Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I wear a lot of hats, always have. I’m a husband and dad first and foremost. I’m Pappy to going on five grand-kids. I’m a Marine veteran. I’m a biker, boater, sailor, scuba diver, rum critic, farmer, builder and fixer of things broken. Apparently, I’m a fair story teller, too. I’ve spun tales of my experiences in the Florida Keys and around the Caribbean to my kids, grand-kids, friends, and family. Meeting up with some old friends recently, my wife and daughter were shocked to find out all those stories weren’t fiction. After being urged by quite a few people to write, I decided to try again. I’d written a handful of short stories about a young guy, fresh out of the Corps who moved to the Keys, back in the eighties. Those were never published, though I submitted them to dozens of publishers and agents. So, I complied the best three, updated the young Marine to a 45 year-old retired Marine and wrote two novels, Fallen Palm and Fallen Hunter, publishing both in 2013, through my own publishing company, Down Island Press. In 2014, I published three more novels, one a prequel to the first two. That book, Fallen Out, was an immediate, huge success, selling almost 10,000 Kindle copies in the first 90 days. I currently have six novels in the Jesse McDermitt Caribbean Adventure Series, with a seventh due out this summer and the first in a spin-off series due out in the fall.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
After writing the first sentence in the first book, my main character took the helm and has never relinquished command. I don’t plan very much in my writing. So, the series has taken a course different than what I’d first envisioned. My current work in progress is titled Fallen Honor. I took a firm grip on the tiller and am steering Jesse McDermitt to where I want him to be this time. I still write by the seat of my pants, but I know how this book will end.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write and edit at the same time. Not exactly at the same time, but before writing the first word each morning, I go back to where I finished two days earlier. I read and edit the previous two days of writing, making corrections, expanding on ideas, deleting things that don’t fit and basically, getting my head back in the story. If I’ve been away from the computer for a few days, I’ll go back several days. By the time the book is finished, I’ve gone over every word and sentence at least twice.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Anyone who reads my books and has also read the late John D. MacDonald’s “Travis McGee Series” will see a similarity. Not just in character and plot, but in the way both of us viewed the world, though decades apart. I’ve read that whole series at least six times. MacDonald’s views on the world, south Florida in particular, are every bit as poignant and viable today as they were forty to fifty years ago. I know I’ll never come close to the caliber of that wordsmith, but every time my work is compared to his, I feel really humbled.

What are you working on now?
As I write Fallen Honor, I’m also slowly adding to Merciless Charity, the first book in my new series. Charity Styles is a troubled woman. More to the point, she’s a very dangerous, troubled woman. At the end of my last book in the McDermitt series, Fallen King, Charity disappears. She’s the helicopter pilot and close-quarter combat instructor for a clandestine group that Jesse is involved with. In the opening scene of Merciless, Charity accepts a deep cover mission from the director of the group. She’s to make it appear that she steals the government chopper she’s flying disappear. In reality, she flies it to an island in the Caribbean where an antique sailboat is waiting for her and begin her new life as an undercover assassin for the NSA.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
BookBub is without peer in promoting. When I get accepted with one of my books, I carefully build a campaign around the date they give me, utilizing not just the sales results that other advertisers provide, but also the time of day they send out their emails. This creates a steady rise in sales over several days before the BookBub ad, rather that start with it and put smaller ads after it. The Amazon algorithm is a deep, dark, mysterious thing and nobody knows what it is. To that I say, “It doesn’t matter.” We don’t have to know the particulars to see what it does. It gives decreasing weight to older sales to calculate rank. It’s nothing more than a very long and very simple mathematical equation, where each hour and day of sales is multiplied by a diminishing percentage, then added together to arrive at a “score”, for lack of a better word. When these scores are compared every hour by the Amazon computers, they’re ranked from highest score to lowest. By increasing sales in the hours and days leading up to a really big spike, the score is higher than compared to a big spike followed by decreasing sales. The higher rank then creates more sales through increased visibility.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Try to write every day. And try to write 1000 words every time you write. Sure, there’ll be days when you can’t, but strive for it. If you succeed every day, you’ll have a novel in three months. Add another month for editing, cover design, formatting and a million other little things and you can write three novels a year. If you come up short on that thousand words a day, you’ll still write two novels a year.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what you know. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to write about things you’ve actually experienced, but put a part of you into each work. I’m a Marine and I’ve lived and traveled all over south Florida, the Keys and the Caribbean Basin. I’ve never been to western Cuba, but I wrote about it. I doubt it’s drastically different than Gitmo, or many of the islands I’ve visited. My main character shares my moral compass, work ethic, and sense of justice. I write what I know.

What are you reading now?
Right now, I’m reading two books, though I rarely try to read more than one at a time. I picked up James W. Hall’s latest Thorn thriller, “The Big Finish” a week ago and was half way through it, when my friend Michael Reisig sent me an advanced copy of his new Caribbean Gold adventure, Treasure of Margarita, for review. I didn’t really have to read it to review it, but I skimmed through and saw that it was another of his great works. When it was launched a few days ago, I’d only completely read half, but gave it a great review, nonetheless. I’ll finish both of these in a couple of days, when I take breaks from working in the garden and move on to another friend’s new book.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Last month I released my first audio-book narrated by Nick Sullivan. It took a couple of months to get it out, but Nick’s now working on the second book in the series and hoped to have them all recorded, including the one I’m working on, by the end of summer. It’s a whole different thing, hearing the story unfold, as told by a really talented actor.

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?
One of John D. MacDonald’s for sure. One of Randy Wayne White’s books, which covers only a single day in time, though a full length novel. I’d also bring my signed copy of “Where is Joe Merchant”, written by Jimmy Buffett. His songs aren’t really songs, they’re stories set to music and Jummy is a master story teller. If I could take a fourth, it would be “Following the Equator”, by Mark Twain.

Author Websites and Profiles
Wayne Stinnett Website
Wayne Stinnett Amazon Profile

Wayne Stinnett’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Wayne Stinnett is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m the author of the Kal Moonheart books – a series of three fantasy thrillers, full of dangerous action, unpredictable plots, and epic adventure. I’m also two books into the Alien Disaster trilogy, a science fiction action adventure for kids of all ages.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Sirensbane is the third book in the Kal Moonheart series. Kal is a gambler, adventurer and thief – a farily unconventional fantasy hero who isn’t the descendant of a long-long king, or on a quest for a magic talisman. She’s just a girl who is trying to get along in a dangerous world.

The book was inspired by my love of epic fantasy and modern thrillers. I wanted to combine all the classic fantasy elements – dragons, quests, gods and politics – and weld them to a Dan Brown-style twisty plot, with Ian Fleming-style uncompromising action. And in this particular instalment in the series, I tried to jam in every pirate and seafaring cliché I could think of!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can’t sit down at the computer and just write. I need to write the story in my head first, and I do that almost word-for word while at the gym, or washing the dishes, or out walking, running or cycling. I always wanted to figure out a way to make daydreaming pay, and self-publishing might just be it …

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read a lot – horror, fantasy, classics, history … but I get ideas not just from books, but also from TV shows, films and even computer games. The idea for Alien Disaster came from imaging a story where Earth was not only invaded by aliens, but was also hit by every disaster movie catastrophe – meteors, floods, earthquakes and even zombies – all at the same time!

What are you working on now?
Lethal Planet is the third and final book in the Alien Disaster trilogy. The second book, Moon Dust, raided sci fi horror films like Aliens and Terminator for its ideas, but I’m trying to inject Lethal Planet with the flavour of sci fi fantasy like Star Wars and Flash Gordon.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I post my books on Wattpad, one chapter at a time as I write them. The community there is fantastic, and getting comments and support from readers as you write a book can be incredibly motivating. I’ve met friends and even gained fans on Wattpad, so I’ve made a commitment to always reveal my work there first before unleashing it on Amazon.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Start writing five years ago! Every writer wishes they had done.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Promote your books with AwesomeGang

What are you reading now?
I’m reading A Dance with Dragons. I’m also watching the lastest season of Game of Thrones – and rewatching the first season – at the same time, too. Juggling all the timelines and plot changes is very confusing …

What’s next for you as a writer?
The next Kal Moonheart book will be the start of a whole new trilogy, and I’m going to try and write it so that it works as a stand-alone series, so new readers can jump straight in. Kal will be just one of several characters – some new, some old – whose stories will make up what I hope will be my biggest and most epic series yet.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
They would have to be very long books. The Lord of the Rings, because I haven’t read it since the films came out. Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy, because I started it once and never finished; and I guess I should give War and Peace a try one of these days …

Author Websites and Profiles
Rob May Website
Rob May Amazon Profile

Rob May’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Rob May is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have had stories published in magazines “Freakwave” and Rat Mort (Dead Rat) as well as on the internet. I have had poetry published by Savant Books & Publications . My first published book is a book of 22 short stories, the book is called Flight of Destiny, it is also published by Savant, a publishing company based in Hawaii.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Flight of Destiny. Having been inspired to submit short stories for magazines and the internet, it seemed logical to put together a book of short stories. What better way to put all my angst into short stories. Born in a commuter belt city called Reading and like many a middle or upper class child of such times I was shunted off to an all-male boarding school aged eight, away from my parents for periods of up to twelve weeks at a time. In such an institutions, where I was to rest until my seventeenth year, there was no getting away from the cruel jibes hurled at me from taunting tormentors. My refuge was the arts room, where I started to find some kind of redemption from the stark Dickensian surroundings, whose aim was nurture the army officers, businessmen, and gentry that dominate the class ridden world I was born into. The seeds were sown, I was an outsider, and this was later to be a great influence for me as a writer.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Books by Rupert Thomson, Edgar Allan Poe and short stories by Roald Dahl

What are you working on now?
I am mostly feverishly promoting my book

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Goodreads and all the usual social media, Facebook, Twitter and youtube to promote my book trailer

Do you have any advice for new authors?
stick at it…

What’s next for you as a writer?
I hope to publish a follow up to my recently published book

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Switch bitch Roald Dahl,
SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the WIld, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea by John Wiseman
The Book of Revelation by Rupert Thomson

Author Websites and Profiles
Francis H Powell Website
Francis H Powell Amazon Profile

Francis H Powell’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Francis H Powell is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Thanks for having me! I am a former Silicon Valley radio personality and wedding DJ who now writes romantic comedies full-time. I’m happily married to a kiss monster and we have a hairy golden retriever/lab mix that likes to eat carrots, tuna, and Manchego cheese imported from Spain.

I have written two books so far (Five Minutes Late and Dog Day Wedding) and have three more releases coming in 2015

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
DOG DAY WEDDING actually started out as a short story that I wrote in a creative writing class at Stanford. The title is based on the 1975 Al Pacino movie, Dog Day Afternoon. In the movie, Pacino robs a bank and ends up taking everyone hostage.

My story is a little lighter since it’s a romantic comedy. Okay, A LOT lighter. The final scene is three chapters long and includes a wedding with hostages. Don’t worry…nobody dies and there’s plenty of red velvet cake for everyone!

As for the inspiration behind the story…I love weddings! I thought it would be cool to write a fun, crazy story around a wedding.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write with my toes.

**Dramatic pause**

I’m kidding! Nope. Can’t really think of anything.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
MANY authors and books have influenced and inspired me but Kristan Higgins is at the very top of the list.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a romantic comedy (surprise!) called KISSING FROGS. It’s about a woman who signs up for online dating to find suitable date for an important wedding. And let’s just say it was a lot harder than she thought it would be! LOL. That’s all I can say for now. Yeah, I know, I’m a big tease. Maybe you just need to get distracted and forget I even mentioned it. Look at that pretty bird!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Bookbub is number one in the industry, without a doubt. Then I like to add other sites to compliment the Bookbub promotion. Awesomegang is one of the others that help me take the promotion to the next level. Thank you!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t get so obsessed with sales numbers from your first book. Keep writing. Things should really start to pick up when you release the second book. And the third. And the fourth. Keep writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Writers write.

What are you reading now?
Sugar’s Twice as Sweet by Marina Adair.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I just had my first two books made into audiobooks. Getting the books translated into German and Spanish would be great too. My goal is to publish 3-4 books every year. Ideally, I would like to see them made into movies as well. Can you hear me, Hollywood? Give me a call sometime!

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 I cheat and take my Kindle? No? Man, you are strict with this hypothetical stuff! Okay, here are my three:

The Best Man by Kristan Higgins
Stop the Wedding! by Stephanie Bond
Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

Author Websites and Profiles
Rich Amooi Website
Rich Amooi Amazon Profile

Rich Amooi’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Rich Amooi is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in Ipswich, Suffolk in the UK. As a busy wife, mother, ex- nurse and now a published author life is never dull. I have been married three times and I have four children, three stepchildren and two playful Australian Cattle dogs. As a modern day mum to my ‘Brady bunch’, I love every minute of our convoluted lives enjoying both the happiness and challenges that it provides.

I am nicknamed the ‘roving Florence Nightingale’ because my nursing qualifications and later my teaching qualifications have taken my family and I across the world in the pursuit of our dreams. I feel very privileged to now be able to call myself an international best-selling author as my travel memoirs set in Australia and France have gained popularity and are building an expanding worldwide fan base. In February 2015 I released Book 1 in a new series called the ‘What, Why, Where, When, Who & How of Book Promotion Series.’ book 1 ‘The Accidental Author’, is aimed at helping aspiring and debut self-published authors. Book 2, The Amateur Authorpreneur is due for release on 27th May 2015.
My other books include Glass Half Full: Our Australian Adventure, which was my debut travel memoir, and the sequel Two dogs and a suitcase: Clueless in Charente. These books are regularly found high in the Amazon rankings. in categories including parenting, grief, Christian faith, step-parenting, travel in France. Our Frugal Summer in Charente, is a kitchen garden journal about how, with my reputation as a woman who can’t keep a houseplant alive and can burn water, I manage to feed my family from my vegetable garden and the hedgerows. This has turned out to be just as entertaining and is hugely popular.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book due for release on 27th May is called The Amateur Authorpreneur and it is Book 2 in a new series I am writing aimed at aspiring and new authors which is inspired by my writing journey and experiences to date.
The Amateur Authorpreneur is a beginners guide to setting up as an author who intends to develop their writing into a business, based on my personal experience as a best-selling travel memoir author. It addresses the important task of book promotion and marketing and takes a look at the authorpreneur basic toolkit, how to start building a fan base on social media and much more. It is packed with hints, tips and practical advice making this an essential resource for attracting readers to new authors.
Here is some of the beta reader feedback:
Aspiring authors feel reassured that whatever their age or IT ability all of the skills needed are achievable.
Our non-author beta readers said they have discovered skills and tips that now helps them in both their personal and professional social media interactions.
Readers who enjoy the work of indie authors are amazed at what’s involved behind the scenes.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think my habits are unusual in the writing world. I drink a lot of coffee and I have started talking to myself. I like to call it reading aloud. My kids find this unnerving and say ‘Mother dear, you know this is a sign of madness!’

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Since I started writing book reviews across all genre’s I have been influenced by authors outside of my previous comfort zone. The majority of the books I read now are by self-published authors, therefore I find myself inspired by not only fellow memoir writers such as Susan Joyce and Richard Klein, but also fiction authors including The Black Rose, Mike Martin and John Holt. As I still dream of one day publishing my romance novel, I try to learn and develop this new genre of writing by reading novels from international best-selling indie authors including Tom Winton and Laura Taylor.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on a new medical memoir called ‘Ooh Matron’ which I aim to publish this summer. It is based on my 28-year career as a nurse and it is a compilation of funny, interesting and occasionally sad stories originating from my work in a variety of healthcare settings both in Uk and Australia.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have found, to date, that promoting my books from my author website and the Rukia Publishing website, which I set up to help other indie authors, works really well. I also utilise sites like Awesome Gang, who network with indies on social media. This is because social media, as part of an indie author marketing and promotion platform, is an essential component of the authorpreneur toolkit.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t try and re-invent the wheel and don’t go it alone. Networking and ‘paying it forward’ works well for indies as helping to promote someone else’s work says a lot about you as author and promotes the fact that we are not in competition with one another.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write your first draft as if no one will ever read it.

What are you reading now?
I am currently reading A Twist of Fortune by Mike Martin for a Rukia the Reader review.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have so many ideas for future books that I have to try and stop myself from starting them all and not finishing any! However, my next big project is the prequel to my travel memoir series called, ‘Yesterday Once More’ which will give readers an insight in my childhood, my relationships with my parents and later my marriages and divorces including how these factors influenced some of the decisions I made. There are some emotionally charged subjects to handle including inappropriate childhood experiences, emotional abuse and losing custody of my daughter.

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?
Well, I think a Bear Grylls survival book of some description would be a must, not only for the life-saving tips, but also for his use of a positive mental attitude to survive anything that life throws at you. Obviously, I would need a couple of books that provide me with some entertainment therefore I would choose ‘Cloud Street’ by Tim Winton, ‘The Woman Who Went To Bed For A Year’ by Sue Townsend and any book by Gerry McCullough.

Author Websites and Profiles
Sarah Jane Butfield Website
Sarah Jane Butfield Amazon Profile
Sarah Jane Butfield Author Profile on Smashwords

Sarah Jane Butfield’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Sarah Jane Butfield is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started writing in 2009 and have written 5 books: four are women’s fiction and one is contemporary fiction. Moon Over Alcatraz was published in 2012 and Taken Away comes out on June 1, 2015. I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and live in Alameda, California, with my husband and two children, ages 21 and 16. My house is filled with animals: two chocolate labs, Annabella and her son Jack, along with tiny dog, Shay, a terrier mix. My big black Friesian horse, Maximus, lives about fifteen minutes from my home in the Oakland hills.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Taken Away is about veterinarian, Jessee Bradford, who comes home to find his wife and young child missing. I was inspired by the too-frequent Amber Alerts I’ve heard and read about in California and across the nation. As a parent, I can’t imagine the worry and anger and horror of losing a child. Taken Away tells about Jessee’s emotional path from the day he finds his wife and daughter missing through his life changes that lead to the truth of their disappearance.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I usually write a sketchy outline of how the story begins to its end then let my fingers do the walking on my MacBook. I edit a bit along the way, otherwise every day brings new chapters and after I write “The End” I begin the editing process. Edits take up the majority of my time. That’s when the book gains weight, so to speak, and gets meatier and deeper by adding better dialogue and back story. I write either in the family room with my three dogs or on the deck if the weather is nice. And I write until it’s done, every day, most of the day. It may take less than a month to write a novel but three or more months to edit. All my books are professionally edited before they’re ready to be put “out there” for readers.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have been reading books for pleasure since I was about 7-years old when my mom enrolled me in a Book-of-the-Month Club. Since then I have several authors who are my favorites: Jodi Picoult, Joy Fielding, Danielle Steel, Mary Higgins Clark, Richard Paul Evans, Nicholas Sparks, Robin Cook, Maeve Binchy, Susan Wiggs, Susan Mallery, Barbara Freethy. And the list goes on.

What are you working on now?
I have the theme for my sixth book inside my head and written on my computer but I haven’t started writing it yet. I was inspired by the number of babies found in dumpsters throughout the U.S. I wanted to write about the journey of finding a baby – through the eyes of a woman who finds a child after she suffers a miscarriage.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I participate in Virtual Book Tours on the internet which seem to be the best way to reach readers these days. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and we’ve lost most of our book stores. Borders and Barnes and Noble closed their doors, leaving us with a very small book store and several used books stores. Personally, my son gave me a Kindle for Christmas 2012, and I purchase all my books on Amazon.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
After I wrote my first book I entered many, many contests where I found out that I wasn’t writing romance but rather women’s fiction with romantic elements. There’s a big difference in the two genres and the judges taught me that. I began taking classes on the internet and still take classes. I’ve learned a lot from some and not much from others but, in doing so, I found the teachers who I learn the most from. I also continue being an avid reader and mostly read romance and women’s fiction and contemporary fiction novels. The best thing I ever did to learn to write well was to hire a professional editor. She was the person who taught me how to how to write and since then I have had great experiences with two additional editors who continue to help me write better books.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever heard was to hire a professional editor. After I did that, I learned what it was like to truly edit my books and edit them correctly, for both content as well as character building and dialogue.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading “Escape” by Barbara Delinsky. I love her books.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Promoting my book Taken Away which comes out June 1st – in just a few weeks. After that, I will begin writing my next novel.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would bring Jodi Picoult’s “Nineteen Minutes”, “Lost” by Joy Fielding, and “Message in A Bottle” by Nicholas Sparks.

Author Websites and Profiles
Patricia Yager Delagrange Website
Patricia Yager Delagrange Amazon Profile
Patricia Yager Delagrange Author Profile on Smashwords

Patricia Yager Delagrange’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Patricia Yager Delagrange is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was working as a news anchor toward the tail end of my radio career. Guys from the other stations called us news-types, because all we did was type news. I don’t know how many thousands of words a day I typed to keep up with live and prerecorded newscasts for two markets. At the time I was reading the Left Behind series from LaHaye and Jenkins and I wondered how they were going to present the next plague.
The answer hit me like a revelation- by putting words on paper…
It was then I knew I could make anything happen in exactly the same way. That’s what prompted me to start writing fiction.
I wrote 17 episodes of the Eusta Diddoo (Yoo’-stuh Did’-doo) Runaway Pony series as scripts for a cartoon, and a sci-fi novel for adults and young adults. Along the way I wrote several short fantasy stories for children and middle grade readers. Then when I couldn’t make the connection to sell a cartoon to any of the animation producers, I started converting it to books for middle grade readers and adults who like cartoons. I don’t know the exact number of books I’ve written. It’s modest though- somewhere around thirty.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book I wrote is the first one I’ve published. It’s the pilot episode for Eusta Diddoo Runaway Pony. The main character is a horse who leads a double life. After finishing the chores on his owner’s grain farm, he goes into town at night to have fun. He has a job delivering pizzas and takes piano lessons. The cartoon series just dropped the audience into his happening life with a brief explanation of how it started. For the book series I felt the need to start with an episode that shows events leading Eusta into his extra activities in town. Thus my latest work and first release is Episode 1, Fired Up – a cartoon in print. It retains the identity with descriptions of sound effects and visual tricks that can only happen through the magic of animation.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t write in the bathtub or anything like that. I like it quiet while I’m creating stories initially. But when I edit or rewrite, I play some favorite music like Yes or Beatles. It seems to help organize the whole rewriting process to hear something familiar. I’m not sure how unusual that is.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Isaac Asimov, Gene Roddenberry, Charles Schulz, Animator Genndy Tartakovsky, and Kurtzman and Gaines of MAD Magazine

What are you working on now?
I’m in the final stages of the line edit going back and forth with my editor. Amazon lets you put books up for pre-order with an unfinished manuscript. The official launch date commemorates my parent’s anniversary on June 10th.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I went to Awesomegang first, but I’m just getting started with promotions.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes. Hire a professional editor and professional book cover designer! Oh, and above all, believe in your writing. It’s obviously worthwhile if you took the time to do it. Now take the time to make it into something that can benefit others.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Self publish an ebook!!! My wife and brother-in-law seriously encouraged me to do this instead of waiting to find an agent who thought my stuff was worth investing time into. Most didn’t even take the time to read what I sent them- never mind. The last agent I looked at wanted records of my platform and business plan. Well, if I have a platform and business plan, then what do I need an agent for?

What are you reading now?
A cheesy star wars novel and a bunch of books about marketing and business plans for authors.

What’s next for you as a writer?
It’s funny how all the business takes authors away from writing. I’ve got the first eight Runaway Pony episodes ready for my editor already. I’m devoting my early morning time to rewriting my sci-fi novel. It needs a lot of work. Apparently I write like a screenplay writer with too many scenes and too much dialog running together. Any other free time I get goes to figuring out good marketing options for the new release.

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 be tempted to just take the four books on my desk- a bible and three part reference library consisting of a dictionary, thesaurus, and punctuation guide. Although that would only work if there was a computer on this desert island. I don’t know what I would take to just read. How nice would it be to have time to do that?
I typically don’t read anything twice. I would still want the bible and the only other book I would want to revisit is Moby Dick. Then I would probably take some of the new sci-fi stuff I’ve been wanting time for like Beyond the Hidden Sky by Marcha Fox and Crystal Deception by Doug J. Cooper.
I’d make sure they had cellophane cover wraps to soot reflections at passing planes though. I couldn’t get by with just four books for very long!

Author Websites and Profiles
Jonra Springs Website
Jonra Springs Amazon Profile

Jonra Springs’s Social Media Links
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Jonra Springs is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written a number of books, most of which have gone unpublished. My debut novel, a steampunk-fantasy, just went live recently.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Dockland Kingslayer was heavily inspired by an amazing game called “Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura”. Some of the devs from Arcanum have since gone on to release a new game called “Pillars of Eternity”. I was also inspired by fantasy giants like JRR Tolkien, George RR Martin, Sci-Fi greats like Heinlein, and even Cormac McCarthy.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write for hours straight, as if I’m on drugs or entranced. Honestly, when I’m in the zone, it’s not uncommon to get up to go to the bathroom and/or eat.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I was heavily inspired by the Discworld series by the late & great Terry Pratchett and even the Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a prequel and a sequel to The Dockland Kingslayer. The prequel concerns the life of a character I barely touched on in the first book, even though he played a huge role in Falone’s developments. The sequel, well, does what a sequel should do: continues the events after the first book!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I find that getting to know other authors and help them in any way possible is the best way to make a presence in the writing community.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Read. Do not be afraid to be told you’re awful. Take your beating like the second child, then walk it off — just don’t give up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“If you’re going to hell, keep going”.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading a book from a fellow indie, Derin Attwood. It’s entitled “The Caves of Kirym”. A fun read. I highly recommend picking it up.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, I need to build a platform. Most importantly, if anyone is looking to “make it” in this business (that is what it is after all) an author must have a following. Building a platform is tough, but through time and effort, anything is possible.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
That’s a tough question. I’ve read and loved so many titles. However, if I had to pick, I’d choose the following:

1) “The Lord of the Rings” with “The Hobbit” 4-in-1 by JRR Tolkien
2) “Stranger in a Strange Land” by Robert Heinlein
3) “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius

Author Websites and Profiles
V.C. Remus Website
V.C. Remus Amazon Profile

V.C. Remus’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

V.C. Remus is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m the author of The Desert Peach series, the Stinz series, and the Hader and the colonel and Bosom Enemies series. I’m presently doing the webcomic “Afterdead,” in which all my characters interact in the same world. I’ve run out of counting how many books I’ve written and drawn, in comics form and prose. I’m the organizer of the Clallam Bay Comicon, in 2015 in its fifth year. Been in the biz since 1986.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest ongoing webcomic – ultimately to be collected in a book – is “Afterdead.” All my characters appear in it. I’m working on a book now that I don’t want to reveal yet, as the concept is unusual.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. Unless drawing on a board in my lap counts.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m fond of Twain, Kipling, Gogol, Dickens and Sterne.

What are you working on now?
A book of illustrated prose that could be for children, but readable for adults.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Comicons and the internet.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Work. Do things. Don’t listen to people telling you how to right to fit in or market. Just experience, and write and write and write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Just write.”

What are you reading now?
“Bertie Sings The Blues.”

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing the next book.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Crazy Weather, Tristram Shandy, Perfume, anything by Kipling

Author Websites and Profiles
Donna Barr Barr Website
Donna Barr Barr Amazon Profile

Donna Barr Barr’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
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Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Donna Barr Barr is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve had numerous short stories published in magazines, webzines, and anthologies. I received my MFA from Seton Hill University’s program in Writing Popular Fiction, with a concentration in horror fiction. In 2013, I won first place in Crystal Lake Publishing’s inaugural Tales from the Lake horror writing competition. I have published a dieselpunk novelette, Beautiful Things, with Fox & Raven Publishing and a psychological horror/ghost story novella, Conduits, with DarkFuse. My first novel was released by Omnium Gatherum in May 2015.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is called Those of My Kind, and it was initially the thesis project for my MFA in Writing Popular Fiction. It was inspired by a character from a failed earlier novel.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I still like to write my first drafts with pen and paper. I know a lot of people consider that unusual!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Early Clive Barker, Tanith Lee, Stephen King, Meredith Ann Pierce, Shirley Jackson… I’m a big fan of dark fantasy and horror.

What are you working on now?
I’m finishing up a contemporary erotic romance and a couple of steampunk short stories. Then I’ll be moving on to a new dark fantasy novel.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Conventions. Word-of-mouth is your best friend. I just attended the World Horror Convention and brought along postcards for my new book, but actually talking about it with other convention-goers was probably the best promotion I could have done.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing. Learn the craft before you worry about publishing. Too many people are publishing work that either isn’t ready or, quite frankly, should never be published at all.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Probably not to listen to most advice! There’s a lot of conflicting/bad advice out there. You have to do what works for you. That said, you really do need to learn *how* to write, and it’s not as easy as simply typing into a Word document (or whatever your preferred method is).

What are you reading now?
My husband and I are in the process of buying a house/moving, so nothing at the moment–my books are all packed! But I came home with a pile of books from WHC, so next will probably be Suffer the Children by Craig DiLouie.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’d like to do a graphic novel as well as a video game script.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
That’s a tough one. The Road by Cormac McCarthy, The Darkangel Trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce, Salem’s Lot by Stephen King… There are so many more, and subject to change as I read new books!

Author Websites and Profiles
Jennifer Loring Website

Jennifer Loring’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
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Jennifer Loring is a post from Awesome Gang