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Kaitlyn Pennington 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m twenty years old and I have wanted to write a book since I was in Elementary School. I live in Kansas City, Missouri, and am currently a daycare teacher. So far, I have only written one book, but I plan for it to be the first in a series.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is called The Impure. I was inspired to write it after going through a rough patch in my life and I realized that I wanted to help people. If I could write something that may help even one person, whether they identified with something that I wrote, or it gave them some sort of escape from their reality, then I wanted to write it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think that they are unusual but they may be. I carry a notepad with me everywhere I go, but I still usually just make notes on my phone. Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and I’ll write for an hour or so. One of my favorite habits is talking to my best friend before I sit down to write. I find a lot of inspiration in her.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve always loved authors like J.K. Rowling, Rick Riordan, and Suzanne Collins. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and The Hunger Games are favorites of mine, and all those books are currently on my shelves at home. Of course, our favorites influence us; when I decided I was going to write a book I went back and those are the books that I looked at.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the sequel to The Impure. I hope to have it finished and published sometime next year.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I post a lot on Social Media, this being my first book I don’t believe that I have a perfect method, I’m still learning and I hope that by the time I’m starting to promote my second book that I’ll have improved my strategy.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you love, don’t give up, and continue to follow your dreams. I never thought that I would actually finish this book. I had hope, of course, but I didn’t want to dare to believe that within a year of starting the project that I would be a published author.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
This is a really hard question because I want to say it is something extremely profound, but in all honesty, it’s the simple that people say that often resonate with us the most. I was once told to do what I was afraid to do. Do what scares you. If you never try, you’ll never know what could have happened.

What are you reading now?
I am currently reading “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote.

What’s next for you as a writer?
For now, I’m going to keep writing The Impure Saga. I plan to have at least four books in that series. After that, we’ll 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?
1. The Bible
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
3. Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse
4. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Author Websites and Profiles
Kaitlyn Pennington Website
Kaitlyn Pennington Amazon Profile

Kaitlyn Pennington’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Hanne Klein 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written about 15 books – I started in 2007 when I bought into a course with PLR books. I learnt a lot through that experience. I then gradually started my own website and wrote my own books.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is a ‘Gratitude Journal and the Zodiac Signs. By Hanne Klein. It has been published recently, but it has not been promoted it yet.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I started to study Astrology many years ago and I enjoyed it so much that I started to write books about it. I have written Five books about Astrology and the Zodiac Signs, and they have all been successful.

What are you working on now?
Illustrations for a picture book.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you want to make money you should write to the market. Find a subject that you like and find out if there is a demand for that genre.

What are you reading now?
Chris Fox series of books about how to marketing.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am working on a children’s picture books. A little frock is falling of a leaf in the lake. An elf fly out to safe the frock.

Author Websites and Profiles
Hanne Klein Website

Hanne Klein’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Nathaniel Henderson 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in the dry heat of New Mexico, but grew up in the wet heat of Oklahoma.

As a kid, my appetite for reading eclipsed even my love of deep-dish pizza. Books by authors including Michael Crichton, Ray Bradbury, and John Gresham all disappeared into the gullet of his imagination. This inspired Nathaniel’s first attempts at writing, which involved way too many alien invasions: Aliens vs. The Muscle Car Gang, Aliens vs. The Roman Legion, Aliens vs. Logic.

When high school dragged its feet across the finish line, I sought universities as far afield as possible, landing at UCSC in the postcard-worthy Santa Cruz, California, where I studied computer science among the trees. This major, while interesting, turned out to be a little too “hard sci-fi” for him, so he transferred to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

San Fran was and is a consciousness-expanding city. The overflow of creativity, diversity, and even the overt homelessness helped to shape my current views. Within this catalyzing environment, the AAU became my own microcosmic melting pot, both socially and academically. I explored computer animation, art history, film editing, acting, and screenplay writing. I also tried my hand at fiction for the first time, writing and publishing two private investigator novels set in Tokyo featuring a female protagonist. While far from perfect, I’m proud of how they turned out given my age and ability, and they provided a good foundation on which to improve.

In 2007, I graduated with a BFA in Computer Animation and Special FX.

Life, however, rarely travels in a straight line. A series of zigzags propelled me to Tokyo, Japan, where I now teach English at schools, companies, and government agencies.

What zigzags, you ask?

My Japanese flat-mate in San Francisco introduced meto a futsal group organized by the manager of an English language institute. This led to my assisting in some of the classes, which I ended up enjoying more than expected.

After graduation, when it came time to get an actual, adult-like job, I made the semi-impulsive decision to go abroad to teach English (initially freaking out my parents, but they eventually embraced it).

On recommendations from my Korean friends, I taught one year in Busan and another in Seoul before moving to Tokyo in 2011. I just recently got married, so I’ll probably be here for the long haul.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Centricity, the first novel in what I’ve planned to be a 5 book series, with likely spin-offs. It’s part of a hybrid genre, spy-fi, which combines science fiction and espionage.

It’s set in a post-post-apocalyptic world: centuries after civilization collapsed, people have reclaimed once-abandoned megacities and a new world order is being formed. The rivalries between cities and settlements create political tension, and spawn much of the macrocosmic drama in Centricity.

The largest city is Naion, a hub of information, commerce, body modification, synthetic intelligences, and immersion (virtual reality). It’s got a gritty cyberpunk–or perhaps postcyberpunk–vibe.

I was inspred to write in via a combination of my love of Bond, Bourne, and Tom Clancy-style thrillers, plus William Gibson’s Neuromancer, which hit my like a cybernetic shockwave when I first read it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My creativity tends to be feast or famine, though the famines are usually short. I’m also very much a re-writer, going over things many times until the words sing to me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Gibson, Ludlum, Clancy, Stephenson, King, Crichton (I must have read Jurassic Park 50 times) … the list is too long, but mostly science-fiction and thriller authors.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on Duplicity, the second book in the Centricity Cycle series, and I’m really excited about it.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Marking is still a thing I’m learning–it wasn’t a passion when I started writing, to be honest–but ever since I started to see it as a way to connect with readers, get their feedback, hear their reactions, it’s become something I enjoy.

I think the best method from a reach standpoint is to learn how to use all the advertising platforms: Bookbub, Amazon, etc. But the best way to keep readers is to engage with them.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Considering I fall into that category, I’d love to get some advice. I think researching advertising methods and hitting as many sites and venues as you possibly can with your message is key. Also, adapt to changing markets and find unusual ways to connect your work to relevant cultural events.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Persistence, patience, and get your work edited.

What are you reading now?
The Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy by Liu Cixin.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep writing, keep learning about marketing, try to expand into other areas. I’m looking to adapt my setting to tabletop gaming, for example.

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?
Really, really thick–but good–books. Like Hyperion by Dan Simmons. After reading them to exhustion, I can use the pages to start a fire or as insulation or something.

Author Websites and Profiles
Nathaniel Henderson Website
Nathaniel Henderson Amazon Profile

Nathaniel Henderson’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Anthony Potts 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Eye on the Ball is my first book. It was a book I always wanted to write and has taken several years to get together. I am from South London and my first job on leaving school was a professional footballer with Tottenham Hotspur. I was there for 5 years but unfortunately injured my knee and was released at 22. I then played football in New Zealand and back in England for many non-league clubs. It became clear that I was unable to play at the same level as before my injury so I trained to be a teacher which is what I have been doing for the past 20 years! I have mainly worked as a Primary or Secondary school teacher in inner London, but last year I took the plunge with my wife, Sonya, and took a job teaching in China. It has been a great move for us and the extra time I have on my hands allowed me to finish the book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is called Eye on the Ball. It was inspired by my time as a young footballer straight out of school. It was the most exciting time of my life but also the most difficult. A time of huge highs and desperate lows. It is a crazy brutal world and I have so many stories from that time of my life that I have always felt they would make a good book or maybe more.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not unusual, but I do write and rewrite over and over again considering every word almost obsessively!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Anthony Horowitz and Roald Dahl are two authors I admire. Funnily a reason I wrote the book was that there is very little of this kind of book out there. I would look for fiction football books all the time as a kid and even as a adult for my holiday reading but could never find anything.

What are you working on now?
I have started the second book following on from Eye on the Ball. I plan to do at least 2 more in the series. At the moment I am just putting more detail into my timeline, I will then start planning the chapters.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This is what I am still learning! I am going to do a Facebook add for the end of November ready for Christmas. Then when the book comes out on Kindle I will advertise on Amazon. Living in China, makes it difficult to promote the book so I am looking into as many ways as possible to get my book out there. I am hoping that Awesome Gang will help!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Stick with it, it can take a long time getting your book finished. I must have read my book 50 times trying to make it the best I could. If you want it enough, then you will get there in the end.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write in your natural style, don’t try and be something you aren’t. When I first started writing my book I was too wordy. I was trying to hard it flowed much better when I wrote in my natural style.

What are you reading now?
I am actually reading the Judge Dredd graphic novels. It sounds a bit geeky but they actually have some great storylines in them- honest!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Continuing to plan and research for the second book. I want to make sure everything is just right before I begin writing it. Also, I want to really push on with getting my book out there. I can’t wait to see people’s reaction 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?
I love the Harry Potter books and would probably take them if not a sports biography as I can’t find any football stories that I can get my teeth into.

Author Websites and Profiles
Anthony Potts Amazon Profile

Anthony Potts’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

EDWIN RIVERA 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a former bounty hunter for 29 yrs. A college graduate of Western Connecticut State University and I have written multiple novels, published.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The first code silencer. Inspired to me by my bounty hunting experiences of 29 yrs. I was a bounty hunter for many years. I took my experiences and put them into writing in a fictional sense.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
i write with music on and i like to write at night from 10pm to 3 am every day…..

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The bible has influenced me a great deal. Also the lord of the ring by tolkien has inspired me.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on series of the code silencers. Part III to be exact.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
facebook, instagram.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write at the moment that you have the thought. dont miss the opportunity, because it might never come back to you.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never stop writing.

What are you reading now?
I am currently reading the hobbit.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a goal to write another 5 novels within the next 3 years.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
i would bring with me, the bible, the first code silencer, silencers of the code and a writer of time.

 

Sharon Ney 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Three fiction novels published so far on Amazon, but I’ve also authored academic articles on time travel and women in science fiction. I have spent the bulk of my life in education, although I was raised a publican’s daughter so started my life as a barmaid and occasional pub manager when my parents went on holiday. I got my BA and PhD in philosophy from Durham University, taught at Durham, Leeds and the University of Michigan-Flint for a while, have worked in the education section of the welfare to work sector and taught A levels. I was the editor, writer, and everything else for a society magazine for 4 years. I live happily alone with 2 pet rats named Ticcit and Barto (after two characters in book 2).

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The last one published was Ystrian Dreams, Book 3 in Oslac’s Odyssey which wraps up the initial tale of Alex and Daniel. I knew where the trilogy was going right from page 1 of book 1, it just took me a few hundred thousand words to get there!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I use yWriter to make notes while I’m at the computer, and keep track of character names and quirks, but I also have two leather-bound notebooks (one on my desk, one by the bed) so if an idea occurs when I’m asleep (happens all too often!) or when the computer’s been turned off, I can write it down. Believe it or not, when using the one on my desk I have an inkwell and a quill (the quill was a Christmas present from a friend). I don’t know why, but I like this old fashioned approach and it stops my handwriting degenerating into something even more incomprehensible than it already is!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey, Pratchett, E. Nesbitt, but also scriptwriters like Joe Straczynski and Neil Gaiman. I’m an avid reader and I’ll give most things a go, but these are the ones I revisit. I like writers who treat me as intelligent and don’t bog me down in more description than I can cope with. That makes Tolkien a bit borderline, but he writes so well I can forgive him (the same with Dickens). Unless it’s relevant to the plot, I don’t care what the characters are wearing or the pictures on the wall, I want to know what they’re THINKING. Thus, I prefer books that are more dialogue than narrative and my style definitely reflects that.

What are you working on now?
I’m on chapter 9 of The Dragons Of Mithgryr which follows on from a chapter in book 2 of the original stories. I invented so many characters over the course of the first trilogy that only got one or, at most, two chapters to tell their story. The dragons of Mithgryr came to life in my head and I wanted to spend more time with them (as did several of my readers!), so I decided to write an entire novel set in their universe. The good thing with my books is that because of the way the initial characters work, they can be in the new book as dragons, even though we first meet Alex as a human and Daniel as… well, something else but he WAS a human.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
If I knew the answer to that, I’d be doing a lot better than I am! Although my reviews (all honest and volunteered by my readers) are excellent, I’m fighting the Amazon algorithm. Since I’m your original poverty-stricken artist, I can’t buy advertising worth hundreds of pounds at a time so I’m relying on word of mouth and places like this. I am easily distracted (I would have been diagnosed with ADHD when I was a child if such a thing existed then) so I refuse to go on Twitter and was dragged kicking and screaming onto Facebook. I’ve grown used to FB, but I really don’t need any other distractions!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get good editors! No matter how good Word and the other word-processors get, they WILL miss stupid mistakes, but your readers won’t. When you’re in the middle of a story and the author uses the wrong word or there’s a glaring typo, it yanks the reader out of the story. I encourage my readers to tell me if they still manage to find one that slips through (so far, so good!). The nice thing about Amazon publishing is you can fix it and upload the correction overnight, so no one else is bothered by it. Writers have a ton of methods they all say is THE way to write. I don’t think there is ONE way, there’s only YOUR way. I do stick to the ‘minimum of 500 words a day’ rule. I usually go well past that, but I’m not allowed to quit until I’ve done 500. Once a chapter goes out to editors I have one day when I can play computer games, watch movies or do something completely different, but the rest of the time I can’t rest until I’ve done my word count. It doesn’t sound like much (it isn’t!) but I’ve completed 3 large novels in under two years and I’m well into my fourth, so it works for me. 500 isn’t too big a mountain for a muddled brain to cope with, and often I find it ends up at 2,000.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If in doubt, don’t! That was one of my old teachers at school and it’s served me well. Also, constructive criticism should always be welcome. When I was writing my PhD there was one chapter I’d been working on for months and was quite proud of it. My supervisor eviscerated it. Seriously, there was nothing left by the time he finished. I had to excuse myself to go to the dept. toilets and cry for ten minutes. When I was done I returned to his office, asked if anything was salvageable and, when he told me no, dumped the lot in the bin, apologised for wasting his time and left. I started again. The new chapter was a HUGE improvement and, in the end, my PhD was completed under the time limit and passed first time. What seemed cruel turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me. He said to me, “I didn’t do that because I wanted to hurt you. I did it because you’re capable of so much better and I wouldn’t be doing MY job if I didn’t make you do your very best.” He was quite right. It hurt, as criticism always hurts, but it made me better. Destructive criticism I’ve no time for, but constructive is always welcome.

What are you reading now?
Terry Pratchett’s Lords and Ladies. First visit for me. I’ve read most of his stuff but there were a few blanks that needed to be filled in. Also Jodi Taylor’s St Mary’s Chronicles. I often have more than one book on the go at the same time.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve another two novels in the second trilogy on the back burner. One is set in the world occupied by another species I invented in book 2 and the other with a couple of warring species I created in book 3. I REALLY want to write these, so I’m hoping I’ll get enough readers to make it possible.

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?
Terry Pratchett’s Pyramids (time travel, Ancient Egypt, a Guild of assassins, philosophy AND humour. What’s not to love?), Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings (a nice, complex world full of characters whose stories you want to hear), and a good all-encompassing collection of classical mythology (as they’re the root of everything else).

Author Websites and Profiles
Sharon Ney Website
Sharon Ney Amazon Profile

Sharon Ney’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

John Spender 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
John Spender is a 23-time International Best Selling co-author, who didn’t learn how to read and write at a basic level until he was ten years old. He has since traveled the world, started many businesses leading him to create the best-selling book series A Journey Of Riches. He is an Award Winning International Speaker and Movie Maker.

John worked as an international NLP trainer and has coached thousands of people from various backgrounds through all sorts of challenges. From the borderline homeless to very wealthy individuals, he has helped many people to get in touch with their truth to create a life on their terms.

John’s search for answers to living a fulfilling life has taken him to work with Native American Indians in the Hills of San Diego, the forests of Madagascar, swimming with humpback whales in Tonga, exploring the Okavango Delta of Botswana and the Great Wall of China. He’s traveled from Chile to Slovakia, Hungary to the Solomon Islands, the mountains of Italy and the streets of Mexico.

Everywhere his journey has taken him, John has discovered a hunger among people to find a new way to live, with a yearning for freedom of expression. His belief that everyone has a book in them was born.

He is now a writing coach having worked with more than 200 authors from 40 different countries for the A Journey of Riches series http://ajourneyofriches.com/ and his publishing house, Motion Media International has published 20 non-fiction titles to date.

John also co-wrote and produced the movie documentary Adversity starring Jack Canfield, Rev. Micheal Bernard Beckwith, Dr. John Demartini and many more, coming soon in 2020. Moreover, you can bet there will be a best-selling book to follow!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
A Journey of Riches : Attitude of Gratitude.
Inspired by my fellow co-author Joanne Singleton who reached out and suggested the theme of gratitude in the midst of a pandemic. I refined to the current title so more authors could relate to the theme.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Strange writing habit; Waking at 4am to write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Influence by Jack Canfield, the Moth series and podcast, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Robert A Collier to name a few.

What are you working on now?
Currently working on an anthology about the new paradigm of leadership, another anthology about abundant living and a memoir.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Start planning your book with a simple mind map.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Best advice I have received is ‘Know your ending before you begin writing’ by Malcolm Gladwell

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Best advice I have received is ‘Know your ending before you begin writing’ by Malcolm Gladwell

What are you reading now?
Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins

What’s next for you as a writer?
Whats next: I want to write a film manuscript!

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?
What books would I bring to a deserted island
1. Sophia Code by Kaia Ra
2. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
3. Fishing for Stars by Bryce Courtenay
4. Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins

Author Websites and Profiles
John Spender Website
John Spender Amazon Profile

Tyson Clayson 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My writing journey really started with spinning yarns to my kids at night, which lead to me writing a book. I would write a chapter and then give it to my wife to read. She loved it so much that she convinced me to publish. Truth is, I write books because I love the feeling that comes when I learn that a reader has got lost in a world that I created. It’s an incredible thing to share and I enjoy hearing what readers have to say about the characters etc.

Nightprowler is my first published work. I have a follow-up book in the works and hope to release it next year!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Nightprowler is the story of an Ex-Boxer named Lucas Briggs. Briggs is not afraid of a good fight and typically keeps his fists clean, unless in the ring. Alyssa is funny, smart, and beautiful. She is a wonderful wife to Briggs and mother to their daughter Sophie. When trajedy strikes, Briggs becomes the Nightprowler. He dons a mask by night and stalks a crime ring, searching for the name of the man who took everything he cared about.

The idea for the book was to do something a little different. I love humor and real human experience. I wanted to create a world where a hero would play on real emotion, play by the rules of real life, and have a mix of laughter and tears.

I also wanted to play with the timelines and have that be a theme of the book. As you read Nightprowler you begin at the end of the book with Chapter 1, then through two separate timelines, you catch up to the first chapter in the very last chapter.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
One thing that my wife tells me is odd: I have a small, but nice office setup where I can work and write. However, my favorite place to write is in our basement cold storage room. It is very quiet, and there are no distractions. I mounted a computer monitor, and I sit in a folding chair and knock out chapters in the storage room occasionally.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My two favorite authors are Lee Child and Brandon Sanderson. I have read (or listened to) every Jack Reacher book, and enjoyed every chapter. Mistborn (Sanderson) is the book that got me addicted to audiobooks.

What are you working on now?
Nightprowler II: Redemption

I have something that I am very excited about as Briggs’ story continues.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Thus far I have seen success with the tools available with Amazon. I have also had good luck using freebooksy.com. I am looking forward to being featured on Awesome Gang!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you care about. Make stories that appeal to you. Whether for fun or something more, writing should be an adventure as you get to create a world where people will become very real to you.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“I have always tried to operate by the belief that men are made or broken in their idle hours… Whether it is studying in class or working out… it’s the preparation on your own, when nobody is watching, that’s going to set you apart.”

– Todd Christensen

What are you reading now?
The Sentinel – by Lee Child and Andrew Child.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Once I am finished with the follow-up to Nightprowler I have a few ideas in mind for a different story that I would love to tell.

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?
Mistborn, One Shot (Jack Reacher), The Bible, and fourth I’d select something that I had never read before.

Author Websites and Profiles
Tyson Clayson Amazon Profile