Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written 20 books under three names. I write adult fiction (SF, Fantasy, Suspense, Romance) under Maggie Jaimeson. I write YA and children’s fiction under Maggie Faire. My non-fiction books are under Maggie Lynch. I’ve been fortunate to have a long and varied career in psychology, computer science, and education. Since 2013 I’ve been able to stay home and write full time.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Heart Strings, the third book in the Sweetwater Canyon contemporary romance series.

Sarah Cosgrave has been the quiet character in the first two novels. She has a deep Christian faith and has often found herself at odds with the decisions and behaviors of her bandmates. All people have some trauma in their background–for some it is around common experiences like betrayal and distrust. For others it is around larger experiences like assault, dysfunctional families, poverty, or death of a parent or child.

Many people believe that those with a deep faith have it easier–that their belief in a caring and loving God makes it easier to face trauma. I don’t believe it is any easier to face, whether you are Christian or not. However, once one comes to terms with the trauma and is still able to maintain their faith, then perhaps it is easier to accept. However, what I wanted to explore in this story is the existential struggle when someone’s faith is in the balance.

When I was about 10 years old a younger brother died of heart failure. Though he was often ill and hospitalized. As a ten year old I had a simple faith that God would cure him. When he died I was so angry at what I perceived as a betrayal of my faith, that when the pastor visited and offered to comfort me I kicked him in the teeth. Yes, I actually drew blood. Fortunately, the pastor forgave me and understood my combination of anger and grief.

That was a child’s reaction. In many ways, I was fortunate to come to grips with my faith and balancing it against the realities of life at such a young age. The timeline of a child is small. A child has not yet experienced how years and years can add to the questions. I believe that for adults the struggle becomes existential and even more painful. The answers to the questions are more complex and will eventually drive someone either away from their beliefs or more deeply into them.

It is this struggle that Sarah will face–coming to grips with a dysfunctional past, the second death of a parent, and the betrayal of love. Though she is a faith-filled Christian, it is not an easy path. But it was one she must define in order to be whole and find love.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Of course, they aren’t unusual to me. I am a slow riser. Though I awake at 6 or 7am, it is important to me that I take my time in the morning with breakfast, plenty of coffee, and reading the newspaper. This is what I call my wake-up-and-face-the-day time. Somewhere between 9 and 10am, I go for my morning walk. This puts me in a more meditative space where I can start to concentrate on the writing day to come.

Around 10am I sit down to write. I write or do admin work from then until 1 or 2pm depending on how things are going and where I am in the story. Then I take my lunch break, and three days of the week after lunch I go to the gym to work out. This is the weight lifting portion of my day. It’s a great time for me to exercise because it is also the time when I would most like to take a nap, so writing isn’t great from about 3-5pm.

After that I may return home and write for a couple more hours before dinner, or I’ll help with dinner. I am very fortunate because my husband loves to cook, and most of the time I leave him to it. But sometimes I get to play sous chef (i.e., chopper of onions, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, etc.). We eat around 7-8pm and then I usually go back to my office to write some more.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many authors have influenced me, and that is why I write in multiple genres. I’ve always had this dual love interest in philosophy and in science. My philosophy side was fed by romance and Women’s fiction because of how they dealt with relationships, which ultimately is what philosophy studies. My science side was filed with physics and math and thinking of the future. This my interest in SF and Fantasy.

In Contemporary Romance, I started with Nora Roberts in her Harlequin Days. I’ve always loved her character development and especially in series that involves complex family or friendship relationships. Influences in Romantic Suspense were from the Gothics written in the 1960’s and 70’s primarily from Victoria Holt.

In SF, I was a huge fan of Issac Asimov, Arthur C. Clark, and Clifford Simak. Each of them looked at a future world or space in slightly different ways. Both Asimov and Simak seemed to be more optimistic in their books.

Today, many authors influence me. I read widely from romance to thrillers, and from literary fiction to memoirs. I’m always learning and always enjoying a new authors voice.

What are you working on now?
I am finishing up the third book in my YA Urban Fantasy series, Chameleon: The Summoning. The Forest People series features a human chameleon who is just learning of her powers and trying to understand her role in the world. It is a coming-of-age story but set in a world between our reality and that of a paranormal reality with multiple dimensions.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website is maggielynch.com and it is the place that showcases all of my books, both fiction and non-fiction. I am also on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Google Plus. In terms of promotion, the best for me is through my email list. I find that my fans are there and that is where I can really share with them what is coming up, what I’m working on, and special opportunities for them. I do use social media to do that as well, but so far it doesn’t compare to my fans on my email list.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I think the best advice I have is to keep writing, be patient, and write what speaks to you. Write what YOU want to read. Too many people chase trends, only to find out that they really can’t write in that genre. I truly believe that if I write from my heart and what’s important to me, through my characters, that I will find my readers.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Two things:
1. Be your best self at all times. To me this means there is never a good excuse for being mean or putting others down in order to get ahead. My characters believe this too.

2. Treat others the way you would like to be treated. This is a version of The Golden Rule and it has served me very well throughout my life. Another version of this is Karma. I truly believe that when you help others, it comes back to you tenfold in ways you can’t begin to imagine. That is the Golden Rule and that is Karma.

What are you reading now?
Honestly, I am sooooo far behind in my reading. I have a TBR pile that is several bookshelves filled with books. That being said, I do occasionally take a day off of writing and spend the entire day reading. The last time I did that was two weeks ago when I read Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. I’m a fan of her SF books, but had never read this one (written in 2009) and saw it at my local bookstore. It was marvelous, as expected. She is another author who really knows how to create a character that is a bit closed off from the world, but has a deep desire to be part of something important. I gravitate to those characters.

What’s next for you as a writer?
This year I’m writing a book in each of my three series, and starting a new series for “New Adults” featuring the youngest person in my Sweetwater Canyon series as she goes off to college and meets new friends and new love interests. I’m excited to get that one started because it is a great bridge between writing coming-of-age teen stories and my adult romances. Returning to that time in my life and in my children’s life will be fun, exciting, and scary all at once.

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 going to cheat here and take three packaged book volumes because there is no way I can choose one book out of a series.

Nora Roberts Dream Trilogy
Octavia Butler Xenogenesis Trilogy
Bartlett’s Quotations (a great book with the wisdom of thousands)

Unfortunately, all three of these are huge volumes so I might drown if I were carry them on a boat and had to get them to shore.

Author Websites and Profiles
Maggie Jaimeson Website
Maggie Jaimeson Amazon Profile

Maggie Jaimeson’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 an Australian author and stand-up comedian. My main genres are fantasy and children’s books, and I have recently started self-publishing stuff that is too whacked out for traditional publishers. All in all, I have 14 books floating about out there. I was named after the family cat. I like croissants a lot. Too much, perhaps. I’ve also done some writing for television.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I’ve just released the first three ‘episodes’ in a series of short, crazy, funny reads entitled ‘Sam, Jake and Dylan Want Money’. They are meant to be punchy, single sitting reads, and are basically the written version of a sitcom which I always wanted to make but will probably never have the budget for. The first book ‘Black Market Prawns’ is permafree.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a jar full of dead flowers on my desk which I refuse to throw away.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a big fan of Robin Hobb – The Farseer trilogy and Liveship Traders in particular. Chuck Palahniuk and Patrick Rothfuss are up there too. The most influencing book would have to be the Hobbit, which my dad read to me when I was small and impressionable, which kinda got me started on my current path.

What are you working on now?
A time travel comedy adventure with NO PLOTHOLES, and that is a pretty tough ask.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have no idea. I’ve only just started investigating such things! Ask me again in a year or two.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I have a very firm rule in my writing: fuck the cat. It is basically, for me, a way of saying that I hate it when characters are driven by plot, rather than the other way around. Because all too often you get people going back into the scary spaceship to look for their cat. Most of us, if given the choice between facing an alien monster that wants to implant its young in our stomachs, or launching the escape pod and getting the hell out of dodge, will say ‘fuck the cat.’ And I have always been determined that my characters would be ‘fuck the cat’ types. In fact I have the phrase hanging it above my computer, to remind me. Visitors might think it odd, I suppose.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write before you edit. Don’t read over what you just wrote. Keep going until it’s finished, then fix it later. It’s not like you have to show anyone until you’re ready. GET IT DONE.

What are you reading now?
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve been working on a new TV show with a well known comic here in Australia, but I can’t say too much about 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?
The Stench of Honolulu by Jack Handey, Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (I haven’t read it, but it looks like it would keep you going for a while, or at least be good for starting a fire) and a set of my own – I’m not being facetious, I just haven’t read them for a while, and it might keep me sane to remember who I was.

Author Websites and Profiles
Sam Bowring Website
Sam Bowring Amazon Profile
Sam Bowring Author Profile on Smashwords

Sam Bowring’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a wife, mother and I work full-time as a receptionist. In my spare time which is mainly on my way to work and from work, I write stories. Writing is my passion, I enjoy sharing my thoughts, tackling subjects most women fear to talk about.

I am the author of True Colours, Mistaken Identity, A Woman’s Weakness, A daring Date, Living Her Dream and a short story- A Kiss And A Cappuccino

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
A kiss And A Cappuccino was inspired by Eva, the main character in one of my books, A Woman’s Weakness. Women get abused world over and women must stand together to support each other. It doesn’t matter where you come from.

A Kiss And A Cappuccino is about Hannah an English young woman Madly in Love with a man she hardly knows, a Man with a past shrouded in mystery and Danger. Her weakness and strength is put to the test just like Eva in A Woman’s Weakness.
It wasn’t that hard to write about another culture. I put myself in Hannah’s shoes. I am a woman.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
if a scene comes to my head, I have to note it down, it doesn’t mater what time. I have a writing pad right next to my bed, I don’t even have to switch on the light to indulge in my passion.
My husband usually says to me, “Are you a bat? Only bats can see in the dark.”

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I can definitely mention individual Authors, so the likes of Danielle Steel, Wilbur Smith and John Grisham all have such a rich way of telling a story. They draw you in and hold you captive to the very end. I wrote my first novel True Colours after reading Flowers In The Attic By Virginia Andrews. I said to myself, if a mother can do that to her own children, what about an aunt?

What are you working on now?
I am working on a short story about a single mother with two teenagers who don’t recognise her sacrifice.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The readers find my website quite straight forward at http://www.mollygambiza.co.uk

The links lead to amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and CreateSpace and also Facebook and Twitter

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t compromise the story, concentrate whole heartedly on the story, and immerse yourself in it. Become the characters if you have to, the technical side of things i.e. Publishing, promotion etc. will be daunting but if you stay true to the story the readers will latch on naturally. Keep it all organic and get out there, do different things, see different places you’ll be surprised where you find inspiration. I once found inspiration for a chapter in one of my books 40,000ft above the Sahara, now that’s a story for another day but the main thing is to keep your mind fresh with ideas.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Life is like a book. Some chapters are sad, some happy, and some exciting. But if you never turn a page, you will never know what the next chapter holds.
I never stop chasing my dreams.

What are you reading now?
The Cruelty of love by Theresa Nash. I am reading it a second time, that’s what I do when I like a book.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To be recognised as the writer whose work helped abused women find their feet and voice to say no to violence

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?
Oh no! There is not enough room for my bookshelf but I would cheat and squeeze in all my titles and among them I would include Flowers in the Attic by Virginia Andrews.
I wrote my first novel True Colours after reading Flowers in the Attic.

Author Websites and Profiles
Molly Gambiza Website
Molly Gambiza Amazon Profile

Molly Gambiza’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written a few books, however, I have not published most due to my own standards.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
REVOLTING is a graphic novel I wrote several years ago. I have been a zombie fan since I was a kid, and first saw the original Night of the living Dead. However, I felt I wanted a new twist on the genre.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I daydream a lot. I play out various parts of the books in my head. My own internal cinema, if you will.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Max Brooks, Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton, and of course the King. I am also a fan of Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore to name a few.

What are you working on now?
A new novel that merges a different type of fantasy with our reality.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use various sites. This is a process I’m still learning.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you have an idea, no matter how small, write it down. Weird, but cool dream last night? Write it down. You never know if it can be useful to a story.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Books don’t write themselves. Stop procrastinating and get to work.

What are you reading now?
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More 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?
World War Z, Alas Babylon, Jurassic Park, American Gods

Author Websites and Profiles
Ric LaFollette Website

Ric LaFollette’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Charles Thompson. I graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with my Masters in 2013 but I’ve been writing since I was about six years old! To date, I’ve written and published two books, The Longest Night and The Binding of Fenrir with more on the way.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Longest Night was inspired by Frank Miller and his Sin City graphic novels and Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I keep writing until I go cross-eyed. Then my dog, Marlowe, will usually demand a 20 minutes tug of war match and after that, more writing. We have a system.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Like I mentioned before, Frank Miller, Raymond Chandler, Ross MacDonald, Ernest Tidyman, Dashiell Hammett, Richard B Parker (early stuff anyway).

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on the second novel, the followup to The Longest Night called Forever Isn’t Long Enough. Ever wondered what four girls who made a young mothers pact in high school will do for money? A lot, apparently.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This is actually the first website I picked after a lot of research to promote my book. So thanks guys!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep on scribblin’. It took me five years of editing and courage to publish The Longest Night. So you’ll get there.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Life is a journey to be experienced, not a problem to be solved.”

What are you reading now?
Currently? I’m reading Phil Pullmans His Dark Materials series.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to keep on scribblin’ of course!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
That’s a loaded question right there…
I guess, in no particular order:

The Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

Author Websites and Profiles
Charles Thompson Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Roosters is my first venture. I am a playwright, musician, filmmaker.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Roosters” was a dream I had 20+ years ago when I first wrote it. I forgot about it. My father bought it up and happened to have a old Word Perfect copy on a hard drive. I re worked some parts, made it more my brain today and put it out.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write it in my head,like its a movie that I’m watching, late night in bed. Then I find the time to actually type it.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve only read one book my whole life, “Stewart Little”. I don’t want to say I can’t read, but I have a very hard time of it. But some how I am able to type. And that’s how I do it, not really reading what I type, rather I type what is in my mind. I leave the reading part to the editors.

What are you working on now?
“Roosters” book 2

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook, Ads, Google Ads. Foot traffic

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m 52, can’t read, never really read a book, have no Idea what I am doing. I don’t claim to ever be a writer, but apparently I’m a Author. My book is forever, and for sale. My advice? take what ever you may think is in your way from fulfilling your dream and look at it as if it was the irritant in the oyster that creates the pearl. So go create your pearl.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
there are no statues of critics

What are you reading now?
nothing

What’s next for you as a writer?
“Roosters” 2 and “Roosters the Play”

Author Websites and Profiles
Brian Vadimsky Website
Brian Vadimsky Amazon Profile

Brian Vadimsky’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
The 3 Day Total Detox Cleanse is my first completed book. I have many more currently either with my editor or still being written all in the health and wellness genre. I have been on a life changing journey since 2013 and have completely changed both my emotional and physical health in the last 3 years and want to help others do the same. I went from suffering from severe depression and weighing almost 400 pounds to being happier than even and have dropped over 185 pounds in the last 3 years and my journey to health, wealth, love and happiness is only getting better every day. My before and after pictures are on my facebook page.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is called the 3 Day Total Detox Cleanse and it’s inspired by my weight loss journey. I found that doing a 3 day detox every few months helps boost my metabolism, my energy and my weight loss by getting rid of those toxins that build up and slow everything down. My detox has been tweaked over the last 3 years and it’s the one I do personally every 2-4 months.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
lol I like to write lying down sometimes. Not the best position but sometimes it helps when I need a break from the desk.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve been influenced by many bloggers and vloggers who share what they know about healthy living. I didn’t get to weigh almost 400 pounds by eating well let me tell you, and dieting doesn’t work. So learning from healthy people has been a huge help along my journey.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a book about the real reasons why we can’t lose weight and how our weight loss efforts are actually being hindered by our efforts to lose weight.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This one of course
I’m actually new to book promoting so I’m still learning.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write. Get it down and worry about the details later. Don’t try to have a perfect first draft. Relax and let your words flow.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Wow that’s a tough one. I’ve heard so much good advice over the years. I guess the best would be – Nobody is going to hand you your dreams, you need to go out there and make it happen. You want to write a book, write it.

What are you reading now?
You Were Born Rich by Bob Proctor

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve got about 3-4 books on the go so I’m going to keep writing and sharing my journey and hope to help others get started and keep going.

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?
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Your were Born Rich by Bob Proctor
Change your Thoughts, Change your life by Dr. Wayne W Dyer
Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins

Author Websites and Profiles
Michelle Sigouin Website
Michelle Sigouin Amazon Profile

Michelle Sigouin’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a romance and fantasy author. My first series is titled Sisters Of The Curse, and it’s based on the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses. I always wondered why they behaved the way they did in the original story (I wondered that about a lot of the Grimm Brothers tales) and this was my way of answering that question. There are three books available right now, with the final book in the series coming out in May.

I just released the first book in my latest series, The Heart Of The Djinn, which is about a free-lancing djinn and the people he chooses to help and grant wishes to. The first book, Three Wishes, is about a woman looking back on choices made and wishing she chose differently. Enter the djinn. But like most djinn, he gives nothing for free.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
As I mentioned, Three Wishes. This is slightly autobiographical, in that I was thinking over the past and the choices I’d made. It led to wondering what like would have been like had I made different choices. Unlike Tibby, the main character, I am in a wonderful place, and don’t want to go back and do things differently, but it made me think.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Keep writing. Write every day. Make it part of your daily schedule. Those are also some of the hardest pieces of advice to follow.

What are you reading now?
Sonya Bateman’s Fields Of Blood, which is the second book in her series The Deathspeaker Codex. It’s a wonderful urban fantasy, and I love her characters.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More series! I have a running list of the things I want to write, and since I enjoy reading series, that’s what I write. I have a stand-alone Jane Austen book planned, a romance series based in Colorado, and another paranormal trilogy in the planning stages 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?
Can I bring all of Jane Austen’s works? I read and re-read all of her novels, and her unfinished work even now, and enjoy them every time.

Author Websites and Profiles
Lisa Manifold Website
Lisa Manifold Amazon Profile

Lisa Manifold’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Author of cozy mystery suspense thrillers, VLZ’s tales of woe will keep readers on their toes and glued to the pages up until the very ending, the last word spoken, the last line written. If you love a tight mystery with ups and downs, sure to delight the senses, then you should love the tales VLZ has created for around the campfire. Born in 1953, the last child of TEN children, VLZ has always been a storyteller from a very early age, where only a pencil and a scrap piece of paper was all she could get her hands on. A survivor of such tribulations as Polio and Tuberculosis, VLZ managed to strive through with great enthusiasm, having a high spirit and a loving family of constant siblings at her side. A lover of all animals, the arts and cinema, and a card player of Rummy with her sisters, VLZ’s heartfelt desire is in her writing and the hopes of giving her readers an escape from the hustle of everyday life, even if for an hour or two, where the reader can laugh, take a breath and be entertained. A fan of King, Koontz, Patterson, Agatha Christie, and the late great, Mr. Alfred Hitchcock. For further insight into VLZ, please go to: www.vlzbooks.com

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Hellen Back

Inspiration came from a close friend who lost their life…

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Don’t think so. When a character speaks to me, no matter what time of day, I jot down their thoughts.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
King. Koontz. Patterson. Christie. Brown. Metallic.

What are you working on now?
Another mystery thriller of course. Well… two, really. Can’t say their titles just yet. I have them, but I don’t want to give them out for personal reasons.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
FB and askDavid my personal website and whatever sites are reasonable in price.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes, be prepared to be a loner, because writing is a lonely venture in which to pursue.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read a lot. Write a lot.

What are you reading now?
The Secret of Kolney Hatch by Stefani Milan

What’s next for you as a writer?
Write/ write/ write/

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Mine of course… and mysteries like mine…

Author Websites and Profiles
vicki lee zell Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born on March 26 in Latin America hence, my first language is Spanish. I have lived in many cities around the globe with my parents and younger brother, Carlos. I moved to the state of Texas, United States when I was 14 years of age and grew up to love the English language when I took my first grammar class in high school.
I am a very active person – always finding new things to learn and do. I decided to obtain a BA in Marketing at the University of Texas-Pan American because I think marketing is a background that everyone should have in any career path.

I have written three children’s picture books, and right now I am in the process of my 4th.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
James and Games that are Not Games. I got the inspiration from one of my mom own experiences when she was a child.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a YA Fantasy and Science Fiction book. It will definitely be a surprise to everyone.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I mostly use Instagram #andreapcarrera

Do you have any advice for new authors?
All that I can say is that if you really want to be a writer, keep writing regardless the outcome. To be successful, you have to first fail many times – that is the only way we learn what needs to improve. Many people can get discourage when reading overnight successes of other authors. But, I can assure you that behind their success is a history of failures that have made them work even harder to create a well written, polish “overnight success” manuscript.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be stubborn and persevere.

What are you reading now?
I am reading Lady Midnight, the first book of Cassandra Clare next trilogy (ShadowHunters).

Author Websites and Profiles

Andrea Carrera Website
Andrea Carrera Amazon Profile

Andrea Carrera’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hey, what’s up? I’m Alykhan. I was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and grew up in sunny Florida. I love my family and food. I hate alarm clocks and cold weather.

In my day job, I’m a professional number cruncher. When I’m not saving the world with spreadsheets, I’m usually “sitting,” as my wife likes to say. But that typically involves reading, writing, and thinking up new ways to get better at life.

I love eating, but I also like to stay lean, which is a constant challenge. I enjoy playing soccer (four-time corporate intramural champion) and since I’m an extreme introvert, this is about the extent of my social resume.

I have just written and published my first book, Calorie Counting Made Easy, and hope to write many more!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Calorie Counting Made Easy and I was inspired to write it because I wanted to provide the best resource for tracking calories for weight loss available anywhere.

So many health and fitness books preach the importance of hitting calorie targets for weight loss, but I haven’t seen any that walk you through the process step-by-step.

I knew I could do this and with my experience counting calories using MyFitnessPal for over three years, I also knew I had some unique insights on shortcuts that will help people log their numbers quickly and accurately, while staying consistent, which is the key to success.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I know I’m not very productive at home, so I take my laptop across the street to Dunkin’ Donuts and do all my writing there.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love nonfiction books on fitness, online business, personal finance, productivity, and anything good in the self-development space, really.

My favorite authors are James Altucher, Susan Cain, Tim Ferriss, Mike Matthews, Nate Miyaki, Tony Robbins, Ramit Sethi, and Matt Stone aka Buck Flogging.

My favorite books I can think of off the top of my head are The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The Automatic Millionaire, Bigger Leaner Stronger, Choose Yourself, The Introvert Advantage, The ONE Thing, and Quiet.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on building an audience for my website, Excel Chief, around people who are interested in an analytical, systematic approach to self-improvement.

In the future, I’d like to write more books and create products (online courses, Excel tools, etc.) that help serve this audience.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Since I’ve only done one book launch so far, I haven’t had a whole lot of experience with promotion, but I’ve found building an email list “street team” made up of family members, close friends, and coworkers for the launch really helps get some early reviews in the door and gives the book momentum.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write and get something out there. Do your best, but don’t worry if every tiny detail isn’t perfect.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just to build habits and systems around achieving your goals instead of trying to rely on motivation or willpower. I’ve heard this in various forms, but I think Scott Adams said it best: “My philosophy is that losers have goals and winners have systems.”

What are you reading now?
Will It Fly by Pat Flynn

What’s next for you as a writer?
Right now, I’m thinking of ideas for my next book. I’d like to write something on productivity and time management at some point. I’d also love to write a book that will help introverts.

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?
First of all, probably some sort of survival guide book. The best one available. And maybe some sort of wilderness cookbook that helps me cook insects or something.

After that, just a couple of my favorites: Choose Yourself would have to be one of them.

Author Websites and Profiles
Alykhan Gulamali Website
Alykhan Gulamali Amazon Profile

Alykhan Gulamali’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I authored Contrition (JournalStone Pub.) in 2012, a murder/mystery with a touch of supernatural and horror. Then I began writing a historical fiction series (The Dark Ages Saga of Tristan de Saint-Germain) which was picked up by Argus Publishing in Dec. of 2015. Promise of the Black Monks is the first novel of the series (pub. Feb, 2016), and will be followed soon by Hammer of God, A Horde of Fools, God’s Scarlet Fury, and Cup of Blood, Bread of Salvation.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Promise of the Black Monks is my latest release, and centers on a 7-yr-old son of nobility who is abandoned to the Benedictine Monks of Cluny France, eventually rising in the Church due to his startling level of intelligence and perception for one so young. I am simply fascinated by the Dark Ages, a merciless period of violence, class struggle, ignorance, superstition, and faith. My love of European history (I lived there 3 years and attended French school in Saint-Germain-en-Laye) led me into writing Promise of the Black Monks, but I became so utterly absorbed, I wrote 4 books in the series, and am completing book 5!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I stay up all night writing because I was born a ‘night-crawler.’ I sleep during the day, when I’m writing intensively, and my friends call me ‘Barnabus’ from the Dark Shadows TV series from back in the day. Also, I never write with the end in mind. I write the first chapter of a book by simply creating an intriguing scene. From there, I write the next chapter, allowing the story to take me wherever my imagination leads.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I enjoy the classics, books and authors: Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, etc..
Their story telling mixed with social commentary, action, and complexity of characters has never been matched. My writing emulates that style… a return to literature.

What are you working on now?
I am completing Cup of Blood, Bread of Salvation, book 5 of the Dark Ages Saga of Tristan de Saint-Germain series. Each book in the series is 550-600 pages long, so I am exhausted at the moment… book 5 is moving slowly, consequently.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Actually, Argus (William Connor) and my agent, Jeanie Loiacono have been the most effective book promoters. I do book signings, facebook, local news releases (paper, TV, radio), and bully friends into spreading word of mouth, but I’m not well seasoned in book promotion on a wider scale. I’m 67, so I’m a bit of a technological NeanderthaL

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes! Write, rewrite. then rewrite again. Less is more (though I’m huge into visual and emotional description)… still, in my rewriting, I cut,and cut!). Hope is another issue, and perseverance, and WORK!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
My Dad always used to say, “Robert, it’s later than you think!”
Life is short was his message, I believe. So don’t wait… on anything. Do it now, or it’ll likely pass!

What are you reading now?
I am reading the First Crusade by Thomas Asbridge (for the 5th time!). My novel series involves the Investiture War and the First Crusade, and Asbridge’s work is so comprehensive and complex, I can’t get enough of it.

What’s next for you as a writer?
When I complete book 5 of the series, I think I’ll go to France again. Went there three years ago to research Promise of the Black Monks, and loved it. That trip was my first return to France since 1965 when I was 16 years old. My wife had never been overseas until that recent trip, and she’s been bitten by the France bug also.

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?
History of the World, Les Miserables, The Red and the Black, and A Tale of Two Cities

Author Websites and Profiles
Robert E. Hirsch Website

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born, Antree Michele Mundy (I was named after a small city called Aintree, England) in New Albany, MS (also the birthplace of legendary author, William Faulkner). I preferred to be called my middle name, Michele. I graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Language and Humanities. As an evangelist, recording artist and songwriter, I wrote songs an album, “Divine Favor” and ironically, England is one of the places where I’ve performed music. I am presently the author of two self-help books: Supernatural Is Normal: How To Receive Healing, Wholeness and Success and Hoarding: How To Declutter Your Life.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Since the recent passing of my brother, I included my health and healing blog, www.supernaturallynormal.com along with the book, Supernatural Is Normal where I share real supernatural encounters with God, angels and have witnessed healing miracles. God and my brother are my main inspirations for writing the book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes. Sometimes when I get tired of sitting up in a chair at a desk or table, I like to sit on the bed in my room or a hotel room with a couple of snacks and some water. Then I’ll take a quick break in between to stretch and do squats to keep my metabolism/energy level going.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Author and talk show host, Sid Roth of the show, “It’s Supernatural” and Katt Kerr, author of Revealing Heaven vols. I & II. They have both shared similar experiences as mine.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a series of self-help books that cover issues not covered in the first book. Since the book was written, I have witnessed many more supernatural experiences with other people and my own experiences concerning relationships and business decisions I plan to share that will help others reach their goals using similar methods I used.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use the method of word of mouth via social media and reaching out to niche-related groups and providing value to them and submitting my book to niche-related sites.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Pray and don’t give up! Continue writing, promoting and providing value and you will go far.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I have heard is to network and help others and many of them will help you in return.

What are you reading now?
I honestly haven’t made time to read one particular book since I’ve been assisting with others books and promoting my own book.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Radio and television interviews are already set up as well as speaking and singing engagements. I look forward to doing more of those in between writing.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible and any of Sid Roth’s books with stories of miracles, because if I were stranded on a desert island, I would need a miracle!

Author Websites and Profiles
Antree Mundy Website
Antree Mundy Amazon Profile

Antree Mundy’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 Alicia Rasley, and I’ve written 14 novels and several non-fiction books. My home in the American Midwest on a lazy river, which has inspired a couple of my novels. I also teach writing at a state university, and in workshops to fiction writers. “Story” in all forms is my obsession, whether it’s a student’s memoir or the latest serial on Netflix. I’m especially interested in how the medium changes the progression of the story, that is, novels are “closed” stories with a particular ending, while videogames can be more open and interactive.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Tryst at the Brighton Inn, a mystery-romance. These two characters have been in my head for years, in different incarnations. She was always Russian and named Natasha, but sometimes she was a modern refugee and sometimes she was a 19th Century countess– but in my head, she was always a bit mysterious and untrusting. Matt had several names over the years, and he was usually the cynical best friend.
Neither ever actually made it into a book that got published, so I decided finally I’d have to give them their own story. I was surprised to find that these two, who never “met” in my past attempts to write them, completely belonged together. It’s hard to explain, actually, how a character can be “in my head” and change radically but still be that same person. This made me understand that we really do have a core personality that never changes even when our circumstances change.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I’m writing non-fiction, nothing bothers me. I can be in the middle of a schoolroom of singing children with the fire alarm going off, and keep on writing. But when I write fiction, I can’t have any words around me. I can’t have the TV on or any conversations in the room. I can only listen to instrumental music.
So I generally write my stories in a back bedroom where there is no TV and no husband! Now I’m experimenting with a standing desk (better for the health), and would like to work up to being able to type at a treadmill desk. I doubt I’ll manage that!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
For Tryst at the Brighton Inn, which is a mystery-romance set in the Regency era, I wanted the feel of a classic locked-door mystery. So I’ve re-read most of Agatha Christie’s mysteries that have a murder in an enclosed space. She’s a much better stylist than she’s been given credit for, and has a quick, deft way of explaining character that impresses me.

Georgette Heyer, of course, inspired me to write Regency novels. Re-reading them now, as I do every couple years, I’m struck by the delight of her dialogue. I’m not sure anyone (even Jane Austen) writes dialogue as well as she does. I wish I could do that!

I read CS Lewis’s Narnia series when I was a child, and was profoundly affected by his conversational and yet elegant style. I didn’t realize how much I’d been influenced until I read the books aloud to my own children, and thought, “This sounds like me! Only a lot better.”

And just to prove I have read a few books written since WWII , I’d cite Marilynne Robinson (Gilead) as a recent influence. Her books are very quiet– I don’t know exactly how to describe it– but full of suppressed emotion. Alice Munro has that gift too. I’m trying to infuse that suppression into my own scenes now– creating emotion without describing it.

Of course, every good writer influences me a bit. Shakespeare has been helpful (thanks, Will!) in teaching me how to “tell the truth through lies”. No one is better than the Bard at tricking the reader into learning something profound. This week I’m reading the latest Stephen King novel, and am struck with how he mixes the quotidian reality of life’s routines with the extreme action and emotion of historical events.

What are you working on now?
I am just starting a new book in the Regency CSI series. Tryst at the Brighton Inn was the first in that series. I’d come across some historical reference to a meteorite killing someone in England at that time, and thought I might try to incorporate that.

I always have more than one project going, so I’m also tracking down fragments of a spy novel set in the Napoleonic era. Bits of this exist on different backup drives from several computers. I am not very organized. But I have enough collected to remind me what I meant to do in that book– explore what sort of person is drawn to the clandestine art of espionage.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m not actually very good at promotion. What I think is most important is to link your books together in some way– in a series, or with a common setting– and promote them all at once. Readers do tend to buy the next book when they’re already invested in the characters or situation. I know I just bought the 15th book in a series that I’m not enjoying much at all… but heck, I’d read 14, so why not 15?
Problem is, I get bored with writing the same characters. So I’m going to try to make a series around a situation (like the espionage ring). Then I’m going to build a website and Facebook page for the whole series.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I was traditionally published for 20 years with several of the “Big 5” publishers. I know the allure of “real publication.” There’s a status and prestige that comes from one of the big publishers choosing you out of the pile. But that’s often all there is. Often the happiest moment is the one when you get that first phone call offering you a contract. Then there’s often a long wait to get published, minimal or no editing and promotion, and little loyalty– authors, even successful ones, get dropped all the time.

Thing is, before recently, we didn’t have many options. It was NY or the extremely hard work of publishing and selling your own books. But now self-publishing is much more accessible. My advice is, if you want traditional publication (and I don’t blame you), give yourself a deadline. Very often it takes a decade– I’m not joking– to break through that brick wall. Decide how long you’re going to give this quest for traditional publication, and in the meantime, while you’re waiting the eight months for the agents to respond back, and the year before the contracts all get signed, write another book, and this time try publishing it yourself. (No, it won’t harm your chances of getting published traditionally. If the indie-book does well, it might even help.)

We have options now, and we should at least try them out. And the greatest prestige, frankly, comes from a bursting bank account and readers clamoring for your next release.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Claire Zion, my second editor, way back in the Dark Ages, gently said to me, “Every scene should have some event that affects the overall plot. Twelve pages of the hero walking around and thinking deep thoughts and occasionally crushing a dried leaf don’t count as a real scene. Make something happen. Make something change.”
We would all be better writers if we dedicated ourselves to that proposition that every scene should change the plot, if only in a minor way.

What are you reading now?
Stephen King’s latest, the one about the time-traveler who goes back to stop the assassination of JFK, is on my audio-player. I am also reading Catherine Exley’s Diary, which is the actual diary of an army wife who followed her soldier husband through the action of the Napoleonic wars. Let me just say, when I grumble about having to go out and walk for exercise every day, I should remember this woman, who carried a newborn baby while she walked over the mountains in Portugal– wearing borrowed shoes.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am going to try to focus on one book at a time, for a change!
I also want to start doing a podcast about how stories work, and interview storymakers from other fields, like film and videogames. Of course, first I have to figure out how to do a podcast.

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?
Hmm… I’d bring a Brother Cadfael mystery because those are so beautifully soothing.
I’d also take the Collected Works of Shakespeare. Would that be cheating? It’s just one book. Of course, it’s so heavy, it would sink the raft I’d be building to escape.
And I’d take one of the books of the Patrick O’Brian sea-adventure series (Desolation Island), where the ship strikes an iceberg and the crew is shipwrecked in Antarctica… and survive. Maybe there will be some useful survival techniques for me on my own island!

Author Websites and Profiles
Alicia Rasley Website
Alicia Rasley Amazon Profile
Alicia Rasley’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have an entrepreneurial mindset and decades’ long marketing career helping business owners, executives, and C-suite leaders uncover market driven opportunities that lead to great outcomes.

I knew that the “silver tsunami” of retiring Baby Boomers meant that millions are asking some tough questions: What do I do after I retire? How can I prepare my business for a successful hand-off? Can I reinvent my career?

Drawing on my unique understanding of the Boomer generation and their drive to do retirement differently, I authored Recalibrate for Life 2.0, Transition Stories for Business Leaders. You’ll find conversations with fourteen executives, C-level corporate leaders, and business owners who offer straight-forward insights, ideas and strategies they used to carve out a path to a new career and a new life—a Life 2.0.

Recalibrate for Life 2.0 also offers a summary of key takeaways and questions to ask yourself as you develop your own plan for life.

I also created the Transition Navigation System, a powerful, streamlined process to help exiting leaders create a plan, both for the businesses they are leaving and the new lives they hope to create for themselves.

My 30-plus year career in marketing and management consulting brings together my hallmark curiosity about how things work and my savvy on human behavior. I leverage insights, ideas, and strategies for helping others to create an exciting future for themselves and their businesses.

By offering an innovative system for engineering a successful transition, I am helping clients all over the world recalibrate for success.

My first book is Recalibrate: A Strategic Guide to Accelerated Growth. It shows you a roadmap for the when and how of re-strategizing for greater success. You’ll learn the four tenets of effective recalibration – relevance, engagement, differentiation, and expression – and how to make them work for you.

I live and work in Kansas City where I consult on business strategies, coach C-suite executives, and write about the dynamic trends in business growth and leadership transitions.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Recalibrate for Life 2.0, Transition Stories for Business Leaders

I discovered that I was not alone in learning how to navigate a transition from a 24/7 role of Employer and Rainmaker for my business and that other very successful business leaders were stymied by the idea of Life 2.0.

The idea simply would not go away. The investigative research is something I love and excel in. Drawing out the insights and providing a roadmap is the basis of what I have been doing for years. Being able to apply this interest in a different way was intriguing.

When I returned to Kansas City from a four year time period on the east coast (I had merged my small consulting firm focused on brand performance with a large traditional organization focused on market research and market strategy), I became acutely aware of how many successful executives were preparing to exit and were unclear of the path they should take.

Moving from running my own business to becoming a partner in a larger business where the other 3 partners had worked together for than 30 years was a challenge. I was also working 80+hours a week, traveling every week to the corporate office or around the globe on the behalf of clients. While the work was satisfying from the perspective of helping move the organization to its global strategic standing and having a meaningful impact for clients, I was burning out and wanted time to pursue my own interests again.

I was not ready to leave the business world altogether and thus started Recalibrate Strategies helping organizations focus on profitable growth through insights, ideas and strategies.

Reconnecting with my former clients and industry colleagues as well as business peers in the Kansas City community, I discovered I was once again ahead of the curve of the Baby Boomers retiring each day.

Through rounds of coffee, lunch, coffee, I discovered that many very successful executives and business owners were unclear about how to exit and what to do. Many of these people were so tied to the identity of the corporations they ran, that having their own brand, value proposition and exit plan was not something clearly considered. Further, being in the position of leadership suggested that they should have a grand vision that would be immediately successful rather than having the opportunity to assess and explore possibilities whether they were business endeavors, traveling the world, or giving time and expertise back to the community.

A business colleague (and collaborator on this book) suggested I bring together a group of executives and hold a beta workshop to explore the rational and emotional underpinnings to exiting a career and to begin the discovery process of how to move forward.

What everyone who participated in the workshop enjoyed was the realization that it was a journey for each person and they were not alone. It was a great benefit to hear the frustrations and the enthusiasm for new adventures from others, gleaning ideas for themselves.

This group of executives encouraged me to gather the stories and share insights, ideas and strategies for a successful exit and develop a curriculum that others might use to build their exit plan and enjoy this incredible time period of life.

First, I looked for books on the topic and found numerous books on financial planning for retirement and on redefining your purpose – great topics but not tackling what executive leaders face as they leave the intense pressures, great perks and adulation and respect from others.

As with all my work, my exit plan process starts with assessment. In this case it is taking a moment to capture your mindset, your talents and your interests; setting aside what you want to avoid in the future; defining what uniqueness you want to leverage and share with others in whatever capacity that might be. Then it is building a plan with an overarching goal in mind, alternative strategies that you want to explore and milestones that keep you on track. It isn’t rocket science other than the revelation that a mini plan will provide you a sense of purpose and direction(s) to pursue.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I dedicate big blocks of time to do the research needed, translate the research into insights, identifying the outcome that I want and then writing. I typically set a day a week to devote to the book.

What are you working on now?
Learning to market the book and the related tools and services.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just do it. And, while you are doing it treat it like a business and learn what is involved in marketing the book and decide what aspects of that you want to pursue.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Start with the end in mind.

What are you reading now?
I am relaxing with fiction. Mystery and suspense.

What’s next for you as a writer?
It would be fun to take Life 2.0 and extend it to other target groups such as retiring sports professionals, retiring military or retiring farmers.

Author Websites and Profiles
Susan Spaulding Website

Susan Spaulding’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing full time since the end of 2012 when I broke my leg in a freak accident chasing chickens. Up until this time, I was always too busy with running a home and business to indulge in my passion for writing. I currently have 10 books published and a couple of short stories.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest release was “Vampire – The Betrayers Kiss” which is the fifth and final installment in my first “Vampire” series. I was inspired partly by all the modern and teen vampire books out there, I feel they have lost the spooky atmosphere, so in my books, I try to go back to a more traditional type of Vampire tale.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Generally, I come up with a title, then work the story out based on the title.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca and The Birds.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on 4 books (I’m a glutton for punishment!). The first is Distant Chant, which is the third book in the Mary Howard Supernatural Mysteries. Lust for Blood 2, an anthology of short horror tales which is a follow up to my 2013 release (unsurprisingly called Lust for Blood), and To Be a King, which re-imagines the mind of Henry VIII with his own thoughts and feelings written in retrospective diary form. The last book I’m working on is slightly different from my other books and is an anthology of love stories.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m lucky to have my partner take care of this for me, as promotion is as much of a full time job than the actual writing is. Obviously, all my books are listed on my website, and there is a never ending round of Twitter and Facebook posts, blog writing and submitting my works to Awesomegang.

I don’t think any one method works on it’s own, it’s like a machine, you need all bits to be working in harmony and throw in a bit of luck too.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Believe in yourself, keep writing and enjoy it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Hire a proof reader and/or editor. You are emotionally attached to your work, so impartial eyes are vital to ensure your book(s) can be the best they can possibly be.

What are you reading now?
I read at least three books a week ranging from horror and detective, right through to historic and romance.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a few “irons in the fire” for the next 2 years, but am just concentrating on my next 4 releases for 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?
Does the Harry Potter series count as 1?…I couldn’t be stranded anywhere without them, and I’d probably sneak in Rebecca too.

Author Websites and Profiles
Charmain Marie Mitchell Website
Charmain Marie Mitchell Amazon Profile
Charmain Marie Mitchell Author Profile on Smashwords

Charmain Marie Mitchell’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am the President & CEO of Upper Room Productions Inc. and work to produce Bible based media products to encourage spiritual growth such as DVDs, books and online media.

When I’m not at work, I can be found enjoying the great outdoors enjoying activities such as walking and cycling.

I have written 10 books.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is called, The Complete Book of Obadiah Quiz Book: Over 20 Bible Study Questions Inside! (Books of the Bible Quiz Series 5)

This was inspired by the awesome message found in the Book of Obadiah: As you have done to others, so it will be done to you—and with even greater severity.

To me it’s a good reminder to always try to be good to other people, even if this isn’t always easy to accomplish.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, I usually chew a lot of gum when I’m working on a new book. Not sure how unusual that is though.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Holy Bible is my biggest influence. Not only does it hold the purpose for my life here on earth, but it’s also a wonderful guide on how to live life and love others from the teachings of Jesus.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the second edition of The Complete Book of Revelation Quiz Book: Over 400 Bible Study Questions Inside! (Books of the Bible Quiz Series 4) It focuses on the thought provoking Bible book Revelation, and the end time prophecies contained therein.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
When promoting I try to submit to as many websites as I can, and give people as much notice as I can. I don’t like to leave things til the last minute. A method I enjoy is giving books away for free for a limited time. I enjoy getting free things, so it’s nice to have something to give for free too!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Patience is key. Don’t give up. Your efforts will result in some form of success.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Do to others what you would want them to do to you.
– Jesus speaking in Matthew 7:12

What are you reading now?
The Book of Revelation

What’s next for you as a writer?
My goal is to increase my catalog, and expand the genres I write in.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Well I would have to say two would be Bibles: the King James Version and then a modern translation…probably The Amplified Bible. I would also bring The Swiss Family Robinson, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as I’ve always enjoyed those stories.

Author Websites and Profiles
Tyra Buburuz Website
Tyra Buburuz Amazon Profile

Tyra Buburuz’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Kristie Dickinson, and I’ve written four books. The four books comprise a serial in the ongoing story of Katie Collins, a workaholic attorney who travels to Greece alone for a vacation. I was inspired to write the story when I was seated next to a much younger man on the plane that gave me his phone number. Although we did have one date, sadly, I never saw him again. Happily, he inspired the four books that comprise the Nine Days In Greece serial.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Nine Days Ever After. It is the conclusion to the story of Katie Collins and her Greek god. It was inspired by my ongoing fantasies about the Greek man I met on an airplane that changed my life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I prefer to write first thing when I wake up in the morning. I’m a little superstitious in that I believe I do my best work sitting in my sun room sipping coffee.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Danielle Steel and Jack Canfield. I read everything they write that I can get my hands on. In general, I love self-improvement books and romance novels.

What are you working on now?
My next book I plan to be a mystery based on a secret in my hometown in northern Michigan.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far Amazon and Twitter have been my best methods for promotion.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep writing! I think I get better the more books I write!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Why bother doing something if you’re not going to give it 100%? You’re already there and spending the time, so do it right.

The second would be, “There are thousands of people in hospitals that would give anything to be able to do what you’re doing now.” Never take your life for granted.

What are you reading now?
The Times We Had by Marion Davies.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I seem to have crossed from romance to romance/mysteries. I have several more books that I can’t wait to write. One is a romance/mystery, and one is a historical romance.

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 Success Principles, The House, and something by Suzanne Somers.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kristie Dickinson Website
Kristie Dickinson Amazon Profile

Kristie Dickinson’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve always been a writer, so I can claim an infinite number of books written, however… I have published 2 books so far. (Although 2 more are slotted to launch before the end of the month!)

Right now I live in the Midwest with my wonderful husband and our two yellow labs, Hynson and August. We live on a lake and when I’m not writing and my husband isn’t working, we like to take the boat out (we haven’t yet figured out how to sneak past the dogs, so they usually come with) with a bottle of wine and spend the summer evenings on the water. And since I haven’t fully embraced the cold winters, those nights are spent by the fireplace with the dogs.

Happily, we live close enough to our family and can see our nieces and nephews regularly. We’ve found that this is also a very effective form of birth control.

While I don’t have half the drama my characters do, I do have a happily ever after and couldn’t ask for a better life.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Off the Record was inspired from watching a documentary from HBO about the super rich.

I loved the idea of writing a book focusing on the Billionaires who were always billionaires. It was actually an old documentary I saw on HBO that really pushed me. Listening to the Whitney heir talk about finding satisfaction in working and not in the size of his bank account and being sincere in his declaration pushed me. And that started Ian Stirling’s character. From there, his friends emerged and the next thing I knew Ian was the heir to a publishing empire.

Then the character of Merideth came about. I needed an intelligent woman who wasn’t focused on the social or gossip pages. She also needed to not be impressed by Ian. (And she isn’t, for the most part…)

The next book in the series is in its editing stages, and it still focuses on Ian and Merideth, because they really are so much fun to write, but it is also the start of Stone’s story and the woman whose presence will change the carefully planned trajectory of his life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have been known to take showers when I get stuck on a scene.

I think it’s like the athletes who wear the same socks when they are on a winning streak. It worked for me once and now it’s my goto unsticking tradition

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Neal Stephenson, Hemingway, Atwood, Gaiman, and Christopher Moore just to name a few. Honestly, almost everything I read ends up influencing me in some way. I find a turn of phrase or a build up of emotion that grabs me and try to duplicate it in my own writing.

What are you working on now?
Editing the second Billion Dollar Headlines book and fine tuning the second book in Copperwood.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Gosh, anything that gets my book in front of readers who are willing to take a risk with a newly published author. I think newsletters are the best option at the moment, so anything that gets readers to look at my work and say, “I want to read more from Reese, I’m going to sign up for her newsletter!”

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep on writing. Don’t stop. No matter what.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Keep on reading and writing. It’s the only way to get better.

What are you reading now?
Right now I am reading Royal by Winter Renshaw (I wish I could write even half as well as she does – she is amazing!)

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am working on a third series, but only the outline. I don’t want to say too much because I’m not yet sure where it’s going to go, but Copperwood has 4 books planned and Billion Dollar Headlines has at least 6. So those need to be wrapped up before I open the door on a brand new 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?
Cryptonomicon, Much Ado About Nothing, and A Dirty Job.

Author Websites and Profiles
Reese Patton Website
Reese Patton Amazon Profile

Reese Patton’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in Kentucky and am a father of two and married for 25 years. I am a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a major in Political Science and minor in History. I began teaching youth over 14 years ago and currently attend and teach at Southside Baptist Church in Princeton, KY as the interim youth minister.

I worked for Progressive Insurance for 14 years and I am serving my second term as Lyon County Judge Executive which is an elected county position.

This is my first book. I have wanted to write and publish this for a long time and finally learned how to self publish.

In conjunction with this book I created a webpage that allows readers of this book to tell their own witnessing stories. We can learn from each other’s experiences, fears, failures, successes and witnessing techniques. Feel free to contribute to the website so others can learn from your story of witnessing at www.iwillwitness.com.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I Will Witness.
For years I have taught students who feared to witness go out and witness. So I believe I had some insight to help others learn.
This book is written for the Christian struggling to witness – no matter the age. Teenagers will relate to the stories of my youth group and how they overcame their fears! If we profess to know Jesus as our Savior then we are also called to tell others the good news of His Saving Grace. We can’t leave it to our pastor or youth minister to tell the Story of Jesus alone. Sometimes when your friend needs Jesus you may be the only one standing there – be ready! If you are looking for a book that speaks to average Christians while inspiring you with real life stories, this is it!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Do most of it late at night while listening to KLOVE radio.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Max Lucado, 3:16 was the book title

What are you working on now?
I am working on a workbook to go along with I Will Witness and a book called School Prayer Walk. In 2006, my youth group and I began a movement called Revive Prayer Walk. Its spread across Kentucky and into over 20 states in 3 countries. Its prayer walking at a local school. We helped other people set these up so many from the community could show up and prayer walk their school inside and out on a Sunday once a month. I plan to write about it and how to set one up and hopefully see a renewed interest in prayer walking our schools.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just do you best work and understand not everyone will like it. Try to learn from that and not let it destroy you.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You can’t please everyone.

What are you reading now?
Silent Sales Machine

What’s next for you as a writer?
Getting the workbook done, learning more about publishing and finishing school prayer walk 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?
Bible, Survival book, How to build a boat from scratch.

Author Websites and Profiles
Wade White Website
Wade White Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m English and live in the beautiful Cotswolds. This is my first published book, with many more to follow. I have written stories and poetry since I was tiny and finally found the courage, and the right mentors, to help me fulfill my dream of becoming a professional writer. I love cats and all animals, and would love to have a big red bushy cats tail. I think that would be so snuggly.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my very first book is called Unexpected Friends. It’s completely different to the original idea (which is usually the case.) I was inspire by a daydream about what vampires and warewolves would be like, if they weren’t scary and didn’t eat people. Then my imagination ran away with the pen in my hand and you can read the result for yourself.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write with pen and paper, no computer screen is in sight when I write! I like to write on pretty paper and with pretty pens, so I’m always on the look out for nice stationary. They improve the story dramatically! Well, ok, they don’t, but they make me happy! I do have a really beautiful writing pen that’s a one off. I was elated when I bought it but that didn’t last long; it’s so heavy I can’t even write with it for five minutes! So now it sits in a pretty box and I just look at it. Oh well, as least I can do that.

Besides this, I always light a candle and do a short meditation before writing. In my meditation, I bring in the intention to write a beautiful story that uplifts, encourages, empowers and inspires my readers. I also like to hop on one leg for 3 1/2 minutes exactly before writing; it’s great for the circulation. No, don’t worry, I was just kidding, I don’t do that but I am getting into the habit of taking regular breaks and getting my blood pumping by going for a quick walk, or jumping on a rebounder. I do have rubbish circulation, so this helps when I’m on a break.

My favourite time to write is at night, next to an open fire. That is so magical. Alas, I don’t have a fire in my new home, but it’s on my list for my next place.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Tamora Pierce – I grew up with ‘The Lioness series’ I love it so much I didn’t read the last book so that the story wouldn’t end. I’ve actually still not read the last book!

The Narnian Chronicles, I love these so much and wish I wrote them!

Michael Morpurgo writes so beautifully, I’m aspiring to his standard.

James Redfield and Paulo coelho. I love how they weave inspiring and visionary ideas and messages into their stories wo well.

What are you working on now?
Book two in the series of ‘The Mysterious Life of Anaya’
actually, I’ve not started yet. I better get a move on!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well, this is my first promotion, so I’ll let you know next time

Do you have any advice for new authors?
We all have the same fears. Don’t indulge them. Find a good mentor to help you through any blocks or excuses and get going Hannah M Davis (soul writers cafe) is a great place to start for anyone who is lacking in confidence, (as I was.)

Do whatever you have to do to move forward – for me, that usually means some NLP/EFT/Hypnosis/ good coaching. It works! Don’t allow yourself to have any excuses. I’m still recovering from a long term illness (M.E, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and I still managed to write and publish a book. It took longer than I’d have liked, but i got there.

I think regret is the biggest tragedy. Get going with your writing so that you don’t have any regrets.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
‘Never give up! Never Surrender!’ (quote from Galaxy Quest)

What are you reading now?
Michael Morpurgo – Billy the Kid
The Highly Sensitive Person in Love – Elaine N. Aron

What’s next for you as a writer?
Write book two in the series. I plan for the entire series one to be out by the end of the year (2016.) Build my author platform. Write like a maniac! Read good books and develop my writing skills.
Then turn all my books into films and be the next JK Rowling! haha! Well, you never know………

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?
Some of the Narnian Chronicles, by C.S Lewes
One of the ‘Lioness series’ by Tamora Pierce
A Michael Morpurgo book
Voices of Angels by Hannah M Davis

I love all these books!!

Author Websites and Profiles
Jenevieve Mareki Turner Amazon Profile

Jenevieve Mareki Turner’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a person that usually keeps to myself. I’m always the quiet observer of the room. Around new people i’m usually awkward. When I get to know you, I slowly crack out of my shell. When i’m faced with the unknown, it could be pretty unsettling for me. I think that’s why I love writing. Its my own world and i’m in control. I just finished my very first book and I can’t wait to start the next one.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The title of the book is My Words. I write about the years of my teen hood to young adult. Its the last ten years of my life in ten chapters. Part of what inspired me to write this was every person I met throughout those years, and the events that occurred with all of them and myself. The other part was simply the emotions I was going through while these events were taken place.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know how unusual this is, but sometimes i’ll have a glass of wine before writing, just to loosen up a bit. I feel it helps smooth out the thoughts unto the paper.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
SE Hintin’s The Outsiders was the first book I really enjoyed as a child, Lois Lowy’s The Giver

What are you working on now?
Ideas for my second book. I can’t wait to sit down late at night with soft relaxing tunes just writing the night away.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m very new to this, so i’m still running around trying to find the best method to get my book out there to the readers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Stay motivated. Just think of the feeling you’re going to have once its all down. Just think of how much your time and effort will be worth it. If you truly love writing, you will make it your mission to share your world with the readers.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t ever play it safe. Take that leap of faith. Failure is only the first step towards success.

What are you reading now?
The Disaster Artist by Greg Sestero, Tom Bissell

What’s next for you as a writer?
After writing about my life, i’m now ready to write fiction. Creating new people and new ideas is something i’m very excited about.

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?
American Psycho, The Giver, anyone one of George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire and Hatchet (as a guide to help get me off the island )

Author Websites and Profiles
Dominic Crescente Amazon Profile

Dominic Crescente’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My stories are inspired by my travels. I love spending time in new places. My first published novella is Juliet’s Journey. I’m currently working on a series of three novellas set in Rome.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
he inspiration for Juliet’s Journey was a two week stay in the village of Baiardo where I worked as a volunteer at cultural association called A.C.L.E. It is a tranquil place in the mountains above San Remo. The art school that I took as my inspiration is actually in Tuscany, in a pretty walled town called Casole d’Elsa. And yes, I did a volunteer stint there as well. The school is called Centro D’Arte Verrocchio and holds classes throughout summer each year.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so, but then I’m probably not the best judge of that!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Maeve Binchy is a great story teller and I love her books. I also enjoy reading what I call ‘travel fiction’. One of my favourites are a collection called ‘Fortunes of War’ by Olivia Manning. Olivia based the novels on her own experiences when as a young wife, at the beginning of World War II, she and her husband were forced to flee form Bucharest, across the Balkans, into Greece, eventually ending up in Egyptl

What are you working on now?
I am working on a series of three contemporary romance novellas set in Rome. An Australian journalist stumbles on an intriguing family mystery and gets more than she bargained for when she decides it would make a great story.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Twitters seems to be a great way to get the message out. As the indie author community is amazingly supportive, I’ve found many other authors are happy to share the information.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep working– revise, redraft, edit. Then get someone you trust to look at your work. Then find some great beta readers.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you don’t try you fail.

What are you reading now?
The Mighty Dead by Adam Nicholson

What’s next for you as a writer?
A story about two people who first met over twenty years ago and are meet again, by chance. I’ve worked on this as a short story but I want to develope it into a longer format.

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 Odyssey
Katharine by Anya Seton
The Kappillan of Malta by Nicholas Montsarratt
Persuasion by Jane Austen

Author Websites and Profiles
Kathy Gates Website
Kathy Gates Amazon Profile

Kathy Gates’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Prince Bonsu, Immortal Verses of Desire is my first book and i am looking forward to writing more in the years to come.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
my book is titled Immortal Verses of Desire and it is mainly on poetry written by myself. The inspiration… i guess, i have always wanted to write that i did not really know what exactly it was but that came to light when i found love,…… love for writing beautiful poetry at a very young age. I would write beautiful pieces but my school won’t publish in the school magazine because i was not part of the writing club. That did not stop me from writing either haha.. i wanted to make a point with my gift because i never studied literature.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
my head aches each time i write, so i like to write when i am in the mood so i can reduce the impact of the headache… and i require a serene environment to write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
well well well… it is very interesting though, i studied science in high school but my auntie used to send me Shakespeare books from UK. i believe those books built me up although i found it difficult understand every line i read at the time. i did not stop reading them. i remember on another occasion that i went out to get a DVD for the weekend, i ended up buying about 5 movies and the most surprising thing is that the vendor gave me a free DVD as i gift. i turned to read the title and wow! it was a DVD containing all Shakespeare collections… i think it was produced by bbc or so. So yes, that’s where the influence came from.

What are you working on now?
i am currently working on my second book which is basically on poems for my nuclear family. its going to be beautiful and deep from the heart.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesomegang is one of them, trust me. Amazon, ameyawdebrah.com, twimovies.com and others i do not have idea about.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
sure, new authors … develop the talent, write beautifully and get the right folks to help you get your book out

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Prince, never stop doing what you do best.

What are you reading now?
bag of bones and IT project management

What’s next for you as a writer?
i am planning to co-author a story with one beautiful lady where poetry will be cutting through the story flow. its going to be awesome.

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?
wow! as a christian i would love to have the great book with me (the bible), a copy of immortal verses of desire and the lord of the rings .. haha

Author Websites and Profiles
Prince Bonsu Website
Prince Bonsu Amazon Profile
Prince Bonsu’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi, I am originally from the Big Sky country of Montana and had culture shock moving to Chicago. I have written three books in the Erotica genre and am currently writing a non-erotica serial killer thriller. Writing is my creative outlet along with spending time with my family, reading and working out. I love to be active and on the go, I cannot sit still long so all of this gives me peace at the end of the day to be able to sit down, drink some tea and focus on my passion of writing.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Seduction of Lexie Dane
I can have a plan all I want when I sit down but that never happens that way. This book was supposed to be a couple who embark upon a very posh sex club and what adventures unfolded within these walls, I took a paranormal turn in the midst of it because I cannot seem to stay away from sexy vampires, I couldn’t help myself and had to throw them in, and low and behold The Seduction of Lexie Dane was wonderfully created along with the help and ideas of my publisher Terry and Bobette Wright.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have to get all of my paperwork in order, I am a complete control freak, clean freak and I have to have my tea or coffee ready, comfy blanket and chair so right so I can stay put and focus until I am too tired to carry on, which is impossible with ideas flowing then I will write them down and head off to bed. I have a day job like most folks so my time is after the kids go to bed.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Anne Bishop is my favorite, Anne Rice and those sexy vampires.
These two probably the most. I love Dean Koontz, Stephen King for their thriller books. Right now I am into Preston & Child, my husband got me into these books, I like them so far.

What are you working on now?
A serial killer thriller. I am a nut about crime anything and I want a go at this. The book is called
The Frail Ones. I don’t want to get into what it’s about yet because I need to get a good synopsis without giving too much away….stay tuned though!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I wish I knew, I would be rich!. I do what most people do, social medias, any book promoters on FB, any website that doesn’t cost a million dollars because it’s constant…you can go broke just trying to get your name out there. I call up stores and try to get my books sold in them. It’s a never ending treasure hunt.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do not think you are not good enough. Never in a million years did I think a publisher would contact me….they did!. I put my material out the first time and was ripped apart for grammar…sorry. I am a writer not a scholar. I have ideas…that’s about it. Luckily I have a publisher nice enough to keep on me and teach me what to do. I am still not there and I’m sure I drive them nuts but none the less. Here I am. So after the first year I quit for a year and then one day I said I write for me not them and went right back to it. Sent it out and perhaps it was the change of attitude who knows, the universe is as mysterious as the books we write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Advice has really never done me well to be honest. I have done best listening to my own intuition and that is no lie. It has actually backfired listening to others but honestly, that’s just me maybe.

What are you reading now?
Preston & Child books… they have a ton and it helps for the genre I am in. I love how they change books and yet you are still with the same characters with different settings. Very clever.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To write of course. I keep reading from people who make a living at this, to just keep writing and writing. Where will I end up? who knows, I don’t want fame really because I am an introvert but to make a living doing what you love…the American dream.

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?
Let’s be smart about this…how about survival guides :}

Author Websites and Profiles
Soliel De Bella Website

Soliel De Bella’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was a teacher for over 20 years and even after “retirement” still think of myself as an educator. “Once a teacher, always a teacher.” I continue to keep up on issues in education, and often share what I have learned with others, both in the teaching world, and with many more people who hold similar interests and concerns.

In my spare time I follow a number of education and political e-zines and newsletters, and enjoy reading a variety of books (mostly nonfiction). I also like listening to an eclectic mix of music, take and edit photos of my travels, do a bit of gardening, and feed a bunch of feisty backyard hummingbirds. Some of my quiet time is spent at a rustic, hike-in cabin in the mountains.
Jazz Mergirl, which was recently published, is the first book I have written, (other than my master’s thesis. Does that count?).

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Jazz Mergirl is the biography of Jazz Jennings, a transgender teen activist and star of TLC’s I Am Jazz TV docuseries. When I came across Jazz’s most moving and uplifting life story, my teacher’s inclination to share, and to inform and educate, just naturally led me to write this book.
Jazz Mergirl’s target audience is older teens (15+) to adults. I think that my having already worked with both students as well as grownups helped prepare me to present this story in a way that is accessible and engaging to teens and adult readers too. Included in the book’s back matter is an extensive resource section, with helpful information for parents, teachers, therapists, and other healthcare professionals.

The most common question I have been asked by curious and puzzled friends and acquaintances is, why did I write this particular book Jazz Mergirl? To begin with, I was not expecting to write any book, much less one about a transgender teen activist.

But a helpful writer friend who was reading the rough draft of my book’s preface asked how my many years as an educator might have led to my interest in this subject. Thinking about her question, it occurred to me that I had come to teaching with a keen awareness of the women’s rights movement, and over the years, I always made it a point with my students to ensure the girls were treated equally along with the boys. In fact, I decided to write my thesis about increasing gender equity for girls in school, and even conducted teacher trainings based on that research.
So the path to this book was already prepared when I came across Jazz’s wonderful and inspiring story. I just knew this was something I had to share with others. But when I looked for a biography about Jazz, there wasn’t one available. That’s how I came to do what another author advised: “Write the book you want to read but can’t find.” In other words, this book found me, not the other way around.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure if anything about my writing would qualify as “unusual.” What I do as an author seems perfectly normal to me. Maybe someone else might be surprised to hear that when working on Jazz Mergirl, I often found myself writing late into the night and beyond, until my butt hurt and I couldn’t sit anymore, or that I sometimes awoke in the middle of the night and just had to work some more on my book. But I’m guessing this is not so unusual for other authors as well.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Over the years I have read many well-written and moving books, but I can’t identify any one author or title that directly impacted my writing. I think it is just that over time, having read so many books, especially nonfiction works, that the cumulative effect did influence my writing style and skills. However, there is one script writer, Aaron Sorkin, whose smart and incisive television work definitely makes an impression on me whenever I view one of his programs. Being somewhat of a political junkie, I have re-watched Sorkin’s complete West Wing TV series, probably four or five times. That’s how I learned the meaning of “binge watching.”

What are you working on now?
I laughed when a friend asked me, “So, now that you’re done with your book, what are you going to do next?” I’m learning that for me, my book is kind of analogous to bringing a child into the world. Upon publication, you’re not suddenly “done.” For example, now I am preparing the Kindle version of Jazz Mergirl.

Another job I’m focusing on is promoting Jazz Mergirl, which takes a lot of time and effort. This book’s success is important because Jazz’s story, and the educational information included, needs to be spread far and wide. As part of that goal, I am very appreciative of this opportunity to answer your questions. Also, readers should know that Jazz Mergirl’s profits go to support Jazz’s TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am just beginning the process of promoting my new book, and there is definitely a learning curve involved in doing so. Use of social media, such as Facebook www.facebook.com/jazzmergirlthebook is an obvious tool, as is having established a website dedicated to Jazz Mergirl www.jazzmergirlthebook.com Signing with my publicist is another essential element involved. I have also reached out to some of the well-known figures mentioned in my book, and to a few other authors who are part of the trans community.

Joining Facebook groups connected to the subject of Jazz Mergirl provides additional opportunities, and meeting supportive people who are in a position to provide more opportunities is another valuable approach. In this case that means attending meetings and introducing myself and the book to interested organizations. For example, when I recently met the mayor at a political event, he asked me to bring Jazz Mergirl to a local book fair this fall, and I’m told I will be welcome to make a book presentation at a nearby LGBT Center.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’d probably go with the recommendation to write what you know or about something that grabs your interest and attention. As I mentioned before, “Write the book you want to read but can’t find.”

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
In my time I have heard a ton of great advice, but right now the most apropos answer would be what Jazz Jennings says. Jazz is a very wise person, even more so considering she’s only 15. Her advice: “Always be your authentic self.” I hope my replies to your questions reflect my authentic self.

What are you reading now?
A bunch of books, a few of which are on the topic of people who are transgender. Most of these are nonfiction, but I recently finished three engaging YA novels whose main characters are trans kids. I continue to be very interested in this subject, and aim to become more knowledgeable about this.

But I have other titles on my nightstand as well, including a classic mystery by a famous French author, and a memoir by Piper Kerman titled Orange is the New Black. She’s a terrific writer, and her book is the basis of a critically-acclaimed Netflix series of the same name. One of the main characters in this program is played by Laverne Cox, a well-known trans activist and actor. And I recently finished Wild, a memoir by Cheryl Strayed that was made into a movie. In this case, both the book and the script were very well written. (Strayed wrote, “You don’t have a right to the cards you believe you should have been dealt. You have an obligation to play the hell out of the ones you’re holding.”)

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am considering various possibilities for the future, including doing more in support of the transgender community. But for now, I think I’ll keep the details to myself.

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?
Oh, there are so many great books I’d like to reread, or that are waiting on my “to be read” bookshelf, or that I’ve heard about and would like to read! Can I change the rules and bring a fully-loaded Kindle Reader?

Well, if not, then here are a few choices. Because I’m so pleased and proud about Jazz Mergirl, that would be one of my selections to bring with me. Also, I like reading some mysteries. I’d take along a favorite from when I was a kid, a thick, one-volume anthology of all the Sherlock Holmes stories that I still treasure and keep on my bookshelf. Finally, if I’m allowed to take along something digital, I’d include an “A to Z” of the encyclopedia. There is much to learn, and besides, maybe I could use this information to figure out a way to get off that desert island.

Author Websites and Profiles
Bruce Edlen Website
Bruce Edlen Amazon Profile

Bruce Edlen’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Born in Milan, lived around the world in bits and pieces and settled in Berlin a few years ago. I’ve written and published only one book so far (more coming) but I’ve been writing for quote a while – professionally that is. I remember that in a past job I was the go-to guy whenever they needed something written fast and well!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Effective Decision-Making: how to make better decisions under uncertainty and pressure”. Mainly inspired by frustration to be honest… see, I come from consulting, and I can’t count how much time we wasted pointlessly discussing and talking about what we should or could do – and even worse, the times that discussions lead to pretty much nothing. I have studied decision making techniques for a while, and I know what you can do to speed up the whole process and come to a good result. As I don’t work in consulting anymore, I decided to write it all up in a book, hoping to change even a tiny bit in organisations.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Don’t know how unusual that is but… i set a timer and write for 5-10minutes without a break, then I review. This helps getting the blurb in my head on paper. Once I have it in front of me I can review it better. Simple as that.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Above all: Richard Wiseman.

What are you working on now?
I want to translate my book into a series of workshops, possibly going directly to companies and teach the methods I write about.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Quite a few… Chandler Bolt’s guide to promotion is fantastic, especially when it comes to timing. As for the rest, Facebook groups for Kindle help quite a lot. I have some SEO background, so it’s just a matter of taking a look at a site’s rankings and deciding if it’s worth the money or time!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
JUST DO IT!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
JUST DO IT!

What are you reading now?
Life and How to Survive it, by Robin Skynner and John Cleese

What’s next for you as a writer?
That part… I haven’t figured it out yet!

Author Websites and Profiles
Edoardo Binda Zane Website
Edoardo Binda Zane Amazon Profile

Edoardo Binda Zane’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a book publicist and the owner of Paula Margulies Communications, a public relations firm for authors and artists. I’ve received numerous awards for my essays and books, including my new nonfiction handbook, The Tao of Book Publicity, my historical novel, Favorite Daughter, Part One, my debut novel, Coyote Heart, and my short story collection, Face Value: Collected Stories. I’ve been awarded artist residencies at Caldera, Red Cinder Artist Colony, the Vermont Studio Center, and Centrum. I live in San Diego, California. For more information, please visit my website at paulamargulies.com.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called The Tao of Book Publicity: A Beginner’s Guide to Book Promotion. It’s a book I had been meaning to write for a number of years, and I finally was able to complete the first draft of it in November (kind of my own NaNoWriMo).

I wrote it primarily as a way of answering the common questions I get from prospective clients who contact me about publicity for their books. It’s designed to help new authors, but it can also be useful to experienced writers who have questions about book promotion.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I work as a publicist and teach marketing and PR classes at a community college, so I’m pretty busy during the week. I usually write on Saturdays and Sundays, or whenever I can catch a moment here or there.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a huge fan of the Southern Gothic, so for my fiction, I’ve been inspired by authors like William Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor. I also enjoy historical fiction, women’s fiction, mysteries, and short stories, so authors like Sherman Alexie, Ha Jin, Barbara Kingsolver, Elizabeth Berg, Louise Penny, Jane Smiley, and Louise Erdrich are a few of my favorites.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on Part Two of Favorite Daughter, my historical series about the life of Pocahontas.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I really like Twitter for promoting just about anything, including my publicity business and my books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The most important thing for new authors to focus on is writing the best book they possibly can. That means taking the time to really develop the content if it’s nonfiction, or the characters, themes, and plot if it’s fiction. I also recommend workshopping the book in a writer’s group and taking the comments from the group to heart. Finally, it’s important that the book be packaged professionally – the cover should be designed by a graphic artist and the text should be edited by a professional (paid) editor.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Less is more.

What are you reading now?
I just finished Elizabeth Gilbert’s wonderful book about creativity called Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.

What’s next for you as a writer?
After I complete Favorite Daughter, Part Two, I have plans to begin a new historical novel set in Hawaii.

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 Tao Te Ching, Walden, ee cummings’ Collected Poems, Leaves of Grass

Author Websites and Profiles
Paula Margulies Website
Paula Margulies Amazon Profile

Paula Margulies’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
The Lies That Bind is my first published book. The novel was inspired by my original screenplay, which was honored by the Missouri Playwrights Association and was offered an option by a Hollywood producer.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Currently, I’m working on keeping the characters in the Dark Horse Trilogy Book 1 alive (the ones that manage to survive anyhow) as I research Books 2 and 3, Honor Among Outcasts and Something in Madness. So far, Honor Among Outcasts takes place in Missouri, the nastiest, cruelest arena of the Civil War, with massacres, the burning out and depopulating of entire counties, harsh, unreasoned mayhem that went far beyond the conventions of war.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I try to write novels that are fundamentally different experiences for the reader, which is why they don’t fit neatly into any single genre or category. You could say my style, regardless of milieu (historical to futuristic), attempts to be at once tense, touching, ironic, tragic, funny, and deep, with many conflicting ideas playing out—and myriad twists, turns and surprises. Lots of surprises.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My literary expertise is in what I call the American tragicomedy movement: Faulkner, Twain, Tennessee Williams, Flannery O’Connor, etc. Lots of great reading, which influenced my own writing. I also love Shakespeare, plus I have studied a variety of historical periods, including the American Civil War, World War II, and Fourteenth Century Europe.

What are you working on now?
I’ve also recently completed the final draft of The Antiquities Dealer. In this genre-stretching mystery/thriller, a Jewish antiquities gallery owner is drawn into a scheme by a purportedly ancient society of Israelis to alter history. Millennial religion, futuristic biotechnology, and human evolution collide in a cauldron peopled by TV evangelists, Middle East conspiracies, and radicals of major religions. Lots of excitement, drama, romance, and, of course, surprises.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’d say Goodreads, since it fosters communication among readers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. It took me years of rewriting and agent-searching, but it finally clicked. They say write what you know, but don’t take that too literally. What one “knows” is not only personal, but also what a person has learned, studied or finds interesting. In my case, it’s history. Still, it’s all personal in a sense.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To have faith in yourself.

What are you reading now?
I’m re-reading As I Lay Dying.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Completing Book 2 (Honor Among Outcasts), and spreading the word about The Lies That Bind, hoping to bring more readers to its universal message of hope and aspiration against all odds.

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?
Absalom, Absalom!, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and Winter’s Bone.

Author Websites and Profiles
Ed Protzel Website
Ed Protzel Amazon Profile

Ed Protzel’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
After I retired from a corporate business career as the CEO of a Canadian division of a US corporation, I wanted to give back to the business community. I started a consulting business and started to find many women wanted to start a business but didn’t know how. I mentored many women in business and found that if they had coaching they were very successful. That’s how I came to write a complete business startup guide aimed at women. I wanted to make a difference and encourage women to break through the glass ceiling. This is my first book

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is called “Fabulous Fempreneurship” I was inspired to write this book for two reasons. First, according to the Center for American Progress, women earn almost 60 percent of undergraduate degrees, 60 percent of all master’s degrees, 47 percent of law degrees and 48 percent of medical degrees. They earn more than 44 percent of master’s degrees in business and management, including 37 percent of MBAs.
They are 47 percent of the U.S. labour force. But women are only 14.6 percent of executive officers, 8.1 percent of top earners and 4.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs. Scary statistics!
.

The second inspiration comes from Sheryl Sandberg’s 2010 Ted Talk on YouTube, entitled: “Why we have too few women leaders.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18uDutylDa4. Sheryl is Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and mother of two young children, juggling a high-powered career, motherhood and sadly widowhood. When Sheryl said, “…in my generation, there will not be 50 percent of [women] at the top of any industry,” I thought: Well, if it’s going to take generations to have 50 percent of women at the top of industry, despite such great strides in post-secondary education, then there has to be another way.

Women have to be courageous and start their own businesses in order to absolutely direct their own destiny, regardless of what is going on in the corporate world, the state of the economy, or politics. You don’t need an MBA to start your own business, just some basic personal skills, a solid business idea, organization and the will to start your own company. In other words, you need an MBA mindset, not an MBA degree!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I always write first thing in the morning as that’s when I feel most creative. This meant getting up an hour earlier than usual and just getting started and writing without stopping for at least an hour per day. I didn’t worry about the grammar etc. I just wrote.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Sheryl Sandberg and Sophia Amoruso.

What are you working on now?
Online workshops based on topics from the book “Fabulous Fempreneurship.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write, don’t worry about the words or your ‘voice’. Write every day, even if it’s only a few hundred words.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just write!

What are you reading now?
Any mystery books, Tami Hoag, David Baldacci, Ken Follett. Non-fiction = “Hot or Not” by Prof. Sean Wise.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Another book in the Fabulous Fempreneurship series

Author Websites and Profiles
Elaine Slatter Website
Elaine Slatter Amazon Profile

Elaine Slatter’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello, My name is Annemarie Brear. I’m Australian born but currently living in England since my marriage to an Englishman. I’ve been a life-long reader and started writing in 1997 when my children were small. I have a love of history, of grand old English houses and a fascination of what might have happened beyond their walls.
My interests include reading, genealogy, watching movies, spending time with family and eating chocolate – not always in that order!
My available novels:
Kitty McKenzie
Kitty McKenizie’s Land
To Take Her Pride.
Where Dragonflies Hover
The Gentle Winds Caress.
The House of Women.
A Noble Place
The Day Embroidered.
To Gain What’s Lost.
Long Distance Love.
Broken Hero.
Hooked On You.
The New Dawn, short story.
The Right Man, short story.
New Beginnings: short story anthology

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest release, available 04/08/16 is titled Where Dragonflies Hover. It’s really two stories in one. Set in modern day England, Lexi, a solicitor, finds a diary in a boat shed of the house she ends up buying. The diary is written by an Australian war time nurse, detailing her time in France in 1915. The diary gives Lexi comfort as she struggles with problems in her marriage.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No I don’t think I have, except that perhaps I like a quiet place to write and have plenty of coffee to hand, plus the odd piece of chocolate always keeps me going too! LOL

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve been a reader for a long time. As a child I enjoyed Enid Blyton, and as I grew older my influence was mainly English authors such as Catherine Cookson and later Audrey Howard. However, my tastes are wide and varied. Now I will read any author whose story grabs my interest.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently writing another historical family drama. This one is set in England at the outbreak of World War I. I’m hoping to get it published next year.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think Facebook and Twitter are useful tools, as are blogs and google+. Any website that helps readers to find authors and their books is a wonderful resource.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice to new authors would be to write the book you love. This industry is such hard work and can be soul destroying even with a book you love, so to try and survive it without feeling any passion will only give you more heartache and stress.
Write what you want to read.
Research well about everything, not just what you need to write your book, but research agents, publishers, marketing, the book industry as a whole.
Finally get the book finished, then put it away for as long as you can then edit it again before sending it out.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To write another book!
Don’t be a one book wonder. Always keep writing for as long as you enjoy it.

What are you reading now?
I’m between books at the minute as I’v been busy finishing the last edits on a short story I’ve written and also writing on my novel. My ‘to be read’ pile is becoming huge!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, I’ve a lot of promotion to do my new release, Where Dragonflies Hover, and I have some short stories to publish and then I need to finish my current historical in the next few months. Aside from all that I need to keep promoting my other books that are on Amazon. So there is a lot to do.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
That is such a hard question! It’s like choosing your favourite child!
Here goes…
The Woman from Browhead by Audrey Howard.
The Dwelling Place by Catherine Cookson.
The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick
and an atlas. (I find them fascinating)

Author Websites and Profiles
AnneMarie Brear Website
AnneMarie Brear Amazon Profile
AnneMarie Brear Author Profile on Smashwords

AnneMarie Brear’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Born in July, 5, 1975, Being an unsuccessful husband and a university graduate with three languages, I travelled abroad and worked for the UN for six years during which I was able to visit a lot of countries and befriended a lot of people of different castes, races, cultures, religions and languages. Although on the Earth, sometimes my colleagues and I lived in the real paradise, five-star hotels, luxurious cars… but most of the time we were in the hell: hunger, fear of insects, wild animals and bandits in addition to the freezing cold or burning heat without any mechanical, electric or electronic device or machine.
It’s funny to have money but not to find anything to buy. Sometimes, we wished we had been able to make a salad of banknotes. Nevertheless, one has to be on bended knees in respect for the good and kind local citizens who could bear the abject poverty, biting hunger, illiteracy, isolation… and completely aware of their rulers’ and decision makers’ corruption, but helpless, unable to do anything against them because the armies of those rulers are ready to shoot to kill anytime, anywhere in their countries.
That was the subject of my book ‘She promised The Moon’.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
She Promised The Moon
I experienced the events in the story and fictionised them.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do two things daily: The first is ‘I work’. The second is I either read or write even when I’m off, in holidays and weekends.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
George Bernard Shaw, Vex Gerald,Mark Twain, Hemingway, William Somerset Mom and the classic Russian writers.

What are you working on now?
I’m writing a new story. It’s word number is ± 75 K, Theme: Which is more important: Blood relationship or interests. Literature.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
In addition to social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn… , Amazon, B&N…

Do you have any advice for new authors?
They have to write as much as they can, then self-edit and finally ask some readers; friends, relatives, colleagues to read what they write and listen to their comments and recommendations.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
In writing: Write, write and write.
In Life: Either you eat or be eaten.

What are you reading now?
‘Yellow Fever’, a play- tragedy

What’s next for you as a writer?
A writer? I dream to be a real writer.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
– Arms and The Man by G.B. Shaw
– Huckleberry Finn by Hemingway
-Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Mom.
– War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Thanks for having me here. I am Savio, the author of Spirit Raiders. I am a resident of Mumbai, India, and writing happens to be one of my hobbies. Being a hobby it comes rather naturally and something I have fun doing. My dad, wife, and daughter are the ones filling my home with lots of love, joy, and laughter. In fact, my wife was the only one who knew about my book, initially. Everyone else came to know about it a lot later. I also have a day job back in India, which brings forth its own set of fun and excitement. So, that’s about me.

Till date I have published one book and three are there in the pipeline.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Spirit Raiders is my latest book and it took some time to put the story line together. Now, that it is up, I am quite happy with what has been created.

Sci-fi was something I always loved and to write something on those lines was something which came naturally. The only thing that I promised myself was that the storyline would be something that the world has not seen. Read the book till the end and you will understand the different kind of sci-fi this book is.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Unusual would be relative. For that, I would first have to understand what usual is (laughs). There is one habit, though, which I personally felt was unusual and that was something I tried when I wasn’t feeling inspired enough to write. So, the habit was going to some noisy coffee shop and attempting to write in the bang & clang and all possible noises. I did get some honest writing done, so no complaints.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
This is quite difficult to answer and I don’t know if at all I will do justice talking about the authors and the influences. But to put this in perspective, my writing is quite simple with easy sentence formation. I am sure there are many authors who do the same and in that sense, I am in a league of many.

What are you working on now?
Right now I am working on a sequel to Spirit Raiders and one other book. Both of the mentioned books are in the sci-fi space and will be through with them by this year.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Marketing and promotion have a number of levers when it comes to book visibility. One medium which worked for one book, may not take off at all for another. However, a new medium altogether just shoots off for a new book. That said, like most traditional and new age methods, I use facebook, twitter, Goodreads, Amazon, Smashwords and few other platforms.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes. For new authors, here is one thing that you need to keep in mind. There will be too many noises around and even our own internal judgment which will keep on comparing, keep on suggesting, and keep on confusing. These are the precise ones which should be ignored and you should go out and write your story. Once the story is there on paper then that is when you rationalize parts or aspects of your book. If you start doing it anytime before completing the book, I assure you, you will not reach the end. Even if you reach the end, chances are that you will not be happy about it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice that I had received was from a friend, who is also an author, and writes in the non-fiction space. He told me that I should not even get to formatting, proof-reading or any such aspects before I complete the book the first time over. Every single time I do any of the mentioned points, chances are that I will miss the plot, or over-correct, or change the flow completely. So, never do that mistake. I think it has worked for me. Now when I merge the points under the advice I received and the advice I give, you will see that there is concurrence in the thought process.

What are you reading now?
I am reading “A course in Miracles” by Helen Schucman. I don’t read much of sci-fi books but watch a lot of sci-fi movies. From a reading perspective, therefore, I read a lot of self-help and spiritual books as compared to sci-fi.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Get my books to few more geographies as compared to their current availability. For example, my books are not available in the Middle East, although, many have written to be about the same. I am trying new avenues to check if my books can be made available in the Middle East.

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?
Here are the ones that I would bring:

Ask and It is Given – Esther and Jerry Hicks
A Course in Miracles – Helen Schucman
Power of Deliberate Intent – Esther and Jerry Hicks
Spirit Raiders – Savio Dawson. I think I will be looking at ways to improve the book than reading it (laughs).

Author Websites and Profiles
Savio Dawson Website
Savio Dawson Amazon Profile
Savio Dawson Author Profile on Smashwords

Savio Dawson’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in my hometown in rural northern Nevada. My husband and I have a grown son and live with a very spoiled golden retriever. After finishing a long career working for local and state government I decided to pursue my dream of writing. My favorite past time has always been reading. I also love to bake and weave in several delectable desserts in my books.

I was first introduced to creative writing in middle school. With the encouragement from my English teacher I wrote a column for our local newspaper through my junior high years. It wasn’t until I retired from my career in government about three years ago that I decided to revisit what I enjoyed doing and start a second career writing novels. To date I’ve published five novels and am working on my sixth.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, Pieces of Home, is fourth in my Hometown Harbor Series. It focuses on Ellie, who is the resident baker in the picturesque town of Friday Harbor. It was inspired by the idea of a child being rejected by her mother and the life she made in spite of this hardship. Ellie is facing new challenges in her life and during her journey of self-discovery she is confronted with a painful piece of her past.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to do my best work in the morning, so I concentrate on writing early. I like to listen to music while I write, especially soothing piano. I drink a lot of chai tea and have been know to partake in the occasional chocolate treat for fortification. I also use a ton of sticky notes and markers to organize my stories.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve been a lifelong reader, so I know I’ve been influenced by hundreds of authors. I read to escape and for enjoyment, so I tend to think of authors I enjoy like David Baldacci, Lee Child, Maeve Binchy, and Kristin Hannah come to mind.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on my second book in my Cooper Harrington Detective Novel series. This series features Coop and his loyal golden retriever, Gus. Set in Nashville, Coop is a snarky t-shirt wearing lawyer turned private detective, who with the help of his dog and faithful friend and assistant, Annabelle, work to solve murder mysteries with plenty of twists.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I like using Facebook to connect with readers and find that sites like yours are a great way to introduce readers to my books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Finish the book…keep writing! One other tip would be to research all the publishing avenues available and pick the one that fits you best.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write another book. I think it is key, especially for indie authors to continue to write and publish books.

What are you reading now?
I just bought the Irish Cottage by Julie Gauvin.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to get my new mystery out by summer and will be busy promoting it and my other books. I usually get inspired to write by visiting a new place, so hope to squeeze in a trip and start writing a new book in the fall. I have an idea for a thriller and would love to work on that soon.

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 practical part of me would want a book on how to get off a desert island, but the reader in me would want a few of my favorites~To Kill a Mockingbird, The Camel Club, Little Women, and the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon because I love them and they are nice and long.

Author Websites and Profiles
Tammy L Grace Website
Tammy L Grace Amazon Profile
Tammy L Grace’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 Southern California writer working in historical fiction and satire. The last three of my eight novels have been ostensibly science fiction. I say ostensibly because the Alien Affairs trilogy is more about current affairs than the alien invasion that is the heart of the plot. Previously I have written a political satire about saving California from ruin, an account of Nazi doctor, Josef Mengele’s forty-year exile in South America, an alternative history from the Mexican War through WWII, a Civil War era biography and a tall tale about my ancestors’ arrival in the New World.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Alien Child is the culmination of the Alien Affairs trilogy. I wanted to see if I could tell a story from the viewpoint of a half-alien teenager. Readers have informed me that the voice of Terrie Deshler is spot on. Well, in my own opinion, she is a bit of a delinquent who needs to cleanup her language and not go out with older guys. She does, however, share her mother’s knack for outwitting aliens.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Maybe. I write with a laptop, in an easy chair by a picture window with a rose garden in the foreground and the San Gabriel Valley in the distance. Most of the time a Yorkshire terrier is sleeping by my side.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Hemingway and Tom Robbins. What two authors could be varied? I like Hemingway’s Spartan style and Robbin’s un-orthodoxy.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a sequel to Golden State Blues that parodies the outrageous political condition in the United States today.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Free short stories containing links to my books are the best method I’ve found for gaining name recognition. People are really into free. My website www.ScottSkipper.com and blog www.ScottSkipper/blogspot.com are necessary evils but neither gets a lot of traffic. Likewise, social media is something one has to do to maintain credibility, but it does little to drive sales.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My standard reply is: “do your damnedest to give every preposition an object, and don’t sweat a little passive voice.” To that I’d like to add, “pace is everything.” Keep your story moving.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Tell the truth.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading an apocalyptic/survivalist story called Into Autumn, and it’s ghastly. I’d drop it in a heartbeat, but I’ve committed to reviewing it. I’m afraid the author isn’t going to be very happy when he sees my review. I hate to write bad reviews, and rarely do, but I insist on being honest.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More of the same. I’m looking for some good source material for another historical fiction. Anybody have a suggestion?

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, some really long books. Norman Davies History of Europe comes to mind. Garcia-Marquez’ Cien Años de Soledad because I read Spanish very slowly. I would have to have a Hemingway, maybe For Whom the Bell Tolls, but only because The Old Man and the Sea to rather short. For my last choice I’d browse Smashwords and take a chance on something by a self-published author. Of course that means I’d need a solar panel to recharge my reader.

Author Websites and Profiles
Scott Skipper Website
Scott Skipper Amazon Profile
Scott Skipper Author Profile on Smashwords

Scott Skipper’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Words have always fascinated me and I love how a book can transport me anywhere.

Subodh kumar is a new author, mythologist and physicist; whose works are characterized by dark humour and in-your-face realism. Today his above 500 poetries and stories have published in many English and Hindi local news papers and magazines.

Having worked as a Physics Lecture for several years at some of Private Institute. After spending most of his life in Dehradun is the capital city of the state of Uttarakhand in the northern part. Kumar has finally settled down in Panchkula.

The best way to contact kumar is through his Official website.

1. http://www.kumarsubodh.online

2. http://hlonblog.blogspot.in/

3. http://swaastikam.blogspot.in/

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
1.Simple Theory of Physics

2. I Promise Will Meet Again Paperback – 2016

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I try to write novels that are fundamentally different experiences for the reader, which is why they don’t fit neatly into any single genre or category. You could say my style, regardless of milieu (historical to futuristic), attempts to be at once tense, touching, ironic, tragic, funny, and deep, with many conflicting ideas playing out—and myriad twists, turns and surprises. Lots of surprises.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
1. A Brief History of Time – Stephen Hawking
2. Relativity: The Special and the General Theory
by Albert Einstein
3.I Too Had A Love Story.. by Ravinder Singh

What are you working on now?
1. one love one girl(romantic true love story)

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
1.I’m also a fan of Facebook – I love the way it brings so many people and so many ideas together in one place.

2.Don’t give up. It took me years of rewriting and agent-searching, but it finally clicked. They say write what you know, but don’t take that too literally. What one “knows” is not only personal, but also what a person has learned, studied or finds interesting. In my case, it’s history. Still, it’s all personal in a sense.

3. I’d say Goodreads, since it fosters communication among readers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
It took me years of rewriting and agent-searching, but it finally clicked. They say write what you know, but don’t take that too literally. What one “knows” is not only personal, but also what a person has learned, studied or finds interesting.

2.Write, write, write. And if you don’t want to write, give up now! Truly, this is one of the hardest things I have ever done, but it’s also one of the most worthwhile.

3. Just write. Don’t listen to what others say or that voice in your head that says you can’t do it. Just move your fingers across the keyboard and write whatever is in your head. Some of it won’t be good, but that’s okay. Because some of it will be amazing.

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

What are you reading now?
I’m re-reading As I Lay Dying.

What’s next for you as a writer?
1. my love my physics (physics knowledge for student and general readers)
More books! I have two written. Hoping by this time next year to have two more done. It’s an exciting time to be a novelist.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1.The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

2.Love You Forever: Robert Munsch Sheila McGra

3. The Da Vinci Code

Author Websites and Profiles
Subodh Kumar Website
Subodh Kumar Amazon Profile
Subodh Kumar Author Profile on Smashwords

Subodh Kumar’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born and grew up in London’s East End and I have lived and worked in a number of countries.

I can speak a few languages and this has helped me become a cultural expert as well as being a motivational expert and qualified psychotherapist.

I use many of my life experiences as well as countless case studies, principles and techniques to help the reader become the best of who they can be.

I have four published books to date:

The Secrets of Confidence and Success

The Secrets of Calmness and Inner Peace

The Secrets of Existence and Fulfilment

The Secrets of Life and Beyond

Two more books are set for release in 2016.

Please feel free to check out my Amazon author page on Amazon UK, US and world wide.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is The Secrets of Confidence and Success, an excellent roadmap for optimal living that leads you on a psychogical journey of discovery.

This book was inspired by the many people who have asked me to write a book specifically about improving confidence and self-esteem levels.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really… I just sit and write. I love writing and have always been very disciplined…. Luckily!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Too many to mention, but as a youngster I also studied English Literature so I read many classics.

I always enjoyed reading Gearge Orwell books, especially 1984.

What are you working on now?
I have finished book five in the series of books and I am working on book six now… I am looking to publish one, if not both in 2016…

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think you should aim to promote yourself through every avenue possible. Actually being an author invves a great deal of self promoting so be prepared…

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up…!!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I give a lot of advice in my job… So personally I believe if you need advice in your life, always go to a professional. Be it legal, financial or psychological advice…

What are you reading now?
Proof reading my fifth book…

And going over book six!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Getting book five in my series of books published!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Hmmm… Good question.

I need to think about that.

I would probably bring a George Orwell book, a Stephen King book, a Martina Cole book, and an autobiography of Nelson Mandela….

Author Websites and Profiles
D.U. Sivri Website
D.U. Sivri Amazon Profile

D.U. Sivri’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been writing since I was a kid, but I embraced the art as a full-time career in the April of 2015. My first published novel (Future Winds) came out on November 25th of the same year & my second Book (Emotive) is scheduled for an April 5th of 2016 release.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Emotive would be my latest work and the way that I wrote it was odd. It wasn’t really inspired by anything and I had no idea where I was going with it when I crafted it. In the end, everything just seemed to flow together and the result was something beautifully dark, yet powerful. Had it ended up being junk, I would not have published it, but I really think that it ended up being something special.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I really enjoy writing on the floor. Part of it is that I consider the ground to be my Zen space. Another reason I have about floor writing is that I have a house rabbit and he often will come say hello while I am writing. I do some serious damage to my mind sometimes with the dark places that I go and a cute bunny licking my face helps to mitigate that damage. lol.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Mark Twain had a dark side that most are not aware of and I really like him. Tolkien, Poe, Orwell, Clancy, Lovecraft, & Hunter S. Thompson are also some of my favorites. I am partial to minds that most would consider to be mad.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on a collection of short stories. The name of the collection is not set in stone, but as of right now it is labeled; “Dark Matter: A Collection of Short Stories for the Modern Day Psychopath.” I really like that name, but I am afraid that some people might be afraid to touch a book with such a name. lol.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Twitter & Instagram are currently my go-to sites for connecting with fans & promoting my work. I use Facebook also, but I completely disavow Facebook as an honorable or good service. They are a government psyop organization that is allowed to operate outside of the laws of the people because they can call themselves a private organization and I think that it is sick.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
You have to keep going. You have to check yourself and keep your mind in a good place. Nobody cares about you or your work. Go ahead, say it out lout. It is harsh but true. Now, with a mindset of not giving a damn, write something that YOU can be proud of. Writing is an art and as such, it can be a tremendous mental benefit for oneself to write. Do it for YOU first. In time, the rest will fall into place.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To stop caring. I am generally a carefree person, but our society is shifting towards this weird place where everyone feels as though everything they do has to be judged by other people. Your life is not defined by Facebook & Instagram likes.

What are you reading now?
I just started up Atlas Shrugged. It is supposed to be pretty good, but we shall see.

What’s next for you as a writer?
After my collection of short stories is published, I am going to spend some time working on a dark fantasy adventure novel. The novel is going to be my longest yet, so I am going to dedicate a year towards writing 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?
Some Edgar Allen Poe & H.P. Lovecraft collections, a few Japanese history books, The Zombie Survival Guide (Just in case there is an outbreak on this island) & a couple vials of ink with paper so that I could document and write about my adventures on the island. Perhaps after I perish, someone will find the text and think I was the sole survivor of an ancient island civilization! lol.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kevin Laymon Website
Kevin Laymon Amazon Profile

Kevin Laymon’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 busy Mum and a lifelong avid reader. I discovered the MM romance genre a couple of years ago and found I really enjoyed reading it, and have also met some amazing people along the way. I started writing seriously one year ago. Just sat down and knocked out a book in two weeks, it was pouring out! It was raw and messy, but I liked the story.

Over the next year I took on a proofreading role. This helped so much in honing my skills, and eventually I wrote something I thought might just be worthy of publishing.

Of course it got knocked back, I understand why. I was still learning. Finally I felt confident enough to put my story out there, and I decided to self-publish. I really love having the control of what I want my cover to look like, to what font I want to use.

Everything has been done by me, so it may not be technically perfect, but I hope the story and the characters shine through enough to forgive that.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I See You is my debut novel. I worked in the casino industry for nearly ten years, in a variety of roles. Such an eye-opening career, so many stories to tell.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not really a planner, per se. I like to come up with an idea, get some general flow happening and then let my keyboard take me where it wants to go.

People do look at me unusually, I guess, when I sit in the back of my car while my son is a football training, banging away on my keyboard like a woman possessed!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many! I was a huge Stephen King and Dean Koontz fan when I was a teenager. I grew up on Enid Blyton and Sweet Valley High books. I love Bryce Courtenay and Ken Follett, Clive Barker as well. I’ve primarily been reading MM romance for the last year or so and too many to name there.

What are you working on now?
I’m in final edits on the book I initially wrote. It’s interesting to see where it was back then, and where it is now. Amazing what you can learn and achieve in less than a year! It’s being released on March 25th on Amazon and is titled Shire Boys: Luke & Aiden. It’s the first in another series I’m working on.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Social media is fantastic! Word of mouth seems to be the best tool, although it can also bite you on the bum if people don’t like your book. Blog reviews are great, and this is my first time trying something like Awesomegang, so I’ll have to let you know how that goes.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Stick with it if you love doing it. You’ll find people out there who think what you do is amazing. Nurture them, communicate with them, don’t underestimate or take for granted their enthusiasm and loyalty. They’re the ones who will get you through the darker patches

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Set your expectations low, then anything that exceeds them is a bonus and will inspire you too keep going!

What are you reading now?
I’m reading Simple Things by Kade Boheme. I’m using it as my down time at the moment as I’m busy getting my book ready for release in a few days.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’, releasing my new book this week, and then back to proofing and working on I Hear You, book two to the Come to Your Senses series. A busy year ahead, but loving 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?
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. The Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton for some escapism. An encyclopaedia so I could keep learning and also a dictionary for the same (they’d make great fire starting material if I needed it as well).

Author Websites and Profiles
Susan Reeves Website

Susan Reeves’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello!

Firstly, I am your typical Australian guy. Born in the 1980’s. My first computer experience was on a ‘Commodore 64’ , I have large feet and I am part of a large ‘Tennis’ playing family. If you can follow all that…. You are doing well

In terms of writing. I’ve written two books. The First book was called ‘Weekend Warriors – A funny side’. Now, while weekend warriors mean many things to other people (ie Dads who ride motorbikes or go on fishing retreats to their favourite lake on the weekend), for me its all about the Army Reserve.

Now don’t roll your eyes just yet……I’m an Australian Army Reservist. And yes, their is a difference! Ive played war games against the American Reservists and let me tell you….When it comes to safely handling weapons of a high calibre nature…..I can see why they need some serious reforms in their 2nd Amendment Bill.

The second book is the sequel to the Weekend Warriors series. I couldn’t help myself with just one book…. When your on a roll you know you have to write a sequel!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book (that is currently with the editors- release date is early april) is called Weekend Warriors 2 – A sequel.

The first of the series talks about me as a young 17 year old not knowing what to do after high school. A young military officer then comes to my school during assembly and talks about the Army Reserve. I sign up and the book pans through the ‘humourous’ stories from my time at Boot Camp to my career progression as an Artillery Operator, and then as a signaller for a Papua New Guinean Platoon in the Solomon Islands (Overseas Deployment)

Anyways, after the first book was completed and received some great feedback from my Reserve peers. I thought, why not write about our Artillery unit? And so I did…..I went to the Military Archives and found out just where our Artillery Unit was created and the battles they faced during world war 2. But it wasn’t just the history I was after! I needed the humourous stories that raised the morale during the heat of war! So I dug a little deeper and found them too! Then I decided to include 70 years of our units ‘funny’ stories into one book. The project took 6 months to complete, but I got there. I should also note that I also included about 30 Cartoons to help highlight some of the stories from within the pages.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I guess you could say that I’m a bit of a simple-simon. I tend to stay away from in depth journals and people’s theiss’s. It’s far better to write your story quickly and no need to include details about ‘the air was refreshingly cool and the night was darker than the heart of Samuel’s unforgiving nature’ (Ughh!!!)

These books are simply targeted to people over the age of 15, and the stories inside and simply ‘funny soft reads’.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
As an Australian, I tend to give my preferences to other Australian Writers. People like Mathew Reily (Ice Stations, Area 7, Scarecrow) tend to excite me. I do devil in a bit of Clive Cussler (Black Wind, Sahara), but generally Australian Authors.

What are you working on now?
The third book is actually my first Fiction! ‘Palestine Burning’ should be ready in January 2017.
I am pro-Israel. I understand that may frustrate some of you but that’s where I stand. The book is about a lost scroll written by Paul and Apostle himself that is obtained by the Roman Empire during the Battle of Messada. The scroll was written way beyond its time and the Roman Leadership fear that it may cause another uprising and so order it to be destroyed. But……Its never that easy. …..Fast forward to today and the scroll surfaces in the hands of an Egyptian Muslim, an Israeli Jew and a Christian. The scroll bears meaning on all 3 faiths and the three must work together to get the truth out there…… before someone else does….. Throughout the book it focuses on the relationship between the three and how they put aside their differences to get things done.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
A great question. For me, a simple search in google on ‘how to promote your book’ prompted me to go to youtube.com and find peoples videos that explain where and what to do. That’s how I found out about this site!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Someone once told me that even if your book is nothing flash…..Its something that cannot be taken away from you. You were the one who spent the late nights typing away…. And now its done, dusted and listed on Amazon with your name on it. . . .

And to those who came to you with smug looks on there face and offer words of discouragement ……Well……I think Tay-Tay said it best…..’Haters gonna Hate!’

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Try not to rush into the typing too quickly. . . . If you go at it full steam…After 10K words, you will burn yourself out….and will never finish the book you were meant to write.

Pace yourself. A few hundred words a few days a week and over the space of a year….You will have your masterpiece.

What are you reading now?
Well…..As the Roman Novel gets more into the nitty gritty….I find myself learning the ways of the Roman way of life (100 AD era).

What’s next for you as a writer?
After the Roman Novel. I am going to try my luck with a childrens book that involves my two cute Shetland Sheepdogs ( Mini Lassies for the uneducated)

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 full Encyclopedia set….. If there’s trees on that island…. I’m going to need a lot of paper to start fires! No way I’m surviving the cold nights without a warm fire…..Come to think of it….Id like my fish cooked too! And anything else that’s edible for that matter.

Author Websites and Profiles
James Sanderson Website
James Sanderson Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a number cruncher by day, author by night. I’ve always loved reading romance and after reading so many books about twenty and thirty something year old heroines, I decided I’d like to read about women more my age – the other side of 30 as I call it. I wrote my first book, Out of the Box Awakening on a dare from two of my girlfriends. Never being one to step back from a dare, I sat down at my laptop on Halloween night in 2012 and so this wonderful journey began. Almost four years later, here I am with six books under my belt and several more planned.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My newest release is Out of the Box Everlasting, which is the 3rd book in my Out of the Box series. Being an election year, I just had to thrown in a little political conspiracy theory and a few plot twists. So far, my readers have loved it and some have gone so far as to say they want more of Ash & Olivia.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m definitely an out of the box (pun intended) writer. I don’t work from an outline, I just let my characters direct me.

I don’t write ahead of the chapters as some authors do and my writing is done on my laptop, sitting in my overstuffed leather chair with a lap desk and usually a glass of wine in hand. I also find inspiration listening to my book music playlists on Spotify.

I do get easily distracted (by Twitter and Facebook), so if I’m on a roll, I find that I have to log off the social media….

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jacqueline Susann is one of my favorite authors (I’m dating myself, I know)
Jackie Collins, Nora Roberts to name a few. Who doesn’t love a good romance?

I also liked The Saint series, written by Leslie Charteris. I love his main character, Simon Templar and his adventures in the series. The author’s wife was a client of my mother and each year, we would receive autographed copies of his books, bearing the characteristic stick figure with a halo.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on Finding Joy, a sequel to a short story I wrote that came out in December. Unwrapping Noel was the first and my readers wanted more of Noel and Leon, so their love story continues…
The story deals with finding your own self worth and getting over self esteem issues, while finding true, unconditional love.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I love the book of the day promo pages and do subscribe to them. I’m very active on Twitter and I feel Twitter is a great avenue for getting the word out. I also am active on Facebook and find that interacting with readers is also a great marketing tool!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Follow the advice of Audrey Hepburn: “Nothing is Impossible – the word itself says I’m Possible”
If you dream it – do it. Seek the advice of other authors. I’ve been blessed to have had wonderful support and advice from my peers and I love nothing more than to pay it forward. We’re all in this together, so why not support each other!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up!

What are you reading now?
I’m reading a horror short story written by my friend and fellow author, RE Hargrave. I ‘m not a reader of horror & macabre and furthermore, she hasn’t written horror before. I guess that proves how much I adore her. From what I’ve heard, I need to read it during the day only or face having the bejeezus scared out of me!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve got another series in mind. Another middle aged romance – I’m hooked on writing that genre.

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?
Jayne Eyre (I watched the movie on TV the other day and haven’t read the book in years)
Valley of the Dolls (again, haven’t read the book in years, but it needs to be re-read)
I’d take a Bible (to keep my faith)
and one of the popular coloring books (to have something creative to do)

Author Websites and Profiles
Jennifer Theriot Website
Jennifer Theriot Amazon Profile

Jennifer Theriot’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started writing full time, well as much as normal life will allow back in 2012. I have one Self Published book “Memoirs of an Ordinary Guy” Two written, yet to be published and writing two more as I attend this interview.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Escape” this was inspired by the current Migrant Crisis but I have added my own twist to things

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
“That phone is glued to the palm of your hand.” my girlfriend tells me, so yes I use my phone with Word installed most of the time.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
“The Night Manager” by John Le Carre, his writing style (or mine his) is similar to my current book “Escape”

What are you working on now?
“Escape” its going to be a thrilling thriller and “The Photographer” and innuendo fueled comedy novel.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I love Twitter and have built up nearly 2000 followers in the last few month. I have my own author page there and of course sites like this one help me a great deal to build my author platform and gain trust in my followers. Also my own website is an added bonus.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Build your author platform and gain the trust of your readers. Never give up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Live the dream.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading “The Night Manager” by John Le Carre.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To keep doing what I enjoy most. Write, write and write when normal everyday life allows that is.

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 book by Jack Higgins so I can reenact scenes as I traipse through the islands jungle.
Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol.” Why because I have never read it.
My books because you never know who might rescue me.

Author Websites and Profiles
Mel Smith Website
Mel Smith Amazon Profile
Mel Smith Author Profile on Smashwords

Mel Smith’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m the author of the Freefall Trilogy, a story of one woman’s fight to stop the apocalypse all while holding her own world together. These are my first books although I’ve got more planned. I’m married with two kids, two dogs, and two cats. I love to sing karaoke, read, and crochet. I’ve been writing since I was a child, and even spent a few years as a moderator on an online creative writing workshop.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Freefall Trilogy was inspired by all the different angel mythologies from many different religions. It actually all started out with a writing prompt that went something like “a broken wristwatch and a hug that lasts too long.” The wristwatch ended up being edited out, but if you look for it you can find the hug.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I have a playlist for each book so I have music to listen to that inspires what I write. And I always write after my son goes to school, so it’s super early in the morning. I also keep a notebook where I write quotes that inspire me as well.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Madeleine L’Engle and Diana Gabaldon are huge influences on me and are my favorite authors. I can’t really say if there are any particular books that influenced me more than others. I read voraciously so it just depends on what I remember at any given moment.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on a book about an orphan who is adopted by an assassin in a crime syndicate and trained to be an assassin herself. It’s pretty much fantasy, with a little dark thrown in for good measure.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I find that doing takeovers at Facebook events for other authors works really well as it exposes me to new readers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get your stuff professionally edited, get a professional cover designer, and make sure everything is perfectly polished before you publish or query agents/publishers.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When you’re writing a scene use the rule of 3: choose three senses and describe, sparingly, your scene with those three senses to really bring the world to life.

What are you reading now?
Currently I’m reading the Captive Prince books by C. S. Pacat.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to query agents with my new book that I’m currently writing, and At Death’s Door (the first book of the Freefall Trilogy) is currently in the query process 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?
A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, and The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller.

Author Websites and Profiles
Astrid Tallaksen Website
Astrid Tallaksen Amazon Profile

Astrid Tallaksen’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been a published author for just a few years now, but I’ve always enjoyed writing. My best work was only part way done when I lost it in a house fire. I have two books currently published under this name, Let It Snow (standalone) and Buy Me A Rose Book 1 of Wicked Fairytales. I have several more I’m working on as well. When I’m not writing I am playing or creating with my boys or crafting on my own. I enjoy reading, singing, drawing and gaming. I’m a huge fan of anime/manga, fantasy, and magic.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My next book is a story about three sisters that run a wedding company called Taking the Plunge, and they are being forced to marry three brothers that run a matchmaking company called Eternal Love. I can’t give much more away because its release is a surprise. It will be a clean read, not my usual genre but I enjoyed writing it and look forward to writing the others.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I prefer writing while listening to music. I’m also not partial to an outline. I’m more of a ‘pantser’ type of author. At most I will writing character profiles and summaries, but not much more.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
It’s hard to pinpoint an author or book that influenced me enough to be an author. I’ve been reading most of my like and there are several books I love. I guess if I think hard enough, I can pinpoint a few books that have influenced me enough to feel comfortable enough to write erotica. Kiersten Fay and her book Demon Possession really encouraged me that you can have a great plot with hot sex. J.K. Rowling encouraged me that series are good. Lord of the Rings and Narnia influenced me into realizing that magic, man, and creatures are subject to interpretation. The authors in my writing group have been a great influence on being a better proofreader and writer by going over my work for me before submitting it. So many books and authors have helped influence my direction, but also influenced me to be ME as an author.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on several things. The sequel to the wedding story I mentioned about and the next book in the Wicked Fairytales series. And a few other ideas I’m working out, I may not start them yet, but I plan to write any ideas I come up with for them.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still trying to figure this out. I’m not used to getting myself noticed so it’s touch and go right now. The best results I’ve had have been the authors in my writing group. They’ve helped to promote my books as they are able. My family and friends have as well. But I am trying to get on my own feet as well and touch more people.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
It doesn’t matter how great you did in your English, Literature or Writing Classes when you come into the writing industry as an author. It doesn’t make you all-knowing or the best out there, it makes you fresh meat. So keep the ego in check. There are authors that have been writing for a very long time. If they give you advice, take it. You don’t have to use it, but be grateful they took the time to notice and help a newbie because it’s real easy to get swallowed up in the shuffle without a friend or two in the industry willing to help you out.
And writing groups are a big help. They can be a mix of genres or just your genre, but, either way, they need to be willing to help you, give advice, bounce ideas or just chat. You don’t know how much it will help until you join one.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Proofread when you finish, wait a day or two and proofread again. You don’t realize how many mistakes you’ve made until you do.
Also, consult beta readers. Try getting a well diverse group so that you can get different opinions and interrogate them when they’re done. You need to know WHY they did or didn’t like something. But it’s best to only send a few chapters at a time and try getting people that are willing to critique and not be bias.

What are you reading now?
Wherever It Leads by Adriana Locke. I read it once already, but I am reading it again. It’s a great book that I hope you pick up. You won’t be disappointed.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Another book. There will always be another book for me to write.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Demon Possession by Kiersten Fay
Three Fates by Nora Roberts
The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks
Dance With the Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Author Websites and Profiles
Brandi Gillilan Website
Brandi Gillilan Amazon Profile

Brandi Gillilan’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Born in Konongo, Ashanti region but grew up in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. My parents were blessed with me as their only child, though I have two other siblings (Theophilus Effah Boakye Yiadom and Rebecca Effah Pomaa). I love them, they inspire me to write. I took to reading/writing because I happened to be one sort of introvert – indoors for long hours used to be my thing. I have only one book currently out. Education wise, I have a Bsc, Msc and Project management, all in IT. I am looking forward to writing more books and also planning to get certified in literature.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
my book is titled Immortal Verses of Desire and it is mainly on poetry written by myself. The inspiration… I guess, I have always wanted to write but I did not really know what exactly it was but that came to light when I found love,…… love for writing beautiful poetry at a very young age. I would write beautiful pieces but my school (senior high) won’t publish in the school magazine because i was not part of the writing club …ha ha. But that did not stop me from writing either.. I wanted to make a point with my gift because i never studied literature.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
interestingly, my head aches each time i write, so i like to write when i am in the mood so i can reduce the impact of the headache… and i require a serene environment to write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
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IMG_20160316_213721Tell us about yourself and

What are you working on now?
i am currently working on my second book which is basically on poems for my nuclear family. its going to be beautiful and deep from the heart.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesomegang is one of them, trust me. Amazon, ameyawdebrah.com, twimovies.com and others i do not have idea about.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
sure, new authors … develop the talent, write beautifully and get the right folks to help you get your book out

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Prince, never stop doing what you do best.

What are you reading now?
bag of bones and IT project management

What’s next for you as a writer?
i am planning to co-author a story with one beautiful lady where poetry will be cutting through the story flow. its going to be awesome.

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?
wow! as a christian i would love to have the great book with me (the bible), a copy of immortal verses of desire and the lord of the rings .. plus any other extra interesting thing i could lay my hands on.

Author Websites and Profiles
Prince Bonsu Website
Prince Bonsu Amazon Profile

Prince Bonsu’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been writing off and on for about 30 years, and I have written 3 books thus far, two of which are published with the third one coming out later this year.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent book, The Killing Spring will be released in the October/November timeframe by Touch Point Press. It was inspired by a meeting I had with an old friend that I hadn’t seen since my college days back at Penn State in the 1980’s.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to write in my head. I write while I am stuck in traffic and even when I go to bed. Once I actually sit down at the keyboard, the story just flows out.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like Dan Brown, Hunter Thompson, Jack Kerouac, Stieg Larsson, and Hemmingway just to name a few.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on my fourth novel called The Ghost of Tom Mix with an old friend of mine Richard Cherry. I discovered that he has a writer’s soul, and put him to work immediately. So far our styles blend perfectly.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon probably gives the most visibility to my books…because…it’s rapidly becoming an Amazon world. It’s a jungle out there. Ha Ha.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The best advice I can give to new authors is work hard, always do your best work, and do it because you LOVE to write. Make that NEED to write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I ever heard was don’t count your chickens before they hatch.

What are you reading now?
Currently I am reading David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

What’s next for you as a writer?
I hope to one day see one of my books as a feature film. That’s definitely on my bucket list. That said, my second novel Love & Theft is in the Pulitzer Prize competition this year and I sure would like to see that before my name.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Anything by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ernest Hemingway, Jules Verne, and Charles Dickinson. I’m still impressed by the classics!

Author Websites and Profiles
Michael Sprankle Amazon Profile

Michael Sprankle’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a freelance writer that spent two decades teaching theater. I write a lot of online content for business clients for money and unwind with my novels. I love dogs and laid back beach music. My favorite afternoon is sunny, with a cold beer, my 200# mastiff Ruby and some Jack Johnson. I’ve written four novels so far and a handful of non-fiction business books, mostly for clients.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Jack and it was inspired by a cockroach I literally saw on the monitor of a McDonald’s drive through while waiting in line. It was crawling over the camera lens outside and looked huge on the screen. I’d also been working on a sci-fi version of Jack and the Beanstalk, but it wasn’t working, so the two ideas kind of meshed and after that, it almost wrote itself.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I work from home, so I love to sit in bed and watch TV series on Netflix while I pound out fiction. I also like to write in the bath and plan to market a line of bath desks for writers, or maybe not. Ha

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The first book I was really impacted by was John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. I read it early the first time, seven, yeah, I know, my dad thought I was too young so I didn’t get to finish it until years later.
I love to read things that make me think, or laugh. I love Tim Dorsey and some of Ted Dekker’s earlier stuff. I read a lot of detective novels as a kid and I like a good Jeffrey Deaver now and then. When it comes to Sci-Fi, I like the old stuff, Invisible Man, Time Machine, and I’m also a Douglas Adams fan.
As far as being a writer is concerned, I really admire what Charles Dickens books did to reveal the plight of people in his generation and I’d like to find some ways of doing similar things, commenting on society.

What are you working on now?
I am working on the edit for the second part of Jacked, as well as a couple of old self-pubbed novels that really need some revamping. I always have client work and lately that’s been politics, but I won’t bore you with that.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well, I am about to find out. This is the first time I’ve gotten serious about selling my fiction. Most of my professional writing has been commissioned and paid for. So far, Facebook Groups are being pretty good to me, when I can keep from crossing the invisible line and making too many posts in a row.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write the story you want to read. You’ll get a lot of advice and critique and it’s just that, advice. The best another writer can give you is another writer’s opinion. I do recommend finding beta readers, or a good crit group, even if you are self-editing. If you can afford it, hire an editor.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken. The writers that become known set themselves apart somehow. Whether it’s in their style or their life. Don’t worry too much what anyone else thinks, if you study the great writers you find out they lived life on their own terms.

What are you reading now?
Hero by Rhonda Byrne and a book on grammar. I have a couple of novels on my list soon, one is Tim Dorsey’s latest.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m putting Jacked out in three parts, novella length, and I have a pretty good idea of what comes next for my hero there. I have a three part set of books based on some plays I wrote that are all connected to a small, fictional Oklahoma town, beyond that, I’m not sure.

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 not the type to re-read books for some reason. There are very few that I get into a second time. I would probably choose some boring guide books, and a few classics. The Grapes of Wrath is one and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but I might also take one or two of my own, I am, after all, my own favorite writer. Yeah, I know that sounds arrogant, but it’s true.

Author Websites and Profiles
Mark R Morris Jr Website

Mark R Morris Jr’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account