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Chad Lehrmann 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am high school teacher and former minister from Texas. As an only child living on a ranch in Central Texas, I grew up “exercising my creative muscles” by creating worlds to play in and explore on our ninety acres. As an adult, I have found that writing is great outlet for that ‘intellectual workout’ and has the added bonus of being an awesome stress relief at the end of a long day of teaching. My wife and I have been married since 2002, and we have two teenage daughters- and they are my first and most important audience.

I have written four books, total. Two books in the Sawyer Shepherd Chronicles series, an education book called “The Class They Remember,” and a Theordore Roosevelt quote analysis mini-book called “Theodore’s Thoughts.”

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Red Hand Rising is the second book in the Sawyer Shepherd Chronicles. While book one, Rites of Passage, is pretty claustrophobic in its scope, Red Hand Rising opens up the world of the young hero geographically and regarding the mythos. New entities- good and bad- are present and new paths to follow are opened up. I wanted to write this story as a bridge, a world-building exercise. I experiment with some new concepts, try some new things, and also play with some old tropes. I chose St. Louis as the setting because it was a city I grew up visiting because my grandparents lived there, and it always had a good mix of traditional values and urban progression to me. It is a perfect setting for a story that ties Americana into the dark side of our culture. Like I said earlier, it is a stepping stone story- resolving some mysteries from Rites of Passage and asking new questions as the series progresses.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I love to create a soundtrack to write to. It helps me find themes and tones that add depth to the story and the characters. Each character has at least one theme that fits them. The playlist for the Sawyer Shepherd Chronicles is a good mix of classic rock, alternative, a dash of country, a pinch of rap, and a healthy dose of my favorite band of all time- Switchfoot.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King is a definite number one. Not just because of the horror elements, but because he has a way of making the details come alive. His scope- especially in my favorite novel, The Stand- is breathtaking. Rick Riordan and J.K. Rowling bring my young adult inspiration and sarcastic humor.

What are you working on now?
Book three of the Sawyer Shepherd Chronicles is being typed right now. Without spoiling, it actually takes us into the origins of Sawyer Shepherd and the key antagonist. And that means a journey home for Sawyer. It is tentatively titled “The Origins of Man and Myth.”

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I really haven’t found anything that is a “definite” winner. A few successes with getting in a newsletter, but the best has been word of mouth. When real people talk you up to other real people, it makes a difference.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing. You will grow as you write, but you will never grow if you put the pen (or keyboard) down.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write for yourself and your fans. Don’t worry about the critics.

What are you reading now?
The Stand. I am re-reading it because, in a pandemic, I thought it would be a good idea. What can I say, I have a dark side.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a couple story ideas floating around. One is another urban fantasy story about a man who wakes up in an empty New York City and another is about a high school football star faced with a moral quandry. And since I love epic stories, I always have a massive end-of-the-world story cooking in the back of my mind.

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 (for hope), The Stand (because it’s long), A survival guide, and Nick Offerman’s Paddle Your Own Canoe (because I haven’t read it and could use a good laugh).

Author Websites and Profiles
Chad Lehrmann Website
Chad Lehrmann Amazon Profile

Chad Lehrmann’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Nicholas Kay 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hey everyone! My name is Nicholas Kay. Where to start? I was born in 1986 in Utah, United States, and spent my childhood up through my early teenage-years moving all around the Western US. My childhood set me up for the future by instilling a deep wanderlust in me that carried me away to the Far East, where I spent my late teens up through my early thirties.

I graduated high school early with qualifications as a network engineer, spent some time in college learning graphic design and furthering my knowledge as a network engineer. Got bored of US college life pretty quickly and moved to Kitakyushu, Japan at the ripe old age of 19. After a brief stay in Colorado during 2007, my wanderlust once against swept me off to the Far East, this time landing me in Beijing, China where I stayed for the following 11 years.

My experiences in Japan and China had a lasting impact on me. In Japan, I worked as a drink-mixer at a shady karaoke bar while I got my bearings within Japanese society. No-one spoke English, and so I learned Japanese pretty quickly. I loved working at that bar for one reason and one reason only: It reminded me of the bar from Akira or any number of other dystopian/cyberpunk settings.

My time in Beijing was phenomenal, terrifying, wondrous, and exhilarating all at the same time. Much like my time in Japan, I opted to stay outside of the foreign ex-pat communities and integrate into local life. I learned the language and was soon street racing and practicing my filter techniques in the intense traffic Beijing is known for. Daily life was like being in a sci-fi adventure RPG.

It was during my time in Beijing that The Norcom Union began. I have written 12 manuscripts to date set in the fictitious nation of The Norcom Union, primarily centered on its capital city of NorCap and the Exclusion Zone surrounding it.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is also my first published manuscript. It’s called Touching the Void.

When I first arrived in China back in 2008, I became aware of a trend among China’s fledgling upper-middle class. Young women would pay clinics to break their legs, pin them in stretching contraptions, then spend the following months slowly stretching their legs, re-breaking the bones, stretching them more, then breaking them again. They would repeat this process for months upon months in pursuit of gaining a few extra centimeters of height.

It fascinated me how these young women could be so concerned with their social standing that they would subject themselves to months or even years of torture just to achieve a marginally higher beauty standard. There were advertisements on busses, subway platforms, in shopping malls.

China is a high-profile culture. What this means is that there is little concern for the individual and greater emphasis on collective identity. I realized that it was for this reason that they would subject themselves to the pain and drugs needed to stretch their legs.

With the rise of AI becoming apparent in the early 2010s, I began to wonder what would happen to these women if AI somehow replaced leg-stretching and other similar torturous treatments. That’s when Touching the Void took shape.

It started as the prologue to my upcoming novel The Exclusion Zone. In it, a teenage girl is implanted with the latest in neurological augmentation technology. Her goal is to upload a portion of her mind to the Aether Network, a cloud network that contains a portion of the consciousness of all members of NorCap’s ruling elite. She allows her body to be mutilated to have this tech embedded and takes active steps towards assimilating with the Aether Network in order to upgrade her social standing within NorCap society. Originally, the girl is murdered, which set up the events of the novel series Destiny Outbound, of which The Exclusion Zone is the first part.

Gradually it evolved into its own standalone story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know how common or uncommon it is, but I tend to start with the ending in mind, then start from the middle and work my way back to the beginning to see how things happened, then work forwards with understanding of the beginning in mind.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ben Bova and William Gibson.

I don’t really have a list of authors. Remembering artist and author names has never been a strong suit.

What are you working on now?
Destiny Outbound: The Exclusion Zone is in developmental editing right now. I anticipate publishing it in October. Aside from that, The Norcom Union consists of (currently) twelve short stories, novellas, and novels. I am working on them all concurrently.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website is www.nightlyreading.com. This site was originally built for my children’s phonics and reading comprehension courses. It’s being rebuilt now to be used as my author website.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t think too much about it.

When I began writing, I had nearly forgotten English. Seriously. While living in China, I rarely spoke English and by the time I started my first drafts for The Norcom Union, English could easily be considered a second language. I was often mistaken to be European because of my accent and grammatical habits.

Now, to be sure, when I say “Don’t think about it.”, I don’t mean to ignore rules and best practices. What I mean is not to worry about whether or not others will like it. Don’t think too much about whether or not it conforms to anything.

Just write. You will probably want to do at least some general plotting, give consideration to how the story gets from A to Z, and what each step along the way consists of, then just go at it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
With regards to writing? Not much. I have only begun to communicate with other authors. When I began my manuscripts, talking to people about my writing would have been enough to see me arrested and deported from China. I had to ensure that my internet security was top-notch in order to ensure that the CCP couldn’t spy on my research activities, which included research into the nature of nuclear detonations and the use of nuclear maps to predict how an atomic attack on Beijing would happen with given yield capacities, wind directions, ground-burst vs air-burts, etc.

I guess that best advice I’ve received since beginning to reach out to other authors in the past few months is that an editor is worth every cent. Just don’t go the super-cheapo route.

What are you reading now?
Nothing right now. At least not unless you count tax laws and articles about building a small business.

My wife and I are getting ready to launch an online store selling components for DIY electric motorcycles and home solar-power. That, plus launching Touching the Void have taken up almost all of my time.

I did read the book Solar rift 2120 by my friend Steve Rivers. That was a fun read. I recently read The Fall: Burning Skies by Devon C Ford. I also read a series of books recently about a bunch of people in England trying to rebuild society after a plague kills most of the people in the world. It was good, but I can’t remember its name at the moment.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Publish Destiny Outbound: The Exclusion Zone, followed soon after by the other two parts of the Destiny Outbound 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?
The Bible. Not because I’m particularly religious, but because it contains wisdom and gives one in a desperate situation much to think about.
A book on tropical flora and fauna for obvious reasons.
A sketchbook (hey, you didn’t say what NOVELS you would bring). I could char sticks for charcoal drawing.
A book on primitive cultures. Lots of good ideas on how to survive on the bare minimum, there.

Author Websites and Profiles
Nicholas Kay Website
Nicholas Kay Amazon Profile

Nicholas Kay’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Scott Geisel 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write the Jackson Flint mystery stories set in scenic and funky Yellow Springs, Ohio.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Masquerader is a 10,000 Jackson Flint short mystery story inspired by the cornoavirus. How can a private investigator pursue a mystery during a stay-at-home period?

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Nope. I type.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Robert B. Parker. Robert Crais, Louise Penny, Sara Paretsky, Ace Atkins, William G. Tappley, and many others

What are you working on now?
I am writng another Jackson Flint mystery novel

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
A variety of promotions works best.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write every day. Have fun.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never have a fight with your spouse while you have your clothes on.

What are you reading now?
The Ranger series by Ace Atkins.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More Jackson Flint mystery novels, and an Appalachain 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?
How to survive on a desert island.

Author Websites and Profiles
Scott Geisel Website
Scott Geisel Amazon Profile

Scott Geisel’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Charles Read 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a CPA, member of the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC), and the Founder and CEO of GetPayroll in Lewisville, TX, where we have provided full-service payroll and payroll tax services since 1991. GetPayroll helps small to medium-sized businesses across the U.S. with direct deposits, debit card loads, printed checks, payroll deposits, reports and tax filings, year-end Forms W-2 and employer-employee website portals. I am also a US Tax Court Non-Attorney Practitioner which enables me to represent clients in the US Tax Court without being an attorney. I have authored four books: Starting a New Business: Accounting, Finance, Payroll, and Tax Considerations, Small Business Short Course (Employees Book 1), and The Little Black Book of the Beauty Biz, Volume 1. My latest book The Payroll Book: A Guide for Small Businesses and Startups is now available on Amazon. Charles is also an accomplished speaker and has been featured on Fox Business News, Biz TV Texas, New York City Wired, Dallas Innovates, and many more. In addition to his executive career, Mr. Read is a decorated United States Marine Corps sergeant and a combat veteran of the Vietnam War.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“The Payroll Book, a Guide for small business and Startups”
I know how complex payroll is. I have been involved with payroll for 50 years and spent the last 30 running payrolls for companies around the country. It is complex and complicated with lots of twists and turns that will trip up the unwary. The last 12 years the changes have accelerated. If you are not a professional it is almost impossible to keep up.

I wanted to give business people a tool to have at hand to explain the complexities and complications. A tool to fight the IRS and the States successfully when there is a problem. The IRS in the last fiscal year alone issued 13 BILLION dollars in employment tax penalties. This is a huge problem for small business and catches them unaware all the time

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write at work since it is work related

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Lots of fiction authors but business authors my favorite and who influenced me to even start business books is Tom Peters.

What are you working on now?
I have five or six ideas and am trying to decide which is best.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Advertising on Amazon has been a big driver of business for us. We also do lots of promotion on LinkedIN as our book is geared towards small businesses.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Start writing today. It gets easier, most of the time.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write everyday

What are you reading now?
Influence by Robert B Cialdini

What’s next for you as a writer?
More business books or Payroll and Taxes, my passions.

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 have thought about this question in relation to the “Time Machine” story by H.G. Welles many times over the years. I have modified the third choice because of the deserted island scenario.
Modern Construction Handbook,
by Andrew Watts (Author)
The Way Things Work Now
by David Macaulay
Indian Fishing: Early Methods on the Northwest Coast
by Hilary Stewart

Author Websites and Profiles
Charles Read Website
Charles Read Amazon Profile

Charles Read’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Jeffrey Hough 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a truck driver with a passion for writing. I’ve written two novels, though only one is published so far. Aside from that, I spend a lot of time on Reddit writing short stories.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Geniecide: Genie’s First Law. The inspiration for the book was Reddit Writing Prompts. I wrote a short story based on a prompt and it got a great response. Over time, the story stayed in the back of my mind, so I knew I had to do something with it. A year later, and it’s now a novel.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a very unique writing setup most of the time. Because of my job, I have to set my laptop up on the steering wheel to write when I’m not driving. It’s extremely uncomfortable. but what’s a guy to do, right?

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve been influenced by a number of authors, mostly in fantasy. I would say my favorites are Jim Butcher, Robert Jordan, and Brandon Sanderson.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently about halfway done with a romance/thriller called Jack and Diane. Jack Williams is a successful middle manager at a marketing firm. His wife, Judith, is unable to satisfy him sexually due to a difficult pregnancy. After nearly three years and many pleas from Judith, he gives in to the overtures of his beautiful secretary only to find out afterward his wife is on the mend. Their lives go to crap as Diane, the secretary, goes nuts in a bid to keep Jack in her bed.

Once Jack and Diane is done, I have a litRPG I’m planning, then if all goes well, book two of Geniecide.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far, the best results I’ve achieved are from the Writing Prompts subreddit. I have a nearly nonexistent online presence so promotion is hard. I’m working to fix that.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
There are a few things I can tell new authors, thought they won’t be anything new or earth shattering. Use good grammar, and write great characters. A poor story is forgiven if the characters are great, but a great story means nothing if the characters are poor.

Other than that, in the beginning, write what you know. The more natural a subject matter is, the more confident the writing will be. Readers know when writers lack confidence and aren’t willing to tag along for a timid ride.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As sillt as it sounds, the best writing advice I ever heard was from the movie, Finding Forrester. The first key to writing is to write. We write the first draft with our heart, and the second draft with our brain. Those lines have resonated with me my entire writing ‘career’.

What are you reading now?
I don’t actually read much, I listen to a lot of audiobooks. Right now I am juggling a number of litRPGs.

What’s next for you as a writer?
The same thing that’s next for all writers, I suppose—the next book. For me that’s Jack and Diane.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Lord of The Rings trilogy, and Faith of the Fallen from the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jeffrey Hough Website
Jeffrey Hough Amazon Profile

Jeffrey Hough’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Angelique Snowden 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an emerging author of paranormal romance and horror novels. I have just released my debut novel, Deadly Pretenses, and am planning the release of its sequel, Cold Redemption, for late November. I also have a stand-alone psychological/horror/mystery novel planned for early next year.

I live in Illinois with my three children and a slew of animals. When I’m not busy writing stories for my fans to devour, I enjoy watching scary movies, attending rock concerts and classic car shows, or relaxing with a glass of sweet wine.

I generally enjoy reading paranormal romances, horror/occult, some true crime, and new adult romance novels.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My debut novel is entitled, Deadly Pretenses: A New Adult Pararnormal Romance. It involves the ghosts of two high school teens that are tragically killed on the night of their senior prom and continue to haunt their town, seemingly searching for each other in the afterlife.

In my spare time, I enjoy going ghost hunting. After getting some rather interesting EVPs (electronic voice phenomena) on my recorders, I was inspired to write this novel.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I really don’t. Ideas just come to my when I sit down and write and my fingers furiously type out the thoughts my brain strings together.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King, Anne Rice, Lily White, Natalie Bennett

What are you working on now?
I’m working on the sequel to Deadly Pretenses, entitled Cold Redemption. It’s a continuation of Colette’s story, but we learn about Abel’s background as well. I’m hoping for a release later this fall, possibly late November.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
As reviews come in, it is an emotional roller coaster. Develop a thick skin and weather the storm. Remember to always write stories that YOU would want to read, and never give up!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
There’s a quote from Ernest Hemingway I’m quite fond of regarding getting rejected by literary agents.

“When you get a printed form attached to a story you wrote and worked on very hard and believed in, that printed rejection slip is hard to take on an empty stomach. ‘Dear Sir: We regret to tell you that your submission does not meet our editorial needs.’ Well, f— it. I regret to tell you that your rejection slip does not meet MY editorial needs.”

What are you reading now?
I received an ARC of Darkest Deeds from my author friend, Lori Aisling. It is fabulous!

What’s next for you as a writer?
The release of Cold Redemption this fall and my stand-alone serial killer novel, Depraved, early next year.

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?
Fake It Til You Break It (I’m a sucker for a good fake romance.)–Meagan Brandy

Malice- Natalie Bennett

The Danger You Know- Lily White

Author Websites and Profiles
Angelique Snowden Website
Angelique Snowden Amazon Profile

Angelique Snowden’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Laura Lane 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Laura Lane is writer and creator of children’s books. She is a wife, PhD and mother of two energetic boys who love books. She has been writing since she was in University. Firstly she writes scientific literature but then she became inspired to start writing and illustrating children books. It is her first children book.
She loves kids and tries to spread messages of love, faith, hope, health, and happiness. She hopes that her stories help children to become the best that they can be.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my last book The Day Teo Put His Toys Away. I was inspired by my children. All parents know how difficult it is to teach сhildren to keep their rooms clean))

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
It is my first book and I’m just looking for this best method or website)))

 

Abigail Smith 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
The Stray Human is my first book
Though I’ve written in Nanowrimo a couple of times those, unfortunately, weren’t finished. The Stray human is the first manuscript I not only finished but edited with the help of professional editors

I’ve been in the mood for some good urban fantasy for a while since stumbling across from on youtube and only managed to find a good area with some titles that were what i was looking for this year.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Stray Human
The book itself wasn’t really inspired by anything I’d been wanting to become an author so no spark of creativity there, but the name was a kind of silly thought, Playing off the image of a stray dog comming up and the whole “Can we keep him/her” Scene ecepte reversed with werewolves.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Some people plan others discover, I discover plan? My mind is always active and I tend to lose myself in my imagination, there I only go though the intersting parts, and when I go to write it down I have to connect the scenes. Interstingly enough even though the connections are the boring parts that’s where some really fun things pop up.

I remember one character that was so fun I ended up using her again in this book just came out of nowhere as I was doing a scene for a nanowrimo manuiscript.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I unfortuently have to say not enough, I’m acutaly a very slow reader and rely on audible and audio books for when I’m in a reading mood. Arron crash and Annette marie are the only ones that get close to what I want in urban fantasy, with Annette getting much closer. Another favorite author, albeite in a differnt genera is Dennies E. Taylor

What are you working on now?
If The Stray human attractes enough attention and I know that in 2020 that’s a big if, I’ll start working on the Stray kitsune, due to how I think of things I’ve got plans ranging from book 4 to possibly even book 8 some more fleashed out than others obiviously

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ll be sure to get back to you on this one when I find out formyself…

Do you have any advice for new authors?
once you know you can write a manuiscript, contact an editor three mounths before it’s done, if you can do it in less than three mounths do it when you start, my first editing peirod was WAY too long because I waited till I was done everything before seeking out the next steps!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best thing about writting what you know is you can always know more!

I dont’t know why but I love that quote.

What are you reading now?
Help pages for the various advertizment platforms.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Either forging fowards or starting again.

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 want one book on how to build simple eletrical machines and a power system for them, one on ship construction, one on food that I could eat/how to hunt and cook game if appliciable… I’m kind of a realist.

Author Websites and Profiles
Abigail Smith Website
Abigail Smith Amazon Profile

Abigail Smith’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Carole Curry 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a new author who has just self published my first novel

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Intertwined: A Story of Forgiveness and Healing. It was inspired by a conversation with another Catholic friend of mine who said he doesn’t believe in purgatory. I think of it as a positive, personal growth and healing experience and I wanted to demonstrate that.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wrote this novel with two main characters both from the first person perspective to show we are all both the prodigal son and the older brother. I have sensory processing disorder but I use it as an asset in my writing to help include more sensory details.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
C. S. Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Mitch Albom, William Paul Young, Ray Bradbury

What are you working on now?
a few kids picture books, a modern retelling of the Book of Tobit

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
https://www.facebook.com/CreationsbyCaroleCurry/

Do you have any advice for new authors?
keep at it, it is a marathon, be original don’t tell a story from your perspective, truly find a new story to tell, be detailed, spend time creating truly deep and interesting characters and worlds

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
keep going until you finish it

What are you reading now?
Love 2.0: Creating Happiness and Health in Moments of Connection by Dr Barbara L Fredickson PhD; Accidents of Nature by Harriet McBride Johnson

What’s next for you as a writer?
My dad’s memoir of the Vietnam War

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?
Farenheit 451, a Dictionary, a Bible, and Les Miserables

Author Websites and Profiles
Carole Curry Website

Carole Curry’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Rinita Sen 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I had a penchant for writing ever since I can remember. Lots of poems scribbled on the back pages of my school notebooks at a younger age. I used to write stories ever since I was a child, too. Being a published author has always been a dream and I am thankful my passion has now taken a definite shape.

So far, I have only published one book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first and only published book is called “Compensation”. It is a short novel narrated through poetry. There were two different inspirations behind this book – one was with regards to the story and the other was about the style. The story sprouted from something I always believed at heart, which is, it does not matter what strata of society one belongs to, grief, loss, and misery strike the same emotional chord in everyone.

About the style, I always was passionate about poetry and wanted to use my propensity for rhythm to tell a story. I was not sure whether that was the right way to go about it, but then when I began posting short stories told in verse on my blog page, I got a lot of positive responses. So, I thought, why not use the same style to write a novel? And thus, “Compensation” happened.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not sure if it is unusual, but I cannot write anything creative on cue. It has to come from within for a poem or a piece of prose to take shape. My creative works so far have all happened impromptu.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am a huge fan of 19th century English classics. Dickens has been one of the first authors that influenced my writing, along with the Brontes, Oscar Wilde, and Thomas Hardy. Even today, when I read or re-read any of these authors, I find my writing style flowing with a swiftness that is a stranger to a writer’s block. Must mention Shakespeare, too, because, well, no one can deny his genius.

What are you working on now?
I keep working on short poems in between my longer projects. As for my next book, I have been toying with an idea for a plot and designing the characters in my mind. Soon, I plan to make them come alive on paper. This time it will be a longer novel and completely in prose, not a verse novel.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have tried many different promotional methods, including Amazon’s offers and Facebook posts, but I truly believe that websites such as AwesomeGang can make a difference in book promotion, mainly because they are solely focused on this objective. I am glad I came across such a friendly website for promoting my book.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Being a new author myself, my achievements and struggles are still fresh. I would advise new authors to first, not procrastinate, and get started on that book ASAP. Second, if you are a creative writer, go with the flow that you believe in. There are lots of do’s and don’t’s floating around on the internet. While I am not saying you should not pay heed to them, but when it comes to writing a novel, your conscience is your best teacher. Follow your heart. Last of all, if you are self-publishing, read the fine prints before you submit your book on self-publication sites. It is not uncommon to not have your expectations met.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you are asking about advice related to writing, the best one I ever received was “Shorten your backstory and do not be too autobiographical”.

When it comes to receiving life advice, the best one I got was “It’s never too late to start anew”.

What are you reading now?
I just finished Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”, a magically-written 20th-century American novel. I say magically because of the uniqueness of his style. It is almost like an abstract painting. You have to pause to appreciate the beauty of the finer words that tell the untold story underneath the actual plot.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Like all writers, I wish to get recognized for my work. All authors want to increase the readership of their books and I am no different. I also wish to continue to write more poetry on my favorite topics, which include social issues, mother nature, and grief.

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 love to bring books from 3 or 4 different genres, but one has to be by Dickens. I’d probably pick “Oliver Twist”, “Jane Eyre”, “Treasure Island”, “Around the World in Eighty Days”, and for light reading, maybe a set of comic books such as “Calvin and Hobbes” or “Tintin”.

Author Websites and Profiles
Rinita Sen Website
Rinita Sen Amazon Profile

Rinita Sen’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Mason Drake 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
So far I written one book, but I plan on writing several. This first book ‘Dark universe: Dark hearts’ is the first in a trilogy. I have another book soon to be released ‘The king of thieves’ on or before November of 2020

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Dark universe: Dark hearts. It was inspired by dreams I had (many would call them nightmares) but when I have a nightmare I think of it as a really cool and wonderful experience and instead of getting scared I get inspired. I also kind of thought about what if all the different legends and mythos were actually real and what would the world…no the universe look like. I think Shakespeare put it best “There are more things in heaven and earth that one can imagine.” so who knows maybe there’s more things that are real than we “imagine.” I have always honestly believe with the infinite scope of the universe then there is nothing we can imagine that doesn’t actually exist somewhere out there

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to write at night as a means of decompression…although it sometimes makes its hard to sleep so it can be counter intuitive lol

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King ‘desperation’, ‘the stand’, ‘IT’, Clive Baker, H.P Lovecraft ‘Call of Cthulhu’, ‘Dagon’, Jules Verne, Joss Whedon.

What are you working on now?
The King of Thieves, its about a young boy who happens to be a child of a goddess and a man, like Hercules. A Dark Force that has caused great harm is re awakening and he gets caught in the middle of it…not because he wants to because the adoptive parents he so loved were destroyed by it. Expect Easter eggs form ‘Dark universe: Dark hearts.’

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am still very new, But I am trying every day to do a little and so far i have used Linked in, Facebook, and twitter. Now I’m adding Awesome Gang to my list of means for promoting this and future writings.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I think don’t worry about things so much…after all there’s like nine billion people living on this planet at least a few thousand will love what you write. Don’t let fear or concern distract or discourage you…just write. write a little every day take a break if you need to but never more than a couple days. Don’t lose momentum and don’t give up, if its a dream its worth following.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write every day, weather its a few sentences or a few paragraphs or a whole chapter just write every day.

What are you reading now?
as a writer I’m finding much more joy in the writing than the reading, and unfortunately I have little time outside of that…I take care of handicapped family.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To keep writing, I plan, or at least hope to write several books and see how many people who I can entertain with it, maybe even movies, and series of my books

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I don’t mean to be picky about it but I think you mean a deserted island. A desert island would have no plants, food or water and then it wouldn’t matter what books you have, unless they doubled as food and water. ha ha ha. The first book I’d want with me is one on every kind of survival techniques. I already know a lot of stuff i grew up camping and hunting, fishing, and learning how to survive. But it would be nice to have information like hos to tell which plants are poisonous, and other things that could give me an edge.

Author Websites and Profiles
Mason Drake Amazon Profile

Mason Drake’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Beard Bates 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi there. I’m a polymath artist – a writer, musician, painter – who creates unique and imaginative works of art, sound and story. If I were trying to self-promote, an act I’m not altogether fond of, I might write: “A natural born storyteller, in both music and as an author, Bates commonly weaves stream of consciousness inspiration with a clever manner of inhabiting various personalities, perspectives and voices.” I’ve written five novels, loads of short stories, hundreds of poems, and much critical work.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It’s a short story called “Bermetha and The Whale.” My best work comes rather spontaneously, or so I feel, and this particular work began as an audio recording. I inhabited a particular character, an incarcerated man sitting in jail telling his story, and just began speaking into a microphone. I was pleased with what came out and how the story created itself in this one take. This short story is the exact, unedited transcription of the recording…that’s rather new territory for me.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I prefer stream of consciousness inspiration to the degree that I’ll commonly have no plan and then just beginning typing whatever comes to mind until a story is carved from the ether. I recently have been dictating works into an audio recorder; I either just begin with nothing in mind, or I’ll hash out a basic outline and then see where it all goes, how it evolves, and then have to return and transcribe everything after the fact. I can also be a highly meticulous editor, so there’s a bit of a dichotomy there–between my creation and editing processes.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love William Blake, Borges, Faulkner, Joyce, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Kafka, Hegel, Nietzsche….Despite that I’m a sucker for metafiction, philosophy and dense, fringe literary works that utilize multiple points of view and formatting peculiarities, I’m equally a fan of simple and concise 3rd person story telling….I essentially love fairy-tales.

What are you working on now?
I currently just finished dictating a rather spontaneous novel. For four days I lay on the couch with my eyes closed and recorded hours and hours of content that will become a new novel. For this one I had a basic outline and then let stream of consciousness inspiration fill in the gaps and create new and surprisingly twists and turns. I’ll transcribe the whole thing and then will dig into editing it….that’s going to take a while.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I wish I knew! I’ve actually just jumped back into self-publishing work…I need help. Best method?… Scour Youtube, collect as much valuable information as you can, be slightly leery of all those people trying to sell you some $1000 course to the stars.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep creating, always…but also force yourself to view your craft as a business. Be diligent. Set goals. If you don’t treat it like a business, and remain pragmatic and unemotional about it all you will get hurt and discouraged….This advice is equally hard for me to abide by–I’d rather just convene with the creative and live in that space forever, yet unless you have a manager or agent who will breastfeed you to sleep and set your alarm clock, well, you best get to work on all fronts and not stop.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” Nietzsche

What are you reading now?
Infinite Jest

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ll be publishing lots of work and working as much as I can. Let’s see what happens.

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?
Goodnight Moon
Don Quixote
100 Years of Solitude
A Mirror He Built

Author Websites and Profiles
Beard Bates Website
Beard Bates Amazon Profile
Beard Bates Author Profile on Smashwords

Beard Bates’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Jessica Ainsworth 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Veteran, author, marketing professional, entrepreneur and philanthropist.
With over 12 years spent working as an intelligence analyst (10 while serving honorably in the US Army), I learned to love research and analytics. A transition into marketing seemed like a natural fit. I love what I do. I love helping businesses grow. I’ve written two books to date with a few more in the queue.

My first book is The Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Advertising. This book is a relaunch of a previous version. The previous version was a quick 26 page guide, complete with snapshots to help business owners navigate Facebook advertising. After releasing it, someone had asked why it was so short and of course, the reason was to get something out there that business owners could use during the pandemic, but why couldn’t I add more?! And so, I set out to rewrite and redesign it

I’ve also recently finished penning a book on content marketing. This book covers everything from blogs, SEO basics, eBooks, podcasts, lead magnets, landing pages, infographics and so much more. You see, another area that business owners need a little help with is getting their brand in front of their target audience – the right way. This book is set to be released in October of 2020.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is The Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Advertising, which is my first book, the book that jump started my Beginner’s Guide to Marketing series. And here’s how it came about…

In March of 2020 the nation (and the world) came to a screeching halt thanks to COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus). The majority of businesses across the U.S. were forced to close their doors and business owners were left scrambling to find innovative ways to stay afloat and remain relevant with their customers. Many had turned to Facebook advertising as a result.

I had an advertisement come across my News Feed on Facebook for a pizza parlor a few hours away from me offering free delivery in a 5 mile radius. Being a few hours away from them, I was clearly NOT their target audience. So, I had sent them a private message on Facebook to advise them they may want to fix their ads as they were essentially flushing money down the drain. They had admitted that they’d mistakenly been targeting the entire U.S. and that they were new to Facebook advertising and not entirely sure what they were doing.

It was in that moment that inspiration struck. You see, this mom and pop pizza parlor was a small business just trying to keep their head above water. I needed to do something. And so, my book was born.

After having been asked why that first edition was so short, I set to work to revamp it and provide as much insight into Facebook advertising as I could.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write completely out of order and as inspiration strikes.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love reading – always have. My favorite author is Nicholas Sparks. Total fan girl for Nicholas Sparks books!! I am also a lover of weird cookbooks, comic books and books related to the marketing industry. When I got my start in the marketing industry, I consumed as many books as I could get my hands on.

What are you working on now?
After recently completing The Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Advertising and The Beginner’s Guide to Content Marketing I’ve started writing on social media marketing.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
When it comes to promoting my book, I like to run advertisements and have just started working with some influencers. Podcasts are also a GREAT way to gain more exposure. However, my favorite way to promote my book is through my landing page. Readers can download completely free resources to help them continue their journey in marketing.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Today is a great day to start. Don’t talk yourself out of and just go for it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?

What are you reading now?
Comics

What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing these last two books has really inspired me to keep going in writing more. I also plan to connect with local businesses that have been negatively impacted by COVID to help them with their marketing services free of charge.

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?
Hmmm….. an inspirational book to keep me motivated, Lord of the Flies (because how could you NOT take this!), any Nicholas Spark book and if I could get continually updated access to Webtoon’s comics I would be set!!

Author Websites and Profiles
Jessica Ainsworth Website
Jessica Ainsworth Amazon Profile

Jessica Ainsworth’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Douglas Wood 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is the first book I’ve written but I make a living as a writer– TV shows for preschoolers, which is a little weird since my novel is so dark.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
LADIES OF THE CANYON. It’s a psychological thriller set in Los Angeles about the twisted relationship that develops between an aging child star living in a decaying mansion in Laurel Canyon who takes in a young actress who is is battling drug addiction. It was inspired by other stories that explore the dark side of Hollywood like the film SUNSET BLVD, the novel, DAY OF THE LOCUST by Nathanael West and mostly WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? that starred Bette Davis and scared the hell out of me as a child. In fact, my novel is kind of an homage to that film. I find psychological horror more frightening than supernatural horror– the scariest moment in Kubrick’s film of Stephen King’s THE SHINING for me is when Shelley Duvall comes upon reams and reams of pages that Jack Nicholson’s been typing only to find they all say, “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy” over and over again.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Allowing my two cats to plop themselves down in front of my keyboard, then having to maneuver around them.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Edgar Allan Poe, Joyce Carol Oates and the early work of Ian McEwan.

What are you working on now?
No new writing at the moment, just trying to promote my novel in any way I can.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m new at this. Let me get back to you.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. It may be a cliché, but it’s very much true.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Writing is rewriting.

What are you reading now?
ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE. It’s funny, a little disturbing and has a totally original protagonist.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Nothing at the moment– waiting for inspiration to strike.

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?
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, SHOT IN THE HEART, the film reviews of Pauline Kael, anything by David Sedaris and George Saunders.

Author Websites and Profiles
Douglas Wood Website
Douglas Wood Amazon Profile

Douglas Wood’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Harvey Castro MD 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an ER physician, entrepreneur and Co-founder of Trusted ER. I have written 2 books.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Success Reinvention, I have created over 20 successful businesses. I have two undergraduate degrees, MD and finishing my MBA. The goal of the book is to share all the tools of success with the reader.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to keep a notepad on me. If I have an idea, I will stop what I am doing and write about my idea.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I enjoy reading the Bible.

What are you working on now?
I am working on another book for the work force.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Enjoy the art of sharing, share your ideas, share your vision, share your art with the world. Focus on the message and what your goal is! Everything else will fall into place.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be the best you and always work towards your goal. Do not worry about how fast it will take you to get there, just worry about getting to the next level.

What are you reading now?
The art of the Start by Guy kawasaki

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am working on a series of books. I am working on converting these books into a course.

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 the Bible.

Author Websites and Profiles
Harvey Castro MD Website
Harvey Castro MD Amazon Profile

Harvey Castro MD’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Laura Roberts 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi, I’m Laura Roberts, and I’ve written an entire novel in just three days, write steamy romance under the pen name Laure L’Amour, and publish books that press buttons at Buttontapper Press (http://buttontapper.com). I currently live in Sacramento, California with my artist husband and our literary kitties (Ned and Percy), and can be found on Twitter @buttontapper. When I’m not writing, I can be found editing manuscripts for indie authors, transcribing reality TV, watching rom-coms, testing chocolate recipes, or searching for more typewriters to add to my collection.

Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, I’ve penned 19 books for adults, including the alphabetical travel guides Montreal from A to Z and San Diego from A to Z, the offbeat writing guides NaNoWriMo: A Cheater’s Guide and Confessions of a 3-Day Novelist, the satirical adventure tale Ninjas of the 512, and various steamy romances under the pen name Laure L’Amour, as well as three nonfiction career guides for young adults (Careers in Gaming, Careers If You Like Music, and Careers in Digital Media) published by ReferencePoint Press. I have also contributed shorter works to the following anthologies: The San Diego Writers & Editors Guild’s 5th edition of The Guilded Pen, Diane Lee’s nonfiction collection The Secret Lives of Writers, the David Bowie/Alan Rickman tribute anthology Stardust, Always; Shawna Kenney’s Book Lovers: Sexy Stories from Under the Covers, Ironology 2014: The Iron Writer Championship Series, and Drabble Harvest #14: Extraterrestrial Reincarnation.

My latest book is called Sacramento Love: Meet Cutes in the Capital City.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Sacramento Love: Meet Cutes in the Capital City. It was inspired by a few different things. I was finishing up a nonfiction travel guide called Sacramento From A to Z around the same time the stay-at-home orders were issued in California, and realized I was probably not going to be able to release any travel guides until 2021. That got me feeling frustrated, but then I started thinking about turning that frown upside down. What if I wrote some fictional stories that featured some of my favorite Sacramento landmarks and locations, instead? I wrote a series of short pieces, focusing on the “meet-cute”: those moments in a romance where the hero and heroine meet for the first time and feel that spark. I set them in different locations around the city, from A to Z (just like my travel guidebook), and voila! Sacramento Love burst forth from the ashes of another book put on pause. (And yes, I still have plans to release Sacramento From A to Z, whenever life returns to normal here in the US and travel can responsibly resume.)

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Probably my most unusual writing habit is joining all manner of writing contests and challenges. I like having deadlines and word count goals and a system of rewards and folks cheering me on. So I love to participate in NaNoWriMo and the 3-Day Novel Contest and things like that, even if I don’t necessarily “win” them, because they help give my writing life some structure and an outside goal, and they come around seasonally, so I try to plan my writing year around them.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Some of my new favorite authors in the romance genre are Helen Hoang (The Kiss Quotient, The Bride Test), Alisha Rai (The Right Swipe, Girl Gone Viral), and Talia Hibbert (Get A Life, Chloe Brown; Take A Hint, Dani Brown). I love that their heroines don’t NEED a man, but definitely WANT a man in their lives, and they won’t relax their high standards in order to find the relationships they really want. They’re all very independent, successful modern women with careers and goals of their own, and the men they fall for are sensitive guys who aren’t afraid to be vulnerable.

What are you working on now?
I’ve currently got two books that I’m working on. The first is a rom-com I started in 2019 during the 3-Day Novel Contest, which I’m calling “Wife for a Weekend.” It’s about a couple of co-stars who get accidentally married on the set of the movie they’re shooting, and the chaos that ensues during the long weekend following their nuptials. The other is called “The Billionaire’s Wife,” and it’s a gender-flipped billionaire story where the billionaire in question is a woman who inherited her billions in a divorce and is trying to divest herself of her fortune in a responsible manner. I’m basing the billionaire very loosely on MacKenzie Scott (formerly Bezos), because she signed the Giving Pledge committing to give at least half of her wealth to charity after she divorced Jeff Bezos, and I think there’s something really interesting about that kernel: a woman who wants to be very charitable and giving while her spouse very clearly does not.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Being online, talking about books and writing all the time? ;D

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write the book. Then keep on writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Park your butt in the chair and get ‘er done.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne for one of my book clubs, Xeni: A Marriage of Inconvenience by Rebekah Weatherspoon (fake marriage for the win!), and The Magical Writing Grimoire by Lisa Marie Basile because I needed a witchy, magical read as we head into fall.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m trying to get a manuscript together for Pitch Wars (which I always seem to miss every year!), and I’ve got at least two more books to finish by the end of this year. More romance, more love, more rom-coms!

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 Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
2. Art Objects by Jeanette Winterson
3. Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen
4. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Author Websites and Profiles
Laura Roberts Website
Laura Roberts Amazon Profile
Laura Roberts Author Profile on Smashwords

Laura Roberts’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Robert Yoho MD 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Dr. Yoho is 66 years old in 2020. He spent three decades as a cosmetic surgeon after a career as an emergency physician. His generalist training gives him perspective and allows him to avoid favoring any medical specialty.
He has had little dealings with hospitals, big Pharma, or insurance companies before he wrote this book. No one has ever considered him a “whale” prescriber or device implanter. He retired from medical practice in 2019.

ABBREVIATED PROFESSIONAL CV: ✪ American Society of Cosmetic Breast Surgery: fellow, trustee, officer, and past-president. ✪ American Board of Cosmetic Surgery: passed board exams and twice re-certified. ✪ American Board of Emergency Medicine: passed board exams and twice re-certified. ✪ Fellow, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (inactive). ✪ New Body Cosmetic Surgery Center: founder & director (inactive). ✪ American Association Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) accredited surgical/medical practice for over 25 years.

ABBREVIATED CLIMBER CV: ✪ El Capitan, Half Dome (Yosemite): 24-hour ascents ✪ Free ascents of Astroman (11.c) and Crucifix (12.a) ✪ First ascents in Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Devils Tower ✪ Solo ascents to 5.10c

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Every surgeon carries within himself a small cemetery, where from time to time he goes to pray—a place of bitterness and regret, where he must look for an explanation for his failures.
Rene Leriche, La philosophie de la chirurgie, 1951

In the summer of 2013, when I was 61, I had two women in their 30s die in my surgical center. I sent them to the emergency room, but nothing worked. It was my place, so I was responsible. It was the worst period of my life. I felt guilty and was sleepless, and my wife thought we would have to give up our practice.

I did not learn why it happened until the autopsy reports came back six months later. One woman had an “embolus” of fat blocking her lungs. This occurs unpredictably, and there is no means to prevent it.

The second had a high local anesthetic blood level. We inject this into fat to decrease pain, and after liposuction, we sometimes transplant the fat back into breasts and buttocks. This may have raised her levels and caused her death, but there was no way to be sure.
To occupy my mind, I started reading medicine twenty to thirty hours a week. My original training was as a generalist, but for decades I had studied only cosmetic surgery.
I began with the Prozac-class antidepressants, which I had prescribed since their invention. It stunned me to learn that they hardly worked and were often damaging. I read further and found that other psychiatric medications produce irreversible brain and health problems. Doctors have been trained to pass them out like jelly beans.

I learned that many drugs are given for wholly theoretical, even speculative benefits. Many are damaging. I consulted people for cosmetic surgery who were taking ten (10) of these at once. I began to see how medical corporations had done this to us.
I read about back pain. Most of it goes away on its own, but doctors had been thoughtlessly prescribing opioid painkillers and turning many patients into struggling addicts. Back surgeries are the most expensive and some of the least effective procedures in all medical care, bar none. No one admits this even to themselves—not the surgeons, the hospital administrators, nor the surgical centers owners. The enormous profits short-circuit everybody’s judgment.

I also realized that over the past three decades, younger and younger people had been getting heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. I wondered if healthcare, particularly medication use, might be the cause. I thought about Peter Van Etten’s line, “In this insanity of healthcare, the patient always loses.” I saw that we were breaking them on a medical torture-wheel.

The amount of wealth thrown into American healthcare is astounding. Since the corporations took over, hospitals, drug companies, and senior doctors on their payola are scrapping for it like giant carp eating bread. We pay them handsomely for anything they can slap a billing code on, and they dictate every move according to profitability. Patient wellbeing is now secondary. Healthcare quality—and our general health—has deteriorated.
I have affluent peers, and some are not shy about it. A gastroenterologist boasted in the doctors’ lunchroom that he puts diamonds on the fingers of his infant daughters. In 2004, a cardiologist wearing a $3000 suit told me he “couldn’t pay his personal expenses” if he made less than $600,000 a year. Nouveau riche posturing like this is usually accompanied by stories about expensive, supposedly lifesaving treatments. I always vaguely smelled a rat, but I was busy and never gave it much thought.

As I continued to study, I realized that newer science proved that many of the therapies these people were selling were worthless. I wondered what profit their fancy cars or high incomes could be for them if they did not put patients first.

After a great deal of personal and professional reflection, I decided to write about the whole medical-industrial calamity. I understand I am a whistleblower, what it means, and what I face. One of my source authors warned me I would lose my medical license. In late 2019, I quit practicing and left the melee. I can now say what I need to from outside the tent and without conflicts of interest.

My story is not the narrative of Wikipedia, WebMD, or other online sources. These are constantly being rewritten by marketers. Wiki is the most reliable, but like the others, it is under guerrilla attack by corporate ghostwriters. Most physicians disagree with me as well. When I shared my conclusions with them, most became resentful, cited their training, and told me I was dead wrong. The few who know the story are afraid to speak up.

Industry shills and people born yesterday say my tale is dated and claim everything has changed. They are right—it is not a new story. Since information remains concealed until drugs are off-patent, some of my references are ten to twenty years old. But they are only half-right: they are wrong about the change—the situation has become progressively worse.
Even though this history has been an open secret for decades, only an elite few understand the whole dysfunctional puzzle. You have the chance to join them, but the more you learn, the more it will break your heart.

For physicians, to practice effectively and ethically, they must understand what they face. Familiarity with these controversies is indispensable, even if you reject some conclusions. Your work will improve after you realize that doing less may produce better results.
Likewise, patients must learn about these issues to have the best chance of benefiting from healthcare. I share practical, little-known ways to deal with doctors and hospitals. You will also learn about health, sickness, and the limits of medicine. The more you know, the more confident you will be accepting—or in some cases, refusing care.

Despite my best efforts, I may be partly wrong. For example, statisticians are more optimistic than I am about the trifling improvements shown in large studies. You may also think you “know” about an area where I am mistaken, and that this destroys my credibility. For some cautious readers, what follows may even sound like a hostile, one-sided polemic.
So proceed with caution. If some disagreement kidnaps you and you quit reading, you will lose your chance to understand the ecosystem. Before feuding with me about a tree in this forest, scan at least the first dozen anecdotes. Money has poisoned our well, and this pattern establishes legitimacy even before you look at references. You need not swallow everything I serve up to believe that we are managing patients poorly.

The first step to deal with the situation, either as a doctor or a patient, is to learn the truth. This is also necessary for reform. By the end, you will understand the mess that has developed after we permitted industrialized medicine to snowball for thirty years.
Robert Yoho, MD, May 2020
DrYohowriter@gmail.com
Pasadena, CA

FOR POWER READERS
To learn this material, you do not need the three years that I took—you can get it in three hours. Approach it however you wish. Browse the headlines, read more carefully, or dive into thousands of references.

Warning: this is a genuine Greek tragedy. Some cannot tolerate going through it all at once. The Patient Tips chapters in between the others will give you breaks. Here, I share what you can do to help yourself and your families.

If you get bogged down, I suggest you at least finish the introductory section and scan the rest. Return for what you missed—it is all important.

Three “Blue’s Clues”—practical heuristics—will help you decipher anything. 1) If you do not follow the reasoning, someone is likely lying to sell you something. You are as smart as the storyteller, so do not let them fool you. This applies to financial advisors and lawyers as well as to medical studies. 2) The updated Golden Rule is that those with the gold make the rules, so learning the source of funding explains a lot. 3) Controversy, confusion, and contradictory evidence about small numbers proves that whatever it is does not work. Do not fall into the trap of believing that “reasonable people disagree” or “the science is developing.”

Dragging politics into the healthcare debate inflames all sides. This makes problem solving and cooperation impossible. The central issue is that over half of what we do is wasteful, ineffective, or harmful—this is our collective problem. Social support programs are also unrelated and are not addressed here.
I try to avoid political signaling, just as I avoid discussing religion or finances. Many of us have forgotten that polite company demands good manners, and some of us have become boors. Additionally, good doctors do not babble about these topics with patients because they are “boundary violations” that taint relationships and are prejudicial to proper care.

Not even China, whose leaders try to rewrite history, can hide from web crawlers. Although about ten percent of links disappear every year because of “link rot,” virtually everything that was ever seen on the Web is still alive and well on the Wayback Machine Internet archive. Just copy the bad link (the web address at the top of the browser) and enter it at archive.org. Then look for the backed-up copies and select the date you want to view. You can also save any URL indefinitely for free at another of their pages. These are Internet superpowers that are handy to have in your bookmarks.

Blasting through certain paywalls is easy. Sci-hub is a “piracy” website based in Russia. It will get you some academic articles at no charge. Just copy the link into their browser. This is against the law, but some academics publicly thank them.
Journals are no better than the rest of the medical money-grubbers. Their paywalls price-gouge and impede scientific exchange. When you read The Sins of the Journals’ chapter later, you will become angry enough that you will not feel guilty when you use sci-hub. Whether you pay for articles is a private matter between you, the journal, Sci-hub, and your maker.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Aurelius, Meditations is my biggest influence.

What are you working on now?
Butchered by Big Pharma and Butchered by Big Food in collaboration with Martha Rosenberg.

 

Author Websites and Profiles
Robert Yoho MD Amazon Profile

Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Growing up in a small town, Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue spent a majority of her time reading and writing, so when she was granted the opportunity to write full-time, she didn’t have to think twice.

Since beginning her writing career, she has managed to pen several lesbian romances, while adding a little action and adventure to spice things up.

As a newly graduated MBA student, she plans to use her recently discovered free time to craft the art that she loves. For more information on Nicole’s new releases or to find out what she has been working on, sign-up for her newsletter at higginbothampublications.com.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Complicated Heart. This is the fourth edition in the Avery Detective Agency Series, a series that was first inspired by my grandfather. I decided to write a fourth installment because several readers had contacted me requesting this addition, and since I love mysteries, the writing process flowed naturally.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t necessarily have any unusual writing habits. There are times that I will use a computer to write certain scenes down and then transition to a notepad, but in general I think every writer has their own way of piecing together scenes to create their story.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Early on, I was influenced by Jane Austen and later by Julie Ann Peters. As I got older, novels by Radclyffe began to hit the Barnes & Noble shelf, and at that time, there were only a few lesbian fiction authors. After reading several of her works and exploring that of Gabrielle Goldsby and Gerri Hill, I decided that it was time for me to try and tell my own stories.

What are you working on now?
I am slowly working on a new novel, but since I am just stepping into this new book, I don’t have too many details to reveal except that it is a heartwarming tale and more of a comedic-drama.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best method for promoting my books is to use several Websites at a time. There are many groups of people out there that will not know who you are or about your books if you are always advertising on the same Website, so in order to expand, I seek out sites that are new to me and I attempt to get my work into the hands of those that may not have had a chance to read it.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The biggest piece of advice that I have is to keep on writing. Sometimes, one reader may not like one of your books, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t like another one. This is a difficult industry to break into, and there is a lot of criticism that goes with it. However, it is important to accept the fact that other people have their own opinions and to keep your head up. If you keep writing, you might just write the masterpiece that you have always dreamed of.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice that I have heard is to do something that you love and to try and inspire good in people by doing it. I think that this is very important advice, and as I get further into my career, I have been working more towards pieces that are somewhat inspirational. I think that a lot of my earlier work was a bit more personal to me and the situations that I had gone through at that time, but now that I have been writing for a while, I am working towards bettering my writing habits and attempting to lift people up with my newer stories. It is important to empower yourself, but it is also important to empower others.

What are you reading now?
It’s been a really busy year, so I haven’t had as much downtime as I would have liked. However, it is a goal to finish the Pink Bean Series by Harper Bliss, and I am also in the middle of two other novels, one by Miranda McLeod and another by J.A. Armstrong.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I hope to continue working on my newest book and have it ready for release by the beginning of next year, and after that, it will be a surprise for both myself and my readers. I never know when an idea for a new book will hit me, and when it does, I get busy writing 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?
Honestly, I would have a difficult time choosing between books. I know that I would probably bring the Bible as a method to empower myself while I was stranded. I would also probably bring a couple of books by Radclyffe, but choosing between her novels would be difficult.

Author Websites and Profiles
Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue Website
Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue Amazon Profile
Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue Author Profile on Smashwords

Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account