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Rachelle Paige Campbell 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve published six sweet, contemporary romance novels and have more in the works. I write feel-good love stories for all ages and hope my books are an encouraging escape for my readers.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Love Overboard is my latest release (February 24, 2020, from The Wild Rose Press). This story takes place on an Alaskan cruise. Cruising is my favorite mode of vacation and I’ve been wanting to write a sweet romance set on a ship for a while. When I started writing the novel, I wanted an escape (we had learned some difficult family news) and this fun and complicated love story proved the perfect mix for me. I hope readers feel the same!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My unusual writing habit used to be my absolute reliance on gummy bears as part of my process. For the sake of my health (as my Mom loves to say, sugar diabetes runs in our family), I stopped snacking while writing. I find that with each book I acquire a different crutch. For instance, I wrote one book and HAD to listen to the same song on repeat as I typed. Another time, I could only get words on the page if I sat at my kitchen table. The process is always changing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I write contemporary but my love of the genre was sparked by historical romance. I still read a lot of historical but have been so influenced and encouraged by the sweet romances from Harlequin’s heartwarming line and Hallmark’s new publishing line.

What are you working on now?
I’m delighted to be editing the book of my heart with The Wild Rose Press. This is a really fun story I wrote over two years ago and have been polishing ever since. Former child star comes to a small-town and everything is shaken up.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still learning! I think reviews are the absolute most important way to promote books (and word of mouth is really what sells books). I’m always trying to reach new readers and encourage people to leave their honest opinion for others to find a book they’ll cherish.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing, keep learning, and keep the faith! I’m a strong believer that there is a plan for every person and that comparing your path to someone else’s will just make you miserable. I have had moments of wishing I could speed through the next hurdle and then–once I finally do reach the milestone or roadblock–I understand why I needed to take MY journey. Writing isn’t one size fits all and it isn’t a zero sum game.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You can’t fix a blank page. That’s a Nora Roberts quote and it’s so true. On days when the words are not coming, I say out loud “I can write absolute garbage today.” It’s silly, but giving myself permission to suck helps me move forward. (I’m a good girl by default, I’m always looking for permission from someone else, it’s hard to unlearn that.)

What are you reading now?
I’m reading Amy Vastine’s A Bridesmaid to Remember. One of my FAVORITE authors! She’s an auto-buy for me.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to keep writing and telling more stories. I have an inspirational romance on submission and am working on a sweet romantic suspense duet. I like challenging myself with different genres (cross your fingers these projects find homes!)..

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?
Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels. Lisa Kleypas’s The Devil in Winter. And I have to take my two favorite Non-fiction books: Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman, and American Prometheus.

Author Websites and Profiles
Rachelle Paige Campbell Website
Rachelle Paige Campbell Amazon Profile

Rachelle Paige Campbell’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Marcee’ Bonds 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a person of many things but writing has always been a passion of mine. I have just completed my second book. It does not seem like a lot but my books are based on my life-changing experiences. I write non-fiction, self-help and inspirational content. I believe every situation I go through can be used to help someone else to let them know they are not alone. I am always willing to share my story to encourage, educate and uplift others.

I currently reside in Houston TX. I am a wife and mother of two boys. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, writing and spending time with family and friends. I am not too adventurous but I do enjoy learning about new and exciting things.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Waiting in the Furnace. I was inspired to write this book because I was recently diagnosed with a chronic illness Myasthenia Gravis. I wanted to share my story with others and the thought came to me to write a book about my diagnosis journey. I would tell people about it but I wanted people to feel the severity of what I went through. I suffered physically, mentally and emotionally while adjusting to my new way of life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do not have any unusual habits.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Toni Morrison, Terry McMillian, and Zora Neale Hurston

What are you working on now?
Right now I am working on promoting my book and bringing awareness to Myasthenia Gravis.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best method is social media. I use Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and other online platforms.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Writing the book is the easy part the hard part is selling your book.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The only person you can change is yourself

What are you reading now?
Finding Purpose After Sexual Abuse and Trauma: Living Beyond Pain and Finding My True Identity In God by Juanita R. Williams

What’s next for you as a writer?
Book signings, speaking engagements, and promotional opportunities

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, Waiting to Exhale, The Color Purple

Author Websites and Profiles
Marcee’ Bonds Website
Marcee’ Bonds Amazon Profile

Marcee’ Bonds’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Patricia Vaccarino 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing since I was a little kid. In fact, I began writing a novel as a teenager that eventually became my first literary novel, YONKERS Yonkers! (Published 2018) A sequel to the first Yonkers book, The Heart of Yonkers, will be released (Spring 2020). Book three in the Yonkers series is in development. I have also published three business books: “PR for People,” “STEPS My not-so-secret life as an adult dancer and how it impacts my life and business,” and “American Spin.” In addition to writing literary fiction and serious nonfiction, I also love to write thrillers. My first thriller “One Small Murder” was republished in 2012. Personally speaking, in my spare time, I train in ballet, four classes a week and alternate my non-ballet days with cardio, Zumba, weights and Pilates. This workout-regimen keeps me very disciplined and hyper-focused, which definitely has an impact in how approach my writing. I also love to cook Italian food for my husband—we’re both half Italian and half Irish. I travel frequently to New York City, Boston, New Hampshire and Denver to visit family. I divide my time between homes in downtown Seattle and the north coast of Oregon.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, “The Heart of Yonkers,” (Spring 2020), is a sequel to “YONKERS Yonkers!” (Published 2018). The third book in this trilogy is in development. My inspiration comes from having had the opportunity to grow up in working-class Yonkers. Although Yonkers is the fourth largest city in New York State, and has/had its own identity, it was sadly eclipsed by its neighboring mecca New York City. Growing up in “the city” made me streetwise at an early age. Because of the city’s complex ethnic diversity, it made me accepting of the full range of humanity. Here’s a funny story: When I was sending out agent queries for “YONKERS Yonkers!,” one agent told me the character was too young for the story. I told her: “Lady, what planet are you from?” I guess she had a more sheltered and rarefied background than I had experienced growing up that made her naïve about the reality of working-class teenagers from Yonkers. Yonkers girls grow up fast, maybe too fast.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I constantly keep notes—everywhere. I never face the blank page. I can’t recall the last time I faced writer’s block. Maybe this is due to my many years of writing professionally. Regardless of whether I felt like writing or not, I was getting paid to hit a deadline. When you’re getting paid, too much procrastination is not an option. You can’t tell a client: Sorry, I have writer’s block.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Five literary nonfiction works and their authors have had profound influence on my work as a writer of essays and articles: the ground-breaking open letter “J’Accuse…!” written by the French writer Émile Zola and published in 1898 in the newspaper L’Aurore. Other influential works include “Man’s Search for Meaning,” by Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl; Ralph Waldo Emerson’s masterpiece, “Self Reliance,” Eric Hoffer’s seminal work “The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements,” and Susan Sontag’s “Illness as Metaphor.”
Other authors that have had profound influence on her work include Doris Lessing, Joyce Carol Oates, Iris Murdoch, Patti Smith, and, especially, the Irish writer Edna O’Brien whose coming-of-age trilogy “The Country Girls” possesses the same spirit as my Yonkers trilogy. Of all novelists, I greatly admire the Italian Author Elsa Morante. I think Morante’s novel History, (Italian: La Storia) is one of the greatest literary works of all time.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently writing a thriller that is based on a story that I wrote nearly thirty years ago. The original manuscript was not my finest hour as an author, but after so many years of honing my craft, I think I can turn it into a more compelling story. Originally it was titled “Two :30s and a :10.” The title is too confusing to people who never worked in the film industry, so I’ve renamed it, but I’m not ready to disclose the new title. The story involves the circumstances around the brutal murder of a commercial film director named Harry Hill. Any number of people would have liked to have killed him, the question is who? I am also writing a collection of essays: NOTES FROM THE WORKING-CLASS. So far, I have written nine essays. Some can be found in my press kit: http://www.prforpeople.com/patriciavaccarino

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I work hard to build my community-of-interest. I identify my potential audience for my work and then I reach out to them. For example, I have built a community among people who have either grown up in Yonkers or who have close ties to this city. The Yonkers community is interested in my work. The most effective way to stay in touch with my community is by continuing to write quality work. Over time, I am beginning to develop a following. There are no shortcuts and there is no such thing as an overnight success. As the old adage goes, the writer who goes to sleep one night and wakes up in the morning as a raging success has actually been asleep, metaphorically speaking, for ten years.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write everything. Write in mediums that you are not particularly skilled in. Every time you turn a phrase, you are exercising your craft. Put your time in. Don’t just think about writing. You must write as often as possible.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
There are no shortcuts to becoming a good writer. Aside from developing the habit or writing, a writer must read everything: the good, the bad and the ugly. If you keep your head riveted in words, you will never drown in the blank page.

What are you reading now?
I tend to read two to three books within the same time frame, alternating back and forth between each book. I’m currently reading “Aracoeli” by Elsa Morante, “The Lover” by Marguerite Duras, and “On Desperate Ground” by Hampton Sides.

What’s next for you as a writer?
For my own work: I keep many ideas or concepts in my files, but not all evolve to become fully formed books. Sometimes, there is internal competition among my concepts—which book should get written first? When I find myself in that dilemma, I pay close attention to my dreams. I find that my dreams will dictate the book that needs to get written now! My dreams can be disturbing or enchanting, ugly or dark and occasionally funny, but they are never dull.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would take my Yonkers trilogy to agonize over what I want to rewrite.

Author Websites and Profiles
Patricia Vaccarino Website
Patricia Vaccarino Amazon Profile

Patricia Vaccarino’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Patricia Vaccarino 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing since I was a little kid. In fact, I began writing a novel as a teenager that eventually became my first literary novel, YONKERS Yonkers! (Published 2018) A sequel to the first Yonkers book, The Heart of Yonkers, will be released (Spring 2020). Book three in the Yonkers series is in development. I have also published three business books: “PR for People,” “STEPS My not-so-secret life as an adult dancer and how it impacts my life and business,” and “American Spin.” In addition to writing literary fiction and serious nonfiction, I also love to write thrillers. My first thriller “One Small Murder” was republished in 2012. Personally speaking, in my spare time, I train in ballet, four classes a week and alternate my non-ballet days with cardio, Zumba, weights and Pilates. This workout-regimen keeps me very disciplined and hyper-focused, which definitely has an impact in how approach my writing. I also love to cook Italian food for my husband—we’re both half Italian and half Irish. I travel frequently to New York City, Boston, New Hampshire and Denver to visit family. I divide my time between homes in downtown Seattle and the north coast of Oregon.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, “The Heart of Yonkers,” (Spring 2020), is a sequel to “YONKERS Yonkers!” (Published 2018). The third book in this trilogy is in development. My inspiration comes from having had the opportunity to grow up in working-class Yonkers. Although Yonkers is the fourth largest city in New York State, and has/had its own identity, it was sadly eclipsed by its neighboring mecca New York City. Growing up in “the city” made me streetwise at an early age. Because of the city’s complex ethnic diversity, it made me accepting of the full range of humanity. Here’s a funny story: When I was sending out agent queries for “YONKERS Yonkers!,” one agent told me the character was too young for the story. I told her: “Lady, what planet are you from?” I guess she had a more sheltered and rarefied background than I had experienced growing up that made her naïve about the reality of working-class teenagers from Yonkers. Yonkers girls grow up fast, maybe too fast.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I constantly keep notes—everywhere. I never face the blank page. I can’t recall the last time I faced writer’s block. Maybe this is due to my many years of writing professionally. Regardless of whether I felt like writing or not, I was getting paid to hit a deadline. When you’re getting paid, too much procrastination is not an option. You can’t tell a client: Sorry, I have writer’s block.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Five literary nonfiction works and their authors have had profound influence on my work as a writer of essays and articles: the ground-breaking open letter “J’Accuse…!” written by the French writer Émile Zola and published in 1898 in the newspaper L’Aurore. Other influential works include “Man’s Search for Meaning,” by Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl; Ralph Waldo Emerson’s masterpiece, “Self Reliance,” Eric Hoffer’s seminal work “The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements,” and Susan Sontag’s “Illness as Metaphor.”
Other authors that have had profound influence on her work include Doris Lessing, Joyce Carol Oates, Iris Murdoch, Patti Smith, and, especially, the Irish writer Edna O’Brien whose coming-of-age trilogy “The Country Girls” possesses the same spirit as my Yonkers trilogy. Of all novelists, I greatly admire the Italian Author Elsa Morante. I think Morante’s novel History, (Italian: La Storia) is one of the greatest literary works of all time.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently writing a thriller that is based on a story that I wrote nearly thirty years ago. The original manuscript was not my finest hour as an author, but after so many years of honing my craft, I think I can turn it into a more compelling story. Originally it was titled “Two :30s and a :10.” The title is too confusing to people who never worked in the film industry, so I’ve renamed it, but I’m not ready to disclose the new title. The story involves the circumstances around the brutal murder of a commercial film director named Harry Hill. Any number of people would have liked to have killed him, the question is who? I am also writing a collection of essays: NOTES FROM THE WORKING-CLASS. So far, I have written nine essays. Some can be found in my press kit: http://www.prforpeople.com/patriciavaccarino

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I work hard to build my community-of-interest. I identify my potential audience for my work and then I reach out to them. For example, I have built a community among people who have either grown up in Yonkers or who have close ties to this city. The Yonkers community is interested in my work. The most effective way to stay in touch with my community is by continuing to write quality work. Over time, I am beginning to develop a following. There are no shortcuts and there is no such thing as an overnight success. As the old adage goes, the writer who goes to sleep one night and wakes up in the morning as a raging success has actually been asleep, metaphorically speaking, for ten years.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write everything. Write in mediums that you are not particularly skilled in. Every time you turn a phrase, you are exercising your craft. Put your time in. Don’t just think about writing. You must write as often as possible.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
There are no shortcuts to becoming a good writer. Aside from developing the habit or writing, a writer must read everything: the good, the bad and the ugly. If you keep your head riveted in words, you will never drown in the blank page.

What are you reading now?
I tend to read two to three books within the same time frame, alternating back and forth between each book. I’m currently reading “Aracoeli” by Elsa Morante, “The Lover” by Marguerite Duras, and “On Desperate Ground” by Hampton Sides.

What’s next for you as a writer?
For my own work: I keep many ideas or concepts in my files, but not all evolve to become fully formed books. Sometimes, there is internal competition among my concepts—which book should get written first? When I find myself in that dilemma, I pay close attention to my dreams. I find that my dreams will dictate the book that needs to get written now! My dreams can be disturbing or enchanting, ugly or dark and occasionally funny, but they are never dull.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would take my Yonkers trilogy to agonize over what I want to rewrite.

Author Websites and Profiles
Patricia Vaccarino Website
Patricia Vaccarino Amazon Profile

Patricia Vaccarino’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Patricia Vaccarino 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing since I was a little kid. In fact, I began writing a novel as a teenager that eventually became my first literary novel, YONKERS Yonkers! (Published 2018) A sequel to the first Yonkers book, The Heart of Yonkers, will be released (Spring 2020). Book three in the Yonkers series is in development. I have also published three business books: “PR for People,” “STEPS My not-so-secret life as an adult dancer and how it impacts my life and business,” and “American Spin.” In addition to writing literary fiction and serious nonfiction, I also love to write thrillers. My first thriller “One Small Murder” was republished in 2012. Personally speaking, in my spare time, I train in ballet, four classes a week and alternate my non-ballet days with cardio, Zumba, weights and Pilates. This workout-regimen keeps me very disciplined and hyper-focused, which definitely has an impact in how approach my writing. I also love to cook Italian food for my husband—we’re both half Italian and half Irish. I travel frequently to New York City, Boston, New Hampshire and Denver to visit family. I divide my time between homes in downtown Seattle and the north coast of Oregon.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, “The Heart of Yonkers,” (Spring 2020), is a sequel to “YONKERS Yonkers!” (Published 2018). The third book in this trilogy is in development. My inspiration comes from having had the opportunity to grow up in working-class Yonkers. Although Yonkers is the fourth largest city in New York State, and has/had its own identity, it was sadly eclipsed by its neighboring mecca New York City. Growing up in “the city” made me streetwise at an early age. Because of the city’s complex ethnic diversity, it made me accepting of the full range of humanity. Here’s a funny story: When I was sending out agent queries for “YONKERS Yonkers!,” one agent told me the character was too young for the story. I told her: “Lady, what planet are you from?” I guess she had a more sheltered and rarefied background than I had experienced growing up that made her naïve about the reality of working-class teenagers from Yonkers. Yonkers girls grow up fast, maybe too fast.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I constantly keep notes—everywhere. I never face the blank page. I can’t recall the last time I faced writer’s block. Maybe this is due to my many years of writing professionally. Regardless of whether I felt like writing or not, I was getting paid to hit a deadline. When you’re getting paid, too much procrastination is not an option. You can’t tell a client: Sorry, I have writer’s block.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Five literary nonfiction works and their authors have had profound influence on my work as a writer of essays and articles: the ground-breaking open letter “J’Accuse…!” written by the French writer Émile Zola and published in 1898 in the newspaper L’Aurore. Other influential works include “Man’s Search for Meaning,” by Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl; Ralph Waldo Emerson’s masterpiece, “Self Reliance,” Eric Hoffer’s seminal work “The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements,” and Susan Sontag’s “Illness as Metaphor.”
Other authors that have had profound influence on her work include Doris Lessing, Joyce Carol Oates, Iris Murdoch, Patti Smith, and, especially, the Irish writer Edna O’Brien whose coming-of-age trilogy “The Country Girls” possesses the same spirit as my Yonkers trilogy. Of all novelists, I greatly admire the Italian Author Elsa Morante. I think Morante’s novel History, (Italian: La Storia) is one of the greatest literary works of all time.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently writing a thriller that is based on a story that I wrote nearly thirty years ago. The original manuscript was not my finest hour as an author, but after so many years of honing my craft, I think I can turn it into a more compelling story. Originally it was titled “Two :30s and a :10.” The title is too confusing to people who never worked in the film industry, so I’ve renamed it, but I’m not ready to disclose the new title. The story involves the circumstances around the brutal murder of a commercial film director named Harry Hill. Any number of people would have liked to have killed him, the question is who? I am also writing a collection of essays: NOTES FROM THE WORKING-CLASS. So far, I have written nine essays. Some can be found in my press kit: http://www.prforpeople.com/patriciavaccarino

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I work hard to build my community-of-interest. I identify my potential audience for my work and then I reach out to them. For example, I have built a community among people who have either grown up in Yonkers or who have close ties to this city. The Yonkers community is interested in my work. The most effective way to stay in touch with my community is by continuing to write quality work. Over time, I am beginning to develop a following. There are no shortcuts and there is no such thing as an overnight success. As the old adage goes, the writer who goes to sleep one night and wakes up in the morning as a raging success has actually been asleep, metaphorically speaking, for ten years.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write everything. Write in mediums that you are not particularly skilled in. Every time you turn a phrase, you are exercising your craft. Put your time in. Don’t just think about writing. You must write as often as possible.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
There are no shortcuts to becoming a good writer. Aside from developing the habit or writing, a writer must read everything: the good, the bad and the ugly. If you keep your head riveted in words, you will never drown in the blank page.

What are you reading now?
I tend to read two to three books within the same time frame, alternating back and forth between each book. I’m currently reading “Aracoeli” by Elsa Morante, “The Lover” by Marguerite Duras, and “On Desperate Ground” by Hampton Sides.

What’s next for you as a writer?
For my own work: I keep many ideas or concepts in my files, but not all evolve to become fully formed books. Sometimes, there is internal competition among my concepts—which book should get written first? When I find myself in that dilemma, I pay close attention to my dreams. I find that my dreams will dictate the book that needs to get written now! My dreams can be disturbing or enchanting, ugly or dark and occasionally funny, but they are never dull.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would take my Yonkers trilogy to agonize over what I want to rewrite.

Author Websites and Profiles
Patricia Vaccarino Website
Patricia Vaccarino Amazon Profile

Patricia Vaccarino’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Nicole MacCarron 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Nicole MacCarron, and I’m an elementary school teacher in BC, Canada. I am extremely accident-prone. As an adult alone I have broken my cheekbone in two places and nearly broken my neck, in separate incidences. I lived in Ireland for a while, and eventually returned to get married. That’s also where I broke my face, but that happened years before my wedding day! Phew!
I have written six books if you count my “practice novels.” If not, I am publishing my first one at the end of March! I have wanted to be an author since I was about six, so I have been honing my skills all this time and am finally ready.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is called Hazel’s Shadow, which is about a 17 year-old who experiences a zombie attack at school and unknowingly locks herself in a haunted house for protection. It was inspired by a school lockdown when I was in high school. Lucky for me, the lockdown was a false alarm, but I never forgot how I wondered what would happen to my sister in the classroom across the hall. Hazel has the same experience, knowing her sister Kelly is so close but so far.
As a teacher, I now have to do these lockdown drills with children, and there’s always a part of me that ventures down that “what if” path. My novel deals with zombies rather than a dangerous person, so it was far enough from reality to be cathartic for me. I was able to exorcise some possibilities out of my imagination. Plus, it quickly moves to the central problem, that Hazel is stuck between zombies outside and an evil shadow inside.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I find I am most successful with a deadline, so I like to do National Novel Writing Month. The NaNoWriMo website has this lovely chart of your progress that shows your word count per day, and I tend to update it every few minutes when I’m struggling to stay focused. I just love to see that I’m getting somewhere even in the midst of frustration!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are different authors who stand out at different times in my life. As a kid I got so much out of Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles, Kenneth Oppel’s Silerwing, J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings, and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. I also had a soft spot for R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps! I think the books we read as kids and teens have a profound impact on who we become. Later, I leaned towards classics like Jane Austen, and on the other end of the spectrum, Edgar Allan Poe. I continue to reread my old favourites, which has improved my writing and increased my understanding of my preferred genre. Although sometimes I’m just being nostalgic.

What are you working on now?
I want to offer subscribers to my mailing list a free excerpt from Hazel’s journal, so I am currently working on that. I’m also toying with the idea of writing a prequel that delves more into Hazel’s earlier years as a medium.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
As this is my first book, I’m experimenting a little. So far I’m finding interest on Instagram and Goodreads. Goodreads is providing me with opportunities to do interviews and get my name out there, while Instagram is helping me connect to my target audience. I plan to go exclusive with Kindle as I get established. I have heard some good things about their advertising. I also have my author website up and running, so we’ll see how that helps!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I definitely believe in the adage, “Write for yourself first.” If you get caught up in thinking about who is going to read it, you can also get stuck worrying about judgement and success. The first draft should be about getting lost in the flow and excitement of your story. Editing can come later. I highly recommend NaNoWriMo for the same reason. Just get it on paper (or a computer).

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Good enough is good enough.” I am a recovering perfectionist, and I’ve come to realize that perfectionism is more about fear of failure than doing an excellent job. When you finally step back to look at your work (after the edits, after the rewrites) you have to trust that your hard work has paid off. Then you have to back off and take a risk by putting it out there into the world. I repeat that line, “Good enough is good enough,” as many times as needed to silence the inner critic.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading Stephen King’s Misery. I have been meaning to read it for a while, so I’m happy to have finally started. I love a book with suspense!

What’s next for you as a writer?
First, I will publish Hazel’s Shadow at the end of March. After, I will definitely be writing a new novel. NaNoWriMo offers some set-your-own goal months before their official November event, so I will likely join one of those to get moving on my first draft. In the meantime I’m toying with a few ideas, trying to find the right spark.

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 dreaded question! I change my answer all the time. In this moment, a chunky Harry Potter book would keep me occupied for a good long second. Let’s say The Order of the Phoenix. Then I think I’ll be a big ol’ cheater and take my gigantic book of the collected works of Jane Austen, and while I’m at it I’ll take my Collection of Classic Horror Stories too. It has Frankenstein, Dracula, etc. I can’t make up my mind for the last one, so maybe I better leave off with my cheating while I’m ahead! I wonder if there’s a collected edition of Harry Potter out there somewhere…

Author Websites and Profiles
Nicole MacCarron Website
Nicole MacCarron Amazon Profile

Nicole MacCarron’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Carrie Baker 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live on the Eastern Shore with my husband and our sweet, goofy dog. I mostly write full-time and in my downtime I enjoy reading and catching on my favorite TV shows. I write mainly Young Adult books and I currently have three self-published novellas on Amazon for purchase. Having people read my work means the world to me and I appreciate every single person who takes the time to look at my books.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Ocean Breeze Cottage is my latest release. It’s the third in my Heron’s Point Novella series and I’m proud of it. It was a struggle to write it, some days the words did not want to come out. The story started with a name and slowly progressed from there. To be completely honest, I had no idea what this story was going to become when I started.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’ve never liked planning my stories and, I’m not sure if this is unusual or not, but I often start writing a book and have no idea what it’s going to be about. The characters and the first few paragraphs come first and then a plot comes into my mind and I go from there.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My biggest influence is author Sarah Dessen. In my opinion, she’s the Goddess of the Young Adult genre. YA can be a broad genre, in the same way of saying a book is fiction. I love the characters she develops and the major life lessons to be learned from all of her characters. I aspire to be as great a writer as she is! My favorite book of hers is ‘Just Listen’ and I’ve read three times now.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on the fourth book of my Heron’s Point Novella series called ‘Hermit Crab Cottage.’ It’s a story inspired by a real Twitter thread I read about women who were essentially dumped there their friends in middle school or high school. It hit me right in the feels and I immediately set to work on a general outline of the story. It’s slow going, but I’m enjoying my main character (Cara) and can’t wait to see what she does!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve been using Amazon and Twitter to promote my books and now I’m looking to branch out and reach a wider audience of readers. I think people will like my novella length summer beach reads!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep at it. I’m fairly new to this, too, and it takes time, work, and lots and lots (and LOTS) of patience. Don’t give up! If one person doesn’t like your book, it’s not the end of the world. Keep writing!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To write every single day. Even if you have writers block and don’t know where to go with your story, write anyway. Write in a journal or try writing a short story. But keep yourself in the habit of writing everyday.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading ‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy!’ I’ve somehow never read this series, but I remember it being a big deal to some of my classmates in high school. My husband highly encouraged me to read it!

What’s next for you as a writer?
In about a year I should finish my project of releasing a new novella every two months. I plan on having eight total books in the Heron’s Point series! After that, I want to try writing some full-length novels and I have a super exciting idea for a fantasy. I’ve never written fantasy so I’m looking forward to 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?
Sarah Dessen’s ‘Just Listen,’ Stephen King’s ‘Lissey’s Story,’ and probably one of my husbands books so I can remember him. Unless he’s with me and then I’d probably bring a Harry Potter book. The fourth one is my favorite.

Author Websites and Profiles
Carrie Baker Amazon Profile

Carrie Baker’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Cory Weagant 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a YouTube @CoryResilient, Public Figure, Author on Amazon Kindle & Medium.com, I’m a Recording Artist Blue Badge Verified on Facebook as Sincere Muzic Also on Itunes, Spotify, Google Play & Apple Store. I’m a security PenTester & Ethical Hacker, I’ve only written one book so far which was for the existence project in Victoria BC, Canada, Titled: MY LIFE STORY, MY EXPERIENCE WITH STIGMA HOMELESSNESS
AND SYSTEMATIC CORRUPTION.
On Amazon Kindle, Medium & featured on www.resilientpeople.ca I worked with Anawim House in Victoria BC, The Greater Victoria Coalition To End Homelessness & Face To Face Eith Stigma.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
MY LIFE STORY, MY EXPERIENCE WITH STIGMA HOMELESSNESS
AND SYSTEMATIC CORRUPTION.
My inspiration was my experience with Homelessness & The Stigma that came along with that. I worked with Anawim House in Victoria BC, The Greater Victoria Coalition To End Homelessness & Face To Face Eith Stigma, To use my story & life experience to empower others and also expose the systematic corruption involved in society & government dealing with the Homeless population of Canada,

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

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Bible, The Purpose Driven Life, The Art Of War,

What are you working on now?
Still building on my first book. Extending it.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be yourself.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The pain of regret is worse then the pain of trying & failing.

What are you reading now?
The Bible.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More Non-Fiction reality books.

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 Purpose Driven life, A Survival & bushcraft book.

Author Websites and Profiles
Cory Weagant Website
Cory Weagant Amazon Profile

Cory Weagant’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Adrienne Woods 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been a published author since 2013, and haven’t stop since.
I live in South Africa with my family where I write full time.
I’m always either writing, or doing marketing for my books, and when I’m not, I spend my time with family.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is on pre-order called Darkbeam Part III. It is derived from the Dragonian Series and a popular character called Blake Leaf, which is a dragon. He is pre-destined for evil, unless he get’s tamed by a dragon rider. This is his story and his fight with the dark forces that always try to reel him in,

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, not really.
I can’t write a book if it’s not fully fleshed out. I hate writer’s blog and do anything I possible can in the creative process of a story not to fall in the clutches of writer’s blog.
I write exceptionally fast. I don’t know if that is an unusual writing habit.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh so many. I don’t even know where to start.
I am a huge fan of Steven King, J.K Rowling, Stephanie Meyer, just to name a few. Their technique in telling a story was that got me interested in becoming a writer.

What are you working on now?
Plenty of books, but my favorite is a new series that I’m co-authoring with a writing partner.
It’s a mixture of Warehouse 13 and Supernatural and follow the lives of two supernatural hunters, and the quests to retrieve biblical artifacts. With the help of angels and demons standing in their way, it’s a team I certainly root for when they go on missions that could literally destroy the world.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
A little bit of everything.
When I work on marketing it’s not really one thing that works. It’s really everything put together that structure a great marketing plan.
So I always do a blog tour, do newsletter swaps, do bookbub recommendations, promotions via newsletters. You get free and paid options. So you don’t always have to spend money if you don’t have money. And bookbub, Facebook and Amazon ads. Together they sell books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes, get your platforms ready before you published. Read up on how to get Newsletter subscribers and followers on all your social media. Entice readers with a sample, they call it a magnet. Do research on how to get your book out there first before publishing. No book is going to magically appear in front of readers. Be patient, and work hard. And remember, reviews are there for other readers not authors. Yes, we learn a lot through our reviews, but there are nasty reviews out there that has made authors quit. So be careful

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never read your reviews.
Write on a daily basis.
Never stop dreaming.

What are you reading now?
At the moment, nothing. I’m way too busy to write and market, but I have a list of books I want to read.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Bring out more content, publish on a regular basis and do whatever is in my power to get my books in front of readers.
The rest will take care of itself.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Definitely a survival guide, hahaha
A great Fantasy
A great Paranormal
A great Romance.

There are so many to choose from

Author Websites and Profiles
Adrienne Woods Website
Adrienne Woods Amazon Profile

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

Monica Andichi 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
So far I have written about 25 10 of them published.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Dad & Son Bonding I had a request for a father/son short story and since I had never written anything male on male gave it a try.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t sleep till I have finished and edited my story.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My wife Desiree Andichi and Jezebel Rose and a few others.

What are you working on now?
Day 4 for Daddy Austin

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far only smashwords.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If it is in you head type it out you can always tweak it and form it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Let you imagination rule your mind.

What are you reading now?
My wife latest short story.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Try to get into maybe an autobiography.

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?
No change I don’t fly or take cruises.

Author Websites and Profiles
Monica Andichi Author Profile on Smashwords

Monica Andichi’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Carl England 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have actually been writing since grade school. It is probably fortunate that none of my early manuscripts still exist, but I have gotten much better since those days. The four years that I spent in the military as a member of one of the “Alphabet” agencies was the inspiration for my Alphabet Soup series. So far, there are two books in the series with a third in the planning stages. This series belongs to the Mystery/Thriller genre. I have also completed a Science Fiction novel (written under the pseudonym C.J. Nash,) but I haven’t found a publisher for it. My passion is writing and you can expect to see a lot more books from me.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Code Breaker was actually inspired by my first book, Alphabet Soup. So I guess you could say that both books were inspired by my experience with one of our government’s “Alphabet” agencies. Though the book is primarily fiction, there are some events that are real. Any real events were never classified or have since been declassified. All the names and many of the places are fictional.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always been a big fan of Science Fiction. My favorite writers in that genre were Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. I also love reading the courtroom drama of John Grisham. But I love to read in any genre.

What are you working on now?
I am taking a break from my Alphabet Soup series but am planning on beginning the third book after I complete my current work in progress: Five Million Reasons. Five Million Reasons is an adventure with a touch of humor. The story: Five million dollars was stolen from a contractor. Because the money might not be totally legal, the contractor doesn’t report the theft to the police; instead, he decides to hire a couple of private detectives to return his money. Only the “detectives” aren’t really detectives at all. They are just run-of-the-mill common (very common) people who smell money and fake their way into the assignment. There may not be five million laughs in this story, but there are several good chuckles.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Don’t get stuck and think that you have writer’s block. Just keep writing. Maybe what you write will be gold. But even if it is garbage, that can be edited. And, if you can find a local writer’s group, join it. They will give you support when you get those rejection letters. They will also tell you if your work is gold or garbage. And, if it’s garbage, they can help you spin that straw into gold.

What are you reading now?
Sea Horses by Cheryll Snow

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am compiling notes for a half-dozen books and another half-dozen short stories. I plan to be very busy in the coming years.

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?
Glory Road by Robert Heinlein. I have read it many times, but I love that book. The Foundation series by Isaac Asimov.

Author Websites and Profiles
Carl England Amazon Profile

Carl England’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Marti McGinnis 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an artist who creates a lot of upbeat art that usually touches on very serious issues, though it may not look that way at first glance.
I have several big thick books of original drawings, a guide book to an imaginary land and a graphic novel that explores my very relatable shopping habits.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Taming The Shopping Bug: My Year of Minimalist Shopping
This is a 280 page graphic novel that documents my year spent learning how to shop less and live more. I found I was doing more shopping than I cared to admit and wanted to figure out why. So I made a plan to limit my shopping and research things like the psychology behind the shopping for recreation impulse, the history of recreational shopping, how people use what they buy as social capital and other topics like those. Boy did I learn a lot! So I drew it all out in page after page of upbeat, imaginative explanations the reader can truly relate to.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Sort of, I sketch out my concepts, maybe do some research then sit in my studio and draw them out on paper then redraw again using a digital notepad, in my case my iPad Pro.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Of course, Joshua Becker of BecomingMinimalist.com has influenced me in terms of figuring out what a minimalist lifestyle is, Marie Kondo and her KonMari method played a role in this book too. But then so did a wealth of graphic novelists, like Mimi Pond, Lynda Barry and Tove Jansson, etc.

What are you working on now?
I’m creating a series of sessions, blog posts and workshops based on the working title “Strengthening Your Artist’s Voice” for people looking to discover their most authentic and unique creative visions.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am hoping to come up to speed on this quickly, but so far my social media accounts and personal word of mouth has been my best promo tools.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be optimistically persistent with what it is you want to share with your readers. Don’t give up when the going gets challenging. Assemble a reliable team of cheerleaders and people will to hold you accountable to your stated dreams and then get to work!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When it comes to selling books, I would say it has to be the reminders of all the super popular writers who almost didn’t get that first work published. So the advice that goes along with that is, BELIEVE IN YOUR WORK. And do the hard work within yourself to make what you create truly representative of your highest aspirations for yourself. Then, even if miracles don’t happen, you can still be proud of what you accomplished.

What are you reading now?
A stack of books written by other creatives on the topic of creativity, several novels and a couple of nonfiction books that are helping learn how to see past the negativity of the current zeitgeist.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Oh! I almost forgot, I am currently halfway through with a bilingual children’s book of animal stories – writing and illustrating. The proceeds are earmarked for animal rescue and spaying and neutering clinics here in Mexico where I currently live.

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?
Always a tough question. But here goes:
1. a blank book (and hopefully I’ve got a pencil or other drawing implements)
2. A Dictionary so I could remember all the words
3. A practical survivor guide complete with lots of how to pictures
4. Archy and Mehitabel by Don Marquis

Author Websites and Profiles
Marti McGinnis Website
Marti McGinnis Amazon Profile

Marti McGinnis’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Jeffrey Hatcher 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My first and so far only book is an intentional hodgepodge with a strong medical mission. I grew up in Massachusetts, in a little town full of trees and stone walls called Boxford. It is about halfway between Boston and New Hampshire which means that it has had one continuous building boom from the 1980’s up to the present. As a child, I loved going on long walks and communing with nature. However, seeing the landscape go from trees and meadows to blank lawns of Kentucky blue grass inspired a deep sense of urgency for wildlife conservation.

I decided that I wanted to be a biologist when I was in the 3rd or 4th grade and then I just relentlessly pursued that path. Eventually, I majored in biology at Cornell University. After several years of doing low paying jobs in research and volunteer work in East Africa, I landed a scholarship to do graduate studies at Columbia University studying wild monkey populations in Kenya and population genetics back in New York City.

Then, in 1997, I regained consciousness in Lawrence General Hospital with gigantic chunks of my memory permanently missing. Life went crazy after that. Being a biologist gave way to writing about medicine.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is “Tacking on the Styx – an Epileptic Sails the Facts, Fiction, and Philosophy of a Mental Illness”. In boating, tacking, or zigzagging, gives progress against a current. If you have epilepsy, you are routinely coursing to Hell and back again. Life zigzags, you don’t have a strong engine, and the current runs against you.

While my book offers a maximum education for anyone interested in the disease, my most cherished reader is any college – age person interested in going to medical school. My second greatest targets are the family or friends of someone with epilepsy. These are all people who most need to understand the psychological impact of the disease (followed by educators and employers).

Epilepsy is the most enigmatic disease in the world. People with epilepsy are also the most stigmatized demographic group – more so than racial minorities or people with other mental illnesses – as determined by marriage rates, employment, and other measures. Part of this stigma likely comes from people simply not knowing what to make of us. That we have a physical illness is indisputable, but if you ask anyone, and this includes doctors, if we have a mental illness, you will get an awkward and confused response.

Why do I call epilepsy a mental illness? Well for one thing, the most common form of it – the type in which a seizure sparks up within the brain’s temporal lobes – can wreak havoc on a person’s ability to consolidate new memories and recall old ones. Every interaction you have with the outside world involves memory, so how can a person think that someone can not be in need of psychological counseling to cope with a new life?

I’ve stood outside of my bedroom door of my parent’s house – the one in which I grew up – and not been able to remember what color the walls are painted or how many windows are in them. That experience is pretty darn traumatizing when you finally open the door, sit down on the bed, and ask yourself ‘how can I hold a job when I cannot even picture my own bedroom in my mind?’ Psychiatric counseling could help a patient cope with such an issue… but epilepsy is not considered a mental illness. Sudden amnesia can take a grown man’s confidence level and reduce it to that of a seven – year old boy.

Pathological brain activity that doesn’t erupt into an outright seizure can have all sorts of unexpected behavioral issues as well. You can suddenly start writing all sorts of gibberish during a school exam (such as a qualifying examination for PhD candidacy). You can unexpectedly get lost going some place that you’ve gone to hundreds of times. You can freeze up your speaking abilities temporarily while on a date. And, really grotesquely, you can spontaneously have an orgasm while you’re drinking your morning coffee. Professionals even used the term ‘orgasmolepsy’ at one time!

But good luck finding a medical worker to counsel you on how to cope with such issues. So I wrote a book to interest tomorrow’s healthcare professionals in the psychology of epilepsy.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, “Tacking on the Styx”, itself, is unusual for its hybrid style. I wrote a short novel, and at the same time, I integrated text – book sections of science and philosophizing at appropriate locations. For example, my main character has an unexpected bout of impotence with his girl whom he hasn’t seen for a while. Some time later, he has the opposite experience where the sparks in his head turn him into the Man of Steel (while having a hard time thinking coherently). In between these story sections, I break into a factual discourse on the sexual issues of epilepsy of which there are many. Again, those parts are written in a college textbook manner.

Otherwise, my illness with its memory impairment causes me to reread everything that I write an absolutely insane number of times. I write something, and then three hours later, I have lost track of most of what I have written down. I have difficulty keeping track of my own plot lines. It often feels very discouraging.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
“Tacking on the Styx” is so unique, that I honestly cannot point to any one in particular. Probably the hundreds of science writers and grad school professors whom I have either read or worked with have been the larger influence for my science writing. Science writing involves looking at hundreds of small articles in medical journals. Epilepsy has been researched and written about for so long that there are no dominant authors in the field. I guess whatever authors have advocated against calling epilepsy a mental illness are the ones who have influenced my writing the most, albeit indirectly. They made the book necessary.

Otherwise Jill Robinson and her book, “Past Forgetting”. My fictional writing is similar in format to hers, albeit from a single man’s perspective. I’ve gone several steps beyond others by using my scientific training to include medical non-fiction.

What are you working on now?
As an author, a book on time travel. As a businessman, I spend a lot of time building my website, www.tackingonthestyx.com.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have an unexpected archenemy on the internet. His name is also Jeffrey Hatcher, and he is a famous play write and Broadway producer. If you google our name, I used to show up on page 7, 8, or 21 of the search results, because he is omnipresent on the web. Naturally, I hate him.

So my first concern is not so much promoting my book, but rather, getting recognized by search engines. That can entail a myriad small things – putting up my brain MRI on Flicker for example. I made the cover of Popular Science for an article “Pregnancy actually re-wires your brain“ at https://www.popsci.com/pregnancy-re-wires-brains-moms-to-be/ . The brain you see is me . Obviously, I’ve never been pregnant, and any neurologist can see that my brain dimensions are very masculine. But my MRI had the sharpest detail at the time so that’s just one little way of getting attention on the internet. Another way of biting into Broadway Jeff’s Google turf is through online interviews like yours.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you are self published, Google your name!!! If you share a name with someone famous you might be doomed! Consider writing under a pseudonym but think carefully about how Google will react to it (BTW Yahoo and Bing are worthless – don’t think about them).

You might be able to ride the coattails of someone who is moderately well known. I have not yet tried doing so. An historical figure who has little contemporary web presence might have something to offer. Read up on SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Daniel Neal Armstrong Webster might be an ideal pseudonym. Experiment!

Also, if you go Indie, question your potential publisher about what range of retail price your book will likely have. If they act evasive, run away very fast. Do not do business with them. The paperback edition of “Tacking” had a $65 noose put around its neck! Does it sell? I don’t really need to answer that question, do I?

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t worry. Be Happy.

What are you reading now?
An assortment of manga – the visuals give my brain a rest. I also read and review a variety of new releases that I receive free from Librarything.com.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Science fiction with a literary bend to 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?
In spite of being an atheist, probably a Bible. It’s just that influential. Robert Frost’s poetry is a favorite. Poetry is a calisthenic for an amnesic mind. A blank notebook for writing. Lastly, something a bit carnal – it is a deserted island after all ;).

Author Websites and Profiles
Jeffrey Hatcher Website
Jeffrey Hatcher Amazon Profile

Jeffrey Hatcher’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

B.A. White 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My pen name is B.A. White, which is basically the initials of my first and middle name along with my real last name. My real name is Barbara A. White but is rather common in the writing world so I have shortened it to make my books easier to distinguish from others in my field.
I have now written three books in the Shadow Lords Series. The first is Shadows of Night and the second is Shadows of Light, both of which have been published on Amazon and are on Kindle Unlimited. The third book in the series, Shadows of Twilight, will be published in May of 2020.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Shadows of Twilight, which will be published in May of 2020 and is the third book in the Shadow Lords Series.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My unusual writing habits are likely to be usual, I think, for a lot of writers. I tend to write at any odd hour that inspiration strikes, whether it’s midnight or noon. I write in my living room, complete with every distraction possible from the TV, kids, husband and a yapping Miniature Pinscher.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I was influenced and found my passion for fantasy books in my teenage years first by Wiess and Hickman and the Dragon Lance series, followed by Terry Brooks and the Shanara Series, Terry Goodkind and the Sword of Truth series, Robert Jordan and the Wheel of Time series, David and Leigh Eddings with The Redemption of Athalus and last, but certainly not least, R.A. Salvatore and the Dark Elf Trilogy.

What are you working on now?
My current work in progress is book 4 in the Shadow Lords Series which will be titled Shadows of Midnight and will continue from where the third book left off.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Hopefully it will be Awesome Gang but I try to promote my books on Amazon, facebook, twitter, goodreads and my author pages. I am looking into attending book fairs and events this year.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing and stay determined. Your hard work and dedication to your craft will keep you learning and growing to make you a better writer with each book.

What are you reading now?
I don’t have much time for reading but I have discovered an Indie Author by the name of Richard H. Stephens and am currently enjoying his Soul Forge Saga.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Next for me is finishing the Shadow Lords Series and then beginning a new series that I already have in mind and have actually started writing a couple of chapters.

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, I would bring a survival guide to living on a desert island but after that I would likely bring the Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore.

Author Websites and Profiles
B.A. White Website
B.A. White Amazon Profile

B.A. White’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Safira X 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hey, I’m Safira!
I’m a newly self-published author. I have a thing for dark fiction, thrillers, and adventure novels. You could say my writing is for those with an acquired taste…
Flower is my first and only book out right now, but I’m expecting to release my next book (also a paranormal thriller) by the end of March or in April.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is a short thriller, titled Flower. Flower was inspired by American Horror Story (one of my favorite shows) and some celebrity gossip. I just couldn’t get my mind off the idea of the plot until I wrote it and published it. Usually when story ideas cling to my mind like that, I know they’re going to be good.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Of course! Take this as you will, but I don’t brainstorm in a traditional manner. It tends to bog me down and feels super formulaic. I also don’t use story maps too often. Typically, I just create my set list and start writing. For a novel that I expect to publish a little farther into the future, I do have to create an in-depth brainstorm for my characters and will probably end up using a story map too.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth, for sure. I used to want to write a dystopian story so badly growing up, and I still do, but I just don’t know how to wrap my mind around it.

What are you working on now?
My second book, Left for Dead. It’s another paranormal thriller with a lot more supernatural elements involved. This book is sad and a lot darker but so, so good.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still new to the book industry, but I think Awesome Gang is pretty awesome.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write, and don’t edit until you’re done with the whole story. Write a little everyday, even if the story doesn’t make any sense.
This is for my self-publishers, don’t lose hope! It’s a long and sometimes frustrating process getting your work out there to the world, but the reward will worth it. Also, marketing is *everything*.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I can’t think of anything off the top of my head, but I’ve heard the saying “Nothing is permanent”, and I think it’s pretty nice for the hard times.

What are you reading now?
Unfortunately, I’m busy with a lot of things right now, but I hear a lot about Saint X and want to look into it when I have the time, especially since the title sounds similar to my name.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I don’t know, I’m just going with the flow…

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
First of all, a humid island with a bunch of bugs and insects sounds like Hell.
Anyway, I would take The Hunger Games, Divergent, Saint X, and One Crazy Summer with me.

Author Websites and Profiles
Safira X Website
Safira X Amazon Profile

Safira X’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Vinnie Apicella 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My writing career began by drafting press releases and artist bios for NYC music and film companies, later producing financial articles for Forbes, travel and tourism pieces for a medical publisher, and more recently, marketing and sales copy for a Beijing-based e-commerce firm.

I am originally from New York and earned a BA from Columbia University; several years later I relocated to Beijing, China to reinvent myself and pursue new opportunities for business. There I created a successful education consulting business for a local training center to assist students to study abroad. In addition to managing, I produced staff training programs, presented at various industry events, and taught my own writing and communications skills courses.

Today, I oversee Shanghai EDGE Consulting, an online education services company where I teach English, Business, and Writing, and am a consultant to international students. In the future, I hope to use my new book, Escape from America, as a platform for making a positive impact on society and inspiring others to improve their lives and pursue their passions.

So as of today, I’ve been initiated into the world of an authorpreneur. Escape from America is my first traditional book—and it’s quite a comprehensive and multifaceted work. In fact, I toyed with the idea of making it into two books, but decided against it. So I basically poured everything I had into it over the course of several years with the thought that this may be my only one. Whether it is or not remains to be seen. I’ve had ideas for another, but for the foreseeable future, I’m happy to focus my efforts on “Escape” since I believe it can truly make a difference in people’s lives, regardless of background or individual genre preference.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is called Escape from America: An Introspective Journey from America into China. It was inspired by my love for international travel and experiencing different cultures. This opened a new way of viewing the world for me and realizing that many opportunities exist in other parts of the world that may not be available back home. My first visit to China in the early 2000s first planted the seed in my mind; it was an exciting place that was growing rapidly, and I soon discovered I had a lot in common with people I’d met there, and so I saw China as a place where I could reinvent myself. So as time went on, as my experience grew, I thought it would make for an interesting story idea to put something together that documented my experiences as an American and also a foreigner in China, who could highlight similarities and differences that existed between us in an effort to gain better understanding and improve our relationship.

But more so than simple accounts of living in each country, my goal was to give people the real truth from having “boots on the ground” versus the typically biased political rhetoric and media propaganda that would lead, or mislead, our thinking. So this is very much to do with my “journey” these past several years, offering true representations of America and China, but also sharing my insights in such a way that most anyone can benefit from my experience—the ups, downs, triumphs, and struggles as it may apply to their own lives, whether they’re also expats or business owners or whatever, and potentially discover a greater sense of purpose.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Hmm… that’s an interesting one. I don’t really know what would qualify as “unusual.” For me, writing comes in fits and starts. It’s difficult for most anyone I would think who’s not a professional full-time author to be able to find enough time to just sit for hours and write, or even read a book. We have to pick and choose our spots. So I suppose what would be unusual for me is that this book took the better part of ten years to complete. That was partly because of my time schedule, but also due to the transitional period in my life where I relocated to China and opted to wait a while until I had sufficient experience as a full-time resident to present content to readers in an educated, objective way—and that’s what comprises Phase 3 of my book.

 

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I tend to prefer variety when choosing books. For me, particularly today, where time is at a premium, I’m focused on the learning experience or what new knowledge I can derive from a book. So titles like The Effective Executive, which I’ve read three times, Thinking Fast and Slow, Smart Tribes, Start with Why, all satisfy my need to learn more about business and management, and also how psychology aids our understanding. Lately, I’ve been finishing up If I Understood You Would I Have This Look on My Face by Alan Alda, who was one of my favorite actors, and who I’ve since discovered handles himself quite well as an author. It was gratifying to discover that a lot of his writing style parallels with mine, where we each aspire to educate readers, but also entertain readers without coming across as pompous or presumptuous (or so we hope). I will also add I tend toward books that include at least a few well-chosen visuals to add greater impact to the story. That’s something that’s missing to a large extent with the many books I’ve just cited… but definitely not with mine.

What are you working on now?
Getting better acquainted with the self-publishing process and how we as authors must develop into authorpreneurs in that we’re now in the “business” of writing and publishing. So I’m educating myself every day to learn more about how to promote my work and develop a following. This to me is a fun aspect of the entire process–it’s hard work, sure, lots of grunt work, but also the fact that we have a product/service that we’re proud of, it’s the logical next step to want to share with the world.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well, I don’t really know yet. I’m still in the early stages having just released my book, and so I’m learning as I go along, trying multiple methods. I would say in the early going, prior to release, word-of-mouth promoting to friends and professional acquaintances was helpful in generating interest—it hasn’t amount to much in terms of book reviews just yet, but I hope will soon! From what I’ve discovered in my research, I think sites such as Reedsy provides a good, collaborative platform for readers and writers; Goodreads seems promising, however, in spite of its many members, there are an awful lot of forum subjects and countless books being released and promoted, so I can’t say to this point it holds much promise; but maybe. I’m also planning to leverage LinkedIn and Facebook as much as possible, where I think I can reach many more people who are already “connections” to help spread the word or perhaps become customers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Understand that writing in general will benefit you in all aspects of your professional career, and is not limited to just authoring books or articles. As such, use this to your advantage whenever you’re faced with external or even internal notions that being a writer is a limited function or creates limited opportunities. That’s not true.

Believe in yourself first and foremost. The key to becoming a writer, and a good one at that, is to keep writing; read the work of others, see how other authors have moved or inspired you in some way, then go to work on developing your own ability. You’ll struggle with self-doubt and the usual writer’s block, and you’ll get frustrated and may even shelve your book for a time (no pun intended there), but so long as you always come back to your purpose for writing and what you hope to achieve, you’ll be able to get back on track and be even better motivated than before.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
In terms of writing, nothing much to be honest. If I reach back to my early days of writing, I recall various teachers and later, managing editor, stress the importance of brevity in writing—being able to say a lot with a little. Of course as writers, we strive to be creative—we have something to say and we want the space to say it. But I’d grown to understand the necessity of brevity in writing, though it also doesn’t apply to all forms.

Since I’ve been writing for more than 30 years in one form or another all throughout my career, most anyone I’ve come in contact with has been supportive and complimentary toward material I’ve produced—and it’s no different for my book for those who’ve read it. But to try to answer the question if indirectly, I would say advice that I’ve discovered is motivational: “If you can see it, you can be it,” which I feature in Chapter 13 of my book. People will be supportive and some will be disruptive, and so you have to block out the static and stay the course.

What are you reading now?
For books, I have two in particular that I’m behind schedule on reading; the first is The Innovator’s Solution by Clayton M. Christensen, and the second is Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek. Much of my reading these days comes from online articles through LinkedIn or education-industry blogs to stay on top of the latest trends, and useful information for my consulting practice. But I do like to “get away” and connect with my books whenever time permits.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ll continue to produce articles for my website blog to do with the education industry, particularly for helping students understand the college admissions process, and how to improve their skills and abilities. I’ve also taken to produce some articles for LinkedIn where I want to share my knowledge of business and leadership, and as I become better educated, book publishing. So there’s still plenty of web content and one-off pieces I will continue to write; in terms of another book, I have some ideas bouncing around my mind that come from a similar place as Escape from America, where I draw on my experiences and develop a more broadly-focused inspirational work—self-help, if you like—and perhaps drawing on life lessons to help people avoid mistakes and move forward. So for now, I think shorter, diverse pieces will comprise most of my writing, mainly for business and education.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would have to begin with a few of the titles I enjoyed as a kid, which were more humorous in nature than what I read today. So for example, I’m probably dating myself here, but I loved those Mad paperback books that featured various subject matter, usually headlined by a current event and seguing into various “skits” that you might find on a TV variety show like Saturday Night Live. Just for the fact they would take me back to my youth and a time that was more innocent and less intense would help me cope with my seclusion. I would also have to choose at least one of the Harry Potter books, probably the first one, and maybe the fourth. I was very much into sci-fi/fantasy as a kid as well, but these books can easily follow you wherever you go in life. And then maybe… One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch. That was definitely a deal-breaker for me in terms of taking more interest in investing. I can’t say it’s helped produce better results just yet, but that’s on me. The advice presented therein is practical and pretty easy to absorb.

Author Websites and Profiles
Vinnie Apicella Website
Vinnie Apicella Amazon Profile

Vinnie Apicella’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Starr Z. Davies 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been writing books since elementary school, though most of the books weren’t worth reading. I live in Wisconsin with my husband and kids, and when I’m not writing books I’m reading them. Ordinary is my debut novel, though I do have a KU steampunk novella available, and the conclusion to the Ordinary series, Unique, will be available in June. Even though I’ve finished the series, I haven’t stopped writing. Currently, I’m working on a historical fiction series.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Ordinary was inspired by a “what-if” game. In this case, “what if there was a boy who lived in a city where everyone had superpowers but him, and the only job he could get was delivering flowers?” It took me a couple of years to realize there was a really compelling story in that humorous scenario. I started writing Ordinary as a project during undergrad, but Ugene’s story had to be shared, so I worked hard at doing it justice.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I wait until everyone is gone to school or work, then I turn on Pandora and let music stream in the background while I sit on the couch with my laptop and write. Often, I lose track of time and forget to eat completely for hours as the story pours through me. I DO have a habit of getting too emotionally invested, and it can be dangerous ground to walk when my characters fall into despair.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a HUGE fan of fantasy, and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series was a major influence in my early 20’s. His writing inspired me, and his characters were so rich that I wanted to write like him. I don’t think I’m anywhere close to his writing — I don’t think anyone is or ever will be — but hopefully I do some justice to his inspirational style. I also find a lot of inspiration in Brandon Sanderson’s books, as well as Marissa Meyer.

What are you working on now?
Now that the Ordinary series is complete, I’ve thrown myself headfirst into a historical fiction series, Jade Realm. It takes place in late 15th century Mongolia, and is based somewhat loosely on the little-told story of Queen Mandukhai the Wise — a strong and wise young woman who united a broken nation.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ll admit I’m still pretty new to this, since Ordinary is my first novel. There are so many great sites out there that will help authors spread the word. I schedule book tours with tour organizers, send out early review copies to reviewers and bloggers, and I have a long list of promotional sites that help authors reach a wider audience. I also do a lot of work on my social media pages sharing quotes from the books, reviews of other books, and more.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write the first draft without caring about how perfect it is. The first step to writing a great story is just writing it. Revisions come later. Then, find a critique group of beta readers in your genre to help you find plot or character development problems. I consider myself lucky, having found an outstanding critique group who really helped me shape Ordinary into the story it needed to be.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write first, edit later. I crippled myself at first with this book trying to get everything right the first time so much so that the story itself became confusing by the ending. Write first, edit later. It saves so much headache.

What are you reading now?
I’m finishing up Laura Sebastian’s Ash Princess series, which is a great YA fantasy about war and political intrigue. Next in line is the Conqueror series by Conn Iggulden, based on the rise and fall of Genghis Khan.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To write more! Some people like scrapbooking. Some people like sports. I enjoy writing. Next for me is the Jade Realm series, then I’ll probably dip my toes into writing some fantasy.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Oh goodness. Only three? Probably the last three books in the Wheel of Time series. Or the Renegades trilogy and just the last Wheel of Time book.

Author Websites and Profiles
Starr Z. Davies Website
Starr Z. Davies Amazon Profile

Starr Z. Davies’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Lydia Russell 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Lydia, and Darling, there are wolves in the woods is my first book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Darling, there are wolves in the woods is inspired by all the old, dark faerie tales. It’s a warning about all the things lingering in the shadows beneath the whispering trees.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think I have any unusual habits… But I write regualry, everyday fuled by copious amounts of coffee.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Holly Black is a huge influence. I love her take on wicked faeries.

What are you working on now?
I am currently editing book two of the trilogy, which I am hoping to have ready for June.
Working title: Hush, the woods are darker still.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Twitter has been really good, the support there within the writing community is fantastic

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t throw anything away, you never know when you might need a scrapped scene or quote.
Read… Read more.
Get some trusted beta readers. Trust them.
Edit.
Edit again.
Don’t give up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“This is how you do it: you put one word after another until its done.
Its that easy, and that hard.”
Neil Gaiman

What are you reading now?
I am currently devouring Cresent City by Sarah. J. Maa

What’s next for you as a writer?
I need to finish book two, and continue working with my cover artist ready for June. Then edit book three.

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?
Queen of Nothing: Holly Black
A Court of mist and fury: Sarah. J. Maas
Nevernight: Jay Kristoff
The iron Knight: Julie Kagawa

Author Websites and Profiles
Lydia Russell Website

Lydia Russell’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Jeb Bohn 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve always enjoyed writing. When I was a kid, I would write these short sequels to movies that I liked and give them to my mom. I did one for Duel and another for Maximum Overdrive. I was always fascinated by mysterious vehicles chasing someone relentlessly. We used to drive out to Colorado every summer and I would pick out a particularly sinister-looking car and pretend that it was following us. I can’t even imagine how many miles ticked by while I was running through some imaginary cat and mouse game.

As I got older, I started to focus more on music. I took up the drums and played in various bands. I loved packing up my gear and driving to shows, the anticipation of performing, and just being in that type of atmosphere. Unfortunately, music wasn’t paying the bills. I started in retail with the expectation that it would be a stop-gap until my music career took off. You might be surprised to learn that never happened. I ended up spending over a decade working for a very large and well-known company, and I had only one complaint: it just wasn’t me.

I was a father who barely saw his son, who was 2 at this time. I didn’t love my job. Heck, most days I flat out hated it. It paid the bills, but it was taking a lot out of me. I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t sleeping well. I dreaded going to work every day. Yeah, this is all whiny, and I know that, but I did what I had to do while I worked to find something that would be fulfilling on a personal level, not just financially.

During this period, which was around 2013, I revisited writing, knocking out a handful of short stories. I wasn’t thinking about a career change, I just wanted to write. By late 2017, things were reaching a breakpoint. I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety, both of which were exacerbated by the work that I was doing. I had a very vivid dream and something strange happened: I remembered all of the details long after I woke up. That never happens to me. I’m usually lucky if I can remember anything from a dream, let alone a dozen or more details.

That dream became the basis for Bermuda, my first full-length novel, which was published in August of 2018. It was an enormous learning experience, but I took everything as an opportunity to be better and to be more prepared for the next one. As it turned out, that “next one” was a horror anthology. I had ideas for a few short story ideas, so I worked on them and released them as Random Synapse Misfire, Vol. One in late 2018. Volume Two followed a few months later.

At the moment, I am prepping for the release of my second novel and have two more in the pipeline—aka, my MacBook’s hard drive—and enjoying life more. My goal is to entertain readers, to give them something to look forward to. I know what it feels like to get lost in a story and the heartache of finishing a really good book. That’s the type of feeling I want to instill in others. Above all else, I want to show my son—who’s now 8!—that you can follow your dreams and succeed as long as you’re willing to put in the time and the effort.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My second novel is titled The Hangman’s Soliloquy and it is a direct sequel to Bermuda. I wanted to explore the fallout after a life-changing event occurs and the way that people adapt. Herman Ingram, the protagonist, serves as a fictionalized proxy of myself: cynical and sarcastic but ultimately driven by a benevolent spirit.

In the new book, Herman is crashing emotionally and mentally after the whirlwind events of the first installment. I wanted to put some focus on how he’s doing as a human. Yes, he’s still a crusty cynic, but it’s become more of a coping mechanism. Inside, he’s coming unglued and inching towards being suicidal. Having dealt with my own mental health issues, the last thing I wanted to do was create a caricature of mental illness. Herman is a person dealing with real issues that take a toll on him. The core of his personality begins to change and it becomes something that is hard for him to deal with.

I wanted to continue his story but not in a glossy way. There’s action going on, there’s still tendrils of the original story unfolding, but Herman himself is struggling to feel connected; he’s struggling to feel like himself. That resonates with me and was a key part in putting the focus where I did with the sequel.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. Sometimes I sit in silence, sometimes I’ll listen to music. I did create some music for book trailers, at least that was the initial intention. I ended up with a complete soundtrack based around scenes from my books. I’ve found that listening to that helps spark me sometimes when I’m lagging, but that’s about it.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Growing up, I read a lot of Stephen King. My mom had a lot of his paperbacks, so I started to pick them up and read. He has his own style and it has served him well, no matter what genre he’s writing in. That’s something I respect and admire. I’m also a fan of Cormac McCarthy. He has this uncanny ability to tell a bleak story in the most beautiful way. Telling a great story is one thing, but telling it in a way that really resonates with the reader is a skill all its own and both of them are truly skilled in that regard.

There’s another book that I love, mainly due to my lifelong interest in earthquakes. It’s a book called 8.4 by Peter Hernon, and it focuses on a catastrophic earthquake on the New Madrid fault that causes absolute destruction in Memphis and other cities in the Midwest. I love the way that the story builds, with small seismic events leading to the realization that something terrible is coming. It’s very vivid and has enough scientific jargon to be believable without being weighed down and cumbersome.

What are you working on now?
At the moment I have two projects that I’m working on, both continuations on Herman’s story. One is going to be more of a suspense-thriller while the other is going to tackle a very dark topic that plays into the duality of human nature.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve recently started utilizing Amazon ads—I’m really late to the party with that. There’s definitely a lot of work that goes into that: researching keywords, watching to see what works, knowing the right changes to make. It takes a lot of patience which, unfortunately, isn’t a strong suit of mine, but I’m working on it.

I use my mailing list and website as well as my social media accounts to keep people updated on what’s going on, both with my writing and life in general. I’m always on the lookout for new ways to let people know about my work.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. There will be plenty of time where you may not feel inspired. The key to getting past that is writing. Sit down and start. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to work past any sag in motivation. Try not to focus on editing while you write. Tell your story and worry about editing once you’re finished. There’s an old cliché in writing: you can’t edit a blank page.

I would also encourage you to focus on yourself. Find out what works for you and what doesn’t. Develop your own voice and style and tell the stories that you want to read. Have faith in yourself but set realistic goals. While we would all love to become multi-millionaire best-selling authors overnight, however, that shouldn’t be your expectation. Put in the work, be patient, be persistent.

The last thing I would say goes back to goals. Set a daily word count. Don’t beat yourself up when you miss but do everything you can to hit that mark. When you get on a roll, it can be easy to hit 2000 words per day and, at that rate, you could have a 60,000 word manuscript written in a month.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be realistic and write every day. Write when you don’t want to. Write when you’re not motivated. You can’t be a professional writer if you don’t write.

What are you reading now?
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubenstein. It’s about an ice hockey goalie in Budapest who robs banks to supplement his income. It is absurd and hilarious and just happens to be a true story. After all, who could make that up?

What’s next for you as a writer?
Aside from writing, the focus will be on honing my advertising expertise. The trick is in finding the balance between writing and promoting and then fitting that in with everything else that life brings you. We’re taking a cross-country road trip in July, so that will be a welcome vacation, though my laptop will be making the trip with us.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Stand by Stephen King

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Author Websites and Profiles
Jeb Bohn Website
Jeb Bohn Amazon Profile

Jeb Bohn’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Domonique Martin 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am the author of the self-published debut fictional novel “Samara”. I am from the city of brotherly love in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I am a Payroll clerk for the nation’s sixth largest transportation company by day and an eclectic writer by night. I have been a poet and literary creator since I left my second grade teacher speechless after reading one of my poems. When I am not creating content and crunching numbers, I am creating poems, songwriting, and working on my upcoming novels. I have currently written 2 novels. One available now on Amazon titled ‘Samara’. The other is in the editing phase. And I have started writing 3 others that are in various stages of completion

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
‘Samara’ is the title of my debut novel. I was inspired to write it at a point in my life where I felt repressed in so many areas. Writing ‘Samara’ and crafting those characters gave me the opportunity to explore feelings, desires, and wants that I couldn’t at that stage of my life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Oh yes! I have visual dreams about scenes and scenarios. Then I try to put those visions into words. Its like I have a movie story board in my head.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Honestly I haven’t been influenced per se by any authors but I do love Sidney Sheldon’s books and his style of writing and character development. I also enjoy Stuart Woods, he really captivates me.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a novel I wrote 10 years ago before I even wrote ‘Samara’ actually. I’m editing and updating the story line. I hope to publish it within the next few months

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think instagram and Facebook have been helpful in promoting ‘Samara’.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is to be knowledgeable about your subject matter. Also to read your work. Edit. Then edit again.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I heard was to just put everything out on the table.

What are you reading now?
I’m not currently reading anything. I don’t read other books while I’m working on my own projects.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Next is to build a strong fan base and hopefully get enough support to turn my novel ‘Samara’ into a movie.

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?
Master of the Game- Sidney Sheldon
The Naked Face-“….”
Nothing Lasts Forever-“….”

Author Websites and Profiles
Domonique Martin Amazon Profile

 

Honey Palomino 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m the author of the best selling romantic suspense series, The Gods of Chaos Motorcycle Club. I’ve written and self-published thirty-six novels. I live in Washington with my husband and two hilarious pups.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is the thirteenth book of the Gods of Chaos Motorcycle Club series. Chasing Sunshine was inspired by a real life missing person’s story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write cuddled up in bed with my two pups, my husband usually snoring next to me, and HGTV on in the background. Probably not the most glamorous answer, eh?

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I adore Anne Rice and Patti Smith and will read anything and everything they put out. As a kid, I was obsessed with the Trixie Belden series and it definitely inspired my love of a good mystery.

What are you working on now?
Puppy Love – my WIP should be out in a month or so. It’s a small town romance peppered with a pack of wild wolves…I mean, labradors.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m always on Facebook, so catch me there!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t ever give up. Do the work and you will be rewarded.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Best advice? Butt in chair!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan on basically doing nothing but writing for the rest of this year, so stay tuned for lots of twisty, turny adventures in the Gods of Chaos 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 Witching Hour by Anne Rice

Author Websites and Profiles
Honey Palomino Amazon Profile

Honey Palomino’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Esraa Yousry 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been a professional writer for three years, I’m best known for writing Mystery/ Fiction and poetry. I won multiple awards for Mystery and Horror writing and recently for poetry. My most famous books include (In Your Absence Series, Madre) I recently won the reader’s favorite book and nominated for the African Book Fund Awards. I have written 9 books as I can remember but only published three.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
In Your Absence: Emerald lover. What inspired me to write this book is my roots, I’m so proud of my African roots, and I think that everyone should appreciate this beautiful culture. Then my family of course and my relationship with everyone around me.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wouldn’t name it unusual. But anyone I know who is a writer prefers to start working in a quiet place, I don’t. I like to be surrounded by my loved ones while I’m working.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Maya Angelou for sure, I respect this woman with all my heart. Beloved by Toni Morrison

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a non-fiction book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Social media, just create your fan page and your own website and start advertising. You can’t really depend on your relatives. Amazon is great also.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Please stop writing Erotica, and if you do just do it right. Honestly, I don’t respect those kinds of books. Let’s be honest, most of them are really cheap and some are weird. And for those who doesn’t write Erotica, don’t listen to anyone around you. You’re doing the right thing to believe in yourself because no one is living your life. You know yourself better than anyone. Just follow your passion. Don’t be afraid to try new things and just take the risk.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Get it working first, then make enhancements.

What are you reading now?
Currently, I’m helping new authors to finish their first books ever. So I’m reading their work that’s what I’m reading right now.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I don’t know, everything is going well for me. I will just keep on 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?
That’s a hard one, but I think I will take,
1-The Warmth Of Others Suns: The Epic Story Of America’s Great Migration By Isabel Wilkerson,
2-The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou
3-The Heart of a Woman By Maya Angelou

Author Websites and Profiles
Esraa Yousry Website
Esraa Yousry Amazon Profile

Esraa Yousry’s Social Media Links
Pinterest Account