I know it is only December but we are making plans to go to Tucson Festival of Books in March. I went last year and was one of the 120k people that went. I met so many authors and was glad to see that many used our site to promote their books. It was very nice to meet authors face to face. Deb from BookGoodies and I were totally overwhelmed by the show. She decided to get a booth this year and have authors bring books to sell and autograph. If you are familiar with BookGoodies and think you may want to attend reply to this email and I will point you in the right direction. If you are going to be at the show let me know I would love to meet you. There may even be some AwesomeGang swag!
Now back to the newsletter!
In these interviews you will discover what other authors are doing to write their books. The also share what they are doing to promote their books. Sit back and enjoy a cup of your favorite beverage and maybe you will learn a few things to help you with marketing your books. If you want to advertise on Awesomegang click here.
Vinny
Isobelle Cate
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a paranormal and contemporary romance author. I also write historical fiction. At the moment, I live in the Northwest of the UK, though who knows where my writing will take me next! I am drawn to the little known, the secret stories, about the people and the nations: the English, the Irish, the Scots, the Welsh, and those who are now part of these nations whatever their origins. My vision and passion are fuelled by my interest and background in history and paradoxically, shaped by growing up in a clan steeped in lore, loyalty, and legend. I am intrigued by forces that simmer beneath the surface of these cultures, the hidden passions, unsaid desires, and yearnings unfulfilled.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Midnight’s Fate is the latest book I released in October. It is the fourth book in the Cynn Cruors Bloodline series of paranormal romance. My inspiration for setting the story in the Honduras came from a news article about a place that didn’t exist. So I wove my story in such a way that the Cynn Cruors now have to travel to this place that was lost thousands of years ago to find a special kind of silver that cannot kill them. Of course, through this quest, the hero, Zac McBain finds his mate, Faith Hannah, who has a supernatural skill of her own.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not that I can think of.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love books written by Tina Folsom, Donna Grant, J.R. Ward, and Monica Burns to name a few with respect to the paranormal and historical romance genre.
What are you working on now?
At the moment, I’m in the middle of writing my second contemporary novella, You and I. It will be part of a Valentine anthology that will be published by Beau Coup Publishing.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I often use Facebook, Google+, and Twitter to promote my books. I also have promoted on The Romance Studio as well as a host of other websites.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Think of being an author as embarking on a new adventure every time you write a new story. When you write, ask yourself, do you want your story to be plot driven? Or character driven? And read. Read about the genre you want to write about. Read about the rules of writing – about showing as opposed to telling. You don’t have to follow all the rules. If you feel that there’s something missing, make your own. The writing world may all be the better for it.
Don’t also be disheartened if you’ve only written a couple of sentences, a paragraph or less than the word count you’ve set out for yourself on that day. Be grateful that you were at least able to write down something than none at all. And when you can’t write, take yourself away from the computer or your pen and paper and take a breather. You may feel better afterward.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write!
What are you reading now?
Tina Folsom’s Cain’s Identity and Monica Burn’s Forever Mine.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve started on a new paranormal series with a dash of time travel. It’s going to be serialized in my publisher’s website and I have to complete the story. I’m writing the sequel to my contemporary Romance which will be part of the Valentine anthology, and last but not the least, continue writing the 5th book of the Cynn Cruors Bloodline series.
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, I’d take Kahlil Gibran’s, The Prophet. A beautiful book that needs solitude to appreciate it. Second would probably be a book by Tina Folsom, another from Donna Grant, and the last is a book by Alexandra Iff. Their books are fantastic!
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an attorney in New Orleans. My first novel, Tempesta’s Dream, tells the story of an aspiring opera singer growing up in Milan. It has been named by Amazon as a Top rated Novel, has been a number one selling Italian Historical Fiction novel, and was awarded the Pinnacle Acheivement in Historical Fiction.
My second novel is completed and is currently with my agent in New York, awaiting publishing. It was named a Short List Finalist in the William Faulkner Competition.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Bellafortuna is the name of my yet to be released novel. The birth of my daughter, my second child, no doubt was the inspiration for this novel.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I listen to opera or romantic neapolitan songs while I write. You will find me buried in some corner of a coffee shop, earplugs plugged in, with no idea that Pavarotti is blaring.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Like many author’s my age, 46, Tolkien played such a huge role in my love of reading. The idea of creating an entire history of a location, always intrigued me. Of course, he always took it a step further by even developing his one language.
What are you working on now?
Putting the finishing touches on Bellafortuna.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The most success I had in any single day was with Ereader News Today. A great site, that really has a great connection with it’s readers.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write from the heart. Don’t buy into the idea that the best part of your book has to be the first paragraph. Tell a good story. That is the key.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
From my wife – Don’t quit being an attorney.
What are you reading now?
When I am in the finishing touches of a novel, I try not to read other books, as I am totally engrossed in my own story.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Hopefully, the next book. No ideas yet. But willing and able.
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 Lord of the Rings
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am fairly new to writing. Actually, I have always written, but not books until recently. When I was younger, I liked to write poetry. I was born in Fresno, California, and grew up mostly in the San Joaquin Valley. I worked in the fields as a child farm worker. I went to college on the East Coast. I have two children, and five grandchildren. I have two sisters, and one brother living. I have two other brothers who have passed away. One died of complications due to childhood diabetes. The other was beaten to death by police officers in New Jersey. When I was young, I was put briefly into an orphanage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but was brought back to California and raised by relatives.
I had the great fortune to be able to live, study and travel in Europe. One of the things that I took with me to Europe was a collection of tiny Mexican chollo figurines. I wanted to have my little chollo figurines with me to remind me of home. While living in Europe, I traveled to England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. I tried Mexican food in England and in Paris, France, but nothing compares to the Mexican food you can get in Los Angeles. It is the best!
I have published two books: The Marble Harvest and Tiny Bigfoot’s Big Choice. Both are children’s books, but they are different from each other.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I just finished Tiny Bigfoot’s Big Choice, this past summer. After writing my first book, I spent a lot of time visiting schools, libraries, and homes for children, sharing my book, The Marble Harvest, with the kids. I always asked the kids about their pets, and they were very enthusiastic in telling me about their dogs, cats, turtles, fish, hamsters…you name it. I think children really identify with pets. Pets are therapeutic. They love you unconditionally, and that is a really important thing for a young child to learn.
I remember speaking to a group of kids at the Los Angeles Memorial Branch library, and also at the Cesar Chavez Elementary School in Long Beach. The kids at both places really wanted me to write about a dog. Writing about a dog is something I wanted to do as well, because I had a dog, a beautiful German Shepherd, named Lobo, whose picture is in my first book, The Marble Harvest. Lobo passed away this summer, shortly after Tiny Bigfoot’s Big Choice was published. I really miss him. I have a new German Shepherd puppy, Bear, who terrorizes my plants, and chews up my furniture and my shoes. In spite of his bad habits, he is winning a place in my heart.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am a morning person. I like to write in the morning, but before I write, I must have a cup of coffee. I notice that when I dream, often times the words come to me, so I spend time daydreaming. I think it is important for a writer to be able to tune out the world, and turn inward to get the benefits of daydreaming.
Also, if you’re going to write children’s books, I think it is important to be around children, and to interact with them on their level. You have to be willing to be silly, to get dirty, and to do the things that kids do. I play hide and seek with my grandchildren. We tell silly stories with each other – one person starts off the story, and the next person picks it up and takes it in whatever direction he or shed wants, and then it gets passed to the next person, and so on. I write after being around my grandchildren, and I think it is important to immerse yourself in a child’s world.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I wrote my first book, The Marble Harvest, I was influenced by John Steinbeck. I remember going to Salinas, CA, and visiting his house, and seeing all the farm land around me. The Pearl is still one of my favorite books of all time.
I also remember working those fields that Steinbeck wrote about as a child farm worker. I hated that work. I remember being pulled out of school to go pick grapes, tomatoes, onions, cotton, carrots, chile peppers, potatoes. I picked, washed, sorted, and bagged vegetables and fruit. It was hot, dirty, aching work. The smell of the chemicals bothered me, and there was always the prospect of getting bitten or stung by insects. Working that hard as a child, while still trying to do well in school was exhausting work. There are still over a half million children in the U.S. that work in the fields. They are not protected by the child labor laws that cover child labor in other industries.
I am also influenced by Jeanette Walls, author of The Glass Castle, Half Broke Horses, and The Silver Star. I relate to Jeannette Walls because she also struggled as a child. Her stories are about survival, loss and self-reliance. I relate to her because the lack of foundation that she experienced as a child was very similar to my own childhood.
Victor Villaseñor is another influence on my writing. My grandfather was from Chihuahua, and I relate to his descriptions of his Mexican ancestry, the aboriginal experience in Mexico. His writing is very mystical, which appeals to me.
What are you working on now?
I am working on a mystery involving a troubled young boy who lost his parents as an infant. The story is set in the San Joaquin Valley, California. I don’t want to talk too much about it, because it is still very much in the formative stage right now. I could tell you something about it now, but it might be different by the time I’m finished.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Why, awesomegang.com of course!! Actually, when it comes to promoting there is no one website or method that is the be-all and end-all of marketing. Promotion is about multiple methods of networking and getting your name out there. You have to be tweeting, Facebooking, visiting schools and libraries, doing book signings, talking to people, advertising on blogs, doing lectures…the whole nine yards.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be patient and be consistent. Don’t give up on your dreams of making it. I’m still trying, and I still have a ways to go before I’ll consider myself successful as a writer. You have to believe in yourself and your vision. I think it is important to read and to be around creative people. Dream a lot. Find a good editor. Like anything worthwhile, writing takes a lot of hard work. Don’t be afraid to put in the work. Drink good coffee.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I have heard a lot of good advice from a lot of people over the years. The best advice I know is to listen to your inner voice.
What are you reading now?
I am currently reading Jeannette Walls, The Half Broke Horse. After I finish that one, I am planning to read The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to write a sequel to The Marble Harvest. In fact, many of my friends and relatives have been bugging me about the sequel. Spoiler alert: The Marble Harvest has a cliffhanger ending. There is definitely more to the story. I have been hesitant to do the sequel because writing The Marble Harvest was pretty emotional for me. It was based a lot about my own childhood experience. Many of the characters in the book are people from my childhood. I definitely want to finish telling the story, but I had to take a break from it. My granddaughter wants me to do the sequel with a happy ending. I can’t promise that, but I think I need to get back into it.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I think the first book on that list would be “How to Survive Being Stranded on a Desert Island.” After that, I’d like to have Gone With the Wind, because it is really long and because it is a love story. I would also have a copy of The Pearl. That’s three books.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My full name is about a mile long so I prefer to use the shortened version below, which is my pen name. A P von K’Ory is easier on the tongue and memory. And now we come to the part where I talk of myself in the third person – a quirk of mine, so please bear with me.
A P von K’Ory is the winner of six Awards from four continents, the last one being the Achievers Award for African Writer Of The Year 2013 in the Netherlands. The Selmere Integration Prize was awarded her in 2014 for her engagement in helping African Women in the Diaspora cope with a variety of domestic and social problems. The Proposal, her short story, won the Cook Communications first prize in 2010, and is published in an American collections of anthology Africa 2012. In 2012 she won the Karl Ziegler Prize for her commitment to bring African culture to the Western society in various papers, theses and lectures. Again in 2012 her book was nominated for the 2012 Caine Prize by the Author-me Group, Sanford, and in 2013 she was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize.
A P von K’Ory studied Economics, Literature and Journalism in London; Germanistics and German-specific Economics and Socio-Philosophy in Germany. Her most recent personal achievement is her Ph.D. in Sociology and Geo-Politics in Germany, making her total number of doctorates rise to five – she regards knowledge as a lifelong quest of learning something new.
Apart from her numerous and published articles, theses and papers, her first novel in German: Khiras Traum was published in 2004. There followed eight romance novels: the award winning trilogy Bound to Tradition Book 1 The Dream; Bound to Tradition Book 2 The Initiation; and Bound to Tradition Book 3 The Separation. Secret Shades Book 1: Aroused; Secret Shades Book 2: Revealed; Dark Desires Obsession’s First Lap; Dark Desires Obsession’s Second Lap; Dar Desires 1: Obsession which is the first two Dark Desires books combined in a single book. Dark Desires: Aflame is coming out in spring 2015. Her nonfiction book Darkest Europe and Africa’s Nightmare: A Critical Observation of Neighboring Continents was published in New York.
She is married to the Baron von Wimpfen and lives in Germany, France, Cyprus and Greece with her husband, son and two grandsons.
Visit her at http://akinyi-princess.de
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Dark desires: Obsession, is my first venture into the world of erotica. I was intrigued and wondered if my literary preference style could also work when used in an erotica context. I mean, as a writer, words are my sword and I need to have such a good command of my craft that I can apply my swordsmanship in any situation. Et voilà! Once I jumped in I found myself swimming away like a fish in its own waters. It now over to my readers to cheer me and offer me the medal at the end of the race. Here’s a bedroom scene with Roman and Svadishana (Shana), and you have the liberty to tell me if it’s erotic, or rather literary:
I kissed her tenderly and nibbled on her lower lip. “You belong to me.”
“Yes.”
Her surrender, at last, reeled my mind. I gently raised her legs, still wrapped around me, by moving on my knees towards the headboard. I held her by the hips and started to enter her. Slow and gentle. She cried out with pleasure. She scalded my crown with her heat. I lowed like a bull. It was like trying to force a log into a golf hole. I looked at her. Her long curls tumbled all over the place.
I inched in some, stretching her. “Tell me when it hurts, okay?”
“It’s beautiful. You’re gorgeous, Shiva. Oh God, this is… Roman!”
“You’re sensational, my consort.” I’d gone in far enough to feel the stretch of membrane. I tested against it, watching her face. Her eyes were mere slits now.
And there you are. Instead of the the c-words and f-words I’m off to the golf course with lowing bulls! Other times I’m border-line purple prose, but do throw in the f-word after all:
I had bliss on a golden platter. She cried out, juddered, yelped, trembled, whimpered and screamed her ecstasy. She whispered my name, then screamed it. She bit my neck like she had just enrolled for her first lesson in the vampire evening classes, coaxing unknown sounds from me.
Then licked and gently kissed where she’d bit. Insanity.
She repeated all of the above again in her own chosen mix.
We had a nice orchestra going. Crescendos, back to diminuendos, on to another set of crescendos, then on to roaring fortissimos. Repeat. Multiply by—
She grabbed my hair and pulled my head off her nipple. She fixed me with her gaze, trembled and quivered and said, “Now, my Rome.”
I felt her ripple again up and down my shaft in maddening waves. I was her empire, she my empress goddess with two lethal weapons on her face.
I hissed a strained, “Yes.” And I was off the cliff. “Oh Shana. Fuck!”
We came together and I emptied myself dry as deep as I could get in her core. Still pressing hard against her mons veneris, I closed my eyes and saw stars as she continued sucking me in and vibrating.
Her tsunami orgasms. They turned her mauve and fuchsia from cheeks down to her neck and the space between her breasts and around her navel.
Divine fortissimos. Raging fortissimos. Back and forth. On and on and on.
I finally gathered her on my lap again, kneeling, sitting back on my heels, still joined. I rocked her again, swaying gently with her clinging on me like a baby straddling its mother. Swayed her on my lap until the screaming and the whimpering and the vibrating finally abated.
I loved her.
“You’re the best anything that ever happened to me, Golden,” I murmured as I rocked her, kneeling on the messy bedcover.
I’d never said anything like that to any woman but the one who brought me into the world. I’d never felt what I was feeling for my golden goddess. I’ve had women I lusted after. Others who were great fun and fucks. Others still who were not the most stable columns in the Forum.
But my Svadishana made me think of forever.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
For one thing, I’m the kind of writer who loves the sound of silence when I’m working. Perhaps the occasional muted classical or other instrumentals in the background, nothing else. So I have to schedule my writing time to fall outside of the family time.
Another quirk of mine is how I manage the dreaded Block – I take a walk in our forest. All year round. Forests have their own special kind of noisy quietude that awakens my Muse. I normally take the walks alone, other times with my husband where we walk with arms around each other but mostly in silence. I enact whole scenes and chapters in my head during that time.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
What are you working on now?
The third book of the Dark Desires series, Dark Desires: Gilded. The second book, Dark Desires: Aflame is with my editorsandwillb e out in spring 2015. And my series, as I mentioned above, are full books, not novellas. You see, I jumped into the erotica waters and I’m still swimming away happily ever after. So the Dark Desires series is still very much an on-going project. Roman and Svadishana still have a load of obstacles to face and overcome, both with themselves, their pasts, their present environments and their families.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’d say I prefer Blogs, which is rarther time-consuming. So I also do a lot of social media promotions. My disadvantages here are time and technology. As I live in Germany,my closest readers in terms of time zone are in the UK. But the big market is in the USA and Canada, so that I’m asleep when the majority of my readers are awake, and vice versa. That means I have to rely on technology and use places like HootSuite to schedule my posts.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Pay no attention to rejections (you’d be gobsmacked at how many agents and publishers out there are looking for the quick buck, not art), so simply do what you do best – write. Bestsellers are hardly written, in my opinion, they’re concocted more or less in the fashion of reality TV. Simply believe in yourself, persevere, self-pub GREAT works and writing skills and the jackpot is at your doorsteps.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The one from my grandmother – she told me to marry the man who lovesme rather than the I love!
What are you reading now?
Lee Child’s Personal. I love Jack Reacher. Now, there’s a chap I’d adore taming – sorry Grandma.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m working on a nonfiction project – parallel to my fiction writing – and that demands extensive and specialised research for stats, history and so on. No walks in the forest would help much there.
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?
My own Bound to Tradition Trilogy: Bound to Tradition Book 1: The Dream, Bound to Tradition Book2: The Initiation, and Bound to Tradition Book 3: The Separation. With these three I’D have enough to dream about, get initiated in order to turn the dreams into reality and finally the reality would save me and separate me from the desert island. Then for the fourth thing I’d bring along Dark Desires for when the nights get chilly…
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
url https://www.goodreads.com/ohsomebody
born in aldershot uk, The United Kingdom June 14, 1962
genderfemale
websitehttp://www.janeyates.co.uk
twitter usernameJYparadoxchild
genreScience Fiction, Young Adult, Paranormal
influencespitt rivers museum oxford city
member sinceJanuary 2011
About this author edit data
Jane, a dyslexic, mother, artist, and story teller. Lives in Oxford and works at the Pitt Rivers Museum, a museum of anthropology and world archaeology. Her Paradox Child series of YA books features the museum and its objects.
Janes art https://www.flickr.com/photos/6763658…
Follow Jane on Twitter @JYparadoxchild
Follow Jane on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jane-Y…
Like Jane’s page
https://www.facebook.com/objectsparad…
Join Jane’s group http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1… (Don’t worry, it’s not a cult!)
Email: janeyatestheartist@gmail.com.
Paradox Child
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D8J41DM
Therianthropy
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G5R2HVM
Original Destination
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L0E87BE
Garden
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2…
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Garden, inspired from the classic the secret garden
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
i tend to write between 2.30 and 4.00 am
What authors, or books have influenced you?
i love children’s books, alice in wonderland, is the best
What are you working on now?
Octopus Pirate here is a clip read by James Fox
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
goodreads is the best
Do you have any advice for new authors?
write what you know about, believe in your self , follow me on twitter and i will friend you back @jyparadoxchild
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
go to sleep
What are you reading now?
Sky Song (Sky Song trilogy #1)
by Sharon Sant (Goodreads Author)
What’s next for you as a writer?
i am trying to win this writing comp and travel to the USA pls heart my entry for me :)https://medium.com/nanowrimo/my-2014-nanowrimo-novel-the-octopus-pirate-by-jane-yates-8e68a216106
TY
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?
atlas , guilde to mushrooms, boat building for beginners , navigate by the stars
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Seattle native who went through many jobs before becoming an author. Marketing, web design, fundraising, contracts and insurance, freelance writing and design, editing, so many things. I came late to the writing game, always having thought I’d write books one day but always putting off that day due to one thing or another. But, about five and a half years ago, I jumped in, and I’m beyond glad that I did!
I’ve written eight books so far:
The Balky Point Adventure series (YA sci-fi adventure)
The Universes Inside the Lighthouse
The Wishing Rock series (contemporary women’s fiction)
Letters from Wishing Rock (a novel with recipes)
The Wishing Rock Theory of Life (a novel with recipes)
The Tides of Wishing Rock (a novel with recipes)
One recipe book, a compilation of the recipes from the Wishing Rock books
From the Wishing Rock Kitchens (recipes from the series)
The Pam on the Map series (travelogues)
Pam on the Map: Iceland
Pam on the Map: Ireland (retrospective)
Pam on the Map: Switzerland (retrospective)
In my spare time I … wait, spare time? You realize I’m an indie author, right? Well, in what spare time I have, I like to spend as much time as possible connecting with friends, in whatever form that takes. Give me some great friends, some great conversation, and perhaps a great glass of wine, and that’s about as happy as I can be.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book is The Universes Inside the Lighthouse, a young adult sci-fi adventure. It’s actually the first book I ever started writing, about eleven years ago, so at this point I can’t really remember what inspired it. If I were to guess, I’d say the idea came from my general, never-ending fascination with the idea of alien life, parallel universes, and so on. I mean, clearly we’re not the only intelligent life out there. There’s an equation, the Drake equation, that’s more of a “guesstimate” than anything else, but using various factors this equation speculates there could be 100 to 200 BILLION other planets out there with intelligent life. I mean, come on! How can a person not wonder what those other beings and their worlds might be like? And if we were to meet them, how would that happen? It kills me that I’ll probably never know. So I did what writers do: I made it up. I created my own answer. The Universes Inside the Lighthouse is just the beginning of that answer. I’m working on the next book in the series now, taking the characters to even more places. I’m having so much fun!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My chair and desk are glued to my ceiling, so I write upside-down …. No, not really. Nothing too unusual, I don’t think! I can’t listen to anything while I’m writing—nothing more than white noise. I often listen to sounds of nature CDs while I write. I do my creating with pen and paper, then switch to the computer to actually write. I plot out the general outline of the story before writing; that way I know what’s coming up and can slip in some foreshadowing. So I’m a “plotter” more than a “pantser.” But unfortunately, no, nothing too unusual!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
See my “stranded on a desert island” answer below for some insight on this. Any author who manages to write in such a way that I’m transported to the world they’ve built, that’s someone I want to emulate. JK Rowling, obviously (as I’m working on answering these questions, she was just answering some tweets on twitter, and I got a little giddy just seeing her name there!), as well as Philip Pullman, are among my favorites. People like Jodi Picoult and Barbara Kingsolver as well. They bring you into your story so completely that when you stop reading you have to remind yourself you’re back in the real world, that what you were reading is just fiction.
Since for me writing is not just about the books but also about stories and connection, I also look to writers who are engaging and real, with a true sense of authenticity, integrity, and self. Those writers would include Brené Brown, Elizabeth Gilbert, Cheryl Strayed, and for travel, Rick Steves.
In the future, I may write a book of essays of some sort, so I’ve been reading Nora Ephron, Erma Bombeck, and a few others to get a sense of how that sort of writing is done.
What are you working on now?
I’m doing a ton of work to get the word out about The Universes Inside the Lighthouse—trying to find the people who I know will love it. I love this book so, so much. It’s my favorite of all my books so far. I know it’s supposedly for young adult audiences, but when I wrote it, I just wrote a story I loved and wanted to read. So I’m working to find the people in the Balky Point Tribe—people who will love this adventure series as much as I do. (If you’re in that group, please come find me online and say hi!!) At the same time, I’m working on the next book in the series. It’s so much fun. Writing these books is the most fun I’ve ever had writing. Everything is possible, so I get to just let my imagination run wild!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well, obviously, awesomegang.com is tops! Promoting is so hard. People call it “shameless self-promotion,” but I refer to it as “fearless self-promotion,” because there’s no shame in it, but there’s a ton of fear. Walking that fine line between letting people know about your book, but not being pushy and obnoxious. I have a ginormous number of websites I’m working through—bloggers, reviewers, promotion sites, etc.—but to be honest I haven’t found The One that has made me take off just yet. I am very hopeful, and I persevere. It’s hard. But I love my books, I believe in them 100%, and I know they have audiences out there just waiting to be found. It’s just up to me to find them!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I have seen a lot of people go out, write one book, and then become discouraged when they’re not instant bestsellers. That does happen, but it doesn’t happen a lot. Set your hopes high, your expectations low, and work hard. Keep working. Make sure you’re putting out a quality product. Listen to what people tell you, and sort through it all to find the nuggets that will help you improve. Keep writing. Keep working. Keep persevering. You’ll get discouraged a lot, believe me! Take a deep breath and remind yourself why you’re in the game. Look to the long-term plan. Have a plan for how many books you want to have written in how many years, and work toward it. Read a lot—other people’s books, as well as articles about the industry. Find people who are having success, and watch what they’re doing, see how you can apply it to your own work. Be prepared to do a lot of marketing. Keep spreadsheets of everything because there’s way too much to keep track of without them. Don’t be afraid to try new ideas. Get help when and where you need it and can afford it. Don’t give up.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It’s not advice so much as an idea. Brené Brown did a TED Talk about vulnerability. In it, she says about children: “They’re hard wired for struggle when they get here. When you hold those perfect little babies in your hand, our job is not to say, ‘Look at her, she’s perfect. My job is to keep her perfect, make sure she makes the tennis team by fifth grade and Yale by seventh grade.’ That’s not our job. Our job is to look and say, ‘You know what, you’re imperfect, and you’re wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.’ That’s our job.”
I watched that TED Talk just weeks before uploading my very first book, and it had a huge impact on me. My book was my baby, and I knew it wasn’t perfect. But I believed (and still believe) in its worthiness. Hearing what Brené had to say made me think about my book from a new perspective: Even if it wasn’t perfect, it was nonetheless good enough, and it was worthy of love and belonging.
We get really worried in our society about perfection, about whether we’re “good enough,” and that stops us from following a lot of our dreams. Definitely you want to be concerned about putting out a quality product, getting good editing, etc., but if you wait until you are a perfect writer and your novel is beyond criticism, you’ll be waiting forever. You can learn as you go along. Give your book a chance. Believe in yourself. You and your book are worthy.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, for my book group. I have to say, it’s a little gory for my taste. I know Neil is widely revered, but there are parts where I have to let my eyes skip over the text because it’s a little too much for me. It’s an interesting tale and concept, but maybe just not my style.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, World Domination is always on the list, but I’m not sure if that’s 2015 or 2016. We’ll see. In the meantime, as noted above, I’m working on the next book in the Balky Point Adventure series. I sat down the other day and worked out my writing goals: I have eight books out now, and the goal is to have 15 out by 2020. Some will be Balky Point Adventure books, one might be a sort of humor essay book, who knows. Ideas come all the time!
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?
Oh, that’s just cruel! There are way too many good books out there, and I love them for many different reasons. And some of my all-time favorite books are not books I’d want to read over and over endlessly. But, here are some all-time favorites I’d probably choose from:
The Harry Potter series / JK Rowling
The Poisonwood Bible / Barbara Kingsolver
The Power of One / Bryce Courtenay
Second Glance / Jodi Picoult
The Wrinkle in Time series / Madeleine L’Engle
His Dark Materials trilogy / Philip Pullman
Bel Canto / Ann Patchett
Falling Off the Map / Pico Iyer
Waltzing the Cat / Pam Houston
East of Eden / John Steinbeck
Although, come to think of it, if I were going to be stranded on a desert island, I’d probably bring things like:
The Ultimate Survival Manual—333 Skills That Will Get You Out Alive
Wilderness Survival For Dummies
Because, you know. Then I could get off the island and back to a bookstore!
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started writing in 2003. Like my previous occupation (Home design & building) I’m self taught. So far I’ve written around fifty novels, novellas and short stories, mostly in the erotic/erotic romance genres, but I have also written romance, suspense, drama & political stories.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest full length novel is EEK! I’m a Woman. It is funny, romantic, suspenseful and erotic. A version of it sans the erotic is titled Manhattan Miracle. Truth is I can’t remember anything that would have inspired these books. I started it a while back and shelved it for some reason and then a couple of years later decided, ‘This is too good not to finish’. And believe me, it is good.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
A. Unusual? That’s putting mildly. Bizarre is more like it. I go to bed and wake up early whereupon I write and or promote. Not 10pm/6am early. No. More like 7:30pm/2am early. As I write this sentence it is 4:48am. Last night I didn’t get to bed until 9:30 so I woke up later than usual—3am.
This actually works quite well for me as there are no interruptions or distractions like come later in the day. I call these early hours my ‘quiet time’. Waking at 2am is an average. I’ve woken as early as 12pm. (11am once) So while most people are going to sleep, I’m awake and starting my day.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
You know, since I started writing I’ve been too busy writing stories to be reading them. My reading has fallen off to about a book every three months. Right now, I’m reading Star Island by Carl Hiassen. This one isn’t that good. I loved his Skinny Dip and Native Tongue, but he’s gotten quite silly in his newer books, sort of like Janet Evanovich books. Funny I like. Silly I don’t.
Continuing more on subject. The last book I read was a mediocre effort called the Last Juror, by John Grisham and before that a good book and an average book by Michael Connelly, respectively titled The Brass Verdict and Scarecrow. These are three of my favorite author who for some reason aren’t writing up to their standards
What are you working on now?
Lots, when I find the time. My Work in Progress includes, my ongoing and not that popular, YET, series The Televangelist. Previous works were titled, The Bastard Preacher, The Ruthless Preacher and The Wicked Preacher. The next book is called The Godless Preacher, the third Letta Storm novella Rejected, and an erotic Western of what I call novelette (15K to 25K) called simply Cowgirls.
Other WIPs are A Sapphic novella titled The Photographer, the fourth and (hopefully) final episode of the Consequences series $ex in $in City and about two dozen others.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Mostly Twitter, but I also post on Facebook and sometimes use inexpensive targeted marketing. I blog about my books as well, but not that much. I’m actually not that good at marketing and hope to find some tech savvy wizard who can help me promote.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Only to keep your day job. Writing and publishing books sounds romantic and it could and should be, but the ebook market is brand new right now and is evolving. For me marketing my books has become quite…I won’t say cut throat, because it’s not, but it’s so time consuming and easy to make the wrong moves. Let’s just say I find it challenging.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
LOL. When my friends told me I better take that girl (my absolutely wonderful wife of 33 years) off the market. I did and while our lives have had ups and downs, I’ve never regretted it.
What are you reading now?
A. Answered above. How about if I told you my all time favorite books (or series)?
• Dune, Frank Herbert & Dune Universe series Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson
• The Deathgate Cycle, Weis & Hickman (so good, it spoiled me for Fantasy)
• The Quiet Game, Greg Iles
• Skinny Dip, Carl Hiassen
• The Keep & The Tomb, F Paul Wilson (first of fabulous Handyman Jack series)
• The Firm, John Grisham
• The Sum of All Fears, Patriot Games & Cardinal of the Kremlin, Tom Clancy
• Kiss the Girls, James Patterson
What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, the mantra among writers seems to be ‘Keep on Writing.’ It sounds like a good idea and I’ll probably do that, but I’d like to get to a point where I could work on a few ideas I have for books which would take a lot of time and wouldn’t pay off for a long time if ever. One is a Sci-Fi Vampire Fantasy, I’ve given two working titles, World in Chaos and Angels of Magic (if you like to leave a comment saying which title you like best, I’d appreciate that.)
Other ideas I’d like to work on would be a story about Hannibal or rather Hannibal’s fictional son who is spirited off to Greece, just before he is killed by the Romans, a story about Atlantis and a noir mystery about Castle Hot Springs, a popular get away for the rich and famous in the thirties and forties, literally in the middle of nowhere, about fifty miles Northwest of Phoenix.
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?
Does Encyclopedia Americana count as A book? Whether it is or not, I’d bring a book of how to make a boat from Palm shards, coconut shells and bamboo, or how to build a hot air balloon from palm fronds and bamboo. Then I’d bring a book on 101 delicious ways to fix coconut.
I know, that’s about as funny as being stranded on a desert island. Can we make it a dessert island? I could really get into that?
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I describe myself as the ultimate multi-tasker. Sometimes I even have to remind myself who I am for the day. Why?
Because I write under three different pen names and in three very different genres. As Debrah Martin I writes literary fiction. Falling Awake is a dream-like tale where truth IS stranger than fiction. I also plot fast-paced and compelling thrillers as D.B. Martin, with the first two in the Patchwork trilogy, Patchwork Man and Patchwork People, out now. Its fallen hero, Lawrence Juste QC faces a future as tricky as his past when his previous misdeeds catch up with him and his dead wife blackmails him, apparently from beyond the grave. The grand finale in the series, Patchwork Pieces will see an explosive ending to Lawrence’s story when it’s released at the end of Spring 2015.
And not to be overlooked is my YA teen detective series, penned as Lily Stuart – THE teen detective. Irreverent, blunt, funny and vulnerable, Lily’s diary tells the tale of her mother’s internet dating spree – and the murderer she meets, interspersed between daily life as a teenager, with all its bitching, banter, and vulnerability. Webs will be followed by Magpies in Spring 2015, and plenty of odd secrets for Lily to root out.
So why not stick to just one name and one genre?
Well, the do say variety is the spice of life – and I have all these ideas; they have to come out somehow! All those ideas have already taken the form of six books – three previously penned as Debbie Martin and of which one will be re-released in 2015 under Debrah Martin; a very unusual love story …
My past careers have spanned two businesses, teaching, running business networking for the University of Winchester and social event management. In 2014 I added to my ‘hat’s’ by also chairing the Wantage (not just Betjeman) Literary Festival in my home town as well as organising my two daughters and our dog.
‘See – more multi-tasking!’
You can find out about all of my books and latest releases on my websites www.debrahmartin.co.uk and www.lily-stuart.co.uk
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is the second in the Patchwork series – Patchwork People. The first in the trilogy, Patchwork Man, was conceived as a result of my mother’s description of how the rag and bone man used to tour the streets when she was young. It immediately conjured up images of post Second World War Britain to me and I wanted to write a novel with its roots in that period. To begin with, it was to be a stand-alone book, but as the twists and turns in the plot grew, and the characters developed, I knew I couldn’t contain the entirety of it in one book unless it was to be a mammoth tome like War and Peace.
I wrote up the rag and bone description, researched other common features of the time and came across a series of anecdotes about life in children’s homes in the fifties, at the time my mother would have been in her late teens to early twenties. She’s now eighty. A theme common to the reports was emotional isolation and the desire to leave the past behind them when the child reached maturity. So much of the way we are able to tackle the problems of the present depend on the emotional nurturing we received in the past. I began to imagine a man, emotionally deprived as a child, burying his past in favour of a future he’d manufactured, yet unable to deal with the consequences when that past could no longer be buried. That obviously provided the possibility of wanting past misdeeds to be buried too, and for it to be these that later came back to haunt the protagonist. He, or she, therefore had to be a ‘fallen hero’; on the face of it successful and well-adjusted, but underneath intrinsically damaged. Seeing an adaptation for the theatre of To Kill a Mocking Bird was the finishing touch and Lawrence Juste was ‘born’, enabling my long-time admiration for the message in Harper Lee’s masterpiece to become a central part of the life lessons Juste has to learn on his journey from damaged to whole.
I was extremely lucky to have a contact who introduced me to a High Court Judge and he initially checked the procedural sections for credibility and accuracy. He remains nameless of course, but he was of immense help with Patchwork Man.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I have a writing studio and the dog and I spend at least part of the day there, plotting. If I get stuck we go on a walk and it’s amazing how being out in the countryside – it’s beautiful around Oxfordshire – clears your head and writer’s block …
What authors, or books have influenced you?
As a child I steadily worked my way through the local library’s book shelves, starting with Enid Blyton, then onto Ruth Rendell, P.D. James, Patricia Cornwell via Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers and so on, until I reached Dan Brow –as everyone does. I also read thousands of other psychological and crime suspense novels in between. I love a good thriller, especially if it’s a brain teaser. Gone Girl was good too, but I worked the plot out about five chapters in, and that showed me how much the psychological thriller format eventually worms its way into your psyche. All that reading taught me how to write thriller plots, but my reading background is far wider.
I studied English Literature at university (a long time ago) and also developed a love of all kinds of genres – Shakespearean and Jacobean Revenge tragedy amongst them. If I took an overview, I can even see little traits of them in Patchwork Man, as well as the kind of moral twist there is in books such as Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird, which will always be one of my all-time favourites. It’s maybe also why I write in more than one genre. There is too much I love to read to stick to just one, and also too much to say in a lot of different ways!
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on Magpies, the second in the Lily Stuart YA teen detective series. I’ve just finished Patchwork Pieces and it’s now in the final throes before publication – watch this space! Writing the Patchwork series made me realise how much fun it is to stay with a set of characters beyond one book. They have time to develop more and allows the reader to take more of a journey with them. It’s also quite a challenge to decide where that section of the story ends and the next begins – and I do love a challenge… And after Magpies I have another idea already bubbling away, but that’s for later!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Word of mouth is always best, but of course it’s a big old world with an enormous number of books in it. Online there are a variety of sites that link writer to reader and I think that’s really good. I use all kinds to try to get awareness of my books out there – that’s the biggest battle, I think.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep reading, keep writing, keep re-writing. It’s a log road not only to publication, but also to getting your book in front of a reader once it is published. The best way of doing it is persistence, writing well, talking advice from readers and professionals, and then writing some more. I also think that writer’s groups and forums are invaluable – for advice , support and feedback. I belong to several and no matter how many books I write, I know there will always be something else to learn, someone else to learn form and something I can improve on.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t give up.
What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading The Hundred Year Old Man who Jumped out of a Window and Disappeared and also The Goldfinch. A read a little like I write – never just one thing at a time. Whicihever book fits my mood, that’s what I carry on reading.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing, and then more writing again … that’s not a chore, but a pleasure though!
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
An epic like The Lord of the Rings to keep me absolutely riveted, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (if that’s not cheating and counts for more) to keep me inspired, my absolute favourite YA fiction – My So-called Life by Joanna Nadin – to keep me laughing, and probably some poetry – perhaps Maya Angelou – for the soul. All in print because I like the feel of a real book most, and my Kindle would run out of battery eventually
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in the beautiful mountains of north Idaho with my husband, daughter, and two canine buddies. I have been writing for almost as long as I can remember, and my dream was always to write middle grade novels for kids. After writing for the magazine market for a number of years, plus two nonfiction titles for the educational market, I finally achieved my dream of writing for children with the publication of A Smidgen of Sky (Harcourt 2012) A Million Ways Home (Scholastic Press) followed in 2014.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is A Sliver of Sun. It’s a sequel to my debut, A Smidgen of Sky. My agent and I decided to try self publishing and releasing it as an e-book. I’d been reading about many traditionally published authors like myself, who find advantages to self publishing some titles as well, and I wanted to try mixing things up and see what happened.
After Smidgen was released, I had lots of young readers who asked, “What happens next? Did Piper Lee and Ginger ever find a way to get along? Was Ben able to forgive Piper for all her trouble making? Did Piper Lee find a way to fit into her new family?” I think a lot of kids were able to relate to Piper Lee, especially those in blended family situations, and I’m so happy to be able to answer their questions!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really, unless you count trying to balance my computer on my lap while sitting in my recliner, stuffed between two dogs, with barely room to move! Is that unusual
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Some of my earliest influences were E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, and Wilson R awls’ Where the Red Fern Grows. I love lots of more recent middle grade titles as well, such as The Dogs of Winter, Dash, Savvy, The Bridge From Me to You, ect.
What are you working on now?
Another contemporary middle grade, of course!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Probably my personal website at www.diannawinget.com. But I’ve also benefited from being part of the GoodReads community. And Scholastic Press has been terrific in their support of A Million Ways Home.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be persistent and determined and put in the necessary time to learn your craft. There are some real advantages to having an agent and being traditionally published, but it can take a long, long time to get there. But don’t let others tell you it’s impossible, because it’s not. And whether you go for traditional publishing or decide to self publish, realize that you’re responsible for much (if not all) of your book’s promotion.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You’ll get there if you don’t give up! (This was from my mom, who always believed in my writing, and who is still my biggest fan
What are you reading now?
An advance review copy of Conviction, by Kelly Loy Gilbert
What’s next for you as a writer?
To do what I can to promote my three current books and continue working on new material.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible, Webster’s New World Thesaurus, Where the Red Fern Grows, and How to Be Content With Less (LOL! I just made that last one up)
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.