Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Chelby Tannon is my pen name. I work in the public sector and have raised 4 girls. I enjoy hiking the trails of Roxborough Colorado and going to Bear Creek Lake Park to paddle board and kayak. I have currently written and published one book. I am working on my second with the intent of a third. I made the decision to start writing as a form of therapy and it has blossomed into a real passion.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my first book is “Where In The Hell Is Jamestown North Dakota?” I lived in Jamestown for the better part of 10 years, and while the book is fictional, there are real life places that I use in the book to bring ‘life’ to it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do not know if my habits are unusual, I generally write when I am bored, or when I get an idea that I do not want to just jot down. I have found that when I write ideas down for the book, they end up going in a different direction than the initial thought entailed.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
J.K. Rowling influenced me just because of her situation when she was starting out. It takes guts to create something, and then hand it over to the world.

What are you working on now?
I am working on the sequel to the first book. The title of my second book is “Where In The Hell Is Roxborough Colorado?” This book follows Pamela Morgan, the main character in the first of the series through new adventures, new mysteries, and a new life.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I try using Goodreads.com as well as Amazon.com. I also promote on InstaGram and Facebook. I am not sure these are the “best” methods, but they are the methods I use.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My only advice is to just do it! It’s a scary journey, but once you hold a physical copy of your book in your hand, it is worth it all.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I have ever heard is this;
Do not worry about sales, those will come. Just write your story, because that is what your faithful readers care about and they matter most.

What are you reading now?
Currently I am waiting for the arrival of The Thin Wall, written by E.M. Parker.

What’s next for you as a writer?
What’s next for me is finishing my Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology while I finish the second book in my series. I am hoping also, that I am able to do book signings very soon in Jamestown North Dakota.

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 Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, as that is my all time favorite story. I would also bring Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and lastly I would bring my own book. Holding my book for the first time was like holding a newborn child, and I wouldn’t want to never see it again.

Author Websites and Profiles
Chelby Tannon Amazon Profile

Chelby Tannon’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 Monroe, North Carolina, but grew up so far out in the farm country of South Carolina that we had to pump in sunlight. Eight miles west was a small town, and five miles east was a village.
My parents, five siblings, and I lived in a two-hundred-year-old farm house with an oil heater which warmed only the living room. Believe me when I say it was nothing like Tara. We froze in the winter and burned up in the summer. Our fire places smoked, so we didn’t use them. I can remember seeing my own breath in the bedroom I shared with my two sisters.
During my childhood, my three brothers hunted much of what we ate. Though we were relatively poor, we always had plenty: meat and fish, as well as vegetables from our garden, and the jams and jellies Mother canned from fruit we grew on our property.
I’ve been an avid reader since I learned to read when I was four years old. My mother read constantly, and my five older siblings were assigned books to read which they usually brought home and discarded. I read everything, from The Five Little Peppers and Victoria Holt to Adam Bede and The Count of Monte Cristo. If mother didn’t want me to read a certain book, she put it on a top shelf, saying she would bring it down to my reach when I was old enough. I wrote because I wanted to provide readers with the escape that I found in books. I wanted to give flight to their imaginations just as those authors had given flight to mine. It was the only way I could travel to faraway places.
I’ve written seven books and helped to spearhead one anthology (three novellas and a short story) with three other authors.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Understanding Elizabeth is my latest solo book. I wondered what Mr. Darcy would do if he knew Elizabeth had overheard his remarks at the Meryton Assembly. I also was interested in exploring the idea of his having a choice, given by two supernatural beings, of reliving the incident and refraining from making the remark, or refusing their help and trying to win her on his own by acknowledging his fault. What would he do to get what he wanted? What was he willing to pay?

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have to write and walk away to do something brainless, like taking a shower or vacuuming. Other ideas come to me, and I go back to my laptop to resume writing.

I also have several writing buddies with whom I brainstorm my stories and theirs.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
All of the works of Jane Austen, Victoria Holt, Georgette Heyer, Frank Peretti, and Ted Dekker.

Also Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Alexandre Dumas, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Orson Wells, George Orwell, John Steinbeck, Edgar Allan Poe, J. R. R. Tolkien, Agatha Christie, Louisa May Alcott, and C. S. Lewis

I confess to being a fan of the Twilight Saga, The Hunger Games, the Divergent series, and other YA fantasy/paranormal works. I read everything by Annette Marie, Tahereh Mafi, and Susan Ee that I can find.

What are you working on now?
More to Love, an Austen re-imagining in which Elizabeth is overweight. She overhears Mr. Darcy saying, “There is rather too much of her to tempt me.” On behalf of non-skinny girls everywhere, I will take up this banner. Ha! Thin people need to know how much their remarks bother the non-svelte. Sorry, but Mr. Darcy should suffer for his insensitivity.

I’m also writing a Regency romance featuring a girl from the Southern states of America in 1814. Her father inherits an English estate, and they move to England to claim it. Keep in mind that this was during the War of 1812.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I do quite a bit of promotion on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I would like to expand that to include sites such as this one.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. Don’t stop writing. Don’t let bad reviews discourage you.

Just. Keep. Writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Winston Churchill: “Never, never, never give up.”

What are you reading now?
A Christmas gift from my younger daughter – the Disruption books by Jessica Shirvington

What’s next for you as a writer?
After finishing and publishing my next two stories, I’d like to rewrite, update, and repackage my first series, The Guardian Trilogy. I hope to put all three books in one cover after I change several elements. I also have plans for another anthology. Our last one, A Very Austen Christmas was quite successful.

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 (actually 66 books!), the Shatter Me series (so many layers), The Count of Monte Cristo (swoon), Penryn: The End of Days series by Susan Ee (fascinating)

Author Websites and Profiles
Robin Helm Website
Robin Helm Amazon Profile

Robin Helm’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written eight books.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Born Overcomers: A Guide to Overcoming. I wanted to encourage people by sharing my story of how I overcame such hardships as rape and various health challenges. The book is designed to instill hope that if I can make it others can too!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to write in complete silence and completely alone. That is when my thoughts flow the easiest.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Joyce Meyers, Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, Priscilla Shirer, Dr. Tony Evans, James Goll, Kris Vallotton, Mark Batterson, Nikea Marie, Ty Lewis, LaKisha Dixon, and Rae Williams

What are you working on now?
I am working on two how to eBooks. One is a how-to on starting a business or minsitry in the State of Maryland, the other is on different streams of income.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Consistency on Social Media is my #1 method of promotion.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Start writing and finish, no matter how long it takes, finish!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Believe in yourself!

What are you reading now?
The Discerner by James Goll

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will write more books and help others do the same.

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

Author Websites and Profiles
LaKesha Williams Website
LaKesha Williams Amazon Profile
LaKesha Williams Author Profile on Smashwords

LaKesha Williams’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well let’s see. I was born in Virginia, but spent part of my childhood in Venezuela. After graduating from Virginia Tech I moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in acting. Soon realize it was not for me, but in the process began writing for TV and film. It wasn’t long before I realized that writing was my passion and I switched to books. In the last 5 years I guess I have put out 4 different books. More to come for sure!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I am actually going to put the book that I am currently finishing up. It’s the sequel to my young adult novel “Gene. Sys.” and this book was born because of twitter. The book is called “80” and centers on a character I had originally planned to kill in the first book. While writing that book however, I was sharing my process with quite a few of my followers on twitter. Well they loved the character named 80. I literally had people telling me that I better not kill him. I listened, and now he’s getting his own book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure it’s that unusual, but I always created a playlist of songs that define the mood or tone of whatever I’m writing. It has a bit of a pavlovian effect on me. So whenever I hear one of the songs, my mind switches to writing mode.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The two biggest influential authors for me have got to be Douglas Adams and Stephen King. King’s proficiency is unparalleled and Douglas Adams was just plain genius. The books that shaped me however were scifi and dystopian books like “The Martian Chronicles” and “Brave New World”, among others. These types of books were so imaginative to me, that I felt there was no limit to storytelling.

What are you working on now?
As I had previously said, I am finishing up “80”, the sequel to my dystopian book “Gene. Sys.” It’s taken me a little longer than I had hoped because of life. Life always gets in the way.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best way I have found to promote my book is through social media like twitter and instagram. Those hashtags can get you in front of readers that had never heard of you before. It’s a lot of work however.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
It’s simple. WRITE. Don’t think about writing. Don’t talk about writing. Just Write!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Hope is not a plan”. This was said to my by John Rogers, the showrunner on the TV show I used to write on. This has always stuck with me. Hope is passive. If you want something done, do it!

What are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading “Ready Player One”. I just started it, but since the film is coming out soon, I feel I need to do the story justice by reading it first.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Next for me would be continuing the “Gene. Sys.” series. It’s currently a planned 5 book series, and I would love to have the story finished.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
This is actually an easy answer for me. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, “The Martian Chronicles”, and a big blank notebook. It’s still a book so it counts. I’ll write with squid ink if I have to.

Author Websites and Profiles
Aaron Denius Website
Aaron Denius Amazon Profile
Aaron Denius Author Profile on Smashwords

Aaron Denius’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 Poland and grew up in Israel. After high school, I joined the army and fought in the Six-Day War. After that, I went to London for a year and finally came to Italy for medical studies, which I did not finish. I have traveled extensively in the world and have always sketched lists of my experiences. I began to write at a later age after my children grew up and I became the grandfather to seven grandchildren.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “Identity” which I have not finished writing yet. In this book I discuss the subject of different religions and why people are treated according to their religion and not by who they are. I also bring a story from the perspective of a person who returned to the country of his birth as an adult after leaving his homeland as a baby

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write quickly and what comes to mind at that moment. Rarely I rearrange my style

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I do not think I was influenced by the writing of one writer or another, my style is simple and easy to read

What are you working on now?
As I mentioned earlier I write the ”identity” but also begin to write another book that I will not discuss at this time

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
There is one book written by me ”The Polish Patriot” published in Italy by an Italian publishing house, after being translated into Italian. I have several books on Amazon and other sites on the Internet and in an Israeli site in Hebrew language

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write if you like it, it’s a way to express yourself and never give up

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I did not get advice from anyone

What are you reading now?
I finished reading an interesting book called ”My mother’s Secret written by a Canadian writer named J.L. Whitterick. What is interesting in the book is that the writer is of Oriental origin and has no connection to the Holocaust and yet managed to convey a message of peace in a story during the Holocaust

What’s next for you as a writer?
Continue 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?
Erotic stories

Author Websites and Profiles
Uri J. Nachimson Website
Uri J. Nachimson Amazon Profile
Uri J. Nachimson Author Profile on Smashwords

Uri J. Nachimson’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
i love writing. I am writing a blog but This is my first book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
my latest book is how to write ebook and make money selling online. it inspires to those who want to write but till not started.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
yes

What authors, or books have influenced you?
BHAGVAD GITA

What are you working on now?
blog -www.earnonblog.com

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
just start writing

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

What are you reading now?
power of positive thinking

What’s next for you as a writer?
not yet planned

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?
shreemad bhagvad gita, ramayan, satyana prayogo

Author Websites and Profiles
paras dhankecha Website

paras dhankecha’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in Trieste, Italy, an eclectic city that was home to many writers including James Joyce and Italo Svevo. I came to the United States at the age of 14, graduated from the University of California, San Diego with degrees in Physiology and Psychology and earned my medical degree from Loyola University in the suburbs of Chicago. I practiced general pediatrics for just over 20 years.

I have written 4 books in all, the last 2 being medical thrillers. I sharpened my writing skills by attending the SEAK medical fiction writing seminar with Tess Gerritsen and Michael Palmer (twice), Robert McKee’s incomporable Story seminar, and completing the Writer’s Path seminar at Southern Methodist University.

My first novel, The Art of Forgetting, took first place in adult fiction at the North Texas Book Festival in 2014, and my short story, A Long Stretch of Highway, won the grand prize at the Literature + Medicine Writing Contest in 2015.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest novel is Sanguinity Point. It grew out of a short story that I wrote back in 2014 and was then published in The Intima, an online journal of medical narrative. It was loosely inspired by experiences I had practicing medicine on the Texas-Mexico border. I first started writing it in April 2013, then put it aside to write another novel because I just wasn’t ready to complete it at that time. There were a lot of feelings and themes I had to explore before I could give it a fair shake.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
After trying various approaches I’ve settled on writing on yellow legal pads with a blue Bic pen. I do a lot of visualizing as if my story were a movie. If I can’t see the scene unfold I know I have to do more homework. I usually write the climax scene first, or at least very early in my project. This gives me a target to work towards.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I really like Elmore Leonard even though my writing style is quite different from his. I’m also big fan of William Goldman. Among my favorite books are 1984, Marathon Man, The Boys From Brazil, The Sun Also Rises, and Three Days (or Six Days, depending on the edition) of the Condor.

What are you working on now?
I just started writing a novel which is not a medical thriller. The protagonist is a private investigator who is hired by a dead woman to solve her own murder.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think a book’s Amazon page is the most important factor in selling books online. I wish I had better answers to this question

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read some good books on the craft, and read lots of novels, mostly the excellent ones but also the not so good ones.
If you have the opportunity, attend one of Robert McKee’s Story seminars. You’ll learn tons of him.
The most important thing, however, is to keep your eyes and ears open so that you can witness those small but oh so revealing truths of human behavior.

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

What are you reading now?
I just finished reading The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V Higgins.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have several novels in my head that I have to get down on paper. A couple of these stories have been simmering in my brain for a couple of years and are pretty well developed. Others are ideas I came up with in the last couple of months.

My goal is to try to write one novel per year, but only if I can do so without resorting to tired cliches.

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?
Big ones since I’m going to have a lot of time on my hands. The complete works of William Shakespeare. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. Gone With the Wind. Ulysses by James Joyce.

Author Websites and Profiles
Peter Palmieri Website
Peter Palmieri Amazon Profile

Peter Palmieri’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a self-published author, who refuses to give up. I still submit to agents, but the rejections can be discouraging if you let them be. Instead, I have chosen to put my works out there to the general public on Kindle. I have written over 8 books, ranging from poetry to Wicca to science fiction.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Hemingway’s Cats was inspired by sone time I spent working in the Florida Keys in 2015, when I visited Hemingway’s estate on Key West. I grew up in South Florida and had childhood memories of weekend vacations in the Keys with my parents. Key West is a colorful spot, and dear to my heart. The descendants of Hemingway’s 6-toed cats still roam the gardens of the estate, and are cared for by volunteers and staff. These spunky felines inspired me to write a humorous story that is the title of this collection of stories. I hope you enjoy them !

Currently, I am researching and writing a new sci-fi novel and I hope to complete it in 2018.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, I have been known to wake up at 2am to jot down an idea in my smartphone ! Also, I am fueled by strong coffee and chocolate.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Philip K. Dick
Ray Bradbury
Ernest Hemingway
Madeleine L’Engel

What are you working on now?
A new sci-fi novel, set on a watery planet.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Dunno yet. I’m still new at this stuff…

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Write. Just. F#@[ing. Write !
Get it down on paper or digital. Before you forget an idea, a train of thought. Capture that ! You can always clean it up as to spelling, syntax and grammar later.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be a nonconformist. Break the mold.

What are you reading now?
What A Fish Knows by Jonathan Balcombe

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m back on Wattpad, experimenting with nanos and short stories. And my dream is to support myself fulltime by writing !

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Martian Chronicles
The Bhagavad Gita
Through the Looking Glass

Author Websites and Profiles
Wendy Gillespie Website
Wendy Gillespie Amazon Profile

Wendy Gillespie’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in the seventh month of 1994. Though a graduate of Accounting, I discovered my glare for creative writing somewhere around the middle. So after my Bachelors, in 2015, I took some creative writing courses. In 206, I was longlisted In the Brilliant Flash fiction international prize and the Black letter Media short story prize. In 2017, I was a recipient of the Writersspace Africa prize for short story. I have written Four different books, all fiction.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
‘Pa John And The Riverside’. Kids love stories about Rivers, Mountains, Animals, an so on. I wanted to tell a good story to kids, so I wrote.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can write for seven hours at a stretch. I’m worried about this because I have some good piles of other works on my desk.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
John Grisham, Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda, and Jenifer Makumbi.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently writing a book about a chemical scientist who discovered what the world needs but some bad guys at the other end, want him dead because his invention will cripple their.multi-billion dollar investment.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best promotion method is really simply. The moment my book is published, I kick-start a five-day free book offer and advertise on my social networks.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I am a relatively new author. But my advice is: ‘keep writing.’

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

What are you reading now?
Daggers In A Teacup by A.H. Okonoboh

What’s next for you as a writer?
Get a book done that will fetch me a couple of six digits.

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?
Purple Hibiscus, The Firm, Origin

Hope Njoku’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an architect based in Athens, Greece. I hold a PhD in History of Architecture and teach History of Art and Architecture in higher education. That’s one passion of mine. The other one is hiking, in and out of town, and writing about it in my cultural travel blog and in my books. I have written 12 books, all of them in English and some also in French and in Greek. One of them is an academic book on Athens, written in a way that it could also be used by amateurs of Athens. The others are travel stories, written so that they can also be used as travel guides, with an emphasis on culture and hikes.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is “From the Templars to the most sensational love story of all time: Culture Hikes in Portugal”. It’s a travel story inspired by my visit to three top monuments of Portugal, linked to some very interesting stories, as the title suggests.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wouldn’t say so unless it’s my habit to put my material first in my travel blog, see how it’s received by the public, take my followers’ advice and information and later, when things mature, use the material in a book.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The author who has influenced me in my travel writing is Jan Morris, whose book “Venice” is, I believe, the best ever written about this city.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a book on Rome, which will take a lot of time, since Rome is, in my opinion, the top cultural travel destination in the world.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I promote my book my travel blog, facebook page and twitter account.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you believe you write good stuff, don’t ever give up!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you believe you write good stuff, don’t ever give up!

What are you reading now?
I am reading “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand. Although I don’t write fiction, I like fiction very much.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I haven’t decided yet. Hopefully, having writing occupying always a greater part of my activities.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1. “The Name of the Rose”. It has enough material to keep you busy for a lifetime.
2. “Wuthering Heights”. The novel that has touched me more than any other.
3. The complete works of ancient play writers. I believe everything is concerning human beings is there.

Author Websites and Profiles
Denis Roubien Website
Denis Roubien Amazon Profile
Denis Roubien Author Profile on Smashwords

Denis Roubien’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 Israel and traveled around the world, learning about caving and exploring caves all over the planet. Living on Easter Island for almost two years I’ve mapped the most important caves on the island and found new burial and treasure caves with the help of the Easter Island natives.

While working in Spain I joined the Almeria Caving Club and learned about the Single-Rope Technique (or SRT in short), used for accessing vertical caves by a single rope. Together they discovered the deepest cave in the Almeria region.

After returning to Israel I founded the Israeli Caving Club and started teaching SRT, creating a big community of cavers so they can explore together the Israeli caves and participate in caving events in other countries as well.

The book I’ve written, Caving In The Holy Land, describes all my adventures and explorations in the Holy Land in the field of Speleology.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
‘Everything Is Illuminated’ by Jonathan Safran Foer

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jonathan Safran Foer
J.R.R Tolkien

What are you working on now?
Another book about Easter Island

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Posting on Facebook and contacting people

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what is in your heart. People want to hear you.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Walk your talk

What are you reading now?
Blind Descent

What’s next for you as a writer?
A book I’m writing about Easter Island

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?
Everything Is Illuminated
Lord of the Rings
The Vampire Lestat
The One
The Godfather

Author Websites and Profiles
Itai Schkolnik Amazon Profile

Itai Schkolnik’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been a college marketing professor since 2004. I have also been an active business, marketing and education writer and content media website developer since 2007. My additional professional experience includes time retail and small business management. I hold a Master of Business Administration from Iowa State University.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
A Comprehensive Guide to Digital Marketing Strategy – I have struggled to find a book I’m comfortable using in my Digital Marketing courses, so I decided to create my own using materials I’ve developed.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Seth Godin and Rand Fishkin are among the experts I follow in Digital Marketing.

What are you working on now?
I plan to expand my recently published book with additional educational supplements.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website and blog at http://www.guidetodigital.com and Twitter @guidetodigital

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t spend so much time on minute details that you never take a great product to market.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Reiterations of my latest book, along with more educational versions.

Author Websites and Profiles
Neil Kokemuller Website
Neil Kokemuller Amazon Profile
Neil Kokemuller Author Profile on Smashwords

Neil Kokemuller’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an expat writer and cartoonist living in Beijing, China. I have studied Mandarin for about fourteen years now. My fiancee and I run our business here and create comic books that are mostly geared toward the China market, but Westerners curious about China will also enjoy them as well. So far I have made about 10 books for the series, but there are always at least two more in the pipeline at any given time. It is a series that I can foresee working on for a very long time.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The title I’m working on currently is called Final Destinations, the first part of which is an introductory mini-series whose English title is Mort in China. It follows the employees of an afterlife tourism agency as they go about their daily lives in China. The series is a product of years of living in and studying China paired with my love of folklore and legend, specifically legends surrounding Death and other Thanatotic entities.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
That is hard to say. Aside from myself, I really don’t have any other baseline to go off of. Since I work in comics instead of prose, everything goes in an ordered pipeline. Our books start with a premise which becomes an outline, which in turn becomes a script, which in turn gets edited and then drawn.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
We started Final Destinations with the intention of creating an animated series. For that reason the comics pull more influence from western animation than from literature. Animators like Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, and the Tom Ruegger have heavily influenced the work. We like the idea of creating fun and fast paced stories that still have some educational value. Ruegger did this very well when he was working with Spielberg on things like Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. We really want to preserve that kind of spirit in the work we do because China has never really had anything like that. That said, authors like Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Norton Juster, Jhonen Vasquez, and Joseph Campbell have had a big impact on how I approach story telling. I also draw a lot on traditional Chinese folklore and stories like Pu Songling’s Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio and the works of authors like Lu Xun.

What are you working on now?
For the moment I am back to drawing. I’m pencilling the next instalment of ‘Final Destinations’, which won’t be released for quite a while yet. I challenged myself to write an issue to pass the Bechdel test and what resulted is what I feel to be a good commentary on some of the major issues young women in China face.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
For reaching a Chinese audience, there are a multitude of comic websites to connect you with your audience. Apart from that we try to attend Conferences and Expos when we can. The scene here is a lot different from the one in the west. I’m usually the only creator sitting around at a booth waiting to engage the public. Most other comic creators don’t bother, which I feel is a missed opportunity on their part to really get to know the readers.

For the West, we’re still trying to figure that out. We’re publishing our series in English on Amazon now. Those books will be available on Kindle starting January 8th, 2018. Aside from that we try to maintain a steady web presence and make ourselves available. We have a Facebook presence and we keep a WordPress blog as well.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Nothing terribly profound. The best I can say is read as much as you can, try to have as many life experiences as you can, and just keep writing. If you really want to develop your own style, avoid spending too much time at things like writers’ feedback groups. They’re good every once in a while, but my experience is that they often pull people toward mediocrity. You spend enough time there and you might begin to notice that your work is starting to sound too much like everyone else’s. It’s better to find a number of authors you really admire and try to internalize their styles as much as you can. After a lot of reading and practice you’ll find that you’ve forged your own unique voice.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never trust a man without a vice.

That was certainly one of the most memorable pieces of advice anyone ever said to me. At face value it may seem like a horrible way to think, but I feel that it applies more than we’re willing to admit. It’s right up there with the adage ‘If it’s too good to be true it probably is.’ Anyone that looks too polished on the surface usually has something a lot darker going on underneath. Whereas someone whose vice is readily visible has probably come to own their shadow a bit more.

In writing this makes for better, more relatable characters. The best characters are flawed, they have some kind of weak spot that makes them vulnerable. When your character is vulnerable, your audience can understand them better. Personally, I feel this is a lot of the reason someone like Batman resonates a lot more with the audience than Superman. Superman is, at least for most of his publication history, a squeaky-clean vice-less character. It makes him hard to relate to. Batman however is a character based entirely around the vice of self-indulgence. He indulges the pain and sorrow he feels for his parents’ deaths and it becomes the relatable crux of his character.

So, never trust a man without a vice. Ipso facto, if you want your character to be relatable and trusted at the very least give them a vice; it can often turn a Mary Sue into a passable character.

What are you reading now?
Not as much as I want to be reading. Living in China puts a limitation on what English language books you have access to. I can read Chinese, but not to a level that reading a novel comes easily. I tend to go through audio books while I’m drawing. The last one of those I remember listening to was Murakami’s IQ84. Having never read anything of his previously I really wasn’t ready for it. Perhaps in a few years I’ll try for Norwegian Wood or Kafka on the Shore. I really didn’t know what I was getting into with his work but I will need a while before I’m ready to give it another go. I am slowly working my way through Gaiman’s Sandman series between books. Finding the time for that on my writing/drawing schedule isn’t always easy.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My current series should keep me going for a while. It is steadily gaining momentum here in China and I have a backlog of about seventy topics and story ideas that should keep me busy for quite some time.

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?
Deep down, I’m a pragmatist. Stranded on a desert island I would want the US Military’s S.E.R.E. field manual for a refresher course on how to survive. An unabridged version of ‘A la Reserche du Temps Perdu’ by Marcel Proust, for a steady supply of kindling. And a book on primitive technologies.

Author Websites and Profiles
Christopher (Vali) Rumage Website
Christopher (Vali) Rumage Amazon Profile

Christopher (Vali) Rumage’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m from a rural town in north western Pennsylvania. Married, with three awesome kids. I work nights at a hospital, so I’m pretty much always a zombie or mombie, as I like to say. In 2015 I self-published a romantic suspense titled Unconditional Strength and On January 02, 2018 I self- published a contemporary romance titled The Thing About Forgiveness.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Thing About Forgiveness was inspired by a dream I had about a little boy wondering down a snowy road at night. I woke up and wrote the prologue that morning.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write at night, when the rest of the world is asleep, well the rest of the world minus other writers. I hear there are a bunch of us that write at night.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Nicholas Sparks, Nora Roberts, Colleen Hoover and way too many more to list.

What are you working on now?
My current project is tentatively titled The Letter. It’s about a young woman who transfers Universities due to harassment. Her first day in town she finds, what she believes to be, a suicide letter in a used book. It’s the story of her finding the person who wrote the letter. And she may or may not fall in love along the way.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far I’ve only promoted with Facebook ads.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, edit, get some beta readers, write some more, find a good editor and edit again- then and only then, you might be ready to hit publish.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The above. Also, listen to your beta readers. A critique is a million times more helpful than a compliment.

What are you reading now?
Jasinda Wilder’s You Can Do It.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m just going to continue on the way I have been. I’m half way through The Letter and then I have another project mapped 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?
Unwritten Messages. Confess. The Choice. The Bible.

Jenni Lynn’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve only written one book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Prodigal Son & The unusual Suspects-On The Ride To Redemption
My wife grew up in the deep south and I was raised in Brooklyn. I would always relay stories about the characters I grew up with and she did not believe me…until she traveled to New York and actually met them. Guys like the school narcotics dealer. While making barbecue spareribs for the annual church picnic his parole officer unexpectedly shows up at his house. He panics and makes a split-second decision to dispose of his weekly allocation of merchandise by pouring two ounces of marijuana, an eighth of a kilo of cocaine, 30 mg. of methamphetamine and a handful of fentanyl into the barbecue sauce. During the sermon the following Sunday, the pastor spent over an hour complimenting, “The tremendous barbecue that Brother Abdullah made at the picnic…he was touched by the Divine Hand of God!” to shouts of “Amen” “Praise Jesus” and “Oh Hallelujah” from all over the sanctuary. Abdullah walks around royally pissed for about a year. He said, “Them Muth%^$&^ing intoxicated saints better not complain, those were $10,000 ribs.”
My wife hounded me about writing about these guys until one day, out of boredom I began to write and then, I could not stop.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
None that I know of…

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My writing style is probably more influenced by movies than books. In my opinion, It hard to write a good comedy and even harder to portray the humor on screen. I tried very hard to allow the reader to experience exactly what I witnessed in person and hopefully I accomplished my goal. This book is definitely funny…and true!!!

What are you working on now?
I ride motorcycles and we have a garage that about a dozen fellas sit in a few nights a week and shoot-the-breeze. Usually there is moonshine involved among other things and some of the conversations are insightful…at least we think so! I began to tape these conversations because they span the length of human emotions; sometimes sad, funny, profound etc. The book is called, The Harley Doctor – Conversations from the Hole

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Ask me in 6 months.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As I grow older I have cherished words of wisdom from older guys. Here’s one: You never waste a boner & you never trust a fart!

What are you reading now?
I’m watching TV

What’s next for you as a writer?
See above

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1. The Bible
2. How to Survive on a Deserted Island–Samantha Bell
3. Outdoor Life: The Ultimate Survival Manual: 333 Skills that Will Get You Out Alive
Richard Johnson
4. Larry Dean Olsen’s Outdoor Survival Skills.

Author Websites and Profiles
Emmanuel Sheafe Website
Emmanuel Sheafe Amazon Profile

Emmanuel Sheafe’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written eighteen books, most of which are non-fiction books for young adults. (They have titles such as “Be the Hero of Your Own Life Story,” “Finding a Friend in the Mirror,” and “I Thought Scout Uniforms Were Fireproof!”) I started out as a sportswriter and really loved that. When I’m not writing I love to ski and snowboard, and I spent eleven years working with the National Ski Patrol.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called “Demon’s Treasure.” I tell people “It’s about scuba diving,” even though that just scratches the surface. The adventure includes pirates, sunken ships, and lost treasure, and the list of characters includes sharks and moray eels.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I hate sitting around the office trying to be creative. When I lived in the city I used to pack up my notebooks and do my writing at ballparks and gyms (I just love having a good baseball or basketball game going on while I’m working). Other times, I’d go to the food court at the local mall and work there. (I just hate things being too quiet, and I love watching people.) I live in the country now (the nearest mall is more than an hour away) so I drive out to my farm and do most of my work on the tailgate of my truck.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was young I used to read Alistair MacLean all the time (“Ice Station Zebra” and “Where Eagles Dare” are still in my top-five favorite books.) I used to like Tom Clancy and Vince Flynn, but I hate the guys who’re writing their stuff now. Right now my favorite author is John Sandford. I love the way he puts humor into his work–even when things are serious–and I admire his plots and characterizations. For anyone who studies writing (as a way of improving their own work), I think John Sandford’s work is tops (especially his Virgil Flowers books).

What are you working on now?
I’m working on three different projects that involve snowboarding. Two are young adult aventure novels, and the other is an adult thriller (and it’s actually more skiing than boarding). The adult novel comes from my work as a ski patroller, and I like to think it’s something Arthur Hailey might have done (if he’d been a skier!).

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I love talking with people, so events where I can shake a few hands, sign a few books, and tell a few stories are far and away my favorite promotions. You don’t get the same exposure as a great website, but I never come away from a live event without feeling pumped up and anxious to write another fifty pages.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
There’s only one way to do this and that’s to write, write, and write!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Someone said to picture your reader holding a knife over you as you write, ready to slash your book to ribbons the second they’re bored. I actually keep a small pocketknife next to me as I work as a reminder, and it does help to keep me focused!

What are you reading now?
I have most of John Sandford’s novels, and while I’m waiting for the next one I keep rereading the old ones.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Just trying to get everything done. I mentioned my snowboarding/skiing books, and once they’re finished I have an adult, historical-fiction novel about flying that I’m excited to get out. It’s actually written, but it needs a good polish before it goes to print. (It’s chock-full of action in the air . . . every time I pick it I get so involved in the aerial sequences I have a hard time putting it away and getting back to work! Can’t wait!)

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?
Easy: “Ice Station Zebra,” “Where Eagles Dare,” “Airport,” “Lightning,” and “Watchers” (the last two are Dean Koontz).

Author Websites and Profiles
Shane Barker Website
Shane Barker Amazon Profile

Shane Barker’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written three books: “The Prince and the Singularity – A Circular Tale”, “Marlene and Sofia – A Double Love Story” and “The Algorithm of Power” (January 2018). The first one was quite short (45k words) and in retrospect I think it looks like it was written by a hippie in 1969, under the influence of an LSD trip but, to my utter amazement, lots of people seem to love it and have left glowing reviews (not all, though). The second one is bigger (75k) and a lot “tamer” and (maybe unsurprisingly) seems to have caused less of an impact on readers.
Judging from the reaction of the few people who have read it, I’m quite hopeful about the third book’s prospects but only time will tell…

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I wanted to challenge 1984 and Brave New World for the title of Best Dystopia Ever Written. The Algorithm of Power aims to unseat them from their throne!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Sometimes I cry when I’m writing but don’t tell anyone.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ll leave that for readers to decide.

What are you working on now?
Promotion.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I still haven’t found anything that REALLY works.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t get into writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Neil Gaiman: “When people tell you there’s something wrong with a story, they’re almost always right. When they tell what it is that’s wrong and how it can be fixed, they’re almost always wrong.”

What are you reading now?
The Algorithm of Power, for the umpteenth time.

What’s next for you as a writer?
May I answer this one in 2019?

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?
Three different survival guides.

Author Websites and Profiles
Pedro Barrento Amazon Profile

Pedro Barrento’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m from a small resort town in northern Michigan that serves as the setting for my current series of books, The Harbor Secret Series. I work as a court reporter by day and write in my spare time. I have two rescue dogs that keep me busy when I’m not running, playing tennis, traveling, or gardening.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Leviathan. It was inspired by a series of old newspaper articles I discovered that ran between 1875 and 1930 reporting sea serpent sightings in my home town. I told the historian working with me, “You had me at ‘sea serpent’!” The characters in the book read the articles, so you get to enjoy them, too!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I prefer to do nothing but write until the book is finished. A first draft takes about two weeks. I’m a very fast typist, but the research part sometime slows me down.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m very into Jude Deveraux’s books right now. Romance and time travel are two of my favorite topics.

What are you working on now?
I’ve just finished a script for “The Tunnels” and am entering it in screenplay contests and film festivals. Maybe someday…

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best method seems to be to promote on as many web sites as possible. It usually takes me two days to sign up for all the promotional sites I can find. I can’t narrow the success down to one site because you just never know where the most sales are coming from.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Self-promotion is very hard and very time consuming work.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up. It’s tempting, but don’t. You’ll stay in the same place you were before you started.

What are you reading now?
“Legend” by Jude Deveraux.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m trying to decide between adding another book to the Harbor Secret Series or to move on to some different characters. Not sure…

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The House, One Minute Millionaire, The Success Principles, Shadow Castle.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kristie Dickinson Website
Kristie Dickinson Amazon Profil

Kristie Dickinson’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written a number over the years, mostly for myself. My first book recently went live with Amazon Kindle Publishing.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Her Secret Friend, which is part of a series I’ve been working on. It was something I thought of for years, no true inspiration, just an idea I had. Finally, one day I wrote it all out and it ended up a book series.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know about unusual, but my book series was written completely out of order. For whatever reason, it came to me that way. They will be read by others in correct order, though. I listen to a lot of music on YouTube for my inspiration when I need to clear my head.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jane Austen is my favorite forever. I grew up with Danielle Steel and Jude Deveraux and now I love finding new authors online, too. Anything involving romance and especially time travel romance I am a sucker for.

What are you working on now?
I am writing the fourth and final book of my Paragon series

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Honestly, I am new to this and this is one of the first sites I’ve seen. I like it so far!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I am a new author but for anyone that has an idea, I say go for it! Keep trying, be patient, it’s all anyone can do.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I have heard such great advice over the years, but my favorite will always be the basic. The golden rule. Be humble, be kind.

What are you reading now?
I haven’t had much time for reading lately but when I do, I read something by Barbara Metzger. Reading her will always brighten up my day!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will finish my Paragon series and put them all online, then I have other ideas I will work on. I am excited to keep going as a writer and to stay creative.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Pride and Prejudice
Miss Treadwell’s Talent by Barbara Metzger
Miss Lockharte’s Letters by Barbara Metzger

Author Websites and Profiles
Juliana Stevens Author Profile on Smashwords

Juliana Stevens’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing since I was quite young, along with playing and teaching music–specializing on trombone, although I also play other instruments–so it’s no surprise my books center on musicians. I currently have 4 books out in the Blue Bells Chronicles series, in addition to an associated ‘Not a Cookbook,’ called Food and Feast in the World of the Blue Bells Chronicles.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Battle is O’er is the fifth and final book in the Blue Bells Chronicles. The entire series was inspired by a children’s novel, a piece of music in the trombone repertoire, and a flash of an image of a man arrogant enough to gamble away his trombone–his livelihood.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m afraid I’m relatively boring in that respect. I sit at my kitchen counter and drink coffee and write, although I do make research trips to Scotland to visit the locations in my books.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
In the Keep of Time, by Margaret Anderson was a huge influence on my present series. Among my favorite authors are C.S. Lewis.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Find a good critique group for support and advice.

What’s next for you as a writer?
When I finish the Blue Bells Chronicles, I’ll finish another book I started several years ago, about a young widow who buys a castle in Scotland for her house full of boys–only to discover it’s haunted!

Author Websites and Profiles
Laura Vosika Website
Laura Vosika Amazon Profile
Laura Vosika Author Profile on Smashwords

Laura Vosika’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi! I’m a new author actually I was a blogger and my blogs encouraged me to write a book. I have published my first book yesterday i.e. on 5th Jan 2018.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest or first book is “Little Big Things”. It’s about social issues which we all face in our day to day lives. So I have a habit of observing everything very deeply and my thoughts encouraged me to write this book.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Well, my favourite writer is Enid Blyton, Ann M. Martin, Luisa May Alcott etc. I love their books very much. Writing is my new passion. And my blogs encouraged me to write a book.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on my fiction book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Maybe, Awesome Gang, I don’t know this is my first visit to this website.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m a new author so please advise me something.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t rely on anyone, and always consult your parents while dealing with anything…

What are you reading now?
Well, I’m reading J.K.Rowling Harry Potter part 3.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ll definitely write a 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?
Little women by Luisa Alcott, famous five by Enid Blyton, Best friends by Ann M. Martin.

Author Websites and Profiles
Bushra Shaikh Website

Bushra Shaikh’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My most recent genre has been romantic suspense with THE REMAINS IN THE POND released in November 2017 (two girls meet at the old pond, only one returns). It follows my romantic suspense trilogy (some say thriller bordering on horror) STUTTER CREEK (an accidental meeting with a serial killer); LILAC LANE (a second go-round with a madman bent on revenge); and COPPER LAKE (the killer cartographer who loves to revisit his “girls”).

I’ve also written one stand-alone women’s novel, ALL FOR LOVE, (the man of her dreams may be the worst thing that ever happened to her) which requires the reader to indulge in vodka and multiple boxes of tissue while they read. In addition, I wrote a true horror novel in the apocalyptic genre, TAKERS: APOCALYPSE IN EDEN, which is my Muse speaking as a teenaged boy named Jack who shares the spotlight with a deaf pit bull named Snake.

My other series was written with my middle schoolers in mind (yes, I taught reading to 5th/6th graders for a number of years) because they always returned from the library on Friday with spooky books and twisty tales. Thus, STEVIE-GIRL AND THE PHANTOM PILOT was born. It was quickly followed by STEVIE-GIRL AND THE PHANTOM STUDENT (my all time fave!), and STEVIE-GIRL AND THE PHANTOM OF CRYBABY BRIDGE. Book Four will be out this year and I am hard at work on the second book in the APOCALYPSE IN EDEN SERIES. This one is called SEEKERS.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
THE REMAINS IN THE POND was released in November 2017. It was inspired by a photo of a white skull barely visible in a weedy pond. I think Viola Estrella did a wonderful job capturing that on the cover of the book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I must have Diet Vanilla Coke to drink and my Bucky the Beaver pillow on which to rest my laptop. I usually have some form of music going, although once the Muse pops in, all background noise retreats.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I cut my teeth on Alfred Hitchcock books as a kid (13 Tales They Wouldn’t Let Me Do on TV), and I also loved stories of peril involving dogs such as SILVER CHIEF, DOG OF THE NORTH. I later moved on to Edgar Allan Poe, followed by Stephen King, Mary Stewart (Merlin Series), and Ray Bradbury.

What are you working on now?
I am working on SEEKERS, the second book in my APOCALYPSE IN EDEN series. This genre is labeled as horror (what happens when two worlds collide), but all my favorite genres are woven into the narrative. We have a teenaged boy who meets a wonderful girl, a deaf pit-bull protagonist named Snake, and a maybe magical alien-type named Turq. What more does one speculative fiction book need? Oh, and Book Four in the Phantoms series is done and awaiting editing.

Of course I also have another romantic suspense in the works. It’s just sort of hanging out down there in the tool bar.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m terrible at promoting! I think my FB author page (and my personal page) get noticed when I have giveaways. My blog was doing well, but I’ve experienced difficulties with my email list so that one is needing some work…

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t try to do it all at once. Focus on the first draft and forget about the rest!

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

What are you reading now?
Barrie Hill Reunion by Lisette Brodey.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman
and I’m rereading THE REMAINS IN THE POND because I know I saw a typo and I am determined to find that sucker!

What’s next for you as a writer?
More of the same! I am working on SEEKERS, the second book in my APOCALYPSE IN EDEN series. This genre is labeled as horror (what happens when two worlds collide), but all my favorite genres are woven into the narrative. We have a teenaged boy who meets a wonderful girl, a deaf pit-bull protagonist named Snake, and a maybe magical alien-type named Turq. What more does one speculative fiction book need? Oh, and Book Four in the Phantoms series is done and awaiting editing.

Of course I also have another romantic suspense in the works. It’s just sort of hanging out down there in the tool bar.

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 (because I’ve never read the entire thing)
The Complete Works of Stephen King (if such a thing existed)
The Complete Works of Ray Bradbury
The Complete Works of Ann Swann (because I have so many short stories I’ve forgotten most of them!)

Author Websites and Profiles
Ann Swann Website
Ann Swann Amazon Profile
Ann Swann Author Profile on Smashwords

Ann Swann’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I began writing because I’m fascinated by where trends in culture and technology (especially artificial intelligence) may take humanity in the coming decades. I’m writing a four-book near-future sci-fi series to explore those issues. The first book, The Gods We Make, is published as of this writing and the second is well underway. I have also published a novella exploring the background of a character from the second book, with more novellas planned.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Ji-min is my latest work. It’s near-future sci-fi set in North Korea. I chose the setting because the belligerent talk from North Korea’s elite makes the news, while the suffering of its population goes mostly unnoticed.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My writing is inspired by real-world events (such as accounts from North Korean escapees) or real-world, cutting-edge science & technology. My first goal is to tell a compelling story, but I won’t take large liberties with reality in the process.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Tolkien as a child. More recently Brandon Sanderson and Andy Weir top the list.

What are you working on now?
I’m about half-way through the first draft of The Gods We Seek, the second book in my series. It’s a real joy to write because I have come to know my characters well. It feels like I’m discovering their stories as my fingers type the words.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
If I knew that, I’d likely be a wealthy author now. It’s a process to figure it out and a complicated one at that.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what interests you, not what you think will sell. Get all the feedback you can and expect to rewrite many times.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Seek truth in your writing.

What are you reading now?
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson and Lock In by John Scalzi.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m focused on completing my current novel, The Gods We Seek. I’ve already outlined The Gods We Find and The Gods We Are and can’t wait to start on those.

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?
Certainly something by Brandon Sanderson. They’re really, really long so I will have plenty of material to read.

Author Websites and Profiles
Eric Johannsen Website
Eric Johannsen Amazon Profile

Eric Johannsen’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up on the outskirts of a town of 199 people. With no nearby neighbor kids to play with and no internet or cable for a long time, books were my main companions, and good company they were. I probably wouldn’t be here today without an early love of books. I have numerous novels in progress, with one finished that I am campaigning on Amazon Kindle Scout for publishing.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Un-Life of William Moore is my response to the over-romanticizing of classical monsters and bringing the idea back home that being a monster is a curse and not a blessing. However, I also wanted to humanize the monster so much so that he’s the most human person in the book, struggling with real world problems like homelessness, unemployment, hunger, and basic commodities. Nominate the novel on Kindle Scout and get a free ebook if it’s selected for publication: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/QCD68QEN6NXC

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I journal on a daily basis and I have also participated in text-based and forum-based role playing. Interacting with other writers is a great way to build your skills and your network, and it also fuels a lot of inspiration.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The book/author that made me want to write was Eragon by Christopher Paolini. He wrote the book at a young age, and I liked it so much, I thought that if he could do it, then so could I at age 12.

What are you working on now?
I’m campaigning my novel, The Un-Life of William Moore, on Amazon Kindle Scout. While I’m trying to generate buzz for it, I’m keeping up a blog about my progress and anything else that comes to mind about writing and books.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve been using facebook a lot. I got a promotion from them for some free advertising and have been utilizing it to spread the word. I’ve also been putting up flyers around town and advertising on local facebook groups, which has gotten me attention from two newspapers in my area.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
There’s a way to get it done! If you’re struggling with traditional publishing, like I was, look towards trying to get off your feet with publishing ebooks, which has been my strategy. Get your name out there while trying to save up funds for printing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Even though I hated teachers reading us self-help, chicken soup, “proactive” books that only seemed to be filled with common sense and human decency, there was one part that resounded with me and still does: You are in control of your own emotions. No one “makes you” feel anything. You choose to be upset about something. I’ve tried to keep that mindset ever since and try not to let things get me down because I don’t want to be down. I choose to be happy, and so I am.

What are you reading now?
I’ve been slowly working my way through a large science fiction anthology that comprises mostly of older science fiction up to about the 1980s. Each story is blowing my mind with the way it makes you look at the world totally different. Where we are, where we are going…

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to focus on getting another novel out as soon as possible and keep the content coming. My goal is for my next book to be something more original, more game changing, more unique, than my first one. I want to not only keep the books coming, but make a better one every time.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Well, since I get more than one, I’d really like some kind of book on how to survive on a desert island that contained all the need-to-know like starting fires, building rafts, and how to tell which plants/animals are edible and which are poisonous. For recreational reading to kill the time until my rescue, I’d like something engrossing that could get my mind off my predicament. Something funny, something adventurous. Hmm. Let me take the Inheritance series with me. They’re large enough and I never get tired of reading the first one – I’ve read it probably six times by now.

Author Websites and Profiles
Dana Lockhart Website

Dana Lockhart’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an avid writer. I typically, for now, do my own editing and proofreading. I have one completed book called Flash Fiction Collection. I am working on three separate full length novels.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Flash Fiction Collection book was inspired by several different things. Some of the stories in the book were inspired by my own life experiences, one was inspired by real world events and others were inspired by my gaming experiences.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I am writing I just let it flow. Sometimes I’ll go back and read something I have wrote and it won’t make sense in the moment but I just have to let it flow to avoid writers block. I do go back and rearrange and fix things that don’t make sense but I’ll write a whole story without going back to look at it until I have finished it.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite author is John Grisham and his books are the ones that influenced my decision to start writing. I love the way he tells a story and I hope to one day tell stories as well as he does. I have also been influenced by Stephen King. He is one of the top notch story tellers of our time. His attention to detail and his ability to make you feel like you are living his story out definitely influenced the way I want to write.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on The Spread, a zombie-type novel. I am also working on 2032:The End which is a story with a vast scope of characters and locations focusing on a not so distant future of WWIII. Last but not least, I am also working on Back In Time which is a time travel/historical fiction novel.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Twitter and Facebook for the most part at this point and time.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write. It doesn’t have to sound good when you start that is what editing and proofreading is for. It doesn’t even have to make a lot of sense at first. Get your idea out of your mind then rework it to make something great.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It’s cliche but “If at first you don’t succeed, try again”

What are you reading now?
I am reading one of John Grishams newer novels titled Camino Island.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I hope to publish several books and I dream of having one become a bestseller. Not so much for the fame but so that I have contributed to modern literature.

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 Stand by Stephen King, I’ve read it at least eight times but I could read it several more. The Client by John Grisham and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Author Websites and Profiles
Philip Olson Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Prithiv here, I’m a Romance author and have released my first novel titled ‘Manhattan Courtship’. Before I began writing, I experimented with various occupations: mechanical supervisor, computer networking, human resources… In any case, my most loved occupation is the one I’m currently doing full time – writing books.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Name of my debut book is ‘Manhattan Courtship’. It’s a Romance Novel. One fine day, I needed to simply wanted to come up with a fictional novel with a touch of the stories from my own life added to it. That is the point at which I figured that I should write a Romance novel, as it’s free-flowing and I got my own experience as well.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not that I am aware of. But, I write for the most part amid the mornings, when the psyche is crisp with new thoughts.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The unusual part is that, I don’t have any most loved Romance author, since I read less Romance myself. But, on the off chance that I needed to state which writer impacted me, I got the opportunity to run with few names that I appreciate reading, Stephen King, James Herbert, John Saul and couple more writers who emerged in the recent past.

What are you working on now?
I haven’t begun with my next title yet. It’s just been week since my first book turned out, despite everything i’m concentrating on it’s promotion and sales.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Mostly through word of mouth and the rest through social media platforms.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be your own editor/critic. Sympathetic but merciless!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Always carry a note-book. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea for ever.

What are you reading now?
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. So far so good!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m as of now attempting to promote my book as much as I can to reach the readers. Will take criticism from them, and work on the errors, so I don’t rehash it in the up and coming books.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
It’s hard to pick but I will need to think about it before taking a trip anywhere close to the sea shore.

Author Websites and Profiles
Prithiv Chandar Website
Prithiv Chandar Amazon Profile

Prithiv Chandar’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Joseph has over 16 years’ experience in the IT industry for leading corporate, financial and educational organizations. He has held various positions as Technical Trainer, IT Analyst, Website Developer, Manager and Desktop Support Technician.
Joseph McGee was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He has been involved in the technical industry since the year 2000. He has been involved in speaking topics such as “Building Team Dynamics” and “Leadership Lessons Inspired by a 6 year old”, which has been expanded into the topics in his book. He lives in Connecticut with his wife Amanda and three children (Ursula, Nathan, and Tabitha.) I’ve self published two books between 2016/2017.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My newsest book is called, “The White House is Fake.” It was inspired by driving down Interstate 84 (I-84) in Connecticut and the idea came into my head. It was the year 1956 with President Dwight Eisenhower signing the bill for the Federal-Aid Highway Act into law. It was also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highway Act. The law was executed on June 29, 1956 with an estimate of over 25 billion for the 41,000 miles of highway to be built. In 1957 Dwight Eisenhower modified the Act to include a Presidential Protection Act. In 1992 Nelson Conrad discovered what the Presidential Protection Act was and how the government has been lying to the American People. Learn why the DOT (Department of Transportation) was involved in this secret since 1957. It wasn’t until 2016 until this truth was to be exposed. This is the story of Nelson Conrad.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No. My ideas will come in random places and I will email myself a few words as a reminder for later reference. I tend to write in various places and at various times of day with no consistency.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
David Perlmutter (UK) – Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Jungle – Yossi Ginsberg

What are you working on now?
I’m working on my third publication entitled, “Letters for Annie: Memories from World War II.” It based on a real World War II letters from the Lombardo Family. This is the untold story based on real events but will be classified, “fiction,” as I’ll fill in some content to fill in the necessary gaps of the story. The book will release late 2018. More information at http://lettersforannie.com

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Before releasing my second publication – I wanted to try something different. I decided to reenact certain chapters of my book and film it within Connecticut. The book is based in Alexandria, VA and we used many props including VA license plate and VA DOT vest, etc. We unlisted many friends to play certain characters from the book and used actual lines from the book in the movie trailers. I released the trailers prior to the book release for promotion. You can find the videos at www.TheWhiteHouseIsFake.com.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
In my own words, I’ve always said this and I wish everyone to repeat it. Perfection should be your own definition and not what everyone else thinks it is.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything. ~ hagakure book of the samurai

What are you reading now?
My focus is on my third publication so I’m not currently reading anything as of now.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish my third publication and as of now I’m an author as a hobby. One day, I’d like to become a full time author in the near future and focus on my writing 100% of the time.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would not bring any books with me. Instead, I would bring paper and pencils and craft some new books based on my experiences on the island.

Author Websites and Profiles
Joseph McGee Website
Joseph McGee Amazon Profile

Joseph McGee’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Rayfil King Wong was born in Hong Kong to Chinese immigrant parents, grew up in San Francisco, United States, and returned to China in 2011. Over the past twenty years he has been a motivational speaker to over 3000 high school students teaching the message that “Failure is not the end, but the beginning. He credits his past failures such as being place on academic probation at UC Berkeley with strengthening his mental vigor.

In 2007, he appeared ABC’s prime time hit reality tv show American Inventor. His invention Sober Key which aims to prevent drunk drivers access to their keys while drunk has amassed around 200,000 views on YouTube. In 2012, he has been called a future “New Prophet” by the prestigious South China Morning Post.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Brave Unicorn: Grit book for kids

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jesus

Do you have any advice for new authors?
understand how to market a book

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“If not me, who? If not now, when?”

What are you reading now?
Bible

What’s next for you as a writer?
learning how to market my 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?
Wisdom Hunter
Bible

Author Websites and Profiles
Rayfil Wong Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have 3 book already finish. But just one in amazon the other 2 are about to be completed

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The wanderer
Inspired in horror movies. Also I just want to talk about some society issues that are affect us today. So i make a mix between horror movies and the issues that i want to talk about

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Im writint what goes through my mind then i’ll fix it.
Also i write first the chapters and the name. Before i have any idea about what i’m going to write

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Many. Many. many. If i mention one i have to mention all. That would not be Fair. Jajajaj
Osho books, swami prabhupāda,bob dylan-tarantula, stephen king, ricardo miró, rogelio sinán, neruda… etc etc etc

What are you working on now?
A book about a call center guy that have cancer and have to continue working with the disease

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep writing

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Do it, you will be criticized any ways.

What are you reading now?
Panamenia writers. Like miguel esteban and others

What’s next for you as a writer?
Complete my books

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The devine comedy- dante, tarantula- bob dylan, the path of love -osho,

Author Websites and Profiles
Jose manuel Rodriguez Website

Jose manuel Rodriguez’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a modern day Egyptian woman with an absolutely ancient soul. I’ve published four books and in the writing-phase of my fifth.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest project is the third, and final, installment of The Ankhs Series. It’s time to bring this fantastical journey to a close.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Actually, I have several. I take coffee and cigarette breaks so that I can chill with the characters [we’re all on a break] and in my mind we talk about what’s happening and where it’s going.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
What haven’t?

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Word of mouth. I love getting to know people who eventually become my readers and vice-versa.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Whatever it takes, you have to finish. Cause there will be so many people telling you “you can’t” “you shouldn’t” “you’ll never make it”.

Your response: “I can” “I want to” “Hell, yeah, I will!”

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Find your happiness in life and make it happen.” -My mother [Rest Her Soul], shortly after I was divorced and found it difficult to make sense of the world.

What are you reading now?
Don’t laugh… For real!

I’m reading the Declaration of Independence. It’s a beautiful document! The language is vivid and passionate and compelling! The word choice is SO powerful!

It gives me goosebumps…

What’s next for you as a writer?
After I finish The Ankhs (Book 3)? I have no idea. But, I’m totally excited.

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 biggest, fattest, bulkiest anthologies of:
a) the classics
b) a whole lot of indie authors that I’ve never read before

I want to be surprised with every story.

Author Websites and Profiles
Amira Awaad Amazon Profile
Amira Awaad Author Profile on Smashwords

Amira Awaad’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have two cold case murder mysteries set at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. I’m also a reporter who writes everything from features to school board stories on a daily basis. When I was in college I wrote a play called “The Perfect Love Lover,” that had a production in Brazil.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Unsung: Hitting a Sour Note.
I’ve been a reporter for 20 years and heard just about every rumor it is possible to hear. I took some of those rumors, threw them in the washing machine in my head and came up with my solution to the problem.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have to make myself write in the evening because I write all day. When I’m working on a project I force myself to write 1,000 words a day.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Sam Shepard, Harlan Ellison, P.D. James just to name a few.

What are you working on now?
A screenplay.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m new to promotion. Admittedly, I just like to write. I’m learning though. And it helps that the newspaper I work for and its sister sites publish stories about my newest adventures.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep writing. It doesn’t do a bit of good to sit and contemplate the wisdom to found in the lint in your belly button.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t talk about it. Do it.

What are you reading now?
“A Short History of Nearly Everything” by Bill Bryson

What’s next for you as a writer?
Whatever pops up in my brain. I’ve sketched out a third cold case murder mystery.

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 Wrinkle in Time” by Madeline L’engle
“I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison
“The Once and Future King” by T.H. White
“Time Enough For Love” by Robert Heinlein

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in a small rural town, always dreaming of being a writer. I enjoys listening to music, writing, and spending time with my lovely wife. When I’m not enjoying my creative pursuits, I like to watch Korean dramas or play vintage video games. My interests are varied and I’m always open to new ideas and experiences. Freedom’s Fate is my fifth novel. Look for more novels coming soon!

www.jenniert.com
@jennietaylor16

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest is called Freedom’s Fate. The book started with a dream I had, I think. Many of my books do. I’ve always liked sci-fi, and I liked the idea of a go-getter girl becoming captain of the ship before she is really ready.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My usual way of writing is to just sit in front of the computer and let it flow, editing as I go. I then tend to re-edit over and over again until I’m at least somewhat happy with it. Nothing too unusual, I suppose.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I write YA, always with LGBT characters, and so this may seem strange, but I’ve been influenced by Stephen King. Not directly, I suppose, but definitely inspired. I like a lot of other authors, and recently have really gotten into a lot of Claudia Gray especially, but Stephen King was one of the first who really made me want to be a writer.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on the third book in the Non-Vampire series. I have the sequel for Freedom’s Fate basically completed, so I’m just giving it a little time to sit before I go back over it with fresh eyes before releasing it.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This is always difficult for me. I am not very good at promotion, sadly. I really liked doing giveaways on Goodreads, but they are changing how they handle that and making it much more difficult for indie authors like myself, so I don’t think I’ll be doing that anymore. Mostly it’s Twitter now, I guess.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write. Write anything. Write trash. It’s only after writing a lot that you will learn to recognize what is and isn’t trash, and you’ll start to have a better feel for a how a story is structured to make it flow.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Those Who Mind Don’t Matter, and Those Who Matter Don’t Mind

What are you reading now?
I’m just finishing Leai, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’m not sure. Some kind of survival guides, maybe:)

Author Websites and Profiles
Jennie Taylor Website
Jennie Taylor Amazon Profile

Jennie Taylor’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Sonya McKinzie was born and raised in Brunswick, Georgia and currently resides in Lawrenceville, Georgia with her beautiful six-year old daughter. She is a 15-year domestic violence survivor. She is the Executive Director and Founder of Women of Virtue Transitional Foundation, a Lawrenceville, Georgia based nonprofit organization that fights to eradicate abuse. When humankind experiences traumatic experiences or extreme life stressors, life unravels and becomes hard to bear. Sonya’s great passion is nurturing and helping to heal to women and girls that have experienced traumatic experiences such as abuse. As a second-generation survivor of abuse, she strives to help my clients, who children and adults to find healthy endings to their not so healthy beginnings. While there is no single approach is works on every traumatic situation, she has been trained both by life and academically to provide mentorship, coaching and counseling in a way that will be well received and utilized by all my clients.
Sonya is a speaker and author that has authored three books and is one of the twenty-three co-authors of the Best Seller, Soul Source Book, released in July 2017. She released her third best seller ThriveHer: Women That Walk Confidently and Spiritually from Surviving to Thriving in November 2017.
Sonya’s educational background includes a MA in Human Services Counseling with a focus in Addictions and recovery, a BA in Business Management, and hold a Victims advocate certification. The education and experience has been used to not only help build my business sense but to also counsel those affected by trauma.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
ThriveHer: Women that Walk Confidently and Spiritually from Surviving to Thriving – It was inspired by my many obstacles of hardships from domestic violence, suicide attempts and overcoming.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Iyanla Vanzant

What are you working on now?
I am working on a compilation of Poetry and Haikus

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?
Yes, do not give up!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t give up! Laughs…

What are you reading now?
TD Jakes – SOAR

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am working on a compilation of Poetry and Haikus

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?
SOAR & Destiny and TD Jakes, Live your dreams and its not over until you win by Les Brown

Author Websites and Profiles
Sonya McKinzie Website
Sonya McKinzie Amazon Profile

Sonya McKinzie’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Discovering Love Online: Love May Be Closer Than You Think is my first book, but I have a diverse career background and nearly four decades of experience as a journalist, editor, publisher and graphic artist writing for over 20 online and print publications. I’ve also created several websites including Propeller Cap, LLC (https://propellercap.com/), my indie publishing house, and the book’s companion website, Discovering Love Online (https://discoveringloveonline.com/).

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The aforementioned Discovering Love Online: Love May Be Closer Than You Think is my “latest” and only book thus far. It was inspired by my own recent success in online dating.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really, but I often fight with the editor within when I’m trying to move my writing along and not get bogged down with exact phrasing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Bible and the works of Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jean Sheppard, Zig Zigler, Bob Buford, Max Lucado and Andy Stanley are among my favorites.

What are you working on now?
The paperback version of Discovering Love Online: Love May Be Closer Than You Think and a companion workbook.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
KDP Select on Amazon along with Facebook and Instagram. But, I’ll be expanding those channels over the coming months.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Now’s the best time to get started in self-publishing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write and keep on writing.

What are you reading now?
On Writing by Stephen King.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Probably another couple books in the online dating field and possibly some children’s books (I wrote one about 10 years ago, but never published it). However, I’ve been active in photography since I was a teen and may try my hand in that market, too.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible, Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island and a blank journal.

Author Websites and Profiles
Chuck Miller Website
Chuck Miller Amazon Profile

Chuck Miller’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Dahlia Donovan. I love irreverent humour and unconventional characters. I’m autistic, obsessed with books and video games. I’ve written two series plus a handful of short stories and novellas.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Lion Tamer is my most recent book to be released. It comes out on Feb 20th. It’s book six in my Sin Bin series.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I handwrite in notebooks first. Not sure if that’s unusual, though.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jane Austen. Definitely.

What are you working on now?
A gay romance, cottage mystery novella series. It’s different from what I’ve written but I’m loving it.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Take all advice with a grain of salt. It’s the advice I give every author who ever asks. Writing advice is wide, varied, and often contradictory.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Do what works for you.

What are you reading now?
I just finished reading Young, Damned, and Fair — about

What’s next for you as a writer?
Not sure. I’m a panster so whatever my muse decides to throw at me.

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?
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Any of the Jo Beverly Rogue series.
The Harry Potter series.
And Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Author Websites and Profiles
Dahlia Donovan Website
Dahlia Donovan Amazon Profile

Dahlia Donovan’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am Catherine Grande from Morocco. I have written one short story “The tree house”

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The 40 rules of love

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I was having a dream about a girl. she was going alone to the forest. I didn’t know her so have written my short story “the tree house” about her.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Najeeb mahfooz

What are you working on now?
I am working on making my short story “the tree house” famous.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This is the first time i try to promote my story. i have good feelings towards your website.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I am a new author myself. any advice?

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

What are you reading now?
i am reading “yesterday’s shadows”

What’s next for you as a writer?
I would like to write more storiesQuran

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?
Quran, me before you, pride and prejudice…

Author Websites and Profiles
Catherine Grande Website
Catherine Grande Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in Louisville, Kentucky and have spent most of my life in the small town of Hillview, just south of there. My wife, Jenny, and I are ghost hunters who own and operate two local ghost walks (Jacob Floyd’s Shepherdsville History and Haunts Tour and Jacob Floyd’s NuLu History and Haunts Tour), both of which you can follow on Facebook.

My love for horror began at an early age when I first saw The Return of the Living Dead, and my desire to write it began in my teen years when I started reading R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series. Other than Stine, I list Clive Barker, Charles Dickens, James Herbert, J.R.R. Tolkien, S.E. Hinton, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Jordan, and Brian Keene as my major literary influences.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Pleasure Hunt. It was inspired by an article I read about how social media and the Internet in general are alienating people. At the time, I was also reading a lot of occult studies, and stuff about Lilith and the succubae caught my attention. I began studying more about that and that’s where this book came from. There is a lot of Clive Barker influence, as well as some Tolkien. Bits of the Zohar and the Necronomicon played their parts, too.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I just like peace and quiet.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien; Charles Dickens–A Tale of Two Cities early in life, then much of his other work as time went on; the novels of S.E. Hinton really sparked my interest in writing and developing characters; R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series is probably why I’m even a writer, today; the poetry of Edgar Allen Poe taught me how to use dark emotions to tell tales; reading Clive Barker’s horror work really revealed to me how I want to write; I have also found influence in the works of James Herbert, Robert Jordan, and Brian Keene.

What are you working on now?
An animal swarm horror novel about a small town in Kentucky that gets overrun by one of the most unlikely of creatures. It’s in the revision stages and my publisher has already shown interest in it, so it may very well find a home soon.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still learning that side of authorhood. I get decent responses on Facebook and even Twitter, but I am now branching out, looking for advertisement sites that are within my budget, blogs, and review sites.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be tough and don’t give up. You’ll get rejected a lot and want to quit, but don’t. Rejection doesn’t mean you’re no good. It’s a tough world to get into and equally tough to stay and thrive in. You have to love it and want it if you want to succeed. Always be looking to improve your writing, but also write for you. Most of all, familiarize yourself with the indie publishing scene because there are a lot of publishers out there who may take your work without an agent. A huge portion of book sales come from the Indie world. But, there is a lot of product, so be ready to interact and solicit reviews. Agents are great to have if you can land one; and, if that’s your goal, you can always build your name on the indie scene and make yourself more desirable to agents who can get you good contracts. Also, make sure you do your homework: there are bad publishers, too. Never go with someone who will make you pay an upfront fee to get published. Ever! Learn to network with publishers, reviewers, and bloggers. It’s all about exposure and this is where you get it. Get involved. Books don’t sell themselves. But, don’t forget to love what you do. If it gets too much, step back for a minute and clear your head.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Know your worth. J.P. Willie, author of Blood in the Woods, said that to me. You MUST do that as an author. Don’t sell yourself short.

Also, keep writing. That was said to me by HellBound Books CEO, James Longmore. The more you put out there, the more your name is out there, and the more attention you’ll receive. This is key.

What are you reading now?
Quiet Places by Jasper Bark. He is a great author. I am looking forward to interviewing him on my blog, Jacob Floyd’s Ghost and Monsters.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My wife and I write paranormal books, too. We’re working on a few of those and I am working on other novels, shorts, and considering submitting some of my poetry. What’s next for me as a writer? My sight is set on getting my name known, putting out more work, and maximizing my exposure. I want to entertain as many people as I can, either with my novels, our ghost books, our tours, my blog, or whatever else. This is what I love to do.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Exorcist, BleakWarrior by Alistair Rennie, and the LOTR edition with all three tales in one book.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jacob Floyd Website
Jacob Floyd Amazon Profile

Jacob Floyd’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an Atlanta-based relationship advice expert with an M.A. in Counseling. For many years I have given relationship advice on my blog, HeyRachel.org, Examiner.com, and Urban Professionals.com, etc. I actively communicate with my many fans via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. My other similar works include a novel, Man Drama, and Raggity Anns—A Short Film (soon to be released as a web series) based on the dynamics of three “Raggity” women living and loving in Hotlanta (same premise). Raggityanns.com

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Hey Rachel! Real Talk. Real Relationships. Real Advice! My inspiration ….. now, that’s a great question! OMG! ALL MY LIFE I HAD TO FIGHT! (excerpt from the movie “The Color Purple” in case you didn’t know) Actually, all my life, I’ve given no-nonsense relationship advice to my friends and family. One day, I had a brilliant idea and decided to get paid for all of my great advice. I started “HeyRachel.org.” Needless to say, after ten years, I don’t own a yacht or even a small fishing boat, but I’ve helped a whole hell of a lot of people. I’ve received tons of responses over the years, from “Thank you Rachel! It’s because of you that my fiance finally proposed” to “Thank you Rachel! You helped me find the courage to leave a really bad relationship.” THEY say … do what you love and the fame and fortune will come! Hey “THEY” … I’m still waiting!!!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Hmmmmmm … does the left corner of my family room sofa count? I sit with my computer comfortably on my lap and type while the dog barks, the TV blares, and my son constantly asks me question, after question, after question, after question ….

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like any book by Terry McMillian or any book that is filled with drama. I definitely do not like boring self-help books! My book is definitely not boring and as a matter of fact, you should burst out into hysterical laughter at least 20 times!

What are you working on now?
Raggity Anns—A Short Film (soon to be released as a web series) based on the dynamics of three “Raggity” women living and loving in Hotlanta . I chose to make a short film after receiving coverage for my film script from Paramount studios.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well, I am just getting started, but Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram appear to be working for me.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Promote, promote, promote, and never stop promoting!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Life is hell and then you die …. cherish the good times!

What are you reading now?
My book.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hey Rachel! Book 2

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, I know why the Caged Bird Sings, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, The Desert Island Survival Guide for Dummies

Author Websites and Profiles
RACHEL NEAL Website

RACHEL NEAL’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Having written books since I learned to write, it has always been in my heart. I have a few unpublished books, which will never get published, and I have in total three books out. One is in the hands of publishers, the other two are on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Trigger Warning – I was inspired while playing GTA5 (Grand Theft Auto).

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think I do

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King and multiple other Thriller authors.

What are you working on now?
A post-apocalyptic novel

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon ads, as well as word of mouth.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up, and don’t look for immediate success

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You got to be in it to win it

What are you reading now?
Multiple novels by lesser known, self pubbed authors

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing my new novel, and then sign a contract for my fantasy 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?
CELL by Stephen King
His Other Lover by Lucy Dawson
Wacthers by Dean Koontz

Author Websites and Profiles
M. M. Wedin Website
M. M. Wedin Amazon Profile
M. M. Wedin Author Profile on Smashwords

M. M. Wedin’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Born in Germany in 1976, I moved to South Africa in 1991. Although I have spent much of my working career in the timber wholesale business, I am also an accomplished horse rider, have a diploma in project management, photography, and nutrition, and have a passion for books and all things fantasy. I also believe in dragons!

From a young age, my dream has always been to put my imagination into words – give the stories life. When I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis in 2013, I decided life is too short not to follow my dream. So, with the support of my husband and three children, I began writing book 1 of the Elemental Trilogy in January 2015.

The Elemental Saga is a fantasy world spanning over 35 books. These stories all take place on the various Life Planets of the Milky Way galaxy. The first 4 books were published between 2016 – 2017, with 5 more books coming in 2018.

The Andromeda Saga takes place in the Andromeda galaxy and will be a mix of sci-fi and fantasy. Hopefully, by 2020, we will see the first books of this saga published.

I am also currently writing a dystopian fantasy, and my first novel, Resilient, is due for release in 2018.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have been building my worlds for as long as I can remember. When I became sick, it gave me the motivation (and the courage) to share my stories with the world. My head literally is a fantasy world all on its own and I cannot write my stories fast enough, LOL.
Book 1 and 2 of the Elemental Trilogy are already available. (Elemental Rising and Elemental Betrayal).
I am currently writing the final installment, Forbidden Elemental, and hope for a publishing date in April 2018.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I write, I step into a completely different world. I like it quiet. No music, no TV in the background and my husband takes my phone away so I don’t get distracted by social media.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The book that started me on reading was “The Black Stallion” by Walter Farley. I read all his books when I was a kid.
I also read “The Lord of the Rings” when I was very young and have since read it many times over. The Earth Children series by Jean M. Auel also played a big part in my reading life.
My favourite fantasy author is Robin Hobb and I love reading her work.
Recently, I have stumbled on some amazing South African authors as well and, although they don’t write in my favourite genre, I absolutely love their work. (E.g. Ashleigh Giannoccaro, Sian B. Claven)

What are you working on now?
Forbidden Elemental – book 3 of the Elemental Trilogy

Jasmine In Love – book 3 of the Elemental short stories (release date 14.02.2018)
Luke – book 4 of the Elemental short stories (due before mid-2018)
Rebirth – book 5 of the Elemental short stories (due before mid-2018)
The Blade of Death – book 6 of the Elemental short stories (due before mid-2018)

Resilient – my first dystopian novel

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have a few social media account where I promote my books:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authortonicox/
Twitter: @ToniCoxAuthor
Instagram: @tonicoxelemental
Website: www.tonicoxauthor.com
(My website also features my blog and you can sign up to my newsletter via the website)

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up – anything is possible.
By 2015 I went almost everywhere in a wheelchair. Writing has given me a new lease on life.
And just write. It may all seem like hard work sometimes, but at the end of the day, it is all worth it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?

What are you reading now?
Written In Flames – by Ashleigh Giannoccaro
Master of Dragons – by Chris Wraight
Zaria & Zauran – by Poppet
Happy Holidays Anthology – 14 different authors (my story featured in it is called “A Forgotten Christmas”)

What’s next for you as a writer?
Besides releasing 6 books this year, I am also working hard on my marketing technique. It is like having a second job … but is a vital part of being an author.
I will also be part of my very first international book signing, which is being held in Cape Town at the end of September this year.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would probably take pen and paper and write my own … nothing more inspirational than a desert island.
But, there are some that I enjoy reading over and over:
The Host – by Stephenie Meyer
The Valley of the Horses – by Jean M. Auel
Mort – by Terry Pratchett
Eragon – by Christopher Paolini

Author Websites and Profiles
Toni Cox Website
Toni Cox Amazon Profile

Toni Cox’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in Connecticut with my family. I’m really into politics and sports (soccer, football, basketball, olympics). I like TV commercials and over-analysizing mindless movies.

I have three books in my The Children of Clay series. The first is The Clay Queen. The second is Clay to Ashes. The third is Icon of Clay.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent book is the Icon of Clay. The series traces the life of one of two gods who is in a seven-thousand-year struggle with the sky god. At some point in her journey, she reincarnates as a contemporary woman Bridget Blade, and the series focuses on Bridget’s growth into her status as a deity.

Icon of Clay refers to Bridget’s ongoing self-discovery as both a divine icon or image, but also as a child of clay, seemingly worthless and discardable. Thus you have a woman who has her regular human hopes and fears and desires, but who is also pushed by divine impulses she doesn’t necessarily understand. She will learn that what may be acceptable for gods doesn’t translate well for human. So what then is a human-god to do?

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Unfortunately no. It feels like every real artist should have some sort of quirk. I am the most normal person you’ll ever meet.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve tended towards literary classics for years. So George Orwell, Albert Camus, C.S. Lewis

What are you working on now?
I’m working on books 4 and 5 of The Children of Clay series. Book 4 is tentatively entitled, Fragments. Both books are finishing up the first installment of the series. When it’s all said and done, the series will be about 8 books, then I can laptop drop.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I prefer it when other authors feature my books to their fans. It seems more personal that way.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Writing is art. It’s your story. It’s your voice. That said, writing and the business of writing are two separate things and you must master both.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I can remember it right now, but it was really, really good.

What are you reading now?
I have my hands in a few pots right now. I’m not reading any single thing, but bits and pieces of various books.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To complete The Children of Clay series. I may retire the pen after that. If I don’t, I have a vampire series percolating in my head. There’s also a dragon idea in there somewhere. And I really want to do a humorous middle grade book, but I’m not even sure how to pull it off.

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?
C.S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces
George Orwell’s 1984
Albert Camus’ The Plague
The Bible
St. Bonaventure’s The Ascent of the Mind to God

Author Websites and Profiles
Ono Ekeh Website
Ono Ekeh Amazon Profile

Ono Ekeh’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a mother of 4 kids. I have a weekly radio show called Thelifestyleshow where I help people transform their body, mind and soul. I am written 2 book and 2 journals so far. The first book is Waistless: How to transform your waist in 30 days and the second book is called Beautifully made: Let nature reveal your beauty. The title of the Journals are My Daily Food Journal and Gratitude Journal. I believe that food can be eaten as medicine instead of eating medicine as food. I became a Vegan on July 17, 2017. I also have a food show called Dinewithabby where i travel the world to showcase restaurants that has Vegan/Vegetarian dishes.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Beautifully Made: Let Nature Reveal Your Beauty is my second book. What inspired it was my food show called dinewithabby. I wanted people to know that God has created plants, fruits, seeds and nuts for our benefit and to heal us of any ailments. Food can also reveal your beauty by eating the right types of food.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write whenever an idea comes to my head.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Game of life and how to play it by Florence Scovel Shinn. Beautiful Money by Leanne Jacobs.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a book of Affirmations and my third book titled Surviving Society.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Posting on social media and world of mouth.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t wait until your story is perfect. Just start writing and the right story and ideas will come to you and you will learn along the way.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just do it. Think about it later.

What are you reading now?
The Winner’s Brain by Jeff Brown and Mark Fenske

What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep working on my third book, my daily affirmation book and keep promoting my books.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Game of life and how to play it by Florence Scovel Shinn
Don’t sweat the small stuff by Richard Carlson
Surviving Society by Abby Ayoola

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have always loved to travel. Before I published my first travel book in 2017, I spent nearly twenty years in a financial career and moved all around the world. My job took me to Australia, Oman, Switzerland and most recently Nigeria. I have also ducked out of my office role to take some multi-month sabbaticals. Now, I only write.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Dust in My Pack pulls my most memorable journeys from the past twenty years to recreate the essence of remote destinations. The stories distil my research and learnings for each location by providing links and practical guidance enabling readers to devise their own trip. I aim to promote the “travel urge” in others so that they may also go beyond the average traveller’s experiences.

The chapters cover a broad range of activities and countries, including adventures such as hikes and white-water rafting, archeological sites, amazing accommodations and unpredicted animal encounters.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not that I know of, but I’m new to this so everything seems fresh and exciting.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Paul Theroux and Paulo Coelho

What are you working on now?
I am drafting my second travel book, due out later 2018. It will have a similar structure to Dust in My Pack, where each chapter covers multiple countries with a common theme. For example, trekking or ancient sites.
My reconnaissance entailed a four-month trip across the Baltics, Iceland, Myanmar, Bhutan, Brunei and Sri Lanka. I may also throw a few other memorable places from other travels, such as the Faroe Islands and Cuba.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Twitter, Goodreads/Facebook groups and word of mouth

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Hire a professional editor and cover designer. We cannot do everything well and need the support of different skillsets to create a high-quality product. Readers deserve this.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Focus on what you can influence, ignore what is out of your control.

What are you reading now?
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

What’s next for you as a writer?
I aim to continue to travel and 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?
That’s a hard question, as I do not like to read a book twice. But, if I must answer then I would take The Alchemist, Dark Star Safari and a manual on how to distil salt water into fresh water when living on a deserted island!

Author Websites and Profiles
Nancy O’Hare Website
Nancy O’Hare Amazon Profile
Nancy O’Hare Author Profile on Smashwords

Nancy O’Hare’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born and raised in Northern Ireland, emigrated to Canada in my late 20’s, then to the USA in my late 30’s. I always wanted to return to Northern Ireland and got my wish 6 years exactly ago. In Canada, I started writing and, after the first book was finished, I found I had an idea for another story, then another, then another, until I had completed seven full length novels. They are in a series, now called The Bathville Books and the first in the series “Murder is Just the Beginning” came out in print in February 2017. The second in the series “The Revenge” came out in October 2017 and you can find both on Amazon all over the world. I’m working hard on updating the third in the series, “The Consequences” to hopefully be available in the summer of 2018. I enjoy writing very much and, although I work full time in the Education Authority in Northern Ireland, I still make the time to write. I worked in both Canada and the United States as a medical secretary to various medical professionals and enjoyed my work there very much, as well as the life experiences I was fortunate to have. My husband, Mark, is American and he loves living in Northern Ireland – except for the rain! He is responsible for being my publicist and has been able to book appearances for me in local libraries to help promote my novels. My dream is to one day own a house by the sea, where I can sit and do my writing as I look out over the beautiful seascapes.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Revenge is the second book in the Bathville Books series and the whole series has been inspired by my love of police work, of interesting relationships between friends and partners and the chance to put a story out there that people will find interesting and entertaining

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write everything in long hand first and it MUST be in pencil. I also won’t start typing each session until I have won a hand of solitaire.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King is my diehard favourite author and his Pet Semetary novel is one I can read time and time again.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on updating Book 3 of the Bathville Book series, The Consequences. All stories start roughly about 6 months after the previous one left off and follows the lives of the same four main characters.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I find Facebook is the best because it can reach a lot of people at once, all over the world.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be patient. Set your bar high but be prepared for failure. Learn from your mistakes

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

What are you reading now?
Stephen King with Owen King’s Sleeping Beauties

What’s next for you as a writer?
To get all seven books ready for print. Two down, five to go.

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?
Pet Semetary, 11.22.63, The Help

Author Websites and Profiles
Carol Kravetz Website
Carol Kravetz Amazon Profile

Carol Kravetz’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in Colorado and love living here. I work as a chef and in my spare time I love developing new recipes to share with my readers on my blog all my new ideas. I get inspired everyday with people, art galleries, reading cookbooks, and trying new ingredients. This is my first cookbook and I plan to write a few more in time.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest cookbook is called Nosh with Chef Julie: 50 Recipes for the Everyday with 10 Ingredients or Less! I was inspired for the past few years with culinary school, fellow students, and great teachers being in the field, and trying new foods. It was a wonderful place to discover and try new things I was yearning for. My own passion is with food and how it connects us and brings people, life, and memories together.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m usually on my laptop writing in my pajamas, drinking black coffee and music playing in the background.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve read so many cookbooks over the years, and pull inspiration from so many places. I love to read fantasy novels with magic, and heroine stories where women save the day. My current obsession is M. J.Rose, and I love the Storm Siren series from Mary Weber. As far as cookbooks go for traditional I love The Joy of Cooking, and for my love of science, The Food Lab, and Modernist Cuisine is also a favorite. I’m always looking in the cookbook section of my library to see what’s new with vegan and vegetarian dishes too.

What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on promoting this cookbook since It’s only been out for a few weeks now. I am getting ideas for my next cookbook…. possibly more dessert orientated, and maybe even a 5-ingredient cookbook will be in my future endeavors.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Going to local bookstores and meeting new people in the industry. Making connections, and creating future engagements and book signings. Reaching out to other authors and getting ideas from them also is a great resource, and websites like this!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The best advice I can give is if you want to become an author, just do it, write what’s in your heart and make your dream come true. Don’t get overwhelmed by the whole process of writing a book, just take one day at a time and it will come. Believe in yourself and you can make it happen!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To embrace each moment, to be brave when all is lost, and that there is always hope. Be the change you want to see in the world. To believe in yourself and never stop dreaming.

What are you reading now?
The Library of Light and Shadow by M. J. Rose and the Runner’s World Cookbook

What’s next for you as a writer?
To keep learning and discovering new things, creating new recipes, and venture on to my second cookbook.

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?
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Hobbit, The Storm Siren Trilogy, the Picture of Dorian Gray, and Lord of the vampires: the diaries of the family Dracul.

Author Websites and Profiles
Julie Tuttle Website
Julie Tuttle Amazon Profile

Julie Tuttle’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is my first book. My second, “By Dawn’s Early Light” will be coming out in March. I already have the third laid out already.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“By Dawn’s Early Light” incorporates all the information I covered in “The Tough Mama’s Guide to Survival.” It was important for me to show how knowledge learned can be easily incorporated into a real-life scenario.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Almost all of my writing is done on a TV table in my room or living room with my boys by my side. They are all writers. We are writing, bouncing story ideas, laughing at our boo-boos, and watching Jeopardy while writing. My two-year-old granddaughter, Millie, is with us for all writing sessions everyday, bouncing from lap to lap.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love the humor of John Irving.

What are you working on now?
I am finishing up “By Dawn’s Early Light,” then will be starting my third book, which I have not yet named. Still bouncing around with that title.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I like the Awesome Gang community! It is supportive of both readers and writers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never stop writing. Even when you can’t think of what to write, write anyway!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
There are two kernels of knowledge that I could not live without.
1. It is better to have something and not need it, then need it and not have it.
2. Sleep when you’re dead.

What are you reading now?
I’ve been reading Jacqueline Druga.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My third novel, which I haven’t put a name to yet. I’m on a roll.

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 crossword puzzle book to keep the mind sharp.
2. A Prayer to Owen Meany to keep me laughing.
3. A seafood cookbook for all the fish I’ll catch on the island.
4. A picture book of babies with kittens to keep my heart soft.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jenny Ahmed Amazon Profile
Jenny Ahmed Author Profile on Smashwords

Jenny Ahmed’s Social Media Links
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