Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an Anatomist by profession; and writing is my passion. This is my fourth officially published book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
‘Because I love you’ an Indian rural love story is my Latest book. Lots of love stories are being released nowadays but this book is different in a way the story whirls around two souls born and brought up in Tribal village. Bold decision maker female protagonist is the center of the book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I mostly write in very early morning; paranormal plots of my books and real fiction (?) incidences are the irks of writings.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Honestly speaking Gujarati author Shri Raghuveer chaudhari has influenced me a lot.

What are you working on now?
I am working on seond part of Because I love You and my dream story titled, ‘Shake hands to the dark within.’
‘Shake Hands to dark within’ is an woven story with background of end of universe. For now i can say only that more than 80000 words long story will be published in 2019; three well-known traditional publishers have shown interest in the book with more than 1 rupees million offer.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Emails; blogs and social media promotion

Do you have any advice for new authors?
just keep writing and improve yourself every new day; don’t be disheartened when your book does not show enough selling figures. Writing is more important than selling the book

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
concentrate on writing instead of publishing and marketing

What are you reading now?
Atharvaved

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to die as writer; i don’t see anything beyond writing for myself

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Bhagavad Geeta, Bhagavad Geeta and Only ભગવદ ગીતા

Author Websites and Profiles
PRADIP CHAUHAN Website
PRADIP CHAUHAN Amazon Profile
PRADIP CHAUHAN Author Profile on Smashwords

PRADIP CHAUHAN’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an award-winning writer, former journalist and corporate escapee. I like to write about what I know: muddled lives, nail-biting unknowns and eternal hope. Growing up, I learned the power of stories and intrigue from saged storytellers on the front porch of our Appalachian farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania. Despite being waylaid for years by academia and corporate endeavors, my roots proved that becoming a writer of suspense was only a matter of time. I have been published in seven languages. I have written four novels as D.L. Koontz, and–years ago–five non-fiction books under a different name. I focus solely on fiction now, my passion.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest published novel is What the Moon Saw. I guess I had been inspired to write it my whole life. The story mostly takes place at a place called the Bedford Springs Hotel, now an Omni resort. It is jaw-droopingly beautiful, and as a little girl I would beg my mother to drive me by it each time we went to Bedford for groceries or shopping. My child’s mind would always wonder, “What if those walls could talk?” Too, the place is several hundred years old and bares a rich history, so pulling that together with my characters was an incredibly fun experience.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
LOL, every writer does! I think I’ll pass on this one except to say the words flow better when I’m on my porch with my laptop, tea to one side, my precious dogs to the other.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
It would take all day to answer this question! But, here’s one, I grew up on Nancy Drew, and that cemented my passion for adding suspense and/or intrigue to everything I write. My goal is that readers don’t want to put the book down! I want them to walk away when finished thinking, “Wow, that was time well-spent!”

What are you working on now?
I’m under contract to write three romantic suspense novels. As I write this, I’m almost done with my first draft of the second book.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write! Don’t edit as you write. Editing comes later. Just get the blessed words on the paper. You can edit and cut and chop it together later.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Writing advice?: Show me, don’t tell me.

What are you reading now?
I’m between books right now.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing my three-book romantic suspense novels. Then, I’ll probably go back to writing a historical romantic suspense with a touch of the odd. I love putting a touch of odd in my stories because it’s so real! Life dishes us a touch of the odd all 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?
Definitely a dictionary because within its pages are every book ever written or that will be written. Hmmm, a survival manual, for sure. The Bible! If I’m stranded, I’ll need my faith to get me through. If I can only choose four, the fourth would have to be the longest book I can find because I may be spending a long time on that island. So, War and Peach or Gone with the Wind.

Author Websites and Profiles
D.L. Koontz Website
D.L. Koontz Amazon Profile

D.L. Koontz’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write about the universal ideals of love, loss, regret, and death—and the emotions associated with those ideals. I’ve written eight novels. My work has been hailed as “Gritty, entertaining… real. Romance for the non-romantic.”

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My last novel is A World Without Music. I was inspired by the title, which came to me first: imagining a world devoid of music. Also, My dad served in the South Pacific during World War II. With the number of vets coming home suffering PTSD I wanted to write something that our young men and women in the Armed Forces might find inspirational.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I find my muse in a good cup of coffee or glass of bourbon (depending on the time of day) and a cigar.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite author in my youth was Samuel R. Delaney, a truly gifted writer of science fiction, and later, Gene Wolfe. I’ve read a lot Joseph Conrad’s work, truly one of the giants of the early 20th century and for whom I as named.

What are you working on now?
Working title: The Girl Who Loved Cigars.

The premise: It’s said that those who experience a life-threatening event see their whole life flash before their eyes.

What if a fetus, at the moment they feel their limbs about to be torn asunder in abortion, see their whole unlived life flash before their eyes?

Young Marla is haunted by nightmares of being in the womb, terrified by the prospect of having her whole life—everything she’ll ever have and everything she ever will be—taken from her.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ll let you know when I come across it.

Seriously, I was told to become successful I needed a website, so I got one. Then I was told I needed to blog, so I started blogging. I recently read both are a waste of time because all writers do that and have websites. I’m looking for the coming thing; but if I knew what that might be it would already be here.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t be so quick to self-publish. Learn from your rejection letters, and revise and polish, and revise and polish.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“To excel the past we must not allow ourselves to lose contact with it; on the contrary, we must feel it under our feet because we raised ourselves upon it.” —José Ortega y Gasset

What are you reading now?
No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy: The Life of General James Mattis.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Complete my current work in progress and get it published.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
How to Build Wooden Boats: With 16 Small-Boat Designs, the complete works of H.G. Wells, the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe, the complete works of Joseph Conrad.

Author Websites and Profiles
J. Conrad Guest Website
J. Conrad Guest Amazon Profile

J. Conrad Guest’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 East Yorkshire in the UK but I am currently living in Sao Paulo in Brazil. I have published three books but I am in the process of writing my fourth and fifth.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
When The Well Runs Dry is inspired by the idea of Resourse Scarcity and what happens to societies when supply chains break down.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write on my cell phone on the Metro.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
George Orwell’s 1984, Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World, Ray Bradbury’s Farenheit 451, Douglas Adam’s Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

What are you working on now?
I am currently writing the sequel to my first novel, LIVING WITH SACI. In the sequel Teresa is trying to regain custody of her daughter. The sequel will also contain more details of the backstory to the first novel which begins after she had already lost custody.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Not sure. Probably my mailing list.

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

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

What are you reading now?
Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys. Bernard Cornwell, Fools and Mortals.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am hoping to release my fourth book, an historical drama set in he Second World War, early next year. It is based on the true stories of my grandfather and grandmother.

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 complete Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy compendium. The Complete Works of Shakespeare. The Book of English Verse. The Complete Works of Charles Dickens

Author Websites and Profiles
M J Dees Website
M J Dees Amazon Profile
M J Dees Author Profile on Smashwords

M J Dees’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m twenty-five years old and I’ve written over fifteen books, many of which are sitting on my laptop, and four of which are published, with another four on the way to publication. I started my writing journey at age ten, when I began writing my first book. I was first published in an anthology at sixteen, and I secured my first writing contract at age eighteen. My published books are called Rafen, The Sianian Wolf, Servant of the King, and The Fourth Runi. They’re all young adult fantasy fiction novels. My other interests include music, reading, and quirky board games. By day, I’m a singing and piano teacher.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I’m going to go with the latest book that I’ve met an editing deadline for, which is Consort to the Shadows. This is book five in my Fledgling Account series, and it follows on from The Fourth Runi in story content. The main character Rafen has to delve deep into his enemy’s inner circle in order to discover the secret that will free him from a curse that is literally destroying his body over time. He has to either consort with the shadows or perish from a slowly spreading skin disease. The real conflict, I suppose, is how he can keep himself and his conscience pure while pretending to be one with the slave traders and sorcerers he so hates.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m very flexible, and sometimes I edit or write in the splits. But then my dog comes along and walks all over my laptop, which is very unhelpful.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a Christian, and the Bible has influenced me a lot. I grew up while the Harry Potter series was being released, and so that was certainly an obsession of mine. I also have loved the Ranger’s Apprentice series, the Chronicles of Prydain, and some of Mark Lawrence’s work. In terms of style, I’ve been very influenced by Katherine Mansfield, Edith Wharton, and Thomas Hardy – even though their subject content is vastly different from anything I write.

What are you working on now?
I’ve been working for some time on quite a personal project that I’m not sure if I’ll ever publish. Kind of like my memoirs. I think that as an author it’s important to understand yourself and where you’re coming from when you write.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I definitely use my blog a lot, which is located at writersanctuary.net.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t be afraid to express yourself. Keep writing and never give up. If I can do it, you can too.
But don’t go into it for the money. Keep your day job unless you strike it rich.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
This doesn’t have anything to do with writing, but weirdly enough, the phrase “truth is stranger than fiction” always sticks with me. I recently had someone tell me Christianity was nothing more than a fantasy. The ironic thing is that if we could understand it all and explain it away it almost certainly would NOT be real. It’s the things you don’t understand, the things you can’t get your head around that are almost certainly realer than you even are.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading The Tower of London, which is about Jane Grey’s short and rather miserable reign and the ascension of the awe-inspiring Bloody Mary (who was actually a rather short woman).

What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, looks like the release of my next four books in The Fledgling Account series is the next immediate thing. I’m also planning to revamp a middle grade trilogy I’ve written, about an extremely bratty little boy who gets kidnapped by monsters.

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?
Okay, I’d have to say my Bible, otherwise I wouldn’t be a good Christian. Also, Destiny Unfulfilled: A Critique of the Harry Potter Series is crucial for any author of a series. I think I would also need a book on what fauna and flora is edible on the desert island. And perhaps I would bring along Robinson Crusoe, as a helpful example of someone who was also stranded but survived.

Author Websites and Profiles
Y K Willemse Website
Y K Willemse Amazon Profile

Y K Willemse’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a new author, specializing in sweet lesbian romance. Cupcake Dreams is my first book and I’m in the process of writing a four-book series.

I grew up and currently live in the south with my wife, three children, and five dogs. It’s a full and happy home filled with love, laughter and lots of shenanigans – by the human children and fur babies!

I am a hopeless romantic and loves to write in my limited spare time (I have a full-time job as an education administrator). After looking through books online, I realized there weren’t many sweet, romantic love stories involving women. So, I decided to start writing them and continue to do so.

My hope is to provide stories about love, regardless of what that love looks like.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Cupcake Dreams is my first and latest venture. I was really inspired because I couldn’t find many lesbian romance stories that were sweet with happily ever afters. So, I decided to write one. Now that I have, I am already working on my second book which will be part of a four-books series.

My hope for Cupcake Dreams was to provide something, sweet, fun and exciting to read. Sort of like Hallmark meets lesbians. And, my muse is my sweet, spunky wife.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if it’s unusual, but it is probably old fashioned. I’m a visual and tactile learner, so I hand write all of my first drafts in a notebook. Then, I transfer them onto my laptop. For some reason, it’s easier for me to physically write my books than type the first draft.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Dan Brown is my favorite author to read because he keeps me on the edge of my seat. I also enjoy his historical references and settings. I know this isn’t the genre that I write, but I do enjoy reading his books. Angels and Demons is my all time favorite!

What are you working on now?
A four-book series set on the East Coast. There are four distinct couples that know each other in some form or fashion. Each book is dedicated to a couple and they all come together in the final book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still learning…..

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write. Don’t worry about what you think others will buy or not, write because you love you and your stories and writing will get better as you write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When someone shows you who they are, believe them.

What are you reading now?
Harper Bliss’ “A Swing at Love.”

What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep writing stories that I love and publishing as often as I can.

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?
Angels and Demons, A Walk to Remember, The Bible

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in Oakland, California and grew up in the Bay Area. I’m the third daughter to Bulgarian parents who immigrated to California shortly before I was born. At a young age, I began drawing, reading and writing. As a child, I was an avid reader and writer, but I focused on the fine arts in high school. I received many art accolades, including a Congressional award for my piece “Boy in Red” in 2009. In 2015, I received my Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley. I began writing poetry again at age twenty-four when I was in graduate school. I earned my Master’s in Education from the same alma mater in 2017. After, I spent two years as an English teacher in Richmond, California. During that time, I self-published my first poetry collection: “The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Disorder”. Currently, I’m writing my first novel. I speak English, Bulgarian, Spanish and am now learning French.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is a poetry collection titled “The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Disorder”. I started it while I was a soon-to-be graduate musing about feminist issues like street harassment. Eventually, I began writing about the romantic relationship I was involved with at the time, and about the man I was falling in love with. When that relationship ended, the poetry took a tumultuous turn into heartbreak that melted into a depression once I found out my sister was dying, two weeks after my break-up.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to only use Moleskin notebooks–something about that leathery smell ignites an artistic nostalgia. I also frequent the same writing cafés: Caffè Strada in Berkeley, Farley’s in Oakland, Barrelista in Martinez, Coffee Shop in Walnut Creek. The ambiance needs to be peaceful and romantic; twinkling lights, kitschy furniture and a patio are preferable. I like to write with a delicious latte in hand and a luxurious string of words on my mind.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My biggest influence would be Georgi Gospodinov–his novel “The Physics of Sorrow” in particular. He’s a contemporary Bulgarian author and the novel is about a sense of apathy and identity-finding following the communist fall in Bulgaria. It also dabbles slightly in magical realism, which is surprising to see outside of Latin American literature, but it’s fantastic. “100 Years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is also another novel that has kept inspiring me long after I finished it. Sylvia Plath is one of my favorite poets; her boldness in exploring her own darkness encourages me to explore mine. Similarly, the musical artist BANKS and her album “Goddess” aided and inspired me to write my first poetry collection, “The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Disorder”. Then, rupi kaur inspired me to self-publish and promote myself on Instagram! I also think we have similar writing styles, ironically enough. Female (especially women of color) authors like Chimamanda Adichi and Yaa Gyasi (if you haven’t read “Homegoing” yet–go read it NOW) make me realize that I CAN make it as a female author, if I have a good enough story to tell. Lastly, “Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens has always been one of my favorite novels. I always come back to that opening chapter–its a masterpiece.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I’m writing my first novel. It’s about my life but it’s told in novel form. It’s about my childhood and young adulthood dealing with losing family members and always being denied one of my own. I’m also writing a short story about a Salvadorian migrant family, and I’m putting poems into another collection as well. I’m promoting myself and my poetry online a lot; you can follow me on Instagram @emmy_speaks.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve found the best method to be word-of-mouth. It’s slow, but it works. You need to get your work out there to people who will enjoy it and recommend it to their friends and family.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I think this question is silly because I’M a new author! But as my editor would say: “just DO it!” Whatever that is: write, publish, send, call, write, revise, send, write some more. Don’t stop yourself, just do it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
In January, I read some of my poetry to one of my best friends. She told me to publish, so I did. My editor also tells me to just DO it. Finish a work, submit it to journals, publish, share, write, repeat.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading “Americanah” by Chimamanda Adichi, “Nonviolent Communication”, the final Game of Thrones novel, and I’m somewhere in the middle of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m embarking on a 6-9 month journey around the world with the purpose of finishing my novel and promoting my work online. And having tons of fun traveling of course!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
the Bible, 1984, Tale of Two Cities, Memoirs of a Geisha

Author Websites and Profiles
Emmanuella Hristova Website
Emmanuella Hristova Amazon Profile

Emmanuella Hristova’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Devin and I live in the Seattle area with my wife Brittney and sons JC and Luke. I’ve briefly thought about writing in the past but didn’t commit to it until recently end then decided to write 2 books and more to come!

My books come from my experience and passions which have to do with workplace culture, teamwork, leadership, career planning, etc.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Super Manager and it was inspired from the fact that most workplaces are not great, most people do not enjoy work and it’s become something of a joke or badge or honor and bosses are one of the root cause reasons for work being terrible.

But it’s not completely their fault. Nearly all companies don’t do enough and/or the right things to fully develop their people managers and this book is based on thorough research that addresses just that.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like it to be approachable and straightforward and even fun. I know I like to read things with great, deep ideas that change my perspectives and life but presented in a tangible and enjoyable way.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
All of Pat Lencioni’s books but especially Organizational Health, Stan McCrystal’s Team of Teams, Tom Peters, Mark Miller,

What are you working on now?
2 books, 1 on teamwork and another on company culture.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon is the primary platform I’m using to publish and promote my books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just go for it, write the books don’t be too worried about perfection.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Creating something new is hard. It’s not likely to be a win right out the gate. Most “overnight successes” were years in the making.

What are you reading now?
Tom Peters’ The Excellence Dividend

What’s next for you as a writer?
Promoting my books more and growing my related teaching and consulting business.

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, Organizational Health, Principles, Team of Teams.

Author Websites and Profiles
Devin Craig Website

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, I grew up in a small town in Virginia, where everyone knows everyone. I currently just bought a house with my fiancé and a baby on the way. So far I’ve written at least four books, but only two have been published.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is Banshee Cry, which is the sequel to my debut novel, Death Callers. I’ve always been interested in trying new things and thinking outside of the box. Everyone has heard of novels with vampires, werewolves, and fairies, so I wanted to create a character that there haven’t been a lot of stories about. Also, I’m a huge fan of Celtic folklore, which is where banshees are based in.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wouldn’t say unusual, just your typical writer style: cup of coffee and music. I can’t write without music.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Well, I grew up reading Anne Rice and her vampire novels, but the main author who has really planned a part in my writing career is Maggie Stiefvater and her shiver series. Outside of the box thinking.

What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on an Adult werewolf novel set in Maine.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Sadly I’m not very good at promoting, but I do use twitter quite a bit. It’s actually how I got published in the first place.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The only advice I have is, keep writing and never quit.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Keep writing, your first draft is going to be shit, but just keep going.

What are you reading now?
Oh goodness. Um, at the moment nothing, but I have many books on my to-read list.

What’s next for you as a writer?
The only thing that is ever next for a writer–more writing. Ideas are endless.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Um, I’d bring: The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause and Shiver series by Maggie Stiefvater.

Author Websites and Profiles
Raven Hudgins Amazon Profile

Raven Hudgins’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a freelance writer, an author, content strategist, digital marketer, and business coach. I am passionate about helping people with strategies for their business and enjoys helping others succeed. I help ambitious professionals become financially free by leveraging the internet to monetize their passion. I have many ebooks but I just published my first book – Brain to Bank.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name is Brain to Bank. A lot of people have ideas but don’t know how to turn their ideas into money. So I wrote the book to give them to 4P test that will validate their ideas and then show them the 6 ways to turn it into a business. I also brought out marketing lessons from the popular bandaid.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, nothing unusual. I like writing in the morning when everywhere is quiet and I’ve fully rested.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
A lot of authors. But I like Zig Ziglar’s books a lot.

What are you working on now?
I am working on my next book. It is a beginner’s guide to online business. The book will help newbies who do not know much about how to start an online business get the necessary information.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Ah…I will say having your own website is good. If you don’t have that, at least have a good following on social media. Then you can also promote your book on book promo sites like Awesomegang.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is this – You are a writer, so write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice is -stop existing and start living. That has influenced most of my decisions in life.

What are you reading now?
You are the Placebo by Dr. Joe Dispenza. It is remarkable to learn what we can do with our thoughts.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ll keep writing books because I like sharing my knowledge with others.

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?
See You at the Top by Zig Ziglar
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Author Websites and Profiles
Juliet Ifedimma Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My beautiful wife Victoria, son James, and I live in Southern California. I serve as the Assistant Pastor at Calvary Chapel El Centro and hold a B.A.B.S. with an emphasis in Apologetics. My writing is aimed to touch both the heart and engage the mind of my readers for the purpose of knowing God and making Him known.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Fact or Fiction: Is There Evidence to Support the Reliability of the Bible and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ?

To spark conversation about this important topic.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not that I know of.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Many Christian thinkers throughout the past 2,000 years.

What are you working on now?
The first book in my new series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m currently experimenting with many resources / websites.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Always keep learning.
Stop procrastinating.
Done is better than perfect.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Always be teachable.

What are you reading now?
Resources on book marketing.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Launching the first book in the new series.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Radical by David Platt

Author Websites and Profiles
Sean Arviso Website
Sean Arviso Amazon Profile
Sean Arviso Author Profile on Smashwords

Sean Arviso’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Doctor, landlord, author and hobbit… that’s me in a nutshell. Originally from the UK, with a PhD in animal welfare, I’ve lived in New Zealand and S.E. Asia, and have been writing full-time for almost two years. That’s quite a long time if you think about it, but I have had a few breaks for tea and biscuits along the way. So far, I’ve written four books, including the ‘DATS Trilogy’, which follows the adventures of schoolboy Johnny and his best friend, Eddie, the Death of Children and Drynwideon, a comic fantasy adventure for supposed grown-ups (more about that below).

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called ‘Drynwideon, The Sword of Destiny – Yeah, Right’. The ‘yeah, right’ pretty much says it all, really. Featuring a supremely sarcastic and self-centred anti-hero, a claustrophobic-agoraphobic dwarf and a psychotic half-fairy with a bad wing, it’s definitely a few steps away from your usual epic fantasy fare. I got the inspiration for it while being quite seriously unwell a year ago. At the time, there was a lot of hype around the new series of ‘Game of Thrones’ and while lying in my sick-bed one day, I thought, why not write something which turns the traditional ‘hero story’ on its head? The result was ‘Drynwideon’, possibly the world’s first ‘anti-fantasy’ novel.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. It would be nice to say that I typed with my toes so that I could plat my nasal hair at leisure with my fingers, but that would be a lie. No, I’m afraid that it’s just the usual repertoire of bad writing habits for me: staring blankly at my laptop screen, gazing vacantly out of the window for hours on end, chewing anything vaguely pencil-like lying within reach, that sort of thing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Just about everything that I’ve ever read has influenced me at some level or another. That said, I’d have to say that some of my biggest influences have included C.S. Lewis, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, David Zindell, Tom Sharpe and Geroge MacDonald Fraser. Yes, I’m a big Sci-Fi and Fantasy geek… as well as a hobbit.

What are you working on now?
I’m just putting the finishing touches to my second novel, this one a bitter tale of revenge, spanning seventy years during the last century, involving two friends and a cache of gold. I’m not going to say any more about it, other than it’s called ‘Yogol’s Gold’ and will likely be out at the end of this year or early 2019.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Like so many other authors who have posted here before me (I’m starting to sound like Captain Kirk, aren’t I?), I don’t have one particular favourite method for book promotion and come on, if I did have a magical recipe for instant success, would I really be sharing it here? No, sorry folks, I just use a range of different avenues, including social media, Facebook groups, Twitter, my website (www.rob-gregory.com) and anything else that happens to drift past my desperately grasping arms.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Words of advice for new authors… Don’t! Haha. Only joking! But be prepared for a long and very frustrating ride, unless of course, you happen to write the next Harry Potter books. There’s a hell of a lot of competition out there and it’s really hard to get noticed at the beginning, even if you’ve written a fantastic book (like everyone else has). So, hunker down, save up for that extra-thick skin you’ve always wanted and keep on going, regardless of what the world says. You’ll make it one day, kiddo. Just keep your eye on the gravy and you’ll be fine!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice or the most interesting advice I’ve ever heard? The best advice is: ‘everything in moderation’ but it’s utterly boring and so conservative, besides, where would The Rolling Stones be if they followed that mantra? The most interesting advice on the other hand, as someone else here has already pointed out, is: ‘never eat anything bigger than your own head,’ which has, in my case, led to a life-long and fully justified suspicion of watermelons.

What are you reading now?
At the moment, I’m reading ‘Guards Guards’ by the late Terry Pratchett. I really love the Discworld series that he wrote and periodically go back through the entire series. This one, the first to involve the ‘Night Watch’ is one of my favourites.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My next two projects are to compile the DATS Trilogy into a single volume, which I hope to complete before the end of the year and to write a Sci-Fi comedy novel, which has been trying to claw its way out of my subconscious for the last six months. Wish me luck on both counts.

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 an ebook reader, a solar panel charger and take my entire collection with me! However, to enter into the spirit of the question, I suppose there would be ‘The City and the Stars’ by Arthur C. Clark, ‘Brother in the Land’ by Robert Swindells, ‘The Pyrates’ by George MacDonald Fraser and ‘A Brief History of Time’ by Stephen Hawking (not to be confused with the cookbook of the same name).

Author Websites and Profiles
R.A. Gregory Website
R.A. Gregory Amazon Profile
R.A. Gregory Author Profile on Smashwords

R.A. Gregory’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a new adult romance author who loves heroes and heroines that are as broken as they are sexy: real-world people falling in out-of-this-world love.

As of August, 2018, I’ve published seven novels.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Darling, All at Once is a standalone novel and first in the Fairfields series. The short version: Juliet’s sister wants her to be her surrogate, but Juliet discovers she can’t do it…because she’s already pregnant, thanks to a one-night stand with a guy she’d never choose sober.

Juliet and Cohen’s story started out as an online rant. No, really: I was posting to Reddit on a “get it off your chest” thread, fuming over my own sister’s wedding. She treated me like a slave for an entire year, and I was just *done.* Of course, it finally hit me that I should’ve just told her no when her demands reached My Super Sweet Sixteen proportions. That’s when the story first started to take shape for me.

I was also inspired by my husband. We’re very different people, like Juliet and Cohen, but we somehow work together. I love opposites-attract stories, so I just couldn’t ignore Darling, All at Once when it started building itself in my head.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Too many. One of them is propping my water bottle on my boobs and sipping nonstop when I edit. I think getting up to refill it (and pee) is the only reason I move at all, most days.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a huge fan of Samantha Christy and L.J. Shen. But…isn’t everyone?

What are you working on now?
I’m losing sleep and loving it, writing Honey, When it Ends – the second book of the Fairfields series, also a standalone. It focuses on Juliet’s roommate and Cohen’s older brother from Darling, and I’m so excited to give those characters their own HEA.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Newsletter promos, PPC ads, and taking time to communicate with every reader who reaches out.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I still consider myself new, so giving advice feels kind of pompous, haha. I guess I’d have to say set up a mailing list, if nothing else. I resisted it so much, then made one a few days before I published my first book. It wasn’t as difficult as I expected, and it helped so much.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The harder you work, the luckier you get.

What are you reading now?
Chasing Stars by Mercedes Siler.

What’s next for you as a writer?
After the Fairfields series, I have 2 more series planned. I usually get a new idea for a book or series in the middle of writing another.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Midnight Blue by L.J. Shen, the Mitchell Sisters box set by Samantha Christy (I count it as one book…please don’t make me choose!), Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen, and pretty much any book by Nora Roberts.

Author Websites and Profiles
Piper Lennox Website
Piper Lennox Amazon Profile

Piper Lennox’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m the author of two non-fiction books published by Lyons Press: Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History (2012) and Moonshine Nation (2014). Friend of the Devil is my first novel.
My second novel, a political thriller set during the invasion of Iraq, is due out in Spring 2019.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Friend of the Devil tells the story of America’s most famous chef, who has cut a deal with Satan for fame and fortune. Much of it was based on a true story—enough said.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I get up early, usually around 4:30 or 5 a.m., and get most of my work done then. I write intermittently throughout the day.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have a degree in literature, so I’ve read many of the classics. Hemingway was my childhood idol. Joyce, Melville, Nabokov and Borges invaded my psyche at different times.

What are you working on now?
As mentioned, my second novel is due out next spring. I noticed an uncanny resemblance between the Fourth Crusade and the war in Iraq, and that relationship is explored in the book against the steamy background of Washington politics. I’m currently putting the finishing touches on a sequel, tentatively titled Impeachment.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Promotion and marketing is still a work in progress for me. I’ve tried many different methods, and can’t honestly say that any of them have worked as well as I’d hoped. I’m currently trying to decode the Amazon algorithm.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Plain and simple: Don’t give up. It takes a long time to learn how to tell a story that other people will want to read, but the struggle is worth it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best writing advice is not to reach for the accessible phrase. In terms of general advice, don’t take yourself too seriously.

What are you reading now?
I don’t read a great deal of contemporary fiction for a number of reasons. I’m more likely to go back to some of the classics mentioned above.

What’s next for you as a writer?
The never-ending process of seeing how far I can push myself.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Moby Dick, definitely; Pale Fire, by Nabokov; Ulysses (I’d finally have enough time to get through it).

Author Websites and Profiles
Mark Spivak Website
Mark Spivak Amazon Profile

Mark Spivak’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi, my name’s Ruth, I’m an indie writer with my debut novel successfully released on Amazon this summer! Yay!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book “Fireflies Glow Only in the Dark” was inspired by my own life experience and the strong will to share my thoughts with other teens who might’ve faced similar problems and fears. The main character, Lana, is a reflection of my soul and, as one of my readers said, “she’s a ghost floating through life.” She’s lost and hurt, and she doesn’t have any past except the accident that changed her life. So that was the thing that inspired me the most – to make Lana’s personality almost translucent, ethereal, so that people could see themselves in her reflection.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I bite the insides of my cheeks when writing. I know, I know, bad habit. I’m working on it:)

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a big fan of classics, so that would be F. Fitzgerald, A. Camus, E. Remarque, and F. Dostoevsky.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“It’s your responsibility to be happy.”

Author Websites and Profiles
Ruth Morse Website
Ruth Morse Amazon Profile

Ruth Morse’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Husband to an amazing wife Rhonda Steele; I am a father to three beautiful children. When I am not working I spend time with my wife and kids. I start my journey by graduating from Christ Unlimited Bible Institute out of Kansas City, MO. I received a diploma in Bible Doctrine with a minor in Youth Ministry. I am an Associate Pastor at Refreshing Waters in Kansas City, MO; I love watching Football and playing Golf. This is my first book published book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Focus 15; My wife was my inspiration to writing this book. My walk with Jesus was my inspiration. The ability to be able to give the people something to grow from is an inspiration in itself.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I write everything out first then I go back and edit it. I know some people write and edit at the same time I can’t do that at all.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
TD Jakes
Robin King

What are you working on now?
I am in the process of publishing two new books. (31 Flavors & Secret 4 Success). They should be out October or November 2018.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Book Signing has been successful for me and also doing different vendor events.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Make sure this is what you really want to do because this does take time.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Process Equals Promise

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am in the process of publishing two new books. (31 Flavors & Secret 4 Success). They should be out October or November 2018.

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?
Focus 15
Heart of a Pastor
Series 33

Author Websites and Profiles
Kenneth Steele Amazon Profile
Kenneth Steele Author Profile on Smashwords

Kenneth Steele’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well I have loved writing since I was in the third grade and wrote a page turning novel about a mermaid, a magical pearl and ruthless treasure hunters…but my computer died when Y2K hit and my story was lost forever. Since then, I have learned about backups HA!

I originally published two scifi books, but decided to rebrand myself as a historical fiction author and pulled those two from stores.

So, I wrote Blood of Toma, and it earned a finalist medal in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and for the Montaigne Medal. The premise: When an Aztec priestess is destined to be a sacrifice for her people, her future shatters when her father is murdered amid a civil war, and she is forced to the jungle to escape from an dishonorable death only to fall into the hands of Conquistadors bent on turning her into a traitor. It is currently being offered for FREE if you sign up on my website (www.laurenleemerewether.com).

I have started a series and have several book outlines ready to be written.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Salvation in the Sun which is the first book of my new series The Lost Pharaoh Chronicles. I watched the National Geographic channel and saw they were consolidating all of King Tut’s tomb treasures. It peaked my interest and decided to do research on the lost Kings of the New Kingdom and eventually I decided to focus on Nefertiti with a draft I had originally entitled I Am Queen Nefertiti. However, it didn’t make sense to not tell the whole story and cover the entire line of forgotten Kings and decided to make it a series called The Lost Pharaoh Chronicles starting with the end of Amenhotep III’s reign.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I outline on paper, the computer, whiteboard and post-its on a wall and then cross-reference them all to get the complete picture. It takes a lot of time, but if I stuck with one medium, I don’t think I would get as many ideas.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Interestingly enough, the book, The Deluge Story in the Stone, is about a worldwide great flood and the geosciences that prove it, and it made me go do my own research. Then I read my father-in-law’s book on the History of Ancient Civilization, and I found out that I really love to research ancient cultures. During my research, I began to imagine what life was like and then the ideas came to me. I decided to write historical fiction. I try very hard to make sure my story fits within all the known facts of the time period I am writing because I think it is important to learn history. I know most people aren’t going to sit down with a research paper, so having a story makes it interesting and fun. In the back of my books, I plan to write a one page research-type summary of the period the book covers for those who do want a more objective and factual view of what really happened.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I am working on the second book of the The Lost Pharaoh Chronicles series, Secrets in the Sand. You can stay up to date with me on my Facebook page (facebook.com/llmbooks) or follow me on Twitter (@llmbooks).

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Email – hands down.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing, and take a course in outlining and audience building. I used to “outline” and then take a year to write a book. Now I truly outline and can produce a book in 90 days writing only two-ish hours a day if I stick to my schedule. It is hard balancing family, kids, a full-time job, health issues, and other obligations, but (advice to myself as well) if you are truly serious about writing, make the time.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Writer’s block is not a condition. Just make yourself write five more words and then walk away GUILT FREE. ~ Jessica Brody

Usually after the five words, you are unstuck and keep writing, but if you don’t, then oh well – GUILT FREE.

What are you reading now?
Sword of Peace by Louisa Bauman and A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers – both Historical Christian Fiction

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to continue to strive towards a full-time income off of my writing and really have the coveted author career.

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?
So hard to choose only 3 or 4, but if I had to:
The Bible (NASB or NKJ)
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (Read it in 5th grade and loved it so much)
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Just a wonderful wonderful story of redemption)
Then Sings My Soul by Robert Morgan (I love to sing and know the history behind the songs)

Author Websites and Profiles
Lauren Lee Merewether Website
Lauren Lee Merewether Amazon Profile

Lauren Lee Merewether’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I often say, “I didn’t choose writing as a profession. It chose me.” I have been writing both fiction and nonfiction since I was a child. I have dozens of unpublished works that are decades old. Professionally, I didn’t begin writing until the turn of the century. I write news articles and blogs for clients. I am the author of three published books and contributor to a fourth.

I also am a history enthusiast. My area of study is the period 1890-1920 with a particular interest in WW1 and how the war changed the lives of ordinary people. I blog mostly about history on my website with the goal of educating those who know little or nothing about the topic. My most recent book, A Tale of Two Nations: Canada, U.S. and WW1, explores how the war was reported in newspapers.

I’m currently working on an historical fiction novel, and I plan on writing a book on crime in the 1910s.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent book, A Tale of Two Nations: Canada, U.S. and WW1, explores how the war was reported in newspapers. I was inspired by two things. The first is my love of the time period, in particular who the war had lasting affects on ordinary people. The second is my own experience working as a journalist. I know how news can change as the facts come in. I wanted to look at the war without the benefit of hindsight and analysis to learn what people were reading and what they believed to be true.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
For fiction, I write all my first drafts longhand and them type them. I can only work at night when everyone else has gone to bed.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m not sure who had a direct influence. I read mostly classics as a teen and young adult.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on an historical fiction novel, and I plan on writing a book on crime in the 1910s.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still trying to figure that out. Social media-wise I get the most activity on Twitter, Goodreads and Pinterest.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Practice, practice, practice. Also, make friends with other writers. Select people whom you can trust and confide in and who are willing to help you improve your work.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To not let the naysayers win and follow my dreams.

What are you reading now?
Nothing at the moment.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I need to ready my novel for publication. I’m also in the process of conducting research for my next nonfiction 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?
All survival guides

Author Websites and Profiles
Melina Druga Website
Melina Druga Amazon Profile
Melina Druga Author Profile on Smashwords

Melina Druga’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was diagnosed as a diabetic at age 4, at a time when the treatment options were minimal at best. I was surrounded by a family whose job seemed to be to watchdog me. At school I was the skinny kid with glasses who loved to draw and to read. I wasn’t that interested in sports; you can guess how well that turned out.
Frequent moves were a part of my early years. My escape was comic books and old radio dramas. I was lucky enough to tune in around the time the CBS Radio Mystery Theater was starting up. Artistic ability runs in my family, which naturally led to dabbling in both art and writing.
To date I’ve written three books with a fourth in the editing process. I had some good lessons pounded into me in the late 80s by the Seattle writing group I was a part of. I’ve also contributed my share of stories to four collections published by Muddy Puddle Press.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is entitled Butterfly and Serpent and deals with the teenage years of a young African woman, Jamai Dlamini. She is gifted, isolated and bullied by her own people. moreover she is an innocent who can’t understand the foolish choices we make or the abuse her people heap on her. She has few friends but among them is Youssou Hadebe, a friend of the family who owes Jamai for a gift that she barely recalls. There are secrets between them that will be unraveled as the series continues.
I’m finding myself looking for solutions in the Third Way. Most dramas in mass media focus on the lowest common denominator–fight or flight, kill or be killed, right is right and you’re always wrong. Jamai rejects these options, choosing her own path. I’m very proud of her for that.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Work. Mundanity. I always find mundane tasks puts me in the zone where ideas can percolate. Silence is preferred, though sitting at a table in a crowded restaurant is also oddly conducive to the creative process. You really have to take the opportunity to write wherever you are, when the urge hits you or you’re going to lose it.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I was born a comic book freak, and through them I discovered the works of Robert E. Howard. He had a way of painting vivid action scenes in broad strokes that put you in the center of the action. Douglas Adams is always a favorite along with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories.

What are you working on now?
the follow up to Butterfly & Serpent is called Fathers And Daughters, and that’s in the process of editing. That will be followed by the last official title in the B & S series, tentatively called Sanity’s Edge. Jamai will be moving out into the world, discovering new experiences before her adventures come to a terrifying end.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Find a writer’s group that is NOT going to simply pat you on the back and tell you, “good job”. That won’t help you at all. You need people who share your interests and are quite willing to tear your beloved works to shreds if that’s what it takes to make them shine. Be willing to recognize the flaws and be willing to correct, revise, whatever it takes to make that book shine in the dark.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
A long time ago a children’s author described her writing process to the Tacoma Writer’s Club: stick a piece of paper in the typewriter and stare at it until blood drips on it. Yes, it’s that hard.

What are you reading now?
History and musical biography. I recently finished Stuart E. Eizenstat’s President Carter: the White House Years. It’s a project, not a book, but well worth the read.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to be busy promoting Butterfly & Serpent and finishing the next two books. I going to try to find time to contribute stories to the upcoming One-Sentence Story collection from Muddy Puddle Press.

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?
Douglas Adams-The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
George Harrison- I Me Mine
The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told
& probably that massive Mark Twain omnibus, which I’ll probably have time for one my Desert Island.

Author Websites and Profiles
Michael Robbins Website
Michael Robbins Amazon Profile

Michael Robbins’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 Southern Indiana where I currently reside with my loving family on a 5-acre mini farm raising Boer Goats. I started writing after the sudden passing of my father in 2014. I’ve written several stories, but have only one published, Immortal Hearts, Fate of the Witch, Book 1. When I’m not writing, I’m spending my days with my beautiful granddaughters and playing with my Goats.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Immortal Hearts, Fate of the Witch, Book 1.
I had a dream of my father and the next thing I know, Immortal Hearts.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
None I can think of.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Laurell K Hamilton. I flove her Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on Rainelle’s story, Shattered Hearts. She is letting the readers into her life before Immortal Hearts. She has a lot to say. I’m also working on a new story that I hope leads to a great series, time will only tell.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t think just one is better than the other. It is how much time you spend promoting your stories to get it out into the world through any and all ways via the internet.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never let someone’s judgment affect your writing. Keep at it and follow your dream. Never let someone deflate your hope and dreams.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Oh wow. I’ve had so much advice from authors and readers. NEVER GIVE UP!!!!!

What are you reading now?
Nothing at the moment.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Just to continue to tell my stories as the voices tell me 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?
That’s not fair, I have many favorites. I can’t choose, but I’d take my Edgar Allen Poe.

Author Websites and Profiles
Raven Moon Website
Raven Moon Amazon Profile

Raven Moon’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, I started to write my very first book when I was 15. It was in Czech because I am half Czech and half Australian. My first English book was written when I was 16. Until now, I´ve written 8 books. Well, you probably would ask me, how old I am. The answer is 19. Suprised?

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called (Fairy) Tales from Garradh and I wrote it because I think, that in the current market aren´t quite good books for children. All of it is supermodern fantasy with undefeatable heroes. I don´t like this kind of fairy tales. I prefer classic stories and that´s exactly, what my book is about.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Usually, I drink a tea or coffee I love writing at my cottage because there is nothing, what could disturb me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I think, that every fantasy or fairy tales author must be influenced by Tolkien. I also like Terry Brooks and C.S. Lewis.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I´m working on (Fairy) Tales from Garradh Volume two and I´m trying to promote the Volume one on Amazon. You know, it isn´t easy, but I believe in my book a lot

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Difficult to say. I have my blog, fb page and fb ads. Promoting is never easy but you must not give up!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up and believe in your books. Don´t be shy to write. Every idea you have is a good idea!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Have you failed? Good! Now go and fail again! Never give up trying!

What are you reading now?
Edda. It is an old book from Scandinavia. Very interesting!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Become a successful writer

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
C.S Lewis- The Great Divorce
J. R. R. Tolkien- Roverandom
J. R. R. Tolkien- Silmarillion

Author Websites and Profiles
Adalbert Duwiol Website

Adalbert Duwiol’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
At the mention of books my ears perk up, I get a spine-tingling sensation (no pun intended), and I can’t help but find out what read is on discussion. With my first computer at twelve years of age, I began writing, and I am an avid reader, always with a stack of books by my bedside and listening to as many audiobooks as possible whenever working on a task that doesn’t require much thinking. When Jesus saved me at the age of twenty, I started reading the best book you could ever read, over and over, recognizing the Holy Bible as a letter from the Creator of all things.
I thought one day (when I was old) I might write a book for God. But God thought I should write something sooner, and told me in a prayer session on January 1st, 2016 to write my book. Since then I’ve written several drafts of books and completed GOD is HERE: Finding God in the Pain of a Broken World.
In other prayer sessions, God called me to preach His Word, seek His face, and go into the land He would show me. I and my wife, Trinna, and three children, are following this call to show the love of Christ to the world. This was first exhibited teaching and leading worship in our local church, then by working with people with disabilities, then going to preach at the state prison, loving our neighborhood community, and now reaching out to women and children enslaved in human trafficking.
When I caught a glimpse of how God saw me, everything changed, and I have since sought to show others this good news. I’ve recognized most people, Christian or not, feel unfulfilled and don’t know their life’s purpose. This has led me to help people find their calling and have a life of adventure with God. To be encouraged in the way God sees you, and to keep up with what God is doing with me and my family, go to GodAndYouAndMe.com.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is GOD is HERE: Finding God in the Pain of a Broken World. I was inspired to write this book for a few reasons, first off: because I kept hearing people ask if God is good, why is there so much suffering in the world (a question I used to ask, and led me to hate God)?
Secondly, I wanted to tell the story of how God reaches out to us when we feel far from Him, and invites us to know and love Him like He does us.
Lastly, I was being obedient to God in writing but wasn’t sure where to start, so I took a sermon I had preached at a prison and began expounding on it. This was the first point in that sermon. I realized it was too big of a topic to just be one section of a book, and wanted to keep the material concise and accessible, so I ended up with what you have here.
Despite that the book is only roughly 150 pages, it took me two-and-a-half years to complete. At a certain point, I had to accept it as it was and quite adding, subtracting, and polishing. I pray it blesses you and draws you closer to God.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My most unusual writing habit is I typically write in a closet beginning around 4:30am. I write in the closet and so early because I usually begin my prayer time there, my family doesn’t have a lot of extra room so I don’t have a study or an office, and I wanted to have a quiet space where I am not bothering my lovely wife and three cute kiddos (and I am out of their sight and mind too for the most part).
I also wrote most of the first draft of this book (and my next two which have first drafts completed) in my commute to work. I would edit and see what my manuscript was missing in the morning, then generally plan a topic I would “write” on that day, and on my drive to work I would record myself talking about that subject off-the-cuff. At the end of the day, I would transcribe that recording, and do quick edits to make sure the transcription was accurate. The next day I would start again.
I tend to have bursts of creativity and inspiration. I have found I am able to work well when scheduling my time to write and making myself start, but I am often battling myself to make this happen consistently. I write in the margins of my life right now too and have taken up helping other authors during that time, so finding the right balance of working on my own material and helping others has been difficult. But no matter how much I mess up or miss days/weeks of writing, I keep going back to it.
I’ve realized how valuable communication is—especally when your subject is important. You can write a sentence hundreds of different ways, and organize a paragraph/chapter/book in many multiplications of that as well. Being sure you’re understood is so essential, because otherwise, what’s the point? That being said, sometimes I can get bogged down trying to perfect sentences and the order of the information I am delivering.
The scariest thing was going back and reading my first draft intro to my first book—it didn’t make sense to me! But after I broke it down and essentially re-wrote it, I started to feel better as I moved on to the first chapter and found it was a little better than the intro. Each chapter got a little easier to understand and required less fixing, so I could see a progression of improvement in my writing.
But I can be a perfectionist, and that’s not good, because I don’t think it’s possible for us humans to create something perfect. At a certain point, I had to put my material out there and pray someone understood it!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love to read and have many influences. But I’d have to say my three highest author influences are C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity), John Eldredge (Waking the Dead), and Watchman Nee (The Normal Christian Life). I also love fantasy and sci-fi where I am inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings), Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games), and Orson Scott Card (Enders Game series).

What are you working on now?
Besides projects to help other authors, I’m working on several of my own projects: a non-fiction novel about who Christians are meant to be, another one on hearing God, a devotional prayer-book on physical healing, and there are several ideas for fiction books rolling around in my head too.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website and blog https://www.GodAndYouAndMe.com. Facebook http://www.facebook.com/godandyouandmeblog. Twitter http://www.twitter.com/nichols_johnw

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up! Develop a writing habit, learn how to self-edit but still get others help, value communicating clearly, learn from others (there are so many good books and courses out there), but mainly just keep writing. After you finish your book, get it edited, and then get it out to the world with a good cover and a good marketing plan. The launch is important, but it’s not everything, we are in a marathon so keep marketing your book. Don’t stop there, move on to the next book and keep going!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

What are you reading now?
The Bible, The Final Empire (Brandon Sanderson), Love Does (Bob Goff), and Boundaries with Kids (Dr. John Townsend and Dr. Henry Cloud).

What’s next for you as a writer?

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Only 3 or 4??? I’d have to choose a Bible first which is hard enough, but I think I’d go with the Zodiates NASB Bible. Then I’ll limit the rest to fiction and choose The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien), Perelandria (C.S. Lewis), and Enders Game (Orson Scott Card).

Author Websites and Profiles
John W. Nichols Website
John W. Nichols Amazon Profile

John W. Nichols’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello, I wrote this book completely by accident! My husband, Ben and I started our relationship on text messaging only. Over time I decided to use them as a base and write a fiction novel based off of our life experiences since ours was so unique. Since it is text messages, there will be many more books to come!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Reality. Is inspired by our real life text messaging relationships between Kate and her soul mate Tommy, Ben and his psychotic ex Amanda as well as Ben and Kate’s entire relationship from the very first message through life, marriage, kids and more.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Text messages only!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am a brand new author and have never been much of a reader. I will now be reading in appreciation of the craft.

What are you working on now?
Realty. 2

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
social media, word of mouth and paid advertisements.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep going! Don’t give up. Writing your story is the smallest step in the process. When it’s finished you feel like you have climbed a mountain (and you have) but just to find a bigger one right in front of you. Don’t give up! Find the resources you need to succeed.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be careful what you text. It might end up in a book one day.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Reality. 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?
Bible, boat building for dummies

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I fancy myself a comedian, but usually only I laugh at my jokes. I’m a mom to two boys who are almost as funny as me and I’m married to one husband. I’m a Connections Pastor in Washington and I love my church. I’ve written one book….two more are in the works!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
As My Mind Unwinds. One day I said to myself that if I want to become an author, I should start writing. God replied, “you already have. Take everything you’ve written so far and put it into devotional format. The people will get to know your voice and you’ll be on your way” I said, “huh?” Then, I obeyed and here we are.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Hmmm….I don’t think so.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Kerri Pomarolli, Mark Gungor, Jodi Detrick. Carey Nieuwhof.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on my next month long devotional about anxiety.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write and trust God.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Obey…it’s what makes you successful.

What are you reading now?
Didn’t See It Coming by Carey Nieuwhof.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Only God knows!

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?
Ah jeez….I need more coffee to answer that!

Author Websites and Profiles
Jen Ervig Website
Jen Ervig Amazon Profile

Jen Ervig’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
As a little girl, I wanted a big family- 12 kids! Although I did not grow up to have a dozen children, I did grow up to have a big family with 5 kids- both biological and adopted.

Motherhood and experience have deposited wisdom and understanding that I joyfully share with other moms on how they can become a perfect mom without having to be perfect. My passion has become empowering moms and equipping them to become confident and satisfied with themselves and their homes.

When not working with other moms/ families or caring for my own brood, you might find me tucked away writing in a coffee shop somewhere, on my small Texas farm sharing secrets with my favorite dairy goat Mattie, or cooking new gluten-free/ everything-else-free recipes in the kitchen… But chances are that I will either be chauffeuring teenagers, cleaning up something someone was still using, or most likely coming up with yet another great idea that makes more work for my already hard-working husband.

SuperMom and it’s SuperMom Companion Workbook are my debut books as a new author. So, these are my first two books. I have several more lined up already.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
SuperMom: Become the mom you’re made to be, build the home you’re meant to have, and SuperMom Companion Workbook are my new release duo.

I mentor moms, a sort of life coach for mothers. It was the next logical step to be able to share life-changing foundational supermom secrets and pass it on to as many moms as I can. I had to learn some things the hard way. Hopefully I can not only spare some moms the same trouble, but be able to change future generations by helping moms today.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like eating crunchy things while I write- usually crushed ice or chips. Neither is good for me, so I should really find something else.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer and Ann Voscamp are a few of the pivotal authors who have shaped not only my writing, but my character. They all have distinct individual ways of inspiring change that makes their readers a better person, which make readers have a better life. That is what I want- to make moms’ and their families’ lives better from my books.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a couple of books and will be narrowing down which one I want to focus on getting out next. They all have to do with motherhood. One book is about how to have your family help with dinner and teaching your kids how to cook meals as young as 6-7 years old. Another book is about mistakes parents make before the teen years and what they can do now to make those years joy filled instead of strife filled.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Since this is my first book, I am still discovering best methods. Self Publishing School has been an amazing resource to help me know what I don’t know about this promoting and marketing business for my books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Know who your reader is. Your book will find readers who it was not meant for, those are your critics. Don’t take them personally. You’re book was never meant for them. BUT, when your book connects with the ones who you have written it for, then magic happens. Words go down into the inmost being, and your’s will change the lives of those whom it is written for.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As far as writing goes, the best advice I received is: Done is better than perfect.

What are you reading now?
I am reading several books for some fellow indie author friends to help launch their books.
* Hamster Wheel Relationships for Women by Louise Van Liebenberg
* Never a $7 Whore, My Journey from a Lady of the Night to the Lady of the Boardroom, by Toni Crowe
* Prayers , Punk Rock and Pastry by Chris Stewart

What’s next for you as a writer?
As a writer, I will be working to establish my presence in the book world and getting quality content out that will leave a positive imprint on the world around 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?
My Bible, my journal, and a book how to survive on a desert island

Author Websites and Profiles
Christina Wallis Website
Christina Wallis Amazon Profile

Christina Wallis’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello there. Well, I am up to 40 books and novels! Considering the vast number of those were written since 2006 and I have held down a full time gig the entire time, that’s not a bad score, right?

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
When the Night Comes Out is coming October 23 and is a collection of short horror stories. Various things inspired them, and I feel these are some of the best short fiction stories I have ever written. Some really scary stuff.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I drink a lot of coffee, but I am not entirely sure how unusual that is.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Almost every author inspires me. Stephen King, of course, but it was Peter Benchley and Jaws that got me first thinking about writing as a career. I am hugely influenced by writers I am SO proud to call friends thanks to social media these days like: Patrick Greene, Suzi Madron, Josh Malerman, Iain Rob Wright, Ian Woodhead, Paul Tremblay, Ronald Malfi.

What are you working on now?
Well, because I am apparently a masochist – two novels at the same time! One just easily one of the darkest, sickest, scariest things I have ever written and the other an intense crime thriller with a major twist at the end.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I promote a lot on Twitter and it has worked well for me. Somehow that has become my largest social media audience. I also take pride in my blog on my website and since I am an SEO specialist in my day job, I try to optimize it as much as I can.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing. Just keep writing. Don’t get discouraged. There are many publishing opportunities out there. If you write because you love it, then keep doing it.

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

What are you reading now?
Joe Hill’s Strange Weather.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing up these two novels. REUNION (the horror one) should be done first. I have one in the pipeline I am shopping to publishers and agents, but may end up publishing myself called THE REVISIONISTS.

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
Jaws
A Head Full of Ghosts
The Night Parade

Author Websites and Profiles
Bryan Alaspa Website
Bryan Alaspa Amazon Profile

Bryan Alaspa’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written dozens, but only recently started publishing. My most recent work is my most complete and mature – I’m just getting started with real stories. Though writing is where I feel most myself, I also develop video games and make music.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Adventures in the Light & Dark is the result of the last several years of my life. There’s a part of town where I walk in the evening, it’s really quiet and spooky. This place inspired some of my best ideas. The story feels very much like home.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I cannot write in silence.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Hundreds, even if I haven’t read them all. Largely, though, I can thank Madeleine L’Engle, Mary Pope Osborne, and Kathryn Lasky for fueling my childhood imagination. I can thank Jack London for conditioning me with prose and description.

What are you working on now?
I’ve already got my next two books in mind and have been noting them out, as well as continuing work on video games.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still figuring this out.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get the damn thing on paper. Then go at it some more. Do it again. Edit. Rip. Clean. Rewrite. Snip. Erase. Scribble. Eat, get some sleep. Keep going.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Learn.

What are you reading now?
I’ve had my eye on Artemis by Andy Weir for a while. I should probably open it.

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?
Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, Jack London’s White Fang, and Peter Abraham’s Down the Rabbit Hole.

Author Websites and Profiles
Magnus Telekrex Amazon Profile

Magnus Telekrex’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a fifty-year-old balding Englishman. My favourite past time is dancing the American Lindyhop and Jive. I enjoy cooking real food, and my favourite recipe is freshly made pasta stuffed sweet potato and goats cheese. The thing that shocks people the most is that I do not have a TV, Cath has Amazon Prime on her iPad, so we do watch the odd item.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have a children’s picture book which is available in English and Welsh; I live in Wales, so I thought it appropriate to have it translated. ‘Emily’s First Pet’ is a diversity book with same-sex multiracial parents, and I have used a dyslexic font throughout.

I am currently working on the last book of my five book science fiction series ‘Mineran’. The series is about an ex-soldier who discovers something amiss and mistaking it for criminal activities stumbles upon an alien presence on Earth

‘Mineran Pursuit’, the fourth book in the Mineran Series. I suppose the other three are the inspiration. I will miss the character once the series has finished, they are fun.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, not really, I do most of my writing in cafes as I work from home creating websites for other authors. There are far too many distractions in my office.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am a firm believer that everything you read, encounter or see influences you in some way or another. As for an influencing author, I will have to say the late Terry Pratchett for his imagination.

What are you working on now?
Besides ‘Mineran Resolve’, I am researching and drafting a fantasy book which I hope to start next year. The idea came from a short story that I wrote for a writing group. After finishing it, I thought, wow, there is a book that text.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I wish I knew the answer to that one, I have tried blog tours, Net Galley, paid adverts on Amazon, I’m active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and I now have an account on Daisy. I would not say any of them is a magic bullet to sales.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
New authors should join local writing clubs and become active in self-publishing groups for their area. Writing can be a solitary past time, and without a literary support group, they may flounder. I have found the literary world to be full of wonderful and interesting people; it’s a nice place to be.

Most importantly never interact with anyone who leaves anything nasty about you on a site. I made this mistake, my daughter annoyed a troll a while back, and he blamed me taking his argument across several sites. I politely contacted him to try and resolve the issue. This correspondence only made him worse; you can not reason with a troll, just leave them alone and hope they go away.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Find and use beta readers; they will find holes in your story that you missed. Back up your data to the cloud, PCs fail all too easily, often taking your data with them. I use ‘One Drive’ as it was as cheap as Dropbox, but you get MS Office in the price.

What are you reading now?
I am reading ‘The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown’ by Vaseem Khan. I am a committee member for the Wrexham Carnival of Words, an annual week-long literary event and met Vaseem after his talk there. He is a fascinating and honestly delightful man, and his personality shines through his writing.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I mentioned earlier that my next novel will be about a wizard. I felt like a break from science fiction, and I enjoy reading fantasy. I won’t give any spoilers yet; it’s too early.

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?
Terry Pratchett’s ‘Mort’ from his ‘Discworld’ series. Tom Clancy’s ‘Without Remorse’ as I feel the character John Kelly has influence one of my characters. Jim Butcher’s ‘Storm Front’ as I enjoyed his ‘Dresden Files’ and Frank Herberts Dune for the imagination and scope of the book.

Author Websites and Profiles
P N Burrows Website
P N Burrows Amazon Profile

P N Burrows’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I used to write horror but got into Christianity and have been writing inspirational booksgo

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
God, Where Is My Joy found on SmashWords. I noticed how people including myself will loose their joy during hard trials and yet put on fake faces to show everything in ok when it isn’t. They put on fake masks to hide the pan. But they have to realize that there are others out there with the same issues. This book is to teach you how you how to keep your joy in the most difficult of situations.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
lots of Dr. Pepper and long long hours

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Max Lucado

What are you working on now?
A novel on the fruits of the Holy Spriit

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. it took me a year of rejections letters just to get my first short story published.

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

What are you reading now?
The Bible for my writing and research

What’s next for you as a writer?
I wouldn’t mind having my own You tube channel.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
My bible, my strongs exaustive concordance and my bible dictionary

Author Websites and Profiles
Jessie Johnson Amazon Profile
Jessie Johnson Author Profile on Smashwords

Jessie Johnson’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in an old house that my husband and I restored in Gainesville, Florida, the city where all my fiction is set.
I have a three-book detective series based around a strong female detective, Cory Marin, who has a complicated love life and a diverse group of friends. (Romancing the Crime, Marshland, Second Self), with a 4th book on the way (Consequences).
I have a book of short stories, Trust Me: Voices from the South (available as a free download on my website, jwrobitaille.com).
I also have a novel about a young working mother and aspiring artist who struggles with the conflict between her crazy busy schedule and her desire to paint.
I have two literary novels, The Dreamtime and Dooms of Love, that focus on a group of twenty-somethings trying to figure out love, identity and career.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book in my Cory Marin series is Second Self. It was inspired by an awareness of the complexity of modern digital life, where we may have a variety of personas (on Facebook, in the media, as avatars in games). Cory has to contend with media images not under her control as she struggles to solve the baffling murder of an international student. The murder and the idea of our various digital personas came together to make a book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I try to write every day, but that’s not always possible. One of my best time-hacks is to voice record scenes as I walk, which is often several times a day. I write intensively when I retreat to a tiny Nova Scotia fishing village for the summer. There I write most of the day, with breaks for long walks, and wonderful seafood.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I got into female crime-fighters with Patricia Cornwell, but I love Sue Grafton, Kate Atkinson, Laura Lippman, Lisa Unger, Louise Penny, Donna Leon, Tana French, Donna Tartt and a host of others. I particularly like mysteries set in unfamiliar locals. I admire lots of male writers who deliver thoughtful, character-based fiction: Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, Jonathan Kellerman, John Le Carre and Daniel Silva to name a few.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on the fourth Cory Marin novel, Consequences, in which Cory teams up with two other female detectives, Janelle Ramos and Makena Neal, to investigate a high school sexting scandal that results in the attempted suicide of a fourteen-year-old. The women can’t turn their backs on girls who desperately need a vision of how to resist victimization.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
KDROI is an inexpensive program that automatically submits books to a number of free or discounted book promotion sites at one time, so it saves time.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Make writing a daily habit.
Write because you have a story to tell, not to make money.
Don’t give up your dream.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Genius is 1% talent and 99% hard work.” Albert Einstein
“Nil carborundum illegitimi.” (Don’t let the bastards grind you down.)

What are you reading now?
I just finished Daniel Silva’s latest. Fantastic as always.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m working on an unusual dystopian series that revolves around young people taking action to try to save the planet. It’s environmental, political, feminist, and hopeful. Think Parkland kids getting involved in politics in order to save the earth. You can get a preview on my website (jwrobitaille.com) and you can email me if you’d like to be an early reader of the series.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
That’s a tough one because I love so many books. I would probably take Thich Nhat Hanh’s Happiness (to remind me to stay focused on gratitude and the present). I might also take May Sarton’s Journal of a Solitude for much the same reason. Then I would probably take several blank journals to record my experiences so I could write a book about it later.

Author Websites and Profiles
JW Robitaille Website
JW Robitaille Amazon Profile

JW Robitaille’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Born in 1971, I fully fledged technology as a business professional who worked at sales and marketing roles at many global tech companies like Sony and Microsoft. I also established an ecommerce company and exited in 2014, and yet still giving consultancy and trainings in topics like growth hacking, social media marketing, e-commerce, building habit forming products and interaction design.

This is my first book which I was planning for a long time. It’s a short book aiming to take out the awareness factor in people about how social media is affecting people’s lives.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Name of the book is ‘Good Old Life: Deactivate Your Social Media Accounts To Get The Control Of Your Life, Get Rid of Anxiety And Reset Your Mind’. I see people looking at their phones more than they look each other. I see people going out with friends and instead of talking to each other they’re messaging friends, checking out social media or taking selfies of themselves or the things they eat. We’re forgetting to communicate. We’re forgetting to live the moment. That inspired me to write this book.

It’s better for people to compare the time they’re living in to the hour before and make it better but what they do is to compare themselves to other people. It’s a big competition going there. All is fake and all is photoshopped. Painted.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not much.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Simon Sinek and Seth Godin, Nir Eyal are my top authors. Never missed a book they published. The books I liked most, other then many of the books these authors wrote, are Rework, The Obstacle is the way,.. many which I can say influenced me on the way.

What are you working on now?
A new book. On mental models.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m a new writer. I’m new on promoting as well. So I cannot give any advice on this.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Better if they can give me advice.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be original.

What are you reading now?
Notes to myself: My struggle to become a person by Hugh Prather

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve lots of things to say to people but first to my daughter. Writing should be a habit which I didn’t bare to do till now. I want my daughter to have that habit and also I want to share my wisdom with her which is not taught on schools. People learn stuff at schools but as a person you learn life sciences (I call it) from scratch during your lifetime. We should be able to reflect our wisdom to next generations. Books and notes are for that I think.

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 possibly it would be 3-4 books about how to survive on a desert island but that’s not what you’re looking for I think. So my selection would be:
Rework by Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson
Start with Why by Simon Sinek
Steal like an artist by Austin Kleon

Author Websites and Profiles
Gerard Ottmar Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written a total of 4 books two are being edited and a 5th is on is a work in progress. I live in San Antonio, TX married with two teens which I have found that it is easier to nail jello to a wall than to raise teens. When their young and cute your daddy. When they hit their teens your reduced to an ATM.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Havn’t figured the name yet but it is about the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I must have a glass a tea at my desk at all times and must be listening to music.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Max Lucado

What are you working on now?
Christian Inpiration

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon and Smashwords. but there are a whole numerous sites that give free promotion and I utilize all that i can.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. it took me a year full of rejections before I sold my first short story. write write and write some more.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You only loose if you quit.

What are you reading now?
The Bible

What’s next for you as a writer?
There is so much in the Bible I want to write about but I would also like to possibly start a you tube channel.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
My bible, my concordance and my bible dictionary

Author Websites and Profiles
Jessie Johnson Amazon Profile
Jessie Johnson Author Profile on Smashwords

Jessie Johnson’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a married author that resides in Washington DC with two beautiful daughters and Bad Kenny 2nd Story will be my 4th book with the 3rd and final installment of the Bad Kenny series due out this December.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is Bad Kenny 2nd Story ‘Only at the feet of love will lust bow’. And what inspired this installment of the Bad Kenny series was the simple question of could you love a prostitute knowing who she is and what she does? Think of a dark erotic Pretty Woman minus the fluff that’s sexually detailed. Add a few twist and arousing situations and what you have on your hands is a book that goes there sexually for you and happily takes you along.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m quirky so most of what I do is unusual…lol. Seriously, I don’t think so. I write in spurts at times and just trying to get myself to write longer while I’m flowing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
James Patterson for his short chapters. It’s the ultimate cheat in getting a reader to keep reading. If you keep telling yourself that you are only going to read one more chapter and that chapter is over before you know it you are on to the next chapter. Looking up an hour and a half later and now you are at books end.

What are you working on now?
Bad Kenny 3rd Story is up next. With it being the 3rd and final installment of The Bad Kenny series I’m really geeked to see how I’m going to tie up such a story with so many layers. Most of the layers are subtle that give depth to the characters of the book, but it’s those layers that connect with the readers.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Do I suppose to say Awesome Gang? Well I hope it is, looking to get the word out about my writing as much as possible. I usually use ads on Facebook, but I will run ads on Amazon this time out, so we will see.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing! Yeah it’s old and cliche, but the chances of you knocking it out of the park with your first book is highly unlikely. That’s why this bit of advice is repeated so often; to keep writing. A couple of things happen if you do: 1st you will get better the more you write. 2nd your earning potential increases with number of books you have written. And 3rd you can and maybe you want to teach others how to effectively write and get paid while doing it!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Publish. My teacher made his way through the crowd of students at the end of his class, extended his hand to me, hugged me and whispered in my ear to publish. Didn’t look back didn’t wait for me to ask questions, just planted the seed. And I’m so very thankful for it.

What are you reading now?
NOTHING. I’m an Audible junkie though. My current favorites are Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, Three Feet from Gold by Sharon L. Lecter and Greg S. Reid and Is Wrestling Fixed by Bill Apter

What’s next for you as a writer?
What else? Keep writing. But I’m going to start offering courses for self published authors at the beginning of the year as well. Looking to start my own podcast 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?
Outwitting The Devil, Born A Crime, 1984, and I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons

Author Websites and Profiles
DK Walker Website

DK Walker’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a speaker and author of Self-Help books. My passion for helping and healing the broken-hearted and restoring the rejected and abused drives me to inspire and encourage others to “wake up” and remember how amazing they are!
I have authored one book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Give Me Back My Boobs: Get out and Stay out of Abusive Relationships with Narcissists (Before They SUCK You Dry!)
I am an eight-year survivor of narcissistic abuse. I want to make women and men aware of the dangers that are involved in being in relationships with these types of individuals and teach them how to get out and stay out of toxic relationships in the future.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wouldn’t call my style “unusual,” I call it “Conversational.” I like to engage my audience and I write as if I am speaking to them individually–like having a real conversation.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I receive inspiration from Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist), Dr. Maya Angelou (I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings), Simon Sinek (Start with Why), and others.

What are you working on now?
The audio version of Give Me Back My Boobs!

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Promote, promote, promote!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Refusing to learn from the mistakes of others makes you a new kind of fool.” –My Grandmother

What are you reading now?
Abundance Now, Lisa Nichols

What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing a series on a topic (it’s a secret for now…)

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
2. The Celestine Prophecy
3. The Bible
4. The Seat of the Soul

Author Websites and Profiles
Pia Phillips Website
Pia Phillips Amazon Profile

Pia Phillips’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m just an ordinary person that doesn’t want to work a regular 9-5 job. I believe money is not everything, but It can help become free. Free from the rat race and the struggle most people put up with, the battle of sacrificing time for money. I want to share the knowledge I have obtained over the years to others. Sure someone can give you money; I’m not going to do that. I am going to do more; I want to provide you with a way to make money, not just one lump sum, but passive income. Money that makes you more money. I want to make the world a better and freer place. This is my first book, but there will be many more to come.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is PASSIVE INCOME KISS MY ASSETS. To be honest, wanting to be free inspired me to write this book. Not only is it a starting point for me making myself free, but a way for others to become free just like me. I believe giving to others is amazing, and if you give knowledge, the smallest amount of knowledge to the right person could change the world.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do, I tend to write when the everyone else is sleeping, I find that is when I am most creative and engaging I found out.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I would have to say the book Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, Sheron Lechter, and The 4 Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss have influenced me the most.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a series of other business minded books regarding financial independence.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The Awesome Gang website, as well as Amazon Kindle, is what I use.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is to invest in as much knowledge as possible regarding your desired readers as well as the subject you are writing about. You have to follow before you can lead.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Investing is the most important skill you can learn. I’m not talking about just stocks and real estate, but knowledge. Where you spend your time, money, habits, and friends you’re hanging around with. I know this sounds corny, but knowledge really is power, and if you invest in that you’re only helping yourself.

What are you reading now?
Right now I am reading The Way of The Wolf by Jordan Belfort.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To become better and learn more every day. If you aren’t getting better each day, you are falling behind.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would have to say Bear Grylls’s- A Survival Guide for Life, Dale Carnegie’s- HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE, for when I find another person. Finally, I would take Ken Mcelroy’s book, The ABC’s of Real Estate Investing. I’m stranded there why not start investing in the land.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Barbara, a born and raised Pittsburgher, and I spent my growing-up years with my nose in a book. To date, I’ve only one book, Teal Paisley Tights, that will be available on November 15, 2018.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Teal Paisley Tights was inspired by a number of things. On one hand, it was inspired by my sister because she’s a people pleaser. On the other hand, my then-college roommates and I were trying to figure out how we fit into the big, wide world. And it was just fun to brainstorm the oddest collections of events.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Would I even know if I had an unusual writing habit? I don’t often sit down with other writers to analyzing my writing habits. My roommate just informed me that I drink gallons of tea and start writing at 5:30 in the morning. I hope that qualifies!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My goodness, I could no sooner choose a favorite star in the sky (why yes, I did just quote Ever After).

Sandra Byrd, author of the Ladies in Waiting series, definitely influenced me as a reader and a writer. I specifically love her French Twist series. She’s a wonderful novel writing coach.

I also enjoy losing myself in novels written by Pepper Basham and Katherine Reay. I’d happily spend days just reading their books.

What are you working on now?
My current writing project is a romance set in Vienna at Christmas time. I absolutely adore that city, and I had the chance to live there for more than a year. And yes, I got to experience a Vienna Christmas. I’m so excited to see the story come together.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
As a newbie author, I’m still finding my way around book marketing. But, I must admit that I enjoy using Instagram most of all. I think it’s such a fun way to interact (hello, filters).

Do you have any advice for new authors?
As a new author myself, I’d like you all to tell me your advice! I’ve grumped that I don’t know what to ask because I don’t know what I don’t know. But, it’s been so helpful to be a part of Facebook groups of authors where different topics about book publishing have been discussed. I glean so much helpful information from them.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Basically, work smarter, not harder.

As a child, I always found the hardest way to do a thing, and I was set on doing it my way. When I finally broke down and asked for help, it was almost always so much easier. So, try to learn from others along the way.

What are you reading now?
I like to have a few books going at a time. I just finished Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. But I’m still currently reading Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis and The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Just keep writing, just keep writing, writing, writing. To paraphrase Dori from Finding Nemo.

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 a re-reader. I really just don’t like to reread books so this poses an interesting difficulty for me. So I’ll choose based upon books that have stayed with me.

1. The Bible. Stay with me. This book has so many challenging stories in it, and I’d finally be able to dig into it…because I’m guessing that other than survival, I’d have plenty of time on my hands.

2. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken. Now, here’s a love story. I think I’d actually reread that one.

3. The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan. This book was everything delightful, including giggles, subtlety, and wit.

Author Websites and Profiles
Barbara Brutt Website

Barbara Brutt’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a judge in the family court since 2009, but I have been following my passion for self-help and spirituality since 2005. I am a certified NLP practitioner by the international federation of coaching, NLP and Time Line therapy practitioner by the Time Line therapy association, and author of the book “The forgotten art of happiness”. I attended numerous seminars and workshops online and offline on coaching, meditation, spirituality, and business. My exposure to the domestic conflicts in the family court put me close to real life scenarios, I have seen the truth of human emotions and how feelings can change our decisions and my passion took me from a shy anxious thin guy to a fit, self-aware, determined man. I went through a long journey of self-discovery by consuming a lot of knowledge, writing, and monitoring and analyzing my actions. I am also the founder of A Space to Be; it is an initiative which organizes workshops, group discussions, and retreats to help people find out who they really are.
I have just launched my first book “The Forgotten art of happiness”

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Forgotten art of happiness
Vey long ago I had the dream to write a book about happiness. I did not know why? I just believe that I can help people to live a happier life and that by helping them I can help myself to live happier. This dream was not that clear until I get into a network marketing business and I had to write all my dreams on a piece of paper. Since then I had the idea clear in my mind but I started a journey of self-doubt for 4 years I was repeating this sentence in my head “who you think you are to write a book?”. I started a research on the internet on how to write a book and the AHA moment was when I saw a video on YouTube, and there was a man who said the best thing to do to improve your writing is to write, write, write, and write. At this moment I decided to start accepting the idea that I don’t know how am going to finish. Since I started the magic started to happen, the book was writing itself I just had to follow where it is going. The research lead to an idea, an idea led to an insight, an insight led to an interview, an interview led to an idea before I know it the first draft was done but I was satisfied with it, so I started to read best-selling books and I gave the book to famous authors and beta readers to criticize it. Me, the fellow authors, and the beta readers agreed on the same idea that the book is full of very good knowledge but it is very theoretical it lacks the stories that can touch the readers and influence them. I started to search for people online and offline people who can claim that they are happy and they can share their transformation stories. This was the most touching experience for me I interviewed people from more than 20 countries. I saw how humans is capable to transform their lives from sadness to happiness and all it takes a decision and acting upon this decision. I found out that happiness can come from the most miserable situations.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like writing in lousy coffeeshops, it makes me engaged and very consumed in the process.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Mark Manson the Subtle art of not giving a F.ck. It has a different approach on how we can approach life

What are you working on now?
I am working on two projects the first is the notebook of happiness it is a workbook for my first book the forgotten art of happiness. The second is the second book it is called “beyond happiness” it is something more than happiness that I have achieved and I want the journey with my readers.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I believe facebook because it is the place where most of your friends are and then you can share the real story behind the book.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just start
you do not get good at pushups by reading about them. you get good at writing by writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When it comes to writing do not think about the process think about starting

What are you reading now?
Stillness Speaks – Echart Tolle

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to be a better person by helping others to be better. I achieve that through books that force me to discover methods and techniques to live on higher standards.

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 subtle art on not giving a f – Mark Manson
Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival: Bushcraft Series
The power of now – Eckart Tolle

Author Websites and Profiles
Ali Zakaria Website
Ali Zakaria Amazon Profile

Ali Zakaria’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up without TV because my dad thought it would deprive my sister and me of our resourcefulness. Along with nature walks, gardening, and other fun activities, we had lots of time to get into trouble. But along the way we also became avid readers. While my sister became interested in art, I began to write stories and play musical instruments.

I submitted my first story to Seventeen Magazine when I was 13. Of course, it was rejected, and even though I took the rejection rather hard I didn’t give up. While I worked at my day job as an RN in ER and Critical Care, I worked at my writing, taking classes, writing and submitting until I finally became published in 1996.

I have 15 books and short stories presently in publication. The Wildings series, a family saga that takes place in the fictional town of Hazard, Wyoming, comprises 12 of my published works. Each story is a romance involving a Wilding family member. I also have a time travel titled, The Violin, and a contemporary with a paranormal twist. The Winatuke trilogy is presently out of publication and in revision to be released next spring.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I Dream of You will be released September 4th 2018. This book is the last of the Wilding series and is about a Wilding cousin, Kyle Red Sky, whose father is a Lakota shaman. Even though he owns and operates an ordinary gas station and auto repair shop, Kyle possesses an extraordinary ability to see visions of the future. He is included in many of the other stories in the Wildings series sharing his visions and his wisdom with other members of the family.
I found my inspiration to develop this hero after I read a book about a well known Lakota shaman, Fools Crow, who had extraordinary gifts and wisdom. He was a man of integrity and great compassion for all living things. I wanted to write a character like that and have him fall in love with a fiercely independent woman who is in terrible danger.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
If you mean more unusual than any other crazy writer’s habits, probably not. I try to be as structured as possible because I have a tendency to procrastinate. I make my coffee, feed my pets, spend a few minutes with the dog outside, and then I write from 7:00 am to 10:00 am or longer if I’m on a roll. I don’t get on the internet until I’ve done my writing. I am addicted to Pinterest so save my Pinterest Meditation time for the end of the day.
I love to listen to music before I write, but not while I’m writing. Lately I’ve been listening to flamenco guitar music because I have Gypsy characters in the Winatuke trilogy which I am presently revising.
I keep a writer’s journal with me always. If I see or hear something out there in the world, I write it down. I never know when I might use any of these tidbits, but they’re there if I need a story idea. Like so many other writers, I keep paper and pencil handy at my bedside because I have awakened in the middle of the night with ideas.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like the way Jude Devereaux includes time travel or paranormal in some of her books. She does it in such a way that it is completely believable. Although Linda Lael Miller is known for her western romances (and I love them, too), she has also written a vampire trilogy and a detective trilogy. I appreciated her versatility because I write in several genres as well.
When I was a kid of maybe 9 or 10 I read Kidnapped by Robert Lewis Stevenson. Actually, I liked it so much I read it 7 times. His ability to create characters that just walk up to the reader and say, “Howdy,” was astonishing and his scenes were magical.
My parents encouraged my sister and me to read anything and everything including comic books. The only time I got into trouble was when I read some of my mother’s True Detective stories and had nightmares. No more True Detective magazines at our house. My mother signed me up for the Junior Classics Book Club. I looked forward to getting a new book every month. I also read my dad’s books like Sir Author Canon Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series, Lost World, and the White Company.
These days when I read a book I find myself analyzing the writer’s style and voice, their technique, and plot development as I read. I love it when I finish a book and sigh with satisfaction at the end. Even when I read a flawed book, I am taught lessons about what not to do.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m deep in revisions on the Winatuke trilogy. These 3 fantasy books were my first published work, so there is a major overhaul in progress here.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I used to get good results from my website. Later, I took part in website hops with give-away prizes which were quite successful. Blogs have been successful, but seem to be losing the momentum they once had. I have an author page at Amazon which includes a blog connected to my website blog. I don’t know how successful that is. So, my number one most successful media is Facebook followed by Twitter.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. Persistence and improving your craft WILL pay off.
I’m certain they’re out there somewhere, but I have never personally met an author who was a New York Times best seller straight out of the gate.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I was having difficulty writing in deep point of view because I tended to state feelings like, sad, happy, or heartbroken instead of showing these feelings. An Australian writer and friend of mine said, “What does pain look like?” I understood then that I needed to use description like facial expression, body language, and dialogue to show a character’s feelings.

What are you reading now?
I just finished the Mail Order Brides: The Remmington Sisters by Livia Reasoner Washam, Jacquie Rogers, Cheryl Pierson, and the late, Celia Yeary published by Prairie Rose Publications.

Now I am reading a book for research: Life in Colonial America for Writers with multiple contributors from Writer’s Digest.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Once I finish the revisions on the Winatuke trilogy, I want to write some stories from my home state of North Carolina. There is so much history and diversity here from pirates to mountain men, and the Moravians who made a successful settlement in Salem, North Carolina. I haven’t decided on THE story yet, but I’m wide open to what comes next.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Peace With God by Billy Graham, a big fat history book of the world, The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Canon Doyle, and a new journal to write in.

Author Websites and Profiles
Sarah McNeal Website
Sarah McNeal Amazon Profile

Sarah McNeal’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a new indie author. I currently have 7 books published on Kindle, with 5 more in the works.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Whispers:Book 4 of the Mystic Valley Shifters
I love writing and reading, and decided to take a chance on writing in my favorite genre.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to listen to music as I write. It often dictates the flow or story line.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many to highlight…. But TS Joyce, Allie Parker, Weston Parker, Harmony Raines… I could keep going – trust me….

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Several books. The final (for now) in my Shifter series – Worthy: Book 5
Resilient: A Memoir, Almost Earth, Lipstick and Lead, The Middles….and anything else that tickles my fancy.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just do it… and don’t give up. Make sure you hire a good editor and have a good book cover. Beyond that, remember it takes at minimum of a year to really see the fruits of your labor.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t quit no matter what.

What are you reading now?
TS Joyce

What’s next for you as a writer?
My memoir. I hope it helps someone struggling in their marriage.

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?
Just 4? That’s really unfair. Anything by TS Joyce or Allie Parker.

Author Websites and Profiles
Leah Taylor Website
Leah Taylor Amazon Profile

Leah Taylor’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello! My name is Dave. I’ve been living abroad and teaching English for the past 20 years or so. I went to Brazil for a year of volunteer work where I fell in love, got married, and am now living my happily ever after with our two beautiful daughters.

I use stories to engage my English students to help there increase their vocabulary and improve their pronunciation so they can reduce their accent which are the two main challenges they face.

So, publishing these stories just seemed to be a natural step. We’ve been creating stories for over twenty years in the classroom. But this is my first year of actually publishing any.

I’ve made four stories available already on Amazon. I also have several others that I’m currently writing.

They are mostly science fiction and fantasy books. So it’s a lot of fun to write them.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My First Death: The Coming of Age of Smoky Swallow

I actually wrote this to enter a competition. It was supposed to be a short story of about 3,000 words. But it ended up being over ten times that long. So, I just went ahead and published it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so. I write like most of my other writer friends.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I grew up reading the Hardy Boys and westerns by Louis L’amour. I love action, thrillers, and sci-fi in general. I also read a lot of epic fantasy stories. So, they probably all play into my creative wells where my imagination draws from.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently planning a series of short stories based on Vikings, Elves, and Orcs with a few dragons thrown in for good measure.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m publishing mostly on Amazon right now. I have on book that is on other platforms as well. But right now, I’m focusing on Amazon because it’s easy to focus on one thing at a time. Once I nail the process down, I plan to expand out to other websites.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Planning can be an excuse to not write. I spent five years planning my story before I actually sat down to write. Now, that I’ve done it, I realize that I was just procrastinating and using planning to keep from getting over my perfectionism and fear of actually publishing something.

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

What are you reading now?
Two series by Mark Dawson.
White Devil in the Beatrix Rose series
The Cleaner in the John Milton series

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m just gonna keep on writing while I continue learning and trying to improve so I can get better at telling amazing stories for others to read.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Only 4? What? I’d need at least 4,000…

Author Websites and Profiles
Dave Bailey Website
Dave Bailey Amazon Profile
Dave Bailey Author Profile on Smashwords

Dave Bailey’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 Kristin Smith, and I’m a bestselling author who enjoys writing young adult contemporary and science fiction novels. When I’m not writing, you can find me dreaming about the beach, beating my boys at Just Dance, or belting out karaoke (from the comfort of my own home). I’ve written over a half dozen novels, but only three of which are currently published.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Well, my latest book is the third book in a series, so perhaps I should talk about the series itself and what inspired it. The idea for the Deception Game series actually came to me in a dream. It was really just a spark of an idea that lead to a lot of “what if” questions. “What if there was a society of genetically modified people?” “What would that society look like?” “What would be some of the dangers of that kind of society?” “What if there was a girl who wasn’t genetically altered but all of her peers were?” “What if people were matched according to their genetics?” And that’s what lead me to creating this world and the characters in it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Hmm, unusual writing habits? Well, I like to write on my bed and my husband always chastises me for it! Lol. I know I’m probably killing my back, but it’s where I do my best writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh, there are so many! But I have to say that the one author who inspired me to take my writing to the next level and start writing a book was Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight series. She’s a mom of three boys, and at the time, I had three boys (I have more now!) and I thought to myself, “If she can do it, why can’t I?” I’d always thought I needed to put my writing on hold until my kids were older, but Stephenie Meyer inspired me to stop waiting around for the perfect time and just do it.

What are you working on now?
A sweet but emotional YA contemporary novel. It has a talented young artist and a Dorian Gray-quoting boy, and it deals with loss, love, and overcoming tremendous obstacles.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I usually post about my books on my social media pages. I also do a lot of giveaways for readers and followers. You can find me at the links below:

Website: www.kristinsmithbooks.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KristinSmithAuthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinsmithwrites/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SwordsStilettos

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t let yourself get burnt out! When my first book came out almost two years ago, I was on fire. I was doing as much as I could to promote, promote, promote, and by the time the second book released, I was totally burnt out. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your books won’t get noticed in a day, either. It’s a slow and steady process.

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

What are you reading now?
I’m currently in between books but recently finished ONE OF US IS LYING. It was SO good!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m looking to get a couple YA contemporary novels published. And I still need to write the 4th and final book in the Deception Game series. Please don’t tell my readers that I haven’t started yet! Lol.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Ooh, that’s a hard choice! I think I’d have to take some of my favorites like Hunger Games, The Selection, Twilight, and All the Bright Places.

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

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

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an author, illustrator and passionate advocate for smart aging.Along with my fitness trainer certification i have also earned my sport nutrition specialist and face lifting massage specialist certification.Besides ¨Goodbye Botox” which is my first author’s book,i have also participated as co-author in some other publications including ” Journey into amazing life”. I consider myself to be a cosmopolite at home anywhere in the world. I speak many languages and i have lived in different countries.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is ” Goodbye Botox and how to get rid of wrinkles at home”.In this book i reveals the most effective but all natural and proven steps i use on a daily basis to keep me looking considerably younger than my age. I want to share my experience and to teach other women how to age smart and stay young as long as possible.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
If i have an idea,i put it on paper or in smart phone immediately. Even a simple word can help me to make a good sentence much later.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have been influenced by healthy lifestyle in general.

What are you working on now?
I am working on positive thinking book because i believe that integration of mind ,body and spirit is essential to living a balanced life.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I mostly use social media like facebook or twitter.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you have a good story force yourself to sit down. Many people don’t write a book because it’s a hard job. Fortunately there are many great self-publishing sites that can help you to make your book as professional.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When you believe in yourself great things happen.

What are you reading now?
I am reading a Deepak Chopra book to get more inspiration for my next book.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I would like that my work has meaning, that it helps other people to find better themselves and live better lives.

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 some positive thinking books .

Author Websites and Profiles
Ester Klein Website

Ester Klein’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Written one book to date: Asphalt & Angels (20 years later)

As a child I wrote many small books in grade school I didn’t even remember until cleaning out my childhood boxes I stumbled upon them! My kids actually have started reading them now too. I guess it was always in the works to pen my first book, I just didn’t know it yet.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Asphalt & Angels (20 years later). It was finally written as the title suggests, 20 years later, using the exact notes I kept from a diary I took during my motorcycle adventure.

I actually started writing the first chapter in 2014, and it took me about 3 months to write 3 pages. It is extremely hard to write about deep feelings and personal experiences and combining that during a tumultuous time in life, I postponed writing. However, through personal motivation, dedication and courage it was completed in spring of 2017 and officially published before my 40th birthday, after 20 years of reflection on this adventure.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do. They are so weird…

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Many. Namely, The Secret and Awaken the Giant Within.

What are you working on now?
(20 Years After.)
It may include: financial assurance, human connections and career development, entrepreneurship, political campaigns, building sweat equity, writing books and raising children.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Networking! If someone wants your book, just give them a copy! If they like it, they will tell 10 people who will buy it…

With the internet, e-books and especially audio books, promotion is everywhere.
Use it like a tool, just as you do a pen to write a book!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be genuine and open up.

Don’t be afraid of what people may think of how you write or find out about you. Let the creative juices flow and find professionals who can subjectively and constructively critique and edit your masterpiece. It is a masterpiece because you created it for you!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Screw it, let’s do it!
“Keep doing what you are doing” Received an anonymous email reply from virgin back in early 2000’s. Sir Richard Branson I think..

What are you reading now?
Actually listening to the Asphalt and Angels Audio Book on Amazon/Audible!
We just released the audio book version which is becoming a best seller quite fast with many 5 star reviews to date. The audio book production is a really great way to listen to a professional actor tell your story from a different perspective. It is a must do for any serious author willing to develop their skills and continue the journey of endless creativity.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Now that the book and audio book is complete, I would really like to help create the motion picture movie! Continue to meet and engage with others in the industry is important to understand and respect the culture and professional development of a genuine project.

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. Treasure Island
2. Poisonous plants not to eat
3. A global map book (so I may find my way home:)

Author Websites and Profiles
Christopher Blueman Website
Christopher Blueman Amazon Profile

Christopher Blueman’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello everybody. For a long time I am engaged in sports and studying psychology. Everything written in the book is taken from personal experience. So far, this is my first book, but it’s just the beginning.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Psychology of motivation

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Believe in yourself and your success and stop at nothing

Edgar Burns’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
So far only one, I have ideas for other ones but have yet to start working on any new ones.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Psynautical. I first started writing a few years, mostly affiliate writing and marketing, originally on squidoo but then on hubpages and then moved onto my website and blog at http://www.jaredheldt.com

I got the word from the term “psychonautical” which is someone that uses a number of means, via technology, herbs, etc. to explore themselves and technology. I used it as a genre or broad classifications of interests of mine, ranging from martial arts, biohacking, to health and fitness as well.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not that I really know of, for my last book, It was a lot of older content I had to edit and revise, and then I added in new some new content as well. I typically just listen to music and write, typically a page or chapter at a time depending on how I am feeling.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Paulo Coelho, Timothy Ferriss, Dave Asprey, John Little, Eckhart Tolle, Teal Swan, those are the ones I can remember, but ya, check out the aforementioned authors they are amazing.

What are you working on now?
Right now just on promotion. I have a lot going on, healing from chronic health issues, working on my youtube channel, I’ve taken a break from streaming on twitch until I get a new pc or console. I also dropship as well. After seeing “Afflicted” on netflix, I really want to do more outreach for chronic health problems and maybe even write a book on recovery. I started one some time ago but I may start back up again.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve only published on amazon, but they have some great tools, for the first week my ebook was out I gave it away for free to get some interest and readers. There are other promotions you can run as well, as well as ad programs. I promoted a lot via social media, I wrote a blog post about it, did a youtube video on it, posted it to some facebook pages I manage.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Start small and start with something, I for years thought my writing or content wasn’t good enough, and I’m still self-conscious about my writing. Practice does make perfect though, not only with writing but in other aspects of life.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Actions speak louder than words do. A lot of people are stuck in “analysis by paralysis” and think they need to know anything and everything to start. It’s much better to start and try something, and learn along the way, fail some, learn a lot and start to gain momentum.

What are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading a kindle book, It’s a self-help and business book, about being a connector. It’s really good, written by a former ceo and founder of a company who was ousted, spent a year or so in limbo and starting writing a book.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Right now just trying to promote my book, better myself, see what people think about my content so far, get feedback on it as well.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
That’s really a tough choice, I think “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho would be one, the others I’m not really sure.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jared Heldt Website
Jared Heldt Amazon Profile

Jared Heldt’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing since I was a little kid. I had always loved books, but when I discovered that people like me sitting down and writing our crazy ideas was where books came from, I was immediately in. My first efforts were pretty awful, as I think most writers’ are, but I kept at it, and I got better. I have four full-length novels and two novellas out at the moment and am working on a fifth full-length novel.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book is the third in my vampire series, titled “Dead of Night.” The first two books have the word “Dark” in them prominently, and at first I wanted to keep with that titling, but I quickly realized I would run out of titles that could contain the word “dark.”

I am a big fan of Depeche Mode, and one of their songs contains the line “we are the dead of night.” I knew I couldn’t use the whole line — partly, too long; partly, plagiarism, but I loved the phrase “dead of night.”

My main character is going through possibly the worst time in her life during the course of the book — the deepest part of her eternal night, so to speak. “Dead of Night” just seemed to fit.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do some weird stuff, but I feel like all authors do. If I’m having trouble visualizing a scene or the characters reactions to it, I will talk to myself in their voices. I also talk myself through scenes out loud in a director’s voice — something I didn’t realize I did until my husband laughingly pointed it out.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many! My first favorite books as a child were the Chronicles of Narnia, Alice in Wonderland, and The Hobbit. My vampire influences were of course Interview With the Vampire and Vampire: the Masquerade, but also pretty much anything written by P.N. Elrod, her Vampire Files series especially. I also deeply love the Otherworld series by Kelly Armstrong, and am a Neil Gaiman fangirl.

What are you working on now?
I have one book about faeries at the moment, and I am working on a second book to turn it into a series. The current working title is “Half-Human.” We’ll see if that sticks,but so far I like it.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am just getting started with all that, I have no idea!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up, never give up! This is a hard road, but if you’re serious about it, you can make things happen.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what you know — but don’t be afraid to learn something new if you want to write about it.

What are you reading now?
The newest book in the Newford series by Charles de Lint. I love his world.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing!! I am planning a fourth book in the vampire series after the faerie story.

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?
Um, I would probably take books on how to survive and get off a desert island. Then I could read whatever I wanted once I got back to civilization.

Author Websites and Profiles
Melody Taylor Website
Melody Taylor Amazon Profile
Melody Taylor Author Profile on Smashwords

Melody Taylor’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi! I’m Beth, and I write Regency Romance. So far I have published the six-book Regency Romps series, and at the time of writing, I am about half way through my first fairy tale retelling set in the early 1800s and have a third series of books mapped out after that.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My last published novel was The Alter Ego, which was the final instalment in the Regency Romps series (although there will be a related series, featuring some familiar faces, called the Regency Rogues) The Alter Ego was inspired by an existing character who struck a chord with my mum. She insisted that he have his own story, and so I happily obliged

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure if any of them are unusual, but I often have to write with a cat trying to sleep on my mousepad. Or my chair. Or on my knee. As I write this, my oldest pet has her fluffy tail draped over my mouse and glares at me whenever I need to use it.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
So, so many. For regency romance in particular, though, I don’t think anyone has come close to Georgette Heyer. She remains the greatest writer in our genre, with Mary Balogh a close run second. I am also a huge fan of Mary Robinette Kowal (who writes fantasy set in the Regency), Courtney Milan, Elizabeth Hoyt, and Sarah MacLean.

I also have a huge library of non-fiction and Regency research books that I refer to on a daily basis. Some are on clothing, some are diaries, and some are on specific historical figures, like Beau Brummell.

What are you working on now?
A re-telling of Beauty & the Beast set in Regency Yorkshire. The story follows Miss Belle and Lord Ravenleigh as they learn to overcome their prejudices in order to find love. There isn’t any magic in the book as I’ve kept it as true to the time period as possible, but it’s been great fun to write! I actually lived in one of the towns mentioned in passing in the novel, and I’ve enjoyed working in real places and people alongside my made up ones.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I find advertising as widely as possible through as many romance-book sites and mailing lists as possible is the best way to advertise my books. There are so many great choices for readers out there, and I understand they might have to see my titles four, five, or six times before they decide to give me a try. After that, I hope they enjoy the first book so much that they go on to read the rest!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Overnight successes never happen overnight. Whether you are traditionally published or are going the indie route, it will be hard work to get yourself going in this business.

Oh – and never sign with a “publishing house” that wants to charge you money; they are a vanity press and NOT the same thing as indie publishing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Learn how to market your books. I cannot emphasise this enough: you could have written the best book in the world, but if no one sees it, then it won’t sell. Also accept that successful marketing will shift, change and develop, especially if it is online. You’ll have to commit to a constant state of learning.

What are you reading now?
The Profligate Son by Nicola Phillips. It’s nonfiction about a real family in the early 1800s. When I’m in the middle of writing a book, like I am now, I tend to read a lot of research material, and save the fiction as a reward for completing my novel!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Alongside the romance, I also write historical fiction under the pen name Gemma Williams. The first novel, Hell to Pay, is a heist novel set in 1801, and features an Ocean’s 11 style team of ne’er-do-wells intent on robbing a gaming hell. It was such good fun to write, and I have a whole series of crimes in mind for the characters to attempt to pull off! My goal is to get the readership in that genre to the same level as my romance books; that would make me a very happy bunny!

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?
How to Survive and Escape This Desert Island, volumes 1-4, by The Last Person To Survive And Escape This Island.

Author Websites and Profiles
Elizabeth Bramwell Website
Elizabeth Bramwell Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Arnaldo Lopez Jr. was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY., but has since moved to Queens, NY where he has resided for about 23 years now. Before retiring, Arnaldo Lopez Jr had been employed by the MTA for twenty-eight years and was formerly employed as a dispatcher with the NYPD. Mr. Lopez is also a speaker and trainer, speaking on subjects as diverse as terrorism and customer service. He created the civilian counter-terrorism training program currently in use by New York City Transit and many other major public transportation agencies around the country.

As well as writing, Mr. Lopez is an artist and photographer, having sold several of his works over the years. As a writer he’s sold articles to Railway Age magazine, The Daily News magazine, Homeland Defense Journal, and Reptile & Amphibian magazine; scripts to Little Archie and Personality Comics; and short stories to Neo-Opsis magazine, Lost Souls e-zine, Nth Online magazine, Blood Moon magazine, Feed Your Monster e-zine, Fangs and Broken Bones horror anthology, Swallowed by the Beast horror anthology, Trembling with Fear horror anthology, Monsters Attack horror anthology, and the “A reflection of Me”: An AAMBC Anthology. He was also editor of Offworld, a small science fiction magazine that was once chosen as a “Best Bet” by Sci-Fi television. His first novel, Chickenhawk, is the winner of two International Latino Book awards.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my first (and so far only) novel is Chickenhawk.
A Chickenhawk is what cops used to call men that preyed on boys and younger men. I got the idea for writing Chickenhawk while working nights as a token booth clerk for New York City Transit, I couldn’t help but observe the comings and goings of the young male prostitutes that plied their trade there and in the surrounding area, their johns, and the cops trying to stop it all.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well… I don’t know how unusual they are, but I prefer to write while I’m in bed. I have all of my writing and research materials within comfortable reach, and it’s usually quiet with plenty of soft, ambient light. I always write my stories in longhand first before typing them up. Also, I usually do my writing in the late afternoon to evening, I’m definitely not a morning person.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I feel that the writers that have influenced me the most are – in no particular order – Lawrence Sanders, Ernest Hemmingway, Robert E. Howard, Harry Turtledove, Isaac Asimov, Dean Koontz, James Patterson and Stephen King.

What are you working on now?
Right this moment I am collaborating on a fantasy novel with my son.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook has worked well so far…

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

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just tell the story, forget about grammar, punctuation, and spelling until after you have the story out of your system!

What are you reading now?
Dead Earth by Mark Justice

What’s next for you as a writer?
After my son and I finish with our fantasy novel collaboration, I will next work on a children’s picture book with my 11-year old granddaughter.

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?
Fear: Trump in the White House, by Bob Woodward, The Outsider: A Novel, by Stephen King, Make It Out Alive on a Desert Island (Makerspace Survival), by Claudia Martin, Hispanic American Literature: An Anthology, by Rodolfo Cortina,

Author Websites and Profiles
Arnaldo Lopez Jr. Website
Arnaldo Lopez Jr. Amazon Profile

Arnaldo Lopez Jr.’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started writing in 1997 after retiring without using the typing skills I learned in high school. In those days, I was one of two boys in a class with girls learning to touch-type under the instruction of a teacher that could easily have worked in a prison due to her demands of perfection. I have written 9 books.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I recently published a novella in the genre of Literary Fiction>erotica>humorous, and I was inspired to write in this genre to experience the effort required to research and write a manuscript dealing with the subject of respect and equality due members of society in general.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Writing often requires thinking while in bed, while walking a dog, while shopping for groceries, and sometimes makes sleeping difficult.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil; The Great Gatsby by F.S. Fitzgerald, and Glenn Miller & His Orchestra by George T. Simon — is a favorite because my dad worked in his orchestra.

What are you working on now?
I just published on Amazon & Kindle the title: Cathouse Photographer and I am anxious to learn the reaction of readers to this short read.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesome Gang – of course and telling my college classmates about my writing. Many of them have claimed to have read them.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The vocation of writing is a difficult field that requires a commitment to hard work. One must realize that a vast audience of readers depend on receiving value for their money when purchasing a book.

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

What are you reading now?
I am reading The Grand Budapest Hotel by Matt Zoller Seitz. The book documents with photos the scenes used during filmmaking, and it presents with comedy a message re the evil of autocratic rule based on historical events.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Relax for awhile.

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 all my own works with me.

Author Websites and Profiles
Charles Frankhauser Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am from Monticello, Kentucky. My previous novels, Swimming the Echo and Wheelman, were featured on NPR, and my debut story collection, Baptisms & Dogs, was a finalist for the Linda Bruckheimer Literature prize, with one copy currently sitting in Washington, D.C.’s historic Marine Barracks, Center House. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from the Bluegrass Writers Studio (EKU ’12).

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent & forthcoming book, Pokeweed, is special and unique in its own way. In the tradition of Robert Gipe, I worked with a fantastic illustrator named Katerina Dotneboya to add a ton of amazing artwork to the novel. The result is a piece of historical fiction that is at once unique and almost melancholy in all the good ways.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Coffee houses work for me, unlike a lot of other writers. I don’t mind the distraction. And one coffee house in particular is where I love to settle in – The Meeting House in Red Bank, Tennessee. It provides a sense of creativity and comfort that I cannot get in the recliner at home. Odd as that sounds.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Harriette Simpson Arnow – The Dollmaker, Hunter’s Horn.
Charles Ports – True Grit, The Dog of the South.
Wendell Berry – anything.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on my first children’s picture book for my newborn daughter, Zella. I am trying to work again with Katerina Dotneboya (the illustrator for my forthcoming project).

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use BrianLTucker.com for promotion and discussing projects with readers the most. But I’m on Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, and publisher websites as well.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read what you enjoying writer. The material will flow from there.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Chris Offutt told me I didn’t need permission to write stories. It was something so many authors think they need before they begin to write something down.

What are you reading now?
Robert Olmstead’s Savage Country.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’d like to chip away at a memoir I started prior to my daughter’s birth. I started it at a point when we’d just found out she was on her way. Now, I can see beginning, middle, and present a little bit better.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Bible, Don Quixote, a Wendell Berry collection of poems, and something by Tolstoy.

Author Websites and Profiles
Brian Tucker Website
Brian Tucker Amazon Profile

Brian Tucker’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written one book, The Red Flag. It is the debut novel to what I hope will be a long and successful writing career.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is a historical fiction novel called The Red Flag. My goal was to create something as historically accurate as I could. I wanted to reveal the true villainous nature of pirates during the Golden Age rather than portray them as the romantic swashbucklers that Hollywood likes to make movies about.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
While I mostly write historical fiction, I love to read fantasy, especially the grimdark genre. My favorite authors are always changing, but I’m currently into books by Django Wexler and Jim Butcher.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a science fiction project that takes place in a world accessible through portals. A cold war in this other world turns hot and spills into our own world. The main characters must not only take up arms in this conflict, but also learn how to navigate the new setting in which they find themselves.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I love to use Goodreads, both as an author and as a reader. I try to be active on there and interact with readers, and I also interact with other authors whose works I’m interested in. I’m also very active on Twitter and am grateful for the supportive writing community I am now apart of.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is to keep reading and keep writing. There was a time when I thought I was ready to publish many years ago. I was just a kid. But I held off and continued to develop my writing. It’s now almost ten years later and looking back I can see the improvement that I’ve gone through. It’s difficult to look at your own writing objectively. But the more you practice writing and the more time you spend reading, you’ll be able to see the improvement and know when the time has come.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I’m not sure who said it first, but a quote I love is, “If you write a page a day, you’ll have a novel in a year.” Sometimes it’s just so hard to get the words out and sometimes you just don’t feel like writing at all. But that quote has kept me motivated and on track.

What are you reading now?
The last book I read was The Guardship by James L Nelson. There are more in the series and I haven’t gotten to reading them yet, but they are next on my list.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Just keep writing. Now that I’ve published my debut novel, it feels like a lot has opened up for me, and I’m eager to get started. This is just the beginning of my writing career. I have so many plans and now it’s time to buckle down and get to them!

Author Websites and Profiles
Julia Maiola Amazon Profile

Julia Maiola’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in the U.K., but my parents immigrated to Canada when I was a boy, so I think of myself as Canadian. I’m now semi-retired, living the good life in Montreal, drinking the odd glass of wine before dinner with Manon, my wife … and writing a few novels when the fancy strikes me, as it has three times so far.

All of my novels were written in the last few years, and all are set in present-day Montreal. The first two, Last Call at the Ringrose Pub and Flash Drive, are both available on Amazon worldwide, in ebook and softcover versions. The third, Time Lost, will be published in the next month or so.
I’m an erstwhile, once-upon-a-time, incorrigible taximan.

What else? For more than thirty years I made a living in the Montreal taxi industry in just about every capacity. At different times I was driver, call-taker, dispatcher, customer service manager, call center manager, office manager, and general manager for several different taxi companies in the city. Now I’m more or less retired from that world, but I still keep my foot in the door as a part-time instructor at the Montreal Taxi School (l’École du Taxi). Once in a while, I do some consulting work for local companies. And I still follow the issues and give my opinion from time to time.

And finally, I can’t talk about myself without owning up to the fact that I’m a child of the Sixties and, like so many others of my generation, I was swept up in the historic tumult of those times. As an undergraduate at McGill University, I joined the demonstrations, supported the movement. It was a hell of a time to be young and alive. It turned my life upside-down.

Today my activism is limited to signing the odd petition against nuclear proliferation and sharing Facebook posts denouncing Donald Trump. But, like my years in the taxi business, the experience of those hectic days is still with me. It’s part of who I am, and it informs my writing in different ways, some subtle, some less so.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Time Lost, which will be published sometime in the next couple of months. It was partially inspired by a chance meeting with a young woman – a student in one of my classes – who reminded me of a girlfriend from years ago. That encounter inspired a what-if speculation, which eventually became Time Lost.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Nope. I just string one word after another like everyone else.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are too many. I think every book I ever read has influenced me one way or another. Recently, I can recommend Still Time by Jean Hegland, about a man developing Alzheimer’s disease, told from his point of view! I wish I could write like Jean Hegland.

What are you working on now?
I’ve begun work on a fourth novel. But it’s too early to tell what will happen.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Ebook promotion sites and newsletters have been the only truly effective way of finding readers for my stuff. I’m lucky enough to be at a stage in my life where I don’t care if I make any money from my novels. If I can share a book with some readers, and some of them like it, I’m a happy man. So far, so good. 11,000 people have downloaded Flash Drive so far. Many of them took the time to rate and review the book, and said mostly nice things about it. That’s all the reward I need.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write the best book you can.

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

What are you reading now?
Open Rprimary by A.C. Fuller

What’s next for you as a writer?
Publishing Time Lost. Coming soon to an Amazon store near you.

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?
Crazy question. Anthologies, I guess. Collected works of Hemmingway, etc.

Author Websites and Profiles
Peter C. Foster Website
Peter C. Foster Amazon Profile

Peter C. Foster’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m 33, an English Lit graduate, husband and father. I’ve written a few books over the years, but count the early ones as valuable practice. This is the first book I’ve published properly. I’m halfway through a second novel, and have plans in place for five more in various genres.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called ‘In Human Skin’ and is the first in the ‘Legend and Lore’ trilogy. It was inspired by a love of myths, legends and cryptozoology, first cultivated by reading Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World as a child. My favourite writer is Stephen King. What I love about his work is that he treads a fine line between terror and wonder, and I wanted to explore the same dichotomy from my own point of view.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Expensive ones, maybe; I’m very fond of writing in coffee shops! I generally do about 1000 -2000 words a day, 5 days a week.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many. Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, Nightmares and Dreamscapes and IT are massive influences. Michael Crichton got me into science fiction, and Jurassic Park is the first ‘grown up’ novel I remember reading. I could list HP Lovecraft, Conan Doyle, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, plus more recent authors like Alistair Reynolds, Robin Hobb, Mark Lawrence and George RR Martin as influences. He’s not an author but Stephen Spielberg has been a massive influence creatively, possibly THE greatest.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on a science fiction novel called ‘Simulacra,’ that deals with simulated universes, quantum physics and questions of consciousness, as well as a good dose of adventure.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still learning the marketing game. KDP select is useful, and I rely on Twitter a lot, although I’m discovering new websites like this one all the time.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
You’ll hear it a lot because it’s true- finish something. Get that first draft done, all of it. Don’t worry about quality, first drafts are meant to be rough. We’ve all heard the analogy about shovelling sand into a bucket so you can build a castle later. Write often, every day if you can, doesn’t have to be a lot. Read as much as you can.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read loads. Fiction, non-fiction, world affairs, everything and anything. It’s fuel for your imagination. Get all that info into your brain and all sorts of connections will form.

What are you reading now?
Too Like the Lightning, by Ada Palmer.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing Simulacra and sending it off to publishers and agents. I’m trying both traditional and self-published routes to see what works.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Frankenstein, IT, Jurassic Park and a Bible.

Author Websites and Profiles
John Gray Website

John Gray’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Registered Dietitian and I feel blessed to be able to share and help others through my work and hopefully inspire and help others. This is my first book, it will not be my last. I started my own publishing company to write my book and get it published. The name of my publishing company is Active Lifestyles Publishing. I have learned a great deal about writing, publishing and marketing as a first time author.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Stop Smoking Stay Skinny. I was inspired to write this book as I came across one common them as working as a Facilitator of multiple smoking cessation classes and working as a smoking cessation health coach. Many of my participants would tell me that they were afraid to stop smoking for fear of weight gain. As a Registered Dietitian, I knew that if they made lifestyle changes related to their diet, they would not experience weight loss after they quit making their reasoning to not quit smoking less of an issue if they followed certain tactics and strategies after quitting.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I generally will write in specific blocks of time. I will allow myself to take breaks and re-center myself to start again. Sometimes I will get a muse at the most awkward times. When this happens, if I have my phone with me, I will dictate into my phone and then copy and paste what my thoughts were and then email it back to myself and then cut and paste it into the manuscript of my book.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
How Not To Die by Dr. Michael Gregor
Out Witting The Devil by Napoleon Hill
How To Control Your Emotions by Roy Masters
The Bible

What are you working on now?
My second book is going to be titled Weight Loss Long Term on Keto? This book is going to delve into the Ketogenic Diet and if the initial weight loss people experience with this diet is sustainable long term. I have been inspired to write this book from working with clients as a health coach and Registered Dietitian. I have found many of my clients are looking for ways to lose weight rapidly without looking at the sustainability of their weight loss long term.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up with the project. There is a finish line, have faith, stay the course until the project is completed.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
We don’t always have control over the events that happen to us in our life but we do have control over how we react to them.

What are you reading now?
The Compound effect by Darren Hardy. It has really made me realize that our habits and actions while they may seem to be smile actions can lead to big results over time.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My second book is going to be titled Weight Loss Long Term on Keto? This book is going to delve into the Ketogenic Diet and if the initial weight loss people experience with this diet is sustainable long term. I have been inspired to write this book from working with clients as a health coach and Registered Dietitian. I have found many of my clients are looking for ways to lose weight rapidly without looking at the sustainability of their weight loss long term.

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?
How Not To Die by Dr. Michael Gregor
Out Witting The Devil by Napoleon Hill
How To Control Your Emotions by Roy Masters
The Bible

Author Websites and Profiles
Shawn Sales Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in rural Utah with my family. Very rural–a town of about 1,000 people. I grew up in rural Southern Nevada and spent my summers and weekends hiking in the desert or swimming in the little muddy stream that flowed through my town. I graduated from Southern Utah University with a degree in Spanish Literature and a minor in English Literature. I went on to get my Master of Political Science at Utah State University.

I worked as a reporter for a newspaper for several years. In 2017 I was published in A Medley of Fairy Tales Volume 1. Later in 2017 my first book, Dead On The Corridor, was published. I’ll have an entry in A Medley of Fairy Tales Volume 2 later this year, and I’m currently working on a novel.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Dead On The Corridor was inspired by my culture and by people I have known as I have lived and worked along the Interstate 15 corridor that runs from Las Vegas, through Utah, and into Idaho. This region is sometimes known as the Mormon Corridor by sociologists, because most of the towns along this stretch of road were settled by Mormons and remain predominantly Mormon today.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I hate everything I write. Then I re-write and re-write again. I read it aloud—and usually I still hate it. But after all the re-writes and stress and reading and so on, I eventually come to like it, and that’s when I get the editor to do her job.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Steinbeck’s use of simple words and descriptions have probably inspired me the most. I loved Melville’s Moby Dick, and I love Dickens, and Twain, and George Eliot and so many more that I can’t possibly do them justice. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee was one of my earliest inspirations.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a book that may be called The Shadows of Neverland. This is a fantasy novel and it is going quite well right now. I believe I’m half-way finished, but it’s hard to tell.

I’ve got another Utah-based novel, which I will finish after the Neverland story.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am just discovering book promotion. This is literally the first promotional site I’ve visited.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice for new authors is this: If you don’t read, you won’t be able to write well. You’ll think your first, second or third draft is amazing, when it’s probably a heap of garbage. Reading will give you a healthy sense of self-doubt when it comes to your writing abilities. This will lead you to be better, and to constantly improve.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

I learned that from my opera teacher during my freshman year in college. I honestly don’t know if it’s good advice, because I think I’ve contracted an anxiety disorder over it. But it sounds good, and I’ve tried to apply it to everything I do.

What are you reading now?
I am just finishing Midnight In The Garden of Good And Evil, by John Berendt. After this, I’ll be reading Sanctuary by William Faulkner.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to have my third book published by the end of 2019, and I want to quit my day job before I’ve reached retirement age.

I also want to eat a large pizza every night for dinner. I won’t do it, but I want to.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’d probably take a bible with me. Then I would take Grapes of Wrath and To Kill A Mockingbird.

But there are so many books that I would remember fondly and miss very much.

Author Websites and Profiles
James Elliott Website
James Elliott Amazon Profile

James Elliott’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a professional biologist that has authored possibly hundreds of biological technical reports of course, all riveting and informative. Put together, they equal 400 books.

No seriously, I started writing ecological fiction, or eco-fiction somewhat accidentally. I kept journals of my field experiences and this morphed into my first ‘accidental’ novel, Birdbrain. Sadly, all my journals, well everything, was destroyed in the 2003 Cedar Fire in San Diego County.

I have three novels, the newest is due out, as it happens, THIS MONTH! (September 2018). All my novels incorporate our natural ecology, that we live in every day, into my stories. I am also a conservationist and the hope is they inspiration awareness and action in my readers. They are also, all, hopefully, very funny, wacky, and a blast to write.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Treed, due out September 2018.

The reward you get for having an intimate knowledge of the land is to watch it get destroyed by your own species. The human primate is great at this! For a long time, I earned my living, and a damn good one at that, documenting the natural history on the land before it was destroyed by development, in many cases, the landowners not even walking their own land at all. This is the perverse way our capitalistic culture gives biologist jobs–here is a bunch of money so you can go tells us what is it out there and we can meet all the regulatory requirements then destroy it. Have fun.

Unless you are a hack or ‘biostitute’, you can’t DO this for a ‘living’ without it affecting you in some way even though I was tagged a pain in the ass by the industry because I would fight to protect places which is actually, great planning (“no you really shouldn’t put the parking lot on top of that wetland because it will CRACK over time and cost you a lot more money and time.”). But they don’t care about this, most of them. Just get me my damn permits and if you happen to leave off the landmark trees, not a problem. Of course, when I left the industry and decided to do just environmental education, I went broke because our capitalistic culture provides no reward for this, for PRESERVING land though I believe eco-tourism is the way to do this. Some cities have gotten a clue that businesses go away, empty storefronts…but parks and open space never goes out of business and constantly draws people to them and from there, they go to local restaurants, hotels…

To the point, my books are inspired by the miracle that is our planet and the despair around watching my stupid species destroy it. I also used to do stand up comedy, have a relentless sense of humor, so combining all this into one intellectual literary ecosystem has been catharsis for me and really fun.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, I used to try to write hanging upside down in a dark closet like a bat…

I have no idea what you’re after here except writing is a great cure for insomnia…there have been a lot of times I have done my best writing at 2 a.m. (flopping into bed at 6 a.m.).

Everything else can be assumed re: beer, pizza, weird candy(?) on sale at nearest liquor store, etc.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stuffed into a new suburban box in Ohio with Carol King playing, I was profoundly influenced by Carlos Castenada novels about the American west, the desert, and resolved by the time I was 12 that I would get the hell out of that new suburban hell (ours was the first street of a giant mega-city…we moved into what was once a beautiful Ohio farm of thousands of acres; I grew up watching it all get bulldozed). Ed Abbey (got in trouble with my parents), Rachel Carson, Tom Robbins, John Irving, Pam Houston, Roderick Nash, Whitman, Vonnegut, of course Thoreau, Emerson, all those rebels…Too many to list except to say the books from the American environmental era profiled in the novel Birdbrain.

What are you working on now?
A book of short stories, all with ecological themes/tension.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Probably Goodreads. I am one of those Indie authors everyone writes about that writes their books then ‘forgets’ about the marketing. I really am not a good self-promoter. I write to write and if I hit the ‘big-time’ whatever the hell that means, yippee. I will say I entertain a small fantasy that one day the Coen Brothers will make Phat’s Chance into a film, something many people have said to me. “Hey, you need to get Phat’s in front of the Coen Brothers!” Yeah, sure. I hang out with them all the time! I’ll be sure to do that! I guess I should take it as a compliment that they would think I have ANY connection with the Coen Brothers…

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Assuming you’re not going to make any money off your book anyway because there are now three zillion books out there, you might as well take it slow. CRAFT your book. Don’t just write it, CRAFT, SCULPT it. Make it something extraordinary. This takes time. Edit it a couple thousand times (I read the final draft version of my newest novel 20 times to the point that I almost got nauseous, and this is BEFORE I had it proofed). To insure it is not rushed, decide you will take a year to write it, minimum. Set your deadline at a year then if it still isn’t perfect (yes, perfect), keep going until it is. I get asked to review books all the time and man, there is a lot of crap out there, people who think they can post and reap…If you want to be one of them, go ahead, but if you are a true driven writer, fire in the belly and all that, approach the process cautiously, respectfully, make it something you will be proud to release to the world, even if the world doesn’t care, you did your best.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
See above. (Includes advice from others especially after I wrote Birdbrain or more apt, it wrote me).

What are you reading now?
The Soul of America by Jon Meacham. Not exactly cheering me up.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Rein in my ideas and plans for books, writing projects. My head could blow off. Go slow. Do one thing at a time. Be deliberate. Write for the joy of it, without expectation I will find myself on the front of the NY Times Book Review section…oh, excuse me, the Coen brother are on the phone…

I can’t NOT write so I will just keep writing, appreciating it for the outlet it provides me, and the blessings it may bring to me personally, and maybe to the planet should my works inspire people to learn and act.

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 kind of hope it’s not a DESERT island. I mean, a desert? Not giving me much to go on here.

Assuming it’s a deserted island, preferably tropical, white sandy beach, loads of natural fruits…A book, as comprehensive as possible, about the natural history, flora, and fauna of the island I am on, and it must include maps. Hopefully one exists. If not, I will write it.

The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke

Gates to Buddhist Practice, Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

Author Websites and Profiles
Virginia Arthur Website
Virginia Arthur Amazon Profile

Virginia Arthur’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, my name is Abiegail Rose, but most people call me Abie. I am addicted to creativity and planning. I have written as of right now 4 books, 2 of which will be released Fall of 2018. I am both a fiction and non-fiction author, with 2 fiction and 2 non-fiction books under my bedazzled belt.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My current book Boss Babe by Design: Creating a Plan for your Life is coming to Amazon this Fall. What inspired me to write this book, was so many women have asked me over the last year, “how did I start on my dream to authorship and what plan did I follow to get to where I am today?” I figured that I would answer them, in a way that would produce results, so not only did I put it all on paper, but I designed a workbook to go with it so no matter what goal or vision another person had they could get there with a little planning.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Ha ha. Yes, I do. Several actually. I record myself reading my synopsis and then listen to see if holds my interest, if not I tweak it and try again or let it go and focus on the next story. I also have to print out each chapter that I write and read it, it’s something about having the paper in my hands that makes it all flow better for me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Wow! Well, there are quite a few so hold up. As far as authors go, my influencers are Maya Angelou, Anne Rice, Porsha Sterling, Laura K. Hamilton, and so many more that my mind has went blank. But when it comes to books two stand out. The first is by Sistah Soulja, The Coldest Winter Ever, her book captivated m, transported me, and made me want to become an author fo’ real, fo’ real. The second is The Hate You Give it’s a coming of age story that really spoke to me, I remember when I bought it, (paperback) that I stayed up that night to read it because I just had to know…. how it all would end. That book makes me want to be the best writer that I can be.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on something called the Boss Babe by Design: Business and Beauty Expo. It will be happening in February of 2019, here in the Metro-Detroit area where I live. I have the amazing opportunity to partner with other amazing women and also be the keynote speaker with a focus on my new book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best method I have found has been Book business cards that link to sneak peek or offering current readers the opportunity for a sneak peek. Its something about someone being able to get a glimpse beforehand, that really catches them.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Absolutely! Don’t give up. Don’t think your writing style has to match others. Dare to step outside of the box. Don’t forget you are a walking, talking, posting billboard for your work and to share but share responsibly (don’t over do it)!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever heard has been from my Mom, which was to “Do Me!” Those two words have gotten me through and helped me to stay true to myself so many times.

What are you reading now?
Well, right now a reading a novel that Porsha Sterling co-wrote with her husband Leo Sullivan called Gangland.

What’s next for you as a writer?
What’s next? Everything… I have so many ideas churning around in my head, and the balance of fiction and non-fiction helps my brain to keep firing on all cylinders.

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?
Dang, Just 3 or 4? How about a solar powered kindle that already has 1000 books on it?
… No? Okay then, I would have to choose The Bible, AMP, The Coldest Winter Ever, any Anita Blake Novel, and then… The Black Poets. That would be my stranded island book roster!

Author Websites and Profiles
Abiegail Rose Website
Abiegail Rose Amazon Profile

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

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
As to the second part of the question, I’ve written more books than have been published. As for me as a writer, I’ve always relied on hearing something before it actually begins. When that does happen – and if whatever I’m hearing stays audible enough – a sort of structure begins to impose itself. Should the structure be sturdy enough, I’m generally good for the duration. Should it wobble, contract, or even fail, I’m not very good at re-configuring. (When I read about writers discarding the first hundred pages of a book that turns out to be less than epic, I am awestruck and irritated all at once. “How,” I want to ask, “can you do such a thing and keep going?” By way of an answer, I will say: “I can no more do such a thing that re-join one continent – which has drifted away on its own – to another.”

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest published book is rooted in my childhood, which was spent in a Memphis suburb, where I learned how to compete with other children, question authority (even if I may have done that, after the mandates of good behavior, politely), show up for things I didn’t want to do (while exiting whenever I wanted), participate in community events, tell the truth whenever the truth didn’t matter, implement impractical solutions, and do whatever I wanted to do first. The book itself is fractured into a series of tales that can be as structurally challenging as a novel, or maintain – after a number of these – a refreshing brevity. If a thread runs through them all, it’s that of life being a series of potholes one might either step in, avoid assiduously, or skirt with a sense of “What’s gonna happen?” They are set on ball-fields, schoolrooms, a summer camp, an academy of music (followed by a concert hall), nature as it is mediated by paths and fences, the shoebox-style houses that were conceived for the crop of post-WWII families that wanted a little space for themselves (and I do mean “little”), and – in the two stories that are set in another place – a downtown Christmas parade and that same downtown during an “normal” day. My models were hardly surprising: James Thurber, Mark Twain, Jean Shepherd, Peter deVries, and Garrison Keillor. And while its title (Laughter and Early Sorrow) was taken from a Thomas Mann short story – which, compared to mine, is a model of purposeful brevity – almost verbatim, dumbfounding adventure plays a more active role than angst-ridden analysis (though there is enough of that to give the book philosophical overtones.)

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I hear of other writers either having to write a few pages every day or toiling for a decade on a single book, I feel immediately defensive. Aside from the nonfiction (art criticism, personal essays, travel pieces, and “humor”) I’ve written over the years – some of which I’ve written on demand – I’ve never formulated any habits at all. When something is going well, I stick with it. (Sometimes I will perversely abandon it and see if I can, at some distant point in the future, come back. Without elaborating on what happens, I wish I’d just gone ahead and finished.) I’m not ashamed to admit that I can’t write without inspiration – which makes a story jump rather than loaf along. I’ve never worked with an outline and never will. E. L. Doctorow said that writing, for him, is not unlike driving through a fog; you can see ahead, but only as far as your headlights. Which has always been enough for him. I feel the same way.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Let’s start with Doctorow and include everything other than his last book, Homer and Langley, which eluded me when it was published. Yet I will get around to it because I believe Doctorow’s voice hath many colors. As does his breadth of human circumstance. There is, in him, those multitudes about which Whitman raved. And if Mark Twain represents a stride into a future that would diverge from European letters, I can’t say that Hawthorne should be set aside. Nor should Henry James (or Edith Wharton for that matter.) I’m attracted to comedic inflections, but I’m equally at home, at least in my reading, with the tragic sensibilities of mostly American and British writers (yes, I am one of those aging white men whose ignorance of world literature is absolutely shameful) starting with Theodore Dreiser (whose prose has to be overlooked in order for serious reading to occur), Willa Cather, John Steinbeck (a humorist whose sense of justice was not punchline-friendly), Thomas Wolfe, Tennessee Williams, John Cheever, Kurt Vonnegut, Grace Paley. . .not even to mention their many successors who are active – or at least undead – to this day. Among Brits? There’s almost too much lineage to be inclusive. Mine would start, I suppose, with Shakespeare and tap out with Iris Murdoch and Julian Barnes.

What are you working on now?
I spend most of my time, these days, looking for a new publisher; promoting the books that are already – or are soon to be – in print; attempting to sneak nonfiction pieces by editors who are, for the most part, hostile to the notion of publishing me; and seeing that my plays – which are comedically eccentric – are performed before a live audience. (I also tinker with novels I would like to see in print for at least a few years before my mortal coil either chokes me or unravels too quickly for me to catch it as it falls.)

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have none.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Love words. Read voluminously. If something excites you, take it as far as you can. Believe only those people who “get” you. And don’t pretend that you don’t care what anybody thinks. In that’s the case, why in hell are you writing?

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Nothing, alas, comes to mind.

What are you reading now?
Things that are, alas, immediately digestible.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I wish I knew.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I think I would want to bring words I would want to bring to life – or re-animate – by reading them aloud. And that would be thought on. Plays were conceived for that alone. But how can one do without Don Quixote? Rabelais? And, to go back to the stage, Moliere? Perhaps it would be exhilarating to introduce Moby Dick to an avian audience. Or Much Ado about Nothing to whatever shellfish might be lying (laying?) around. And, as far as I know, desert island readings of Paradise Lost are entirely unknown.

Author Websites and Profiles
Brett Busang Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born and raised in the Salem, Massachusetts area. I have, thus far, published four novels: Dreams Are Unfinished Thoughts—a memoir about being friends with a drug-addicted rock star; Welcome to Parkview—a macabre cerebral-horror novel; Yours Truly, 2095—a time-travel romance novel (which was suggested for a Hugo Award, though it did not make the finalists); and Moonlight City Drive—a supernatural crime-noir detective novel (which is a trilogy, with Part 2 coming in 2019 and Part 3 coming in 2021).

I’m also a vocalist and have released seven albums with my four bands: Yellow #1, Drop Kick Jesus, The Grave Machine, and Transpose.

I’m married to a US Naval Officer, and we have four children. I’m a retired police officer and worked in law enforcement for sixteen years from 2002 – 2018. I’m a self-proclaimed roller coaster junkie, a New England Patriots fanatic, and my favorite color is burnt orange.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Moonlight City Drive (Part 1 in a trilogy)

The album “Adultery” by the band Dog Fashion Disco inspired the story line and characters (it’s a concept album about a detective hunting a killer, and the detective eventually teams up with the killer instead of bringing him in.)

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wouldn’t call it unusual, but I occasionally sacrifice some livestock before I write.

… I’m kidding. Just a cup of coffee on hand and some music playing on Shuffle.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King’s whole catalogue, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, Clive Barker, Poe, Anne Rice, and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume.

What are you working on now?
Part 2 and Part 3 of the Moonlight City Drive trilogy, and then I’ll be tackling a historical-fiction novel about a soldier returning home from the Falklands War with PTSD and survivor guilt.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook, right now.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t ever think your self-edit should be the final draft. Always hire a professional editor before you publish (and beta readers and proofreaders DO NOT replace a real edit.)

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Let the reader fill in the blanks; you don’t need to describe every little detail.

Author Websites and Profiles
Brian Paone Website
Brian Paone Amazon Profile

Brian Paone’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I self published an illustrated inspirational book titled “Hope Holds You” a few years back. I just finished the first book in my YA fantasy series “The Land of Good Dreams”. I am working on book two “The Dream Lures” to be released in late spring 2019.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
From my heart came “The Land of Good Dreams”, my aching heart that watched my son suffer nightmares for years. He prayed every night to God. “Please let me have all good dreams tonight and no bad dreams.” I let myself imagine such a place. A land where children who suffer from chronic nightmares could escape. Somewhere safe and full of hope. And so, I created the story of “The Land of Good Dreams”.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write in scenes. I can be driving or on the treadmill and a scene plays out in my imagination. I have to stop what I am doing and write it down in my phone notes. Then I transfer it to my computer where I take my outline of the book or series and decide where to place the scene. Then I go back to the scene when I am ready to write, and the rest of it just flows out of me into a chapter or part of a chapter.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was little this lady at the library handed me this book and told me what an adventure it would be. The book was “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C. S. Lewis. I can still remember the scenes in my mind I got from reading that story. Then when I was a little older this man, who was at a flea market my dad often took me to, handed me an old dusty book assuring me it was an amazing tale. The book was “The Black Stallion” by Walter Farley. I remember feeling so swept away on the adventure. I want to write stories that move my readers like I was when I read those books. Good stories that while you are reading them, take you into their worlds and stay with you for a lifetime.

What are you working on now?
Book 2 “The Dream Lures” for the “Land of Good Dreams” series.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write from your heart, then edit later, again, again , and again.

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

What are you reading now?
The Effects of Praise, by Andrew Wommack

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to finish the book series of The Land of Good Dreams, a total of 7 books. I have a few half written stand alone books I may try to get out before the series is done.

Author Websites and Profiles
T. S. Thompson Website
T. S. Thompson Amazon Profile

T. S. Thompson’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am 24 years old and just moved to Seattle from Arizona. I moved here with my new husband (it’s been a little over a year) and my seven month old boxer lab puppy, Tkachuk (named after Coyotes player, Keith). I have been writing stories for, no joke, as long as I could write. I have three books published on amazon, another three in the works, and four other novels I never published.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Latest Book was Resolution, the last book in the Little School of Horrors series. I can’t even remember where the inspiration came from, because I wrote the first Little School of Horrors book when I was just fourteen years old. My older sister used to force me to watch scary movies with her when I was very little, so I sort of grew up intrigued by murderers.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can’t type like a professional writer. I only use my pointer finger and pinky finger on my left hand, and my middle finger and pointer finger on my right. It takes a little longer probably than other writers to get stuff out, but it would probably surprise some people to see actually how fast I can be!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard, by far. When I picked up the first one in 2007, I was in the seventh grade and just thought it was some book about teenage drama. I read it until 3 in the morning and got totally creeped out by it. Ever since, I have loved the feeling of books being thrilling page turners, and naturally, with love interests!

What are you working on now?
I am working on a book I want to get a literary agent for. About a boy and a girl brought together because the boy’s girlfriend, and the girl’s best friend, both disappeared for reasons unknown.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep reading while you write! It will keep you inspired. I promise.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To make your character want something more than anything in the world, and then write out how to keep it from happening.

What are you reading now?
I am reading, “Truly Devious” by Maureen Johnson. So hard to put it down.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hopefully finding an agent and landing a book deal (:

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?
Catcher in the Rye, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Stung by Bethany Wiggins, and Stalk me by Jillian Dodd.

Author Websites and Profiles
McKenna Cooke Website
McKenna Cooke Amazon Profile

McKenna Cooke’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Rhylee Davidson was born in Trenton, New Jersey, grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, and now lives in South America. Her first book, “The Tower,” was just released. A divorced Mother of one, Rhylee went back to college at age 40 to complete the degree she abandoned in her 20’s. She now writes and travels the world. I have written 1 book and I am currently completing the second book in the series.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My debut novel is The Tower, book 1 of The Tarot Series. It was inspiried by some really great music that I was listening to while going through a nasty divorce.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My writing habits I’m sure look crazy to others, but this is my process. I keep a notebook and a pen on my night stand by my bed. I often wake up during the night or cannot sleep at all until I get idea, names or entire chapters out of my head. So, I sit in the dark and write in my notebook. When it’s finally time to get writing in the computer, I put Rock and Alternative Rock on full blast through my headphones, a DVD of a movie that I’ve seen a million times on the TV with the sound off and go to work.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Some of my favorite authors are P.C. Cast, Christina Dodd, Jana Oliver, Cassandra Clare, Rebecca York, J.K. Rowling and Dean Koontz.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on book 2 of The Tarot series, The Queen of Swords. I am also working on a YA series about witches. This work is not yet titled.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well of course Awesome Gang, my newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and Book Raid.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up. You will write and re-read a million times. Some read throughs you’ll love and some you will think it’s time to scrap the whole thing. Don’t let criticism deter you from writing. You know you’re a writer when the characters start talking to you and you can’t sleep until you get the stories out.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up and stay strong.

What are you reading now?
Nora Roberts “Year One”

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have more story notes and ideas than I will be able to finish in this lifetime. So, while I am working on The Tarot series, I will also be working on a YA witch series. I hope to have the first book in that series out by year end.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Only 3 or 4? But I’d want to bring the entire Harry Potter Series, The House of Night Series, The Demon Trappers Daughter, a few books on Wicca and Witchcraft, and for the lonely nights, the series of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Author Websites and Profiles
Rhylee Davidson Website
Rhylee Davidson Amazon Profile

Rhylee Davidson’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I wrote and published two books. They are post-apocalyptic, but the genre has been described as elements of Science Fiction, with a bit of ET and Harry Potter style fantasy.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I published The Cool Breeze of spring – A new beginning and The Cool Breeze of spring – Rebecca’s diary simultaneously in August 2018.
Rebecca’s diary is a companion to the main novel, A new beginning.

Caila the protagonist in ‘A new beginning’ is faced with the following dilemmas:
If you were consulted, would you agree to have most of humanity removed from Earth?
Who would you choose as your seven companions to restart a new population?

18 September 8.40 am – Will you be removed from Earth, when you smell that cool breeze of spring?
The Neteru are a species who seeded Earth as an ecological experiment, but now humans are about to mess up so catastrophically that Earth needs a reset. Caila and 12 other descendants of the first human seedlings are asked to advice on the future of Earth’s human population. Caila senses an instant strong connection with her Neteruian contact Mateos. But after Caila shows unexpected Neteruian skills Mateos is forced to admit that she is different from the other Khered.

After the reset Event, Caila and her group pick up some unexpected survivors. 12-year-old Rebecca is feisty and frighteningly intelligent and decides to start training as a doctor.
After an attack by self-pronounced Prime Minister Baldwin Caila is forced to confront her own complicated background. This confrontation finally fills in the blanks for Caila but comes at a great cost. Then, a second more sophisticated attack by Baldwin has catastrophic consequences for Caila’s group and threatens to derail this new beginning.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so. But, then again, I would not know what the usual writing habits are.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Loads of books from different genres.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a parallel novel to The Cool Breeze of spring – A new beginning.
The Cool Breeze of spring – A flying start, is set in Canada’s Ultimate East, and it features the most amazing group of people:
31-year-old Lucas is perfectly happy with his uneventful life as the captain of his own whale watching boat in Canada’s Ultimate East.
Charlotte, the woman of his dreams, a marine biologist and his tour guide.
Six brilliant teens from a special needs school.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I haven’t really found that out yet. You tell me, please.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep at it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you see someone without a smile, give them yours.

What are you reading now?
Not much time for reading right now.
Writing is like reading, sometimes you just can’t put a book down. And at this moment I can’t put down my pen, I want to know what happens next to Lucas and his bunch in Maddox Cove.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More books in the ‘The Cool Breeze of spring’ series: parallels in different geological locations, sequels to a number of books, and a companion for each novel.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Cool Breeze of spring – A flying start, the book that I am working on right now, and a pencil. I want to finish this.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon.
A book with fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen.
And finally, a book on surviving on a deserted island.

Author Websites and Profiles
C. Atteya Website
C. Atteya Amazon Profile

C. Atteya’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Kenyan living in the UK, and nearly all my books are influenced by that fact! I’ve written three books, two of them are published, and there are two more being written as we speak (as well as all those plans tempting me…)

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Forest Hotel is the book I always promised myself I would write. I read all these adventure stories about children in England and America, and never saw places like the ones I knew in the media – I decided as a girl about my protagonist’s age that I wanted to change that!

The book is about a dysfunctional family in the south coast of Kenya, and so much of it is a love letter to the place I grew up. If you look at that place from one angle, it’s a utopia, but like all the most interesting paradises, there’s a dark undercurrent of social inequality and many things a young girl growing into an idealistic woman would want to change.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know how unusual it is, but I usually write my first draft by hand! This forces me to finish that all important first draft, because I can’t really go back and change anything, there’s no room on narrow ruled paper. Then when I come to do a second draft, it forces me to really pay attention to what I’ve written, because I’m writing it all over again. I tend to add a lot of new chapters at this stage…

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love everything about Alice Oseman’s books, and particularly their diverse cast, but I only recently discovered her. Dorothy Koomson’s stories, her characters, and the relationships she shows are all so captivating, I’ve always wanted to write like her. And although her writing style and genres are pretty different to mine, Kate Atkinson is another favourite author. I love how she makes the arcane and obscure seem so real, and the mundane so darkly magical.

What are you working on now?
I’m editing a young adult novel called Zero Degrees, about a girl (another Kenyan) getting tangled up in a war between the god of winter and the god of spring. All she wanted was to date the winter god’s son! I would love to say I’m aiming to get that out for the winter solstice, but real life may well get in the way…

I’m also working on the first draft of a story about a teenage boy who can bring people back to life, but only if there’s someone willing to take their place. It’s quiet a dark story, though the protagonists are teenagers, and it’s one of those stories that’s so alive in my mind that I’ve known from the very beginning how the plot works to the very end.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am terrible at this… promotion is not my forte! But I think Tumblr might be my best method, and that’s really because I also write fanfiction. People sometimes find they like my writing style, so they look into my blog and find that I write original stuff as well. So in a way, my best promotion method is word of mouth!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you write the story you want to read, you’re guaranteed an audience of one!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you want to be a writer, you must write. That means journals, notes, and actual books – any writing is good writing.

The author who told me this, Michael Asher, gave a talk in my school. When he asked if anyone wanted to be an author, I was the only one who rose my hand, and got teased about it afterwards, because in that very specific cultural environment, who’s actually going to be an author? Get a real job, be a doctor or a businessman or a teacher. But he didn’t show any sort of doubt. He believed that I could become an author if I wanted, and he told me to write. So I write.

What are you reading now?
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell – I’m not very far into it so I can’t say much about it, other than that’s a hell of a prologue! I was also reading Children of Blood and Bone (it’s a magic system set in Nigeria! Where was this when I was a kid?!) but it stressed me out too much, I was so worried for Zelie and Amari, I had to put it to one side and return when I feel like I can battle to save the world…

What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing! I have so many books planned out it’s not even funny. I go through extremely creative phases where I’m planning two or three books in a month, but I restrict myself to just planning them until I’ve finished the first draft I’m already working on. I’m planning to write a book about gender roles, love and pregnancy for NaNoWriMo, publish Zero Degrees soon, hopefully (once I learn how to make the perfect cover for it) and maybe write a historical gay romance about colonial Kenyans, just to annoy my family!

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?
Practically, probably something like ‘How to Survive on a Desert Island’?! Or a really big dictionary with a satellite radio hidden in the hollowed out pages so I can call for help!

Metaphorically, Radio Silence by Alice Oseman, the Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, and something by Terry Pratchett, probably Jingo for the irony. I could read all of those multiple times.

Author Websites and Profiles
Lyn Hemphill Amazon Profile

Lyn Hemphill’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a young adult fantasy Author, I have been writing my whole life, and I reached my goal at publishing before graduating high school. I have only published one book so far, but I am continuing the series.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Isanan’s Web, the series title is: The Zirea Chronicles. I actually found myself inspired by a lot of mythology, and stories centered around interesting character dynamics. It was really something I wanted to explore through a fantasy setting.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to write in the morning. I’ve heard a lot of Authors say they are best inspired at night, but I have found it easier for me to wake up, and start writing. I think I care less about word choice when I’m in that morning mood, so it’s easier to push a draft forward.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am very influenced by the well known fantasy writers, J.K Rowling, George RR Martin, Neil Gaiman, and such. Tony Diterlizzi is a middle grade author that I really enjoy as well, his WondLa trilogy is my favorite book series, it explores themes of home and family.

What are you working on now?
I am working on the sequel to my first book in The Zirea Chronicles, but I am also trying to co-author a poetry book with a friend of mine.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I mainly use Instagram as my platform, it would be nice to branch out, but I tend to have trouble running so many networks at once, while trying to work and go to school. I try my best, though.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would say, don’t expect anything out of writing/publishing. The whole journey is an amazing ride, but I feel too many new writers get caught up in expecting publishing to be like the stars aligning, but personally, by the time I got there, I realized I glazed over all the fun parts because I was so desperate to publish.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I would say it was, “Keep writing.” Because at the end of the day, it’s all you can do, and all that keeps you moving forward. Even if you feel terrible about everything, if you write, you’re making progress.

What are you reading now?
I am reading The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. It’s pretty popular in the fantasy community right now. It’s pretty good, but I’m always waiting for the next A Song of Ice and Fire novel.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m hoping to expand my platform, and just grow enough to where I can form an audience of any size, just to know people are interested in my material, and that I’m getting feedback on my art.

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:
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman
The Search for WondLa, by Tony DIterlizzi, and
The Golden Compass, by Phillip Pullman.

Author Websites and Profiles
Paul Williams Website
Paul Williams Amazon Profile

Paul Williams’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Seattle illustrator and author best known for my demon-poodle based comedy, Out for Souls & Cookies. I am also the creator of Faminelands and Lure and collaborated with authors on several projects as an illustrator. To explore a different aspect of my creativity, I write sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal. Immortal House is my seventh written book, or (twelfth if you count the comics!) I live with my husband and two dogs. When not writing or illustrating, I love hiking and birdwatching.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Immortal House. It was inspired by the gentrification and how Seattle has changed with the technology boom and watching vampire movies. (I love horror movies, especially creature features.) In many contemporary vampire stories, vampires are rich and we see they live in huge lofts or fancy houses or an old Victorian that is basically a fixer-upper project for their thrall. I wanted to write the middle-class vampire, just trying to get by, live a life of an average guy in Seattle.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know how unusual it is, but my dog, Tycho, sets my schedule. He is a bit neurotic, so he loves the weekdays. Husband goes to work, dogs get walked. I sit down for three hours to do work. At 12:30, Tycho wakes up and scratches on the door. It’s time for lunch and a bathroom break. At 1:30, he’s trying to herd Rosie (the other dog) and me back into my closet so I go back to work.
Oh yeah, I suppose working in the closet might be a little weird for many people, but I live in a 640 square foot in-city condo. My closet is my office.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Tanya Huff’s sharp conversational dialogue and fast pace. Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. Margret Atwood and Mary Doria Russell inspired me to want to write science fiction back when I was in high school. Finally Richard A. Lovett and David Brin, who honestly I just met at a convention, inspired me to keep going by a bit of kindness they showed me right after my debut novel was released.

What are you working on now?
I am working on two projects. I just finished a Kickstarter for the graphic novel of Out For Souls and Cookies. The graphic novel was funded so I have to finish up all the work for that. And I am working on a murder mystery based on a minor character from Immortal House. Its my first spin-off!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Honestly, I still do more face to face selling than online selling. Half my ebook sales comes from people meeting me at conventions or streetfairs.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you love and that you are passionate about. There will be points where you think why in the [Fill in crass word here!] am I doing this? This is really hard! However if you are passionate about the stories that you want to write, you don’t regret the time/money you put in your first couple books.

What are you reading now?
Severance by Ling Ma

What’s next for you as a writer?
Once the kickstarter stuff is done, I want to finish that murder mystery I mentioned in a previous question and then I want to go back to my first series: Other Systems. I would like to write a third book in that Universe. (Space is really big, so the books stand alone.)

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Any four big ones that I haven’t read before. After I read them, I’d probably need to burn them so I didn’t freeze during the night and I’ll need to cook the rats on the island. Plus maybe the fire would be seen by an airplane or passing cruise ship. Preferably the cruise ship. I’d want a steak, brocolini, cheesecake, and some espresso after my ordeal with the rats.

Author Websites and Profiles
Elizabeth Guizzetti Website
Elizabeth Guizzetti Amazon Profile

Elizabeth Guizzetti’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I didn’t start writing until about four years ago, six years after I retired from the US Air Force. I was a techie in the USAF–specifically, I flew satellites, tracked all the junk in space and ran an experimental missile program. Yup, I was a no-kidding rocket scientist.

I’m also a volunteer leader with Team Rubicon: Disasters are our Business, Veterans our Passion. We do cleanup after fires, floods, tornadoes, etc., rebuild homes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, and medical relief internationally. Come join us!

I’ve written eleven novels, but only published two so far; the third in my Folding Space Series will be out on November 1st, 2018. The others were Romantic Suspense/Action/Adventure. I may publish them in the future.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Lightwave: The Sisters of Cygnus is out now and Lightwave: Shooting Star will be out November 1st.
A real tweet from NASA inspired the idea behind Lightwave: Clocker. They’re launching a real deep space atomic clock to give deep space probes a GPS-type capability. So, I started thinking — if you could fold space, wouldn’t you need to know what time it was as well as where you were going? And Saree, the only human clock maintainer, was born!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write at a standing desk, almost every morning, in a virtual room with two other authors. We write for twenty-five minutes, then chat for five, and repeat. Sometimes the chatting goes on a little longer, but the encouragement really helps when one of us is having a bad day.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a huge fan of Sharon Lee & Steve Miller’s Liaden Universe and Tanya Huff’s Confederation (Valor) novels. Oh, and Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan and Penric novels.

What are you working on now?
I’m revising Book 3.0, Lightwave: Shooting Star and writing Book 4.0, title TBD.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Early on, I posted my book for free for Team Rubicon members. They’ve been really supportive, spreading the word.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write! Just keep writing every day no matter what happens. Even a few words a day will add up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
See above — always keep writing.

What are you reading now?
Murder is Messy by Julia Huni. It’s a cozy mystery set on a space station — so much fun!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m plugging away on Book 4.0 and trying to get better at marketing! There’s so many great books, it’s hard to get noticed these days!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
One blank book so I could write! And probably Patricia Briggs’s Mercedes Thompson novels.

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

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

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a author from south bend, indiana. I now live in seaside, california. I have written two books so far. My Dad is a Vampire, and The Antic Circle.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Antic Circle “Return of the Daywalker” is the first in the Strange World Book series. Following a world that has finally except supernatural begins as a part of its fabric. Inspired by my love for the concept of a daywalking vampire and love for all things supernatural.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do like to talk out my writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a big fanof Laurel Hamilton and James Patterson

What are you working on now?
I’m finishing up the second book in the Strange World Book series.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
You can self publish if you can get good promotion

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Dont give up

What are you reading now?
James Patterson new book about the president

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to be able to make a living as a writer so I can sit down and write all the books in my mind

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Two James Patterson Alex Cross books and Two Laurel Hamilton Anita Blake books

Author Websites and Profiles
christopher surratt Website
christopher surratt Amazon Profile

christopher surratt’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a world traveler who has finally settled down. My overactive imagination needed an outlet and the result is seven books, with many more started. I have the playful young adult side of me that writes The Spotted series, about a 12 yr old girl and her car (whose actually her guard). Then there is the darker adult side that writes the murder mystery/thrillers. I live with three cats that whisper ideas into my head or at least provide entertainment when I take a break from writing.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is a sequel to Bantering With Murder. The sequel is titled Bantering With A Gun. I like titles with puns in them or a description of the book. Banter is the name of the main characters, a female gun-for-hire. I like strong female characters and thought the unlikely pair of a gun-for-hire and a police detective made for a great romance. However, they have now evolved into a wonderful crime fighting duo.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I sit in a lounge chair with a cup of tea. I do a couple of crossword puzzles to get my brain working. Then its off to the world of my overactive imagination. I can write thousands of words a day. I tend to read and reread what I have written to fine tune scenes or my selection of words.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There is no one author or book that has influenced me. I have had editors and mentors who have had more influence, telling me to find my own voice. Now that I have, I almost fear to read someone else’s work for fear they will change me. I, of course, have read other works. Some from new authors who have excellent ideas, but need to work on their writing skills and some from old authors, where I wonder how the heck they got published in the first place. The English language is ever evolving and writers must evolve as well.

What are you working on now?
I am working on editing Bantering With A Gun, which is a sequel to Bantering With Murder, a mystery/thriller novel. Each novel can stand on its own, but the sequel continues six months after the first book. I am also working on a sequel to A String of Murder, another mystery/thriller.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am always finding ways to get the word out on who I am and my writing. I am still looking for that magic spot. I have my own website and started a blog so people can get an idea of what is going on in my head or where I am with the next novel. I also belong to numerous writer/author/book groups on facebook.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read and reread your work. Read it out loud. If it doesn’t sound right, rewrite it. Find beta readers and listen to what they say. I had a beta reader tell me a particular chapter in Bantering With Murder was good but didn’t belong where it was. I disagreed, but after thinking it over, agreed to move it. Now I can’t even remember where the chapter was originally and it works well where it now is. Always accept criticism. Never get offended. And edit, edit, and edit some more.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve received came from an editor. I had the habit of always using ‘as’ instead of since or because or while. Once I realized I was doing it, it made me take a new look at some of the words I used. My writing became much stronger.

What are you reading now?
I’m actually reading a sign language book and learning how to sign.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am editing Bantering With a Gun. There is a third sequel in the works, Bantering With A Dandy, a sequel for A String of Murder called Conducting A Murder String, and a fantasy novel with dragons name Dragon Matriarch.

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

Author Websites and Profiles
SJ Wilke Website

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Benjamin Boudreaux. I was born in Kenner, Louisiana, and studied at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, where I developed a love of Louisiana French language and culture. My love of Cajun and Creole culture factors heavily into my work, as is evident in my first novel Noël: Of Memories and Sleep. It is currently the only book that I have published, but I plan to write three more sequels.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My novel is entitled Noël: Of Memories and Sleep. The story was greatly inspired by Cajun and Creole folklore, which includes talking animals, demonic spirits, and monstrous entities. My love of Louisiana languages and culture is evident in this work.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to address the reader directly. The story is told as if I and my reader are sitting at a fire, telling stories.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are a great many authors that have influenced me. To name a few, I was inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, Chrétien de Troyes, Umberto Eco, Sidonie de la Houssaye, etc.

What are you working on now?
I am currently editing a book entitled Siege of the Bayou: Book One. It is a book of three lengthy short stories. Each story is connected, although each follows a different character facing a different monster/spirit that threatens their home. All of the stories take place in the same town during the same night. This will be an e-book exclusive, and will be part one of a four-part series. I am also working on the sequel to Noël: Of Memories and Sleep

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I do not really have a method at the moment, as much of this is uncharted territory for me. Currently, I am working on establishing my own website, as well as a YouTube channel, where I can promote my works.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
As a new author, I do not really have any excellent advice to give. The only thing I can say is to stay away from so-called “self-publishing companies”. These are companies that will offer to publish your work, but you must pay them to do so. They claim they will properly edit, proofread, and format your book, as well as market and promote it. The fact is, they are not interested in selling your book; they are interested in convincing you to pay a great deal of money to them to publish your work. In short: If you have to pay to have your work published, you’re on the wrong track. Your best options are to either self-publish (as in publish it yourself and not with a third party), or try to have it traditionally published. If you go the traditional route, you will need to send queries to literary agencies so that you can get an agent, who can then contact traditional publishing companies to publish your book.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As far as writing and selling your book, the advice I heard was to keep writing. Nothing sells the first book like the second book, and nothing sells the first and second book like the third book.

What are you reading now?
I am re-reading Sans Famille by Hector Malot.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to write the second novel in the Noël series, as well as Siege of the Bayou: Book Two. Moreover, I plan to set up my website and to work with my friends on our YouTube channel.

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 likely choose a compendium of the works of Chrétien de Troyes, as well as a copy of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Dante’s Divine Comedy. If allowed a fourth book, it would likely be something written by Stephen Hawking

Author Websites and Profiles
Benjamin Boudreaux Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been a storyteller all my life. I showed an aptitude for writing at an early age. My first attempts were in fiction at the tender age of 4. And then in the 4th Grade, my teacher (bless her heart) pulled me aside one day after school and told me I should really consider a career in writing.

I took those words to heart and they have sustained me when the going got rough.

In college, while earning a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, I discovered science writing and went on to pursue a Master’s degree in Journalism specializing in this area. I built a career in science and health marketing communications and public relations for more than 20 years, plying my craft to communicate complex topics to a lay audience.

Once I ventured out on my own, I started dabbling in book-length nonfiction. My first two books where cookbooks. I followed those with two books about online marketing. And, finally, my fifth book, now available for pre-sale wherever books are sold, is about public speaking.

But on the side, my fiction and poetry have always been where my heart is. My fiction work gravitates toward the fantastic. I like to write stories that involve space travel, supernatural beings or faerie creatures. Even those that don’t, often have a surreal or unusual bent. I wrote my first short fiction sometime before I turned a two-digit age. It was pretty bad, but you have to start somewhere.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My fifth and latest book is “Public Speaking Super Powers.” It all started with a blog post. It was very popular, so I thought that it could be easily expanded into a book. I wrote the book, in part, because the idea was there and it excited me. But I also wrote the book because I found that there are very few—if any—books out there that cover the whole set of skills required to be an effective speaker. Most focus on one small aspect, such as TED talks or persuasive speaking. “Public Speaking Super Powers” was created to be a strong foundational book that will give readers the basics they need to communicate before groups effectively.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I change my writing habits pretty much with every project. I’m always experimenting with new ways to do things. Sometimes I write longhand on a notepad and transfer to the computer later. Sometimes I start with the computer at the outset.

My nonfiction books have started with an idea, a blog post or a request. I’ve written them from scratch, pulled them together from blog posts and done extensive research. It keeps me on my toes–I’m rarely bored!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My top three favorite authors of all time are Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and Ursula LeGuin. My fiction writing style is more like Bradbury.

My nonfiction started out being inspired by nonfiction works by Mark Twain and Isaac Asimov, as well as the well-known science writers Stephen Jay Gould and Lewis Thomas.

Books that have made an impact on my life include “The Making of the Atomic Bomb” by Richard Rhodes, “Clan of the Cave Bear” by Jean M. Auel, and “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. In fact, I wrote a blog post a few years back detailing my top 10 books, which, incidentally, got my husband to notice me and ask me out on our first date!

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m focused on marketing “Public Speaking Super Powers.” However, I do have a few other books in the queue, including second editions of two of my books, a couple of books about mindset, and an anthology of my essays, fiction, and poetry.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve found a lot of promotional partners through Facebook. And, of course, there is always my email list. I’m experimenting with some other ideas with this launch–so ask me again in a month and I’ll give you a better answer!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Have a vision and keep going after it. Don’t let the nay-sayers stop you. Find cheerleaders to support you on this tough journey. Develop a support team of fellow writers who can give you early critiques of your writing that is both solid and compassionate.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I heard Ray Bradbury speak once and he gave this advice in a nutshell: Writers write, but they also read. Read everything, both in and outside your genre. Live life. Collect experiences, for you will draw upon them in your writing. And, finally, “fire” the people in your life to rain on your dreams.

What are you reading now?
I have a very long queue of books I’ve promised to review, so that’s pretty much all I’m reading these days. The three books I’m currently working on are “Deep Nutrition” by Catherine Shanahan, “Badass Women Give the Best Advice” by Becca Anderson, and “The Vision” by C.L. Talmadge.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More books! I also am a fairly prolific blogger, with four or more blogs going at any one time. I’m also launching my speaking career–it seemed appropriate given that my latest book is about speaking.

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” by Ray Bradbury. I’ve read it three or four times and enjoy it every time.

One of those big short story anthologies. I have “The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction” in my collection. That would keep me busy for a while.

A collection of science writing essays. Perhaps “Bully for Brontosaurus” by Stephen Jay Gould.

And last, but not least, “The Dreams of Dragons: An Exploration and Celebration of the Mysteries of Nature” by Lyall Watson. It is a fascinating collection of essays on fringe science.

Author Websites and Profiles
Carma Spence Website
Carma Spence Amazon Profile

Carma Spence’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born and raised in Chicago, IL. And I began writing at the age of 12, starting out with songs, comic books, and short stories. My first work of literary nonfiction was released in September of 2018.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest effort is titled The Making of Dual Mania: Filmmaking Chicago Style. Co-written with B.J. Patterson and Cat Ellington, the book was inspired by the motion picture thriller, Dual Mania. The idea for the film was sparked by the Jeffrey Dahmer trial, which I had followed closely during its televised coverage in 1992.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’ll admit that I do. I tend to write every word by longhand in all caps.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Wow. Where do I start? Uh, Stephen King, James Baldwin, Carl Hiaasen, Harlan Ellison, Tom Wolfe, Elmore Leonard, Joyce Carol Oates, Margaret Atwood, Charles Dickens, and many others.

What are you working on now?
I am writing the foreword for Reviews by Cat Ellington: The Complete Anthology, Vol. 3.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I really love and admire the book promotional tools offered by websites like Amazon, AUTHORSdb, Goodreads, BookLikes, LibraryThing, the Author Ad network, the Book Goodies network, etc.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes, I do. I would advise new authors to trust their instincts as a writer, and stay focused on their goals.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
‘Never give up.’

What are you reading now?
Ah, very good. Star Island by Carl Hiaasen, and My Journey with Maya by Tavis Smiley with David Ritz.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing up an untitled screenplay.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Holy Bible, The Stand, A Tale of Two Cities, and Skin Tight.

Author Websites and Profiles
Joseph Strickland Website
Joseph Strickland Amazon Profile
Joseph Strickland Author Profile on Smashwords

Joseph Strickland’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Sanjiv T Lall, is an entrepreneur, an avid traveler, and now a heritage property restorer and developer. Born in India, the son of a war hero, he has traveled the world, starting with his trip to Iran in 1977, where he worked for an American shipping company. For close to twenty years Sanjiv lived in Auckland, New Zealand, where he ran a successful clothing, travel and a boutique IT consulting company. Sanjiv now lives in Goa, India where he restores old Portuguese Heritage Villas and fulfills his passion of restoring World War II Ford GPW and Willys Jeeps.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Rubies In My Ears

Rubies in my Ears, is an inspirational story of a life filled with pain, loss, adventure, fun, love and eventual success. After majoring in Political Science, from St Xavier’s College, Calcutta, but with no plans for the future, a chance meeting with a family friend takes Sanjiv to Tehran, Iran, with a promise of a glorious job and a glamorous life. Thus begins a journey of many twists and turns, and of life transforming experiences.

Author Websites and Profiles
Sanjiv T Lall Website
Sanjiv T Lall Amazon Profile

Sanjiv T Lall’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I currently live in Ocean Springs Mississippi. I spend a lot of time on my computer. Sometimes I am playing games, sometimes I am writing and sometimes I am doing both. Currently I am working on a short story called Christmas Train Home which will come out soon. My book is available on the kindle and in Paperback form.
So far I have published
The Clone
Within the Mind: The Quest for Robert’s Staff
Withing the Mind: Gypsies Witches and Rogues

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Book 2 of Within the Mind series: Gypsies Witches and Rogues. My dad was in a coma for several months. This series gave me an outlet to combine things I learned while he was in a coma and a great science fiction story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Try to write some each day

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read John Grisham quite a bit

What are you working on now?
Christmas Train Home

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use twitter the most.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. The more you write the easier it will come to you.

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

What are you reading now?
Right now I am proofreading my next book Christmas Train Home

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am currently finishing a book called Christmas Train Home

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 Count of Monte Cristo
Great Expectations
All of my books
and some empty ones so I can keep writing

Author Websites and Profiles
Mark Brickwedde Amazon Profile

Mark Brickwedde’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in the fifties before there were video games and the internet. As an only child I spent a lot of time entertaining myself, so I discovered reading for entertainment at the age of twelve and have been an avid reader ever since.
My love of good stories and the desire to act them out carried over into college where I earned a degree in Theater.
A natural curiosity led me to ask questions of my grandparents at an early age. I wanted to know all I could about their parents and where they came from and I started genealogy research at an early age.
After retirement I decided I needed to tell some of the stories I had uncovered about my ancestors. The only way to do that was to write a book. I started the Civil War tale, A Twist of Tobacco and soon realized that one book wouldn’t tell the entire story so A Vow Unbroken followed to explain the Reconstruction Era. The story couldn’t end there. The characters had come to life for me and I had to finish telling the complete story, so Heaven’s Promise takes the families into the next generation.
Since the trilogy is fiction based on fact, I was encouraged by several fans to publish my research materials to verify fact and point out fiction. So Tennessee to Texas was born.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is to be published October 15, 2018 and is a Contemporary Romance, titled Justice Unbalanced.
After spending four years reliving and researching the Civil War up to the Great Depression I wanted to write something more contemporary.
I created an irresistible cowboy who is unlucky in love. Every woman wants Justice “Tice” McCoy. But most have an ulterior motive. He is a straight shooter who is as honest as the day is long and thinks everyone else is too. His trusting nature takes him down some treacherous paths.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t write while naked or standing on my head, but I do have a process.
I am old school, perhaps because I am old, but I prefer to write on lined paper with a mechanical pencil. My thoughts flow out of my finger tips.
I then transcribe my hand written pages to the computer and re-write as I transcribe. The number of pages vary. But I usually transcribe a couple of chapters at a time.
Then I print what I’ve written and put the pages in a three-ring-binder. I read the pages aloud which gives me the opportunity to see how the words flow and to correct any typos or phrasing errors.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The first book that sucked me in and made me want to know more about the characters and the life they lived, was Forever Amber by Kathleen Windsor. I read the book when I was 14 and then wanted to learn everything I could about King Charles II and seventeenth century London. Her descriptions and characterizations were so vivid I could see the rooms, clothing and the little smirky smile of Charles’ face.
James Michener has the same effect on me. His attention to detail is phenomenal. In Centennial I held my breath as the male beaver made his way to his mates lodge under water.
There are many more but I think those represent what I look for in a good book; detail, accuracy, authenticity and strong characterization.

What are you working on now?
My current project takes me back to my roots and the Civil War era. Only this time it is my mother’s ancestors and it takes place in Missouri, Arkansas and eventually Texas.
It is the story of a young girl from a pious family who marries a scoundrel and finds herself stranded in guerrilla controlled St. Louis. Before her seventeenth birthday she is a wife, mother and widow. With no family, no husband and no way to live she resorts to the oldest profession in the world for women.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far my promotion skills have been lacking. But Facebook and Amazon ads have helped me build my reader base.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Create something that you are proud of and proud to show your friends and family. Tell the story you are meant to tell in the best way possible.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be true to yourself.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently re-reading Cimarron Rose by James Lee Burke.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I would like to increase my fan base and I hope Justice Unbalance will grab readers and that they will then want to learn more history by reading my historical fictions. There is a lot of romance in those stories too.
I also want to finish the Henrietta Clay series and write a humorous book about three senior ladies who face the typical aging difficulties in today’s society.

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?
Centennial, Texas, Mexico and Chesapeake all by Michener. Thouse would entertain me for a couple of months.

Author Websites and Profiles
Rita Ownby Holcomb Website
Rita Ownby Holcomb Amazon Profile

Rita Ownby Holcomb’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve always loved supernatural suspense books. I like to think that my writing is like my favorite chocolate: dark and sweet. I’m the author the the Lilith Straight series (think single mom/succubus) as well as the Bit Parts series (Vampires, empty theaters, and baseball.)

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Currently, I’m writing a supernatural thriller about angels and demons, two of my favorite topics. I get a lot of inspiration from other writers like Stephen King and Charlaine Harris. My husband and kids are always giving me new ideas as well.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
For some reason, writing is thirsty work. I almost always have an iced tea or hot coffee at hand.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There’s so many! I love the Sookie Stackhouse books from Charlaine Harris along with anything written by Stephen King. I also love Jeaniene Frost and the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs.

What are you working on now?
Actually, I have a few books I’m working on right now. One is about nephilim (angel/human offspring), and another is about demons here in my hometown of Detroit.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I keep in contact with readers and other writers on Reddit and on GoodReads.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Put your nose to the grindstone and write! Don’t worry if it’s good or bad, just keep working at it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Take a character and put him/her in a situation they would most hate to be in. That will give you enough conflict and drama for your story.

What are you reading now?
A Gentleman in Moscow. It’s my book club’s pick this month.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing, writing, and 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?
Would an entire series count? I’d have to bring all of the Harry Potter books in addition to The Stand by Stephen King (my personal favorite book by him!)

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

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

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born and raised in New Orleans and its suburbs, and have lived in so many states, even in another country–but for the last seven years I’ve resided in Austin, Texas. My mother taught me to read at age four, and I believe she helped instill in me a love for language, books, and the written word. Since I was five, I wanted to be a writer. Since then, I’ve felt that I HAD to write, that there was no other way. I’ve written for various publications–for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Sewanee Purple, the Riverside Reader, the Baton Rouge Advocate, and most recently Austin.com. But I fell into my groove when I returned to writing fiction–I’ve published two novels, Water Lessons and The Second Cortez.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Second Cortez is my second and latest novel, published in June 2018. Originally, I wanted to depict the experiences and struggles of a desperate man who crosses into the United States illegally, but in this particular case that man is a young but esteemed professor-turned-fugitive. Years spent living in the Southwest and a decades-long interest in Mexico and the American West also helped inspire the novel. This is one of those novels that began with both a character and a situation, in the author’s head.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I keep a small Moleskine journal in my pocket, and will jot down thoughts and observations throughout the day, but especially in the evenings and at night. The journal stays on my bedside table for those moments when I conceive good ideas halfway between sleep and waking. Virtually all of what I inscribe pertains to the main writing project in my life at the time. What might be unusual is that I’ve written pages of notes, even in the thick of a busy restaurant. Much of what is transpiring around me has found its way onto the pages. Lately, those very creative, small-plate, locavore spots here in Austin have particularly been good for inspiration! Coffeehouses, bars, parks and gardens have also proven to be good locales for my journaling throughout the years.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Walker Percy–who I knew briefly as a boy (see my website for the blog piece). Fyodor Dostoevsky, James Joyce, William Faulkner, Papa Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Herman Hesse, Eudora Welty, Philip Roth, Virginia Woolf, Albert Camus, William Butler Yeats, Marcel Proust, Cormac McCarthy. Shakespeare and Cervantes. There are many others.

What are you working on now?
I’ve been writing my third novel, and researching and journaling a lot for it as well. This novel’s got what I believe many would consider a great setting and an intriguing protagonist, with a unique mission and struggle. The main character of my first novel, Water Lessons, is a major character (but not a protagonist) of the third novel. This novel-in-progress is very different from both the first novel and the second. But I don’t want to share too much at this point!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My primary method is working with my marketing manager, who is an accomplished writer in her own regard–Lara Reznik.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Start early. As in start writing as soon as you can in your life, and while you’re at it, start writing as early as you can in the day, if your schedule permits. One must make time to write, despite how packed one’s schedule is, or how unpredictable life gets. Otherwise life has a way of pushing out one’s writing to the point of it being an occasional practice.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Walker Percy once wrote me a letter. Near the end of the letter, he gave me some great advice that I have not followed consistently in my life. I feel though in retrospect that Percy was correct and if I’d heeded his words, I would have been more productive as a writer. He wrote that one of the best things a writer can do is to journal on a daily basis, even if it’s just a few sentences.

What are you reading now?
I’m rereading Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey, Sol Stein’s How To Grow A Novel, and John Truby’s The Anatomy of Story. Such helpful classics on the writer’s craft that I’ve shamelessly plugged for years!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m fast at work trying to write this third novel. It’s already an exciting journey. And I do have an eye as to what projects come after. But I vow to grow, improve as a writer along the way, to explore even more of life and its greatness, its pain and mysteries, even its humor and absurdity. And to enjoy this journey–it is important after all for a writer to have fun, right? Just as it’s essential that a writer helps the reader enjoy the tale.

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?
Dostoevsky’s The Brother’s Karamazov (which translation is hard to say). The Selected Works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, in the original Spanish. The Selected Works of Ernest Hemingway. The Portable Faulkner. That makes four. Am I cheating with this “Selected Works” and “Portable” business?

Author Websites and Profiles
Chadwick Wall Website
Chadwick Wall Amazon Profile

Chadwick Wall’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written five books. Three are a young adult series, one short story and the fourth being under “crimerotics,” an erotica based romance/crime fiction. I’m also an artist. As a superhero fanatic I’ve been drawing in my leisure time and I hope to release a comic book next year.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book titled “The Man with the Lion Tattoo” is a short story series. I was inspired to write when my best friend lost her loved one.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
People call me a good storyteller and sometimes say I have a new style of writing. I’m yet to figure out why. But I do know that comedy isn’t left out in my writing even if most of the chapters in the novel may seem melancholic.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Danielle Steel has been my top favorite. Harry Potter too. But I also read random books and blogs.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently finishing up book two in the series, “The Man with the Lion Tattoo.” I’ll be publishing another series under crimerotics in October.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website comes first. But my busy schedule limits me to Instagram where my settings allow my posts to be shared on facebook as well.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m also new to the writing world but I’d say love what you do and believe in yourself. Writing is a passion. I like to make the best of my humorous personality. Sharing my spirit of entertainment with the world is something I feel great about.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Some old authors advise having a mailing list. I think they’re right so I’m still working on it.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently editing my own books so I can publish them.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I wish to improve my writing. But I’m very passionate about the superhero comic book that I’m working on.

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?
Not to be selfish but I’ll choose my own series, The Man with the Lion Tattoo I first because the story falls exactly with this question. It will keep me alive even if I feel dead. The second would be The Hunger Games, to keep fighting for survival. Third, Harry Porter Hogwarts, if I could get lucky and fly to safety. Lastly, Bridget Jones’s Diary just for humor.

Author Websites and Profiles
Aurora Diamond Website

Aurora Diamond’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, this is actually my first book but it is something that I have wanted to do my entire life. I wrote a book of poems and short stories when I was 8, and at that age, I told myself I would publish it one day. I lost that book !!!!!!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Good Cop Girl Cop: The Secret Life of a Police Officer (What you always wanted to know about policing but were afraid to ask)

I was a cop in Australia for 15 years, and I feel that Hollywood glamorizes policing and people have a lot of misconceptions. I wanted to give them a peek into the REAL life of a cop and nothing is off-limits. The book is gritty and packs a punch, just like the job does.!!!!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
YES I DO !!!!! But don’t tell anybody !!!! I actually write whilst watching TV, yes with the sound on!!! I used to also do my college essays whilst watching the crime channel. I hate to write in silence

What authors, or books have influenced you?
This is going to sound REALLY awful, but I am brutally honest just like my book….I am NOT a reader. There, I said it !!!!!

What are you working on now?
I have just published this book, and got some amazing reviews and feedback, and people are asking for more, so I guess I will be working on Part 2 !!!!!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well I am new to this but I am going to say Awesomegang.com !!!!!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yep, just do it (sorry Nike). If you want to write, then do it. My current cover pic on Facebook says “Writing: Somewhere between torture and fun. ” I would have to agree, at times !!!!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t cut corners on cover design. You MUST get it done professionally because that is your introduction to readers, it is literally the first thing they see. !!!!!

What are you reading now?
Your website……remember I am not a book reader, which really freaks some people out considering I am an author. I prefer to write than read.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am going to let the dust settle a little bit after just publishing my first book, before I jump in with both feet and go again. !!!!

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?
Probably mine so I could pick it to death and see if it still has mistakes in it, Lt Joe Kenda’s book “I Will Find You” and probably a textbook on Criminology. I am weird aren’t I?

Author Websites and Profiles
Lisa Doble Amazon Profile

Lisa Doble’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am legally changing my name. I have written two books. The first book I was overly excited and published far too quickly. Thus, I began the second book. I do have some fiction novels in the works and tons of ideas for other fiction novels. Writing has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The newest book, B.O.U.N.D. is a non-fiction BDSM book. This may offend people. However, I was inspired to write BOUND due to the infamous fiction novel about BDSM. There was a lot of just garbage in it and while it turned on much of the female populace, it disgusted many of us that actually are part of the lifestyle. No dominant worth their salt would take a person that has never been exposed to BDSM and just throw them in the deep-end and let them sink or swim. It takes a long time to cultivate a BDSM relationship.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, I am not sure if it is unusual or not but I schedule time to write. I am so busy that I often forget to enjoy life. Writing is one of my greatest joys.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Lisa Jackson, Nora Roberts, David Hume, Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, Iris Johansen, Belle Brooks, Stephen King, Piers Anthony.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a fiction murder/mystery. I am naming it Gagged. It is currently 15,000 words and counting.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I tend to spam facebook with my book promotions. I have recently begun coding my own website.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Whew, that’s a great question. My advice, write what you are passionate about. Listen to the voices in your head, and use everyday events that you experience as fodder for your book. If you get stuck, you know, writers’ block; free write for about 20 minutes.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Can I put two in here? I’m going to give you two quotes. Speak the truth even if your voice shakes. No one will ever have your back so you better have your own.

What are you reading now?
Currently, I am reading a lot of clinical stuff for my job.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, I plan to make a big move within the next year to the west coast. I have about 6 books that I am currently working on. Hopefully, one of them turns out well enough to publish.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would have to take an unabridged works of Edgar Allen Poe, Plato, Maya Angelou’s I know why the caged bird sings, and Whatever Iris Johansen’s latest book is.

Author Websites and Profiles
Stormy Jordan Website
Stormy Jordan Amazon Profile

Stormy Jordan’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in London in the United Kingdom. I grew up in India. I am of Anglo-Indian (Eurasian) or mixed-race origin.
I have written over thirty books on fiction, poetry, internet marketing and recipes.
I am also a Life Coach, Copywriter, Hypnotherapist, Affiliate Marketer,poet and artist.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “Impostor Assassin”. I was inspired to write this book due to my love for writing and independent publishing.
“Impostor Assassin” is a novel which is about one man’s struggle to save independent authors and publishing in a world controlled by one evil corporation.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I spend some time visualizing the story unfold in my imagination before I get down to typing it on my computer.
I try to complete one thousand words, before I have a cup of tea when I start my writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The authors who have influenced me are James Patterson, Frederick Forsyth, Anthony Horowitz, L J Ross, Joy Ellis.
The books which I enjoyed reading are Great Expectations, Treasure Island, Sherlock Holmes and “To Kill A Mockingbird.”

What are you working on now?
I am working on a story about a Game which controls minds of its players.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have not found the best website yet to promote my books.
I usually promote my books on blogs and through social media platforms.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
New authors need to express themselves with their stories.
The main character is of vital importance and it does need
to have a human element which makes them belieavable.
Create a plot which can help your character stronger at the end of the story.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
A good story needs to show what is happening instead of
explaining everything for the reader.
“Show, Don’t Tell!”

What are you reading now?
I am presently reading “Lethal White” by Robert Galbraithe.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to create a series with one central character who finds himself in a variety of situations which help him to grow and evolve as a person.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would take “Treasure Island,” “The Three Musketeers” and “The Count of Monte Christo.”

Author Websites and Profiles
Warren Brown Website
Warren Brown Amazon Profile
Warren Brown Author Profile on Smashwords

Warren Brown’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
“WE ARE WHAT WE EAT: A Healthy Body, As A Result Of Helthy Diets” is my first book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“WE ARE WHAT WE EAT: A Healthy Body, As A Result Of Helthy Diets”. To write the book, I was inspired by helping people. I believe that health is the most that can be important for a person. To help him to save is my inspiration.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do not smoke

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

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Live and learn

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I currently an undergrad majoring in Linguistics and Spanish. Sensuality. is the first book I’m publishing, but I’m also almost done with revisions for my first novel. I came out of the womb wanting to be a writer of fantasy novels but it wasn’t until late high school that I got introduced to poetry. It was a rocky start but I eventually fell in love with it. Sensuality. is my first book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Sensuality. is the name of my latest book. It’s a small book of fourteen poems concerning the relationship between sensuality and art. What inspired the idea was that despite not having much sexual experience myself, writing sensual poetry has always come naturally to me. And I feel that all art, especially music and poetry, has this sensual aspect even if it has nothing to do with sex. I think that sensuality is connected to intense emotions, which is an idea that runs through all the poems in the book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to write the last line of my poems first. Not always. But quite a lot of the time.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
One of my favorite poets is John Donne. I’m not sure if I can say that he’s directly influenced me, but I identify with how he often tied the concepts of sex and spirituality together in his poetry. I feel like I do a similar thing with my own.

What are you working on now?
I’m editing the first in a fantasy series about a girl is institutionalized when she begins feeling a presence with violent urges inside of her. A government official tells her that she’s infected by a mystical parasite and that he’s come to heal her of it. But as she learns more, she doens’t know if it’s better to trust the government official or the presence inside of her.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I like making videos on YouTube. I’m not much of a traditional social media person, so I prefer the format of YouTube because it allows for creating longer, more thought-provoking content.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The best way for a new writer to find their voice is to forget about what everyone else thinks, including your inner editor. Take risks and write what comes to you even if you fear it might be bad or you fear it isn’t what “poetry” or “writing” should be like.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write everyday. Not only has my writing improved from writing everyday, but I’m also more confident as a writer now.

What are you reading now?
For poetry, I’m re-reading “Double Jinx” by Nancy Reddy. It’s so good. Could not recommend more. Then, I’m also in the middle of the Dark Tower series of Steven King. I’m reading Wolves of the Calla.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing my novel, and hopefully I can publish it next 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?
“Double Jinx” by Nancy Reddy, “The Savior’s Champion” by Jenna Moreci, and “Starflower” by Anne Elisabeth Stengl.

Author Websites and Profiles
Mary K Gowdy Website
Mary K Gowdy Amazon Profile

Mary K Gowdy’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I hail from Kerala State in Southern Part of India. I hold a PhD in Ethno-gynecological studies and I work as a faculty at one of the University colleges in Kerala. I have a specific interest in the history of Western Rite Orthodox communities. I have been researching on the Independent Catholic Church movements (Western Rite Orthodox) in the Indian-Subcontinent since 2009. I have written two books so far.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The title of my latest work is ‘Western Rites of Syriac-Malankara Orthodox Churches.’
My inspiration comes within, which is none other than my passion for history and research. I associate with Orthdooxy Cognate PAGE -OCP (Pan-Orthdoox NGo). I serve as OCP’s delegate of the Indian Sub-Continent, as well as the head & chief research officer of Metropolitan Alvares Julius Research Project (MARP). My co-author Mr. George Alexander and my friends and colleagues at OCP are the major source of inspiration behind the recent publication. It took me nine years to publish this work.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I prepare independent articles and later I compile them into a fully fledged publication. I like this style. It is easy and gives me proper control on my research and publication. Historical research requires a lot of detailed attention and mostly I act a researcher who tries to fill the missing gaps of the forgotten past.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like C. Radhakrishnan, who is an author, researcher, film director. I like his work ‘Munpe Parakkuna Pakshikal’.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the second part of my research publication.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I network a lot with people and I believe in the power of ‘word of mouth’ irrespective of the use of social media for promoting my book.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be genuine in your approach and never lose an opportunity to express yourself. Patience is very important and pay attention to details.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be yourself, be honest and be genuine.

What are you reading now?
Currently am reading ‘Herbarium’ by Sonia Rafiq

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a lot to do my upcoming book, which is the second part of my ongoing historical research.

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?
Philokalia
Jesus Lived in India
The Flesh of Our Brethren

Author Websites and Profiles
Dr. Ajesh T. Philip Website

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
“Bright Pink Ink” is my one and only at the moment, but now that it’s published I’m itching to write more!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My collection, “Bright Pink Ink,” had been years in the making, and because of that, many things inspired its creation. I ultimately published the book because it has always been a dream of my to be a published author.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have found that I do some of my best work while flying in an airplane.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Every books I read influences me. I think that’s why it’s so important that writer’s don’t stop reading outside their comfort zone. One of the best things I ever did for my own writing was to start reviewing the poetry books of contemporary poets. I’m witnessing new ways to create verse taht

What are you working on now?
I actually have two works in progress! The first is a collection of poetry dedicated to dogs; I hope to create a text that will not only contain humorous pieces but poems that will provide a full bodied image of what these animals are capable of and their impact upon our world. My second work in progress is a memoir which records how a life long dream of mine came true. That dream? Getting a dog.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have made heavy use of both Twitter and Instagram.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Edit, edit, edit and then edit again. Don’t be afraid of constructive criticism. There’s no telling how often a work has been improved when fresh eyes have been brought to the table.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Always let another pair of eyes look over your work.

What are you reading now?
I provide free poetry books for modern poets and am currently reading Jane Rosenberg LaForge’s “Daphne And Her Discontents.” My review of the book will be coming out later!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Besides working on my two new books, I would love to become a part of a writing group again. I had started on when I lived in Pennsylvania and the support and critiques that come from a group of writers is really inspiring.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Oh, good question! I’d say Betsey “Cullen’s Our Place In Line,” W.R. Rodriquez’s “Concrete Pastures of the Beautiful Bronx,” and anything by John Updike.

Author Websites and Profiles
Laura Berry Website

Laura Berry’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an author and writer, and I enjoy crocheting and writing poetry in my free time. I run Mindworks Publishing, my independent desktop publishing business and I’m an African American convert to Islam. My writing tends to focus on sharing what I know about the religion of Islam and upon highlighting interfaith unity. I’ve written several children’s books, a couple of volumes of poetry, and two works of fiction.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is The Elementals: Discovery of the Cipher Key. I was inspired to write it many years ago following a difficult period in my life when I was struggling with understanding why people who seem to be innocent of any wrongdoing go through suffering from a spiritual perspective.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not to my knowledge. I think I’m pretty normal when it comes to writing habits.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Frank Herbert and Stephanie Meyer have been two main influences on my writing.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on the second book of the series for The Elementals.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best website is through my blog at https://sisisahah.wordpress.com/.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. Especially on the days when you second guess yourself. Trust that your voice is unique and have faith in discovering what you want say to the world and for the benefit of others.

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

What are you reading now?
Nothing at the moment.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I don’t know. I hope to complete book two of The Elementals and to work more with other authors in getting their books published.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Quran Translation, the Bible, a translation of Saheeh Muslim, and the Book of Enoch.

Author Websites and Profiles
Janette Grant Website
Janette Grant Amazon Profile

Janette Grant’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started writing stories when I was a little girl, like so many other writers do. It wasn’t until 2012 that I got my first break into publishing, when Age/Sex/Location: Love is just a click away was picked up by Brighton Publishing. Shortly after, I took my first into self publishing, and have self-published seven additional titles under three pen names. Denise Kawaii for most of my fiction, then D.K. Greene for crime fiction and D.K. Wilde for erotica.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, Curie, is the third book in the Adaline series. There have been so many inspirations into this story, from the history of technology and nuclear science in the United States, to horrifying fictional tales like Daniel H. Wilson’s Robopocalypse. Deep down, behind the tech and politics, the Adaine series is written for my husband as we struggle with daring to be different in a world that strives to make each of us identically dependent.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Probably my strangest writing habit is that I do most of my writing in the middle of the night. I’ve struggled with insomnia for most of my life, and one of the ways I’ve coped with the continuous disruption of sleep is with writing. Most of my novels have been written between 2 and 4 in the morning while the rest of the world sleeps.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read all sorts of books, by all kinds of authors. Some of my current favorites are Sarah Lyons Fleming, Hugh Howey, Andy Weir, S.E. Anderson, Max Barry and Vic James.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently writing Division, book four in the Adaline series. I’m planning to have it ready to release in the Spring of 2019.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I love going to book events, festivals and conventions. Speaking to new writers and enthusiastic readers is one of my favorite things!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My biggest token of advice is to keep trying. If something isn’t working, tweak your process. Talk to other writers, get to know your local bookstore owners and librarians. They’re all fountains of information and advice!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever heard is to try anything that sounds interesting. You never know where your curiosity will lead you.

What are you reading now?
Right this second I’m reading The Secret Sea by Barry Lyga. It’s a story about identical twins, separated when one dies and is lost in purgatory.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m working on finishing up the last two books of the Adaline series. Once that’s done, I have a series of crime fiction novels waiting to be written under my alternate pen name, D.K. Greene.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’d bring the City Series by Sarah Lyons Fleming. Not only will it keep me company, but she packs a bunch of survival information into her novels, too! Luckily her series is 4 books, which fits the bill just right!

Author Websites and Profiles
Denise Kawaii Website
Denise Kawaii Amazon Profile
Denise Kawaii Author Profile on Smashwords

Denise Kawaii’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Greetings! I’m Mitzi. I enjoy writing, reading, cooking, and watching TV. I aspire to be a wife and mother one day. Twelve kids minimum. I live in a small town in Idaho and own a cat named Susie. Some of my favorite movies are The Lord of the Rings, Jason Bourne, and Serenity. I also love many Marvel films, especially Thor: Ragnarok, Iron Man, and Infinity War. Favorite TV shows: Supernatural, Justified, Dexter, Sherlock (BBC), Firefly, The Office, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Chuck, Last Man Standing, House M.D., Galavant, Breaking Bad, Monk, and so many more. I require very little human interaction in my daily life and am usually content alone, although I eventually want to find a man with brain cells, a sense of humor, and a nice face that would be willing to marry a small, pitiful human like me.

My favorite genres to read and write are science fiction, fantasy, and clean romance. I have written six books (published two, with one coming out in October 2018). The books I haven’t published are all the same story rewritten three times. I plan to rewrite it again and publish it in the future.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The title of Burning Space, Book 3 of The Edinön Trilogy, was inspired by the fact that it contains the same number of syllables as the first two book titles in the trilogy, Liquid Death and Dawning Life. It also happens to be relevant to the plot and the main villain in the story. But I’ve said too much already.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I usually need three hours or more to prep myself mentally for about thirty minutes of writing. Is that unusual? I prepare myself for writing by rereading what I’ve already written, listening to music, and checking social media. I’m sure I’m the only one who does this.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan revived my love of reading when I was in sixth grade.
In ninth grade, I took a creative writing class online and read Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, which I enjoyed a lot.

What are you working on now?
Gray Haze, a paranormal/fantasy/horror novel. It is much different from The Edinön Trilogy, with about twelve main characters and a few different worlds I’ve had to create in my head out of nothing. I plan to finish it by May 2019 and publish it in time for Halloween next year. I post word count updates every other Wednesday on my blog (mitzicbooks.com).

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook so far has helped the most, but I’m hoping to change that with my new blog (I have posts planned every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday through May 7th, 2019). I am also trying to be more active on Twitter. “Trying” being the operative word.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
1. Grammar good. Please.
2. Write something you would pay to read.
3. Write as often as possible.
4. Set small, achievable goals for yourself.
5. Do what you can to stand out. In a positive way, of course.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Tell the truth. Act so you can tell the truth about how you act. And be grateful in spite of your suffering.

What are you reading now?
12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson (listening to Maps of Meaning on Audible). I also plan on starting This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab soon. It’s waiting on my Kindle…

What’s next for you as a writer?
Fame and glory!!!!!

*joking*

I hope that I will be able to continue writing, and perhaps even make it a career. That’s the dream.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Ooohhh… 1) The Bible, 2) Dave Barry’s Only Travel Guide You’ll Ever Need (this might help me escape the island), 3) The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and 4) I would like to take my books as well. Call me a narcissist, but I like them, okay?

Don’t try to count how many books I listed above. You may not have enough fingers. <.<

Author Websites and Profiles
Mitzi C Website
Mitzi C Amazon Profile

Mitzi C’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write under the name “The Birch Twins.” Helen, my twin, didn’t live to see life, and so I write for her. I’m a full time poverty stricken doll artist who took to writing as I seemed to spend more time writing out little back stories for the characters I created. My first book The Life of LOL was written in five weeks, and was about gangsters, grifters and drifters. Lots of cartoon slapstick violence mixed with a serious message.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is Poohsticks Bridge. Inspired largely by my twin, Helen and my thoughts of what our relationship would have been like, Poohsticks bridge follows the life of a small boy growing up in an old ranch house in the Pacific NorthWest. In Kindergarten, he meets a little girl and the two of the become firm friends. That friendship lasts them their whole lives as they learn to depend upon and rely upon only each other for company and comfort.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m rather too fond of bourbon and cigarettes. I have a desk doll named Valerie who sits on my desk in her little chair and glares at me when I try to slack off and while away time on facebook instead of writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m heavily influenced by the works of Raymond Carver, which I first read as a small child.
Alan Moore for his comic book work on the sublime Halo Jones. Ted Hughes gave me my first love of nastiness and creepiness which influenced my own poetic style. David Whale with his Radko’s war series (David is a good friend). I seethe with jealous rage that I wasn’t the one to create the universe he created with his books.

What are you working on now?
A sequel to Poohsticks bridge entitled “Tales from Belle-Starr House, and a collection of poetry and artwork yet to be titled

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I do find facebook to be quite useful once an author page has built up a following and has loyal fans. I’m also a frequent user of Bookbub.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do every single aspect of your craft to the best of your ability, from the research, the writing, finding editors, agents, cover designers. market the hell out of your book, but also yourself. Don’t enter the room apologising but storm in there with a fanfare playing ready to tell everyone why you’re the best.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t snort vodka up my nose.

What are you reading now?
Out of the Black, by David Whale.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Apart from the above sequel to Poohsticks Bridge, I’m producing an occasional comic book strip entitled The Life of Tim, which features TIm, a neurotic and suicidal office worker and his colleagues.

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 Carl Barks Uncle Scrooge compilation

Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland

The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls, by Emilie Autumn

James Blish Star trek Volume 1 screen adaptations

Author Websites and Profiles
Andrew Birch Amazon Profile

Andrew Birch’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Benjamin Hansel. I have authored two books so far, and I am currently working on two more. One is the continuation of the book I just released. The other is a new book that I will be releasing as a paperback along with the ebook.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Tribulation Journals. I actually wrote this book my freshman year in college. It was a bit of an alternate take on the book series Left Behind by Tim LaHaye. For those who know anything about Christian eschatology, they know there are several different view points on the what is known as The Tribulation. This is my take on the alternate version to the Left Behind books, albeit written in a fictional style.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. My interest in literature don’t usually focus on the mainstream of culture. I guess you could say my interest are a little unusual.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
SO many authors have had an influence on me over the years. It’s hard to name all of them. Some of the top are Walter Martin, Ravi Zacharias, James R. White, Josh McDowell, Schreiner, and so on. Many of their books have had a positive influence on my life.

What are you working on now?
Currently I am working on a non-fiction book that is a response to the growing nominalism in the Christian church. I don’t have title yet, but the rough draft is done and I have begun making changes and corrections. This will be my first paperback book to go along with the ebook that will release close to the same time.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am new to the self publishing world so I am still working on strategies. Social media is one that I have utilized. I am also looking at starting a YouTube channel soon to see if that brings in any new visitors.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
It takes time! Nothing is instant. You won’t sell a million copies of your first book. You may sell ZERO copies. Don’t get discouraged. Just keep working until you find your market and audience. Then you can improve form there.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The same advice I gave above.

What are you reading now?
The Message of the Twelve: Hearing the Voice of the Minor Prophets.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m not sure. We will have to wait and see. Hopefully this will be able to become my full time career and I can focus solely on this.

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, Pilgrim’s Progress, The writings of the Church Father’s, and maybe an Archie comic.

Benjamin Hansel’s Social Media Links
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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Right now, I just finished my first book which has been published eight days. Other than that, I see myself as a normal guy that likes to spend his time playing video games on my XBOX, playing Magic the Gathering, and working on my next story.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Rise of the Necromancer. This book was just inspired by my love of the supernatural. I began thinking about how a necromancer’s powers would work, and the stereotype that would surround that kind of power if magic existed. From there, the idea wouldn’t leave my head so I began writing the story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I model a lot of the characters in my book around specific personality traits of people I work with though I am not sure if that is unusual.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have to say the harry potter series, the Inheritance series, and some teachers I was friends with.

What are you working on now?
I am working on book two of my new series after finishing the first. I haven’t given it a name yet, but it continues where Rise of the Necromancer leaves off.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think that I have had the most success with Facebook , but my book has only been published a week right now. In time that may change.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up on your story. I had to erase everything, and start from scratch multiple times before I finally got my book the way I wanted it to be. Just keep working on it, and find some great test readers to keep yourself motivated.

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

What are you reading now?
Between work and writing my book, I haven’t been able to read much besides my own book though I hope that changes soon.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to continue promoting my book and continue writing this series until the story is complete. I honestly hope to one day achieve the fame of one of my favorite authors, J.K. Rowling.

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 wouldn’t know the names, but probably some survival handbooks so I would survive being stranded on the island.

Robert Lummus’s Social Media Links
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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write contemporary and paranormal romance for adults and young adults. I’ve published 7 books and have another one coming out in December 2018 as part of a limited edition boxed set.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Cursed Prince. I love magic and witches. I also really like castles. So I combined the these elements and crafted a story around them.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m one of those weird people who really enjoys silence so I write without any music playing in the background.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Books that have influenced me include the Harry Potter series and the Arcana Chronicles series.

What are you working on now?
Book 2 in The Cursed Prince series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I try to connect with people using a variety of methods since some of my readers prefer social media while some prefer to receive emails. I’m on FB, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads. I have a website and send out newsletters monthly.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Love what you do because most authors do not become overnight successes.

What are you reading now?
The Cottage by Sarah Winter

What’s next for you as a writer?
After the Cursed Prince series I have another series in mind that I will get started on.

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?
Harry Potter, Poison Princess, The Count of Monte Cristo

Author Websites and Profiles
Teresa Roman Website
Teresa Roman Amazon Profile

Teresa Roman’s Social Media Links
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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello! I am an award-winning author of the highly acclaimed resort romance series, which I wrote on her cell phone while she was undergoing breast cancer treatment.

My resort romance series are romantic comedies because they are not only based on my life in the hospitality industry, but also many of the MANY romantic misfires in my life, which could either be viewed as a comedy or a tragedy. But I’d rather look back and laugh instead of cry about the past.

I also has novels published under the pen name, “Pumpkin Spice.”

In July 2018, I was awarded “Top Female Author 2018” by The Authors Show for “Spirited Away.”

I live in the Cowboy State with my sexy bald husband, my four amazing children, two fantastic step-kids, and Izzy, our runaway dog. I do my best writing (in my head) on my daily runs in wild, romantic, beautiful Wyoming.

Read more about Mary and her work at: www.marybilliter.com

Follow Mary on Twitter:

@MaryBilliter

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“The Changeup,” which was inspired by my first taste of California when we moved to the Golden State from the Bluegrass state of Kentucky!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wrote my entire resort romance series (SIX BOOKS) on my cell phone while I went through breast cancer treatment! I was taken off chemo in December and this has been the longest period of time that I’ve actually used a computer! Bahahaha – Cancer humor is huge to winning the battle!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I admire Susan Mallery for her work ethic and volume of romance she produces! The woman is on fire!

What are you working on now?
Well…it’s still sort of under wraps…but if you promise not to tell anyone… (Snicker, snicker) My next book that will be out July 2019 takes a huge twist from what I normally write…so be prepared…that’s about all I can say until my publisher announces more!!!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Wow. Great question. I think Facebook reaches a lot of readers and Amazon.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. I know that sounds trite and simple, but don’t.give.up! The universe is wide enough for EVERYONE to succeed and achieve their dream. SO DREAM BIG!!!!!!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Hmmm…Research by Jodi Picoult. And the value of researching your topic, genre, and specifics to your character. You can’t always write what you know so write what you don’t know and do the research to know! (the last part is mine…a real gem, right?)

What are you reading now?
I teach college fiction writing so I’m reading, “Making Shapely Fiction” by Jerome Stern.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Twisting minds one story at a time…wait for it!!!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Back Roads by Tawni O’Dell
The Bible – hey there is some solid story telling in the old and new testaments

Author Websites and Profiles
Mary Billiter Website
Mary Billiter Amazon Profile
Mary Billiter Author Profile on Smashwords

Mary Billiter’s Social Media Links
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