Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am passionate about theology, I find it fascinating and, truly, what can be more important if you are a christian than to find out more about who or what God is. I love to dig into this subject, since there is much to be discovered. The amazing thing is that in this journey for truth, I have discovered that many Christian ideas and concepts are not based on Scripture but on pagan mythology! The sad thing is that most Christians don’t know it. We must remember that for centuries people were not allowed to read the Bible for themselves and were persecuted if they challenged the religious dogmas. During this time a lot of unbliblical ideas crept in and have become entrenched in the Christian culture and are now accepted as “truth”.
I am now an independent writer but have worked for The Miami Herald and other major newspapers as a journalist.
I have written articles in newspapers and magazines but this is my first book

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first book is “No Other God: How to Return to the Forgotten God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. I have been studying the issue of who is God for a long time and have seen all the misconceptions about God and Jesus Christ in the Christian community. This book presents a radical view of God, but based solely on Scripture and what it reveals about this important subject.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
To help me focus and concentrate I like to put on some earphones and listen to soft jazz music or sounds that help relax brain waves.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like the analytical style C.S Lewis uses in his writings on Christianity,
Also the witty social and political criticism found in H.L. Mencken and I love the Jane Austen novels.

What are you working on now?
I will be starting the second book of the series I began with the first book. The series will challenge different Christian concpets that I find are not Biblical.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
One of the best methods for me is creating a good launch team for each book

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Find a way to overcome your fear. I think the fear of failure or thinking that your book will not be good enough keeps many people form writing. Start mind mapping and once you have an outline, just go for it! Don’t edit in this process, just write and when you’re done with that first draft, then take the time to edit. Finish the draft first!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I’m a perfectionist and this leads to procrastination, since you find fault in everything you write. So, for me, the best advice was to never edit while you’re working on the first draft. Finish it first and then edit. This helped me get my book done in several weeks!

What are you reading now?
Several books on internet marketing, such as Dot Com Secrets, and The Two Babylons

What’s next for you as a writer?
The second book in the No Other God series

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible
Don Quixote
Pride and Pejudice

Author Websites and Profiles
Gladys Nieves Website
Gladys Nieves Amazon Profile

Gladys Nieves’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an author, poet, and educator from Montgomery, AL. In the past, I wrote numerous online articles and currently have several projects in the works. More of my features are Chicago’s Poetry Exhale with Pizaaz . As a previous Yahoo! contributor, I did several guest blogs, including a feature spot on Be A Bestseller website. I am a Liberty University graduate. From Now until Infinity: A Reflection into Womanhood (2006) is my first poetry collection. Since then, there is a follow-up book From Infinity until Beyond: A Journey into Life (2010). NAKED: A Book of Monologues for African American Women (2013) has been a recommended read in the acting community. “Moments of HerStory” a book of memoirs that includes one of my many life stories was an Amazon bestseller and made # 1 on its Hot New Releases.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Collection: A Book of Short Stories is a diverse literary collection in style and content, making it the perfect read for everyone. It has short stories and flash fiction. It has historical fiction, contemporary fiction, horror, and science fiction. The stories center around common themes of death, mental illness, and family. Have you ever people-watched or thought about a series of events and thought, “What if…?” This thoughts are the origination of my characters and stories.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My books often come to me during sleep, and I also have a special connection with my characters. They beseech me, and if I don’t get them down on paper, they will drive me almost mad!!!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always been a fan of Toni Morrison, Ntozake Shange, and Judy Blume. These authors motivate me through many of the projects I undertake.

What are you working on now?
Right now I am tackling a novel and poetry collection that combines all of my past poems and features some new ones. In the upcoming year, I also plan to release three manuscripts that I am polishing. However, there is no tentative release date for these.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I must admit I have a crazy method to my madness…I want to keep that secret for now!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would tell other writers to be persistent, follow their heart, and do their research.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Well, knowing that one must have a thick skin, I was told to not give up. I can say that is by far the best advice I’ve ever received. I may take a break, but giving up is not in my vocabulary.

What are you reading now?
I am going through a transition process, and I am a self-help junky. My current read is “In the Meantime” by Iyanla Vanzant. She keeps me chilled when life becomes stressful.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am looking forward to creating audiobooks and a comedy sitcom! I am always reaching for ways to expand my brand.

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 definitely have to bring The Bible to keep me grounded; Shakespeare to keep me reading; and a journal to keep me writing!

Author Websites and Profiles
Kimberly Scott Website
Kimberly Scott Amazon Profile

Kimberly Scott’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an author, poet, and educator from Montgomery, AL. In the past, I wrote numerous online articles and currently have several projects in the works. More of my features are Chicago’s Poetry Exhale with Pizaaz . As a previous Yahoo! contributor, I did several guest blogs, including a feature spot on Be A Bestseller website. I am a Liberty University graduate. From Now until Infinity: A Reflection into Womanhood (2006) is my first poetry collection. Since then, there is a follow-up book From Infinity until Beyond: A Journey into Life (2010). NAKED: A Book of Monologues for African American Women (2013) has been a recommended read in the acting community. “Moments of HerStory” a book of memoirs that includes one of my many life stories was an Amazon bestseller and made # 1 on its Hot New Releases.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Collection: A Book of Short Stories is a diverse literary collection in style and content, making it the perfect read for everyone. It has short stories and flash fiction. It has historical fiction, contemporary fiction, horror, and science fiction. The stories center around common themes of death, mental illness, and family. Have you ever people-watched or thought about a series of events and thought, “What if…?” This thoughts are the origination of my characters and stories.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My books often come to me during sleep, and I also have a special connection with my characters. They beseech me, and if I don’t get them down on paper, they will drive me almost mad!!!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always been a fan of Toni Morrison, Ntozake Shange, and Judy Blume. These authors motivate me through many of the projects I undertake.

What are you working on now?
Right now I am tackling a novel and poetry collection that combines all of my past poems and features some new ones. In the upcoming year, I also plan to release three manuscripts that I am polishing. However, there is no tentative release date for these.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I must admit I have a crazy method to my madness…I want to keep that secret for now!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would tell other writers to be persistent, follow their heart, and do their research.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Well, knowing that one must have a thick skin, I was told to not give up. I can say that is by far the best advice I’ve ever received. I may take a break, but giving up is not in my vocabulary.

What are you reading now?
I am going through a transition process, and I am a self-help junky. My current read is “In the Meantime” by Iyanla Vanzant. She keeps me chilled when life becomes stressful.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am looking forward to creating audiobooks and a comedy sitcom! I am always reaching for ways to expand my brand.

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 definitely have to bring The Bible to keep me grounded; Shakespeare to keep me reading; and a journal to keep me writing!

Author Websites and Profiles
Kimberly Scott Website
Kimberly Scott Amazon Profile

Kimberly Scott’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in Toronto and grew up in London, Canada. I was the first winner of the Lillian Kroll Prize for Creative Writing at Western University, where I also completed a degree in English Literature. I have published four books of fiction in recent years as well as two books of poetry deep in the murky past. So call it six if you like.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is called The Launch. I had a major disappointment in my artistic life which created a surprising amount of anger and resentment in me. I decided to write about it and play it out in my mind to see where it might lead.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Used to listen to music because Stephen King always did. Then I decided it wasn’t working for me and now I write to silence. Abandoning a proven habit used by a bestselling author who once wrote a book on writing is pretty unusual. Huh.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
It’s funny you ask me that, because I set up a special shelf on my Goodreads page all about the top ten books which influenced me the most. Here is the link:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2347018-mark-victor-young?shelf=top-ten-most-influential

Discuss. I will point out that my favorite book by my favorite author is on there: Cider House Rules by John Irving. Read the book before you see the movie, but see the movie. Then read My Movie Business by Irving, which summarizes the whole experience. Then your life will be complete.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a YA book that I’m calling a Celtic Fantasy, as well as a book of short stories revolving around the ex-pat crowd in Paris in the mid-twenties. As you can tell, I don’t stick to one genre at all. I like to mix it up, keep it interesting.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My own site, mostly. But Awesomegang is a new fave.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
That’s a tough one. I don’t claim to know what would help another writer. It’s pretty personal, but maybe there are commonalities. How about I tell you some things that work for me? Yes? Okay. First suggestion is that a writer reads. Lots. I read 4 to 5 books a month and I have a full time day job, a 12-year-old daughter with an active sports and social life (and no driver’s licence, obviously), and I also write for 1 to 2 hours per day. Find the time. Second is to work with a professional editor. It’s amazing the insights you can glean from a skilled, dispassionate third party. Also, write every day no matter how little it is, read your work out loud when no one else is around, and eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies to keep your mind sharp! 

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The art of writing is in the application of the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair. (Paraphrasing and too lazy to look it up.)

What are you reading now?
Many graphic novels and fewer audiobooks. Why graphic novels, you ask? Excellent question, answered here: http://markvictoryoung.com/2016/01/20/why-you-should-be-reading-graphic-novels-in-2016/

What’s next for you as a writer?
Lasting fame and fortune. Financial independence. Shoot for the moon, right?

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
One John Irving, Stephen Fry’s Paperweight, and maybe something poetry by Maggie Atwood.

Author Websites and Profiles
Mark Victor Young Website
Mark Victor Young Amazon Profile
Mark Victor Young Author Profile on Smashwords

Mark Victor Young’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a seasoned author from many moons ago! I wrote my first novel at the age of 14, and it was horrible! Twenty four years later, I went back in time to retrieve that book, entitled ‘ A quest for the four keys in Wonderland’ and added two more books these past two years, making it a 3 – in – 1, and perfecting, adjusting and reshaping the entire series. It turned out better than I imagined and folks are really digging the plot twists and falling in love with the characters, some have said “It’s almost too easy” and that was a great accolade within its self . I gave my heart to the “written word” a long time ago, only to encounter that love again not so long ago, after taking a life long pause. I want to write more when time allows me to do that, and there will be more to come!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Legacy of a Legend, was the last ”Historical Fiction” book I wrote. I have visions of what a story should be, long after I gaze at a picture. I don’t know, it stirs me up inside, it makes the creative juices start to trickle within me and an unstoppable force hijacks my heart, where I’m forced into submission, and I must obey “The God’s of writing” as we/us writers say! It’s stronger than any other passion I possess, it always has been and my inspiration for this particular book was the mere fact that its unique story line has not been told anywhere else, or that none other resembles it and I love heroines with a deep rooted purpose.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do! Actually, I have a few “bad” habits, like most writers do… coffee and cigarettes! Let’s not confuse them for “eyeliner and cigarettes” as lady gaga says!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Phillipa Gregory! She’s my heroine, and I must admit, I secretly have a fascination with her writing style, not that I would mimic her but… we have similar attributes in the same genre. I love her book and series, ( when it was on the air ) The White Queen.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a project that involves using a pen name, and wow! It’s actually pretty cool! Look out for Liliana L.S., who will bring avid readers or mystery lovers a ground breaking series, well, in volumes that is, of Historical Enigmas & Urban Legends. I love Historical based mysteries especially the ones who haven’t been solved yet, also Urban Legends. What could be more appealing than telling a tale from the past that spooked us beyond compare, and trying to figure out if it was real or not? It involves using the old noggin’ a whole lot, a little different than my usual Historical Fantasy and Fiction works, but none the less, it’ll be challenging and super intriguing.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use social media in most cases, I also cover a few events throughout the year, mostly those within the U.S. and Canada, but look for more events to come that are going to be abroad! I’ve built an audience and made some wonderful friendships over the years who are special and dear to my heart and I want to give a shout out to some! Margaret Westlake, Madelaine Rodriguez, Janet Boal, Zoran Vitorovic, Terri Johnson, Mladena Bojkovic, Boban Jovanovic, Ana Caruana, Mary Ayala, Terri Johnson, Michael Kraxenburger, Kathy G. Ellis, Simon C Lord III, Deborah Oren, Maryann Powell, Chelsea Barnes and so many others to mention, we wouldn’t have enough space here! I want to thank them so much for every effort they put into my writing and daily posts of sharing, liking, commenting and reading, I am truly nothing without them.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Jump in and don’t look back! Why? Because if you truly love it with all your might… you’ll find a way to succeed no matter the outcome.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Follow your heart, but take your brain with you! It’s that simple.

What are you reading now?
Unfortunately, I have a list of the books I need to get to but don’t have the time. I will have plenty of time when in the air on 16 hour flights and so on! I’ll devour all I can.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Promoting and events are what’s in store for now. My dream is to make a movie with any of my books, but it hasn’t reached fruition yet! It may be a very long time before that happens, but I remain optimistic, as I can’t and refuse to let my fans, the ones who have asked for a film, down!

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 Game Of Thrones Series simple because I started it long ago and haven’t quite finished it. The Red Queen by Phillipa Gregory and any self help books that would allow me to muster up a concoction so I can get off the Island – LOL!

Author Websites and Profiles
Lory La Selva Paduano Website

Lory La Selva Paduano’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am 22 years old and originally from Pittsburgh, now living in Queen Creek, Arizona. I currently work as a live in nanny and devote all of my free time to writing. I’m in the process of self publishing my first novel, Bewilderments of the Eyes, which will be released this summer. As for future projects, I have three other novels in the works, all at various stages of completion, and new ideas are popping into my head every day! I write contemporary fiction, specifically of the New Adult genre.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first novel, Bewilderments of the Eyes, will have its cover reveal this coming week (February 3rd) and has a summer release date that has not yet been announced. Bewilderments is a story about a college-aged girl who struggles with depression and anxiety, and is fighting to take back control of her life. I was inspired to write this story because I am a firm believer in self care, and I avidly support the notion that the masses need to be more aware of the various forms mental illness come in. It is upsetting to me that self care is often viewed as selfish, self-indulgent, or egocentric. Losing sleep, not eating right, inner battles, and other forms of self neglect are often romanticized. The inability to understand mental illnesses, and the tendency to undermine their effect on its victims, is what spurred me to write this story.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a lover of YA. I devour John Green, Sarah Dessen, Marie Rutkoski, Kiera Cass, and the like. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is always my answer to “What is your favorite book?”. All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven and How To Build A Girl by Caitlin Moran are both books that affected me to my core. I’m also a huge sucker for dystopians. Obviously Harry Potter is a given; they were the beginning of my love affair with reading. The Great Gatsby is one of my all-time favorites, and I’ve got a quote from The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath tattooed on my arm. All in all, I’m looking for books that make me cry-tears of devastation, hope, laughter-and books that stay with me for years to follow.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I’m putting the majority of my energy into publishing Bewilderments. When I’m not working on that, I am writing and editing the second draft of the manuscript for my second novel that I completed during 2015’s NaNoWriMo.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve found that Twitter and creating a Facebook page have been the most effective at promoting my writing. I’m still fairly new to the world of publishing and book marketing, and I learn more every day. But, in general, I turn to Twitter to keep a dialogue going and remind everyone that I’m here. Also, I follow my favorite authors on Twitter and that helps not only to inspire me but I pick up a lot of tips from their tweets. Other than that, word of mouth really does the trick. Talking to people, starting conversation. That’s what really gets around.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write. Embrace yourself as a writer. My biggest struggle upon starting out was self-doubt. I wouldn’t call myself a writer, I undermined my work, and that’s no good. I also spent too much time thinking and analyzing. As soon as I learned to just let go and get the words down, everything else came so easily. So just write! Whenever you feel inspired, whenever you have something to say, write it down. Maybe you’ll end up deleting it later, maybe you won’t. It doesn’t matter. Sometimes the smallest thought or line can lead to something much bigger. Own your authorship, and engage your authorship.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I was talking to my friend on the phone one day about how scatter-brained I can be and how I felt that I should be working on one project, but I was feeling inspiration for another. She said to me, “You’re a freakin’ artist, man. Go wherever the wind takes you.” I wrote it up on a post-it and stuck it to my mirror to remind me that you can’t manipulate the Muse. You’ve got to go where she leads, and struggling only leads to writer’s block and frustration!

What are you reading now?
I’m almost done with Kiera Cass’s latest release, The Siren, and will be moving on to Glass Sword (the second installment of Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard) once it’s released Feb. 9th. I’m also in the middle of So We Read On by Maureen Corrigan.

What’s next for you as a writer?
First and foremost is the launch for Bewilderments. Coming up in the next couple of months I have the cover reveal, the launch of the revamp of my author website, and ARCs going out for review. Beyond that, I will be preparing my second novel for its first round of editing in an effort to get that story into readers’ hands as well!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would not last very long on a desert island. Therefore, I would want to spend my last days with my favorite characters. I would bring The Winner’s Curse because not only do the characters and the story have me addicted, but Rutkoski’s way with words soothes my soul. I would bring Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix because it is the longest book of the series, and I would bring The Perks Of Being A Wallflower because I feel further enriched every single time I read it. I would also bring Mockingjay because it hurts so good.

Author Websites and Profiles
Theresa Sopko Website

Theresa Sopko’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Betricia and I am currently a stay at home mom. This is the first book Ive written which is a children’s book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Jada Sundae And The Gumdrop Fairies Rescue”
My oldest daughter is the inspiration for this book. Her big imagination and even bigger sweet tooth is what helped me to create this book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I usually wake up in the middle of the night and write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve been a Harry Potter fan since the very first book and it opened me up to writing.

What are you working on now?
Im working on another book in the Jada Sundae series.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Dont give up EVER!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Dont promote keep writing!

What are you reading now?
The Mortal Instruments Series

What’s next for you as a writer?
To create a childrens tv show

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 House Of Night Series

Betricia Santiago-Blue’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a brand new Indie author. So new the shiny hasn’t even worn off yet. It’ll Feel Better when it Quits Hurting is, hopefully, the first of a series of books based upon the misadventures of my life.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It’ll Feel Better when it Quits Hurting.
The title for the book came from my Grandpa Bob, it was his favorite phrase. It could be considered the family motto, if we had one, passed along for three generations now. And I doubt that it will stop with my children, since I’ve heard them utter this phrase multiple times to their friends.
When I was young it was applied to boo-boo’s and the small scrapes that come from growing up and falling down often. Growing up it became the phrase that I began to apply to my entire life. It may be the truest statement ever made, because it will always feel better when it quits hurting. You may carry the scars of it, whether physical or emotional but, in time, all things heal, and eventually, the pain will fade away, and you’ll realize, “I’m okay, I do feel better.”
My Grandpa died in his early 60’s of cancer, my two oldest were too young then to remember him now. And sadly, my youngest three never had the chance to get to know him. But his legacy and his words live on through all of us, his descendants, and now I pass them along to you. It will feel better when it quits hurting, I promise.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t believe so, but all writers by nature are weird… so I could be flying my freak flag high and never know it.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Erma Bomeck, George Carlin and Christopher Titus are the three biggest influences on my style of writing.

What are you working on now?
The second book of the series (tentatively) titled “Wine Comes in Six-Packs”.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ll let you know when I figure it out for myself.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Since I’m a new writer myself, not really. Anyone have some really great advice they’d like to share with me instead?

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It’ll feel better when it quits hurting.

What are you reading now?
Sadly, nothing at this point. My time is so taken up by marketing, promoting and surfing for more places to do that, I no longer have the time to relax and enjoy a good book. I have been working on Game of Thrones for about two months now, which is sad because usually I can read a book that size in two days, but as soon as I sit down to read, I never get more than a page into it before I am distracted by reality again.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Trying to finish my second 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?
This is a hard one, there are so many books that I love and enjoy. Stranger in a Strange Land would be at the top of my list, maybe The Vampire Lestat or Memnok the Devil, Clan of the Cave Bear, and maybe one of Stephen King’s anthologies.

Author Websites and Profiles
Lisa Orban Amazon Profile

Lisa Orban’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m originally from Australia and moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1990s. After writing three novels which were eventually filed under “Good But Not Quite Good Enough” I happened upon an online article about a hotel that opened on Sunset Blvd in 1927, called the Garden of Allah. It was one of those residential hotels which were more common back then – you’d check in for 3 months while you worked your $1000-a-week contract with MGM, as F. Scott Fitzgerald did in 1937. The Garden of Allah quickly became known as a place where interesting people stayed. The guests of this hotel read like a who’s who of Hollywood’s golden years: Errol Flynn, Ginger Rogers, Harpo Marx, Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Artie Shaw, David Niven, Leopold Stokowski, Orson Welles…and on and on…

I found it such a rich field for storytelling that I immediately knew what I wanted to do: write the history of Hollywood through the eyes of the residents of the Garden of Allah. So I invented my three protagonists and I weave their fictitious story around the factual events going on in Hollywood at the time. Through what will eventually be nine books, I will take my readers on a ride through golden era Hollywood as its various phases unfold – the advent of the talkies, then Technicolor, the making of “Gone with the Wind”, the fight over “Citizen Kane,” then into the war years at the Hollywood Canteen, the post-war rise of the anti-Commie hysteria, the fall of radio and the parallel rise of television, and how Hollywood combated it by going wide screen. So much went on during that period that it’s an embarrassment of riches, really!

I have written five books in the series so far:
Book 1 – “The Garden on Sunset”
Book 2 – “The Trouble with Scarlett”
Book 3 – “Citizen Hollywood
Book 4 – “Searchlights and Shadows”
Book 5 – “Reds in the Beds”

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is “Reds in the Beds” and it was inspired by what happened in America in the period immediately following WWII. The wartime purpose of the House Un-American Activities Committee was to root out Nazis on the home front, but now that the Nazis had been vanquished, they needed a new target, and landed on Communists. They realized they could get maximum publicity if they focused on the infiltration of Commies into Hollywood movies, regardless of whether or not there actually were any. As a result, an entire industry was upended, and hundreds upon hundreds of careers were destroyed. My characters live though this period so there was no way I couldn’t not write about it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know how unusual this is, but I write seven days a week. When you’re juggling the demands of a 2nd job while you’re also trying to get your next novel out, you have to be very self-disciplined with the time you can carve out for your writing. That means no email, no Facebook. It’s amazing how much you can get done when you cut the cord to all distractions.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Probably the most influential author for me has been Armistead Maupin, who wrote the “Tales of the City” novels. It wasn’t until I was well into my 2nd novel that it dawned on me that I was sort of writing an LA version of “Tales of the City” – a very specific time and place. His books are set in and around San Francisco starting in the 1970s, while mine cover Los Angeles, starting in the 1920s. While I haven’t modeled my books on his, he definitely laid the ground work.

What are you working on now?
Right now I”m working on book 6, which covers the years 1948 through 1950. This was when two classic movies were being filmed and released: “Sunset Boulevard” and “All About Eve.” It’s also the time when the Hollywood Powers That Be started to realize that this new-fangled gadget called a “television” might be something they ought to take seriously after all.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I adhere to the advice “Don’t talk about your books; talk about what your books are about.”
My books are about living and working during Hollywood’s golden age – 1920s to 1950s – so I post a lot about what life was like back then. I do this on my website, blog, Facebook, Google Plus, and Pinterest. Fortunately for me, I write about a time and place that was photographed A LOT so there are tons of photos I can post and share info that I’ve acquired in the course of my research. All of this becomes Google-able and a lot of my readers find me while searching information about a person or a place that I’ve covered in my social media. I’ve also learned that putting effort into growing an email list is worthwhile. In that way, you can directly email your fan/followers/readers and develop a relationship with them.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I have three words of wisdom: persistence, persistence, persistence. I’d say at least 80% of what people think goes into becoming a writer — inspiration, talent, craft — comes from dropping your butt into your chair / sofa / bed / hammock / position of choice and start tapping that keyboard. Even on days when you don’t feel like it. In fact, I’d say especially on those days you don’t feel like it. Even if you hate every word of what you’ve written. You can’t polish or improve or edit or re-write something you haven’t written. So stop talking about it, stop thinking about it, stop dreaming about it, and just DO IT.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Write the book you want to read.”

What are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading “Fall of Giants” by Ken Follett. It’s the first of his gargantuan Century Trilogy, which follows five interrelated families throughout the course of the 20th century. I’d heard that he waffles off onto vaguely irrelevant tangents, but I haven’t found that to be the case at all.

What’s next for you as a writer?
As a writer, next for me is book 6 in my series.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’m a lover of long historical sagas. So if I’m going to be stuck on some island with only 3 or 4 books to read, I want them to be long and absorbing. So it’s “Gone with the Wind” – “London” by Edward Rutherford – pretty much anything over 600 pages by James Michener.

Author Websites and Profiles
Martin Turnbull Website
Martin Turnbull Amazon Profile
Martin Turnbull Author Profile on Smashwords

Martin Turnbull’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Here are the most popular author interviews for our site for January. Feel free to discover a new author.

My most recent book is “Quantos Rising” and is the first in my new series “Crest of Dreams”. 4 years ago I endeavored to find the easiest ways to tell diverse stories in a more fun and exciting way and one of the means I discovered was creating fictional worlds. The “Crest of Dreams” world was my best attempt at this form of story telling and I imagined a world that had been split into four civilizations that wanted as much as nothing to do with each other: those who live on land (Damiroo), in underwater cities (Retarctica), in floating cities above the clouds (Anotresphore), and in space cities (Centralis).

Venancio Gomani Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written. My name’s Venancio Cadle Gomani Jr. and I’m from the city of Lusaka here within Zambia. I grew up mostly in quite the number of cities around Southern Africa (From Francistown to Gaborone of Botswana). I write Speculative …

Duffy Brown Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written. Duffy Brown loves anything with a mystery. While others girls dreamed of dating Brad Pitt, Duffy longed to take Sherlock Holmes to the prom. She is a National Bestselling author and conjures up who-done-it stories of her very own for …

Ceidrik Heward Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written. I’ve been writing for a decade and my stories have been published in books, magazines and newspapers in the UK, UAE, USA, Canada, China, Germany, Sweden and Australasia. To date, I’ve written 22 titles What is the name of your …

Julie Seedorf Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written. I write Cozy Mysteries, although they could be categorized as something different as they aren’t your average Cozy. I write the Fuchsia Minnesota Mysteries. Fuchsia is a fictional town in Minnesota which ignores all the rules we have in our real life communities today. […]

James Connor Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written. I owned an advertising agency in NYC for 14 years before selling it to undertake a three-year isolated meditation retreat. “The Superyogi Scenario” is my first fiction book, which I wrote on Sunday afternoons in retreat. After retreat, I became a blogger for The […]

Jeremy McLean Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written. Hello, I’m Jeremy McLean. I’m Canadian and live in New Brunswick. I’m kind of a geek and I love to play video games when I have the spare time. The novels I like to read are fantasy and sci-fi. I’ve currently written three novels, […]

Sandra Eastman Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written. I was first published in 1994 for Animals’ Voice Magazine. My love for animals and expertise in writing animal stories awarded me the honor of featured writer in the Pets Across America book series on Amazon in 2009 and 2011. I contributed to a […]

Nancy Mauerman Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written. Nancy Mauerman writes novels for kids that are beautifully illustrated and have a strong central plot with several sub-plots broadening the character’s motivation and adding quirky details used later in the story. There are surprise word pictures on most every page, like, “Worms don’t […]

Louis A. Affortunato Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written. The Midnight Stand is my debut novel. Telling stories that can engage a reader is a passion of mine. I enjoy many different forms of storytelling, be it either written or visual. I am very much into movies and like to watch a few a …

M. E. Tudor Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written. I am a lesbian writer from south central Kentucky. My partner and I have been together more than 16 years. We both had been previously married to me and had two children each. She had two boys and I had two girls. Between the […]

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My “proper” name is James Ward and I’ve written 14 books in all.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called “Our Woman in Jamaica”. I wrote it in October and November last year to serve as a free giveaway on my author website, www.talesofmi7.com. My hope is that that it’ll act as an enticement for potential readers to sign up to my mailing list.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, I’m afraid I’m pretty boring in that respect! *Hangs head in shame*

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I always think the basics of novel-writing are the same across genres: good writing, good characterisation, original storytelling. I don’t really have any “favourite” authors, but I do like Jennifer Egan, Jonathan Franzen, Magnus Mills, and Paul Auster.

What are you working on now?
Publicising my last few novels. Then I’ll write another Tales of MI7 novel. That’s what my series is called, incidentally.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I try to advertise on as many different websites as possible. I made the first novel in my series – “The Kramski Case” – free a couple of weeks ago, so I’m looking to promote that mostly. My own website is meant to be a bit of fun as well as a typical author’s site. I’ve devised games people can download, for example.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t expect anything at all.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

What are you reading now?
Lies, Inc. by Philip K Dick.

What’s next for you as a writer?
World domination (without tanks or guns).

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 Collected Ghost Stories of MR James
The Book of Common Prayer
The Collected Plays of William Shakespeare
The Oxford Book of English Verse

Author Websites and Profiles
J. J. Ward Website
J. J. Ward Amazon Profile
J. J. Ward Author Profile on Smashwords

J. J. Ward’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in Russia when it was still the Soviet Union. Having grown up in Kiev and Siberia, I moved to Australia with my mum when I was sixteen. I have been writing since university and had two dozen short stories published. I won Historical Fiction Autumn Short story competition in 2012 and was a runner-up of 2013 Defenestrationism Short Story Contest. My first novel, Savaged Lands, has just been published by Endeavour Press.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Savaged Lands is a story of a family living in Nazi-occupied Kiev. It’s a story of a Soviet girl who falls in love with a Hungarian officer. Trapped on opposing sides of a brutal conflict, they are forced to keep secrets from everyone they love.

Having lived in Kiev as a child, this story is very close to my heart. Researching and writing it was a very intense experience. I always wanted to write about the war, even as a child. I think World War II holds a special significance for every Russian. I still have grandparents who had lived through those times and I grew up listening to war stories.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I carry a small notebook with me everywhere I go and even keep one next to my bed at night. You never know when a brilliant idea might strike. I woke up many times in the middle of the night, possessed by a sudden plot twist and had to write it down so I don’t forget in the morning.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was nine years old, I read Alexandre Dumas’ the Three Musketeers for the first time. I was completely blown away by the camaraderie, the adventures, the intrigue. And then a couple of years later I discovered the Count of Monte-Cristo, which is my favourite book to this day. To me, this book is the ultimate masterpiece – to rise to ultimate power from nothing, to use this power for revenge that takes over one’s whole existence and to then end on the note of forgiveness, it doesn’t get better than that!

What are you working on now?
I just started working on a new book, which is inspired by a short story I got published a few years ago. The book is about a woman who has lost her memory due to an accident. She comes home from hospital only to discover dark secrets about herself, her husband and her relationships with others.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I find Goodreads very useful when it comes to connecting to potential readers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is simple – write, write, write. Set yourself achievable goals and stick to them. It’s easy to talk yourself out of writing. You might feel tired or uninspired or both. But, like someone once said, you can edit a bad page but you can’t edit the page that hasn’t been written yet. Start small and get a few short stories published. That’s an amazing boost to a writer’s confidence.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
That the best way to promote your first book is to write a second one.

What are you reading now?
I am re-reading the Bronze Horseman series by Paullina Simons. The Bronze Horseman is a heart-breaking story set in blockaded Leningrad. Paullina was born in the Soviet Union, which proves my point that war stories are close to any Russian’s heart. The Bronze Horseman is one of my favourite novels about the war.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am starting a blog about Napoleonic history shortly and concentrating on finishing my second 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?
I would bring the Count of Monte-Cristo because I can re-read it constantly. And the Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons for the same reason. Finally, I would take two biggest books about Napoleon I can find because I’m obsessed with Napoleonic history. That will keep me occupied for a bit on the deserted island.

Author Websites and Profiles
Lana Kortchik Website
Lana Kortchik Amazon Profile

Lana Kortchik’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Christian Green and I am thirty years old. I work in the education field, teaching special needs students. This year I work with students grades 3-5. In the past I have worked with students as young as Early childhood, all the way up to junior high. In my spare time, I like to read and write books. I recently released a superhero themed novel titled The Ascendants: Genesis. With its release, I have now published four novels.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is The Ascendants: Genesis. It is the first of five scheduled shorter works. These stories range within the 25-30k amount. I wanted to tell a story about individuals with abilities that weren’t necessarily heroes, or the recently popular category of anti-heroes. Instead I wanted to tell a story about a group of people that have these abilities but don’t necessarily want to use them. They are afraid of the growing tension in the world and they simply want to live their life without oppression. I’m a big fan of comics so anything Marvel and DC related I can draw interest from. I think initially people will immediately draw comparisons to the X-Men, but once you read it, you’ll realize this is something different.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I have a very unusual writing habit. I tell my students all the time they have to find what works for them. I’m not necessarily expecting them to do things the same way other people do it, so I tell myself the same thing. When I get ready to write, I come up with the outline. Okay, nothing unusual about that. However, once the outline is done, I turn on a video game. Usually football or basketball. I play one quarter and once that quarter is done, I pause the game, and type two good pages. That’s it, just two good pages. Once I’ve completed those two pages, I turn the game back on and start the next quarter. I type two good pages at the end of each quarter, so by the time the game is done, I’ve typed eight really strong pages. This is typically how I write. It’s very unusual, but it definitely works for me!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Big fan of comics, so I draw a lot of inspiration for comics. As far as authors are concerned, Brian Keene is one of my favorite authors. Anytime I get ready to write something scary, I pull out one of his books and study how he builds suspense and executes the delivery. Laurell K. Hamilton is also a big influence of mine when it comes to vampire stories. I love the delivery of Anita Blake and have enjoyed everyone one of the Anita Blake novels. In addition, television is a big influence of mine. People often say your stuff would be great for television and movies. For me, I study the things on television I don’t like and try to do the complete opposite in my books.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on part 2 and 3 of my Ascendants series. It is scheduled to be a five part novella series. Part 1 just came out January 26 and part 2 is currently being edited for the first time. The outline for part 3 is complete and I plan to start writing it within the coming weeks. Also working on another superhero series. Where the Ascendants might be your B squad so to speak, the other series will feature the heavyweights of my superhero universe. In addition, I have the outline completed for book two of my Blood in Their Veins series. So those are the current works I have going on right now.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
There is no such thing as the BEST in my opinion. I use them all to promote my books. Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, my personal website. All of them is needed to help promote my works, and even with all of those sites available, it’s still a struggle to get the visibility where you want it to be. In all honesty, every site available to authors is needed to maximize your presence. I appreciate them all and do the best I can with promoting on the various sites.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t get discourage. Don’t be in a rush. Take your time and talk to people. Go to the various sites and read success stories. See what strategies have worked and which ones fell flat. Take that knowledge and prep yourself for your launch. For whatever amount of effort you put into writing your book, put double the effort into editing and promoting the book. It isn’t going to be easy, but don’t give up. Even if your first book comes out and you don’t sale a single copy, don’t give up. Write your next one. Don’t write to make money, write because you love it, and hope that as a reward, the money will come.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Keep writing is the best advice I ever received when it comes to books. In general, you’re only limited by the walls you put up. Any obstacle can be overcome. Sure, some people have more opportunities than others, but everyone has an opportunity. What you do with yours generally dictates how your life will go. Fall on hard times? Keep standing back up. Make the most with whatever you got.

What are you reading now?
Honestly, at the moment I haven’t been reading much. Between working with students, writing, and formulating some resemblance of a social life, I haven’t had much time to read. I have quite a few books on my to read list, but at the moment these stories are just sitting there. I hope to get back to the Game of Thrones series soon, but before I do, I have a few stories to read from my author friends.

What’s next for you as a writer?
What’s next is whatever comes. Right now my main goal is to continue to grow as a writer. I think with each book I’ve written, a substantial amount of growth can be seen. I have so many stories I want to share, so for me, working on getting these stories out is a big motivation. I hope to transition into comics at some point. Some of my works would really be ideal for the comic book genre, but we’ll see what comes of that!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
To Kill a Mockingbird would easily be the first book I bring with me. The second book would most likely be The Rising. I would also like to bring with me the Odyssey.

Author Websites and Profiles
Christian Green Website
Christian Green Amazon Profile

Christian Green’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I used to work in the financial industry and then in chemical shipping. I gave up work after the birth of my first child. I had studied Mathematics at the University of London and when the Financial Crisis of 2008 hit I understood a lot more than people were being told. I looked at my previous career and realized that the world my children would live in was never going to be like the one I was brought up in. This realization led me to change everything about my life; where I lived, how I lived, how I earned my money and what I spent my money on.

This is my first book and it took a huge amount of soul searching. I know that many people would not want to lay bare their life as this book does mine, and for this reason I nearly used a pen name; but I want to take responsibility for my choices – so I published using my real name.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is called How to Survive Life and Poverty. It is an account of how my family and I ended up in the village where we life today. Our journey was an adventure. There have been so many struggles, disasters and mistakes that I could never list them out. But somehow, amongst all the chaos we have become so much stronger. We are a lot poorer financially, but richer in so many other ways.

I am obsessed with the news and everyday I watch the world change and all the people I know continue to do the same as they did the day before. The reason I wrote this book was to let people know that however daunting change is, if you take it just one step at a time then it is not only possible, but it can lead to amazing places and beautiful discoveries.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am very solitary in my writing, partly because I have questioned so many of the ideas which I was brought up with. I know that many friends and family are disconcerted by the honesty of my writing. Hence I do not discuss my writing with anyone.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I was very influenced by the E L James trilogy, for me it showed that people are very easily distracted. The underlying story of a little boy who was abused and how he managed his life to cope with it was completely lost both in the press and on the majority of readers. As a result I have tried to make sure that no one can miss the points I try to make in my writing. To me these books very clearly illustrated how far people will go to avoid something which is unpalatable.

What are you working on now?
I am now working on a book about how to follow your dreams. A teacher at my sons school recently asked what the kids wanted to do when they grew up. My son answered that he wanted to skateboard. This was immediately shot down in flames as not being a job. Little did the teacher realize that my son had already drawn pictures of the park he wanted to build and what he would offer. To me if that skate park is built and offers just one person a sanctuary from their stresses then it is a success. Most peoples dreams are for something better, and I think that we should all encourage this in the next generation – and at the moment the global economy certainly does not seem strong enough to support that generation through corporate employment.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have no idea about how to promote my book. I am hoping that people will be looking for something and find it.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I cannot really offer advice to new authors as I am one myself, but to aspiring authors I would say: Just go and write it. I think there is a great fear of judgment and failure, but we are judged continually and need to not let it squash us.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Adapt or die.

What are you reading now?
I am reading Les Miserables in French. I love the story and to be able to read it in the original language was a goal of mine which I am finally achieving (with the help of a dictionary!)

What’s next for you as a writer?
Now I need to get started on the actually writing of my Follow Your Dreams 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?
Les Miserables, Lord of the Flies and probably the Complete Shakespeare

Author Websites and Profiles
Mirrie Kelly Website
Mirrie Kelly Amazon Profile

Mirrie Kelly’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Hebrew writer, a member of Hebrew writers association in Israel.
Published 3 books one of which had been translated into English.
My fourth manuscript won Asi Prise 2013 (still looking for a publisher).
I wrote and directed plays including The Floating Circus and Hoof and Mouth Enterprise. Both were published by Bimat Kedem Publishers. Concurrently with writing for the theater, I wrote numerous short stories that were published in major literary magazines, such as Moznaym, Gag, Kav-Natuy, and Kivun Mizrah.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
17 Sheikh Hamza street Cairo. It is the story of our lives in Egypt. 1909-1949.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Just keep on writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Gabriel García Márquez, Erica Jong, Amos Oz,

What are you working on now?
A movie script of my novel “17 Sheikh Hamza Street Cairo”

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Can hardly help myself on this.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Get a Pr representative (Too expensive)

Author Websites and Profiles
Avraham Bar-Av (Bentata) Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a relatively new author, writing Oligarch series in hard-boiled, political and action thriller sub-genres.
For many years I’ve been practicing law and doing business in former USSR countries. Witnessing there a meteoric rise of a small number of individuals from modest Soviet citizens to mighty billionaires I felt compelled to expose to the world the unique phenomenon taking place in this less familiar part of the globe. In the fictional plot of the series I combine real and imaginary events with some ‘lawyers’ folklore’ and known corruption and criminal schemes customary for Ukraine and other former USSR republics. The imaginary characters are designed to reflect real behavior and mentality and provide decent entertainment for the readers.
Remember movies based on Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg’s biographies describing their path to wealth and glory? Although they are truly amazing, I think the rise of some of their Eastern billionaire peers is just a little more thrilling and unorthodox.
At the moment two books are published – “Rise of an Oligarch” and “Mortal Showdown”, while the third – is in its final pre-release stages.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Mortal Showdown” is the latest. It was inspired by ….. the cliff-hanger of the first book -:). I was so curious to find out what happens next that I’d sat down and written a sequel in a gritty, snappy and action-packed style.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really, but I can say that some of the most bizarre ideas come to my mind on particularly hung-over mornings -:)

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many of them, I think. My inclination towards adventures and exotic places might be the result of reading many Jules Verne books in the childhood, intrigue – of Alex Dumas. Definitely ‘Godfather’ of Mario Puzo had an influence, as ‘Rise of an Oligarch’ is a bit similar to it, but Russian style. There are more..

What are you working on now?
I’m at the pre-publication stage with the third installment, which should conclude the series, at least for the time being, and it has a little surprise in it.
Michael, the Oligarch, tops Forbes billionaire’s list only to find out that those, who really dominate the global economy, rule illicitly and stay away from public eye. He needs to confront the ancient cabal in order to survive and to save his country… For good or bad, it’s a transgressive, radical, uncompromising, grotesque, action-packed and philosophical read.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best method is still to be found, I hope. So far I’m promoting mostly through letting bloggers review my books on their sites and by socializing on Goodreads. Not much of a promotion really…

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I say: Make money elsewhere and come enjoy being an author -:). It’s really very nice to write books, to interact with readers, bloggers and fellow authors, but for 99% of the authors there is no money there. On the contrary, usually there are expenses for editing, cover design, etc which are rarely recouped.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Not to worry about promotion and marketing that much, but rather enjoy the writing – the creative part of the process. Good advice, but not necessarily a practical one.

What are you reading now?
‘Putin’s Kleptocracy’ by Karen Dawisha. Someone who read my books insisted that I must read ‘Kleptocracy’ so much that he even cared to mail me this book. After all his efforts, although I rarely read non-fiction, I don’t really have a choice with this one -:)

What’s next for you as a writer?
To release the third installment soonest, to make sure it receives some reviews and then start working on the next project. I have an idea of how it should be, but it won’t be easy to implement it…

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
One of them should be some kind of DIY about how to survive, weather well and escape.. Nowadays, I rarely look back to what’s already read, so other three – should be thick, new to me, with high probability of being enjoyable books, because there is no room for mistake..

Author Websites and Profiles
Nik Krasno Amazon Profile
Nik Krasno Author Profile on Smashwords

Nik Krasno’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in Arizona with my husband and baby. When I’m not writing for myself I’m writing for other people as a freelance/ghostwriter. I currently have three books available.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is titled Colorotica. It’s an adult’s only coloring book. I was bored with kiddie coloring books and wanted more than flowery junk to color. So, after some long conversations and a full list of rules that the book had to comply with I put it out for others to enjoy.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Who doesnt have some kind of weird writing habbit? My walls and ceiling are decorated with plot lines in every direction. I love laying in bed and looking up to see my ideas floating around me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many fantastic authors out there it’s hard to say who’s influenced me versus who I admire.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on the final edits of I Am Lady Sasha: The Journey from Slave to Slave. Its a Tolkien-esque post appocolyptic fantasy romance about a woman who was sold as a slave to a master she despised before earning her freedom and becoming a slave to her community and eventually the world.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m a fan of word-of-mouth but I’ll admit to using social media as my preferred platform for promoting a new story.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Keep writing. LOL.

What are you reading now?
Right now I am reading the Spiderwick Chronicles with my little girl.

What’s next for you as a writer?
After volume one of I Am Lady Sasha is released I have another book that’s been waiting for edits.

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: H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau
2: Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game
3: The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales
4: Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange

Author Websites and Profiles
Julienne Russell Website
Julienne Russell Amazon Profile

Julienne Russell’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in France, and raised in various parts. As of the time of writing, I live just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I’ve been writing since I was seven. School, and excellent mentors, helped me get better at it. One of the most excellent, impressive, and kind people I know, Judith Ortiz-Cofer, gave me the confidence to pursue my passion. Without her guidance, I’d still be a writer, but she put it in my head that it’s all possible.

I’ve written about ten books, the majority of which will (I hope) never see the light of day, haha. My published works include: Bag Men, Birds Are Not For the Cat, and on the landslide catwalk. Usually, I have trouble specifying the genre of an individual work. They tend to get a bit muddled, as I write how I think it should go. I respect genre fiction a great deal, having started out as a high fantasy writer (my biggest influence as a kid was the inimitable Tolkien). That being said, for my own work, I find the confines of genre to be more restrictive than helpful. For better or worse, I prefer to allow a story to weave in and out of (and between) boxes as it sees fit.

A lot of the drive behind me actually getting around to publishing my own, personal work over the past couple of years I owe to my great friend and colleague, Silas Jackson. Despite being separated by over a thousand miles of physical distance, he and I have written several novellas, dozens of poems, and various other projects together. Ridiculous understatement: I greatly enjoy our co-authoring ventures.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest blasphemy against fiction is entitled “Bag Men.” Silas and I belched up this idea after his girlfriend asked the question, “What if the zombie virus evolved over time?” It was Silas who suggested we take a fresh look at the zombie genre, introducing what we call “Sleepers” (zombies that can talk, act, and think almost like humans).
Beginning in the year 2069, Bag Men is a series of short (and “longer” short) episodes that, collectively, tell the story of the Republic of Sacramento, its citizens, and any other colorful characters we feel like shining a spotlight on. The Republic is under constant siege by hostile human territories (including the Kingdom of Yuma) and, of course, the Sleepers. In response to the growing number of threats against the city, the government created a super agency–think Homeland Security on crack–called the Bureau of Public Health. This rather innocuously-named entity fields Agents who wield supreme authority in times of crisis (read: all the time). Colloquially named “Bag Men,” the representatives of the Bureau are who decide whether or not you’re a threat to society, whether you live or die.
As a writer, I find this setting incredibly freeing for several reasons, one of the biggest being that I can create new and interesting cultures and societies, much like I would in a fantasy world. Except, these characters have the added benefit of all of our own world’s history, legacy, biases, and so on. Populating this place with what I imagine people would look like, given decades of survivalism, has been refreshing, to say the least. Silas and I can thus ask any number of questions about human nature, as we like to do, while keeping the focus squarely on the life and times of these three-dimensional characters.
We can only hope that we did the vision justice, and that our readers will let us know what they think.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I sit at my computer in the nude, often enough, bum right on the mesh of the rolling office chair.

(Is he joking?)

I guess I don’t have any unusual habits. I write whenever I can (early morning, late at night) and however I can (keyboard, notebook, Best Buy receipts..).

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series is phenomenal. Humorous, light, yet somehow deep and thoughtful. There is no one quite like him. He was gone too soon. But I’ll blab about him until the day I croak, so he’s not forgotten.
Otherwise, Neil Gaiman is always good. H.P. Lovecraft is the godfather of horror (the Internet has popularized his Old One, Cthulhu). Ursula K. Le Guin’s Wizard of Earthsea is beautiful. Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy (the first book of which Hollywood turned into a sub-mediocre disaster).
As a fantasy author, this last one goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: J.R.R. Tolkien. My favorite poem comes from The Lord of the Rings. “All that is gold does not glitter…” (Bonus: we share most of our initials!)
I could keep going, but those are the big ones.

What are you working on now?
Bag Men, always Bag Men. It’s consuming every facet of my life. In a good way. Really.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still working on that front, so I’ll plead the Fifth, here. Don’t want to muddy anyone’s mind with bad advice.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m not about to say anything you haven’t already heard, probably, but this advice is universally appropriate, I think. You just need to find a way to apply it to your particular circumstances. Easier said than done right?

Disclaimer: what the hell do I know, anyway? Alright, here we go.

Be real with yourself, but don’t allow anyone to discourage you. In other words, know your own limitations, know what drives you, know what pitfalls lie ahead, and work to bust through those ceilings. You can’t cure or even treat a disease that’s been left undiagnosed. Observe. Learn.

Be brave: go to writer meetings, and get your work workshopped. Bend where you can in an effort to improve your work, but don’t break. Never sacrifice your unique flavor; instead, pick up useful techniques to enhance it.
Blog, post some stuff online. Dabble in Twitter, Facebook, and other services to help you tune into what your readership wants. Listen to constructive comments. Ignore the hurtful, stupid garbage thrown your way. Remember, your writing is both a piece of yourself and something external to yourself. If you want to be seen for who you are, as a human and a professional, you can’t be afraid to face an incredible amount of rejection.

The best advice is to find where your target audience hangs out and ask questions, of them and of the people providing them with their current entertainment. You can always learn something from everyone.

Find a good mentor. This will be someone you can truly identify with, and respect beyond most others. Usually someone a bit older than you, this person can give you some guidance as you jump through the limitless number of fiery hoops set between you and success. A mentor, by the way, doesn’t have to be someone in your field. They should know where you’re coming from, though, or else they won’t be *your* mentor. Again, listen, learn.

But don’t give up. Never give up. If you believe in yourself, do it. Keep going.
Finally, the litmus test is the surest way to know you’re a writer: ask yourself, “Would I write, even if I knew no one would ever buy my work, even if no one (except for my mother/brother/grandma) would ever read my stuff?”

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Build a man a fire, and he is warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he is warm for the rest of his life.” Terry Pratchett wrote that.

What are you reading now?
“Sun of Suns,” a unique fantasy story with hints of weird sci-fi, by Karl Schroeder. I’ve never read a world even remotely resembling this one. It’s almost like the world itself is the main character. Would definitely recommend.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More Bag Men. It’s an epic project, believe me.
Beyond that, I’m working on a horror novella, with accompanying short stories. And I’ve got a fantasy satire novel in the works, working title “The Britches of War.”
After? Eh, I dunno. Waiting to see if half the fun.

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. Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett: my favorite
2. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson, mostly because it’s a huge book, and I could probably spend years dissecting it in detail
3. A Wizard of Earthsea, so I could be motivated to build a boat and get the hell off of that island, and so I’d feel okay about failing in the attempt
4. An H.P. Lovecraft compilation, to scare myself to sleep at night

Author Websites and Profiles
Julian Traas Website

Julian Traas’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
In brief, I am a practicing anesthesiologist who does locum tenens work, which is a temporary placement for physicians. I have worked all over the country doing this type of work and have been doing it full-time for over ten years.

I currently live in Washington state which I now call my home as I have lived here for over fifteen years. Prior to that, I have lived in California, Missouri, North Carolina, Minnesota and France. I love to travel and have incorporated that into my current practice of medicine.

I have just published my first book, so this is all rather new to me!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
In my life as a locum tenens physician, I have found many who have no idea what it is or how one finds work. Even fellow physicians are mystified by the idea as well as the process involved. Many are surprised to learn that locum tenens is a $2 billion dollar industry in the United States and continues to grow. Think you’ve never met a locum tenens physician? Think again! They are found in virtually every specialty in medicine and all over the United States – all over the world, in fact.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
As a physician, my days start very early and end at various times, so it is hard to schedule writing time. I tend to have ideas that occur during the day and write them down into Evernote. Then when I have time, I pull those together and try to make sense of them!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am a voracious reader and am seldom without at least two or three books that I am reading at one time. I have always enjoyed Agatha Christie – first as a young girl – as a physician, I appreciate her attention to detail to the medical details. Her mysteries have cost me many nights of sleep because I could not put them down. I have even read most of her books in French as well – they love her!

I love someone who can tell a great story, so one of my favorite American authors is Mark Twain. Growing up in Missouri, there was a lot of emphasis on his books, and I have never regretted the time spent reading his works. From the French side, Victor Hugo and Alexander Dumas are some of the best storytellers out there – their stories captivate you and it seems like you are right there with the protagonist.

What are you working on now?
Since my first book has just been published, it is my primary focus. Although, one of my colleagues has suggested a book on medical missions. He and I have been on several – but not together. He thinks the collection of stories would make a great book. I just might have to agree with him!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Early in the process, Awesomegang was mentioned to me as the best place to start.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write! It seems simple, but it isn’t. Trying to write on a consistent basis takes real discipline. I have new found respect for those who make their living from writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t take yourself too seriously. It is easy to get caught up in the flurry of day to day activities and feel that everything is life or death, but it really isn’t. Sometimes, you have to step back and take a long look at what is going on; take a deep breath and then restart. Having a dog is a great reminder of what is really important – I use mine as examples of how to manage the stress and live life more fully.

What are you reading now?
Just finished Jeff Goins’ book, The In-Between. I have just started Eighty Days which is about Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s race around the world. To encourage another fellow first-time author, I am also reading Write Your Book at Fifty by Jeanette Martin.

What’s next for you as a writer?
There’s the idea for a medical missions book. I will certainly give it some thought. I have also thought about compiling a book for anesthesia providers who work with Spanish patients. There are a number of books on medical Spanish, but almost none on anesthesia, and we work in an environment where interpreters are typically not allowed.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Well, that would be a tough decision – I would bring the Bible, of course, because as many times as I have read it, there is always something new – plus it has adventures, mystery, poetry and advice – all in one book. I would bring Robinson Crusoe; I would scour it for advice on living alone on an island. I would also have to take Mastering The Art of French Cooking by Julia Childs. I know I might not have access to all the ingredients, but her cookbooks tackle almost every kind of meat and fish that I would encounter on an island!

Author Websites and Profiles
Elizabeth Noel Lumpkin Website
Elizabeth Noel Lumpkin Amazon Profile
Elizabeth Noel Lumpkin’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an English author, born in London and brought up under the sound of Jumbo jets near Heathrow. I now live on the Surrey/Hampshire border on the edge of Jane Austen country where I spend any free time indulging in my passion for photography. I enjoy photographing wildlife and the local landscape, and share my images on social media so that readers can get a feel for the locations around Farnham that I use in my novels.

I’ve had numerous non-fiction articles published, and won awards for short fiction and poetry, including a first prize awarded in a competition judged by noted mystery writer P D James. She was a total inspiration and personally encouraged me never to give up with my dream of becoming a published writer.

To date I’ve written many, many books, some published and some tucked away in secret files never to be seen again.
My published work includes the Jake Talbot Investigates mystery series, which began with Visiting Lilly (2014) and continues with Saving Anna (2015). I’m currently working on the third book, Finding Louisa, due out in 2016. I’m also the author of two non-fiction books on how to read tarot, The System of Symbols: a New Way to Look at Tarot, which is now also published in Italian by Spazio Interiore; and Sex & Tarot.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is Saving Anna, book 2 in my Jake Talbot investigates mystery series, which is a stand-alone story but continues with my two main characters Detective Inspector Jake Talbot and his unusual, geeky friend Frankie Hayward.

There were two main inspirations behind my storyline. Firstly, the Anna of the title is Jake’s mentally ill sister, who’s been in a catatonic state since the death of their parents. When she’s directly threatened by an occult organisation, Jake has to find the strength to come to terms with her mental state of nothingness. Is she still his sister, and can he believe in protecting someone who doesn’t appear to exist? It’s a very human dilemma that many people face when their loved one is unable to respond due to mental illness; and throughout Saving Anna Jake’s inner conflict sways many of his decisions. The second inspiration stems from when I studied photography at college and we were shown how subliminal programming is used in advertising. Ever since I have maintained an interest and awareness of how this type of subtle manipulation is used in modern society. I drew on this as one of my main themes and explored how people could use it with malevolent intent.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes. I need total silence and copious amounts of tea. Friends are now aware of this and have a tendency to continue speaking while we have afternoon tea together, for fear of me grabbing a notebook during any natural lull in the conversation. Tea + silence = writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Dick Francis: for his ability to build a cracking good yarn into an adrenaline-filled race to the finish.

Winston Graham, especially his observation of human character in books such as Marnie and The Walking Stick. I think The Walking Stick is one of my all-time favourites, even though on the surface it only appears to be the story of how a disabled woman is cruelly used by a smooth-talking man. It goes deeper than that and refers to her family’s inability to accept her infirmity, their rejection of her as an individual and her deep desire to be loved.

I’ve also been influenced by reading a variety of superhero comics, noir detective novels and the classics such as Dickens and Dumas.

What are you working on now?
Finding Louisa, book 3 in the Jake Talbot investigates mystery series, in which a little girl goes missing from the ponds and wooded acres of Puttenham Common, a local area of outstanding beauty. As they work on finding Louisa, Jake Talbot and Frankie unearth shocking evidence that leads back to an old case. There’s also a hint of romance in the air for Jake.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Twitter and my blog, but I am currently building a new website to promote my books, which will become my main hub. I have a web presence on most social media platforms, and once in a while it surprises me as to the contacts I make and what comes about from general networking. A Facebook author page is a must, and even if someone isn’t following my page, they will often stop by to say how much they’ve enjoyed reading my books. Your Facebook author page is an open door for communication which people will happily enter. It won’t sell books, but it will make you available for conversation with interested parties.

Strange as it may sound, numbers of followers isn’t the important issue. Socialising and networking with people who relate to your work is what it’s all about. Fifty potential fans you take the time to talk to are worth their weight in gold.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never stop writing. Keep a notebook to jot down ideas of storylines when they spring to mind, because even if you are working on something else right now you can draw on those ideas in the future. No idea is ever wasted. Also, writing can be a solitary pastime, so join a writers’ group for critique, feedback and friendship. Online friends are great, but there’s nothing better than sitting in a coffee shop running your plot past a fellow writer and ironing out potential pitfalls over a cappuccino. By the way, don’t forget to give back and help your friend out, it’s a two way exchange, and helping them with their plot-line can strengthen your ability as a writer just as much as working on your own material. Spend the day, have several coffees, and lunch, and afternoon tea.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Recently, when I said to my editor that I thought my storyline was going to be too complex and that I shouldn’t include all of the characters I had in mind, she told me not to worry and to get it down on paper. She said, “We’ll sort it out in editing.” Her best advice was to “Just write your story.” This has given me the inner freedom to sit down and write what I had in mind, without any concern as to whether it’s too wordy or too confusing. The story is what is important. It’s the life-blood that pumps through a writer’s veins. Hacking it into shape for public consumption can come later. Editing is fun too!

What are you reading now?
I’m currently dipping back into an old favourite and reading Bonecrack by Dick Francis, in which a racing horse trainer is held to ransom by a villain who wants his son to become a top jockey. When the hero doesn’t comply, one of his horses meets with an accident – which genuinely looks like an accident, until a model horse with the same injury arrives in the post. Nasty stuff.
Once I’ve finished I shall go and find something hot off the press and see what’s new out there. I tend to do this, alternate between reading a favourite author and exploring someone new.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing Finding Louisa is my priority, but I’ve also been invited to participate in an anthology of mystery suspense novellas alongside some highly respected authors. I’m very excited to be a part of this project, but now I have to think of a storyline!

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?
War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy, because I’ve never read it and I might find time to dip in and get to grips with it once I’ve built my escape raft. If it proves to be as dull as ditch water I can always use the paper as kindling to light my distress beacon.
The SAS survival guide: for obvious reasons.
The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas: because it will encourage me to keep trying to escape.
And finally, naturally, I would need a notebook and pen, so that I can write! If no pens are allowed then I shall use a charcoal stick from my fire.

Author Websites and Profiles
Toni Allen Website
Toni Allen Amazon Profile
Toni Allen’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am 29 year’s and I live in Florida with my husband and three boy’s. Some would say that I am very goofy because I don’t have a problem making funny noises or faces, that’s just me. I currently have written one book under this pen name but I have three others under another pen name.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Lyrick’s Run. Hmmm, what inspired it was basically my love for all things paranormal.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if they are unusual but I eat candy and jam to music.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many but my big influences are S.C. Hutchinson, Ashlei D Hawley, Stephanie Hudson. I could really go on for hours but I’ll stop there.

What are you working on now?
I am working on two short stories for an anthology. They are unlike what I have written so far but I am having tons of fun writing them.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Facebook, ditterverse, and twitter.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be open to criticism. Don’t let it get to you. Use it to improve the way you write. You have to go into it knowing not all will like your stories and that’s okay.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You have to find the fine line between confidence and being conceited.

What are you reading now?
I am re-reading The Afterlife Saga but Stephanie Hudson for the third time.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have so many plots, it’s hard to say which I will do 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?
Thats so hard. I love books. I would have to take the first four of The Afterlife Saga.

C.E. Strother’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am the author of three books: The New Individualism: Personal Change to Transform Society, a non-fiction social commentary, used in over 100 colleges and universities across America, favorably reviewed in The Midwest Quarterly and other scholarly journals, and winner of the S.C.P.H.C. Gold Award for Philosophy in 1996; Leah’s Way, my first novel, which received a rave review in the February 1st, 2004 edition of Library Journal; and Reason for Existence, my forthcoming science fiction novel. I have a B.A. and M.A. in Government from California State University, Sacramento, graduating with honors.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Reason for Existence. I am a big fan of genre benders, those novels which combine multiple categories of fiction into one work. So Reason for Existence combines science fiction, philosophy, thriller, and romance elements into the novel so readers have an opportunity to read a highly original story. Most category fiction is formulaic and often boring. I think readers deserve more and should be both entertained and challenged in their reading.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Only that I still use pad and pen for the early layouts instead of organizing software. I suppose I can be considered a dinosaur.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love the simplicity of Ernest Hemingway. Of course I love great science fiction writers like Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, and Huxley. But I also recognize that science fiction depends greatly on the state of science in our time, so I read lots of non fiction as well.

What are you working on now?
My next book will explore consciousness in novel form. I believe that Consciousness Studies will be the next great academic discipline since it points directly to the true nature of reality and leads inexorably to the existence of a Great Consciousness or God.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The website for Reason for Existence is www.wpcbooks.com. Bloggers and Reviewers are also great for spreading the word.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The best advice is to have the right motivation to write. You should write because you like to be creative, not to sell lots of books and become rich and famous. The latter won’t happen. The publishing industry is largely broken. There are way too many books on the market because self publishing has caused a proliferation of titles. And traditional publishing is a corrupt system that rewards only famous authors and celebrities. Big publishers are disconnected from quality and long ago sold their soul for quarterly profit.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“All battles are won before they are ever fought.”

Sun Tzu

What are you reading now?
Lots of non fiction as research for my next novel.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to write a novel exploring consciousness as a theme.

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 Sun Also Rises

Brave New World

The Fifth Discipline

The Great Stagnation

Author Websites and Profiles
Richard Botelho Website
Richard Botelho Amazon Profile

Richard Botelho’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve just published my first full-length novel, though it feels like I’ve written so many more based on how many iterations this one went through.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
White Rabbit is the name of my book. It’s a noir thriller and the title is a nod to Alice In Wonderland.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I initially picute all of my male characters as Henry Cavill ; )

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Agatha Christie, Nick Pirog, Ernest Hemmingway, Gillian Flynn. To name only a few.

What are you working on now?
Black Swan, the sequel to White Rabbit.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Surprisingly, Instagram. I’ve been getting a lot of engagement on my posts there. So now I make it a point to create visual content to complement the book I’m working on and post it regularly.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep writing and continue to study the craft.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Get the words down. You can clean them up later.

What are you reading now?
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m planning a third book in the White Rabbit series, and then I want to work on some comic book scripts.

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 Alchemist by Paolo Coelho, The Eye of The World by Robert Jordan, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

Author Websites and Profiles
Desiree Moodie Website
Desiree Moodie Amazon Profile

Desiree Moodie’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a poet, author, editor, and journalist who has built her writing career in New Jersey and Florida. During my time as a reporter for a North Jersey newspaper publishing company, I won two awards. I have been writing since I was a child. I wrote my first poem at nine years old, my first piece of fiction (a short story) at 10, and my first newspaper article at 16. I graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a degree in communication.

I have written five published books: one in print and five ebooks. My print book is a poetry collection called “How Fate’s Confusion Connects.” My later ebooks are all published on Amazon Kindle. They are “Eve the First,” a retelling of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale; “An Estella Exclusive,” which has the perspective of a first-person raw interview; “Ethical Strains,” a sci-fi dystopian short story; and “A Ticket to Normalcy,” about a movie star’s bid for normalcy.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My Kindle short story ebook is “A Ticket to Normalcy,” about a celebrity who wants to be normal so much that she welcomes getting a traffic ticket. Problem is, the police officer who stopped her is so starstruck he is willing to give her a pass.

I had the idea for “A Ticket to Normalcy” simmering in my head for a few years before writing it. The idea is that, whereas “normal” people resent getting a traffic ticket, movie stars, more often than not, tend to get special treatment (or so that’s what tabloids and other celebrity news outlets claim). I wanted to pen something to spoof that idea. The protagonist, a world-famous movie star, could have played the fame card to get out of a ticket. Her attempt to convince the officer to treat her like a regular person is the story’s central conflict.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No I don’t, although it’d be nice to duplicate myself so I can finish my writing projects because they’re in varying stages of progress:-D.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Dorothy Parker and Emily Bronte. My favorite books, like “Wuthering Heights” and “Frankenstein,” tend to have a dark atmosphere with strong, complex characters and insightful plots. I also enjoy work that have satirical elements, like “Animal Farm,” as well as quirky dialogue and wit.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best method is to be engaging with readers and other authors. We all have something in common: a love of books and the written word. Authors not only want to see each other succeed in the marketplace, but also to share what they’re reading and writing with other people — readers and authors alike. Therefore, the best method of promotion is to not only use social media, but also to go out there into the real world, like library events and writer circles, and interact. When it comes to interacting with other people about one’s own writing, it’s not to come across as “salesy,” but to simply show a passion for books. There’s a genuine quality behind displaying that passion, and people won’t feel put off (so to speak) by an author trying to sell to them.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading several at the same time, actually. “Tarzan of the Apes” by Edgar Rice Burroughs; “That Wicked Apple,” a novel in “The Scary Tales” series about a zombiefied Snow White by Rob E. Boley; and “Dead Until Dark,” from “The Southern Vampires Mysteries” series by Charlaine Harris. Especially great is when I listen to an audio version of a book or ebook while reading the text version as I’m exercising on a machine, like I’m doing with “Tarzan of the Apes.” I found that I can’t somehow focus on reading the text by itself while exercising, so listening to audio accompaniment helps.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, there is always something I’m doing as a writer. I work full time as a journalist, a job I’m grateful for because I love it. In my off hours, I am tackling projects at various stages. I’m researching, outlining plots and doing character sketches of one novel, working on the first draft of another novel, editing yet a third novel and promoting my already published works. And yet I’m still adding to my ideas notebook! So what’s next for me as a writer is like putting my projects on a turntable and rotating it slowly, taking one project at a time.

Author Websites and Profiles
Teresa Edmond-Sargeant Website
Teresa Edmond-Sargeant Amazon Profile

Teresa Edmond-Sargeant’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a new author. I’ve written and published the first three books in my debut Thirsty Hearts series. Readers can also buy a novella prequel to my fourth book, which will be available later in the spring.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The first book in my Thirsty Hearts series is called Charming You. The story began with the idea for the first scene in the opening chapter. I thought of having my hero and heroine meet in a parking garage when the heroine has car trouble, and the story evolved from there. Some of the details of Micky’s life are taken from my own. I worked in technology marketing for a French company and would often travel to Paris for work.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m terrible about writing at a proper desk with good ergonomics. I mostly write on my couch. Twice a week, I meet another writer friend for “writer’s camp.” We park ourselves in the lobby of a hotel, have lunch, and write for three or four hours in the afternoon. I like having lots of things to look at when I look up from my computer. The hotel is nice because there are always business meetings and different kinds of people coming in and out. I get to overhear a lot of conversations. I finished my first draft of book three on an airplane. Another friend and I will do mileage runs (to help qualify for elite status). I usually get tons done while trapped in the steel tube in the sky.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
A couple of my favorite books are The Awakening and The House of Mirth, but I swear none of my modern heroines drown themselves or carelessly drift into a possibly fatal “rest.” My love of romance novels started as a child when I spent a summer reading through a giant trash bag of old Harlequin Presents paperbacks that my mother snagged from the local library. My favorite romance authors include Jennifer Crusie, Rachel Gibson, Elizabeth Hoyt, and Courtney Milan—to name a few.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on book four in my Thirsty Hearts series, Chasing You. It continues the story of Alexa, whom we meet in book one, picking up her life after Her London Fling, my novella.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Besides begging friends and family? I have a couple of landing pages where I give away chapters or a short story in exchange for readers joining my VIP list. I can then communicate directly with them, offer them special downloads, and other bonuses. I promote those on social media or you can join from my website: krisjayne.com.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just to write. Don’t be intimidated by the idea of being an author. National Novel Writing Month was a great exercise to force me into a daily word count and give me momentum to finish a manuscript.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Always have a stash of, to be polite, “screw you” money. I had a professor in college give us that advice. He said there will come a time in your life when you’ll want to just walk away from a job or situation, and if you have that stash, you can do it without having to wait for another opportunity.

What are you reading now?
TONS of different romance subgenres to get an idea of what others are writing and publishing. I went through a period where I read historicals. That’s how I got familiar with Elizabeth Hoyt. Now, I’m reading contemporary, first-person narration romances to get a feel for how authors write that way.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have an idea germinating for a fifth book in the Thirsty Hearts series, and then I have an idea for a new series to spin off with a character from one of my existing 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?
Isn’t there some book about how to survive dangerous situations? I’d take that one. Plus, the Boy Scout Handbook or something. Then, I’d take volumes of Henry James and Edith Wharton stories.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kris Jayne Website
Kris Jayne Amazon Profile

Kris Jayne’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
All my life since the age of 5, I’ve been writing and telling stories. Family sagas, with a journey to discovery, are my favorites. Now working on my third novel.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
MASON’S KEEPER (historical fiction) – family secrets inspired it. I couldn’t find the answer in my own family, so I created a fictional one. It’s a prequel to MASON’S DAUGHTER (women’s fiction), where the heroine still have a lot to learn.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I first wake up, I wait for my character to talk to me. This one-sided conversation can last for at least 30 minutes. Finally I say I have to get up and write all this stuff down.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Barbara Kingsolver, Kathryn Stockett, Jane Austen, Anne Lamott, Christopher Vogler, Dwight Swain, Sol Stein, and several others

What are you working on now?
My third novel is romantic comedy, with a “mouseburger” protagonist whose humdrum life is turned upside down by a cheating husband and a British mega-rockstar (think cross between McCartney and Jagger), during the advent of MTV. Her job is problem-solving for others, but comic complications lead her to search for what got lost along the way: herself.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
There are several I use, but always like to be sure Awesome Gang is at the top of the mix. Vinny does a great job!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get a professional critique to guide you with the craft so you can learn HOW to write, and then remember your own creative voice. No one can teach you that, even if you need help with the usual (POV, sentence structure, word choice, etc.). NEVER GIVE UP!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Edit until you can’t stand to read it any longer, than abandon it. Tell yourself you’re finished.

What are you reading now?
Entertaining Judgment, by Greg Garrett, on how we learn more about heaven and hell, angels and demons, and the afterlife from popular culture than from sacred texts. Fascinating!

What’s next for you as a writer?
After the romantic comedy, I’ll wait to see which book chooses me: the one on revenge or the one on secret heroes. Hard to say now.

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?
Jane Austen — never get tired of her stories.

Author Websites and Profiles
Cynthia J Stone Website
Cynthia J Stone Amazon Profile

Cynthia J Stone’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
L.K. Kuhl lives in Nebraska with her husband Gene of twenty-nine years, young son, Nathan, and Greg, their Black Lab dog. She has two older daughters, Morgan and Brittani and son-in-law, Trevor. L.K. has been writing for over twenty years. She first began writing children’s books and poetry, moved on to writing music, and is now writing Young Adult and Adult novels. She loves spending time with her family, vacationing, writing, reading, and taking long walks. It’s the characters who write their own stories in her novels, and she is just their messenger, sharing it with the world. I have written three books. The first one hasn’t yet been published. Although I would love to see it in print some day, it will need a lot of work to get it up to snuff. Everlasting is my debut novel, set to be released on February 18, 2016. It is a YA Paranormal Romance Novel. Chasm is my third novel and will be released on May 5th. It is an Adult Suspense novel. The One is the second book in the Everlasting Series and I’m halfway through the writing of this book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Everlasting is the name of my latest book, and the undying love between Tate and Sophia is what inspired it. Their love is everlasting.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I like to write at night because I find that in the morning my social media contacts take a lot of my time. In the evenings, wine and chocolate seem to help writers block.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Way back when I was young, V.C. Andrews influenced me, along with Stephen King. I love Stephanie Meyer, Nicholas Sparks, and Nora Roberts.

What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on “The One”, the next book in The Everlasting Series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website at: https://kuhlreads.wordpress.com/ also Instagram and Twitter. My Twitter name is lynettehoff1 and Instagram is: https://www.instagram.com/l.k.kuhl/

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up! The rejections can tend to get you down but don’t let them. Persistence is the key!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t write to please others. Write what you are supposed to write. What you were meant to write.

What are you reading now?
Nora Roberts.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Getting The Everlasting series completely done. Then I continue on with “Taking Back the Sun.” A novel I started before my whirlwind career actually got off and running with signing with a publisher.

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?
“What She Left Behind” by Ellen Marie Wiseman
“The Life We Bury” by Allen Eskens
“What Alice Forgot” by Liane Moriarty
“When I Found You” by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Author Websites and Profiles
L.K. Kuhl Website

L.K. Kuhl’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
La Vie en Rose is my twenty-third book!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest title is La Vie en Rose {Life in Pink}. It was inspired by the incredible pressure women sometimes feel to be beautiful in a challenging world, full of internal battles. Sometimes looking our best comes second to doing our best.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Is there such a thing as an author who isn’t unusual? I can write about 10x faster than I can read–that’s sort of odd. But aside from that, I’d say I’m your typical coffee addicted, introverted, insomniac who loves books on an obsessive level. And I have two cats that prefer to nap on my keyboard, so I’m skilled at typing around them.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Lisa Kleypas’ way with words, Bella Andre’s determination, and Lorelei James’ dirty mind.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on my next release, Protege. It’s the first novel in the Master’s Creed Novels and is coming out August 16, 2016 from Penguin Random House.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’d say, more than anything else, the most effective promotion comes from a reader who speaks highly of my work. Their praise carries the most weight in the readers’ circles in my opinion. So the best thing I can do as an author, is write and give them quality entertainment–and thank them when they review and share their thoughts.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write! Write! Write! And keep an open mind.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Wow, that’s a big question… How about some “good” advice? *Start your day with the most dreaded task ahead so it’s quickly out of the way and you can focus on what makes you happy.*

What are you reading now?
The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics

What’s next for you as a writer?
A project I’m working on with Allyson Young. The working series title is Degrees of Separation, but that may change. It’s an MMF Romance and we’re having a lot of fun with it.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A blank one, so I could still write and fill in the pages, Henry David Thoreau’s Walden Pond, a photo album of my family, and Lisa Kleypas’ Sugar Daddy.

Author Websites and Profiles
Lydia Michaels Website
Lydia Michaels Amazon Profile

Lydia Michaels’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write historical fiction set in Texas’s colorful past, and yet my books are really about identity—who we are and how we became who we are. I was well into a successful career as a journalist and editor. Then one day, life “threw a craving” on me, as we say in Texas. My spirit wanted to do what my spirit wanted to do. I wanted to write historical fiction, because I love history and I love stories and I love Texas. I had worked as a journalist for years, starting out as a newspaper reporter. I went on to be the editor of two newspapers and later was a publicist, communications director, and magazine editor. Through it all I had an abiding passion for the place of my heart and its history.
I have written seven novels, three of which have been published. The Juan Miguel Series is about a Texas hero who’s handsome, brave, cunning, kind, and gifted. Of course, anyone that great is bound to run into trouble and he does. It’s a romantic family saga set in south Texas in the late 19th century and turn of the century. Three of my other novels are also set in Texas. Each of them is unique but they have a theme of sharing Texas’s incredibly rich and diverse culture and how it came to be. My seventh novel is set in Britain in the seventh century.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I recently published the third book in The Juan Miguel Series, The Return of Juan Miguel, which follows The Legend of Juan Miguel and The Passion of Juan Miguel. I wanted to write about a Texas hero who was different than the usual and Juan Miguel certainly is. For one thing, he is a Hispanic hero, and that is fairly rare in Texas fiction. Also, he is just sweet. Everybody who reads about him falls in love with him. But in addition to that, he is especially gifted at acting and taking on various personas. He uses this skill to right wrongs and deliver justice but also to recapture his good name, fortune, and lost love after powerful Anglo ranchers swindle him.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write almost every day and I am very passionate about it. I seem to be obsessed with it. Some days I tell myself not to write and to get some other things done but I find myself back at my computer—writing. One thing that’s unusual, I am not able to read the fictional writing of anyone else when I’m writing fiction. The other person’s voice gets into my head and interferes with my own voice. But I read a great deal of non-fiction while I’m researching the background history of the era I’m writing about.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have been greatly influenced by Larry McMurtry, the famous and prolific Texas novelist. Like everyone else, I loved his novel, Lonesome Dove. I also greatly admire the novels of Jim Harrison, especially Legends of the Fall. I love his ability to convey great amounts of meaning with few words. The Czech novelist, Milan Kundera, is one of my favorites.

What are you working on now?
I just finished writing The Pope’s Heretic, which is not yet edited or published. It is set in the seventh century in Glastonbury, Britain. The main character is a young monk who’s been indentured to the Roman church to illuminate manuscripts. When he’s sent to a Glastonbury abbey, he meets and falls in love with a Druid priestess and all kinds of complications ensue. Doubts enter his head. He longs for the freer, more spirited life of the Celtic people. He runs away to find himself but the looming war between the Celts and the Saxons, who are allies of the church, intervenes. I plan for this book to be the first in a series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use just about everything to market my books. Website, Twitter and Twitter re-tweeters, ads, other social media, etc. I think the main thing is to be diligent and do some marketing every day. You have to keep your books and your name out in public as best you can and buy advertising if you can afford it. Book Bub is a great place to advertise but their success has also made them expensive.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is to write as often and as much as possible. You have to be very dedicated to overcome the many obstacles but it is definitely worth it. If you have to force yourself to write, then maybe it’s not for you. You should love it and long to do it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Persistence. Just persistence. A good friend calls it “Swiss cheesing.” Just keep taking bites out of the goal. Take steps every day. Never give up.

What are you reading now?
I’ve been reading books by the famous English author Catherine Cookson. I just discovered her historical fiction. But when I’m through with the research I’m doing now and I’m ready to write fiction again, I won’t be reading anyone else’s fiction because reading another fiction writer messes with my writing voice.

What’s next for you as a writer?
As I mentioned, I’m planning to write at least two more books as sequels to The Pope’s Heretic.

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?
Strangely, it probably wouldn’t be fiction. I can entertain myself by making up stories in my head, which is what I do anyway. I would take some volumes of history. I can’t get enough of learning about what happened in the past.

Author Websites and Profiles
Anna K. Sargent Website
Anna K. Sargent Amazon Profile

Anna K. Sargent’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
After reading the sentence ‘tell us about yourself and how many books you have written’, I was left a little bit befuddled. The books part is easy, I have written 2 novels and 2 collections of poetry. The about myself however…
I guess let’s say I’m a goofball. That’s a solid start. I grew up on a farm, wrote a lot for no real reason, and migrated to the city of San Diego. Then I wrote some more, mainly while ensconced in a seat at Starbucks, and before I knew it I actually had a published book.
If I were a food, I’d probably be a raspberry truffle, I like dogs, and oh, my favorite color is blue, but not on Wednesdays. Let’s move on, shall we?

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Nillium Neems and the Internet Killer, the second in my Adventures of Nillium Neems series. My main inspiration for it? I guess murder mysteries. I’ve always loved a good murder, and wanted to try and take my schizophrenic little heroine down a more amateur detective route.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
As to unusual writing habits, I guess my most prominent one is my penchant for writing in crowded areas. I seem to write Best when I’m surrounded by people, with music in the background and chatter all around me. I’m somewhat well known for pulling out a notebook at dinner parties, and getting lost in my writing. While still being able to partake in the conversation around me, ha ha.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My main influences would have to be Dean Koontz, and probably Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

What are you working on now?
As of now, I am busily working on the third book in my Nillium Neems series, while getting ready to launch the first in yet another rather curious series (which shall remain mysterious until I’m ready to reveal it).

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon.com seems to actually work best for promoting my works, along with facebook of course.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
As to advice for new authors, my number one statement would be… don’t publish crap. It’s easier than ever to self-publish absolute garbage, so before you go to the rather tremendous effort of marketing your work, make sure it is worthwhile.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever heard of and done, is drink coffee.

What are you reading now?
Anything by Dean Koontz

What’s next for you as a writer?
My next step as a writer, is to just keep growing. Write better stuff, get better at marketing, and just keep being my usual caffeine buzzed self.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would take the 3 core rulebooks for Dungeons and Dragons, so that me and my friend Wilson could run campagins until we either A: died, or B: were rescued by pirates.

Author Websites and Profiles
Francisco J Ruiz Website
Francisco J Ruiz Amazon Profile
Francisco J Ruiz Author Profile on Smashwords

Francisco J Ruiz’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m just a regular joe. I’m an american living in the Philippines. Don’t speak the language that well, which makes it difficult sometimes. How many books have I written? On paper? I average a book a night trying to sleep, but those never make it to paper. I’d have to say 4 and a half books so far on paper. Only a couple of those published.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Thirteen Years of Dust. The inspiration came from my love of mystery and my battle with addictions. My major influences would be Bogart, Jack Webb, Rod Serling, and of course, Raymond Chandler.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes. I walk around alot when I write. I sit and write a few hundred or a thousand words in one spurt then I have to stand up and walk around. When I am in the notebook with pencil I write standing up. I’m a walker. And I can’t write in silence. I need distractions. Sounds strange I know, but it keeps my logical mind busy while my creative mind works. Sometimes I watch Tv when I write. I am a multi tasker–I cannot do unitasking.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many! Chandler, Krouac, Henry Miller, Some Hemmingway, Dostoyevski. I remember when I read The Cathcer in the Rye in tenth grade I said “This is what I want to do!” And I love the classics. Christie, Doyle to name a couple.

What are you working on now?
The second Duke Bradley mystery entitled “Harmony”

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
When my books sell, I’ll let you know.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up and don’t rush it. Take your time or you will end up going back fixing and fixing. And learn to copy edit on your own. Those guys charge an arm and a leg.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
My grandfather once told me–If you don’t think about the bad things they won’t happen.

What are you reading now?
Desolation Angels by Jack Kerouac and Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch by Henry Miller.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Who knows? Just going to keep writing the Duke Bradley series and see what develops.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A crosswords puzzle book–a thick one. A dictionary to help with the crosswords. The Bhagavad Gita and any book with 1001 tales of something in it.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jeffrey M. Thompson Jr. Website
Jeffrey M. Thompson Jr. Amazon Profile

Jeffrey M. Thompson Jr.’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written five books and I’m currently working on the sixth – all paranormal romantic comedies (I do love a laugh!). I have one series out – the Northern Witches, and two firsts of new series, Bite the Big One and Stupid Cupid.

Believe it or not, my foray into writing started as a stress relief from my full time job – I never in my wildest dreams imagined it would be so effective that I could actually give up work and do this full time, but a year and a half after publishing my first, that’s exactly what I did. Life before books, I was an Software Manager (I had a fancier title but the nuts and bolts of it was that was exactly what I did!) I live on the North East of England, a friendlier place you will never find.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The last book I published was released in December and is called Stupid Cupid. It’s Bella’s story, about being in love with someone who isn’t even aware she exists. We’ve all been there, right? What inspired the book? Seeing friends who fawn over men who aren’t worthy of them when a perfectly good specimen of manhood is ignored because they believe they’ve already found their soul mate! Come on, there had to be some comedy value in that, didn’t there?

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Absolutely, although I truly believe all authors are a little unusual! I write in my PJs, I wake up in the middle of the night and dive out of bed because inspiration has struck. My family challenge me often, asking me to incorporate ridiculous things into my stories – such as giving satan a sheep in The Last Challenge. I love being challenged!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’d have to say the likes of Robyn Peterman (amazeballs, right!?!) , Tara West, but mostly Sir Terry Pratchett. I am a devoted fan of the Discworld series and I’ve bought every book he’s ever written. The man was a literary genius.

What are you working on now?
Book 2 of the Full Monty series (Bite the Big One was the first). Jen has been kidnapped and only Becky can save her. Becky is an absolute disaster at witchcraft so it should be fun!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have a very healthy subscription list and they get first dibs on my new books for free, if they review it for me! This gets me off to a healthy start. Twitter, facebook, Pinterest are next and then I run countdown deals and use wonderful sites such as Awesomegang (Do I get bonus points for that?)

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up on your dreams. Always trust your editor. Join forums such as KDP and KBoards – there are lots of lovely, lovely authors out there who will keep you right!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never trust the Spanish Inquisition (sorry…I’m also a massive Monty Python fan!)

What are you reading now?
Well, I just finished a book a day or so ago and, surprisingly, it isn’t a comedy. I read it at the request of the author and was so impressed with it, I couldn’t put it down. The book is currently titled “Someone Close to Home” by Alex Craigie – it’s an absolute literary masterpiece that’s a bit thriller, a bit romance and a lot unputdownable (that’s a new word, and if it isn’t I am appealing to the Oxford Dictionary for inclusion in their next edition!)

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing off my current project and then writing the next of the Silver Ring series. My readers are very demanding!

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 Kindle! Haha! No? Oh, all right, if I must!
1. Weird Sisters by Terry Pratchett
2. Fashionably Dead by Robyn Peterman (this is free on Amazon, by the way! Plug, plug!)
3. Fate Book by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff
4. Divine and Dateless by Tara West

Author Websites and Profiles
Sharon Karaa Website
Sharon Karaa Amazon Profile

Sharon Karaa’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have published seven full-length novels:

The Succubus Gift, Succubus Unleashed, Succubus Rising, Broken Dolls, Succubus Ascendant, Trust, and I’ll Sing for my Dinner.

Succubus Ascendant is the concluding book in the Telepathic Clans Saga.

The whole Telepathic Clans Saga is also available in a boxed set Gifts of the Goddess.

My books combine Adult Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Science Fiction.

I believe in fiction as an escape, with devastatingly beautiful women and incredibly sexy men.

In my fantasy books, you will find characters with psychic abilities, such as telekinesis and telepathy, and a completely different view of a succubus than you’ve ever encountered before.

You will also find a world taken from the Celtic mythology of the Sidhe and the Druids, based on worship of the Goddess, and the offering of that worship through her priestesses, the succubi or druids. All of my books are about strong female characters who aren’t afraid to love.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The final book in the 5-book Telepathic Clans Saga is Succubus Ascendant.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can write anywhere. Usually I write on my little netbook sitting on the sofa, but I’ve written in cafes, on airplanes, in hotel lobbies.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Almost too many to name. For the Telepathic Clans Saga, Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover books and Richelle Mead’s Georgina Kincaid books were inspirations.

What are you working on now?
I’m in the first stages of developing a cross between urban fantasy and epic fantasy starring a young Elven magician. I’m also working on taking a short story I published in an anthology and expanding it to a novel and hopefully a series in military science fiction.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I try to promote my books at least once a month. What has worked best are cross promotions with a number of different authors where readers are able to sample a broad range of books that may be new to them.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
A good editor is not optional or a luxury. If you want readers to take your books seriously, present your work in the most professional way possible. Promotions and marketing are mandatory and you have to do it, but it’s a waste of time if you don’t have a story people enjoy reading.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write the next book.

What are you reading now?
A manuscript (editing it, actually). I’m also reading a book on craft called “Take Off Your Pants” by Libby Hawker on a better way of outlining a story. And for pleasure, I’m rereading “Dream Dancer” by Janet Morris.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Get my next book started. You have to keep writing.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”, “Dune” by Frank Herbert, “Tortilla Flat” by John Steinbeck, and “The Morgaine Saga” by CJ Cherryh

Author Websites and Profiles
BR Kingsolver Website
BR Kingsolver Amazon Profile

BR Kingsolver’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a youth pastor, husband, author, and speaker. I also attend Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. I love God and people. Helping others find God is my highest goal. I believe the greatest accomplishment that I will ever achieve will be having a lasting godly influence on my family.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “Unstoppable: 40 Keys for Chasing Your Dreams, Achieving Your Goals, and Finding God’s Best for Your Life.” I wanted to write something that would help people discover and chase after God’s will for their lives.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write late at night on in to the early morning and while watching Netflix with my wife.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
CS Lewis, John MacArthur, Alistair Begg, Andy Stanley, Rick Warren, Jon Piper,

What are you working on now?
I have a book coming out in April/May called “Love Your Life Now: Unlocking The Secret To Lasting Contentment.”

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
awesomegang.com

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Work hard.
Write every day.
Find your niche.
Promote your book while you’re writing it.
Write more than one book.
Be relentlessly helpful.
Write something that you would buy yourself.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
How to defeat anger in your life: stop living for yourself & start living for God. Ur plans will fail & frustrate u. God’s plans never fail.

What are you reading now?
The Greek New Testament- seriously, I’m studying Greek and I can translate parts of the NT.
Desiring God.
Battling Unbelief.
Putting Your Past in Its Place
Uprooting Anger

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m working on 4-5 ebooks this year and once I get out of seminary I plan on working on a big paperback release.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Bible
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
Island Cook Book

Author Websites and Profiles
Daniel Colston Website
Daniel Colston Amazon Profile

Daniel Colston’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi readers! Its me Dudley. I assuming that you enjoy reading seeing as you’re on this site. Nice to meet you. I am an author and I’m always excited to meet readers. Hope you enjoy it.

I started writing a few years back, 2012 to be precise. I released my first book ‘Undue Rewards’ just before I turned 26 in November of 2013 after a wake up call I had. I used to be an avid reader until I decided it was time that I write me a book before I turned thirty. Luckily the thought of writing a book did not seem as hard as I initially thought, although it is definitely not easy. My other books include; ‘The Failed Redemption’, ‘A Woman’s Instinct’ non fiction book ‘The Last Piece – A Guide to Managing People’ and my latest book ‘The Optimist’ – Catch him if you can.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Optimist – I’m not sure what inspired this book. When I started writing it I felt the need for action and a lot of it. I wanted a book that was full of action and a book that had lot of twists and turns.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favourite author is John Grisham. Other favourites include childhood favourites Enid Blyton who wrote the ‘Famous Five’, Charles Dickens and Judy Bloom who’s books I used to read from my sister. Arturo Pereze-Reverte is another one of my favourite authors, he wrote ‘The Nautical Chart’ I loved this book

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a book based on a true story call ‘The Fifth Bandit’ The story is based around the Hatton Garden diamond heist

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t have a particular method at this point except for persistence. If I had to choose at the moment it’d probably be facebook.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The best advice for I can give to new authors is to hit the ground running, be passionate about your work and never quit. Get in touch with your imagination and write the best book that you want to read. All the books I’ve written are books that I generally want to read and am into, so I don’t get bored in the process and each step is exciting although the process can be a long and tedious one.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever heard is to keep writing.

What are you reading now?
Right now a book called ‘Outliers’ by Malcolm Gladwell.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To continue to build networks to grow, share and spread the word of Dudley Davidson-Jarrett Books and hopefully release more fun and exciting books for the readers and fans.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’d just bring two Arturo Pereze Reverte’s ‘Nautical Chart’ and ‘The Holy Bible’

Author Websites and Profiles
Dudley Davidson-Jarrett Website