Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written two books one published and another currently in process.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is THE MIND OF PLEASURABLE THOUGHTS.. Love, Passion, & Ecstasy! My desire for love, being in tune with the essence of love kiss my inspiration. The true love, that agape love that’s unselfish.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to visualize my thoughts while writing, as if I’m living in the exact moment.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Robert Greene, Zane, The Art of War.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a sequel to my current book. A second version of the Pleasurable Thoughts installment.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best website is our own…Embraceyourinnergreatness.com and Amazon.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
For any new author I would say to stay the course. The journey that you’re wrong is a marathon not a speed race. Be consistent and dedicated, let nothing deter you from your dreams.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To never fold and always believe in yourself. The best investment you can make is with yourself.

What are you reading now?
“Contagious” by Jonah Berger

What’s next for you as a writer?
To continue to write more books and screen plays.

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 48 Laws Of Power, The Mind Of Pleasurable Thoughts, The Way Of The Superior Man.

Author Websites and Profiles
M. C’ole Website

M. C’ole’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I just published my first book (An Echo from Gaea), it’s a science fiction, fantasy novel and would like to get it promoted. My name is Aicha Fischel, i’m from New York City, Originally from Morocco.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first book that i just published (An echo from Gaea) was inspired from my love for science fiction, fantasy and the law of attraction.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I just love creating my own fantasy, fiction stories.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
none.

What are you working on now?
Working on my second book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Still working on it.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m still learning myself

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Believe in yourself, our lives are reflections of our strongest thoughts.

What are you reading now?
Books about cosmology.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Promote my book and sell it.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’ll have to think about it.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have spent many years writing (and occasionally drawing) comic strips for several publications, both digital and print. This includes some work with my own creations, “Tales from my Mindverse” is a collection of a purely digital method of creating comic strips originally designed for distribution to phones prior to the smart phone boom. “Rubbernorc or… My Best Friend was Nazi War Experiment” is a much more traditional comic strip that was produced over a number of years, which very much shows the development of skill and style as it progresses, it also happens to be based not so loosely upon a selection of real people, retaining a cult following the characters have recently made new appearances just last year. I am also responsible for “Gonad the Barbarian”, who has had very limited and sporadic comic appearances over the years and is now stomping his way through the world of children’s books for grown ups.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Gonad the Barbarian and the Balls of the Dead. After many years of not doing an awful lot with the character I have finally been persuaded that I should pull my finger out and write him some tales. Gonad the Barbarian tales are inspired by and will parody the original Conan the Barbarian tales as well as the fantasy genre in general. In 2016 Mr. Testy parodied the Mr. Men series in a children’s book for grown ups, the Balls of the Dead is inspired by and parodies the the Hall of the Dead, a synopsis by Robert E. Howard.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really, lots of scribbling down ideas and scripts on numerous notepads, but everyone does that don’t they? Oh, and coffee, biscuits and cookies, lots of.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Clearly currently I am influence by Robert E. Howard and those that followed him in writing Conan, including those in comic strips as I have spent much of my time writing for the medium. I am also influenced by Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, as well as several comic strip writers such as John Wagner and Alan Grant.

What are you working on now?
The next Gonad the Barbarian project (several actually), a couple of science fiction comic strips, and a wholesome children’s book that is actually acceptable for children… Chee-Da and E-Damme, cheesy warriors from a dairy dimension.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook, Twitter, and lots and lots of spreading the word.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. That’s what everyone says, and it’s right to write, otherwise you are not writing. We all have bad days where we are really not in the mood, but on those days when you are, scribble something down, and always carry a notepad.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t give up, continue to create when you can, you will only kick yourself later for not creating if you don’t.

What are you reading now?
About two dozen different books I should imagine, modern fiction and classics, and factual too, I like to bake and brew when not scribbling and doodling.

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

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Tricky one, but I think criteria would be 3 or 4 different genres.

Author Websites and Profiles
Paul Eldridge Website
Paul Eldridge Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
After getting her degree in physics/geology, I headed west, ultimately landing in Arizona. During my years in the land of cactus and bare rock, I’ve worn a number of cowboy hats including geophysical technician, computer geek, historic district rabble-rouser, museum guide, space artist, and free-lance writer in aviation. Currently I share my home with a husband who resembles Sam Elliot, the world’s largest purse dog, and a passel of cats.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent book is Assassins: Dela, the first novel in a projected series of three science tales in a galaxy where Earth is gone, interstellar nations war with each other, and Guild World’s chief exports are Assassins. The original inspiration for Dela was the old proverb “A cat may look at a king.” Then the story went its own way…

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Costco chai once a day.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Nelson DeMille’s THE GENERAL’S DAUGHTER made me aware of complexity. C.S. Friedman’s COLDFIRE series taught me to dust off moldy precepts and distort them until they become fresh and thought-provoking. The 1950s books of Cordwainer Smith remain interesting.

What are you working on now?
Either the second book of the Guild World Series or the first book of the Magicians (working title) series will be next in the queue as soon as I finish publishing, publicizing, etc a *gasp* Romance set in a small Arizona town.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Read books like THE KINDLE PUBLISHING BIBLE to learn how to promote yourself and your book. Watch what other writers do for publicity.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
“Patience.” It takes, on the average, five books and ten years before a newbie write gets published.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Join a writers organization related to your specialty. If you have romantic interludes in your book, consider joining a local chapter of the Romance Writers of America. The two chapters I have been affiliated with were filled with women – and men – who shared information on writing techniques, markets, and marketing. And not everyone wrote Romances.

What are you reading now?
Nelson DeMille’s THE GATE HOUSE.
Also, COOKING THE WILD SOUTHWEST by Carolyn Niethammer. (It’s mesquite bean season in the Arizona desert.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Another book, of course.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Collected Works of Cordwainer Smith – Fascinating stories, beautiful language
The ColdFire Trilogy – Also fascinating
My 1912 Cookbook and Household Companion (buried in a box of books) – bake a cake, tan a hide, clean gloves, build an outhouse – perfect for a desert island
Probably the Holy Bible – So many stories to think about

Author Websites and Profiles
C. F. Yankovich Amazon Profile

C. F. Yankovich’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
As President and CEO of The Green Thumb Consultant, LLC, I partner with clients to help with business development, personal development, and sales trainings. I thoroughly understand the challenges that both the employee and employer face. My consulting projects have included companies such as The Texas Center for Lifestyle Medicine, St. John’s United Methodist Church, and Bread of Life, Inc.

I am a former Director of Membership and VP of Business Development for the National Sales Network Houston Chapter and led the first ever sales training in collaboration with the NBA Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center. I am a co-host of the relationship podcast HOP INTO HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS, where my wife and I dive into issues like blended families, conflict resolution, current events, and more. I’m a husband, father, speaker, seed-grower, achiever, believer, and one of your biggest allies for your personal growth.

I’ve written my first book, The Unspoken For Win Language: A Universal Approach to Winning Any Conversation

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is my first book; The Unspoken For Win Language: A Universal Approach to Winning Any Conversation.
I have a love for public speaking and bringing value to people. My inspiration comes from bringing value to others. I had to figure out a way to create value for a diverse audience, that’s what inspired me to write the first book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if it’s unusual, but I create a lot of voice memos of thoughts that I have.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Atomic Habits by James Clear & The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris

What are you working on now?
The audiobook for The Unspoken For Win Language.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website https://www.ladarrellhopkins.com and my instagram page https://www.instagram.com/ladarrellhopkinsspeaks/

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you’re passionate about, but also focus on what your audience is passionate about

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The more value you can create, the more valuable you become.

What are you reading now?
The Power of Awareness by Neville Goodard

What’s next for you as a writer?
The second installment of the growth project series

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Four Agreements
The Unspoken For Win Language
The 48 Laws of Power
The Bible

Author Websites and Profiles
LaDarrell Hopkins Website
LaDarrell Hopkins Amazon Profile

LaDarrell Hopkins’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in Pakistan in a Muslim household, a very respectable family, who gave me the best education in the best school. My mother taught me English, and she influenced me to have a reading habit. I started writing when I was 14, and I know from that on that I wanted to be a writer. I have written many books so far, but when I turned 23, I promised myself I would start publishing them. My books are mostly fantasy, spiritual, women’s fiction, poetry and YA fiction. My aim is to provoke thoughts and emotions in readers, make them have a deeper connection with the story and relate it to their personal life.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first published book is ‘Death’s Life’ and the title may seem dark, but it reflects on the relationship of mother and daughter, humanity and how humans are forgetting to be humane.
The idea was popped in my head in a funeral in 2015, when I saw a mother mourning for her young dead son, and I had to write it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Sometimes I cry when I am writing because it becomes very painful to write some thoughts.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am very inspired by Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, The Handmaid’s tale, The Last Unicorn, Every word you cannot say, The Little Prince. It’s more of the quotes than the story itself which inspire me.

What are you working on now?
I am working on promoting my first novel and hopefully I will get back to writing soon!

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up.
Failing is a success in itself.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
At least you can say you tried.
That’s an advice from me to me.

What are you reading now?
I am reading ‘Love and time’ by Alex Baron, it’s a nice love story.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing and another book and getting on NYT bestseller list. That is my goal in life; keep writing and publishing, at least one person will say I am their favorite author.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Harry Potter because who wouldn’t want the best book of all times!
The fault in our stars because oblivion is inevitable.
Quran, once we forgot our identity, we forget everything.
Bible, just curious to read it.

Author Websites and Profiles
Bela Latif Website
Bela Latif Amazon Profile

Bela Latif’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profil

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in Pakistan in a Muslim household, a very respectable family, who gave me the best education in the best school. My mother taught me English, and she influenced me to have a reading habit. I started writing when I was 14, and I know from that on that I wanted to be a writer. I have written many books so far, but when I turned 23, I promised myself I would start publishing them. My books are mostly fantasy, spiritual, women’s fiction, poetry and YA fiction. My aim is to provoke thoughts and emotions in readers, make them have a deeper connection with the story and relate it to their personal life.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first published book is ‘Death’s Life’ and the title may seem dark, but it reflects on the relationship of mother and daughter, humanity and how humans are forgetting to be humane.
The idea was popped in my head in a funeral in 2015, when I saw a mother mourning for her young dead son, and I had to write it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Sometimes I cry when I am writing because it becomes very painful to write some thoughts.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am very inspired by Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, The Handmaid’s tale, The Last Unicorn, Every word you cannot say, The Little Prince. It’s more of the quotes than the story itself which inspire me.

What are you working on now?
I am working on promoting my first novel and hopefully I will get back to writing soon!

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up.
Failing is a success in itself.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
At least you can say you tried.
That’s an advice from me to me.

What are you reading now?
I am reading ‘Love and time’ by Alex Baron, it’s a nice love story.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing and another book and getting on NYT bestseller list. That is my goal in life; keep writing and publishing, at least one person will say I am their favorite author.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Harry Potter because who wouldn’t want the best book of all times!
The fault in our stars because oblivion is inevitable.
Quran, once we forgot our identity, we forget everything.
Bible, just curious to read it.

Author Websites and Profiles
Bela Latif Website
Bela Latif Amazon Profile

Bela Latif’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Never know what to say about myself. Either I say too much or not enough. Lol!

I’m an Aries, married over 30 years. Two children came from our love to share with them. Always have pets, mostly cats but a few dogs joined me and hubby over the years. One solitary ginger cat these days. He’s 6 years old named after a character from author Charlaine Harris’ series Sookie Stackhouse which was presented on television as True Blood.

I’ve been writing stories since the 1960s. My father is the inspiration for my writing style, storytelling. He was my rock (just as hubby is) and used real life situations to make up the most wonderful tales. I’ve read and watched the films on Vampires mainly Dracula. Some of you might remember the actor Christopher Lee represented the Count many times. I’ve watched them all on television. This way until the late 70s, when I attended my first, unaccompanied viewing, of the best Count Dracula played by Frank Langella.

Why do I love vampires so much you ask? I’ve a medical condition where I was told might require blood transfusion and I was scared of the stuff. Father believed these films would help. They did and my writing journey continued until school ended. However, I was unsatisfied with the research into the Vampire legends and being someone rejected and unloved, I wanted my characters to love themselves.

In the early 80s, I made a decision that on my bucket list (read someday in the far future), I would write a fantasy, paranormal romance about their origins. Opening a letter addressed to me and handed over by the lawyer who had been in charge of my father’s last will and testament. This letter added another reading/research frenzy into Witches and Witchcraft.

Finally, I did write the stories. Two enormous books Book1 & Book2, which contains 10 full novels.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Book1/Trieste-Her Journey contains 4 Novels. I decided very early on that I would tell her story from her Mother’s Diaries. The first novel is titled From Dawn Until Forever!

This came about way back around 1995. I spent a sleepless night, it was hot and AC wasn’t working. I wrote until dawn. As it was substantial amount of writing, I knew I would have to split it eventually. I wrote the last thing on that draft that morning as I felt this was the beginning. That is why, Book1/Novel1 is still called From Dawn Until Forever…

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Apparently! As I write at night only.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Fred Saberhagen (author) of A Friend of the Family. His different take on Vampires was amazing. Gave me the opportunity to write on a popular subject but with an entirely unique style. As well as trying to base it on real life items, namely Diaries. I was told recently that it is called “epistolary”.

What are you working on now?
Nothing much as my laptop battery has died, needs replacing but I can’t afford it until I get funds. I’ve been through a move recently and now we’re broke… Worst than before July this year.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When a fellow UK writer gave me the particulars on how to have a KDP account at Amazon. His email was invaluable. Otherwise, my ebooks would only be at Kobo.

What are you reading now?
Still in boxes, not everything is unpacked yet, but I’ve found (earlier today) my copy of Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan. Another author with a passion for mythical characters.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Wanting to get my own ISBNs as I’m hoping to someday soon get my ebooks into paperbacks.

Author Websites and Profiles
CD Baxter Website

CD Baxter’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m originally from Chicago and settled in Arizona in the 1980s. I’ve been a father, musician, salesman and business owner. My passion for writing began early in his childhood and flourished as I grew older. I enjoy reading horror, thriller and science fiction as well as memoirs and biographies.
I currently live in Southern Arizona and spend most of the summer in Ruidoso, New Mexico.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is Kill It T Death. It is the 3rd book in The Suicide Society series.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
There are certain days when the words just flow, and when that happens, I stay with it. On those days, I may write from 7:30 am until around 10 pm with only a few breaks.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Isaac Asimov, Stephen King and Clive Barker hooked me on horror and sci-fi. More recently, I enjoy Jeremy Bates, Kenneth Johnson, Robert Massie and Shayne Silvers.

What are you working on now?
The fourth and final book in The Suicide Society Series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use a variety of promotion methods, including Facebook ads, Bookbub promotions, Amazon advertising, Horrornewst.net and of course, Awesome Gang.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Establish your brand before you launch your books. As counter intuitive as it sounds, it’ best to have at least three books written before launching the first.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Network. The quickest way to achieve success is with the help of other authors who have already been through the process.

What are you reading now?
The Promise by J.S Donovan

What’s next for you as a writer?
After I finish the Suicide Society series book 4, I have an idea for a stand alone 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?
The Foundation Trilogy
The Stand
Watchers
Enders Game

Author Websites and Profiles
William Brennan Knight Website
William Brennan Knight Amazon Profile

William Brennan Knight’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Moroccan native, have been living in NYC since almost 6 years. I’m from a scientific college background, i speak 4 languages including my native one. I’m also a future enlistee in the US Coast Guard. I wrote and published my first fantasy/science fiction novel over the last few months.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
(An echo from Gaea) is my first book. It’s a short science fiction/fantasy novel, my passion for cosmology, universal laws and the LOA were a great inspiration to me, as well as mythology.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Sometimes, vivid details from a dream can inspire me to write a whole chapter or find new characters.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I prefer to keep that private.

What are you working on now?
Currently working on writing and developping the story of my second book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Social media is an amazing and free way to attract readers

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Believe in your project regardless what others might think of it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Nothing is impossible as long as there is determination

What are you reading now?
Currently looking for a new book

What’s next for you as a writer?
Get my book promoted

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?
Possibly books about adventurers who had been stranded on desert islands before and a good map

Author Websites and Profiles
Aicha Fousshi Fischel Website

Aicha Fousshi Fischel’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I love to spend time in nature in order to focus on creating the perfect plot. My favorite days are often spent on the beaches of California in order to gain inspiration. Escaping from the city life often helps her to dive into new projects (as well as silencing my phone when working). I recently published my first internationally available romance book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Melting The Model’s Heart was inspired by my passion for strong female protagonists. I love to create characters that have complex emotions and stories. I gained the idea for the novel when abroad as I was reflecting on how romance novels could use a lead more relatable to modern women. I drew from my personal experiences as well as my creative prowess in order to create Tessa the main character of Melting The Model’s Heart. I wanted a lead personality that was relatable and that also needed to work throughout the novel in order to achieve personal development. My main character must learn that vulnerability does not detract from her inner strength and battle to regain her career as a top model at the same time.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I love to drink insane amounts of coffee throughout the day before sitting down to brainstorm ideas. All of my first drafts are actually written by hand and then eventually typed out on the computer. I prefer pen and paper, as I believe it allows me a better amount of clarity and focus instead of a computer screen.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love all different genres and authors. I enjoy trying to read about as many different time periods as possible because I find reading the cheaper and more attainable version of time travel. As a child, I adored George Eliot and her detailed novels. While reading Eliot, I felt as if I could envision each scene so perfectly that it felt like I was a little mouse watching within the provincial homes of Middlemarch.

What are you working on now?
She is currently working on her second international book. Although the upcoming novel includes aspects of the romance genre; it will actually focus on a dark mystery. The secrets will crash upon the anchor of an isolated boat and hopefully dock into stores sometime in October.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best method of promotion is my Instagram handle called vivianna_waters

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The best advice I have for a new author is to just start writing. No idea is too small and the only person who can ever tell you no is yourself. Don’t let other people get into your head about your own writing capability or your intelligence. People are only cruel and skeptical of your skill until your prove them wrong… and those individuals didn’t have your best interest at heart to begin with. Always believe in yourself because you’re the only one who can keep your dreams afloat.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I received was when she was still very little and was either about six or seven years old. My father told me to be as kind and brave to other people, as I would want someone to be for me. The advice rings especially true to me in the current climate within the United States of America

What are you reading now?
I am currently devouring the classic Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. I love Achebe’s creativity and ability to paint such a vivid description of events of precolonial Africa. Admittedly, this is not the first time that I have read the book. I love rereading because I believe that each time presents a different image and perception of the same events.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I aim to create a fictional novel that blurs the line between imagination and reality by tracing historical events. On a more personal level, I plan to enjoy more time with my family and appreciate the small quite moments at home.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I wouldn’t be able to read any of my picks, as I would be too busy figuring out a way off the island. Although I love nothing more than going to the beach that does not mean I am willing to part with my family or random coffee shop conversations.

Author Websites and Profiles
Vivianna Waters Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am in my second career! I am a psychiatrist at the University of Michigan, and have been seeing patients, training residents and medical students, and doing research. And now I am also an award-winning novelist. The End of Miracles is an International Book Awards finalist for literary fiction, has been an Amazon Kindle International Best-seller, and has been recommended by the American Library Association. It has also been optioned for a movie. I also write as an Expert Blogger for Psychology Today, and my many articles can be found here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/call
Fun things I like to do include choral singing, Pilates and Tai Chi.
I have written one novel, The End of Miracles,

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The End of Miracles is the coming-together of my psychiatric interests and experiences and my interest in writing a novel. It was inspired by consultations requested by obstetrician colleagues on patients with false, fantasied pregnancies. I was struck by the thought that a novel that explored how this happened, and the results of it, could be interesting for both the writer and the reader. Margo, the character in the book, is totally unlike the patients I saw – she is completely invented. But her inspiration comes from real life. The novel draws on my decades of experience with psychosomatic medicine, infertility, depression and psychotherapy. While a gripping and suspenseful novel, The End of Miracles is deeply and intimately psychological. It also realistically portrays how psychiatrists think and how they design treatment plans for their patients.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Sometimes, when I had to go to work in the morning and be a doctor, I still wanted to keep working on the novel I had been writing the previous night. So I told myself: ‘ Brain, I have to go to work now. But you keep working on the story.” Usually, when I came home in the evening, a few good, solid paragraphs would slide easily from brain to paper.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
A multiplicity of books and genres. I started with Nancy Drew and A Secret Garden as a child, read non-fiction like Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams as a teenager. In the decades I have been an author myself, I read good books with eye for both the story and for the technique.

What are you working on now?
A memoir. I started medical school when there were only 8% women in medical schools across the country. I was the only woman in my internship group. Then, I had to learn to thrive as a medical school faculty when there were few women there as well. How this all intersects with my raising a family and myliterary work makes for an interesting story.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Linking with current events.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be persistent. It is a very long journey, which is good – less pressure to feel you have to do everything right at the beginning.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
An excellent writer said, when asked what to do about promoting one’s book:
“Just start your next one.”
You have to work to promote your book, but at the same time it can’t be your entire focus. Starting a new one gives you another writing project to care about.

What are you reading now?
As I am writing a memoir, I am reading more memoir. Two recent ones: Admiral William McRaven’s Sea stories, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s My Beloved World.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing my memoir, and continuing to write my Expert Blog for Psychology Today.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. It is the equivalent of many books.
All The Light We Cannot See. The language is so gorgeous that I read it slowly to savor each sentence.

Author Websites and Profiles
Monica Starkman Website
Monica Starkman Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is my first book but there is another one nearly finished which I hope to get published in 2020. Both are based on my own family history. I also write short stories occasionally which I post on my own website.

I have a degree in Humanities with Literature and have always enjoyed reading, especially the great writers of the 19th Century, such as Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy. A great deal of my working life has been spent teaching English and maths to young people in the workplace. Nowadays I find myself trying to pass on my love of the classics to people who were born in the 21st Century. It’s a hard task but if I can impart even the tiniest bit of enthusiasm, then I’ll feel I have achieved something.

I have done many different jobs in my working life, from nursing to shelf filling and everything in-between! Having lived long enough now, I realise that life very rarely goes to plan.

In my spare time, when I’m not writing, I enjoy spending time with my husband, our cats and pet rabbits, listening to folk and world music, going to the cinema and trying to grow vegetables, with limited success!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Glass Bulldog is my latest novel and is based on the true story of one of my ancestors.
Being the only child of two only children, I have always felt a distinct lack of family. This led me to research my family history and what I found there fascinated me. A chance snippet of information in a parish archive about my great-great grandfather Tom Finnimore sent me off on a voyage of discovery. Arrested and imprisoned for stealing six chickens at the age of 16, he somehow survived to have a family and a second chance. The more I found out about his life the more vivid it became until I was compelled to write up Tom’s story.
I have spent years carefully researching the facts of his life and the context of the time, and can say that I feel it represents a realistic picture of the life of the working class poor in Victorian Britain. Though it is a fictionalised account, all the main events actually happened as told, and I have tried to be as accurate as possible, especially with names, dates and places.
The novel covers a period of over fifty years from 1832 to 1885. This was a challenge in itself to portray, but I felt that if I made the book any shorter it would not be doing justice to Tom.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My writing takes place anywhere and everywhere, even whilst sitting in the car. I find driving is a great way to free the mind and inspire the imagination, and I’ve often had to pull over in order to get stuff down on paper. I always write the first draft by hand, as I think better that way, then redraft and amend it as I type it up.
My cat Maisie likes to sit on the table with me whilst I am writing, often on the paper as well, which somewhat slows down progress!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have a great love for the nineteenth century classics like Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and Jane Austen but I am also a huge Tolkien fan. Reading Lord of the Rings as a teenager was life changing for me. Contemporary authors that I enjoy now are Alexander McCall Smith, Bill Bryson and Mark Wallington. I cannot say which ones have influenced my own writing style but I certainly love their books.

What are you working on now?
My current work in progress is called No Shamrocks Here and is another true story, this time beginning in the late Victorian era. It tells the story of three members of the same family: a female Irish immigrant and two of her sons; one who takes part in WW1 and another who lives through the war on the home front. I feel it is a new, fresh look at the war from a different perspective, plus a heart rending story of love gone wrong.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Facebook and Twitter as well as my own website. https//alisonhuntingford.com
I am also approaching literary festivals, book clubs, family history societies, WI.s; in fact anyone who will listen!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up! Even if you think you’ll never make it, just keep trying. I set myself a target of 3000 words by the end of the year and once I got started I just couldn’t stop!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stephen King – anything goes, there are no rules with writing, everything is up for grabs. This is such a liberating approach.

What are you reading now?
Bill Bryson – Neither Here nor There

What’s next for you as a writer?
Get the new novel finished. Try and get an agent and a publisher. If not, put it out myself. Then promote everything over and over again.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Lord of the Rings JRR Tolkien
500 Mile Walkies Mark Wallington
Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen

Author Websites and Profiles
Alison Huntingford Website
Alison Huntingford Amazon Profile

Alison Huntingford’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
• Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Jerilee Kaye, a Vendor Manager by day, a graphic artist during afternoons, a writer at nights, an entrepreneur on weekends, a Mom and a wife twenty-four-seven. I have been writing romance novels since I was a teenager, but only in 2013 did I really come out of the writing closet and decided to share my works to the world. So far, I have published four contemporary romance novels, Knight in Shining Suit; Intertwined; All the Wrong Reasons and All the Wrong Places.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest release is called “All the Wrong Places”. It is a spin-off of my book “All the Wrong Reasons”. I wrote All the Wrong Reasons about ten years ago and only published it last October, 2018. The main character of that book, Justin Adams, was my favorite. I loved him so much I named my daughter Justine, after him.

After I published the book, I just couldn’t get enough of their world. I wanted more. I can’t leave these characters alone. And apparently, after publishing it, and releasing it as an online interactive story, the fans wanted more of these characters too. I got requests here and there for a sequel. But instead of a sequel, I decided to make a spin-off, creating another love story from the supporting characters of the previous book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. But the best place for me to write is during the nights and I write better when I’m outdoors, doesn’t matter if I’m surrounded by the hassle and bustle. When I have this idea in my head and I’m so much into a story, I’ll write anywhere, anytime.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Like the stories that I write, I love reading romance and young adult novels. The authors I really liked are Stephanie Meyer, Judith McNaught and Nora Roberts. I also love Cassandra Clare and J.K. Rowling.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I am working on the spin-off of All the Wrong Places. I’m also editing another book, which I would be releasing sometime around October. It’s a young adult romance novel called Wingless and Beautiful about two beautiful, imperfect people, who found extra-ordinary love in the most unlikely place.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am trying many avenues to promote my books. Currently, I am promoting mainly on Instagram. I also have a website to update my followers. And then there’s Wattpad, where I started writing. I still communicate with my followers through there and never forget to give them an update and sneak peeks of what I’m doing.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write a story that you, yourself, would read over and over again. If you love it, you will find an audience for it. The world is big and while it seems it’s hard to penetrate, it also means that the possibilities are endless. Just don’t give up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t stop at every barking dog. People have different tastes, different opinions, different agenda. Given this, it means you cannot please everybody. You just have to accept that. Don’t retaliate. Don’t defend yourself every single time. Just focus on what you do best. And keep doing it.

What are you reading now?
I am currently reading one of my unpublished books because I’m rewriting it and hopefully publish it early next year as ‘All the Wrong Choices’.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am part-time writer. Currently, I’m still doing this as a hobby. I have plans of doing this fulltime someday. When I give up doing day jobs, writing happily ever afters is my retirement plan.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
My books Knight in Shining Suit, All the Wrong Reasons, Intertwined and All the Wrong Places. As an avid romance reader, I am also one of my favorite authors

Author Websites and Profiles
Jerilee Kaye Website
Jerilee Kaye Amazon Profile
Jerilee Kaye Author Profile on Smashwords

Jerilee Kaye’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
About me, huh?
Well, I am a first and foremost a mother to a tiny terror of a toddler. Although my dream would be to write full time, I currently work full time for a travel agency (travel being another one of my passions)
I live in Vancouver, Canada and was born and raised here. I have been an avid reader since I was a kid (and when I say avid, I mean it. For example, in 2018 I read around 240 novels) In the start of 2019, I decided to finally pursue my dream of being a published author.

Written versus published books? Very different questions!

I have my debut series beginning its rapid release in August and September of 2019. Several anthologies have accepted my work for fall 2019 and I have several other works written and just waiting to be edited, or in various stages of completion. The story idea’s are always flowing, and I can’t wait to share more of them!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Dead Aware: A Zombie Journey

This was based on an idea I had in high school, which was basically that I wanted a story from a zombie’s point of view about how these two zombies had to cross the country to find each other again.
That idea grew, but the novel is still based on the same principle. I really wanted to speak more to the ‘prejduice’ against poor, misunderstood zombies. I am really happy with how it turned out, and have a whole series of Dead Aware novels planned out.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I find some of my best words flow when I am transiting on a bus to get to work. It is about a 40 minute ride, and on a good day, I can get 500-1000 words typing on my phone!
I also find my best ideas come between 11pm and 3am. Inconvenient, yes. However, it has led to me having a small messy notebook of some cool ideas and late-night thoughts.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
As I said, I am an avid reader so this is a BIG list.
A few that I would say are noteworthy would be Brian Keene (I adore his style. Easy to read, fast-paced and brutal with some super unique ideas) Mark Tufo (One of the modern Gods of the zombie world.) Tillie Cole (Who writes dark and dirty romance. I suck at writing sex, but if I could I would wish I could be her.) and Richard Laymon (His brutal, no-nonsense novels are also fast-paced and incredible)

What are you working on now?
A few different things but one of my personal favorites is a story about what I might call a female Ed Gein. Think psycho artist lady who uses torture to create art. She kidnaps a child at a young age and keeps him in a cage while she works. The story takes place when the child is now in his late teens and is forced to watch this woman’s continued and escalating madness.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
As I am still a new author a lot of my readers are coming from word of mouth and social media. I interact within the horror community, meet other authors and generally just try to be a ‘good’ citizen in the horror and indie writing world.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up.
Build your support network. (Other authors, beta readers, friends, etc)
You can’t edit a blank page, so even if it sucks just keep writing.
You can do this.
It’s a long journey uphill, but the satisfaction is unlike anything else. Just keep going.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you don’t try, you’ll never do.
Put yourself out there, follow your passions and it will all fall into place.

What are you reading now?
I am reading an ARC called the Mating Season by Yael Maree. Dystopian novel that, so far, is quite interesting.
Also have a few others on the go, including Genital Grinder by Ryan Harding and The Troop by Nick Cutter.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More of this! Keep writing, sharing words. Next year I hope to attend a few conferences including Scares That Care and some others.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
This is a very evil question, first of all.
I think I would mix up my genre’s and bring a selection.

Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel (historical fiction)
The Stand by Stephen King (end of world horror, also that word count is epic!)
Sick Fux by Tillie Cole (insane revenge story, sort of romance-horror cross)
Ghoul by Brian Keene (horror, coming of age story)

Did I already mention this question sucks?

Author Websites and Profiles
Eleanor Merry Amazon Profile

Eleanor Merry’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a kiwi science fiction and fantasy author writing in the south pacific. I am the author of 3 books which are all in my Secret Library series. I used to work as a psychologist but have given that up for now in favor of working on my novels. I am energetic, dramatic, and exceedingly silly.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is the third book in the Secret Library series called The Spaces Between. The book is about the stories that come together in the spaces between books (as in on the shelf.) I had a lot of fun writing it in a large part because there were no limits to my imagination when envisioning such a world. Try and spot which stories made it into the mix!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I change my habits so often so I suppose I have many. At the moment I’m working on dictating my novels. Picture an enthusiastic New Zealander shouting at his computer “I said to delete that, not bold that!” and then his computer helpfully typing out my abuse.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
You could describe my work as Terry Pratchet meets John Green with a touch of J K Rowling. I regularly re-read the works of Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde and they are sure to have influenced my writing style.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a satirical femanist space western called Cowboy Karen. I love it. Cowboy Karen: Asteroid Jazz is due to come out before the end of August.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I believe that the best promotion for your books is your next book. I focus on the words and the stories with the faith that the rest will follow.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Start small, write a novella (17,500-28,000 words), get a cover, and get it published on Amazon. This first step is vital. You may only sell a few copies to friends and family or curious wanderers, but it gets you in the game and doesn’t cost you a thing (except maybe the cover.)

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“There’s no need to sharpen your pencils anymore; your pencils are sharp enough. Even the dull ones will make a mark.”

Ze Frank from An Invocation For Beginnings

What are you reading now?
Aurora Rising by J Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

I’m in a bit of a science fiction mood at the moment. If you visit my Goodreads page you will likely see that I’m currently reading at least half a dozen books. This is just how I am.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am working to get the first few books of the Cowboy Karen series out into the world and then follow up with the fourth Secret Library book. I also have some plans for a Halloween horror novel, but that is top secret and I’m not telling anyone.

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 Picture of Doren Gray by Oscar Wilde
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Past that it gets too hard without evoking series…

The Discworld Series
The Expanse Series

Author Websites and Profiles
J. C. Gilbert Website
J. C. Gilbert Amazon Profile

J. C. Gilbert’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I ah self-published four books, three of them are being published in print and audio, while I am reworking my full-length novel for release. After this is updated, I will be working on the sequel. I am a blogger and a podcaster as well.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Stories Outside the Box: an Electric Eclectic Book is the latest book that I republished. These stories were inspired in many different ways. Some of them came to me in dreams, while others were inspired by writing prompts and aspects of my life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I get stuck, I go out on the front porch and listen to the windchimes while I am praying. Usually, when I’m working on a story, I can see the story unfolding like an image in ,y mind, or the windchimes themselves will sing inspiration to me. If I’m away from my computer, I will write using the notes app on my phone.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Karen Kingsbury, Janette Oke, Robin Lee Hatcher and Annie Acorn, to name a few.

What are you working on now?
As I stated above, I am in the middle of reworking A Journey of Faith, and I’ve finished the first round of revisions for the sequel called Journey to the Mountaintop.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
blog interviews, being guests on podcasts, and engaging with other writers, who are also readers on twitter.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t let people tell you how to write your book. Learn all you can from the experts, but you are the one who must figure out what works best for you

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write your heart out, but don’t let your heart get broken if your work is rejected.

What are you reading now?
I’m about to start a scifi novel called Lucy by Thea Ramsay, and I’m listening to Chocolate can Kill by Annie Acorn on Audible.

What’s next for you as a writer?
publishing more books, continuing to grow my audience through my blog and my podcast, and once my book has been releaced again/updated, schedule book tours next year.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Bhe Bible, Option Ocean, Navigating the Sea of Possiblity by Kristi Bridges and others, and 30 day everyday mom challenge by Dr. Jennifer Ikner Lowry. Fir a Novel, I’d take Gon with the Wind.

Author Websites and Profiles
Ann Harrison-Barnes Website
Ann Harrison-Barnes Amazon Profile
Ann Harrison-Barnes Author Profile on Smashwords

Ann Harrison-Barnes’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have a short attention span so I write lots of novellas and short stories, mostly about women with complicated lives. The Cure is my first venture into longer tales and I’ve recently self published a collection of my short stories, titled Unintended Consequences. I also teach short story writing in an adult program at Kennesaw State Univerity.

I’ve been a copywriter, business owner, international business coach, marketing manager, and grief counselor, among other things. I live in rural Georgia with two cats in the yard, whose job it is to keep the other critters outdoors. I’m a certified master gardener and I write gardening articles for my local newspaper, and grants to support my local library system. At last count I have seven grandchildren in five cities and three countries.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I was at my first Sisters in Crime writers’ meeting when the moderator asked us for new story ideas in the form of a back-cover book blurb. I raised my hand and talked about a woman with early-onset dementia and a man who comes from the future with a cure. It became a short story, and then grew into my first novel, The Cure.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I started writing fiction I asked every writer I met what their writing routine was. It became clear that the successful ones wrote, or worked on some aspect of, their writing just about every day. I have daily goals for word count / revision / research, and set a weekly word count goal of 3,000 words. It works for me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Flannery O’Connor and Pascal Garnier and Shirley Jackson for the dark side. Elena Ferrante for beautiful detail. Nora Ephron for humor in the face of pain. For the craft of writing: The Elements of Style, Jane Cleland, Steven James, so many more.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a sequel to The Cure, and taking notes on the third volume to form a trilogy. And, as always, several short stories.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still learning the book marketing side, but Goodreads is right up there.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read. Study craft. Hang out with other writers, in person and online. Don’t fall prey to all the services that want to sell you (fill in the blank) that will make you a best selling author. Social media is a time suck, so beware of the clock when you enter its portals. Save all your stories; you may want to revisit them one day. Get into the habit of writing just about every day.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stand up for something or you’ll fall for anything.

What are you reading now?
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Sticky Fingers by JT Lawrence
The Price of Paradise by Susana Lopez Rubio

What’s next for you as a writer?
Learning more about the ins and outs of writing sequels. Compiling enough short stories for a second volume.

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 Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
Walden by HD Thoreau

Author Websites and Profiles
Patricia Bowen Website
Patricia Bowen Amazon Profile

Patricia Bowen’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is the first collection I’ve published.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Millenial Myths – This book was began as a set of meditations on loss, love, and the passage of time.
Around the Year 2000 the world began to change. Old people died, New people arrived.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
JDante, Petrarch, All the old Troubadors

What are you working on now?
A collection of works descended from the muses

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

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

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

What are you reading now?
Athanasius Kircher’s “Iter Exstaticum”

What’s next for you as a writer?
To the stars…

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?
Finnegans Wake, The Name of The Rose, The Jerusalem Bible

Linus St Pierre’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a self-love advocate, blogger, life coach but really I’m just a girl learning how to love herself and helping others do the same through my blog posts, books, and courses. So far I’ve self-published 3 workbooks on Amazon, all geared towards mindset, self love, and taking inspired action towards your dreams.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent book is called The Inspired Action Map. It’s a guided workbook designed to help you take massive action towards your big dreams now rather than someday. It includes a monthly inspired action map with journaling questions to help you figure out which goals you want to focus on for the month ahead. It also helps you get crystal clear on what inspired action steps you’ll need to take to achieve your goals.

On a daily basis, there is a worksheet to fill out that helps you stay motivated and focused on the right tasks. Gratitude, self-care, and celebrating your daily wins is a part of this daily process because I do not believe in having to burn yourself out in order to become successful and create a fulfilling life.

I was inspired to create this workbook, because I’ve been using my own printable version for the past couple of years and wanted a bound version I could use. My coaching clients have also enjoyed using it, so I knew other women might find it useful too!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Hmmm, I’m not sure about this one! I do have a routine now where I go to local cafes to write. I pretty much always order a smoothie or a hot tea depending on time of the year. I’ve found that my environment needs to be cheerful and relaxing in order for me to feel inspired and be productive.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love to read all kinds of books, but since I write self help mainly I’ll share the authors from that genre who’ve inspired me the most. One of the first self help books I read was You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay. It changed my life, and helped me to see that no matter what you’ve gone through things can change simply by choosing to create new beliefs about yourself. The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz helped me to stop taking things so personally and let go of worrying so much about things I can’t control.

I also adore everything Paulo Coehlo writes. The Alchemist is one of my all time favorites.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on a self care workbook for women. I want to create something that goes beyond self care being a bubble bath or getting a massage. I want to help women who feel burned out set better boundaries and make time for their passions rather than continuing to put their dreams on the back burner.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I promote my books through my blog and my social media profiles. I also run ads through Amazon and I’ve done a few paid promotions on other book sites. As a new author, I’m honestly still figuring out how best to optimize my book marketing efforts.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I wish I had self-published sooner now that I’ve gone through the process. I really made it out to be a much bigger molehill in my mind that it was in reality. We live in a time where we are really blessed to have all of these options to get our work out there. Take advantage of it! Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good. You have something worthwhile to share, otherwise you wouldn’t have the desire to write a book!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t take advice from someone who hasn’t achieved what you want to achieve.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Right now my main focus is creating content for my blog, LifeasBritny.com, but I’d love to continue creating a couple of books a year. It has become a fun way to express myself, help others, and also make some extra money!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo, and Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding – that way I have something for every mood

Author Websites and Profiles
Britny West Website
Britny West Amazon Profile

Britny West’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I come from a single parent family with my mom raising my brother and I. I eventually paid my way through undergrad getting a degree in finance, and then going on to do my MBA and eventually my CFA charter. While I graduated my undergrad debt-free, my MBA was another story. When I graduated I had over $50,000 of student debt (tuition is not cheap!), and so, through trial and error, and implementing the advice I write about in my book, I was able to become debt-free and get my finances back on track.

This is my first book but I have plans for a few more.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of the book is Kicking Financial Ass and I purposely wrote it to target a younger audience, specifically millennials. Our generation is graduating with record amounts of student debt and we don’t have the same opportunities as our parents had growing up. Tuition costs are rising, living costs are rising, but salaries haven’t been keeping up.

That being said, the fundamentals of personal finance are not taught in school (which they should be), and so I thought writing a book on the absolute essentials, and writing it in a way that a younger audience could relate to, would be well received. And it has with a 4.6/5 on Goodreads right now!

Ultimately the inspiration came from wanting to help others get out of debt and take control of their financial future.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I noticed there is a correlation between coffee intake and the amount of writing I can do, so having a coffee is a necessity. I also try to limit my sittings to three hours or less. Anything longer and my brain turns into that of a fish.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Tim Ferriss for sure. Everything from the 4-Hour Workweek, to Tools of Titans, and Tribe of Mentors are amazing. I also love everything by Mark Manson. Ramit Sethi with his book I Will Teach You to Be Rich also influenced me to write my own take on the subject.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on getting the audiobook finished and then place my focus back on the blog. Eventually I have plans to write a second (and perhaps a third book), an online course, and a podcast but that’s years down the road.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
First, utilize your network. I posted it on Facebook and LinkedIn and it went viral. Second, use the media to your advantage. I reached out to various media outlets and after reading the book they had me on the air. Third, use NetGalley. I found it great to receive feedback before the book went live. And lastly, build a platform and get your message out!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, write, and write. For each page of writing I kept, I likely wrote 10 I scrapped. But the only way to get there is to write. Then get feedback. My writing has come a long way after receiving feedback from my editor, and family, and friends. Believe in yourself and don’t give up!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” – Steve Jobs

I like that quote because to me writing is a way of putting yourself out there. Whether the feedback is positive or negative, what do you have to lose?

What are you reading now?
Currently reading Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (I want to improve my cooking skills), and Grit.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep writing blog posts and get started on my next book!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
That’s tough! My criteria are books that I have either read more than once or made a positive impact on my life.

1) Man’s Search For Meaning
2) 4-Hour Workweek
3) Sapiens
4) Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Author Websites and Profiles
Paul Christopher Dumont Website
Paul Christopher Dumont Amazon Profile

Paul Christopher Dumont’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write novels in historical fiction and adventure/travel. My six novels have collectively won eight national awards. In my twenties, I completed ten, six-month trips abroad, and crossed close to 100 countries, during these years I wrote travel articles, poetry, and filled thirty journals. My writing career sprang out of that jumbled collection of words.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Sirens of Oak Creek came out of a desire to explain some of the myths of the Verde Valley (Arizona) and try to combine them with the recorded history. This historical mystery spans 1,200 years and is told through the eyes of eight different women.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I think about a book for at least a year before I write it. I like to get in a groove where I write a chapter each month, some months that’s barely enough, other months I find myself using the extra time to add things to the story.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Bruce Chatwin was the first author who really gripped me. He wrote about what he saw when traveling, and wasn’t your average tourist. Formerly, he was an art critic who woke up temporarily blinded. His doctor recommended looking at horizons, and he spent the rest of his life traveling with nomads.

What are you working on now?
A novella entitled, The Gaze of an Ape, which connects six different experiences I’ve had with apes, orangutans and gibbons.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Live a big life and you’ll never lack for things to write about.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Learn to let criticism wash through you. Let it sit for a while, then try to pull out the useful aspects and ditch the rest.

What are you reading now?
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m doing a huge push of all six novels (over the next six months), and after that I want to focus on finding an agent while I work casually on a long 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?
Okay, the smart answer would be books about survival, maybe how to build a boat from coconut trees or what to eat, but I think your talking about literature so you don’t go crazy. If that’s what you are asking: A collection of Whitman, one of Steinbeck, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Author Websites and Profiles
Robert Louis DeMayo Website
Robert Louis DeMayo Amazon Profile

Robert Louis DeMayo’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written several pieces at different times in my life and I would not call them books. However, I am very adamant about only releasing my work when it feels appropriate. Therefore, I have only published one work. The timing felt right and, I have to admit, I did feel the pressure of finishing it to get it out to the public. That fact probably shows more than I want it to through my style of writing. That is just the type of person that I have become. When I make the decision to do something, it is far more important to get the task done than it is to swarm around it for days, weeks, or months. I feel it is always important to complete what you set out to do. I wanted to be a published author, and that is exactly what I did.

I grew up, and live, in West Virginia. My county was quintessential West Virginian, coal country. Life here seems simple. People go to work and buy ATV’s to pass the time and what not. I took that path and it was unacceptable. I chose the hardest path that I could think of. The path of self reliance, but not just physical survival in our modern times, but mental survival. I was diagnosed with a depression and anxiety disorder some years back and I was unconscious of how the medication was affecting me. I talk about this at length in my book. I had a mental breakdown and went through a divorce. I decided to change everything. I grew up as what we can say as an average child, but I never felt like I fit in. Books, and writing, have always led me in the right direction to finding myself and my passion in life.

Feel free to email me at romanforge468@gmail.com

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Notice Me” is the name of my latest and only book. The inspiration came from other people informing me of the personal change that they saw in me, and I have never read a book that talks about someone right in the middle of the change, but far from achieving their vision. I decided that it would be an informative perspective and sort of a looking glass into the world of someone who is making strides but has not yet “arrived”. The basis of that change has been four years of weekly therapy. I don’t want to confuse people and have them think that therapy gave me revelations about myself and my life. It did not. It did provide me with one or two hours a week to have time dedicated to myself with someone who is knowledgeable about the human mind and why we do what we do. In my experience, therapy has been a reflection of myself that allows me to talk with myself through someone who has taken an interest in my life. You can also count some inspiration from seeing people who look like they are zombies, working and going home then repeating that cycle. I wanted others to know that the daily grind is not what life is about. It may be a part of it, but it isn’t the whole.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think that I have unusual habits. I make time to write and I focus when I have that time. I get into a flow state and words come out like rain falling from the sky. I often do not go back through and change things. I did not do several drafts of my current book. I do like a good read, but I also like when things are raw. You can be reading a great story and it can take you to another world. I often feel that way when I read other’s works. I didn’t want to give that option to the reader. I don’t want my writing to feel like it is taking you somewhere or letting you imagine a different situation. I want it to feel like I am discussing the content with you through the words themselves. It may be a difficult writing style to read and comprehend, but I have to do what I feel is right for the given moment. This is the major reason that I didn’t rewrite anything. Everyone makes mistakes and says things that can be taken out of context. Part of the reason for the book is to spark thinking and discussion about progressing within your own life. So, I felt like my writing style has given that to the readers.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
“The Stranger” by Albert Camus and “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. These books really changed my perspective on reading and writing. It proved to me that stories can be great and also have deep meaningful roots that lead into the human mind. Read them and you are sure to change your mind about certain topics. I have read many good books, but those two are the top place holders.

What are you working on now?
Currently, at the time of writing this, I am finding ways to promote my book and get it into the readers’ devices or hands. I have ideas for my next work, but nothing solid yet. I do not rush things as I still run a business full-time and spend time with my children, when I have them. I normally get intense spurts of ideas and spells of complete focus. When the next one comes along, I am sure to have a topic for my next piece.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am not big on social media. My business does not see much success from dumping money into that kind of advertising. I wouldn’t say that I do things “old school”, but I try to keep things as simple as possible. Awesome Gang has provided me with enough leg work that I feel satisfied about using this service.

I also use whatever Amazon is willing to provide me with for their advertising. I feel that if my work is genuine, which it is, then I will reap the benefits of that naturally. I keep things simple, while learning along the way.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The biggest advice that I can give to new authors is… WRITE AND FINISH! To create a work, you must put in the time. You must give yourself a deadline and create blocks of time to set aside and focus on the content that you wish to put out there. I feel that it is far more important to finish a horrible book than it is to never finish a masterpiece. Stay disciplined, write, and publish. Completing a book will give you the confidence to write another one. Don’t break the chain.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you want to be a champion, you must act like a champion. No excuses, ever. Champions do it, and do it, and do it, and do it until the job gets done. Then, they keep on doing it.

What are you reading now?
I am reading “The Social Leap” by William Von Hippel

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hard to tell. I will wait and see what comes to me and go down the rabbit hole with it. I never rush it and the timing has to be right, or else my soul won’t be into it and that makes for not so genuine content.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
To Kill a Mockingbird, The Stranger, a book about how to escape a desert island, and most likely a book on wild edibles.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
The Holy City Murders is my first published book but it is the first in a planned series featuring the main character, Duke Dempsey. Book 2 of the series is well underway.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Holy City Murders: A Duke Dempsey Mystery was inspired by my my interests. I feel as a writer you need to write about things you enjoy. I personally love reading historical/mysteries and found it fun to finally write about it. Authors like Dan Brown, Iain King, and R. D. Shah are a few that inspired my writing.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not sure if bourbon is considered unusual but I enjoy it while I’m writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Authors like Dan Brown, Iain King, and R. D. Shah are a few that inspired my writing. Also love Agatha Christie novels as well. I’m always looking for new mystery authors to read.

What are you working on now?
The second book of the Duke Dempsey series. I’m very excited about it and think it could rival the first one. Stay tuned.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
As a self published author, book promotion has been the hardest part of the process. I’ve been mostly using Twitter to push my book and Amazon advertising. I’m hoping your website could help getting it out.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Well considering I am a new author as well, I’m not sure if I have any wise wisdom to pass along. I guess the biggest thing is just write about what you love and what you know. As long as you are doing that, then there will be fewer cases of writers block.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As I’ve said in previous questions, write about what you love and what you know.

What are you reading now?
Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile

What’s next for you as a writer?
Just keep writing and knock out the Duke Dempsey series. I haven’t look passed that yet.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1) The Holy Bible
2) The Da Vinci Code
3) And Then There Were None

Author Websites and Profiles
Ron Plante Website
Ron Plante Amazon Profile

Ron Plante’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an Inspirational Book Coach, International Speaker, Author, and Entrepreneur.

I teach Aspiring Authors how to write and generate income from their books by leveraging their expertise and developing their resources.

After writing many successful books, people would always ask me, “How do I write my book?” So, I decided to teach those who want to share their knowledge with people who are searching for their expertise.

I believe everyone has valuable knowledge and a story that can be of great value to their audience.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “Creating From The Inside Out.”

I was inspired to write that book to show people how to recognize the tools they already possess. This is beyond writing books but for every desire in life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, I am busy writing, so if I do I never pay attention.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich. The Bible. Maya Angelou, her books of poetry.

What are you working on now?
I am working on converting several books I have written into a masterclass for aspiring writers.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Flooding the internet with news about my latest book.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write from your heart and authentically touch people’s lives.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Help people to understand. People may forget what they learned but they will never forget what they understand.

What are you reading now?
I read at least 10 books at a time. The question should have been an unusual reading habit instead of an unusual writing habit. I am constantly creating so I am keeping myself informed on how to do certain things to reach my audience.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Continue to create books that my audience wants. As long as they are asking the questions I will be there for them with the solutions.

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, Think and Grow Rich, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, and Motivation From Within Leveraging Your Power.

Author Websites and Profiles
Gertrude J Chapman Website
Gertrude J Chapman Amazon Profile
Gertrude J Chapman Author Profile on Smashwords

Gertrude J Chapman’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am 16 years old at the time of this interview. I live in Nigeria with my mother and younger brother. I love art. A lot. Makeup has always fascinated me and I absolutely love it (I haven’t ever applied makeup on before but plan to), I love dancing (I can’t dance to save my own life), singing (I have bad voice days regularly), comedy (I love laughing but can’t seem to make anyone laugh) and painting (Goodness! I suck at that). I am also absolutely in awe of nature (Colors of the Wind from the Disney movie, Pocahontas is my favorite song) and everything to me has a much deeper meaning than what most people think.
And please, if you think from what I wrote, that I am some kind of deep person, no. I’m really not. I’m pretty chill, though.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Integument is my first book and the only book I have written. I am currently working on my second book. As weird as it might sound, anger, depression and extreme sadness motivated me to write this book.
Where I live (Nigeria), writing is not much encouraged, especially by parents. It is what I have always loved and I was denied that opportunity and encouragement. I was always forced to do the school stuff. You know, math and physics and all that stuff. No one wanted to understand what I meant when I said that stuff wasn’t for me.
One day, I just got very angry and began putting down to paper one of the very many stories in my head. Four months later, Integument was born.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if it can really be described as unusual but I don’t really like writing on paper. I know, I know. All authors are supposed to write on paper but I just don’t fancy writing and cancelling and rewriting. Wasting paper is not my forte.
I prefer writing directly in the computer. I figure I can backspace whenever I want and that I am skipping one very stressful step (writing on paper). It kinda makes things easier for me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
A lot of authors have influenced me. I’m not kidding when I say I read everything I can find. But the ones that stand out amongst all the authors I have read are Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian author. I love the fluidity in her deliverance and her deep understanding of human rights, women’s rights and feminism. My favorite book of hers is basically every book she has written. Chinua Achebe, the late Nigerian author whom I call the African literary giant. His brilliance is breathtaking. Things fall apart is legendary. Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian Nobel Prize Laureate. The Lion, the King and the Jewel is one book of his that I hold in high esteem. Ngugi wa Thiongo, a phenomenal Kenyan author who did not let incarceration stop him from putting his thoughts, bold and somewhat controversial, on paper. Wizard of the Crow and Devil on the Cross are two of his best books in my opinion. Toni Morrison whose writing was so frustrating that I had to read over and over again to be able to get to the emotional planet she wanted me to be on. James Patterson, whose writing is so vivid and hair-raising. The intent behind his words make your breath catch in your throat every time. He created the hero that is Detective Alex Cross. Sidney Sheldon too, whose stories are so advanced and intelligent. If tomorrow comes and Morning, Noon and Night are my best book of his.
And of course William Shakespeare whose writing are so complex, his intelligence vast, his knowledge of psychology mesmerizing and his poems challenging. He is my favorite author of all time.

What are you working on now?
I am sculpting my second novel in my head right now. I will write a simple outline today. It is going to be Book 2 of this series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I do not have a website yet. I am working on creating one. But I do use Facebook groups for promotion and I try submitting to various sites such as this one for free promotion. I am working on my Paypal account too so that I would be able to attempt paid promotion sites. I have yet to use the Free promotion and Kindle Countdown Deal on Amazon just yet. But I will soon enough.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
As a new author myself, I don’t feel wholly qualified to give anyone advice but I will say this: continue doing what you love and know how to space yourself. No matter how hard things get, if you want to write, write. But there are times when we as human beings should space ourselves and give our minds and bodies some rest.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be unapologetically yourself. That’s about the best advice anyone ever gave me. As someone who is constantly conscious of everything and is struggling with body dysmorphia and depression, this advice keeps me grounded and makes me understand that it is totally not worth it to change yourself for anyone or to compare yourself, in terms of looks, to the ‘perfect’ people one sees on the internet.

What are you reading now?
I juts finished reading Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel and I am onto The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am planning on writing and finishing my next book. I am also thinking about writing in another genre. Science Fiction mixed with a little bit of African Literature.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
First off, I will take four books. The more, the better. Those four books would be: Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe and Life without Limits by Nick Vujicic ’cause you know, having at least one motivational book is compulsory and it sure goes a looooong way!

Author Websites and Profiles
Althea-Nymph Storm Amazon Profile

Althea-Nymph Storm’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Misti, and I am currently in the process of releasing my first book titled Misti Moments. I have been blogging via social media and my website for several years. I am interested in reading, teaching, speaking, healing, spirituality, philosophy, metaphysics, family, friends, travel, health, writing, and living life to the fullest! I am an avid truth seeker, a hopeless romantic, and a little bit of a hippy chick. I thrive on inspiring others to rise above the obstacles of life becoming the wisest, authentically happy, and spiritually fulfilled version of themselves.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
After suffering a brain aneurysm three years ago which left me with severe neurological damage including numbness in my mouth, face, hand, and temporary vision loss in my right eye, I didn’t know if more bleeds were on the horizon for me. I had a ruptured hemangioma in my brain stem that was functioning as a benign tumor and was rapidly growing. I was told that once a bleed has occurred, one is 50% more likely to incur more of them throughout their lifetime. At the time, I didn’t know if one day I would wake up unable to speak or write. As a result, there were things I wanted to share with my children in the event I was no longer with them or was unable to convey thoughts to them due to neurological damage. I wanted to pass down the pieces of wisdom I had gleaned from various moments I had experienced throughout my life. Occasionally, I would share them on social media, and people began to plead with me to publish them in a book. I began to see that these wisdom bites were profoundly impacting others, so I decided to assemble them into a book. My book is titled Misti Moments. Misti Moments is a series, and this book will be the first volume of the series. It is a collection of moments that will hopefully serve as messages from the heart to the heart.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write based on inspiring moments. I am not one to sit down and write an entire novel. I write when something moves me. I allow the moment to take over and yield, via the written word, what it is there to share with me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Any and all ancient texts such as the Bible, the Vedas, the Tao Te Ching, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi library, the Summarian tablets, and on and on and on. I am drawn to authors like Wayne Dyer and Maya Angelo. I love a Course of Miracles and find books by Esther Hicks incredibly helpful for my spiritual growth. The Power of the Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy was a profound read for me. I appreciate deep thinkers with philosophical approaches and books that connect us with divine intelligence, higher wisdom, and the true meaning of life. I gravitate to books that help fill my heart with more love for both myself and others.

What are you working on now?
From a career standpoint, I am working on my first book release, Misti Moments – The Collection, which is scheduled for release this fall. In life, I am working on being the happiest most authentic version of myself.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Believe in yourself. Your voice matters. A story was put inside of you, because it is meant for the world to hear it. Don’t uproot in doubt what you planted in faith. Go for it!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
That would be from my mother whose last words to me were, “It’s all about the heart.” That pretty much sums up what this entire experience call life is all about. In the end, all that matters is the heart and how well you allowed it to both give and receive love.

What are you reading now?
I am currently reading a book titled, Gap Hacking Your Purposeful Career. It’s about how to harness the gap in your consciousness in order to discover your life purpose. The basis of the book is rooted in understanding the knowledge of ancient Vedic Astrology. I’m absolutely fascinated by it.

What’s next for you as a writer?
The plan is to continue the Misti Moments series with new volumes released sporadically. I have several other books I am currently working on all written in the same format as the first volume, The Collection, being released this fall but with different themes.

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, Tao Te Ching, and Maya Angelou: 365 Selected Quotes on Love, Truth, and Happiness.

Author Websites and Profiles
Misti Rains Website

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi, I’m Brian. I’m a teacher, writer, traveler, and an advocate for wild spaces and active living. I’m the author of Awaken the Bear and the founder of Get Lost.com.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, Awaken the Bear, is the first book in a four-part series called The Adventure-Driven Life. In this book, I dig into how spending time in the outdoors boosts mental acuity, promotes health and wellness, and invites contentment.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?

What authors, or books have influenced you?
As an English teacher of 21 years, I’ve spent a lot of time with my nose in books. My two favorites might surprise you: The Inferno by Dante and The Road by Cormac McCarthy. On the surface, they might strike you as fairly grim choices, but I don’t see it that way. Both books, in my mind, are beautifully written adventure stories, and both our powerful love stories too.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on finishing up the other books in the Adventure-Driven Life series, and I’m just about ready (fingers crossed) to publish the second book, Embrace the Journey.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I blog and promote my books on my website, getlost.com

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice to new authors is tried and true–No More excuses. Just write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
One of my favorite quotes is from Antonio Machado the : “Caminante, no hay camino. Se hace camino al andard” (Traveler, there is no road;
you make your own path as you walk).

What are you reading now?
There are a few books next to my bed right now but I’m currently reading All The Wild That Remains by David Gessner. It’s a tribute to Edward Abbey and Wallace Stegner–two of my favorite writers and two men worth remembering. I’m about half way into it right now and really enjoying it. Good stuff

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
My three desert island books: Hamlet, The Inferno, and The Tao Te Ching. There’s enough in those three to last a lifetime.

Author Websites and Profiles
Brian Meier Website
Brian Meier Amazon Profile

Brian Meier’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have 16 published erotic works to date and am a very prolific writer with new releases every week.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest published work is the fourth volume in the Becoming My Daddy series. It is inspired by feedback from a previous series looking for a stronger male character and a more submissive role from the female lead. My newest series, which I have a new release scheduled for this week, is the Dynami Society series which follows a brother and sister who are inducted into a society of sorts as they enter college. There are hot scenes and a compelling story to carry this longer series of novellas through!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I read my work out loud while editing. With these books that requires some privacy as I don’t want others hearing me. Certainly not doing that in Starbucks!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Many, but most of them are from other genres. I use this as an outlet for my own imagination and it is not driven by other erotica authors.

What are you working on now?
Volume three in my Dynami series and an erotica parody that I think will be fun to write.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook has been my best friend to date.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write for yourself. If others love it, great. If they don’t, who cares?

What are you reading now?
Origins by Dan Brown

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hotter and wilder stories!

Author Websites and Profiles
Alan Austin Amazon Profile

Alan Austin’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a High School English teacher, and I just published my first novel. I’m a native of Central Florida where I live with my wife Sarah.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest (and first) novel is The Lord of Long Shadows, and it was inspired by a dream I had. I’ve had pretty vivid dreams since I was a kid, and be while often times they’re just fantastic nonsense, once in a rate while there’s enough there to form the outline of a story. After I woke up, I wrote down what I remembered and over the next few days I began to flesh out the world and the characters and two years later here we are.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Since I’m just getting started, I’m not sure which of my habits would be in considered unusual, but I have a few persistent ones. I always keep a folder in my Google drive for when I’m inspired by something. It happens quite a bit so I think the last I looked there’s about fifteen novel ideas in there.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’d say the two who were the most influential were Tolkien and Riordan. I learned a love of world building from Tolkien and I learned that your story doesn’t have to be serious all the time to be great from Rick Riordan.

What are you working on now?
I’m about halfway through my script for the sequel to The Lord of Long Shadows (it’s a trilogy).

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Since I’m a first time author I’m not sure yet. I’m still figuring this part of the game out.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep writing, even on the bad days when it seems like everything you’re doing it garbage. You can always edit bad writing later, but you can’t do anything with nothing.

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

What are you reading now?
I’m about halfway though the second book in the Trials of Apollo series. It’s fantastic and everybody should read it.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing my sequel 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?
Order of the Phoenix, House of Hades, Catching Fire, and Outliers

Author Websites and Profiles
M. Anderson Website
M. Anderson Amazon Profile

M. Anderson’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
There are few stories I’ve written but unpublished yet. Those belongs to Sci-Fi, and Thriller. This is my first book, I published.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name is Not A Normal Girlfriend. I inspired by my own love story. Though it is fiction, the feel is true from my past.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, I don’t have any unusual writing habits.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Famous Authors like J.K. Rowling, Nicholas Sparks, and in India, Chetan Bhagat, and Durjoy Dutta.

What are you working on now?
I’m still working on this story which isn’t complete yet.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Instagram and websites like Awesomegangs offer such a tempting promoting.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Getting successful in writing is our own dedication and determination.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you love doing it, then you are bound to do that.

What are you reading now?
Currently, I’m reading nothing. Soon, I’ll find some exciting book to start the read.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Stories. I love writing stories. Even if I become a bestselling author, I won’t stop loving my stories.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
One Piece(Comic), Revolution 2020, Harry Potter’s 8th series 4 parts, Notebook.

Author Websites and Profiles
Vinay Enjapuri Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a debut author, and I’ve just published my first book–a hockey romance. I’ve completed another three books that I plan to publish within the year.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Taming Beckett is the name of my latest book, and it’s about an over-indulgent pro hockey player whose life goes off the rails.

The story’s been brewing in my mind for years, inspired by pondering what happens to a celebrity who’s used to being in the limelight when his/her glory days fade or when he/she screws up so badly that fans disappear. What does that “new normal” look like, and how does he or she transition?

My main male character is a thirty-something pro hockey player used to lots of attention, and he parties like he’s an indestructible young-twenty-something. He’s so caught up in the lifestyle that he doesn’t realize his twenties have passed him by. He comes to terms with it by seeing himself through his love interest’s eyes.

I chose an ice hockey player because I love the sport. I fell in love with the game when I was bedridden with my third son and bored out of my mind. There was nothing else on TV, so I started watching and was hooked.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure how unusual these habits are, but when I really get going, I stare out a window instead of at my screen or keyboard. In addition, I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, and my characters are having entire conversations in my head. I write those conversations down so I won’t lose them. My characters do this to me while I’m in the shower too, so I’ve been known to leap out mid-shower to capture the convo while dripping wet. That can be tricky!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many! I’ve been influenced by different authors and stories at different stages of my life. In my teen years, it was Lord of the Rings and Mary Stewart’s Arthurian saga. Most recently, Diana Gabaldon and her Outlander series have had a lot of staying power in my head.

What are you working on now?
I’m polishing the second book in my hockey romance series, Third Man In. I’m also editing two completed works of historical fiction about Polish winged hussars in the 17th century.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Find that critique group and/or those honest beta readers who will help you fine-tune your story. You don’t have to follow all their suggestions, but whatever you do, don’t take the criticism personally. They’re only trying to help you write a better book.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t sweat the little stuff.

What are you reading now?
I have a stack of books in mid-read right now: The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, Silent Water by P.K. Adams, Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell, Run for the Hills by Jodi Burnett, plus a few history books on Poland-Lithuania … and some guilty reads.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Completing my hockey romance trilogy and starting on my third historical fiction. I’m heading to Poland soon to do more research on the next book in my Polish winged hussars 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?
Lord of the Rings. It’s an epic compilation of wonderful stories, and it would take me a long time to read it all over again.

Author Websites and Profiles
G.K. Brady Website
G.K. Brady Amazon Profile

G.K. Brady’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I spent my entire life as a rolling stone, and I soon felt the need to share my experiences with others. I started writing at a very early age about my first adventures on the road, and got to like it so much that while other children wanted to be football players, astronauts or firemen, I wanted to be a writer.
In 1979, at the age of six, I was uprooted from the Great Hungarian Plain and planted in Spain, amidst the wonderful beaches and sharp peaks of Asturias. However, instead of roots I soon grew wings, spread them wide and spent my summers travelling around Europe, mostly on my own, until I finally soared away from the nest. I left Spain in 1998 after graduating from university with a BA in English philology and a master’s degree in conference interpretation, and settled in Paris. There I started a career as a conference interpreter that would take me to more than thirty countries around the world. Then, for the next fifteen years my life was divided between France, Belgium, Hungary and Spain, until in 2013 I landed on the serene shores of Lake Geneva, where I still live today. In 2018, after twenty years of being somebody else’s voice, I decided to have my own and embarked on a new journey as a writer, fulfilling thus my childhood dream.
So far, in June this year, I published my first book in English under the title “Looking for Happiness? Look Inside!”, currently available on Amazon in both eBook & paperback formats. It’s a book aimed at helping people live better, happier lives: I don’t promise readers will achieve instant redemption and eternal happiness, but, if applied, the little changes I offer in this book can go a long way! And, yes, I do believe readers will be better equipped to live their life as they always wanted it to be.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I’m delighted to announce that my second book “Awake, Arise, or be forever fallen!” will be published before the end of September 2019! All the versions are ready and I’m having it printed now, getting ready to launch it officially in a few weeks.
What inspired this book? I started writing this book a couple of years ago with a clear intention in mind: in my early twenties I fought a bitter battle with a serious eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, and, now, after two decades keeping it secret, I felt a compelling need to share it with the people I love most: my children. However, they were (and still are) way too young to understand the depth of my message, and that’s why I decided to write down my experience so that it won’t get lost if I should disappear too early. However, I soon realized that I couldn’t keep it only for my children, that I had to share with the world everything I went through during those dark years, in sum, to leave a written legacy that will help readers avoid making the same mistakes – way too many – that I made.
Finally, I’m all excited about the design of the book: the cover and inside illustrations are the work of an artist and friend I greatly admire, Alicia Varela.
A French and a Hungarian translations of this book will also be published in a near future, but I can’t tell now how near…

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Unusual? If you mean whether I write with blood, no, I don’t. I write mainly at night, not so much because that’s when the muses treat me with some benevolence, but because I have a 9 to 5 job and also young children, and, while the former fills my pocket with money, the latter fill my heart with joy!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Too many to fit here, so I’ll just mention a few off the cuff: Giacomo Casanova; Sándor Márai; Valle-Inclán; Cervantes; Epictetus; John Stuart Mill; Hermann Hesse; Friedrich Nietzsche; Niccolò Machiavelli; Heinrich Böll; Lao Tzu; John Steinbeck… and many, many more. Sándor Márai once wrote that a writer can spend a day without writing, but not without reading.

What are you working on now?
I’m re-reading the third and final book of the mind/anorexia/happiness series, which I hope to publish early next year, but I’d rather devote the little time I have to my creative work. Indeed, I’m writing a fiction book in Spanish and I’m so absorbed by it that I sometimes just forget to eat or sleep. I have no idea how other writers write their books, but for me writing is like an addiction: some ideas torture my mind until I free them, and the only way I have to release them is by giving them a physical, verbal shape that, albeit imperfect, will give them a body to live a life of their own… as Ovid put it: “Habent sua fata libelli”. Now, this book I’m writing will give life to an idea that came all of a sudden and blew my mind like a thunderbolt. There’s nothing I can do about it, only write and release the pressure, or it will grow in my mind until it usurps my place.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I created my own website, but, to be honest, I know nothing about promoting a book… I’m reading blogs and watching youtube videos, doing what everybody else does, and doing what people with more experience tell me to do… that’s how I ended up here tonight!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, read… and repeat. Eat and sleep now and then, when you must. Find inspiration by living boldly your own life as you want it to be. And don’t forget to enjoy every single second: that’s all you’ve got. It’s called life.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I assume you mean writing-related advice. If that’s the case, the best advice I ever read was to avoid falling into the trap of wanting to be liked, of wanting to be a successful writer. Have the courage to be yourself, more than ever when it comes to writing, have your own style, your own voice, and never, ever compromise. Otherwise everybody will be writing the same things and literary creation as such will disappear forever.

What are you reading now?
Erich Maria Remarque’s “A Time to Love and a Time to Die” (in a Hungarian translation), and Sándor Márai’s “Napló” (Diary), which covers the period from 1943–1989.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish the book I’m writing now. Then, start anew.

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 see no point in bringing only 3 or 4 books: I’d finish them in a few weeks, and then what? I’d rather bring blank paper and a pen, for while reality is limited, imagination is not.

Author Websites and Profiles
Alberto Vezendi Website
Alberto Vezendi Amazon Profile

Alberto Vezendi’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m originally from New Jersey, but have lived in Denver, CO for almost a decade. Before I published The Volunteers — my only published book so far — I won a few Emmys for my motion graphics and sound design work. I’ve been writing since I was 14, but only recently decided to publish. It’s been really fun so far, working on getting the book out there — although I much prefer the writing part. But, having the design/video background, I’m able to make all my own promos and book cover designs.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I know initially I was inspired by something Meryl Streep said during a film festival panel. Something along the lines of “Make your main character a female — just see where it takes you.” So I tried it, and it felt great. I was suddenly not writing through my own eyes, or my own imagination. So, I wrote a short film script that got some good responses, and I eventually found a producer. During pre-production, just through conversations, I came up with a lot of ideas. Things I thought we could use to flesh-out the world and characters. Then, the producer dropped out. Since I had a bunch of new ideas and directions for our heroine, Kathryn, I decided to start writing it as a novella, because I knew I could explore those new ideas without the constraints of budget and location, and actors, and all the other things required to make a film. Writing it I explored themes I’d never had a chance to before, and a character that was partially me, but way more. I found myself writing a very conflicted woman, who has a societal fear of being un-kind, and ends up in a spot where kindness doesn’t exactly make sense. It’s more than this, but these are the things I felt when I was writing Kathryn.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know what a usual writing habit would be. I don’t really have a good “routine” so that probably isn’t great. I tend to write less like a novelist and more like a filmmaker, I think. I want images to be in the reader’s head. So I approach writing like that. I tend to get into scenes late and leave early, because I want things to move fast, even when they’re moving slow. I want those pages to turn. I also tend to write scenes as they come to me. They don’t all work, so I cut a lot. But, I often let myself follow scene ideas, and then see how they might fit. That’s kind of backwards and sideways. I guess that’s unusual?

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Hemingway was my earliest influence. He wrote so much dialog! But it was very… unnatural. People didn’t sound that way to me. But it opened my eyes to the idea that you could create rhythms using dialog, so I stretched that a bit so people sound more like they sound to me. Then I read a lot of Toni Morrison and Michael Ondaatje. Both so brilliant. They taught me so much about the flow of language, and what rules can be broken. I read their work and I see it in my head so easily. Wonderful stuff. Gorgeous prose without being showy, or traditionally “flowery.” The common thread is their command of language. The idea of the author as an authority on their written worlds. There is nothing gunshy about the way these authors write.

What are you working on now?
A novel about the process of grief, based on losing a friend to heroin addiction. This one is semi-biograpical.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still learning this, so I have no idea. I’ve had fun making promo videos so far, and putting them on facebook, twitter, and instagram. I’m hoping Awesome Gang helps a lot!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Realize imagination is your greatest asset, but be hard on yourself. As fun as it might be to write something that feels and sounds like something you love — something familiar to the world, I mean — it’s better to find your foothold within that world, and show the reader your take on it. I mean, nothing will ever been “new,” but shifting a little, and really exploring your own imagination is really rewarding. It’s the process, I think, we all need to take, to find originality in an over-saturated world.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Martin Scorsese said something to David Fincher along the lines of, “The things you’re bad at are as much a part of your style as the things you’re good at.” I think as an artist it’s easy to forget that “style” doesn’t mean “being perfect.” This advice doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to improve, but it does mean you can focus on your strengths and let the other stuff catch up, or just let it be a supporting role for the stuff you do better. Just like our personalities, or our relationships, there are things that shine, and there are things that take a backseat, but they’re all part of the whole. It’s just an important perspective for me.

What are you reading now?
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

What’s next for you as a writer?
Promoting The Volunteers as much as I can, and continuing my current book. In between I will be assembling a collection of short stories. That should be out soon!

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?
Instructional manuals. One on fishing. One on hunting. One on building shelter. And maybe a book of dirty jokes. Everyone loves a good joke.

Author Websites and Profiles
J. Aaron Payne Website
J. Aaron Payne Amazon Profile

J. Aaron Payne’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account