create stories in my head all the time. I wanted to put Pen to Paper and let that caged up story come to life.

My book is about Interracial love. A life of a successful lawyer that is broken.. She was coming to grips with being alone. She has a dysfunctional family life. The one person that she could always count is gone… Then she meets someone. It is a book that I got lost in while writing I have so much to add to it that is why I decided on another book or 2. I want a realistic story that people could identify with and I pray that I have been able to deliver it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I act out a scene when it comes in my head to see if it feels natural. As far as can this happen in real life? My Mirror is my best friend when writing sometimes… I don’t know you asked for Unusual and I am having a hard time explaining. hahaha!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Bible

Inside Out Series by Lisa Renee Jones.

This Man Trilogy by Jodi Ellen Malpas

Anything I pick up and read by Ava Claire

E.L. James Fifty Shades Of Grey

Crossfire Series

There are so many to really lists! I love to read.

What are you working on now?
I am working on my second book in The Secrets Series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I can honestly say Facebook and Goodreads. I am still working to master my blog and twitter. but it is coming around. WORD OF MOUTH! that is what I am aiming for. That is how I found most of the Authors I read today!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. I know a lot of people say this. But, please don’t give up. I think that is harder than anything else. When writers block comes your way just “Keep Swimming” There was many days I sat and cried because everything I wrote seemed like garbage or either I just could not think enough to write.

Walk away and come back with a refreshed mind!!!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
YOU CAN DO IT!

What are you reading now?
I am reading nothing at the moment. I just finished Jodi Ellen Malpas One Night Promised a couple days ago.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to write more books. I want to see them sale and people who loves them as much as I do.

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?
Lisa Renee Jones

Ava Claire

Jodi Malpas

April Nichols Baker…. EXPOSED SECRETS!!! lol

Author Websites and Profiles
April Nichols-Baker Website
April Nichols-Baker Amazon Profile

April Nichols-Baker’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

April Nichols-Baker is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Bako Ambianda, better known by my pen name El Haji Nero. I am an authority on the development of human potential and personal effectiveness. I’m the president and CEO of El Nero Business Hub, Inc, a business education company that specialize in business events hosting. I’m a professional speaker and I deliver keynotes to varieties of audience discussing topics such as leadership, mindset improvement and self-esteem.

I was born and raised in the northwest region of Cameroon and I currently resides in Austin, Texas. I am holder of PMI Certified Associate in Project Management from the Project Management Institute and I am currently pursuing my Bachelor in Project Management at the University of Texas at Austin. I am the Project Manager of Cameroon Connection Projects and I have one book entitle ”Destined to Win in the Game of Life ” which is an incredible book on how to tap into your potential.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It’s called ”Destined to Win in the Game of Life” and this book is the result of my own story, having spent the past years of my life studying self-improvement and personal development techniques and experiencing the changes. I was inspired to share a blueprint of the things I have learned over the years but I have I always being a lover of reading and writing.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yeah, sometimes, I wake up by 2am and begin to write because that is when I get fresh wisdom.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I will say for authors, it will be Napoleon Hill, Anthony Robbins, Les Brown, Brian Tracy and Zig Ziglar. The books are Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hills. It’s Not Over Until You Win By Les Brown and Awakening The Giant Within by Anthony Robbins.

What are you working on now?
Building my start-up company, polishing the manuscript of my second book entitle ‘’Invest In Your Mindset’’ while researching the third book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best method is going to conferences, seminars and colleges to promote my book.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
An author needs to be to notice and if you want to get noticed. You have to look at the world you want to be a part of, and first figure out how you can be helpful to the people in that world and ask what you want to do and what the world wants or needs— the narrow overlap between the two will be where you make your living.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It was short and simple. Nero do not do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail and make sure you always walk the walk and don’t talk the talk.

What are you reading now?
The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will publish 1 book each year until I turn 30 years. I am 23 years now.

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?
1. My book ”Destined to Win in the Game of Life

2. It’s Not Over Until You Win by Les Brown

3. Fight for Your dreams by Les Brown

Author Websites and Profiles
El Haji Nero Website
El Haji Nero Amazon Profile

El Haji Nero’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

El Haji Nero is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing for over twenty years, and I was first published in the small press when I was eighteen years old. I have eleven books out now with many more coming soon.

In 2013, I won a competition that was hosted by Wattpad and Harlequin, which opened up a lot of opportunities for me including providing me with a publishing contract with the largest romance publisher in the world. I’ve written three books for Harlequin so far, and my Harlequin debut novel, Hustle, is due out on the 1st September 2014.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent release was Selkie, which is a fantasy romance novel about the Fae in a real world setting. The story is the first in The Celtic Witches series, which I plan to continue in the future.

I was working closely with a group of writers in Dublin when I came up with the idea for Selkie, and I really wanted to explore Celtic mythology and put my own slant onto it. The story developed into a nice mix of steamy romance and a magical adventure, which hopefully readers will enjoy.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a guilt trip every morning if I don’t write a chapter before breakfast. I think that one might be pretty unique lol.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh, that’s a long list. I think that my first influence was James Herbert. I loved his books, and they inspired me to want to write scenes that caused the readers pulse to race. I also love Jane Austen for her wit and heart-stopping romance. Oscar Wilde, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett–all of these authors showed me how comedy and action could create a truly captivating story. My reading preferences are so varied, from Shakespeare to Christopher Pike, so I think I can credit many great writers with influencing me at some point or another.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently finishing off Hitman, which will be my third new adult romance story for Harlequin. The book is a mixture of romance, mystery and action. I’m hoping to see a hot hitman with bright blue eyes on the cover, but I’ll have to wait for a cover reveal for that.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
At the moment, Wattpad has been my main place for promoting my books. I have over 5 million readers there. It is a wonderful place to connect with readers. I love their reactions to reading the stories, and they seem to enjoy my book giveaways.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Learn about structural editing as early as possible. It’s the rite of passage that you must complete if you want to write popular fiction successfully. I didn’t learn it until much later in my career. Now, I have hundreds of unedited stories in a filing cabinet that all need editing when I get the time. Taking the time to get your head around story structure will save you countless hours of rewriting later on. It’s worth it for you and for your readers.

Also, you never stop learning as a writer. If you think you know it all, think again. No writer ever knows it all. They spend their life learning as much as they can. Keep learning and keep writing. Good things will happen if you do.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Delete the prologue and rewrite the back story into active sentences.” It was my first edit from Eileen Gormley (also known as Evie Hunter), who taught me to structurally edit my stories. She ripped my first book apart, and I’m glad that she did. I’m a better writer because of her wonderful advice.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading ‘The Contract’ by Avril Tremayne at the moment, and it’s a fantastic read. I love it!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to be finishing off my paranormal comedy series, The Demon Diaries, by writing the third book in the series, Divine Dora, next. I’ll also be doing some promotional things for the release of Hustle in a couple of weeks. I’ve got three books coming out with Harlequin over the next year, and four indie novels that will be coming out, so the future is brimming with things happening in it for me 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?
Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde, Douglas Adams Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Series, and a blank notebook with a pen in it. (I so cheated. Box set FTW :p).

Author Websites and Profiles
Claire Chilton Website
Claire Chilton Amazon Profile
Claire Chilton Author Profile on Smashwords

Claire Chilton’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Claire Chilton is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a former sportswriter/columnist for The Newark Star-Ledger with 19 years experience. Currently the only sportswriting I do is boxing articles for HBO’s boxing website. The rest of my time I spend writing my Frank Boff Mystery Series, of which four books have already been published, “The Hurting Game,” “The Punishing Game,” “The Killer Sex Game,” and “The Payback Game.”
After spending most of my life in New York City or Hoboken (Frank Sinatra’s hometown), I currently live in upstate New York in a countrified village just nine miles from Woodstock. I live in a house surrounded by woods. The window at my writing desk has a view of the woods, and my visitors include, squirrels (and one black squirrel), chipmunks, rabbits, various types of birds, and occasionally a deer or less frequently (thank goodness) a bear.

I like to exercise daily, cook, watch NBA and NFL games on TV, and, as I have done throughout my life, see movies from my vast DVD collection.

For more about me and Frank Boff, visit our website: www.nathangottlieb.com.

Here is a link to my author page on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Nathan-Gottlieb/e/B003ZO29PM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“The Payback Game.” Here is a description from my Amazon.com page of the book:

A decorated New York City detective in the prime of his life suddenly dies of a heart attack. Or so it seems.

But a star columnist for the Daily News isn’t buying it. No way, no how. Using information supplied by a street snitch, the investigative reporter believes that the cop was killed by a hitman who used a shot of potassium chloride to simulate a heart attack.

When the reporter starts nosing around, he himself is killed by an assassin who disappears without a trace. Months later, when the dead reporter’s murder goes stone cold, a retired legendary columnist hires rogue private investigator, Frank Boff, to hunt down the killer.

Boff and his sidekick, boxer Danny Cullen, team up once again, and this time they find themselves up against a ruthless biker gang, bent cops, and a criminal mastermind who’ll stop at nothing to launch a multi-million dollar criminal operation in Brooklyn. Lied to, shot at, and constantly under threat, Boff and Cullen cut through layers of deceit and misdirection to zero in on the mastermind with one intention only: to seek and destroy.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
For reasons unknown to me, I have to have my wireless keyboard turned at a 45 degree angle.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammet, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Robert Crais, Robert Ludlum (author of the Bourne books and many other), and of course the masters of fiction, like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Jack Kerouac, authors I idolized in my early years as a writer.

What are you working on now?
I am finishing up a first draft for a fifth book in my Frank Boff Series, tentatively titled “The Death Dealing Game.”

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and many fine sites that connect eager readers with authors and their books, like this one, AwesomeGang.com

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write every day, even if you don’t feel like it. Some of my best work has come on days I didn’t want to write and felt I had nothing to say. Writers write. It’s as simple as that.

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

What are you reading now?
Lee Child’s Jack Reacher book, “Never Go Back.”

What’s next for you as a writer?
More books in my series, and eventually a stand alone book featuring the alpha female co-star of the fourth book, Emily Lynch, a former Iraq/Afghan veteran, now a NYC detective on indefinite suspension for binge drinking.

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 Big Sleep,” “The Long Goodbye,” “The Sun Also Rises,” and Thomas Pynchon’s opus, “Gravity’s Rainbow.”

Author Websites and Profiles
Nathan Gottlieb Website
Nathan Gottlieb Amazon Profile

Nathan Gottlieb is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a guy who refuses to be pigeonholed. I don’t write in any particular genre. I pen fiction for any consenting adult who dares to take a look. My background is as eclectic as my scribbling: art college drop-out, foundry worker, road builder, scrap man, curtain and blind fitter, and amateur philosopher, all accomplished with questionable degrees of success. I think I might be okay at making up stories.

I grew up in a northern coal mining town in England during the fifties and sixties. I studied Film-Theatre & TV at Bradford College of Art in the early seventies where I developed a passion for writing drama for screenplay & radio. My debut novel The Albion was first published in 2008. It has since been totally expurgated and re edited, and is due for re release both in ebook and paperback by the end of August. Scrapyard Blues, my second novel has just found a home with Grinning Bandit Books.

I live with my wife, on the edge of the moors and just a spit away from Bronte country (not a good idea if the wind’s in the wrong direction) where I continue to work on my third MS.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Scrapyard Blues.
The Genesis of this story came about one cold and crispy New Years Eve back in the mists of time.

All the planets must have been aligned that night because it shaped up to be the most bizarre, surreal and yet thoroughly enjoyable evening.

The Melbourne was one of those tatty but warmly welcoming waterholes, loved to bits by its regular patrons. The Exterior was fashioned in a faux Art Deco style, all stucco walls and glazed tile. The landlord was a feisty Irish character called Eamon, purveyor of fine ales and excellent live music. Eamon addressed everyone as “brother”, even the women.

The band that evening was a bunch of gnarly looking dudes who kept everyone happy into the small hours with their own brand of tried and tested, no-nonsense R & B standards. The punters on this particular Old Years Night were having such a good time that midnight came and went in a alcoholic haze of happiness without anyone resorting to that God awful “Auld Lang Syne” crap. No fall-outs, no fights – even the wife was behaving herself.

It was during a bladder-bursting bog break that things became predictably hazy. I remember being stood at the urinal admiring the 1930′s craftsmanship in the shape of cracked glazed porcelain that adorned the Gents in vivid bottle green and brick-red and cream colours, when some guy, a total stranger in the adjacent trough sparked up a conversation. He started by asking me if I was enjoying the band. I replied in the affirmative.

“I used to shag the singer’s missus,” he confirmed, swaying happily. “I hope he don’t recognise me else I’m f***ed.”

“How long ago was this?” I enquired.

“Oh, ages ago – not even sure if they’re still together.”

“Would he still be bothered after all this time?”

“Course he’ll still be bothered, he’s a Marsden lad,” he said indignantly. “The whole f****ing band comes from Marsden.”

I raised an inquisitive eyebrow, at which he proceeded to quote John Wesley, word perfect and at great length about what the Methodist Theologian and lay preacher had to say of the wild and nefarious ways of the Godless people of Marsden. He was still at it long after I’d emptied my bladder, but I was so impressed by his recitation I didn’t want to appear rude and Interrupt.

I never saw the guy again after that. Whether or not he’d decided to stagger home early, jump in a taxi out of harms way I’ll never know, but that fascinating and surreal conversation will stay with me forever.

So, bizarrely, that’s how the idea for Scrapyard Blues was born. Ironically, on the weekend that I completed the first draft of SB I attended the annual R & B fest in Colne, Lancashire and quite by chance bumped into the hairy lead guitarist of the band that played The Melbourne on that NYE. We whiled away the early hours of that late summer eve outside my tent drinking cheap red wine and eating Polish kabanos sausage, debating the universal merits of the wondrous element that is Carbon until the sun came up. I never brought up that New Years Eve gig or the mysterious stranger who once shagged his missus.

Footnote: Sadly, The Melbourne no longer exists in its boozy R & B manifestation. It’s now a shop that sells saris.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Certainly not!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
During my college days I was a Raymond Chandler nut. I couldn’t get enough of Philip Marlowe and his weary cynicism, the pampered vampy women, the corruption, the sleaze, the twisty plots and the inevitable slug to the back of the head when things got sticky.
Chandler writes in a style that simply cannot be taken out of its era, yet can be understood and enjoyed by any generation. His use of English is quite unique and any attempt to analyse it here would do it injustice. He uses Marlowe as a lonely crusader in a sea of immorality and arms him with witty aphorism, negative simile, allusion and metaphor. The plots aren’t always strong, sometimes they lead up dead ends and dark alleys, but that doesn’t matter when the dialogue is so sharp and caustic and you can almost taste the cigarette smoke and smell the bourbon. I think Chandler is one of, if not the greatest exponent of “noir” writing, a definite inspiration for me wanting to read as well as write.

Although it is almost forty years old now, ‘A Kestrel For A Knave’ by Barry Hines is still one of my favourite reads, a modern classic. The author is writing about me. Billy Casper is me. We are the same age; we both grew up in northern pit towns under the same social conditions. We speak the same; we act the same. We strive to survive and look for something to take us out of our circumstance, and Billy finds his escape in the beautiful metaphor that is Kes, his adopted bird. Barry Hines nails it. For a fourteen year old to totally identify with the book’s main character and his surroundings and for it to still read as fresh and as relevant today marks it as a truly great piece of writing. I hope that ‘The Albion’ captures the same grim realities that this novel has without losing that ever-present albeit faint undercurrent of hope.

‘The Football Factory’ by John King. King writes about common bonds and shared cultures that are often estranged from what society perceives as normal or acceptable. He was the first writer (along with Irvine Welsh) who made me realise that it was okay to write about things as they are, without resorting to cliché, to tell it how it is by using the language of the street, which at times can make for uncomfortable yet always compelling reading. It is apparent that King applies personal experience to much of his writing; it shines through the narrative and leaps off the page. He also uses flashback in his story telling; a technique I find can be both effective and creative as a book unfolds. One thing I hate is linear storytelling.

What are you working on now?
‘Precession’ is the working title I’ve given to my third novel.

This is a story of a right of passage, of an unlikely childhood to teenage friendship that defies social barriers, transcends class divides, and contradicts paradigms, all through a mutual love of birds. It is also an example of the struggles of life thrown up by fate, the escaping of a particular milieu to achieve a better life, and ultimately one man’s awakening to the waste of that life through false promises and the futility of war.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still trying to work that one out. I’m not very good at promotion.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Edit, edit some more, and then edit again.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Most of the advice I’ve heard in the publishing realm has often been contradictory. You always hear that old chestnut: “show don’t tell”. Much of the stuff is anal. I tend to follow my heart and instincts. It’s only storytelling fer Gawd’s sake.

What are you reading now?
I’ve just finished reading Graham Hancock’s ‘War God’ and Neil Young’s autobiography ‘Waging Heavy Peace’. Both of which were excellent. I’ve just started David Icke’s (gulp!) The Perception Deception.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m aiming to finish ‘Precession’. My initial intension was to make this a trilogy, but my research has sent me down the proverbial rabbit hole from which I don’t know if I’ll ever emerge. The first part is already written and would work well as a novella, I suppose.

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 Big Sleep – Raymond Chandler
The Physician – Noah Gordon
The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle

Author Websites and Profiles
Derryl Flynn Website
Derryl Flynn Amazon Profile

Derryl Flynn’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Derryl Flynn is a post from Awesome Gang