Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an author with many skills under my belt, however at this stage in life I’m enjoying pursuing writing as a career. I love reading books, I’ve had this passion since I was a small child. I have written two books.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Coco’s In The Wind: Short Love Poems is the name of my latest book. I was inspired to write the poems by love and life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, sometimes I write in a old notebook, when I write this way for some reason my handwriting is very sloppy, so sloppy until no one else can read it. It’s funny to see people’s reaction when they see me reading the writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I would have to say Maya Angelou’s book I know Why The Caged Bird Sings.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on two books, one is a recipe book that includes smoothies to help toddlers consume more fruits and veggies. The book also focuses on toddler constipation. The second book is a children’s book titled Karmena The Pretty Dinosaur.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have to be honest and admit I’m new to the marketing process, right now I use Facebook and Google Plus.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write from your heart, be passionate about your writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
My foster mother always told me I could do anything I put my mind to do.

What are you reading now?
I have a kindle that’s full of books, so I will state the last book I read, which is titled Instagram Love.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Honestly just writing more books.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would take the bible, I know Why The Caged Bird Sings and A Day Late A Dollar Short.

Author Websites and Profiles
Shameeca Funderburk Website
Shameeca Funderburk Amazon Profile

Shameeca Funderburk is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Physician of Natural Medicine in Canada who works internationally by Skype and phone. I’ve written 13 books in a variety of genres by mostly in the the natural health field. Our bestsellers include “The Path To Cure; The Whole Art of Healing” and our “Natural Home Pharmacy” series for humans and animals. (http://www.amazon.com/Allyson-McQuinn/e/B00A2WY9EO)

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Actually, it is a FREE gifting of my book “The Path To Cure” in celebration of it’s 10 year anniversary; a re-launch as an audio book/podcast (http://www.thepathtocure.com/)

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I also have 3 poetry books few folks know about; where romantic science meets art at my core. It is where I exercise my keen desire to know the essence of my self.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Dr. Hahnemann, Goethe, Rudolf Steiner, Wilhelm Reich, Henri Bortoft, Jane Austen, The Bible, The Nag Hammadi Scriptures, Shakespeare are a few.

What are you working on now?
A second memoir, a third book of poetry, and Natural Home Pharmacy For Horses

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
https://www.facebook.com/ArcanumWholisticClinic, twitter, our Newsletter, etc.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Shelve your intellect

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Aude Sapere (Dare to Know)

What are you reading now?
Jesus And The Lost Goddess, Rudolf Steiner on Meditation, Prayers From the Cosmos and All The Light We Can Not See.

What’s next for you as a writer?
You mean, I can’t just stay here in the moment? No clue!

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 Nag Hammadi Scripture, Steiner’s full library, and everything Hahnemann and Reich wrote. I can’t limit it to 3 or 4 books!

Author Websites and Profiles
Allyson McQuinn Website
Allyson McQuinn Amazon Profile

Allyson McQuinn’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Allyson McQuinn is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Vina Arno is my pen name. I was born in Manila but I’m now an American citizen. I’ve worked as a journalist in the Philippines, Taiwan, and the United States. My short stories have been published in the Snake Nation Review, Copperfield Review, and SN Review. “In His Corner,” published by Lyrical Press/Kensington Publishing (April 2015), is my debut romance book. It’s also my first work published under my pen name. All of my other works were published under my real name, Cindy Fazzi.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“In His Corner” is about an Olympic gold-medalist boxer known as the Juggernaut who goes to the ER for stitches and gets knocked out at first sight by the beautiful doctor who treats him. The Juggernaut was inspired by Tom Hardy’s cage-fighter character in the movie “Warrior.” My romantic heroine is named Siena because I created her character while I was visiting the Italian city of the same name.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Nothing unusual.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
As far as romance books are concerned, I love the classics, especially Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” E.M. Forster’s “A Room with a View,” and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.

What are you working on now?
I’m writing another contemporary romance.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
“In His Corner” is my first published book-length work of fiction, so I don’t have much experience promoting yet. I hope Awesomegang will work wonders for my book.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read and write a lot. Attend writing workshops and conferences to hone your skills and meet like-minded people.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You can’t fail if you don’t give up.

What are you reading now?
“Under the Wide and Starry Sky” by Nancy Horan.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m hoping my literary agent will sell my manuscript, a historical novel (not romance), soon.

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 Room with a View” by E.M. Forster because it’s so delightful, anything by Virginia Woolf, and anything by Edith Wharton.

Author Websites and Profiles
Vina Arno Website
Vina Arno Amazon Profile

Vina Arno’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Vina Arno is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Born in the midwest and raised in the south I’m a country girl through and through. I’m most comfortable hiking through the woods or just sitting outdoors. I’ve been creating stories and writing since I can remember; it’s more a part of who I am than it ever was a decision to become a writer.
I gravitate to anything creative and if one word could describe me it would be: eclectic. There’s too much out there to limit myself to just a few areas and my mp3 player is always on “random”.
I’ve written four books so far, one small poetry volume that is free through most retailers including Apple, Smashwords, and Amazon, and the Costly Obsession Trilogy -Animalize, Decay, and Unleashed.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
From Darkness- Aging rocker Bane Bronson never thought his trip through Hell itself would turn out to be the easy part.
Inspired by a single question. ‘What would it take to reach a man like Bronson?’

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I usually get my creative burst between midnight and 2 a.m.; very inconvenient. I start off with writing down the idea whether it’s a sentence or a couple of dozen detailed pages. I have a favorite cheap mechanical pencil that fits my hand and I stock up on 5 cent spiral notebooks in the fall. I write the rough draft on paper the hard way using a few shortcut terms I’ve developed over time. After that I transfer it over to my computer taking the opportunity to give it what I call the Hollywood treatment (I inject collagen here and lipo fat there). Then it gets printed. There’s something about having that hard copy in my hands that helps me focus and I break out my pen or pencil and begin to edit once more. I do this at least two or three times looking for errors, details and to check the over all flow of the story. Wash, rinse, repeat until I can’t look at it anymore and then do it again.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Everything I read good or bad. Like life I get more help from learning what I don’t like than what I do.

What are you working on now?
From Darkness. It started as a horror novel, one mans experience going through Hell, but like many stories it’s taken on a new life and genre. Now it’s more of an inspirational novel focusing on redemption and how we try to handle too much on our own. Usually we end up wearing ourselves down and the once great change we were sure was the best thing that ever happened to us has turned into our downfall leading to nothing but pain and anguish; until we let go that is.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve been so focused on finishing my Costly Obsession Trilogy that promotion was almost a foreign concept. Needles to say I’m new to the whole thing and still learning.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t try to pattern yourself after someone else, working how they work or mimicking their process. Find out what works for you, experiment. Just because one author gets up at 6 a.m and locks themselves into their room until they have 20,000 words down doesn’t mean that will do for you. Try a little bit of everything, keep what shoes fit and donate the rest.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Writing a book doesn’t stop when you’ve published it (I’m speaking of self publishing), that’s only the first part. Marketing/promotion is just as important as the book itself; at least until you get a major following. Even then it’s always a part of the process.

What are you reading now?
Yikes! On any given week it’s entirely possible for me to have at least a dozen or so books open. I can say that I just recently finished the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa and I’m reading some Ted Dekker, Michael Crichton, Austen, Shakespeare, Dickens and other classics.

What’s next for you as a writer?
After I finish From Darkness I have a binder filled with over 120 more story idea so I’ll be very busy (thankfully) for a long long 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?
The Bible- it’s like every genre rolled into one
Mansfield Park- Jane Austen
The Chronicles of Narnia- C.S. Lewis

Author Websites and Profiles
Sasha Pruett Website
Sasha Pruett Amazon Profile
Sasha Pruett Author Profile on Smashwords

Sasha Pruett’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Sasha Pruett is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi, my name is Paul and I was born in 1958, way back before colour was invented and the world was in black & white. I grew up in Ilford, Essex in the UK, close to London, and now live in a peaceful little town close to Chelmsford, Essex.
I’ve taken early retirement a couple of years ago, to help my wife with the care of our disabled son, and my primary hobbies are writing and painting oils on canvas.
The Little Sentinel of the Sierra Nevada is my first published novel although, like many of us, I’ve probably written a thousand more in my head.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My debut novel, The Little Sentinel of the Sierra Nevada, was published in Feb. 2015.
Since early childhood I’ve had a great fascination for the American West, a passion ignited from watching too many John Wayne movies. I’ve written in many genres and styles, but this era in History has always inspired me most, and it was inevitable I should choose it for my first published novel. Having said that, I don’t necessarily consider it a western. My interest is in the characters in my story, and how they interact under given circumstances. The American west is a geographical and historical setting, but the story could as easily be transposed to other eras.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am a creature of habit, when it comes to writing. From beginning to end with this book, through each draft and edit, I sat in the same chair and listened to the same music through headphones. Once I’ve established a productive flow, then I tend to keep the same music going throughout any piece of work. For this book it was Pink Floyd on an endless loop.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Almost every book I’ve read has inspired me in some way. Despite my love of the American west I’ve read very few books in this genre, although True Grit is a beautifully written work. I recently reread To Kill A Mocking Bird, among many of the older gems I’ve been revisiting. Joseph Conrad has always been a favourite, and I often pull one of his back out from the bookcase. But if pushed to give an all-time favourite read, then it would have to be Joseph Heller’s Catch 22. To me it’s the perfect blend of heartbreaking tragedy and comedy.

What are you working on now?
Honestly…?
I’m being extremely cautious in my research for my next novel. I know what I want to happen, or at least a good outline of the action and emotional consequences to my characters. I’m still sketching out a timeline, ensuring that my story fits the historical framework. This part took me about six months for my last book, and I can bog myself down in research when I love the topic so much.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Promotion is all new to me. I have my own FB page and have featured my book on countless FB sites for ebooks, with varying success. I offered my book free for 5 days through KDP, which gave me impressive results, but sales soon slowed afterwards. I’m just now branching out and feeling my feet with regards promotion.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
People write endless books on advice to new writers, all very sound I’m sure, but in the end you have to knuckle down and WRITE. Some days it goes well, others not so well, but get those words down on the page. Commit your story.

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

What are you reading now?
I’m about to start East Jesus, Nevada, by Greg Townsley. Since writing my book I’ve only just realised what a wealth of westerns there are available, and this looked interesting so I thought I’d give it a go.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More of the same, hopefully.

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?
Catch 22, definitely. Victory by Joseph Conrad. Voices of Wounded Knee, the one non-fiction I’d allow myself. I’ll have to stop now or I’ll just keep listing forever.

paul williams’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

paul williams is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m 35 years old, married to a wonderful woman for the past 15 years. We have two children, 8 and 4, and live in Pennsylvania. I began writing short stories and poetry at a young age, and have always had the writing bug. When I was 12 yrs old, I wrote a short story called “My Life”. I wrote the story at a friend’s house, during a camp out. 20 some years later I found the story in an old box and decided it didn’t need a massive re-write! So 15 months ago I started writing “The Journal of a Lifetime”, which became a fresh re-write of “My Life”. I added 24 custom painted illustrations to the current story, hiring the help of my artist friend, Tony Maulfair. This book is my debut release and I’m really excited about it.

I’m currently working on book #2 which is called: “The Great Green Tree and the Magical Ladders”. This will be a full chapter book geared towards middle-grade readers. I’m currently on Chapter 9 of 15 in this book, slated for a 2016 release!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“The Journal of a Lifetime” hard cover book is available now at www.stephenkozan.com

I’m currently working on book #2 which is called: “The Great Green Tree and the Magical Ladders”. This will be a full chapter book geared towards middle-grade readers. I’m currently on Chapter 9 of 15 in this book, slated for a 2016 release! It is loosely based on my daughter and the tree we have in our backyard. It involves talking bugs, life lessons and a magical ascension into this Great Green Tree!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to write at my best during the nights. I HAVE to be on my computer on my Microsoft Word program. I don’t hand-write anything.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
To be truthful, there aren’t any particular authors that have influenced my writing or writing style. I respect ALL authors, and I love the creativity that every author brings to the table.

What are you working on now?
I just finished up my debut middle-grade children’s book (but suitable for adults) called “The Journal of a Lifetime”. That book is sold exclusively at www.stephenkozan.com

I am currently working on a chapter book for middle-grade readers called “The Great Green Tree and the Magical Ladders.”

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have found that social media is the best way to get noticed. I have made so many new friends on Twitter and Facebook and I enjoy meeting new people through those avenues of exposure. I have also found that friends and family are good resources for exposure to your book projects.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes. Never doubt yourself or your abilities to write and be SEEN. The internet and the publishing world has changed so much in the last 5-6 years. Don’t give up if a publisher dismisses your work. The self-publishing world is exciting and gives you the ability to learn how the industry works from the ground up. It’s a real grassroots effort, but you have all the control on how you will be seen and heard. Do not give up on yourself!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never get too big with your career that you start to ignore or miss out on your family.

What are you reading now?
I am currently engrossed in The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m currently working on a middle-grade chapter book called “The Great Green Tree and the Magical Ladders” which is loosely based on my 5 year old and the tree we have in our backyard.

I have an additional book on the back burner which is unofficially titled: Bob’s Basement.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would bring Dante’s Inferno, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, and Stephen King’s “The Langoliers”

Author Websites and Profiles
Stephen Kozan Website

Stephen Kozan’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Stephen Kozan is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started drawing before I started writing, but I was drawn to words and books as passionately. At first I wrote and illustrated comics at my work place at the time – The National Museum of Science in Haifa, Israel.
I have written six books for children, one of them is now available in amazon.
I am a Feldenkrais practitioner, a method I studied after being a graphic designer for a couple of years.
Over the last years I got deeply involved with young children’s point of view and that has incorporated into my books. I am usually inspired by everyday experiences and for me it’s all about how children perceive the world – it is as if they are guests on our planet and we are the hosts.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, on which I am still working on, is called “Shoko and Luigi in the Playground”. The inspiration came from encountering with a very unusual dog while spending time with one of my grandchildren at a playground. It was a very big dog with long furry hair, with one blue eye and one brown eye. All kids were drawn to it. It had a majestic presence and I thought this calls for a story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I usually prefer to write in a place where I’m surrounded by people, such as a coffee shop, but basically I can really write anywhere on every piece of paper I have. Also, I have a lot of drafts and sometimes the finished product takes a total shift from the initial idea or story.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I get inspired by any good book I’m exposed to. I am an obsessive reader; I always need to be surrounded by books. Some of the books which stand out for me are:
Tova Jansson children’s books
Among my favorite books are two graphic novels: one is “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi and the other is Rutu Modan’s “The Property”.
I’m also deeply impressed by Virginia Woolf’s book “Mrs Dallaway” – A brilliant book which turned to be part of my thesis in MFA degree.
Also, “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel García Márquez is the book I would take with me anywhere.

What are you working on now?
These days I am writing a story about a crow. I believe kids are always curious of all living beings and animals around them and their various habits .The crow stands out as familiar on one hand and very aggressive individual on the other.

Do you have any advice for new authors?

I presume for each one there is a different way and approach to be inspired. I always found that looking at my own life as if I’m visiting them from an outside world helped me to find a story to tell.

What are you reading now?

I always read more than one book at a time. These days I am reading “The Snow Queen” and “The Hours” by Michael Cunningham.

Author Websites and Profiles

Nili Arieli Website
Nili Arieli Amazon Profile

Nili Arieli’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Nili Arieli is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a former pre school teacher who has written Romance novels, Sci Fi novels, and Westerns. I’ve written almost seventeen books, but so far only six have been accepted for publication (The Forever Series with Omnific and We The People with Ravenswood.)

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
We The People: Inalienable. I was always a huge fan of “The X files,” and the idea of people with powers ala “Heroes” or “X-Men.” I also wanted to explore the idea of a main protaganist who was effectively immortal. On the surface it might seem incongruous; Ideally, your hero should be one that the reader can sympathize with, and most of us have to fear death. However, just because Thane can’t die doesn’t mean she can’t FAIL.
Additionally, there’s a theme of patriotism in We The People. Not the Nationalistic bluster of certain 24 hour news networks, but a patriotism that accepts America’s warts and flaws and seeks change for the better.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I generate a 65-80K manuscript every thirty days or so.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Glen Cook, Steve Brust, Rumer Haven, Tolkien, Saberhagen…I could go on all day! A special shout out must go to the late, great Robert Asprin and his Myth Adventures series.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on We The People III, which is going to be out of this world–literally! I also finished the first in a western trilogy that I’m playing around with in edits.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Goodreads and Amazon, and of course Awesomegang!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up, and try to write at least five times a week for a couple of hours at a time. Also, read everything you can get your hands on!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Love is all you need.

What are you reading now?
A writer I’ve never read before, Melanie Rawn.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More Romance, more Sci Fi, more westerns…more more more! I hope to get into the comic book business one day, and create iconic characters like you see on the silver screen.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The complete Michael Moorcrock, the complete Robert Asprin, and a big dictionary so I’d have toilet paper.

Author Websites and Profiles
Christopher Wagoner Website
Christopher Wagoner Amazon Profile

Christopher Wagoner’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Christopher Wagoner is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been a reader since I could put words together and a writer since I could do the same with sentences. I grew up in a big family (where a person can tend to get lost) and I created my own world made of books, paper, pen, and a gift for hiding.
I do the same to this day when necessary!
I love to read…I am all about music. You are not likely to find me without headphones on. Music helps me refuel and inspires me to write.
I currently have four books to my name and I have so many more ideas for future writing locked away!
I primarily write contemporary romance, but my latest writings have been paranormal romance. I love the draw of the unknown and the ability to create a world and circumstances that support the unknown.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Nolan’s Evolution” is my latest published book. It is actually the sequel to “The Awakening.” There will be three books total in that series.

The series was inspired by an evening out on my back deck. (white wine may have been involved)
I had just watched the sun set through the row of trees in my backyard, and I was studying those trees, I had a random thought. “What if, as I study these shadows, there was someone studying me as well? Someone watching over me?”

I was raised to believe in angels…demons…the supernatural. So, why couldn’t there be a guardian watching over me?

I got so excited, I immediately went inside and began to write Nolan, Raina, and Thanatos’s story. A story of dreams, immortality…love unconditional.

I am very much connected to the characters…Raina…she’s me.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a few quirks.
1. I sit with my legs folded beneath me. (I can never sit normally when writing.)
2. I have to have music, but never the kind with words while writing. I get distracted and either start typing those words or singing the song. Classical inspires me as I write…all the other genres when I’m not.
3. I often pause between chapter or paragraph to daydream. Nothing ever makes it to print that I haven’t already imagined vividly in my mind.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
As a girl? Janette Oke. She writes historical romance and hers was one of the first real novels I ever read. “Love Comes Softly” I have read it no less than a hundred times. My Grandma was certain that I got every book Janette ever wrote.

Now? I love Jane Austen. I have been told my book “More than Scars” has an Austen feel. Biggest compliment EVER!

Paranormal wise? J.A. Redmerski’s Darkwoods series is one of the reasons I continued with my “Wake Up” series. She created a world I wanted to live in.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the third book in the “Wake Up” series. I also have two other contemporary romances I have been devoting my time to.

In the future I will also be trying my hand at a non-fiction. Still in the creative phase of that one and it will be a challenge, but I am up to the challenge!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I would have to say Goodreads has been the best way to touch other readers and even writers.

I have met some of the best people there and I found that I wasn’t so crazy! What do I mean by that? I thought I was the only over the top in my obsession over my characters. I thought I was weird for investing so much time into my writing. I was wrong. I have met writers and readers who understand me…who connect with me…and I feel at home. There is no shortage of support there.

The acceptance of Indie authors on that site is amazing. I always call it the FB for readers and writers.

Other than that? Word of mouth and having personal contact with readers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t think so hard about it. Write what you feel and never compromise your ideas. You can’t make everyone happy and not everyone is going to love your style. Some will hate your story…but you will find those who love it and that is what makes it worth it.

I always say…If we were all the same…how BORING life would be!

Be different…be bold…and grow a thick skin!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Oh my! I have had so many nuggets of wisdom passed to me!

One thing I heard constantly and have finally grasped is…Do you. Be yourself and don’t worry so much what others think! (again…don’t compromise your ideas)

My good friend (and talented author) Oak Anderson said this to me one day; “Why coast when you can excel?” and it was not related to my writing at that moment, but I started to incorporate it into many aspects of my life. Especially my writing. I say it to myself all the time.

What are you reading now?
I just recently finished “The Lucidites Series” by Sarah Noffke. (beautifully written)

I have not been reading as much as usual. Working a lot on the writing.

I use reading when the writing becomes too much or feel like it is getting stale.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, hoping to get book three in the series out in the next six months.

I have no end to the ideas for the next few adventures…it is incorporating them that is the hard part. I can’t wait to share more!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
That is the hardest question!! I have so many favorites and have learned I hold respect for certain authors both known and up and coming! So if I could…I will list my four fave picks from each genre I like.

Romance: 1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, 2. Voice In The Wind by Francine Rivers 3. Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke 4. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Paranormal/Fantasy: 1. Mayfair Moon by J.A. Redmerski 2. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer 3. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia 4. Evermore by Alyson Noel

Horror: 1. Charlotte by Stuart Keane 2. Pet Cemetery by Stephen King 3. Bad Girls Don’t Die by Katie Alender 4. When Angels Fail by Michael Benavidez

Crime/Thriller: 1. Take One With You by Oak Anderson 2 Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins 3. Kiss The Girls by James Patterson 4. Whispers by Dean Koontz

There are so many more…so so so many more! If I could cheat…I would take one item…my Kindle, and then I would have them all! (for as long as my battery lasted)

Author Websites and Profiles
Sarah Brocious Amazon Profile

Sarah Brocious’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Sarah Brocious is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Reader, writer, and wrangler of cats (domestic not wild) living in central Pennsylvania. Author of three books with two published: Hope Rising, a young adult novel, and Summer Unbroken, an adult fiction.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Summer Unbroken is coming of age story, but set a little older. I felt like my own, personal coming-of-age story happened in college, during 9/11. It was a lot for me to process as college freshman. I remember staring at the television in complete shock, knowing very deep within me that life was never going to be the same again. Reflecting back on that time gave me the idea to write a girl’s coming-of-age story while she was in college, rather than high school, because I believe we never really stop “coming-of-age”. The story of Claire in Summer Unbroken is fiction, but inspired by the wide range of emotions I felt back then.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like a hardcore solo dance party at the end of my writing day. Other than that, I’m as mundane as a Monday morning.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Curtis Sittenfeld, Jerry Spinelli, Sara Dessen, Laura Moriarty. I like a little bit of everything and a good, bittersweet ending. Unless I’m at the beach. Then give me a Julia Quinn romance.

What are you working on now?
I’m editing my third novel The Way We Weren’t, that follows the will they/won’t they friendship of Jenna and Gage, starting in college and spanning fifteen years. I’m also working on my fourth novel, Undefeated, a young adult novel following the story of a high school female football player recruited to a Big Ten university.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Book Signings tend to generate the most interest for me, personally. KDP Select Free Promotion was great for promoting Hope Rising. I distributed about 7,000 free books with that. My sales tanked after that though, so use with caution.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Rest when you need to. It’s okay to take a breather. Writing is the type of job you can quit on a whim and rehire yourself seventy-two hours later. Just don’t forget to rehire yourself!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You’re a writer. Own it. Don’t be afraid to say it.

What are you reading now?
Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld, which is awesome, btw.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing up editing The Way We Weren’t, and slowly working through Undefeated.

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?
Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld for when I’m feeling angsty; A Julia Quinn romance – Romancing Mister Bridgerton, I’m thinking (so I can pretend the desert is a beach); a great memoir recommended to me that I didn’t read yet but somehow managed to buy right before being stranded; and I’ll trade the last book for a laptop with a solar battery (please?)

Author Websites and Profiles
Amy Spade Amazon Profile
Amy Spade Author Profile on Smashwords

Amy Spade’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Amy Spade is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Steph Nuss, and as of right now, I write contemporary romance. As a young girl, I fell in love with reading, and I’ve carried that passion with me into adulthood. I have a black labrador retriever son named Gunner, who isn’t a huge fan of my writing career as it sometimes gets in the way of his walks. I’ve only written three book so far, but I have many more planned for the future, with the hope of diving into more than one different genre.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I released Pleasured By You (Love in the City, #3) on March 20th, 2015. The inspiration for the Love in the City series came from the TV show, Friends. As a huge fan of that show, I wanted to create my own group of friends readers could feel like they were a part of and enjoy reading about. I also try to highlight an awareness in each of my books, and in Pleasured By You, both my heroine and hero are very outgoing individuals, so I incorporated the Big Brothers Big Sisters program into the storyline. The story is all about enjoying the pleasures of life and never letting your fear decide your fate.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so. Most of my writing habits seem pretty normal to me because that’s just how I write. I write better in the morning. I do tend to forget to eat or drink when I’m deep into my writing. Listening to music while I write is something I’ve learned I can’t do, but I do make playlists for each of my books and will listen to them while I’m not writing as a way to stay in what I like to call, “writer mode.”

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jennifer Probst has been a huge influence me. She’s someone I reached out to before I started writing and she immediately encouraged me to pursue my dream. I’m also a big fan of Christina Lauren and their Beautiful series. I’m a huge fan of book series in general, where the books can be read as standalones since they’re each about a different couple. If I had to choose my top five book series that have influenced me to write my own, they would include: Marriage to a Billionaire by Jennifer Probst, The Beautiful Series by Christina Lauren, With Me in Seattle by Kristen Proby, The Bride Quartet by Nora Roberts, Off series by Sawyer Bennett, and because I can’t choose just five, the Caught Up in Love series by Lauren Blakely!

What are you working on now?
Cherished By You (Love in the City, #4)

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t think there’s just one method or website that works best for promoting my books. I use a mixture of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as my website in general by blogging about my books and helping other authors promote theirs. I also really like Goodreads. I know most authors try to stay away from Goodreads, but I check my author dashboard daily on there to see if there are new ratings and reviews of my books. I think interacting with readers and book bloggers and just being present in the realm of social media is one of the best things an author can do to promote themselves. When a reader messages me, I message them back as soon as I can. I also try to post updates on my website enough so that my subscribers are interested in said updates but not enough to where they’re deleting every email from me instead of checking out the post.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice to new authors is to believe in yourself and never give up. I know it’s said a lot, but that’s because it’s really easy to feel discouraged in the writing industry. I know what it’s like not making money off of my books. I know it’s really easy to feel like nobody wants to read my work. But if you reach out to people and put yourself out there, I promise, someone will take a chance on you and all it takes is one person. You just have to be willing to take a chance on yourself and never ever give up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Even bad reviews are better than no reviews. I truly believe this now, too. Most authors are so worried about getting bad reviews that they don’t realize that a bad one is way better than none at all.

What are you reading now?
Hard As It Gets by Laura Kaye

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a few more romance series planned as well as a young adult standalone, a mystery/thriller series, and a dystopian trilogy. Surprisingly, I’m most nervous for the standalone because as a fan of series, I love when secondary characters get their own stories. So, we’ll see if I have it in me to write a standalone!

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 Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Boycotts & Barflies by Victoria Michaels, The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst, Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Author Websites and Profiles
Steph Nuss Website
Steph Nuss Amazon Profile

Steph Nuss’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Steph Nuss is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing since I was in middle school. When I discovered romance novels in junior high, I knew I wanted to write them someday. My writing remained a hobby while I studied biology and forensic DNA science. I worked as a molecular biologist and published cancer research before finally leaving the lab and taking up my laptop full time.

I’ve written six books and have published two of them so far. I’m hoping to publish two more of them this year.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest books is called Magick Charm. It’s a story about twins in New Orleans who cast a magick spell to improve their love lives.

I got the idea for the book in a dream about the twins and their relationship with one another. They are as different as two people can be, yet they’re so close. That doesn’t mean they don’t bicker with each other, which they do quite a bit!

I developed the rest of the story starting the next day. I couldn’t get the twins out of my head! I set the novel in New Orleans, one of my favorite cities and a fun background for characters playing with magickal spells!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I often write with music or television on in the background. While some people prefer the silence, I find that it’s actually distracting for me when it’s too quiet.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
One of my favorite writers is Stephen King. His book On Writing was a really helpful read for me. He famously had a stack of rejection letters before he finally began to publish his books. I find that knowing even the most popular writers didn’t have immediate success offers new writers hope.

What are you working on now?
I’ve been editing the sequels to Magick Charm. The next story is a novella titled Gypsy Magick. It follows the police officer from the first book in a murder case that seems to involve voodoo, but she knows it’s not as clear-cut as it seems.

Next I will edit Free Spirit, the second book in the New Orleans Magick Series. This book follows the ghost-hunting adventures of the offbeat twin, Rachel.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still trying to figure that one out! Mostly, I’ve been trying to stay busy communicating with my readers on Facebook and through my blogs.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up! Writing is a tough, competitive business. It’s difficult to get published for the first time. At first, rejection letters can make you cry, but just keep going. Keep writing and keep submitting until your books find their homes.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t stop writing. While you’re waiting for a book to get sold or you’re promoting a newly-released book, just keep writing. Don’t stall. Work on your next project. Ultimately, the best way to succeed is through continued publishing and sales of your backlist.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading the Eve Duncan series by Iris Johansen. I’m also reading A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. Admittedly, I’m reading it slowly to make sure I understand everything!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve been considering branching out and trying a new genre after I get the rest of the New Orleans Magick Series published.

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’d take as many novels of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon as I could!

Author Websites and Profiles
Jennifer Wells Website
Jennifer Wells Amazon Profile

Jennifer Wells’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Jennifer Wells is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
For years I have written children’s books, but I only recently published my first novel.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Passion and Perils of the Insatiably Hungry. It was inspired by a good friend who I had watched for years transforming and struggling with the effects of mental illness. There is also some heavy influence from my upbringing in a quirky family who struggled financially as well as my passion for baking. The book is a perfect storm of humor, foodie writing, love complexity, and coming of age.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write insatiably. My first several drafts are always a bunch of splat, and then I craft and edit dozens of times until I come up with something beautiful. Sometimes I have a line or scene pop into my mind and I write it in my notes so I will be ready to use it when the time is right in the storyline.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Tolstoy, Wharton, Steinbeck, and Austen have been big influences through the years. Most recently, I have enjoyed Kate Atkinson and Helen Simonson.

What are you working on now?
Prose pieces and short stories. I’m also getting to know the characters in my next novel, which I will begin writing in the autumn.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t do much self promotion. I just share my writing with friends and when they genuinely enjoy it, they spread the word.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t compare yourself to others! Learn from others, work with others, but don’t get caught up comparing yourself. Be thankful for your small triumphs and stay true to what you are passionate about.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all else will work out.

What are you reading now?
Fairchild by Jaima Fixsen.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My 2nd novel, another chick lit.

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?
New ones! I rarely re-read books other than the scriptures. So first I would bring my scriptures, then I would bring a Thomas Hardy, a Tolstoy, Fairchild’s sequel (since I’m loving the first one,) and The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Ann Fadiman.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kirsten Joy Hobbs Website
Kirsten Joy Hobbs Amazon Profile

Kirsten Joy Hobbs’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Kirsten Joy Hobbs is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello! I am Coach Allison. I’m a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and cancer survivor. I became a health coach after my victory over cancer in which I learned the importance of truly making my health the top priority. Having lived a crazy busy corporate life myself for two decades, I help busy professionals find energy so they can manage stress and get more done in less time. Health and balance is imperative in finding happiness! With the focus of my health coaching practice on life-work balance and burnout prevention, I conduct corporate wellbeing programs for employers and organizations to help transform the workplace culture and improve productivity and reduce healthcare costs.

I have decided to write and publish so I can reach more people. I have lots of battle-tested knowledge to share with busy people who need to take better care of themselves. I am releasing my first book in May 2015. I am planning on writing a book series called Superhuman’s Guide (TM) on various health topics. More to come!

I love to laugh, celebrate life, and praise accomplishments of those around me.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Superhuman’s Guide (TM) to Life-Work Balance and Burnout Prevention: When The Lifestyle Demands More Than What’s Humanly Possible
It is now available for pre-orders on Amazon Kindle. It will release on May 8, 2015.

This book is a quick read (it has to be!) for very busy people who have too much on their plate. It is for those who want to improve the results of their superhuman efforts – skipping sleep, rest, nutrition, and social support – without burning out.

I lived a life that exceeded human expectations in many ways, and I thought that was how smart and ambitious people lived their lives to the fullest. I had no idea how unhealthy that lifestyle was until my life was threatened by an aggressive cancer. So many determined professionals try to do so much, and they hurt their own health in the process. I can help them with self-care, which leads to happiness and productivity.

And remember, it’s life-work, not work-life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can only write for about an hour at a time. Then I turn to some walk-at-home videos on Youtube. Even if it is walking in place for ten minutes, I feel so much smarter afterwards and I can write for another hour.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
C.S. Lewis had deep understanding of the universe and the human nature. I appreciate his work a lot.

Mark Twain has some of the best one-liners.

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self Reliance inspired me in my youth and continues to do so.

What are you working on now?
Volume 2 of my Superhuman’s Guide (TM) book series. Decoding Your Relationship With Sugar.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesomegang, of course! I am finding a lot of excellent resources here, free and very low cost. Thank you!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do not think that you have to write a perfect book. Just write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be of good cheer!

What are you reading now?
Cancer Free by Bill Henderson

What’s next for you as a writer?
Continue with the marketing of my book which will be released shortly. I am pursuing corporate clients, so any exposure as an expert and a best selling author is my goal. I am constantly looking for public speaking opportunities to promote my book and my health coaching practice. My goal is to write a volume or two every year for my book series Superhuman’s Guide (TM).

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?
Focused by Noelle Pikus Pace
Excitotoxins by Russell Blaylock
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott

Author Websites and Profiles
Coach Allison Website
Coach Allison Amazon Profile
Coach Allison Author Profile on Smashwords

Coach Allison’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Coach Allison is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write books, drink tea, and teach high school chemistry. These days, I also build Legos to confirm that they have all the pieces so I can sell them for a friend. Later this year (2015), I’m headed to BookExpo America. It’s probably the biggest step I’ve ever taken as a writer.

I have several series. Devya’s Children is about a group of genetically altered children who band together to survive. That series consists of three books so far. Heartfelt Cases is three novellas, but I suppose you could also consider it just one book from a certain point of view, even though it’s three distinct stories. I’ve also released a collection of short stories and another novella, so I guess that’s about eight published works. There’s another sci-fi series, a fantasy novella, and a book in each of the series that are “out there,” so stories written could be considered up around twelve.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest story is called Never Again. It’s a novella that fits within the Lei Crime Series Kindle World. That just opened on April 7, 2015. It was inspired by a line about a stalking incident within the first book of the regular Lei Crime Series by Toby Neal (Blood Orchids).

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Aside from Never Again, the Lei Crime novella, every book I’ve written has come together during the summer. I write in long chunks. A typical writing day would be about 2-4 sessions that are 3-4 hours each.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was a kid, I consumed Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books like they were the only thing ever written. I also read a lot of Star Wars expanded universe books, including the kids series. Jedi Apprentice was one of my favorites. I believe these kid-friendly works probably influenced the way I write.

What are you working on now?
I’m refining the science fiction series. It’s probably my most ambitious project. My next story will likely be another novella for the Lei Crime Series Kindle World. Although you can publish at any time, I’m going to try to release one every quarter.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
ENT – Ereader News Today has been the most effective so far.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you want to be an indie writer, just write. If you want to be a successful writer, you probably ought to work in networking, promoting, and a ton of reading as well.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Have other people read your work. You can’t find all your mistakes yourself. Oh, if given enough time, I can catch most of them, but it’s much easier if other people help.

What are you reading now?
Dragon’s Curse (The Dragon and the Scholar Book 1) by H.L. Burke.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Next big step is to attend BookExpo America 2015. It’s by far the most ambitious thing I’ve done from the promotions side. I have the books all packed up and ready to ship out next week. I’ll be running giveaways for indie books and a kindle fire.

I’m also reading a lot of the Lei Crime Series so I can get more story ideas for continuing the Defining Moments novellas. They’re fun to put together. It’s been an interesting challenge to write within somebody else’s world.

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?
Being a practical person, I think I’d actually break down and go for nonfiction books on how to survive when stranded on a desert island. But if the desert island comes with a 4 star hotel, I’ll go for The Cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill, Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, Outlaw Princess by Nancy Springer, and the Bible.

Author Websites and Profiles
Julie C. Gilbert Website
Julie C. Gilbert Amazon Profile
Julie C. Gilbert Author Profile on Smashwords

Julie C. Gilbert’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Julie C. Gilbert is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Just finished writing the 26th book. I am trying to write 30 by the time I complete my third year of being an author. I am also a reviewer and set a goal to hit 1000 in 2 years, I am now at 1005!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The newest book, number 25, published is Parallel Adventures, a series of young adult/ adult books that take readers to alternate realities when twins find the caves near there home have something special about them. Finding a puppy named Portal they discover the secret to the caves.
Book 26 will also be out soon, Judgments is a murder, mystery with a killer who readers are going to be fascinated with.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Before I finish one book I have the next started and all of my books are written long hand and then typed. For me it keeps the words flowing. All I want to do is get the stories out of my crazy mind and on to paper so I can share them with the amazing readers, who have been so kind to me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Everything and everyone I have ever read has an influence on me, including the Bible, I add a lot of spiritual in with the supernatural, I believe they are closely related!

What are you working on now?
Since book 26th just need editing and will be done I am working on book 27, which will be part two in the parallel adventure series, in this one a lot of secrets will be revealed about the man, Travlar, who is helping the twins as they travel to alternate realities.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I would have to say my twitter account and my Facebook page, but mostly it is the great friends and followers who help pass the word around of me and my books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you love to write do it, you will probably not get rich, but that’s okay if you sold one book that touched someone’s life, oh my gosh, that is the greatest feeling in the world.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what you love and never give up. That goes for anything in life if you love what you are doing, then you are on the right path.

What are you reading now?
Everything I can get my hands on, with over 1000 reviews in 2 years, I guess I don’t even have to say that! LOL!

What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing, possibly a few more young adult stories. I never know until my pen hits thepaer and my characters take over.

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?
Dickens, Bible, and a blank notebook to write my own. Better make that 2 blank notebooks!

Author Websites and Profiles
P.S. Winn Website
P.S. Winn Amazon Profile

P.S. Winn’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

P.S. Winn is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is my first book though I have been blogging for awhile and writing for some other websites.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Taking back your health.

The name came to me as I have become fed up with so much bad information and science and it was time to start taking control of our own health and wellness.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have to have jazz playing when I write!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Mainly people in the field of nutrition such as Weston Price, Nora Gedgaudas and Gary Taubes.

What are you working on now?
My main focus is on my website and my podcast both called regained wellness.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Get in front of as many people as you can whether it’s on social media, guest posting for other sites or being interviewed on other podcasts.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just get started! You don’t have to crank out 10 chapters right away but start small. The key thing is to just start as that builds momentum.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
that it’s all about progress and not perfection.

What are you reading now?
I am reading a book called The Calorie Myth by Jonathan Bailer.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to write another book that’s more of a full nutrition eating program and guide.

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 lion the witch and the wardrobe. The Hobbit, Life of Pi and a book on survival…

Author Websites and Profiles
Jamie Logie Website
Jamie Logie Author Profile on Smashwords

Jamie Logie’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Jamie Logie is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Long Island native, who was raised in Levittown. I’m a college graduate with a BA in English. I’ve always had a creative side to me, and I’ve always been drawn to things of creative nature. So it’d no big shock to me that I became a writer.

The Replacement is my first novel. I’m currently working on my second, and I have plenty more brewing in my brain that I can’t wait to get out!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is The Replacement. In 2007, my friends and I thought we would be able to write screenplays–we were very wrong about that–and thought we’d take a stab at writing a comedy. During that time, I came up with an idea for a screenplay about a rookie detective coming in to replace a veteran detective about to retire. Together, they’d chase down a serial killer. I also had my ending planned out, which I will not mention here so not to ruin the ending of The Replacement.
When it came time to choose a story to focus on for my first novel, that particular one stood out. I began fleshing out the characters and the storyline, and it didn’t take long for me to realize I had my first novel.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I guess that depends on one’s definition of unusual, doesn’t it? I’d say I don’t. I have good nights and I have bad nights, but I don’t think my writing habits will differ from anyone else.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King is definitely my biggest influence as far as authors go. I’m not going to compare my writing style to his, because that would be crazy. Besides, the only person I want to write like is myself. I will say this: we share similar beliefs and focuses when it comes to writing characters and pacing a story. Finding an author like King has helped me fine tune things that I would have incorporated into my stories, regardless.

What are you working on now?
I’m not quite ready to discuss my latest project in detail, just yet. I will say this about it though… It’s nothing like The Replacement. There’s absolutely no mystery/thriller aspect to it, and I think it is a far more challenging concept to sink my teeth into. I can’t think of anything that’s been done before that’s like it. I’m hoping for a mid-2016 release.

I have also made the decision to write a short story, entitled The Surgeon, to accompany The Replacement. It going to be told through the eyes of the serial killer known as The Surgeon moments before he abducts his first victims. Everyone who I’ve mentioned this to, who has already read The Replacement, loves the idea, so I’m hoping it’ll hold people over for a bit while I finish up my second full novel. I’ll be releasing that, digitally, at the end of 2015.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t think anything specific has worked best for me. Things that have done well once will not do so well the second time around. Some things I never thought would have worked, like casually mentioning I’ve written a book while at a bar, have worked, and there are some things I think are going to do very well that don’t. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, as far as I can tell. Best method of promoting is just putting yourself out there for people to see.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write the book you want to write, and not the book you think other people want to read. Don’t bound yourself to one genre. Explore your mind and test the limits of your creativity. Challenge yourself, but also know yourself. If you think something may or may not work, try it, but if you know something isn’t going to work, then trust your gut. Write for you and only you. Don’t be cocky and close minded though! Listen… Learn… There are a lot of people out there with a lot of knowledge that you could use to your advantage. Never stop learning!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stay away from the internet! HAHA! I didn’t listen. There are a lot of haters out there. They’re basically people who never really had the drive to make themselves succeed, so they’re bitter and they have an outlet to vent their grievances to the masses. Their words can be quite discouraging, especially since it is no big secret that becoming a successful novelist is not only hard, but the chances are slim.

Also, to read Stephen King’s On Writing. It was the first piece of advice I ever received, and I still consider it to be the best.

What are you reading now?
Still Alice by Lisa Genova

What’s next for you as a writer?
My next novel, of course! And then the novel after that, and so forth and so forth.

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?
Can the entire Harry Potter series count as one book?!

Tough question… Off the top of my head… Salem’s Lot by Stephen King, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, and Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Author Websites and Profiles
Jason Pellegrini Amazon Profile

Jason Pellegrini’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Jason Pellegrini is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have always loved science fiction–books, movies, shows and games. After devouring some of the classics like Dune and Ender’s Game in my tween years, I began writing short stories.

In the ensuing years, I attended the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics in Vancouver, Washington, where I studied creative writing, music, and visual art. I eventually became a Psychology major at Portland State University, but also minored in Professional Writing and Business Administration. After graduating, I stumbled into a career as a proposal manager.

I am working on my first book series (Cadicle). The first volume was released on April 17, 2015, and the second volume is set for release on June 28, 2015. There will be approximately seven volumes in the core series.

I currently live in Portland, Oregon, with my fiancé. When I’m not writing, I enjoy travel, wine tasting, binge-watching TV series, and playing epic strategy board games.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent book is Architects of Destiny, Volume 1 in the Cadicle series.

I had the world growing inside my head for many years, and it needed to be let out. I have always seen inspiration in everything around me–from personal life experiences to the worlds crafted by others–and those things have all become a part of my own creation. After years of taking in little ideas here and there, I felt the world in my head was finally ready to be experienced by others. I write now to share that vision. It is the culmination of all that has inspired me throughout my life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Nothing too unusual, I don’t think.

When starting a new story, I like to just sit down and start writing… see where the story takes me. Normally, about halfway through, I’ll decide where I want it to go. At that point, I’ll go back to the beginning to make appropriate edits to set me up for the ending.

My Cadicle series is a little different because it spent so much time evolving in my head. I have the lives of all the characters completely mapped out already, so now it’s just a matter of breaking it into appropriately sized pieces to get the writing done. To make it more manageable, I wrote an outline of the key sequence of scenes for the first five books.

For each scene, I start with a general idea of what I want to accomplish–what plot points need to be conveyed, where the characters are emotionally, etc. I’ll run through the scene extensively in my head, playing it like a movie until I’m happy with the flow. At that time, I’ll write it down. If I’ve gone through this process, I find that my first written draft is pretty close to the final version.

If I’m having difficulty getting through a particular scene, I’ll typically try to write it from the outside-in (write the opening and close, then work my way toward the middle line-by-line). I’ve found it to be an effective way to deal with writer’s block.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ender’s Game and Dune were probably my two biggest influences. Robert Jordan had a hand in my early writing, as well. I love authors who use internal dialogue to let readers see the inner thoughts of characters.

What are you working on now?
I’m putting the final touches on Veil of Reality, Volume 2 in the Cadicle series. It will be in beta reviews throughout May, during which I’ll dive into Volume 3, Bonds of Resolve. I have some of Volume 3 written already, but still have over half the book to go. It’s going to be a busy summer and fall!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Hopefully AwesomeGang :-). I’m still trying out different resources and seeing what works best. Thus far, Amazon has driven the most sales.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write stories that you’re passionate about. Be friends with your characters and bring them to life. A story doesn’t have to be limited to what you see on the printed (or digital) page.

Invest in a professional-looking online presence. Get yourself an author website, build a social media network, and make sure your book is available through multiple distribution channels.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Invest in yourself. As a writer, you need to market yourself as a product. If you’re following your passion, it’s a worthwhile investment.

What are you reading now?
Orona by Adam James

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish the Cadicle series! I hope to also pursue some spinoffs in the same universe. I’d also like to try my hand at some short stories now that I’ve matured as a writer.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’d take some long, epic sci-fi books that I’d never read before. I’m always looking to explore new worlds.

Author Websites and Profiles
Amy DuBoff Website
Amy DuBoff Amazon Profile

Amy DuBoff’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Amy DuBoff is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Sort of always wanted to change the world! That’s why I worked on the frontline with recently-arrived people, single moms and high school drop outs. My magic wand would spread the idea that there is a silver lining in every cloud. Sometimes we focus too much on the clouds. When I was thirty-four, I lost the use of my right arm for two years. After hard work and lots of yoga, acupuncture and a special diet of pig’s feet, I started dancing tango to strengthen the muscles around my spine. A really bad experience spawned one of the best things in my life. Tango did wonders for our couple life too. So my injury led me to tango.

Why do I write? Since reading “The World According to Garp” by John Irving many years ago, I have been intrigued by the effect of childhood tragedy on grown-up relationships. My first book inadvertently ended up being an exploration of just that problem. Without knowing it, all of my characters lost parents in childhood and their behavior reflects various shades of that reality. What’s weird about it is that I didn’t plan to do that. It just happened.

In my 20s, I wanted to be a serious writer and I travelled around the world carrying a guitar that I couldn’t play and a diary full of, I hate to admit it, constipated prose. Did reading those stilted lines stop me from writing? Not at all, it just made me want to improve. I wrote my first novel at 32. It is still sitting in a drawer covered with scratched out sentences. I love to look at it because it shows me how far I’ve come.

So what made me write Tsunami Connection Book 1 of the Spy Stories and Tales of Intrigue Series? Two things did it. First, when I was listening to the news coverage of the Boxing Day Tsunami in Aceh Province, Indonesia, I had a flash.

Really, the story came to me in an instant. Before I begin, I mean no disrespect for the lost lives, broken families and suffering experienced by Indonesians by using this idea. It is all fiction. The tsunami was a catalyst.

Now, Aceh Province is known for its radicalized stance on fundamentalist issues. Let’s set the scene here: Remember it’s not long after we all watched the Twin Towers falling on September 11th. What if some big power believed that Osama was in Aceh, training insurgents and wanted to get access to him? What better way than to inundate the place with a tsunami and then be responsible for rescue?
The US had the only helicopters in the area for two weeks after the disaster. My hypothesis or premise held water. All I needed was a weapon. So I invented one and put it on a rogue Russian Akula submarine. A book was born that day. Now the problem remained of how to make my work different from the mass of stuff out there? I studied the market and decided that a woman Mossad agent that headed up an ultra-secret group of sleepers would fit the bill.

Kefira, meaning young lioness, danced onto my pages. Oh! I forgot to mention something. I am a tango maniac. Dance with my wife 15 hours a week and have done so for 16 years. My secondary goal was to write about Argentinean tango. Giving Kefira the role of professional dancer left her free to travel, perhaps not inconspicuously, but nevertheless free to be a spy, a sleeper.

An amazing thing happened when I wrote a thriller. The genre freed up my creativity. When I wrote pure fiction, I always got caught up in personal issues because the characters became fragments of my entourage and me. Espionage thrillers freed me up. I no longer had to think about whether or not the people in the story came from my life. I had no military experience and knew no spies. Why write about spies then? After all we should write about what we know, shouldn’t we?

For 35 years, I have been a voracious reader of espionage fiction. The cold war lived in my mind constantly, even when I travelled in the East Bloc in the late 70s. My experience was vicarious and enchanted. The technology, the action and the characters in books by Le Carré, Deighton, Clancy and Lustbader among others, animated my reading life. As I said earlier, I wanted to differentiate myself from the crowd so I wrote a woman protagonist, made her a serious dancer, and stabbed at writing a post-cold-war espionage novel. I must have succeeded because I have just signed with a publisher to translate Tsunami Connection to be released in Turkey and Germany. It’s only a small run of books. Who knows, my wildest dreams are coming true.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My new book, Diamond Rain: Adventure Science Fiction Techno Thriller (Book 2 of The Spy Stories and Tales of Intrigue Series), hot off the presses, takes my writing journey in a familiar but new direction. What if a paradigm-shifting nanotechnology changed everything? Would the world of spies change and how would those changes unfold? The book started as a series of flashbacks roughly inspired by the Sci-Fi great Robert Heinlein’s Starship Warriors film. To my pleasant surprise, the words in the first draft flowed onto the page with fun and pleasure. Oh yeah! I forgot to mention that I learned I desperately needed an amazing editor if I wanted to continue in the writing game. Why? ‘Cause it takes me at least six drafts to get it right. After some rough starts with Internet-based editors, I lucked into someone who filled the bill. Chris Roper, my editor, has 30 years of successful writing experience, using various pseudonyms and has just released his first novel, The Gyrfalcon File: An Edward Morgan Novel. . By what stroke of luck Chris decided to work with me I am not sure, but I am very happy he has. This game is all about collaboration. I start the idea, but it is a group effort of writing, editing, beta-reading and proofing that makes the final product.
Since Diamond Rain was released on April 10th 2015, any clicks order link on the Amazon page would be really appreciated. In fact, any reader who takes the trouble to email me a link with an honest review of Diamond Rain on Amazon will get a gift card for Tsunami Connection (and vice versa if you read and review Tsunami Connection first). So here’s the email to get a free book: tsunamiconnectionmjg(at)gmail(dot)com. Enjoy!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am a visual person. To stimulate my work, I collect pictures and paste them up all around my workspace. When I run out of ideas I just look around to find a place to continue. Also I love to dress up my characters for an event. List building does nothing for me, but seeing my people moving around a new scene in great new clothes inspires me.

Following up on my reading of On Writing by S. King, I try to put my characters in difficult situations instead of planning in detail. When they get themselves out of trouble in the evolving story, the tension in the scene maintains itself. As I always said s a teacher: “If I am sure where every lesson is going all the time, I can be positive that my students are bored.”

What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was twelve years old, my eldest sister gave me a copy of Battle Cry by Leon Uris. ever since finishing that book I have wanted to write a thriller about war. As I grew up Issac Asimov and Robert Heinlein took over my reading tastes. Greg Bear followed up in that same vein.

In university, I studied classical writers and English literature for 2 years before changing to become a language teacher. Aristophanes’ plays, the Iliad, the Oddessy and the theme of madness in literary characters intrigued me. A House For Mister Biswas by V.S. Naipaul almost became a thesis subject in my Master’sLevel Qualifying year at Concordia University.

I’d say that Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella and Catch 22 by Joseph Heller ranked high in my more serious reads. Without a doubt though, as I mentioned earlier, John Irving tops the list.

What are you working on now?
Spent 6 weeks in Costa Rica and got 150 pages into a romance called Monkey Love about a 30-something, under-the-volcano-born naturalist with commitment problems who loves and preserves Howler monkeys. The place just drips family saga and romance. Warm, proud people who are unabashedly tolerant. Really. Also started the third part of my Spy Stories and Tales of Intrigue Series. Billy’s Back spins a likeable minor character I introduced in Diamond Rain and finds him confronting a plot to import Ebola. Kefira and Thomas are on the watch too. Let’s not forget the Nanosuits either.

When I got back from Costa Rica, on a whim, I entered a thriller writing contest at a site called Author Crowd. I’ve won the last three monthly chapter instalments in my category. It’s pure futuristic fantasy science fiction. Whispering Just A Dream features a male protagonist in a dystopian nightmare.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Mu list of promo sites is deep, perhaps 50 different sites, but Vinny at Author Marketing Club supported me when I was first trying to get my book seen on the Net. He encouraged me by paying attention and taking the time to reply to my inquiries. Jim Kukral also did the same there.

Overall my experience at learning how to market my work is an ongoing affair that grows and evolves every day I am in the race. It invigorates me with showing me all the amazing Indie writers people out there that are ready to give a lending hand to other Indie writers. A truly unsung aspect of self-publishing is the network of writers connecting across the globe to make their dreams come true.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get a mailing list set up on your blog and start collecting followers way before you first get published. Write 2000 words a day. It doesn’t matter if you write your main project.Just blog, email enter fiction contests but always write every day.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write 2000 words a day.

What are you reading now?
I am reading a great book by Bob Mayer called Night Stalkers – Area 51. Bob inspired me to continue writing during a low moment during my first book, but it was Steven Konkoly who made me put pen to paper four years ago. The premise of his book, The Jakarta Pandemic, made me realize that my Tsunami Connection idea might just be doable.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Billy’s Back Book 3 of The Spy Stories and Tales of Intrigue Series spins off a minor character from Diamond Rain. Billy is in many ways Tomas, Diamond Rain’s protagonist’s, mentor. They have an old friendship that dates back to Billy’s return from Vietnam. You might say Bob ÙMayer inspired him.

On a different thread, I am exploring a romance novel called Monkey Love set in Costa Rica and am half way through it. It’s a real pleasure to be writing something romantic.

To add some spice to my writing life I jumped into a writing contest at Author Crowd and had the great good fortune to be selected from thousands three times in a row to win chapter writing contests in their thriller category. That is an on-going project.

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?
Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe, Greg Bear’s Eon, Bears Eat Dogs by Martin Cruz Smith and King Rat by James Clavell and maybe more if I could pop my kindle with my solar charger into my bag.

Author Websites and Profiles
Michael James Gallagher Website
Michael James Gallagher Amazon Profile

Michael James Gallagher’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Michael James Gallagher is a post from Awesome Gang