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Helen Pugh 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I first went to Ecuador in 2006 and from 2011 lived there for 7 continuous years, 6 in the Amazon Region and 1 in Quito. That, and the fact that my kids are half Ecuadorian, inspired me to write about Inca women. I’ve written Intrepid Dudettes of the Inca Empire, of which part 1 is available, with part 2 coming soon. A free map book will also be available to accompany the series.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Initially I was going to write a historical novel about Quispe Sisa, Atahualpa’s sister, because although I had heard of Atahualpa and Francisco Pizarro countless times, I had only recently heard about her. The idea that the Inca emperor’s sister was forced to marry a conquistador fascinated me. I couldn’t believe that she wasn’t super famous, considering what a life she must have led. That inspired me to write Intrepid Dudettes of the Inca Empire.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, I wanted to make the experience fun and interactive for readers. So I added questions that people can respond to on my Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram pages and I added little hashtags as commentary on the stories e.g. #HenryVIIIEatYourHeartOut! I want the readers to feel involved in the process and to give their opinions, which I suppose is a little unusual.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
‘The Incredible Incas’ by Terry Deary. I just thought that while it’s a very good book, where are the women? It was a very male-centric book and I decided that Inca women and goddesses deserved to have their stories told too.

What are you working on now?
Part 2 of Intrepid Dudettes of the Inca Empire.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Twitter and Facebook have been great.

What are you reading now?
Boudicca, Britain’s Queen of the Iceni by Laurel A. Rockefeller, available at smashwords.com.

Author Websites and Profiles
Helen Pugh Website
Helen Pugh Author Profile on Smashwords

Helen Pugh’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tonya M. Logan 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
“Mommie’s Bright Sunshine” is my first book. I have nearly 30 years of professional clinical experience working with those managing conflict and trauma. A native Washingtonian, I received my bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Virginia and my master’s degree in social work from the University of Maryland at Baltimore. I spent the bulk of my career, in D.C. and Maryland, working with biological parents and foster parents by securing permanency whether via reunification, adoption, or independent living. I was the clinical director of a program which provided in-home services to families at-risk of abuse and/or neglect in an attempt to strengthen and stabilize families so they would be diverted from the child welfare system. I was a contractor with an organization in which I facilitated 10-week grief groups for those impacted by homicide following my certification as a grief recovery specialist. I transitioned to being the supervisory social worker in a non-public school for students diagnosed with emotional disturbance and/or autism and then to a D.C., Title I, public school.

Currently, I am the Founder & CEO of Kayla’s Village, www.kaylasvillage.org, begun in July 2007, which strives to be the premier provider of innovative seminars and supportive resources for individuals, families, professionals, and communities. I am a full-time clinician providing counseling to individuals, couples, and families and on the Advisory Board of the Center for Infant and Child Loss. I am an active church member of Trinity AME Zion Church and the parent of two children, one by adoption and one by birth, and have hosted two exchange students. Obviously, I try to tailor my life to help others in need.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my book is “Mommie’s Bright Sunshine.” It was inspired following the unexpected death of my daughter. Death is an expected part of the completion of life. We know that everything born has a designated time to die and sometimes death arrives much earlier than we could have ever anticipated. Those who have a child diagnosed with an illness often have to watch their child suffer and then die if a cure is not found. For those of us who awake one morning with promises and plans for the future and then have our life suddenly to take another unanticipated, unknown course when our child is unexpectedly taken from us, is an unthinkable tragedy that only those who have experienced it can describe the lack of preparation. To lose a child – any child, by any means – is horrific. This book is a humble attempt to share my story and prayerfully to help heal others without judgment as we have endured enough. My sincere prayer is that all who touch this book will be moved to greater blessings and comfort as we overcome each day knowing that it is one day closer to being reunified with our child.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have no unusual writing habits although it did take me 16 years to complete this book. Not only was it emotionally draining, I was also attending to the needs of my children and eventually became a single parent.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have been inspired by the “Bible,” “Night” by Elie Wiesel, “Think” by Lisa Bloom, and books by Joyce Meyer, TD Jakes, and Nic Vujicic.

What are you working on now?
I am not working on any additional books right now yet I am working on my organization, Kayla’s Village, as well as providing therapy to hurting individuals. As a single parent, I strive to set a great example for my children and to provide them with a solid foundation. I do not want my challenges to impact their future negatively, but rather allow them to be propelled forward further.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I promote my book on my website and find that word-of-mouth is the best promoter.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do not get discouraged!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Do not get discouraged! If your book positively impacts the life of one person — and that person might be you — you have greatly contributed to the improvement of this world.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading “SHE” by Rebecca St. James and Lynda Hunter Bjorklund.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have no immediate plans to write another book. I would like to get my current book into the hands of those who are dealing with challenges as the reviews have been phenomenal. I would like to see it be made into a movie so that its impact could be even greater.

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 definitely bring the “Bible” as well as books that offer encouragement and hope. When I read how others have overcome challenges, it allows me to know that there are blessings for me as well.

Author Websites and Profiles
Tonya M. Logan Website
Tonya M. Logan Amazon Profile

Tonya M. Logan’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Raymond Nickford 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
With two parents generally away on business I was something of a solitary child; a dreamer who invented his own friends and on those occasions when real life ’embodied’ friends did materialise, I tended to observe and absorb rather than to participate. I was ill-equipped to socialise and so met most of my friends as characters in books and this, together with an early reading of Daphne Du Maurier’s highly atmospheric “Rebecca” completely kindled in me a fascination with observing characters, particularly troubled or ‘haunted’ souls, in the broadest sense.
I have written six books, my inspiration from the lonely, the outsider and those driven to extremity in different plots, locations and emotional settings and relationships.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
A Child from the Wishing Well

The setting is the spa town of Great Malvern beneath the Malvern Hills, England, a town dear to me for its links to the hills and for its relevance to A Child From the Wishing Well and in particular to Ruth the music tutor; in its links to the once violin tutor and composer Edward Elgar who also lived in Malvern.

As a private tutor myself and with a daughter who I once took to a private music tutor for violin lessons, I was able years later to take an imaginary leap from that reality to a ‘what-if ‘ scenario in which to produce the fictional story. I was however inspired by an admiration for the personality and musical sensitivity of my daughter’s tutor and it was then possible to construct the story of a father’s consuming need to protect his child in a narrative where real danger loomed for a child I called Rosie and the childless music tutor I christened Ruth Stein.

So while this novel took two years to write, the seeds of its conception haunted me for many years and, I trust, that much of the appeal of the work – a literary suspense with a poignant emotional core – will continue to convey itself to readers who like what is colloquially called a ‘moving’ story.

I opened this description mentioning the link between Malvern and the composer Edward Elgar and if I was to say that hearing the Nimrod theme from his ‘Enigma Variations’ kindled in me a similar feeling and one that I have tried to explore in the lonely child and the clumsy love of her father in A Child from the Wishing Well, then it is this that made me sometimes work well into the stillness of the night where I could best deliver the final draft.

The Book won the Harper Collins gold star award in May 2010 and I was thrilled that they liked the current of suspense which builds gradually through the story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Rules are made to be broken – but judiciously. If writing comes from the heart and is done with the greatest integrity one can muster and then several drafts/edits, then I have found that I do not self-consciously follow any do’s and don’ts … until the end of the 2nd draft!

I do confess to being a my own worst enemy when it comes to savaging my own text and will cut ruthlessly until I get to the most honest emotion (raw or tender) and the truest scene or setting.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Most certainly D. H. Lawrence. I have to confess that there are many, including myself, who would have criticised aspects of his own lifestyle, perhaps others would have added that he lacked ‘pedigree’ and had too much of an obsession with gamekeepers seducing/being seduced by Ladies with capital L’s or men and women.

It is never so much Lawrence’s subject that fascinates me as his most extraordinary sharp and raw observation of personality.

His prose often rises to poetry and yet it is rarely ‘purple’ or decorative but entirely captures the essence of memorable characters.

Daphne Du Maurier has had an equally powerful influence upon me and if I had the tiniest fraction of the talent of these two writers put together I would thank God.

What are you working on now?
Like many of my fellow authors, in the absence of any engine of a mainstream publisher under my bonnet, and being distinctly ‘unsavvy’ with marketing, I’ve gone though years of endeavour to become visible under the millions of titles beneath which I am buried and so I’ve found that far too much time is spent in the drudgery of self-propulsion than in returning to my first love – writing.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Yet to discover, but my hat off to awesomegang.com

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Whatever the genre, whatever the plot, use something of your own experience of life and, above all, with all the integrity you can muster, strive to find a form of wording that will express the emotions of your characters, however raw or tender those feelings are.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It is better to try and fail than not to try at all.

What are you reading now?
The Talented Mister Ridley by Patricia Highsmith.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To become truly ‘visible’ beneath the intense marketing competition that leaves so many books – good or less so – buried beneath the millions and millions.

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?
Daphne du Maurier’s “Rebecca”, Ian McEwan’s “Atonement” and, most of all, “Message in a Bottle” by Nicholas Sparks

Author Websites and Profiles
Raymond Nickford Website
Raymond Nickford Amazon Profile
Raymond Nickford Author Profile on Smashwords

Raymond Nickford’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Joel Spriggs 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a software engineer and author. I have written two full length urban fantasy novels, a small short story collection, a children’s sci-fi/fantasy novel, and a non-fiction book about working in software development.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book was actually The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Coding, and it was a short guidebook to help people understand what it takes and what to expect starting a career in software development. I got inspired by the number of people in my field starting into their career with either no college or a coding bootcamp in their background. I wanted to give some insights on how to do that and what strategies work and help people to start that career path.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
They are constantly evolving. I started on an old laptop with Over a God’s Dead Body, then used an iPad for Another Dead Intern, Little Drummer Boy and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to Coding. On the iPad, I’ve ended up even using different programs too. I’ve just started work on the draft for Dead Ringer, a sequel to Over a God’s Dead Body, and that looks like I’ll make habit changes too.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve always loved the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. In more recent years, I’ve enjoyed books by Christopher Moore and I’ve been really loving Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim series.

What are you working on now?
I just started working on the draft for Dead Ringer, it will be the follow up novel to Over a God’s Dead Body. I have the broad arcs for the story planned and some of the sub-arcs, most of the outline fleshed out. Now, I’m onto the fun part of getting it all pushed out of my brain and onto pages. The first novel took me about 18 months, then Another Dead Intern was about a 9-12 month process. I’m hoping for Dead Ringer to be a 6 month project and have a workable draft ready to get to editing by late fall or early winter.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still trying to figure that out, there’s all kinds of catches and psych things to consider with any advertising strategy. I have a current belief that it just gets easier and more organic as you get more content out.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep going. Get that first book done, get an editor, and start heading to the next one. As with any trade, you just have to keep practicing and trying.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Keep it simple, stupid. Kind of self-explanatory

What are you reading now?
I just wrapped up Aloha From Hell, was going to pick up The Haunting of Hill House, maybe also Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel Jose Older.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep writing, I’ve got people eager to read the characters I’ve created in both Over a God’s Dead Body and Another Dead Intern, both are going to be the start of their own series. I’ve already got enough broad arcs figured out for them to keep me busy for at least a decade.

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?
Mort by Terry Pratchett, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, Noir by Christopher Moore, still thinking over that fourth, I’d like to leave it open.

Author Websites and Profiles
Joel Spriggs Website
Joel Spriggs Amazon Profile

Joel Spriggs’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Sophia Stone 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi, I’m Sophia! I am a part time paranormal romance writer who has ambitions of becoming a full time author. I have written three books so far. These are Merlyn Academy Books 1-3.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Merlyn Academy Book Three. It is hard to pin down what inspired me to write it as I tend to jot down notes here and there until I have a plot.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I spend ages (weeks) writing plot notes and character arcs. These are getting more detailed as go on and it won’t be long before I will be able to answer the most mundane questions about my characters.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I couldn’t pin down one or two authors as I love to read anything from historical fiction to detective dramas. But the Classics do provide great ideas when I feel I don’t have anything to write.

What are you working on now?
A new trilogy set in an academy but this time with gods. It will be better than it sounds!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have a small Facebook group that I like to post to when I can.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Plan, plan and plan some more. I was a bit of a “Pantser’ for my first books and wrote myself into some corners. Now I am better at planning, I find it saves so much more time and lends itself to a better book.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Not everyone will like your book, and that’s fine. Write for those who will love it.

What are you reading now?
Normal People by Sally Rooney.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to write more books and I am undecided whether to branch out into different genres. We will see!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Pride and Predjuice (I always find new things to like), The Count of Monte Cristo (It’s huge and I haven’t yet read it) and Outlander (Again, a huge book).

Author Websites and Profiles
Sophia Stone Website
Sophia Stone Amazon Profile

Sophia Stone’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Mickey Dee 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Best Selling Author, Mickey Dee, is a freelance writer as well as a securities and real estate investor. His company, Frazier Publishing & Services, has published almost 200 books in 35 years of business. His company is one of the few companies that has received a check from book sells every single month on Amazon.com for the last 25 years. He has written 10 books in the mining resource area including books on gold, silver uranium and cannabis.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Silver Mining Stocks Ready to Explode, Possible 1000% Gains

The all time high of the gold/silver ratio woke a lot of silver investors up and inspired me to write a book on the great investment opportunity.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like Laurence Stripling and his writings about urban life and antique silver and gold coins.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a uranium book. Uranium offers another great opportunity for investors.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Amazon a lot! My Facebook blast can be effective at times.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
New authors must be persistent. They need thick skin and never give up on a project if you believe in it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It was from an old investor, he told me no matter what, trade your plan! In other words, never let haters take you off your course.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading a book on technical trading by Westmark Trading.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will stick to the resource research and probably finish up my book on investing in gold and other resources.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would bring a lot of investment success books from authors that walk the walk and practice in their industries.

Author Websites and Profiles
Mickey Dee Website

Chris Davis 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am father, husband, and true crime podcaster from Indiana, and I just completed my debut novel. Hopefully, it is the first of many.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Beneath the Fallen Leaves was inspired by my two year journey investigating the unsolved 1978 Burger Chef Murders for my podcast. A lot of people said I should write a book about my experiences, but I have a hard time telling my own story. I decided instead to collect all of the theories through the years in a ficitional world and present the wild tall tales I’ve heard to world that way.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to write in large blocks. I know some writers try to commit themselves to writing a certain amount per day, but I seemed to have the best results when I wrote whenever and however long the feeling hit me. Sometimes when writing Beneath the Fallen Leaves I would go three days without writing a single word, and then on the fourth day I would sit down and write 6,000 words. It just felt like the story was being told to me so I could share it with you on its on time.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I grew up an avid reader of Stephen King (Salem’s Lot was the novel that first inspired me to write) and John Grisham. I just love how they take situations that people think are so black and white and inject all of the possible human motives and motifs into them.

What are you working on now?
I’m constantly working on my podcast, Circle City Crime, but I already have the outline started for my next novel. It will be a what-could-have-been look at a close encounter I actually had in my mid-20’s

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have created an audience through the podcast that I interact with regularly via audio, video, and social media so continuing to put together messages and stories that they want to hear, read, and share is key for me.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I won’t pretend to have any technical expertise when it comes to being an author, but I would say if it is something you really want to do, and I mean really want to devote yourself to in order to do it well, don’t let anyone discourage you.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
In most aspects of my life, I heed the advice, “don’t be afraid to fail.” Failing sucks. It can hurt physically, emotionally, and financially, but you learn so much and gain so many important callouses from failing that you never would have if you didn’t try.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, and I plan to ingest a lot more of his work by the end of summer.

What’s next for you as a writer?
It’s nice to find forums like this to get the word out about my novel since the physical world is kind of turned off during the COVID-19 scare, but I look forward to getting out and sharing my book and the source material behind it with readings and meet-and-greets in small book stores and libraries.

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 need some type of survivalist guide because, while I enjoy being outdoors, I’m not an experienced outdoorsman. Aside from that I would probably bring The Green Mile by Stephen King, The Summons by John Grisham, and some book about one of my favorite literary characters, King Arthur.

 

Chris Davis’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Amanda Ross 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Like most authors, I’ve written several short stories and books that are essentially “trunk novels.” I’ve been writing my whole life, starting with creating drama-filled stories for my Barbies to act out. I seriously put pen to paper as a teen, and it’s been my dream to be a published author for over ten years. Aside from writing, I enjoy reading, baking, weight lifting, and seeking out the best donut in every town I visit.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first published novel, To Astera, With Love was inspired by a lot of things. I’ve always been a fantasy lover, and witches and vampires are my favorite types of characters. So I decided to take the tales of witches coming into their power and meld it with the political climate of America post-2016. My main character, Mercury, is a Black witch trying to find his way in a world similar to ours, only with all drugs being legal, witches no longer hiding their magic but being persecuted for it, and a literal vampire for President.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I work best with a timer, so I use the Pomodoro method and write in 25-minute sprints. I also outline my work beforehand, and if I ever get stuck in a certain section I’ll do a rough outline of what is supposed to happen in that section.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Tomi Adeyemi, Grady Hendrix, Holly Black, and journalists like Michael Harriot and Anne Branigin of The Root.

What are you working on now?
To Astera, With Love is the first book in my Witchkind series. I am currently working on the second book now.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I enjoy Instagram the most because I love creating imagery with quotes and characters from my book. I also love connecting with other writers on the platform, so it’s my go-to medium.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep the 5 W’s in mind – who are you writing for? What is the purpose of your piece? Where is your piece set? When is your piece set? Why is writing important to you? I think asking and answering these questions regularly will help you keep the right perspective when you get stuck or doubt yourself.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Comparison is the thief of joy. It’s easy, especially with social media, to compare yourself to another writer who you perceive is doing better/ more successful than you. You don’t know their journey, and yours is completely different. It might take you more time to get the same amount of reviews/ recognition/status and that’s ok. The more time you focus on what they are doing, you’re not focusing on what you need to do for you.

What are you reading now?
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to finish my Witchkind series. I have several other books in mind after that, but they will all likely be urban fantasy featuring Black characters.

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?
Slay by Brittney Morris
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix

Author Websites and Profiles
Amanda Ross Website
Amanda Ross Amazon Profile

Amanda Ross’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

T.R. Slauf 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a new independent author with my debut fantasy novel, Legends of Lightning book one, Hidden Realm, releasing on October 6, 2020. I am also planning on publishing a collection of short stories closer to Halloween.

When I’m not writing I love to read (and watch) horror and fantasy. If you read my works you will see that even though the Legends of Lightning series is a fantasy, there are many horror aspects to it. I love the mixing of genres!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Legends of Lightning series is my current project. It was inspired by several different things, most notably I have always had very vivid dreams and nightmares; everything I was exposed to while awake had the potential to be twisted into something terrible and haunting. This is what I did with Legends of Lighting, I took an ordinary person and shoved her into a world plagued with nightmares and told her she had to fight them if she wanted to live.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can’t focus when I’m typing directly onto a computer and I had a constant problem with writers block and terrible focus when drafting my first novel. I found the best process for me it to hand write everything (or most everything) and then type it up on the computer. Sure it takes a while and I get a lot of hand cramps, but it is so much more efficient for me.

What are you working on now?
I am working hard right now to finish the squeal to Hidden Realm. Legends of Lightning book two, Redemption.

I’m very excited to expand this series and dive further into the politics and the plot lines I started in book one. I am also eager to show the alterations and growth of my character, Esther Wan, as she is forced to make impossible decisions. How far will she go, and how much of herself will she loose to stop evil?

I really hope to expand this series into 5 books, branching out and telling it from other POVs along the way.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Making friends!
Seriously, got on Instagram, Twitter, whatever you like, and make friends in the author and reader community. Making friends will get you so much further than just ‘Buy my Book’ posts ever will.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up and don’t ever take ruthless, non-constructive criticism from someone you would not go to for advice.

Many people may want to help, but honestly just because they have good intentions does not mean they know what they are talking about. I constantly get ‘advice’ from people who have never written a book or sold a product in their life. Find reputable places to learn from, there are so many great YouTube channels out there made just for you! Don’t let other people’s ideas and opinions bog you down and just write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
even if you think you think you have writers block, sit down and write a single sentence anyways.

It’s amazing how that simple act can kick-start your mind. I have gotten some amazing writing done on days I ‘wasn’t feeling it’ by doing this.

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 – His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
2 – Lord of the Rings by Tolkien
3 – Anything by Dan Brown or the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson

Author Websites and Profiles
T.R. Slauf Website
T.R. Slauf Amazon Profile

T.R. Slauf’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile