Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My debut novel, The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride, has been named winner or finalist for 8 awards, is a #1 bestseller (Amazon-Kindle) in four countries, and is currently being translated into Korean. My follow-up, The Town with No Roads, was released recently and I’m very excited about my work-in-progress, with a working title of Charlie Fightmaster and the Search for Perfect Harmony.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The inspiration for The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride was the death of my father. Writing that book was a form of therapy, to help me deal with the emotional turmoil I felt from losing someone I loved. I wrote The Town with No Roads for my two daughters.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like writing in coffee shops (not unusual) but I can only do so if I have a corner seat, where I can be sure no one is looking over my shoulder, reading my work, and laughing at how terrible those first several drafts are.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ben Sherwood, Charles Martin, and Mitch Albom.

What are you working on now?
Charlie Fightmaster and the Search for Perfect Harmony is about a professional baseball player who is cut from his team and ends up in his hometown playing amateur ball and hoping for a big break. He meets Bud Crawford–a local baseball legend–who begins teaching him the three secrets to finding perfect harmony at the plate. But when Charlie’s life starts to fall apart, he must learn to use the secrets to perfect harmony not only on the baseball field, but in the rest of his life as well.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you love to write. Don’t chase the market.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be grateful for what you have.

What are you reading now?
I tend to be in the middle of a few books at once. Right now, a Nicolas Sparks novel, the autobiography of Jim Abbott, and a Dean Koonz novel.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Polishing my work-in-progress. Then polishing some more.

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?
Shakespeare’s Complete Works, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood, and Where The River Ends, by Charles Martin.

Author Websites and Profiles
Joe Siple Website
Joe Siple Amazon Profile

Joe Siple’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written five novels with my latest being especially interesting to write.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Blood of Bathory is the latest and I was inspired to take a famous story and add my own take on it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so. I find writing comes easiest when I am putting pen to paper rather than typing. Oddly enough it seems more primal to me…more instinctive for when I want to really connect with a story.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King of course, but also J. K. Rowling, Ann Rice.

What are you working on now?
I have two competing ideas. One is a Vampire story…the other a murder mystery. Soon I will have to decide…leaning murder though.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
For me it’s Twitter because I love to communicate with words. But I am on Instagram too at blnorrisbooks.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, the rest is out of your control.

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

What are you reading now?
Nothing at the moment. When I am priming ti start a new book, I don’t like other stories floating around in my head.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Gathering as many followers as I can to join me down the dark road of delightful nightmares.

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?
Interview With a Vampire by Ann Rice, Salem’s Lot by Stephen King and Blood of Bathory by me to see what I could have done better.

Author Websites and Profiles
B. L. Norris Website
B. L. Norris Amazon Profile

B. L. Norris’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Kelvin Teo and I have always been fascinated with the unknown and when it comes to fiction, no other genre has intrigued me more than horror. Till date, I have self-published 1 book and 1 short story. However, there will be more to come!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
After Sunset: Six Scary Short Stories.

This horror anthology is written in the style of NoSleep — a subreddit where people would exchange scary stories and frightening experiences. Every story is written in first-person to give readers a personal experience of the horrors within.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Currently, I don’t think I have any unusual writing habits but maybe I will develop one along the way? Haha, who knows?

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am heavily inspired by authors like Stephen King, Mark Z. Danielewski, Junji Ito, Iain Rob Wright and Koji Suzuki (seriously, check out Koji Suzuki’s work if you haven’t).

…Not forgetting internet horror platforms like NoSleep and Creepypasta.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on my new post-apocalyptic horror series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I do a mix of book promotion sites, Facebook groups and Amazon advertising.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Believe in your own work because if you don’t, who will?

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Good enough” is better than “perfect”.

What are you reading now?
I have a lot of books in queue right now. There are a few I’m currently on — ‘House of Leaves’ by Mark Z. Danielewski, ‘The Gates’ by Iain Rob Wright, ‘Infidel (Graphic Novel)’ by Pornsak Pichetshote and ‘Lord of The Rings’ by J.R.R Tolkien (yes, I read fantasy too).

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish up my post-apocalyptic series and release it to the world!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
‘How To Stay Alive’ and ‘Ultimate Survival Handbook’ by Bear Grylls and any Bushcraft 101 books.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kelvin Teo Website
Kelvin Teo Amazon Profile

Kelvin Teo’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is my first book. I’m 28 years old and have been a sports writer for the last six years. But I’m a huge movie fan. I own more than 250 DVDs, and still buy them despite the fact it seems to be harder to find them in stores.

Actually, for this book, I needed to buy the one James Bond movie that I didn’t have, and when I went into Target, the DVD section was next to the records. That was disheartening.

So I still love actually having a physical movie collection and the James Bond film series. I’ve been a fan of the series since I was about 11.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my book is “His World Never Dies: The Evolution of James Bond.” I got the idea for the book last December. I was introducing my fiancée, Shannon, to the Bond series, and while I was explaining to her the history of the series, I thought maybe this is something I could share with more than just her.

So I did some research into how to begin a writing career as an author and found Self-Publishing School. I joined and six months later, I had a published book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do a lot of my best work late at night. Shannon gets up for work at about 6:30 AM. It’s not unusual for us to only sleep together for about 1-2 hours.

I’m definitely a night owl.

I don’t sit at a desk either. I’m not sure if that’s unusual, but I usually work on the couch with my laptop on my lap — how fitting!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I guess I should start with Ian Fleming. My book doesn’t discuss at length his version of Bond, but as the character’s creator, of course he is an influence to me.

Steven Jay Rubin is definitely another author who has influenced me. He is the author of “The Complete James Bond Encyclopedia” that I often perused through when I was a kid.

What are you working on now?
I’m a freelance sports writer, so I’m always working on some type of story. Right now, I’m writing a really cool feature on the Shoeless Joe Jackson museum in Greenville, South Carolina for Yardbarker.com. I also work on a lot of sports slideshows for them.

At Falcon Maven, I run a team of four people blogging about the Atlanta Falcons. It’s mostly a video platform, but there’s some news writing involved as well.

You can also see my sports writing work at Southern Pigskin and, in the fall, Yurview.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still developing them, but I’d say my Twitter accounts. My personal one is @dmholcomb, and the book’s account is @HisDies.

I also have a landing page for the book: https://mailchi.mp/fc7c95c78dd8/hisworldneverdies-theevolutionofjamesbond

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you have an idea, just write it. Coming up with the idea is the hardest part. It can also be the most fun because it’s not real yet. Imagining what you can do next with your writing career is fun.

But once you have that idea, just write, man. And if you don’t think you are a good writer, the only way to get better is write. Write every day.

What are you reading now?
I’ve been reading a lot of other books coming out of Self-Publishing School in an effort to help other first-time authors.

One book from SPS I love is “Two Dads and Three Girls: Searching for Sexual Identity, Falling in Love, and Building a Family through Surrogacy” by Nick He. It’s a completely different genre than my book, but it is a wonderful memoir about a young Chinese man coming to terms with himself that he’s gay.

I’m also in the middle of “The Demon of Blackguard Hall: A Gabrielle Warwick Demon Hunter Novel” by Bronwen Skye. It’s a fantasy thriller, which isn’t something I normally go for, but again, I’m trying different books to support Indie authors, and the book is really captivating.

What’s next for you as a writer?
It might not be until after the fall (football season), but I hope to begin my next book soon. I’m bouncing a few ideas around in my head — both involving James Bond and not. I’m also considering fiction.

I’ve been inspired by the 75th anniversary of D-Day. My grandfather was in WWII, and when I was in middle school, I wrote a short story about his adventures on a motorcycle during the war. I don’t think I finished it, but I might be crazy enough to pick it back up all these years later.

I hope to get something published in the spring or early summer of 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?
The Godfather, Killer Angels and Casino Royale

Author Websites and Profiles
Dave Holcomb Website
Dave Holcomb Amazon Profile

Dave Holcomb’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a mom, first and foremost, but throughout the years, I’ve always come back to writing. I have three published novels.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Dandelion Summer. I was actually out weeding my flower beds when I thought about a mother and daughter bonding – reluctantly – over dandelions. It’s not a pleasant chore (at least not to me), but it’s a time without other distractions. And even if there is little conversation, the shared effort makes a difference. Of course, there is much, much more in the story. The dandelions are simply a vehicle that helped the rest of the story bloom.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Seeing I only know my own routines, who’s to say if they’re unusual. One thing I like to do is write ideas on 3×5 index cards. Then I can organize them later, putting them in the order they need to appear in the story.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always loved Agatha Christie. I like trying to figure out the story, but I don’t want the answer to be too obvious. Other than that, books in general inspire me. There is so much variety and creativity out there. What a wonderful world is opened up when you open up a book!

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a series of children’s picture books that are humorous looks at children, their fears, their pickiness, and ultimately their joy. The first one is called It Was a Dark and Squeaky Night.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I wish I knew. What works one time doesn’t always work the next time.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read, read, read, and write, write, write. And then get feedback from people who will be honest with you. Don’t take offense when you need to make changes, recognizing that you’re all just trying to make it better.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Murder your darlings – It has been attributed to various writers, but editing out the things you’re attached to, but serve no purpose in the story, is hard but necessary.

What are you reading now?
I recently finished several Michael Connelly books. I’m about to start a mystery set in the 1800s.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Mapping out my children’s book 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?
Scriptures, The Book Thief, and Watership Down.

Author Websites and Profiles
Mary Ellen Bramwell Website
Mary Ellen Bramwell Amazon Profile

Mary Ellen Bramwell’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
After a career in tourism in the Highlands of Scotland, I retired to put several of my science fiction ideas onto paper – or, more accurately, into a Word file.

I had already written two books which arose out of my work. The first of these was SCOTLAND’S BLOODY HISTORY which puts our confusing past into chronological order by majoring only on the most gory events. My other book, having lived on the side of Loch Ness for forty years, was a natural – LOCH NESS, NESSIE & ME. I was involved in all the major expeditions since the late seventies and set up the Official Loch Ness Exhibition in 1980. My book is written from the sceptical point of view and is extremely comprehensive, including exposing much of the evidence. It is the only book on the subject written by a resident of the area.

My retirement, however, has given me the time to publish my science fiction novels of which there are now five with two in the pipeline. I offer my Moonscape novel free of charge to people who sign up for my Reader Club at http://harmsworth.net , so you can sample my work for free.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
There was a progression, so to understand the reasons for my latest book requires a knowledge of what went before.

My first novel was MINDSLIP which develops an idea I had over forty years ago. A nearby supernova coincidental with a coronal mass ejection, showers the Earth with radiation which causes every living creature to swap minds – old to young, male to female, animal to human and vice versa. Can you imagine it? Well this is my story about it.

The strange ending of Mindslip inspired me to write a female lead character in my second novel, THE VISITOR, in which a dynamic woman astronaut discovers an ancient alien artefact in low-Earth orbit.

MOONSCAPE, my free book, came next – we all know the moon is dead, but…

THE DOOR is a story which grew out of some of the world’s current environmental and climatic problems in The Visitor. In it I use temporal anomalies, quantum entanglement and matter transfer to allow a man, who is walking his dog, to become the saviour of humanity.

All of that led into my latest work is FEDERATION, the first of a trilogy involving a galactic empire which stumbles upon the Earth with its wars, plastic pollution, overpopulation and deteriorating environment. The Federation’s political system is anathema to most of us, but, with the help of automatons, offers the possibility of utopia to the Earth – but are they a force for good or evil and how will the world handle its political system being turned upside-down?

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I always find the first ten thousand words difficult and have to be on my own. After that, it is not unusual to find me writing with a laptop in the lounge while watching Tottenham Hotspur, my life-long football (soccer) team. I am lucky to be able to shut out whatever is happening around me.

I also work outside during the summer. I discovered that the Macbook has an anti-reflective screen and is perfect for writing in the garden. With the view of Loch Ness and our isolated location, it is just perfect. [image you may use is here http://harmsworth.net/working-in-garden.jpg]

I touchtype and have worn out the EIOADLN & M keys. They still work, but are now just white! Guess I am too used to an old typewriter from my earlier life and pound the keys.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My main influences have been Arthur C Clarke, Hal Clement, Asimov, Bradbury, Aldiss and Zenna Henderson. I find most modern science fiction violent, full of wars, dystopia or fantasy. There is hard SF out there, but I’m afraid I am not a fan of mindless destruction. So far, there are no wars, superheroes, or dystopian events in my work and I’m told it can be enjoyed by people who would not normally select the genre.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I have two novels in play – MOONSTRUCK, the sequel to Moonscape and FEDERATION & EARTH, the second in the Federation trilogy. I hope to have one finished by September and the other by November, but I’m not sure which will be first.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am a relatively new author and am promoting on Amazon, Kobo and D2D who distribute to Barnes and Noble, the iStore and others.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I wasted nearly four years trying to find an agent. More than a hundred rejections. Not one agent or publisher was interested in reading beyond the three submitted chapters. Yet, on Wattpad, a reading platform, praise was being heaped upon all of my books and THE VISITOR (which I’d put onto Amazon with a poor cover and unedited) acquired some incredible reviews on Amazon. Now that it is properly edited with a professional cover the reviews are even better.

So, I abandoned traditional publishing and, since 27th March 2019, I’ve been following Mark Dawson’s Self Publishing Formula. Since re-launching my books on Amazon, my sales have grown beyond all proportion and I have not yet started Mark’s Ads4Authors course.

Moral, unless you are going to be extremely lucky, go for the self-publishing route, but don’t forget to invest in good editing and book covers.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When in doubt, do it!

What are you reading now?
Encounter with Tiber by Buzz Aldrin and John Barnes.

I’m still in the early stages, but I was not enamoured by the huge list of characters in the opening pages. Not easy to read. Hopefully it will improve.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing and hopefully supplementing my pension with increasing book sales. The trouble with being 71, is that your mind is its prime of life, but your body exhibits all the signs of age. Only science fiction can tackle that, currently!

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?
Asimov’s complete Foundation series (in a single volume to stick to the rules! LOL); The Harry Potter books (same rule); Fahrenheit 451 and Clarke’s Fall of Moondust.

Author Websites and Profiles
Tony Harmsworth Website
Tony Harmsworth Amazon Profile

Tony Harmsworth’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write nonfiction and have one book published that I am currently promoting with a book tour. I am a coach and facilitator with 20 years experience of adding abundance to lives of women.
I am now in my 60s and have ditched the clutter and have started a new life. This is the topic of my second book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Gratitude Prompts: everyday Prompts for practicing kindness (to yourself)
I wanted to bring a book on gratitude that was based on getting the feeling of gratitude rather than rattling off perhaps the same 5 everyday.
The book is used intuitively so the prompt chosen is best for you that day.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write with Nanowrimo camps. I write longhand and then type it up.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Henri Nouwen
Thomas Merton
Wayne Dyer
Esther and Jerry Hicks
Carolyn Myss

There are a great many authors and books.

What are you working on now?
I am writing about letting go of the first two phases of your life to be able to create a life that celebrates who you are now without the shackles of both past glories and successes.

It’s post empty nest, maybe also bereavement or divorce. We are living a 100 year life. Reaching 60 or 70 still has between 30 and 40% of life to come. This is not a time to coast into old age.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Given the nature of Gratitude Prompts, I felt it was best to get out with people showing them, reading from the book and sharing my story.
I also have the book listed on all online retailers and on my own website – www.karenpurves.com

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be disciplined and write everyday
Use an editor and designer. These will pay off in the long run.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Life is not about easy or quick wins, it’s about showing up everyday with a full heart.

What are you reading now?
Bolder by Carl Honere

What’s next for you as a writer?
Do Camp Nanowrimo in July 19

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?
Gratitude Prompts to add a new spark to my gratitude practice.
The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama
The Vortex by Jerry and Esther Hicks
Discernment: Reading the signs of Everyday life by Henri Nouwen

Author Websites and Profiles
Karen Purves Website
Karen Purves Amazon Profile

Karen Purves’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
After working for years in the legal profession in London, I decided on a change of career and returned to University to study psychology, ultimately obtaining a research degree in cognition and neuroscience. I now live by the sea in Sussex and have given up the day job to write science fiction. My first novel, Crater’s Edge has been published by Solstice Publishing.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first novel is called Crater’s Edge and is traditional science fiction. I’ve always enjoyed science fiction and had an interesting idea for a dystopian society, where a solution has to be found to overcrowding. The story is told against the background of this unusual society.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Once I get started, I don’t want to leave my characters alone and resent interruptions.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many that I couldn’t name them all. I’ve read everything that Philip K Dick has written. I also loved Michael Crichton and have read a lot of Iain M Banks. I also enjoy Hugh Howey.

What are you working on now?
I’ve just completed the first draft of a sequel to Crater’s Edge. I’m very excited about it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t give up and you’ll get there eventually.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading a biography of Mao Tse-Tung – “Mao The Unknown Story” by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday, and also “The Algebraist” by Iain M Banks.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a compelling idea for another science fiction novel, that just has to be written.

Lucy Andrews’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been an insatiable reader since I discovered Classic Comics at 9. I also read fast, during a 3 hour flight, I would read 3 pocket books. John D. McDonald, Robert A. Heinlien, W.E.B> Griffith, and others influenced my interests, and later, my writing. I learned electronics during a 4 year hitch in the Navy, and spent the next 40 years as a tech, engineer, exec, and CEO in the Defense, and Welding Automation industries. I did a lot of business and technical writing over the years. On one cross country flight, the Science Fiction book I had paid $5 for was really bad. I came to the conclusion that I could write a better book than the one I held. Over the years, I wrote drafts of several novels during buts of time not devoted to business or family. I reached the 90% point on a near-term Science Fiction novel, and had started thinking about getting it published. Then the Soviet Union fell apart, and destroyed the first third of the book. The 5 1/4″ floppy file went on the shelf.
I had just purchased a HP Pocket PC, with a resident word processing program in January of 1990. I was going to Japan on business for the 7th time, and knew I would have a lot of time to kill over there. I planned to do some writing during my flights and down time. I was not going to attempt another near-term SF book, so I started writing a novel set inthe pre-war Battleship navy.
BB-39 is a Greatest Generation Story of a group of 5 young men from a small southwestern town, who join the Navy in 1938.
The bones of the story were completed by the time I returned from Japan. Real life kept me from completing it. By 2000 I started thing about publishing BB-39. I started researching what I needed to do. I was capable at researching, and found that I needed to find an agent, who would then sell my book to a publisher. I researched all about query letters, and started sending ultimately, over 200 over that year. I quickly found that there were more people making money off of new authors than there were new authors making money. I found a lot of cheap talk and promises, which required me putting up a lot of cash, with no real guarantee of success, except maybe a garage full of unsold books. I did finally contact a reputable agent of authors for naval historical fiction. He read my book, liked it, but told me that it would not be worth his time to attempt to sell it to a reputable publisher. Because I was not a sports, or a rock star, an a crooked politician, or an axe murderer, they wouldn’t take the time to even read it. The book, on a 3 1/2″ floppy, went back on the shelf.
When I retired for the fourth time in 2011, I resolved to get serious about writing and publishing. I discovered that Amazon had bypassed the big publishers and their gatekeepers. There were still lots of companies willing to take my money, but I could go directly to Amazon, and publish my work as a Kindle ebook, without spending a lot. That was important, since I was living on SSI.
I published BB-39 in July of 2012, and presently have 16 books on Amazon. I write historical based naval action, hard Science Fiction, and Post-Apoptotic novels and novellas.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Last November, I published the first of an Alternate History trilogy. ‘After The Days OF Infamy’ diverges from fact with the discovery of a Helium source on a northern Japanese island. In this story, the two attacks on December 7th are made by a fleet of 4 Airship Aircraft Carriers. The same fleet hits the west coast later in the week and destroys most of the shipyards, aircraft plants, shipping, and industries in Puget Sound, the San Fransisco Bay, Los Angelo, Long Beach, and San Diego.
Airships, aviation, and naval history have always fascinated me, and this project has allowed be to explore what if, by injecting a few minor tweeks. This is not a Steam Punk story, and it is based on the existing technology, if were applied by the availability of Helium to Germany and Japan.
I hope to release the next book in the trilogy ‘After The Rockets Fell’ this fall.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My vision is failing, so I now use a 38″ monitor, and will probably need to shift to DragonSpeak within the next 5 years. I have had to install an Led strip light above my keyboard after back-lighting was not working well. I have always been a hunt and peck typist, and I’ll never achieve a 1000 words a day, but I keep plugging.
I spend the early morning doing research on the net, of things that interest me, current world events, technologies, the writing market, and whatever my current project might require. This morning, I found a map that shows the rail lines present in Russia during WW2.
After a lite lunch an a half hour nap, I spend the afternoon writing, or, editing, or cover creating, or promoting. I stop around 5PM, make a batch of popcorn, and watch the evening news. I’m a good Cook (Love my Instapot). We watch a recorded TV show, and then I spend a couple of hours playing the on-line game ‘World of Warships’. I wind down for the evening by reading on my Kindle for a half hour before going to bed.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
See above

What are you working on now?
The second book in my Alt History Trilogy, After The Rockets Fell.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have done a poor job of promoting my books to date. I’ve done some Amazon, facebook, and a couple of others. With the current increase in AMS costs I am looking at other options.
I have been Wide a couple of times, but the KU page reads make me more money, so all my books are now exclusive to Amazon, the 800 pound gorilla in the room.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write about what is of interest to you. I don’t feel I am currently selling enough to be giving advise to others.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Work at what you enjoy doing. You only go around once in life.

What are you reading now?
I just finished a John D. McDonald Science Fiction novel ‘The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything’. I did not enjoy this one as well as any of the Travis McGee books. I just don’t care for fantasy, or magic.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Write the third Alt History book, and do a better job of promotion.

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?
Ask me the day before the stranding.

Author Websites and Profiles
A.G. Kimbrough Website
A.G. Kimbrough Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I began my writing career at age 11, writing poetry. I continue to write poetry to this day but writing full, beautiful, vivid novels is my true passion now. I published my first book in 2010 and, as of June 2019, have published 25 books, with ideas churning out for many, many more stories to come

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Who We Used to Be (Do-Over series, book 1) is my latest book and it was inspired by my love of second chance romance. There’s something so inspirational about two people coming together years after a break-up and realizing that this time it’s different, this time it’s better, this time it’s right.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a tendency to have 3 or 4 books going at once until one finally grabs my full attention and I finish that one and then go back to the others.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Richard Adams, Richard Bach, Ella Frank,

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on the first book in a new series. The book is called Better Latte than Never and the series is Love & Coffee. This one is about a socially awkward introvert who falls in love with his emotionally stunted and commitment-phobic boss who suffers from self-esteem issues that leave him unable to say no. Together they embark on a journey that helps them both find strength the they never knew they had.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to promote my boos usually.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t ever give up. If you have an idea for a story and you write a few thousand words but then it just dries up – put it aside and work on something new. Just because something isn’t working right now doesn’t mean it won’t ever become a great story.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t read reviews. And write for yourself, not for anyone else. If you love what you write, others will too.

What are you reading now?
a new book coming from Garrett Leigh called Kiss Me Again

What’s next for you as a writer?
What isn’t next? I have 5 different book series’ now and I plan on more books for all of them, plus I have 3 or 4 story ideas that will more than likely be stand-alone books. All are in the beautiful, inspiring, passionate and intense world of gay 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?
Ella Frank’s Try, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Watership Down and The Weight of the World by Devon McCormack and Riley Hart

Author Websites and Profiles
Dara Nelson Website
Dara Nelson Amazon Profile

Dara Nelson’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write contemporary fiction and my readers say that it should come with a warning label: don’t read unless you are prepared to invest your heart & soul. I love writing characters who finding themselves and their path in this crazy life while overcoming loss, heart breaks, and illness. My books are about family, love, & living life resiliently. There’s also a reason why my author slogan is, “Where music and stories collide,” and that’s because all my books are inspired by music and most have songs as chapter titles that influence the mood of the chapter.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called GUARDED DREAMS and it was inspired by Luke Bryan’s “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset” song. I could see the two characters, meeting at the beach house that he was painting for her dad, and how that summer would work out. As I was researching a couple ideas from that original snippet, I came across a Pinterest post from Mila Kunis before her social media sites went dark. It was about how she’d never expected when she was filming “That 70’s Show” that Ashton would one day become the love of her life. I started reading more about them and their relationship in magazines and following Ashton’s Twitter account, and they became the inspiration for the characters and the second chance love story that is GUARDED DREAMS.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
It’s not really unusual in the sense that music inspires lots of writers and creative folks to make their art. Lyrics of a song will have be pulling over in my car to write a scene (that may not even be related to a book I’m actively writing), but when I actually write, I need quiet. I need to be able to hear and see all the voices in my head without distraction.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Some of my biggest influences are Amy Harmon, Mariana Zapata, Jessica Park, and Georgette Heyer. I love that Amy Harmon can write a variety of genres and do them all fabulously. I love the character development that Mariana and Jessica put into their books. I’ll forgive just about any plot holes in a novel if I like the characters enough. Georgette Heyer is like reading Jane Austen, you love all the words and are left sad knowing that she can’t give us any more.

What are you working on now?
I”m working on a standalone, spin off to characters from GUARDED DREAMS. It’s a contemporary romance with a title that is being announced soon. In Guarded, two of Eli’s friends had a broship name of “Mac Truck,” and it was easy to see that they each needed their own story. So, I’m currently working on Mac’s story that will be about how much you are willing to sacrifice for your “family.”

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m in my Facebook Group (LJs Music and Stories) on a daily basis. We don’t just talk about my books there, we talk about music, books, and people who help us all live life resiliently just like the characters in my books. I’m also on Instagram almost daily. Plus, if people “friend” me on Goodreads (not just follow), they’ll be getting regular status updates and exclusive peeks into Mac and Georgie’s story.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m still new to this writing gig myself. I feel like 2019 has been a huge year of learning for me, but at the heart of it, I would say is write amazing stories, write a lot, and hire an editor. DO NOT EDIT YOURSELF. Don’t have a friend do it (unless they are a professional editor). Everything else can be fixed from there.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve been given about writing is still the same as it was a year ago. WRITE FOR YOU. Write what you love, write from your heart, and it will shine through to your readers.

What are you reading now?
I just finished Seven Shades of You by A.M. Johnson which was breathtaking. Her words are like poetry. It follows a couple of the characters from the M/M novel Let There Be Light which is was like listening to lyrics as I read it. Beautifully, beautifully done. Now I’m on to Sarah Dessen’s new novel, The Rest of the Story.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to work on finishing the “Broship” stories from Guarded Dreams, but I also have an urban fantasy in the works about a fairy godmother union that’s run a little bit like the mafia, and a contemporary women’s fiction that deals with a ghost that hasn’t crossed over.

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 take Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (cliche, but amazing), Venetia by Georgette Heyer, A 180 Seconds by Jessica park, and an Amy Harmon book (don’t make me choose right now because I can’t choose just one of hers).

Author Websites and Profiles
LJ Evans Website
LJ Evans Amazon Profile

LJ Evans’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write erotic fiction around the power dynamic of female domination and have seventeen published books to my name. Three of these are short story collections, and fourteen of them novels in my “Mistress” series. I am always at pains to emphasize that each of my “Mistress” novels stands alone, with an entirely different cast of characters etc, so they can be read in any order. There a common theme that runs through all the books though, which is that the male protagonist is invariably conflicted in some way. It is that inner conflict that creates the tension that drives the plot.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Lessons from the Mistress”.
With this one I set myself the challenge of limiting the cast of characters to only three but still making the book a fast paced page-turner that will keep the reader gripped to the very end.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
The one that springs to mind is the way I constantly surprise myself while I’m writing the books. I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve got to the end of a chapter I’ve just written and thought, “Well, I didn’t expect that to happen.” It’s weird because it’s come out of my head. You think I’d know what was coming. I believe readers somehow pick up on that element of surprise and it adds to their enjoyment of the stories.

A compliment I’ve received quite a few times is that the reader found it difficult to put the book down and didn’t want it to end. I can’t think of much higher praise for a book than that and I love it when my work connects with readers in that way. It’s great to give so much pleasure to people and that is a strong motivator to me as a writer.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am a big thriller fan both of earlier authors like Jim Thompson, John D. MacDonald and Elmore Leonard and some of the current crop like Mick Herron, Peter Swanson and Karin Slaughter.

What are you working on now?
The next novel in my ongoing “Mistress” series

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
carasutra.com have always been very supportive of the books
There’s been a promotional video about the “Mistress” series too

Erotic Book News: Watch Alex Jordaine’s ‘Mistress Series’ video; plus, free copy of Mistress Severity for everyone

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you want to write well and with real conviction it’s a good rule of thumb to write about something you both know and are passionate about. In my case that’s Femdom and BDSM. That’s why I chose the genre of Femdom erotica when I started writing. I’ve stuck with it ever since because I’ve found it works so well for me as a story teller: all those strict rules, all that seething emotion and sexuality. Something’s got to give and when it does the story kicks in with a vengeance.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As a writer it is to always remember my audience. And I always do. The audience for my “Mistress” books are by definition interested in Femdom and BDSM, want characters and a story they can really engage with, and most importantly want to be turned on by what they’re reading. I try hard not to let them down and every one of my books is as good as I can possibly make it.

One of the first reviews I received for my work described it as a BDSM lover’s dream and gave it a, quote, multiple O’s rating. I aim to have the same effect on my readers with every “Mistress” book I write. That’s not however to suggest that the stories shy away from dark emotions. Loneliness, loss, despair, deceit, regret, trauma, you name it. They’re all to be found in the books but explored in a way that I hope adds to the eroticism of the stories rather than detracting from it. This is because, as I say, I always remember my audience and what they’re looking for from their read.

What are you reading now?
“The Good Daughter” by Karin Slaughter

What’s next for you as a writer?
I shall keep on writing my “Mistress” novels. They are not for the fainthearted, it’s true. And that is unavoidable, I’m afraid. It’s not a problem as I see it though, because it goes with the territory. They are very much niche fiction, after all, and are explicitly marketed as such. They are aimed at readers who have an appreciation of the dynamics of BDSM: the passion and intensity of the power exchange, the endorphin high of the pleasure-pain, the almost tantric nature of the sex involved, and above all the trust that’s such a vitally important part of it all. Also, although my “Mistress” novels are full of graphic discipline, bondage and domination, they’re essentially love stories. They explore the redemptive power of love and celebrate women.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
“A Purple Place for Dying” and “The Deep Blue Goodbye” by John D. MacDonald, and “Get Shorty” by Elmore Leonard

Author Websites and Profiles
Alex Jordaine Amazon Profile
Alex Jordaine Author Profile on Smashwords

Alex Jordaine’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a late bloomer. I wrote my first novel at age 60. The six years since then I have written four others. 2, 3 and 4 are part of the Whitley And Keal series ( murder and romance) and I also co-wrote a book aimed at the middle school age student about bullying.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My last book was Harold Peabody and The Magic Glasses which I co-wrote with my editor from my other books O.M.Faye. It’s a story about a young boy who is tormented by bullies. One day after a confrontation when his glasses are destroyed intentionally, Harold receives a pair of glasses with a special power. Now he can see what his bullies are afraid of and he decides to get revenge but in the end, Harold learns a powerful lesson.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write in my bed.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ken Follett, Lisa Gardner, Nora Roberts, Pat Conroy, Jodi Picoult and so many others inspire me.

What are you working on now?
I am presently taking a break. I have started 3 books. One is a prequel to the series, and the others are sequels to the others.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook is where I do most of my marketing.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep going.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

What are you reading now?
JD Robb

What’s next for you as a writer?
Learn to relax and just let it happen.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth and his other 500 page novels.

Author Websites and Profiles
DAWN KOPMAN WHIDDEN Website
DAWN KOPMAN WHIDDEN Amazon Profile

DAWN KOPMAN WHIDDEN’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written quite a few books, probably around ten or fifteen. Most of the books i have written are nonfiction and cover a variety of subjects from cycling/swimming/running to gambling games and also a book about growing rice.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Angelica’s Time Machine. The inspiration came in a bit of a flash. My daughter’s name is Angelica and we were walking into a supermarket where we passed an ATM machine and i just wondered if the initials ATM could mean Angelica’s Time Machine. Slightly strange inspiration but that is where the journey started for this particular book. There is a twist in the book which also happened in real life while i was writing the book so that was included too, but i don’t want to say too much and spoil the book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
With a 7 year old daughter, it is hard to spend time writing so my unusual habit is probably working past midnight when Angelica is asleep.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King influenced me and i would recommend his book “on writing” for authors.

What are you working on now?
I have a set of ten childrens books i am working on currently (diddly dooper series of books) with the next book still taking shape in my imagination.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I must admit that i enjoy writing more than i do promoting. Any help is always appreciated and when someone leaves me a review it does mean so much that you take the time to leave a review as that can really help with my promotion.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just stick with it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stephen King describing in his book about how many rejections he received.

What are you reading now?
I am always dipping in and out of all types of books, not just fiction.

What’s next for you as a writer?
A series of childrens books called Diddly Doopers.

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?
4 hour chef by timothy ferris. On writing by stephen king. Guide to trance-formations by richard bandler. Playing with fire by scott rieckens

Author Websites and Profiles
Julian Bradbrook Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been writing nonstop since I was 9 and I actually finished most of my projects so I have no idea how many “books” I have written. Up until The Book of Secrets, they were all completely unpublishable.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is called The Book of Secrets and was born from the ashes of a terrible story I wrote a few years prior. It was inspired by a few threads of the original story, large-scale games my brother and I invented as young kids, and my job in a library, where I discovered a self-help book called The Book of Secrets by Deepak Chopra. The story really took flight when I found the Chopra book and imagined finding a real secret book hidden in a library…or bookstore, as my main character does.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know how unusual this is but I only write when I’m tired. I read something awhile ago that said if you’re a morning person write at night, and vice-versa. So I’ve been following that advice ever since.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Since the age of nine, I have been heavily influenced at various points in my life, especially while growing up, by Marcus Zusak, Patricia Reilly Giff, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Judith Kerr, and the authors of the hundreds upon hundreds of books I stuffed into my mind. As a child I read everything in the library without paying attention to author names. I will never know all the people who left their mark on my style.

What are you working on now?
I don’t have a novel in the works right now. I’m reviewing books (this keeps me very occupied) and editing the two novels that will hopefully follow The Book of Secrets.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I write for an online review organization called Kid Lit Exchange, so when my book was published, I already belonged to a network of authors and reviewers with whom I had constant contact. This has been, by an enormous percentage, the single most helpful thing in the entire process. To already have so many acquaintances who have generously helped me get my book out into the world is worth more than I could ever say. Authors are, in my experience, generally kind people who want to help.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you’re looking to publish your book, the biggest piece of advice I have for you relates to what I just said. Establish a network first. Make a blogspot or Instagram and advertise yourself as a book reviewer. Find a publication you can write for. Just do anything to put yourself out there. Even Wattpad can be an exceptionally helpful site to connect you with a readership base. Form online friendships with authors published by small presses, like I am, or with self-published authors. They’re all in it to help each other.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I ever heard…I think this came from an article by an author named Jennifer Trafton, and she said she approaches writing the same way she approached the toys in her bedroom as a child. The Book of Secrets never worked until I took her advice and set myself free like I did when I wrote stories as a 9-year-old. Just have fun and play. You can sort through it and shape it later.

What are you reading now?
I am currently enjoying an ARC of A Time Traveler’s Theory of Relativity by Nicole Valentine, which releases in October.

What’s next for you as a writer?
The world of publishing is so unpredictable I don’t think anyone can answer this. The Book of Secrets is ideally part of a series and I would love to send the other two out into the world. But ultimately their fate is in the hands of my publisher. I hope to begin freelance writing when I’m not so busy finishing my bachelor’s degree.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would bring three things: my iPad so I could have every book in the overdrive system, my phone to use as a hotspot so I could download the books (assuming this deserted island doesn’t have free wifi), and a hand-crank emergency USB charger. Of course, there’s always the issue of the island not having cell service, in which case I would bring the following books: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Cry the Beloved Country, Room, and The Help.

Author Websites and Profiles
Melissa Little Website

Melissa Little’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
River of Time is my eighth book. I retired from education several years ago to pursue my true loves of history, writing, travel, and photography. I try to combine real history and fictional stories into unique and thought-provoking novels. I also incorporate places I travel to and visit into each book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
River of Time was inspired while I was jogging in a nearby regional park and was nearly struck in the head by a falling tree branch. It set off what I call my “what if” switch. What if I got hit? What if I woke up and found myself 500 years in the past? What if a person could time travel while in a coma? The questions keep coming and the story forms itself.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Due to an injury to my right hand during the Vietnam War, I cannot keyboard properly. I write all my books out in longhand on legal tablets. I then read my writing into the computer using Dragon Speak. This is my first edit. I get to hear what I’ve written.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Clive Cussler and Dan Brown have always been my favorite authors. I enjoy how they incorporate history and fiction into their books. My book Phantom Church: The Dead Sea Conspiracy is my effort to emulate Dan Brown’s work. While the Gods Slept is in the vein of Clive Cussler.

What are you working on now?
Walking to the Moon is my latest project. It is set in Mexico and California after a cataclysmic earthquake. It is the story of a man trying to get from Belize to his only living relative. His seven-year-old granddaughter in California.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon.com, Kindle Books, local media outlets, social media, and writer’s workshops. I also have my own website at http://www.booksbysanford.com

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Tell stories. Share. Get feedback. Accept ideas, thoughts, and constructive criticism. Take classes. Then, write more. Try different styles and approaches.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Carry 3″ X 5″ cards in my pocket. When you see an interesting face, location, scene, or situation, write it down on the card. Keep them in a card box. Whenever I need a description of a face or place, I already have a box full. I got this from a class with Ray Bradbury in 1980.

What are you reading now?
The Demon Crown by James Rollins

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will finish Walking to the Moon and then start work on Time Collector. An idea inspired by my enjoyment of collecting and a very weird dream.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Marine Corps Survivor Handbook and any three historical novels I haven’t yet read.

Author Websites and Profiles
James Sanford Jr Website
James Sanford Jr Amazon Profile

James Sanford Jr’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
As an academic of Chinese history I published Manchu: A textbook for Reading Documents (1st edition and a revised 2nd edition, 2010), and way back a chapter on the early Ch’ing (Qing) history in the Cambridge History of China, vol. 9. During my years as Director of the University of Hawaii Office of International Programs and Services I wrote a couple of articles on international topics in the International Education Forum, a publication of International Education Administrators.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Lights & Shadows” is my latest book and reflects my true passion in life. At least some of my inspiration must lie in my genes! Even as a child growing up in small village in Germany I dreamed of traveling to far-away places. Whenever I saw an airplane above (there weren’t many at that time) I wished with all my heart that I could be in it. Later when we were studying English, Latin and French in school, I wanted more and went about looking for a textbook of an Asian language. At the age of nineteen I was on a boat to the United States. But my yearning to learn about and live in other countries didn’t stop there. As part of my graduate studies I lived in Taiwan and Japan, both times in a family setting, so as to maximize my learning the language and understanding the culture.
The idea of writing Lights & Shadows came to me about fifteen years ago when I was already retired. Living in another culture has always been an exciting adventure and a journey of learning and self-discovery for me. So writing the book became a means to share this life-long interest with my readers, hopefully inspiring them to undertake similar journeys, whether physically or in spirit only.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
With a PhD in History and East Asian Languages I obviously like history books. But for at least part of my time I now tend to read various types of books in Spanish in order to keep my Spanish alive. Recently I read (and loved) “El libro de la alegria” (The Book of Joy) by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu.

What are you reading now?
“A Concise History of Brazil” by Boris Fausto.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Probably not writing another book, but rather becoming active in encouraging young people to spend a year or two living abroad in order to experience what it means to be living in another culture and to get to know who they are. To me that’s a big part of living abroad — more than anything you find out who you are yourself.

Author Websites and Profiles
Gertraude Roth Li Amazon Profile

Gertraude Roth Li’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in London in 1953. Since I was an only child I spent a lot of time on my own. I used to write and draw a lot. I left school without too many formal qualifications, but my drawing obviously served me well because I became a graphic designer. I had my own design company but after some years, I decided to re-invent myself. I had always loved sport, so I became a sports coach. This led to a job as a sports development officer with a local authority where I began working with hard to reach groups such as people with disabilities and mental health conditions. After retiring in 2015, I set up my own consultancy called “Ifnotme” to support disadvantaged groups. I love what I do and it gives me plenty of time to write. Currently, I’ve published two books and am working on a third

I am married to Clyrene, have a daughter Emma, three lovely grandchildren and a cat called Sam.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called, “CARTHORSE to RACEHORSE – From Couch potato to a new thoroughbred you.” I decided to write this book as the result of a bet I made with my good friend Mr Le. Now you will remember Mr Le if you have read my first book, Running with a wounded heart. Le is my best friend and running buddy. We have been running together for many years now and, I have to say, he is the perfect running companion. He seems to know instinctively when I’m tired and need to stop and when I’m just being lazy and need a kick up the backside. We do, however, have completely different philosophies when it comes to running. I envy Le because he runs for the sheer love of running. He needs no other reason to lace up his running shoes and head out the door. Me, on the other hand, I am goal driven. I need a reason to run. I love nothing better than to find a race and then make a plan. Ok, I confess that I’m a bit obsessive. I usually take the race date and then work backward to create a training schedule. The schedule is always elaborate, highly detailed and involves the use of many colored pencils. The plan always has a goal. When I tell Le, he listens patiently as I explain my plan and then invariably shoots it down in flames. Now I read loads of running books and articles and I watch running videos on YouTube avidly. So, I’m always well-armed with lots of hard evidence supporting my theory and inspiring stories of people who have accomplished fantastic feats whilst following similar training plans to mine. Le is very kind and always encouraging but ultimately he will slowly shake his head and utter the immortal words,

“You see the thing is Steve, those guys are like racehorses. It’s in their genes. We, on the other hand, are more like carthorses”.

The book sets out to disprove Mr. Le’s theory and show that, anyone can become a thoroughbred.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am inspired by the sound of rain falling. I have a desk by the window and love to sit and write whilst listening to the rain. I have a tape of the sound of thunderstorms and rain falling on a tin roof, which I play when it’s not actually raining. Despite what you may have heard, it’s not always raining in the UK.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am an avid reader with a wide range of interests. I like biographies and autobiographies. I enjoy science fiction. I enjoy reading books that inspire me. And, of course as a runner, I like all kinds of sports books.
Some great books that I’ve enjoyed recently are:
Stephen Guise’s book, Mini Habits.
How to Build a Car: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Formula 1 Designer by Adrian Newey and Run or Die: The Inspirational Memoir of the World’s Greatest Ultra-Runner by one of my running heroes, Kilian Jornet.

What are you working on now?
A book under development is called, Mental Health and the long run. It explores the relationship between exercise, particularly running and positive mental health.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Currently using, and trying to get to grips with, Amazon AMS Ads. Also using Digital Book Girls and Tweet your Books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
As a new writer myself, I’m reluctant to offer too much in the way of advice. I try to be disciplined with my time and set aside particular blocks of my day to write. The mornings work best for me, even better if it’s raining ha, ha. Write from the heart and don’t over elaborate. I think that if you have a good story to tell than that will get you a long way.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Make sure that you have something to say first and learn your writing craft as you go along.

What are you reading now?
Lots of books promising to help me sell more books on Amazon, Facebook, Book Bub etc, etc. ha, ha.
Also, The Perfect Car: The Biography of John Barnard and North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail by Scott Jurek

What’s next for you as a writer?
To keep improving as a writer and hopefully continue to live a happy and balanced life well into my old (older!) age.

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?
Run or Die: The Inspirational Memoir of the World’s Greatest Ultra-Runner
Finding Ultra, Revised and Updated Edition: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World’s Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself and
The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance

Obviously going to be spending a lot of time running around the desert island ha, ha.

Author Websites and Profiles
Steve Morley Morley Website

Steve Morley Morley’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a vagabond! Born in Africa I have the unusual claim that the country of my birth changed name. Now, how many people in the world can claim that? Anyway, it was Rhodesia and a civil war took place and it is now Zimbabwe. Despite the war, I had the most amazing childhood adventures which I spent in the Zambezi Valley. It is a remote untouched part of the world and quite beautiful. And it is for this reason that I am writing a romance trilogy called The Zambezi Series of which The Romantic Prophecy is Book 1 and will be on sale in Amazon as of June 19, 2019. To all those that purchase the novel, there is also a free short story.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest Novel is The Romantic Prophecy. Originally, it was called Vundu Lodge but it was felt that the latest title was more in keeping with what our readers would expect of the book. I think it is fairly unique, there really aren’t many romance novels out there like it. The way I describe it is, well, imagine Darcy from Pride & Prejudice stumbling onto the set of Out of Africa, and then you’ll get an idea.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
This may sound weird but I like to write in a room where my desk faces a wall and is fairly stark in its layout. If there are windows I get so easily distracted and will find myself staring at the rain, or fluffy clouds floating through the sky, or little birds tweeting in the hedge. If I were to be locked up in prison I’m certain that I would be a prolific author!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a sucker for just really well-written books and have a huge range of interest. I really am broad in my taste, just looking at my bookshelf now I have The Duncton Chronicles by William Horwood, George Macdonald Fraser’s Flashman series, books by Donna Tartt and Paula Coelho, and a number of Thomas Hardy’s novels. And I could go on and on … and on.

What are you working on now?
I have just finished a short story called The First Kiss which is a free gift to all those lovely readers that buy a copy of The Romantic Prophecy. Right now, I’m doing loads of promotional work for the launch of the book and then it’s back to Book 2 of The Zambezi Series of which I have written around 40,000 words.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I honestly think it’s a combination of a number of different platforms and mediums. All our readers are all very different and unique individuals and as such will have very different ways of sourcing their next new novel.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep on writing and then edit, edit, edit, edit and then re-edit, re-edit, re-edit and then stick a cold scented flannel on your face with a stiff gin at the end of the day. Wakeup and repeat the cycle. You have got to put in the work, even the greats had several passes so don’t expect golden prose from one sitting. It just doesn’t work like that.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Help yourself to help yourself. And be enthusiastic and embrace life, don’t let it slip by.

What are you reading now?
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy. Wow, can that girl write!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Little steps really. For me, it’s getting this next novel completed in a timely fashion and ensuring it is another cracking read. I want to keep my fans happy.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
That is quite impossible to decide so I will give you the first four books on the middle shelf of my book shelf: The Lord of the Rings, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, The Catcher in the Rye and Life after Lunch.

Author Websites and Profiles
Tessa Andrews Website
Tessa Andrews Amazon Profile

Tessa Andrews’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written 4 books in total. 2 are presently active on Amazon in the Self Help Categories.

90 Days to a Glass Half Full Lifestyle
2 Hours Unplugged: Unplug and Reconnect – The Next 90 Days

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
2 Hours Unplugged: Unplug and Reconnect – The Next 90 Days

My former staff inspired me to write both books. They were a staff of amazing ladies that had rebuilt their lives and were given a second chance from incarceration, drugs, abusive relationships and more and were an inspiration to positivity.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I see to write more in middle of the night when my mind wonders.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I grew up reading Zig Ziggler and other leaders in the self help movement. I saw coach Lou Holtz and Bear Bryant give some amazing speeches on self development.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a book on LBGTQ acceptance within the LBGTQ+ community. There are as many shades of gay as there are gray.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook has garnered me quite a bit of attention through shares. My base page has over 4500 followers and my author page is growing.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up and be discouraged by the marketing side. If you believe the sales will come.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up and don’t let others negatively influence your outcome.

What are you reading now?
Becoming by Michele Obama

What’s next for you as a writer?
To keep growing and fine tuning my trade.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A Life in Full by Tom Wolf
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker
One of my books LOL!

Author Websites and Profiles
Chris Edwards Website
Chris Edwards Amazon Profile

Chris Edwards’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Being, Essence & Motion: Aikido as a Way of Understanding is my first book. It is a memoir of sorts, but also contains many practical training tips, especially related to development of Mind/Body Coordination.

My other writing efforts are concentrated in the field of Mathematics where I have posted several papers to pre-print archives. My area of study is set theory and the foundations of mathematics.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is titled Mind/Body Coordination, The Ki in Aikido. It is a work in progress.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Authors: Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter F. Hamilton, Stephen Hawking and Samuel R. Delany.
Books: LOTR, The Stand, On the Shoulders of Giants, Dhalgren and anything written by Peter F. Hamilton

What are you working on now?
Mind/Body Coordination, The Ki in Aikido and Interval Sieve Algorithm, Creating a Countable Set of Real Numbers from an Open Interval.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Take what you need and leave the rest” and “measure twice, cut once”.

What are you reading now?
The Elven by Benhard Hennen

What’s next for you as a writer?
We’ll see.

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?
LOTR, On the Shoulders of Giants, Architectural Graphic Standards.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in New York with my husband and son. A former teacher, I now enjoys days immersed in the sexy lives of the characters I create. My erotic fiction is suitable for readers 18+.

I have published eight books and counting!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called “Training for Gold (Olympic Orgasms Book 1). It is my first foray into writing a threesome!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I try to do as much work as possible, so when I get stuck or uninspired with one story, I switch to another so I can keep writing!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The authors that influence me the most are V.C Andrews and Anne Rice.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on an erotic autobiography which has been very fun to relive!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I promote my books on Twitter @janecalebwood1 and on my own website janecalebwoodbooks.com.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t let your fear stop you. Some people will love your books and others won’t. Just keep writing no matter what.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t take things personally. Your writing won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, so don’t change your style to please anyone.

What are you reading now?
I’m really getting into paranormal erotica right now!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to continue my series and branch out to longer novels.

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?
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Author Websites and Profiles
Jane Caleb-Wood Website
Jane Caleb-Wood Amazon Profile

Jane Caleb-Wood’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a YA and kids book author from North Ala. I am married with 2 children and 2 dogs. I began writing when in 2nd grade. I won the title of Editor due to my imagination and love for writing. Then after that I graduated high school, and entered a contest for my poem, titled The Cosmetology Student which was published in a Poetry anthology. I was inspired by that publication that I continued to write and later published my first novella titled: Southern Adventures by Tate Publishing; which was mainly about my life growing up in the south.

While furthering my writing career and to gain more life experiences, I work as a Registered Nurse at a local hospital. I hopes to encourage and inspire others to live a healthy, happy life and to treat others with love, compassion and kindness, which is often incorporated into my writing.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Southern Attraction-The College Years. It is the 2nd book in series.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Sometimes I brainstorm ideas before putting things on paper.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
African Ice, well written. It’s a thriller with romance but also exotic.

What are you working on now?
Book promotion

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up, continue to master your writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It was from my dad. Don’t give up, don’t procrastinate.

What are you reading now?
Long Way Home by Neve Cottrell

What’s next for you as a writer?
Not sure yet. Will probably start another young adult 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?
African Ice
The Journal
The Bible

Author Websites and Profiles
Tracy Kauffman Website
Tracy Kauffman Amazon Profile

Tracy Kauffman’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have always been interested in writing. I became interested in erotic fiction during my teen years (puberty probably inspired this interest). I am especially interested in GLBT fiction, preferring short stories, generally, to novels, although I have read several of the latter works as well. One of my author’s biographical sketches describes me and my work fairly well:

A post-genderist, I write erotic fiction as a means of exploring and understanding human sexuality in general and my own masochistic autogynephilia in particular. I view sex not as a dynamic of love, but as an expression of dominance and submission between individuals engaged in behavior that is basically selfish and sadomasochistic.
Sex, I believe, is about power, not love, although it may sometimes include affection and compassion. It is predicated upon pleasure, so heterosexuality, despite its focus upon reproduction, is only one of several ways by which individuals may express the psychodynamics of their dominant-submissive, sadomasochistic struggle for power. Other forms of sex, whether gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, or otherwise, are, like heterosexual intercourse, more or less pleasurable and, therefore, authentic.
My own taste favors homosexual anal intercourse, because this act represents the true nature of human sexuality most clearly, as predicated not upon either love or reproduction, but upon the pleasure that derives from the interplay of sadomasochistic dominance and submission, which often takes so-called perverted forms, including spanking. Reproductive (penile-vaginal) sex is, in other words, only one of a variety of equally authentic means of giving and receiving sexual pleasure. It is no better than any other sexual activity and may, in fact, be less satisfying, for some individuals, than alternative ways of experiencing sexual pleasure.
I prefer writing about transsexual or homosexual characters to writing about straight characters, because the appearance of transsexual and homosexual characters in erotic fiction shows that heterosexuals are not essential or even primary, but merely alternative, sex partners. My fiction, like my essays, are based upon these assumptions and beliefs. In this sense, I am a philosophical as well as an erotic author. In addition, I believe that gender, unlike sex, is socially constructed and learned–a fiction that is maintained collectively for social and political purposes. I believe that all human beings are emotionally and, to some degree, physically bisexual. Social conditioning has merely persuaded many that gender is as innate and genetic as sex. In fact, it is not, as my stories and essays seek to suggest.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Bottoms Up: An Erotic Reader, Volume XIII: Wildest Things. It’s a sequel to “Wilder Things,” which, in turn, is a sequel to “Wild Things.” Each story has its own inspiration, but many had their origins in personal experiences or news items that, in some cases, are only vaguely and indirectly related to the stories’ plots, while a few are more directly and concretely related.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to spend too much time at the keyboard, but, no, I don’t really have any unusual writing habits.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Many, a few of whom are Thomas Mann, Jean Genet, Andre Gide, Edmund White, Anais Nin, John Rechy, Gordon Merrick, Xaviera Hollander, several anonymous Victorian writers, the Marquis de Sade, and Poppy Z. Brite. Larry Niven’s essay, “Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex,” Benjamin Franklin’s “Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress,” and Mark Twain’s “Some Thoughts on the Science of Onanism” have inspired my humorous erotic essays.

What are you working on now?
My current project, just finished, is “Wildest Things,” a sequel to “Wilder Things,” which is itself a sequel to “Wild Things,” Volumes VII and VIII, respectively, of my Bottoms Up: An Erotic Reader series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Hands down, it’s been Twitter.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I find one way of generating plots is to use philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s method of combining thesis and antithesis to arrive at a transcendent synthesis. I use this method frequently myself. Use a dramatic, rather than expository, approach whenever possible (“show, don’t tell”) is also sound advice. Also, make sure the incidents of the plot are all related through cause and effect.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Probably “show, don’t tell” and “causally relate plot points.”

What are you reading now?
At the moment, I am between books. The last I read was “Parole Officer’s Bitch” by Yamila Abraham, which I found excellent, overall.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m thinking maybe 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?
Erotic books? “Death in Venice” (Thomas Mann), “Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue” (The Marquis de Sade), and Edmund White’s trilogy “A Boy’s Own Story,” “The Beautiful Room Is Empty,” and “The Farewell Symphony”–hey, a trilogy counts as a single work, right?

Author Websites and Profiles
Cal Y. Pygia Amazon Profile

Cal Y. Pygia’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a native of the Bay Area and a veteran of the wild clubbing scenes in San Francisco and the East Bay. I write, I run marathons, and I work as a software consultant and engineer. I have led a VERY interesting life, and I can’t keep all of the bizarre adventures to myself.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Called Crash Shadow: A Tale of Two Addicts. The worlds of a using addict and a recovering addict are eerily similar, in that it’s all about contacts, unwritten rules, and knowing when and where to address your drug life and trade. It’s a realistic yet harrowing look at the life of an addict, and I was compelled to write it to tell, not only my side of the story, but the stories of so many other people who struggle in the world of recreational narcotics.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can’t say that I have any unusual writing habits. I oftentimes get cabin fever and have to leave my house and write in a cafe’ or a bar, someplace where there are people and enough distractions to keep me going. But many writers are like that.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have a lot of classic authors who influenced me: Dostoyevsky, Jack Kerouac, and others. Playwrights such as Dave Mamet and August Wilson have also been big influences, as well as more modern writers such as Hunter S Thompson and John Waters. But some of my other influences have been writers I personally know, such as Kim Acrylic, Bart Calendar, and other writers I have met who have personally shared their thoughts and writing with me.

What are you working on now?
I recently completed a play which I am trying to get produced, a play called Alex is Missing about four women in the punk scene who are trying to find a missing friend. I am also working on a sequel to Crash Shadow, as that book ends on a mystery.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook and Twitter have been my best promotion tools, especially Facebook. I have sold more books through Facebook than any other social media site. If you are promoting your works and you don’t have a Facebook page, get one!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing. And keep promoting. Just do it!

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

What are you reading now?
Currently I am reading the autobiography of Motorhead’s singer Lemmy, White Line Fever. Life is oftentimes stranger and more interesting than fiction, and when I write fiction I try to give it that true-to-life uniqueness. I am also reading the new John Waters book Mr. Know It All.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing my novel, trying to get my play produyced, and continuing to update my blog Terminal Berkeley Denizen.

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?
Native Son – Richard Wright

Crackpot – John Waters

A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole

And the Langenscheidt Deutsch als Fremdsprache dictionary, my favorite dictionary!

Author Websites and Profiles
Jeffrey Matucha Website
Jeffrey Matucha Amazon Profile

Jeffrey Matucha’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written four books. One is a technical manual and the other three are cozy mysteries.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Spurred to Murder was inspired by my yearly trips back to the south where I spent time with family.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I sometimes like to listen to different music to see if it inspires me to new ideas.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Agatha Christie, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov

What are you working on now?
I’m working on releasing the other two books in my Hurley Beach Mystery series and then I’m going to try a science fiction novel.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Still trying to figure that one out. Always looking for success stories from my peers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Like anything worthwhile it takes dedication.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Work hard and great things will come to you.

What are you reading now?
The Gripping Hand by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing and reading.

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?
Starship Troopers, The Orient Express, Dune

Author Websites and Profiles
Keith Sink Website
Keith Sink Amazon Profile

Keith Sink’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Homeopathic practitioner of nearly thirty years. Was delighted to discover this European system of medicine that has helped myself and my family immensely. After going back to school to complete a graduate program I opened a clinic in S. California. After a successful run I decided it was time to stay home and write about all I had learned. I am now on book #7 and continuing to write about the topics most pressing for those with health issues who find little to no answers within conventional medicine.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first print book, THE ALTERNATIVE, Your Family’s Guide To Wellness, Volume I, First-Aid & Common Conditions published recently. Volume II, same title except featuring DISEASE will release fall 2019. Also four eBooks; ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE IN UNDER AN HOUR; ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE FOR ALLERGIES, COLDS & FLU; SORTING OUT AUTO IMMUNE DISEASE; and THE ALTERNATIVE FOR BEATING CANCER.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to binge write. I get an idea for a topic, research and begin writing. Some days I’m at the computer for 10 hours! Crazy…I become captivated by a topic and keep moving forward until it all spills out on the pages.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The books I read are by the old masters of Homeopathy…certainly not the kind of books most people read.

What are you working on now?
I am currently finishing Volume II, THE ALTERNATIVE, Your Family’s Guide To Wellness: Disease. I am also writing webinar presentations. There are a series of free webinars launching soon. The first one is ‘How To Treat Digestive Issues With Homeopathy.’

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m working the FREE webinar series idea at the moment. Offering good, solid information with an offer to buy my book and receive free downloads of my eBooks as a bonus.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you are self-publishing it takes lots of work to stick to a plan and move through that plan. It is not easy to be noticed in the sea of books out there these days. I have a specific genre that is not too crowded so working with affiliates makes sense for me.
Follow your gut instincts and do what is best for you, not what everyone else does

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Not to use a traditional publisher and to instead create my own path.

What are you reading now?
ALONG THE WAY; The Journey of a Father and Son by Martin Sheen & Emilio Estevez

What’s next for you as a writer?
To continue to write about the health issues people are most in need of knowing more about.

Author Websites and Profiles
ELENA UPTON, PHD Website
ELENA UPTON, PHD Amazon Profile

ELENA UPTON, PHD’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a USA Today Bestselling author and has written almost twenty books up to date under Adrienne Woods.
I wrote in many genre’s using different pen names but Adrienne Woods are mostly for Fantasy. Firebolt is my debut novel and the first in the Dragonian Series. My second series is Dream Casters, which is a series about Dreams wielders. Think the Sandman’s little helpers having their own world called Revera. I also wrote The Draconian Series spin-off novels called the Beam Series.
When I’m not writing I usually spend my time with family and friends. But writing is a big love of my life.
I absolutely love being creative and when new stories comes to me, I usually spend months in that world, developing the characters, plot and stories before I start writing it.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My last published novel is called Mine Immortal, written under Pen name Kristin Ping. It was the very first series, but I decided to publish Firebolt first. I’m busy rewriting the entire series. It was inspired from one of Supernatural, the t.v show’s one episode and the entire series will have like 9 to 12 novels.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I do.
For some reason I can’t just stick to one book. I’m always busy with 4-6 novels at a time. Writing them together. I’m calling myself a mood writer. I wake up in a certain mood and then I’ll write the book that is reflecting that mood.
I also don’t write in chapters.
A lot of my drafts has chapter something as I jump chapters if I’m not in the mood for that certain chapter. I love to write scenes and if I’m in the mood for a certain scene I’ll skip chapters I haven’t written and write that scene.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Many.
Stefanie Meyer was one that make me believe that I could become a writer. The way she writes absolutely reached me on that level.
J.K Rowling, her imagination was something I also wanted to do one day. So I’m a huge day dreamer.
There is seriously way too many to mention. But there are so many authors that really inspired me to also want to become a writer and author.

What are you working on now?
A lot of WIP’S

Adrienne Woods – A book called the Forgotten Queen, one of the Spin-off’s of the Dragonian Series for a boxed set releasing in October.
A new series called the Chronicles of Angoria.

Isabella White – Trying to finish off the What If novels. It’s all contemporary novels and I work on a different one every time I’m in the mood for contemporary novels.

Kristin Ping – working on Varcolac novel 6, that is about the Great War between vampires and werewolves.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Trying to reach word of mouth. So I feel that one of the best promotions I found, or methods are blog tours, Newsletter swaps and Promotional companies.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Plenty, way too many to be honest but the best ones I can think off is….always work on new content.
Never read your reviews, they are there for other readers not you as an author. Reviews have made authors quit loving what they do as some of them can be really nasty. Grow a thick skin if you do read them as not everyone is going to love them.
Find your author community. You need other others to help getting your novels out there. Cross promote is very important in this industry.
Market, market, market. Very, very important.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never to read your reviews and always try to reach word of mouth as fast as you can. If writing is what you love, then that is what you do, write.

What are you reading now?
At the moment I don’t have time to read. But the last audio I listened to is one of my favorites, Harry Potter. I’m a big Pottermore fan and I’m listening to them now for the first time. Read the books like a dozen time.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Always trying to grow bigger, always trying to get new content out. The sky is the limit and I am a big dreamer. So who knows.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’ll take my kindle first if it dies….
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban. My favorite.
Twilight, hahahaha.
The Promise by Danielle Steel.

Author Websites and Profiles
Adrienne Woods Website
Adrienne Woods Amazon Profile
Adrienne Woods Author Profile on Smashwords

Adrienne Woods’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Seemingly drawn to anything creative, I am, among other things, an author, musician, photographer, and fledgling filmmaker. There’s also an analytic side of me that loves physics, math, and the exploration of the human psyche (which led me, late in life, to become a psychoanalytically trained psychotherapist). And lastly, there’s the fighter in me, which led me to become a martial artist, training for many years and earning two black belts in the process. I live in New York City, where I grew up and have lived for most of my life. It’s the setting for the one book I’ve written to date.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The story of Falling Back to One has been a part of me since I was in high school. Shortly afterwards, when I was about 18 or 19, the psychotherapist I was seeing encouraged me to write it down as a book. However, it wasn’t until many years later that I actually put pen to paper. Considered a page-turner of psychological suspense by many readers and reviewers, it’s also a powerful story of transformation and healing. My hope is that it will give something of meaning to each person who reads it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My first draft of anything is always in longhand, which may be “unusual” today only in that it’s considered old-fashioned. But I feel a deeper connection to the words when they’re literally flowing through my fingers. Another writing “habit” is that I prefer to write at non-specific times in non-specific places. For example, I write and (red pen in hand) re-write a lot while on the subway (if I can get a seat), in waiting rooms…I don’t ever remember sitting down at a proper writing desk to write at a time that I specifically set aside for that purpose.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I read many of Thomas Hardy’s books. I liked his use of language, the way he took his time to let things unfold, and the very unfortunate coincidences that would take place in his stories, inevitably causing tragedy. What I took away from authors such as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clark, and J.R.R. Tolkien was their ability to vividly create completely unique worlds that felt very real though they were totally not. Jhumpa Lahiri is such a beautiful writer and storyteller, drawing me into her characters. And Joyce Carol Oates has been a longtime favorite for her always-interesting, though dark, stories peopled with characters that are alive with their own unique voices.

What are you working on now?
After dipping my toe into the world of filmmaking by creating a cinematic book trailer for Falling Back to One (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXJ6PwE_5aY), I’m considering writing a movie adaptation for the entire book. Because the story is so complex with so much happening, it would likely have to be a multi-episode, short-run series, filmed with cinematic quality, and shown without commercial interruption.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If, regardless of your genre, you aspire to write in a literary style, learn all you can about the craft of writing. How you tell your story has a huge impact on the way readers will experience it. I knew next to nothing when I started, causing me to go through countless rewrites while I continued to learn as I went along. You can save yourself a lot of time (and paper) by starting off with a good grounding. I highly recommend David Morrell’s Lessons from a Lifetime of Writing as one source.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Following from my answer to the prior question, one core principle I heard from several people is to show, don’t tell. For example, instead of writing “When Tom gave Suzy the book, she was so happy,” it’s far more powerful to write “When Tom gave Suzy the book, she broke into a wide grin, her eyes lighting up in a way he hadn’t seen in a long time.” Let the reader, based on what you’ve described, discern that she’s happy.

What are you reading now?
The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn. I’m definitely enjoying her writing style. But since I’ve only just begun reading it, I can’t say much more than that.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have an idea for a completely different type of book than my first one. It would be written in a more stream-of-consciousness style and told in the first person.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Because it brings me a sense of peace, and because I take away something a little deeper each time I read it, I would want a copy of the Tao Teh Ching by Lao Tzu. I would also probably take The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. While the writing isn’t necessarily perfect, the storytelling most definitely is, all the details and pieces of the puzzle coming together in an incredibly powerful ending that left me crying my eyes out. By the way, please don’t judge her book by the awful movie adaptation that was done (where they, for some incomprehensible reason, changed that amazing ending). And lastly, since this is a personal list for myself, I would take my own novel, Falling Back to One, which is so precious to me. So many years of my life were wrapped up in writing it, and so much of my life (in one way or another) was encapsulated in the story itself. Despite my likely having read it over 50 times in the process of bringing it to print, it still makes me cry (from a variety of emotions) and, in those uniquely lighter moments, laugh. I would hope that every author has at least one book they wrote that they would feel the same way about.

Author Websites and Profiles
Randy Mason Website
Randy Mason Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
It has been a dream of mine forever to write and publish fiction. My BA is in creative writing and I first moved to Israel from New York City with an arts project. But then life got in the way. I put the $25 total I earned from selling 5 short stories to literary magazines in my pocket and went to business school so I could earn enough money to build a family. I thought I could always get back to writing later. Life got pretty complicated. In the years since that decision, I’ve been a wife, a caretaker, a widowed mom to little kids, and then a stepmom and wife again. When my latest job ended (the company was sold – without me) I finally had the time and space to publish my first novel.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first and latest novel is called Memoirs of a False Messiah. What is the book about? It moves (as I did) from suburban America to the NYC yeshiva world and then to the desert in Israel, and asks the question: what do you do if you have an important message from God that makes everyone around you angry? Now I never had a message from God, but in Israel, I was exposed to a number of people who clearly felt they were meant for something greater. It’s often called Jerusalem Syndrome.

Author Websites and Profiles
Pamela Becker Website
Pamela Becker Amazon Profile

Pamela Becker’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have one published book and another to be released by August. The books are the beginning of a Children’s book series about the life lessons you can learn from plants, especially trees. I am a professional Horticulturist and armature philosopher and putting both of those things together in this series.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Tommy the Tree Gets Trimmed. It is inspired by an adult self-help book I have been working on for a few years. It simplifies the life lessons and the horticultural aspects for children and the adults that read the book to their children.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have those tree face things on my trees by where I sit to write for inspiration. Probably a bad habit, I write on a laptop looking out the window.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
As far as children’s books, I love Pete the Cat and his groovy books. My twin grandsons have made me read the button book 97 times (it seems). I also love Dr. Seuss and books like Green Eggs and Ham. As far as adult books, Steven King is still a favorite. I mostly read Non-Fiction. I would have loved to write “The Handmaid’s Tale” or “Game of Thrones” books.

What are you working on now?
Tommy the Tree and the Awesome Acorns. A rhyming story about how sharing is caring. There is always enough to go around, forgiveness, and how you have to be positive and patient and wait until the time is right for the best outcome.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am just getting started with this free time period on Kindle. I belong to some Facebook groups for authors that allow posting.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read the best books and blogs you can find on the subject and join whatever author groups you can. Get friends and family to help catch any edits that need to be made.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

What are you reading now?
The Four Agreements

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a list of book themes for the next few Tommy Childrens books. I want to finish my adult self-help book also.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible
A Course In Miracles
The Power of Positive Thinking
How to Build A Boat and Radio From Coconut Shells and Sand

Author Websites and Profiles
Kay Campbell Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Christina Francine is an enthusiastic author of a variety of work for all ages. When not weaving tales or cultivating medicinal herbs, she teaches academic writing at the college level writing and workshops. She also is a licensed elementary teacher. Her picture book, Special Memory is available in September 2019 and her Reader in January 2020. Other work includes her analysis on the level of students’ writing across America published Spring 2016 in Journal of Literacy Innovation. Students’ level isn’t where it could be. Her reviews of others work numbers 250 and she’s published numerous articles. Christina believes connecting writing with play is linked to higher creativity and invention. She also believes raising her two daughters is the best thing she has ever done.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
There are two

Special Memory is a picture book inspired by a lesson I shared/created with my two daughters when they were little. My youngest didn’t want to go to Kindergarten. The lesson is about how memories help us through difficult times.
About:
Special Memory is a playful, feel good story that suggests using positive memories to help in times of stress and difficulties. Positive memories can then provide strength and remind us “good” times will happen again.

Fiery five-year-old Emily is semi-cooperative when her mother announces the idea of making a SPECIAL MEMORY one summer morning. She doesn’t want to get used to getting up early for kindergarten. Despite herself, Emily finds dancing in the warm rain with her older sister and mother while wearing pajamas fun until the storm changes. Emily’s mother then pulls her daughters indoors and teaches them how special memories make a difference in our lives. Emily doesn’t think a SPECIAL MEMORY will help in kindergarten until her first day when she remembers sticky wet pajamas and hair, along with warm mud squishing between her toes.

Mr. Inker Finds a Home is a Reader inspired for immigrant children because these students need stories about them. There isn’t much currently.
About:
Rafiq misses his friends from Pakistan and a boy at school makes fun of his name. It is not easy being an immigrant in America. Rafiq knows he’s safer in “the land of the free,” yet he is homesick. When he receives a fancy pen for his birthday, he discovers his new best friend, a talking pen. Sometimes Mr. Inker is too proud and his jokes corny. He can be a real stinker, but he helps Rafiq with English words, makes him laugh, and finds a way to connect Rafiq with his old friends through traditional letter writing. This Step 3 Waldorf Reader is perfect for boys and girls ages 5-8.!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Nothing unusual. I edit often and take breaks between and drink a lot of coffee.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many, but Virginia Woolf made quite an impact on me.

What are you working on now?
I’m editing my fantasy novel about a dreamkeeper for Earth’s children. This story came from the skeleton of a dream that I filled in throughout a few years. I’m still agonizing over the intended audience is YA or New Adult.

About:
Asima, the protector of human children’s dreams, goes searching for true love, even though she is forbidden to take a mate. The tiny dreamkeeper cannot help herself though when she stumbles up Nicolas, a young man creatively rich in music and song. She enters his dreams; something all dreamkeepers are forbidden to do. Eventually, her job is affected, as well her health and she needs to fight Magnus, a class four sleep demon and save a thirteen-year-old girl (Callie).

Both Asima and Callie are close to ruin and when Callie’s classmates begin to pick on another new student, Callie finds her strength. Not Asima however. The Dreamkeeper of Earth’s children is not able to save herself and her life-force grows dim. Magnus had begun his revenge.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I market online and off trying to get interviews, reviews, appearances, and more.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you really want to be a great writer and publish your work, you cannot give up. It may take a lot of work.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It is the same advice that I give: “If you really want to be a great writer and publish your work, you cannot give up. It may take a lot of work.”

What are you reading now?
Textbooks. I continuously work to improve my writing classes. Right now, I’ve adopted OER (Open Educational Resources) texts. Students cannot always afford textbooks and by using free texts that other academics provide, they don’t have to shell out an extra for books.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to make the novel I mentioned about a dreamkeeper for Earth’s children the best it can be and then make it available. One particular big publisher has expressed interest and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

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 difficult because there are many. I’d say one thick fantasy novel and two how-to write better books.

Author Websites and Profiles
Christina Kennison Website

Christina Kennison’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
A few years ago I published two science fiction romance novels with HarperCollins. Now I’m writing contemporary fiction – the Wynter Wild series is projected to be a ten-book series, with four books already available on Amazon.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Little Sister Song (book 1 of the series) was a mish-mash of several ideas that I forced together because I was interested in exploring all of them! I wanted to write about a sibling rock band with family secrets. I was also writing about a girl growing up in a cult, but was more interested in what happened to her after she escaped the cult – so in this story, she finds her siblings and bonds with them through music. In later books they form a band together.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure what “usual” writing habits are as we’re all different. I prefer to write in the wee hours of the morning in a silent lonely room, but I have a family so these days I have to get to bed early. My most unusual habit for this latest series is probably that I wrote half a million words as they came to me, so the scenes were all out of order covering several years. I chopped it up into separate books and applied story arcs afterward. I thoroughly enjoyed the process but would not recommend it!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Growing up I read anything with girl protagonists: Pollyanna, Little Women, Enid Blyton boarding school stories – usually historical novels because I liked a break from reality. Then I got heavily into my science fiction phase (Ursula Le Guin, Vonda N. McIntyre) and I’ve always liked a good historical romance.

What are you working on now?
The Wynter Wild series is about a family of musicians whose parents damaged them in various ways. They rely on each other as secrets are revealed and old hurts are dealt with. Wynter and her three adult brothers are the point-of-view characters, so the genre is a cross between New Adult and Young Adult. I just call it women’s fiction.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My primary advice is to finish what you start. Or, finish *something*. It’s great to get craft advice on story structure and characterization, etc., but in the end you have to stop reading about how to write, and just write. Get a first draft done, and worry about knocking it into shape afterward.

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

What are you reading now?
I’m editing heavily at the moment so the only thing I’m reading is my own work.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have two more books to finish in the Wynter Wild series. I’ve also got a fantasy novel in the works, with three female protagonists, so I’m very excited to get back to that later this year.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Anything by Bill Bryson, plus three empty notebooks (hopefully I’m allowed to bring a few pens).

Author Websites and Profiles
Sara Creasy Website
Sara Creasy Amazon Profile
Sara Creasy Author Profile on Smashwords

Sara Creasy’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing most of my life, stories, poetry and plays for stage and screen. Since 2012 I’ve published seven erotic romance thrillers and my first non-fiction story will be out later this year.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Mrs Terrell’s Letters is my first erotic Western, inspired by my love of Westerns and the 50th anniversary of my fave film Once Upon a Time in the West.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I begin with a strong character and then write a story with no idea what it’s going to be about or how it will end. The character leads the way

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Too many authors and books have influenced me in different ways.

What are you working on now?
I’m in the pre-publication stage of my first non-fiction title. It’s my memoir called ‘Illegitimately yours, Michael and me” which is about my adoption and my brother who became a ‘Missing Person’ in 1985

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
i’m a Twitter fan and actively supporting other authors all the time and getting plenty of support in return

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t look back and just finish the first draft, no matter how bad it is. The achievement of finishing it feels awesome and it gives you something to work with.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you want to get noticed, keep writing and bringing out books.

What are you reading now?
Lots of books about writing a memoir

What’s next for you as a writer?
After my memoir is published, I go back to the joy and fun of writing erotic thrillers where I get to dictate the rules of the story, or at least keep up with my characters who have minds of their own.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Lord of the Rings by Tolkien
Game of Thrones by George R R Martin
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Author Websites and Profiles
Catherine Taylor Website
Catherine Taylor Amazon Profile

Catherine Taylor’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account