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Leslie Sussan 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am 67 and have just published my first book. Given that the process took me 30+ years, a second book seems like a long shot. I am being flippant, but the truth is that the story I have released was bequeathed to me and demanded to be told. What took most of the time was my struggle to learn how to be a writer who could effectively tell that story. I have been writing all my life, as a lawyer and as a judge, so I was confident in my ability to communicate clearly in print and even prided myself on making technical points in plain English. Telling emotional truths along with factual ones and bringing characters to life turned out to be entirely new skills, however.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Choosing Life: My father’s journey from Hollywood to Hiroshima. My father’s crew took the only color footage of the aftermath of the atomic bombings only to have it classified as top secret by the US Government. He tried for decades to get access to make a film to show the American people what the reality of nuclear weapons was. As a teen, I was active in the peace movement and could not understand why my father was not marching at my side. Only in his late years was he able to connect with a Japanese group that managed to obtain a copy of the footage and track down some of the survivors my father had filmed. When he died, his last wish was to have his ashes scattered at Ground Zero in Hiroshima. I took my daughter there and we spent a year speaking to the survivors. What inspired me to write was a deep duty to tell the truths that were entrusted to me by my father and by the survivors.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
During a writers’ residency, I was wrestling with how to manage the intertwining stories that make up the book. I chopped up the manuscript and tacked all the pieces on the walls of the writers’ studio and started moving them around. It looked as if the work had been destroyed by a tornado, but it helped me enormously in structuring the book.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Honor Moore and Nick Flynn (both memoirists) included me in writers’ residencies and taught me the basics of telling a true story while employing tools of fiction such as creating distinct scenes, employing all my sense and developing a clear voice.
On learning to write well, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones. In preparing for the topic, I read dozens of books on WWII, on the decision to drop the bomb, on Japanese history and culture, on the US Occupation of Japan, and, of course, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

What are you working on now?
Right now, having just released my book, I am trying to learn to “market” it, which turns out to be an endeavor calling for as much new learning as writing it did.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The most critical tool was creating a good website for the book to which everything else points. I was very lucky to have a friend who had the professional skills to do that and who was also moved by the story and willing to volunteer the time to set it up and teach me how to use it for blogging, reviews, and events. The biggest source of traffic to the website so far is from Facebook as a result of my own posts there and also a 3-week Facebook ad campaign run with the publishing company. I have also benefited from being active in the Authors’ Guild and Goodreads.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is to trust your vision for your project but listen to advice about how best to realize that vision.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment.” I embrace the idea that making mistakes is the only path to making progress. (It was also a useful saying to keep me sane when my daughter was a teenager — and it worked, she is now my best friend and a sage adviser in many ways!)

What are you reading now?
Kendi’s How to be an Anti-Racist (along with half the world, it seems); Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach

What’s next for you as a writer?
For now, I am trying to frame shorter pieces from the same material as the book in an effort to place them in online sites, magazines or journals.

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?
Joyce’s Ulysses; Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past; the Complete Works of Shakespeare; and the Bible. OK, not light reading, but they ought to keep me engaged no matter how long I am stuck and give me enough food for my own thought to distract me from worrying about it.

Author Websites and Profiles
Leslie Sussan Website
Leslie Sussan Amazon Profile

Leslie Sussan’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Loralyn Mears 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a science nerd and tech geek that happens to also be a creative storyteller, flexing both my right and left brain at the same time. Being a champion of the underdogs is something that I’m deeply passionate about as a social entrepreneur and content marketer; you can check out my LIKE A BOSS podcast and other bits to learn more. I’ve written two books thus far. My first, “One Sip at a Time: a Memoir” was about my now deceased best friend who was a woman ahead of her time: she was the first female VP at Revlon, shook up perfume advertising and was among the first divorcees who had to pay alimony to their ex-husbands. My second book, “The Battle for Humanity,” is a dystopian thriller that’s become a little too-close-to-home with the ongoing pandemic.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“The Battle for Humanity” is a hard science thriller that was inspired by the expected “command performance” of scientists who were expected to yield a vaccine for COVID essentially on the day that it was discovered. And to rally against the growing xenophobia that was rising after the wet markets in Wuhan, China were targeted.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know that my writing habits are unusual or any different than other writers, but, I tend to “get in the zone” after everyone else has gone to bed and type furiously through the night until I’m tapped!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Dean Koontz, Tom Clancy and others who have a distinct data-rich and informative style of writing where the details matter but you get so caught up in the thrilling plot that the book moves along quickly.

What are you working on now?
I’m fleshing out the story line of my third book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Twitter and author promotion accounts have been helpful.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Celebrate your accomplishment of finishing your first book! It’s competitive out there with more than 2 million books published annually. That’s almost more books than eyeballs so it can be very challenging to get noticed.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Hold onto the mantra, “I’m not too old, it’s not too late” and do whatever it is that you’ve always meant to do!

What are you reading now?
Essentialism by Greg McKeown

What’s next for you as a writer?
I ghost-write blogs, scientific papers, articles, two weekly columns for a Top 50 media publication, and other forms of content on a daily basis so I don’t have the time that I’d like to dedicate to my next book. But, I’ll find a way!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh (eternally timeless)
Rising Strong by Brenee Brown (inspirational)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (society can do better in science & equality)

Author Websites and Profiles
Loralyn Mears Website
Loralyn Mears Amazon Profile

Loralyn Mears’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Kris Kourtis 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a TV commentator and Radio host, and author. I have done 8 audiobooks.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Trust Inside and Diet Fiction

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No

What authors, or books have influenced you?
J.K. Rowling and Gabrielle Bernstein

What are you working on now?
More self help books to come.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
None

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Follow your Bliss.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Always write what you know.

What are you reading now?
The universe has your back by Gabrielle Bernstein.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hopefully write more

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?
Books on psychic development

Author Websites and Profiles
Kris Kourtis Website
Kris Kourtis Amazon Profile

Kris Kourtis’s Social Media Links
Pinterest Account

W. Charles Drewitz 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was about 11 years old when I joined my first book club. I have enjoyed reading, researching and learning ever since. Whenever I sensed that I would be required to wait somewhere, I would always take some literature along to read. During my legal career, I became quite comfortable writing contracts, position statements and memoranda. Just now I have started writing books. My genre is nonfiction on topics of global interest. I have now written one medium sized book and one shorter book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first book is entitled “Light Astonishes Time.” My latest book is entitled “Truth and Reconstructed Truth: amidst covid, freedom & conspiracies.” During the year of 2020, all of us have been bombarded by this story and that story about the upheaval in society. I decided to go back in history several centuries to study the development of how truth managed to disintegrate into reconstructed truth. My latest book traces two worldviews through the centuries in the context of gathering, analyzing and disseminating information.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I studied both engineering and law. I thus tend to be analytical in a practical way, as well as philosophical in a contemplative way. I do not just seek answers to questions. Instead, I also try to understand the thought process, the rationale, behind opinions and conclusions. Where experts in a particular discipline come to different conclusions, I conduct thorough analytics on both positions to ascertain which offers the more credible rationale.
Practically speaking, one of my most unique writing habits is that I often get inspiration between 2:00 am and 4:00 am. I would get up and scribble a few notes. I could retrace those inspirations the next morning as long as I could decipher at least every third or fourth word from my scribbles.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am just learning the business of writing and promoting books. I am by nature an introvert and so I do appreciate the support of writers and readers. The vibe and energy that seems to flow from the awesome gang is very encouraging.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
An endeavor is most worthwhile when it came with a sacrifice.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
If I could not figure out how to craft some mode of transportation from some island trees, then my mind would definitely drift to my philosophical side. Such being the case, I would want daily reassurance that I am not alone; that there is some entity bigger and greater than my little island. I would want to be assured that some entity bigger than and external to my problem is still dwelling with me. I would want literature from different eras of human history. I would want to read Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Thomas Aquinas and King Solomon.

Author Websites and Profiles
W. Charles Drewitz Amazon Profile

 

Pavan L M 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a 20year old Indian Aspiring author and I have just released my first successful book called Your God Won’t Save. It is written with a very different perspective concerning the Pandemic.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Your God Won’t Save You, is my first book and the Pandemic is being blamed on an Virus but it actually should come back to us as Bad.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes I write blogs.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am influenced by Malcom Gladwell

What are you working on now?
Science fiction short stories

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesome Gang was really friendly

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Believe in what you write..

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you don’t find a book that you want to read, you must be the one to write it.

What are you reading now?
Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harrari

What’s next for you as a writer?
To live in a state of 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?
Sapiens, Steve Jobs and 1984

Author Websites and Profiles
Pavan L M Amazon Profile

John Austin 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I published 1 book and the second one I’m going to publish soon.
I’ve searched for a recipe for peace and happiness for many years.
I searched for it in science. I received a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and worked in the field of molecular neuroscience. This gave me a solid scientific foundation and a comprehensive understanding of the processes that happen in our head. But the science did not give me the answer to the main question: how to live a happy and peaceful life.
Then I searched in ancient traditions: I studied yoga, practiced qigong, meditated, and took part in shamanistic ceremonies and initiations. At the same time, I studied Western psychology and received a M. Sc. in Psychology. I am grateful for these experiences. They didn’t give me an answer to all of my questions, but they pointed me in the right direction.
In my practice now I use a synthesis of all of my experiences. I am positive that the methods described in this book can be safely used for independent work with anxiety. I saw my clients overcome severe panic attacks that had been going on for years and improve the quality of their lives. Real client stories are described in this book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
STRESS, FEAR, PANIC ATTACKS, AND ANXIETY RELIEF

This book was written based on years of my work experience.
The result is a provocative read that provides 3 effective methods to overcome the most of your phobias:
– EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE (EFT);
– EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION AND REPROCESSING (EMDR);
– DAVID BERCELI’S METHOD.
However, if you prefer to stay passive, despairing, and hoping that someone or something will help you without an effort on your part, you should not read this book. It will not help you.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, I have not

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Dare by Barry McDonagh

What are you working on now?
The next book about phobias. I can’t say more before I finish it

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t know, because it’s my first book.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m also a new author and I have not enough exp to give any advice yet.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stay hungry, stay foolish!

 

Ethan Blake 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I graduated from the College of the Arts at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. As a child, I had several terrifying encounters with the paranormal that included full-bodied apparitions, poltergeist activity, and disembodied voices. Contact with the other side has been the driving force in much of my writings and beliefs; and over the years, writing music became a therapeutic and spiritual conduit, allowing me to connect to the world in a deeper, more meaningful way. Ultimately, this led to his pursuit of a degree in music and my ambition to write my first horror novel, INTO THE HOLLOW.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
INTO THE HOLLOW was inspired by a cross-country road trip to Halloween Horror Nights in California. Seeing the Evil Dead, Insidious, and Nightmare on Elm Street attractions inspired me to write a script for a horror film. After running into difficulties finding actors, I decided to turn the script into a book with Laura Ann’s help. Readers will find the horror attractions reflected in the pop culture references throughout the book. The short film Lights Out was additional inspiration for the theme of the book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I listen to gothic, instrumental, dark magic music, specifically the Goetia by Peter Gundry, with pumpkin-scented candles. Also, due to my background in music, I constantly have to reread and remove extra alliterations.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My writing is primarily influence by directors and screenwriters such as Sam Raimi. Additionally, as his works were influenced by HP Lovecraft, my writing was also influenced by default. Lastly, the descriptive nature of my writing can be attributed to the influence of Edgar Allen Poe.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
INTO THE HOLLOW is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Work with someone who has experience; don’t be afraid to ask for help. Write the story you want to read, and don’t worry about what others want.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve been given is to have an outline to give a general direction for the story.

What’s next for you as a writer?
People are already asking for a sequel to this book. Although it is a possibility, there is no plan right now. However, there is a future collaboration planned for a book that takes place during the Salem Witch Trials.

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?
When All Hell Breaks Loose by, Cody Lundin
Extreme Food by, Bear Grylls
Mud, Sweat, and Tears: A Survival Guide for Life by, Bear Grylls

Author Websites and Profiles
Ethan Blake Amazon Profile

Ethan Blake’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Bobby Price 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m originally from Philadelphia, now residing in South Florida. Back in 2010, I became sick and underwent a kidney transplant that hindered my writing for a time. I had given up.
Once I was cleared to go home from the hospital, I made the decision to go full throttle on my dream of becoming a writer.
Now I’m a brand new author with my first book. It took some years to get here, but it was well worth it.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first book is called WAR PEACE LOVE: A Collection of Thoughts. It’s pretty much a collection of poems I’ve written over the years that connected with the theme of my book. I happen to read all my poems one day and thought of a great idea for a collection and began to put them together.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if this is unusual but for me to get inspired, I would listen to old school hip-hop. A little Wu-Tang. Maybe some Nas. Some Jay Z. But in order for me to write, I have to listen to Jazz. Miles Davis. Bobby Timmons. Definitely Errol Garner. It sets the mood for me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My all-time favorite writers are Octavia Butler, Walter Moseley, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Ta-Nehisi Coates. If I can come as close to their level one day, that would be fantastic.

What are you working on now?
I have a new poetry collection that I’m working on, which I all ready have a name for the book. It’s called Peephole. A friend at work threw that word at me and ask that I write a poem to it. I did. So I thought it would be a great title for my next book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
To be honest I’m still working that out. I love being on Instagram, but you can’t beat word of mouth, so I’m really trying to get my book out there by telling everyone and anyone willing to listen.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m still learning since I’m a new author but I would definitely say to promote early and get the buzz going ASAP. Use all tools at your disposal.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I know this will sound utterly corny but it’s simple and true. If anyone has ever played the Lottery, their tagline is “You have to be in it to win it.” It’s corny but it holds a lot of weight. You can’t get anywhere if you’re sitting on the sidelines watching. A million dollars don’t fall out of the sky. You have to work for it. Success is hard work.

What are you reading now?
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

What’s next for you as a writer?
Focusing on the next poetry collection and also gathering my short stories for a short story collection. I’m trying to get all of it out there for people to read.

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 Know Why The Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou
Any book written by Walter Moseley
Kindred – Octavia Butler
Invisible Man – Ralph Ellison

Author Websites and Profiles
Bobby Price Amazon Profile

Bobby Price’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

K.M. Woods 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is K.M. My love for fiction struck when I was a young lad. Like many in my generation, Harry Potter stole me away in grade school. Then, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton changed the game in middle school, which was the first time I found that realistic violence or danger could be portrayed in fiction. I dig the idea that fiction can encapsulate someone, and that this experience sparks from words written on a page.

Thus far, I’ve written three books.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is titled A Whistle on the Waves. The novel follows a young immigrant from Ireland who is thrown into the toils of the American Civil War. The song, The Lakes of Pontrartrain, came on NPR one morning while I was driving to my day job and inspired me to write the novel. The beautiful song is the only tangible inspiration for the book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My habit is fairly straightforward. I read, I journal, then I write. I do this everyday, usually in the morning.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
A countless lists exists in this box.
Hemmingway’s works have inspired me consistently throughout my career. Dostoyevsky’s work I often idolize as an unattainable feat, and I’m always awed by how genius it is. And while we’re listing off cliche geniuses, I’ll go ahead and throw Shakespeare into the mix. I studied his work for years, and have even acted it professionally.
Belive it or not, I often come back to George Carlin’s books whenever I’m feeling unfunny.
And I’ll throw in Johnathan Letham just because I love his books so much.

What are you working on now?
I’m actually rewriting my first book which has been both the greatest joy of my life and the bane of my existence for almost seven years now. It’s a dark comedy called The Ginger Who Snapped.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook, sadly. I’m new to all this shit.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write everyday and often. Read everyday and often. Have specific goals for yourself and hold yourself accountable for them. When you get rejected, let it push you further. Don’t allow yourself to fall victim to the hardships of being an author. Don’t do it for money. Do it because it gives you purpose. Expect to make mistakes. Expect to tell yourself that you suck. Expect every form of self-doubt, and keep writing anyways. Don’t let anything let you quit.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To write everyday. It changed my life entirely.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger, Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins, and Principles by Ray Dalio.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To write another book I suppose. I’ve recently finished a third draft of a Mafia series I’m writing. After I finish this draft of The Ginger Who Snapped, I suppose I’ll start the sequel to the trilogy.

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 Infinate Jest, because if I were on a desert island, I’d probably actually read the whole thing.
I’d bring Crime and Punishment.
I’d probably bring The Old Man and the Sea.
And a playboy.

Author Websites and Profiles
K.M. Woods Website
K.M. Woods Amazon Profile

K.M. Woods’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

William Chauke 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am 58 years old and am a born again Christian who came to the Lord in 1995. I have served as a church deacon in a Pentecostal church in Zimbabwe for about 10 years. After teaching a university course on community mobilization for 3 years I published my first book titled “Community mobilization and stakeholder participation for development” in 2016. In 2017, I received my calling to write Christian books and have to date written 3 such books (2 published;1 pending). Overall I’ve written 4 books.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Template for Leadership. In 2014 I dropped out from a PhD program in Governance and Leadership at the university of Lusaka due to inability to pay the required fees. I also failed to secure a scholarship, so I had no option but to drop out. Since I had already done a lot of research on leadership in preparation for my thesis, I had to pick up the broken pieces in order to write a book on leadership from a Christian perspective after my call to ministry in 2017.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I usually take casual walks during which I pray and do some meditation. During such occasions, I receive some insights or downloads that I then use in my writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Bible is my primary source of inspiration. John Maxwell’ s 5 Levels of Leadership has also been a big influence.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently reading the Bible and some Christian books, while remaining open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I mainly use social media platforms but I also plan to open a website for promoting my books very soon.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. If ever you fail; try, try again!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When intending to do something don’t be side tracked by what people say.

What are you reading now?
The Bible and other Christian books.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I remain open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

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 Bible.
2) Template for Leadership by William Chauke.
3) The 5 Levels of Leadership by John Maxwell.
4) Poetic Word by William Chauke

 

William Chauke’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Leslie Chase 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a science nerd and a philosopher, so of course I started writing science fiction romance to make a living. It’s the logical progression, right? Born in London, I came up to Scotland to study and never left! I’ve been lucky enough to have a wide variety of experiences, from working with the elderly to studying sword fighting to teaching tai chi. I’m also, of course, reading a lot – and when I get the chance, I love to go and explore strange places like ruined castles.

I’ve written around 30 books so far, depending on how you count the serialised stories and the box sets.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I’ve just released Her Alien Rebel, the second in my Salvaged Hearts series of science fiction romance. It’s inspired by a lot of things, but one inspiration stands out – I really wanted to write a romance with a female lead who kicks ass. So that’s Michaela, a veteran and martial artist, able to hold her own against anyone… even Mykor, the male lead.

Which also gave me the opportunity to write a fight scene between the leads, which is almost a sex scene. And a sex scene that’s almost a fight. I loved writing that!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to skip the first few chapters, starting with chapter 4 or so. Before I did that, I would get to the end of the book and realise the first chapters needed to be rewritten so thoroughly I might as well be starting from scratch.

So instead I just don’t write the star until I’ve seen the end

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Too many to say, so forgive me for all the influences I miss…
Mercedes Lackey got me started on fantstic romances
Robert Heinlein, my mother’s favourite author, and one I read voraciously.
Ruby Dixon pulled me into the world of scifi romance.
And Tamsyn Muir wrote Gideon the Nineth. The influence is new, but it’s there.

What are you working on now?
I’m just starting the second novel in my Crashland Castaway Romance series, title still in development. This will be the fifth book set on Crashland, and it’s a tricky one, but I just know it’s going to be a good one

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Bookbub – it’s hard to get into one of their promos, but the results are fantastic!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write about things that matter to you. Without that inspiration to pull you onward, it becomes a slog

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As long as you keep moving faster than the stream, you’re in control. So keep paddling, no matter how slowly.

(It was about canoeing, but the philosophy has a lot to recomend it!)

What are you reading now?
Harrow the Ninth. I loved Gideon the Ninth (romance! Necromancy! Gothic castles in space! How could I not love it) and I’m hoping that the sequel lives up 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?
The Idiot’s Guide to Island Survival
How to escape a desert island for fun and profit.
Harrow the Ninth.
A technical encyclopedia, full of useful ideas on boatmaking

Author Websites and Profiles
Leslie Chase Website
Leslie Chase Amazon Profile

Leslie Chase’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Bob Eager 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Have written two books Flipside of the Familiar and Darkside Relapsing. Have published creative work in journals such as Oddball Magazine, Vision With Voices, Indiana Voice Journal, Chronogram, Stray Branch Literary and Tuck Magazine

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Darkside Relapsing. For many of us who have been recovering narcissist, the road to recovery is long. Wanted to do a book that is somewhat a recovering narcissist manifesto.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Wondering down alleyways looking for subject matter and sitting at bus stops for inspiration.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Eric Bischoff Controversy Creates Cash and Golf Monster by Alice Cooper

What are you working on now?
Trash Bag Therapy book. It is about using a household object for therapeutical purposes. It could be used as Dollar store emotional relief

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Twitter has worked out well. Have a good group of authors who retweet my information and I do the same thing. It is a mutually beneficial relationship

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Start now! Go full throttle! Stir your creativity. Write ridiculous speeches, absurd poetry and strange step by step guides.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Material is everywhere. If you don’t have anything to write about check your pulse you are not breathing!

What are you reading now?
Humble the Poet Unlearn

What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep coming up with projects have a performance group called the Tunnel Performance Society.

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?
James Thurber Thurber Carnival
Seth Godin Purple Cow
Chameleon Aura Billy Chapata

Author Websites and Profiles
Bob Eager Website

Bob Eager’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Fazlous Satter 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Fazlous Satter. I am an author, human rights, human security activist, and researcher from Bangladesh, currently working with the Centre for Human Rights, Development & Human Security (CHRDHS) as its founding Executive Director. I am also working as an Independent Research Consultant focusing on human rights, geopolitics, natural resources based conflict, and other human security-related issues. I have two published books.

Being a researcher I have numbers of research on human rights and human security in particularly on emerging as well as prevailing domestic conflicts, regional geopolitics, border and enclave people, police reform, indigenous land rights, forest conflicts, vulnerabilities of ethnic minority women as well as on land administration, and its challenges.

My newly published book is titled ” Understanding the World’s Longest Civil War: Colonial State Formations, Geopolitics, Conflict over Natural Resources, and the Genocide. ” which is now available at amazon.

This book is an overview of over seven decades-long civil war in Burma and its both internal and external actors, root causes as well as complex dynamics including global and regional geopolitics centering Burma, conflict over access and control of rich natural resources and also the politics of illicit drugs.

One of my research publication titled “Struggle for Survival: A Study on the Legal Status of the Mandi Peoples’ Land Rights in Modhupur Forest Area” is enlisted in the libraries of some of the world-famous universities that include Yale, Colombia, U-Chicago, UC Berkeley, Illinois, Minnesota, Heidelberg, Max Plank Institute, Iowa, etc.

Being an activist I have also participated in several international human rights training programs that include 23rd Annual International Human Rights Training Program (IHRTP) conducted by the International Centre for Human Rights Education (EQUITAS); which at that time known as the Canadian Human Rights Foundation (CHRF) and 16th Geneva Advance Training Course (GTC) on International Human Rights Law and Diplomacy organized by the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR).

As a part of my online activism, I am also working as an administrator of a few social media groups on human rights, environmental justice, and geopolitics.

Besides activism and research, I was also involved with both print and electronic media of Bangladesh as a journalist for a long while.

Being a journalist I was involved with various national level media that includes Radio Metro-Wave (Head of News), Weekly Jai Jai Din (Political analyst & Regular Columnist), Jai Jai Din Protidin (Senior Reporter), Daily Ajker Kagoj (Sub-Editor), Dainik Desh Bangla (Senior Reporter), Dainik Lal Sabuj (Sub-Editor), Fortnightly ANANYA (Reporter), etc.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
RESOURCES AND THE GENOCIDE”.

The idea of writing this book came from the immense shock that I have gone through as a human being after knowing about the Rohingya genocide of 2017 perpetrated by the Burmese national armed forces Tatmadaw.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I think like writing style, each author has also different writing habits in which she/ he is accustomed to. In my case, it usually takes time to get full concentration to start writing. But when it is back I can spend sleepless days and nights in non-stop writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My life is shaped by the influence of numerous authors and their books in a various phase that includes Karl Max, Friedrich Engles, Vladimir Lenin, Max Weber, Antonio Gramsci, Noam Chomsky, Amartya Sen, Maxim Gorky, Leo Tolstoy, Boris Polevoy, Alex Haley, Vandana Shiva, Arundhati Roy, Naomi Klein, Krishan Chander, Serajul Islam Choudhury and many more.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I am working on the political ramification of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Concerning book promotion, I have no experience. My previous book promotion was handled by the concerned publisher in their traditional way.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Please, don’t forget the truth and your intellectual responsibility to expose lies.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read, read, and read as much as possible before writing.

What are you reading now?
My current reading is mainly focused on various research publications, reports, journals, and articles concerning the political ramification of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on common people.

What’s next for you as a writer?
As a writer, I am now focused on the next publication. I think in the life of an author, there is nothing called guaranteed. But I would like to read and write until my death to pursue my passion for uncovering the truth and exposed the lies to see a sustainable peace where people can live without fear with dignity and integrity.

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 Mother- by Maxim Gorky
2.The Story of a Real Man-by Boris Polevoy
3.Family Happiness-Leo Tolstoy
4.In the Light of What We Know-by Zia Haider Rahman

Author Websites and Profiles
Fazlous Satter Website
Fazlous Satter Amazon Profile

Fazlous Satter’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Nicolle Caputa 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Like many writers, I have always wanted to be an author. I knew that it would be hard but I couldn’t let my doubt get the best of my dream. I decided to write for myself and put my stories out there the way I wanted them to be finished.
I started by publishing my short story (novelette), “Day by Day”, which is a romance I began my freshman year of university. I was studying creative writing because I had one end-goal: to become an author. I just published my first full-length novel, “Disturbing Peace”, a dystopian, YA, series.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Disturbing Peace” was inspired by my college years. I saw how violent people could be with words and actions towards simple things they didn’t believe in. From being persecuted in school, I decided to write Poppy’s story that had been in my head for some time now. I wanted to turn the world upside down. I wanted to tell a story that didn’t have some political agenda attached, but instead had the heart of humanity attached.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not so unusual, but I have been told my detail is vivid and consistent. I want the reader to not only see the world I’m putting them in but feel and smell it to. To live it. And I use a lot of dialogue because I feel it is so important. More often than not we are having conversations. A writers job is to make those conversations interesting but people don’t just stand and stare at each other while they think.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephanie Meyer made the biggest impact in my life. I don’t care that some people criticize her stories or characters. Those people don’t give her writing a chance because her craft speaks for itself. She influenced me to follow my dream and write a story for the sake of the story getting to live.
Stephen Graham Jones also made a large influence in my writing career. As a student of his for two years I had the opportunity to learn from his talented brain. He’s encouraging and realistic and I needed that.

What are you working on now?
I have many pieces in the works but a sequel of “Disturbing Peace” is coming it will be, “Disrupting Chaos”. After that, I may have a third in the series. From then on, I don’t plan on dystopian being my genre any more. I have plans for more YA novels with a less futuristic toll.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
That’s something I’m avidly working on. When you publish yourself you trade marketing for your novel done in your own way. And I knew that when I gave up on queries for my first novel. But, I want to prove you can be just as successful when you self-publish with hard work. Getting into physical stores is a large stepping stone I’m working towards.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Writing a book is not as hard as you think. Just write it. Don’t make it perfect, that comes later. But, don’t write it just to write it. Write it as the story that needs to be told. If the characters aren’t begging you to tell the story, look for another. The characters are now your family and you should know them better than you know yourself.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stephen Graham Jones once told me, “If you don’t ever write it down it will never come to life… At least once you should erase your entire story and rewrite it. You’ll be amazed what comes out of it.”

What are you reading now?
I’m catching up on the newest of the classics of my time. “A Ballad of Songbird and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins in the Hunger Games series. And “Midnight Sun” by Stephanie Meyer in the Twilight series. It’s inspiration to me that if you write a good enough story, the fans will always stick by your side.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More books I suppose. Getting into book stores, advertising, and writing always.

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 Help”, “Twilight”, and “The Hobbit”

Author Websites and Profiles
Nicolle Caputa Website

Nicolle Caputa’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

K.J. Sage 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello! I’m K.J. a new writer and a new mommy! I currently write urban fantasy. Some with a touch of darkness, some with a splash of romance, but all set in the same universe.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Building Shelter, book one in the Shelter Pack series.

Earlier this year, I wrote a prequel to Building Shelter (Finding Shelter) which was published in Fight The Night, a free anthology featuring boss urban fantasy women. This current book, follows their journey in life and love while navigating the difficulties of discrimination and oppression in shifter/human society.

The MC of finding shelter has a new baby, so as you can probably tell, I was influenced by my own life and the struggles highlighted in the news lately.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, I have to set a timer and not stop typing while it’s on, otherwise I would get nothing done. I’m very easily distracted. That combined with the fact that I can only write while my baby naps and you can imagine, its been a miracle that I’ve been putting stuff out at all!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Too many to count. I love to read and hold many books and authors close to my heart. I don’t think I could pick one specific author that inspired my current projects or desire to share stories with the world.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working hard on getting the next Shelter Pack book out! The second instalment in this series follows Joseph in an LGBT romance while he fights for the freedom to be who he is after running from a shifter pack that was less than embracing.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still testing the waters and looking for the right fit. So far, I’ve tried a few. Story origin has been helpful in finding newsletter swaps and building a mailing list.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do what you love but be willing to compromise. Its important to get your words into writer’s hands. If that means the cover isn’t what you typically write, but its right for the genre, then that’s the right choice to make. Likewise, don’t be too attached to your work. Make changes for you, your story, and your readers.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just keep writing. Even if things change, don’t go back and fix them until you’re done the story.

 

Author Websites and Profiles
K.J. Sage Website
K.J. Sage Amazon Profile

K.J. Sage’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Nastazia Nielsen 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have tons of notebooks with unfinished stories and my husband gave me the crazy idea to polish and publish my first novel during quarantine. And so I did! To this day, August 20 I have published four historical romance novels of the regency and victorian era. I also love gothic romance, mystery and fantasy stories with faeries and witchcraft. My guilty pleasure is to watch crime documentaries on Netflix. I relax by rearranging my library often and by finding new spaghetti recipies.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called “An Heiress of Corals & Temptation” and it was inspired by a writing prompt on a writing seminar. We had been given the words runaway, horse, revelation and woods so the story of Abigail and Nathaniel was born. Two strangers tangled in a web of duty and danger, will seek the path to understanding and trust, resisting a world that wishes them apart.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I would call unusual my obsession with moping the floor first with some drops of lavender oil. The scent helps me to focus when I finally sit on my desk to write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The first author that got me into reading was Jules Verne, then Tolkien and Gaiman expanded my imagination. Jennifer Donnely was the author that showed me the way to historical romance.

What are you working on now?
I am currently putting together the plot for my second book in the series “Secrets of Regency Jewels”. It is a story inspired again by a writing exercise during a seminar and a historical fact from medieval times that has gotten my attention. Catherine Monvoisin and certain members of the peerage who were conspiring to poison high society people. The tale is about a girl who saves the life of a future duke but then they lose contact. He can’t forget about her until one day she appears at his doorstep asking for his help to expiate her father from false accusations.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am very new in the authors’ book marketing to claim that I have found a method. As an avid reader I love bookstagram community so I spend most of my time creating content on Instagram. Pinterest also is a great platform to connect with readers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read. Read. Read. Outside your genre, anything that gets your attention. Sometimes a good plot idea can come from a book about gardening and herbs! Also if you stare at least 10 minutes a white screen, close everything, grab your pencil and notebook and go out. It always helps when you are blocked.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
you can edit a bad book but not a blank page.

What are you reading now?
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To explore writing in other genres, perhaps dark 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?
Silmarillion by J.R.R.Tolkien
The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnely
The Good Omens by N. Gaiman-T. Pratchett
A Court of Mist and Fury by S.J.Mass

Author Websites and Profiles
Nastazia Nielsen Website
Nastazia Nielsen Amazon Profile

Nastazia Nielsen’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Andy Slinger 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Andy Slinger (1983-present) was born in Clitheroe, Lancashire, UK and grew up living in various different places including Germany before returning to Clitheroe to settle down. After gaining a Bachelors degree in Media Production in 2004 he forged a highly successful career in Retail Management before he launched his foray into Children’s books.

Andy writes in a humorous, fun and exciting style, whilst addressing hard hitting topics in his books. His first book The Super Twins will been released on 4th September ready to take the world by storm!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Super Twins, it was inspired by my twin boys Luke and Liam, the real life Super Twins

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can’t write unless I am wearing noise cancelling headphones and listening to binaural beats, any distractions stop me dead in my tracks.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
As a children’s author Roald Dahl takes some beating. Genuis writing!

What are you working on now?
I’ve just started the sequel to The Super Twins but I have something else in the pipeline too…

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well I use my very own website to promote my books www.twindad.uk I don’t think you can beat word of mouth and speaking to people about your books though.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep writing and writing and don’t stop. If you need more advice send me an email and I’ll always respond.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Dare to believe

What are you reading now?
Rich Dad Poor Dad.

What’s next for you as a writer?
For me this is just the beginning, I want to launch book after book and inspire the next generation of writers out there.

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 Beach
Building shelters for beginners
How to Escape a desert Island
Building a boat for Dummies

Author Websites and Profiles
Andy Slinger Website
Andy Slinger Amazon Profile

Andy Slinger’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Kyle Canon 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi, my name is Kyle Canon. Yes, that is a pen name, I don’t use my real name. I’ll get to why later. I am happily married, I would say ecstatically but nobody believes that until they actually see Lilly and me together. Other than work, we are inseparable and have been that way since we first got together. More about me, I am an avid outdoors person and spend as much time as I can doing everything from hiking in the Rockies to diving the waters off Hawaii. One of my favourite hobbies led, at least indirectly to my writing. I have been an amateur photographer for many years, usually focusing (pun intended) on landscapes, not people. That is, until Lilly and I got together. She modeled during college, partly to pay for school and encouraged me to photograph her, then friends
of her’s who were into modeling. Some of those photos were very artistic nudes.

Neither of us have families who would accept our doing nude photos, much less what would come next (that is why I have the pen name). I sold some of my work, gained a following and had some requests for more erotic shoots. Lilly and I talked a great deal about doing those shoots and finally decided it wouldn’t impact our relationship, and it hasn’t. At about the same time, we started visiting nude beaches, our
first was an accidental discovery in Hawaii. We went from nude beaches to nudist resorts, naturist parties and eventually found ourselves discussing sharing each other with other couples. I use many of those discussions to drive the characters and plots in my books and stories.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My newest book is titled, The Resort. The idea came about after we visited a nudist resort in
Southern Florida. I was toying with different concepts for my next book and after one late
conversation with Lilly, I came up with the idea for this latest book

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I think most authors have some sort of ‘oddity’ when it comes to writing. I don’t know that my process is that strange. I usually think about a concept for a while before I write anything.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love reading and have a variety of favorite authors in many categories. Jim Butcher, David Weber are probably my two favorite at this time.

What are you working on now?
In 2019 I wrote a short story about an erotic possession. It was very popular leading to several fan emails requesting a continuation of the story. I started that after I completed edits on The Resort. Since it is a Halloween story, I feel a little pressure to get it finished by mid-October.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am still working on this. For years I did my best to promote my books on Twitter. I think Twitter is good but limited as so many other authors are doing the same thing. My biggest frustration is the time spent trying to promote takes away from writing.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
As cliché as it sounds, ‘Write what your heart tells you to write and forget about what other’s say.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Enjoy each day as if it is your last.

What are you reading now?
I just finished Peace Talks by Jim Butcher and am looking for something new.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a sci fi concept I’d like to work on, but for now I have several other ideas I want to develop in erotic/romance.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1. How to Build and Sail Small Boats – Canoes – Punts and Rafts Kindle Edition
by Tony Read
2. The Iliad – OK, I figure I need something long to keep me occupied.
3. The Resort – by Kyle Canon.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kyle Canon Website
Kyle Canon Amazon Profile

Kyle Canon’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account