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LAURIE SUDBRINK 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
LAURIE SUDBRINK established Unlimited Coaching Solutions, Inc. in 1999. Her proprietary system of GRIT® (Generosity, Respect, Integrity and Truth) has inspired tens of thousands of participants to take control of their own happiness and productivity at work. She is widely known as a dynamic speaker whose work ranges from small organizations to fortune 500 and has delivered workshops and keynotes at business and higher education conferences around the world.

Laurie’s book Leading With GRIT was published by Wiley in 2015, hardcopy. Laurie recently negotiated the rights back and has self-published, along with an audio book!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Leading With GRIT was inspired by my 20+ years of leadership development in organizations around the US, from small, manufacturers, to large Fortune 500, and government training provided for New York State and the Navy in San Diego. The common theme I found was that the old ‘command and control’ style wasn’t working. And while any managers had grit, they caused collateral damage along the way. GRIT – Generosity, Respect, Integrity and Truth is the roadmap to leading intentionally and with long-lasting positive results.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
not that I know of

What authors, or books have influenced you?
don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements, The Mastery of Love
Ken Blanchard, One Minute Manager was first management book that influenced me.
Way too many great books to list here

What are you working on now?
Just finished audio of LWG, and the accompanying GRIT Productivity Planner.
Starting a Lead With GRIT Workbook and self-directed online course.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon.com/grittystuff storefront
LeadingWithGRIT.com

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t listen to other’s advice – follow your heart and your soul!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be yourself – everyone else is already taken!

What are you reading now?
The Nightingale

What’s next for you as a writer?
A GRIT series… Communicating With GRIT, Team GRIT Teen GRIT (potential co-author)

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
The Four Agreements
Wilderness Survival Guide
Blank Journal

Author Websites and Profiles
LAURIE SUDBRINK Website
LAURIE SUDBRINK Amazon Profile

LAURIE SUDBRINK’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Belynda Wilson Thomas 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written two books and working on the third but the first one is my practice book and will probably never be published. I am very proud of it however, because it is through it, I became a writer and finished a manuscript. I have over 700 posts on a blog called belyndasbooks.com

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my novel is Secrets and Silence and what inspired it is the redeeming power of love. I wanted to delve into why some people rise above the hurts and challenges of their past.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I get up at six o’clock most days and on Monday and Thursday I write a blog post and the rest of the days I work on my novel Secrets and Sorrow. The sequel to Secrets and Silence.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love to read and books by Laura Ingalls Wilder I loved as a child. I love Danielle Steele’s plotting and Stephen King’s suspense. The Thorn Bird’s by Colleen McCullough and Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell stand out for memorable characters.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the sequel to Secrets and Silence called Secrets and Sorrow. Also a children’s book about a beloved dog.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have been interviewed on podcasts and internet radio shows. I have also given a webinar through a local arts group on self publishing. I am actively looking for speaking engagements and speaking at Toastmasters groups.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Make writing a habit, and remember overnight success takes about 15 years. If writing feeds your soul it is worth doing and if you put it out into the world your readers will probably find you. It takes time to build a readership and a catalogue of work.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Starting is half done, and be grateful for what you have and you will get more.

What are you reading now?
The Cave and the Light by Arthur Herman

What’s next for you as a writer?
To continue writing and publishing my books. Building a readership, catalogue of books, and continuing my blog. Develop my public speaking with Toastmasters and speaking opportunities that present themselves.

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, and I need to think about what else would make the cut.

Author Websites and Profiles
Belynda Wilson Thomas Website
Belynda Wilson Thomas Amazon Profile

Jason Belcher 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written four books, and about a dozen novellas. I started writing during graduate school, which I attended while on active duty in the U.S. Air Force. My first publication was an academic article, and completing it felt like running a marathon. I love history, and one of my college degrees is in that subject.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Versatile Nation: How America’s Knack for Reinventing Itself Will Make Life Better After 2020

Like many, I watched the events of 2020 during lockdown with a combination of horror and fascination. At first I thought, there is nothing I can really do about anything that’s happening, but then I realized there was something I could do. I could use the extra time constructively, so I started thinking about how the US handled crises and upheaval in the past. I did some research, made some notes, outlined a few chapters, and over the course of several months it grew into a full length book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I presume my writing habits are normal, but there is no way for me to really know for sure

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love science fiction, especially Isaac Asimov, George Orwell, Suzanne Collins, Margaret Atwood, and Stephen King. In graduate school we read a lot of scholarly works, to numerous to list here, but I give top marks to Samuel Huntington.

I grew up reading Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series, which I think is when I realized I wanted to write books myself. Love James Clavell’s Shogun, I read it not long before travelling to Japan as an exchange student.

What are you working on now?
Two science fiction books, one on the Cold War, and another of a future war between the US and China.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m a morning person, so I dedicate a few hours each morning to writing new content.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write every day, but don’t be afraid to take a day or two off each week. Writing is a perishable skill. If you don’t use it, you will lose 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?
1984, Raise the Titanic, The Stand, and Shogun.

 

Gray Holborn 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a part-time teacher and part-time writer—so I get a little bit of the best of both worlds, even if work can pile up and be a bit hectic sometimes. I’m from the midwest, but I moved to the PNW for grad school and fell in love with the area. I’ve been here now for almost a decade and have a feeling I’ll be here for quite a while longer. It’s hard to give up the combination of mountains and water.

In my freetime, I can be found reading, consuming way too much TV (is there such a thing as *too much* TV? I don’t know), and wandering around the city with my dog. He gets me out of the house on days when the world feels like a bit of a disaster. Dogs are the best, we definitely do not deserve them.

I’ve currently got two Urban Fantasy series that I’m publishing over the course of 2021.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My current series, The Protector Guild, started as a Nanowrimo project a couple of years ago. I only wrote about 20-30 thousand words initially, and wanted to write a story about a girl who was thrust into a new world and set of experiences. I’d been reading reverse harem/why choose books for a few months at the time and really loved that they all incorporated this interesting cast of characters—I think I loved that aspect of the genre more so than all of the romance even. Writing a series in that genre seemed like a really cool way to practice creating and developing characters, each with their own complex and compelling back story. I was also going through a difficult time with anxiety and depression, and building each of the characters really helped me through it—sometimes analyzing characters and their experiences/traumas can really help me understand my own. My dog kept me company during those long nights of writing and learning the craft, so I wrote him into the story as the protagonist’s cartoonish hellhound sidekick (who is obviously my favorite character).

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do what are known as pomodoro sprints. I set a timer for 15-25 minutes and just word vomit all over my google doc. I don’t do any editing during that time and instead, just try to get into the flow and let my characters speak to me. It’s been a really cool way to get words on the page, without stressing too much about perfection. One thing I’ve learned as a reader of indie books is that I don’t focus much on perfection while I’m reading. It just doesn’t matter much to me—the perfectly-constructed sentence doesn’t seem nearly as important as the feeling a scene or a character evokes. Sprints have helped tremendously with that.

Also chocolate. When I have a particularly high word count day, I like to reward myself with chocolate (and, let’s be honest, I still get that chocolate even if I don’t.)

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read everything. I always hate when people say that they love all genres, until I remember that I’m one of those people. And all of the books I read, whether fiction or not, shape my writing in some way. Right now, I’m really into audiobooking comedic memoirs/essays while walking my pup, and I read a ton of fiction/fantasy before bed, when I’m trying to wind down (and then eventually stay up all night reading…I need to work on that strategy).

What are you working on now?
I’m working on drafting the fifth book in my The Protector Guild series. I’ve been living in this world for so many months and it’s a ton of fun. It’s bittersweet that I only have two more books in this series (but oh do I have spinoffs planned!).

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I post a lot on instagram and engage with facebook groups in my genre. It’s a great community and offers me a chance to talk to readers and see what they are enjoying.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m still an incredibly new author in the publishing world, and only really began investing time in it over the last six or seven months. I’d say the best advice I have is to sit your butt in the chair and get words on the page. Everything comes after that.

Second piece of advice is to be open to learning. These days, authors are required to do a lot more than simply write. You have to be a great storyteller, but you also have to learn how to market and use social media. There’s so many different hats to wear and you have to be open to learning about the process if you want to discover what works best for you. The self-publishing community is really generous with sharing information and education, which has been invaluable to me. I try to set aside an hour or two every week to listen to podcasts on indie publishing, or to read various books on the writing craft itself.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Butt in Seat. If you want to be a writer, the first step is to sit down and actually start writing. Don’t just talk about doing it.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading Victoria Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, David Gaughran’s Strangers to Superfans, and a collection of short stories called Love After the End.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a few new series planned that I can’t wait to get into. I know that the general suggestion is to stick to one genre, but I have a contemporary romance trilogy that won’t leave my head, so that’ll be next.

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?
MEAN.

I’d bring Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping, Camus’ The Stranger, Sabaa Tahir’s Ember in the Ashes series (I’m counting that as one book), and any book by Roxane Gay.

Author Websites and Profiles
Gray Holborn Website
Gray Holborn Amazon Profile

Gray Holborn’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Benedick Ganzo 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a retired public school teacher. I am also an engineer. I have written a book on Mathematics and my latest book on education, Bring Up Kings, has been read by thousands of educators around the world and applied, knowingly or not, by parents around the world who want to raise successful children.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Bring Up Kings. It was inspired by the lives of great human beings such as Einstein, Leonardo, Edison, Mozart, and how they were educated to become the masters of what they do.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Great Lives, Great Deeds by Thomas Carlyle

What are you working on now?
It is a book on urban plannng and design called Happiness Engineering: Building Ecstatic Structures for the Soul.

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

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

 

Author Websites and Profiles
Benedick Ganzo Amazon Profile

Benedick Ganzo’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Jenna Greene 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a teacher, writer, and podcaster. Though primarily a YA fantasy author, I have also delved into poetry, novellas, and children’s books. My latest release (June 21, 2021) will be my sixth book in print. When not writing, chasing after children, or fighting the urge to nap, I co-host “Quill and Ink: A Podcast for Booklovers,” where I interview authors from around the world and learn about their unique style of writing.

*I am a client of Creative Edge Publicity

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest release is the sequel to the first book in The Reborn Marks series. RENEW takes place just a few short weeks after the ending events of REBORN. Though she’s escaped slavery and endured the hardships of the Wastelands to reach sanctuary, Lexil is learning that this idyllic setting is far from perfect. As well, she must deal with the guilt of those she left behind and remain in slavery. She must decide if she can live knowing others are in peril, and what she is willing to sacrifice to make a difference in the world.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write scene-by-scene, which not all writers do. Sometimes that means sitting down and writing half a page, and at other times that means writing multiple pages. As well, so signal my family members that I am deep into a story plot, and not just checking my emails and Twitter feed, I tend to wear a tiara when I write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Pretty much every YA writer I have had the privilege of reading, especially the dystopian ones, as well as classic literature such as 1984, Pride and Prejudice, and Brave New World.

What are you working on now?
I have a few projects on the go. The third/ final book of The Reborn Marks series is in the editing phase. As well, I have a picture book being formatted. A novella I wrote last fall will be part of an anthology. This summer I plan to draft the final book in the Imagine series before embarking on a new journey with a brand new series (I’m collecting ideas already!)

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I find that being active on social media all through the year – not just when I have a new release – is beneficial. I’m on Tik Tok, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook… you name it! – posting writing memes, book images, and engaging readers on a personal level.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Just write. `Don’t expect your story to be perfect on the first try. (It’s called a rough draft for a reason). Edit later, just tell the story.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To let the characters tell the story – after all, they do it better than I do. They know themselves and they are going to take over anyway. If you set a story up the right way, eventually it begins to tell itself and all you have to do is record it.

What are you reading now?
I am reading Cloud Atlas. My Christmas present from my sister was a scratch-off literature poster and there were too many gaps for my liking. I just finished The Great Gatsby.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Too many things to count! I plan to scribble a few more picture books for someone else to illustrate, inspired by my daughter’s shenanigans, as well as those of her friends. I have new series to create, maybe a short story of two to tackle… and more!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A book about edible plants.

Pride and Prejudice

1984

Author Websites and Profiles
Jenna Greene Website

Jenna Greene’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Andre Soares 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Andre Soares, author, screenwriter and actor based in Atlanta, GA.

I was born in Rio, Brazil and grew up in France, raised by a single mother.

Books were a huge part of our lives, an outlet: I learned how to read at 3 and started devouring them. Creative writing was just a natural development: I wanted to craft my own stories and be in control of my narrative.

I came to the US in 2009, spent a few years in NYC and joined the US Army.

I now reside in Atlanta, and released my debut novella, “The Forerunner”.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is also my debut novella. “The Forerunner”.

I drew inspiration from my cultural background: raised in Europe in a predominantly African household, I have a global perspective. I tackle issues and themes with a very unique outlook quite different from my fellow US authors (whom I admire, nonetheless).

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to walk around my office space and visualize the scenes I intend to write down, or think out loud and reflect on characters and world-building interactions.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
JK Rowling was a huge influence. What she accomplished with the Harry Potter series was phenomenal. And I’m not talking commercial success. The scale of what she constructed is still unmatched.

Walter Mosley is also a huge influence. James Patterson, Tom Clancy…and many more.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the second installment of my “Vice Versa” series, a trilogy that began with “The Forerunner”.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I like to interact with small but engaged pockets of readership. My blog readers and Facebook fans for the most part, as well as fellow authors I meet here in Atlanta.

I love to listen and get feedback and discuss specific aspects of my projects. It excites me. Something you don’t necessarily get with a broader audience.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes. Take your time. Authoring and creative writing take years to master (with a few exceptions). Learn your craft, humble yourself. Take harsh criticism and revise your positions if you find that it impedes your progress.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Show, don’t tell”

What are you reading now?
I am currently reading “The Holcroft Covenant” by Robert Ludlum (another inspiration).

What’s next for you as a writer?
I also studied screenwriting.

Once I complete this trilogy, I will finish working on a tv series I crafted a tv pilot for two years ago. It revolves around spycraft.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A Burning by Megha Majumdar, Dune by Frank J Herbert, any spy novel (hi John!).

Author Websites and Profiles
Andre Soares Website
Andre Soares Amazon Profile

Andre Soares’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Nicole Rice 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have spent the last 27 years as a certified high school technology teacher, the daughter of two high school teachers, and train a new set of students each fall into becoming the district’s expert geek squad. I received my Bachelor’s in Marketing and Communication from the University of Maryland and her Masters in Reading from SUNY Oneonta. In the summer my husband, (aka her high school sweetheart) and I have a marina on a lake in upstate New York. I raised two daughters who grew up working together in the general store and now both live in California but still call and tell me everything, sometime TMI. In my classroom, as Mrs. Rice, I spend six hours a day with technology and aspiring teenagers, and as they become older teens think their parents are outdated and “they just don’t get it.” That’s why I love providing just a little inspiration through my high school book series with simple questions and cheat sheets that parents and anyone can use to spark a conversation with teenagers. The number one thing I find as teens grow up in the pace of today’s technology is that teens are actually a lot smarter than many adults give them credit for if they would just step back and listen. I have gathered the most common quotes from teens and I share them with you. Revealing that teens really do want to spend time together and talk to adults to help them survive life. My next book (Number 2) in the High School Teacher Series will be like this, Operation: Improve your Life with Simple Habits for a Better Day inspired by teen quotes and stories.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Nicole Rice has spent the last 27 years as a certified high school technology teacher, the daughter of two high school teachers herself, and trains a new set of students each fall into becoming the district’s expert geek squad. She received her Bachelor’s in Marketing and Communication from the University of Maryland and her Masters in Reading from SUNY Oneonta. In the summers she and her husband, (aka her high school sweetheart) have a marina on a lake in upstate New York. They raised their two daughters who grew up working together in the general store and now both live in California but still call and tell her everything. In her classroom, Mrs. Rice spends six hours a day with technology and aspiring teenagers, and as they become older teens think their parents are outdated and “they just don’t get it.” That’s why she loves providing just a little inspiration through her high school book series with simple questions and cheat sheets that parents and anyone can use to spark a conversation with teenagers. The number one thing she finds as teens grow up in the pace of today’s technology is that teens are actually a lot smarter than many adults give them credit for if they would just step back and listen. She has gathered the most common quotes from teens and shares them with you. Revealing that teens really do want to spend time together and talk to adults to help them survive life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
3 habits work for me as a writer. 1. I write from 4:30 am to 5:30 am before I get ready and off to school. 2. I keep a notepad by my Peloton bike because the instructors on their get me thinking about life and ideas to write about in the books. 3. When a teen does or says something that I just know other people can relate to I think of whole chapters around this, teens are the most creative thinkers I know.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Sophie Howard and C.J. Anaya.

What are you working on now?
7 Habits for a Better Day. Operation: Improve Your Life.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon AMS

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Put one hour a day towards your book 7 days a week, and before you know it, you are an author. Put it on Amazon, do not wait, let the people all over the world see your book.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
My sister, do it, what is the worst thing that can happen?

What are you reading now?
Leading with GRIT by Laurie Sudbrink

What’s next for you as a writer?
Gather stories from students I have taught in high school over the past 27 years and post them all together in one book, “where they are now”.

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.
A blank journal.
Morse Code.
How to hunt.

Author Websites and Profiles
Nicole Rice Amazon Profile

Nicole Rice’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Nicolle Vaughn 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is the first book I’ve ever written. I am a combat veteran who was just looking for a way to get my postwar emotions out of me and onto paper. I created characters to represent different emotions and then somehow this insane story just evolved.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is titled The Lady in The Red Shawl, it was inspired by a painting that hangs on my wall. I would sit with this painting for hours just thinking over all my experiences and memories. She brought me such solace and comfort that I gave her to my main female character for the same purpose. (The cover of the book is a photograph of the real painting.)

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I usually write in the middle of the night when I wake up from a nightmare or can’t sleep. I’d say the majority of my writing is done after midnight and before daybreak.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
If I could meet any author in the world who ever lived it would be the beautiful Walt Whitman. The descriptions he makes paints a picture so clear to the reader and the emotions he traps in words transcribe across all generations.

What are you working on now?
Right now I am working on the sequel to The Lady in The Red Shawl. It will be titled The Lady Draped in White.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am new to all of this! So far I have only explored Facebook.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Reach out to other authors who began the same way you are. I have been welcomed into so many author circles and been given such wonderful advice.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Treat people as good as you are, not as good as they deserve.

What are you reading now?
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

What’s next for you as a writer?
My next step is to see if anyone actually likes my book. It’s dark and a little psycho so I’m worried that no one will like it. I guess if Patrick Bateman still has fan clubs there must be a fan base who might like my Will Hartmann .

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?
My practical self is tempted to give the titles of 3 survival guides, but the impractical side of me would choose The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernst Hemingway and then as many erotic romance novels as I could carry.

Author Websites and Profiles
Nicolle Vaughn Amazon Profile

Nicolle Vaughn’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Harris Kloe 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I serve suspense and crime fiction books and my latest work is my debut short story series:
“Shades of Secrets”.The first title of the series: “Behind the Wall” is out now on Amazon.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Behind the Wall is the name and to be honest the idea for this story came to me one day when I was swimming in the ocean of thoughts and suddenly this story ringed in my mind and woke me up.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a very unusual habit of writing a story without having the end in mind. Like Stephen
King says that I let the story go on its own. To me defining the ending is like missing all those opportunities my creativity has to offer

What authors, or books have influenced you?
A lot of works by Stephen King especially “The Shining” and “It” as in both of the books the actual thing to be scared off is very unusual.
A lot of books by Agatha Christie such as “Murder is Easy” and “Dead man’s Folly”. I’m a big fan of her portrayal of negative characters.

What are you working on now?
Promoting Behind the Wall and working on the next titles in the series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Instagram Ads and book reviews.
(Cheap and effective)

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m a new author myself so I can tell what I’m experiencing. It requires patience and passion to make it big.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never Give up

What are you reading now?
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, trying to gain insights on fantasy books as I have a similar idea that involves a magical world.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Publish the next titles on the series Shades of Secrets.
Become a leading name in the crime fiction and suspense genre.

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 Alchemist
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Elon Musk
Any other book that can tip on how to survive on a deserted island

Author Websites and Profiles
Harris Kloe Website
Harris Kloe Amazon Profile

Harris Kloe’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account