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Jewel Ryu 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing books since I was six, starting from an adventure novel about a bear and a koala (titled Banana & Ko). ‘A Diamond in the Rough’ is my first published novel, but there are a few other projects I’ve been working on.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
‘A Diamond in the Rough’ is the first book in a seven+ series.
Defects are imperfections, really, but that’s what makes them so special. Take a nitrogen-vacancy center, for example, which happens to be a point defect in diamonds. At first glance, they’re merely glitches, imperfections, but you could utilize them to do so many things like designing qubit systems for quantum computing or spintronics. It’s essentially these defects, these flaws that empower them to do great things… great things you could never expect a perfect crystal to do.
And I relate a lot with these defects myself, because I’ve got so many flaws. But I know I’ll always be a diamond in the rough, like the title of the book suggests, not that perfect, carved diamond – carved by the knives of what the rest of the world deems decent. And I’ll have to learn to be grateful for my flaws, which are, in a way, that makes me different from all the other diamonds.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Personally, I find words that end with -ctic to be largely intriguing. And for no reason in particular. Well, the only reason that I can find is that such words cause a rhythm that resonates throughout my mind, elevating my soul and spirit to the highest heights. Okay, I might have gone a little too far, there. But what I’m basically saying is that those words withhold a poetic characteristic that comes to me as very unique. The clicking sounds of such words click into my mind like those words belong right to me. Examples of such words would be arctic, eclectic, and hectic. Hectic, for some reason, is my least favorite of the three, but it seems the most useful in everyday speech. As for eclectic, the triple c-s give it an extra tinge of specialty, like the chocolate chips on a mint chocolate chip ice-cream. Just feel the rhythm and the rhyme. And I give extra point when the word that follows the -ctic words begins with a “c.” Naturally, “arctic cool” or “eclectic collection” are amongst my favorite phrases.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have a habit of stealing like an artist; whatever I read shows up in my writing, one way or the other. Classic novels like ‘The Scarlett Letter’ and Shakespeare’s plays influenced me a great degree. I even had my own drama club dubbed “Shakespeare: Shake the Atmosphere” back in junior high. Other than that, I consider ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ to be my all-time favorite novel.

What are you working on now?
I am researching on fields related to mechanical engineering, materials science engineering, and chemistry. I hope to come up with a few projects regarding designing nanoparticles, and green technology.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I try to reach out to friends all around the world to read and review my books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
“Subway Veggie”
It becomes clearer what we’ve never taken into account when we remove what seems crucial to the naked eye. The Subway Veggie is not a “lack” of the special ingredient; rotisserie chicken, avocado, egg-mayo, pulled pork, turkey, shrimp, bacon…whatever you name it. But it’s rather, a revolution, an unfolding of secrets, but a kind of secret that has been present all along.
I’d rather call it Subway Cheese.
There’s an aha-moment, a moment of epiphany once you bite into the sandwich; it is not at all what you would expect.
It shows us how much we’ve been missing when we were focusing on that one special ingredient.
With normal sandwiches, you always wonder where the cheese is really, mixed somewhere in between the other ingredients. You’d have to add a few more slices to really feel the cheese – a single layer wouldn’t do.
But in the absence of the ‘main topping’, all comes to us clear – the tastes, smells, and the crunching freshness of the individual vegetables become much more explicit – all the things we’ve always taken for granted in the past. And the cheese, salty and rich, deep and white and with a plaintive creaminess – oh, you can feel every bit of it. The very cheese you couldn’t really taste, not once or ever in the past. And without doubt, it is there, and you can appreciate it…in a way you never had.
At the bottom line, we may often face ‘a lack’ of many things in life. But a lack is quite not always a lack. For, for every lack, there is compensation. Whatever we have left becomes only clearer, more certain, and we are left to derive a new sort of value from these elements, regardless of how generic they may have seemed beforehand.
Just take winter for instance. In the dearth of warmth, we can find joy, a new kind of joy, in cozy theaters or a cup of hot chocolate, or the relief that a fuzzy blanket could bring. And all the holiday excitement snowmen could bring, along with mittens and scarves, icicles and ice-skates. No, all that wouldn’t be possible without warmth, that special Subway topping we were always only too eager to get.
And now I guess it’s up to us to cherish what we’ve got left and wonder about all the other things we may have always been taking for granted. The cheese, the vegetables, that part in life we’ve been quite forgetting – no, I don’t think they’ll ever feel quite the same, not anymore.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
People who are upset, forlorn, angry, or afraid need other people to listen and care for them. Because sometimes, you can’t pick yourself back up on your own, after falling down. Some say that people never change. But that’s not true. Some things never change, but some things never stay the same.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading thick books filled with science, math, and engineering equations. I’d like to start reading a few more novels when I get the time.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will be focusing on the next string of books – The Prince of Magnets, A Strange Cliffside Factory, A Chiral Universe, Something Denser than Love, and Schrodinger’s Lost Cat.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’d bring a tome full of survival tactics that’d prove likely on the island. Another would be the thickest possible novel that I can bring along to give me solace during my stay. The last two would be technical/scientific scripts or study material – If I’ve got a lot of spare time, I ought to be doing some research.

 

Ian Fraser 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve led a fairly normal life. I was a goth in my teens (you should see the pictures – they’re hilarious!). Not quite sure what I did in my twenties. I suspect I may have been drunk but to be honest, it was all a bit of a blur. Then married, divorced, emigrated to Scotland.
So far I have two books published. The Tin Kicker was my first, an air crash investigation technothriller. It took forever to write. There was just so much research involved. After that, I vowed never to take on a project that research-heavy again! But, I’m finally pleased with how it turned out.
I’ve just published my second novel: The Spirit Road. I am really pleased with this book. It’s just a story that I really would want to read!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is The Spirit Road – Book One of the Wilderness Series. It’s basically the story of a small construction firm’s attempt to build a highway and tunnel through the Andes mountains in South America. Things don’t go well, and pretty soon we hit rock bottom, and then we follow our characters’ attempts to claw their way back on top. It’s a fairly old-fashioned story in that sense: a classic tale of loss, redemption and a struggle to survive.
After I wrote The Tin Kicker, I knew I wanted to head in a completely new direction. It was a that point that I hit on the idea of some big disaster – some catastrophic failure of a bridge, dam or building etc. But the main influence was – and you’re going to love this – an episode of the 60s puppet TV show Thunderbirds. In particular, the episode named End of the Road, where a small construction firm is trying to build a road through a mountain range. Sound familiar? And there was one exchange of dialogue that really struck a chord with me.
Gray: “We’ll just have to try and get an extension.”
Eddie: “Extension? The only reason we got the contract was because we gave an early completion date. If we don’t make it, this company’s nothing. You’re out, I’m out, everything we’ve planned for, worked for, goes up in smoke.”
Those few sentences still give me a tingle in my writing bone. Pretty heavy concepts for something that was supposed to be a kids’ TV show!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Nothing particularly unusual nowadays. I wrote the bulk of The Tin Kicker in pubs around London, generally on my way home from work. When I couldn’t see the page any more, I’d deduce that was the time to give up for the evening and I’d stagger the rest of the way home!
The Spirit Road was a more professionally structured endeavour, and written largely without the aid of alcohol. I got about a quarter of the way through and then got stuck. I couldn’t think of a way to continue so put it on the shelf. It wasn’t writers’ block; I’d just written myself into a corner. Eventually I came back to it and bingo! I had an epiphany and charged through it, writing 70,000 words in three months. By the time it was finished, I had an unwieldy epic of 132,000 words. Thankfully, that got edited down to a much leaner 116,000 words.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved the great thriller and adventure writers. I was hooked on Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan stories, as well as Frederick Forsyth and John Grisham. For adventure, I’ve never encountered a better narrative storyteller than Wilbur Smith, with the possible exception of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or Edgar Rice Burroughs.
In August, I’m publishing my first science fiction novel: Arcadia – Book One of the Eternity Series. I was brought up reading the classic sci fi authors like Larry Niven, Frederik Pohl, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and especially Arthur C Clarke. But more recently I have discovered Dennis E Taylor and I’m just in awe of his world-building talent. If you’ve not come across it yet, check out his fantastic Bobiverse series. You can thank me later!

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m splitting my time between working on the sci fi novel Arcadia, and book two of the Wilderness Series: The Skadi Inferno.
Arcadia was originally a two-hour screenplay I wrote for Amazon Prime Video. They didn’t take it up so I’m now adapting it as a novel. There’s plenty of action and intrigue, and some fantasy elements as well. But at its core, Arcadia is a good, solid hard sci fi adventure.
When I’m not working on Arcadia, I’m writing The Skadi Inferno. This is a very different book to The Spirit Road, but has the same group of characters fighting to survive, this time in the frozen wastes of Antarctica. I’m having a lot of fun writing this one, and slipping back into the characters that I developed in book one.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
When I finished The Spirit Road, I embarked on that most demoralising and fruitless exercise: finding an agent. I knew it was a good book, but as I had found with The Tin Kicker, agents weren’t looking for these types of books. After half a dozen rejections, I decided to go the self-publishing route. This was when I happened upon an article on Jericho Writers, detailing a plan that looked like it could work. I’ve followed that plan quite closely and had some success, but it’s clear that it needs some augmenting. Marketing The Spirit Road is still a work in progress, but I believe groups like Awesome Gang may just be enough to tip the book into the top 100 in its chosen Amazon categories.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Loads!
1 Have faith in yourself and your ability to write good books. Seriously, self-doubt is a bigger killer than a corrupted hard drive.
2 Be persistent and nurture a book once it’s published. Explore various advertising and book promotion avenues. Just make sure you have a coherent plan that makes sense to you, and keep plugging at it.
3 If you can afford it, get your book professionally edited. If you can’t, it’s not a problem. Go through it again and again until you’re happy with it. If possible, get a few people to beta read it for you for free or as a quid pro quo. Try using ‘Read Aloud’ in MS Word; it helps you catch a lot of errors that the eye skips over.
4 Make sure your cover isn’t just ‘good enough’. The idea is for it to catch the eye of a browsing shopper, which means it can’t just be pretty, it has to jump out and say “HEY, COME AND TAKE A LOOK!”
5 Start to develop a mailing list. I use MailerLite to manage mine. Integrate it with your website and be prepared to give away a free story to get readers’ email addresses. Feel free to visit my website to see how it works. I’m happy to answer any questions if I can. Good luck!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best publishing advice was Harry Bingham’s article on self-publishing, which can be found in the library section of Jericho Writers. I can’t emphasise enough just how helpful and empowering this article felt. Instead of the usual, daunting impossibility of having any kind of success, it left me with three words bouncing around my head: This. Could. Work.
The worst advice was from a successful, traditionally published writer: “Get yourself a good agent”. This was the most stupid, inane, patronising nonsense I’ve heard. When it’s nigh on impossible to get any agent to give your work a second glance, this smug so-and-so tells people to go and get a good one. Thanks, Einstein.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading a book I haven’t read since it was first published twenty-five years ago: The Seventh Scroll by Wilbur Smith. I do that a lot, going back and re-reading books, and I remembered just how good this one was way back in the dark ages of 1995!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, the rest of this year will be taken up with finishing Arcadia and The Skadi Inferno. Next year, I dare say there will be a sequel to Arcadia to write, followed by book three in the Wilderness Series. This time, the team head back to central Africa and the Chambeshi River Dam. If you’re not familiar with that tale, check out the free story on my website: Into the Wilderness – Prelude to the Wilderness Series.
I also have an idea for a contemporary horror story, based on Scottish folklore. That could be a lot of fun.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Now there’s a question! Four books maximum, you say? Okay, let’s get the easy one out of the way first:
1 Bear Grylls Ultimate Survival Handbook. For practical reasons. I’m not exactly Ranulph Fiennes.
2 Then I would want a damned good encyclopedia.
3 A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C Clarke, because it’s a brilliant story.
4 Five on Kirrin Island Again by Enid Blyton, because I’m still a child at heart.

Author Websites and Profiles
Ian Fraser Website
Ian Fraser Amazon Profile

Ian Fraser’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Annelise Driscoll 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a graduate of Hamilton College and SUNY Cortland with degrees in Creative Writing, French, and English Education. I spend most of my free time drifting through the imaginary worlds in my head, but I also love making hand-stitched quilts with obnoxiously bright colors and chasing my neighbor’s cat with a spray bottle. (Hey, someone has to save the baby birds!)

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called “Pieces of Pink,” and it wasn’t so much inspired as dumped in my lap by the muses. On New Year’s Eve (2014-2015) my cousin and I were on an epic road trip, and I was super impatient for a story to write. So, when we were camping in the middle of nowhere, I called out into the void and begged for a new idea. When I woke up in the morning, I had five new characters and a solid outline for “Pieces of Pink.”

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Sometimes, I put on lipstick and nail polish to help me channel characters who are more extroverted or outgoing than I am.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
As a kid, I was a Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings junkie, but “The Named” by Marianne Curley is probably the novel that made me start writing. Plus, I’ve always been a fan of the Brontë sisters. I love all of those dark themes!

What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on the sequel for “Pieces of Pink” (but sometimes, when I’m feeling grumpy, I stray into a world full of rabbit holes that I’m hoping to publish after the third book in the Color Code series).

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Shamelessness. Promoting in person is tough, but it really works.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Set small goals. Don’t plan to sell 1,000 books in the first week. Plan to sell 10. Don’t expect your writing to support you, plan to support your writing instead. It’s okay to have dreams and goals, but don’t place undue stress on your new projects. After all, you wouldn’t expect a toddler to chip in on the rent. Feed your stories and change their diapers until they’re ready to stand on their own two legs.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“You should try self-publishing.” I was so resistant to the idea at first, but the more research I did, the more I realized that self-published and indie authors are incredibly valuable to the world of literature.

What are you reading now?
The first book in the New Sarah Maas series. I think it’s called Crescent City … or may House of Earth and blood. (I’ve heard both.) But I’m searching for more epic fantasy. I’m in the mood for dragons and castles.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My plan is to keep publishing books in the Color Code series, but I also have a few other stories in the WIP pile that I would love to share with the world.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1. The Silmarillion (that way I would have a good template to make a crazy new religion if other strandees were chilling with me.)
2. “The Named” by Marianne Curley to remind me of childhood.
3. An atlas. (If it’s a desert island and not a deserted island, we’re going to need some shade.)
4. A blank notebook. Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to make my own ink.

Author Websites and Profiles
Annelise Driscoll Website
Annelise Driscoll Amazon Profile

Annelise Driscoll’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Pinterest Account

Zena Livingston 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born and raised in New York City and am a graduate of the City College of New
York. I started working at the age of fourteen for a podiatrist and met my husband when
he was studying at that office. After graduating college, I became a teacher in the New
York school system and then in Freeport New York. When my husband started his
pediatric medical office, I started helping him. Before I knew it, I was the office manager
and then the practice administrator in charge of over thirty employees and seven
doctors. It is in that capacity that I have had the opportunity to observe people, which is
something that has helped in writing my books.

I have written three novels. The first was, The Money God which started as a
private exercise to try to understand my own difficult mother. Initially I did not think it
would become a novel, but half way through it, I thought it was good enough to become
one. My second novel was, The Psychotic Skank which was a direct product of my
observing people and seeing how anyone can fall victim to a conniving woman. Now
You Have It is my most recent novel to be published. In it Donna, the main character, is
a woman who seeks financial and social status sacrificing all else in her pursuit.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called, Now You Have It. I was inspired to write it because I have met many
Donna’s. Donna is a woman who fails to enjoy life and live every day to its fullest
because of her quest for material things and social prestige. She sacrifices her
marriages, her children and relationships with other people. I believe it is most
important to live life to its fullest and to stop and smell the roses along its path. It is all
too easy to allow life to pass you by.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write when it is quiet and I have time to think. I do not use an outline so often my
characters develop in ways that even surprise me. When I started, Now You Have It, I
had no sympathy for Donna but as the story progressed I felt sorry for her, something
that actually surprised me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I try not to let another author influence me. In fact, while I am actively writing, I do not
read other novels.

What are you working on now?
I recently started a new novel based on my life. I feel I have an important message to
share as I am someone who has experienced many different things during my life and I
think it could provide interesting reading. Again, the novel will be about character
development and will weigh heavily on my personal experiences and my observations of
others.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My only advice is to be true to yourself. Write about your feelings and your experiences.
It is important for the reader to relate to you as a writer and to relate to your
characters. I feel that all readers have known a Donna and can relate to her. Some might
admire her and some might dislike her; that is up to the reader.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stop and smell the roses. Enjoy every day and live life to the fullest.

What are you reading now?
I am reading, GENESIS by Robin Cook. I enjoy a good mystery.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Currently, I am just hoping to find the time and energy to continue writing my new novel.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Shakespeare’s complete works and Milton’s complete works. Both of those would keep
me occupied for a very long time.

Author Websites and Profiles
Zena Livingston Website
Zena Livingston Amazon Profile

Wendy Hoke 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing for other people for my whole career – first in the financial industry and now as a ghostwriter and blogger. This is my first time writing for myself.

I was born in Los Angeles to an unwed 17-year-old mother in 1963. She put me up for adoption immediately. I grew up with my adoptive family in the San Gabriel Valley and later in Orange County (Southern California) during high school. My adoptive family was a typical middle-class family. My father was a mechanical engineer and my mother was an R.N.

My maternal grandfather, Konrad Frederick Koosmann, was a Bishop in the American Lutheran Church. He was also a pedophile who preyed on little girls in his family.

I want potential readers to know that this book is not about the sexual abuse. There are no graphic details. Rather, the majority of the book is set in 2001 – 2002 in my adulthood. My story describes my efforts to speak the truth, although one specific person tried very hard to stop me. That person was NOT my maternal grandfather.

There’s a lot of adventure in the book as well: a trip to Nepal, mountain climbing, camping, trekking, kayaking and more. It has a very happy ending.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Family Legends, Family Lies.

There are three main sources of inspiration for writing this book: 1) The #metoo movement spurred me to really commit to writing down my hard-won insights to share with others, 2) The sexual abuse scandal that continues to rock the Roman Catholic Church because many people still don’t believe a priest or pastor would sexually abuse a child, and 3) Marilyn Van Derbur, who as Miss America in 1958. In 2003, she wrote her book called Miss America by Day in which she described her efforts at recovery from incest at the hands of her father. He had been a very prominent and wealthy man in his community. My book differs from hers in one key way. She describes the unconditional love of friends and family who stood by her in difficult times. My book describes a relationship that should be supported by unconditional love but instead is a stunning example of misplaced loyalties.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I always need a cup of coffee when I sit down to write. Plus, my desk faces a window that looks out on a large hill. I always have that open, so I can watch the wildlife go by: coyotes, bobcats, hawks, etc.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite American author is Norman Maclean. I also like Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss. JRR Tolkien is on the list. I am a big fan of Kirby Olson’s poetry. While I don’t know them all by name, I like the screenwriters from Star Trek the Original and Star Trek TNG.

My all-time favorite author is a bit conventional: William Wordsworth. He beautifully and succinctly describes his intimate relationship with nature, which is something I hope that my book does as well. Nature plays a big role in Family Legends, Family Lies.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a children’s book about the origin of Christmas.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Since this is a first for me, I am navigating uncharted waters.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Make the subject something you have a passion for.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
There’s a lot of mountain climbing in my book and “mountaineering rules.” My favorite is “check your gear; double check your gear; triple check your gear.”

What are you reading now?
Mostly the news about coronavirus!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ll be working on my children’s book. At the same time, I will be working on my website, wendyhoke.com. I hope to make that a great resource for anyone who has faced abuse. The site has a ways to go especially since I insist on doing it myself.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The collected works of William Wordsworth, Shakespeare, and the Bible.

Author Websites and Profiles
Wendy Hoke Website
Wendy Hoke Amazon Profile

Wendy Hoke’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Theresa Papa 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
It was important to me to start out with a trilogy and release them two weeks apart. As an avid reader myself, I love to binge read series. So, I have self-published three books in the Romance/ Suspense genre for my readers to do the same.
Since moving from Illinois to Arizona my lifestyle is much more conducive to reading and writing. I enjoy spending time with my husband and our two daughters along with extended family here too. We all are together regularly cooking and enjoying Italian food while passing traditions onto the next generations.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book I published is Reckless Obsession. The main character bad boy Jaxson Pope is inspired by the fact that I wanted him to be the opposite of his brother. I wanted him to experience angst in his decisions about right and wrong. He needed to come to terms with his past and deal with the guilt that plagued his relationships.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I have a Yorkshire Terrier named Pico that makes me pay attention to him on a regular basis interrupting my train of thought.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The author that taught me the most has been Alessandra Torre. I took her classes and she helped me figure out many of the unknowns.
The first series I loved and inspired me to try writing was by Kimball Lee. The Legal Legacy series.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a spin-off trilogy involving a family introduced in The Pope Family Trilogy. They are the Dragonetti Family. Their father unwittingly gets involved with the mafia when he’s asked a favor from a friend. It twists and turns throughout the three books as they get tied up tighter and tighter into the knot that may never be undone.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Study those before you. Ask for advice. We are all here to help each other and wish you good luck.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Try not to get discouraged. Have fun, if it’s not fun anymore maybe it’s not for you. Get with the right Editor.

What are you reading now?
El Diablo by M. Anderson

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish my next trilogy. Keep 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 like trying to choose your favorite children. I would pick the longest, so they would last.

Author Websites and Profiles
Theresa Papa Websit

Theresa Papa’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Jonathan Wheatley 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi, I am a thirty-five-year-old copywriter from Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. The Priory is my debut horror novel and the sequel, Vermin, is at the editing stage. The final part of the trilogy is still in progress.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Priory – When I was younger I always had a weird thought about the man-made lake near where I live and what if it was flooded to cover something up. Until now, I didn’t have the confidence to write what I love – Horror – thinking people would find it silly or stupid.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I listen to really loud, really heavy music when writing, switching between metal, classic rock and classical music.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King, James Herbert, H. P. Lovecraft, J. R. R. Tolkien
I love horror and fantasy, especially the Dark Tower series, The Stand, The Rats, and Lord of the Rings – not so much the Hobbit though!!!

What are you working on now?
I am editing the sequel to the Priory and writing the final book in the trilogy.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Having my own website is a huge help, however, Facebook and the free groups you can join are fantastic. I also have a healthy following on Instagram.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Finish your first book and throw it away. Move onto your real first book after – the first-ever book you finish will be terrible (I don’t just mean the first draft) but will teach you so much ready to write your true first book.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
‘Read, read, read,’ and ‘You can’t edit an empty page.’

What are you reading now?
The Witcher, The Dark Tower series, The Fellowship of the Ring and the Talisman – I always read multiple books at the same time…

What’s next for you as a writer?
Releasing Vermin within 3 months of the Priory and then finally the final novel by the end of the year. I aim to be a full-time writer by the end of next year, 2021.

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.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
11/22/63 by Stephen King.
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jonathan Wheatley Website
Jonathan Wheatley Amazon Profile

Jonathan Wheatley’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Chris Lenz 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an entrepreneur, author, and blogger in Hong Kong. I passionately believe that entrepreneurship is a way of changing the world. It can liberate, empower individuals, communities, and deliver profound changes to people. I write books to share my experience, my thoughts, and all others.

I just finish my first book which is called “Time management in ONE week” on Amazon

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Time management in ONE week
I noticed that a lots of people fail to manage their time correctly. Thus, I think there is a need for providing some useful tips and advice for people to manage their time.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
not yet!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have to say a lot of books and authors. I just list some of them: Rich Dad Poor Dad, 7 habits of highly effective people

What are you working on now?
I start a company in Hong Kong. In my spare time, I write books, blogs, and reviews.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m fresh in promoting. I just you the service from amazon

Do you have any advice for new authors?
no.

What’s next for you as a writer?
definitely, write more books!

 

 

Roger Erickson 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a writer in the self-help category, very attentive to self-motivation dynamics and with many years of experience in the sector, I define myself as tenacious, dynamic and nature lover.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Build your willpower, is a book dedicated to everyone, with a precise path to follow so that anyone can achieve their dreams.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I’m a writer who keeps up with the times, so I always like to experiment with new techniques.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill,M.J. DeMarco

What are you working on now?
A personal growth book, especially on how to develop a business using storytelling

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
To train more and more every day

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Knowledge is power

What are you reading now?
The power of now – Eckhart Tolle

What’s next for you as a writer?
In the future, I will try to write more and more useful content for people, so that everyone can rise higher and higher to their own expectations.

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?
Think and enrich yourself – Napoleon Hill, How to treat others and make them friends – Dale Carnegie, 4 hours a week – Tim Ferriss, The slight edge – Jeff Olson

 

CJ Bishop 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
CJ Bishop is a pen name. I also write M/M romance under my real name – A.M. Snead. I have 20-30 books written (under both names combined). As CJ Bishop, I mainly write on two ongoing series – The Phoenix Club and The Cowboy Gangster. As A.M. Snead, I write multiple books and series on various subjects, all within the M/M genre.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest CJ Bishop book is titled “Paradise Lost” and is Book 1 in a short Cowboy Gangster series. The “Lost” series was inspired by the crisis at the border and the “lost” migrant children and what could be happening to some of them. I am hoping this series will be a wakeup call to a crisis that shouldn’t be ignored.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, not really lol.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The three main authors who have inspired me over the years are Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and John Saul – even though none of them actually write in the M/M genre. Dean Koontz has inspired me most by not only his writing style but his stories of unshakable love and friendship, told within an atmosphere of chilling suspense. My ultimate favorite book is “Watchers” by Dean Koontz and that book alone inspired me to want to write amazing stories.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on Book 2 of my Lost series – “Innocence Lost” – now available for preorder, to be released March 31, 2020.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Honestly, I’m still building my promotional skills. I promote in facebook reader groups, twitter, BookBub ads, amazon ads.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t be afraid to write what you are passionate about. If you care about your stories, it will show and inspire others to care about them as well. Put your heart and soul into your characters and let them show you the way – they rarely lead you astray.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t fear criticism: If it’s true, learn from it. If it isn’t, ignore it.
– Clinton Anderson, Downunder Horsemanship

What are you reading now?
I’m not currently reading anything.

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 Holy Bible
Watchers by Dean Koontz
The Stand by Stephen King
Creature by John Saul

Author Websites and Profiles
CJ Bishop Website
CJ Bishop Amazon Profile

CJ Bishop’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Kelly Grace 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an entrepreneur, educator, and author. I create children’s books that are fun, engaging, inspirational and teach lessons to children of all ages and from all backgrounds. I started writing children’s books to make a positive difference, promote conversation and help children learn about confidence, resilience and a positive and growth mindset. I have written 9 books and have 2 published so far.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called A Spark of Kindness. I wrote this book to help share the message of being kind to young readers. This is a picture book so the children that read it will not only read about being kind but have a visual of what it looks like to be kind as well.

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

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Author Laurie Wright

What are you working on now?
Building my Children’s books emotions series. Each book will talk about a different emotion that children will go through.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Using Facebook ads and www.awesomebookspromotion.com

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Connect with other authors and be willing to learn.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Keeping pushing and working towards your goal and never give up.

What are you reading now?
Put Your Dream to the Test by John Maxwell

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to start writing lesson plans that goes along with the books that I have written.

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
Put Your Dream to the Test by John Maxwell
How Successful People Think by John Maxwell

Author Websites and Profiles
Kelly Grace Website
Kelly Grace Amazon Profile

Kelly Grace’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile