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Matt Witten 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a TV writer, novelist, playwright and screenwriter who has been writing for television for the past twenty years, including such shows as House, Pretty Little Liars, Law & Order, CSI: Miami, Medium, JAG, The Glades, Homicide, Judging Amy, and Women’s Murder Club. I’ve written four mystery novels that were published by Signet: Breakfast at Madeline’s, Grand Delusion, Strange Bedfellows, and The Killing Bee. My latest novel, The Necklace, has been optioned for film by Appian Way and Cartel Pictures, with Leonardo DiCaprio attached as producer.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel, The Necklace, comes out in September from Oceanview Publishing.

Nine years ago, I read an article in the Glens Falls Post-Star about a woman from a small town in upstate New York who was holding a fundraising event at a local bar. She needed money to travel to the upcoming execution of the man who had raped and murdered her young daughter twenty-two years before.

Everything about this story stuck with me: not only the tragic death, but also the woman’s dire circumstances and her quest to find justice and closure two decades later.

For years I wanted to write a novel about this, but I didn’t know what the story would be. Then one day I was having coffee with a writer friend, John Henry Davis, and he suggested: “What if the guy who’s being executed maybe didn’t do it?”

And that’s how The Necklace was born.

After I wrote the novel, I discovered something amazing. There is a woman in Idaho named Carol Dodge who devoted her life to proving that Christopher Tapp, the man imprisoned for raping and killing her daughter Angie many years earlier, was innocent. Thanks to Carol’s relentless efforts, Tapp was finally set free and the real killer, Brian Leigh Dripps, was arrested.

Talk about life imitating art!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to ride my bike to a coffee shop in the morning, chat with the other writers there, and then get down to two or three hours of writing. That way I get to start my day with three of my favorite things: exercise, socializing, and writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Throughout my life, two writers have inspired me the most: Dr. Seuss and Elmore Leonard. Dr. Seuss wrote with such freedom and wealth of imagination, and I believe has had a tremendous, underappreciated impact on so many writers who came after him. Elmore Leonard wrote with such economy of language, and such wonderful realistic dialogue, that I still marvel when I reread his work today.

In the past five or ten years, when I’ve been gobbling down psychological thrillers like candy, there are so many writers who have inspired me. Here’s a partial list: Gillian Flynn; Harlan Coben; Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen; Laura Lippman; Jessica Knoll; A.J. Finn; Paula Hawkins; Shari Lapena; Karin Slaughter; Mary Kubica; Lisa Lutz; Ruth Ware; Linwood Barclay; Fiona Barton; Lisa Jewell; JP Delany; and Hollie Overton.

What are you working on now?
A new novel called Clickbait, about a podcast reporter investigating a cold case.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I do my best to connect with bloggers who have reviewed and enjoyed novels similar to The Necklace.

My website is mattwittenwriter.com.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write!

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

What are you reading now?
The Thursday Murder Club.

What’s next for you as a writer?
After I finish Clickbait, I’m writing a TV pilot called Brainstorm, about a young neuroscientist who gets kidnapped with her blind date and thrown into a high-stakes intrigue about a weapon of mass destruction that she herself accidentally created

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?
Good question! A Jeeves novel by PG Wodehouse, and I’m not sure about the other two.

Author Websites and Profiles
Matt Witten Website

Matt Witten’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Jocelyn Chen 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello! I am currently a student at the University of Toronto studying Economics, Political Science, and English. I have written two novels so far, Last Moment, a young romance drama, and Burning Ember, an action and adventure with touches of fantasy and romance.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book just released June 1st and it’s called Burning Ember. This novel is inspired by various events I have seen and experienced in my life ranging from statewide Californian fires to the nationwide social unrest and I started accumulating these ideas when I was in high school.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have been growing out of this one since it’s pretty inefficient in the 21st century, but I loved writing out my words by hand before typing them out. My writing used to always appear on paper first before being typed out after. There was a time when the sound of clacking keyboards disturbed my thoughts and only those lead lines dancing across fresh white paper could keep up with my imagination.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Authors that I adore, if only to name a couple, are A.A. Milne and Shakespeare. I know Shakespeare as an influence seems very distant and intangible but I think that is exactly why I look to his work so much. Shakespeare created so many foundations on which storytelling is built upon today and I think that’s irreplaceable and undeniable. As for A.A. Milne, I think his structure is often so simple yet so beautiful even so. So many of the lines he has created are almost plain at the surface level, but I love that feeling when the beauty behind the simplicity slowly seeps in.

What are you working on now?
I am currently thinking of my third novel and although the images are hazy, I already have some ideas in mind. I’m thinking of trying out the thriller and mystery genre next and I am also enthralled by story concepts involving time travel. I think time travel is pretty tricky to tackle but I’m excited for the challenge!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Honestly, I don’t really know, but I do know that Goodreads is a wonderful place to connect with readers and I’m so excited to have launched my profile and I want everyone to know that I am open to, and enthusiastic about, answering any questions that anyone may have about my books!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m a young and new author myself so I’m not sure if I am quite ready to be giving advice. But something I like to remind myself is to write because I love to, and not for anything else. Writing can feel like a difficult and lonely road sometimes but if you’re traveling for the right reasons you’ll find the courage and the strength to keep moving forward, one step at a time.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Just do it.” –Nike

What are you reading now?
The Road Past Altamont by Gabrielle Roy

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to take a moment to expand my horizons and my views as I embark on my next novel.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would bring three survival books because I might be in trouble otherwise. Left with the difficult decision of only one book slot for fun, I would have to take “The Art of War.” Which actually may not be that fun, but I’ll be prepared. You never know what’s going to happen out there.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jocelyn Chen Website
Jocelyn Chen Amazon Profile

Jocelyn Chen’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Andrea Byrd 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Christian wife and mom in located in rural Kentucky, with a deep affinity for an old-fashioned, natural lifestyle. Often described as having been born outside my time, I love to spend time with my family in the great outdoors, one with nature.

With a degree in Equine Health & Rehabilitation gathering dust and a full-time job tethering me to a desk eight hours a day, I decided it was high time to invoke change in my life. To show my children it is truly possible to make your dreams come true, I dove into the role of Christian Romance author with my debut series, Smoky Mountain Romance.

So far, I have released one Novelette and one Novella in that series.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest work is titled Smoky Mountain Embers. It is inspired by the Chimney Tops II Fire that affected the Gatlinburg area in 2016. What started off as a miniscule fire turned into a full-blown firestorm with hurricane force winds. The disaster claimed thousands of structures in the area. After researching the disaster which had hit so close to home, I felt compelled to tell a story which would honor both the lives saved and the lives lost.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No unusual writing habits but I do tend to write between 4am and 7am

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am completely in love with Diana Palmer’s writing style. She is absolutely my inspiration when it comes to writing. Also, my favorite book of all time is The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. I’ve read that book many times and will read it many more! Her scene descriptions are incredible! Plus, what can be better than water horses?

What are you working on now?
My next release will be Smoky Mountain Christmas, a Smoky Mountain Romance, which features a young woman who avoids attachments due to her infertility. She becomes snow-bound with a large, loving family and a handsome cowboy — the situation of her nightmares!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far, selling in person within my community has been my most effective method of moving my books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do it! Write your story and get it out there! Make your dreams come true and don’t be afraid to find your own path along the way.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Not two people will take the same path up the mountain.

What are you reading now?
Just finished An Unforseen Match by Regina Jennings! It was amazing!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Over the next month, I will be spending quite a bit of time on marketing this new release. But I will also be starting on my next projects. Smoky Mountain Christmas is already reading for rework, rewriting, and editing. And I’m already brainstorming the next release after that and will begin writing it in the next few weeks as well.

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?
Wait, only 3 or 4? Well, if I had to choose…. Definitely The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, Summer Breeze by Catherine Anderson, and then I’d have a tough time choosing just a couple of Diana Palmer’s.

Author Websites and Profiles
Andrea Byrd Website

Sade Teniola 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an extrovert who loves to travel, I often find being abroad or even changing my scenery inspires me to write. Most of my poems have come from being abroad, having the space to clear my mind and read. Carthatic, releasing and liberating.
I have one book out that was recently published.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have my debut book, The Silence That Falls In Between, that recently came out a few weeks ago. The inspiration for my book came from my passion to support women who may feel as though their voice is of no value. Poetry is a beautiful way of choosing how vulnerable you want to be. You can hide behind the metaphor or find the releasing power of vulnerability. I’ve used my story as a way of building a bridge in a way that, hopefully, feels relatable.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not sure if this falls under the unusual category but I often write in the dead of night. The daytime is when I fill my mind and time with activities, projects, etc, so the dead of night when everyone is still, where there are no more distractions is when I often write.
It’s never planned, I’m trying to sleep and then suddenly; phone’s out, I’m frantically typing away before the words disappear…so is that unusual?

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Authors I find inspiring are Nikita Gill, Rupi Kaur, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Morgan Harper Nichols, Brene Brown and Charlie Mackesy. The way they use their words to empower, to heal and make us feel less alone is just inspiring and beautiful.

What are you working on now?
Promoting my current book and slowly thinking about the next time…

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m new to this so this is something I’m still learning myself but friends have just naturally helped promote my book using their social media account. I, too, find promoting on my social media to be the most effective.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Firstly, I’m also a new author so hi! How are you? This is crazy, right?
The best advice someone gave me was to focus on what you can control and surrender the things you can’t. Yes, do all the research and promoting that you can do but release the anxiety that comes with the reality of being an author: the imposter syndrome, etc.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The above but also: if your book reaches only one person and it changes that one person’s life then that is just as powerful as if it had changed a million.

What are you reading now?
Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly. Wow! If I could just live in her head for a minute…

What’s next for you as a writer?
My debut book is still super fresh so I want to give it a bit of attention before I move on to another book. Though I do think of what the second one would be like.

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?
Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
Your Heart is the Sea by Nikita Gill
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
They should keep me sane for a bit. Can I also bring a notebook and pen?

Author Websites and Profiles
Sade Teniola Website
Sade Teniola Amazon Profile

Cherime MacFarlane 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing for ages. I started with poetry and song lyrics. Then we moved to Alaska in the 1970s. I wrote the first novel that winter in a cabin in rural Alaska. In long hand, I wrote in the loft while trying to keep warm. For many years I kept upgrading it from computer program to new program. Since publishing it early 2007, I’ve written and published over 30. All are romances in some guise.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
A Snake by the Tail is an offshoot from the first space romance written exclusively in the Stellar Unite Nations Universe. Another author created that world and I love creating in it. Then again, science fiction was my first love.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
The love of my life who died several years ago have a bad case of insomnia. On the weekends when he could sleep in, I didn’t. So I learned to be extremely silent. When I’m writing all you hear is the click of the keys on the keyboard.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I said I was a science fiction fan. Anne McCaffrey. Isaac Asimov, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Then I discovered romance books; Mary Stewart for one.

What are you working on now?
That would be telling, ha, ha. Seriously, I have a pen name I’ve kept close to the vest and what I’m working on has to do with the Cherokee tribe and their involvement in both the American Civil War and slavery. It’s a bit of a twisted tale. The Civil War was a war of brothers both between the North and South and those caught on the fringes.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
To be honest, I’m horrid at promoting. I’d rather be writing and don’t pay as much attention to marketing as I should. I tend to impulse promote. Not a great strategy.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Short of ending up in jail or dead, experience everything you can. It’s all useful when writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Take the chance when it rolls around, it may never come again.

What are you reading now?
Working my way through the In Death series again while reading romantic suspense, regency and Victorian mysteries. Just finished a few space romances and have preordered another.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Right now, I’m planning on working more in the SUN Universe. It’s a great place to let your imagination free.

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?
Dragon Riders of Pern, Naked In Death, The Word for World is Forest, Fantastic Voyage

Author Websites and Profiles
Cherime MacFarlane Website
Cherime MacFarlane Amazon Profile
Cherime MacFarlane Author Profile on Smashwords

Cherime MacFarlane’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Jennipher Adams 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
The written word has long since been a passion of mine. I began writing in my early 20’s, poems, short stories, and plays. About 10 years ago I began writing a romance novel which I hope to finish this summer.
Science has been one of my favorite subjects to teach for many years. I enjoy seeing students when they are engrossed in hands-on learning activities. In this book, a student has become discouraged about education and then a science assignment reignites the joy of learning.

Included in this book are six labs which may be conducted at home using typical household items, vocabulary words to discuss, and higher level thinking questions to ponder.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have been teaching for over 20 years. When the whole world went under quarantine, teaching became undiscovered territory. I absolutely love teaching and know it is important to be flexible, always keeping in mind doing what is best for the students. Watching my students adjust to their new normal, I found myself concerned with their feelings about homebound learning.

The inspiration for “When The World Was Sick” was discussions with students when communication was conducted virtually with no physical contact. The challenge to create lessons which motivated and kept them engaged was a daily task.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I begin a book I just sit and write, no editing or questioning my plot, just write. I enjoy sitting at my desk in my sunroom, looking outside with my dog resting on a pillow beside my computer.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The first place I will go in a bookstore is the Children’s Poetry section. Jack Prelutsky, Mister Rogers, and Shel Silverstein are among some of my favorite writers for children.
Nora Roberts, Debbie Macomber, and Jude Deveraux are some of my favorite romance writers.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on completing my romance novel and continue to edit my next children’s book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The main method of promoting my book thus far is my friends networking with Facebook. I also ask business owners to place my book among their inventories.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Advice I might give to new authors is write to for yourself and don’t give up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It is difficult to narrow the best advice ever passed on to me, I have read words of wisdom from many individuals, but, perhaps the most inspirational comments have come from my children.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
If I were stranded on a desert island and was allowed to only take a few books, I would pack, “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austin, “Where The Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein, and “Stories from Shakespeare” by Geraldine McCaughrean.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jennipher Adams Website
Jennipher Adams Amazon Profile

Eric Johnson 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in a small town in Mississippi, Greenwood, and moved to Florida in 2001. I have had many jobs, but my most rewarding is the one I gave now. I am a juvenile correctional officer in a level 10 maximum security facility. I appreciate the opportunity I have to change the paths of youth who have definitely lost their way.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Longshot: A Life Less Ordinary. I gave always loved science fiction and have written thousands of private stories and fragments, but this is the first that I took to fruition. Several characters are based on people, of dogs, I’ve known in my life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
The biggest is that I always, always write the first draft of anything with pen and paper, then, when I type I revise and edit for the first time.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Robert Heinlein was the biggest, then David Drake, Eric Flint, David Weber (Love Honor Harrington!), And, more recently, Jim Butcher. The Dresden Files is probably my favorite book series to date. And I have to mention Mark Tufo. I know him personally, and he has done a great deal to get me to this point. He’s a great writer, and I really enjoy sci Fi horror

What are you working on now?
Well, the second book in the Longshot series, a new short story collection that tells an overarching story of the survival of humanity in the far future, and I have been writing a series of fragments that MN at or may not become books

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook! I also use Twitter to a limited extent

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep trying, keep writing, and remember that a firm editor is your best friend.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Shut up and write it down.

What are you reading now?
I just finished Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Coleman. Great read. About to reread Battleground by Jim Butcher.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to keep working on my prose and I am going to start actively plotting book three of my 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?
Starship Troopers by Heinlein, the Return of the King by Tolkien, Zombie Fallout by Mark Tufo, and, finally, Survive on a Desert Island by Claire Llewellyn

Eric Johnson’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile