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Anthony Wildman 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I like to think I am entering onto my ‘third age’ as a novelist, having had a long career in business. So far I have produced two novels, and have plans for many more: I intend to write until the pen drops from my fingers, so to speak.

Though I live in Melbourne, Australia, I love travel and history, which has provided the fuel for my writing.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is ‘The Diplomat of Florence’, which was inspired by the life of Niccolo Machiavelli, the infamous 16th century political philosopher. I first started researching and writing the book while I was living in Florence, a place where Machiavelli’s name is prominent everywhere.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
None that I can think of!!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have been reading historical fiction since I was a child, and it is my favourite genre by far. Writers like Cecelia Holland, Gore Vidal, Alfred Duggan, Robert Harris, Rosemary Sutcliff, and Mary Renault have been with me for most of my life, and are my constant inspiration.

What are you working on now?
After two historical fiction books, I am taking a short break from the genre and working on a memoir of my three years in Italy with my partner Robert, tentatively titled ‘Two Gents in Italy’

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook is most important, along with direct emails. And websites like this one are very helpful for getting out to a wide readership.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Persist!! And try not to get too distracted by the demands of marketing your book, even though that is an essential task.

What are you reading now?
I’ve just finished ‘The Sweet Hills of Florence’, a fascinating novel about the Italian partisans at the end of the second world war.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My future projects include a sequel to my first novel, ‘What News on the Rialto?’, which tells the story of the young William Shakespeare, and I have a project in mind to write another novel set in Florence around the time of the Pazzi conspiracy.

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?
‘Sword at Sunset’ by Rosemary Sutcliff (the best retelling of the Arthurian legend that I know of, and a book I have read many times); ‘Lincoln’, by Gore Vidal; ‘Imperial Governor’ by George Shipway, and ‘Fire from Heaven’ by Mary Renault.

Author Websites and Profiles
Anthony Wildman Website
Anthony Wildman Amazon Profile

Anthony Wildman’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

PAUL B ALLEN III 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an internationally published hit songwriter. My co-written song, “Always There” (the vocal version) was first recorded by a group called Side Effect, music by a group called Pleasure and it was produced by Wayne Henderson, a founding member of the jazz group The Crusaders.
Later, the song was redone by the UK group Incognito and it became a Billboard magazine Top Ten hit in the UK. Another version of the song called “Such A Good Feeling” by Brothers in Rhythm, came out and went to number 1 on Billboard’s charts in America.
From songwriter to singer seemed a natural progression, and I was asked to become the new lead singer of the legendary vocal group, The Platters (“Only You,” “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” “The Great Pretender,” etc.). As such I lead the group on tours all around the world, playing at venues like The Kennedy Center, backed by the National Symphony Orchestra, and I performed for the Royal Family in England, for Prince Albert of Monaco, and for the President and First Lady of Fiji.
The next logical step was to begin to write about my experiences, and as a result, my first book was born. “From Karaoke to the Platters” is an autobiographical “how-to” book that speaks to how I went from a guy singing in karaoke establishments to joining this iconic group. After that I was hooked on writing!
To date, I have completed six books and I am working on my seventh. My writing style is eclectic. “From Karaoke to the Platters” is autobiographical. “The Saturday Morning Song Chronicles: Memoirs, Motown, and Music” is a book of memoirs and biographies of many of the greatest R&B artists and groups of all time. This book, a compilation of fifty-two stories, is a music trivia love’s dream and a truly fun and insightful read. It was a number 1 new release in Amazon’s “Biographies of R&B Artists” and also in “Biographies of Jazz Artists.”
“Benjamin Franklin: Time Tripper” is a historical science fiction fantasy in which Franklin is transported to the Haight/Ashbury District of San Francisco during the mid-1960s. The experiences he has eating at McDonald’s, and meeting Jimi Hendrix, Dr Timothy Leary, and even Stevie Wonder are more than fun, but, if he does not get back to his pre-colonial time period, the USA will cease to exist.
“The Tall Tales of Obadiah Short” contains fanciful stories told by “the oldest living man in the history of the world.” O.B. as he likes to be called, is delightful and inherently funny.
“Urban Haiku” is my first foray into poetry. East meets West. Traditional haiku structure populated with lyrical urban sensibilities. It was the number 1 new release on Amazon’s Japanese and Haiku categories.
And finally, there was another science fiction story written in screenplay form called “The Power of X.” This is the tale of two female friends on Earth 2. In order to save her best friend, the woman called “X” must become the thing she hates most in the world, a super-hero.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book is “The Saturday Morning Song Chronicles: Memoirs, Motown, and Music.” After decades of working as a songwriter and then a performer, I amassed story after story that I would share with my friends. Rather than sharing them with just one or two people at a time, I finally got the bright idea of posting these stories once a week on my Facebook page. People started enjoying “The Chronicles” and looking forward to the latest articles being published every Saturday morning. This went on for a year and spawned international interest as I wove in my personal experiences with many of the artists I featured. These stories have never been told by anyone else, nor could they be, as they were my interactions with these artists. Anyway, I ended the column a year later, and that move was met with worldwide lament. I was stunned. I had no idea how many people were looking forward to the weekend experience “The Chronicles” brought into their lives. I now felt terrible about ending them! So, I decided then and there to turn these stories into book form so that everyone who loved them would be able to have them forever.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do. I have a couple as a matter of fact. One is that I write on the average of between 20,000 and 70,000 words per week. It is what I have done routinely since I began writing. The second unusual writing habit I have is that all of my writing is done between 3am and 7am each morning, seven day a week. I find that I am at my peak so far as clarity of thought and creativity. It is during that time span each morning that all of those thousands of words are flowing and I can barely keep up. However, when I try to write anything later in the day, there is no flow. Finding words is like trying to find hen’s teeth. It took me a while to understand that the muse clocks in at 3am and clocks out at 7am. Period. End of sentence. It’s a done deal. So, I fill the rest of my day with research, or trying to learn something new. Right now i am focusing on the subject I was the worst at when I was in school, which is geography. However, over the last few months I have learned all of the states and regions and countries in North America, Central America, and South America. Watch out, “The Amazing Race!”

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Arthur Golden – “Memoirs of a Geisha.”
James Clavell – “Taipan”
Alex Haley – “Roots”
Richard Vasquez – “Chicano”
Anne Frank – “The Diary of a Young Girl”
William L. Shirer – “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich”
Jules Verne – “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”
Frank Gilbreth, Jr. – “Cheaper by the Dozen”
Stan Lee – Great comic books by Marvel

What are you working on now?
I am working on a new book of poetry now and hope to have it published in the first half of 2021.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I promote my books on Facebook and Twitter, and I have my own webpage.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If writing is what you love, then do it. Don’t stop. Bring your creations to life and don’t worry about the critics, the public, or anyone else. Write to satisfy your soul.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“This above all: to thine own self be true…” William Shakespeare

What are you reading now?
I read several articles a day from “The New York Times” and “Esquire” magazine, along with articles from various other sources. I read 2-4 hours a day.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My focus now is on completing my seventh book. This book of poetry is going to be extremely unconventional. People are going to love it, or hate it. At this point, I don’t know which, but that has never stopped me before.

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” as it has so many exciting stories and contains so much wisdom if you take the time to actually read it, and not let someone else “tell you” what it says.
I would bring “Memoirs of a Geisha” as it is so well-written that it inspires me to write.
I would bring the “Comptia A+ Certification Exam Guide” as it teaches about computers in an informative, detailed, and interesting way.
All of these books I have read, cover to cover, and could easily re-read every day for the rest of my life.

Author Websites and Profiles
PAUL B ALLEN III Website
PAUL B ALLEN III Amazon Profile
PAUL B ALLEN III Author Profile on Smashwords

PAUL B ALLEN III’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

jim McGonigle 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a serial entrepreneur that has taken 5 “start up” companies from scratch to success. This is a true story where I can actually document all of the business references in my story!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“No Place for Common Sense”.com

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
It is a free audio book.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
None.

What are you working on now?
I’m done.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
None

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The more that one has the more that is expected.

What are you reading now?
I’m nort.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Nothing.

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 am not a reader.

 

Cherise Arthur 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Cherise Arthur and I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. As a child, I spent many hours in the woods near our farm on my ponies. I have always had a great love for ponies and horses. After many years of not riding, I took up riding again about 8 years ago. In that time I have renewed a bond that I loved in childhood with horses. I also love to write and last year I wrote Sierra and Star. Beautifully illustrated by Marian Gorin. I am very happy with my first book and am planning on writing a series of 5 other books about Sierra and Star.

Besides writing, I have worked in education for 15 years and have enjoyed working with many students over the years. I love reading, knitting, traveling, and spending time at the Oregon coast with my husband.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first book is titled “Sierra and Star”. Part of this book was inspired by my time as a child riding and my renewal in getting back into riding as an adult. The first barn that I rode at as adult had many young teens and girls riding and competing in OHSET on their horses. I had the opportunity to meet some really neat kids and this inspired me to create a story about Sierra and her pony Star. I am going to write a series of books about Sierra and her friends that also have ponies and their adventures together. I have been inspired by many young riders to create a series of books for young readers.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I try to keep notes and when I get a book in my head, I get on my computer start riding down ideas about characters, scenes and what I think my readers might like. I also enjoy just doing free writing where I write down things I am observing and keeping a book of ideas for stories.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I can remember as a kid The Black Stallion being a book I loved written by Walt Farley. Also Marguerite Henry who wrote Misty of Chincoteague, Stormy and Misty’s foal are books that I loved reading A fun story is that I know the great niece of Marguerite Henry and she is in the horse business. One of my favorites barns that I have road at, she told me some really neat stories about the real Misty horse. I was so surprised to learn she was related to her. Walt Morey was the author of Gentle Ben which became a TV show in the late 1960s. He came to our elementary school when I was in third grade and that made a big impression on me.

What are you working on now?
I am working on marketing Sierra and Star and have just written by second book I am also working on character development for the third book and learning a lot about self publishing and creating a brand for my series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far I have been on Facebook, Twitter and a site called (don’t laugh) Booger Picks Children Books. This was a site I had never heard of but worked with a company to make a promotion video and this was part of their marketing. I am also reaching out to sites that promote new authors and sending time on Facebook looking for sites that would fit my market for my book such as horse magazines, horse events, etc.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes. Facebook has some great sites for writers and illustrators. I actually found my illustrator Marian Gorin on a Facebook site and she lives in Leon, Spain. Fiverr has been a great source for me in finding new ways to market my book and to build my audience. Do your homework and don’t over promote on too many sites. Find more than one venue and if your on Kindle or Amazon try to get reviews. That really helps with your sales.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be patient and don’t give up. I tried the traditional route when I first started and learned from a friend who had an agent to never ever pay a publishing company to get published. He said run the other way. If you want to the the traditional route, you really need an agent to get your foot in the door. If you are self publishing join groups on line that support the kind of writing you are doing.

What are you reading now?
I just started “My Own Words” by Ruth Bader Ginsberg. I was a huge fan of hers and I am really interested in learning about her life experiences. I also read a book recently about Mother Teresa.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My next book in the series is “Sierra and Star Go To The Beach” another great read for children 6-9 years old. I am excited to have it edited and am ready to story board for my illustrations for the project. That part is just as fun as the writing in seeing our story come to life from words into image on paper.

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 have to have some books from my childhood like Black Beauty or My Friend Flicka. I would also want something uplifting to read like Poems by Maya Angelou – she is one of my favorite writers. And then I would want a really thick book in case I needed to make a fire because there is not much on this island and I may need to cook so would use this book to help survive. LOL

Author Websites and Profiles
Cherise Arthur Website
Cherise Arthur Amazon Profile

Cherise Arthur’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Sabina KhN 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a brain health and nutrition post-doc researcher, clinical professor and writer in South FL. I have published my first book recently and am passionate about sharing evidence-based brain health, nutrition and women’s wellness research. I have two young girls who are my inspiration and drive.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have authored one book that was released recently, Feeding Your Brain: Eating for Cognitive Power.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Although more efficient at a desk, I enjoy writing in bed.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Mark Hyman and William W. Li

What are you working on now?
I am taking a hiatus to focus on the research and clinical aspects of my career before diving in to start another book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I love meeting readers in-person at book store events and book signings. It is much more personnel than online communication. Unfortunately, amidst the pandemic, it isn’t possible to setup face to face communication these days. My website is sabinakhanphd.com.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be honest and stay true to your mission.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Start strong and finish.

What are you reading now?
The Longevity Paradox by Steven R. Gundry.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I write when I feel a natural drive, I don’t force it. Writing is a passion.

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 Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz, and Emotional Agility by Susan David PhD are two.

Author Websites and Profiles
Sabina KhN Website
Sabina KhN Amazon Profile

Bartosz Labuc 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written one book so far, I’m already working on a continuation.
I have been writing web-novels for a long time, specifically comedies, one over 425,000 words or 1,545 pages.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Binary Progression, honestly for as much as I love the video game genra, I think too many people are over-playing the seriousness, which is understandable, but I like jokes and comedy, hence why my video-game centric story is a comedy!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I really enjoy writing about food and describing the process of cooking it.
Sometimes I have to cut back on the desription because there’d be like three pages of just food cooking mid-conversation.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Daisuke Umezu, for his work on Log Horizon which inspired me and showed me that game worlds can be more than fantasy world with a pixely coat of paint.

Monthy Python, for being the ones who introduced me to absurdist comedy.

Hideaki Sorachi, for the amazing comedy and unforgettable character-writing he does.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on the sequel to Binary Progression, the first book just scratched the surface of the game mechanics and the players within, the second volume will have plenty more jokes, character development, a new character to add ot the main cast and more!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I always struggle with advertising, it’s something I’m not great at and I have nowhere near enough confidence to just shove my book down people’s throats on social media, haha.

Telling my family was a good way to get a few sales, though I’m still looking for more ways to promote my book!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be a writer before anything else, you might be a bad artist/illustrator, you might be bat at marketing, just focus on writing!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just write.

What are you reading now?
It’s a tough question, I start a fair amount of books and drop a lot of them, recently I’ve hardly had time to read with all the writing I’ve been doing, haha.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hopefully, the second book, third and so on!

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?
Volume 1 to 4 of Log Horizon.

Author Websites and Profiles
Bartosz Labuc Amazon Profile

Bartosz Labuc’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Settle Myer 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is my first young adult book! I live in New York City. I’m currently a TV news producer/writer. Journalism is stressful, especially this year with the pandemic and presidential election. I dream to one day be able to write creatively for a living. Until then, I will keep putting myself out there.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Trinity Found is the first book in my young adult fantasy series: The Lost Daughter of Angor. Living in NYC, my mother is always worried I’m going to get mugged. One day I thought, what would happen if I did get mugged but got super powers, like strength, suddenly and fought off the attacker. And the reason I have these super powers is because I’m some lost daughter of a royal family from an alternate dimension/world! And that’s how Trinity Found came to be!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Nothing unusual, but I do love listening to different music stations on Pandora to help inspire my playlist.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Morgan Rhodes (aka Michelle Rowen), Charlaine Harris, Jordan Grant, Sylvia Day, Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins, Lynsay Sands

What are you working on now?
Trinity Returns! Book 2 in the series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve been turning to all the social medias but not having much luck. Instagram seems to be the one to get me a lot of likes, just not many purchases.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep writing. Don’t give up. You will fail a lot (I’m still failing!) If you make one person happy with your work, then you’ve won!

What are you reading now?
Patiently waiting for Jordan Grant’s new book Beautifully Wanted

What’s next for you as a writer?
Just keep trying to build my following to reach my goal of leaving the news industry.

 

Author Websites and Profiles
Settle Myer Amazon Profile

Settle Myer’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Edward Evjen 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am Edward Evjen and I have so far written two books. I am working on my third. I am a TV animator in Canada. Buying expensive coffee and drawing strangers is how I pass my time. Save, of course, the hours of writing.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Space-Farming in the age of the Disco-Pirates is my latest work. I hope to have it published soon. (Beta readers are chewing through it.) It was inspired by two works of non-fiction, The End of Plenty, and Food Tyrants. I was shocked by the implications of terminator seeds and I wrote a political farming science-fiction with fighting.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I dip pastries into my matcha green tea lattes. Friends have scolded this habit. In response, I dipped my lemon loaf slide (with sugar demi-glaze) into my venti matcha green tea, no sweetener, no foam, whole milk latte–again.
A vanilla soy latte is a three bean soup.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Joseph Heller. The utter chaos in his books is fascinating.

What are you working on now?
The Space-Farming novel this still interests me. I chose to complete that story first as sequels help sales on Amazon. I have some cherished stand-a-lones I want to dive in as well.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am meek. Too meek. I hardly ever promote my work. This is out of my comfort zone.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Shamelessly write what you love.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Pants before shoes.

What are you reading now?
Short Stories by Mark Twain. The infamous frog is good. But I also recommend Cannabalism in the Cars, Journalism in Tennesse, and The Facts in the Case of the Great Beef Contract.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Negative criticism.
The only way forward is getting honest reviews.
I have an ongoing bet with my friends that if they upset me with their review, I will buy them a drink. I can’t extend that offer to you but the spirit holds.

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
How to Build a Raft
How to Beg for Mercy from Cannibals
And a open fire cookbook–for the Cannibals. I am far to sensitive to leave a bad taste on anyone’s tongue.

Author Websites and Profiles
Edward Evjen Websit

Edward Evjen’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Natalia Vega 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Natalia Vega, a child psychologist, is a distinguished expert in child department with her specialty in researching, assessing, and solving possible development issues with the children. She understands the emotional, social problems, vulnerabilities, creativeness, and slight mental problems of a child. She always seeks out positivity and encourages her loved ones to reach their optimum potential. Natalia definitely sees the world with her unconditional empathetic nature and she is very kind towards every being.
Natalia Vega is married to Xavier Vega. She tied the knot with Xavier and the two represent a genuinely happy couple. The partners share a lovable and unbreakable bond, which can be observed. She is a wife and a mother of two children and alongside she’s their best friend. Her kind nature towards her patients makes them trust Natalia, and creates a stronger and reliable bond between them. She is an expert in non-fiction and the book she had written is “Friendship parenting”.
Natalia assesses and treats children and adolescents. She helps children coping with stress caused by the divorce of parents, death, and family or school transitions. She treats child disorders, phobias, and adjustment problems. She considered having good health service providers for children.
She explores different kinds of people, their nature and practical view of general behavior. Natalia is described as very polite and kind person as she helps our future world to be at its—best by helping children who are our future and who are the hopes for the future generations. Natalia used to travel a lot and practice psychology on her journeys—she saw it as a way to explore other people’s nature, other cultures and children’s behavior.
Natalia thinks that traveling gives pleasure and prevents the monotony. Similarly, it also broadens her outlook and refreshes her mind. We should be thankful for people like Natalia who took the responsibility for other children’s future. It is not easy for a woman to take care of her own children, her husband and family and be worried about others as well, but this comes naturally to Natalia. The field of interest she loves working upon is child psychology. Learning and exploring various things in life sets her soul on fire.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Friendship Parenting
A Practical Guide to Becoming a Calm Parent and a Friend to Your Children

 

Author Websites and Profiles
Natalia Vega Amazon Profile

Natalia Vega’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Mark Edward Langley 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I began my working career back in 1980 behind the counter of an auto parts store. Fast forward 30 years, I finished my business career as a division head for a local company. Somewhere in between I got the urge to create, to write stories. My first tried were terrible, but then, as I kept at it, my style began to form. Finally, 20 years ago, I took a vacation out west and dictated everything I saw, smelled, felt into a Panasonic tape recorder. Two weeks later, I was home and transcribing the tapes. Then I began forming characters, their back stories, and writing the synopsis to my first novel, Path of the Dead.
That opening chapter changed so many times before I finally found my “voice” as they say. It took 18 years to complete it because life took over. I got married, suddenly had a daughter, and certain things took precedence. Then, at the end of 2016, I retired snd focused completely on getting an agent and a publisher. By March of 2017, I had both of those.
My debut novel was published, and my 2nd book in the Arthur Nakai mysteries was released this past August.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is titled, Death Waits in the Dark. It was inspired by the amount of drilling and fracking going on on Navajo land. The subplot was inspired by my high school friends that joined Military service after high school. I want to raise awareness of fracking and how our heroes who return hone face issuers those of us who haven’t been there can fathom.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tent to write best in the early morning. But I have been up past midnight on occasion when the muse takes control and I can’t seem to stop.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The authors that have influenced me the most are Mickey Spillane, Robert B. Parker, John D. MacDonald, Tony Hillerman and Ernest Hemingway.
I read Parker’s book first, then Spillane’s and a few on Tony Hillerman’s and Hemingway’s. I have extensive first edition collections of all of them.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I am going through the editing process on my third novel of the series, When Silence Screams. Again I wanted to write about what is effecting the Native population in both the USA and Canada, which is the terror that is Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. What struck me the most was that in 2016 alone, 5,712 girls and women went missing. I had to write a compelling story that rose awareness without preaching.
I am also collecting research and writing book four, GLASS. About the crustal meth scourge on the Navajo Rez.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website, markedwardlangley.com and Amazon, BookBub, All the social media pages, and forums like Awesome Gang.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Perseverance. The willingness to never let anyone tell you you can’t be a writer. I had my share of people who scoffed, but that just made me work harder. Also, set up your website—I used Godaddy, but there are others. Join whatever writer’s associations you can and take advantage of their programs; join online book clubs and read all you can of writers you enjoy. Their works are the best teachers. Then, when you’ve finished your first book, edit it. Then edit it done more. Try not to use the word “that” a lot. It gets in the way. Then find an agent and get them to submit it. If all fails, self-publish! It’s not detrimental any more. In fact, publishers are looking for writers who already had a string fan base!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Life is what happens while you’re busy making plans.” That and don’t take rejections personally; they don’t know you. Set them aside and move on to the next. Do not defeat yourself in your own mind. It is your goal, not someone else’s, and they don’t know what it’s like dream big.

What are you reading now?
Currently I’m reading Anne Hillerman’s Spider Woman’s Daughter, her first novel picking up where her father left off. I also read my friend Craig Johnson’s work, but so far I’ve read only his first two books.

What’s next for you as a writer?
As I mentioned above, I’m working on my fourth novel in the Arthur Nakai mystery series, GLASS. In fact, I’ve already written the first chapter. I still have to flesh out characters, subplots, and side stories.

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?
Any book from Tony Hillerman, Craig Johnson and Robert B. Parker I haven’t read yet.

Author Websites and Profiles
Mark Edward Langley Website
Mark Edward Langley Amazon Profile

Mark Edward Langley’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tomas Gavlas 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Im six-foot-tall author, entrepreneur and pilgrim. I live in Prague, and I have walked more than 10 long-distance pilgrim routes in Europe and practiced meditation in Burmese and Malaysian monasteries. I graduated from the Charles University Faculty of Philosophy with a Dr. degree researching the phenomenon of pilgrimage. For many years I have been working on my book Karlaz: The Way of Freedom

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Karlaz: The Way of Freedom. Karlaz meaning “free man”, the name survives in English as Charles (Karl). It was inspired by the name of Carl Gustav Jung and my grandfather.

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

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ignatius of Loyola, Platon, Carl Gustav Jung, Buddha, Jesus, Sant Francis, Saint Antonius, Krishnamurthi, Blaise Pascal, Emanuel Swedenborg, Henry Thoreau …

What are you working on now?
I’m just about to publish my new book Karlaz: The Way of Freedom

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I run a podcast in Czech (my country), I also appeared on many other podcasts and TV Shows regarding the topics covered in my book

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Patience.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Sometimes you have to risk it for a biscuit.

What are you reading now?
Buddha’s old scriptures, Majjima Nikaya. It goes slow but its a gem

What’s next for you as a writer?
Now I will focus on Karlaz: The Way of Freedom for some time.

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?
Bible
Buddhas Nikayas
SAS Survival Guide

Author Websites and Profiles
Tomas Gavlas Website
Tomas Gavlas Amazon Profile

Tomas Gavlas’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Katy Pistole 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am the child of an American diplomat so I grew up all over the world, mostly in Africa. I have loved horses since I could see and I received my first horse in Botswana. Black Jack changed my life in every way imaginable. He was the answer to my heart’s cry, but better than that, he allowed me to see and experience the heart of The Good Shepherd. Jesus miraculously cured Black Jack from a disease that should have killed him. Since then I have enjoyed sharing my love for Jesus and horses through words. I have written seven books for children of all ages.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called The Palomino and is the first book in a series of four in the Sonrise Farm Series. Many of Jenny’s adventures come directly from my own experiences with horses. It is the story of a young girl who wants a horse more than anything and the way God shows up to fill her heart Abundantly more than enough. The Palomino was originally published in 2001 through a traditional publisher. I purchased the residual rights in 2016 and am releasing an updated, amplified version now.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am often up at 3:00 AM to write. This habit began when I was homeschooling my two young children. The hours between 3:00 and 7:00 were often my only free ones.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Bible is my most influential book. After that, The Rest of The Gospel, by David Gregory and Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers.

What are you working on now?
I am finishing the art for the next three books in the Sonrise Farm Series. I will release the next books over the first months in 2021.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have always LOVED book-signings. COVID has put quite the kabosh on this. I also love to share on Facebook.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep on swimming. This advice comes from Dory, a little blue fish in the movie Finding Nemo. Keep on writing. Keep on writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Keep on writing. Don’t fear the ugly first draft.

What are you reading now?
Janet Newberry’s book, Education by Design. AWESOME book about the process of teaching and learning.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Marketing my Sonrise Farm series.

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 Interlinear Hebrew/Greek/English Bible, The Rest of The Gospel, Lifetime Guarantee, Redeeming Love.

Author Websites and Profiles
Katy Pistole Website
Katy Pistole Amazon Profile

Katy Pistole’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Esther T. Jones 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started storytelling when I was about five. I’d just seen Peter Pan for the first time and after being terribly disappointed that the Darling children had to leave Neverland, I created my own story where they stayed forever, because that sounded like the most fun thing in the world. When I was a teen, the titular character of my first book came to me in a dream, so I set out to write his story and have been going ever since, with two published books and various articles and poems to my name.

(My debut novel, “Tedenbarr of Have Lath,” is a charming adventure story set in medieval times. It follows Tedenbarr and his mishaps as he travels around the countryside after a vicious pirate attack leaves him stranded far from home. On the way he has to dodge bandits, traverse perilous mountains and deserts, and try his best not to get caught up in the brewing civil war threatening to rip the kingdom apart.)

Outside of writing, I love gardening, playing flute and piano, and cosplaying as characters from my novels.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Thorunn” is an epic sci-fi adventure story focusing on three teens whose paths collide after the government starts meddling in their lives. As “Thorunn” opens, we learn that human scientists have stumbled upon an amazing natural resource—called hinnom sap—and are preparing to seize the Hinnom Forest and strip it bare, with no thought or regard to the people and creatures living within.

What follows is an epic journey and battle of wills as Kenton—one of the protagonists—and his friends seek to protect the Hinnom Forest and themselves from devastation and the fate that befell Tribe Anshi.

The novel is aimed at a young adult audience and deals with several typical issues teens find themselves caught up in, keeping the narrative relatable even while the greater plot deals with the spectacular.

I drew on a number of different sources for inspiration while drafting and writing “Thorunn,” one of them being the issue of deforestation and all the ecological problems that can cause. The Amazon Rainforest in particular was always in the back of my mind while I worked on the novel. I also really love classic sci-fi, mining much inspiration from pulp works of the 30’s through the 60’s, and had oodles of fun dreaming up all the futuristic tech for the novel.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My pantser approach to writing spills out into my habits surrounding the process, so it’s all very haphazard. Every so often I’ll sit at a desk and write, but more often, I’ll cosy up in my bedroom, or lie on the ground with my legs kicked up, or in the summer I’ll write outside, soaking up the sun and letting the birdsong inspire me as I write. Recently, I’ve been vlogging my work, so that’s been a fun and interesting project.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I still really love the “Redwall” series, because of the rich descriptions, nuanced characters, and the ability Brian Jacques’ works have to take you to a completely different world. Edgar Rice Burroughs is another favourite of mine, and I think all aspiring sci-fi writers should read Michael Crichton at least once.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I’m working on a young adult portal fantasy focusing on a lost (kidnapped!) princess who discovers she’s a pawn in a twisted game of revenge. I also have a duology and a trilogy set in the same universe of my first book that I’m planning to write after the publication of my third novel.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
With marketing, figuring out how adapt to the ever-changing algorithm of the bigger social media sites can be rather tricky, so I tend to focus on creating the best content I can, alternating between sharing snippets from my novels both upcoming and published, featuring my books in various aesthetic settings, sharing writing advice and memes, and connecting with other writers.

I’ve also found Amazon ads to be effective from time to time, and I’ve quite enjoyed Allauthor’s cover of the month contest. Facebook groups can be another great way to spread the word, as well as handing out bookmarks and flyers in person at any given opportunity.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t stress over reviews. They’re important, but the more you keep building your brand and connecting with readers, the more they will come. Don’t pay for reviews either, and always try to find something positive in a negative review.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read. It doesn’t matter what it is, nonfiction, fiction, comic books, novels, scripts from plays or films, or even the back of a cereal box. (And yes, audiobooks absolutely count as reading!)

What are you reading now?
Recently I’ve been loving everything by Jeff Wheeler, and I’m currently enjoying his “Grave Kingdom” series. I also just finished a book of poems featuring the controversial conservatorship of Britney Jean Spears by Robert Haviland, which I advise everyone to pick up and read.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to be focusing on doing more in-person events in the upcoming year, as well as publishing articles on my website’s blog with accompanying videos on my authortube channel. I’m also looking forward to participating in writing events throughout the year on social media sites such as tumblr and twitter. Beyond that, I have so many ideas that I’m looking forward to exploring; I’d like to pen a few movie scripts, and maybe even a play or musical.

And of course, I’ll keep writing those 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?
Does it count as cheating if I bring my single-bound, giant collection of Agatha Christie mysteries?

Author Websites and Profiles
Esther T. Jones Website
Esther T. Jones Amazon Profile

Esther T. Jones’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Berneta Haynes 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Growing up in Arkansas, I began writing stories and exploring visual art from the moment I could pick up a pencil and put it to paper. By the time I was eleven, I had written my first “chapter book” and had a sketchbook full of drawings. Writing and visual art have lived on in me ever since. I published my first novel, LANDRIEN MORISET, in 2015. My latest novel, EVE AND THE FADERS, arrives five years later and it’s my first venture into co-writing.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, EVE AND THE FADERS, is the first in a two-part series called Faders and Alphas. I write because I rarely see marginalized, unconventional people of color centered in fantasy and science fiction genres, my two favorite genres. I co-wrote Eve and the Faders because I wanted to tell a story with an unconventional hero: a queer black woman from the working class. In some ways, Eve is a typical young woman, struggling to pay bills and dealing with a quarter-life crisis. She’s queer and unsure about her relationship. On top of all that, she has special gifts that have put her on the radar of a little known government agency. For me, telling what amounts to a superhero origin story that centers and elevates a queer black woman is important. I want women like me to see themselves reflected in fiction.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wouldn’t say my habits are unusual, but they are a bit technical and super organized. It’s probably the lawyer in me. I start with an outline of the core character, detailing the character’s physical features, occupation and education, core personality traits and beliefs, and more. Then, I quickly summarize the character’s internal and external conflicts. Only once I’ve done all that do I finally outline the general plot of the story and list secondary characters. I do all of this before I ever pen a word of the story. I’ll be honest: this part before writing the story is the most invigorating part of the writing process.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many that’s it difficult to name them all (after all, I spent years just reading novels when I was studying English in graduate school)! Off the top of my head: James Baldwin, Kwame Dawes (his fiction), Zora Neale Hurston, Terry McMillan, Charles Dickens, George Schuyler, Toni Morrison, Bernice McFadden, Alice Walker, Octavia Butler. I’ll stop because this list is simply endless.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on short stories connected to EVE AND THE FADERS, and I’m finishing up the second book in the series. I’m looking forward to sharing the whole Faders and Alphas world with readers!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I actually rely on Twitter and Goodreads a lot, but my co-writer leans heavily on Facebook and Instagram. In terms of social media, I think it’s best to zero in on two or three platforms to avoid spreading yourself too thin.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up. Keep writing and don’t let anyone or anything deter you!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You have to believe in yourself or nobody else will.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading N.K. Jemisin’s THE FIFTH SEASON. But A BLADE SO BLACK by L.L. McKinney is next on my list.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing and publishing more 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’m definitely taking WICKED by Gregory Maguire, BLACK NO MORE by George Schuyler, PLAYING IN THE DARK by Toni Morrison, and MAMA by Terry McMillan.

Author Websites and Profiles
Berneta Haynes Website
Berneta Haynes Amazon Profile

Berneta Haynes’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Marion Apollo Deal 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Marion Apollo Deal, a 19-year-old poet, performance artist, and psycholinguist. I act in a Renaissance Faire, invade high-line capitalist spaces like Chicago’s Merchandise Mart as a gas-mask-clad avatar of the “American Dream” and a blood-spattered Caesar, and chase my research on emergent systems and the use of language in revolution and ritual from monasteries to Jim Morrison’s grave. I’m the author of the poetry chapbook Cool Talks, Dead I Guess, published in 2020 by rad punk publisher Bone & Ink Press. My poetry chapbook Oracle is available as a disappearing publication on Really Serious Literature’s Instagram account, @rlysrslit, for the duration of COVID’s disruption. I’m also the author of the poetry chapbook The Messiah’s Customary Diner Booth, forthcoming in February 2021 from Unsolicited Press.

My work has been nationally recognized by organizations like YoungArts, the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, and the Young Poets Network, but I’m most proud of my interdisciplinary performance collaborations. I’ve had the good fortune to collaborate with Italian director Margherita Scalise on a bilingual poetic duet as the featured performers at Milan’s 2019 Salumeria Poetry Slam, serve as a proud poetry whore at Paris’ Le Bordel de la Poésie, and combine kung fu and a jazz quartet performing music especially composed for the occasion at 2019’s National YoungArts Week… among other misadventures in performance art.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book, forthcoming from Unsolicited Press in 2021, is The Messiah’s Customary Diner Booth. It’s a paean to freaks and outcasts; I wrote it in high school, one of the most alienated and alienating times of everyone’s life. I didn’t get along with the people at my school — I was two years younger than everyone else in my grade, and being on the autism spectrum meant that interacting the way that seemed to come so easily to others was difficult. The people I found the most solace in were dead Russian revolutionaries and French poets, characters in the vast amounts of science fiction and creature features I consumed, and the late-nite denizens of the Chicago diners to which I’d sneak off for the writing of poetry. I couldn’t help but write about these friends and the liminal spaces they occupy.

In The Messiah’s Customary Diner Booth, you’ll find enfants terribles, Beat drifters transported to Sumerian cities and Greek myths, prophets making mobiles from Richard Nixon’s bones, and the devil coming back to visit his suburban hometown. Caught in a rich web of cultural and mythological referents from 70s Californian poetry to Icelandic eddas, Messiah is a dramatis personae of friends to freaks and an ode to liminality, thriving on the moment of connection between seemingly disparate entities, places, and ideas.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like writing in liminal spaces — liminality is where my character build gets bonuses to all its ability scores, if you’ll bear with my nerdy RPG metaphor. Perched with my notebook on the same kitchen counter as my friend is kneading dough for gnocchi on? In the passenger seat of a car hurtling down Lake Shore Drive, blaring LA Woman? While I’m carting a cavalry sword through the Paris Métro? You got it.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
How to begin? Arthur Rimbaud’s determination to shatter the known and become a visionary through a “long, boundless, and rational derangement of all the senses” has always been a touchstone for me. As someone who struggles with intense mental illness, Rimbaud’s determination to transmute suffering, madness, and a feeling of overstimulating horror at all the world into art is an artifact of immense hope. If I can take every experience — the loneliness and alienation, the long nights spent battling suicidality, the latest instability in food and housing — and transmute it into art, then there is a reason to stay alive even in the darkest of times. I am not in the business of fetishizing mental illness as a necessity for an ill-omened “creative genius,” but if I can use the worst pain of neurodivergence in order to create, then it becomes that much easier to deal with this thing in my head that wants to kill me.

I have also been heavily influenced by the work of Gabriel García Márquez. Reading Love in the Time of Cholera was what first made me want to write a novel — I started my first (struggling, baby giraffe) novel a few days after I finished it. García Márquez’s attention to the details of his exquisite worldbuilding and his ability to animate the rhythms and mournfulness of everyday life with a pervasive magic is of immense comfort and inspiration to me. I want to be able to create worlds and sentences as warm, rich, and complex as his.

What are you working on now?
Between translating French anarchist Louise Michel’s memoir into English, pursuing my research at the University of Rochester, and working on several longform novels, novellas, and creative nonfiction pieces, I’m awash in words. The longform project I’m most excited about right now is a surrealist novel set in a Paris of the Dead. It delves into legacy, history, and perceptions of Greatness through prose, poetry, and maps, documents, and security footage of this fictional world. Another fantastical novel exploring what it means to be coming of age during a time of revolution is in the works. I’m always rambling down the road of writing and assembling poems into chapbooks and multidisciplinary longform books.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m grateful to have a supportive artistic community ranging from my fellow actors at the Bristol Renaissance Faire to a set of poets in Paris. I promote through my social media accounts — there’s a lot of great people and artists in the indie lit scene who have a presence on Instagram, and being able to connect with them and their goodness of spirit is not only professionally positive, but personally fantastic. Having a central website — as I do, www.mariondeal.com — is also a fabulous place to refer people after readings, via business cards, or after other associated artistic events like performance art.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Writewritewrite. Write despite all the people who say your work is stupid. Write despite all the rejections you get. Learn from your mistakes; listen to the people who criticize your work. Don’t close yourself entirely to the outside — there’s a lot to be learned from other people’s perceptions. But make it a semi-permeable membrane. Never let anything anyone says stop you from writing altogether. Make yourself into a bullet train that is forever reacting and adapting to the environment around it, but never ceasing its tremendous forward motion.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t look to the outside for reasons and affirmations for your art. (Ironic, given the fact that I’m doing an interview right now, but this outside interaction isn’t the real reason I’m creating.) If you want to create art, or if you need to create art — examine that want; examine that need. Developing and inhabiting a rich inner world, and then attempting to articulate it onto the page, is the most important thing. A community of fellow artists and writers who can challenge you and your work is also vital. But having the internal conviction, joy, and vision for what you do will increase the efficacy of the honing and disruptive forces of artistic comrades, because they’ll have good material to work with.

What are you reading now?
What aren’t I reading right now? Looking at my nightstand, I see Alberto Giacometti’s “Notes Sur Les Copies” — a set of journal excerpts and interviews about the artist’s views of creative exploration and growth through copying the work of others. I also see a children’s edition of Die Beliebtesten Märchen der Gebrüder Grimm with which I’m practicing my German, and a copy of Taliessin Through Logres, a fabulous set of Arthurian epic poems by C.S. Lewis’ friend Charles Williams.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m hoping to find homes for some of my longform work (if you, dear reader, know anyone who’d be interested in surrealist exquisite corpses of prose, poetry, and historical record of a fantastical otherworld, or a memoir comprised of a constructed language (created by me), prose-poems, and Buddhist philosophy, send them my way!). I’m also continually growing and maturing as a poet. I’ve been exploring new styles and trying to create portals into immersive worlds where each poem reveals and maps a new part of the intellectual landscape. I’m always experimenting with the idea of epics and kennings (poetic references which compress a large amount of cultural, symbolic, or metaphorical context into a few words, found in Old English and Old Norse Poetry) translated to the modern age: what do ancient poetic forms look like when applied to 21st century culture and context?

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?
Seven Pillars of Wisdom — T.E. Lawrence
The Lords and the New Creatures — Jim Morrison
The Outsider — Colin Wilson

Author Websites and Profiles
Marion Apollo Deal Website

Marion Apollo Deal’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Amritangshu Ghosh 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a day-dreamer and as a student, I have started to write some essays. But, I can’t imagine that i can publish books and hold to the front of India. I was really like a magic. i have written two books and now, I am working on my third book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “What is the Infinite Power?” and the part that inspired me is that, the book is based on such a matter that is a quarrel for today’s world, i.e. it is based on the existence of God and Soul.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Authors like Amish Tripathi, Chetan Bhagat and Sabarna Roy inspired me.

What are you working on now?
Now, I am working on my third book i.e., “Last Night of Life”. It is actually a crime book.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes, I would like to tell them that don’t look backwards, and also don’t listen to the words that distract you from writing books and achieving your aim. only think that you will and you can.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
GO AHEAD

What are you reading now?
Now, I am reading my school books and nothing else.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to write more and more books and want people to read my books and gain inspiration from those.

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 is the Infinite Power?, The Man on the Mount and Legend of Suheldev

Author Websites and Profiles
Amritangshu Ghosh Website
Amritangshu Ghosh Amazon Profile
Amritangshu Ghosh Author Profile on Smashwords

Amritangshu Ghosh’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Inna Rothmann 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am originally from Moldova, but I embarked on an expat journey years ago. After my life in Dubai, I came back to Moldova before the next relocation, then the pandemic happened and my plans were put on hold. I have written one book before “Surviving Covid-19 in a Foreign Land” but it was just trying out how the whole process works. It worked great and prepared me for the book I have written this year with my friend Irina Sirbu.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Surviving Covid-19 in a Foreign Land: Stories of Expats and Migrants Around the World”. I have written it with a co-author, Irina Sirbu. We wanted to capture the impressions of people like us, expats and migrants, at the beginning of the pandemic, when the borders shut and people were cut off from their home countries and, sometimes, families.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Writer’s block is not that unusual, is it? As well as being more inspired and full of ideas late at night when the whole city is asleep. I also used to do those writing exercises that are supposed to help you wake up your inner writer but then I felt it required too much focus which I’d rather be spending on my own work. They just didn’t work for me!
As for the current book, it was a unique experience not only because there were two people involved in writing it, but also because the work was happening 100% online due to the pandemic. Online interviews, online discussions, online editing. It worked really well, in the end, but it is important to have a certain compatibility with each other, which it turns out, we did.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Our book is one of a kind, there are no other books on the topic of expats in the time of coronavirus, so this was completely new territory for both of us. But, in my free time I prefer classic literature, which I can read more than once and it will never exhaust my mind. Jane Austen, Vladimir Nabokov, Mikhail Bulgakov, George Orwell, Jack London, Salman Rushdie will never be out of fashion.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a poetry collection that I started years ago have never had the courage to go through with.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Social networking, book clubs, free promo days, printed copy. It also helps finding your perfect target audience. Expats and migrants, for example, in our case.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do it. Start today. This very moment. Do not let your fears and insecurities stop you from trying. Do not let your perfectionism stop you from finishing what you’ve started. You can’t become a writer if you don’t write. And of course, read. Reading inspires and helps you become a better author with a better feel for the text.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Things happen for a reason.

What are you reading now?
Disgrace by JM Coetzee- a Booker-winning masterpiece.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Getting our book out there, making sure sales are consistent, and brainstorming ideas for the next book, of course. It has been

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 Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas for some adventure spirit, “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy- because I would like to read it again but the size scares me; and “Harry Potter” series- for some fun and magic.

Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Pouvani Devi Cudian 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I, Pouvani Devi Cudian, aged 26, was born and brought up up in Mauritius. I clinched the National State Scholarship ( Science Side) in 2012 and embarked on Medicine studies in 2013. 5 years after, i started my internship at the local Victoria Hospital where i got the opportunity to rotate in different units. I am passionate about reading, the gym, recently have taken up cooking and simply spending some good time with friends. ‘ Mirror mirror, is that me?’ is my first book, which I have released simultaneously in French language so that it is accessible to a wider audience.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
‘ Mirror mirror, is that me?’ is my first and latest book. I inspired myself from some real life characters, their personalities and behavior, to create my own protagonist, Lisa. I am fond of story books which have a medical touch to them. Trying to use my own experience as a doctor, I have carved a story which is not only fun to read but also gives an insight into and helps one discover some medical illnesses that have been present amongst us since long but are still not talked about.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have often been praised for my ‘lyrical’ style of writing. However, whenever i write, my aim is to always keep it simple and sweet. I love dialogues in books, hence so many conversations in my own book. When i write, i get get lost in the characters and imagine the scenes as if they were happening in front of me. Unusual or not, i am not quite sure, but at least it’s my writing habit.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Dr. Paul Kalanithi’s book ‘ When Breath Becomes Air’ is definitely my favorite. I may be biased by the fact that he was a doctor too, but I am sure that reading his book, really inspired me to write a book of my own. I am currently obsessed with Rupi Kaur’s collection also. Her poems are short but impactful.

What are you working on now?
I am currently preparing to go for my Post Graduate studies, so writing is on hold. Writing is a hobby, so I don’t want to stress about it. Whenever I feel that I am ready to write something more, I will.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have just started advertising my book, so am not very familiar. However from whatever i have read, Awesome Gang, Amazon ads seem promising for promotions. Well, fingers crossed.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Writing a book is easy, because once the flow comes, it goes on. Nonetheless, the hardest part is continuously going through the book to make sure no error is left before publication. Yet, it’s a wonderful journey.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When you come to the bridge, you’ll cross it. My mother’s forever advice.

What are you reading now?
Well, nothing. I have been so taken up with making the final adjustments of my book that i focused all my attention on it. But I am eager to start reading Home Body by Rupi Kaur.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I just need to inspire myself from a story, a real life event or anything that can click to make me start writing again. Then am sure something great will come out.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
When Breath Becomes Air- Dr Paul Kalanithi
The Sun and her flowers- Rupi Kaur
Out of the maze- Spencer Johnson

 

Nadine Little 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello!
I was born and raised in Scotland and started writing in my early teens. My first publication was in an anthology and was a story about a woman who lost her husband at sea then threw herself into the water when she realised he was never coming home. Several more short stories followed during high school and I started to notice something: people die in my stories.
ALL THE TIME.
They’re beaten, shot, stabbed, eaten and it has not improved since I’ve expanded into novels. My debut trilogy is called The Faction War Chronicles, containing three books and a novella, and there is a lot of darkness and death. If you like a woman who can handle a gun, fast-paced action and a dystopian Scotland then check out the first book, Captivity. It’s for adults due to its strong language and explicit content (including violence and sex scenes). I hope you enjoy it!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest published book is the novella from my Faction War Chronicles called Nationless Will Fall, which was published in November 2020. The final book, Homecoming, will be published on the 30th of December 2020. The whole trilogy was inspired by a dream I had as a teenager. In my dream, all the adults had fled the country, leaving the teenagers at war with each other and they split Scotland into factions.
Bit of a weird dream for a thirteen-year-old.
Obviously, a whole country version of Lord of the Flies wasn’t believable so the story has developed over the years into what it is today: a tale of Anita Carmichael’s search for the truth about who killed her sister and started a war.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Is anything really unusual in the life of a writer? I don’t sacrifice a goat or pray to Beelzebub before each writing session. I also don’t write every day though that’s often a ‘writing rule’ you hear from other authors. I write when I can, which is sometimes only at weekends. I suppose an unusual writing habit of mine would be that when I get a report back on a book from my editor, I let it sit, unread, for at least a month while I build up the courage to open it.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I recently re-read one of my favourite book series–the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton. It took me a while since there are about twenty-odd books in it but I noticed something interesting. Little snippets and phrases from those books have turned up in the books I write, though not on a plagiarism or copyright-infringement scale, of course. Laurell K. Hamilton has definitely been a strong influence on my writing, particularly as her books get a little erotic, too!

What are you working on now?
I’m working on my sixth book just now (technically eighth if you count novellas) and I’m about five thousand words away from finishing it but that’s when I find it hardest to get myself to just sit down and write. The book is about people who shape-shift into dragons and the normal humans that hunt them. The main character is a shapeshifter from a wealthy, brutal family and the book is actually the second in a series. The first book is being edited as we speak and the main character is a dragon hunter.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m new to publishing so I don’t have much experience with promoting my books yet. I’ve been experimenting with promotion sites, like Awesome Gang, that list your book in their newsletter and on their website when your book is on sale. It’s allowed me to sell my book to random strangers rather than just friends and family. I also have my own website (nadinelittle.com) and social media accounts where I do some promoting but they’re mostly to connect with people rather than be salesy. My goal in 2021 is to start properly advertising my books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
There is so much to learn but perseverance is key. As long as you have a good, professional-looking book, you will find readers who love it. Publishing is a long game. No one becomes an international bestseller overnight. And promote your books. You can’t just stick them on Amazon and expect them to sell while you sit back with your feet up. Self-publishing is a lot of work to do right but it is very rewarding.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You cannot fail unless you quit.

What are you reading now?
I’m being a bit geeky and reading Joanna Penn’s Audio for Authors on my Kindle. I want to start producing my own audiobooks soon and need to learn as much as I can about it before I hit ‘record’.

What’s next for you as a writer?
International fame and fortune! But more likely a slow but steady path of finding readers and writing more books. I’d love for this to develop into my full-time job but I imagine that’s a few years away.

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 was going to be cheeky and say I’d take my Kindle and hundreds of books but I don’t imagine there’s a power socket. I’d be smart and take some kind of survival book, maybe Bear Grylls, then three books from Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series, possibly including one of the raunchier ones for when the nights get cold.

Author Websites and Profiles
Nadine Little Website
Nadine Little Amazon Profile

Nadine Little’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Marten Sethaven 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started writing about men’s lifestyle when I was a teenager. I worked for a few well known international magazines and launched a few blogs. I dedicated my life to inspire and motivate men worldwide to level-up.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
365 Gentleman: How To Become A Gentleman In 365 Days, I moved to Asia 4 years ago and learned that career is not everything life. Thinking about others, taking care of your family and friends and being self-sufficient is. I hope to inspire men (no matter what age!)

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I write I need a warm cup of coffee next to me. Every 10 minutes I walk out to get a new coffee. Imagine how hyped up I write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
John Bridges. The classic gentleman writer.

What are you working on now?
I’m publishing a follow up book on 365 Gentleman soon. As well as for the ladies…

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Mouth to mouth advertisements works the best!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Stay genuine and close to yourself. Write from your heart, and have fun!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t focus on the outcome, focus on the process.

What are you reading now?
5AM Club, to achieve more time to write in the morning.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Travelling abroad after lockdown, write in the sun of Indonesia on my next work!

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 One Thing
The Lean Startup
365 Gentleman (always bring your own work!)

 

Cory Cowley 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, I’m an oddity. I was born and raised in Hendersonville, TN and raised by a single-mom. Since three years old, my mother raised my sister and I by herself. Growing up, my mother was my hero. I had a very hard life growing up, with little to no friends at all. I was constantly bullied for being the “oddball” kid in school, and writing became my escape. Most of my free time as a kid consisted of escaping into my mind and daydreaming. I remember the days I would go off into the woods behind my home and start creating stories in my head to write down. Often times in school, the teacher would scold me for doodling art or writing a mini-poem down on my assignments. Truthfully, I did not care. I was determined to have my writing a priority. Throughout my early to late teens I became immersed in poetry, and my ideas to create became a rampant obsession. Unfortunately, I started developing depression at 16, and as a result, it led to suicidal ideation, as well as frequent dark thoughts. My thoughts were always on the peculiar side, but they developed into darker things; it did not matter to me, as I transmuted my negative obsessions into art. Throughout the years–till now–I have had tremendous ups and downs. Writing has been my savior, and there is not a day that goes by that I do not owe it my loyalty. I’m currently a sufferer of ADD/OCD/GAD/and depression. The repercussions of what I endured at a young age unfortunately cursed me with those ailments. When I look back, though, they have shaped me into who I am. Do I wish I sometimes had a better life? Yes. Do I sometime wish that I could change the past? Yes. Would I? No. The woman I am today is because I went through what I did. My mother pushed me to keep succeeding, and made me realize that my talents were worth notoriety; because of her tremendous support, I have now published my first book “Bending Reality” back on September, 23rd 2020. I am a proud author, and even more proud woman. My trials and tribulations are a testament, and my works are an extension of those.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first book “Bending Reality” which was published back on September 23rd of 2020.
My book was inspired by the difficult life I endured as a child. I have always had a fascination with the dark, occult, and horror as a child, and wanted to create a book that reflected all of those components. Also, 2019 was the year I tried to commit suicide twice, due to the mental abuse of sociopath. I was on the verge of giving up, and I drove to a nature park near my house and wanted to die. I realized that my story wasn’t over yet, and I decided to use my pain to create a book. In January of 2020, I wrote my book in twenty-three days.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My primary ritual during writing is listening to dark, ambient, black metal. Leviathan’s “A Silhouette in Splinters” is the main album I deviate toward to create very graphic, dark scenes. Since most of my content is very despondent, I try to convey the feeling of fear very vividly in my words. I need to be listening to music when I write, or no noise at all. Sitting in a quiet room is also a must. My auditory senses need to be completely in synch, otherwise the creativity cannot flow.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Hands down, Clive Barker is my idol. I have admired that man since I first saw him in a Hellraiser: Hellbound 2 director’s cut VHS. His complex mind has been always inspiration to me, and there is no other author who can encapsulate beauty in the grotesque like him. Hellbound Heart, Imajica, and Mr. B. Gone where pieces of literature that I have always cherished. The art of love, murder, sex, and betrayal all rolled into one, is the perfect concoction of a good book.

What are you working on now?
As of now, I am in the midst of creating a graphic poetry book. I understand my work is highly unsuitable for younger audiences, but it is my goal to create a work of art that separates itself from societal norms. I haven’t laid the ground works completely yet, but it is an arduous process that involves my own time, effort, and focus. Between promotions, my other full-time job, and writing–it has been a slow process.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Instagram has been my main social media handle in which I promote from. I have recently started utilizing Twitter, Facebook business, and TikTok to broaden the horizon a bit. It’s all research; it takes time and patience to find your demographic and niche, but you need to promote whenever you can to find the right audience for your book.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
BE. YOU. Don’t ever write a piece of literature because you think people will like it; write a book because YOU like it. I think one of the biggest pitfalls of a good writer is bending to the confines of society. There will always be people who disagree with what you write and may even go so far to try and slander your name. But, you have to realize that their actions are not a reflection on you–it’s a reflection on themselves. Always listen to your heart, and never take the advice of someone who doesn’t have your best interest at heart. Fuck the critics, and make the best of your writing career–no matter how hard it can get–and sometimes it will. Most importantly–don’t you ever give up. There will be roadblocks, and sometimes you may think that you are not going to go anywhere, but you have to keep marching forth no matter the circumstance. Always keep going. ALWAYS.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As stated above, my dear friend and mentor Michael Phillip Geffner once told me, “Fuck the critics.” It was such a simple response, yet it rung in my ears like tinnitus. He’s always been my source of logic for when my emotions decide to take over, and I’m thankful for his guidance everyday.

What are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading a book on Skyrim, haha. I’m a huge Elder Scrolls nerd and should be an Elder Scrolls historian at this rate. Anyone who visits my Instagram page discovers that I’m pretty damn geeky!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Creating. Plain and simple, just keep creating. The obvious answer is continuing the success of “Bending”, but I want to enjoy doing what I doing everyday as much as I can. Inspiration is my goal, and honestly, nothing brings me greater joy than hearing other people say my book inspired them.

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?
Hellbound Heart, The Giving Tree, Abarat

Author Websites and Profiles
Cory Cowley Website
Cory Cowley Amazon Profile

Cory Cowley’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Cate Murray 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I teach at a community college in Texas. I studied creative writing under Caroline Gordon at the University of Dallas. I hold a Ph.D from Texas Woman’s University.

Here are my two new books:
1) Outskirts of the Woods : Poems, Plays, Essays & a Biography
2) Josephine’s Journey : Adventures & Misadventures in the 1960s

Both are available on Amazon (and free with Kindle Unlimited)

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Josephine’s Journey is my newest book.
* * * * *
Josephine marries folk singer Jonathan, moves to San Francisco and begins her new adventures and misadventures, encountering Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Dr. David Smith, and Charles Manson. Josephine delivers a beautiful baby and enters U. C. Berkeley. She joins the Free Speech movement and learns that free speech is not the goal of its organizers. With the help of two wise women who have escaped prisons in the Soviet Union and Cuba, and another lady who was deceived by her civil rights group, Josephine discovers many social justice organizations have corrupt roots. Josephine & Jon covert to Catholicism, but Jonathan ventures away to sit at the feet of an Indian guru. The journey ends in 1969.
* * * * *
It was inspired by reading RADICAL SON by David Horowitz.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write everywhere: Parks, lakes, cafes, fast-food joints, malls, and even sometimes at home.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
ON THE ROAD (Jack Kerouac), Sylvia Plath’s THE BELL JAR, Charlotte Bronte’s JANE EYRE,
THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a new play titled “Intersections,” loosely based on the first Clyde Barrow murder, from the victim’s point of view.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Critics can be wrong, but give them a listen anyway.

What are you reading now?
NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND by Dostoevsky.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To finish my novel HIDDEN CANDLE about a young woman in Nazi Germany.

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
Making Sense of Suffering, by Peter Kreeft
Collected works of W. B. Yeats
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

Author Websites and Profiles
Cate Murray Website
Cate Murray Amazon Profile

Cate Murray’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile