http://awesomegang.com

Where Awesome Book Readers Meet Awesome Writers

1. Still Life With Murder - 2013-06-06 23:03:34-04
   Patricia Ryan is the bestselling author of more than two dozen novels, which have garnered rave reviews and been published in over twenty countries. A RITA winner (for Silken Threads) and four-time nominee, she is also the recipient of two Romantic Times Awards and a Mary Higgins Clark Award nomination for the second book of her #1 bestselling historical mystery series featuring Boston governess Nell Sweeney, which she wrote under the name P.B. Ryan. If you'd like to learn more about her upcoming mystery series, which ties into the Nell Sweeney books, sign up for her newsletter at http://pb-ryan.com.
   
2. Freddie The Frog: Teaches All About Frogs - 2013-06-06 23:04:44-04
   Elaine is a mother of two now thankfully past pre-school. She is 32 years old and lives in the UK. She self taught her own children prior to schooling with very successful methods used in her books.
   
3. The Fox Princess by Charlie Flowers - 2013-06-06 23:05:11-04
   Charlie Flowers was born in Eastern Europe sometime in the late Sixties and arrived with his family in Britain in 1975. After training as a journalist in London he had a varied career as reporter, roadie, truck driver and record label boss. In the late Nineties he formed two cult bands, and is currently an adviser on terrorism and extremism to certain departments and think tanks. His day job is transport manager at a specialist logistics firm. He also once made the front cover of Searchlight magazine but no-one noticed. He is author of the "Riz" Trilogy - "Riz", "The Fox Princess", and "Blood Honeymoon".
   
4. The Justice Referendum - 2013-06-07 01:48:24-04
   Jon Thew lives with his wife Patricia and spends his time writing when not being pursued by an ever increasing, exhausting, expensive, wonderful hoard of young grandchildren. Occasionally he manages to find time to indulge his passions for sport (he is an acknowledge fanatic), criminology and British Military History. Jon's first wage was 10p an hour shovelling sh*t on a local farm and he agrees life does indeed follow a cycle and these days, more often than not, a full circle! The Illegal Justice series are his first novels. 'The Justice Referendum' reflects Jon's concerns for the future of the UK's society and just what his family unit will face in the future as values erode. 'The Drug Baron Mission' reflects a concern and fear at the way drugs have infiltrated almost every sector of the UK. Are we going to do something about it? Check out the website www.jonthew.com for more details of the books, sample chapters and how crime has affected Jon's family. Jon has two further Illegal Justice books planned and has written the screen play for 'The Justice Mission'.
   
5. Robby’s Quest for Seed - 2013-06-07 01:48:49-04
   Currently living in Arizona along with their cats Hershey and Nomi, Cathy is a homemaker and Don is a retired Manufacturing Manager and former Governing Board member of the Cartwright School District in Phoenix, Arizona.
   
6. JOIN THE WINNERS IN LIFE - 2013-06-07 01:49:35-04
   Retired and living in Vanuatu. Spend my time helping newbie authors get started and write motivational books to help others lead a better life.
   
7. Vegetarian Superfoods Package – Packed With 81 Super Fruits, Veggies, Beans and Fats for Your Vegetarian Diet (Superfoods Series) by Karen Groves - 2013-06-07 01:50:14-04
   Karen Groves -- researcher, writer and teacher specializing in health issues like cancer and diabetes, natural products, superfoods, homeopathic remedies and supplements. When asked recently why she is working on the Superfoods Series of books, Karen said, "Unfortunately, most of our food supply is contaminated with pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and other dangerous substances, not to mention Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) foods that are invading our food supply. As a result, we need to be careful with what we put in our bodies. For better health, we should be eating organic, natural, grass fed or wild caught foods - Superfoods. So this series of Superfood books is my effort to help people make better choices for themselves and for their families." Since 1990, Karen has worked off and on with various natural products and supplements, including products specifically formulated for cancer patients and diabetics. As a result of her research, she has made major changes in her own diet by adding more superfoods. As a result, she is experiencing positive changes to her own health. So you might say that Karen 'practices what she preaches.' In 1980 Karen nearly died, and that is when she was introduced to homeopathic remedies. They saved her life, and since then she has done nothing but natural medicine (homeopathic remedies, Bach flower remedies, essential oils, energy work, chiropractic treatments, massage and diet). This was quite a change for the daughter of a General Surgeon and a nurse.
   
8. A Strange and Bitter Fruit by Barry Davis - 2013-06-07 01:50:33-04
   I love books – reading and writing them. As a child I used to hang out in the library near my west Philadelphia home. One of my brothers would have to stop around to remind me to come home and eat my dinner. My parents – Robert and Lena – loved to read so this affinity came naturally. I confined my love of books to writing until I reached my late 30's. Call it a mid-life crisis or what have you but I felt a void in my life. I felt that I had something to say but wasn't saying it, lost in the day to day grind of earning enough dollars to pay my mortgage and put food on the table. I returned to my first love, words, and began to write. I began by writing screenplays to enter an online contest held by the HBO reality show called Project Greenlight in the 2002 and 2003. Out of thousands of entries my screenplays finished in the top 100, which impressed me since I was a brand new writer. I then moved on to novels, stupidly believing that getting a novel published would be easy compared to getting a screenplay made into a movie. I can't say how wrong that was. There's nothing easy about it. Eight years later I have completed my sixth novel – THE ZOMBIE WHO WOULD BE KING – adapted from one of my most popular Greenlight screenplays. If you read my work, you will see that I love many types of books (I obey the axiom that you write what you read). I love historical fiction, crime, mystery, horror and science fiction. My TV is usually set to PBS or whatever baseball game that happens to be playing. When not writing, working or hanging with my family, I love to ride my bike. There's no better place to work a kink out in a book than on the back of good road bike. The boring but vital stuff: I am a University of Pennsylvania graduate who currently lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two children. I have written screen plays, novels and short stories. I have had had several short stories published in webzines and print magazines.
   
9. Primal Shift by Griffin Hayes - 2013-06-07 01:51:09-04
   I grew up watching grainy reruns of The Twilight Zone and rereading worn-out copies of Raymond Chandler novels. Eventually, my taste for the unsettling and the inexplicable found an outlet in my short stories; two of which have been published: The Grip with Black Ink Horror and Last Call with Alienskin. I've written a handful of books to date. The latest is a post-apocalyptic series called Primal Shift about a worldwide amnesia that sends humanity back to the dark ages.
   
10. Vampire Origins: Project Ichorous - 2013-06-07 02:03:45-04
    Writing has always been my forte. In school, I consistently got high grades in English, and entertained my friends and family by ‘casting’ them into my creative writing assignments. I never had to really try when it came to spelling and grammar, and was often called ‘teacher’s pet’ by my fellow classmates, a title I wore with pride. Given that, it was no surprise that I ended up working as a journalist and corporate communications specialist, even though I ended up in the career quite by accident. When I left school, I worked for many years as a secretary, then in between having children, a market research consultant. It was my best friend’s husband who kind of kick started my professional writing career (and ironically enough, he’s still a part of my writing, as he has designed all of my book covers). As a graphic artist, he was working on a major project for Hewlett Packard and needed someone to help out with the communications side. The conversation basically went ‘So you’re good with English, aren’t you?’ Next thing I knew, I was working on documentary scripts, advertising copy, and a number of different corporate communications projects for some very major clients. Then in 2001, my husband was offered a job in Papua New Guinea. Just as I fell into the communications side of my career, PNG was where I fell into journalism. At the time, I had just started working as a personal assistant to the Australian ambassador. In passing one day, I happened to mention to the ambassador that I enjoyed writing, and told him some of the stuff I’d worked on for my friend. He then introduced me to the Editor-in-Chief of the largest newspaper in the country, who asked me to submit an article to him. I had no idea how to be a journalist, but I can’t have done too bad a job, because after he published a few more of my articles, and had me interview a couple of international sporting personalities, he gave me my own weekly column. It was around that time that I finally realised I could make a career out of writing. I enrolled in a journalism degree and, in the meantime, kept pumping out articles, specialising mostly in travel journalism. I was still working at the embassy but I was also being asked to go on press trips, and stay in lovely resorts all over PNG – and then all over the world. We travelled to Thailand, and stayed in some remarkable 5 star properties, and even attended the Elephant Polo, all thanks to my writing. I cannot even describe how intoxicating it all was. It was on a press trip to Dubai that we made the decision to leave the tropics behind and head to the Middle East. Our goal was to land a job in Dubai, or Qatar, or somewhere else modern and glitzy. Instead, my husband got offered a job in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia! Thanks to the Saudi government’s mountain of red tape, the kids and I did get our Dubai lifestyle – for six months at least! During that time, my writing career really started to take off. I was offered the role of Sub-Editor for a magazine I’d written a couple of articles for. I was also regularly contributing to a number of other magazines. But when I was offered the Editor’s role for a glossy women’s magazine, I thought all my Christmases had come at once. Unfortunately, to take that role, I would have had to agree to live in a separate country to my husband, and as much as I loved Dubai and my new working career, I loved him more. So at the end of 2006, the kids and I packed up and joined him in Riyadh. Stepping into Saudi was like entering another world. Within an hour of landing in the country, I’d run afoul of the religious police (for not wearing a head scarf in public). Yet despite a shaky start, we ended up staying there for almost five years and had some amazing experiences. It was while in Saudi that I took up fiction writing, in part because I was a little worried about the complexities of pursuing journalism in a country that had arrested more than its fair share of journalists. Blessed with a full time maid and plenty of time on my hands (women don’t tend to work in Saudi unless they are teachers or nurses), I put pen to paper (or rather, fingers to keyboard) and began plotting and creating new worlds. I wrote four novels in five years. But while I had plenty of time to write, there weren’t a lot of resources available to writers. No writing classes to attend, or critique groups. There weren’t even any libraries as such (except for a dusty old book shelf at the compound recreation centre). I did send off a couple of my stories to agents and publishers, but most took one look at my Saudi Arabian address and all but told me it was too hard. When I put together the first draft for Vampire Origins, an agent told me that she really loved the concept, but it was too soon after Twilight, and nobody in the publishing industry would touch a vampire novel with a ten-foot barge pole. That was when I decided to go it alone. My husband (who works in IT) had been telling me I should publish my book with Apple, and I’d been shrugging off his suggestion, but in 2010, I finally decided to grab the publishing bull by its horns and do it myself. To say it’s been a steep learning curve since then is the understatement of the century. I had no idea just how much work actually went into publishing a book. It wasn’t enough just to send in your files and artwork and hope for the best. I made so many mistakes in the beginning. For starters, I published Vampire Origins way too soon, and did all the things wrong that I now beg writers not to do. I didn’t allow the book time to mature, I didn’t engage a professional editor, and I had absolutely no marketing plan, or even an idea of how to market it. Yet despite all those faults, the original version of Vampire Origins did okay online. Without any advertising or promotion at all, and only available in a handful of online stores (I didn’t put it with Amazon back then) it sold several hundred copies, and got positive feedback from those who had read it. I didn’t make much money, but I made enough to feel like I might be an author after all. Meanwhile, we made the momentous decision to move back to Australia after eleven years away. What a rude shock that was. We’d gone from pampered, well-paid expatriates (on tax free salaries to boot) with very little monetary concerns to average Joe Aussies with a mountain of expenses to pay. I had to return to full time work just to make ends meet, and go back to freelancing on the side to add some extra money to the coffers. Looking back now, it was probably the best thing that happened to my writing. Being back ‘in the industry’ meant I was back to working to deadline, and writing to brief. The best paying journalism gigs were with corporate and heavy industry magazines, which meant I had to learn how to write interesting content about the most boring subjects known to mankind. I was writing articles on stainless steel, and forklifts, and health and safety regulations. Riveting stuff, I know! But it brought me back to the basics. I read back through Vampire Origins and was so horrified that I’d ever thought it was publishable material that I immediately took it offline. In between working, and housework, and all the other shocks of being ‘home’, I set about rewriting, putting my book through a gruelling series of edits, brutal cuts and then more edits. And then I did what I should have done right from the start. I put it to sleep for a while. I saved the document, left it to mature in my story cellar, and pulled out another dusty draft that had been sitting in the cellar for a couple of years. I brushed off the cobwebs and set about updating and editing that. Within a couple of months, I had the final version of The William S Club. Thanks to the racy nature of the book (and given that I was now working in the marketing department of a conservative girls’ school), I decided not to publish The William S Club under my real name, and created my alter ego, Riley Banks. Not wanting to make the same mistakes I’d made the last time, I didn’t want to trust my own opinion on whether the book was ready or not, nor did I was to entrust the opinions of only friends and family. So I engaged a couple of beta readers. I took their thoughts and responses, and made any necessary changes to the manuscript. And then I forked out $450 and got a professional editor to pull it to pieces some more. Having spent several months trawling online writer’s groups, and reading everything I could get my hands on, I had a much better idea of what it meant to be an author. I’d also picked up some ideas on marketing through my day job. Judging by the reviews I’ve had on The William S Club, I think I’ve done something right. Even those who have hated the content, and been put off by the sexual nature of the story have praised the actual writing. Having learned the process, I was now comfortable putting the new, and improved Vampire Origins back on the market. Looking back over the last fifteen years of my ‘writing’ career, I know now that I wouldn’t be the author I am without having done the hard yards as a journalist. Nor would I be the journalist I am without knowing how to craft a ‘good story’. The two sides of my working life have formed a symbiotic partnership – the one drawing strength from the other. I still have a couple of stories in the cellar, so expect to see plenty more over the next few years.
    
11. Bone Dry - 2013-06-07 02:04:26-04
    Edgar Award-nominated author Ben Rehder's Blanco County comic mysteries have made best-of-the-year lists in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Field & Stream. The novels are in development with Warner Brothers and USA Network as a cable TV series.
    
12. Your Fathers Love - 2013-06-07 02:05:17-04
    Niki Alling is an Author/Poet/Designer from Central New York. She has worked with young children for many years, and enjoys reading and writing books and poems for them. She also writes in many other genres, for general adult age group, including; Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction, Inspirational Poetry and more. She designs and writes greeting cards, mugs and t-shirts with her original poetry and designs, at NikiClix Creations online shops.
    
13. One Night in Reno by Rogenna Brewer - 2013-06-07 02:05:52-04
    When an aptitude test labeled her suited for librarian or clergy, Rogenna Brewer joined the Navy. Ever the rebel, she landed in the chaplain's office where duties included operating the base library. She's served Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps personnel in such exotic locales as Midway Island and the Pentagon. Navy SEALs are among her favorite heroes, but not the only military and civilian heroes and heroines this romance author chooses to write about. "From Navy Vet to Romance Novelist. Not just a job, thirteen years of Navy SEAL research." ~ Rogenna
    
14. Desk Jockey Jam - 2013-06-07 02:06:29-04
    Ainslie Paton is a corporate storyteller working in marketing, public relations and advertising. She’s written about everything from the African refugee crisis and Toxic Shock Syndrome, to high-speed data networks and hamburgers, and for everyone from George Clooney to Barry Humphries—as Edna. She writes cracking, hyper-real romances about strong women and the exciting men who love them. She’s the author of the bestseller, Grease Monkey Jive, as well as Getting Real, White Balance and other stories. Ainslie blogs at: www.ainsliepaton.com.au and tweets when she should be working @AinsliePaton.
    
15. Lustmord: Anatomy of a Serial Butcher Vol. 1 (of 6) - 2013-06-07 02:06:57-04
    Some writers I like include: Jack Ketchum, Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Bukowski, Rod Serling, Henry Miller, Knut Hamsun, James Ross, John Kennedy Toole, Ferdinand Celine, Staci Layne Wilson, Plez Gehman, et al. Some genre flicks that worked for me over the years would have to include: Night of the Living Dead (1968), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Maniac (with Joe Spinell), When a Stranger Calls (with Carol Kane), Exorcist (original only, as directed by William Friedkin) et al.
    
16. The Nathan Daniels Saga: Part 1 - 2013-06-07 02:07:20-04
    I grew up reading Robert A. Heinlein, and like him, I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Mine is from MIT though, not Annapolis! One of my primary reasons for attending MIT was that in every Science Fiction book I read MIT was treated, in a way, as the "holy of holies." :-) After graduating, I worked in the automotive industry for a while, then returned to school and got a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. I also spent a year running a small cafe (Google: Java Street Cafe.) Finally, after numerous twists and turns, I have published my first piece of fiction, The Nathan Daniels Saga: Part 1. I try to write in a "classic" science fiction style. Nathan Daniels is very much a modern take on the science fiction "pulps" of the early to mid 20th century.
    
17. Snow Day: a Novella - 2013-06-07 02:08:13-04
    Dan Maurer is an independent author, theater producer, director, and digital marketer. He is also a proud member of International Thriller Writers, Inc. and the Horror Writers Association. Throughout his career in publishing and marketing, he has been involved in the publication of bestselling titles such as John Grisham's The Firm, Richard Price's Clockers, and Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger's Lost Moon, which became the film Apollo 13. Dan is a member of an acclaimed New Jersey-based theater company and has won awards for his producing, directing and sound design. He lives in Robbinsville, New Jersey.
    
18. Eenie Meenie Miney Mo - 2013-06-07 02:09:03-04
    Multi-published author Cynthia Hickey had three cozy mysteries published through Barbour Publishing, with a novella scheduled to be released in March 2013. Her first mystery, Fudge-Laced Felonies, won first place in the inspirational category of the Great Expectations contest in 2007. Her third cozy, Chocolate-Covered Crime, received a four-star review from Romantic Times. All three cozies have been re-released as ebooks through the MacGregor Literary Agency, along with Deadly Neighbors, the first in a new cozy series. She has several historical romances releasing in 2013 and 2014 through Harlequin’s Heartsong Presents. She lives in Arizona with her husband, two of their seven children, two dogs, two cats, a snake named Flash and a fish named Floyd. She has five grandchildren who keep her busy and tell everyone they know that “Nana is a writer”. Visit her website at www.cynthiahickey.com
    
19. Mountain of Fear - 2013-06-07 02:09:58-04
    Multi-published author Cynthia Hickey had three cozy mysteries published through Barbour Publishing, with a novella scheduled to be released in March 2013. Her first mystery, Fudge-Laced Felonies, won first place in the inspirational category of the Great Expectations contest in 2007. Her third cozy, Chocolate-Covered Crime, received a four-star review from Romantic Times. All three cozies have been re-released as ebooks through the MacGregor Literary Agency, along with Deadly Neighbors, the first in a new cozy series. She has several historical romances releasing in 2013 and 2014 through Harlequin’s Heartsong Presents. She lives in Arizona with her husband, two of their seven children, two dogs, two cats, a snake named Flash and a fish named Floyd. She has five grandchildren who keep her busy and tell everyone they know that “Nana is a writer”. Visit her website at www.cynthiahickey.com
    
20. SIXTY-NINE DAYS More Fear & Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’12 - 2013-06-07 02:10:29-04
    A native New Yorker, CW Fulton enjoyed brief careers in the news media and corporate marketing before moving to Florida and becoming an English teacher. SIXTY-NINE DAYS is his first published work.
    
21. Stitch (Stitch Trilogy, Book 1) by Samantha Durante - 2013-06-07 02:10:49-04
    Samantha Durante lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband, Sudeep, and her cat, Gio. Formerly an engineer at Microsoft, Samantha left the world of software in 2010 to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and a lifelong love of writing. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, Samantha is currently working full time for her company Medley Media Associates as a freelance business writer and communications consultant. The Stitch Trilogy is her debut series. Learn more about Samantha at www.samanthadurante.com.
    
22. The Last Execution by Jerrie Alexander - 2013-06-07 02:14:52-04
    A student of creative writing in her youth, Jerrie set aside her passion when life presented her with a John Wayne husband, and two wonderful children. A career in logistics offered her the opportunity to travel to many beautiful locations in America, and she revisits them in her romantic suspense novels. But the characters went with her, talked to her, and insisted she share their dark, sexy stories with others. She writes alpha males and kick-ass women who weave their way through death and fear to emerge stronger because of, and on occasion in spite of, their love for each other. She likes to torture people, make them suffer, and if they’re strong enough, they live happily ever after. The author of THE GREEN-EYED DOLL, winner of both The Golden Pen, and the CataNetwork of Reviewers Choice Award released in 2012. And recently released, THE LAST EXECUTION, Jerrie and her husband live in Texas. She loves sunshine, children’s laughter, sugar (human and granulated), and researching for her heroes and heroines.
    
23. EleMental: A First-person Shooter - 2013-06-07 02:37:49-04
    Steven O'Connor writes young adult fiction with a futuristic bent. His writing is influenced by Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), Blade Runner, Dr Who, and just about every sci-fi film and TV show you could possibly think of. The print edition of EleMental was first published in Australia by Pier 9/Murdoch Books in 2010. The 2012 'makeover edition' is now being offered exclusively through Amazon. MonuMental, the follow up featuring the same characters (and then some!) one year later, was published in February 2013. When Steven O'Connor is not writing, he's a professional social worker and he's passionate about his work with young people. Originally from Luton, England, Steven O'Connor now lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife, two teenage children and Sparks, his ever-attentive, ever-hungry Cavalier King Charles spaniel (aka a toy dog, aka writing assistant).
    
24. The Rogue’s Reluctant Rose - 2013-06-07 03:31:05-04
    Daphne has always had a passion for literature and history and one day it occurred to her: what better way to use her English Literature degree than to write about Regency romps and romance? She hasn’t looked back since. Admittedly, her addiction to all things Jane Austen from a very young age had probably somewhat informed her choice of subject matter… Daphne has stacks of notebooks full of stories that still need to be written, which she insists on bringing with her when she moves around the world (she’s done this a lot!). She likes her books full of romance, adventure, witty repartee and a dash of silly humour. When Daphne isn’t writing, she can be found painting, picnicking, reading and listening to all sorts of exciting music.
    
25. Releasing Negative Emotion: 21 THINGS YOU WISH YOU KNEW - 2013-06-07 04:34:25-04
    Curiosity may have killed that feline fur ball, but she or him learned a lot before exiting number nine. I too have been curious, wondering why we, I or they acted this way, looked or did it that way or were otherwise human. But curiosity is such a casual word, and the truth is my desire to know was almost desperate. There were times in life that I felt angry when there was no one around, unhappy when life was just fine, times I had trouble with relationships for absolutely no reason, and I felt sad when…well, you get the idea. That desperate curiosity, along with forty years of inner work, has lead to some interesting answers. Besides curious, I am also a writer who began with a column in the San Jose Mercury News, nationally syndicated. My current project is this column and series of books, “Things That Make Life Better”. I also love talking with those courageous people who are going for a positive change, and I live to see that eye-widening moment of understanding—the kind you will experience with this book. So from the Central Coast of the West, I submit these curious jottings of curiosity to be browsed by those who will hopefully find them just as entertaining as they do helpful.
    
26. Why Polly? (Chapter 3 – The Magician’s Peak) - 2013-06-07 04:54:42-04
    Harma-Mae Smit is currently surviving your typical tumultuous twenty-something years, but through it all has clung to three constants in her life: God, travel and writing. Despite her strong Dutch-Canadian roots, she's discovered a small piece of Brazil in her soul after venturing onto the South American continent. Her love of travel, though, is rivalled only by her life-long love of writing. Her fingers felt the itch even before she could spell, requiring the conscription of her mother to spell out every word of her story that had to be written.