Please check out the authors below and share them if you like on social media and help them out.
Good karma goes a long way. If you belong to an Author group help spread the word about our free author interview series. We have started a new Facebook author group that focuses on author interviews and podcast interviews. Come Join us!

Alhassan W.K. Umar (Al-Farouk) 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born on the 21st of January, 1996 in Tamale-Northern Ghana. My father had 16 children and among them, I was the unfortunate one to first gain admission into the university. All of my earlier education was in the Northern part of Ghana till 2018 when I went to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to read BSc. Geomatic Engineering. Before then I had engaged in many activities and have actually read so many books concerning religion, economics, philosophy, business and personal development. I was able to refined my personal philosophy and was fortunate to become The Happiest Man Alive. My dynamic personality has let me to do so many other things apart from schooling. I wrote my first book using my Techno F1 phone because I had no access to the computer then. Engineering has been my passion for several years but that passion is gradually moving to an area that I think I was really designed for. Thus, researching, speaking, writing and coaching have really shown that I was really designed to be a Researcher, Speaker, Author and Life Coach.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Difference Maker You Are: The fundamental requirements for thinking and becoming. My obsession for reading has led me to discover great insights in life. What inspired me to write the book was desire to share all that I had learned but I could not get any platform to share what I had fallen in love with. I knew I had found a valuable information which many people need to know to really understand the world around them. I tried to find ways to get that information to those who really need but I could not. I discovered writing and thought it wise to organize the information so that anyone who needs it can have access to it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes

What authors, or books have influenced you?
1. Brian Tracy (Speak To Win, Change Your Thinking Change Your Life, The Psychology of Selling, Way To Wealth, Secrets of Self-made Millionaires and others)
2. Stephen R. Covey (The 7 habits of Highly Effective People)
3. Dale Carnegie (How To Make Friends and Influence People)
4. Zig Ziglar ( See You At The Top)
5. Grant Cardone (Sell Or Be Sold)
6. Donald J. Trump ( The Art of the Deal)
7. Charles Duhigg (The Power of Habits)
8.Bob Proctor (You Were Born Rich)
9. Robert B. Cialdini, PhD (Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion)
10. Jim Rohn
11. Les Brown
12. Anthony Robbins
13. Dan Lok.
14. James Allen
15. Claude C. Hopkins others

What are you working on now?
I am in the Engineering College Studying while writing my second book

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have not found any effective website yet and everything is still amazon oriented.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would suggest that new authors should continue writing and do not stop because they did not get it on the first publication. They should find joy in writing if they really want to go higher in the areas that they have chosen.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Everything will change if you change from Jim Rohn.

What are you reading now?
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin S. Sharma

What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing 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?
1. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini, PhD.
2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
3. The Power of Habits by Charles Duhigg
4. The Difference Maker You Are: The Fundamental Requirements for Thinking and Becoming by Alhassan W.K. Umar (Al-Farouk)

Alhassan W.K. Umar (Al-Farouk)’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Peggy Jaeger 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
By the end of this year I will have 25 romance books published since 2015 when I retired from my Nursing job and started writing full time.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
A PRIDE OF BROTHERS:RICK
This is my first foray into Romantic suspense. I’ve always loved a bodyguard theme and wanted to write a book about 2 people who know one another, have a bit of a snarky past, and then one needs the protection of the other whether it’s wanted or not.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
For every new book I write I buy a Christmas ornament that exemplifies something about the book. I recently finished a book about a wedding cake baker and bought an ornament in the shape of a wedding cake. I did a book about an ice skater and have a pair of iceskates ornament.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Nora Roberts, JD Robb, Lauren Layne, Sandra Brown, Tami Hoag, Jeffrey Deaver, Jonathan Kellerman

What are you working on now?
The third book in my doccomgirls series, WOKE about a spioled heiress and socialite who mistakenly drinks a drugged cocktail and slips into a coma for 7 years. When she awakens, she changes her life for the better.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon if key, of course, but I also promote them on my website Peggyjaeger.com by giving insights during the writing process, snippets, and giveaways

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you write romance, read every romance you can. Oldies, new authors, even the classics. Readers read romance for two things: the HEA and the conflict. And remember that conflict is NOT about two people bickering!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up on a dream. I wanted to be a published author when I was 8 years old. I turned 55 and had my first book published. I never stopped writing for all those year in between

What are you reading now?
GOLDEN IN DEATH by JD ROBB

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have 3 more book scheduled to be published this year, I need to finish up my PRIDE OF BROTHERS Series and I have a new one I’m working on.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
New York to Dallas – JD Robb
SANCTUARY – Nora Roberts

Author Websites and Profiles
Peggy Jaeger Website
Peggy Jaeger Amazon Profile

Peggy Jaeger’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Deni Defoe 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am beginner this is my first book but am working on my second now.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The New Era I get the inspiration from our reality that we live in today.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jack London and others.

What are you working on now?
The new book is Happy New 2050.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Every platform any known promoting site.

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

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

What are you reading now?
Nothing

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will switch on fiction,novels.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Martin Eden

 

Selys Rivera 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m just a God-loving and social justice obsessed chica originally from Puerto Rico. I also have an undergraduate degree in English Writing and a graduate degree in Social Work. My main goal is to write to inspire others and give a voice to issues I’m passionate about. I’ve currently written two books: “Rise in Love: A Poetry Chapbook” and “Social Justice Advocacy 101: How to Become a Social Justice Advocate from A to Z”.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “Rise in Love: A Poetry Chapbook”. It was originally inspired by my romantic relationship, but then led to a book of poetry about different kinds of love in my world.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’ll stop anywhere to write. It doesn’t matter if I’m at work, a family member’s house, on a date, hanging out with friends, or in the car. I’m always writing down my thoughts, ideas, and lines on my work notebook, random pieces of scrap paper I beg from my family, on my phone even though I’m with people, or dictating to Siri.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many! Julia Alvarez, Sandra Cisneros, and Esmeralda Santiago are some of my biggest influences. However, my favorite book is “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott.

What are you working on now?
I am currently preparing for a blog post requested by Orange Blossom Publishing.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Surprisingly enough, Facebook and Twitter have been my best friends.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would say to write for the sake of writing itself. If you write while thinking about literary criticism, you’ll find yourself freezing up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
My writing philosophy stems from a famous Benjamin Franklin quote: “If you’re not writing things worth reading, do things worth writing.”

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading “Royal Holiday” by Jasmine Guillory and “Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Author Within” by Natalie Goldberg.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I would like to publish my first 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?
Obviously, like I mentioned before, “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott because that book will always keep me company. Like most Christians, probably, I’d bring the Bible, but I’d do the Revised Standard Version because it’s the most contemporary. I’d bring a copy of my own book, “Rise in Love: A Poetry Chapbook”, so that I could remind myself of the good in my world. Finally, I’d bring a notebook to continue to write.

Author Websites and Profiles
Selys Rivera Website
Selys Rivera Amazon Profile

Selys Rivera’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Frank Chase Jr 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, I am the author of False Roads to Manhood, What Women Need to Know; What Men Need to Understand, and my new book is titled, KLEPTOMANIAC: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? I am a native of Baltimore, Maryland and lived there until I was 19 years-old. I consider myself a miracle because at birth I weighed only two pounds and lived when the doctor’s didn’t think I’d make it. To publish my first book after getting many rejections, I started my publishing company, FC Publishing, LLC, which I am the president. In career I’ve worked for the government as a senior aviation writer for the Department of the Army. I am a four-year veteran of the United States Army. I have a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications and a minor in Sociology from Washington State University in 1989. Later on down the roads because I like education, I pursued a BA in Biblical Studies and a Master of Arts in Theology from North Carolina College of Theology (NCCT) and went on to earn my Doctorate in Theology from NCCT in 2009. I have authored and published numerous religious articles for newspapers, online magazines and print media along with appearances on Local Huntsville Alabama television and radio programs for my first book. As an Alabama resident, I live with my wife Teresa and one child Sarah at home. I am a grandfather of 8 grandchildren.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? The story behind Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway is a 30-year unfolding tale of suspicion, intrigue and questions. My quest for truth started innocently when I first became a believer in the Messiah. One of the doctrines I first became indoctrinated to was the practice of paying ten percent of my income to the coffers of the institutional church as a command from God. As the years passed by I began to question this overtaxing financial obligation. Although it was tough to pay this kind of money years after year, I dutifully kept my obligation to pay God ten percent no matter the circumstances. Even in the face of not being able to pay my bills and struggling to feed my family, I paid God what He required to His representative on earth—the Church. I did this in hopes of receiving a financial blessing from God for my commitment. The scriptures pastors relied on for monetary tithing resides Malachi 3:8-10. As the years passed, I began to notice the windfall financial blessing I hoped to receive from God never materialized. The abundance that was to overtake me financially somehow escaped my grasp. After 30 years of paying ten percent of my income as a so-called tithe to God, my questions about the practice grew as my financial struggles mounted. About several years ago, I started investigating the doctrine of tithing on a deeper theological and scholastic level out of a need to try to find some financial relief.

Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway began with a probing question. What is tithing? By this time, I was a member of a church group that taught heavily on tithing and even suggested that all tithes must be paid on gross income before taxes to receive God’s blessings. And before you ask whether I succumbed to the pressure to of paying tithes on gross income, the answer is yes. And this went on for several years, which almost lead to bankruptcy. The book came into fruition as a result of a conversation with my x-pastor about the belief system of Jewish people have about the Bible. At that point, the subject of tithing came into the conversation, which prompted me to inquire of Jewish experts and Rabbis about what the Bible actually teaches about tithing monetary income. My first shocking discovery about monetary tithing came from a Jewish Rabbi’s point paper on giving to God. As I read through the document I wept tears of joy, but when reality set in, I became angry. What I thought was tithing for 30 years turned out to be not so accurate. As it turned out, tithing is in the Bible, but tithing money was not in the Bible. As I got over the initial shock, I thought I perhaps needed to do more research to verify my initial discovery. And so I went on a research journey and read my first two books on tithing. The information contained in those books blew up my so-called theology on tithing like an IED and created immediate cognitive dissonance in my tithing belief system.

Now, I was faced with a theological decision about what I would do about my newfound information. My first action was to write my church leadership about my decision to resign from monetary tithing and to take sabbatical leave to go on a yearlong study of the subject and come back with an empirical analysis on what tithing is in the Bible. Needless to say, my decision did not go well and the struggle for truth began. Even as I stepped down or was removed from leadership depending on who you talk to, fellowship with this church became more difficult because leadership felt I became a financial threat to the bottom line if the congregation discovered what I had learned about tithing. In the end, I was indirectly excommunicated from that church. After leaving that institution, I began studying tithing and compiled 117-page power point study and sent my finding to the church. Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway started as a power point study and expanded into a 400 page theological manifesto based on empirical, academic, scholastic research that went from the church in America to the land of Israel. In that journey, I discovered that tithing monetary income is not contained on the pages of the Holy Bible, nor was it ever uttered from the mouth of God that a tithe is ten percent of a person’s income. Writing this book about tithing monetary income and giving gave me biblical insight into the scriptures that changed my life forever. The academic study of tithing is a journey where not many Bible readers go to understand their Bible.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No really don’t have any unusual writing habits. But I’m told that when you write, an outline should always be used. When I write I never use an outline.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My first favorite author is Stephen King of course. Then I would have to say T.D. Jakes and Gordon Dalbey. I would have to say that Gordon Dalbey and T.D. Jakes probably had the most influence on my writing style because of the way they put words together that just make you say, “now that’s good.”

What are you working on now?
Right now I have some idea about a fiction book that relates to the current political and racial chaos and the destruction of American democracy.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I would have to say the best site I use regularly is the All Author website to promote my books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The advice I’d give any author is to spend lots of time researching self-publishers and make sure you know what they can do. Everybody who hangs out a business shingle on the internet cannot always do what they say they can do.  I would also say, don’t be afraid to do it yourself. Self publishing can be a challenge but the reward you gain in learning the business pays off later. For example, my first book was expensive, my current book not so much.  As for editors, be very careful with anyone who say they can edit. There are many people out there who claim they can edit, but I would say get samples from everyone and editorial references to judge their work. But then if you know a good local editor with an excellent reputation, that should be your first choice.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I guess the best advice I’ve heard came from a fellow Soldier years about when he said alway be able to learn something from somebody.

What are you reading now?
Actually, at the moment I am not reading anything specific.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am working on trying to my latest book picked up by a traditional publisher to get national exposure.

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, Divided by faith by Emerson and Smith, the Destruction of Black Civilization By Chancellor Williams, Raising Fences by Michael Datcher, The Healing Presence by Leanne Payne

Author Websites and Profiles
Frank Chase Jr Website

Frank Chase Jr’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Trudy Thomas 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a baby-boomer who’s come to writing later in life! I grew up in a working-class area of the UK, and our family life was very dysfunctional. My father was abusive to Mum (and to us) but she always found a way to protect her children, and taught us the value of words and education. She herself had to leave school at 14 and work in a factory, when she had been her school’s literary “star” and told she would be a writer. Life and World War II intervened, and her dreams were crushed by a romantic betrayal of her first great love. I migrated to Australia in 1974 and Mum followed soon after. My own search for love also proved elusive, and after several failed marriages, I am now happily married and living on the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia, where I help my husband to run a lovely guest house. I have 3 children and 4 Grand-children, and I graduated with a degree in psychology/history in 2012, alongside my daughter. It as one of the proudest moments of my life! I hadn’t intended to write a book, but after Mum died, I wanted to write the book she always felt she should have written — for her. In the process, I discovered she’d been horribly betrayed by the Catholic priests she’d served and loved for the last 20 years of her life: they were all pedophiles (now in prison or dead) operating within a small-town diocese with their crimes covered up for decades by a corrupt church hierarchy. I had to start all over again with my book, and the result is my first published work, “Men of Twisted Cloth”.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Men of Twisted Cloth.
I was horrified to discover after my mother’s death in 2015 that she and I had been completely decieved by an evil group of predatory priests, who had masqueraded as benign, quiet and intellectual religious authority figures, and fooled many innocent people in their parishes, as well as destroying the lives of hundreds of vulnerable children. I was determined that the full story should be told.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I love to write in bed before I get dressed. It can be for an hour or sometimes can take me up to lunchtime! I much prefer to write when alone. I love the creative power and beauty of words to inspire, and I try to construct them as a sculptor creates pieces, shaping them into sentences that sound beautiful and convey a message and often an emotion.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I only read non-fiction, believing that “truth is always stranger than fiction”. Except for the old English classics, which I love for the beautiful and efficient construct of the language: Thomas Hardy, Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austen etc. As someone intensely interested in human beings and what makes them tick, I love the works of neuroscientists and psychologists, such as Oliver Sacks. I love good memoirs and interesting, off-beat stories and well-written books of the true-crime genre, simply to feed my curiosity about how people behave, and why. I recently enjoyed “Bad Blood” (a Bill Gates recommendation about a corrupt silicon valley company), loved “History on Trial” by Deborah E. Lipstadt (the story of a court case between her and a prominent British Holocaust-denier) and “When Breath Becomes Air” by Paul Kalanithi, a young neurosurgeon who writes of his profound experience with dying. I found these to be truly meaningful books.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on another piece of creative non-fiction, “Hovel” It’s about a beautiful mid-century modernist house, the people who have lived in it (I’m one of them), and the stories behind them. I’m making the walls speak. And so much more.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m new to this myself. My plan is to keep pushing, bit by bit, mainly online. This website is slightly experimental for me. Living in Australia makes it, I feel, a little bit harder, especially as independently-published books have to be sent from America, not from Amazon.com.au for regulatory reasons within Australia. But I’m pushing on regardless!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I wrote a book because I was passionate about the topic. And then I discovered I love writing! So I’m going to keep writing. My advice is: write for yourself, enjoy the process, and commit to a bit of writing every day if you can. And always do more than one draft!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Look for the people who help, not the ones who hinder. Life is just too short to let people drag you down, if they are not major people in your life. Let them go! ( That, by the way, is advice I gave myself at the age of fifty. And I have tried to live by it ever since).

What are you reading now?
“Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” by Michael Wolff, and “Somebody That I Used to Know: Love, Loss and Jack Thompson” by Bunkie King.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To organise a proper study in which to write!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A book of Cryptic crosswords (to keep my brain active) Thomas Hardy, “Tess of the D’urbervilles” (because I never tire of the language). Walt Whitman “Leaves of Grass” and “Song of the Open Road” (for inspiration) and a rollicking, good, witty autobiography (Clive James springs to mind)

Author Websites and Profiles
Trudy Thomas Amazon Profile

Trudy Thomas’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

J. J. Lane 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My pen name is a concoction of my name, Julie combined with my birth mother’s name, Jacqueline Lane. I didn’t find out much about her until after her death. A prolific writer of poetry and stories, she always wanted to be published. I chose my pen name to honor her. In two other books, not quite finished, I will be including her poetry. “Follow the Lilies” is my first published book, but I have a few others that are in the partially written or editing stage.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “Follow the Lilies.” It was inspired by the scripture in Matthew about the lilies of the field who do not toil or spin but know that their Heavenly Father knows of their needs. The main character of my story has many difficult trials. She is a devout Christian woman and learns to do her very best and then rely on the Lord to help her with her needs that she herself cannot fulfill. She is not alone.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My career is in technical writing, and I eek out moments of time for my creative writing. My husband and I travel a lot for work. While I’m driving, I’m usually writing a story in my mind. Sometimes when I go to my computer to continue a story, I’m a bit shocked at how little I’ve written. I get confused as to whether I’ve put the story on paper or if it’s still in my mind!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I really like Jerry Spinneli and Lisa Wingate. I’ve read so many books, that I really can’t pick out a few. Christine Kersey and Traci Hunter Abramson are my favorite LDS authors.

What are you working on now?
My next book is a young adult/teen coming of age book — “Anna’s MVP.” A young man, Jake, whose life consists of playing basketball and being popular loses his dad in a mining accident. He loses his mother, too, as her grief leaves her unable and unwilling to care for Jake and his sister. Overnight, he becomes both mother and father to Anna.

Another book I’m working on is “Return to Me.” The husband of a concert pianist and mother of three disappears when he travels to Mexico to investigate a fire at a posh resort. I can’t tell you much more, or I will give away the story, but let’s just say that fraud, amnesia and deception are woven throughout the story.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far, I have found Facebook as the best website.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m a new author! Be aware that if you love to write, that writing is easy compared to marketing your book. I studied creative and technical writing in college and have gone to several writing workshops. Don’t let any one else’s success or their bragging about it intimidate you. Believe in yourself. Do your best.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I read this on Facebook from a 102 year old man who still drives — “Live every day so that every one who meets you will be happy they did.”

What are you reading now?
“She Is Not Invisible,” by Marcus Sedgwick. It is a YA book. I just read “Dear Mrs. Bird” which was a wonderful, sad, scary look into World War II London. Another great book is Jerry Spinneli’s “Star Girl.” I waffle back and forth between romance and YA, but I only like very clean books. I really like Traci Hunter Abramson’s FBI adventure romances.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m still working as a technical writer about five hours a day. I tell “true stories” to the government to win Federal Contracts, and we’ve done quite well. I spent years as a city Planning Commission Secretary and hope someday to write a romantic comedy/adventure based on that experience. I’m hoping to retire within two years and be able to write whenever I feel that incredible urge to put a story on paper.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible
The Book of Mormon
Too many others to choose from!

J. J. Lane’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Linda Griffin 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born and raised in San Diego, California and earned a BA in English from San Diego State University and an MLS from UCLA. I began my career as a reference and collection development librarian in the Art and Music Section of the San Diego Public Library and then transferred to the Literature and Languages Section, where I had the pleasure of managing the Central Library’s Fiction collection and initiating fiction order lists for the entire library system. Although I also enjoy reading biography, memoir, and history, fiction remains my first love. In addition to the three R’s—reading, writing, and research—I enjoy Scrabble, movies, and travel.

My earliest ambition was to be a “book maker” and I wrote my first story, “Judy and the Fairies,” with a plot stolen from a comic book, at the age of six. I broke into print in college with a story in the San Diego State University literary journal, The Phoenix, but most of my magazine publications came after I left the library to spend more time on my writing

My stories have been published in numerous journals, including Eclectica, Thema Literary Journal,, The Binnacle, The Nassau Review, Orbis, and Australia Burns (benefiting Australian wildfire relief and recovery.) The Wild Rose Press published Seventeen Days in 2018 and The Rebound Effect in 2019.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Guilty Knowledge. Two different subjects I had been considering fit together for the plot, but the real trigger came when a TV character asked a question, and I imagined what my answer would be. I gave that answer to Sariah, and her character grew out of it. When I began to imagine who Jesse would be, I happened to see an attractive black man, and that became part of the character. I hadn’t intended it to be an interracial romance, but it gave me an opportunity to say something I had always wanted to say on the subject.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can write with rock music on the radio, in front of the TV, or with someone sitting beside me, but not with anyone behind me. I consider a lizard my muse and Huxley, a writer mouse from Starbucks, my sometime collaborator.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
A major influence early on was the Williamsburg series by Elswyth Thane. It’s now very dated and politically incorrect, but I still see echoes of it in my writing. I’ve also written several captivity stories, including “Rumpelstiltskin,” (published in Eclectica, April/May 2018), undoubtedly influenced by memoirists Jaycee Dugard, Elizabeth Smart, Katie Beers, Amanda Berry, et al.

What are you working on now?
Promoting Guilty Knowledge and working on a story called “Moon Shadows”–I don’t know yet how long it will be or exactly where it is headed.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I prefer Twitter to Facebook, and found Silver Dagger Book Tours easy to work with. My fellow Wild Rose Press authors are very supportive, sharing tips, guest posts on their blogs, retweets, etc.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read! Read anything and everything. The more different styles you read, the more easily you will develop your own. Don’t worry about writing in chronological or logical order; it can all be sorted out later. Write for yourself and polish for editors. Don’t give up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Richard P, Brickner said that although a novel is an ocean to its writer, it’s a mere drink of water to the reader. It reminds me to never be discouraged by indifference or criticism and just enjoy the swim.

What are you reading now?
Long Way Home by Cameron Douglas

What’s next for you as a writer?
Reworking the beginning of another romantic suspense novel, tentatively titled The Way to a Woman’s Heart, about a female cop and a software designer who loves to cook.

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?
Found and Still Waters by Jennifer Lauck, Against Wind and Tide by Anne Lindbergh, and Ten Years of Freedom by Natascha Kampusch

Author Websites and Profiles
Linda Griffin Website
Linda Griffin Amazon Profile

Linda Griffin’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Chris Pearse 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I run leadership development programmes for CEOs, directors and senior managers that are usually experiencing stress, conflict or poor performance – often all 3!

I’ve only written one book based on my experiences as a leader and those of my clients

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Broken CEO – the name comes from the feeling that we all get sooner or later, that we are broken in some way – there’s something not right.

I explain that this is a feeling and not a reality and we can get back to how we want to feel – fulfilled, happy and successful – by changing the way we think according to a few simple principles.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I prefer silence and always write on a laptop but will write at a desk, on a sofa and frequently on the bed, or even in it.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Sadhguru – Inner Engineering
Yogananda – Autobiography of a Yogi
Daniel Priestley – Key Person of Influence
Emotional Intelligence – Daniel Goleman
Navigating Complexity – Athur Battram
Godel, Escher and Bach – Douglas Hofstadter
Memories, Dreams, Reflections – C G Jung

What are you working on now?
A programme for executive coaches

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
We all have a book inside us. Forget whether anyone will read it or not – that’s not your concern. Invoke the goddess of victory and Just Do It.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You are responsible for how you feel – nothing and no one else.

What are you reading now?
Jordan Peterson – 12 rules for life

What’s next for you as a writer?
How To Coach Leaders

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Shakespeare
The Mahabarata
Tao Te Ching

Author Websites and Profiles
Chris Pearse Website
Chris Pearse Amazon Profile

Chris Pearse’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Louis Bezich 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
“Crack The Code” is my first book. I was a contributing author (I wrote a chapter) to Corporate Lawbreaking and Interactive Compliance, Edited by Jay A. Sigler and Joseph E. Murphy. I am also a contributing writer on 50-plus men’s health for PhillyVoice and the author of numerous articles on public policy and men’s health.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The full title of my book is “Crack The Code: 10 Proven Secrets That Motivate Healthy Behavior and Inspire Fulfillment in Men Over 50.” I was inspired by two factors; personal experience and the current state of health among Americans.

As a young man in my 30’s I was a single dad raising 2 sons. On top of this was my career and the normal pressures of life. I found myself gravitating to exercise then diet as a coping mechanism. I needed to stay fit and ensure that I would always be there for my boys. What started out as a coping strategy in my 30’s had become a passion in my 50’s when the boys were grown and went off to college and their own lives. I experienced the power of motivation first-hand and the impact my love for those boys had on my healthy behavior. I wanted see if other men my who lived healthy had similar experiences, and if so, to see if there was a model that could be created to motivate healthy behavior among a group not necessarily know for living healthy.

My other motivation came from my entry into the field of health care. When I became an executive at a major health system, I learned quickly that the health of Americans is “middle of the pack” at best when compared to other industrialized nations. Despite spending more on health care than any other nation in the world—by far, our overall health is, as I said, middle of the pack. Over 70% of Americans are classified as either obese or overweight and this number is increasing. Barely 3% of Americans lead a healthy lifestyle. What I also learned is that our own behavior is the driving force behind these stats which have physicians scratching their heads for an answer to spur behavior change. “Crack The Code” sets out the answer; social and emotional motivation.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a very busy and stressful day job, so my writing is confined to nights and weekends, and the occasional vacation day. Nothing special.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m big on non-fiction, self-help (if it isn’t obvious). I like Malcom Gladwell, Stephen Covey, Tony Robbins, and Simon Sinek. I also have some colleagues who’s work I admire, Dr. Stephen Trzeciak and Dr. Anthony Mazzarelli)

What are you working on now?
I’m looking to bundle a number of articles I’ve written for a local publication into a book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have my own site: 50plusmen.com and use all the typical social media such as Facebook and Instagram. I make full use of Amazon and Barnes & Noble’s sites.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
It’s a long hard road but very rewarding in the end. Publishing a book is one of the most difficult but rewarding things I’ve ever done. Also, it takes a team to be successful. Get good advisors and technicians to help you with the process.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Listen to the advice you’re given.

What are you reading now?
“Dad’s Maybe Book” by Tim O’Brien

What’s next for you as a writer?
Another book, more articles, speaking.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible. Don Quixote, Switch, Chip Heath & Dan Heath.

Author Websites and Profiles
Louis Bezich Website
Louis Bezich Amazon Profile

Louis Bezich’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Robin Bull 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written and published seven of my own (six non-fiction, and one fiction). I’ve ghostwritten over 300 books, primarily non-fiction.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recently published book is Kill Something and Drag It Home: A Woman’s Guide to Smashing (and Surviving) the Work from Home Lifestyle. It is the result of being questions for years about how I was able to start working from home (successfully). I am the sole income provider for my family, which is pretty unusual in the midwest.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Unusual writing habits? Well, I’m not much of a procrastinator when it comes to writing. And I do not believe in writer’s block. It’s not a habit, but I’m always told that’s unusual and the belief certainly doesn’t win me any friends. By and large, writers know exactly what they want to write, but they don’t want to write it because they’re afraid of how they will be perceived for doing it.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
For this particular book I’d have to say Rules for Renegades by Christina Comaford-Lynch. I read her book when I first began as a professional writer while I still worked as a paralegal instructor and real estate paralegal.

What are you working on now?
Most of my time is devoted to writing or editing for clients, including lawyers publishing through the ABA, law schools, and colleges.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best method I’ve found for promoting books is a cross between submitting to websites (both free and paid for promotions) and podcast interviews.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Sit down and write. Get off Facebook. Get off Twitter. Stop procrastination. We both know you are not researching.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Success is the best revenge.

What are you reading now?
I am currently reading The Secret, 4-Hour Work Week, and The Emotion Code.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Continuing to promote my current release as well as continuing to help my clients with their copy needs.

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 just not enough books. My home office has one wall that is entirely covered in bookshelves. I have another set in the garage as well as boxes and boxes full of books.

Author Websites and Profiles
Robin Bull Website

Robin Bull’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Jerry Hatchett 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write from near Houston, Texas. I just released my fourth novel, Fake News, which is the second book in my Sam Flatt series. When I’m not writing, I serve as an expert witness in digital forensics. Hobbies I enjoy are 3D design and printing, any and all things techno, reading, and enjoying great storytelling in any other venue, from TV to movies to plays to campfires. I’ve also done tech consulting on major TV shows like The Blacklist, CSI, Blind Spot, and more.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Fake News. Our current polarized environment was the germ from which this one grew. I also have a particular love of writing about unique and fascinating locations as settings. For example, the first book in this series is set inside the world’s most futuristic casino. Fake News goes in a different direction but also presents a really interesting location in which much of the action takes place.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure how unusual it is among writers, but I tend to do my best work late at night. Really late. As in getting started around midnight and trying to get to bed before the sun comes up.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
John Grisham, for his ability to relentlessly push the story forward. James Patterson, for his short chapters. Nelson DeMille for his creation of compelling characters and story. Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series, now continued by Kyle Mills since Flynn’s untimely passing, was an important influence in the creation of my primary character Sam Flatt.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on two books at the same time: The third book in the Sam Flatt series, and a quirky tale that’s way outside my normal wheelhouse, called PROJECTIONIST. I started the latter as a serial novel, posting chapters to my blog as they were written, but eventually decided to abandon that approach and release it in whole. We’ll see how my readers receive something so different from my normal work.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
BookBub rules and I’ve had tremendous success with their promotions in the past. Unfortunately, their featured deals are terribly difficult to land. I’ve also had success using Facebook, along with a variety of other sites when running promos. (Including Awesome Gang!)

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Slow down. Really study the craft of writing first. Read STEIN ON WRITING until it’s embedded in your brain and soul. Read successful books in your genre. Pay attention to the things that draw you into those books and keep you reading. Most of all? Seek out absolutely candid feedback and take it to heart. This won’t come from your friends and family. Find experienced writers who are willing to give you truth. This will require rhino-like skin, but it’s the only way to learn to write at a professional level.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Start over, because what you’ve done so far really sucks.” That was then followed by much of the advice I just gave above. I licked my wounds for a few days, then admitted that they were right. It was then that I vowed to hone my craft until I was writing at a pro level, and I’ll be forever grateful to those fellow writers who cared enough to give me brutal feedback.

What are you reading now?
My primary read at the moment is a sci-fi book called AFTERSHOCKS by Marko Kloos. It’s the first in a series called THE PALLADIUM WARS and I’m really enjoying it.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I continually try to improve my craft so I can write great stories that my readers enjoy, so that practice will go on forever. I’ll release at least two more books this year, and focus on developing the Sam Flatt series, and also bringing back Matt Decker, the protagonist of Seven Unholy Days, by expanding that into a second series.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible, Watchers by Dean Koontz, and a couple omnibus editions with a bunch of books in each one.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jerry Hatchett Website
Jerry Hatchett Amazon Profile

Jerry Hatchett’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

April Marcom 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I love children. I even work in a Pre-K classroom at my local school.
Writing’s something I’ve always loved doing, even as a child. It wasn’t until after I had my own children that I finished my first novel, though. Since then I’ve had several published, along with a few short stories as part of Satin Romance’s anthologies.
I also love gray, stormy days and I’m kind of a chocolate addict.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have a sequel book to GOOD VS EVIL HIGH being released in a few months and recently finished my first children’s chapter book. It’s titled CHRISTMAS ZOMBIES and it’s full of Christmas magic. I’ve never had a children’s story published before, so fingers crossed it’ll make it.
I think the inspiration was me thinking about cute jolly little elves and I started wondering, what if there were naughty elves who dealt with naughty children. It’s something nobody’s ever talked about and I decided it would make a great story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Living out in the country, we have A LOT of dogs. So my only ritual–and not a very fun one–is that I’m constantly getting up to let dogs in and out and to give them affection when they whine like they’re in need of it. I guess the doggie snuggles are nice; just the hopping up and down out of my seat gets old fast.
I also try to keep a little snack and a bottle of water at my desk for when I need them.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My late Uncle Mike (Michael Ballard) was a great writer over the Civil War and southern history. He’s definitely been an inspiration to me. He was always ready to answer my questions and give me advice when I needed it.

What are you working on now?
A children’s chapter book about a magical train in an enchanted forest that comes and goes to children who have a lesson to learn.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have a Facebook page I use for promoting, but I spend more time moving on to my next story than doing lots of promoting.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. It’s probably going to take a lot of work and disappointment and rejection before you get where you want to be.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write something unique that will stand out against the millions of other books out there.

What are you reading now?
I’ve been reading a few books from the Poison Apple series with my kids. They’re always a surprise!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m not sure. When I finish my magical train story, I think I’ll start a new YA romance.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Scriptures and the biggest, best, most detailed survival guides in the world.

Author Websites and Profiles
April Marcom Websit

April Marcom’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

TL Travis 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m TL Travis. I write LGBTQ erotica and erotic romance with a splash of PNR and on occasion, a little MF side action .

I’m the author of the Social Sinners (Rockstar) series and have a new metal band series coming spring 2020 for the band Maiden Voyage who you first meet in the Social Sinners series.

I’ve written more than 20 books and articles, and am in the process of re-vamping and re-releasing some of my older titles while still kicking out new books.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is See Me. As with many of my books, a dream is what inspired me. I saw this deafeated soul, damaged beyond what he considered to be repairable.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I just go with the flow. Jot down random notes, never outline and work on multiple books at one time. I read nightly, which some authors don’t do while they’re writing, but I find it inspires me. Triggers my brain into action.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ann Lister is at the top of that list. Her books are wonderful and she’s been a great mentor. Aimee Nicole Walker is another one I lovingly stalk, along with Riley Hart and Christina Lee. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting all of them and was a giddly fangirl when doing so. Readers, I can tell you first hand – all of them are just as sweet in person as they are online.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on book 1 in my Maiden Voyage series – Ryder’s Guardian, which the amazing Ann Lister has agreed to co-author with me. We’re having a great time writing this book and I hope to have the chance to do another with her in the future.

I’m also in the process of re-writing/editing/adding new covers to The Sebastian Chronicles, Hat Trick, The Database and The Elders Trilogy that will include book 3 – Resurrection which has never before been released.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
For me the LGBTQ+ newsletters and websites have been the best since the majority of my books are LGBTQ+.

For my erotica ones, Excitespice and Pretty-hot have been good.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you read and read what you write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The same as above, which is why I preach it – write what you read and read what you write.

What are you reading now?
Sara York’s Colorado Heart series – and I’m LOVING it!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Much like Dory says, just keep writing, just keep writing – as opposed to swimming

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 1, The Rock Gods 6 – Fighting His Fire, Curl up and Dye 1 – Dyeing to be Loved, The Vampire Armand.

Author Websites and Profiles
TL Travis Website
TL Travis Amazon Profile

TL Travis’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Michael Smith 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am in my late 20s and have a passion for fitness. This is my first book

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Weight Loss: Easy Stress-Free Weight Loss Techniques for the Best Results
I believe that people have to be able to fit in their pants, not be afraid of showing their bodies. However, when one becomes overweight, this becomes a challenge

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not at all

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stefan Pylarinos

What are you working on now?
I am working of SIRT Diet now.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
New authors should give their readers the best information

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stay focused

What are you reading now?
Think and Grow Rich

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to be among the top bestsellers list

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?
Eat that Frog
Think and Grow Rich
Awaken the Gian Within
Six Habits of Highly Effective People

Author Websites and Profiles
Michael Smith Amazon Profile

Richard Skorupski 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
After a 21 year career in the Navy, I returned home to my native state of New Jersey. Following my passion for the open waters, I started a second career in the recreational marine parts business. After ten years of dealing with the dense population of New Jersey and its high cost of living, we had had enough. My wife, Cheryl, and I sought to find a peaceful, friendly environment for our second retirement. We now happily reside in Spink County, South Dakota.

I reveal my love for South Dakota and appreciation of its people through my third career as an author of six books centering around the fictional town of Helen, South Dakota. All my novels and stories tell a tale of middle America and the rural lifestyle.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent book is River Of Destiny. It, like all my books, is inspired by the culture of small-town America.
I love writing about the ways of Middle America and the rural communities. This story tells the tale of a young man raised on a South Dakota farm. How will he handle college life in the big eastern city? It is a story of culture shock, twists and turns, and a new acquaintance who helps him adjust.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My wife and I are both retired and, therefore, are home with each other 2/7. We have adjusted our schedules to each have private time.
I am up around six each morning while my wife prefers to sleep in until ten or eleven. In the evening, I am in bed before eleven, and she stays up until one or two AM. We each get time to ourselves.
I use my quiet mornings to write. I get my morning coffee, chose the door to my den, and start to type. I am a “seat of the pants” writer, so I have no idea where the story is going to take me when I sit down each morning.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like homespun fiction. Some of my recent favorites have been Carol Cox, Debbie Macomber, C. J. Darlington, and Vickie Kestell.
Now I know these authors lean toward the romantic, but the background and the people in these stories touch me.

What are you working on now?
I am continuing the Flyover County Series. I love my imagery town of Helen, SD. I feel I know all the characters. They are my friends. I will continue to write what they tell me about their lives.
I currently have three stories in the works. All are in and around Helen, South Dakota.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have a website and a Facebook page. I keep an e-mail list as well for my “insiders”. The e-mail list is the best promotion tool. I am learning to work the algorithms of Amazon and a starting to have some success there too.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Put your fingers on the keyboard and type. There are people out there thirsting for your story. Tell it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up. The next big break could be just around the bend. If you quit now, you will never find it.

What are you reading now?
I am reading a few. Some non-fiction about publishing and writing and some for fun. I like folksy books with happy endings. That seems to lead me to soft romance. It’s the story, the settings, and scenery that draw me in.
Amazon Decoded by David Gaughran
Trouble In Store by Carol Cox
Why Grace Changes Everything by Chuck Smith

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will continue to write. I want to tell the story of middle America.

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, Atlas Shrugged, and something light by Debbie Macomber.

Author Websites and Profiles
Richard Skorupski Website
Richard Skorupski Amazon Profile

Richard Skorupski’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Anne Stryker 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born and raised deep in the concrete garden of Jacksonville, Florida where I learned to embrace the magic in the most unlikely of places. For having grown up in a city where the nearest tree was down the street, my stories center in forests more often than I care to admit. I love nature, exploring it, writing about it, creating worlds brimming with it.

I’ve written nine books, though one is a collection of three novellas.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Day of Wishes and Wonder (Starlight Fae #1), and it is a YA faery adventure that dives through multiple realms. I’ve had this story in my heart ever since I took up the name “Anne Stryker”. It has gone through countless rewrites since then; however, and the exact point and reason it came to be has fallen away. I would probably say my love of faeries, stars, and mysterious male leads with tragic backstories are the likely culprits.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure it’s very unusual, but I seem to plot or ‘pants’ all my stories in different ways from outlines, to sticky notes, to a brief “start, middle, end”, to nothing more than a feeling or character I want to know more about.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a big fan of Laini Taylor, A.G. Howard, and Julie Kagawa’s work. Their stories contain the magic and adventures that I hope to attain in my own work.

What are you working on now?
Right now? Oh boy… What aren’t I working on? I’ve got a hand in a massive Kingdom of Fairytales project that is releasing a book every Wednesday for all of 2020. I’m working on the third book in my Beyond the Veil series, Hiding in the Mountains. I’m planning out the second book in my Starlight Fae series, Night of Shadows and Ember. And I’m collaborating with a couple coauthors to bring life to the worlds we share.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m most active on Instagram, though in the past weeks leading up to this release I’ve gone silent as I rush to meet deadlines and manage my day job. I’ve found a lot of success in promoting my work through C.L. Cannon Builders and the folks at Enchanted Quill Press. They have been essential in getting my career off the ground, and I am now heading to a place where I will hopefully no longer need to juggle the day job.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t make excuses. If you see a problem, handle it. There is always a way around every roadblock. As long as you don’t make excuses, you will find a way to succeed even if it may not be as quickly or in the way you planned.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be brave. Even if you’re scared to death of putting yourself out there, as long as you love your work, you will find others who love it too. That doesn’t mean to throw it out there, of course. But work hard, polish your story, and then be brave enough to free it.

What are you reading now?
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. It’s been awhile, so I’m diving back into an old love.

What’s next for you as a writer?
USA Today Bestseller with a side order of New York Times. I’m planning big, and I’m going to fight my way to making it happen.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Splintered by A.G. Howard
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
My kindle, so I can have the entire series for all of these.

Author Websites and Profiles
Anne Stryker Website
Anne Stryker Amazon Profile

Anne Stryker’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Kawtar Elmrabti 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve always been passionate about poetry and writing in general. My biggest dream was to publish a book and pour my words , my soul out there in the world.
So far I only published Thoughts Alight which includes a long collection of poems I’ve collected and cherished for almost a decade now.
I’m currently working on my debut novel ‘Willing Skies’ which I’ll hopefully publish within next year.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Thoughts Alight Poetry. This book reveals my secret garden, my journey with life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Most of the time, I write in notebooks whenever I feel inspired by the tiniest things in life. It’s all so spontaneous and artistic.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Definitely Paulo Coelho, John Green, Colleen Hoover, JK Rowling, Mark Haddon, James Joyce, JD Salinger and so much I’m in utter and complete love with books and the realm of literature.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on my debut novel ‘Willing Skies’ which is a very exciting journey. This novel will deal with the allegory of hope and the theme of self love.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well honestly so far I’ve relied on my socials and my publishing House EC Publishing. I have to say though I’m so happy I found you.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
You have a story? Glimpses of ideas or characters, just write it down. Do not wait.
believe in your dream, write your story, explore all your depths ,live your story until you pour all your soul in it and one day you’ll be as praised as these best selling authors because they were just like us before, think about it
all of you out there who aspire to publish a book one day. You can and you will. And not about books but anything in general. Believe strongly in yourself, invest in yourself and you’ll see that magical horizons will reach out to you.
Never ever let anyone tell you that your dreams are too big. Because I can assure you that sometimes dreams are very close to us. Cling to hope focus on your energy on your fiery ambition.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
‘Be the change you want to see in the world’ – Gandhi.

What are you reading now?
The Art of Fiction by David Lodge, as I’m diving into the realm of fiction writing I’m doing extensive researches at the moment.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Definitely a lot more writing and giving birth to lots of stories. I intend to write a lot more books, Thoughts Alight was just the beginning for me. I already have an idea for another poetry book lined up. I aspire to have a literary career focused on the oscillation in between poetry and fiction writing, always with a philosophical touch.

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?
Excellent question:
I would say ‘Big Magic’, ‘Warrior of the Light’ and The Alchemist, these books are like magical portals, they always make me travel in great horizons whenever I dive into them.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kawtar Elmrabti Website
Kawtar Elmrabti Amazon Profile

Kawtar Elmrabti’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Lynn Wolff 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a contemporary romance author and poet. I have many works in progress, but only published one novella to date. Two more books scheduled for 2020.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Perfect Match: A Short Holiday Romance was published February 2020. It is a contemporary romance centered around a Valentine’s weekend surprise for the main character Mandy. The time and setting was inspired by my own engagement.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I need quiet to write, so my writing is never at a given time during the day.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am a romance novel junkie, and have read books from many contemporary romance authors. Most of them are bestselling authors, but there are a few indie authors that I enjoy and follow.

What are you working on now?
I just finished a collection of poetry, which is set to be published in April 2020. I have a second novella in edits now, and hopefully will publish this incredible story in fall 2020.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m a very new author. I have promoted on Facebook in groups and have used promotion companies.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Go with your gut. Everyone will have an opinion and you can never please everyone.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Grow thick skin.

What are you reading now?
I am currently in between books. I am always looking for recommendations.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to continue writing novellas and poems. I hope to one day finish a majority of the stories floating around in my head,,

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?

Author Websites and Profiles
Lynn Wolff Website
Lynn Wolff Amazon Profile

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

Kelly McNeal 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I enjoy writing fantasy and science fiction. I have published 1 book out of a series of 7. I am currently creating a manga series for my Infinite Series.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Divine Heir. It was inspired by playing role-playing games with friends! All the characters are real, and so are the stories, in the sense they have been created by all of us.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I think so. I wake up and write all my ideas down. Then I incorporate them into my story.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like all kinds of books. I used to never read fiction books, only science non-fiction. I have a degree in Biology.

What are you working on now?
Book 7 of the infinite series and my manga illustrated novel!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think facebook.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
It’s 90% work.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
people will surprise you.

What are you reading now?
Galileo was Wrong by Robert Sungenis

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m just gonna keep writing my series. So much fun!

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
human anatomy atlas
genes x

Author Websites and Profiles
Kelly McNeal Amazon Profile

Kelly McNeal’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Mia Fox 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi! I’m Mia Fox, a romance writer. I’ve written 13 books in the romance genre that span different sub-genres including paranormal romance, contemporary romance, chick-lit, and new adult/erotica.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “Another Younger Man.” It is the follow up to “A Much Younger Man” and gives a happily ever after to the Tryst series.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes! I love talking through storylines with my Poodle mix, Oliver. Sometimes, he even sits on my lap while I type.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have been influenced by Sophie Kinsella for my chick lit, Simone Elkeles for young adult, and Lizzy Ford for my paranormal romance and erotica.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on expanding the Guardian Angel series that started with “Malibu Angel.” Everyone needs a beach read!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I take advantage of Amazon as much as possible as well as great services such as Awesome Gang!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be true to yourself. It’s tempting to copy successful authors, but one needs to do what comes naturally and feels organic.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Find a balance between marketing and writing. It’s easy to spend hours a day marketing and then you realize that you haven’t written a word.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading “Educated” by Tara Westover. It’s a can’t put down memoir that I just don’t want to end.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’d love to spend some more time with other authors and perhaps host a writing retreat.

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?
Educated by Tara Westover
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
Any book by Lizzy Ford

Author Websites and Profiles
Mia Fox Website
Mia Fox Amazon Profile
Mia Fox Author Profile on Smashwords

Mia Fox’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Diane Hildebrandt 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a retired lady who plucked up her courage to move over 1800 miles to live in beautiful southeast Arizona. The next year, I began writing a novel for NaNoWriMo. I managed to complete the 50,000 word challenge the first year, and wrote another 50,000 words the following year. My first novel was published this year, and I’m working on revising the next one.

It took Machiatto (my cat) several weeks to adopt me after I brought her home from the animal shelter. She still won’t sit in my lap, but loves to be petted when I sit on the couch and try to read or watch TV.

I have 2 adult children who live in the Midwest. I’m a member of my local library’s friends group, several community and writing groups, and a genealogist on WikiTree. I also enjoy crafting when I have spare time (what’s that?!).

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Mathews Family: Mathews Family Saga Book 1. The life of my third great-grandfather fascinated me. The home he built in 1805 is a museum owned by the Muskingum County Historical Society. Along with my mother, aunt, and daughter, I toured his home during the 1980s. As a teen, I read the diary Increase Mathews wrote in 1798 when he journeyed from Massachusetts to visit his relatives who had settled in Ohio. This diary served as my inspiration.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
If writing in a robe upon waking is unusual, then yes I do. It doesn’t matter what time I get up – 3, 4, 5, or 6 am – I write until about noon.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
John Jakes – in particular his Kent Family Chronicles.
James Clavell – Shogun series.
Susan Howatch – Starbridge series.
David McCullough – anything and everything he writes.

What are you working on now?
I’m revising the second book of my family saga. It will probably have the title Dr. Increase Mathews.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
As a new indie author, trying to feel my way, I’m unsure of any method or website.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just do it!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Several friends have told me to keep writing

What are you reading now?
After researching for years, I’ve promised myself that I would devote this year to reading for enjoyment again. I’m currently enjoying Kandi J. Wyatt’s “Dragon’s Future”.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To learn more about promoting a book as an indie 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?
If there’s only 3 or 4 books, I wouldn’t survive. I might if these were series of books. Can I take my Kindle with me to the desert island?

Author Websites and Profiles
Diane Hildebrandt Amazon Profile

Diane Hildebrandt’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Felix Long 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a technical writer by day and a fiction writer by night.
My first book ‘To Conquer Heaven’ is a Dan Brown meets Indiana Jones action-adventure. Tomb raiding, undead dodging, dragon wrangling. Lots of fun.
My second book ‘Sophrosyne’ is an anthology of murder mystery short stories with an overarching theme and a hidden bonus story. Detective Hubert Maimone must unravel a series of bizarre deaths that all lead back to him.
My third book ‘Habnab’ is Artemis Fowl for grown-ups. What if the fae DID steal your baby? Coming soon.
Please come check out these stories and a great collection of short stories at my website: felixlong.co.uk

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Sophrosyne – is the ancient Greek word for the ideal state of mind characterised by self-control, moderation, and a deep awareness of one’s true self resulting in true happiness.
Unfortunately, sophrosyne must be achieved through sacrifice.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My writing habits are dull but effective. I go to the same cafe every day and place the same order. I put in my earbuds, bring up Verdi, set my phone alarm and get cracking.
When my phone alarm goes off, I go to my day job.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Too many to list, but an abridged list would be:
HP Lovecraft, PG Wodehouse, Barbara Kingsolver, ML Carey, Ian Banks, Felix Gilman.

What are you working on now?
The sequel to Habnab. Slippery Identity picks up the tale of Magdalena. After the UGLy Stick project was hushed up, Magdalena finds herself processing DNA samples from horrific crime scenes on minimum wage. Like everyone else, she is delighted when the notorious Nightstalker is finally captured after a reign of terror across London to rival Jack the Ripper. But when she sees the Nightstalker in the flesh, she knows that there has been a terrible mistake, or a terrible fraud.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Readers in the Know. Which directed me here!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The apprenticeship is long and pays badly. Your art will take time to mature. Please be patient. Be persistent. And be sensible.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Easy reading is damn hard writing – Walt Whitman

What are you reading now?
Longitude by Dava Sobel. Very interesting book about solving the mathematics puzzle of measuring longitude and therefore the exact position of a ship at sea.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Selling the movie rights for Habnab to Peter Jackson, but only if he will cast Tom Hiddleston as Hanrahan.

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 Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Silmarillion.

Author Websites and Profiles
Felix Long Website
Felix Long Amazon Profile

Felix Long’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Donald Lee 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is my first book. After many years as a school band director and religion teacher, I have recently changed careers (again, LOL, I guess this is my third career.) I am now a spiritual author and speaker. I’ve been a school teacher, band director, musician, public speaker, laborer, chemical process operator, marketer, market researcher. I may have missed a few. For fun I love the great Alberta outdoors, fishing, hunting, hiking, canoeing, camping, running, swimming, biking, skiing.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The title of my book is, “The Band Director’s Lessons About Life”. There’s a subtitle that needs some explaining. The subtitle is, “Volume 1 – 50 Parables on Life’s Performance Cycle”.

As a school teacher, there are times when something happens in school that we call a “teachable moment”. A situation develops where a lesson far more important arises than what we were trying to teach – something eternal, something transcendent, something spiritual. I started writing some of these moments down on paper and drawing the spiritual lessons out of them. Eventually, it became a book – fifty little parables to help us understand ourselves as spiritual beings having a human experience.

Now the meaning of the subtitle. In a school band program, all my teaching is planned around our performance schedule for the year. With the next concert in mind, we prepare, practice, perform, then reflect on our performance and redirect our efforts to try to perform better at the next concert. That’s the band performance cycle. It’s a metaphor for our cycle of spiritual growth in life. So the book is in four parts: preparation, practice, performance, and reflection and redirection. Then the cycle starts all over again. We are constantly setting new spiritual goals, practicing to be a better person, performing daily (some good, some not so good), and reflecting on what we did well and poorly.

It was seeing daily life through spiritual eyes that inspired me to write down my thoughts and insights so others could benefit from them as well. I hope my readers are enlighted by reading my book.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Too many to list. I’ll just mention some spiritual books and authors for now. Certainly, the Bible is number one. I particularly love the teaching of Jesus. Over the past 2000 years, Christian theology has added so much to his simple words that I’m not sure Jesus would recognize his teachings today. So I love to go back to what Jesus really said. He made it so simple. Love God. Love everyone. What could be simpler?

I love many of the Christian mystics as well, both modern and older. I’ve read all of Maria Valtorta’s “The Poem of the Man-God”. It’s beautiful. If you want to get a picture of what Jesus’s times and teachings likely really were, read that series. I love the work of Edgar Cayce, of Saint Sister Faustina, and others who have connected with the Divine in special ways. The outpouring of Divine revelation in the modern world is absolutely astounding, yet most people ignore it.

What are you working on now?
This year (2020) I’m working on Volume 2. I’m trying to make these parables even shorter and more succinct. I’m also working on marketing Volume 1 and developing as a public speaker.

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

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

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

What are you reading now?
I continue to go back to the classic writings that I love so much, but also to read new things. I picked up a copy of “The Four Agreements”. It’s ancient Toltec wisdom and it’s amazing how much its teachings overlap with esoteric Christianity.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I think I’d bring a fishing rod and a couple of guns. I wouldn’t need books – you can make a fire with dry grass.

Author Websites and Profiles
Donald Lee Website
Donald Lee Amazon Profile

Donald Lee’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile