Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am currently working on my fourth novel. My debut novel, Flower of Heaven, received four national book awards, a prestigious Kirkus review, and was rated by Bill Reynolds, Providence Journal columnist, as a “fast-paced global thriller that would make a great movie. The sequel, Dangerous Bloodlines, was published in 2014 and also received four national book awards and carries a 4.8 rating on Amazon.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel, A Life Before, was released in late April, 2016, and already had over 21 reviews on Amazon and Barnes & Noble…and a 4.8 rating. Carol Davala, US Review of Books, states, “Ayotte delivers the perfect read. A smart, well-paced thriller. Megan Latta of Apex Reviews says “A Life Before is in the upper echelon of literary greatness. A masterfully crafted tale of intrigue and suspense. An absolute must read.

I was fascinated with the world of reincarnation and the millions of people who know nothing about the dangers of radon gas exposure. Combining the two in a meaningful way became the challenge. I am more than pleased with the outcome.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write longhand and then type each chapter afterwards. I have no outline, master plan, or vivid conclusion as I write. It just comes one word at a time and seems to all fall into place by the end of the book.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like John Grishal, David Baldacci, Robert Ludlum, and James Patterson.

What are you working on now?
I am seven chapters into a fourth novel, another thriller. I hope to complete it by early spring, 2017. Not bad for a guy who wrote Flower of Heaven at age 71, and will be 75 when the new book is released.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Trying to get on BookBub is almost impossible, but I keep trying. In its place, I go to EBooksy, Awesome Gang, EReader News Today, and a few others to blitz the market. I also send out emails to a reader base of over 2000 email readers, use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn whenever I can.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up hoping your book will make it big one day. All it takes is one break in this business, and who knows when or where that will happen. It may be after your fourth book, or your ninth…stay with it and keep writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write because you love to write, not because you think it will make you a rich man. The writing itself will make you rich, most of the financial success is out of your hands.

What are you reading now?
Jack 1939 by Francine Mathews

What’s next for you as a writer?
My goal is to get one or more of my books on the big screen, whether as a feature film or as a TV miniseries or movie made for television. I will never stop seeking this until I die. I hope the movie comes first!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Holy Bible
How to survive living on a desert island
How to build a boat from scratch

Author Websites and Profiles
Julien Ayotte Website
Julien Ayotte Amazon Profile
Julien Ayotte Author Profile on Smashwords

Julien Ayotte’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a software developer during the day and a writer/indie filmmaker in my spare time. I’ve independently published three fiction books, and spent years as a freelance writer for various newspapers and magazines.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
WITCH CITY: CARDINAL launches a paranormal thriller/mystery series. I was a huge fan of shows like THE X-FILES when I was younger. I’ve always been an avid fan of that genre.

In college I wrote a feature script for some of my friends in an acting class: it followed a police team tracking down a vampire. When some of my cast went separate ways, I rebooted it as a comic book, then another feature. After a few more rewrites and exploring the theme, I realized I had a much bigger world than I initially thought, so I decided to launch the series.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’ve developed the talent of being able to think about story while writing code at work. It’s an interesting mental place and I think it opens both parts of my mind at once (the logical and the creative). This seems to make me more productive as both a writer and a programmer.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a huge fan of H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe. I also enjoy thrillers like Tom Clancy’s RAINBOW SIX series.

What are you working on now?
Of course there’s a WITCH CITY follow-up with a second case following an even bigger menace. I’m also working on a follow up to my 2012 zombie novel THE TRIP.

And because I’m insane, I’m also working on an animated feature based on THE TRIP, as well as some other live action shorts, one of which ties into the next WITCH CITY novel.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use a multi-pronged approach: I maintain my own website. I tweet actively. I manage some Facebook pages. I’ll find where people are and hit those places when possible.

If you haven’t used HootSuite, it’s a godsend. I also used some of my programming skills to write a message selector. AFAIK I’m the only one using it, but it’s working for me. (It takes the work out of mixing up the messages)

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Every no takes you a step closer to yes.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The art will always be there; if something happens and you need to get away from the art for a while, it will never leave you. If it’s in your soul you will always have that talent.

What are you reading now?
The Zap Gun by Philip K. Dick

What’s next for you as a writer?
Continuing to build an audience with the WITCH CITY series. I’d love to get to the point where we could crowdfund a feature; it’s a ways off and I have a long way to go, but I am hopeful it will happen.

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 Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks
Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits by Dave Barry
An H.P. Lovecraft collection

Author Websites and Profiles
Tim Morgan Website
Tim Morgan Amazon Profile

Tim Morgan’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a thirty-seven-year-old lady who has grown up on the best science fiction stories and poetry as a child there have been over the years. So far I have written three books of poetry, Poems from a dark mind was my first book this is a seventy-two-page book it is available on Kindle. This book is mainly of dark poetry yet in many ways seen as inspirational; it can be found on Kindle. As this is a book based on mental illness in a way it is to try and raise awareness of what it is like to be mentally ill.
My second book is Straight from the Heart: Poems of light it is 26 pages and inspirational which is again a collection of poetry based on mental illness and designed to inspire.
My third book was Poetry of my youth and is twenty-eight pages. It was a book specifically aimed at children aged from ten to thirteen the topics of this book was suggested, by an eleven-year-old child, this book is available in paperback and Kindle.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I am due to release in November 2016 a novel entitled Rebels of Blood Moon this is a science fiction novel, it set shortly and upon a fictional world called “Earten”. I initially aimed it at a young adult audience, but it is a book which has been in the planning since I was a child. The inspiration I gathered while I was a small child and I would walk for miles in the countryside playing war games with my friends. As well taking an avid interest in history, I can remember being handed my first book by my grandfather’s. And it was a book entitled the mysteries of the unknown which sparked questions I spent years trying to answer. Other than this it is taken from real-life events and situations around the world, being someone who spent time researching the wars I came through many stories of Gremlins and hellhounds which just served to drive my imagination and curiosity even more. Other than this it is stories based on dreams I have had, and of course, the mental illness I have seems to help with the story creation.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have had the universe created for many years now, and the have noted up brief descriptions of the chapters and characters. My current writing habits are that I will spend ten to fifteen minutes completing a series of deep breathing relaxation techniques after I have woken up and a cup of tea. Ensuring that my mind is clear and more focused as well as being relaxed after the night before starting work. Once I start I will write from ten am through to five sometimes six am in the morning and I use the notes purely as a guide. I will take ten minutes for something to eat and drink, and I keep writing until I have completed the work I have to do. Once it is completed, I will ensure the grammar is correct and check for anything that needs to be removed, then start promotion of the book from chapter ten.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
What authors have inspired me? That is a hard question having read so many over the years, but I would say, Rhoald Dahl, Spike Milligan and Rudyard Kipling, as well as George Orwell and Orsen Welles, Oscar Wilde, I would say, are my favourite fictional writers. A.E Houseman, W.B Yates and Benjamin Zephaniah are three of my favourite poets. Michael Baigent and many other non-fictional and theological writers.

What are you working on now?
My current project is the promotion of the book Rebels of Blood Moon, as well as the advancement of this title I am working on a book of Poetry entitled Earten song of songs. Which will shed more light upon the legendary beast, that the unit will face in the forthcoming book, in a bid to spread the tales further throughout the universe. Therefore hopefully building a better picture of the work of the unit as well as this I am currently planning a book of short stories and aim to start writing Rebels of Blood Moon book two where we will see more of the beast and the Institute.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have a website entitled Battle for Eartens Core where I write about the book and many other aspects of life. I have a page dedicated to the book on this website, and I also have a Facebook Blog Page entitled Dreams from a fractured world where I have numerous short stories and poems as well as personal blogs. As well as this I use Twitter every day to post about the book and often have pinned posts which are either excerpt from the book or promotional posts.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Writing does not have any rules and therefore is independently different to how we all see the world. A proofreader does come in handy, but the main thing is you have to be happy for the work you do. If it is good enough for you and your friends, then it is good enough for your prospective readers. If you need to check your writing, then I can not stress this enough that Grammarly provides an excellent service for this. If you have the premium package, it also means you can look at the plagiarism which is important within the writing world to keep out of trouble. All I can say is do not get to down hearted with how critical reviews no matter how bad they are just remember that from every review we as writers can improve.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write for yourself and do not worry about the reviews because some one will like the book.

What are you reading now?
At this moment I have taken time out of reading and writing, but the first book for me to read is Edge of Darkness by Vicki Ramano.

What’s next for you as a writer?
For me as a writer is to write the book of poetry Earten song of songs a seventy-two-page book of poetry based on the rebel of Blood Moon and battle for eartens core. I will be rough planning the second book of Rebels of Blood Moon although I already have a basic outline, and a book of short stories.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Rejection by C.T Mitchell
The history of Britain by C.R.L Fletcher and Rudyard Kipling
The Gremlins by Rhoald Dahl
The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail by Michael Baigent

Author Websites and Profiles
Emma Hewitt Website

Emma Hewitt’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Southern California Native, who lives in San Diego with my husband, teenage son, and Toy Australian Shepherd. My eldest son is a US Marine stationed in Okinawa, Japan. I began writing in my spare time for fun. It was a hobby that scratched a creative itch in an exciting and challenging way.

My muse (a feisty little thing) pushed, prodded, and pressured me to start writing. Not wanting to anger my muse, I wrote a few children’s books, a screenplay, a young adult novel (that was way too long) and made a few false starts on a few books, which I never completed. With a full-time job, kids, and a husband my time to write is limited. I find the early morning, 4:30 am to be the best time to listen to my muse and write with no interruptions. My love of Teen/YA books and my sons’ obsession with video gaming and comic book characters sparked the seed for Combat Boy, a Teen/YA sci-fi, fantasy series. (Two books so far), Combat Boy and the Monster Token and Combat Boy and the Lord of Monster Realm. The tone of the series is playful, and humorous with strong moral undertones, as it highlights a boy who strives to do well by others and whose downfall is his self-serving brother. Think: Night at the Museum meets Comic-Con with monsters and a cosmic twist.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is Combat Boy and the Lord of Monster Realm and it’s part of a series. There are a few things that inspired me to write this series. First, my love of Teen and Young Adult books. However, before I began writing it, I couldn’t help but notice that a lot of popular Teen and Young Adult books were very dark. Like The Hunger Games, where kids kill kids for sport, or Twilight, a hundred-year-old vampire hot for a teenage girl. You know what I mean. Well written books, but pretty dark stuff in my humble opinion. Not only that, but at the time, the world was in a very dark place too; two wars, natural disasters unlike anything we’d seen before, and a huge economic meltdown. All that negativity made me want to go in the opposite direction and write something lighthearted. For me, writing is like meditating, and I didn’t want to meditate on dark, negative stuff for hours, days, weeks, months, and years. It would have made me miserable. No. I wanted to escape into a fun, exciting and humorous world where I’d find some happiness.

Second, my inspiration grew out of my desire to help reluctant readers. Computers and smartphones bring a broad range of high-energy entertainment to children and young adults at breakneck speed. They love it; can’t get enough of it. Videos, movies, and video games are here to stay. The problem is, it’s not always easy to find books for children and young adults that keep their focus or interest as a video game can. Young and reluctant readers will put aside a book if it’s bogged down with lengthy, overly wordy, or boring descriptive paragraphs. They will keep reading if the writing is fast-paced, tight, and visual. I am a very visual thinker, so I decided to make it my mission to write for reluctant readers. If my writing pulls a reluctant reader in and holds their attention, it will do the same for all types of readers. Best of all, a reluctant reader is only reluctant until he or she finds that fun, fast-paced story that changes them into an eager reader. That’s my goal. I want to create that kind of transformative magic with my writing. And from what fans are saying about Combat Boy and the Monster Token, it’s got that fast-paced, attention holding mojo.

Right now, I have at least five or six books lightly outlined in my mind. Yes, I outline in my mind (A kid goes into Monster Realm and has to come out with his soul) that’s the extent of my outlining. What happens in-between is a mystery to me, until I write it. I love that. Why? I want to be surprised, just like you do. I don’t want to get locked into one idea, plot, or formula. To me, that would be totally boring. I like it when the plot heads in a new direction because a character says or does something unexpected. Sometimes it’s frustrating, but mostly, I just go with the writing flow and enjoy the ride.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
The most unusual writing habit that I have is to put myself into a hypnotic trance. Self-hypnosis is something I’ve used ever since high school. In tenth grade, I got a book on self-hypnosis hoping it would help me do better on tests. And to my surprise and great relief, my test scores in Math, Science, and English drastically improved.

Self-hypnosis is like casting a magic spell on yourself. No, it’s better than that because you don’t need any strange potions or supernatural incantations. Anyone can do it. All you need is a brain, good intentions, positive thoughts and a fair amount of focus. It’s an excellent tool. And over the years, I have found it works especially well with writing. Once I’m in a hypnotic trance, I tell myself to listen to my muse and let go of all the other noise cluttering my mind. It can take me a few minutes to get centered, but once I’m grounded and in a deep, hypnotic state, I relax and let the images and words flow into me. Bam! That’s the sweet spot. That’s when I’m in the realm of creation where hours pass like minutes and ideas stem from a river of infinite goodness that’s beyond my comprehension. I feel like a kid in a candy store with a gift card that has no limit. It’s my happy place, a wonderful escape from the stress and the struggles of the real world.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
As a child the books that influenced me the most were Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl and Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. In my twenties, I couldn’t get enough of Dean Koontz’s suspense thrillers or Orson Scott Card’s work. In my thirties, I loved Robert R. Mc Cammon’s books and Pat Conry’s stories. In my forties, I was reading every Teen and Young Adult book; I came across. Maximum Ride, the Angel Experiment by James Patterson and Runner by Carl Deuker, were very influential. As for nonfiction, my top pick would have to be M. Scott Peck’s The Road less traveled, and People of the Lie.

What are you working on now?
Right now, I am working on promoting my books, Combat Boy and the Monster Token and Combat Boy and the Lord of Monster Realm. As soon as I get a handle on the marketing, I plan on finishing my third book, Combat Boy and the Scuttlers’ Portal. I want to step out of my comfort zone and push myself as a writer on this book. I want to do things I’ve never done before with the structure of the story and possibly its point of view. Er! Just thinking about it scares me. Seriously, my heart is pounding in my chest, and a lump is forming in my throat. Why write if it’s so scary? Well, I am a glutton for punishment who likes conquering fears. Also, it makes me have a deeper connection with my protagonists as they battle monsters and overcome their fears. Not only that, but I’d feel too guilty if I let my fears get the best of me and just stopped writing in the middle of the story, leaving my characters hanging in the balance, possibly facing down a terrible monster for all time and eternity.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Honestly, I don’t know. Hey, I’m just getting started in the wonderful world of book promoting.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Learn the business side of writing. I put it off for far too long. Now I’m playing catch-up, and it’s giving me more anxiety attacks than I imagined was possible. Seriously, I’m having an anxiety attack right now, just thinking about it.

It’s a challenge to find the time to write a novel, compose a blog and keep up with social media. I recently got on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn and I feel like I leaped into the deep end of a pool without knowing how to swim. Panic. I’m trying to learn everything at once, and it’s confusing and frustrating. And now, I just learned that I should be making vlogs for Youtube! That’s just great! I’m not Wonder Women! I’m Overwhelmed Women. Do yourself a favor and learn the business side of writing before you finish that book. Don’t do what I did, and foolishly start after you finish your second book.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“You don’t need writing classes or seminars any more than you need this or any other book on writing. Faulkner learned his trade while working in the Oxford, Mississippi post office. Other writers have learned the basics while serving in the Navy, working in steel mills or doing time in America’s finer crossbar hotels. I learned the most valuable (and commercial) part of my life’s work while washing motel sheets and restaurant tablecloths at the New Franklin Laundry in Bangor. You learn best by reading a lot and writing a lot, and the most valuable lessons of all are the ones you teach yourself.” Steven King.

I learned the basics of writing while working as a hair stylist. Bottom line, you don’t have to be a genius to write a novel, you just need true grit and determination to get it done. Thanks, Steven King! Your book on writing is one of the best.

What are you reading now?
I am reading Beyond Style: Mastering the Finer Points of Writing by Gary Provost. It’s not the first time I’ve read it, nor will it be the last. I always read Provost’s book as well a Steven King’s book on writing before I start a new story. Why? For the simple reason that, they have this amazing ability to ease my mind and make it seem doable. Hey, I don’t know all there is to know about writing. I’m still learning. And starting a new book is scary! So, I need all the help that I can get to squash my fears before they get the best of me, and give me writer’s block. No, no, no, I don’t want that! A little bit of fear is healthy. A lot of fear is paralyzing.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Combat Boy and the Scuttlers’ Portal is the next project for me. I’m excited to dive into it because it’s going to be much different than the first two books in my Combat Boy series. How is it going to be different? Well, I can’t tell you. It’s a secret. You’ll just have to read it when it comes out, and find out.

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 idea of being stranded on a desert island kind of freaks me out. Seriously, I can already feel my mouth getting parched just thinking about it. Nevertheless, I’ll play along. Okay, I am there in my mind, sand, sun and palm trees, but nothing else. My first thought? Where can I hide from the sun? It’s high noon, and I have the kind of skin that burns very fast. Help! The only thing I can think about is getting off this island. That being the case, the books I would take would be as follows. Book 1: A Knucklehead’s Guide to Making Sunscreen From Things You Might Find on a Desert Island. The author of this book lived a strict Paleo lifestyle on the island of Low-carb. And as you might guess, coconut is the main ingredient in his organic sunscreen. Luckily for me, there’re plenty of coconuts on this island. Book 2: An Optimist’s Guide to Surviving on a Desert Island. Cool, it’s a short book adapted from the movie Castaway. Unfortunately, there are a couple disturbing warnings. 1, The work you’ll have to do to survive might kill you. 2, The overwhelming feeling of loneliness will make you go insane and talk to a coconut you’ll more than likely name, Mr Coco. Okay, moving on. Book 3: Raft Building 101. Yep, it’s a do-it-yourself-craft handbook. Dang! I’m not a fan of making crafts. Even worse, the book is geared towards people who have taken advanced underwater basket weaving. God help me! Book 4: a journal that comes with a pen. Why a journal? I’ll want to document my treacherous trip back to civilization. You know, just in case some Hollywood bigwig want’s to turn my story into a movie. Or, God forbid, I don’t survive. Hey, things can get dicey on a makeshift raft in the middle of the ocean with the possibility of storms and sharks.

Author Websites and Profiles
Angela Purbaugh Website
Angela Purbaugh Amazon Profile

Angela Purbaugh’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is my first book! It is part of a series on dating.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Dating Rx!

I was so sick and tired of women making really basic mistakes when it comes to dating. I began to do research and develop a dating mantra that works! Very quickly, the women that I work with have become more confident in their dating choices and are making better choices.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to vanilla icing with pretzels- don’t ask

What authors, or books have influenced you?
This may sound cheesy but I love the book The Secret. I truly believe that thoughts become things and positive energy can guide your life.

What are you working on now?
I am working on my second dating book. This book is geared towards men. What I noticed, is that several men have approached me and asked for help. So, I am going to give it to them.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Since I am new at this, I think social media is going to be a great asset. We will see:)

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up. Ever. There is no such thing as a bad idea. The only thing holding you back is you.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When you don’t want to do something, that is exactly when you should do it.

What are you reading now?
Anything and everything about the presidential election- luckily it is almost over.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am hoping to get some speaking gigs to expand my dating message! I am also planning some webinars.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would bring any Sherlock Holmes story, Alexander Hamilton, The Girl With the Dragon tattoo

Author Websites and Profiles
Crystal Parham Website
Crystal Parham Amazon Profile

Crystal Parham’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Though I’d been writing for several years, my first book came out in 2013. It was brought out by a publisher in India. The process was slow and as I had many more works lined up, I took the indie route. I’ve published one historical novel and several books for children of all ages; to be exact, three novels, nine chapter books, five short story collections and three picture books.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
A Tapestry of Tears is a collection of stories set in India. The title story is of novelette length and has been the most challenging story I’ve written. The theme of female infanticide was emotionally draining and the nineteenth century setting required research. I honestly don’t remember what triggered it but the idea came two years ago, linking the tragic practice to the extinct art of bagh embroidery. The other stories are also emotive. For instance, the Partition of British left two million dead and over fourteen million displaced. And the scars carried by the survivors lasted a lifetime. The other stories are not historical but as I mentioned earlier, they are strong on emotion.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Is adding a background theme to the page layout unusual? I do that often.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Different books and authors have influenced me at each stage of my reading life. Classics, both English and Indian, the Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, P G Wodehouse, Munshi Premchand, Maupassant…I would say I have always had favorite authors to match my mood and they have all inspired my writing.

What are you working on now?
I like to try my hand at new things though I don’t venture far out of my comfort zone. I’m writing a cozy mystery. I’m also working on a picture book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Bookbub is the accepted leader; their numbers are impressive. I’ve been busy publishing back to back and my marketing efforts have been sporadic so far.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t press the ‘submit’ button until the copy has been rigorously edited. If you can hire a professional editor, do so. And don’t give up; nobody said this would be easy.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others.

What are you reading now?
Letter from Peking. Though I have a huge TBR, I mostly stick to rereads these days so that I don’t spend too much time away from my work.

What’s next for you as a writer?
For two years I’ve been writing, editing, publishing. I need to focus on marketing. I need to hold back on my next book.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1. A guide book about living on a desert island.
2. A well researched book about Pompeii
3. An omnibus collection of Agatha Christi or The Complete Cases of Sherlock Holmes.
4. Gitanjali.

Author Websites and Profiles
Gita V. Reddy Website
Gita V. Reddy Amazon Profile
Gita V. Reddy Author Profile on Smashwords

Gita V. Reddy’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Greetings. I currently learn music and have published my first book EvOLv, that went up to Best seller #5 on Amazon Kindle.
I teach Tai Chi and Tantric meditation that I have invented/intercepted.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
EvOLv is my latest and first book. Questioning the world and society at hand, I came upon a plan to create a story line of a kid who does the same.
Everyone has dreams and desires therefore using the knowledge I posses about ancient civilizations and practices before you is conjured a masterpiece upon consciousness expansion.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I meditate then write, write then meditate.

Using the abstraction found within greenery and forests I make up concepts and characters.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Alchemist
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
The Secret
and many more.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have tried many however Facebook and Whatsapp does fairly ok.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Breathe & Just start…………………………………………………….

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
What you imagine, that you are – Buddha

What are you reading now?
Aghora l – The left hand of God

What’s next for you as a writer?
Write another novel and master my musical instrument.

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?
EvOLv for sure.
A guide to survive in the Desert.

I think these would do.

Author Websites and Profiles
Ryan Sequeira Website
Ryan Sequeira Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Ans: – By Profession I am an engineer who is coming from typical Hindu Brahmin Family, where writing is considered as hobby not skill or profession, but I also knew that an engineer can do anything if they take some determination, and this novel is perfect example of that.
There comes point in your life when you need to stop reading people’s books and write your own, Kaash was that point and my first novel too.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Ans:- I love myself, and the journey of my life was full of twist and tales and it will remain same for sure, I swear to god that I have never ever thought of writing any novel and actually I even don’t know how to go for this, however reading was one of my hobby
But the things which I have been witnessed throughout my life or career were really amazing and out of the box of anyone’s imagination, so I want to portrait some interesting part of my journey and feelings on the canvas through this media.
And if the point is to be inspired then, somewhere down the line my little sis is the one who inspired me 2years ago to go for this.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Ans:- Frankly speaking, I really don’t get much of time from my schedule, but yes I have a habit of writing down good or bad things happened around me throughout the day on paper at the end of the day.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ans: – I prefer to read lots of Autobiography. Some of my best are
• Unbreakable : An Autobiography of M.C Mary Kom
• Wings of Fire: An Autobiography of Abdul Kalam
• I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic: An Autobiography of Zlatan Ibrahimovic
• Playing it my way: An Autobiography of Sachin Tendulkar

What are you working on now?
Ans:- I have just finished my first ever novel, so enjoying the honeymoon period, but will certainly come up with some interesting novel as I have some beautiful scripts in my mind which for sure drag all of you to read my upcoming novel.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Ans:- Writing is novel is half job done, but the rest half is very tough when it comes to promoting, for me if you have written something from deep of your heart so it will touch the other’s heart too but still you need a strong platform to reach out your novel to people.
I think the mixture of social media is the best way to promote. I post about my novel on facebook, Whatsapp, twitter, Instagram, my website and newsletter.
But still the best and unconventional way is to meet your near & dear once (At least) one on one and tell them a little about your book.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Ans: To be frank I am still learning and cant advice to my readers but yes three things which I learnt during my struggling period I really want to share with them.
• Read a lot, it will increase your vocabulary.
• Take ample time, don’t be in hurry.
• Write from heart not from pen.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Ans: – Listen carefully to your critics, because criticism forces your mind to think something new.

What are you reading now?
Ans: – Currently I am reading the book, Second Innings: My Sporting Life- An Autobiography by Andrew Flintoff

What’s next for you as a writer?
Ans:- I recently joined the NGO” Nanhi Kali”, The Project Nanhi Kali was initiated in 1996 by the K. C. Mahindra Education Trust (KCMET) with the aim of providing primary education to underprivileged girl children in India, I also taken the pledge of supporting at least one Nanhi Kali (girl Child) for her education every year at book launch, so my next project should be around that concept.

Author Websites and Profiles
Blue Rose Website
Blue Rose Amazon Profile

Blue Rose’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an author of six books including “Stealing Jenny,” a contemporary thriller about a pregnant woman who is kidnapped, “In Name Only,” (Gold Medal, 2010 IPPY Awards) and “A Subtle Grace,”(finalist, 2015 IAN awards) the stand alone sequel to “In Name Only.” I’m a contributor to dozens of other books. I do freelance writing and editing for a variety of websites, I blog at “Plot Line & Sinker” http://ellengable.wordpress.com and I am also self-publishing book consultant. My husband and I are the parents of five sons ages 17 to 29 and we live in Pakenham, Ontario. I enjoy playing board games with my family, genealogy, watching classic movies and reading on my Kindle.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Image and Likeness: Literary Reflections on the Theology of the Body” is a collection of Catholic short fiction, including a story I wrote entitled “The Death of Me, the Life of Us.” My co-editor, Erin McCole Cupp, and I gathered stories from other Christian/Catholic writers that illustrate the Theology of the Body in sometimes unusual ways.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write my best fiction when listening to Loreena McKennitt songs.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite author is Dena Hunt and her books, Treason, and The Lion’s Heart, have inspired me to want to be the best writer I can be. Kathleen Morgan, Regina Doman, Sylvia Bambola and Nelson DeMille are other authors I enjoy reading.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a World War 1 novel entitled, “Julia’s Gifts,” the first in a series of three novels from the Great War.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
BookBub is helpful in promoting my books, but this website, Awesome Gang, is also “awesome” in promoting my books!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Always try to improve your craft; read as much as you can of your preferred genre as all writers can learn by reading well written books and always be humble when accepting criticism.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write as if you are watching the story as a movie and use descriptions that will allow the reader to experience the story along with the characters.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading The Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion

What’s next for you as a writer?
More novels, more short stories and lots of editing work!

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, Gone With the Wind, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Lion’s Game

Author Websites and Profiles
Ellen Gable Website
Ellen Gable Amazon Profile

Ellen Gable’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Elizabeth Horton-Newton was born in New York City and was 10 years old in elementary school when President John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. As she watched the events unfold on television she became fascinated. This lifelong interest resulted in her first novel, “View From the Sixth Floor: An Oswald Tale”. With the release of her novel “Riddle” she once again tackled a social issue; the illegal adoption of First Nations babies separated from their families. Small town prejudices against people of color and “outsiders” results in a unique friendship between two young people. Weaving a romantic thriller around the issues she creates rich characters in all her writing that draw the reader into their lives. Soon to be released “Carved Wooden Heart” is her first erotic romance novel. Written with new author Starla Hartless, the story follows a young journalist as she experiences joys and sorrows but never gives up on her dreams. Advanced readers have given high praise to the book which will be officially released on September 24, 2016. With her education in Criminal Psychology, Sociology, and Media Communications she has a unique insight into how criminals think and how society responds to their crimes. Volunteering in local Domestic Violence groups in her hometown she likes to confront social problems in her stories. Elizabeth currently lives with her husband, writer Neil Douglas Newton, along with a collection of rescued cats and dogs in a 100 year old house. Mother of 4, grandmother of 5, and great grandmother of one, she is already working on her fourth book “Stolen” where she returns to her fascination with criminals and an overburdened justice system. In addition she has short stories in nine anthologies, one of which in the collection “Twisted Tales”, has been compared to Stephen King.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Carved Wooden Heart is my latest book. It was actually inspired by the art of Eric Schweig who is a Master Carver of Pacific Coast traditional Indigenous Masks.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Actually I have a few writing habits which could be called unusual. My long haired chihuahua Hannibal and my terrier Scout are always beside me when I write. Hannibal is named for Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs. Scout is named for a character in To Kill a Mockingbird.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have been heavily influenced in my horror stories by Stephen King. His novel “11-22-63” motivated me to write my first book since I took an opposing position to King’s belief that Lee Oswald was guilty of the assassination of President John Kennedy. My short stories are also inspired by him. “Riddle” was inspired by Sir Alfred Hitchcock and his collections of short stories over the years.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a novel called “Stolen” which is about a young woman who discovers she was kidnapped as a child. As the story progresses it is revealed her biological parents are gypsies, her mother had been murdered while in the Witness Protection Program, and now someone is trying to kill her. It’s a romantic thriller.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use several methods to promote my books. Both Facebook and Twitter seem to be the best methods although I also find my blog and personal website get a great deal of traffic. I think it’s important to mix it up.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write something every day. It may not be a book; it could be a blog, a short story, or even a book or movie review. Never give up. Believe in yourself and keep writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
There are two pieces of advice that I think are valuable; get a good editor and get a good cover designer, The cover is the first thing a reader sees. If a book is poorly edited it doesn’t matter how good the story is.

What are you reading now?
Eromenos: A Novel of Antinous and Hadrian

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have two other novels I’ve made notes for; one is historical fiction and the other is horror/science fiction.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
To Kill a Mockingbird, Dracula, Edgar Allan Poe Collection, and Collection of Sherlock Holmes Stories. The last two were books my father gave me when I was a child and I still love them!

Author Websites and Profiles
Elizabeth Horton-Newton Website
Elizabeth Horton-Newton Amazon Profile
Elizabeth Horton-Newton Author Profile on Smashwords

Elizabeth Horton-Newton’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name’s Tom and I’m a 61 year old Englishman living in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
I’ve been writing all my life, since I was a kid of eight, though it wasn’t until the kindle was invented that I got my chance to be published.
I’ve written ten books with four more in the pipeline.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest, soon to be published book, is The Ragged Edge of Time. Inspired by my lifelong love of Science Fiction it’s due out in 2017.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to write more than one book at a time. I have four close to publication and a further sixty as either simple ideas or a few chapters completed. It’s the same when I read, I usually have several books on the go at any one time.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Isaac Asimov mainly.

What are you working on now?
The Brittle Sea, a romantic drama. The Demon Murders a dark paranormal drama. Beyond, science fiction/horror in the vein of Stephen King.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Giving away a free book of a similar nature to the one I’m promoting. I’m doing this extensively using my series ‘Living in Cyprus’ to promote ‘A Pat on his back’ which seems to work well.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing. If you have a dream to be published, it has never been easier.

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

What are you reading now?
‘Cities in Flight’ by James Blish

What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing and more books published. I’m never short of an idea.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Anything by Bill Bryson. The man is a genius, but in particular ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’

Author Websites and Profiles
Tom Kane Website
Tom Kane Amazon Profile

Tom Kane’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, but now live in Columbia, SC. Just left my corporate management job to pursue my passion for cooking and baking with the start of my new company, Little Black Apron, Inc. This is my first cookbook, but I’m already working on #2 to be released in December.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Sweet & Simplified: 33 Delicious Desserts & How to Bake Them – baking is my ultimate passion, so my goal with my new company is to first release a line of cookbooks. Desserts have always been my weakness, so that’s why I decided to start there for my first cookbook.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on cookbook #2, which will be a holiday planning cookbook including appetizers, drinks, brunch, and a full-meal options.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This is all really new to me, so I’m not sure yet. So far, social media has been my #1 method.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Every single day, write something. It doesn’t have to be part of your book, or part of anything at all. But write something every day.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
There may be other people who are smarter than you, or have more skills than you do, but if you out-work them, nobody will ever be able to catch you.

What are you reading now?
The Outlander series: #5 The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
The Regulars by Georgia Clark

What’s next for you as a writer?
After a series of cookbooks, I’ll start focusing on building the brand of my online business. TBD!

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?
Hands down – Harry Potter in this order: Prisoner of Azkaban, Order of the Phoenix, and Deathly Hallows

Author Websites and Profiles
Victoria Hoppe Website
Victoria Hoppe Amazon Profile

Victoria Hoppe’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a writer from Nottingham, UK. I have previously worked as a professional actor and a Drama teacher. As a writer, I have released two novels and I am currently editing my third for release. I have also been lucky enough to have a short story included in a current horror anthology.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
‘Cougar’. The idea for the book came from my time working as a professional actor – the idea of a jaded, resentful performer whose past comes back to haunt him. However, the story is by no means a memoir!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I enjoy listening to rock and heavy metal as I write (interspersed with Kate Bush).

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Clive Owen
Stephen King
William Shakespeare
Raymond Carver

What are you working on now?
I am writing a horror novel set in a small Derbyshire town during the annual Charter fair. It’s a bit like ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesomegang, obviously! Other than that, as many sites as I have the stamina to use…

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read a lot and write a lot. Boring answer but practice – nine times out of ten – really does make perfect.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never eat yellow snow.

What are you reading now?
‘Trafalgar: The Biography of a Battle’ by Roy Adkins. (I have an idea for a futuristic, seafaring tale)

What’s next for you as a writer?
I really have to get cracking with editing my next book. But there’s always a new story – all nice and shiny – waiting to distract me. My precious…

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 Drawing of the Three’ – Stephen King
‘The Witches ‘ – Roald Dahl
‘Everything You Ever Needed to Know About Escaping a Desert Island’ – Tom Hanks.

Author Websites and Profiles
Chris Chambers Website
Chris Chambers Amazon Profile

Chris Chambers’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in Roswell, New Mexico, and aside from writing and publishing, I work in student affairs at our local college, Eastern New Mexico University – Roswell. At this point in time, I have written only one book under my real name. I have ghost written on some other titles, but did so under a non-disclosure agreement, so I’m not able to discuss those in much detail. Nonetheless, those other titles have enjoyed wide exposure and have received good reviews.

I also co-own a small publishing company that strives to help first-time authors get published. We also work with established authors who have books that traditional publishers might shy away from or that have very limited or specific audiences. We enjoy reading something different and believe there is a market out there that does as well. We will publish our fifth title by the end of this year and look forward to publishing many more in the future.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Fighting Against Gravity is my latest and first book. I was inspired to write it when I was out shopping one day about eight years ago. I overheard a conversation between a mother and her son. The son wanted a toy that society would probably categorize as a “girl’s toy” and the mother was having quite a fit trying to convince her son that the toy was not appropriate. I thought to myself that the norms society sets for people about gender are too rigid and ridiculous. If the child wanted to play with a “girl’s toy” what would it hurt? I started thinking about gender roles and how binary we think of gender. This inspired me to write something different about gender.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I know a lot of authors who stop writing when they get writer’s block. They end their process for that day and come back later. I try to kick writer’s block by writing about something totally different than my current project. I have a composition notebook that is filled with random writings. I try to find random prompts and just start free writing. Later, when I get another writer’s block, I skim through that notebook and look for any free writings that I can adapt to fit my current project. It’s amazing how something you free wrote months or years ago can become your best scene in a book that you never thought would come of anything of substance.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I really love magical realism, and although I haven’t put much magical realism into my writing, I am inspired when I read works by Rudolfo Anaya, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Juan Rulfo. I studied Spanish Literature in college and that inspired me a lot to strive to write something unique and unusual.

What are you working on now?
Right now I have two projects I’m focusing on. The first is a novel I’m co-writing with a friend about a woman with PTSD from several events in her life and telling the story of her struggle to not only overcome her illness, but also to find true love in a world where she feels everyone wants only one thing from her. It’s going to be a great story with a couple of unique twists and I’m excited to get it out there within the next year. The second project I’m working on is a fiction story based on my great-grandparents and their struggles throughout the 1930s in rural Kansas. People have forgotten over time how difficult things were for farmers during that time with dust storms, the Great Depression, and a major drought. A lot of people left Kansas and the Midwest during that time, but my great-grandparents stayed and found success afterward. I want to share their story in a fictionalized account so that we as a society don’t forget their struggles and accomplishments.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I really think Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are great for social media promotion. Being able to interact with readers in that way is really different from the days before the internet. Authors are no longer separated from their readership…they are now expected to be involved in the process.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Go for it! You truly have nothing to lose other than the time you put into writing. Yes, the time is a big investment, but it is worth it in the end. You may never become rich as a writer, but the satisfaction of finishing a book is so invigorating that it makes it worth it. Even if only a handful of people read your work, that’s a handful of people you reached in some way.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t think about the people who will read your work and what they will think. Instead, think about your characters and what they would think. Too many people think that they might offend someone if they include this or that in their writing. That may be true, but if it’s something that’s necessary for your character or the story, that’s okay. If you’re doing it to blatantly offend, then it’s probably not the best thing to do. But if it’s pertinent to the story, then go for it!

What are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading some submissions to our publishing company. We get some really great submissions with unique stories or writing styles and I really enjoy seeing what’s out there in the world of literature that traditional publishing might scoff at.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to continue to polish my skills as a writer and find ways to tell a unique story or experiment with style and voice. There is too much rigidity in traditional publishing about point of view, style, and plot. I want to break through that and help other authors break through that. Writing should be about creativity and as long as the reader isn’t lost, there is a lot of opportunity to use that creativity in many of the mechanics of 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?
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and two or three books by David Sedaris or Erma Bombeck. I love the way they both use comedy and sarcasm so eloquently.

Author Websites and Profiles
Rutherford Rankin Website
Rutherford Rankin Amazon Profile

Rutherford Rankin’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live on the outskirts of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England and I came to writing relatively late in life having also found art and music a voice-pieces of creativity in the past.
THE SPIRIT OF PETERBOROUGH is my flagship series of stories along with I’LL BE THERE FOR THE REPLAY. Both are mystery ghost stories that centre themselves around strands of true past events which will leave the reader thinking.
The important thing to know is that as an author. I tend to write from the heart about the things in life that grab me the most. Whatever i do I feel compelled to get my message out there.
I reckon every story has a message, it’s just that sometimes it’s quite hidden. I like to write about strange occurrences in our every day lives and weave them into fictional tales that generally have a ghostly, and slightly scary supernatural twist to them.
I have a large family, lots of lovely children and life is good. If I am not writing or promoting my books I am out watching junior football matches or at the athletics track. My other passion in life is music. I both play the keyboard and write pieces for piano and the like.
I am currently working on two new mystery series. PROPHECY OF PEACE is already out there – the opener for The ‘Mysteries of the Oracle’ series, and I have written the first draught for another series that begins in 1964 in London . . .
If you get to reading my books don’t expect horror, shocking deaths and blood-curdling thrills. Do expect to be taken to another place, perhaps to a corner of your mind that yearns to find out that little bit more about what it might be like if things could or did really happen this way! Who is to say that they won’t?

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I just spent several weeks revamping my Spirit of Peterborough series. I first published the books as a collection in 2014. Now they are released as separate novellas. Although I’ve written other stuff in between, these are the stories that were born from the inspiration of real experiences . . . yes, myself and family members had some ‘ghostly experiences’ and I thought ‘what if?’ The result was these stories that are of a contemporary setting in Peterborough UK, but contain elements of the true ghostly past that both haunts and changes the protagonists.
WHERE A GOOD MAN FALLS is the fourth of these soon to be released at the time I write this (late 2016). A tale that is sure to leave you emotionally drawn to the characters and their lives.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
You know, I read a lot about other writers’ habits, people seem to want to tell you about it, but my philosophy is simple: When I get an idea I write it down in note form. That might be on the computer, on my android phone speech to text, or with pen and paper . . . I don’t know because i don’t know when I’m getting that inspiration delivered! Then, when I’m ready to write, I drop everything I can and boy do I write. I will do large sections at a time and then leave it and come back later. I NEVER force my writing and I don’t much worry if I go a few weeks writing nothing, if it is meant to be it will all come good.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m going to be honest here – very few precisely. I am influenced more by concepts, ideas and quirky, off the beaten track things that I have read. My biggest single influence is C.S.Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia. There is so much to think about in those stories, although dated they never actually age. More from the modern era I am in awe of the styles of James Patterson and Stephen King – different from each other and very different from my own style but their use of all the literary tools at their fingertips is exquisite.

What are you working on now?
Within the next few weeks I will resume the continuation of my series that starts in 1960’s London. A mystery/detective type adventure setting with paranormal/ghostly influences to the stories. Characters run through the books (I have the next two outlined). And, watch out, because somewhere maybe 18 months down the line there is going to be a big revelation – probably in book 3! (Clue: what really happened is already out there!) I’ll say no more.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
You can’t ask me that . . .!
I sometimes wonder if I really am the worst marketer in the world! I’m constantly looking for great ways to promote. Many of the free or low cost ebook submitter sites have given results, but it always comes back to my own site – I kind of like it. I’ve probably had more direct engagement from there than from any ad sites including social media!
www.tomgoymour.com (and I get my own name for the domain name – I think there is only one other Tom Goymour out there and I beat him to it!)

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes, do it from the heart or don’t try to become one.
If you have an idea, you are inspired to follow it through with PASSION . . . then go for it. Don’t listen too much to the rules about how you should write, what time of day is best . . . targets (oh how I hate targets!). If you have to motivate yourself to write by forcing yourself to hit so many words a day the something ain’t right You should be DRIVEN to do it when the inspiration strikes. If you are, then go for it!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Easy to answer that;
I once ran a not very successful business back in the early nineties. (It wasn’t successful at the time but the knowledge I gained from it has meant that I am now running a very successful part time concern doing exactly the same thing as back then – funny old game – life!)
Anyway, when I was in a very low place a younger friend gave me some advice that has always stayed with me and I find I apply it on a regular basis.
I was stuck and couldn’t see a way to move forwards, everything seemed gloom and doom. He said, “Tom, if you really can’t move forwards, then step sidewards. Like a car stuck in a jam – sometimes you have to take the side road. You don’t know where it will take you but it WILL lead you away from the problem and new avenues will open. It might take longer, much longer, but you WILL get to your destination.”
He was right.

What are you reading now?
A book called ‘The Mirror’ by Richard Skinner. Interesting double novella about two completely different characters with different perspectives on life. Historically based.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I just want to complete my next book in the next few months. I have the ideas, nature will take it’s 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?
‘The Last Battle’ and ‘The Lion The Witch and The wardrobe’ CS Lewis.
After that there are so many . . . it’s hard – I might even go back to my childhood for one and take a’Just William’ or one of the books by Richmel Crompton> I could compliment with something contemporary – perhaps anything by James Patterson.

Author Websites and Profiles
Tom Goymour Website

Tom Goymour’s Social Media Link
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a highly optimistic person who enjoys life and recovery to the max. I have been given a voice to speak with and a pencil to write with so may you find what you need to help yourself or others on the pages of my book. For every movement of our life has a purpose, and the circumstances of each day carve out our actions no matter how small, dull routine they may be; our life has meaning, value and worth. One of the greatest joys in my life is helping those who are suffering from addiction and enhancing the recovery of those who need it. As I stand on this ground for my fellow men and women believe that they have suffered enough from addiction and have thoughts like myself, and in their actions, one will hear, one will seek, one will take, one will heal as one does not have to ask the one who gives. There is such clearness as I move forward in my life with an appreciation of this arduous journey I have been on that my only wish is to share this with others like you, my friend. Always know that I am with you in heart and spirit in your journey.
Addiction to Recovery / Unlocking your Potential is my first book published April 8, 2016 I am currently working on forthcoming book, Recovery: What Cost so Little is Worth so Much. This book will provide a new optimistic outlook as a guide for the unwary who have failed at recovery in the past and those coming into recovery for the first time.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Addiction to Recovery / Unlocking your Potential My writing comes out of the need for new Outlook on the recovery process, one that fosters longevity with new strength, much like a mighty oak tree flexes and survives nature’s wrath. What inspired me most was to address healing from the inside out as the current rate of relapse is much too high with philosophies that are antiquated and archaic. Recovery is a doorway that leeds an open mind to a higher more integrated way of living. It needs to be interpreted as much more than just abstinence. Recovery must be inspired by a direct inner experience of the truth in one’s life. Our answers lie in discovering of our inner freedom. It must become self-evident that the reflection you see in the mirror as a result of your inner power that moves you through your daily life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My best time for writing is at 4 AM and I enjoy listening to music at the same time. The music that charges my batteries is rock and alternative rock. For some reason music takes away all of the distractions and I am in clear thought for writing. I am also a big notetaker all day long whether it’s a sentence or a word or something I see in my travels and I have a vision I will make a small note. Sometimes it is the little details in life that inspire us and brings out our creativity so I must capture the moment.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are too many to list I read over 300+ books when writing Addiction to Recovery/ Unlocking your Potential everything from Aristotle to current psychology, world religions, everything I could find on mind, body, soul and spirit. Even novels which I will read for fun to clear my mind and take me to another place inspire my writing as I see such creativity in their writing.

What are you working on now?
Currently working on forthcoming book; Recovery: What Cost so Little is Worth so Much

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Social media has been my best method to date, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Tumbler,Instagram and YouTube. Also speaking at international conventions, symposiums, community centers, schools, churches and corporate centers etc.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
It is important to have a target audience that will buy your book. It is a great accomplishment to write a book and have it published however there must be a market for what you’re selling. Also understand and I speak for myself the easy part is writing the book the hard part is getting it out there and into the hands of the readers.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If there is a book you have not read, Write it.

What are you reading now?
Currently right now I am working on forthcoming book so I am reading and researching through all my notes.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My goal as a writer is to semi-retire and just continue writing more books and no longer have to depend on a secondary job to support 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?
Of course my own and probably some great novels preferably ones with many pages.

Author Websites and Profiles
David McCauley Website

David McCauley’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been a writer for more than fifteen years. I am an award-winning and best-selling author of 33 books. And I learn something new every single day in this business as it is constantly evolving. I am also the host of TERRANCE TALKS TRAVEL: UBER ADVENTURES and co-host of A WRITER’S JOURNEY.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Stop Talking & Start Writing Series Box Set

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can only write by hand on a legal pad on my porch or at my desktop computer in my office.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many books! So many authors! I was reading Ellery Queen magazine at nine years old. I love biographies, memoirs, mysteries, suspense/thrillers, advice/how to…well, you get the picture. I love to read! All good books influence you on some level.

What are you working on now?
I just finished writing two books, so I’m working more on book promotions than writing at the moment.

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

On these sites readers will find social media buttons, blogs, podcasts, giveaways, book release information, author bio, and more.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write the best book that you can and be sure it has a great book cover, professional editing, and is priced right. I think it’s a mistake to make a book free. You can offer a special promotion but permafree is undervaluing your time and talent.

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

What are you reading now?
a puppy training guide and a cozy mystery (Catered Tea Party)

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to write book #5 in the TERRANCE TALKS TRAVEL GUIDEBOOK series and a new fiction 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?
anything written by Anne Rivers Siddons, Harlan Coben, Alexander McCall Smith, and Nancy Martin

Author Websites and Profiles
Terrance Zepke Website
Terrance Zepke Amazon Profile
Terrance Zepke Author Profile on Smashwords

Terrance Zepke’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 simple guy from Minnesota who loves to tell stories, especially stories about the outdoors. Writing started out as a hobby when I was around fifteen years old, when I began penning short stories about hunting and fishing. It was just a way for me to pass the time and entertain the people I held dear.
After high school, I moved around quite a bit. My writing took a back seat to exploring the mountains of Colorado and the hill country of Texas. I started a blog, www.samfinden.com, and posted occasionally about my exploits. There was an ill-fated attempt to produce a hunting show, a few false starts in the romance department, and more than my share of lean times. Some days were better than others, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
When I finally got to Montana, it was like a new lease on life. My creativity came back to me like dairy cows at milking time. Stories and blog posts just flowed through my fingertips and onto the screen.
My first book, “Saddle My Good Horse,” was inspired by all of the things I had seen and experienced while bouncing around west of the Mississippi river. Many of the characters are modeled after good people I met, and many of the horses are named after cayuses I’ve swung a leg over on the ranches I worked.
“Lone Wolf” is my second book, and I’m very pleased with it. As a boy, I had trouble finding something suitable to read. When I wanted hunting stories, I had to settle for the back pages of hunting magazines. “Lone Wolf” combines action, survival, horses, and a pretty girl. That’s the sort of combination I would have traded a letter grade for when I was in school.
My stories are clean and educational by design. They’re intended to take the reader on an adventure, teach them something valuable, and inspire them to go outside.
Writing was never something I intended to do for a living. I enjoyed it as a hobby, but never dreamed of being an honest-to-goodness author. Now, I’ve got two books out in paperback and Kindle formats. My editor and I work long hours, promoting my books and my brand. Another title is in the pipeline. Things are happening and it’s exciting. I travel to fairs and markets around Montana, where I happily man my booth and meet my readers. It’s extremely rewarding, and I’ve managed to avoid going hungry so far. With a little help from the man upstairs, I’ll be writing and teaching kids about the outdoors for years to come.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Lone Wolf”- A young predator hunter, Daniel Foss, goes into the mountains to control a pack of wolves that have been killing cattle. Along the way, he discovers a lost city girl who needs his help. Initially they mix like oil and water, but the odd couple begins to appreciate one another over time. When their adventure comes to a close, they have a choice to make: Should they stay together, or go their separate ways?
“Lone Wolf” was inspired by the contentious issue of reintroducing wolves in the western United States. The book aims to tell both sides of the issue, and to encourage rational thinking on the topic, in addition to teaching the reader about the habits of the species.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure how unusual it is, but I write in spurts. Some days, I can’t seem to get in the groove. For every three words I type, two get deleted. It’s difficult to create if my mind is racing.
Other days, I can’t stop writing. Three or four thousand words get added to my work-in-progress, and I feel great.
Good music without lyrics is very helpful when I’m writing. Coffee is a necessity.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Corey Ford, Tom Groneberg, Stan Lynde, Louis L’Amour, Zane Gray, Clinton McKenzie, Baxter Black.

What are you working on now?
My next book features Daniel Foss from “Lone Wolf.” In this story, he’ll be working to control mountain lions that have begun attacking and eating local residents. The book is slated for release by Christmas, 2016/

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook is a great way to interact with my readers online. My website, www.samfinden.com, is a fun way to get the word out, too. If I had to pick my favorite way of promoting my books, though, it would be an easy choice: I love going to fairs, rodeos, and festivals where I can visit with people. If you’re ever at a fair and you see me, please come by and we’ll talk.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get an editor who won’t hold back, then listen to that person. Your friends and family will support you, but for some strange reason, it’s not likely that they’ll be the promotional force you expect. Don’t get down, get over it. If your goal is to write for a living, make it happen. Keep your head up. This is hard, but you’ll make it if you want to. Believe in your books, develop an elevator pitch, and never dismiss anyone who asks you about your writing. You never know what’s around the bend, or what doors someone can open for you.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“There’s something about the outside of a horse that’s good for the inside of a man.” – Churchill

What are you reading now?
I’m in the middle of Stan Lynde’s Merlin Fanshaw western series.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Another Daniel Foss book is on the way.

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. Lonesome Dove. Riders of the Purple Sage. And probably something on wooden ship building.

Author Websites and Profiles
Sam Finden Website
Sam Finden Amazon Profile

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

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Pam Godwin, lives in the Midwest with her husband, their two children, and a foulmouthed parrot. When she ran away, she traveled fourteen countries across five continents, attended three universities, and married the vocalist of her favorite rock band.

Java, tobacco, and dark romance novels are her favorite indulgences, and might be considered more unhealthy than her aversion to sleeping, eating meat, and dolls with blinking eyes.

Pam Godwin has published eight novels.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Disclaim is my latest novel. It’s book 3 in my Deliver series, which is inspired by my fascination with anti-heroes and redemption.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I plot every book, every scene, with maddening detail before I begin writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jacqueline Carey and her alternative fantasy history have taught me how to think outside of the box.

What are you working on now?
I’m finishing the final installment in my Trilogy of Eve, a dark dystopian romance.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook posts and ads offer the most reader interactions.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing. This is a tough business, and promotion has a tendency to pull you away from what matters most: the craft of writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you’re thinking, “I can’t do this. I shouldn’t do this,” that’s exactly when you SHOULD do it.

What are you reading now?
The Krinar Captive by Anna Zaires (sci-fi romance). It’s awesome!

What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing! I have a full 2017 release schedule that will keep me crazy busy.

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?
Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel Legacy series.

Author Websites and Profiles
Pam Godwin Website
Pam Godwin Amazon Profile
Pam Godwin Author Profile on Smashwords

Pam Godwin’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
That is such a funny question! I have devoted my entire life to legal education (as a professor, and as a former Dean of a Chicago law school), and have written likely hundreds of federal and state-specific legal treatises (with annual updates) on the subject of the Law of Evidence. My now 7th edition of Weissenberger’s Federal Evidence was cited as “the authoritative text” on the subject by a New York Court (United States v. Schlesinger, 372 F. Supp. 2d 711, 720 [E.D.N.Y. 2005]). I also wrote the largest-selling student text on the subject of Evidence, Federal Rules of Evidence: Rules, Legislative History, Commentary and Authority. And then, I decided to become a novelist ….

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is a reissued 2nd enlarged edition of Made to Measure Man, about the inadvertent criminal and romantic entanglements in which a Chicago law school Dean becomes embroiled. I was inspired by, of course, tidbits from my own life experience as a Dean, but most of the plot twisting and its unforeseeable ending came from decades of working with cases in Evidence Law that are just “too strange to be fiction!”

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, in this era of all-computers-all-the-time, I suppose it would be considered “unusual” that I wrote Made to Measure Man longhand, on legal pads, using various prized fountain pens that I collect!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I believe an author is influenced by the whole of one’s reading life: from the didactic nonfiction from one’s education (be that formal or informal), from the plays one sees (and then reads), to classics of fiction, from yesterday or modern times.

I feel I have been influenced by not only everything I have read, everything I have experienced, every museum I have visited, every symphony I have attended, every cultural exposure of my life.

I also agree with Stephen King, from his book “On Writing”–a book not recognized for the genius that it is, as King is dismissed as a “horror writer,” which is preposterous. (Read “On Writing,” and read his short stories penned as Richard Bachman, particularly one entitled “The Long Walk,” and then dismiss him as a “horror writer.”)

At any rate, I particularly agree with King’s quote from “On Writing:” “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

What are you working on now?
I have just published my second novel, Companions by Contract, another romantic legal suspense, but this one is racier, more thrilling, and more daring, but also heavy with humor!

I have two other books in the works: I have another novel almost completed, which has been described as (believe it or not) ““Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon meets David Lynch meets the Coen brother’s Fargo!”

And as a lifelong, passionate magician, I am working on a nonfiction, popular culture book that will take both a fun and scholarly look at the role of magic in classic Hollywood films.

I am also starting to blog, particularly about what renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma calls “Citizen Artists,” namely those artists who use their gifts to further social justice, and the mechanisms around how we can best utilize the arts in our global community to better our world.

In fact, The Weissenberger Artistic Alliance – “A Creative Cultural Consortium for Charitable and Developing Artist Support” – was designed to raise funds for its two charities (one academic, and one for cancer research, in my deep gratitude for now being a twelve year cancer survivor), and also to provide educational resources (stipends for retreats, workshops, etc.) for these emerging “Citizen Artists.”

So, in addition to writing the above books, I am working blogs, and on the cultivation of The Alliance–its Missions being funded by the proceeds of my novels.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well, isn’t that the $10,000.00 question?!?!?

The horrific facts are that writers should spend 20% of their time writing, and 80% of their time promoting, which is frankly repugnant to me.

So I work with a multi-media team whose COO is a friend/former student of 25+ years; she and her team man 4 Twitter accounts (aggregate of over 5,000 followers), 3 FB pages, and grew my LinkedIn from 1 connection to over 2,100. And, of course, they then interact on all these accounts, celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, commenting on the posts made by others, write posts, et al.

And from what she tells me? The toughest part about social media is that even when “promoting” one can only do so 20% of the time, and the other 80% of the time, one must post funny, newsworthy items of interest so as not to lose fans or followers! (I am told that the number of fans and followers you have is very important to independent bookstores in their decision to stock your book, to bookers on local TV stations when you are lobbying for a spot, and for a host of other reasons, including things I do not really understand or care to know about, such as “SEO positioning”!)

They are sending out massive newsletters to tailored lists (PLEASE join us at The Alliance! http://www.weissenbergerartisticalliance.com/), taking advantage of every promotion, actively solicit top Amazon reviewers, developing relationships on Goodreads, regularly updating the website, reading everything by the notable masters on marketing and promotion of (particularly) Amazon indie books, squabbling with KDP over revisions to keywords and browse paths, linking back to alumni networks at every school I ever attended or at which I taught (or was Dean) to get me into their Alumni bulletins, working press queries for bookstores and much more.

A recent big decision was to go wide distribution with Companions by Contract via Draft2Digital and not to put it in KDP Select.

And we cannot assess the benefit of any of this yet, as Made to Measure Man’s 2nd edition was so recently released, and then Companions by Contract right on its heels.

Next, she will be staging both Amazon and Goodreads giveaways.

And I hear there is a lot of writing personal letters to friends and family begging! (But this is the NORM for new novelists, especially in a crowded genre such as romantic suspense!)

Phase Two will be shooting a reel of me at home that her team can edit into web episodes for a YouTube channel, and also as demos for TV bookings. (This is a very connected multi-media film production company in Los Angeles–Legacy Entertainment Partners, LLC–legacyentp@gmail.com–that actually developed its publishing arm precisely for me, or rather, for The Alliance’s work (as my friend is not only a lawyer but a charity founder for social justice work).

Phase Three is utilizing Legacy’s industry relationships to adapt Made to Measure Man and Companions by Contract into TV movies, thus selling more books, and raising more funds for the charities and the Citizen Artists of The Alliance.

If YOU have any favorite methods or websites PLEASE let ME know, at glen@weissenbergerartisticalliance.com!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
1) Just do it. Join a local writing club, or one online if one is not nearby. They will keep you accountable.

2) Learn to say “NO” more than you have in the past; you must protect time to write.

3) Write even if you don’t “feel inspired.” One can ‘write one’s way’ into feeling inspired.

4) Julia Cameron’s concept of the Morning Pages, in “The Artist’s Way,” is invaluable.

The idea is to write, first thing in the morning, three longhand pages to empty oneself of all “chatter.”

I am doing Cameron a great disservice here: look her up, the concept of Morning Pages and also The Artist Date.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I am a devotee of quotes, so this is difficult to answer!

I must say that I often think on Albert Einstein’s “Never regard study as a duty, but as the enviable opportunity to learn to know the liberating influence of beauty in the realm of the spirit for your own personal joy and to the profit of the community to which your later work belongs.”

What are you reading now?
“The Western Canon: The Books and school of the Ages” by famed Yale professor Harold Bloom.

I read anything Harold Bloom writes. He is a master critical thinker who challenges conventional assessments of literature, and pushes me to do so as well.

And I am rereading a great old book, “Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live,” by (then Tom Shales) & James Andrew Miller, which recounts the days from the inception of “Saturday Night Live” (basically 1975-2002) by direct, interwoven commentary clips from the performers, writers, producers, and executives.

A must read for any SNL fan.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To finish the two books I am working on now, and to continue to build The Alliance into a vital cultural hub for readers, authors, artists, and scholars committed to our mission that while the arts certainly entertain us, they also educate us, make us reflect, and drive social action.

My creative work and the development of The Alliance are wholly intertwined.

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?
ARG!!!!

The complete works of Shakespeare.

“The Story of Civilization,” yes, all 11 volumes, by Will and Ariel Durant, for which they were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1968 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.

I will never get through all 11 volumes unless stranded on a desert island, plus I don’t know how long I will be stranded there!

And all the latest manuscripts from all the writers in my writing group.

Author Websites and Profiles
Glen Weissenberger Website
Glen Weissenberger Amazon Profile

Glen Weissenberger’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
It will sound cliche but writing has always been my passion. It was only until recently that I got my head hammered by something, and realized that if I don’t try to grab that dream ‘now’, there may not be a ‘tomorrow’.

Black coffee runs through my veins.
I also noticed that I am a cat magnet. When I feel tired and uninspired, I play a dance pad game in the arcade house near my place and am proud to tell you, I am currently at Level Crazy.

I aim to bring M/M romances that could make people ‘feel’.

Currently I have written two. One is a stand-alone and the other one is the first in a series.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called ‘Yael, Wake Up’. I would say that one of the reasons why I came up with this series is due to the recent events politically and economically around me. However, the main reason for the ‘Wake Up’ series is I love reading man to man stories on the dramatic, kind of painful side. Although I love HEA endings, I love torturing myself.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Instead of unusual, I guess it’s more of a ritual. I could NOT write a word without having my fill of caffeine. I guess a lot of writer do feel that way? But really, it’s like the coffee taps into my lazy, sleepy head and so, a no-coffee day would be me in an unproductive beast mode.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Funny that the book that really awoken my masochistic side about sad and painful stories is in no way connected to M/M romances. It is a story about this woman who rescued this injured, sick horse. I CRIED a lot in this book and I discovered the pleasure of crying over books. It’s ‘Chosen by a Horse’ written by Susan Richards.

What are you working on now?
I am a bit on break. As soon as resting my hands from heavy typing is over, I’ll be working on the second book of the ‘Wake Up’ series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Honestly, I don’t know yet. This is my first time using a site to promote my book so maybe next time I’ll have something to say based on experience.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I have this on my wall. “You are not getting any closer when you let laziness win!” I wrote it because I think, more than writer’s block, it’s laziness that really gets into me.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Never worry about the delay of your success compared to others, because construction of a palace takes more time than an ordinary building.” –anonymous

What are you reading now?
I am re-reading some Stephen King novels as of the moment. I am also busying myself with blogs of self-published authors because I want to learn more about the craft and the indie world.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would definitely bring ‘Chosen by a Horse’ written by Susan Richards, ‘Rose Madder’ by Stephen King, ‘The Heir’ by Paul Robertson and ‘The Protectors 3 – Retribution’ by Sloane Kennedy.

Author Websites and Profiles
Dakila Reed Website
Dakila Reed Amazon Profile

Dakila Reed’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing my entire life. The first story I remember writing was in 3rd grade. It was called “Looking for a Home” and I drew pictures and pasted them onto construction paper and bound the pages together with yarn. It seems I was always destined to be an idie author!

I’ve currently only published one novel, but I have a novella in the editing process, and at least two other novels already written that I plan to edit and publish. I’ll be participating in NaNoWriMo this year, and that book will hopefully make the cut as well!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My currently published novel is called Unworthy. It’s about a woman named Tori started life over after a devastating divorce. I was inspired by my own struggles with depression and how friendship and connection are some of the most important things in life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Only that I write anytime I can! I’m constantly writing in my head and holding onto it until I can get it down on paper. (Or screen, really.) My writing process is pretty straight forward. I write linearly, usually with a general plotline in my head, but no super specific outline.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite authors of all time are Stephen King and Anne Rice, but I’ve never really written in those genres. I do have a vampire novel in the can, but I’m not sure it’s going to see the light of day. Maybe, though! My tastes are all over the place, and I try to read as much as I can in lots of different genres. I love fantasty, dystopian fiction, and lots of other stuff. Some other favorites are Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Giver by Lois Lowry, and 600 Hours of Edward by Craig Lancaster.

What are you working on now?
For NaNoWriMo 2016, I’ll be working on a novel called Move the Stars. It’s the story of a young author trying to make her way in the city and what happens when a mysterious stranger starts to make her dreams come true.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far I’m using Facebook and word of mouth, but I’m in the process of sorting out what else might be helpful in spreading the word!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write! Just keep writing! Write all the time, write in your head, make up conversations between people you see on the street. And read. always read.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stephen King’s entire book On Writing is the best advice I’ve ever gotten. I recommend it to any writer.

What are you reading now?
I just finished listening to Stephen King’s IT as an audiobook. IT was the first grownup book I ever read, at the tender age of 12, and I love it still. But listening to it was a completely different experience that I highly recommend. I’m not currently reading anything as I’m gearing up for NaNoWriMo, but I have a lengthy to-read list on my Kindle!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hopefully, many more novels! I’m just about to put out Unworthy as a paperback through Createspace, and when it’s ready, I’ll be putting out the prequel novella, A Grief Survived on Kindle and hopefully paperback.

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?
Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter (just Deathly Hallows if I have to choose one), IT, and The Giver

Author Websites and Profiles
Diana Eichner Website
Diana Eichner Amazon Profile

Diana Eichner’s Social Media Link
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve published three books. My debut came out last year in the series titled “A Lady’s Wish.” The series is about three impoverished young ladies living in the Lake District of England near a real mystical site called the Fairy Steps.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is titled “A Most Inconvenient Wish”. It’s book three in the series. Sophia was the “mean girl” of the three sisters and seriously needed a comeuppance. She was determined to marry a peer of the realm, but you know how love is: It’s just as easy to fall for a gentleman farmer as it is for an earl.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I prewrite scenes in notebooks. In fact, I must have a brand new notebook and set of pens for each new story idea. For some reason having that notebook signals my brain that it’s time to do something with these people in my head.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Kathleen Woodiwiss, Julia Quinn, Valerie Bowman, Sarah MacLean, Nalini Singh, Jill Shalvis, Kristin Callihan, Jane Austen, Mary Stewart, L. M. Montgomery. I could go on and on and on. I love to read.

What are you working on now?
I have a few irons in the fire right now. I’m working on a novella about a lady artist trying to get her painting shown in the Royal Exhibition only to have to have approval of her secret ex-lover set in London and Brighton in 1825.

I have a series that I’m planning about three young ladies that aren’t particularly suitable marriage material and a matchmaker set around 1802.

I’m also working on a contemporary series of women with unusual jobs set in Hickory, NC.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook I guess. I’m still trying to figure out this whole marketing thing.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do not give up even when you want to. Vicky Dreiling told me one time that when you get that feeling that you’ve had enough of rejection, you are just sure that its not going to happen to you, that’s when you’re most likely to have something happen. That’s exactly how it happened for me.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
While storytelling is an art, the craft part is important too. Never settle with your work. Push yourself to get better with each book and each revision. Learn to put more of you into your stories to help bring out the emotion. Readers crave that emotional depth, but it’s the hardest thing for a writer to do: let that go. I’m still working on it.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading Nalini Singh’s Rock series. Started it this weekend and honestly, I’m on my third day of book hangovers.

What’s next for you as a writer?
While I’m published as an eBook author, my dream is to go to the grocery or Walmart and see my book on the shelf. I’m not there yet, but I’ll get there.

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 can’t just bring my eReader? HMMMM. Julie Garwood’s The Secret. Linda Howard: Prey, Julia Quinn anything Bridgerton, and Kylie Scott Lick.

Author Websites and Profiles
Eileen Richards Website
Eileen Richards Amazon Profile

Eileen Richards’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello there, my name is Matthew Morris. I am 27 years old, and I live in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

I’m not too extraordinary of a guy, but I have had some unique experiences and insights that I have been able to write about. I have struggled with drug addiction since my teen years, and have also been fortunate enough to be able to recover from it.

I also enjoy working with computers and websites, and fighting the battle I still fight for general health and wellness. I have always enjoyed helping others, especially when it comes to drug addiction. I am not a professional or a counselor, but I do have some writing abilities and a desire to help others.

Most of the books I am publishing so far are focused on self-help, wellness and drug addiction, but I do have plans to expand into other areas and hopefully continue to develop as a new writer.

So far I have written 2 books, but I am working on a few more in the near future. One book is not displayed on my author page as I have decided on some revisions before real promotion.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Surviving the Soda Struggle – I have been a massive soda drinker most of my life, and I have struggled to try and quit from time to time. I also enjoy helping others and sharing what I have learned, and I also saw that the other similar book in the Amazon store did not appear to be as high of quality as I knew I could create.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am a new writer so I have some bad habits. I say many unnecessary phrases at the start of my sentences. For example: “I did have a few bad run ins”. As opposed to saying the same thing without the “I did”. What happened was I ended up saying it many paragraphs in a row. Also I have a bad habit of making too long of sentences, abusing the comma.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Recovery Literature. Wellness and meditation books. Michael Singer, The Untethered Soul and The Surrender Experiment.

What are you working on now?
I am working on promoting my book Surviving the Soda Struggle, as well as writing a more in depth version of my addiction and recovery story.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do something that feels good and that you are happy with. Take the time to create a book that is high quality and will be enjoyed by others.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Too much different advice to pick one.

What are you reading now?
Not anything but studying for some computer certifications.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing the full version of my addiction story, then working on a couple other books regarding either self help or some other ideas I have. I eventually want to write a fiction book 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?
The Untethered Soul, How to build a raft, how to survive on a desert island, and an adult coloring book.

Author Websites and Profiles
Matthew Morris Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a physiologist by training but a writer at heart. I spent 18 years teaching science and medicine undergraduates at St Andrews University, but now I’m using all that knowledge to work out how to kill people (just in my books!).

I’ve been an inveterate stationery addict since I was a child, and I have a considerable stash of fountain pens, ink and notebooks! These come in useful though, as I tend to write longhand when I’m planning a book rather than type things. My shelves are full of notebooks of ideas, sketches, character notes and pictures from magazines which I use for inspiration.

While I was working at St Andrews, I was involved with two Scottish Government funded projects, working with the College of Medicine in Blantyre, Malawi. While out in Malawi, I learned about the plight of the many street children there and helped to set up a Community Based Organisation that works with homeless Malawian children to support them through education and training – Chimwemwe Children’s Centre. It was this experience that helped to shape the Malawian aspects in my first novel, The Wrong Kind of Clouds.

I live in Scotland with my husband, where I spend my days writing, walking and running. “The Wrong Kind of Clouds” is my first novel to be published, but I’ve written a number of other books. Hopefully they’ll be getting published too!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called “The Wrong Kind of Clouds”. It follows Summer Morris as she tries to find out what has happened to her ex-lover, Patrick Forrester.
Someone wants Patrick dead. Actually, LOTS of people want Patrick dead, but someone has taken him hostage. As he’s being bundled into the back of a van, he manages to call Summer and begs her to help him. In order to find him alive, she needs to understand why people want him dead.

One of the strands in the book is set in Malawi and covers a potential child-trafficking ring. The child-trafficking strand is loosely based on a real case that I heard about while I was out there. My experiences in Malawi helped me to know what the streets and the language are like out there too; what it’s like to live in Malawi – the challenges, the joys etc.
The original idea for the book came from me wondering how far you would go to help someone you didn’t like. What would make you try and help? Your own humanity? The fact the other person might die? What would make you walk away? The book kind of grew out of that.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I suppose writing longhand in fountain pen might be considered unusual these days – most people type more than they write by hand. But for me, the ideas flow better when I’m writing by hand and I remember where my notes on different things are in the notebook better than if I was typing them into a computer and then trying to find them later.
I also drink vast amounts of tea while I’m writing! And I talk to the cat quite a lot (though he doesn’t actually offer much help!).

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I grew up reading all sorts of different things which I suppose must have influenced me, even if it doesn’t feel obvious. I read a lot of Agatha Christie as a child and James Herriot and Gerald Durrell. In later years I read a wide variety of things and despite not being the target audience, I love Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking trilogy. Other authors whose books I’ve really enjoyed include the Danish writer Karin Alvtegen, Susan Hill, Val McDermid, Kazuo Ishiguro and Elly Griffiths.

What are you working on now?
I’m just finishing the final edit on what I hope will be the next book to be published – another suspense/thriller novel called “Poisonous Minds”. Once I’ve done that, I’ll be completing the sequel to “The Wrong Kind of Clouds” or working on another thriller called “Trust Nobody”.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
To be honest, I’ve found word of mouth one of the best things. When people have read and enjoyed the book, they tend to talk about it and suggest to their friends that they read it. The other thing that has worked for me is to do a price-drop and advertise it as widely as possible. It’s hard to say which of those sites has brought me the most success – it may well be the combination of them all.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep at it! It’s hard going at times. If you can find a writing buddy or join a Facebook group that supports writers, they can really help you with all sorts of things, from good cover design, to advice about how to approach a publisher, to making you smile on a tough day. Writing might not be the easiest job, but it can be enormously fulfilling and fun.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You only have one life. Try and be happy in it.

What are you reading now?
The Gargoyle – Andrew Davidson.
I’ve read it before and adored it (but I recognise it’s not everyone’s thing!)

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ll be trying to get “Poisonous Minds” 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?
Ooh, am I really only allowed 3 or 4? That’s tough. Can I count Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking trilogy as one book? (I’m sure you can get it in one giant volume). Probably Jane Eyre (by Charlotte Bronte) would have to be on the list. For the 3rd? Maybe something I’ve never read but probably should have – War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy perhaps.

Author Websites and Profiles
Amanda Fleet Website
Amanda Fleet Amazon Profile

Amanda Fleet’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been writing fiction for seven years and indie publishing for about five. My first real experience writing fiction was NaNoWriMo 2009, where I not only “won” NaNoWriMo, but also finished my first novel, that now exists only on my computer.

I’ve written four novels, I have two in the works, and I’ve written a bunch of short stories, many of them flash fiction.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is called North and I got the idea while in the car commuting to work. That’s how many of my ideas come to me, while driving.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
None. I’m a pretty typical writer as far as my habits go. I am a pantser, so I really like just getting an idea and going with it. I like to write a little bit each day consistently. I don’t write in large bursts.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite book is Rumblefish by S. E. Hinton, who is also one of my favorite authors. It’s a short book, a very quick read and has a quality to it that has always grabbed me. Spare prose, written in first person with a fantastic character voice, very atmospheric. Still to this day, I’m not sure I understand everything that’s going on in it, and that’s what keeps me coming back.

What are you working on now?
A contemporary young adult novel. Another one.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I like doing Goodreads Giveaways and I’m getting better (and more consistent!) at doing an email newsletter.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Enjoy what you’re doing. Get small successes and build upon them.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Work with what you have.

What are you reading now?
The Old Man and the Sea

What’s next for you as a writer?
The same thing that’s always next – more writing, more publishing, more learning.

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?
Rumblefish, S. E. Hinton
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J. K. Rowling
Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell

Author Websites and Profiles
Amanda Linehan Website
Amanda Linehan Amazon Profile
Amanda Linehan Author Profile on Smashwords

Amanda Linehan’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 audiovisual & Illustrator Artist. Graphic Communication Designer . iPhone Photographer
Script writer. Radio production. Web Designer. Independent Author & editor of 10 ebooks.
Collaborator in digital and printed media. Lover of Sci-Fi film, comics & music.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
US ELECTIONS 2016  WHO WILL WIN

Because no matter whoever wins, all the world will lose.
The history behind his candidature, when he said: “I started a joke…” inspired this short history and the song by Bee Gees.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I´m a graphic designer and illustrator, so I have designed and publish my own ebooks and printed books.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Rius, Monthy Pyton, Jodorowski, Paul Arden, Austin Kleon and Jorge Ibargüengoitia

What are you working on now?
New photobooks and illustrated children books. My first one is EL BAUL DE LOS ESPEJOS (The Trunk of Mirrors) written by Maite Azuela and illustrated an designed by me.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This is my first choice to promote ebooks.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Work, work and …relax sometimes, and back again to work. Alone and quietly.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Steal like an artist and show your work.

What are you reading now?
La via del Tarot by Alejandro Jodorowsky
Apocalipticos e Integrados by Umberto Eco
La vida misma by Paco Ignacio Taibo II
Fantastic Mistakes by Neil Gaiman

What’s next for you as a writer?
Write my first novel and a trilogy to be adapted on a TV serie

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?
100 años de soledad by Gabriel García Marquez
Mis confesiones by Rius
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll

Author Websites and Profiles
Fabian Giles Website
Fabian Giles Amazon Profile
Fabian Giles Author Profile on Smashwords

Fabian Giles’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Kerry McKie, I have always had a keen interest in writing. It seems to run in the family too. I love writing short fiction and poetry. I currently have two novelettes, a novella and many poems.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is called Too Many Frogs. It is inspired by several “not so good” boyfriends which I’ve had in the past!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
J K Rowling is a big inspiration and I love the Harry Potter series. Jeffrey Archer’s book called Red Herrings is another favourite of mine.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a collection of paranormal short stories. I’ve always been fascinated by the paranormal!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I haven’t done much promoting up to yet. That needs to change.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Search for writing prompts online if you get stuck or just want some extra inspiration.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t worry about your writing being perfect, just get it on the page. Your first draft may be terrible but it could be great later on.

What are you reading now?
Francesca’s party by Patricia Scanlan

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m working on a collection of short stories.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A Goosebumps book, a good romance book with complete with twists, and something funny.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written two other novels, but Starburst is the first that I decided to do something serious with. When I sat down to write Starburst, I had no idea it would turn into a series. Typing out the last pages of Starburst I realized I had so much more to say and a series was born.
Currently, I am editing Red Drug 2# in the Women of the Grey series along with writing a horror novel The Demon Dealer.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Starburst 1# Women of the Grey. My inspiration for this series was The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta. I loved how The Leftovers had this supernatural event in it, but it wasn’t really about that. It was about the relationships and emotions people had with each other. Same thing can be said of The Walking Dead, it’s not a show about zombies it’s a show about people.
In Starburst the science fiction/horror aspect of it is the back drop. I focus on my lead character Lisa and her relationships with the humans.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can not just sit and write for hours or word count. I write in spurts. I sit and write for about 30 minutes then get up and do something. Some times I can sit and write for a couple hours, but usually it’s small bits of time through out the whole day. Also, many of my characters have theme songs when I need inspiration I’ll listen to their song or watch the music video.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Suicide Blonde by Darcey Stienke I love her poetic style.

What are you working on now?
Currently the finishing touches of Red Drug book 2# Women of the Grey and a novel The Demon Dealer. I am also having my logo designed in preparation for my author webpage launch.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Haven’t discovered that magic yet.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Self Doubt is a monster you will have to argue with daily.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Happiness is a choice., sounds corny I know, but it’s true we can choose to live in our misery or rise above it. Some days I dwell in my misery, but I try to remember that I am choosing to do so. and that I can choose otherwise.

What are you reading now?
I mostly read non-fiction when I’m in the process of writing. Currently, it’s Writers Digest Guide to Literary Agents 2017. Lame answer, but true!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have my notes for book 3# of Women of the Grey , plus another horror and dark fantasy novel.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Hobbit, Catcher in the Rye, Suicide Blonde, and any survival book!

Author Websites and Profiles
Carol James Marshall Amazon Profile

Carol James Marshall’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in southern California but primarily raised in the Atlanta area as one of four children. At a young age I heard the Gospel in a Baptist Sunday school class and responded by placing my trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. At 8 years old I felt the call of God to reach the lost with the good news of Jesus Christ and had the unique privilege of spending my teenage summers on the mission field. Experiencing so many different cultures (13 different countries) provided a wealth of experiences at a young age. The desire to see people come to saving faith in Jesus Christ never abated, but the realities of life prevented full-time service.

While attending Bryan College, a Christian liberal arts college in Dayton, Tennessee, I met and married Seth, my husband now of 25 years. Before the birth of our son, we moved to the Orlando, Florida area to be near family and have continued to reside there. Although I graduated from Bryan with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a minor in Bible, I chose to be a homemaker and homeschool my only child, Caleb, through the 7th grade. I then taught Latin part time and then 3rd grade full time at my son’s classical Christian school.

In spite of always feeling God’s hand on my life and desiring to please Him, I struggled with depression and trusting that God loved me personally due to many years of plaguing health problems. As a type A, driven person I continued pushing myself to my physical limits, always striving to be perfect in everything in order to win the approval of the Lord. It wasn’t until God allowed me to become bedridden that I was forced to deal with my misconceptions about God and His deep, unfailing love for me. As the merciful Savior brought healing to my heart and mind through Scripture, He also brought complete physical healing.

Since my son, Caleb left home in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree at Bryan College, I have continued in the noble pursuits of homemaking and being my husband’s helpmate, as well as serving in teaching ministries with women and children as God allows. I also enjoy traveling and exploring the beautiful areas of God’s amazing creation with her family, running, gardening, and studying God’s Word. Although acutely aware of the sanctifying work that God still needs to accomplish in me, I long to inspire others with a passion for God’s Word and a love for her Savior.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I started writing, When You Can’t Trust His Heart–Discovering the Limitless Love of God, when I was an invalid due to multiple chronic illnesses and 2 herniated discs. With nothing but time on my hands, I decided to seek out a Christian counselor to help me work through a traumatic event that I’d never really dealt with. As a result of her challenge I began to study passages of the Bible that spoke of God’s love for me. As I did, God began to radically change my broken heart. The book tells my story combined with a study of Scripture about the love of God.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write while sitting with my laptop in a comfy recliner by a big window and pray that God will direct my thoughts.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love to learn about a variety of topics or just read a good novel. Non-fiction author Malcolm Gladwell and Norman Doidge have written fascinating non-fiction books that manage to grab hold of my attention with the way they weave learning with stories of people.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on my 2nd book, which is called Life to the Body–Biblical Principles for Health and Healing. Because of spending almost 2 decades sick and in constant pain, I have a particular interest in what the Bible says on this topic. I also carry the burden of so many others who, like I once did, suffer physically. I desire to share what I’ve learned so that others might get well as I have.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still new to this myself and learning all the time.

Do you have any advice for new authors?

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To choose to trust God’s Word when it says that He loves me, even when I don’t feel it.

What are you reading now?
Norman Doidge’s The Brain’s Way of Healing, and I’m enthralled.

What’s next for you as a writer?

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
My Bible, of course, and oddly enough, a hymnal. Other than that give me a big, fat novel and a one non-fiction book.

Author Websites and Profiles
Marci Julin Website
Marci Julin Amazon Profile

Marci Julin’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have only written the one book (and that took a few years!). In real life, I’m a high school English teacher and, after 8 years and 5 different school systems, I’m kind of over public education. So now, I’m trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It’s called Miracles and Foolishness, and I guess it’s mostly about coming to terms with the reality of being an adult. So much of what we’re told growing up is not really absolute truth – it’s kind of institutionalized personal preference. When you start to realize that, it can make you feel all kinds of ways. But mostly you have to learn to reorient yourself and be brave enough to discover what’s real and what’s just an elaborate illusion.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so. I’ve heard of people with lucky writing socks or things like that. The only thing for me is for some reason, inspiration always seems to hit me around 3 am (very inconvenient when I was a teacher). And that’s considered the Witching hour in some perspectives, so I always thought that was interesting.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Neil Gaiman, Nancy Farmer, C.S Lewis, JRR Tolkein – basically anyone who can tell a really good story. I have found that I’m really drawn to epics or mythology or fantasy (even if it’s about dystopias). I really liked the first Hunger Games book, and I loved every Harry Potter book. I’m not particular about whether it’s an “adult book” or a young adult book. I do have a mild aversion to romance though…

What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on different disconnected pieces that I post on my website. Writing more consistently has helped me identify some ways to challenge myself. I’m playing around with types of poetry. I wrote an echo verse poem, and next I want to try a rondeau or a tyburn possibly. I also think I want to challenge myself by doing a piece that’s almost entirely a series of allusions – just flowing from one to the next. I like things that require research and study. I did some mixing of Samhain and Dia de los Muertos for Halloween.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m not sure – I’m new to this and I kind of started backwards, so I’m learning as I go.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Resist the pressure to respond immediately.” This piece of advice has been gold for me. It keeps me from being tricked into falling for a false dichotomy or rushing into a decision when I don’t actually have to rush. It’s definitely a big part of living mask/illusion free: you have to learn to realize that society intentionally crafts illusions so that people are more manageable. The matrix is real, guys (hahaha – that always sounds so dramatic. Also it’s true, even if not in a spoon-bending, bullet-dodging, telephones-are-transporters kind of way).

What are you reading now?
I just finished The Halloween Tree, by Ray Bradbury and I was feeling nostalgic so I’m revisiting Nancy Farmer’s Sea of Trolls series.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have absolutely no idea.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Graveyard Book, Land of the Silver Apples, The Magician’s Nephew and Lord of the Flies.

Author Websites and Profiles
Safiya Reynolds Website
Safiya Reynolds Amazon Profile

Safiya Reynolds’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Unlike many of you, I am not a writer. I forced myself to create a book because I wanted to share what I learned prosecuting sex crimes and running what may have been the first Special Victims Unit (in Queens County, New York City.) That book (Sex Crimes: Ten Years on the Front Lines Prosecuting Rapists and Confronting Their Collaborators) was published by Random House nearly 25 years ago and its influence, including being named a NY Times Notable Book, surpassed all my dreams for it. After I returned to sex crimes prosecution, in a small, rural Pacific Northwest county in 2010 I decided to write a sequel and, to make it accessible and reasonably priced, to publish the two books as one e-book. My books chronicle my career, many of the major trials and cases I’ve prosecuted, and the war to accomplish justice in a courtroom that I believe defines what sex crimes prosecution is supposed to be.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My two-book e-book is entitled “Sex Crimes: Then and Now” with a readers’ line explaining it is “My Years on the Front Lines Prosecuting Rapists and Confronting Their Collaborators. There’s a passage from “Sex Crimes: Then” that sums up my inspiration for writing:
“What I hadn’t known was that being a sex-crimes prosecutor meant eyewitnessing courage. It was the one common denominator among the victims I had the privilege of accompanying into a courtroom to testify that they had been raped.
Other ADAs in the office insisted on more common denominators than that. They wanted their rape victims to fit a certain image. How the jury responds to a victim is an enormous percentage of the verdict in any sex crimes trial–which is why prosecutors want Good Victims.
In New York City, Good Victims have jobs (like stockbroker or accountant) or impeccable status (like a policeman’s wife); are well educated and articulate, and are, above all, presentable to a jury; attractive–but not too attractive, demure–but not pushovers. They should be upset–but in good taste–not so upset that they become hysterical. And they must have 100 percent trust and faith in the prosecutor, so that whatever the ADA decides to do with the case is fine with them. The criteria for a Good Victim varies with locale. In the Bible Belt, for example, the profile would be a “Christian Woman.” But the general principle remains the same.
Such attitudes are not only distasteful, they are also frightening. They say that it’s O.K. to rape some people–just not us. Old-time convicts spell justice “just us”–prosecutors aren’t supposed to. Sex-crimes prosecutors are supposed to understand that the only way to keep the wolf from our own door isn’t to throw him fresh meat but to stop him the first time he darkens anybody’s door. Rapists progress–often they start with people they know before moving on to strangers. They become emboldened by success with easy prey. They start believing we’re all prey.”

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
First I have to do the work of prosecuting sex crimes before I can write about it.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m paraphrasing but a critic once said of my husband, Andrew Vachss, that he takes a sentence, strips it bare, puts it in a closet for six months and starves it before he lets it onto the page. I think he uses words more precisely and powerfully than any other author I have ever read.

What are you working on now?
I have started a small publishing house which specializes in non-fiction solutions to violence e-books. After I struggling through the worst of the learning curves on my own book, the second book, In Good Hands by David Hechler was published last month by paywhatitcosts.com. Hechler is an investigative reporter whose in-depth coverage of one fatal daycare center in South Carolina reads like a murder mystery at the same time that it exposes critical information about the decision to change daycare.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far my best promotion is through people in my field already familiar with my work on the topic. I am just now beginning to learn how to step past that limited arena.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Once when I was prepping a witness, in response to me asking what she would say if the defense attorney asked her about our preparation, she answered “I would tell him that you told me to tell the truth and be myself.” I guess I think that advice applies to a lot of things.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The first time an editor talked about “my voice” forced me to think about that concept and be true to it.

What are you reading now?
Barry Eisler was kind enough to acknowledge my work in a just-published book called “Livia Lone.”

What’s next for you as a writer?
What’s next for me is as an editor. Next in line for Pay What It Cost Publishing LLC’s is the revision and expansion of a beautiful booklet by Gillian Greensite called “Rape at College: How to Help a Friend”

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
“Two Trains Running” by Andrew Vachss
“Promises to Keep” by Charles De Lint
“Green Witch” by Alice Hoffman

Author Websites and Profiles
Alice Vachss Website

Alice Vachss’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
After a few failed attempts over the years, something finally clicked in December 2015. My first day i wrote just over 5,500 words. The next day, another 5,000. Once the concept of characters, plots, and chapters started to make sense, the rest sort of fell into place.

By the end of February 2016 I had completed writing what would be my first novel. Spent several weeks promoting and then jumped right into writing the next one, which I released in October 2016.

Just a few weeks later and I’ve already begun work on the third one.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It is called “Origins” and is the 2nd book in The Fullerton Chronicles, which is a fictional town I created for my 1st book. As I was writing, I noticed that I was spending a lot of time focused on the main character’s past and how several of his relationships had begun. But it wasn’t until I was 3/4 of the way completed with writing it that the title came to me. Basically, it is a continuation of my first book, I’ve just given more attention to the backstory.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
It is very organic. I try not to push the characters too much, rather I listen to where they would like to go. Then, once i have a good idea of what the scene is, it’s up to me to add the details to make it interesting for the reader. Sometimes I am writing full-on just as it appears on the page. Other times I will do an outline of plot points and dialogue, then color it in after.

I also spend a lot of time re-reading things once they’re written. I use it as a means of proof-reading and also keeping connected to the flow of the story.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
In no particular order : Anne Rice, Chuck Palahniuk, Clive Barker, Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, J. K. Rowling, Robert Kirkman, Stephen King, J. R. R. Tolkien, and a dear friend that writes under the name Bix Meister.

What are you working on now?
I’ve just started working on a new story that involves ghosts. Again, this will mainly take place in my fictional town of Fullerton, MA. But this time, there are a different set of characters. Because it is part of the history of this town it will be considered part of The Fullerton Chronicles, but folks looking for playroom activities will have to wait until I resume writing those story arcs.

Writing erotica only allows me to tap into a certain segment of readers. I’m okay with that. But I also want to branch out and not be stuck within those constraints. I’m hopeful that this will have a bit more of a wider appeal to it, and perhaps some of the newer audience will step outside of their comfort zones and delve into the more colorful writings from the series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Being fairly new to this, I’m trying it from different angles while covering all the basics: facebook; twitter; and my own website bdsmplayroom.com

As I find newer websites that cater to indie authors, I try to connect with them as well. You never know where a new reader is going to come from, so it is good to keep options open.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Write. Write.

There aren’t any rules. Worry about what it is going to be later. Just get it out on the page and work those writing muscles.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t listen when someone tells you you’re doing it wrong.

Write with your own voice. Tune out the negativity.

As you keep pushing yourself forward, you’ll figure out what works and what could stand to use some more tweaking.

What are you reading now?
When I’m not writing, I enjoy re-reading books I’m familiar with. They offer minimal distraction, as I can just focus on the story and not be picking it apart.

What’s next for you as a writer?
The plan is to continue to build and expand on this fictional town. Digging up the old bones and seeing what’s been going on there all these years.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would have to bring the collected works of Anne Rice, Clive Barker, Isaac Asimov and Stephen King. That would pretty much cover all the bases.

Author Websites and Profiles
Brian C. Copper Website
Brian C. Copper Amazon Profile
Brian C. Copper Author Profile on Smashwords

Brian C. Copper’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
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Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been writing off and on since I was about eight years old, and have recently published a novel and a short story.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Phoebe’s Secret is about a nonverbal autistic girl surviving in the Shadow Bay Asylum during the 1950s. During my research of autism, I came across an article written by Philip Reyes where he explained what it means to be a nonverbal autistic. The link to the article: http://faithhopeloveautism.blogspot.com/2015/04/world-autism-awareness-day-2015.html

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wouldn’t say my writing habits are unusual, but I do spend a few hours after work each night writing with my cats and dog, who beg me to include them as main characters in my books.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King and Dean Koontz are my favorite authors, and have read their books since I discovered them as a teenager. I also like Edgar Allen Poe. The Odd Thomas and Christopher Snow characters by Koontz are among my favorites.

What are you working on now?
A new novel in the Shadow Bay series, a followup to Phoebe’s Secret, from the point of view of her friend, Gabriel.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t listen to others who doubt or question your dreams. I was told at a young age that writing isn’t a feasible career, and I regret listening to it. I’ve wasted so many years letting that wrong belief affect my writing and I gave up too many times. Never give up. Read books, especially in the genre you are writing. For motivation and advice, listen to podcasts on the writing process and interviews with successful authors. Some of my favorites are: The Creative Penn, Self Publishing Podcast, Rocking Self Publishing, Sell More Books Show, and the Worried Writer Podcast. Books I recommend on the writing process are Stephen King’s On Writing, Joanna Penn’s The Author Mindset, Stephen Pressfield’s War of Art, and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up. I believe every successful author has said that. Hanging on my office wall is two quotes by King and Koontz.
Life isn’t a support system for art. It’s the other way around. -Stephen King
Writing talent is a gift. It’s nothing I ever earned. -Dean Koontz

What are you reading now?
House of Skin by Jonathan Janz, Hacker by Ted Dekker, Dustfall by Glynn James and J. Thorn.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Find more time 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?
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz, Misery by Stephen King, The Bible.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jesse Dagett Website
Jesse Dagett Amazon Profile

Jesse Dagett’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Madhu B. Wangu is an author and the founder of Writing Meditation for Mindful Writers. She has a doctorate in the phenomenology of Religion from the University of Pittsburgh (1988) and a post-doctoral Fellowship from Harvard University (1989-1991). For fifteen years she taught Hindu and Buddhist art history at various universities. A member of Pennwriters Organization she was its board member from 2007-10012.
Madhu Wangu has written two books about goddesses. Images of Indian Goddesses: Myths, Meanings and Models, (Abhinav Publications, New Delhi, 2003) discusses the meaning of goddess myths and symbols. A Goddess is Born, (Spark Publishers, 2002) details the social, political, and cultural meanings of the Kashmiri goddess, Khir Bhavani. She has also written two extensively illustrated books for young adults, Hinduism (Facts on File, Inc., New York, 1991) and Buddhism (Facts on File, Inc., New York, 1993).

Based on decades of meditation Madhu Wangu has developed Writing Meditation Method. In 2010 she founded the Mindful Writers Group. Five years since its inception, the group has twenty members and a waiting list. The success of the practice is evident in the novels and books written and published by the members.
Her CD, “Meditations for Mindful Writers” (2011) has inspired professional as well as novice writers to practice their skill with mindfulness. Writing Meditation Method improves focus, reduces stress and anxiety, removes blocks, and increases writing flow. Due to the success of the Mindful Writers Group (North), Dr. Wangu is starting a second group of Mindful Writers in the east of Pittsburgh beginning March 2016.
Madhu Wangu’s debut collection, Chance Meetings: Stories About Cross-Cultural Karmic Collisions and Compassion was released in April 2015. Her novel, An Immigrant Wife: Her Spiritual Journey is to be released in April 2016. Currently, she is writing her second novel, The Last Suttee.
She lives in Wexford, Pennsylvania, USA with her husband Manoj, a retired robotics engineer. They have two daughters—an avionics engineer and a pediatrician. Madhu and Manoj are blessed with three grandchildren.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Immigrant Wife: Her Spiritual Journey, a novel.
Painting, falling in love, struggle, determination, world travel, Meditation

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I get up before twilight, meditate, write in my journal and, after breakfast, follow with three to four hours of writing everyday.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Virginia Woolf, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Eckhart Tolle, Julia Cameron, Anne Lamott, Natalie Goldberg, Thomas Merton, Deepak Chopra

What are you working on now?
My second novel, The Last Suttee.
Second Collection of Stories: Strange Relationships

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Free Kindle Books and Tips
ManyBooks
Beck Valley Books
Fussy Librarian

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never send out a manuscript to agents/editors/ publishers that you are not yet proud of.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Do not listen to the voice in your head.
Observe your thoughts and emotions.
Then completely trust your deeper voice.

What are you reading now?
The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

What’s next for you as a writer?
Get my second novel and second collection of stories 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?
Any books written by the authors I have mentioned above.

Author Websites and Profiles
Madhu Bazaz Wangu Website
Madhu Bazaz Wangu Amazon Profile
Madhu Bazaz Wangu Author Profile on Smashwords

Madhu Bazaz Wangu’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I hail from Central Illinois, Yea! Land of Lincoln and Hurrah for the Cubs! Though I have no children, I am “Mama” to two dogs, Honey, an American Stratford Terrier whom I rescued from the pound, and CeCe, a Chihuahua. Honey likes to cuddle at my feet and her snoring is the only music I listen to when I write. I count myself lucky to have been able to visit some of the places on my bucket list, London, Paris and Rome, and I’ve used this fantastic cities as settings for my YA series, a work-in-progress. I’ve also kissed the Blarney Stone despite the fact I’ve always been full of blarney.
My picture book, CALAMITY CAT, is with the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt publishing company, and I’m hoping it will be featured in their 2017 Curious World website. THE DRAGON’S RING, a young adult romantic fantasy/fairy tale, is now available at Amazon, B & N, Smashwords and Kobo. I’ve also had published two short children stories in Guardian Angel Kids’ e-zine and won first place in writing contest.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
THE DRAGON’S RING, released July 28, 2016, is basically a love story/fairy tale about a princess, a knight and a unicorn. I’ve always loved unicorns, and once had a curio cabinet filled with ceramic, wood and glass unicorn figurines. When my nieces and nephews were young, I’d write stories for them, and this is one of those stories. Over the years I’ve revised the story, and this one is very different from the original version. The princess no longer waits at the castle for the knight to return from his quest. She follows him, and becomes the heroine in the story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Do I have any unusual writing habits? This question brought a smile to my face. I don’t believe I do, but I will write for hours at a time without stopping to eat or sleep. The only time I take a break is when my dogs need out or fed.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My love of writing began with a love of reading. My first stories were by Dr. Seuss. I graduated to Little Women by Louisa Mae Alcott and Jane Austin’s novels. After that my school library became my second home, and I devoured as many books as possible. My family used to complain because “my head was always in a book.” Pinpointing one author or books that influenced me is impossible, because I learned from so many.

What are you working on now?
Since 2013’s NaNoWriMo I’ve been devoting writing time to a young adult series. I wrote three of the books in this series during my first experience with NaNoWriMo, and in November, 2014, I added another. It’s important to note that though written as a series, each book can standalone. The first three follows a young girl to London, then Paris and Rome. In each city she becomes involved in a mystery mixed with murder. It is in London where she falls in love with a boy in her tour group, and after that they are inseparable and work together in solving the crimes. I began this series in 3rd person POV, but am revising to 1st.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I love twitter, but also promote on my Facebook page and Tumblr. I’ve been fortunate to have been interviewed by several authors, and these interviews have been posted on their blogs. I also designed bookmarks with a gold ring tied onto them to pass out at libraries and author visits.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is to keep writing and submitting, attend conferences, join a critique group and participate in online webinars. After receiving tons of rejection letters, one can become discouraged, but don’t give up. I have a file cabinet filled with rejections, but I didn’t stop trying, and now have two books published.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I remember someone telling me once to stop worrying. Worrying doesn’t change an outcome, it just causes loss of sleep. I have learned to put my trust in God, to let go and not worry. What will be, will be, but it’s up to me to keep working towards my goal.

What are you reading now?
I recently finished reading Tokens and Omens by Jeri Baird, whom I happen to know and was in a critique group with at a conference. It’s a fantastic read and I highly recommend Jeri’s book. Jeri and I have reconnected on Facebook and twitter, and we help promote each other’s book. Our books both came out around the same time.
I also just finished reading Reminding Me of You by Kathy Bosman, a fun read about a romance.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My goal is to find representation with a literary agency. That way I can devote more time to writing as my agent would be handling the submission end.
I want to finish revising my YA series and find a publisher for it. The first book, set in London, is ready, and I am sending out Query letters for it. To keep it fresh, I had to add new content today because the Cubs won the World Series. One of my characters is a huge Cubs fan, but when I first wrote his dialogue, the Cubs had been under the curse. Now he’s talking about the winning game.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Only 3 or 4? Kill me now! I guess I would take 4 of the 6 Jane Austen’s novels. She’s my favorite author and I never tire of reading her books. Pride and Prejudice would definitely be one of the four. In my YA series, one of my characters is named Darcy.

Author Websites and Profiles
Debra Daugherty Website
Debra Daugherty Amazon Profile

Debra Daugherty’s Social Media Links
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Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account