Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My sister Loretta and I have written over 40 books together! Most of them are in the mystery genre. We are the authors of the Jeff McQuede High Country Mystery Series (Murder in Black and White, Whispers of the Stones, and Stealer of Horses). We have also written the the Ardis Cole Mystery Series (The Curse of Senmut, Unmarked Grave, and The Crimson Masquerade). These are archaeological mysteries set in exotic locations around the world. We also have several single title suspense books and short story collections.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Our latest book is Crying Woman Bridge. Right now, it is part of the Kindle Scout competition. We feel it is one of our strongest books to date. It was inspired by legends we have read such as La Llorona and tales of haunted bridges. In this story, set in Wyoming, the sheriff and his friend come across a weeping woman who may have thrown her baby over the bridge in a fit of despair. The woman, however, claims the baby was taken by a phantom she calls Mirabella, who is part of the local legend.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Neither of us can write without coffee! We do most of our writing in the morning. Not early morning–but after we’ve both had several cups to get us thinking straight.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
We have both read many of the classics and we enjoy Somerset Maugham, John Steinbeck, and many others. As for more modern-day writers, Tony Hillerman was a big influence on both of us.

We also enjoy books by Margaret Coel, Ruth Rendell, Craig Johnson, C. J. Box and many other mystery writers. Since one of our series is set in the west, we especially enjoy series from this part of the United States.

What are you working on now?
We are working on a new Jeff McQuede mystery. We’re only three chapters in so we haven’t titled it yet. We are also editing as new Ardis Cole title Killer of Eagles for publication in the fall. So we are keeping pretty busy!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
We have an active Twitter account. We also have an author’s page on Facebook, several blogs, and an author’s website. We also ike Goodreads, Awesomegang, and Bookgoodies.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write the book that is in your heart. Don’t try to follow the trends. But if it’s in your heart to write a book, then you will find readers, for what interests you personally will also interest them. Readers can always tell whether or not a writer was behind a book a hundred percent. On motto we have is don’t think about publishing and marketing while writing the book. Don’t think about writing while marketing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Virginia Coffman gave us some good advice starting out. She said don’t just write one book. Keep on writing so that you have a backlist. Another good bit of advice we got from an agent was to make every chapter and scene fit the book in some way, if it’s extra baggage either make it work or throw it out.

What are you reading now?
Loretta is reading Ancient Blood by R. Allen Chappell, which is set on the Navajo reservation, and

I am reading a thriller called Follow You Home by Mark Edwards.

What’s next for you as a writer?
We’re going to keep writing series and also have some single titles planned. There are so many ideas that would make good books. We keep a file of them.

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, War and Peace, and The Complete Works of Henry James. That would give us enough reading material until we were rescued. If possible, we’d tuck in a little Tony Hillerman and Ruth Rendell for entertainment, as well.

Author Websites and Profiles
Vickie Britton Website
Vickie Britton Amazon Profile
Vickie Britton Author Profile on Smashwords

Vickie Britton’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Vickie Britton is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written a total of 2 books, though only one is published at the moment. The other one will be out March of 2016

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is, “Musings of a Madman”. I was diagnosed with a mental illness in 2013 and was recommended that I start writing poetry for therapy purposes. I named my book, “Musings of a Madman” for that reason.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write in the wee hours of the night.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Laurel K. Hamilton, Anne Rice, J.K. Rowlng, Edgar Allan Poe

What are you working on now?
I’m working on my second poetry book, “One Artist, One Poet”, which is a collaboration between my poetry and the art of a friend of mine. I’m also working on a non-fiction politics book and a vampire novella.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
facebook, honestly.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Connect with as many people as you can on social media and sell yourself.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write with your heart and soul.

What are you reading now?
Laurel K. Hamilton- Cerulean Sins

What’s next for you as a writer?
Publishing my second and third 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?
Only one book needed, The complete works of Edgar Allan Poe

Author Websites and Profiles
Adam Brown Website
Adam Brown Amazon Profile

Adam Brown’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Adam Brown is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a first generation Greek-American who lives on Long Island with my husband and two daughters. When I’m not writing, or posting recipes on my food blog, cheffieskitchen.wordpress.com, you can find me cooking for her family and friends.

My debut novel, EVANTHIA’S GIFT, is a multigenerational love story and family saga, influenced by my Greek heritage, and the many real life accounts that have been passed down. I continue to pick my father’s brain for stories of his family’s life in Lesvos, Greece, and their journey to America. My recent interview with him was published in a nationally circulated magazine.

As an avid cook and baker, a skill I learned from watching my Athenian mother, I incorporated traditional Greek family recipes throughout the book.

I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Theater Arts from Hofstra University.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
EVANTHIA’S GIFT : BOOK ONE IN THE GIFT SAGA

Many of my ideas came from real life events, and stories I’ve heard all my life. I’ve also incorporated my own experiences and people I’ve met or observed into my stories, using them in different contexts, or combining the characteristics of several people to create a character.

The true inspiration for writing this book was my mother. Writing helped me through my grief after her death three years ago. The character of Anastacia is inspired by her and my mother’s Greek heritage.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Other than staying up until two or three in the morning, even when I have to be at work the next day, not really.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My tastes vary. You can catch me reading my favorite classics, East of Eden, or Pride and Pejudice or Nora Roberts latest books. My favorite contemporary Author is Sylvain Reynard, who wrote The Gabriel Trilogy. His use of language is breathtaking.

I love interesting characters where good and evil are at odds. East Of Eden is a perfect example. But I’m taken by the true romance of Austen’s characters. as a theater major in college, I’ve read plays from every era. from Medea to Moliere. From Shakespeare to Ibsen, and on to Williams and O’neil. each one has influenced me in some way.

What are you working on now?
Book Two in The Gift Saga

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am very new at this. My book was released days ago. I write a food blog and my book contains some greek recipes within the novel. I’ve been reposting those recipes with quotes from the book pertaining to that food. I use facebook, twitter, instagram and pinterest. I am also on Goodreads and I am a member of The Romance Writers of America.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I was lucky enough to have two mentors who were seasoned authors to help me with the technical aspects of publishing. It can be very overwhelming if you don’t have guidance.

Other than that, follow your dream. we only go around once.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t let anyone tell you something is impossible.

What are you reading now?
The Raven by Sylvain Reynard

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will concentrate on writing the second book in the trilogy, and promoting the first 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?
East Of Eden

The Bible(both testaments)

Gabriel’s Inferno

Romeo & Juliet

Author Websites and Profiles
Effie Kammenou Amazon Profile

Effie Kammenou’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Effie Kammenou is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Brit neo-noirist from the grim north who prefers to be beside the seaside whenever possible. I’ve written five books: two novels, two novelettes and an anthology of poetry.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It’s called “The Horseman’s Dream” and it was inspired by the transparent psychopathy of certain media corporations. Their brazen corporate propaganda and pillorying of the vulnerable for higher ratings/circulation has always seemed grotesque to me, made worse by the public’s appreciation of it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I had to research the effects of differing frequencies on the human brain for The Horseman’s Dream, leading me to experimentation whilst I was writing. I found Alpha waves very helpful in that they slowed down my thoughts enough for me to arrange them more easily, so I sometimes use those recordings if I am having trouble. If anyone would like to hear some examples they might use for their own writing, tweet me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Franz Kafka, J.G. Ballard, Dennis Lehane, Martin Amis, Will Self, H.G. Wells, T.S. Eliot, Aldous Huxley.

What are you working on now?
Redrafting The Horseman’s Dream, another novelette in the Grey Noise series and a TV pilot about 18th century smugglers.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This one: http://www.ajreid.org/

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Think about how you’d tell a joke or a story to your mates before you think about your dazzling literary legacy. Readers want stories first; words second.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Two bits of advice, but they work better when juxtaposed, in my opinion.

1. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
2. Get the first punch in.

What are you reading now?
I have a lovely leather-bound Penguin Classics edition of The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler sitting next to me amongst a pile that includes:

Great Apes by Will Self
Eyeless in Gaza by Aldous Huxley
The War Poems by Siegfried Sassoon
The Psychology of Imagination by Jean-Paul Sartre
Anthology by Walt Whitman
Selected Poems by W.H. Auden
Kiss Kiss by Roald Dahl
Orphans (screenplay) by Peter Mullan

What’s next for you as a writer?
I don’t even know what’s next for me as a human being.

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?
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
SAS Survival Handbook by Lofty Wiseman
The Coconut Diet by Ivor Hairiwun
A blank notepad

Author Websites and Profiles
A.J. Reid Website
A.J. Reid Amazon Profile

A.J. Reid’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

A.J. Reid is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have one traditionally published novel (in hardcover) called ALICE IN WONDERLAND HIGH. It’s a YA contemporary retelling of Alice in Wonderland and came out in April 2015. My next YA is an indie pubbed contemporary romantic comedy titled KASEY SCREWS UP THE WORLD, which releases on September 8, 2015. Lastly, I will begin publishing a New Adult College Romance series. The first of which, PREMATURE EVACUATION, drops September 29, 2015. Books 2 and 3 release in October and November respectively.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called PREMATURE EVACUATION and it was inspired by boys who are so afraid of commitment, they break off a promising relationship before it gets good.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write during my two hour train commute to and from NYC each work day. I am a Project Manager by trade so my writing is highly organized, complete with schedules and risk management per project.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Sarah for three dimensional sympathetic characters, Marget Atwood for gorgeous prose, and Chuck Palahniuk for adding quirks and twists.

What are you working on now?
I am working on Books 2 and 3 in the Premature Evacuation series. I revise Book 2, Master Probation, on my morning train commute and draft Book 3, A Bone to Pick, on the way home.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My first book was traditionally published and so far I’ve had great experience with book store events and speaking on writing conference panels. My first indie published book releases in a few weeks so I’ve been building a mailing list in anticipation.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Always be improving. For each book I write, I like to challenge myself with something new, either a new POV or a new structure or a subject I want to learn more about. It keeps the writing interesting.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Chuck Palahniuk’s article on unpacking thought verbs is by far the best writing advice I’ve heard. It can be found here: https://litreactor.com/essays/chuck-palahniuk/nuts-and-bolts-%E2%80%9Cthought%E2%80%9D-verbs

What are you reading now?
I am reading Books 2 and 3 in the Bone Dry series by Cady Vance.

What’s next for you as a writer?
After my scheduled releases in 2015, I plan to release more contemporary YA romance and another NA series in 2016.

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?
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. And honestly, I’d take Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.

Author Websites and Profiles
Rachel Shane Website
Rachel Shane Amazon Profile

Rachel Shane’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Rachel Shane is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an Iraqi American author, journalist, poet and filmmaker. I have written six books – three novels, one poetry book, and two nonfiction books.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Earlier this year, I started the Iraqi Americans book series. I recently published the second book in the series, called Witnessing a Genocide, which is about Iraqi Americans’ reaction to the Islamic State.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Writing while multitasking.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Gone with the Wind was the first novel I read in Arabic. I was nine years old and living in Amman, Jordan with my family. We were waiting for a Visa to the United States. Margaret Mitchell’s description of the South was my first impression of America. I was expecting to come here and find horse carriages and poofy dresses. Needless to say, I was in for a big surprise.

What are you working on now?
The third of the Iraqi Americans book series, which is called The Lives of Artists.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Research the people and places who would read your books and introduce yourself to them. My books, for instance, would appeal to academics in the Middle Eastern Studies.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
This career requires patience, patience, and more patience.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You are responsible for your own success.

What are you reading now?
Memoirs of a Babylonian Princess by Maria Theresa Asmar

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelo

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to continue with the Iraqi Americans book series. I also want to find a home for my first memoir, The Great American Family, which I spent nearly five years writing.

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 Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy

The Bible

Daughter of Fire by Irina Tweedie

The Thousand Nights and One Night 4-book series

Author Websites and Profiles
Weam Namou Website
Weam Namou Amazon Profile

Weam Namou’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Weam Namou is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi! I’m Maggie Adams. I live near St. Louis, MO with my high school sweetheart, Ned, and my wonderful kids, Katie (Kyle) and Ross (Valerie). My life is like a walking, talking sitcom from I Love Lucy, but I love it, although people do tend to keep their distance from me! Writing has always been my dream, with reading my favorite hobby.
To date, I’ve published three books in my Tempered Steel Series. I have a novella coming out at the end of September, Getting Lucky, and book four of the series, Love, Marriage and Mayhem will be released in November. I plan on completing the series with another novella about the Coalson brothers parents, a story for each of the remaining brothers, and a cookbook because all the boys love their momma’s cooking! After that, fans have asked for more on the friends and family within the Grafton community, so who knows if the series will ever end!

I try to include a little bit of my life in everything I write, so when you read my books, keep your eyes wide open – I’m in there somewhere! Happy reading!
You can reach me at http://www.maggieadamsbooks.com,
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/maggieadamsbooks,
Twitter -@authrmaggieadms,
Good Reads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9867300.Maggie_Adams,
tsu – https://www.tsu.co/maggieadamsbooks
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/author/maggieadams

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Something’s Gotta Give is book three in my Tempered Steel series. It was released at the end of June, 2015, and continues the Coalson family saga with Chance Coalson, The Casanova of the County. Saved by shy firefighter Georgia Haines, from near death, he vows to make the quiet beauty his own. But Georgia’s wise to Chance’s romeo ways and it’s going to take more than a few pretty words to make her change her mind about love and marriage. So Chance decides to show her what she’s been missing by fighting fire with fire…

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
To work through a scene or if I have writer’s block, I put on the headphones and get lost in the music. Rock, Dance, country, Pop, it doesn’t matter. I hit shuffle on my Pandora and away I go! It clears my mind and helps me to focus on the feelings of the characters or the scene I need to write. When I’ve got it figured out in my head, more or less, I turn on classical and start typing. The characters sort of take over and I’m good to go.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
First romance novel was Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss. It’s still one of my favorites. She mixed romance with suspense, family and humor. I was hooked at thirteen. Then came the Wolf and the Dove and I found the love of descriptive history mixed with romance. I’ve loved historical romance ever since.

I have discovered so many new indie authors that are truly gifted. Rosemary Rey has an erotic suspense trilogy that I think, is comparable to Sylvia Day’s Crossfire series. Lexi Blake and Shayla Black have pushed the erotic envelope, so to speak, and allowed all of us to enjoy a little peek into the D/s world. Charlaine Harris built an entire world of vampires, werewolves and fairies in her Sookie Stackhouse series. And Amanda Quick/Jayne Ann Krentz/Jayne Castle, has taken the reader through Regency, Present Day and Futuristic scenarios that all blended together in an ongoing mystery/romance series. And then there’s Nora Roberts, who has such a flare for storytelling that she simply looks at the paper and it’s a bestseller!

What are you working on now?
My newest release will be a Tempered Steel series novella about Coalson brother, Lucky, and his time in Vegas. Then it’s on to book four, Love, Marriage and Mayhem. Here’s a bit about these two – With only a small clue to the whereabouts of the arsonist, Lawrence “Lucky” Coalson heads to Las Vegas. While posing as a bouncer, Lucky finds himself ensnared by the lovely bartender, Claudia. But, like Lucky, she’s not what she appears to be and what happens in Vegas follows Lucky back home with unimaginable consequences.
While Lucky is away, Brandon and Nick foil an attempt to assassinate a pretty private eye and her sweet sister. Together with Sam and his best SEAL buddies, Jax and Noah, they vow to bring the ringleader to justice and rid their town of the criminals. But nothing goes according to plan, and the men must fight Mother Nature, a murderer, and the local law enforcement. Not to mention that the new secretary is definitely hiding something.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I do a ton of Facebook promoting! Book groups, promotional groups, whatever I can find. It’s also helped me find great websites like Awesome Gang and others. I use twitter daily, but I’m not very good at it (according to my son, I don’t #hashtag properly). I also have two lovely promotion groups, Obsessed by Books and Stephanie’s Ingenious Indies Promotion.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do your homework before you even start to hit publish. Get on Facebook, twitter get a website going, join as many groups as you can and participate to get your name out there before you release. Learn all you can about how to use social media for promotion and marketing, because, if you are like many of us, money for a marketing firm is zero!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Keep the fights clean and the sex dirty and you’ll have a good marriage – from my grandmother on my wedding day.

What are you reading now?
I just finished Master No by Lexi Blake. As I stated earlier, she’s my one-click, no need to read the blurb, go to gal! Love all her stuff.

What’s next for you as a writer?
The voices are calling!! I’ve been putting down some ideas for a paranormal trilogy as well as a romantic erotica series involving older women and younger men.

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 Joy of Cooking because I would need to learn how to cook fish.
The Bible because the more you read it, the more you find within it.
The Boy Scouts Guide – because it has everything in it to survive and I’m a klutz
The Complete Works of Alexander Dumas because it’s awesome!
Their Virgin Hostage by Lexi Blake because I laugh every time I read it.

Author Websites and Profiles
Maggie Adams Website
Maggie Adams Amazon Profile

Maggie Adams’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Maggie Adams is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born and raised a country girl and my books reflect my farming roots.

I have been writing since I was fifteen, my first book was published at age eighteen and I intend to have four books published before I turn twenty.

I currently have three published works. Two are part of a series, one is a stand alone novella with a sequel coming out spring 2016 and I have several more works in progress.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is titled Hidden Treasure and Wedding Bells, book #2 in The Christian Cowgirl Adventure Series.

It follows a young girl, Amy, as she and her friends attempt to solve a hidden treasure mystery and thwart the thieves who are trying to find it first. It is set in the 1920’s.

The series was inspired by my love of horses and western stories.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write best at night. I work full time, so I got in the habit of using the evening hours to write and now, even if I have time during the day, I find it hard to focus. So most of my books are written between the hours of 8 pm and 2 am.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Alicia A. Willis

Alicia G. Ruggieri

Jason McIntire

Faith Blum

J. Grace Pennington

What are you working on now?
My WIP is YA novella titled Be Still My Soul. It is due to release December 2015

Synopsis:

Adah’s world is turned upside down by the sudden death of her fiancée. After years of declaring that she will always be single, David broke down her walls and she fell hopelessly in love.

But just three weeks before their wedding, he is killed in a car accident. A happily-ever-after ending becomes a distant dream. Adah is lost without him and she tries to drown her grief in a crazy social life, but finds no peace.

In desperation, she heads off into the mountains, searching for a cure for her broken heart.

Her lack of wilderness experience gets her into many predicaments as she attempts to live life as the pioneers did. No running water, no electricity, a rock slide, an uncooperative wood stove and an unexpected late spring blizzard nearly overwhelm her.

As if that wasn’t adventure enough, a nearly frozen man appears on her doorstep in the middle of the raging blizzard. Adah is shocked to discover a young child cradled in his arms.

While the little girl, Sarah, seems unharmed, Adah works desperately to save the man’s life. With limited medical knowledge, she does the best she can, but a high fever and other injuries threaten his life.

The man, whose name is Ethan, regains consciousness and seems to be recovering just as the storm abates.

But flooding, mud slides and avalanches force the trio to remain in the cabin for the unforeseeable future.

Adah is disturbed by Ethan’s talk of God. Raised to be an Atheist, any talk of religion bothers her. But the more Ethan speaks of his God, the more curious Adah becomes. Something about the relationship Ethan has with his God calls to her. It is more than just a religion. Could God be the answer? Can He heal her broken heart?

Join Adah in her search for the truth. Will she finally find the love she has been searching for all her life?

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have found Goodreads giveaways to be a very effective marketing tool. Other giveaways and blog tours are also very helpful.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. I well remember how discouraging and exhausting it was trying to write, re-write, edit and finally published my first novel. I was mentally exhausted by the time the process was finished, but I promise, it does get easier! Follow your dream.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t stop writing and write every day. These have both helped me immensely.

What are you reading now?
In Paths of Righteousness by Keri Aeschliman

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am not sure exactly what the Lord has planned for me. My goal is to reach as many people as possible through my stories and I intend to continue writing as many books as I can.

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?
From the Dark to the Dawn by Alicia A. Willis

Never by J. Grace Pennington

A Might Fortress by Faith Blum

The Fragrance of Geraniums by Alicia Ruggieri

Author Websites and Profiles
Lauren K. Lotter Website
Lauren K. Lotter Amazon Profile

Lauren K. Lotter’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Pinterest Account

Lauren K. Lotter is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a new author, writing The Chronicles of Elizabeth Blake series. My first book in the series, Wicka, was just released in spring of 2014. I was inspired by traveling across Europe solo at a very young age, and many travel adventures since. I live in Toronto, Ontario with my husband, three children and a fish named Cow.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I liked the thought of using a name that would immediately allow the reader to know what the story was about. I also didn’t want people to confuse it with Wiccanism, which is why I changed it from Wicca to Wicka.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am currently travelling France, looking for great scenes for my next book. I guess that is not unusual, but it sure beats writing from behind a desk!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Hands down Jane Austen. I know that’s not overly original or hip in today’s world, but I love how smart and beautiful her writing is while tackling the issues of her day.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the sequel to Wicka.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have used Amazon’s KDP program to promote my book for free, which did very well and placed me on the top 100 free Amazon books category and #1 in one genre. This month I am running a Kindle countdown where my book will be $.99, which, of course, I am promoting through Awesomegang!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Always follow that voice inside of you that tells you something would make a great story. If you believe in it, chances are many others will as well.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am looking forward to completing the sequel to my first book. Also, I am launching a hard copy of WICKA later this year!

Author Websites and Profiles
Chirsty Deveaux Website
Chirsty Deveaux Amazon Profile

Chirsty Deveaux’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Chirsty Deveaux is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I like to be known as – “The Credit Author” Exposing the Truth on Credit….

I have written two books so far:

The Credit Repair Book: The Credit Repair Company’s “Secret Weapon”

The Credit Repair Book: The Credit Repair Company’s “Secret Weapon” – Part II “Dealing With The Debt You Really Owe”

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
What inspired me to write about the Credit Repair Industry is because I have assisted hundreds of people to improve their credit, however many have come to me after they have lost hundreds with Credit Repair Companies and people trying to take advantage of them. It is sad, but the Credit Repair Industry is a billion dollar business and they are praying you will play their “Credit Repair Game”

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My passion to write comes from the anger I feel when someone said I just spent over $500 with a Credit Repair Company and nothing has changed on their credit report…

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Those that Expose Truth!!!

What are you working on now?
I am working on getting the word out….

Beware of the Credit Scams!!!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Use Amazon…

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write a book that solves a problem…

What are you reading now?
Heavy into the topic of LAW…

What’s next for you as a writer?
Exposing more truth on Credit…

Author Websites and Profiles
Cornelius J Amazon Profile

Cornelius J’s Social Media Links
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Cornelius J is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My historical novel “The Immoderate Temper of Mrs. Chen’s Daughter” is my first book. I enjoyed a long career as an engineer, the last six years of which I worked for a Chinese company. Now I travel and write. I spend most of my time in China, Indonesia, and Thailand. You can read about my travels at www.easterntales.wordpress.com. I have been studying Chinese for some time and have many friends in China. I enjoy hiking, swimming, snorkeling, and, of course, writing.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The idea for “The Immoderate Temper of Mrs. Chen’s Daughter” came from my observation of a young girl in a poultry market in the city of Kunming, China. The girl was, perhaps, eight years old and she was responsible for the slaughter, plucking, and dressing of the live ducks and chickens purchased by customers. The author was fascinated by the sight of this little girl and the carnage she created. The author wondered what such a girl would be like as she grew to adulthood.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do all of my writing on a macbook, at the seaside, in Thailand or Indonesia, in a comfortable lounge chair, often with a gin and tonic in my hand. I write best when I am out of communication with anyone I know.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Pearl Buck (The Good Earth, Peony), The Golden Lotus (The Plum in the Golden Vase), Philip Roth, George Simenon (The Train), Bertolt Brecht (Mother Courage), Gunter Grass (The Tin Drum), Graham Greene, George Orwell, Madame Bovary (especially the death scene), William Styron (Sophie’s Choice), Edith Wharton. In my book, the relationship between Slaughtering Girl and Comrade Zhao was particularly influenced by the relationship between Xena and Gabriella in the television series Xena the Warrior Princess. The first half of the book was heavily influenced by the song Sweet Dreams (are Made of This) by the Eurhythmics which I was not able to get out of my head.

What are you working on now?
I am just getting started. I think it will be a mystery.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I wish I knew how to promote the book. Strangely, I have sold more copies of the Audio edition than the Kindle or print editions and I have done nothing to promote this.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes, yes, yes. The most important thing I have learned is to record what you are writing, let it sit for a day, and then listen to it. When you record, you hear all kinds of things that looked fine on the page but just don’t sound right when read. Then, when you listen to the recording, you hear an entirely different set of things that sound wrong.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I can tell you the worst advice I have ever heard. “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” …Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway left this as a land mine to sabotage beginning authors. By the time you know the truest thing you know, you are ninety years old and have some difficulty moving the pen. Ignore this advice.

What are you reading now?
I generally listen rather than read. I have a subscription to Audible. I am currently listening to The Internal Enemy by Alan Taylor (about slavery in Virginia). I just finished Farewell My Lovely by Raymond Chandler (as loaded with similes as an ancient cigarette ad). Before that, the wonderful The Complete Sherlock Holmes.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am taking some time to try to publicize my book in the US, but I can’t wait to get back to my travels in Asia which feels like where I belong. Then I can begin serious work on my 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?
“How to Distill Quality Gin from Coconuts”, “The Hobbyists Guide to Building a Fire”, “A Thousand and One Nights” (unabridged), and “The Complete Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature” (the waterproof edition).

Author Websites and Profiles
Robert Sultan Website
Robert Sultan Amazon Profile

Robert Sultan’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
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Robert Sultan is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
am a published poet and author with one published poetry book out. My poetry has also been published in one magazine (Section 8 Magazine) and an anthology. I also write fiction and I’m finished with my first science fiction, post-apocalypic novella, “The Last Refuge”. It will be March 2016. I am also working on a second poetry book, this one with an artist friend who is contributing his artwork. It is titled, “One Artist, One Poet”, and will be out Late November 2015. Other than all of that, I am currently a student at the University of Oregon, pursuing my Bachelor’s of Arts in English Literature. I am a straight A student with a 3.75 GPA. I plan on geting my Master’s degree in English Literature or Fine Arts- Literature as well. I plan on becoming a college/university English teacher after I’m done with college. As far as reading poetry goes, I am pretty picky. I enjoy the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Sylvia Plath, Robert Frost, Virginia Woolf, and W.B. Yeats. As far as fiction goes, my three favorite authors are Laurel K. Hamilton, Anne Rice, and J.K. Rowling. I don’t read mucch non-fiction, but I enjoy reading about history, politics, and sociology.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Musings of a Madman. I am mentally ill and wanted to create a title dealing with that subject.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Nope. I am as normal as they come…or maybe that’s just what I want you to think….

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Laurel K. Hamilton, Anne Rice, Edgar Allan Poe

What are you working on now?
2 books. A poetry book and a post-apocalyptic novella

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write from the heart. Write the story and/or poem that you yourself want to read, but can’t find.

What are you reading now?
Cerulean Sins- Laurel K. Hamilton

What’s next for you as a writer?
I actually have a radio interview for my book coming up to help me promote my book. Other than that, 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?
One book, Complete works of Edgar Allan Poe

Author Websites and Profiles
Adam Brown Website
Adam Brown Amazon Profile

Adam Brown’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
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Adam Brown is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
About Robert:

I have served as a children’s advocate in an impoverished state for over forty years. I’m best known for investigative reports about children’s programs, most of which were published by the West Virginia Supreme Court where I worked from 1982 through 1997, and which also included publication of models of serving disadvantaged and homeless children in the community instead of in large institutions, research into foster care drift involving children bouncing from one home to the next — never finding a permanent loving family, and statistical reports on the occurrence and correlates of child abuse and delinquency. Today, I’m a recently retired children’s psychotherapist from the mental health center in Charleston, West Virginia, where I specialized in helping victims cope with and overcome physical and sexual abuse, and other mental health concerns. Rarity from the Hollow is mys debut novel and its release followed publication of three short Lacy Dawn Adventures in magazines: Wingspan Quarterly, Beyond Centauri, and Atomjack Science Fiction. Author proceeds have been donated to a child abuse prevention program operated by Children’s Home Society of West Virginia. http://www.childhswv.org/ Robert continues to write fiction with new adventures based on a protagonist that is a composite character of children he met when delivering group therapy services. The overall theme of my stories remains victimization to empowerment.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Rarity from the Hollow is my debut novel. I’m a retired children’s psychotherapist. My protagonist is named Lacy Dawn and she based on a real person. One day in 2006, during an adolescent group psychotherapy session that I was facilitating, a traumatized a little girl sat a few feet away from me, around the table used to complete therapeutic worksheets. When it was her turn to talk, she didn’t stop with mere disclosure of detail about her trauma – acceptance of it was just a stepping stone. She spoke of hope and dreams, a future involving a loving family that would respect her physically and spiritually. Her presentation inspired other victims. It inspired me to pursue my life long dream to write fiction. During that therapy session, my protagonist was born. This little girl was my role model of victimization to empowerment. I haven’t stopped writing about her since. Again, her name is Lacy Dawn, and I recommend that you not mess with her or it’s hard to tell what you’ll get.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Except for chain smoking cigarettes, a dreadful addiction, with lighting another while one is still burning in the ashtray, I don’t think that I have any unusual writing habits.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve always had eclectic tastes in fiction. Mark Twain’s characters inspired me as a child to work hard to support my family. Without that inspiration, I have little doubt that I would have ended up on the “wrong side of the tracks.” Episodes of male incarcerations were an accepted way of life in my family, especially on my mother’s side although my father did his time in prison too. Tom Sawyer gave me an alternative to believe in beyond what seemed like an in and out of jail existence. I probably should have paid a little closer attention, however, because I served some time behind bars too, but it was during the hippie counterculture days so it was cool.

With respect to writing, I’m not sure that you have enough bandwidth for me to make a complete list of inspirations, so here’s a few. Of course, Heinlein’s determination as an aspiring author after having been rejected so many times inspired my own persistence. Also, the way he progressively treated racial and gender issues in his fiction at a time when science fiction was regarded a pulp for kids inspired me to consider incorporating social commentary into my fiction.

Ferlinghetti, the poet of the Beat Generation, showed me how to enjoy my anger about political and societal issues. Similarly, Vonnegut’s anger in Breakfast of Champions helped me stay strong as a children’s advocate and as a writer, and how to continue to have fun experimenting with my writing style outside of commonly accepted structures and formats.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Harry Potter series reinforced my faith in the potential of adolescent morality and the future of the world, which was comforting. Watership Down by R. Adams was such a sweet adventure that some of this element just is a necessary ingredient of even the scariest or saddest story. I want my writing to be as hopeful regardless of barriers. What the point in bumming people out?

The versatility in cross-genre and the use of humour by Bradbury – I have enjoyed everything that he’s written. It taught me that people finish what they read because they are experiencing enjoyment. Recreational reading is not like a homework assignment.

Dean Koontz has been masterful and can give me enjoyable nightmares. I’m one of those people who learned how to enjoy having the crap scared out of me.

Nora Roberts knows how to get me in a romantic mood. Yes, older guys can still at least remember romance and I’m not embarrassed to admit it. Males do read romance novels.

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by D. Adams and Another Roadside Attraction by Robbins pushed me into the wilder side of writing regardless of censorship, as did the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comics. It’s a place that I really like to visit, but would not necessarily want to live there full-time.

Stephen King’s use of everyday horror convinced me that alarming scenes can be created by using almost anything as a prop. At home, we have a game. We name common household objects that could be converted into a dangerously exciting killing machine – the more gross the better. We are inspired!

What are you working on now?
Frankly, a lot of my time has been spent looking for free promotional opportunities for Rarity from the Hollow. I can’t afford paid promotions. That’s why I didn’t buy anything from this site.

Yesterday, I got a rejection email from a magazine about a short story that I had submitted. Sometimes, I wonder if editors actually have the time to read all of the submissions that they get. I was disappointed, but my wife said something and I thought about all of the rejections that Heinlein received before he got his foot in the door of publications. So, I’ll be working on finding a different home for this story.

I am looking for a home for a poem that I have written. (It’s not SF). But, it’s difficult because all of the possibilities today seem to require a reading of submission fee. That seems very weird to me. I’ve never paid to enter a contest or for a reading fee. I just feels weird so…. But, that means it takes a lot more time to look for free alternatives.

A satirical essay that I wrote has been submitted and is awaiting the return of the magazine’s owner from his summer hiatus before it will be considered. I have worked some more on the next novel, Ivy, but I’m holding off on submitting it to the editor because if I can’t make Rarity from the Hollow a success, there’s no reason to think that the next novel will be either. Good writing is only a part of what makes a novel successful, sometimes I think that it is not even the most significant aspect of whether a work is successful or not.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m hopeful that the Awesomegang will be the best method of promoting Rarity from the Hollow. It takes a lot of time to submit to reviewers, especially if one doesn’t have the money to buy promotional services. When I have reached a conclusion about what has worked the best for the promotion of writing, I’ll update my answer to this question.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My best advice would be impossible to deliver to new authors. It would be to start when you are young, always use an independent and skilled editor, don’t release anything before it has matured, and persevere while keeping your day job. The reason that this advice is impossible to deliver is because the people most likely to need it, the suppressed / repressed creative writer, is not likely to be on this site. She is busy and exhausted from having worked all day, and relaxing. She won’t start writing until later, and then will look back with realization and wishes that she should have, somehow, started when younger because it can take years to build a platform to market yourself to readers.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t get in such a hurry to submit that you do so before a couple of people at least have proofread your work. I have not listened to this great advice to my regret. Most things that I’ve sent out, I later find simple and basic typos. One tends to read what one thinks was written, and not what is actually on the page.

What are you reading now?
I asked for recommendations from a Google group that I belong to, and I’m waiting for a couple of days. I’m kind of picky because I get invested, and like falling in love only to become heart-broken, I try to be cautions. I’m between reads right now, but looking hard at all the advertisements, a ton, that I receive by email. I am burned out on all of the most popular authors, so while I may glance over some of their titles, and I just did with Stephen King’s new release, Finders Keepers. It was good and everything, but it’s still the same Stephen King as I’ve read so many times before. If I don’t come up with a choice soon, I’m going into my basement to find something to reread. I was thinking either Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins, or Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams — it’s been a couple or more decades since I’ve seen them on my shelves and each one is a masterpiece.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve been self-promoting Rarity from the Hollow for almost three months. I’m going to give it a couple or so months, reassess, and plan from their. Part of what’s next for me depends on whether I conclude that I have to get a part-time job to pay my bills. Social Security — well, nobody should expect it alone to support you after retirement. So, as to writing, I will write until the day I can no longer type, but whether anybody has an opportunity to read what I write is a very different what’s next type of question.

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?
Since I’ve had advance warning of this scenario, all four books would be about how to survive on a desert island, such as how to convert sea water into drinking water, how to catch fish without gear — that type of stuff.

Author Websites and Profiles
robert eggleton Website
robert eggleton Amazon Profile

robert eggleton’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

robert eggleton is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have had an exciting life. I was the drummer for the 80’s band Latem. I was in the movie Moon 44. I have done dozens of stage plays, TV and radio commercials. I have directed two plays and designed haunted houses in Germany for 3 years. I was a makeup artist for mock disaster drills for two years. I now have 11 books in print with number 12 in September and number 13 in early 2016.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book coming out in September is called “Rich Man’s War, Poor Man’s Blood’ which is a military science fiction book pitting the rich against the poor in America. It proves the lengths the rich will go to bring down the poor class while the poor prove they’re a force not to be messed with. The book I’m exited for to come out is the one in the editing phases currently called Zombie Park. It’s my version of Jurassic Park but without the dinosaurs. Instead, they have been replaced with zombies. Nothing can go wrong with that idea. I’ve discussed this book several times with author John Russo and he’s waiting for it to come to print to read it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I spend time sitting in the dark with candles lit and listening to either Midnight Syndicate or Alan Howarth to get writing for my writing sessions. I like to get my mind in the right place and my creative juices flowing before I write my 1,000 words for the day. Listening to scary music before writing also helps me focus on the what I have planned to write in each session.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Of course, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Clive Barker, and John Saul have big influences in my life and have set my writing into motion. My first books were fantasy with hints of horror to them. My favorite book is Night of the Living Dead by John Russo.

What are you working on now?
Currently I’m working on book two of my three zombie books. The first one is Zombie Park. I’m writing the next book in the series called ZDAY: Day of the Zombies. Then after that one is the third book called Plague of the Living Dead.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My brother author Derek Ailes does all my promoting for me so I can concentrate on writing. I know facebook and my website is used for advertising. Also I know he uses Twitter and several other outlets.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Stay true to yourself. Write what you know, not what other people tell you to write. Study your genre and be creative. Try to find something fresh and exciting to write about.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read, Read, Read. Don’t get discouraged. Try to write something every day, even if its only a paragraph or two.

What are you reading now?
One of my friends books by author MP Johnson. Most of my friends are writers or actors. I try to read everything any of them release.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m hoping to have my books turned into movies. I would also love to be in them also. I also want to write another twenty books or so. I have over sixty outlines, but I’m almost 50 so I have to write quickly. LOL!

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 Wizard of Oz, Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead, and my Zombie Park. I guess I should take something on survival, but at least I’ll have my zombies.

Author Websites and Profiles
Mark Ailes Website

Mark Ailes is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Have written eight books and sixty articles.

Read and write only nonfiction.

Professor of management studies, senior management professional, corporate trainer for top management. Speaker. Counselor. Blogger. Author.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Jesus Christ – True Leader and Perfect Gentleman.

The personality of Jesus fascinated me from my childhood, with my mother helping me learn about him. The more I read of him, the more the fascination grew, until I put down my thoughts on his exceptional leadership and peerless gentlemanly ways.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I prefer to write in the evenings and late into the night. I do extensive homework before I attempt a book, or an article.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Holy Bible.

The Imitation of Christ.

The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren.

Fully Human, Fully Alive, by John Powell.

The Singapore Story, by Lee Kuan Yew.

What are you working on now?
Jesus Christ – True Leader and Perfect Gentleman, is still work in progress.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be yourself. Do not ape another.

Write to express, not impress.

Think clearly and write in simple language which the reader can understand

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be yourself.

What are you reading now?
Personal Best, by David Rock.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Until I have published the book I am working on now, I shall not think of the next.

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 Holy Bible.

The Imitation of Christ.

The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren.

Author Websites and Profiles
Ignatius Fernandez Website
Ignatius Fernandez Amazon Profile

Ignatius Fernandez’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Ignatius Fernandez is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born 1960 in Bamako in Mali. My father was a French ambassador, my mother worked as an Argentinian botanist. I studied art and art history at the Université Paris-Sorbonne. When I turned 25, I moved out to experience life and the new world. I established the gallery “Madame Missou’s World Arts” and played parts in many different musicals. At the beginning of the 90s, I sold my gallery and moved back to Europe. Before settling in Berlin in 1999, I moved around quite a bit spending considerable amounts of time in Lisbon, Copenhagen, Moscow and London. Now living in Germany, I’ve been happily and quietly living with my family for the past 16 years. My experience allows me to work as a writer, life coach, consultant, and artist. I have already published numerous bestselling guides in German, mostly about typical topics involving women.

I have also had someone translate a few of those books to English and am now reworking the old ones while simultaneously translating new books. I currently have 3 books on the English market with many more to come. You can expect approximately one new guidebook on the English market per month.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is “To Catch a Dream – What Your Sleep Reveals” and is actually inspired by my readers.

I often get emails asking me questions either about the things that I’ve already written about, or want to read about things that they haven’t.

I have gotten a lot of requests about dream interpretation and since I’ve had some experience with that myself, I decided to offer it for absolutely free on my website.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Even though I’ve settled to Germany after years of living all over the world, I still like to write when travelling. On trains, airplanes, boats and cruises. The movement relaxes me and gives me strength.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
In my personal life I have been influenced by so many great artists and authors, but since I am writing non-fiction books, inspiration mostly comes from science and studies that I find online or in libraries.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on the translation of a book called “Meditation for Beginners” which will come out in a few weeks.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
You mean other than awesomegang.com? In Germany, where most of my readers are, my favourite method is via email and social media. That way I can connect to my readers directly, ask about opinions and offer advice.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep at it! Write what you love! Don’t forget marketing! Writing is only the start! Remember your readers after you’re done writing!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Smart people learn from their mistakes. Wise people learn from other people’s mistakes.

What are you reading now?
This is a little embarrassing, but currently I’m re-reading for probably the 50th time “Le Petit Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Such poetic writing and suited for all ages.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m not sure. I’ll keep releasing my little guides as long as there are people wanting to find out about new and interesting topics, but I’ll also focus on me and my family a bit 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?
As I already said, my favourite “Le Petit Prince”. I’d also want to take something useful like “Hammock: How to Make Your Own and Lie in It” by Dension Andrews, and something creative like a beautiful, handmade notebook and a pen to write down my thoughts and ideas. Last but not least, I’d want some guilty-pleasure romance like “The Princess Bride” or something like it to pass the time while figuring out how to get off this island.

Author Websites and Profiles
Madame Missou Website
Madame Missou Amazon Profile

Madame Missou’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Madame Missou is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve completed two books. The first, “Ebola: An Evolving Story” was written to help the public understand the conflicting information coming from US government agencies and from media reports. The second, “Cures vs. Profits: Successes in Translational Research” is coming out in 2016.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My second and latest book, “Cures vs. Profits: Successes in Translational Research”, is a response to the need for the public to understand biomedical research, why clinical trials are important, the strengths and the weakness of various approaches to conducting clinical research, and how to identify solid, accurate claims made about medicines. I wanted to share with the public the most uplifiting stories about advances in medicine made via research. What I found was a constant tension between the profit motive and the motive to bring forward improvements in medicine. It’s a good read, so far people have really enjoyed the draft.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to work on many projects at once. I’m a lifelong student and educator, and my goal in August 2014 was to become a prolific nonfiction author, tackling modern and emerging issues. I found myself writing a Sci-Fi book while writing “Ebola”, and then a serial murder-mystery book while writing “Cures”. What that says about me, I’m not sure.

In my non-fiction writing, it takes me about a day and half to flesh out each chapter for non-fiction. I like to include interviews from experts – people who are more expert than I on specific topic. I spend about 4-5 days to put the first-pass finishing touches. I then found, for both books, a common overall theme emerging running through the chapters – in both cases I did not anticipate the specific theme. That’s what I call the book “coming to life”. I then bounce from chapter to chapter, making connections across chapters. That is the most enjoyable part of the finishing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Paul Colinvaux (my Master’s thesis advisor), Stephan J. Gould, Richard Dawkins and of course Richard Feynman and Carl Sagan.

What are you working on now?
My Sci-Fi story is called “Insertion”, and it involves parasitic mind-invading aliens who tap into civilizations on other planets who tap into quantum streams of communication. I use a fairly clever plot device that results in the aliens appearing on the planet without having to solve the problem of interstellar travel.

My serial killer murder mystery is called “Rumors”, and the solution to the mystery is my revenge on Stephen King for scaring the crap out of me with the hobbling scene in “Mysery”. I hope it pisses him and everyone else who loves horror genre off.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have found that blogging about topics other those that are dealt with in my books is a great way to get people to learn about my books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
You must write about something that you are passionate about. And make time for loved ones.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
About writing? Write everyday, and READ prolifically. Carry a notepad to jot down your thoughts. You cannot be an eternal fountain of internal inspiration. Don’t always look for inspiration in others’ writings – just let it wash over you.

What are you reading now?
“Vaccine Whistleblower” by Barry (Skyhorse Publishing)

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m not sure. I am about to launch a new not-for-profit research institute called IPAK – we are going to conduct research that is 100% free from profit motives. So I guess the next phase of my writing will be newsletter articles and peer-reviewed research papers!

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?
“How to Get Off a Desert Island” would be the first one!

I suppose I would like to bring 4 very large (long) science fiction anthologies.

Author Websites and Profiles
James Lyons-Weiler Website

James Lyons-Weiler’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

James Lyons-Weiler is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Bruce Deitrick Price:

Counting everything I’ve had seven or eight books published, from Createspace to Simon & Schuster, and I’ve got another half-dozen on the flight deck. I’ve been a writer for 40 years, and for everything I published there is probably another book or movie script that is not yet out there. The age of the e-book is a very exciting catalyst for me. I’m going to write more books, knowing that I can put them out in the world one way or another.

I had an experimental novel published 30 years ago called American Dreams, which is still in print. For argument’s sake, I claim that it is the most successful experimental novel in American literature.

I have a poem on the Internet called Theoryland, which I’ve nominated as the best long poem in American literature. Not much competition in that department.

I had a novel called Too Easy published by Simon & Schuster, which Kinky Friedman hailed as “the unwed mother of all page turners.” And that book is going to be brought back as an e-book by Simon & Schuster itself.

So things are jumping at many levels.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“The man who falls in love with his wife” is a comi-tragic love story I’ve been playing with for many years. I had an agent once who took me on because of this book but she could never sell it.

The basic idea is that the guy thinks he has a perfect marriage until he looks more closely at it. He realizes that everything has been organized by his wife the way she wants it. She’s very good at taking care of all the details. Her mother’s marriage was a wreck, and the wife does not want the same thing to happen to her. Bottom line, she never really gives her heart away 100% to her husband or to anybody else because she’s afraid to. She feels safer that way. As she puts it, “I need my boys.” But her husband starts asking for everything, and what a scary thought that is..

By the way, this book is on Kobo and it’s not clear to me whether this is part of your world. (If not tell me, and I’ll come back and write about the Kindle book I’ve got next month. It will be a crime drama.)

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-man-who-falls-in-love-with-his-wife

Note: I wanted to submit my book to your site but the first thing you asked for is the Amazon link. So I wasn’t sure if Kobo is acceptable. If it is then I will happily pay $10 for your listing service as described on that other page. If Kobo is not, then we will work it out for another book. I think by the end of September I will have an e-book in Kindle, a second that was acquired by web-e-books, and a third on Simon & Schuster. I’m trying to learn as much if I can about the e-book business by putting them in different places.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m a night person, never a morning person, but other than that, nothing unusual. When I lived in New York, I would take care of business and social stuff in the day and sort of back myself into a corner so that at 6 o’clock or 8 o’clock or 10 o’clock, I finally tell myself that nothing else is going to happen and I better start writing. The goal is to put in as many hours as possible. I am working more hours now than ever before. Being older, I’m not so restless. And not having much money, I can’t afford silly pastimes. Might as well work.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was a teenager, I was enthralled by James Joyce. I went to Princeton and got honors in English literature. But my literary mentality is a bit more middle-class than that resume suggests. Years ago, somebody recommended The Big Sleep to me; and that resulted in my trying to write some books in that spirit, one of which is coming out in September. I like huge thrillers if I’m going to the movies; and several years back I set myself the task of writing such a script. And then, because it would be too expensive to produce, I turned it into a novel. In general I like to write original (some say quirky) but mainstream things that lots of people can enjoy. See next answer.

What are you working on now?
Four days ago I wrote the last line of “The boy who saves the world,” which is I think a wonderful example of what might be called sci-fi with a human face. I started this book in 2000, got sidetracked, picked it up in 2008, lost certain files, and started again two months ago and brought it home. I just pitched it to Kensington who is so far ignoring me but I think this could be a commercial book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have several websites of my own, mainly my education site which is Improve-Education.org. I also have an art site and a literary site.

As for the other sites, I’m just starting out, which is why I’m here.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
It’s basically a life of doom and destruction. But if you don’t mind that, go for it. Sometimes you see people asking whether they should be a writer. My main advice is that if you have to ask, then you should not do it. I’m a very typical sort of writer in that somewhere around the age of 16, I knew I’m going to the big city to write novels. I did, in fact, live in Manhattan for 30 years.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
All I know is to keep trying, keep pushing, keep editing, keep collecting feedback, keep asking the question, what would a genius writer do to make this damn project work? It’s a strange balancing act between being really humble (listening to what others have to say) and being really confident (screw it, I know how to make this great).

Okay, here is the best advice. You have to be in love with your ideas. I guess some neurotic writers create out of neurotic compulsions. And maybe some writers can turn it on to make money. But probably you need to have some aspect of love, some aspect where the writing is for fun. A novel can take six or 12 months. If you are not in love with the thing, you might as well get a regular job.

What are you reading now?
I’m writing 6+ days a week, my fiction and also I’m probably the most prolific writer on education in the country. The truth is I hardly read at all for pleasure. But two summers ago I went through a Jack Reacher period. I read a half-dozen of those books, and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have two more past projects that I want to bring to completion. And I have already drawn up notes for the three books after that.

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?
Maybe the poems of Catullus. Maybe some really long history of the world.

Author Websites and Profiles
Bruce Deitrick Price Website
Bruce Deitrick Price Amazon Profile

Bruce Deitrick Price’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Bruce Deitrick Price is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
30 of both shorts and novels. 15 are currently published.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have three coming out this month, but the two novel and novella sized ones are Gildemer Volume One and Miltic Volume. Both have been sitting on my hard drive for years. I finally got around to developing more this year. Gildemer came from a dream that was mostly like spurred by watching too much Ouran Highschool Host club in one sitting. Miltic was inspired to be a sister series to Gildemer.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Procrastination with anime. Procrastination with books. Procrastination with Video Games. Working like a mad woman to meet deadline, doing so while listening to spotify playlists made for that specific story. Thanking my Editors for putting up with my procrastinating butt.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jeez, where do I start? J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter got me back into writing. I used to write Harry Potter fanfiction all the time. My favorite character is and always will be Hermione Granger close seconds are Severus Snape and Remus Lupin. Another author who inspires me is Stephen King. I love his writing. Both authors are proof you can become something at your lowest point.

Other authors who inspire because they are living the dream as successful indie authors:

Amanda Hocking (A former indie)

Quin Loftis

C.L. Stone

Chanda Hahn

Hugh Howey

What are you working on now?
Gildemer Episode Seven, and Eight, and wrapping up Miltic Volume One.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have a wonderful PA who does most of my promoting now, but I use Facebook groups and Goodreads groups to promote. It also helps to have a good rapport with your readers. They are some the best promotion any author can as for.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you want to be an indie like me, then stockpile your works before you release your first book or series. I didn’t do this and I wish I had (especially with my tendency to procrastinate). Continuous Production is key to make as an indie today. The market gets swapped everyday with new authors and books, so you have to fight to get to the surface. Release a book or more a month helps keep your name in at front of reader’s minds.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“You only fail if you stop writing.” –Ray Bradbury

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” –Stephen King

What are you reading now?
On Writing by Stephen King (for Non-fiction)

Fallen Women by Sandra Dallas (for Fiction)

What’s next for you as a writer?
Keeping up with my production schedule and working on some secret projects. If you want to know more about those find me on Facebook and also ask to be added to my Oren’s Order group

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?
Only 4? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, IT by Stephen King, Green Angel by Alice Hoffman, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Author Websites and Profiles
A.S. Oren Website
A.S. Oren Amazon Profile

A.S. Oren’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

A.S. Oren is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written thirty-three books on a very wide range of topics. I guess I’m interested in almost everything. I’ve written science fiction, paranormal mysteries, and adventure novels as well as books on changing careers and going into a green industry, investing in 3D printers, approaches to toward first contact with extraterrestrials, etc. I’ve written books about Michael Connelly, the mystery writer, and Daniel Silva, the spy novelist. As far as technology, I love it. I’ve written twenty books on various technologies.

I have had twelve different careers –in fact my wife says she’s been married to twelve different men. Imagine, for example, an English professor, a software trainer, a network manager, a market research executive, a futurist, an autopsy and lab worker, a sales manager, a police department administrator, etc. all in one person.

One reason I enjoy writing science fiction is that I spent twenty years as a futurist –I focused on forecasting what new technologies would develop and how successful they would be. My clients included many of the world’s largest technology companies.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Alien Love is inspired by my interest in the concept of first contact with extraterrestrials. In fact, I wrote a non-fiction book on that topic. What if Earth was like Casablanca in the movie of the same name –a place where people (aliens in this case) with very different agendas mingled and plotted? What if a a human found himself attracted to a beautiful alien? How could he even understand her motivations? Those are some of the ideas in my head when I sat down to write this novel.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to work on a number of projects at the same time. I do a lot of research when writing my books. That means that I did due diligence on possible alien planets in Alien Love as well as various theories on why aliens might resemble humans physically. I did a lot of research on my paranormal mysteries when it comes to correct police procedures. Since I spent twenty years in research, it’s a fun thing for me to do.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Did I mention that one of my many careers was as an English professor? I do think the writers that have influenced me the most are Frank Herbert, Michael Connelly, and Kurt Vonnegut.

What are you working on now?
I just finished the edits on two books, a paranormal mystery sequel and a young adult adventure novel. Right now I’m working on a cozy mystery set in a retirement home.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I talk about my books on my Facebook page, but I also promote my books on Twitter and on websites like AwesomeGang.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My best advice is to just start writing. It’s the editing part that really makes a difference. Once you no longer have blank page but have your story down it’s fun to edit and re-edit until you’ve made the book as good as it could be. My goal is to try to make every book I write a little better than the one that came before.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
About writing or about life? As far as writing goes, I suppose it’s the advice to start with a basic outline but then let the characters take over. It’s good to know where the book is going so you don’t write yourself into a blind corner, but it is also good to be flexible enough to go with any new inspiration that takes the book in slightly different directions.

As far as life goes, be true to yourself. That means that you should never do something just because other people expect you to do it or because you think it will make you popular or it will please people. If you follow your gut instinct, you’ll probably never look back. I’ve made several major life changing decisions in my life so far, and I went with my gut. I’ve never felt like second-guessing any of those decisions because I was true to myself.

What are you reading now?
I just finished Nelson DeMille’s Radiant Angel and Daniel Silva’s The English Spy. Sometimes I get excited about a writer and read everything he or she has written. I did that with both Michael Connelly and Daniel Silva and then decided I might as well write reader guides about both since I had put so much time into reading the twenty odd books by each.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I sometimes alternate between fiction and non-fiction. I want to finish the cozy mystery I started to write. I also have started a science fiction novel based on a quantum universe, and I’d like to finish that as well.

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?
Books I love to re-read again and again. That list would certainly include Dune, Shogun, Light in August and The Rembrandt Affair.

Author Websites and Profiles
Stan Schatt Website
Stan Schatt Amazon Profile

Stan Schatt’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Stan Schatt is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m the author of Pieces of Me, a young adult contemporary romance, and the Elemental Enchanters Series, a young adult paranormal romance (a four book series). I was born in Cullman, Alabama, but grew up in Birmingham, and moved to Atlanta at 18. I earned my BA in English at Kennesaw State University.

When I’m not writing (which is rare), I’m spending time with my fiancé, family, and friends, listening to music, playing with my three furbabies, or cheering on my Atlanta Braves.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My upcoming book, January Dreams, was inspired by my love of gothic fiction and dark romance. Music also inspired the story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write notes in the shower and all over the house. I also let the characters tell me the story and I just write it down.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Nicholas Sparks. Harry Potter Series. Becca Fitzgerald’s Hush, Hush series.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I’m writing the sequel to January Dreams.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My personal assistant helps promote my books in groups on Facebook and also I do Amazon ads. Facebook events help as well and my blog.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up and don’t be afraid to write whatever you want.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t give up and do what you love.

What are you reading now?
The Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To continue growing each day 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?
Harry Potter, The Order of the Phoenix. Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook. White Oleander, Janet Finch.

Author Websites and Profiles
Carrigan Richards Website
Carrigan Richards Amazon Profile

Carrigan Richards’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Carrigan Richards is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am from Waitomo Caves, New Zealand, world famous for caves lit by sparkling glowworms.
I started my writing career as a playwright. I’ve written five plays and had four performed. I have written stripteases, tender break up scenes, poker games and blown up the world. It was the blowing up the world play that didn’t get performed – I wonder why?
One day I sat down to write a new play and the characters became too big for the script. They had an awful lot of backstory and demanded more to say. The play become my first young adult book, The Secret of Sinbad’s Cave, Book I in The Natnat Adventures.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called The Ship of Sight and The Hand of Shadow, Book II in The Natnat Adventures. There are many old shipwreck stories in New Zealand. One story involves an old wreck near Raglan that has been buried by the sand. People say it was last seen during the Great War. The idea of that was enough to spin my imagination.
I’d been doing a lot of reading of alternative history ideas to do with who discovered New Zealand first. The official story states that the Maori arrived in about 1350, but there are many scraps of evidence pointing to another story – Arabian explorers, Celts, the Chinese, and shipwrecked Spaniards.
I spun the tales into an epic adventure in which Nat and her friends have two weeks to return a talisman of the Ancient Celts to the top of the country – but there’s a ruthless villain on their tail who is determined to stop them from reaching their goal.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I developed one when I worked as an adventure cave guide for The Legendary Black Water Rafting Company. I would scribble down my ideas underground, leaning on cold rocks, with the glowworms above and the roar of the subterranean river beside me. I guess that’s unusual. The other guides learned that any carefully folded up pieces of paper that I’d stashed in multiple plastic bags were to be treated like gold until I could get them out of the cave safely.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
A huge part of my childhood was reading Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon books. As a teenager I read anything I could get my hands on, but a book that stands out is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I re-read that while writing The Secret of Sinbad’s Cave and it kicked my story to a whole new level.
I love the ideas and delivery of Ray Bradbury, they’re so very clever. Every time I sit down with Louis de Bernieres I am swept away into beautiful worlds of words. Have you ever heard of a book called The Strange Death of Liberal England? Incredible. Knocked my socks off. What about In Cold Blood – I remember holding that book when I finished it wondering how something so awful could be so delicate. Have I been influenced by a myraid of authors and books? Absolutely. Could I go on and on? Yes.

What are you working on now?
I am working on the third book in The Natnat Adventures, The Lost River. The characters are stranded in Fiordland National Park, a huge swathe of wilderness in the South Island of New Zealand. It’s an incredibly beautiful place, but you have to have your wits about you as the weather can change so quickly.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still figuring that out. Check back with me in a few weeks.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Have adventures! Travel the world! Go do things you never expected to do and chat with people you never imagined you might meet. Then you’ll have something fantastic to write about.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I was often busy ignoring all the wonderful advice I received while I charged full steam ahead… apologies to all those who have tried to pass on their gems over the years. One that has nestled in my brain is a comment from my old and fabulous friend Chris. He said, ‘Don’t force anything with yourself.’

What are you reading now?
I’ve just finished Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz, and I’m about to pick up Confederacy of Dunces.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish book III in my series. I also have a number of author talks coming up, so I need to craft something awesome for those too.

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 cheat. I would bring Shakespeare’s Complete Works, and a the biggest collection of Faulkner I could get my hands on. Add in Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries… and Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet. One of them has to be a small book!

Author Websites and Profiles
Brydie Walker Bain Amazon Profile
Brydie Walker Bain Author Profile on Smashwords

Brydie Walker Bain’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Brydie Walker Bain is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Five if you count the one I’ve just finished, I say ‘finally’ because I actually started it before writing my fourth book. Let’s face it, in some ways that first book is easier that way because you do not have the distraction of promoting existing books and doing rounds of edits on recently contracted books. As for me I’m from Scotland where I had this brilliant idea of trying to write romance. Without so much as a Romance Chapter here, it’s been interesting.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is The Viking and The Courtesan. You might think there were no courtesans in Viking times, and you would be right. That’s because Malice, the heroine, is a time traveller from Regency London. As for what inspired it? In a nutshell? The need to get another book written. Beyond that I wanted to write about the absolute need to find true love, or be doomed forever.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
You mean like pat the cat five times and stir the spoon anti-clockwise in the coffee? Right? Oh, you don’t. And wait, I don’t have a cat. Probably I don’t have any odd habits.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a huge fan of the hard boiled school. Cain, McCoy etc really knew how to keep that prose tight but flowing, giving you a world in a few lines, or words. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote gorgeous prose. I always loved the history authors, like Anya Seton, Du Maurier. A huge early influence was F. Tennyson Jesse. I loved the funny way she wrote about the daily lives of characters, and effortlessly constructed their whole world. I thought….I want to write like that. it was kind of intelligent, literary but very down to earth too.
In recent years I’ve adored Kate Furnivall’s books because she’s writing in a genre I love. I also like the way Kate Aitkinson constructs her books.

What are you working on now?
Well, I’m editing and formatting my fifth book which is the second in a series about the lives of ex jewel thieves gang members, the Starkadder Sisterhood. They’ve all been cast to the four winds kind of thing. This book is about their skivvy though.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
That’s a difficult one to answer. The market place is changing as we speak. I use my own blog affair bit, have sold books through int4eracting on facebook and also with book trailers. Launch parties are good–just don’t hard sell. I think being prepared to try various outlets, interacting with other authors and readers and yeah, spending small amounts on advertising has been best for me.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
There’s a lot of books out there. Success doesn’t happen overnight. Above all else you need tenacity. Hang on in there. Promote yourself–you are your biggest selling tool–but also promote others, network, engage.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Get knocked down six times, get up seven.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading The Pendle Curse by Catherine Cavendish. Horror may seem a little removed from romance but I will pretty well read anything if it is well written. Catherine’s books give more than a nod to the finest horror writers. She picks up on the past too.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m hoping to sub my present WIP soon and start work on a prequel to The Viking and The Courtesan. I never planned on that being a series but she does belong to time travelling dynasty so,… I’d also like to branch more into historical fiction. I have quite a lot of ideas there. So we’ll see.

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?
(Lol…anthologies with ten books in each !)

They would have to be ones I reread!
A Pin to See the Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse
Mildred Pierce -James M Cain
Gone with the Wind Margaret Mitchell….it’s nice and long
Les Miserable Victor Hugo.. It’s epic.
Goldwyn – A Scotty Berg

Author Websites and Profiles
Shehanne Moore Website
Shehanne Moore Amazon Profile

Shehanne Moore’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Shehanne Moore is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have an M.A. in modern European history and I enjoy teaching world history as well as writing. Like most writers, I’m also an avid reader, and I enjoy a variety of genres such as paranormal, urban fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, and young adult. My novels are infused with the same humorous sarcasm that I frequently use in the classroom – or just in life, really.

As a native of Louisiana, I set many of my scenes here, and like Dietrich in Resurrected, I am also convinced Louisiana has been cursed with mosquitoes much like Biblical Egypt with its locusts.

I’ve written many books over the years, but the Resurrected trilogy are my first published books.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Resurrected Series (Resurrected, Insurrection and Final Sacrifice) focuses on the resurrection of one young woman, Lottie, by an extra-terrestrial life force. In some respects, it builds on familiar tropes of space travel using wormholes, but these aliens can only survive on Earth by reviving dead human bodies. But for Lottie, something went wrong. She isn’t supposed to have her human memories or personality, and yet, she is resurrected. Her resurrection begins her struggle for survival against the men who run the company transporting people from their planet to Earth, because who wants to wake up as both yourself and someone else? Seriously, that’s just not good for business.

The inspiration for the trilogy was this idea I had of what it must be like to wake up as both myself and someone else. I then had to develop a mechanism for how that would occur, and Lottie’s resurrection and all of the drama and intrigue that come along with it stem from this original idea.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t have any unusual writing habits. I do all of my writing at home, so I just try to find the quietest room in the house!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My writing idol is Ernest Hemingway, as I’ve always admired his fluid, beautiful prose. But I take inspiration from every good book I read. Every author who writes well and tells a good story has something to offer me as I grow and develop as an author myself.

What are you working on now?
I’ve started writing a new urban fantasy series, The Immortals. This series provides a twist on the supernatural trope of Heaven v. Hell.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
There are a lot of great promotional sites out there for indie authors. It can take a long time to build up a following on social media, so taking advantage of all of those promotional sites is important for new writers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing. If possible, find a local writing group to get feedback on your work in progress. You should enjoy what you’re writing. If not, set it aside for a while. It may not be the story you want to tell, or you may just need some time and a fresh perspective on it, but if you try to force the prose, it will read that way. Love the process.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Pay attention to the market and what’s selling well. If you want to be a successful author, knowing trends in the genre you write is essential.

What are you reading now?
The Sleepwalkers: How Europe went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark and Expendable by James Alan Gardner.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish the Immortals series!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would have to bring those rare books that I could read over and over again and never tire of. My top picks would be Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith, and The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Author Websites and Profiles
S. M. Schmitz Website
S. M. Schmitz Amazon Profile

S. M. Schmitz’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

S. M. Schmitz is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an Atlanta, Georgia, native who currently resides in Gwinnett County, Georgia, with my wife and daughter. I attended Roosevelt High School in Atlanta and continued my formal education at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia for two years. I met my future wife in Atlanta after my second year at Mercer University. My junior year I transferred to Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta.

In 1973, with new responsibilities, I became an Atlanta Police Officer while attending college full time. I attained a BA degree in English Literature from Georgia State University in 1974, and retired from the Atlanta Police Department in 1996 after a very fulfilling and personally, satisfying career.

I’m alos the author of SEVEN FISH TREE, THE YELLOW BUS BOYS, TRANSMUTATION THE LIFE OF A TWISTED COP, RED, the CRAMPED QUARTERS series consisting of MARY’S TRUNK, MARY’S JOURNEY BEGINS, MARY’S JOURNEY CONTINUES, PAUL’S STORY, and my short story THE DEAD and the DYING appears in Annie Acorn’s 2015 DARK TALES.

You can follow me at @rongizmo on Twitter and friend him on Facebook. He is the author of the blog at ronshawmedia.com.

You can interact directly with me each Monday night at 8:00 p.m. as I host the Ron Shaw Show on ArtistFirst Radio Network at artistfirst.com/ronshaw.htm.

Since October 2013, I’ve written nine books. One of these, DARK TALES, is a horror anthology that I’m in. Within the next few months, I’ll have two more books, novels, coming out. One of these is a collaborative work with Texas author D.A. Grady. The other one is the second novel in THE YELLOW BUS BOYS books. It’s entitled THE YELLOW BUS BOYS GO BLUE CANADA BOUND.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
DARK TALES FROM GENS’ PENS is the latest book that I have a horror short story in. It was published and edited by Annie Acorn’s AA Publications. The book is out now at all venues in eBook as well as paperback formats.
This book became a reality after my daughter recommended that I write a horror or ghost book with some of the brilliant authors who have been guests on my weekly radio show. This was an excellent idea. Immediately, I began the process of picking the best young and old authors around the world to be represented in this anthology. The authors I chose, Steve Cartwright of Georgia, D.A. Grady of Texas, Joe Eliseon of Massachusetts, K. Edwin Fritz of New Jersey, William D. ‘Billy Crash’ Prystauk of Pennsylvania, and me are prepresented in DARK TALES. I had picked from a fine list of female authors for it as well, but they will be represented in SPIRITED TALES with Annie Acorn that’ll be out next month. In this book will be Annie Acorn of Maryland, Peggy Teel of Alabama, Juliette Hill of Virginia, Angel Nichols of Florida, Christina Paul of New Jersey, and Susan Jean Ricci of New Jersey.
Both books DARK TALES and SPIRITED TALES are filled with a wide variety of short stories. There something in each for every reader.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No. Not really. I write when the urge strikes me, and often, I’ll do so regardless of what is going on around me at the moment when the words or characters appear.
Sometimes, I’ll write while listening to music for the soul by Laura Sullivan of California or killer music by Bethany Borg of Nordik Fire of Alabama. Every other blue moon, I’ll partake of rock music when the story is popping off.
There’s nothing very mysterious about my writing process. The one thing that is a shock to me but not unusual is when a character wakes me between 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. demanding that I peck their stories out immediately. Thank goodness, of late, they’ve allowed me to sleep a little longer.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There have been far too many to list here. I majored in English Literature and thus, have read a few authors.
My favorites at this time are Dan Brown, Hunter S. Thompson, and any number of the classics like Shakespeare, Dickens, Swift and such.

What are you working on now?
I have about four or five writing projects in various stages now. I am continuing the CRAMPED QUARTERS MARY the ghost series, RED is cooking again after my first dabbling in erotica that is getting a lot of attention from readers around the globe, and a non-fiction piece entitled MY FROZEN HEART – THE BECKY DAVIS STORY.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
There are a few excellent ones out there like ReadersGazette.com, Authorsdb.com, SneekPeak.com, iAuthor.uk.com, beezeebooks.com, Awesomegang.com, Inspired Writers by Merrie Housdon and others.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The first and possibly the best advice that I’d give new authors is to be bold and allow your voice to be heard. Realize that writing the book is the easiest and maybe, the greatest fun or aspect of being an author. The hard work begins after the book(s) is published.
Never give up regardless of the criticisms that are sure to come when you put yourself out there in print. Remember or learn that everyone is a critic, even you and me. Our housecat Percy is a tough critic of my work in words.
Write what you know, and if you don’t know it already do tons of research. Writing is a learning, growing, and tedious process.
Embrace every aspect of it.
In short, be bold.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Ron, do like me, just make some shit up!” stated an internationally acclaimed, best-selling author.

What are you reading now?
Every author who comes on my radio show provides me with a book or twelve and I try my damnedest to read them. So, with that in mind, I’m reading about eight authors now…like, Corrina Holyoake of the UK, Robbie Cox of Florida, Christina Paul of New Jersey, Vany Vetto of Australia, Jake Needham of parts unknown, Annie Acorn of Maryland, Joe Elsieon of Boston, Angel Nichols of Florida, Dorothy May Mercer of Michigan, Susan Jean Ricci of New Jersey, Suzanne L. Holko of Connecticut. Currently, I have at least twelve authors in line with around twenty of their books to read.
To answer the question specifically, I’m now reading CONFESSIONS of a TRAVEL JUNKIE by Vanya Vetto of Perth, Australia.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hopefully, I’ll continue to write and publish books despite the fact books aren’t selling well at the moment. If it ever becomes purely about money, I’ll never write another word for print.
It’s the fun of writing, of putting a book in the hands of a reader and them enjoying what I’ve created that keeps me going as an author. Good, bad, or indifferent, I always appreciate those who read my works. Their comments, support, and constructive criticisms are always appreciated.

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?
HOW THE HELL TO ESCAPE FROM A DESERTED ISLAND would be my first choice. My second pick is the Bible. The third choices would be the collective works of William Shakespear, Sherlock Homes, and any of the huge, hernia-inducing English Anthology books out there. I’d have plenty to read for the remainder of my days in solitude.
Can I pick 3 or 4 ladies to bring with?

Author Websites and Profiles
Ron Shaw Website
Ron Shaw Amazon Profile

Ron Shaw’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Ron Shaw is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a die hard fan of all things 90’s pop culture. So much so that it fills all the useful space in my head, pushing out important things like people’s birthdays and why I walked into a room. Apocalypse Wow is my second self-published book. The first is titled The Many Lives of Zane Montgomery.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Apocalypse Wow is my latest book. The idea came to me well over ten years ago, so the inspiration was lost long ago to the unrelenting constant that is time and the failing of human memory.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have to start every writing escapade with Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m hugely influenced by A Lee Martinez and Terry Pratchett

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on the follow up to Apocalypse Wow entitled Apocalypse Wow 2: Apocalypse Wower.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Goodread and Twitter have been hugely helpful in getting the word out for me.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t let rejection get you down. If you believe in what you’ve written, just keep pushing it out there. It will catch on eventually.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t mess with a hungry pregnant woman.

What are you reading now?
A Nameless Witch by A Lee Martinez

What’s next for you as a writer?
Obviously promoting the current book as well as working on the follow up title.

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 Harry Potter series

Author Websites and Profiles
Ben Mariner Website

Ben Mariner’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Ben Mariner is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started my writing career as a humor columnist in the vein of Erma Bombeck, and it was great fun to write about the foibles of my family. That evolved into other journalism work for regional and national publications until I started having some books published. My first nine were nonfiction for teens, dealing with life issues they face, and Coping With Weapons and Violence In School and on Your Streets, was chosen as a Best Book for Teens by the New York Library System.

My first fiction publications in order are: Friends Forever, Play it Again, Sam, The Wisdom of Ages, One Small Victory, Boxes For Beds, Open Season, Stalking Season, and Doubletake.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Doubletake, my most recent release, was chosen as the Best Mystery for 2015 by the Texas Association of Authors, and I wrote it with Margaret Sutton. Collaborating was an interesting experience, and I was really pleased with how seamlessly our writing styles meshed.

When we started to develop the story idea, we wanted to showcase a really strong woman and came up with Detective Barbara Hopkins, who has to prove herself to the all-male department. She is pitted against a particularly sadistic killer and is then almost the victim of Doubletake.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t have any unusual writing habits, unless you count procrastination. (smile) After reading a biography of Jack London and learning that he set himself a goal of writing at least 1000 words a day, and then allowing himself the freedom to do something else, I thought I would try that. Unfortunately, other than writing my blog and taking care of business items, I don’t always get the words in first. I check mail and find a message I have to respond to. Then I check to see if my blog posted. While I’m there I should go ahead and promote it just a bit. Then I’m on Facebook and see a post from one of my friends. Then I see a new promotional opportunity, and I hop over to that website. LOL

That said, I do make myself stop all that and spend at least two hours writing, maybe more. I have two books I want to finish this year and time is getting away from me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh, my, this is always such a hard question to answer. So many authors have inspired me. Anne Lamott and her wonderful Bird by Bird that gives writers permission to just write and worry about fixing things later. Dennis Lehane, Craig Johnson, Raymond Atkins, Laura Lippman, PD James, and so many other fine writers who challenge me to write better. And my all-time favorite, John Steinbeck who was a master at characterization and made me want to write about memorable people

What are you working on now?
My current WIP is a mainstream novel based on true life. It is my mother’s story, which I have always wanted to write, as she is the strongest woman I have ever known. I think after she died last year, she started channeling her story, so I put aside the third Seasons story and started working on Evelyn Evolving.

I’ve discovered that this type of book, fiction based on true life, is very popular. I am reading Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls, which is the story of her grandmother’s life, and in the book description it says that she was encouraged to fill in some missing blanks with fiction. That is what I have had to do with Evelyn Evolving, as so many things in my mother’s life were mysteries, which is why I had never written the story before. I thought I had to ferret out all those things.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Some advertising is effective, and Awesomegang does a great job with the ads and all the other opportunities for authors to share about their books. I have found that the social media sites are effective, too, but that takes time and dedication. It is best not to just be posting about the books, so we need to find other things of interest to post about.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, write, write. Read, read, read. Then write, write, write. Seriously, the best way to hone the craft is by practice. Then when you get your first book published, don’t hawk it like a carnival barker. Be professional in every thing you do.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
One of the best pieces of advice was from Liz Carpenter who told me to never say no to an opportunity. So often if we have no experience with something we want to step away, but she encouraged stepping toward. That worked well for me when I was asked to do PR work for a large Foundation in Dallas. I knew nothing about PR work, but I went for the interview, accepted the job, and called a friend who had experience. “Help!” And she did.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading Half Broke Horses.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My plan is to finish Evelyn Evolving and the third book in the Seasons Series, Desperate Season. Then I will work on two other “based on real life” stories that my editor suggested I try.

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 bring my Kindle that has 200 books loaded in it? LOL Seriously, with nothing else to do, I can read three books in three days. Would I be stuck there longer than that? The first book I’d take is one of the latest from Dennis Lehane, World Gone By, which is on my nightstand waiting for me to read. Then I’d dig out my old copy of Of Mice and Men. And the others would be Laura Lippman’s latest two, After I’m Gone and Hush Hush.

Author Websites and Profiles
Maryann Miller Website
Maryann Miller Amazon Profile

Maryann Miller’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Maryann Miller is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author and I’m known for my big family romance series, The Friessens, The Outsider and The Wilde Brothers.

I have written over 40 titles, in multiple genres, such as romance, western, military, and mystery/suspense and in multiple series, including The Outsider, Walk the Right Road, The Wilde Brothers, Saved, The Friessens, and my two newest additions, Married in Montana and my high-stakes suspense and sizzling, red-hot romance series Kate and Walker: Deadly, Dangerous, and Desired.

I write the type of books I want to read and I am a big fan of the happily ever after, for now. But you know that disaster and doom is pending on the horizon.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My new release, UNFORGIVEN, is the final book in The Wilde Brothers series. A series about five very alpha male men, their struggles, what they overcame as children and their journey to find the right women for them. UNFORGIVEN is about the last brother, Samuel, a young lawyer and the woman that divided his family.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My writing schedule consistently is, I write in the mornings, I start early and unless I am on a deadline I shut it down around lunchtime. I never schedule appointments early in the day and keep that time in the mornings as my time to write. Although as of late promotion and social media has been cutting into by writing time.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many authors out there that have influenced me and helped guide my career to being a successful author, and far too many to list.

One of the things that I have learned from some of the best authors out there, other Authors are not the competition, because there is more than enough to go around.

What are you working on now?
Currently I am working on a project I’ve wanted to write all year. He Came Back, it is a military suspense about one woman’s journey when her husband returns, but everything she knew about their relationship and him, has changed.

He Came Back will also bring back a character many fans have asked for who was introduced in Walk the Right Road series, Zac. He was introduced in Bounty as the ex military forensic specialist and married Diane in Blown Away. He has a dark past a lot of secrets, a lot of which you will learn about in He Came Back.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Promoting is a full time job. And if you want to promote successfully you have to embrace social media. It isn’t just one website or one method that works but a combination of many promotional sites, from utilizing facebook, facebook ads, twitter, google plus, purchasing multiple ads on promotion sites, running giveaways, blogging, and utilizing my newsletter list. And always be willing to ty something new.

One of the things I’ve learned is the industry is always changing. So what may have worked yesterday, may not tomorrow.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up! What separates a successful author from those barely making a living, is the successful ones never give up!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If something isn’t working in the way your coming at it take a step back, re-evaluate, and come at in a different direction. Words that I live by. Advice that has given me the successful career as a bestselling author.

What are you reading now?
Several books by some bestselling Indie Authors.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Write, write, write. I have a christmas romance, Loving Christine which will be out in late November 2015. And I’ve slated six books to write for next year.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
That’s not fair. I would take my kindle that is loaded with hundreds of books.

Author Websites and Profiles
Lorhainne Eckhart Website
Lorhainne Eckhart Amazon Profile
Lorhainne Eckhart Author Profile on Smashwords

Lorhainne Eckhart’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Lorhainne Eckhart is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been freelance writing for over two decades. I started out as a columnist for my hometown newspaper and, in between raising a family, continue to write how-to articles for Hubpages. My first book, Nicholas’ Story was published in 2011 and is currently in revision for a 2nd edition due to be re-published in 2015. I am currently working on a book series, Progenitor’s Curse, with Book One, Vera’s Revenge, set to be released October 19, 2015 by Amazon.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, How to Become a Freelance Writer – The Newbie Guide to Freelance Writing was inspired by twenty-something years of struggling to become a freelance writer. I wanted to help other aspiring writers start their career without the pitfalls and mistakes that I made. If I can help just one writer become successful and happy than I will feel this book accomplished something great.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m pretty basic with my writing habits. When I feel the muse I write until I drop. I can begin my writing at 5am and keep going until early evening. If the muse has left me for the day, I concentrate on other areas in my life.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I would say that Stephen King and Nicholas Sparks – although completely different genres – have influenced me the most. Whenever I’m stuck on wording or a storyline I pick up one of their books and read until my creativity is sparked.

What are you working on now?
I’m finishing up the final touches on Vera’s Revenge for an October 2015 release. I am also revising Nicholas’ Story with the anticipation it will be republished in September. I am also working on a new book, Blind Blessings, about God’s love and how we don’t always see His blessings. The expected publication date for this inspirational book is December 2015 in time for Christmas.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Social media, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Linkedin have always been great places to promote my books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up is my first and foremost piece of advice for new writers. Expect rejection. It just comes with the job. Keep pushing what you have and you will make it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The same advice I give – Don’t Give Up!

What are you reading now?
Always the Bible. I also just downloaded a bunch of Kindle books that I’m getting ready to read. Deadly Offerings by Alexa Grace is one of the books I will be reading in the next day or two. The Bell Tower Suite by James Field is another.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Once the above books are completed and published, I will be working on “Obituaries” which is the second book in the Progenitor’s Curse series.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible, “The Notebook” by Nicholas Sparks, and Stephen Kings, “It”.

Author Websites and Profiles
Michelle Bentley Website
Michelle Bentley Amazon Profile

Michelle Bentley’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Michelle Bentley is a post from Awesome Gang