Here is Your Saturday Morning Awesomegang Authors Newsletter
Published: Sat, 12/05/15
AwesomeGang Authors
Bringing You Weekly Tips From Authors
Happy Saturday Authors!
What a great week this has been.
I have been secluded in a cabin in the hills of southern Arizona doing some writing. My next book is going to be fiction based on the 20+ years I worked in the NY subway. It has been an off and on struggle as I am not really good at putting my stories down on paper. I am sure some of you have those voices in your head as you are writing also.
While doing this I decided to put http://awesomebookpromotion.com live. I have had a great reaction to this much needed extension of Awesomegang. If you want in the coupon is NEWSLETTER to save some money on submissions.
Current Coupons
Some of you have asked for a current coupon list for the book sites that are on the free promotion page.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Nykeeba Halisi Hali, I am $0 Years of age and I am from NYC. I currently live in Los Angeles, CA where I began this journey into writing literature. As of today I have written two books. My third and fourth books, I am in the process of writing now.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called The Long Way Home, Secrets of the Lost Cities. What inspired me to write this piece was the people of Los Angeles. Being one of the only women they have met from Harlem, they had many questions to ask ranging from how the way New Yorkers live to common concerns such as growing up so close to the Apollo. As one could guess, I was a bit tired of answering the same questions over and over again, so I sort out to write about it, that way if they wanted to know, they could simply read my book.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I will admit I do in fact have two unusual writing habits and they would be, I do my best writing when I have an ice cold 7 up present and I often type with one hand.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I would have to say the authors who have inspired me the most would have to be Donald Goines, J. K. Rowling, Donald J. Sobol, Judy Blume, Edgar Allen Poe, and Jackie Collins.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the final installment of The Long Way Home Series. I am also currently taking a stab at writing urban fiction. The name of that book is called “Suga”.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best method I have found to be effective when promoting ones book/books would be to promote through all social media sites, join as many book clubs as possible and always read a few books from other authors and give reviews. You will be surprised how many people will be eager to read your book but only if you read theirs.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Stay focused and to never give up. Whether that be social media or physically going outdoors and selling to the public. Do It! There should be no fear after your book is already published.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never allow someone to discourage you from completing your goals, and to always have the confidence to write the truth and stand by your words.
What are you reading now?
I am currently reading a book entitled “Cop Killas” by Author D Mann.
What’s next for you as a writer?
What’s next for me would have to be to continue writing. I plan on writing until I can no longer write.
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?
If I was stranded on a desert Island and only allowed 3 or 4 books, I would have to bring The Color Purple, Cop Killas, Dopefiend and Heidi.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written 3 books belonging to 2 series that are currently out on the market. My first book series is titled Disloyal, recently got me nominated by UBAWA (Urban Black Authors and Writers of America) as 2015 Best New Author; I didn’t win but appreciate the nod. The first two books in that series are available at Amazon. My new suspense thriller titled Cop Killas, Justice Served is also currently available at Amazon. I am still writing Cop Killas part 2 and Disloyal 3, both will be released before the end of the year. I am also co-authoring another book with raw new talent to the industry. I am writing in other genres to staple my name in every household as a great. I have so much more to give to the world of readers so stay tuned to the D. Mann Channel.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest work is titled Cop Killas, Justice Served. I like to write stories that shock and awe readers. I want readers of my books literally hanging on the edge of their seats with every page turned. My inspiration will always be taking a reader to the point of no return.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if you’ll find this unusual, but I secretly love to write in the wee hours of the morning when all are sleep and sprang my latest twist on them when they awaken. With my hot cup of coffee in hand first thing in the morning, I feel like Ted Brokaw in the news room. Lol
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Donald Goines, the entire collection. Terri Wood’s Dutch & True to the Game, Terry L. Wroten’s Ratcheville, Nykeeba Halisi Hali’s The Long Way Home Series and so many more.
What are you working on now?
I am working on several new projects that will stun and captivate my audience.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I utilize every avenue available to me to promote my work. Social Media, Any websites catering to authors and their work, paid advertisements, my personal website, book signings and events.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t expect quick millions from your first book.
Build an extensive library, readers love more.
Fully understand the business aspect of this industry, it can and will be challenging.
Ponder on longevity not sales, they’ll eventually come with smart work and dedication.
Prepare yourself to work smart not hard and stay dedicated to your ultimate goal.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You either take the helm or you follow the crowd.
What are you reading now?
The Evolution of a G by Ishaq S. Mu’ Min and Pussy Talks by Author Jamie. I do a lot in pairs.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More mind blowing stories.
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 first book I would bring would be, How to Survive Stranded on a Desert Island, if it’s been written yet. My second choice would be How to Escape Being Stranded on a Desert Island, if it’s been written yet. Lastly, I would take a blank notebook so I could record my own book titled How to Never Get Stranded on a Desert Island. I’m sure it would become a bestseller, Lol.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Marie Godley resides in Christchurch, Dorset with her family. Luckily enough to live in a town with historical buildings to roam around, as well as having the sea and the New Forest National Park nearby, she has plenty to do when taking a break from writing.
For more information, to get in touch with her, or find out how to follow her on social media sites, visit her website www.mariegodley.moonfruit.com
I have written 3 children’s books and had stories published in 2 anthologies, and now my first Young Adult book.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, a Young Adult fantasy is called Janalya. It came about because I wanted to write about someone who had power over the elements, and I’d always wanted to write a shape shifter story, combining the two seemed perfect.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, although I like to write snuggled under my duvet.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
From my childhood, it’s C.S Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia stayed with me. But every book I read and enjoy now spurs me on.
What are you working on now?
Some short stories and a book about Angels.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Word of mouth, Social Media and book reviews.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing, reading and don’t give up.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t let doubts stop you writing and keep trying.
What are you reading now?
The Twelve Days of Christmas by Trisha Ashley
What’s next for you as a writer?
Janalya is going to be included in a box set early 2016 which is a first for me, and very exciting.
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?
Pride & Prejudice, The Twelve Days of Christmas, The Hobbit and A Christmas Carol
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written two books now, and i’m about a third of the way finished with the third book. I love fairies and always have, but could never find books about fairies the way I imagined them. so I decided to write about the fairies I’ve always imagined to be real.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Call of Sunteri. I was inspired by a minor character in the first book, who I thought would make an interesting addition to the existing characters and storyline: Tib. He has since become one of my most favorite characters. Tib has a lot of anger and resentment. He’s also being controlled by something, but he isn’t aware of it at first and that makes for some very fun storytelling. I wanted to expand on the concept of the Wellsprings, the sources of magic in my world, and show what could happen if one of them died. In Call of Sunteri, the Wellspring of Sunteri has died, and its only remaining steward takes desperate measures to restore it and save his fellow fairies.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure how unusual it is, but I don’t plan ahead. I have no outlines to follow. I just sit and write and let the story unfold, and I worry about continuity later on, in the editing phase. I think a lot of authors, especially when starting out, get hung up on planning and worrying about the best phrasing of their first sentence, paragraph, etc, that they never get their story off the ground. For me, I just let the writing come out and I worry about fixing it later.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Probably like most fantasy authors of my generation, I really look up to J.K. Rowling. I love how her books are so easy to read, and yet so full of depth and rich characters. The author of the Divergent series wrote a little piece of advice in her first book that said something like, just spew out your words. Dump them out and fix it later. That really helped me to get started. I also have to shout out to my author friend Ellisa Barr, who inspired me during NaNoWriMo and then walked me through my first manuscript very patiently.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on the third book in the Keepers of the Wellsprings series. I have lots of plans for this book. I’m already on Chapter 12 and Azi and her friends have a long journey ahead of them. I’m getting to the point where I’m deciding whether to stop the series at a trilogy or keep going. We’ll see!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still fairly new at promoting, and also very bad at it, but when I released Call of Sunteri last week, I decided to make Call of Kythshire free this week. Kythshire has had several hundred downloads in just a day, so I’m hopeful that those who read it will want to move on to Sunteri and eventually to Book 3. Fingers crossed!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I said it above. Don’t get hung up on the perfect phrasing. Look at the big picture. Write your story and edit it later. Get your manuscript written, and make it pretty later. You have nothing to lose, you can always fix things!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Do what you love, and the money will come to you. Live your life with a grateful heart, and you’ll never feel deprived.
What are you reading now?
I have a long list of books that I want to read, but I don’t like to read while I’m writing because I don’t want others’ stories to leak into mine. Some books I’m looking forward to reading once I’m finished writing are:
Outage by Ellisa Barr (and the rest of her series)
Space B!tch by Grig Larson
The Saga series by Brian K. Vaughan
Faerie’uckers by my twitter pal @writerdoll
What’s next for you as a writer?
My plan is to finish book three of the Keepers of the Wellsprings series and see where that leads me. I might branch out and do some spin-off stories once the main story is told. I’ve even been playing with the idea of releasing a serial on my blog.
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 Cay by Theodore Taylor
The Bible
The Lord of the Rings trilogy (cheating, I know, but still!)
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Swedish crime fiction author – and I moved from the looong, dark and cold winters of my home land to the sunny shores of Australia nineteen years ago.
But I still have Scandi Noir flowing through my veins and I write dark crime fiction novels set in my adopted home town Sydney.
My novels are in a series and contain mostly Australian characters, with some Scandinavian exceptions.
I write books in both Swedish and English and they are available world-wide.
I have written three books that were recently published: ‘GAME’ – a police procedural thriller, has received great reviews from readers. ‘Skuggspel’ – the Swedish edition of ‘GAME’ – was recently listed as #1 Best Seller in Swedish Language Fiction on Amazon.com. And ‘Borta’ – is a Swedish edition of the second novel in my series.
Series: DS Morgan Callaghan.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I write my books in Swedish first, and I then translate them myself to English. So the latest book I wrote was ‘GAME’ in English.
I am inspired by everything that has happened to me in life; things I’ve seen and people I’ve met. I also eavesdrop on conversations around me in public – fragments of a conversation can get stuck in my mind and then turn up somewhere in my books… But mostly I am inspired by places in Sydney and I picture the scenes in my books that take place there. I also do a lot of research of real life murderers, police procedures and forensic data.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I crave solitude when I write – I cannot write with people around me. And I need a lot of coffee.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I started reading real life murder stories when I was about seven-eight years old -I found them in my grandmother’s lifestyle magazines!
I also started reading books by Agatha Christie at the same age, and I think these built the base of my interest in crime fiction.
What are you working on now?
I am currently writing the follow-up novel to ‘GAME’ in English – it is already available in Swedish. I do my own translations as I’m fluent in both languages. It’s like writing the book all over again; the English and Swedish languages are so different, I have to come up with new ways of expressing the characters.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I like Goodreads for many reasons.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you have something within you that tells you to write; do it, and see what comes out of you. Then leave it for a while, come back and read it later, and if you’re not a 100% happy with it – rewrite it. Repeat. That’s the base. Also; say your characters’ words out loud to see if it sounds authentic.
– There are many layers to writing, but it’s a personal journey and it’s different for everyone I think.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I heard a friend’s mother tell my friend when I was little: “It’s not worth doing unless you do it perfectly” – and it stuck with me.
What are you reading now?
I don’t read when I write; my mind is fully occupied with what I’m creating and I can’t allow it to go out on other adventures… But I have a list of books that I want to read when I’ve finished writing the book I’m working on now – on the top of this list is the latest novel by Swedish author Ake Edwardsson.
What’s next for you as a writer?
When I’ve finished writing the follow-up novel to ‘GAME’ in English, I will concentrate on seeing it off into the world. Then I will take a break/holiday before I contemplate the next book in the 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?
Never End by Ake Edwardsson, Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell, Sidetracked by Henning Mankell and The Devil of Nanking by Mo Hayder.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was a self-confessed, enabling, co-dependent. With God’s help I am enjoying a transformed life with my husband Tommy. We have been together for more than twenty six years and he just celebrated ten years of sobriety. I have owned and operated the famous biker bar Johnny’s Bar & Grill in Hollister, California for almost twenty years. I hope to one day sell the bar and pursue my writing career full time. In the meantime the bar continues to supply me with plenty of material for my writing endeavors.
As one of four children of a single mother, I came by my care-taking tendencies at an early age. When I became a single parent myself at seventeen, my sense of responsibility was compounded. Having a dysfunctional upbringing and an A-type personality made me an excellent candidate for codependency. Having overcome it, I share many life experiences to offer help and healing to those who know the suffering codependency brings.
I offer one on one coaching sessions to those who want to face the issue of codependency head on. I hope to help others see and accept the part their enabling behavior plays in the scope of their loved ones alcoholism. I’ve been known to say, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
I have had articles published in three major biker magazines and have contributed many essays to my local paper. Despite having only a tenth grade education,I am blessed with ability to touch people with my words. Using my God-given talent to help others that struggle with codependency has been a dream of mine since I found recovery.
Born Again in a Biker Bar was originally published as Miracles and Grace in an Unlikely Place / Memoir of a Christian Woman Biker Bar Owner. I changed the title and cover in hopes of reaching a new audience. This is my only published book.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I wrote Born Again in a Biker Bar in hopes of helping other codependents. My prayer is that I can help them to avoid the many pitfalls and tragedies I endured because of my problem and to offer them hope. Just knowing that you are not alone in your misery can be transforming.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I try to start writing as early in the day as possible. I need quiet to write so I bought my husband a pair of wireless headphones so that he can watch TV without interrupting my quiet time.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Joyce Meyer has been my greatest influence. She has written to many wonderful self-help books to mention. I enjoy Max Lucado and John Maxwell. I also really like Anne Lamott and when my editor told me that my writing style reminded her of Anne’s I just about did a back flip. What a huge compliment.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on the third draft of my first work of fiction titled She Found Happiness on the Way Through Hell. Writing fiction is really fun because you really don’t know where the story is going to go.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve promoted my book the best through biker conventions and my bar. This is my first effort to to promote a giveaway and I hope to see hundreds of copies downloaded. Facebook is a really good place to spread the word too.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep your butt in the chair and never give up. If you believe in yourself anything is possible. For my part prayer was a huge help too. With God’s help all things are possible.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Concentrate on who are becoming and not the person that you were. My favorite quote by Joyce Meyer is, “I’m not where I need to be but thank God I’m not where I used to be.”
What are you reading now?
Writing Deep Scenes by Martha Alderson and Jordon Rosenfeld. You can never stop growing as a writer.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to seek an agent and take a shot at traditional publishing with my next book. I hope to grow subscribers to my website and enlighten and entertain as many people as possible.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
My Bible number one, actually I’d have to have at least two of them because I like reading different versions. Battlefield of the Mind would be important for my sanity.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am Ian Leaf, HFC Businessman and newly recognized author. Since the beginning of this year (2015), I was inspired to write my first book.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is, “Starting A HFC Business at Home.” Inspiration for the book came just simply from brainstorming on how work and business has changed in only 10 years. More people are working and starting a business from home than ever before!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure if it would be considered an unusual writing habit, but I typically do my best creative writing late at night when I should be sleeping.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Probably one of my biggest influences in writing has been Brandon Colker and his book, “How To Make Big Bucks from Big Blogs.” Blogging is a hobby you can pick up at anytime and your devotion to it is what turns it into a job or a business than can be worked from home.
What are you working on now?
What I’m working on now is thinking of how to get my new book in front of more eyes. I haven’t decided if I am writing another one. I possibly may!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best method I have found to promote my book has been simply blogging about it. Blogs and posts can reach countless people in a matter of seconds. Also, having the book on Amazon to be purchased no matter where you are is also highly convenient.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice for new authors and even myself is if you want to write about it, then write about it! Even if you think there is a book out there that talks about what you are writing about. You have a perspective that other people will relate to better than the existing book. Also, don’t wait for a publishing company. Publish it yourself.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever heard is that there will never be a “right time.” Take action now! If not you then who? If not now, then when?
What are you reading now?
At the moment, I’m not reading anything.
What’s next for you as a writer?
The next thing for me as a writer would be to learn from other more experienced writers and to truly master my craft. I didn’t think I would like writing as much as I do and now that I’ve written my first book, I’m looking for more inspiration to begin another.
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?
John C. Maxwell — “How Successful People Think”
James Allen — “As A Man Thinketh”
Napoleon Hill — “Think and Grow Rich”
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Vicki Morris and this is my first full length book. I am known as the Career Happiness Coach, founder of InspiredWork.com and creator of the InspiredWork™ Career Transformation System, blending twenty-five years of experience as a high tech hiring manager, inspirational business leader, brand strategist, career mentor, and spiritual practitioner. InspiredWork helps professionals
raise their energy with Happy Habits and create their own inspired work and brand so they can be happy at work and love their life.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Inspiration behind Happy Habits: Why I Wrote this Book
By Vicki Morris
Recently I published my first full-length book, Happy Habits: Energize Your Career and Life in 4 Minutes a Day. For me, this has been a rewarding and fulfilling experience because I have been trying to find a way to be happier in my career and life for years. And now that I have found a new approach that combines proven energy-raising happiness techniques with a scientific habit-creation methodology I am excited to share it with everyone.
The External Search for a Happiness Solution
I have had my share of ups and downs, both in my career and in my life in general. But, I was constantly looking for happiness outside of myself. I thought I would be happier if I just got a better job, got a new home, moved to a new location, got a promotion so I could manage people and feel empowered. But, I soon realized that a few months after I got what I wanted, I still felt unhappy. What I learned is that looking for happiness in some external person, place or thing in the future is a recipe for a career and life of unhappiness. Unfortunately, I think many people life this way. Yet, I found that nothing can make you feel happier, if you don’t know how to cultivate happiness from within.
Reversing the Approach: Pursuing Inward Happiness
With my newfound knowledge that happiness could be pursued from the inside, I decided to change my ways. I looked for solutions that started with the individual. I did extensive research on happiness and consulted many studies based on hard facts and research. Eventually, I discovered that the easiest way to improve your life is by changing your daily habits.
Our actions are largely shaped by our habits. Most of these habits are done without any level of consciousness associated with them – think about it: you brush your teeth, have breakfast, commute, and so forth, mostly without applying any mindset towards these actions. That’s natural. But we can actually take an inward approach to pursuing happiness by creating mindful habits that allow us to take ourselves out of the monotony – if only just for four minutes per day – to embrace a more positive, energy-raising approach to work and life that has widespread benefits that extend to the rest of the day.
The Responsibility to Share my Findings
I believe that we all have a purpose. When we achieve our greatest possible sense of happiness, we can tap into that purpose and become the best versions of ourselves. For me, the best, most inspiring and rewarding version of myself is achieved through career coaching. As someone who encourages others to find the career that suits them best and inspires them to share their talents with the world, I believe that it is my personal responsibility to share the Happy Habits system so everyone can pursue the same level of happiness that I have found and that I share with all of my clients to become happy, empowered, grateful, and at ease both at work and in life.
My ultimate goal for this book is to create an approach to happiness that focuses on the individual – because each person is different – and one that is accessible for everyone. That’s why Happy Habits is beneficial to all: it takes just four minutes a day, and it doesn’t require any resources that you don’t already have. My system has worked for me and for others, and I know that it can work for you, too.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have two unusual writing habits. First, I write very detailed outlines to ensure my content flows. Second, I meditate every night to get intuitive guidance on any changes I need to make to my books.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have enjoyed and been influenced by many happiness and habit experts and have included their research and insights in Happy Habits: Energize Your Career and Life in 4 Minutes a Day.
What are you working on now?
I am writing a book called InspiredWork: Create Work You Love in 8 Weeks. This is a big project (targeting 300 pages) and I am writing about the unhappy work epidemic and the three paths to creating your inspired work (finding a better job in your same industry, changing careers or starting your own business).
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
thehappyhabitsbook.com
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write from your heart and your personal experience
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Love is all there is.
What are you reading now?
I am always reading spiritual literature.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am writing a book to help professionals create their inspired work. It is called “InspiredWork: Create Work You Love in 8 Weeks”
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am 57 years old and live in Wexford, Ireland with my family. I worked as a musician up until 2012 but due to the recession in Ireland went back to adult education. I completed my second level exams and am now studying for a degree in Irish Culture and Heritage Studies. While studying I wrote my first book in The Tadhg Sullivan Series – The Gun which was published by Tirgearr Publishing in September 2014. My second book in The Tadhg Sullivan Series was published in May 2015 and I am currently working on my third book in the series.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called The Brotherhood and is the second in The Tadhg Sullivan Series. After writing my first book in the series The Gun it was as if Detective Tadhg Sullivan became a part of me and I want to keep his character alive. I have the third instalment almost finished which is called The Crucification. What I like most about Sullivan is the empathy he has with the world around him and the fact that he isn’t one dimensional. All the books in the series are stand alone stories.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I find I am most creative when writing in bed! I feel comfortable there and am locked away from the hustle and bustle of family life.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jo Nesbo, Ian Rankin, Stieg Larsson, Arnaldur Indriðason. I have read most of these authors books and find the stories gripping and intriguing.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on Book 3 in The Tadhg Sullivan Series – The Crucifixion. It is a stand alone story following Detective Tadhg Sullivan on a new case and is more of a “whodunnit” story than my previous two books.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I find Facebook is my best way to promote my books and think it gives my books the best exposure. I also use Twitter. ENT I have found very effective for promotion. I have used and still use as many book promotion websites as I possibly can to promote.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up and keep writing. Keep sending your books to publishers and don’t lose heart. Believe that you can be a success.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
All of the above!
What are you reading now?
Reykjavik Nights by Arnaldur Indriðason.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am working on Book 3 in The Tadhg Sullivan Series and hope to have it published in the New Year. I will keep writing about Detective Sullivan and have also started working on a semi-biographical 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?
The Stieg Larsson Trilogy, Black Skies and Strange Shores by Arnaldur Indriðason
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been writing since childhood. After publishing over three hundred articles and short stories, I have published over twenty-five novels. I enjoy penning contemporary and historical novels for adults. Originally, from Houston, I now live in the southwest with my family and assorted pets. I have been a kindergarten teacher in public schools for a number of years and have drawn inspiration for my children’s stories from personal experience.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is titled, A RELATIVE MATTER. It is perma-free on Amazon. I was inspired by research into the Regency time period. I find the customs intriguing.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I often write with a cat on my lap.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jane Austin, Janette Oke,
What are you working on now?
I am working on a contemporary romance about an uncle and aunt who share guardianship of their nephew.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
http://www.amazon.com/Karen-Cogan/e/B001JSB9XE
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Stick with it and promote your books.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Proofread your books several times. It’s hard to catch your own mistakes on the first reading.
What are you reading now?
Dean Kootz, THE MASK.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to finish the contemporary romance I have started and publish the romantic suspense I have just finished.
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, Pride and Prejudice and Call of the Wild
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in Southern Ontario, and I’ve been writing since the age of 16. I started out with epic fantasy but quickly transitioned to science-fiction. Modern settings tend to work better for me. I don’t have the patience to describe long cross-country journeys.
I’ve written eight novels and scrapped five of them. The others became the first three books in the Justice Keepers Saga. The story has been in my head since I was seventeen years old. One day, I was wandering the hallways of my high school when I turned to my friend and said, “What if the aliens are already walking among us but we can’t tell because they look just like us.”
So I conceived of this story with a big, epic struggle happening in the background of normal, everyday life.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The most recent book I’ve published is Symbiosis, the first book in the Justice Keepers Saga. I’m hoping Friction (book 2) will be out soon. Symbiosis was inspired by several things. The characters and settings in the Keepers Saga have been rolling around in my head for over fifteen years, but the story as I originally envisioned it was quite different from what it is now. I wanted a truly unique magic system. I was partly inspired by Mass Effect and the biotic abilities displayed there.
I’ve wanted to write about a diverse cast of characters from the very beginning. When I first started writing, I had a partner who eventually abandoned the craft, and I remember him noting “Why are there so many white people in fantasy books?” So I went out of my way to create a cast of characters from all walks of life. Most of the heroes of this story are people of colour, roughly half are women and some are LGBT.
As for the main story…That’s evolved many times over the years. The current version is about two years old. I’m a discovery writer; so the story evolves as I write it. I do have an outline, however, guideposts and milestones the story will hit as the series unfolds.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Ideas usually come to me when I’m listening to music, and the mood of the music tends to influence whether it’s an action, mystery or romance plot-point. Most of my ideas happen when I’m either in my car or working out. After that, I try to write them down quickly. I usually write a story around a climax, which usually pops into my head when I’m listening to music. I’ll imagine Anna running through an office building or Jack fighting bad guys on a subway train, and then I’ll fill in the rest of the story by asking all the logical questions. How did he get there? What was her purpose for going into the office building? That sort of thing. You can usually fill out 100 000 words by having having 10% of it be climax and the other 90% be lead up that is built on asking all the logical questions. Plus there are scenes I put in just for fun or because I think they make for a great character moment.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’d say my biggest influences are probably Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson for a variety of reasons. Both authors tend to do large, epic stories with lots of characters. Sanderson, I find is largely responsible for the way I think about characters and their special abilities. J. Michael Stracynski influenced me quite a bit when he wrote the TV series Babylon 5. What I love about that series is the way it slowly unfolds over the course of four years. The lead up is very important. With the Justice Keepers, there are plot threads I set in motion in book one that won’t pay off until book nine or ten.
What are you working on now?
Relativity: Justice Keepers, book 4.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Oh god, don’t ask me! I couldn’t sell water to fish. It’s been a year, and I’m still figuring out the whole marketing thing, primarily because it runs so contrary to my way of thinking. In my mind, you do something good, and it doesn’t matter if you personally gain from it. I created these books to make people happy and to get them thinking about complex topics. You know, I kind of have a Field of Dreams approach. “If you build it, they will come.” That, of course, is five kinds of stupid because it never works that way. But it’s who I am, I guess. I write amazing books. I just can’t sell them to anyone.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice to new authors is to avoid taking advice from other authors. Writing is a very personal activity. There are a million ways to get it right and a billion ways to get it wrong, but it’s up to you to find that the method that works for you. Not everyone is a discovery writer. Jordan and Sanderson both keep extensive notes on their fictional worlds. For me, it’s all in my head. I know other authors that function that way. You have to find an approach that works for you. Writing stories is not the kind of thing you can reduce to an algorithm; there’s no simple series of steps to get it done. You just have to do a lot of trial and error.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Always leave them wanting more.” You never want to tie up all the loose ends in a story. Leave a few things open-ended to keep people guessing.
What are you reading now?
Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson.
What’s next for you as a writer?
A long life spent toiling away in obscurity only to have my work receive recognition five years after my death? Lol. I’m kidding. I’m a bit of a dead-pan snarker. Honestly, the only thing I know for sure is that I intend to finish the Justice Keepers Saga
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?
Mistborn: the Final Empire
The Hobbit
Warbreaker
La Nausee
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a first time author of a christian parenting book tackling how to address the subject of intimacy and healthy relationships with children. I am a homeschool mom and freelance writer for various online and print magazines. Formerly, I served as an Executive Director and Youth and College Counselor for two crisis pregnancy centers in Mississippi. I am a coffee lover, travel enthusiast and day dreamer!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Walking the Talk: A Parent’s Guide to Intimacy and Healthy Relationships
I worked in the counseling room and schools with young adults for years. There are a lot of great programs, secular and spiritual, that deal with topics on relationships and intimacy, but I do not see a lot to help parents navigate the topic. Many of us feel woefully unprepared to address intimacy and often times, parents wait too long to start talking. I wanted to encourage parents on their journey but also remind them that they can talk until they are blue in the face and see very little change. Our children need to see the examples lived out. We should be showing them what a healthy relationships looks like, how a man treats a women, how we should honor our bodies etc. None of this can be taught properly in a classroom or high school auditorium. It is not a one-time discussion. The great thing about Walking the Talk is it was written to use as a group teaching tool so parents can tackle this together. I am excited to announce we are scheduling Parent Forums for 2016 as well!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I talk to myself- like a lot! My kids and husband have finally stopped trying to answer me. I ‘talk out’ my words before writing them down. I guess it is just my process. Most authors have a specific writing time but I don’t. It is not usual for me to be up at 2 a.m. writing or in the grocery store writing an idea down on a napkin.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I started out in the counseling room and knew I wanted to write non-fiction, I looked to the authors/speakers/counselors that started paving the pathway for purity discussions. I really look up to Pam Stenzel. She has a heart for teens and her work was used immensely in the counseling room with me. I started parenting classes around her message. I hope the torch continues to be passed down and we, as writers/speakers/counselors can build on what is already there!
What are you working on now?
I have a million different ideas floating around in my head. Currently, I am praying about it. I am in a busy season of motherhood and the pressure I put on myself can be exhausting. God has really placed the topic of slowing down on my heart. Maybe a devotion for moms will blossom from this season. Who knows!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My book can be purchased and reviewed on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Talk-Parents-Intimacy-Relationships-ebook/dp/B015YKQX38/)
The best way to keep up with what is happening is to sign up for email updates on my blog www.heartskeeper.com and/or www.facebook.com/heartskeeper
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write for yourself. I have learned, the hard way, that when you gauge “success” on the number of books sold or the number of followers you have, your love for writing changes based on that view. There is someone out there that needs to hear what you are saying. If you can encourage one person, it is worth it. Just write.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stay humble and trust God in the process. Anything outside of Him means little.
What are you reading now?
Since I homeschool, my daily book reading consists of history books like Story of the World. I actually enjoy it. When I get a chance to sneak away, I read a lot of blog articles from various christain bloggers. You cannot go wrong with C.S. Lewis either.
What’s next for you as a writer?
The sky is the limit. I love to write and I have learned a great deal with my first book. I would like to use what I have learned and possibly help guide new authors. Right now, I am taking it day by day.
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’t I just bring my kindle- then the selection is unlimited!
Bible (yes, really)
Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Intentional Warfare by Mary Graziano Scro (She was my editor and I love how God has used her on my journey to speak truth into my writing and life)
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in central California west of Yosemite National Park. I have written several short historical western novels, one Christmas romance set in Wyoming, and the other books set in California.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is TOO OLD FOR CHRISTMAS. This past year my husband and I made several trips to Columbia State Park, a preserved Gold Mining town in California’s southern Mother Lode region. I took scads of pictures of the place this year, bought books, and researched its history, learning to love it even more than in past years.
I have no idea where I saw it, but an old photograph of a very lovely woman who obviously had lost all her teeth caught my attention and stayed in my memory. As soon as I decided I wanted to write a Christmas novella for this year, the idea for the plot for TOO OLD FOR CHRISTMAS, complete with title, inspired by that picture popped into my head. I quickly chose to set it in one of my favorite places to visit. In no time at all, I had the outline for an entirely new series organized on my computer: Too Old in Columbia.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Because I have a bad neck that gives me fits when I sit up to a computer desk any length of time, my “office” is a loveseat in my living room with a good lumbar pillow for support. I often prop my feet on an ottoman and use a laptop. The other half the loveseat holds my research books, etc. I prefer to write in dead silence, but I can edit and work social media when my husband watches the news.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are too many to mention. I know I used to love to read Danielle Steele and Tom Clancey, but they are not the genre I choose to write. I know Jeffrey Archer had convinced me once I am well-known enough I can write books with cliff-hanger endings and get away with it. I probably have most been influenced by my family history research, and the exposure to the history of everyday people who were ancestors of family and friends.
What are you working on now?
I am in the middle of the Eastern Sierra Brides 1884 series being published by Prairie Rose Publications. The first two novellas are published, the third is due out in the first half of 2016, and I need to get busy writing the last two in that series. I have a sixth book set in 1887 to go along with that series, but no firm plans. I also have a work in progress set in 1870s Kansas and Indiana, and other books in a family history saga I started.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Facebook and Twitter a lot. What I have also found to be effective is participating in group blogs. Besides my own two blogs I use for book promotion, I contribute once a month to two publisher blogs, Prairie Rose Publications and Fire Star Press, to Cowboy Kisses and to a blog I administer, Sweet Americana Sweethearts.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I don’t care how good of a story you write, if you plan to ask people to pay money to read it, you must also know the craft of writing. Your work needs to show evidence that you understand correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, word usage, etc.
That said, I don’t care how good you are at all of the above, it is extremely difficult to self-edit your own work. Your brain wrote the story and your brain knows what is supposed to be there. Your brain will jump right over dropped words, wrong word usage, dropped or incorrect punctuation, poor sentence structure, misspelled words, etc. It is wonderful if you can afford to pay for someone to professionally copy-edit your work. Your best bet if you can’t afford a professional copy editor is to line up at least two friends who are good at grammar and ask them to read your manuscript with a colored pen/pencil in hand to correct errors or at least circle anything that doesn’t look right to them. If you must rely solely on self-editing, research the most effective ways to go about it and take the time to be thorough.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Accept that part of writing and publishing books is promoting your books. Set up your author platform early, such as a website, blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, Goodreads–whatever will work best for you. Use promotion sites with big followings like Awesomegang to get the word out about your published book. Plan to spend between one-third and two-thirds of your author time promoting your published work.
What are you reading now?
My goal is to finish reading all the Christmas stories I have bought this year. What I am reading today won’t be what I am reading tomorrow. I also recently bought six California history research books. I will add those to my research collection and be working on them.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have series started and enough plots planned to keep my busy for years to come. In addition to my fiction work, I am planning to write some non-fiction historical 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?
Please don’t try to limit me like that. I would bring my scriptures, my hymn book, my Kindle, my Nook and a solar battery.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born and raised in Chicago Illinois. I fell in love with urban novels, after my mom gave me a book by Terry McMillan called-Mama. After reading that I knew exactly what I wanted to be…an Author.
As to date I have a total of six books that I have put my pen to and working on more.
When I am not writing I speaks to men and women via social media or in person, on topics such as relationships, sex and I spend a lot of time speaking about the, Unity Between Black Men and Women.
I am currently working on more hot novels and five of them are on Amazon right now. The Double Back Series, Pussy Talks, and Sorority Ties which is a collaboration with some very talented women.
Coming at the end of 2015: He Thought He Had Me and Stolen Moments series, I am currently working on many more books.
During the time when I was contemplating becoming an author I had already dipped into writing, playing around with what I wanted to say and write and did some spoken word. When I finally put my pen to paper to write my very first novel like many authors in the beginning I was skeptical, but then my wings began to extend and I found my bearings.
People often ask me what is my favorite book to date and my favorite is Pussy Talks, only because I talk about sex the way someone may order dinner it’s comes natural to me, I simply give it to you RAW! But my baby of my work is Double Back mainly because it is my very first.
I am with a great publishing home, BlackLyfe Publications.
So look out for me and my work I will not disappoint!
I always have something to say.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Pussy Talks is my latest book. One of the main reasons I wrote it is I have come across so many women who are still afraid to be sexually liberated, and that’s only because MOST are afraid of what others will think of them. When they are behind closed doors sometimes that fear of being yourself will dissipate but when you are talking to a crowd of people or even just a few girl friends, MOST women still refuse to open up about their likes and dislikes. So I wrote this hoping that it gives women some insight on knowing that it is okay to crawl out of your shell.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not sure if it’s unusual but I must have the television and music playing certain shows and certain music will take me to a place that I need to be in to write. Actually it helps blocks out all the outside noise.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My very first fiction book which my mom gave me called Mama by, Terry Mcmilian. I didn’t know books like that existed and I have been hooked every since. I also love Carl Weber great stories even better that he reps voluptuous women. Also any author that works hard and love telling awesome stories no matter where they pull the story from, I am always influenced by them to keep pushing.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on my next series called, Stolen Moments. It is a little different than what I am use to writing, I am loving the story line and the characters but my followers will see something different. I am trying to have this series done by January.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I take it to the streets I like to hand out my flyers and some free books so people can actually walk away with my work. Other than that I use ALL social media sites for promotion.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice would be don’t expect to be rich over night, work hard and have lots of determination. Believe in what you are writing and don’t try to do what everyone else is doing. Give yourself 3-5 years to build a true following throughout all of social media.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Always stay true to your writing!
What are you reading now?
Cop Killa by, Author D Mann
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am currently working on a few webisodes I want to put on You Tube that will be about the Unity of Black Men and Women. More books to come and the list is endless.
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?
Pleasure- Eric Jerome Dickey
The Biography of Assata Shakur
Any Carl Weber book
Disloyal series by Author D Mann
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written 6 novels and published 3 of them through Create space and Kindle. They are doing well. Over 300,000 kindle downloads among them. They carry 4.+ on over a 1,000 combined reviews.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My last published book is Ratham Creek. I live in the mountains and heard stories of shy mountain people living high up in timber country about a 100 miles from my home. I decided to research and write a novel about a large family and I placed them there.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write when my imaginary friends visit with me.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
A large and varied group. John Grisham, James Herriot, Billie Letts, Ralph Moody to name just a few.
What are you working on now?
I have just finished another, my favorite, 101 Harbor Hill Road. It will be put on line sometime this next summer. I must make the dreaded revisions and proofing. My critique partners love it too.
It is a story where the Golden Girls meet Murder She Wrote.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I do free promotions and advertise with a combination of promoters
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up and get help from critique partners.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just walk through any problem that throws you for a loop.
What are you reading now?
The Book Thief
What’s next for you as a writer?
Another novel. I don’t know. Still working on my lastest one.
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 for my spirit, The S volume of the World Book encyclopedia for the word survival, My memoir for my family and a good novel.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written around 70 books under my various aliases. I write mainstream M/F romance mystery/suspense and paranormal/sci fi as Sam Cheever. Gay romance mystery/suspense/paranormal as Declan Sands, and (when I have time) I also pen young adult paranormal as s.i. decker.
Here’s my author bio:
USA Today Bestselling Author Sam Cheever writes romantic paranormal/fantasy and mystery/suspense, creating stories that celebrate the joy of love in all its forms. Known for writing great characters, snappy dialogue, and unique and exhilarating stories, Sam is the award-winning author of 50+ books and has been writing for over a decade under several noms de plume.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The last book I published was a cozy paranormal mystery entitled, Yesterday’s Ghosts. This is book 3 in my Yesterday’s Mysteries series. The series is a fun, multi-layered hybrid of paranormal and mystery. The heroine, Anna Yesterday, owns an antiques store and she has two resident ghosts from the 1800s who are tied to her store through antique items. The story lines for the series involve a current mystery that has its roots in the past. There’s also a growing romance between Anna and the sexy ex-cop who is her assistant in the store.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write a very close to final draft on my first run through of a book. There’s usually very little rewriting of a story once I’m done with it. I’ll go through it a few more times looking for plot holes and better ways to craft the writing, but I rarely find I need to make massive changes to a book once I’ve completed the first draft.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I cut my teeth on the classics. I loved Jane Austin, Ian Rand and Tolstoy, and to feed my dark side, Edgar Allen Poe. I read a lot of authors today and they all inspire me in some way. My reading tastes are eclectic. I read everything. Mystery, sci-fi romance and romantic suspense are my favorites. Favorite authors include Kresley Cole, Jana DeLeon, and Lilianna Hart.
What are you working on now?
I’m writing the first book in a new mystery series called Smart Murders, Inc. The title of the book is Smart Alex. This book is a spin off from my popular Honeybun Heat series.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I do a lot of Facebook parties to promote my work and utilize a large and growing email list.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
The hardest thing you’ll ever do as a writer is write the book. Saying you want to write and actually doing it are two completely different things. Eighty percent of the population thinks they can write a book. But only twenty percent of us actually give it a try. The number of us who finish the book is much smaller.
The second hardest thing you’ll ever do is promote and sell the book you wrote. Persistence is the only thing between an author who fails and one who makes it. Believe in yourself. Recognize that you need to continually learn and grow. And never stop writing.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
A great story will create visceral reactions, positive and negative, in people. Learning how to deal with those reactions when they lean toward the negative is really hard. But someone once told me that those people who give you one and two stars did so because they’re not part of your target reading group. For whatever reason they strayed beyond their preferred reading and ended up with one of your books. That makes perfect sense to me and makes those bad reviews a bit easier to take.
What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews. I actually read several books from the Kate Daniels series years ago and got distracted away from them. I recently rediscovered the series and I’m enjoying the book.
What’s next for you as a writer?
In 2016 I’m launching 2 new series and will continue writing books for existing series. I’m also going to try to finish up a couple of books I’ve put on the back burner while I wrote more time-sensitive projects. My goal for the year is to make the New York Times bestseller list. Wish me luck! #:0)
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?
Which exact books would depend on what I’m reading at the time. I find new authors I love all the time. But I can tell you this, I’d bring a mix of genres and the books would be the longest, most complex in that genre so I could reread them several times without getting bored!
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a substitute teacher, member of the Arkansas Arts Academy school board, and, of course, an author. I live in Rogers, Arkansas (right next door to Bentonville, where Wal-Mart is headquartered) with my wife and son and three cats. I’ve published four books: Small Things, Small Things 2: Threads, Memories of a Ghost, and Odds and Endings: Fiction Short and Otherwise.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Odds and Endings: Fiction Short and Otherwise is my first short story collection, containing 12 short stories and one novella. I’ve always loved reading and writing short stories. one of the stories, Smoke, ties in with the Small Things universe, while the novella, Merryland, is tangentially related to Memories of a Ghost.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to set all of my books and stories in the same universe, and many in Carthage, Illinois, where I grew up, or Rogers, Arkansas, where I currently live. As for unusual writing habits, I rarely if ever use outlines. I will usually go back and outline a book after I’ve finished writing it, to make sure the continuity all matches up, but I tend to deviate rather strongly from outlines if I write them pre-book, so I’ve learned to just do them at the end.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Rod Serling, creator of television series The Twilight Zone, is probably my biggest influence, followed by Ken Grimwood, Stephen King, Charles de Lint, and Jonathan Carroll. The last two are especially good at connecting their characters and books to their other characters and books, something I often emulate.
What are you working on now?
The third and final book in the Small Thing trilogy, something my fans have been (im)patiently waiting for since Threads was published in 2013!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My greatest weakness in terms of writing is my promotional skills, or lack thereof. I mainly stick to Facebook and Twitter for promoting, but am trying to expand my horizons.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing, and participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) each November. It really does motivate you!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t give up.
What are you reading now?
I just finished the umpteenth Agent Pendergast book, Crimson Shore, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, and am about to delve into The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, Stephen King’s newest short story collection.
What’s next for you as a writer?
To become rich and famous, of course!
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?
Replay by Ken Grimwood, 11/22/63 by Stephen King, The Time-traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and whatever book of my own that I currently had in progress, so I couldn’t endlessly edit it until I got rescued!
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a small business consultant, executive coach, corporate trainer, motivational speaker, ordained minister, and author from Chicago, Illinois. I wear many hats such as wife, mother, grandmother, foodie, and chocoholic. Due to my extreme love of language, I write across several different genres including business, self-help, poetry, paranormal, science-fiction, and erotica. My works draw from aspects of my own topsy-turvy life as well as experiences my friends, family, and clients have shared with me. I am also a talented watercolorist and self-proclaimed gourmet chef. When I’m not writing nor working on my next project, I can be found busy in my kitchen whipping up a new culinary creation.
To date, I have published 5 books, but I have written or started writing close to twenty which are in various forms of completion. I plan to release them all over the next year. I have also written many articles and blogs as well as contributed poetry to other websites.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My last published book is called Madame Broussard’s Incredibly Disturbing House of Whores: A Sick and Twisted Adult Short. It’s a paranormal erotic adventure.
This book is a result of one of my infamous WTF dreams. I had to brain dump this disgusting piece of filth to keep my sanity. It is extreme, dark, edge erotica. Several types of BDSM and other sex play is explored. I have pushed the boundaries of morality and perversion so read at your own peril.
I normally publish self-help and business books; however, I have been writing poetry, paranormal and erotic sci-fi for most of my life. This book is the first of those I have published and I do hope you enjoy it if you’re into this type of thing.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
OMG, yes! Almost all of my writing is the direct result of a crazy dream I’ve had. I dream very vividly and am also a lucid dreamer as a result of being the victim of consistent sleep paralysis episodes. The things I dream are absolutely nuts and I have no choice but to pen them to get them out of my head.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen Covey, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Zane, Terry McMillan, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, just to name a few. I am an avid reader so I tend to have several titles going at once. Thank God for Kindle.
What are you working on now?
I’m releasing a new erotica title called “Aborted” on January 1, 2016. It is a sort of coming-of-age story for a young African-American woman who is faced with a difficult, life-altering decision during a time when everything else in her life is already falling apart.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am an avid user of GoodReads. The site has an author Giveaway section that allows authors to distribute free copies to random winners. Another great site for this is LibraryThing. Users of both sites do a good job of returning the favor to participating authors by leaving honest reviews on Amazon and other sites. Reviews help boost book sales.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes! Don’t worry about perfection. Just get it out. You can always revise a published work later or release a new, updated edition of a previously published work. The important thing is to start drumming up buzz about your books as soon as possible. Start a blog, connect with your target readers, and give away the first books freely until you build a dedicated audience. Write a series if you can. Most importantly; however, is building that relationship with your readers.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The hardest part is just to start. Get started!
What are you reading now?
I have a review copy of Ghost Light by LeeAnne Hansen. So far it has me hooked in the mysterious love triangle that is bordering on the paranormal. I should be finished reviewing it within another day or so.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to turn Madame Broussard’s into a series. I have already began working on the next titles. I also have several nonfiction business books in the works.
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?
Anything by Dean Koontz or Zane, my Bible, and a book about survival on a desert island.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a pretty normal guy who drinks too much, watches too much football and dabbles in writing from time to time. I have a very active imagination I think, which is not always a good thing as it sometimes keeps me awake at night. On the plus side, though, an active imagination is a good thing for a writer I’m told?
My debut novel comes out on 1st December 2015. I also have several short stories that I hope to evolve into novels one day.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My current Book, Clash Of Worlds, is the first of a planned trilogy. It the whole idea started off with a random thought I had of merging a Fantasy, realm based world with the a realistic, Action based setting. I thought it would be interesting to combine aspects of both genres, kind of like Lord Of the Rings meets James Bond.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Besides the beginning and the end, and some general chapter outlines, I usually just sit down and start to write. Sometimes I sit down with only the start of the chapter in my mind and figure the rest out as I go along. I like to put myself into the character(s) minds, which helps me to write instinctively. I cannot write at home at all; I’m too easily distracted. I like to sit in a coffee shop or a library while I work.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am a huge fan of The Lord Of The Rings, A Song Of Ice And Fire book series and The Broken Empire. I also like reading a lot of non-fiction, most notably, Stephen Kings On Writing, which is now my favourite book.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on the sequel to Clash Of Worlds and also have plans on a Suspense themed novel about a man who has the perfect life, that is until he goes to see a fortune teller who predicts terrible things in the man’s future. He then becomes obsessed about what is going to happen and it consumes him.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
At the time of writing this, my debut novel is released in 1 day, so I’m still a novice when it comes to promotion. However, I have used Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Linkedin so far and have found all of these websites useful.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just sit down at your computer/notepad and start writing. Once you start, you’ll find it difficult to stop.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read Stephen Kings non-fiction book On Writing. It is a book full of advice from a man who knows exactly what he is talking about.
What are you reading now?
Re-reading A Dance With Dragons.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Keeping hard at it while my creative juices are flowing. After all, we never know when the dreaded writer’s block is around the corner.
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 Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings series. I can imagine being stuck on a desert island would be pretty boring. Therefore, escaping to Middle Earth from time to time surely wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up on the move, as a kid I moved 17 times and lived in some of the most beautiful states, but more than that I traveled extensive. So that by the time I got to college I had seen most of Europe, Central America and the US. Its all the downtime from long plane rides and the remarkable beauty of the places I got to visit that really inspired me to start writing. As of right now I have written two books, one of witch is on Amazon for free. They are Ayden’s Trek book one of the Children Under the Stars series and the second book is Scattered Paths in the Snow. The second book is now under editorial review and will be hitting the bookshelves in January.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Ayden’s Trek was inspired by a strange and very realistic lucid dream I had some years ago. To this day that dream has been the most beautiful experience in my life and I am so excited to be able to share it. It was so fantastic that I just had to get it into writing. Initially I just put it in my dream journal as a really long entry, but then quite organically it became a book, that to this day I haven’t stopped writing. I expect there will be about 3-4 more books in the series.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yeah I do! I generally only write while traveling (by plane, or train mostly), and when I write it’s for hours on end without any breaks. I get really focused, just utterly absorbed n the moment and words seem to flow forth.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
That’s easy, I always loved reading especially fantasy and my favorite books include naturally The Lord of the Rings, Eragon (Inheritance cycle), Harry Potter series, and an unusual one on my list, though very near and dear to my heart, is Jean M. Auel’s Earth’s Children series.
What are you working on now?
Besides the tedious editing process of the Scattered Paths in the Snow the second book in the Children Under the Stars series. I’m working on a new series called the Apocalypse Years and the first book in it, Eden in Alaska, is about a third of the way done. It’s an urban fantasy story about the angel of death and how he tries to manipulate the press, and the minds of the public with acts of terrorism to bring about the third and final World War. But to find out more you will just have it read it when it comes out!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well there isn’t just one place or one website, I’ve use an universal approach and It seems to be doing well since I have a fairly good ranking on amazon. #52 in epic fantasy #66 in swords and sorcery and #3594 of all 2million amazon books!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My best advice, is to read the books you love and learn from the authors. How do they make you fall in love with the characters? How do their plots stand out? Your favorite authors will always be your greatest teachers. Other than that do some basic research about what makes a story good. Also research simple but powerful things like active and passive voice, and how to implement them effectively.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I ever heard (in regards to writing) is only write when you are in a complementary mood (to the events/scene). Your writing reflects your mood, and some of your best work will flow forth when your mood and the events of the book align. You can’t write the saddest part of your book on the happiest day of your year.
What are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading Dune by Frank Herbert, my friends have been telling me to get around to it, ad so far I really like it a lot! The Spice must Flow!
What’s next for you as a writer?
Right now I’m focusing on getting the word out about Ayden’s Trek, getting to #52 on amazon for epic fantasy has been a lot of work, so getting a literary agent is 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?
I would bring 4 blank books and a pen, with my small handwriting I could turn that into 8 books!
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in England and have lived in California for twenty years. I love being able to experience the joys of both cultures. I have published four cozy mysteries and one non-fiction book. I have several more cozies in the process of being published.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Murder in the Mansion is set in Cornwall and is inspired by my family vacations there as a child in the 1970s. I loved staying on a farm, running free, drinking still-warm milk from cows, going out with the fishing boats and eating the mackerel that we caught for dinner in the evening. Happy days.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My habit is to work every day, rain or shine, holiday or no. I sit a LOT and a friend told me she’d read somewhere that we should get up 32 times in the course of a day. I have a pile of paper clips on one side of my desk and every time I get up, I move one to the other side.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Kate Atkinson, Minette Walters, Agatha Christie, Robert Galbraith, Anne Cleeves, the list is endless.
What are you working on now?
I am editing Body in the Woods, the third book in the Reverend Annabelle Dixon series, The Case of the Hidden Flame (Book 2 in the Inspector David Graham series) and Snatched (Book 2 in the Diana Hunter Mysteries)
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use perma free books and Facebook ads, plus submission to sites like yours.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Make building an email list your main priority after writing your books.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When you’re going through hell, keep going. ~Winston Churchill
What are you reading now?
A God In Ruins by Kate Atkinson
What’s next for you as a writer?
To keep writing books in my three series and engaging with my lovely readers.
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?
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens, Emma by Jane Austen, something by Robert Galbraith.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I love everything romance. I have written No Chance for Love, which is romance short story #1 in the Roanoke True Love series. If you are looking for a longer romance book, try our More Than We Bargained For. Each of my romances sort of give tribute to my own love affair with my husband. Sometimes love is slow, and sometimes it comes swiftly like a tornado. You just have to enjoy the ride.
I also wrote Infertility Stinks! A 31 Day Devotional that dives into the heartache and turmoil surrounded around infertility. If you struggle with getting pregnant, this devotional is for you! It is raw, up close and personal of my own infertility journey.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
That is a tough question. Infertility Stinks! A 31 Day Devotional is my heart stripped out for all to see. It is a deeply invoking, devastating, hope filled and encouraging all wrapped into one. I share my journey and give incite on how I keep the faith through it.
As far as romance, it has to be my first short story in the Roanoke True Love! Series. This wraps up my heritage and my true love into one. Roanoke is the city my beloved grandparents lived throughout my childhood. There are so many places that I will showcase in each short story. Truly, Roanoke is one of my favorite places.
As to quickie romances, my true love and I found each other years later. We went to school together, and move off into the real world. Eight years later, I opened a door … and there he was. Let me just say it was true love the second my eyes settled on him. So I did what any rational woman would do … I chased after him. And chase I did. Just a few months later I moved to Florida to get married. True love can come fast and swift. You just have to grab it when it comes. As you can see, quick romance I know well and wanted to capture in Roanoke True Love!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
It’s instrumental music plus a large coffee for me. I like it quiet, although I do enjoy music.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I can say Corrie Ten Boon with out even thinking about it. She is my hero. If you don’t know who she is, please, please, please, Google her story. You will not regret it.
What are you working on now?
I just finished a Christmas short story,Everything She Wanted, that is so cute. I can’t wait to share it with readers. I have read it several times and I wrote it, although sometimes I forget that when I am reading a cute story.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am still a newbie so I rely on youtube for direction. I have always felt I can learn from those who go before me, so I watch a lot of videos of do’s and don’ts.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never stop believing in yourself.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never let reviews get to me.
What are you reading now?
I wish I could say a good book. Although I do have high hopes for my Christmas stocking to be filled with anything Christian romance.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Short Story #2 in Roanoke True Love!
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
My Bible, Infertility Stinks! A 31 Day Devotional, and Pride and Prejudice.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Carrie Lowrance and I have lived in Illinois for 18 years. My parents owned a restaurant along a main highway so I didn’t have friends to regularly pal around with. Not like in a small town anyway. As a child I spent most of my time writing and listening to music. I also had a chance in junior high to write for a local newspaper. As I got older, I wanted to get into Journalism. I went to college for a Journalism degree but had to drop out due to a strong struggle in math. However, I did enjoy my classes and writing for the local newspaper at the time.
From there life took me down various paths. I eventually got my Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. It wasn’t until January 1, 2014 that I decided to take my writing seriously. I saw a segment on the CBS Morning show about how author Jasinda Wilder got her start on Smashwords. I decided that day that in a year I would publish my first book.
I made my goal in a year and three months. My first book, Lithium Dreams And Melancholy Sunrise was published in March. I followed it up with a second book of poetry, The Safety Of Objects, in May. My third book, a children’s book, called Don’t Eat Your Boogers (You’ll Turn Green) was published in November.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is Don’t Eat Your Boogers (You’ll Turn Green). Working in a daycare, I always here all kinds of things and get lots of ideas for books. About four years ago I was in the two year old room one day. My co-teacher and I looked over to see one of our kids picking their nose and eating it. Firmly, but gently, she told him “Don’t eat your boogers. That’s gross.” Immediately, you’ll turn green popped into my head. That night I sat down and wrote the first draft. Then I kind of let it sit for a very long time. It wasn’t until I submitted it for a grade in a freelance writing class that I got some very good feedback.
I polished it up a little and took it in to read to the kids. They absolutely loved it. From there, I started researching how to self-publish a children’s book. The lady that does my file formatting introduced me to an illustrator friend of hers and the rest was history. About three months later I published Don’t Eat Your Boogers (You’ll Turn Green).
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am a big fan of Debbie Macomber, Nicholas Sparks and Nora Roberts. I aspire to reach their level of writing, ability to be prolific and income. As for poetry I like Edgar Alan Poe, Robert Frost, William Butler Yeats, etc. Some of my favorite children’s books are If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, Bah Koo, the Llama Llama series, The Pigeon series and The Tortoise And The Hare. I also enjoy books on business, work and finance to help me improve and be my best self. Authors that I enjoy in that category are Jon Acuff, Dave Ramsey, Dan Miller and Timothy Ferris.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently torn between my first suspense/thriller and my first love story. I have a few pages written for each , I’m just waiting to see where each will take me and which one I want to stick with. This doesn’t mean that the other is a bad idea. One genre may just flow better over the other at the moment.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still trying to figure that out. Marketing is a tough horse to mount for a new author-especially an indie. For me anyway. But I’m always on the lookout for different websites to submit to. I will say that publishing my e-books through Smashwords has been a plus.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice to new authors would be not to let fear paralyze you. If you want to write a book, do it. Don’t let the fear of the unknown keep you from pursuing your dream. We all worry about is my book good enough? Will people like it? What if it sells? What if it doesn’t sell? How do I promote it? I think that can drive you crazy to the point of distraction. As one of my favorite authors, Jon Acuff puts it, fear is schizophrenic. It will tell you to either do it all at once or not do anything.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Once again, one of my favorite quotes from Jon Acuff. Quit asking fear for permission to do that thing you know you are supposed to do with your life. I absolutely love it.
What are you reading now?
Long Time Coming by Edie Claire. She is a new author to me so I am excited to read her work.
What’s next for you as a writer?
My plans for next year are to write and publish my first novel. I also want to write and publish another children’s 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?
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
START by Jon Acuff
The Tortoise And The Hare by Aesop
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi, I’m Jenice Revers, a lively and fun-loving person who loves to laugh and to dance. I am also a mother of 3 beautiful children ages 3, 15 and 20. My background is in counselling and psychology. I have worked with children and families over the past 20 years both in my country of birth, Jamaica and in the UK where I now reside. I have written 2 books and is currently in the process of releasing my third. My books include ‘Immigrant Workers to the UK: A Personal Journey to Success’; ‘Damn It, I’m Worthy: 7 Steps to Transform the Relationship with Yourself’ and my third title yet to be revealed soon.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called ‘Damn It, I’m Worthy: 7 Seven to Transform the Relationship with Yourself’. The inspiration for this book came out of a place of saying that ‘enough is enough’ and acceptance that our worth is never defined by the horrible experiences we have had. It is especially dedicated to women to the commonality of them usually expressing feelings of unworthiness. Hence, the intention that I have poured into ‘Damn It, I’m Worthy’ is that women will know for sure that it doesn’t matter whether you have experienced abuse or loss, you are enough, your value and worth cannot be changed by people, situations or events. I also intend for women to be aware that ‘life isn’t happening to them. Life is responding to them. You are creating our reality by the thoughts you have consciously or unconsciously. I wanted to use my life experiences of abuse and loss suffered to indicate to women that it is possible to heal and learn to love yourself even following the most horrendous life events.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
As I am a passion-led writer, the process of documenting my thoughts is usually quick and fluent. My passions usually evoke a flow of ideas and words of expression. I also usually mull over the idea or talk with others a lot about my topics before writing. Hence, I use these opportunities to clarify the content before writing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am a lover of self-help books hence I have read books from authors such as Marci Shimoff, Iyanla Vanzant and Norman Vincent Peale.
What are you working on now?
My third book on ‘Sex and Sexuality’ is to be release pre-Valentines Day in February 2016. In this book, I engage my readers in a fun, light-hearted manner using erotic poetry, scenarios and open discussions to talk about the sensitive topic of their sexuality, sexual satisfaction and desires.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still exploring using a combination of social media platforms; direct contact with readers via speaking engagements and digital marketing to promote my book. Hence, I’m yet to decide which is the most effective method of promoting my book. Stay connected as I will be able to share experience soon.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice for new authors is to ensure that the publishing package you intend to invest in, is one that is cost-effective and one that will provide the support you need. Consider putting away some money for marketing and promotion as after your book is published, you will need a strategy to let potential readers know about it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
One of the best advice that I have ever heard is not to take yourself too seriously as all is well. Hence, we must laugh more especially about what we considered to be mistakes or failures as things will eventually work out for our good. Most things we worry about never really happened or if happened, we are able to manage it.
What are you reading now?
The Multi-Orgasmic Woman by Mantak Chia and Rachel Carlton Abrams
What’s next for you as a writer?
Following the release of my next book on sex and sexuality in January 2016, I intend to continue writing extensively on the topic of sexuality. I also design both online programmes; deliver face to face workshops and VIP coaching programmes around the topics shared in my books. See products and services on my website www.jenicerevers.com
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1.The Power of the Sub-conscious Mind
2. Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway
3. Happy With No Reason
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am madly in love with the Scottish Highlands, and the strong, handsome men and beautiful women who live there. I write strong male and female characters, with a twist of real life, and always happily ever after, or happy for now endings. I write both Historical Highlander Romance, and Contemporary Scottish Romance. The characters and plots are inspired by a love for all things Scotland and Highland, and each story and character take on a life of their own as I dream and write about the characters, and explore their journey.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have a new release, book four in the Laird’s Legacy series, and it has been so much fun to write! The title is The Highlander’s Proposition, and it features Allister, one of the McCullagh brothers, and a Highland cattle farmer. Becca Castile is a PhD candidate and travels from NYC to the McCullagh farm to work on her research project, only to find that Allister’s farm is in jeopardy, and now so is her research!
Becca is very logical, and focused; getting her PhD means everything to her – far more than the Highland cattle who are the topic of her research. Allister is the complete opposite, and although he made Billions via investing in the corporate world, he left it all behind to follow his heart and do what he loves most.
Let’s just say, things are about to get very interesting!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have “writing zones”! When I’m in one, it’s really hard to pull me out and back to reality, much to the chagrin of my family.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My interests are very eclectic. For fiction, Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series is INCREDIBLE and I devoured every word. I love those books! I also like romantic comedy (and you definitely see some of that in my writing), suspense, thrillers, historical and contemporary Scottish fiction, and even inspirational fiction. I’ve read voraciously my entire life, and dreamed of writing since I was 9. Now I live my dream!
What are you working on now?
A new series that is Historical Highland focused. The details, however, are top secret!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This is going to sound weird, but it’s the truth… I send every one of my books out with a blessing from my heart. I want them to inspire happiness, love, joy, and laughter to everyone who reads them. I think that has a lot to do with their success, but more importantly than that, I hope they make a difference for everyone who reads them.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you love. Write every day. Connect with kind, good, and successful authors that you admire. Just do it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write without judgement and fear. Just write.
What are you reading now?
The Outlandish Companion Volume Two, Diana Gabaldon
What’s next for you as a writer?
Exploring the history and contemporary culture of Scotland more deeply. I love historical Highlander stories, and I also want to inspire young adults and Millenials to explore this genre, people, and beautiful, magical land. And of course, improving my skills as a writer; I aspire to be a great one someday.
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?
2 books on improving my writing, a thick, empty journal so that I can continue to write, and my Bible.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a wife, mom, pastor and author. My husband and I work with mostly teenagers and young adults. I love what I do. Discipling students, especially young women is a passion of mine. Writing is a newer venture but definitely a love. (especially because I can do it in my pajamas, sitting on my sofa.) I have written two books. The first was a self published collection of essays for women in ministry titled, Pulpits and Pink Lipstick. The second is my debut novel, The Chronicle of the Three: Bloodline.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Chronicle of the Three: Bloodline is my latest book and I would have to say that as far as the story, it feels like something I dreamed. I kind of started with a simple scenario that wouldn’t go away until it because a full blown book. Switching my writing focus from non-fiction to fiction was inspired by some of my students. Seeing what they were reading and wanting to give them something with all the romance, action and mystery that also had glimpses of Biblical truth and hope.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. Unless you count potty training toddlers while writing. It seems that I was potty training one of my daughters with each book. That won’t be a habit that continues though. (I only have the two girls.)
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love C.S. Lewis, and not just the typical Narnia books. My favorite of his is The Screwtape Letters. I also love Harper Lee.
What are you working on now?
The second book in The Chronicle of the Three trilogy. I have the series mapped out and am about halfway through book two.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still so new to this that really I’m not sure. I am still trying out new things so I will have to get back to you on websites. I do have an awesome street team. (I call them my squad.) They have really helped spread the word on the book for me and made it super fun.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing. I feel like I heard that a lot and didn’t really get it until now. But if this is something you want to do, do it. Work at it. Write little nothings to get you through blocks, write blogs, write your masterpiece, just keep writing. (Feel free to sing it like Dory would in Finding Nemo.) Also, one thing that has helped me is setting goals. I think I read somewhere that Ted Dekker has a goal of 2,000 words a day. I’m not there yet. But I thought to myself I could do 2,000 words a week. Trying my best to stick to that goal is what got this book done.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
On writing or life? For me its more of a quote that helps keep me grounded in the right things. “Talent will take you where only character can keep you.” At the end of the day who I am is more important than what I do.
What are you reading now?
Currently I am on a non-fiction kick. I just finished The Bush Always Burns by Heath Adamson and Walk the Talk by Sarah West. I am in the middle of You and Me Forever by Francis and Lisa Chan. The next fiction on my list is Go Set A Watchman.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am pretty focused on this trilogy. I also have a children’s book that I tinker with. (It was born out of a girl from our church wanting me to write a story just for her because she’s a little young for my book.) I have a couple other ideas that i jotted down and will be ready to see which one takes further shape when the characters from this trilogy decide I’m done and they leave me alone.
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?
Bible (not just for religious reasons but because there are some great stories in there.)
To Kill a Mockingbird because its a favorite.
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood because it makes me laugh and cry.
Something, anything by CS Lewis.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written four books. One is a children’s book “For Devun” The other two are short books, “Gerald’s Wisdoms” and “WIT’S END” and my most recent book.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Secret Diaries of a Nurse: and other short stories
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like writing in my flannel pj’s. I am comfortable and delight in being able to stay in my pjs all day if I want to. I am recently retired from over thirty years of nursing and being able to work i pjs thrills me.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have never been without a novel I have read so many great books. I admire Stephen Kings ability to handle a character. Agatha Christie, Mary Higgins Clarke, Michael Connelly, Earle Stanley Gardiner, Harper Lee, Rick Moffina,Lucy Maud Mongomery, Harriet Beecher Stowe, for me the authors and books are endless.
What are you working on now?
A Novel about Jamie Mallory, a young paranoid schizophrenic and his nurse Olivia, it will be a mystery suspense.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Facebook, twitter, goodreads, Google +, and I have a blog site.
https://downhomenovascotia.blogspot.ca/
I also speak to church and service groups when the opportunity arises.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
never give up
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
fear not I am with you always
What are you reading now?
I have three books currently that I am reading all by indie Authors, “The Girlfriend Experience” by Charles O’Donnell, “In the Wicker Wood:Where secrets are buried” by Lazarian Wordsmith and “Diary of a small fish” by Pete Morin. I also plan to read the new book by Harper Lee
What’s next for you as a writer?
To write 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?
The Bible, Cujo, The Diary of Ann Frank, and The Old Man and the Sea
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is my second book. My first book was co-authored with my spiritual teacher, Bear Heart, a full-blood, traditionally trained member of the Muskogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma. That book was The Wind Is My Mother; The Life and Teachings of A Native American Shaman, still in print after 19 years!
I have been a spiritual seeker my whole life, and for the past 30 years my spiritual practice has been studying with Native American Elders. I am a blogger, healing practitioner and teacher of personal growth and spirituality seminars.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Fountain of Youth Is Just A Breath Away; Breathing Exercises for Relaxation, Health and Vitality was inspired by my passion for health, yoga and meditation. I have done morning breathing exercises every day for the past 15 years and they have improved my health and emotional well-being.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Nothing too unusual. I try to put in at least an hour a day. One perhaps unusual habit is that I consider the ideas that come to me while walking, working out or meditating as part of my writing time.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read a lot of non-fiction on health and spirituality. Some of my favorite authors are Christianne Northrup, M.D. and Bruce Lipton, Ph.D. because their writing style is informal and accessible. Entertaining even.
What are you working on now?
Creating a new seminar on indigenous spirituality.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website is www.mollylarkin.com. I am also very active on facebook and twitter.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing, no matter what kind of feedback you get. If I had stopped every time I was told I couldn’t write I wouldn’t have written two best-sellers!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Start before you’re ready.” and “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
What are you reading now?
“The Order of Days; the Maya World and the Truth about 2012” by David Stuart. It’s research for a new seminar I’m preparing.
What’s next for you as a writer?
A book on animal healing.
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?
Anything new in the Mary Russell series [she was the fictional wife of Sherlock Holmes] and Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written three fiction books, “The Ariana Series.” Previously, I have written articles for magazines and newspapers.
About myself…some might think I have an unusual life. I am a metaphysican, an advisor who employs proven therapeutic techniques with intuitive guidance to bring clarity and direction to others. I consider myself a guide to help people define their problems and objectives and to work with them to find tools to help have a successful life. My work as an advisor has inspired me to incorporate my spiritual knowledge and practices into “The Ariana Series.”
My background and education are in both counseling and nursing. I hold degrees in psychology, nursing, divinity, and metaphysics. I have over 40 years of experience and training in astrology, numerology, channeling and mediumship, creative visualization, cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as substance abuse and family therapy.
I have lectured and taught in Europe, the US and Canada, as well as having been a regular guest on many radio programs both in Arizona and California, and the host of two cable television programs. For the last 34 years I have been the only channel of the combined consciousness known as Equinox.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book is the final book in “The Ariana Series.” It is called “Fighting Darkness.” I was led to write this series because I felt it was time to inform people of their unique abilities, how to understand and use them, with the final result of uniting us all on a quest to not only empower each individual but also to help our planet back to health.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When writing “The Ariana Series” I became obsessive, not even stopping to eat. I remained at my computer until I was exhausted and finally had to stop. I continued this process until the book was finally complete.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King, John Green, John Irving, The Hunger Games,” and my favorite author, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
What are you working on now?
I am writing a workbook to go along with the book series and a new novel tentatively called “Faerie’s Tale.” I am co-authoring a spiritual book with Josephine DeFalco entitled, “The Human Handbook.”
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Through the Awesome Gang website I was able to develop a website for my book and to link that to an e-mail collection service. http://www.thearianaseries.com/
I have an author’s facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Arianatheseries/
I have bundled “The Ariana Series” into a special 99 cent promotion for all three books that I will run for a limited time: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Ariana-Books-1-3-ebook/dp/B018GH4VEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449085038&sr=8-1&keywords=the+ariana+series+joan+l+scibienski
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Find encouragement and grow a thick skin. Although it may feel like you are giving birth to your first born, you must be willing to accept criticism and editing.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
That I have the power to create the world I want to live in.
What are you reading now?
Hollow City by Ransom Riggs.
What’s next for you as a writer?
To continue to empower others through my writing and my vision of how awesome this world and all that exist on it really are.
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 know that I could never choose just three or four, but certainly one written by Vonnegut, King, and also John Irving.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been writing for just over three years now and have a total of 8 novels and several novellas and short stories. I love the whole process and am always working on something. I try not to pigeon hole myself to a single genre and tend to drift around depending on what I feel like writing at the time, which could be anything from outright horror to more thriller / action orientated projects.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book si titled Project Apex. it’s something I’ve been working on for the last couple of years and is quite ambitious compared to the work I have done before. I wanted to do something that had a truly big feel, a written word version of one of those big budget Hollywood movies. Although it was initially conceived as a single title, the book had to be split into three as it would have just been too big to put out as a single novel. Across the three books we meet around twenty major characters all with concurrent storylines taking place in multiple countries across the globe. The research alone was a nightmare at times, but im really pleased with how the book came out in the end. I hope people will like it, as it crosses into multiple different genres.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I stick to a routine. I’m fortunate enough to be in a position where i can write full time, so most days I’m up and ready to start work at 8am just like a regular job. i think routine is important. Sometimes, especially if I’m writing particularly intense or action led scenes, I’ll write to music. it helps me to focus and block out the outside world.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Like many authors who drifted into the horror genre, I grew up reading Stephen King, Brian Lumley, James Herbert. These were the authors who took me to places and made me realise that I wanted to do for readers what they did for me. it was so easy to get sucked into the worlds they created. Later, I read a lot of Steve Alten stuff. The Meg series are some of my favourite books. Im currently working my way through the Lee Child Jack Reacher novels. I try to keep my options open when it comes to new material
What are you working on now?
I’ve just finished the second Project Apex book, so am letting that sit for a while before I re-edit again. I’m always busy, though, so in addition to that I’m working on finishing two novels for Severed Press, plus working on some script work for a potential new television project in 2016 which is really exciting. I’m also gearing up to make a start on the third and final book ni the Project Apex series. I like to keep busy!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
book promotion is hard, and I’m still trying to find the best way of getting my work out there. Although in the past I have worked on growing my facebook page, I’m trying now to look at other methods. I really want to drive traffic through my website and encourage sign ups to my mailing list to make sure I’m getting the word out to all of my readers rather than just a select few. Since Facebook changed their algorithms, it’s hard to make sure all of your followers see everything you post.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Remember it’s a rejection based business. A rejection doesn’t mean your work is bad, it just isn’t a good fit for a particular publisher. The sooner you can develop a thick skin the better, as you can guarantee you’ll need it!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
This one is easy. Write every day without exception. There may be days when you don’t want to, or don’t feel like it, but you still have to force yourself to do it. Cut out as many distractions as you can. TV. phone, internet. all fo these things are bad for the writing. It can be a grind, but waiting until tomorrow to start never gets you anywhere.
What are you reading now?
At the moment, I’m reading A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. I had seen a lot of good reviews on it and thought I’d give it a go. So far I have not been disappointed. It’s a superb book that I’m flying through. Easily one of my favourites of the year.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I just signed with a literary agent and so we will be looking to increase my profile next year. I also recently sold the movie options to the Whisper trilogy and that is now in active pre-production. in addition for that, there is the TV project which I am sworn to secrecy about, which, if it comes off could be huge. All in all it’s shaping up to be a really strong year 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?
Skeleton Crew by Stephen King
MEG by Steve Alten
Necroscope by Brian Lumley
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well I was born in Bangladesh and was raised in Bangalore, India and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Toronto, Canada. As a result I speak fluent Hindi, Bengali and Urdu. People are always surprised that a woman from such a traditional background writes erotic romances, but I embrace that unique aspect of personality. I’ve also modeled for Maxim and appeared in the somewhat racy HBO series LINGERIE… so I’m not exactly bashful about sexuality.
SEDUCE ME SANTA!! Is my third book release, but I have two more- A BEAUTY FOR THE BEASTS and RED HOT HOUSE FLIPPER completed and being released very soon. Excerpts from those books are included in SEDUCE ME SANTA.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is SEDUCED BY SANTA!! Several things inspired me. First was the holiday season, which I love. I’m kind of a Christmas junkie and always wanted to write something just for the holiday.
To do that I went back to my old pal Sweet Prudence, who was the main character in my earlier book SEDUCED BY THE SAUCERMEN, as well as being the main character in the movie SWEET PRUDENCE AND THE EROTIC ADVENTURE OF BIGFOOT, in which I played Prudence’s sidekick Veruca. Veruca was kind of the Ethel to Prudence’s Lucy. I thought it would be fun to take those characters and throw them into an old fashioned Christmas story. To get in the mood I binge watched all those great old television Christmas shows like RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER and SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN. SEDUCED BY SANTA is like one of those specials – except on Pheromones and Ecstasy. There’s a lot of satirical humor in the book, along with all the steamy scenes.
Writing a Prudence book is kind of like spending time with old friends. Isn’t that what everyone loves to do during the holidays?
The final reason was that I wanted to give a gift to my regular readers and to new ones. In keeping with that we’ve only priced the book at $1.00 and we’re doing a five-day free giveaway December 5th and December 8th-11th on Amazon.
You can check out the video trailer on YouTube
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I think every writer has different habits and eccentricities. I tend to do a lot of research to both learn about the subject and get in the mood. On SEDUCE ME SANTA that research amounted to binge watching old Christmas specials on DVD. Hours and hours of watching Rudolph, but it’s research, so I don’t feel guilty about it at all.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
In terms of humor Christopher Moore was a huge influence. If you’ve never read him you’re really missing something great. Robert Crais is another author I love. His blend of humor and drama is amazing. It’s a tightrope walk that only a few authors can accomplish and he is the master.
What are you working on now?
At the moment I’m in a scramble to get my two other books A BEAUTY FOR THE BEASTS and RED HOT HOUSE FLIPPER ready for release. I spend a lot of time pouring over stock images to find the right elements for the covers and creating strong marketing tools. I think it’s important to give those elements a strong personal touch. But very shortly I will jump back into RED HOT REALTOR, which is an erotic romance set against the backdrop of a television real estate show. I love real estate and home renovation shows – so it’s a natural fit.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think it’s dangerous to decide on one best method to promote your work. You need a broad game plan. Websites like this are a great tool, but have to be combined with Facebook, YouTube and other social media. As an indie author you start at the bottom of a very deep ocean of available books. It’s hard work to rise up enough to be noticed.
The other critical thing is to keep writing and keep releasing. A huge part of becoming visible to readers is being prolific.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Try to add some fun to your writing process by having a pet project in the background you can switch over to. It’s a great cure for writer’s block. Don’t be concerned about what genre your pet project is in. Raymond Chandler used to write very personal poetry when he wasn’t creating hardboiled detective fiction. It just opens your mind up and helps you find your own voice.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice is, and always will be, “why aren’t you writing?” It’s the only way to develop your creative muscles.
What are you reading now?
SWAMPLANDIA by Karen Russell, it’s such a fascinating story set against a unique backdrop. The idea of being a twelve-year-old girl raised in an alligator wrestling theme park sounds absurd, but Russell makes it so beautiful.
What’s next for you as a writer?
At the moment I’m in a scramble to get my two other books A BEAUTY FOR THE BEASTS and RED HOT HOUSE FLIPPER ready for release. I spend a lot of time pouring over stock images to find the right elements for the covers and creating strong marketing tools. I think it’s important to give those elements a strong personal touch. But very shortly I will jump back into RED HOT REALTOR, which is an erotic romance set against the backdrop of a television real estate show. I love real estate and home renovation shows – so it’s a natural fit.
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?
Two of my choices would be my own works in progress, because then I could tweak and rewrite until a rescue ship arrived and not feel guilty about it. How’s that for self-absorbed?
Others would be FAREWELL MY LOVELY, by Raymond Chandler because it’s so beautifully written. A paragraph of Chandler has more nuances than volumes of other author’s work.
THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE because it would inspire me creatively and it’s more compelling than any work of fiction.
Can I bring ROBINSON CRUSOE? A brilliant book that might also help me figure out how to get off the island when I was finally out of books to read.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an artist first and foremost. I tried my hand at writing and I think I’ve scratched an itch I didn’t know I had. I’m just a sarcastic, creative, artist with an ax to grind. I wrote Anti-Socially Awkward, just to vent with a light heart-ed humorous approach and it took off.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Anti-Socially Awkward: A well documented list of reasons society needs a punch in the neck. I think this little gem explains itself. If you are in an uproar over coffee cup designs, or block store exits to check your receipt, sue because coffee is hot, or think rockin’ a man-bun and wearing your sister’s jeans is manly, I’m afraid YOU are NOT going to be too happy about this book.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do! I make sure I have background noise, drink COPIOUS amounts of coffee, and get absolutely no sleep til I have nothing left to say. It’s ridiculous but it works.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m really diggin’ new authors like L.M. McCleary and others. Brian “Head” Welch, Corey Taylor, a few others.
What are you working on now?
The fans have DEMANDED more books, so I’m trying to figure out what topic I want to touch on next. I have to ensure it’s interesting, I don’t want to write just for the sake of writing.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Social media is always a great start. Many ways to utilize it if you know what is available to you.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
If it’s uninteresting and bores you while writing it, readers will likely feel the same way reading it. Give it some life, have fun with it and give it 100%
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Question impossible. Don’t let other people place limitations on you, try it for your damn self. If they say it’s never been done before, get excited! You have the chance to be the first to do it.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading Deserted by L.M. McCleary
What’s next for you as a writer?
I will be writing some more books on various topics, fans of my first book will see to it by the looks of things, God bless em’.
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?
Deserted by L.M. McCleary I think would be very fitting, Save Me From Myself by Brian Welch, Heavier Than Heaven, (Bio on Kurt Cobain) Seven Deadly Sins by Corey Taylor.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in London, where I work for the exciting, and sometimes crazy, fashion world. I am a also a committed writer and have written two historic novels, one set in Ancient Greece, and the latest one set in the Roman world of AD 9.
As well as writing novels, I also write a blog on both historical and fantasy genre novels.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest novel is Roman Mask. The inspiration for my novel was a strange one, and not one I would really recommend to anyone. The idea behind my novel came about after a street mugging in which I was lucky to survive after being attacked and beaten to within an inch of my life. Physically I recovered quite quickly, but the emotional and mental side was a different matter altogether and it affected me quite badly. I was completely unprepared for the mental-trauma that such an incident inflicts on you. So I decided to put my experiences to good use, and use it for the basis of a novel. Rather than having it a weight bearing me down, let it be something that produces something positive. At the time, the news on the television was full of stories of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress and it made me think how soldiers dealt with such issues in the ancient world. My experiences had shown me the power that traumatic events can play on the mind, and I quite simply didn’t believe anyone who claimed that in the ancient world such a thing was not a concern because life was different back then. The human mind was biologically exactly the same then as it is now, and just as fallible to conditions we now diagnose and understand the importance of.
So I came up with the character Cassius, a great soldier, but someone who’d been affected by a terrible battle a few years before in the forests of Germany. I knew from my own experiences how easy it was to fall into a trap of blaming yourself for your own perceived weakness, and I knew how living a lie to hide that same weakness can become a part of life. I then started my novel in Rome so I could show Cassius being seduced by the many vices of that ancient city – something that is all too easy under such circumstances. I then returned Cassius to Germany where he learns to understand and come to terms with his fears, just as I did whilst writing my novel. The novel culminates in the Teutoburg forest and one of the most dramatic and historically significant battles of the ancient world. Cassius needs to draw on all his courage and strength in the midst of that terrible event.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. Most of my writing has been done my cottage in the Northumbrian hills, where up until recently you could find me walking with my black Labrador Fergus, who sadly passed in January 2015. Fergus was a constant companion to the writing of the novel and prevented many writers’ tantrums.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always loved both the Historical fiction genre, and fantasy novels. My blog is based around both genres.
Favorite authors of mine from the fantasy world have been David Gemmell, Robin Hobb, and of course J.R.R Tolkien. For historical novels, it would have to be Mary Renault and Bernard Cornwell.
What are you working on now?
I have been so overwhelmed by how well Roman Mask has been received by both the critics and my readers, that I thought it was about time I started the sequel. I started two weeks ago, so although you won’t be seeing anything for quite some time, it is on its way.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far it has been my own website www.romanmask.com
As I control the content, I can write about what I want, and this makes it the perfect channel to advertise my own work.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Always write about what you love, don’t get hung up on what you think will be successful or sell well in the marketplace. If you are going to write a good novel, it is going to be a long project and fill your thoughts for large amounts of that time – this is much easier if the subject you write about is one you love. Sometimes I hear of authors who choose a period of history or subject because they thought no one else had written about it before. That’s all very well, but the best way to make your novel unique is through its characters, the emotions you explore, and the story’s plot-line – the period you set it in is immaterial.
Also, whether you are a first time author, or an old hand, always aim for your novel to be the best in your chosen genre. You might not achieve this, but it is best if that aspiration is always there. Never should your thought process be of thinking that your book should be merely adequate or better than some.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be yourself and embrace your individuality.
What are you reading now?
Believe it or not, I am reading War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (honestly I am!). I have been surprised how easy to read it is, and how relevant it still feels. I think with great classics like War and Peace we can be reluctant in to start such a long novel in case it is difficult to read or incomprehensible. But getting to grips with it has been far easier than I thought, and I’m really enjoying it.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have no idea….
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I think I will have to go for the longest three I can find! How about War and Peace, The Lord of the Rings, and the entire series of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello All,
I’ve written three books so far. One novel and two novellas. The novel was the first in my trilogy called the Benefactor trilogy. Each of the books I have written were for Nanowrimo (National Writers Month). If you don’t know, it takes place in November, and writers take on the challenge of writing an entire book (50,000 words, 200 pages) during that month. There is also a camp that takes place twice a year and that is when I wrote the two novellas (novellas are shorter than novels).
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is The Red Haze, and it was inspired by my addiction to vampires during high school. I’m sure all you paranormal readers out there know what I’m talking about, we all go through that phase. I had always wondered at the different variations of vampires and what it would be like if there was a parasitic connection between two types (in my book they are distinguished by the color of their eyes, red and blue). Anyway, the idea continued to evolve and thus my book was born.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Hmm…writing habits? I like to drink butter beer when I’m closing in on a deadline (yes independent authors have deadlines too, mostly self-directed though but no less important). It helps keep the blood flowing after I’ve been sitting for hours at the keyboard.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love fantasy and science fiction as you will see from the books I’ve written. Honestly, I’m still trying to find what fits well and I keep trying different genres but I was really inspired by J.D. Robb’s (also known as Nora Roberts) In Death series. I read it through high school and it really helped me through a dark time. Those books are what inspired me to begin thinking about writing.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the second book in the Benefactor Trilogy. I’m hoping to have it published sometime in 2016. Let’s just say that the deadline is fast approaching and the butter beer is calling.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I really like this group on Fiverr called bknights. They do an amazing job at advertising my books. I have no complaints.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Advice! I have tons of it. Follow your heart when you are at a fork. I’m the kind of person that needs to see everything in front of me before I can make a big decision and becoming a writer is a BIG decision. It’s hard work and you will lose sight of your goals. You just have to remember that writing is the long run which is made up of a bunch of short sprints. Make sure you bring a water bottle and lots of protein bars. Most importantly, don’t lose sight of your true dream, the innocent one that drove you to love writing. Whether it was a love for books or to tell your story and help people. As long as you hold true to you ideal then things tend to work out for the best. Good luck and stick it out!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read a lot and Write a lot!
What are you reading now?
I’m reading an anthology that I bought from humble bundle ( a great cause by the way). It’s called Women Warriors. It’s science fiction and fantasy and gives a great outlook on how woman were portrayed in science fiction and fantasy back in the day and how that image has evolved.
What’s next for you as a writer?
What’s next? Hmm…all kinds of things. I have tons of aspirations and not enough time to do them all. There are several novellas that I want to write in 2016 and I hope to get to them all.
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?
Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Some of my favorite books.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m just a writer living in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the middle-of-nowhere Virginia. I have about 15 cats (16, if we count the neighbor’s fat cat who eats over here because he’s supposed to be on a diet at his house!) I’ve written ten books, but published only my historicals (5 so far,) and a short story.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Lucky’s Lady is the last full novel I published, and my love for the ocean, sailing, and tall ships were the inspiration.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, I write from about midnight to five or six in the morning. That’s odd enough. When I’m writing love scenes, I a glass or two of wine before I settle in to write that night!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My biggest influence was probably the Bronte sisters and Jane Austen when I was much younger, and Bertrice Small, Judith McNaught, Stephanie Laurens, and Julia Quinn are the more current authors that I love. Their books are my most prized keepers!
What are you working on now?
A Valentine’s Day novella, What the Fates Decree, and Waltz with a Dark Lord. They’re all in production right now. I have been experimenting with writing more than one book at the same time. It’s slower, but it all works out. When I get stuck or have to stew over something in one book, I go work on another. Or if I have a vision of the next scene in another book, I switch over. It’s not something I recommend because there are times I think I might be nuts to do this.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Definitely BookBub works wonders, and Facebook is my second best method for promo.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Make sure this is what you really want to do. Just because the market has opened up, making publication much easier, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s something you should do. If you do, make sure you put a professional product out. That means getting developmental edits, copy edits, and proofreading done. Then you need a professional cover that is appropriate for the genre you’re writing in. You only get one chance at a first impression, and while readers might be forgiving of the occasional typo, they’re less so when it comes to many, repeated errors and inaccuracies. Remember this is a profession, so be professional.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write drunk, edit sober. And it’s not necessarily what you think. I do have a glass of wine before writing love scenes because it tends to free-up the mind, and make me overcome the natural tendency to not use certain graphic words. Well, those words are an important part of the foreplay or love act, and depending on whose POV I’m in, they’re downright necessary.
What are you reading now?
Tessa Dare, When a Scot Ties the Knot
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a Valentine novella releasing on 2/14 as part of a boxed set with several friends, then I have What the Fates decree coming out in the summer, Waltz with a Dark Lord maybe Christmas-ish 2016. Christopher has a book coming (no title yet,) then Harry’s book (again, no title yet.) AND, as if that isn’t enough I’ve started making notes for a NEW series… I’m calling it Seven Grooms for Seven Sisters. So, I’ll be busy for a while!
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 New American Bible
my prayer book
Pamela, Samuel Richardson
Whitney my Love, Judith McNaught
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.