Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, I’ve started many, many books, but so far only one has been published. Jaded: The SilentWhisperer is my first published novel, the first book in a series of three(plus two tag-along shortstories).

I hope to have the second book in my series out by the end of 2016, and my first shortstory to be out earlier that same year, but I’ll just have to see where it goes.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
By latest I’m guessing you’re asking my latest PUBLISHED, so I guess that’ll be what I tell you. *scrunches eyebrows, deep in thought* Though, the story behind why I chose the name for the book I’m currently working on is pretty good…but that’s a story for another time.

I got the idea for Jaded: The SilentWhisperer because: (a) my main character’s name is Jade, and throughout the story she grows more and more jaded. So yes, partially I used it kind of like a pun. And (b) she becomes mute, hence the “SilentWhisperer” part. Now I don’t want to reveal too much before you’ve read it, so I’m stopping right here!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes. I often don’t use said in a dialogue tags, instead using movements that the characters are making to define who is speaking. In some of my later drafts though, I changed that a little. Also, I like to eat popcorn while I write…it helps me think of it in a movie sense.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Well, I’d have to say the best books for inspiration I read would have to be the Inheritance Cycle, by Christopher Paolini. After all, I am the age he was when he started writing Eragon, and look how far he’s come!

For author inspiration, I’d have to say C.B. Stone author of the Unbelief Series. The reason being: she personally helped me along the journey to publication, and her heart for The Lord is just amazing. She is my #1 favorite author.

What are you working on now?
Currently I’m working on two projects. My top priority is my shortstory, since it’s coming out before my second book in the series, and it branches off from my first book, following a different character.

My second book reverts back to the main character again, and continues her journey through learning how to trust.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Ugh, I don’t really know yet. This is my first time trying out publishing. So I’ve been doing a whole lot of research on promoting and marketing. It’s been taxing, I’ll admit, but I think it will be worth it once I get some traction.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes. Never give up. Whatever you want to do, whatever you want to be, you can be it. Whether it’s be an author, an actor, a lion tamer–whatever. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t attain your dreams, and if they do, use it as motivation to show them that you can.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Set a goal. Whether it’s two hours a day, or ten, 100 words or 1000, make sure you have some goal set for yourself. That way you have something to set your eyes on, and your not striving for some blurry finish line. Even 1000 words a day writes a whole first draft in 60 days.

What are you reading now?
Believe it or not, I just finished reading White Fang, my favorite classic.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More books, more reaserch, more writing. Anything book related, I’m there. I would like to find some low cost writer’s conference, but I’m not quite sure yet. Maybe a few book signings in the near future.

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?
Ahhh, that’s a tough one. To be honest, I find it difficult to choose….but I guess it would either have to be the Eragon Series, or a few of the Harry Potter books, just because they’re thick, and would give me more reading time.

Hailey Woerner’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Hailey Woerner is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am 45 years old living in Ayrshire, Scotland where I teach in a primary school. I share a flat with my sister and cat, Molly and we love travelling together. We now have a holiday home in the East Coast where I find my writing is even more inspired by the setting of the lodge at the lakeside. I have had 2 books published but have completed five or six others which are needing edited.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Over the last few months I have finished 2 novellas (a children’s adventure which I hope will be a series and an adult Christmas romance). I am in the process of editing a suspense book which I completed two years ago and resurfaced from my pile of to-dos. The children’s book idea of a magical book came from a chat with my pupils at school one day and the romance, although I don’t read many, I always enjoy the Christmas movies that show in November and December and they inspired that romance book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t really have any habits. I sometimes do lots of research before writing anything, other times I will sit and see what flows (or not depending on the day). Many times I will sit with my laptop on my legs, TV in the background and just get going.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I fell in love with Clive Cussler’s Sahara while on holiday one year and have collected and read his books ever since. I also love Agatha Christie and adventure books based around Egypt or mythological events.

What are you working on now?
I am in the middle of editing a couple of books while working on research for a new adventure novel I hope to start very soon.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
At the moment word of mouth and Facebook seems to be working best but I know I should be looking in to other areas for promoting.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I was lucky when I was younger and a small Press Company published my first novella. It felt wonderful and although it was taken off their list when the company dissolved some years later the fact I get to publish it myself now is still a great feeling. Don’t give up. Every little success will build to the bigger ones.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write every day, even if it’s just a diary entry.

What are you reading now?
Sue Grafton “W is for Wasted” – another good thriller writer.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will try to push myself to write more and find some extra time (somewhere between my teaching job) to promote my books further.

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?
Clive Cussler – Sahara, Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile, My Bible

Author Websites and Profiles
Tracey Hamilton Amazon Profile

Tracey Hamilton’s Social Media Links
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Tracey Hamilton is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a fantasy writer from Scotland, currently living in Southern Arizona. I’m married, have two kids, three cats, two rats, a betta fish, and a Border Collie. I’ve been writing since I was twelve years old, but most of that has been for one of six newspapers and magazines I’ve worked on since graduating college. Only in the past few years have I pursued fiction and novel writing.

I’ve published two books in my Revelations Trilogy and one other, an historical romance, under a pen name.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, Silver Shackles, which comes out on June 15, 2015, is the second book in the Revelations Trilogy, which is about a reporter–who also happens to be a jaguar shifter–who is instrumental in revealing the presence of Preternatural creatures to the rest of the world. Humans wake up one morning and discover that magic is real, and things like vampires and werewolves do actually exist. Faeries are real, too, but they didn’t come out of the skeleton closet and the Queen of the Winter Fae is not happy with Riley’s role in the Revelations. In order to save her life, Riley makes a deal with the Queen of the Summer Fae, and steals something from the Winter Court.

Silver Shackles is about the consequences of that theft and the shifting alliances and court intrigue within the Winter Court.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a special drawer in my writing desk that’s filled with snacks. I have gummi worms, red licorice, pretzel thins, trail mix, and dried fruit. So far, I’ve managed to keep it a secret from my children.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jim Butcher and Diana Gabaldon are my biggest influences. I greatly admire Butcher’s ability to weave hidden gems throughout his Dresden Files series, so something you learned–or maybe something so small and insignificant that you didn’t even pay attention to it–in one of the early books shows up in a major way later on in the series.

And Gabaldon’s characters are just SO. REAL. I strive to put a little of that into my own characters. I want them to be like people you might already know.

What are you working on now?
I have three books I’m working on right now. One is a YA dystopian cyberpunk kind of thing, one is a colliding worlds urban fantasy, and the other is the third book in the Revelations Trilogy.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Word of Mouth seems to be working the best for me right now. I’ve built up a pretty loyal fan base and through their recommendations and excitement, I’ve sold a lot of books!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
You really have to develop a thick skin. Not everyone will like your books. Some of them will be pretty harsh in their criticism. You have to expect this going in, otherwise you’ll never make it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever received is to know that once you release your book into the wild, it’s no longer YOUR book. Every reader will bring his or her own baggage into reading it, and all that stuff will change your book. No one will ever “get” what you’ve written the way you wrote it, the way you intended it to be. I think knowing this and really getting it into your head is a great way to deal with negative criticism.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading Bloodring, by Faith Hunter. It’s such a phenomenal book.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m just going to keep doing what I do–writing, revising, and publishing. That’s the life I want.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1. Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon

2. Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson

3. Nightwatch, by Terry Pratchett

Author Websites and Profiles
Fiona Skye Website
Fiona Skye Amazon Profile

Fiona Skye’s Social Media Links
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Fiona Skye is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Storytelling is something I love and always aim to improve with. The idea that I can work at my passion and share it with the world is exciting and I never intend to stop putting in the work. I currently have three short stories published and will soon have numbers four and five released soon.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is a short story called Space Toy. It was inspired by a dream I had, the dream affected me so much that I had to write it down upon awakening. After some brainstorming and working with the details from the dream I came up with the story. That story will be published on the Kindle by the end of June, 2015.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Every writer has their own approach to the craft, but I always love throwing on soundtracks from Super Nintendo video games as I write. The music isn’t distracting and actually encourages me to go for what is in my mind and to see it through to the best of my abilities.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King is a hero of mine, I love many of the books and short stories he has written. I also enjoy Richard Adams for Watership Down and The Plague Dogs.

What are you working on now?
I am currently putting the finishing touches on the third entry in The Painterly series.

What’s next for you as a writer?
What’s next for me is launching a new fantasy series and also finishing the current titles I have on my plate.

Author Websites and Profiles
James Johnson Amazon Profile

James Johnson’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

James Johnson is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
The official story is that I’m the USA Today Bestselling Author of more than 75 books and the recipient of numerous awards. I write romantic comedies, cozy mysteries and women’s fiction as Peggy Webb and literary fiction as Elaine Hussey (a combinations of my middle and maiden names). The rest of the story is that I was born on a farm in Mississippi and I’m a country girl at heart. I adore gardening, playing the piano, singing first soprano in my church choir and sitting on my front porch with friends. I picture my gardens as resembling Bellingrath, but bugs and Southern heat have done me in.

I can barely operate a can opener but all things creative interest me. I dabble in pottery and paint crazy artsy chairs and compose a few blues lyrics at an antique baby grand that once belonged to a jazz musician. You’ll find some of those lyrics in my literary fiction novel, THE SWEETEST HALLELUJAH (MIRA, 2013) They were credited to Li’l Rosie! “Why Ain’t You Dead Yet” is one of my favorites! I have two children and four grandchildren, all brilliant and beautiful and loving, naturally, and I live in a country cottage with two of the most disobedient dogs on Planet Earth.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
STARS TO LEAD ME HOME:LOVE AND MARRIAGE (June 4, 2015) is my latest women’s fiction novel. It was inspired my lifelong friendships with women who have shared my secretes, my sorrows and my celebrations since I was six years old. Also, my Aunt Maxine inspired the secondary story line. At her death, she was the world’s second longest living recipient of a donor heart! Hers was a journey of courage and hope, and I’ve always wanted to tell it. Have your tissues ready when you read this book. But prepare for belly laughs, too. I have a warped sense of humor. If I can’t find something to laugh about every day, I take my temperature to see what’s wrong!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
With writers, nothing is unusual! Here are my quirks: (1) I always write facing a window. Put my desk facing a wall and my muse runs screaming for the hills! (2) I listen to music, but it has to be without lyrics because I’ll get caught up in them and want to sing along. Usually I play Native American flute CDs. (3) I keep little bits of whimsy on my desk – two dragon globes, a sassy painted pelican, an enameled cardinal (my power animal), a blue dolphin lamp, two unicorns and a fairy! (4) I have to have a cup of green tea chai nearby, winter or summer. Warm drinks are soothing to me. (5)My mouse pad is red and says, “Dear Dorothy, Hate Oz, took the shoes, find your own way home! Toto” I can’t seem to move a mouse on a dull, boring pad. (6) My writing room is filed with clocks, though I rarely consult them and even if I did, I’d be perpetually late – or early. None of them keep time. My two favorites are a red Mickey Mouse clock and a purple elephant clock. That’s about it. After reviewing my answer to this question, I figure I must be one step away from being carted off with a net!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am strongly influenced by Eudora Welty’s sense of place, the playwright Tennessee William’s eccentric Southern characters, the lyric beauty of Pat Conroy’s and Alice Hoffman’s prose, the sheer storytelling genius of literary greats such as Flannery O’Conner and Harper Lee.

What are you working on now?
I always have multiple projects going. Currently, I’m writing another literary fiction novel as Elaine Hussey, this one set in the tumultuous times of the Deep South in 1963. Also, I’m creating another comedic cozy mystery/romance series titled MAGNOLIA WILD. The first book should be ready by the fall of 2015. In the works, as well, are more romantic comedy classics in my SUNDAY COVE series, and another women’s fiction in my Love and Marriage series. The title is MY LOVE WILL FIND YOU. I expect to have it out by spring of 2016.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
With a lot of help from my friend/web guru/filmmaker Roy Turner, I keep my website at www.peggywebb.com up-to-date with newsflashes, a what’s new section and current book pages. My blog is at www.elainehussey.com. I’ve found my ads with The Fussy Librarian to be very effective, as well.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write because you have a wonderful story and can’t imagine not telling it! Know your characters as well as you do your best friends. Know the theme of your story as well as the genre. Above all, find your unique voice and use it!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Always be kind.” The advice came from my daddy, and I’m certain he meant it as a life’s lesson. However, it applies equally to the crazy, ever-changing world of publishing. I believe we’re all just trying to do our best here. Whether I’m being told my book is the best thing since white bread or it should be weighted down and sunk in the deepest part of the ocean, I try to remember what my daddy said. I try very hard to smile, be kind and remember that this is not the end of the world. A new day will dawn and a new story will always find me.

What are you reading now?
Currently I’m reading FORENSICS FOR DUMMIES so I can figure out to how to kill somebody (in my cozy, of course) and make my readers die laughing (metaphorically, of course)! I’m also reading THE SOCIOPATH NEXT DOOR. I’m calling it research, but it fits so many of my relatives I’m now afraid to go to the next family reunion!

What’s next for you as a writer?
In my thirty years as a writer, I’ve done just about everything I set out to do. I’ve written in multiple genres, made the leap to literary fiction, been invited to join PEN American (founded by Robert Frost) and won many awards, including the prestigious Romantic Times Pioneer Award. My intention and my hope is that I can continue to write the stories I love.

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 TREASURY OF GREAT SHOW TUNES so I could sing all the words to the music of the ocean. THE SWEETEST HALLELUJAH so I could reread my own work and remember the power of words and the feel of the keyboard beneath my fingertips. The Bible so I could have promise and hope within reach.

Author Websites and Profiles
Peggy Webb Website
Peggy Webb Amazon Profile
Peggy Webb Author Profile on Smashwords

Peggy Webb’s Social Media Links
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Peggy Webb is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m from the UK but I live in Japan right now as an English teacher. To date I’ve written several books, but only one published by Quest Publications so far. I collect soft toys and I like to play video games when I should be writing.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Blood of the Fallen. I wanted a name that sounds interesting and also hints at darker themes like war and grief.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really – I always make sure I have my blanket and a cup of coffee. Everything except my laptop and light must be switched off, and the desk has to be clear of empty cups, sweet wrappers and cuddly toys.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love the Darren Shan vampire saga. It has unexpected bursts of violence and shock twists that I wanted to imitate in my own work. Most of the fantasy related parts were inspired by films and video games, but I based a lot of themes such as heartache, loss and grief on older drama books such as Flowers in the Attic by Virginia Andrews and the Emma Grady trilogy by Josephine Cox. I’m a sucker for tragedy and romance, and I got a lot of inspiration from novels like those.

What are you working on now?
Blood of the Innocent, the sequel to Blood of the Fallen. I’m also working on a science-fiction set in Tokyo.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Twitter a lot. It’s a great way to connect with other writers and like-minded people, and build a very specific audience who will care about your book advertisements.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep doing what you love. Listen to constructive criticism. Be patient. Take an interest in other writers’ work and always expand your connections. Be confident, be kind, and of course read a lot.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I ever got was actually a quote; the author’s name escapes me now, though: “the first draft of anything you write is s**t.” It’s a great reminder that even if you write complete tat, it can be improved later, and it’s better than writing nothing at all.

What are you reading now?
The Harry Potter series again. They’re classics!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing more, meeting more amazing writers, and enjoying life!

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’m guessing you’re not looking for answers like “a massive tome so I can use the pages to build a bonfire” or “useful how-to guides for surviving the wild”, so I’ll go with Outcast by Josephine Cox and the Hobbit by Tolkien.

Author Websites and Profiles
Poppy Reid Website
Poppy Reid Amazon Profile

Poppy Reid’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
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Poppy Reid is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing and editing since I can remember. In fact, the first time I was paid to help someone with their writing I was about 10 years old. An entrepreneurial family member needed help writing a letter to a client. I had fun putting myself in other’s shoes and playing with the words and ideas until I got them just right! Writing isn’t just something I do. It’s who I am.

Although I’ve known I wanted to write and publish forever, I’d made the assumption when I was young that being an author meant writing fiction. Problem was, I wasn’t very good at it. I’d get part way through a story and lose interest. Somewhere in my 20’s it suddenly dawned on me that nonfiction was an option too! Isn’t it funny how the obvious can escape us?!

I finally wrote and published my first book, “Who Am I? How to Answer the Single Most Important Question You’ll Ever Ask,” in 2008. It’s still available as a paperback book on Amazon. It was an adventure to write! It’s a life coaching book for women that shows them the step-by-step approach to knowing who they are and living the life they’re most passionate about. It’s the approach I used to get my own life back on track after my mother’s aneurysm. This book was re-released on Kindle as, “Who Am I? How to Discover Your Purpose and Live Your Passion”, in 2013.

Not having written a book before, and having no one to mentor me, I struggled with that first book for a very long time. In fact, it was so challenging that I almost decided never to write again! Instead, I decided that I never wanted another author to struggle like I did. So, I shifted my coaching practice to focus on Authors.

In 2013, I was honored to have a short memoir included as a chapter in the international bestselling book, “Finding Fulfillment in the Spiritual Age”. The book is full of inspiring stories of women from around the world who’ve woken up to their spiritual nature, and learned how to integrate their lives. For me, it was the story of how my mother’s aneurysm almost cost me my own life, the lessons I learned from it, and how I have chosen to live more purposefully.

In 2010, I decided to return to school to earn a master’s degree in business. Along the way, I combined my interest in authorship and began asking a very different question than anyone in the publishing industry has asked before: How can nonfiction authors create powerful, long-lasting influence on their readers? I used my thesis research work to discover the 10 secrets to influential authorship and am excited to be sharing this work with the world now!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
This year, I am releasing the Influential Authorship series based in the original research I did to earn my master’s degree. Book 1, “Leverage: Authorship for the New Millennium,” is now available on Kindle!

During my master’s program at Marylhurst University, I had the opportunity to take an interdisciplinary approach to my work. In other words, I wasn’t stuck looking at things through the lens of just one department. I got to view my studies through multiple disciplines. So, I was able to combine business, spirituality, and nonfiction authorship together into a single, unified body of research.

I wanted to know and understand what it really takes to move readers into action, and I wanted to develop a framework that I could deliver to my clients. I achieved both!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
What’s unusual? My habits are normal to me!

While it’s likely not unusual, especially for mothers who work at home, having young children around while writing has allowed me to develop the ability to write while answering children’s questions. I can’t say that it’s always the best writing, but at least I can retain my train of thought!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I enjoy books by Deepok Chopra, Caroline Myss, Paulo Coehlo, and Brene Brown, and am often found reading memoirs, business, marketing, and spiritual books by a wide variety of authors. I stopped reading fiction for a number of years, but have found myself revisiting it over the last few years. I have done so much editing of nonfiction now that I can no longer read it without editing it at some level. I’ve never trained myself to edit fiction, so now, it has become my escape again! When it comes to fiction, I enjoy fantasy, and things like the Twilight series, or metaphysical fiction like Coehlo and Chopra write.

What are you working on now?
This year, I’m working on releasing my 3-part Influential Author series. The first book, “Leverage: Authorship for the New Millennium,” is already available. Parts 2 and 3 are schedule for release later this year as well. I’m having a ton of fun putting the finishing touches on them and seeing my years of research and writing finally making their way into the world to serve others!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
When it comes to promoting my books, I find that it’s a consistency that makes the biggest difference. There’s no one “magic pill” that I’ve found. It’s daily and weekly habits that add up over time. Planning ahead for promotions and launches makes a tremendous difference, and building relationships with key individuals who are excited to promote you make things far easier than doing it all alone.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t follow the traditional advice! It’s outdated. That’s what my research showed, and it’s what my award-winning and bestselling author clients are proving as they use the method I’ve shown them for writing their books.

Here’s a free tip, and a simple question that will guide you in more ways than you might imagine: What do you want to be known for in the next 3 to 5 years? That’s what you write about because that’s where your book will take you – if you let it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Best advice? “We’re built for failure. It’s why our butts are soft. So fall often – and then remember to get back up!”

What are you reading now?
I’ve been reading, “Man’s Search for Meaning.” What a book! I’ve heard it was good, but never had the chance to read it until now. The fortitude and faith in one’s self to survive the Nazi death camps, and then to return to life to be of service to others with what he learned…. the author has my utmost respect. It’s inspiring and life changing.

What’s next for you as a writer?
As I finish my current series, I’d like to branch into writing more memoir or even a fable. I haven’t fully decided yet, but I know I’ll keep writing. I can’t stop. I tried once and I started feeling like a dried-up old sponge! I have to write, and I have to keep expanding my abilities. So, wherever it takes me, I know it’s going to be a fun adventure!

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?
Hmmm…. wow! Only 3 or 4??? I’d need to take a journal, first and foremost. I’d likely take “The Pagan Nun”, “The Hobbit”, and something by Chopra or Myss or even Earnest Holmes. Truth is, I’m not sure I can imagine living somewhere where there’s not shelves of books around me, but a desert island could make for something amazing to write about!

Author Websites and Profiles
Lori Anne Rising Website
Lori Anne Rising Amazon Profile

Lori Anne Rising is a post from Awesome Gang