Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am Kallen Diggs, author of Reaching The Finish Line. I have helped over 1600 people to reach the finish line. Within the last 5 years, I have helped Average Joes go to college for free (no high SAT score or athletic association necessary), helped people change careers without returning to college, helped dropouts (high school and college) land great careers as well as link people up to six figure entry level careers.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Reaching The Finish Line.

The main inspiration behind the book was seeing the ongoing occurrence of people getting stuck. It is not typically where people want to remain but they become content when they think there are no other alternatives.

As stated in the book, there is nothing wrong with being an average Joe. It can be perfectly fine for some people. However, people shouldn’t be limited to being average if they desire something greater.

Everyone has a different finish line. I just want people to start reaching their finish line.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jack Canfield – The Success Principles

Stephen Covey – 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

What are you working on now?
Promotion and marketing of the book

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Build your platform as you are writing your book

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
NO is not no forever. It simply means “not right now.”

What are you reading now?
Michael Hyatt – Platform

What’s next for you as a writer?
Eventually, creating international versions of the book in other English speaking countries

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?
Jack Canfield – The Success Principles

Stephen Covey – 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Wayne Dyer – The Power of Intention

Don Miguel Ruiz – The Four Agreements

Author Websites and Profiles
Kallen Diggs Website

Kallen Diggs’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Kallen Diggs is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in England, up north as we say, where it’s very cold and usually raining. I come from a very arty family: painters and musicians. My tendency always ran towards patchwork and flower arranging, but I’ve always loved making up stories.

I started writing my first book, about a girl at boarding school, twenty-seven years ago, but I didn’t get very far. Life, consisting of three husbands and three children, got in the way. However, I never gave up the dream that, one day, I would write a full book. Five years ago, my urge to write couldn’t be quietened, and I started A Brush with the Moon. Just for me. Just to see if I could actually finish a story. I wrote it in secret because I didn’t want my family laughing at me. Now, I have eight books published, I guess it’s not so much of a secret anymore!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is the fourth in my contemporary romance series. After four years of living in a fantasy world, I needed to take a break from demons and monsters as I was starting to believe they were real! So I wrote about normal people with real world problems, and guess what? Now I can’t wait to start making up fantastical creatures again!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wouldn’t say unusual, but I like to be alone with an appropriate movie, of the genre I’m writing in, playing in the background, to get me in the zone. Oh, and of course, copious amounts of tea.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
This is really cliché, but if I’m being really honest, it was the Twilight books that finally made me put pen to paper again. Although I loved them, they frustrated me too. I wanted more heat and scarier werewolves, but it gave me the kick I needed to write the kind of book I wanted to read.

What are you working on now?
I’ve started work on a spin-off series from Foxblood. It will probably take a couple of years to come to fruition, but I’m really excited about it.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Promotions work best when stacked. Line up a big site, if you can, and organise lots of smaller ones in the days before and after it.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
It’s a tough business. Keep writing and don’t give up. Success could be just around the corner. (I’ve poked my head around, but there was a scary-looking guy with a hammer guarding the entrance.)

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Develop a thick skin. You can’t make people like you.

What are you reading now?
Believe it or not, the Harry Potter books…for about the tenth time! I’m such a Potter fan. I was getting withdrawal symptoms from not reading them for a couple of years.

What’s next for you as a writer?
After publishing a book a month for the past three months, I’m going to snuggle up for the winter and just write until the warmer days return.

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 there an omnibus edition of Harry Potter? No? Well, I’d need something large to keep me occupied. Perhaps it would be the perfect opportunity to try War and Peace? Of course, I’d have to pack Pride and Prejudice and something humorous, like Jilly Cooper’s Riders, and a favourite from my childhood, Anne of Green Gables.

Author Websites and Profiles
Raquel Lyon Website
Raquel Lyon Amazon Profile
Raquel Lyon Author Profile on Smashwords

Raquel Lyon’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Raquel Lyon is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, my name is Katelin Wagner, and I am a 20 year old poet from Los Angeles, California whose addicted to coffee, pizza, and writing. I’ve written two books: Untold Mysteries of Phoenix Hearts and Sonder.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Sonder was inspired by the movie Her actually. There’s a segment where Theodore, whose an extremely observant character, has this commentary on how we weave through each other’s lives as strangers (especially when it comes to love). I remember watching that movie multiple times and being very affected by it, in the best way. I started looking at my own life where, you know, I ride the bus with people who are technically strangers but I see them all time; so I started coming to conclusions about their lives and observing them more in detail. The book has taken me about a year to write, but it’s this idea of observing people I don’t know and their life experiences that I happen to be a part of by witnessing and coming to conclusions about my own life and where I stand all happening during the time frame of a bus ride but it covers a lot of topics from love, faith, family, work, and so on. It’ll be released by the end of 2014.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I listen to Drake a lot of the times to get in my feelings… I don’t know if that’s really unusual though.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
As of recently, Whip Smart by Melissa Febos really influenced my writing. It’s just an interesting narrative about a woman who chooses to domme while in college but her writing was unlike a lot of memoir writing I had seen in the past…it’s quite beautiful and flawless.

Buddy Wakefield and Andrea Gibson will always be staples for me when it comes to poetry because they have such distinct styles and you know it’s their voice when you read their work, which surprisingly can be a hard thing to accomplish in writing…not sounding like someone else…but completely like yourself.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on developing my performance value when it comes to spoken word. I’ve also gotten back into writing music and ghost writing. I’m very interested in creating this mixed world between music and poetry so poetry can become more easily accessible to the general public… which I feel like will be something we need to “trojan horse” in just because there’s a lot of stigma around poetry based off the “boring” work people were forced to study in high school. A lot of people are unaware of how far poetry has come and how it can easily be an entertainment genre in its own… which is something I hope will become a reality within the next 5 years.

Do you have any advice for new authors?

Write. Keep writing. And write about everything. Don’t let your pain or trauma define your work. Be authentic. And study. There’s a difference between appreciating someone’s work and then copping that style for your own…so realize that…and then read as many different authors as possible because then it helps you become more well rounded.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“When you’re successful, look at how many people surround you; when you’re in crisis, watch how quickly people leave you.”

What are you reading now?
I am currently re-reading A Million Little Pieces and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I like to re-visit books I read in high school because their meaning for me changes and different parts of the story resonate with me differently than when I was younger.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Growth. That’s all I want. I think writing for me is just a mission of continual growth and answering all the unanswered questions in my life…So that’s always the goal.

Katelin Wagner’s Social Media Links

Facebook Profile

Katelin Wagner is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a father, husband, student, author, artist, weapons enthusiast, survivalist, and much more.

I have written several books and poems but, have only pursued one of current( A Saunter With Death Book 1). I am working on the second in the A Saunter With Death series.

I am a jack of many trades and try to be as humble as possible whenever possible (hence the reason for self-publishing).

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
A Saunter With Death: Book 1: Kmoeneithe’s Saga

The journey of this book is actually an odd one. I started the “book” as a joke, in the format of “Captain’s Log humor” (a type of joke where the comedian posts a daily “adventure” in the form of a “Captain’s Log”) but, with “Survival Logs” instead. After the third “Survival Log,” I had such success among friends, who believed it was an actual story, I was “pressured” into forming a more serious and fluent story until the book was born.

Thus, I would say that humor had been my inspiration.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I have some very odd writing habits. One specific is that I have a tendency to write random sentences on paper and then try to decipher them when writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft were my strongest inspirations growing up. That was only solidified when I began to read Stephen King and Dean Koontz. So, in a way, all four of them influenced my writing. One other author to mention, who drove me into the dark world of the undead, is Max Brooks.

As for individual books, Z for Zachariah, It, Zombie Survival Guide, The Raven, etc. I have read so many and it is hard to deny that every one has influenced me in some way.

What are you working on now?
The second book of the A Saunter With Death series. I am unsure of its title as of yet but, **Sneak Peek** A Saunter With Death: Book 2: Steven’s Chronicles is a “soft title.”

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I can’t say for sure as I have not had much success with promoting my book. Though it is available worldwide, almost anywhere an ebook is available and carried in several stores, I have not had much report-worth success in promotion. The best of the methods I have used, though still not very successful, is word-of-mouth.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes. Keep focused, stay your path,hold strong, and don’t give up. If you are new to the writing game, find people to help. I will soon be holding a class on skillshare.com on how to “fix” writer’s block.

“Shut up and do whatever it takes to survive.” ~Sukata

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Talk, post, email, do whatever you need to do to get the word out.

What are you reading now?
I am trying to read Necronomicon but, I have not had time to dedicate to it.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Continue my A Saunter With Death series, expand into other genres with my second and third series, and push to finish an average of 2 books a year.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
This one is a really tough one.

I would have to say…

Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

A compilation of Edgar Allan Poe’s works

A compilation of H.P. Lovecraft’s works

And possibly a fourth but, I am unsure.

Author Websites and Profiles
Z Halferty Website
Z Halferty Amazon Profile
Z Halferty Author Profile on Smashwords

Z Halferty’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Z Halferty is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Over the years and including past glory which means squat in today’s climate, I’ve produced about 25 books. I am a slow writer. Too, life events get in the way of creativity. I once wrote for Harlequin Books–but Harlequin as I knew it is no more. I’m an indie author now and I love it. I love the highs, the lows and even the frustrations. Oh, my gosh, when I first stepped into the indie universe, I ate stupid for breakfast every dang day for almost a year. I knew it, too. And, boy! People were quick and joyous to tell me I didn’t know what I was doing. I just had to stop and learn the industry. I am far more savvy today, but still learning. I used to travel between books. I have a few favorite destinations–Golfito in Costa Rica and a village in the mountains in Central Panama and also a small island off the coast in the Pacific Ocean. But! Indie authorship is keeping me at my keyboard at the moment. I haven’t been farther than a wedding in Cancun in a year. I live in a snug mobile home in a small rural area, feed seven feral cats on the back deck, keep a garden in spring and summer, have Keeper who walks the dog and does the dishes–so I’m good for the moment.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
No Perfect Secret is my newest indie release. Like most fiction writers… an idea arrives unbidden and who knows from where? I often wonder if I have a multiple personality disorder, because the characters for my books leap onto a page as soon as I turn on my computer. And every blasted one wants to be front and center. Figuring out their backstories drives me nuts. I have written into books a couple of characters who wandered into my life. I found Clarence in No Perfect Secret walking on the sidewalk in front of the White House in Washington D.C. Holy smokes! He was wearing Jimmy Choo knockoffs, size twelve, a Royal silk leopard print blouse, a short skirt, Tammy Faye eyelashes and fielding catcalls from passersby with joie de vivre. When he came abreast of me, he said: “What’re you starin’ at honey?” I said: “You. You are awesome.” He said: “Ain’t I just though?” We had coffee and I picked his brain. He was fabulous then and I hope still is.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so. Writing is lonely. Nobody can do for you. If you want to write a book you just have stick with it. I tell myself to write one word after another and I will have book–eventually.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My all time favorite book is the African Queen, by C. S. Forester. He put Charlie Allnut and Rose Sayer on page and on that rickety boat and golly–what an adventure! What a love story. I read a lot of biographies. Since I now own two Kindles, and indie authors are so prolific, I’ve branched out in my reading tastes. I’ve explored genres I’ve never read before, such as fantasy and vampire. I enjoy suspense and thrillers. I like non-fiction, especially anything by Farley Mowat. I do read a lot of history. And when I visit small towns across the South, I head for the local museum. Some of the tracts, books and pamphlets written by the natives and settlers of small towns are fascinating.

What are you working on now?
I have two works in progress. I don’t talk about works in progress. I’m superstitious. I hope to publish one or both next year.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The fact is if we don’t promote our books to get them visible, they will sit on a cybershelf and sink into oblivion. Almost every promotion site offers something that benefits a book. Networking with like-minded indie authors is critical. I have all of my indie titles in Amazon KDP. As a rule, I promote one or more in every 90 day cycle, sometimes sending it FREE, sometimes in KCD. It depends upon my promo budget how much promotion I manage.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Funny, you should ask. My best advice is: Think for yourself. If you are a serious writer–make the best decisions you can for your book.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Mind your own business!

What are you reading now?
I’m reading Lily Cigar. I love it.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Same as for any author. Another 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?
First, would be a matchbook! The African Queen. A Perfect Storm. And George Carlin’s, When Will God Bring the Porkchops?

Author Websites and Profiles
Jackie Weger Website
Jackie Weger Amazon Profile

Jackie Weger’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Jackie Weger is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing for over thirty years and lost count of how many books I’ve written. I’ve had a few small successes along the way. My biggest success was back in the day when my punk novel, Fall Of The Flamingo Circus was published by Allison & Busby (1990) and by Villard (American hardback 1990). It got a good review in a national newspaper and also in The Face. That was my fifteen minutes, I think! Skrev Press published my novels Seaview Terrace (2003) Sucka!(2004) and Break Point(2006) and other shorter work has appeared in Skrev’s avant garde magazine Texts’ Bones including a version of my satirical novella Lost The Plot.

Thalidomide Kid was published by Bewrite Books (2007).

I’ve had other short stories published and shortlisted including Hard Workers and Headboards, first published in The Diva Book of Short Stories and as part of the Dancing In The Dark erotic anthology, Pfoxmoor Publishing (2011)

I also received a Southern Arts bursary for my novel Where A Shadow Played (now re-Kindled as Did You Whisper Back?).

I’m gradually in the process of re-Kindling my backlist, previously published and unpublished work. Most are also available on Smashwords including:

Far Cry From The Turquoise Room
Suckers n Scallies (formerly Sucka!)
Down The Tubes
She Looks Pale
Tales By Kindlelight (a collection of short stories, many of them previously published or shortlisted in short story competitions)
Savage To Savvy – (ABNA Quarter-Finalist 2012)

I am glad I did a lot of my writing years ago as I now have health problems and fibromyalgia. I’m also a bit of an armchair campaigner for social justice.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called The Dead Club. It’s pretty dark but has – I hope – plenty of black humour as well as surreal elements. It’s still under wraps and not been foisted on the world yet.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Writing is a bit like making a patchwork quilt for me – rather than starting from A to B, I graft in sections or scenes or dialogue as I need them and they grow from there. I do have a basic outline though before I begin.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
A Street Cat Named Bob
Six Dinner Sid
An Embarrassment of Riches (and everything by Gerald Hansen)
Animal Farm
The Book Thief
Hotel World
A Blues for Shindig
Never the Bride
Exchange
Last Orders
Bilgewater
Hi Fidelity
A Room of One’s Own
An Angel at My Table
The Bell Jar
The Swimmer
To Kill a Mockingbird
When the Wind Blows
The Way We Wore
God and the New Physics
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
Empty Chairs
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist
And many more.

What are you working on now?
I am trying to get some of my ebooks into paperback and also in the process of making my short stories available as e-book ‘singles’

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I tend to use the Amazon forums, Facebook or sites like yours which offer a variety of promotions for indie authors.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do it because you love it. Enjoy the process and rather than see it as a means to an end see as an end in itself. If you’re looking for instant success or even moderate success you might be disappointed. Keep reading in genre and learn your craft. Don’t rush to get a book out just because the tools are available – take the time to get it professionally edited and proofread.

What are you reading now?

Keri: The Early Years by Kat Ward

Author Websites and Profiles

Kate Rigby Website
Kate Rigby Author Profile on Smashwords

Kate Rigby’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Kate Rigby is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a transplant Seattleite and already a Pacific Northwest stereotype; I often spend weekends holed up in coffee shops writing, I eat organic/local/sustainable as much as I can, my day gets better when the mountain is out, and I don’t own an umbrella. I’m also a teacher at a local college (writing, of course), and a perpetual grad student. When I’m not doing that, I like video games and photography.

I was born in San Diego but brought up in the Arkansas Ozarks. I spent most of my early writing “practice career” trying to ignore that fact, but eventually I decided to go ahead and use it to my advantage. I normally don’t buy into the whole “write what you know” thing (because goodness knows I’ve written about a million things I haven’t experienced), but this series of books I’ve been working on are grounded in the people and things I grew up around, for better and for worse.

My first attempts at writing novels came when I was around eleven, and since then, I’m positive I passed that “million word” threshold after which you’re supposed to be able to write publishable work when I was about 20. Yeah, that’s a myth. I finally got confident enough to release a book from my clutches a few years ago, and I published my first novel in 2012. My second is in the editing stages and will hopefully come out early next year, and the third one is in its infancy. All told, I’ve probably gotten at least to the middle of 15ish books, and I’ve finished maybe five of them. Is that a lot? I don’t know. The books have ranged from a Redwall knockoff (my first book) to historical fantasy to high fantasy to what I write now, which is contemporary fantasy with a twist (or five).

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The book I just finished is called The Lost Are Like This, which is a sequel to my first one, The Wicked Instead. The series is written in conjunction with Tiger Gray’s No Deadly Thing. Eventually the two series will merge into a co-written series.

My half of the series follows two brothers from the Ozarks, Cary and Lindsay, who were raised in a religious cult compound. They escape after Cary is paralyzed in a hunting accident. Later, they come to realize they’re descended from a line of very powerful magic users called táltosk. They have the ability to travel along the World Tree, on which rests innumerable different worlds. The World Tree is in danger of becoming corrupted. Its collapse would destroy every sentient world, and Cary and Lindsay are told that they’re princes, descended from a line of extraordinarily powerful táltosk, who are supposed to be the ones who have to heal the Tree. The first book is about the brothers’ fight to break away from their old life, which continues to haunt them, and begin learning about their new one as táltosk.

They start to learn they can’t trust just anybody, but they have to trust themselves, something they’ve never been taught to do. They get magical horses and cool powers, but it’s really about that journey.

The second book picks up where the first leaves off. Cary and Lindsay have begun their new life, and now they have to take charge of it. They’re suddenly saddled with all of these new powers and responsibilities, but dealing with that isn’t easy, especially when things keep crumbling around them. Where they had to learn to trust themselves in the first book, now they have to figure out how to trust other people, searching out allies in their fight against their enemy, who is a familiar face from the first book. Their enemy stole something that’s of vital importance to the World Tree; Cary and Lindsay have to figure out how to get it back even as their own world is in danger of falling apart.

What inspired the series in general is my long-time love of mythology coupled with my wish to write from the perspective of someone who is exasperated by but affectionate in a way toward Ozarks culture. I wanted to write about the kinds of people I know.

Other inspirations were many and varied. I have Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials to thank for planting thoughts about religion, mythology, and multiple worlds in my mind, Avatar for making me pleased/frustrated enough to write a disabled character, a band who will remain nameless for inspiring me to write about a pair of brothers, and the media kerfuffle about the Westburo Baptist Church and other cults for giving me inspiration for my villains.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if it’s that unusual, but I have a weird combination of paper organization and digital writing. I tend to do most of my outlining and background developing on paper, because something about the physical act of writing makes my brain work in a different way (that’s scientifically proven, yo). I’m a little neurotic about how my world building is organized: on graph paper, using different colors of pens.

When I’m stuck or struggling with a scene, I’ll write it longhand, though I also use my iPad and Google Docs to write when my mind is working fast enough.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was growing up, I read lots of animal books: every Redwall book I could get my hands on, The Wild Road by Gabriel King, Watership Down, and the Clan of the Cave Bear series. (Yeah, I thought they were animal books. I was wrong.) Books like the Dragons series by Patricia Wrede and the Chronicles of Prydain were my main exposures to epic fantasy. I’d say they’re sort of atypical epic fantasy in some ways, and I’m sure they led me to write atypical fantasy.

Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel/Naamah series and Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials are my favorites, and I kind of want to be them when I grow up. Garth Nix’s Abhorsen series also had a pretty heavy influence on me. But there are other books that have influenced me, too. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is my absolute favorite book. A lot of my style as well as my desire to take a nuanced, in-depth look at a family or a tight-knit group of people comes from that book.

What are you working on now?
The Lost Are Like This is on my editor’s desk, so I got right to work on the next book. It’s not a direct sequel; it follows one of the secondary characters from The Lost Are Like This in an earlier part of his life, between 1998 and 2000. He’s a different kind of guy than Cary and Lindsay, much more worldly and educated, and more experienced with magic as well. I’m also writing a novel in first person for the first time in many years, which is a challenge. I normally struggle a lot with it, but this character, Adam, has grown to have a pretty strong voice, so hopefully that will smooth the way somewhat.

I’m doing NaNo for the new book, and you can find me at nanowrimo.org as Avery Teoda. Hopefully I’ll keep up and post excerpts there.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
That is something I’m still figuring out. I think what’s worked best for me so far is actually personal contact. I’ve sold the most copies at conventions.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
1) Do your research. Nothing loses my faith as a reader quicker than blatantly inaccurate or implausible information that’s represented as fact. This goes double for when you’re writing about a group you don’t belong to, whether it’s soldiers, another gender, a minority group, a different generation, etc. The best way to make sure you’re representing something fairly is to ask somebody who knows.

2) Remember that your story doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Historical, political, social, and economic context is not only necessary (in any genre), it makes your world more complex, nuanced, and interesting.

3) Let your first drafts suck. Just get it done. You can fix it later.

4) Don’t let your first draft KEEP sucking. Do actually fix stuff later.

5) Look for the stories that don’t get told. Alternate narratives are the most interesting ones.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Decide what to be and go be it.

What are you reading now?
A bunch of things, but foremost Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. I read a lot more nonfiction these days.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to keep on indie publishing. As I mentioned above, my Twisted Tree novels will eventually merge with my co-author’s to become one series, at which point, who knows? I’m sure I’ll also branch out to different worlds. I just want to keep writing the things I want to read.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith

His Dark Materials, Phillip Pullman (totally going to cheat and say a compendium edition with all three books)

Cosmos, Carl Sagan

Author Websites and Profiles
Avery Teoda Website

Avery Teoda’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Avery Teoda is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a professional astrophysicist that dabbles with all sorts of things in my spare time. Everything from free jazz to various writing projects. I basically stagger through life – from one obsession to another… A couple of years ago I started making up bedtime stories for my (then 7-year old) daughter. The main character was a mildly confused inventor, Professor Kompressor, who drew on actual science for his ideas. He is excellent at inventing, but the main theme of the stories is that the inventions are not always excellent. These bedtime stories led to the first book, and then… another three (so far). Writing these books has been immensely enjoyable, especially since I can take liberties with ideas I actually worry about at work. The great thing about fiction is that it is ok to get things a bit wrong – to stretch reality whichever way you like. For some reason, this is generally frowned upon in the science world.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called “Professor Kompressor out of this world”. It is basically a space adventure that takes the Professor and his companions on a journey through the universe. The main part of the book is set in the hostile environment of outer space. The stakes are higher and the inventions bolder. Lives are at risk in encounters with exploding stars, black holes and, just possibly, alien civilisations. I first had the idea when I was writing the third book in the series, themed around the undercover world of spies and dodgy dealings. It started with the title. Then I started building a collection of “inventions” that would serve as frame for the stories. This part was fun, but surprisingly tricky and I had to do quite a bit of research before I figured out the fine line between “too far” and “not too far enough”. I am really quite happy with the result.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really, but… this last book was mainly written with a couple of fingers typing on a tablet while I was sitting waiting for the youngest daughter to fall asleep. Maybe not the best setting for concentration, but it was “spare time” and I think I used it well

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ouch, this would be a long list. I would have to start with Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker’s guide. A whole lot of books of a similar vein; Terry Pratchett, Tom Holt… When I started writing about the Professor, I went back to revisit the Professor Branestawm series. Hilarious fun. I recently discovered the, now out of print, series about Danny Dunn, boy inventor. This is excellent as well. In terms of science inspired stories, I guess Russell Stannard’s Uncle Albert books and maybe Lucy Hawking’s space adventures. I like reading stories for younger readers because the focus is on the story telling. Less analyzing of the human condition, more fun and games. I enjoy that!

What are you working on now?
Ah… I thought that was supposed to be a secret. Actually, I am toying around with something a little bit different. I have tried writing a science-themed ABC, with rhymes and everything. A first version of the text is there and I think it works quite well. Not sure what I’m going to do with it though. It will need illustrations of some sort. We’ll see what happens.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Undoubtedly word of mouth works best, but a number of websites have been useful. The most effective for me have been features on Ereader News Today, Awesome Gang and Freebooksy.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write! Don’t let anyone put you off. If there is a story to tell, write it. Sure, you will have to spend time on it. Editing, polishing, reworking… It will be hard work, and can be really frustrating, but it is also extremely rewarding.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what you want. Don’t try to write a particular story just because you think it would “sell”. You need to tell your story your own way.

What are you reading now?
I just finished Jasper Fforde’s Song of the quarkbeast, a magical story for younger readers. Now I am reading Christopher Priest’s Adjacent. So far it is an excellent SciFi story from one of the grandmasters of the genre. I am enjoying it.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Tricky question. I probably ought to try to market my books a little bit better. I am a bit busy with my daytime job at the moment so for a while I will probably tinker with smaller things. There may eventually be a fifth Professor Kompressor book, but I am not sure. I will need to find an entertaining theme for it and at the moment I’m not sure what it would be.

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?
Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy, for sure, because you can read it many many times and it is still funny. Probably something by Jonathan Raban because I just love the way he uses the language. If I were to pick a third one right now it would be Damon Runyon’s More than somewhat, because it is a really crazy set of prohibition era short stories. Worth it’s weight in potatoes (if you’ve read it you know what I mean!).

Author Websites and Profiles
Nils Andersson Website
Nils Andersson Amazon Profile

Nils Andersson’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Nils Andersson is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
In 1998 I embarked on a teaching Grand Tour throughout Asia, and what a fascinating journey these years have been. After seeing much of Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Thailand, in between stints of teaching and futures trading, I settled seven years ago here in beautiful Chiang Mai, northern Thailand.

I’m an avid fan of SF, Horror, Fantasy, Historical fiction, DVD serials, and Asian transcendental practice. Thus far I’ve worked in SF, Horror, and Film Criticism. I’m looking to expand into Historical Fiction. I’ve done four book in three series, science fiction (Zero Point Light), zombie horror (Bangkok Z), and non-fiction on Film (Crisis Climax).

I’m frankly fascinated by this morphing world of book publishing. Imagine integrating multimedia in an ebook, i.e. period folk ballads as chapter breaks for a Historical novel. Music and visuals done right would enhance and deepen a reading. Ten years ago no one thought e-readers would ever be popular, and look at them now. We have the same resistance today to other emerging innovations. It’s an excellent time to be active in this industry!

I was a teacher until 2006, when I moved here to Chiang Mai. I also have an ongoing passion for bluewater long-distance sailing, caving, scuba diving, and of course reading. I collect TV serial DVDs, and frankly I love this new long-story format of 24 episodes a season. I enjoy book series that reflect this!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
NEW SIQDOR, Zero Point Light, Book 2. It was inspired by science fiction series of the past, most notable those of Peter Hamilton and Hugh Howey.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do most of my first draft writing sitting in a popular Thai coffee house, Wawee’s, near the Chiang Mai night market.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Peter Hamilton, Hugh Howey, Larry Niven, Ryan Casey, L.T. Ryan …

What are you working on now?
TOEY’S BURDEN, Episode 2 (Horror); NEW SIQDOR, Zero Point Light 2; STORY CRISIS, STORY CLIMAX 2 (Crisis Climax).

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
StoryFinds, Amazon in-house promotion.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Try to develop an internet presence, on a blog or in some other way. Better yet, build an ‘email list’ as a base which will be enormously valuable to you later on. 75% of ebook marketing and sales will happen through your list. So any form of email list will be hugely helpful to you later on. If you don’t do that, you’ll be shelling out money constantly for straight-up book ads, and ads for FREE 5-day eBook promotion periods to spark sales.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Hold short-term FREE promotions of all your eBooks. People downloading your books for Free increases your visibility better than anything else.

What are you reading now?
Brian Harmon’s “Rushed”, Marko Kloos’ “Lines of Departure”, Jack Noble’s “The Recruit”, Larry Niven’s “Ringworld Engineers”, Bobby Adair’s “Slow Burn, Zero Day”.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to start a Historical Fiction series set in ancient Rome, a long-standing interest of mine.

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?
“Remembrance of Things Past”, “War and Peace”, Churchill’s “The English-Speaking Peoples”, the “Divine Comedy”, “Foundation” series, and all of Homer.

Author Websites and Profiles
Stephen Carter Website
Stephen Carter Amazon Profile

Stephen Carter’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Stephen Carter is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an artist, and have been drawing as far back as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories are of drawing my favorite superhero and Masters of the Universe characters, or monsters I had created. I spent a lot of time making my own comics and trading cards too; that continued right up until… well, I’ve never really stopped with the comics! I just don’t have much time to work on them anymore.

I’ve always been into classic horror, especially the Universal movies of the 1930s. I’m a movie buff in general, but those are what I’m most knowledgeable about. I’m also a gamer, and a compulsive reader.

I’ve lived in south Mississippi my entire life. I hate heat and humidity, though, so I’m definitely in the wrong part of the country! I like to travel, though I don’t get to do it nearly as often as I’d like. My favorite city that I’ve visited is probably Savannah, GA. As for places I want to visit, Colorado is at the top of the list.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My newest book is Apex Predator: A Grant Mercer Novel. My first book, Nightmare Escapade, was a horror anthology. The story that introduced Grant Mercer was the most popular one. Just about everyone who gave me feedback started with how much they enjoyed that story in particular. I already had plans to feature him in his own series, and the positive reception to the character and his story cemented that.

As for Grant himself, he was born of my love for noir detective stories. I like the idea of that sort of character being thrust into a supernatural underworld and seeing how he reacts. I always like to find some kind of twist when I’m writing in a well-worn genre, something for which vampire fiction certainly qualifies! Once I began writing the story, the character naturally steered himself toward the course he takes around the mid-point of the short story.

Apex Predator picks up right as the short story ends, so I’ve included that story as a prologue to the main novel. I didn’t want new readers to feel that they had to buy another book to get the whole story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do much more of my work on actual paper than most writers seem to in this digital age. Character profiles, story outlines, random ideas I jot down in case I ever have a use for them, whatever, it all gets written down in a notebook until I’m ready to actually compose a first draft. Even after that, I’ll often head to a local combination coffee shop & record store and write a chunk in my notebook, then type it up when I get back home. I can get a lot more done that way without all the distractions I have at home.

Speaking of my notebooks, that’s another thing: I have color-coded notebooks for each book or set of characters I’m working with. Grant’s notebook is red, of course.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I had taught myself to read before I was even in school using my dinosaur books and He-Man comics, and from there I was constantly reading. Some of the standouts were Mark Twain, Ray Bradbury, and Edgar Allan Poe, but there are so many others! I’ve had people tell me my writing reminds them of H. P. Lovecraft, and the first few times that happened, I had never actually read anything by him. As big as I was into classics and horror, I really don’t know how that happened. Anyway, that compelled me to seek out some of his work, and after reading it, I could see some of what they were talking about. I also considered it a tremendous compliment!

What are you working on now?
Now that Apex Predator is done, there’s another Grant Mercer novel in the pipeline. Before I get to working on that in earnest, however, there’s another project I’m already well into… it’s too soon to talk about it yet, though! Keep an eye on my blog for announcements regarding that in the future.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve actually found the most success via social networking. This area is really my weakness, though. I’m far from the best when it comes to marketing, unfortunately.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write every single day. Even if you think what you write on some days is terrible, it’s still important to get into the habit of doing it every day. Make the time.

When working on your first draft, remember that it doesn’t have to be perfect. Just get through it, you’ll be revisiting it many times later, so it’s perfectly all right to have some rough patches. Don’t be afraid to skip a particularly troublesome section and return to it later.

Know your characters intimately. This seems like a real no-brainer, but some people still seem to overlook it. Write a min-biography, or write a detailed history, make them a dating profile… whatever works best for you. you don’t have to have their entire life story mapped out in meticulous detail, but it is vital that you have a firm grasp on who they are.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never be afraid to fail. That’s how we learn.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading A History of the World in Twelve Maps, by Jerry Brotton. It examines how different maps throughout history have affected our society. I’ve always loved history and looking at old maps, so this is right up my alley!

What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing, and hopefully continuing to grow my readership!

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?
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

The Greatest Show On Earth, by Richard Dawkins

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

For my last pick, I’d grab one of my collections of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories.

Author Websites and Profiles
Waylon Piercy Website
Waylon Piercy Amazon Profile
Waylon Piercy Author Profile on Smashwords

Waylon Piercy’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Waylon Piercy is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born into a privileged Malaysian Chinese family. Following my brothers’ footsteps, I was sent to an exclusive boarding school in England. It is there that I was inducted into a clandestine organization, E.R.O.S. The Enlightened Royal Oracle Society. For four years, unbeknownst to my family, I was willingly and happily part of a Harem.

I’ve written the first 3 books of A Harem Boy’s Saga; a memoir by Young series.

A Harem Boy’s Saga – I – Initiation; a memoir by Young.

A Harem Boy’s Saga – II – Unbridled; a memoir by Young.

A Harem Boy’s Saga – III – Debauchery; a memoir by Young.

No Distance Between Us (a Yuletide short story) a memoir by Young – soon to be released on November 21st 2014.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
A Harem Boy’s Saga – III – Debauchery; a memoir by Young.

This is part of A Harem Boy’s Saga; a memoir by Young – 7 books series.

This provocative story is about a young man (me) who was initiated into a clandestine sexual society. He was spirited to the Middle East, from his UK boarding school. He attended the Bahriji School (Oasis,) in The United Arab Emirates in preparation for serving in Harems for the wealthy and elite.

It is also a love story between the young man and his ‘Valet’ who served as his chaperone and mentor during the boy’s Harem service.

Author’s note:
I had a privileged and unique upbringing in Malaysia. Following in my brothers’ footsteps, I was sent to an exclusive boarding school in England. It is there that I was inducted into a clandestine organization, E.R.O.S. The Enlightened Royal Oracle Society. For four years, unbeknownst to my family, I was willingly and happily part of a Harem.

My story has been kept under wraps for close to 45 years. The correct moment has arrived for me to make known my unique education.

I believe my geographical location (being in spiritual and beautiful Maui, Hawaii) inspired me to pen my seven book series.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like my writing to convey my emotions, thoughts and experiences when I was at the age when I was groomed to enter and when I was in the various harems. Therefore, the answer is Yes. I do write in a particular style that reflects my youthfulness at that period in time and era. I hope my innocence and inquisitiveness comes through in my writing.

Because I’m documenting my life’s experiences – I am currently writing non-fiction. Although, I have changed the names of the people and some of the places to protect their identities, my experiences are real and authentic.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by Anne Rice. Although this trilogy is fictional, it has elements that bears a some resemblance to my personal experiences. I like the way Anne Rice describes the emotions of the various characters during the erotic scenes.

I also like spiritual books because it provides me insights into the spiritual aspect of the characters when I write about carnal love and lust, my characters goes through to grown and develop into balanced/healthy human beings. Like my unique had taught me from a young age.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently writing A Harem Boy’s Saga – book IV – Metanoia; a memoir by Young.

Getting A Harem Boy’s Saga 7 books series narrated to audio books.

I’m also writing the Screen Treatment for this series.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Stay focus. My modus operandi: the 3Ps: Perseverance, Persistence & Patience.

Be diligent about setting a time frame/goal to finish your manuscript.

Not to worry about what you are planning to write. Once you begin with the 1st word, you’ll know what the next word is going to be. When I write, it’s like channeling a separate spirit/entity within my person. Thoughts flows automatically through me and I write what comes naturally out of my hand.

To me documenting A Harem Boy’s Saga series is like a divine calling. There is an inner angelic voice that directs when I put words into the computer/paper.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stay focus. My modus operandi: the 3Ps: Perseverance, Persistence & Patience.

What are you reading now?
The Gift of Rain: A Novel by Tan Twan Eng

What’s next for you as a writer?
To be able to speak on taboo topics in schools so young adults can be better informed and educated in controversial matters/topics.

I’m also working with a publicist – as a speaker in conducting writing workshops. Starting in Hawaii and then nationwide before doing international speaking engagements and writing workshops.

These are some of the goals I hope to achieve through
A Harem Boy Saga:

• Provide Tolerance to Sissy Boys by understanding parents/peers and the community.
Anderson Cooper 360 documentary on the devastating treatment of effeminate boys influence me to tell my story.

• Bullying can be avoided through Big Brother/Big Sister volunteer programs in school or outside school system. Older students acting as mentors to younger students.

• Gay Adolescent Tolerance – parents/child/siblings relationship issues.
Support/mentorship program to all parties involved to foster understanding and acceptance of Gay kids.

• Provide an Alternative Educational System;
Understanding Big Brother/adolescent mentorship programs in schools, BB as protector to keep younger kids from being bullied.

• Human Relationship Building Program;
Between parents/teachers and young students on sexual topics/issues, especially when adolescent are just discovering their sexuality. They can be guided on a healthy and honest sexual journey instead of “don’t ask, don’t tell” hide it behind the closet policy.

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 Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by Anne Rice.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel by Susanna Clarke .

Fields of Plenty: A Guide to Your Inner Wisdom – L.D. Thompson.

Author Websites and Profiles
Bernard (pen-name Young) Foong Website
Bernard (pen-name Young) Foong Amazon Profile

Bernard (pen-name Young) Foong’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Bernard (pen-name Young) Foong is a post from Awesome Gang