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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Taher Badinjki
ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-5997-6118
Researcher ID: L-6214-2016
Scopus Author ID: 57189375521
Taher Badinjki, has an M.Litt from Edinburgh University and PhD from Glasgow University (UK), and is presently Professor of English Literature at the Dept. of English at Al Zaytoonah University, Amman, Jordan. He is former Professor of English at the Dept. of English Literature, and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Aleppo in Syria, and at the Dept. of English and Translation at Ittihad University in RAK, United Arab Emirates. He has published and translated a number of books in Lebanon, Syria, the UAE, and Jordan. He has also published research papers in English and in Arabic on English and American Literature, Translation and Arabicization in Kuwait, Syria, USA, UAE and Jordan. Prof. Badinjki has been supervisor and internal and external examiner of many literature theses.he is a member of the Borad of Editorsand and a Reviewer of many international journals of English Literature. He has been working in the field of English Literature, translation and Arabicization for over 25 years. He has taught English Language and Literature at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has international work experience in Syria, USA, UAE and Jordan.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Dictionary of the Most Misused Words in English.
The outcome of long years of teaching English
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, not really. I write when I have something I want to share with others.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
D.H. Lawrence
Thomas Hardy
What are you working on now?
A Dictionary of Proverbs English/Arasbic
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
AWESOME GANG
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do not be hesitate in publishing what you like.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Do not pay attention to those behind, go ahead
What are you reading now?
Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard
What’s next for you as a writer?
Translating Aesop’s Fables into Arabic
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?
Machiavelli’s The Prince
Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure
D.H. Lawrence Women in Love
Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls
Author Websites and Profiles
Taher Badinjki Website
Taher Badinjki’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Born and raised in Toronto. I developed a fondness for writing in high school. I have written 1 non fiction book and I am currently writing my second.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Breakthrough. I’ve spoken to many young people and overheard many conversations and the common denominator is that they have no vision, no aspirations but they all want to live the high life. Many of them have told me they are in massive amounts of debt. I wrote this book to assist them in getting out of the dead end they are heading in. It starts with the proper mindset and staying focused.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I sit in front of my laptop and write as much as I can before my eyes glaze over.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Many. Robert Kiyosaki, T. D. Jakes, Kevin O’Leary. I love to read about rags to riches type of work because it demonstrates the stamina, creativity and the willingness to improve ones life.
What are you working on now?
My second book and developing ideas for my third.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve just started this part of the business. Relating to your audience and being authentic about your struggles because there will always be someone who will relate.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be patient and keep at it. Find your niche and go from there.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. Whatever you do you gotta keep moving forward. – Martin Luther King.
What are you reading now?
Kevin O’Leary’s Cold Hard Truth. Awesome book. Controversial man.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I wish to write a script. I am searching through topics I want to write about and at the same time make it relevant and resonate with the audience.
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 bring with me every book that I plan to write…lol.
Author Websites and Profiles
Tom Reign Amazon Profile
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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a 36yr old nurse from New Zealand, who is a mother to two children under five, and studying for my Master’s at the same time as writing several novels.
I have one published novel, with several more in the works.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
She Wore Black: The Alexis Chronicles Book One was inspired by the MeToo movement, in particular the rise of complaints against it. The inspiration came from hearing someone say that woman were gaining too much power – and my mind went off and created a city built by people who thought that way – and the feisty MC Reed Taylor was born…and fought back
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have to have a glass of Pepsi Max with me, usually.
I can write almost anywhere – in the car (only as a passenger of course), in bed, at a desk, on the floor. I just need a notebook and pen or a laptop. I also will listen to the same song/s over and over again.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Divergent, and Hunger Games.
Kim Harrison, Kelley Armstrong, Laurel K Hamilton’s earlier work, Stephen King. I read a bit of everything
What are you working on now?
Black Phoenix Rising: The Alexis Chronicles Book Two
Elements (Working Title) – UF/Dystopian crossover
A collaboration with another author in an entirely different genre – and we’re trying out humorous takes on stereotypes we both live within.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook, Amazon.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just get it on paper first. Don’t edit as you go, just get it out of your head. Go back later and be critical.
You will feel like you are the worst writer in the world – we’ve all been there – you aren’t, believe in yourself
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just keep going.
What are you reading now?
Dying for a Living – Kory M. Shrum
A Map of Days – Book Four of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs
What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish Book Two, and Elements, and continue to write 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?
My Kindle – haha.
Author Websites and Profiles
Jacqui (JL) Park Website
Jacqui (JL) Park Amazon Profile
Jacqui (JL) Park’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am one of the youngest author in academic genre. I wrote THE FRENCH BOOK MAKE YOUR FUTURE BRIGHT..this is my debut work. Actually, I became an author by chance and now I love writing.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
THE FRENCH BOOK MAKE YOUR FUTURE BRIGHT basically it inspired with French language..one day I saw a person with his fluent French accents. Than I started to speak french and I wrote this book.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I really love writing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Chetan Bhagat and Ravinder singh
What are you working on now?
I am working on a fiction book .
A collection of 4 sad love Stories.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
To connect with book reviewers .
And make videos on it.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you like reading, so you can write better.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
attitude is the biggest enemy of the human being. It can break your relation easily. It can damage your images in the society.
What are you reading now?
I too had a love story.
What’s next for you as a writer?
To be focus on best book 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?
Actually, I am comfortable on my tablet in reading books or a seat.
Saiyam Sharma’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I reside in Mount Vernon, NY with my wife Trudy and twin son and daughter. I work as a supervisor for a New York State Agency in a Correctional Facility, so I keep my hobbies separate from my professional life. I’ve always written, but like any artist, I try to move on from my past works. This may have been my fifth or six book I’ve written to completion, but it’s hard to remember!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Last Man Alive. After that silly election in 2016, I picked up Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four and read it again. Versus being a teenager, where I read the book literally, as an adult, it was not much of a fantastical dystopia but a haunting reflection of real life. In Orwell’s book, the truth is something subjective, or really arbitrary or made-up. When I live my life everyday, whether it’s issues out in work, at home, or the “two minutes of hate” coming in through my Facebook newsfeed sometimes I feel that either I’ve went crazy or the whole world went crazy, kind of like Winston Smith. So, with frustration that can’t be healthily vented out right there in the real world, I took to my Samsung Galaxy S7 and wrote TLMA!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Unusual in that I do not have a lot of typical writing influences. There are no authors I pay close attention to and lift from their style. My writing style really comes from have a New York State College Education and foiling that by growing up with barely savory Italian characters, which if you’re in the know you’d call “gavones.” So, it’s the kind of book where you delve into heavy subjects, darkness, then there come the jokes. It’s how I experienced my life, so it’s definitely how I write.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Last Man Alive is definitely influenced by Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four, though the idea to write a dystopia dates back to the day where I was disappointed by The Hunger Games thinking, “Any idiot could write a dystopia better than this!”
What are you working on now?
The hardest thing as an author is taking the journey necessary, sometimes as long as a year, to complete a book. I’ve been writing about a fallen angel fruitlessly trying to earn her vindication, a book about a “loser virgin” and his misadventures, a comedic story about a husband who gets “red-pilled” and how this affects his wife, and an alternate history of a fascist “Catholic Socialist” Haiti. As you see, four radically different ideas!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I work a modest full-time job, and raise my children pretty much by myself! It was a miracle I had time to write the book, nevermind promote it! Do you know a good website to promote my books? Ha ha!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write for your enjoyment and only for your enjoyment. What agents are looking for may not suit what your soul needs to tell the world. (By the way they are looking for female protagonists of color who may be lgbt, have disabilities, etc.) So if you want to make a couple of bucks and sell out, go to agents’ website and write some garbage. If you and your soul want to go on a journey, and you have the life experiences (usually painful) to back it up, go to your word processor and start writing. Always write as verbosely as possible because you can always trim it down later.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Well, the worst advice I ever heard was “someone will always notice how hard you’re working” as my insane efforts at work always go unnoticed! The best advice I ever heard was this adage, “The only thing more weird that a weird person that acts weird, is a weird person who tries to act normal.” There’s always a dead giveaway to who you are that people who know you, even barely, cannot explain. There is no use in being no one but yourself, because by being anything else you’re a bad actor.
What are you reading now?
According to my phone, I fell asleep reading about the 1918 German Revolution.
What’s next for you as a writer?
As a writer I hope to finally mold together an idea that can hopefully vindicate my artistic tendencies. I already have a career and my children who mean everything to me. I’m just striving for that one big idea that can rest there on my bookshelf and I can say, “I wrote that!” The biggest challenge is following my heart, rather than what’s in vogue.
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 the bible, because you never read it the same way twice. Aside from that you might as well read picture books.
Author Websites and Profiles
Victor Kontos Website
Victor Kontos Amazon Profile
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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written 5 books, with a few more in the works but I am only currently selling one short book.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
HOW TO GET RICH (or Die Trying) is inspired by my past self, albeit an exaggerated version.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write nonstop until a project is finished if I believe in it. I’m talking 15 hours a day for many days in a row.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Shakespeare is a big one, Roald Dahl, Dracula, the list goes on.
What are you working on now?
A self-help book that is anything but a self help book. I’ve just finished it, Coming soon!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
If I knew that I wouldn’t be here!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you believe in. If it’s getting too difficult to write, and you’re getting writers block frequently, it’s probably not going to end up that great a final product.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just do it.
What are you reading now?
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe, a play. I know, it’s not even a book, but it’s good.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m writing a fictional novel uh oh.
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 on a desert island,
How to build a raft,
How to navigate at sea,
Desert island resource recipe book.
Author Websites and Profiles
J Wilkins Amazon Profile
J Wilkins’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
If anyone wants to read my official biography they can pull it up on Goodreads or Amazon. or visit my web site, for example. What perhaps is of more interest is that I did not start out with writing as a long term plan. Indeed, I barely scraped through English at O Level! I am now retired – so it is never too late to become a writer! The turning point for me was reading David Almond’s book “Skellig”, because it was while I was doing so that I realised that the subject matter was not so different to ideas that I had been having. So after that I decided to give it a go and get my thoughts down on paper – and as they say, five “Red Grouse Tales” later!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It is “The Bat” and what inspired it was all the fake news which hit the headlines during and after the US elections a few years ago. When I thought about this (fake news), it struck me that “truth” is actually a very imprecise thing.
We all know that throughout history it has always been the victor who has written the history and hence the looser has always been cast as “the bad guy”. Although we know this cannot have always been the case and that the king at any point in time had to be quite simply the “biggest thug on the block”, we don’t wish to believe it. So is truth more about what we believe, than what actually was, or is the case? And if truth is about belief, religion and “The Truth” has to be considered as well. So I wanted a story that illustrated and addressed these things and I hope “The Bat” does.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Goodness me! I have no idea. What is “usual”?
I research in books and on the Net. I try to get my ideas in some sort of order. Then I endeavour to map out the story in note form. So far so good, because once I start writing in earnest (directly on to my pc) a fair bit of the planning goes out of the window!
As to when I write, I wish it could be regular, but life just gets in the way. Usually I am just grabbing at any spare minute I can get. One of the problems of self-publishing is that way too much time has to be spent on social media, advertising, marketing, and so on, all time which could be far more usefully spent on writing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have a sneaking suspicion that probably every book one reads influences in someway or the other. Yes, even in a negative sense; eg/ “what a dreadful book, I must avoid writing that that!” However, on the positive side; I have already mentioned “Skellig” by David Almond, add to that “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad, “Darkness Visible” by William Golding, “The Perfect Spy” by John LeCarre, “The Bible” of course, “Paradise Lost” by John Milton and there are many, many more.
I also must add that it is not only books which influence, but also films (“Wings of Desire” by Wim Wenders is superb), music and opera, pure art – both painting and sculpture. All these things can spark an idea, a mood, a concept
What are you working on now?
Right now I am trying to finish off a novel called “The Ghost Moth”. It is in fact two stories, one set in the reign of Henry VIII and the Reformation, and one set in the present, running parallel to each other. Whether one influences the other is something I leave for the reader to decide. And what prompted it? The “#me too movement”, because it struck me that misogyny in the church of those days and the accusing and burning of witches is being mirrored these days by misandrism and the accusing and burning of mens’ reputations. At the same time I thought it would interesting to look into why the Christian Church became so anti-sex and anti-female and of course what the differences are between men and women. Do we honestly think we are going to become “equal” if we exchange pink and blue bath towels? The book will probably be a bit controversial for some, but I hope it makes for an interesting read.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best method! You have to be joking. I am hopeless at promoting my books, which is probably why you have never heard of them. Unfortunately I don’t really understand or like social media – it completely defeats me why anyone would want a FaceBook account for personal use, I don’t even want one for business reasons (selling my books)! I started writing stories because I wanted to write stories, not so that I would have to spend hours marketing them! I have only just started with the Awesome Gang, so come back to me in a few months time. If I ever come across “the silver bullet” I’ll let you know.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Give it a go. If you don’t, you’ll look back and regret having not tried. If you don’t become a number one best selling author, never mind, you’ll be in good company and you’ll have had a bit of fun in the meantime. And if you do ….. don’t forget who gave you this advice!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Don’t under sell yourself” coupled with “anyone can give their work away”. And having just said that I am giving away the first tale in “The Red Grouse Tales” on 28 and 29 January. Yes, it will be FREE! It is called “The Little Dog”, and I hope you all will download it and so get a taste of my work and then write glowing reviews! It will be available from Amazon and the Awesome Gang are promoting it (Thanks guys!). I hope you enjoy the read.
What are you reading now?
Herman Hesse’s “The Glass Bead Game”
What’s next for you as a writer?
After this current promotion and completing “The Ghost Moth”, I need to do a little more research and then finish off a tale I have already partially written called “The Blue Horse”. It is a tale which looks at time, and our time upon this earth, and what happens when we die. No, it is not a morbid story, though of course it has a touch of sadness in it, but rather an intriguing one.
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 haven’t the slightest idea. I’d probably just grab three which I haven’t already read. They might have to be biggish ones – something like “War and Peace”? – unless I can find one on how to build an ocean going boat from coconut palm trees, in which case I probably won’t bother with the other two!
Author Websites and Profiles
Leslie Garland Website
Leslie Garland Amazon Profile
Leslie Garland’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I almost died, then I decided to follow my dream of becoming a writer. I’ve been working on my series for nearly six years and recently published the first book. There are 11 books planned in the series.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book. Hum. That depends on what you mean by “latest.” Is it the last book I wrote or published? If it’s the former, then it’s The Individuality Gene (the third book in the Will Save Series.) If it’s the latter, then it’s The Nibiru Effect (the first book in the Will Save series). As for what inspired them, it’s hard to say. I spent so much time working on them it all kind of blurs together.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not that I’m aware of.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve read so many books it’s hard to pick just a few. There are the classics (like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.) Then there are the slightly less famous, yet great books (like Pendragon and Trolls.) In the end, I just read whatever sounds interesting, no matter who wrote it.
What are you working on now?
The Fruit of Good and Evil (book 4 in the Will Save series.)
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have no idea. I haven,t launched my first book yet, so it’s hard to say what works and what doesn’t. That being said, I believe the single most effective strategy is to… sell books. Crazy, right?
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read a LOT! Write a LOT! Learn marketing. If you master those three things, you’ll be ahead of 99.99% of other people.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t be a perfectionist. Make the book (and the cover) as good as it can be, then release it. You can always come back later and update it. If you wait until it’s perfect, you will never publish it because nothing is ever perfect. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should publish something you aren’t proud of. Create the best story possible, have it professionally edited and/or proofread, hire a cover designer, and launch it. The rest will come with time and after making a bunch of mistakes. I know it doesn’t sound that exciting, but it’s part of life. Those who succeed aren’t the ones who screw up the least. They’re the ones who mess up and learn from their mistakes.
What are you reading now?
Right now? Nothing. I normally read about one book per week, but I’ve spent the past few months preparing everything for launch (building the website, setting up my mailing list, putting the finishing touches on my books, learning advertising, etc.) I have had no time to read.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing the fourth book in the Will Save series… and maximizing sales for the first book so I can actually make enough money to work on my series full-time.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I wouldn’t. I would take 3-4 SUPER THICK notebooks and a bunch of pens, that way I wouldn’t go insane from all the story ideas bouncing around my head.
Author Websites and Profiles
G. Sauvé Website
G. Sauvé Amazon Profile
G. Sauvé’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I first became interested in writing fiction when I was about 12 years old, but I’m not a natural-born storyteller, and it took me many years to learn what a story is and how to tell one. I’ve found structuralists such as Gustav Freytag and Vladimir Propp to be especially helpful, as I have Joseph Campbell.
Over the years, I’ve written 13 books. They run the gamut of genres: historical mystery, Western, Viking fantasy, urban fantasy, science fiction, romance, horror, thriller, and young adult. I’ve even written a volume of lit crit. Most are available on Amazon.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Death in the Old Dominion. As I point out on my author’s blog, I grew up in Idylwood, a community just outside Falls Church, Virginia, which is about eight miles from Washington, D. C. My parents graciously took me and my four siblings to the cultural and historical sites in Virginia and the nation’s capitol.
We visited Mount Vernon, Monticello, We visited the Tomb of the Unknown in Arlington National Cemetery; marveled at the work of the great masters in the National Gallery of Art and the Corcoran Gallery of Art; and studied the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution, up close and personal, at the National Archives.
We thrilled to the artifacts in the National History Museum, the Air and Space Museum, and the Army-Navy Medical Museum, home to such as fetuses in formaldehyde, human skulls and skeletons, and an elephantiasis leg.
All of these places made last impressions upon me and my siblings, and one of them in particular, colonial Williamsburg, became the setting of my latest book.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Probably, but they seem fairly prosaic to me.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Wow! It’s a long and eclectic list, which includes (in no particular order) Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Dan Simmons, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Shirley Jackson, Frank Peretti, Bentley Little, G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, Ian Fleming, Louis L’Amour, Joss Whedon, Joyce Carol Oates, Shirley Jackson, Flannery O’Connor, Walker Percy, James Patterson, Ernest Hemingway, D. H. Lawrence, O. Henry, William Shakespeare, John Donne, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Bram Stoker, Rabindranath Tagore, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Kate Chopin, Sherwood Anderson, H. G. Wells, John Keats, William Butler Yeats, T. S. Eliot, Stephen Crane, Erma Bombeck, Miguel Cervantes, and my favorite, Mark Twain. (I’m sure I left some out, but not intentionally.)
What are you working on now?
I’m recharging my batteries at the moment, as I mull over my options.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far, Twitter has worked for me, especially since Lou Diamond Phillips very graciously retweeted an announcement of my Western, “Good wit ha Gun.” (Thanks again, Mr. Phillips!)
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Learn the craft by reading voraciously. Read all genres, classic and popular, and take notes on technique. Study how established writers create grand entrances for their characters, create mystery by withholding context, use foils and confidants, twist the plot and supply cliffhangers to leave readers wanting more, interweave subplots with main plots, generate and heighten suspense . . . the list goes on.
If characterization is difficult for you, as it is for many, myself included, start with the trait theory of personality. It may not be scientifically valid, but it sure helps in creating characters. Remember, though: characters are more than collections of traits, but traits will get you started, traits and conflict–and the values of your characters.
Never think you’ve learned it all or completely mastered the art and craft of writing.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Aristotle’s Poetics is not prescriptive, but descriptive.
What are you reading now?
Non-fiction at the moment. My reading, like my writing, is varied. I re-read the books I’ve enjoyed best (and learned much from), both nonfiction and fiction. I heartily recommend both Shakespeare and Twain. (By the way, for pleasure, Shakespeare read Geoffrey Chaucer, who’s also quite good.)
What’s next for you as a writer?
Another book or two, bye and bye.
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 Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Winesburg, Ohio, Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, Till We Have Faces, and The Bible (KJV)—oops! That’s five.
Author Websites and Profiles
Gary L. Pullman Website
Gary L. Pullman Amazon Profile
Gary L. Pullman’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am 63 years old. My first book was my award-winning book What Happened to Suzy. I crossed genres when I wrote an employment law book, Your Rights What Employers do not want you to know! I want to fight illiteracy. My father could not read or write. He truly has been my inspiration!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Noah True Love Never Dies
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I listen to relaxing music when I write. Music allows me to go places where I normally would not be able to access! When I turn the music on its usually soft music, Frank Sinatra, or Nat King Cole. This allows me truly to get into a character.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Renata Lanzoni Shattered Moon. I love Manchild in the Promised Land and Goodbye SaraJane by Sequoya Griffin! Each of these books has influenced my life. Shattered Moon was about Domestic Violence. Manchild in the Promised Land taught me how to grow up in the ghetto and Goodbye SaraJane was an awesome book about the Foster care system.
What are you working on now?
Nothing! Recently, I have been reading my new book, Noah True Love Never Dies. Guess what? I love the book!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon.com. With an Author Page and easy access, why build a website when Amazon does everything?
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get a great editor. Save up now. If the book is not ready rejection will become your worst enemy. It’s a lot of money to edit a book. Believe me, the effort will be well worth it in the end!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“You can’t put spilled milk back in the bottle!” This metaphor teaches you how to move on and not fret over something that is a setback!
What are you reading now?
Shattered Moon by Renata Lanzoni
What’s next for you as a writer?
To find Noah. He is a character in the new book that made me recognize what love is. If I could find Noah and thank him for loving me, that would be a great fulfillment to this and these efforts of writing my new book, Noah True Love Never Dies.
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?
Rovella Starr, A Loved Starved Bitch, Goodbye SaraJane and Shattered Moon. Of course, I would end it with another read of Manchild in the Promised Land.
Author Websites and Profiles
Carol Mitchell Website
Carol Mitchell Amazon Profile
Carol Mitchell’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I served in the Indian Air Force and entered into the teaching profession due to my passion and vision to shape students as leaders. I earned my Ph.D. in 2011 and founded MSR Leadership Consultants India in 2007 to provide training programs to educational institutions and corporates. I have become an author in 2010 and published 45 books so far. One of the books titled Soft Leadership: An Innovative Leadership Style to Resolve Conflicts Amicably through Soft Skills and Negotiation Skills to Achieve Global Stability, Peace and Prosperity https://www.amazon.com/dp/1628655909 is selling great globally.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have authored a book titled, Strategies to Build Women Leaders Globally: Think Managers, Think Men; Think Leaders, Think Women and I have dedicated this book to Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou and Oprah Winfrey. The Vice-President of India has written a foreword for this book. It is under publication. I have authored this book on women leadership because I joined #HeForShe movement and advocate gender equality globally. I wrote this book because there is less representation of women in global organizations and I advocate more women participation globally. In fact, women are smarter than men in some areas. They can multitask and work under pressure; and are better decision-makers. They are expert in non-verbal communication and know how to gauge human emotions, egos, and feelings better than men. They are more empathetic than men and are experts in solving problems. They show interest in people while men show interest in things. They are more focused and process information much faster than men. When some global companies are in challenges, they hire women leaders to lead from the front to turnaround their organizations.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
A few years ago, I used to wake up at 3 AM to write books. From the year 2012, I started to wake up the everyday morning at 4 AM to write books. I am a morning man and my creative juices flow at this time.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie; The Essential Drucker by Peter Drucker; 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey; What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith; and Serve to Lead: 21st Century Leaders Manual by James Strock.
What are you working on now?
I am currently writing a book on health and wealth tentatively titled, “Stay Younger and Live Longer: The Secrets to Achieve Great Health, Wealth and Happiness!” I have come across many people who have a lot of wealth but poor in health. I am basically a fitness freak. I started going to the gym when I was 15 years old with a passion to join the Indian Air Force and I served in the Indian Air Force. I go to the gym every day and do the workout for an hour. I go to the gym and return home by a walk that takes one hour. Hence, I invest two hours every day for physical fitness. I am the right person to author this book.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t have any website because of my tight finances. Currently, I also don’t generate any income from books. But I am passionate about writing books. I am very active on social media platforms. I share lots of articles on my LinkedIn and my blog ‘Vision 2030’ freely without any charge to build a knowledge world. When you google my name as ‘Professor M S Rao’ you will find my social media platforms. You can follow and read free articles. My books are also available on Amazon. Here are the links of my social media platforms:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/M.-S.-Rao/e/B00MB63BKM
Vision 2030: https://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com
LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/professormsrao
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Professor-MS-Rao-451516514937414/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/professormsrao
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+ProfessorMSRao
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/profmsr7
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/professormsrao
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be passionate about writing. Be patient and persistent. You cannot expect results overnight. It takes years of efforts and energies to excel as an author.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I follow and share the following advice with others regularly: Work for satisfaction, not for recognition.
What are you reading now?
Work is Love Made Visible by Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith, and Sarah McArthur
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to write my autography when I reach 60 years of age. I want the world to know my struggles and sufferings in my life. I don’t have any financial support or any godfather in the publishing industry. I am a self-made man. I rose from ranks and I want to inspire millions of people across the world that an ordinary individual with humble origins like me can achieve success through hard work and perseverance.
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 Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie; The Essential Drucker by Peter Drucker; 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey; What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith; and Serve to Lead: 21st Century Leaders Manual by James Strock.
Author Websites and Profiles
Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D Website
Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D Amazon Profile
Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live with my husband and grown-up son in the Midlands, in the UK. I’ve got three children and five grandchildren. I love animals and we have an assortment of pets. I’ve always enjoyed writing and started rattling off short stories and poetry a few years ago, a few of which have been published. I wrote a children’s book, a ghost story, back in 2009, but ‘Lay Me To Rest’ was my first book for adults. It’s set on the Isle of Anglesey, in North Wales, which is a place close to my heart as it’s my dad’s birthplace. There are lots of local myths and legends and I thought it would be the ideal setting for a ghost story. My second adult novel, ‘And No Birds Shall Sing’ is also inspired by the paranormal. I’ve got a bit of a fixation with ghosts!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is entitled ‘And No Birds Shall Sing’. It is a ghost story, set near the historic city of Oxford, in the UK. I saw a wonderful photograph of a rather eerie-looking wood in Oxfordshire, with worn stone steps winding upwards through the trees. I thought, “What if someone moved into a haunted old cottage in a wood?” And then my imagination went into overdrive!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so – other than often writing in my pyjamas! I just lock myself in a quiet bedroom with a settee and my laptop and start tapping away on the keys. I don’t tend to plan, I have a general idea of the story when I begin and take it from there. Some days I can write reams, others there’s a lot of staring out of the window! It’s great when the story seems to take over and write itself. I can lose myself for hours – wonderful escapism!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I loved ‘The Woman in Black’ by Susan Hill. Not a long book, but the impact was great! There are several classics I could name – ‘Of Mice and Men’ by the brilliant John Steinbeck being one that has always stayed with me. Proof that a book doesn’t have to be a tome to blow you away. I loved all the ‘Inspector Morse’ series by Colin Dexter, and devoured Agatha Christie books when I was younger. Anything with a really good narrative and a twist has me hooked.
What are you working on now?
A paranormal/crime thriller about a policewoman based in Oxford, UK. It’s about a series of unsolved child abductions over a number of years. The main character has a back story – she narrowly escaped abduction as a child when her friend was snatched, never to be seen again.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Twitter a lot – it’s useful for reaching out to large numbers of people. Running a giveaway often seems to generate interest. I’ve had a couple of blog tours, which are great for exposure and increasing reviews. BookBub is a great tool for boosting sales, but a bit costly! For me, Facebook is more for keeping in touch with friends, although I am in a few author groups on there, which are always helpful for sharing promotions, etc. I dip into Goodreads from time to time and enjoy the recommendations other authors and readers suggest.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
The best advice I could give anyone is to have another two or three books ready to launch as soon as your first is published. Once readers have read and enjoyed a book they’re hungry for more – I wish someone would have told me this before my debut novel was released!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write a little every day! The word count soon mounts up – and if you take a break from your work-in-progress, it takes so much longer as you need to keep re-reading what you’ve written so that you don’t contradict yourself!
What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading ‘Changeling’ by Matt Wesolowski. It’s an intriguing take on a missing child cold case, and has kept me frantically turning pages to see what’s going to happen next! The format is quite unique – chapters are written as the episodes of a podcast, told from six different perspectives. Creepy and fascinating!
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m intending to write a sequel to ‘Lay Me To Rest’, as the main character, Annie, has a newly-discovered psychic ability and there is much more in store for her. I also want to develop her relationship with Leo and see what the future holds for them. As Leo’s family are from Italy, I’d like to take them to his homeland – and of course, I’m a huge admirer of all things Italian!
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 love a good ghost story and one of my favourites is ‘The Waiting Room’ by F.G. Cottam. Slow-burning, chilling and very atmospheric. Another of my favourite authors is Shani Struthers, so I’d have one of her Psychic Surveys series – I think it would have to be the excellent and creepy ‘Blakemort’. But if I was all on my own on the island, I might spook myself with all this talk of ghosts, so I’d have something for a little light relief too, maybe a book by Stephen Fry, whose autobiographical tales are always witty and engaging. ‘The Fry Chronicles’ is a great, entertaining read.
Author Websites and Profiles
Elizabeth Clark Website
Elizabeth Clark Amazon Profile
Elizabeth Clark’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing blogs and articles for most of my adult life many of those ghost-written including content (under a male pseudonym) for a men’s lifestyle magazine. I have only had one book published but I have a box somewhere in my basement of over 20 books that I should finish one day.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Trailer Trash: an ’80s Memoir. For many years I hid where I lived during my upbringing even claiming that we only lived in a trailer while having a normal (brick house) built. However, as I got older I realized that my childhood, how I lived, what I experienced became the best parts of myself and I was compelled to share that with others.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really unusual but I entirely absorb myself in the decade that I am writing about. For instance, I had to have Magnum P.I on and my ’80s playlist going while hammering away at my ’80s memoir.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Hands down…anything by David Sedaris. His take and satirical view on his childhood allowed me to step back and view my own through a humorous lens.
What are you working on now?
The sequel to my first book which picks up right where the first one leaves off and takes place in the 1990s.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Twitter has been an invaluable resource for building a writing community but reaching my reading audience. I am dipping my toe in website promotions so I don’t have an answer just yet but will keep you posted.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Repeat these words every day…If you don’t believe in your work, no one else will.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you suffer from writer’s block pick up someone else’s work and read it until you’ve crawled out of your own head and thoughts.
What are you reading now?
The Patchwork Bride by Sandra Dallas (my book club’s pick for Feb)
What’s next for you as a writer?
To continue to find the balance between continuing to promote my current book while continuing to work on my second one.
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?
(classics first) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway and When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris.
Author Websites and Profiles
Angie Cavallari Website
Angie Cavallari Amazon Profile
Angie Cavallari’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a filmmaker and a traditionally published, award-winning author of more than ten novels. I am a member of the Author’s Guild in NYC. I feel very lucky to be represented by the former Vice President of Paramount Pictures, M. Kenneth Suddleson. I have a motion picture, The Forlorned, based on one of my books and many others coming soon.
In 2018 I won a notable trademark lawsuit over my book title, The Forlorned. The person who sued me is a convicted child sex offender who had filed dozens of malicious and frivolous lawsuits against many innocent parties. The case ended up in the US Supreme Court, and winning freed me from years of harassment from what the press is calling “Trademark Trolls.”
I want my readers and fellow authors to know– if you or someone you love is being stalked, sued and or harassed, please get professional help. Stalking can be deadly–often victims feel alone. I recently formed Authors Unite Against Bullies. I hope to help others who are being bullied and victims of frivolous lawsuits. To read more about my inspiring story of courage and hope, please visit my blog at https://angelatownsendbooks.blogspot.com.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is entitled, The Forsakened. This is the second novel in, The Forlorned series. I love writing stories of hauntings with nautical themes. I also enjoy writing about ghosts from the Victorian era. Research is always my most favorite part of the writing process. I spent hours pouring over funeral customs of the Victorian and Edwardian time periods as well as studying about mourning art and jewelry. It was a fascinating project and I’m happy to see it finally produced into a book.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I plan a lot. I don’t use programs to outline. I first write everything out longhand. I research extensively and then I use large sheets of poster-sized paper with columns and tables. I color code everything. I like to have this giant outline on the wall where I can see it while writing. I write with relaxing music in the background. I drink hot tea with a lot of cream, and I always have my sweet little dog at my side.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Lucky Maud Montgomery, Emily Brontë, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, James Herriot, Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, Anna Sewell, Bertha M. Neher, Robert Service.
What are you working on now?
The third book in The Forlorned series and many other projects in the works.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Connecting with readers. I love interacting with fans of my books. I think it’s important that authors appreciate those who support their work.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do not let anyone bully you. I have an obsessed stalker and convicted child sex offender who has harassed me for many years. It was very hard to keep going, but I did. No matter what this person tried to do to ruin my career and harm me publicly and personally–I kept going. It wasn’t easy but I knew I stood on the side of truth. No matter how many vicious and outrageous lies this person would post about me–I kept writing. The only way to win against bullies is to not seek revenge but to succeed.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Before I became traditionally published and agented, I received many rejections. My father encouraged me by saying, “Most people never get a single rejection for their literary work because they never try. Keep going.”
This advice really helped me in my life and career. I’m a fighter at heart. My parents taught me the value of hard work and determination and it instilled in me a determination for success.
What are you reading now?
An out of print book entitled, Among the Giants by Bertha M. Neher, printed in 1895.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing more books, creating art and penning more screenplays. And most importantly, because of what I have endured as an author, I am working to get stronger stalking laws in place, especially in my state.
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?
Ha! I would bring four books on how to live on a desert island and how to build a boat out of Palm trees.
I would actually bring the entire collection of Edgar Allan Poe books.
Author Websites and Profiles
Angela J. Townsend Website
Angela J. Townsend Amazon Profile
Angela J. Townsend’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Although the author of several local histories and numerous articles on the topics of American and military history, antiques and collectibles, my first love is fiction. My work in the museum and history fields enables a special insight into creating fantasy worlds. The descendent of a coal-miner’s daughter and an aviation flight engineer, my writing reflects the contrasts of my heritage as well as that of my Gemini sign. My stories cross genres from historical westerns to science fiction and fantasy. Besides my local histories, I’ve written a dark fantasy, and in the world of romantic fantasy, there are five books in the dragon shifter series, the Dragshi Chronicles, and two volumes in the sword and sorcery, epic fantasy series, the Windmaster Novels. In my books, I invite readers to join me on travels through the stars, or among fantasy worlds of the imagination.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The dragshi are more than just a man or woman. Each are two beings–one a dragon, the other a human–sharing one body in space in time and able to change forms with the other at will. Their world and the adventures of the dragon shifters are recorded in the Dragshi Chronicles.
Within each of the chronicles, the ceoltiers, the keepers of the past and teachers of the present, recount some legend. FIRST CHANGE features the full story behind the legends only given brief reference in the previous volumes. It contains five stories of duty and honor, love and loss, happiness and despair from the chronicles. As with all such tales, some contain larger than life deeds. Others are the simple story of a man or woman doing what must be done, regardless of the cost.
Concurrent with FIRST CHANGE was the release of HEART AND SAND: Stories from the Front Lines and the Homefront. A continuity of service from the past to the present and into the world of tomorrow is presented in twelve tales of those who served on the battle front, and the stories of the loved ones left behind who preserved the homefront. Set universes apart and separated by decades in time, the stories in Hearth and Sand cross genre from contemporary to historical, and science fiction to poetry, Although the events are fictional, the voices captured within these pages came from historical notes, veterans’ own words, letters left by their ancestors, or contemporary events. Pen was put to paper while watching fighter planes land in the Philippine Islands and in the shaded woods of a stateside farm.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’ve written in doctor’s offices and at 2 AM while sitting on a hard plastic chair in the ICU during a bedside vigil. But my favorite place to write is in a rocker on the deck of a mountain cabin overlooking a lake.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Anne McCaffrey, mistress of Dragonhold.
Louis L’Amor, because he walked the ground he wrote about.
Barbara Hambly and Katherine Kurtz for their sharing of magic. Of course I’d want to meet them in Scotland, the land of where the Adept series took place.
Lastly, a pair of authors that have been a large part of writing life, but who I have never met in person have earned a special place in the list. Carol McPhee whose romantic suspenses taught action to share my works with romance. And Judy Griffith Gill whose suggestions improved my craft beyond measure.
What are you working on now?
Like FIRST CHANGE that took the brief reference of a legend from the world of the Dragshi and told the full story, my next release will do the same with the legend of the star-crossed lovers Iol and Pelra from the Windmaster Novels. WINDMASTER LEGEND sets sail March 2019.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Although I’ve tried quite a few methods from online readers’ groups to social media, speaking engagements and special events have yielded the best one-time sales. That said, even after all these years in business, I’m still trying new things.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
While I practice “pass it along” and try to help the next generation of writers as I was helped, I don’t like to give “advice” as such. Writing is just too individual an activity and our readers are just as varied. Instead of giving advice about craft, I’ll focus on something more personal. When you start putting thoughts to paper or sit down at a keyboard, eventually there is a question you have to answer for yourself, because no one else can. Do you write for fun, to make a living, or because you “can’t not write.” The answer can help guide you to the publication method that works best for you.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
After you’re finished the first draft, take a vacation. When you return, edit the %$#$# out of the story. And when you’ve read the story frontwards and backwards and had the computer read it to you, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and press the send button.
What are you reading now?
As a change of pace I’m working through the Opposites Attract series by Janet Lane-Walters. Then it will be A HEART FOR ALL TIME by Linda Tillis, the RULE OF LUCK by Catherine Cerveny. After that is is a toss-up, but will probably be something from Anne McCaffrey’s Talent Universe series or from a new to me author, Eileen Charbonneau’s Code Talker Chronicles.
What’s next for you as a writer?
With the upcoming launch of WINDMASTER LEGEND, my time is devoted to preparing for that aspect of writing. Visiting other authors and creating guest posts will be the main focus. And I’ve committed to several blog hops including the A-Z challenge. As to what comes afterwards, I’m still waiting for the characters to tell me their 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?
This is a hard question. I’d have to flip a coin between taking hefty books that take longer to read, or ones that I more typically read. My answer is to do what James Kirk did to pass the Kobayashi Maru training exercise — cheat. I declare that a series counts as a book. So therefore I can take the Tower and Hive series by Anne McCaffrey, the Dragon Riders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey, the Adept series by Katherine Kurtz and Louis Lamour’s series that recount the tales of the Sackett family.
Author Websites and Profiles
Helen Henderson Website
Helen Henderson Amazon Profile
Helen Henderson Author Profile on Smashwords
Helen Henderson’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a laid-back person who loves reading and writing. I also enjoy cooking, going to the movies, singing karaoke and hanging with friends. I have published 14 novels. All of them have an element of romance.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest published book is “The Discovery.”
This novella is book four in the Talented series. It was inspired by my high school days. When I was a teenager, I dreamed of having super powers. So, with this series, I indulged my imagination.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Before I start a book, I create a play list on my iphone, and eat a bag of Smartfood Popcorn.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The work of Brandon Sanderson, Lynsay Sands, Julie Garwood, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Simone Elkeles have influenced me. I think that without reading their literary works, I would never have become an author.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on “Passion,” book three of the Love War series.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far, I think that Goodreads, has been very useful in promoting my books.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up! When you are sick of doing research, remind yourself that you love to write.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what’s important to you. Don’t get distracted by trends.
What are you reading now?
“Old Ways and New Days” by Michael Embry
What’s next for you as a writer?
I will focus on getting my books on audible. www.acx.com is a good resource for that.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
“The Bride” by Julie Garwood, “The Final Empire” by Brandon Sanderson, “Perfict Chemistry” By Simone Elkeles and “A Shade of Vampire” By Bella Forrest
Author Websites and Profiles
Debbie Civil Website
Debbie Civil Amazon Profile
Debbie Civil Author Profile on Smashwords
Debbie Civil’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, I’m from Northeast Ohio where the weather is always interesting and ever changing. I wish I could say that I lived in a little town, full of little people, but only the first part of that statement would be true. Born, raised, and I’ve only left Ohio for grad school, I’m a Buckeye through and through. So far I’ve written four novels, and about 6 novellas/short story collections. I also write under a different pen name and have published one novel there also.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
So Sweet is my latest release. Though I’ve never actually enjoyed Romeo and Juliet, the star-crossed lovers story is one that is near and dear to my heart. Now, mesh that up with a little Beauty and the Beast, and, well, we’ve got ourselves a rose by any other name…Get it!?!? Okay, I’m a tad corny too. But So Sweet ventures into that darkness of R&J under the guise of a fairy tale retelling. I love my stories to have grit, to not always end the way we remember or expect, to be more than they started out as, and to ping with deeper emotions.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wish! That would make me sound so much cooler, but, alas, I do not. I used to write everything free hand, but…I haven’t done that in a while. Now it’s just computer time, wherever I can snatch it!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Anne Bishop. Sara Douglass. Jacqueline Carey. A little Christine Feehan. Some Garth Nix for flavor. And lets add in a bit of The Brothers Grimm for good measure!
What are you working on now?
Oh, you know, nothing fancy, just a story that begs the question: What would happen if Rumpelstiltskin met Ursula and loved Maleficent?
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m on Facebook all the time. It’s an addiction. Is there a group for that? lol. Probably. Or my website, which I’m inordinately proud of. I use Wix as a platform, but I’ve had so much fun customizing it to myself that I consider it all my own!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Decide what you are writing for as an author. Are you writing to get famous, are you writing to breathe, are you writing to inform? What? Make that call, and then write. Don’t let other focuses distract you. For me, I write to breathe. The minute I forget that, I start to flounder, and that’s when it gets tough for me.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write for yourself first, and let your audience find you.
What are you reading now?
It’s my dirty secret, but, I can’t help myself…Z. Allora has an awesome m/m rock and roll romance series, and, yeah, that’s totally what’s taking top billing on my Kindle right now. lol.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Trying to finish all the projects on my “To Write” list…there are a lot…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?
The Dark Jewels Trilogy (only counts as one because I’m not giving that up).
The Wayfarer Redemption Series (same as above…sue me!)
Mythology by Edith Hamilton (because I love me some gods and goddesses, and this is the best one to go with!)
Author Websites and Profiles
Andi Lawrencovna Website
Andi Lawrencovna Amazon Profile
Andi Lawrencovna’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a mom who works full time at a retirement home, and spend the evenings hanging out with my kid and working on my writing. I currently have two books out. Reclaiming Psyche is my newest, and my first foray into Romance.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent book is called Reclaiming Psyche. It came about from doing far to much reading in the romance category, and looking for something a little supernatural that wasn’t traditional. In the end, I wrote it myself.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so. I sit in front of my computer in my living room, with too much coffee and my Spotify playlist on random. I’m usually hanging out watching my kid run around while I work.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read everything. Some of my favorites are Douglass Adams, Laurell K Hamilton, and my current favorite (I read her books when I’m having a bit of a down day) is Ruby Dixon.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a series of contemporary fantasy novels. Hopefully they will be out starting this year.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still working on it. Right now lots of my traffic comes from Instagram.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. Keep writing, never stop reading!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t expect to become a success over night, it takes hard work, and dedication. Keep going.
What are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading Miranda Martin’s Red Planet Dragons Series
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to be working on my Fairykin series, I have the first three books in the works. Then I plan on working on the next book in my Gods and Monsters 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?
Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon, Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K Hamilton, and Last Chance to See by Douglass Adams.
Author Websites and Profiles
K.O. Newman Amazon Profile
K.O. Newman’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Melissa, i’m a zombie-loving, video game playing, YA reading mum!
I’ve written three books, part of the Alive? trilogy. The first is already released, and the second two should both be out by the end of this year!
I’ve got the beginnings of countless other books saved on my computer, but as yet nothing else is anywhere near as complete as the Alive? series.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Alive? is the story of Violet, a young woman who is bitten by a zombie on the first morning of the zompocalypse. Unlike everyone else who gets bitten, Violet doesn’t die. However she’s not without her own unusual ticks (like accidentally eating people now and then).
The book was inspired when I was in high school. I looked around me and thought “I wonder what it would be like to have to live in a school?” I was just starting out on my road to zombie obsession, and I suddenly started picturing this group of people hiding out in a high school as they attempted to ride out the zompocalypse. I wrote the first draft, but it was missing something to make it stand out, and it struck me that having a protagonist who was half-zombie might be exactly what I needed.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if this counts as ‘unusual’, but I usually write in the dark. This isn’t so much a habit as a necessity! Once my baby is in bed, i’m pretty much stuck in the bed beside his cot, because he wakes up so frequently, and i’m too nervous to just use a baby monitor! So I keep the lights off and write in the dark. It’s not easy, and there’s a chance i’m doing irreversible damage to my eyes. But if it lets him sleep for a bit longer, then i’ll risk it!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Suzanne Collins is someone who really inspired me, because I found The Hunger Games so unique and gripping. I’m also so inspired by Margaret Atwood, who wrote Oryx and Crake and The Handmaids Tale. I dream of writing books like she does, but she’s got such an amazing style, I could never hope to create worlds as beautiful and tragic as hers.
What are you working on now?
Right now i’m working through the final edits for book 2 (Still Alive?), while finishing up the second draft of book 3 (Barely Alive).
Once those are done, i’ve got so many other book ideas, that i’ll actually need to take some time out to decide what I want to write next!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m not great at book promotion, because it kind of falls under the banner of self-promotion, which I’m notoriously awful at! I just try to be as active as possible on my Facebook page, and am now posting much more on twitter. I look out for people who are interested in Zombies or YA horror/sci-fi and suggest that they might like my book 
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up! I know that’s such a cliche, but it’s so important. If you write, you’re a writer. Don’t stress about whether or not you’re published, just keep writing and honing your style and voice. When you start pitching, don’t give up with that either. Eventually you’ll find your publisher, or you’ll discover you need to polish your work a little more, THEN you’ll find them. Or you’ll self publish. Or you’ll distribute your work just amongst your friends. It’s not about getting your books in stores, it’s about finding the audience who are excited to read your book, no matter who they are.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write for yourself.
When I began writing Alive?, I stressed myself out for so long thinking about who my target audience would be. If I was writing from the perspective of a young woman, did that mean my book would only attract young women? And if so, would many of them be drawn to a story about zombies? Then I heard someone say you should write for yourself, about the things that interest you, and I suddenly decided I was just going to write the book I wanted to read. That meant that even if it never got published, at least there would be one person who enjoyed reading it!
That advice meant I stopped wasting time and actually got on with the writing. The book is out there because I stopped thinking about some imaginary audience and just wrote the story that had always been inside me. One which, hopefully, readers will enjoy too.
What are you reading now?
I’m on my annual Harry Potter binge, and am working my way through The Order of the Phoenix. I read Harry Potter a lot because it’s so comforting, and is so familiar, yet I seem to notice something new each time. It’s also great for reading late at night when my baby wakes up for a feed, because even if I fall asleep halfway through a sentence, I know what’s about to happen anyway!
What’s next for you as a writer?
Once the Alive? series has finished, i’d like to explore other genres. I think I’ll stick to YA, as I just love writing it, but i’d be interested in moving onto a different area of Sci-Fi, such as aliens or ghosts, or maybe even writing a romance.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Probably the last Harry Potter book, as it’s a long one, and covers so much, so it’d keep me busy for a while.
I’d definitely take Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood, as it’s probably my favourite novel of all time. Plus, the main character is alone for the majority of the book, so we’d have that in common!
I’d need something to lift my spirits, so I might take The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, which is an oldie but such a great book, and still makes me laugh even now.
For the last one (yes, I’m definitely bringing four!), maybe something a bit more high brow, so I can pretend to be an intellectual to anyone who comes to rescue me. Perhaps Jane Eyre? It’s one of my favourite 19th Century novels, and I love a story with a happy ending!
Author Websites and Profiles
Melissa Woods Website
Melissa Woods Amazon Profile
Melissa Woods Author Profile on Smashwords
Melissa Woods’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Read more...
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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Melissa, i’m a zombie-loving, video game playing, YA reading mum!
I’ve written three books, part of the Alive? trilogy. The first is already released, and the second two should both be out by the end of this year!
I’ve got the beginnings of countless other books saved on my computer, but as yet nothing else is anywhere near as complete as the Alive? series.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Alive? is the story of Violet, a young woman who is bitten by a zombie on the first morning of the zompocalypse. Unlike everyone else who gets bitten, Violet doesn’t die. However she’s not without her own unusual ticks (like accidentally eating people now and then).
The book was inspired when I was in high school. I looked around me and thought “I wonder what it would be like to have to live in a school?” I was just starting out on my road to zombie obsession, and I suddenly started picturing this group of people hiding out in a high school as they attempted to ride out the zompocalypse. I wrote the first draft, but it was missing something to make it stand out, and it struck me that having a protagonist who was half-zombie might be exactly what I needed.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if this counts as ‘unusual’, but I usually write in the dark. This isn’t so much a habit as a necessity! Once my baby is in bed, i’m pretty much stuck in the bed beside his cot, because he wakes up so frequently, and i’m too nervous to just use a baby monitor! So I keep the lights off and write in the dark. It’s not easy, and there’s a chance i’m doing irreversible damage to my eyes. But if it lets him sleep for a bit longer, then i’ll risk it!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Suzanne Collins is someone who really inspired me, because I found The Hunger Games so unique and gripping. I’m also so inspired by Margaret Atwood, who wrote Oryx and Crake and The Handmaids Tale. I dream of writing books like she does, but she’s got such an amazing style, I could never hope to create worlds as beautiful and tragic as hers.
What are you working on now?
Right now i’m working through the final edits for book 2 (Still Alive?), while finishing up the second draft of book 3 (Barely Alive).
Once those are done, i’ve got so many other book ideas, that i’ll actually need to take some time out to decide what I want to write next!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m not great at book promotion, because it kind of falls under the banner of self-promotion, which I’m notoriously awful at! I just try to be as active as possible on my Facebook page, and am now posting much more on twitter. I look out for people who are interested in Zombies or YA horror/sci-fi and suggest that they might like my book
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up! I know that’s such a cliche, but it’s so important. If you write, you’re a writer. Don’t stress about whether or not you’re published, just keep writing and honing your style and voice. When you start pitching, don’t give up with that either. Eventually you’ll find your publisher, or you’ll discover you need to polish your work a little more, THEN you’ll find them. Or you’ll self publish. Or you’ll distribute your work just amongst your friends. It’s not about getting your books in stores, it’s about finding the audience who are excited to read your book, no matter who they are.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write for yourself.
When I began writing Alive?, I stressed myself out for so long thinking about who my target audience would be. If I was writing from the perspective of a young woman, did that mean my book would only attract young women? And if so, would many of them be drawn to a story about zombies? Then I heard someone say you should write for yourself, about the things that interest you, and I suddenly decided I was just going to write the book I wanted to read. That meant that even if it never got published, at least there would be one person who enjoyed reading it!
That advice meant I stopped wasting time and actually got on with the writing. The book is out there because I stopped thinking about some imaginary audience and just wrote the story that had always been inside me. One which, hopefully, readers will enjoy too.
What are you reading now?
I’m on my annual Harry Potter binge, and am working my way through The Order of the Phoenix. I read Harry Potter a lot because it’s so comforting, and is so familiar, yet I seem to notice something new each time. It’s also great for reading late at night when my baby wakes up for a feed, because even if I fall asleep halfway through a sentence, I know what’s about to happen anyway!
What’s next for you as a writer?
Once the Alive? series has finished, i’d like to explore other genres. I think I’ll stick to YA, as I just love writing it, but i’d be interested in moving onto a different area of Sci-Fi, such as aliens or ghosts, or maybe even writing a romance.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Probably the last Harry Potter book, as it’s a long one, and covers so much, so it’d keep me busy for a while.
I’d definitely take Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood, as it’s probably my favourite novel of all time. Plus, the main character is alone for the majority of the book, so we’d have that in common!
I’d need something to lift my spirits, so I might take The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, which is an oldie but such a great book, and still makes me laugh even now.
For the last one (yes, I’m definitely bringing four!), maybe something a bit more high brow, so I can pretend to be an intellectual to anyone who comes to rescue me. Perhaps Jane Eyre? It’s one of my favourite 19th Century novels, and I love a story with a happy ending!
Author Websites and Profiles
Melissa Woods Website
Melissa Woods Amazon Profile
Melissa Woods Author Profile on Smashwords
Melissa Woods’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Read more...
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a rare L.A. native currently exiled to Seattle. I’ve written eight novels, among them a fantasty series, THE CAVERNIS TRILOGY. My book THE MISSES BRONTES ESTABLISHMENT is an Amazon Kindle Scout Winner and was short-listed for the Chaucer Historical Fiction Award,
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It’s called A WOMAN OF THE ROAD and it’s inspired by Dumas’ THREE MUSKETEERS. Only this time, the lead is a woman — and a highwayman! It’s got tons of duels, adventures, intrigue, and of course romance. It will be out on Amazon shortly.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Hmmm. Well, I’m very disciplined. I sit down an write for at least 4 hours every weekday, come what may. Also, in my other life, I was a database developer, so I’ve created databases for myself for all my research notes. And I keep my plot outlines on Visio. Nerd much? :>
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Brontes, Jane Austen, George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, John Updike, Solzhenitsyn, Joan Didion, and Zola, to name a few
What are you working on now?
The 2nd book in my Honest Thieves Trilogy. The book is done, and now, onto the edits!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
BookBub ads can be effective. Also, Facebook if you know what you’re doing. The Amazon AMS ads haven’t done much for me. Best of all is my website, amy-wolf.com.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep honing your craft. What helped me immeasurably was taking the Clarion West SFF Writers’ Workshop in Seattle. READ. Not everything: only the best, so you don’t pollute your mind. Don’t write to the market, but about what is meaningful to you. If you are passionate about the subject, it will shine through your prose.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Oliver Stone: “Writing = Ass in Chair”
I even made up a tee with this slogan.
What are you reading now?
Nothing. I know, my bad. But I am working full-time databasing & concentrating on marketing now.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing my Honest Thieves Trilogy. Then . . . maybe science fiction?
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
Villette
Middlemarch
The First Circle
Author Websites and Profiles
AMY WOLF Website
AMY WOLF Amazon Profile
AMY WOLF’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have actually written two books but decided to only publish one. I spent ten long years on the first one and handed it to a writing friend. He said it was too dark and was a horrible book. So I rewrote the entire plot line and it turned out so different it was like night and day.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name is The Shattered Vase. I initially wanted to write a story about being a single mother. Within the first three chapters of my first book, God had kidnapped the story. He transformed it into a story about his fight to show how much He loves us, even through tough times.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
The last one hundred pages of The Shattered Vase were written when I was in severe pain. I had a dislocated fracture in my right collar bone and could barely move, yet I think I wrote the most beautiful ending ever.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My relationship with God and the Bible have been very inspirational in my life. In addition,
I think my children have influenced me. When they left my house to go to college, I began reading what they had written and I was stunned at their brilliance.
What are you working on now?
A Bible Study companion guide to my fictional novel, The Shattered Vase.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best method is being kind to others. So far my sales have been only to friends and family. The more friends I can make the more books I expect to sell. I have enjoyed building ads for Facebook but they have not had any conversions to sales yet.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Believe in your dream when others don’t. It doesn’t really matter if you have support or not. The only thing that matters is your confidence in your ability to produce what will make your dream come true.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Pursue your passion and you will never lose your purpose.
( I just made that up right now. lol)
What are you reading now?
Splendor in the Dust which is a story about a missionary in India. It was written by my daughter-in-law’s great grandmother and is a delightful story.
What’s next for you as a writer?
After the Bible Study I will pull together a book based on my blog posts.
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, The Shattered Vase, Grace Livingston Hill collection and Jesus calling devotional
Author Websites and Profiles
Gracie Lynne Website
Gracie Lynne Amazon Profile
Gracie Lynne’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written two books and am working on a third.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is Make Your Bones and the title inspiration comes from a mafia quote, “make your bones” or “made his bones”. The saying comes from the time a made man does something in order to prove his worth to the family like making a hit. It can also refer to making a stand or showing everybody how tough you are.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have quite the unusual schedule, I would say. I normally write at the laptop for a couple of hours in the morning, then do social media and my blog. I write in a notebook and read until about 3 a.m. and then do it all again.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Stephen King. My favorite book by King is probably The Stand. I would say that Jane Eyre is the most influential to what I write, since I love to read and write romantic thrillers.
What are you working on now?
I’m actually deviating from my norm a little on this next one as it is a New Adult work. The love interest is bipolar and so the conflict between him and the heroine is deeply emotional and compelling.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far, I have found that connecting with readers on Goodreads and sites such as this one have brought more attention to my work than others.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep going!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stephen King says to write the first draft with the door closed. I find that to be spectacular advice.
What are you reading now?
I am currently reading Danielle Steele’s Blue, H.P. Lovecraft’s Complete Works, and Agatha Christie’s Murder At The Vicarage.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I love romantic thrillers so much, I think I will continue writing them and try not to fall in love with my characters. I am still totally in love with Croy from Make Your Bones.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
The Stand by Stephen King
Author Websites and Profiles
L.D. Bloodworth Website
L.D. Bloodworth Amazon Profile
L.D. Bloodworth’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Customer Support Specialist who does freelance writing on the side. I have written two books so far.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
You’re Doing Everything Wrong: Dating, Marriage, and Divorce: Advice from Deep within the Trenches
Inspired by a lifetime of misery in all three worlds, finally followed by meeting the girl of my dreams. We’re getting married in two weeks!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I just write a little bit every day. It takes me where it takes me.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Kurt Vonnegut
What are you working on now?
Right now just advertising my current books before my next big project
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook, and my blog
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write. Who cares what happens next. Writing is like breathing for us.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.
What are you reading now?
First Game of Thrones book.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Two more non-fiction books. One about religion and one about health and fitness. Then I want to finally tackle a 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?
Kurt Vonnegut… and books about island survival
Author Websites and Profiles
David Andrew Jaffe Website
David Andrew Jaffe Amazon Profile
David Andrew Jaffe’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Venancio Gomani and I am a 25-year-old Zambian currently living in Lusaka city. Professional, I am an Engineer, and Entrepreneur. I currently own and manage my own Technology startup called Active and I am a final year engineering student at DMI-St. Eugene University studying for my Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering. Creatively, however, there is a whole other story. I am a storyteller and an art-enthusiast. I am the author of the Dystopia Fiction, short novel, Quantos Rising &, and the fantasy full-length novel, Ghost Tribes. It is my sincere hope and goal to completely change the African cultural mindset within the minds of most Africans through my projects, innovations, platforms, books, arts, and tutorials.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My recent novel is titled ‘Ghost Tribes’. The principal story chronicles the battle between the living and the dead, and the epic of the seven ghost tribes and the resulting consequence of their actions, both politically and ethically.
The novel was inspired by a number of amazing cultural stories I heard growing up as a child which have been a part of African lore for perhaps generations before. I was inspired by so many of these stories especially because there have been very few stories about such cultural practices and traditions told from a fantasy perspective.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I do! I love to act out the characters within the stories I tell as I write, though I only do so in secret 
It helps me, for the most part, to immerse myself within the character’s world.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My most recent offering, Ghost Tribes, was inspired in part by A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
What are you working on now?
Currently, I’m working on wrapping up the second part of the Ghost Tribes book series and I hope to have it published by the 1st of January 2020.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I would have to say my own website http://venanciogomani.com
I love Awesome Gang. When I published my short novel, Quantos Rising, in 2015, Awesome Gang played perhaps the largest role in getting the word out.
Another of my favorite methods is the Authors Show which is one of the world’s largest author-based radio shows.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Rome was never built in a day. Writing shouldn’t only be a talent or a passion. It’s an investment too. Each word you write; each sentence and paragraph and chapter is an investment in what is to be possibly considered as an expression of who you are as a storyteller. So keep writing through whatever the circumstances and I promise you that at the end of the road, you’ll be glad that you overcame everything you did in order to get to that finish line.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The first rule of self-control is ‘Never put yourself in a position that would require you to practice self-control’
What are you reading now?
I’ve been recently fascinated by The Hydroplate Theory by Walt Brown. I came across this book a few months ago but only really got into reading it fairly recently.
I found fascination in how he ties seemingly scientific impossibilities and proposes valid explanations on how they would have most likely occurred.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, I would say build as much hype for my current novel; get as many people reading it; and once the audience is large enough and curious enough, begin to stroke curiosity for the second book I hope to publish by 1st January 2020.
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 go-to books are always The Hound of Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hydroplate Theory by Walt Brown, and Ghost Tribes by Venancio Gomani Jr.
Author Websites and Profiles
Venancio Gomani Website
Venancio Gomani Amazon Profile
Venancio Gomani’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi,
I’m from India. I have always loved to read and sketch. I’ve been writing poems from the age of 13. Words of void is my first book.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Words of void. The pain the female faces in this society.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yeah, I kind of place my mental self in worst possible zone, I write how I feel, the pain is just turned into words.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Rupi Kaur’s words have made me look things differently.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on my next project, will be publishing at the end of the year.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Instagram.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Allow your imagination to go to weird places. Nothing is off limits. You can clean up your mess later. It’s okay if it reads like a letter from a lunatic.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Keep your bottom in your chair until you are done.
What are you reading now?
Wake up, girl! By Niharika Jindal
What’s next for you as a writer?
Once again Giving my best to the readers in my next book.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Any two Stephen King books.
The host.
Harry potter series (I cannot live without this and should be considered as a single book.)
Author Websites and Profiles
Sandhiya Palanisamy Website
Sandhiya Palanisamy Amazon Profile
Sandhiya Palanisamy’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been a lot of things throughout my career including tech entrepreneur, healthcare professional, professional sports team owner, coach, and part-time professor.
I write the types of books that I like to read, particularly those in the paranormal, science fiction, and dystopian genres.
I live in Raleigh, North Carolina with my wife, son, and dog Pedro. If you can’t find me at my favorite hippie coffee shop, I’ll probably be on the trail running or riding my mountain bike or paddling a lake somewhere.
I’ve written 11 short novels, including a 7-book series, Shellbound.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest, completed book “55” tells the story of Brian Hancock. Hancock is surrounded by his family and friends at his 54th birthday party. He’s a loving father and grandfather. He has an important job. He contributes to society. He’s the picture of health at a time where human life expectancy has been extended by nearly 40 years. But New America says his time is up. I don’t really know what inspires most of my books. They just sort of come to mind. But in this case, I’m approaching Hancock’s age. Thinking about the cost vs value to society of older citizens, or more accurately what others think about that cost vs value, was on my mind while writing the book.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Most of my writing takes place in public places with lots of background activity, typically my favorite local coffee shop.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a huge Stephen King fan and have read most of his books over the years. I also like Dean Koontz. I was inspired to start writing after reading Hugh Howey’s Wool book series.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a book now called “Frequent Warriors”. It’s a story about a young widower who, at the MRI center at which he works, discovers a way to make contact with infinite numbers of parallel universes, one or many of which he hopes will reunite him with his deceased wife. Little does he realize that a much bigger story is materializing around him.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Right now, we’re trying the shotgun approach. Do it all and see what sticks.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do it. If you have an idea in your head, get it out there before you lose it. I started writing later in life, and feel like I’ve left a lot on the table. I wish I could read what fiction the younger me would have written.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t be afraid to the deviate from the “rules.” Those rules are made to be broken. And besides that, those who made the rules probably never actually wrote anything themselves..that whole “those who can’t do teach” thing.
What are you reading now?
I’m slowing reading King’s “Doctor Sleep”….the sequel to “The Shining.”
What’s next for you as a writer?
Probably more dystopian, apocalyptic stories. I never get bored with thinking up ways we might destroy ourselves.
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 take anything I’ve read before. I’d find the four longest King or Koontz books I could find.
Author Websites and Profiles
Mark Janas Website
Mark Janas Amazon Profile
Mark Janas’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in Sweden and came to Canada when I was still very young. I have a degree in screenwriting, but I’ve also danced, worked in the beauty and fashion industries, insurance and the automotive industry, real estate development, and even owned a Pilates studio that was frequented by pro athletes, celebrities, and everyone in between. I’m now a full-time writer and blogger. I have written two books with a third one that is in the works. One is a family memoir that is being queried to agents and the other was recently published. It’s a journal called, “Tell Me What You See, visual writing prompts for the wandering writer.”
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Tell Me What You See, visual writing prompts for the wandering writer,” was inspired by a big move. I recently returned to Canada after living in Europe for 4 1/2 years and I was struggling with a bad case of writer’s block. It suddenly occurred to me that I am a visual learner, as over 60% of the population is, and that maybe if I used photographs to inspire me I could overcome the block. It worked. I was suddenly able to write freely again. That’s when I realized that others might need some help too and the book just came about.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if they are unusual, but I do tend to start new stories by looking at photographs which I’ve taken. There are hundreds of photographs on my phone and each one could be an inspiration at any time.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love any author who allows me to disappear into the world they’ve created. Some of my favourite books are, L’Etranger by Camus, Metamorphosis by Kafka and Dance, Dance, Dance by Murakami.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a collection of short stories inspired by my travels in Europe.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use my website, www.carolinetopperman.com but also my blog, www.styleontheside.com as well as social media, mainly Instagram, where I can be found under the handle, @styleontheside
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up and understand that writing is a solitary endeavor. It will be hard but it’s extremely rewarding if you don’t give up. Make a point of writing every single day, even if if it’s only for a few minutes. Also, don’t stop reading. Read everything you can get your hands on, it will only help in the long run.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“You need to know a little bit about everything.” This piece of advice was given to me by a very well known theater director but I believe that it applies to writers as well.
What are you reading now?
I am just finishing, “Killing Commendatore” by Murakami and “Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine” by Gail Honeyman.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m hoping to finish my book of short stories in the next few months and I’m also excited to be holding workshops on visual writing. I’ll be traveling throughout the United States and Canada meeting and working with writers in all stages of their careers.
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 read fast so they would have to be really thick. I would definitely bring “War and Peace” which is a book I’ve started many times but never finished so this would be the perfect time to do that. Also, a classic like “Gone With The Wind,” which I first read in grade 7 but always loved and occasionally reread. “Once A Dancer,” Allegra Kent’s biography and “2666” by Roberto Bolaño.
Author Websites and Profiles
Caroline Topperman Website
Caroline Topperman Amazon Profile
Caroline Topperman’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is actually my first book in a micro-series on minimalism. I know that, like many people, I struggle to read lengthy books on any topic, but I easily consume shorter books that fit my immediate needs. So I decided to write this short series on minimalism from my unique perspective. The illegitimate grandson of a traveling vacuum salesman from South Dakota, I have an eclectic background. I grew up as a doomsday prepper, played tuba in high school, spent three years fighting wildfires, went to Canada once, and am married with two kids. My widely varied experiences have empowered me to connect ideas in novel ways, all with wit and insight that is fresh on the literary scene.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Minimalism in Real Life:: 4½ Practical Steps Towards a Meaningful Life. I was inspired by the whole Zen-Tidying-AntiConsumer flavor of Minimalism and some other great voices in that topic. People like Matt D’Avella, Joshua Becker, Marie Kondo, and others have spoken so much on stepping away from the American Dream to live a meaningful life. This has long been a secret passion of mine, but now that I have a name for it, I want to share what I’m learning!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have really unique analogies. In a captivating and succinct way, I am able to take my readers away from the concept to a seemingly unrelated concept. Then I weave them back to a real “Ah-ha!” conclusion. I also don’t mind swearing and talking about Jesus in the same volume; I don’t know if that’s a positive thing, but it sure fits as unusual!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh man, that’s a telling list! I’d have to say that my favorite authors have to include Jocko Willink, Tim Ferriss, Garrett J. White, and Jordan B. Peterson, Ph.D. They step out of the “Self-Help” genre in a unique and practical way. I really appreciate how they approach personal beliefs through acts of doing, habits, and behaviors. That’s really how I seek to fashion my writing: as philosophy in workboots.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on my next book which will detail 6 essential habits for making your minimalist lifestyle better organized and meaningful. It’s kind of a sequel to this first book, but as I said before, I prefer to write things as independent works
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This is actually my first go at this; that’s why I came to Awesome Gang. So far, of the sites I’ve tried to get help from, yours is the most thorough. I’m excited to see what results come of it!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Finished beats Perfect. I’ve always talked about writing lengthy books on this and that, but I committed to writing this book in just 48 hours. That, of course, doesn’t include editing in the final touches. I just made a commitment to myself to GET IT WRITTEN! Someday never comes and it’s easy to get stuck in the weeds as you write it. But deadlines are magical.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Step back. Take a Breath. Look Around. Make a Decision. Take Action.”
Simply detaching myself from the situation before I choose to act has helped in my marriage, parenting, finances, career, even my own mental health.
What are you reading now?
“Awaken the Giant Within” by Anthony Robbins. It’s been on my reading list for some time now, but since I got it for Christmas, I figured it was time to “Take massive action!”
What’s next for you as a writer?
I think becoming a writer IS what’s next for me. I’m going to start with Kindle eBooks and my blog at My5amLife.com for now to articulate my voice. But who knows? I’m sure some paperbacks are in the near future!
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…provided I already had a pocket knife, I’d want my Incident Response Pocket Guide from when I was a wildland firefighter. It’s got handy survival stuff. Then I’d probably take Awaken the Giant Within because of its powerful content. Then my NLT bible “The Books of The Bible” which was taken out of print. Being trapped on a desert island is a good place for spiritual growth! Lastly, I’d probably bring Jocko Willink’s Discipline Equals Freedom Field Manual for its stoic writings and fitness program so that I could come off that island looking like Dwayne Johnson.
Author Websites and Profiles
Jefferson Gow Website
Jefferson Gow Amazon Profile
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a romance author and avid reader. I currently have three books published and many more on the way.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Ferocious which is the start of my second paranormal romance series entitled Secret of Ceres. It was inspired by the need I saw in creating more paranormal romance novels that featured predominantly black characters.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am a total binge writer. I may not write for months at a time but when I start I can’t stop until all the ideas are out of my head.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
As a black paranormal author, I am greatly influenced by Octavia Butler. For books, the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series influenced me a lot because it was the first romantic series to introduce me to the urban fantasy style.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on several short stories for publication in an all black paranormal author anthology as well as the next books in my new series.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best method of promoting my books is social media networking. I love connecting with people and I find people are more willing to support your work if you support theirs.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice to new authors is to keep learning and push your boundaries to become better writers.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just keep writing.
What are you reading now?
Several books at the moment but the most recent is Becoming by Michelle Obama
What’s next for you as a writer?
I just started my own company so I would have to say focusing on the business side of the literary world and seeing how that translates into my creative process.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
My kindle so I could have all the books!
Author Websites and Profiles
Stella Williams Website
Stella Williams Amazon Profile
Stella Williams’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I originally studied music, but after a long an grueling process of job hunting and unemployment, I started writing to release all of my mental angst. And it really helped! Then I after 4 years of meticulous editing and re-writing I had a book I was proud of. I also have a good body of a second novel. However all my copies were lost at the same time. My laptop broke… then I dropped my hardrive…. then I moved house and lost my portable USB. Nightmare! I am hoping to recover the data as we speak
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The book is called ”Scaff” which is a Scottish word from the Scottish dialect. It means to be someone who has nothing, who has to beg for food or money. Its an insult that I was called often as child, being in a really poor family. The word is synonemous with such words as ‘beggar’ and ‘scum’. The content of the book, however, is inspired from my two years of unemployment and the ensuing degradation, humilation and hoplessness.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Impromtu streaks in the middle of the night, often until the early morning. Manic vocal encactments of scenes and characters in front of the mirror (also usually late at night), ocassionally with constumes and props
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have read extensvely since an early age. Although, I had a particular love for Russian literature, most notably Dostoyevsky with books such as ”Notes From the Underground” but also ”Crime and Punishment”. Similarly Gogol, with his surreal short stories such as ”The Nose” and ”The Diary of a Madman” Otherwise, I also love Irvine Welsh and admire his ability to have written in a difficult Scottish dialect and yet still reach millions worldwide.
What are you working on now?
At the moment I am mostly collecting ideas and little ditties of no particular order and hoping I can retrieve my manuscript from my broken hard drive
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This is my first time, so sorry I can’t be of much help there!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Have a strict routine for when you are writing and when you are editing otherwise constantly doing both destroys the flow and makes the whole process so much longer and inefficient
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
All the great authors were rejected before they got published. Persevere!
What are you reading now?
Mostly spiritual books, ”The surrender Experiment” by Michael Singer. A book I highly recommend if you are in doubt about how to live your life. Also Alan Watts, the renowned English philosophist expecially ”Out of Your Mind”. He has changed my whole way of thinking more than any other
What’s next for you as a writer?
Turning my scripts in to film scripts and then hopefully films
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?
”Out of Your Mind” by Alan Watts
”Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo
”Collected Poems” by Maya Angelou
”Complete Works of Shakespeare” by William Shakespeare
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I just turned forty-eight years old and have been writing since 2016. I have found it to be my passion. I love writing fiction as well as nonfiction. I have been married to my soul mate for five years now and we both have no children except for the four-legged kind which we have eleven of. I have written and published five books so far with another one in the editing phase while I have outlines created for approximately another thirty books. I am disabled and spend my time writing because I love sharing my stories with the world.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book published is Immortal Passion which was inspired by two main stories which are the Twilight Saga and True Blood. They are my favorite as well as some others, but these are the main two inspirations.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to write in my pajamas listening to music in the company of my dogs.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephanie Meyers, Stephen King, Anne Rice, and JK Rowling have been my main influencers.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on a crime thriller about a serial killer who is also a cannibal. The title is “A Recipe for Cannibalism” and I should have it completed by next week and then it goes into the editing phases.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My own website is a good method and I use social media quite a bit.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Every story or book starts with one word and in order to be a good writer, it takes lots of practice. If you have a story to tell, write it and then share it with the world.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I have been given is to not give up and just keep writing.
What are you reading now?
I am currently reading “Huckleberry Finn” and Mark Twain is one of my favorite writers
What’s next for you as a writer?
I would have to say that writing is my passion and that I would keep on writing with the goal of becoming a best selling 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?
The three main books that I would take with me would be “Interview with a Vampire”, “The Twilight Saga”, and “The Bible”. These would keep me company on that desert island.
Author Websites and Profiles
Brandi Payne Website
Brandi Payne Amazon Profile
Brandi Payne’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Azra is an author of two books.Her first book namely Tearful Pages talks about crimes against women Azra mufti came up with her second book Shattered Dreams which is a fiction novel and deals with the young generation of the valley. Apart from her writings, Azra has also done her contributions in the field of social work. She is the first kashmiri girl to have written a novel on mental illness.she has acted as a resource person for various legal awareness programmes in collaboration with National Commission for women and worked for the uplifment of the society by educating the youth. She has delivered number of lectures at various colleges and schools to foster education among youth. She is an active campaigner for mental health issues and has given talk shows on all the leading radio, FM and TV stations of Kashmir. Besides this, she has visited a number of schools and colleges to foster education and creativity among youth.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
SYNOPSIS OF MY BOOK “SHATTERED DREAMS”
This book talks about two young girls who are ambitious, independent and intelligent. It revolves around their lives unveiling different perspectives of their life. Asma and Aiza meet unexpectedly and develop a very strong bond. Being born and brought up in a conflict zone Kashmir, they find their lives tangled in dreams, desires and fear. It is just one of those lazy days when a shocking revelation about Asma is made which turns their lives upside down. This book talks about mental illness like never before and how it can break and shake you from within. Shattered Dreams takes us on a journey of dreams and desires that often get shattered by a thing called life!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
i am not a discplined writer, I can go without writing for days or write a book in a day, depends!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Anything I read leaves an impact on me especially Robin Sharma, Lewis Carrol, Mitch Albom, Arundhati Roy or Dan Brown
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My facebook page
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Create a writing style of your own1
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
never stop writing
What are you reading now?
Othello
What’s next for you as a writer?
i go with the flow
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?
Fault in our stars
Hamlet
Heidi
Twilight Series
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 Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a thirty year law enforcement officer, firefighter, medic as well as hopeful children’s and early teen author. My series The Spruce Hollow Gang Adventures are the perfect combination of history and fiction. There are eight books in the series at this time available on Amazon and Kindle. The books in order are A Titanic Adventure, A Gettysburg Adventure, The Shenandoah Amusement Park Adventure, The Anne Frank Adventure, The Russian Snowman Adventure, The Native American Adventure, The Mountain Feud Adventure, and The Salem Witch Hunt Adventure.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Spruce Hollow Gang Adventures, The Salem Witch Hunt Adventure is my most recent in the series. I wanted to put a new spin on the historical events surrounding the deaths of many innocent people during the Salem witch trials. I wanted my young readers to realize that many time throughout history and even in our time people are victimized over false accusations, irrational fears and misunderstandings.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really, I write in a way that my readers can feel they are characters in my stories and part of the gang.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Edward Stratemeyer the creator of the Hardy Boys series.
What are you working on now?
I currently have three more Spruce Hollow Gang Adventures I am working on. However, I do not plan to release any more stories until I can get the ones I have into the publics eye.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This has been an issue, I have found if you do not have a lot of money to pay for agents or to self publish you are up against a real challenge.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
For me writing the books and creating the stories is the easy part. Getting them out on the market to the public has been next to impossible. It is a shame there are not publishers that will give unknown authors a chance. I submitted my books to several traditional publishers. I received some great reviews from them about the characters and the way the stories flowed with excitement. However, it has been the same old story, I am a new author and unknown so they will not take a chance on me. How can you get the chance in the first place is the question. Do not give up and continue to chase your dreams. I have been trying to break into the market since 2014 and I am still trying.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t give up.
What are you reading now?
I am currently reading a true story about the holocaust.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I hope my books will become known and I am able to continue the series for several years to come.
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, The Anne frank Diaries, It and Something is Alive on the Titanic.
Author Websites and Profiles
Bennie Dobbs Amazon Profile
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