Awesome Author Interviews

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in El Paso, Texas, having arrived there in 1988. As Texans would say, “I wasn’t born here but I got here fast as I could.” I love the desert Southwest and the diversity that is El Paso, and have made it my final stop on a lifetime of journeys, having lived in Maine, Iowa, Maryland, and Japan.

I hold degrees in biochemistry/molecular biology and music, as well as a commercial pilot’s license. As a pilot, I have logged 6,000 hours of flight time and once ran my own flight school, teaching many others to fly airplanes. I’m also a firearms instructor, trained and certified in multiple shooting disciplines and compete on the state, regional, and national level in marksmanship competitions, once taking a national title. I draw on my flight and firearms experience for my crime/suspense series, The Unit.

I started writing seriously in 2019, publishing my first book, Gabriel’s Call, in that year. I’ve since continued writing with my crime/suspense series called The Unit with a prequel called Before the Unit: The Recruiting of Kevin Banks that tells the backstory of one of the characters. The Unit now is 20 books long, and I’m currently finishing up book #21.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, the one I’m currently completing, is Book 21 of The Unit series and titled Gridlocked. It’s about a hacker who manages to topple a huge swath of the U.S. electrical grid, causing not just inconvenience but also loss of life. As I do research into topics that I feel will make good books for the series, I often come across topics I haven’t truly considered. Upon further research, it often turns out that these topics are more pressing in our modern society than most imagine. When these topics can be placed in a scenario where a crime has serious consequences, I’ll write another sequel to my series.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’ve been smiling lately over the back-and-forth regarding those who outline their books before writing them and those who simply dive in. I find I do a little of both, starting to write without an outline, but then developing the outline and filling it in as I go along. Like many, I have a specific location set aside where I write on a daily basis and where I’ve surrounded myself with the tools of the trade: laptop and desktop computers, binders of reference materials, and usually a cat or two. Right now, one is keeping my feet warm.

Perhaps my most unusual habit, though, is to think about what’s going on in the book I’m writing as I go to sleep. Often, I wake up with new ideas for the book. I have no idea why this works for me. Maybe when my brain isn’t occupied with the other nuances of life, it can concentrate on brining my story to life.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Isaac Asimov had a big influence on me when I was younger. I even wrote him once, and he wrote back! It was learning that he was a biochemist that made me also pursue biochemistry. Oddity, though, is that I don’t write science fiction though I still enjoy reading it. Currently, I’ll read just about anything! I love Frank Zafiro’s police novels for their realism and his insider’s view of police work and how it influences those who perform it.

What are you working on now?
My current work in progress is Book 21 of The Unit series, Gridlocked, about a hacker who manages to topple a huge portion of the U.S. electrical grid. It’s nearly complete and should be published within the next 30 days. I have another sequel in mind after this one is finished. That one will be called Lone Wolf, and will feature an anti-government extremist who engages in acts of terrorism.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Oh, the dreaded promoting! I’m like every author, I think, in hating the process. The truth, however, is that promoting is an absolute necessity, so I continue to experiment with various promotional methods. Using promotional sites such as Awesome Gang has so far been the best method I’ve found for boosting sales and gaining both visibility and those much-needed ratings and reviews. I constantly tell other authors I network with that with Amazon currently offering about 50 MILLION books, you MUST promote your work if you are to succeed!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I have TONS of advice for new authors!

First, don’t doubt your ability. Don’t let your inner voices tell you that you can’t be successful as a writer, and don’t let people around you do the same. You have a story. You have one of the following: pencil/pen and paper, a typewriter, or a computer with a word processing program. Sit down and start writing. You can even dictate your story and transcribe it later. But DO IT!

Second, don’t get hung up on how many words or pages your book “should” be. Your book should tell your story. If it turns out to be a short story, submit it to literary magazines. Either that, or sit down and write some more short stories and put them together in a book. If it turns out to be novella-length, bear in mind that there are a lot of people who absolutely love novellas. If it’s book-length, then fine!

Third, don’t listen to those pundits who say you should “write to the market”. What the heck does that mean? You want to write the same kind of book everyone else is writing? How will it stand out if you do that? Just concentrate on writing your story. If it’s interesting and you promote it so people will be attracted to it, you have a great formula for success.

Fourth, don’t listen to those pundits who say you have to sit down and write every day. I’ll admit that I do, but every so often things conspire to make your creativity lag. Don’t worry about that. Take a vacation from writing. You’ll come back with fresh ideas once you’ve given your brain and your characters a rest. I never engage in angst over a dry spell, but just let it happen and wait it out until the rains of creativity return.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
LOL! It’s not a bit of advice on writing! It was this: “Never try to change a man. Men never change.” I assume that can also apply to women, so I’ll not be sexist in that regard. I think it’s true, though, that you have little chance of changing another person, so it’s best to accept that you have differences with others and instead concentrate on the things you agree upon.

What are you reading now?
Here I’ll reveal that I’m also an editor, as I’m currently doing a little refresher reading on English grammar. Not the most invigorating reading, but necessary to the trade. As an editor who charges by the hour, I’ll recommend this to other authors as well. The less work I have to do on someone’s manuscript, the less it costs them to get it edited. Please, don’t rely on Grammarly! It’s not perfect!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m already planning the series that will be the sequel to my current series. It will be another crime/suspense series, but instead of featuring a woman as my law enforcement team’s sniper who is romantically involved with one of the men in the team (they’re basically husband and wife but can’t get married for reasons best explained by having you read the first book of The Unit series), it will feature their two children. In my present series, I get to describe how law enforcement duties affect those in relationships. In the next, it will describe how those same duties affect those with other family ties. Naturally, the son and daughter will engage in typical sibling rivalries, but just let someone else make a remark about one of them and you can bet the other will come running to his or her defense.

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 four large books bound entirely with blank pages. If I have to scrawl in them with bits of charcoal, at least I get to keep writing.

By the way, the editor in me says that I think you mean a “deserted” island. 😉

Author Websites and Profiles
Anne Fox Amazon Profile

Anne Fox’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

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Author Interview Series

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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in an isolated community in rural North Dakota. I live in North Dakota, and my first novel was published in 2014 called The Dark Days. I’ve since written three more novels in a series called The Chosen Five about the lives and loves of 5 children born in Mercy Hospital, Valley City, North Dakota on the same day in 1975.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Thirsty Ground. It is inspired by many of the struggles in my own life growing up, dealing with loneliness, and knowing how and when to take a stand.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I often write the middle or end of the book if it comes to me before the beginning from dreams or things people have said to me throughout the day. Some call this unusual, I call it writing fuel.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Julie Garwood, Sandra Brown, John Saul, Ted Dekker

What are you working on now?
Book 4 in the series The Chosen Five. It’s about the last of the five children born in 1975, There is a total of 5 books in the series. The fifth and last book will be about the five children meeting in present day.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesome Gang and Instagram

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is from Stephen King, and its write 2000 words a day.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
They only have the power you give them, don’t give them yours.

What are you reading now?
Black by Ted Dekker

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, Rosemadder, Love Comes Softly, Blink

Author Websites and Profiles
Hazel Mattice Website
Hazel Mattice Amazon Profile

Hazel Mattice’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello! I am Tabitha Williams, I am 21 years old and I am the author of two novels that includes Monster Castle Book 1 of 3 of the Monster Castle Series, and Super Wolf Girl Volume 1 of 6 of the Super Wolf Girl Series. I love polar bears as my favorite animal, sky blue roses are my favorite flower, I love sky blue butterflies as my favorite insects, and I love peacocks as my favorite bird. I love to sing, draw, watch horror, fantasy, comedy, drama series on television, and more.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Super Wolf Girl Volume 1 is my latest novel that came out on September 23, 2021. What inspired this novel is that when I was in high school, I had an idea of a character named Terronica, who is a similarity to me in real life back then and in my imagination is that I wanted to create a character who is nerdy like I was in high school, but having good perks to her character such as being a famous superhero under the name of Super Wolf Girl overnight. I based off her best friend Johnathan from one of my classmates in the tenth grade with who I was formerly acquainted, and Johnathan is also nerdy like Terronica, but deep down, he is very smart and resourceful at most. I had inspiration for the character Aunt Lydia, who was Terronica’s aunt based on my late grandmother, who passed in 2014, and I still miss her dearly, but I made her character as a good caretaker and someone who wants the best for Terronica at all costs

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Other than having writer’s block I mostly do not have any unusual writing habits.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Growing up the Emily Windsnap Series had influenced my imagination of fantasy stories. I also read the Bluford High Series in Middle School that influenced my focus based on high school stories. Plus watching and reading horror novels have influenced me to write great horror stories.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on another horror novel called Penny Smiles.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
BK Nights on Fiverr is a great way to promote your novel and using social media can help get your book more out there in my opinion.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
To create a great novel and to plot it out, I heard from Steven King that you can write and brainstorm how you want to end the novel first then work your way on up. Also if you ever do not get that many sales on your books, don’t give up. Sometimes it takes time for your book to get noticed so do what you can to promote and get your book more out there. If you experience writer’s block, go for a walk, read a book, watch tv, or do any other activity so you can get your brain more ready the next time you get back to writing your novel.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Always believe in yourself and you will succeed.

What are you reading now?
I am not reading anything at the moment but I will start reading the Immortals series by Allyson Noel soon.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I might one day do a book signing for my novels. And on my fan page, I will be making some merch and other things as well and updating my author website.

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, I would bring two Emily Windsnap novels, the first hunger games novel, and one Bluford High Series novel.

Author Websites and Profiles

Tabitha Williams Website

Tabitha Williams Amazon Profile

Tabitha Williams’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

Facebook Profile

Twitter Account

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Author Interview Series

To discover a new author, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors around. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring!

If you are an author and want to be interviewed just fill out out Author Interview page. After submitting we will send it out in our newsletters and social media channels that are filled with readers looking to discover new books to read.

If you are looking for a new book to read check out our Featured Books Page.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My students call me Dr. Fro as I am a public middle school special education teacher and college professor in Southeastern Pennsylvania. I am a proud husband to my wife Julie and father to three amazing children Leah, Freddie, and Danielle.

It is out of the love for my children that my stories have come. While spending quality time reading to my kids at night, what became evident was that the Froehlich children were all going to be amazing readers. The passion for reading at bedtime made it a challenge to find new books which would lead to the creation of the title character in my books, Frobble. I would improvise stories to entertain my children about the miscreant behaviors of a pesky child, Frobble, so much so that my children would start to request “Frobble Stories” instead of traditional books at night.

After attempting to craft a method for helping my students to increase reading and writing proficiency, I came up with the idea to have students write books. They would write a minimum of 30 pages and eventually publish them through a digital self-publishing software. The idea was initially met with resistance but when I agreed to take on the task as well, it allowed many students to show incredible growth and buy in during class time.

The challenge to produce the book for my students resulted in the motivation for the Frobble Series. The experience has helped me to identify a new passion for writing stories to inspire children based on values such as loyalty, honor, respect, friendship, and healthy social and emotional bonds.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is titled Frobble: Long Road Home. The book is the second of a three part series based on stories I would tell my children when they were little and expands them into a world of friendship and adventure.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
It has become quite clear to me that as I am writing, there are certain phrases and elements that seem to show up more than I would like. I have a tendency to be a bit repetitive but, in the end, I am proud of the tone and style of my writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I was a huge fan of Lois Duncan books as a child and though I am not writing suspense stories, I try to write books that are written so that a wide age range of fans can enjoy them, which is something I always appreciated about her books.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on finishing up the Frobble Series and have started the process of preparing for my next book idea. I am hoping to have the Frobble Series finished by summer 2022.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am a huge fan of Blurb.com. With Blurb, you can use your own ISBN numbers or have them assign you one, distribute to a variety of sites via Ingram distribution, and create epub files or pdf versions seamlessly.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I reference a quote from a song by Baz Luhrmann called Everybody’s Free which is often referenced as the song Wear Sunscreen when I say, “The road is long and in the end, it is only with yourself.” Self publishing can be tough but stick with it and come to the realization that by completing your first book, whether you sell 1 or 1 million copies, you have done something countless others only dream of and it is a huge accomplishment.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be the best version of you that you can be and you will be an inspiration to others.

What are you reading now?
I am reading 2 books right now. I am reading Fahrenheit 451 and The New Jim Crowe.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to continue to think up book concepts that allow me to keep expanding my experience and that put smiles on children’s faces.

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 absolute favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird as it was the first book that inspired me to read for pleasure. After that I would bring Bridge to Terabithia, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and The Three Theban Plays: Sophocles as these books were influential at different times of my life.

Author Websites and Profiles
Frederick Froehlich Website

Frederick Froehlich’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written 4 books The Dance of the Seven Veils is a coffee table book with wonderful images and photos combined with inspiring words and understandings. Then I wrote The Lama In the Whale a short story about a Tibetan High Lama who reincarnates as a whale. The idea came as a vision on a meditation retreat! Then I wrote How to Let Love Win! a short book with effective new insights into relationships.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I recently finished Secrets of Silence which is full of interesting and inspiring insights, stories, essays,poems hacks.etc. It was inspired by my lifelong quest for inner knowledge a quest that is now, after decades of effort, bearing a rich and wondrous fruit!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes I find that writing upside down really works for me, the blood rushes into the head with loads of ideas! I have built a contraption that has a computer fixed to it and a chair which at the push of a button swivels the chair into the upside down position. Two hours is quite enough.
Kidding!!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ramana Maharshi, Werner Erhardt, Eckhart Tolle,

What are you working on now?
The Awakening

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am still investigating…I hear the Awesome Gang are pretty good!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep going, dont ever give up . You really can do this. Do not expect your friends to help you!!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You are whats looking!!

What are you reading now?
The Mother of the Buddhas Lex HIxon …wow!!
The War of the Flowers Tad Williams
The Mirror and the Light Hilary Mantel

What’s next for you as a writer?
A world tour is my dream I want to take my weekend Awakening Experience everywhere and sell my books at the same time. I have 108 extraordinary (really!) lifestories that I want to make into an autobiography.

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?
Complete works of Bill Shakespeare, How to escape from a desert Island by Idunit Unabridged Prajnaparamita Sutra. 100,000 verses.

 

Tim Williams’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an accountant by profession, a digital marketer, freelancer and a blogger. Born and raised in Pakistan but currently, living in Qatar with wife and a child. I enjoy watching movies and serials.

I have published two books so far; Carnage Avenger and A journey to the end of Life. Both are available on various platforms.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Latest book that I have published is “A journey to the end of life”. My mother died on January 2021 and after that I saw her in my dreams a couple of times. When you see your loved ones in dreams you get emotional. So when I stopped seeing her in my dreams I thought of writing a fiction novel where we can assume some ways to see and meet the dead people. This was the source of inspiration to come up with the book “A journey to the end of life”.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I never thought of becoming a writer. Both books which I published had some background. The first one is based on a dream I saw. So you can say everything is unusual about my books.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have read many Urdu novels of Pakistani writer Umera Ahmed and I love her books. She is a source of inspiration of writing good books.

What are you working on now?
Currently I am working to publish a non-fiction book. It will be my first book out of fiction world. The topic is leadership. I am not a leader of some organization or community but at least I am a leader at home, guiding my wife and child in best possible way. This book is a research project on how to be a great leader. What qualities a leader has and how to develop leadership skills.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use draft2digital platform which gives you option to self-publish books. It also helps in book formatting and conversion into different formats. Checkout their website: draft2digital.com/self-publish

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My cousin told me not to waste my time on writing books. It is not a shortcut to earn money. I wrote books for a purpose. My advice to new authors is to avoid making this as your source of income. Write if you like to write not as a profession but as a passion.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
People will always love you as per their needs and moods. Your behavior towards them do not matter.

What are you reading now?
As I am involved in multiple activities, I get very less time to read books, so I have this app installed named “Blinkist”. Here you can read or listen to book summaries on various topics.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am planning to write a series on the main character from my first novel. He will become a best detective in town and solve different crime / murder cases.

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?
Quran, Hadith, Qasas-ul-Ambiya.

Author Websites and Profiles
Usama Sohail Website
Usama Sohail Amazon Profile

Usama Sohail’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written three books
My first one Poetic Crossroads is my life story recreated into poetry and my second is called Poetic Soul it’s just a bunch of love poems and my third is a trilogy the storyteller

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called the storyteller
My grandkids and sons inspired me
So I used their spirit names in the book

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes I have to with a certain type of pen and I always write my books in handwriting before I type them and I listen to music for me to write

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The shack
Twilight
And I love reading Indigenous books

What are you working on now?
My trilogy The Storyteller

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I do a lot of research before picking a promoting site

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes never give up and keep writing
Reach for your dreams

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never let negativity influence you

What are you reading now?
Native American myths and traditional stories of the pomo people

What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep writing poetry and native cultural fictional 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?
Survival book and how to live off the land and poetry book

Author Websites and Profiles
Poetic Beauty Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a scientist by training and am best known for my research, which focuses on the generational effects of maternal or paternal toxicant exposures (think Agent Orange or burn pits).

Throughout my career, I have had a strong desire to connect the lay public with the research community. To this end, I have frequently spoken at high schools to share information regarding careers in science as well as local advocacy groups in support of women with endometriosis.

In addition to my scientific endeavors, I have always loved to write. She has published numerous scientific papers and book chapters as well as several non-fiction essays. Time Intertwined was my first novel. I had so much fun writing it, I decided to make it a trilogy.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Can I answer a different question? My first book was inspired by an event in my life. My ex-husband is Vietnamese and I am just a white girl from Mississippi. I thought it would be fun to have our DNA analyzed and see what the kids were. That decision led to finding a lost relative that was looking for his birth mother. That true story was so amazing, it inspired me to write a fictionalized account. Because of my research, I couldn’t tell a Vietnam War story without talking about Agent Orange. I didn’t want to overwhelm the primary story, but then after it was published, I felt I had not done enough with that part of the war–and the trilogy was born.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No idea. I do tend to wake up about 3 AM with a story idea (oh, that’s how that can happen; or–so and so needs to do that) and I just have to get up and start writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Ken Follett. He is amazing! My books are not nearly as complex, but maybe someday after I hang up my lab coat.

What are you working on now?
Books 2 and 3 of the trilogy. The second book is with my amazing proofreader–it is called Lives Intertwined and follows the hunt for a serial killer (but isn’t gruesome). DNA analysis is being used to try and find him. I’ve just started on the third book, called Darkness and Light Intertwined. It will follow a war orphan throughout her life. All three books weave the Vietnam War into the story–with multiple storylines and timelines being “intertwined.”

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Hmm…I am still figuring that one out. I like writing more than marketing (which I think maybe true for most of us). I did a radio interview that made a pretty big impact for me and am trying to do more free book promotions. But, I won’t be quitting my day job anytime soon. Good thing I love experimenting, too.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Find 3-4 friends/family members that will give you honest feedback. My sister and brother-in-law read everything I write and tell me what’s good and what needs work. They also give great feedback from a readers perspective (e.g., this chapter is too sciencey). For Lives Intertwined–it is a bit of a whodunit. If you like the twist at the end–that was David’s idea. I had to do quite a bit of rewriting, but it was totally worth it. You can’t be so attached to your story that you don’t listen to great feedback.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As far as writing? Or just in general? Maybe it is the same. Do at least one thing everyday that is important to you. I think women especially tend to focus so much on others we neglect ourselves (or our own work) sometimes. That’s why I love getting up early. Outside of an emergency, 7 am is when I start doing for others…Before that is just for me.

What are you reading now?
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Once the trilogy is finished–not sure. But definitely something.

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?
Ken Follett’s Century Trilogy. I read them when they came out and would love to read them again.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kaylon Tran Website
Kaylon Tran Amazon Profile

Kaylon Tran’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an avid geek and mother of 3 little ones. My kids come to me with Star Wars questions and I go to them when I’m stuck on a plot point in my current book. I’m a recovering perfectionist and a quick-draw with dad jokes and puns. I crochet, paint, run, and ride horses. I’ve always been a dreamer and now I’m showing my kids just how much fun dreaming can be.

I have written 2 novellas and three short stories (with many more coming soon). I have a BA in English Literature from the University of Utah and have won 6 Honorable Mentions from the Writers of the Future Contest.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, MINDSTORM, began in May 2020. The schools had shut down. My husband was working from home. And my writing dreams seemed farther away than ever as I took on so many more roles. But this story (and those dreams) wouldn’t let me rest. So I woke up before anyone else in the house and wrote. 6 days a week. Every week.

On the surface, MINDSTORM is inspired by Japanese mythology (I am a hopeless mythology nerd). But beyond that, MINDSTORM is really inspired by the struggles 2020 brought home. How do we become better than we were? Why do we hurt those we love the most and what will we do to mend it?

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I often write before anyone else in the house is awake. With three young kiddos, that means some early mornings. I don’t even set an alarm. My brain just wakes me up! I grab my laptop, sneak down the stairs, wrap up in my favorite blanket, and clickety-clack away on a story.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Timothy Zahn, Martha Wells, Delilah Dawson, Mur Lafferty, Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Claudia Gray (to name a few). Martha Wells’ Murderbot Series opened my eyes to how much I adore a novella. And also how hard it is to be a human. Ha!

What are you working on now?
MINDSTORM is the first in a series, so I’m working on books 2 and 3 now. I also have a fun space opera in drafts and some SF/F middle grade books coming, too!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My Facebook page has been my go-to place, but I’m always learning and trying new things.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
To quote Howard Taylor, “Failure is your teacher. Success is just a diploma.”

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write the book you’d dig through your car to find change to buy.

What are you reading now?
NOPHEK GLOSS by Essa Hansen.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing! Bashing that self-doubt with enthusiasm and consistency.

And so many more sci-fi and fantasy stories! Buckle up, we’re just getting started.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1) Collected edition of the Murderbot Series by Martha Wells (yes, that’s cheating, but you’re the one stranding me on an island).
2) Star Wars: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn
3) Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Author Websites and Profiles

Becca Lee Gardner Website

Becca Lee Gardner Amazon Profile

Becca Lee Gardner’s Social Media Links

Facebook Profile

Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been an editor, proofreader, freelance writer, ghost writer and author for quite a while now, so publishing is an industry I am very familiar with. I have written a variety of fiction and non-fiction work, much of which has been published under a pen name, or was ghost written for someone else. Writing is a career I enjoy, I find the solitude and the challenges strangely tranquil and absorbing.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Little Gems Flash Fiction: Gripping Short Stories to Read in Your Lunchbreak is a collection of amusing and sometimes ironic little stories that I collated from real life experiences of people I know or anecdotal tales I have heard here and there. Some of the stories pack a lot of emotional impact and most have an amusing twist in the tale. They have been pulled together to entertain in those down time moments when an uplifting little tale is most welcome.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I really don’t, I’m a bit conventional really. I just pound away at my laptop and create written art.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am writing a cozy mystery series at the moment and I have to say I have been influenced juts a bit by the one and only Janet Evanovitch.

What are you working on now?
My current challenge is a five book cozy murder mystery series which I am enjoying. It involves an earnest young woman who runs a karate club and is helping out her Mom who is very ill, by running her catering firm until her Mom gets better. The heroine has a passion for sleuthing and she is trying to write some crime fiction in between running her karate club business and running her Mom’s business. Of course there is a dark and elusive karate expert dude who runs a VIP security agency and an events booking business that often needs caterers.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am still organizing a website with a blog. At the moment, Amazon is all I’ve got but I’m working on it.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just this, you’ll feel discouraged and overwhelmed at times, we all do. So, just plug on and believe in yourself, achieve one step at a time toward your goal.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
About the same, and it really helped.

What are you reading now?
“Night School” a Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve got to get one step at a time done; set up my website and blog and finish my cozy mystery 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?
Probably some crime thrillers. Some whodunits.

Author Websites and Profiles
Anne Aylward Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Too many to count. I write a lot of technical non-fiction under another name. But the stuff I really enjoy is creative non-fiction, and I’ve wrote about a half dozen–depending on what qualifies as a book sense some are shorter.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Organic Theology and Organic Christian. It’s actually one book that was previously published, but when I got the rights back, I decided to put it out as two separate books. The book was originally called #OrganicJesus. It was written several years ago while my wife was pregnant. I wanted to write a book that explained to my future son why I believed in a religion that sometimes seemed a little…wacky.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write everything backwards…on a phone…in the shower. Just kidding. No unusual habits. I’ve been doing it so long, it’s all second nature at this point.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Flannery O’Connor had a huge impact on me when I first started writing. I’m also a fan of David Foster Wallace and John Updike.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
BookBub seems to be the crown jewel, but I rely heavily on smaller websites to get to BookBub status. When a book first comes out, I’ll spend the first three or four months doing campaigns on places like Awesome Gang. Once it gets enough organic reviews, I’ll submit it to BookBub and usually get a deal.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Build a platform and self-publish. I didn’t start selling books until I left traditional publishing. My first traditionally published book, which was through Da Capo (a pretty big publisher) sold less than 5000 copies; my first self-published book? Over 10,000 copies in the first year.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Steinbeck on critics: unless the bastards have the courage to give you unqualified praise, I’d say ignore them.

What are you reading now?
Breath: The Science of a Lost Art

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hopefully become an Oprah book club selection.

 

Author Websites and Profiles

Scott Douglas Website

Scott Douglas Amazon Profile

Scott Douglas’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, officially, I have written two. Unofficially, I have about a hundred of unfinished “ideas” that were gathering dust until the love of my life inspired me to get these stories published.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest, which is the first, is called The Evil That Came From The Sky. The inspiration pretty well came from zombie films that I realized would be far more scary if there were no guns. So, I set an apocalyptic zombie outbreak in a medieval setting, with a few twists!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to write too much and need to “trim a lot of fat”. I have the opposite of writer’s block. I find myself doing most of my writing when I should be doing more important things, like adulting and all that other stuff. When I’m really not supposed to be writing, like, say, while I’m at work, is when I come up with my greatest ideas and write them all down. It’s bad…

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Where do I start? Geez, I’d have to say I am greatly influenced by Stephen King. I was really obsessed with The Stand. I loved how many characters he created and how they were all so different, yet equally important to me and I feel that it would be such a tremendous feat to carry such a massive idea on the shoulders of so many characters. That has really inspired me. A few others that come to mind would be S.D Perry, when I was a kid I read all of the Resident Evil books and was just obsessed by them, being that I was such a videogame addict. Another is definitely Dan Abnett and Graham McNeill, who work for the Black Library writing Warhammer stories, which I love. I’m missing quite a few, I realize, but those are the bigger influencers for me.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on a seriously depraved horror/guilty pleasure novel that is certainly not for the faint of heart. It’s my Magnum Opus, drawing dark and disturbing energies from the darkest recess of my depraved imagination. You’ll have to stay tuned for that one.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am still currently discovering that!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Especially if it brings you serenity or any form of joy. For me, it’s an escape and I feel like now, more than ever, it’s important to leave this realm and dive into your own and create a place whether that be dark, bright, happy, or sad and get lost in it and put it on paper.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I might have to come back to this one.

What are you reading now?
The Institute by Stephen King.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will be writing a massive trilogy that ties into The Evil That Came From The Sky. It’s been in the making for many, many years and I finally have the balls to get it out there and share it with the world!

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 Stand, Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton (fricken hilarious btw), Horus Rising by Dan Abnett, Skaven by William King (such a fun novel with a bundle of adventures all rolled into one big one.)

 

Tyler Sundt’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
People ask us all the time how we came up with CJ Corki as our pen name. CJ represent our dad, Charles Joseph and Corki is Polish for daughter. So CJ Corki is Charles’ daughters. We are three of five sisters that dealt with the challenges of balancing work, life, and reluctant readers by day, and developing into amateur children’s book sleuths by night… all while wearing our bunny slippers, of course.

At an early age, we learned to “play nice in the sandbox,” and hope to inspire others to remember the value of family, the importance of individual abilities, and to work together in harmony.

THE MARSHMALLOW MYSTERY is our debut children’s book. This book is the first in our Can You Find, Did You Know Series that centers around various adventures at Grandfather’s house. Since most good readers aren’t born good learners, this series delivers skill-building fun for reluctant or soon-to-be new readers. The antics in each book in the series tell stories using the dyslexia font and help children develop a much richer vocabulary and a love for reading while learning the fundamentals of colors, shapes, and objects to find on every page, making it fun. Each book provides hours of entertainment with fun facts, family values lessons, and challenges both kids and parents alike will enjoy as they find items “hidden in plain sight.”

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The MARSHMALLOW MYSTERY is our debut children’s book.

Our dad was the family storyteller and the “real” marshmallow bush is the basis of the book. So, you’re probably asking: What’s the Marshmallow Bush? Well, this bush has been in Grandfathers yard as long as anyone can remember. He says it was there when he was a kid, and his parents before him. Ages! And every morning it grows fresh marshmallows.

Our second book in the Can You Find, Did You Know Series, THE DINOSAUR DISCOVERY: An egg-cellent Easter Adventure is scheduled to be available March 2022.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
With 3 sisters in different cities collaborating on a 900 word book, the only way we could get anything on paper is for each of us separately to first answer these 3 questions:
1- Who is the protagonist/antagonist?
2- What is the conflict?
3- What do we want the lesson to be?
Starting with 3 different visions helped us bring the best of the ideas forward into the final version.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many great children author’s narrowing it down is difficult. That being said, both my daughter and I loved reading and reading Robert Munsch, Love You Forever, and Judy Blume books to name just two. Recently I have been enjoying Andy Andrews who provides simple yet powerful stories that captures the imagination.

What are you working on now?
Besides the second book in the Can You Find, Did You Know Series, The Dinosaur Discovery: An egg-cellent Adventure, we just completed a Christmas activities book and hopefully by early March an Easter Activities book, both incorporating the Can You Find, Did You Know Series format.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
As a new author we are still learning the marketing ropes and have not successfully found our “sweet” spot yet.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t let the naysayers stop you from following your passion. As an indie author, you have a story to tell and a voice to share, keep true to your course and share it whenever and where ever you can.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Pay attention to the little details, keep the end in mind focus and have fun!

What are you reading now?
Andy Andrews: Just Jones and over and over again, The Traveler’s Gift.
On the historic mystery front: Rose Johnson’s Scent of Death: A Voodoo Cadaver Dog Mystery

What’s next for you as a writer?
Complete the 5 book series. 1 complete, 1 in process and 3 to go.

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?
Great questions…probably:
1- Robinson Crusoe
2- My books 🙂
3- Surviving a Desert Island for Dummies (do they have something like this?)
4- War and Peace (never had time to get through it before)

Author Websites and Profiles
CJ Corki Website
CJ Corki Amazon Profile

CJ Corki’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve always been a writer, in one way or another, and I write something every day. Sometimes it’s a personal entry in a journal, sometimes it’s an article for a magazine or section in a book or thesis, and sometimes it’s just a thought-provoking post on my Talk to Teens Facebook page or group.
Writing is definitely my therapy. In the same way as the founder of Analytical psychology, Dr Carl Jung and the ancient Stoic philosophers used writing for self-reflection, I write to process what’s happening in my life. I also write to help others. For instance, years ago when my (then) pre-teenage children were struggling with particular issues, I wrote talking animal stories while on a family holiday to help. After the holiday, I wrote more stories covering the main teen issues I’d seen in my varied roles as a teacher, school counsellor and clinical psychologist. I self-published the stories in a book for personal use in schools and medical centres. It contained twelve myth-based stories featuring talking animals and other fantasy characters that go on a journey of self-discovery. I intend to re-publish these stories at a later date as The Universal Child. This is because the stories contain universal themes that are suitable for all ages, cultures and time periods.
Earlier this year I also had a book chapter published in a narrative text entitled Making Sense of Stories: An Inquirer’s Compendium by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. My book chapter, Story Image Therapy (SIT)® Story Analysis, shows how I use stories (and their accompanying symbolic images) as teaching tools, particularly with young people aged 12-25. I have hundreds of testimonials, so I know Story Image Therapy is effective.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
In my career as a Guidance Officer Intensive Behaviour Support (GOIBS) and acting Head of Student Services in schools, I witnessed a lot of tragedy. I therefore wanted to create something that could potentially help young people to become more resilient. The results of my PhD qualitative research had shown me that young people use stories and images, online and offline, as a way of coping with their mental health problems. This was a key theme. The students I interviewed also told me that they preferred mythic fantasy and science fiction in books, movies and computer games.
In my quest to improve youth resilience, I decided to use a myth-based fantasy story to introduce young people to the things that I thought could help them. In particular, I wanted to teach them about Jungian psychology and Stoic philosophy to cope with adversity, to appreciate the arts (particularly the literary prose by Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe as poetic examples of real life), as well as to become familiar with the stories of historical characters, like King Henry VIII, whose life-story was a tragedy in itself.
So, I enrolled in a creative arts doctoral research degree to study ways to deliver positive mental health messages to young adult readers. The result of my research was my novel, Shadows of Sylvaheim, recently published by Feather Knight Books. Shadows is what I call a Story Image Therapy Tool. That is, it’s a teaching tool for parents, teachers and counsellors to deliver information to young people. Other SIT tools include booklets, poster images, archetypal cards etc. that I have found to be helpful as part of my Jungian Action Research ™ method. I wrote about my method in an article on Academia entitled Healing the Healer: Writing Academic Papers as Jungian Action Research. My paper has had over 3000 views since its publication a few months ago, so it seems people have found it helpful.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if you would call it unusual, as I’m sure that many writers probably write at strange times and in unusual places, but I wake up just before dawn – usually about 4 am – and start writing. I recently attended a Fairy tale workshop at the C.G. Jung Society of Queensland where we talked about Aurora. (Yes, it is possible for a group of adults to sit around for a whole day analysing a single fairy tale and enjoy themselves)! Anyway, we discussed how Aurora symbolises a time just before dawn, the time of day when the veil is the thinnest between the spiritual and physical worlds. This made sense to me as I often feel ‘inspired’ when writing in the early morning. Later, when I re-read what I’ve written, I am often amazed it came out of my head! It’s as if I am being guided or channelled by something outside of myself.
I chose Aurora as the place where my characters, Jack and Emily, live in Shadows of Sylvaheim. I don’t know why exactly I chose the name; it just came to me during an early-morning writing session. I also wrote about the coming of the dawn, Aurora, in reference to my own life during my second book, The Magic of Jung. I am writing that book now. I understood Aurora to be the Greek goddess who announces the coming of the sun, but I didn’t know about the spiritual aspect of the veil between worlds until recently. Perhaps that is why I chose the name Aurora for both books. Or did I? Maybe it chose me! Who knows.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
First, would have to be Tolkien’s The Hobbit. My father and I listened to the story as an audiobook long before audiobooks were fashionable, and long before I could read. As a young child, I think I was about five, I couldn’t wait to hear the adventures of Bilbo Baggins. I remember that I didn’t fully understand it at the time, but I understood more when Dad and I listened to it again when I was about eight.
I also couldn’t wait for my father to read to me stories at night. Enid Blyton’s Brer Rabbit was always a favourite. Dad and I would talk for hours about the trickster rabbit’s adventures. I think we both admired his sharp wit and quick tongue—how he always managed to weasel his way out of some sticky situation without deliberately trying to cause harm. I also loved Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree fantasy series, and others. More recently, I especially enjoyed The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I love the idea of fantasy being used to illuminate reality, especially with a teen protagonist. I think it reminds me of some of the trials and tribulations of my own teen years, as well as the good times. I also enjoyed Coelho’s The Alchemist for the same reason. A young central character who goes on an adventure of self-discovery…it reminds me of Dorothy in Baum’s The Wizard of Oz.

What are you working on now?
I am presently writing The Magic of Jung: The Rise of a New Youth Psychology Through Jungian Action Research. It’s basically an extension of my Academia article, Healing the Healer, which has been surprisingly popular. The Magic of Jung explains my ten-year journey from mainstream psychology and teaching to a more holistic, creative and fantastical practice. This aligns with what our ancestors have always done and my therapy’s acronym – SIT (as in to ‘sit’ and read a story or ‘sit’ and ponder a symbolic image). I am finding the act of writing the book is therapeutic in itself, although I do recognise myself becoming triggered at times during the writing. This is all part of the journey and healing process, and I am pleased it happens. That is, after all, why I write.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My new release, Shadows of Sylvaheim was published by Feather Knight Books, Oct 2021 and can be purchased from their website: https://featherknightbooks.com/

I’m an INFP in Jungian psychology. We’re a minority of the population apparently, and we like to go inward, to analyse our own inner nature and our place in the world. We can have a habit of daydreaming and fantasizing, so I recognise that I need good people of action around me. I have to force myself to promote my books through my website: www.toulagordillo.com, or writing blogs, or even to go to work counselling people all day. I would really rather prefer to be behind the scenes and just write! But to turn my dream of helping to improve youth resilience, I know I need to take steps to make sure that I turn my dream into a reality.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write every day. Don’t worry about grammar. Don’t worry about spelling. Just write. Oh, and “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” I think it was Lao Tzu that said it? For me, I just followed the steps. I didn’t know exactly where I was going to, but I let my intuition guide me. And I made sure that I wrote every day. If you do that, you’ll stay on the path. Eventually you will reach your destination. It might not be the path you expect, or even the destination you think, but stay on the path and stay open, and you will get there.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Desiderata. My mother hung it on the back of the toilet door, which was a fashionable thing to do in 80’s. She was a smart woman. She knew I would have to look at it everyday and could not escape! She also had the Serenity prayer stamped on a plate hung up on the kitchen wall. That damn plate followed us around everywhere we lived, even when we travelled around Australia when I was growing up. I can still picture it now. These days, I see The Serenity Prayer as Stoic philosophy in a nutshell. The prayer is also used in Alcoholics Anonymous, apparently, which was inspired by Carl Jung. So, I guess you could say that I was surrounded by Jung and the Stoic’s advice all my life.

What are you reading now?
I am actually reading my novel and putting sticky notes throughout. That might sound odd, but I have been using exerpts from my novel as bibliotherapy in SIT for years. I’m looking forward to finally having it all in one place that I can use as a single resource. For example, if I am counselling a young person with an eating disorder, like I am now, I can read and discuss the scene where Jack is sitting at the feasting table in Heorot’s Hall, feeling anxious about an impending battle with an ogre, and how this relates to my client ie., what is the ogre that they are battling, what do they feel anxious about, how do they feel when they read about the food on the table?
Or if someone feels that they are “descending into madness”, which sadly sometimes my clients do, especially if they have had drug-induced psychosis, then I can talk with them about the scene in my novel where Jack is in Faerieland and his love interest, Ari, tells him he needs to sit with the images in order to learn from them. We can talk about the symbolism of the raven in Allan Poe’s Raven poem and again, how this relates to them. It will be lovely to just turn the page and read the passage, instead of reading on scraps of paper!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have nine case-studies that I am including in The Magic of Jung as an example of my Story Image Therapy method. I have finished seven, but I still have a couple more case-studies to write. My goal is to have The Magic of Jung completely finished by Christmas in preparation for its publication, also by Feather Knight Books, early next year. Once both books are published, I will start offering one day seminars for parents, teachers and counsellors in how they can use my books in teaching and counselling, or just to generate discussion with their teen or young adult. After that, I still need to re-write parts of The Universal Child to get it to publication standard in order to help pre-teens. My final and fourth book in the Sylvaheim series is my teaching and training manual. This will be an in-depth study of all of the Story Image Tools that I use in therapy and will lead me into more detailed teaching and training of other therapists in my method. I have a flexible plan, but as I said before, staying open is vital. So, I could end up doing something completely different! We’ll see what happens!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The first would obviously be a survival guide. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Surviving Anything by Patrick Sauer looks pretty good to me. In addition to the important life-saving skills (and yes it does have a section on island survival, I checked), the idea of trying to complete a survivor personality test while trying to survive on a deserted island without a pen, is somehow, weirdly, appealing.
The second book would be The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. I know some readers say it is Verne’s greatest masterpiece, while others find it tedious with its infinite and unrealistic detail on science and engineering, but I figure it might be an entertaining way that I could learn at least something that might help me. And if we consider its historical origins, and the fact that it is a fantasy book after all, it’s still a classic that I’ve never read. There’s sure to be plenty that I could sink my teeth into. After all, what else am I going to do after I’ve got the food, water, and shelter sorted? My time is my own, and what’s wrong with a little fantasy? Besides, isn’t the question about being stranded on a desert island and only allowed to take a certain number of books a little fantastical in itself?
The third book I would bring would be the bible. Like The Mysterious Island, the bible is a book that I have often wondered about but never read. Over the years, I have seen it in schools, hotels, they even sometimes randomly ‘appear’ in train carriages and buses, yet I’ve never actually taken the time to read it. Certainly not large chunks of it anyway. So if I was stranded on an island, and finally had the time to tease something apart, to analyse and digest all of its parables, symbolism and metaphorical meanings, then I reckon I would have enough to keep me occupied for years. And to be honest, if I was stranded on a desert island, unable to escape, then I would need all the help I could get!

Author Websites and Profiles

Dr Toula Gordillo Website

Dr Toula Gordillo Amazon Profile

Dr Toula Gordillo’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

Facebook Profile

Twitter Account

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Author Interview Series

To discover a new author, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors around. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring!

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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
A former newspaper editor and award-winning journalist, I’ve been a freelance writer since 2006. Since 2013, I’ve specialized in content for fintech businesses, and I’ve ghostwritten several books for executives. Additionally, I’ve written a few nonfiction books, a novella in the weird speculative fiction genre, and several poetry books. Additionally, I’ve edited three fiction anthologies.

I’ve been a Christian since 1992. Over the years, I’ve led small groups, taught Sunday school, led praise and worship, and preached a few sermons. I served one year in Iraq as an Army National Guard officer.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I Am Not the King is a response to some letters my mom had written to me. I felt the need to respond and wrote a letter back, but it was long and not the right tone. After letting it sit for a year, I rewrote it and realized I was writing my Christian testimony. That’s when I decided to publish it as a book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I get up at 5 a.m. every day. I spend the first hour reading the Bible, meditating, and praying. That’s my time with God. At 6 a.m., I write for myself. Usually, I’m working on my next book. By 7 a.m., I’m beginning to work on client work.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There have been many.

In fiction, Robert Heinlein, Neil Gaiman, Kurt Vonnegut, and others have been an influence. In nonfiction, Frank Viola (Insurgence and Pagan Christianity?), C.S. Lewis, and many others have influenced me.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a sequel to I Am Not the King, which will detail my experience as a lay Christian in a denominational church plant.

I’m also working on two books about cryptocurrencies. My forthcoming book Cryptosocial: How Cryptocurrencies Are Changing Social Media will be released in March 2022 by Business Expert Press. I’m working on another book about the history of cryptocurrency valuations that I hope to self-publish as a precursor.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far, the best thing I’ve done is assemble a strong launch team to help me launch I Am Not the King. The launch team consisted of 46 individuals who bought the book and left a review. I hope to assemble a launch team of more than 100 readers for my next book.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write every day. Schedule time for your writing. And read everything you can get your hands on.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read more than you write.

What are you reading now?
I am reading several books by independent authors for whom I’ve volunteered to help launch books. I’m also reading From Eternity to Here by Frank Viola.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will continue to write and publish books in the Christian and cryptocurrency genres. I’m currently on a push to book as many podcast appearances as I can.

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
A book of poems
A blank journal, because I will need something to write on. Make it two. Big ones.

Author Websites and Profiles
Allen Taylor Website
Allen Taylor Amazon Profile

Allen Taylor’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

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Author Interview Series

To discover a new author, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors around. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring!

If you are an author and want to be interviewed just fill out out Author Interview page. After submitting we will send it out in our newsletters and social media channels that are filled with readers looking to discover new books to read.

If you are looking for a new book to read check out our Featured Books Page.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Davinder Kaur was born and raised in Bradford, England. She briefly lived in Denmark and traveled Australia for a year before moving to the United States in the early 1990s. She earned her bachelor’s degree at the age of forty while working full time and raising her three children who are her pride and joy.

She enjoys cooking and traveling, loves cruises, and her two favorite places thus far are Italy and London. You can find Davinder on Twitter or Instagram @luchanik or visit her website at https://luchanik.com.

Davinder is the survivor of a forced marriage. Forced to Marry Him: A Lifetime of Tradition and the Will to Break It is her first book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Forced to Marry Him: A Lifetime of Tradition and the Will to Break It is my first book which was just published on October 31, 2021. I was inspired to write it as I knew it was what I needed to do. My story had to be told, as forced marriage is unfortunately a human rights abuse that has not just been inflicted on me, but on hundreds of thousands of girls all over the world, and unless we share our stories of our very real suffering, how will anyone know of the atrocities we had to endure in the name of tradition and culture? My aim is to spread awareness, so this does not happen to anyone else and that forced marriage and child marriage will hopefully be eradicated soon.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m sure that the reader might be able to pick out any unusual writing habits that I myself cannot detect that I am guilty of. I do know that I spelt “Mum” in the British way, even though I now live in America. There are some things that I still can’t bring myself to change as changing that would be like erasing part of my history. I still say “tomato” and “vitamin” the British way, but have learned to say “z” like Americans, instead of saying “zed”.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have been influenced by Jasvinder Sanghera, author of “Shame”. She is the founder of British charity “Karma Nirvana” founded for victims of forced marriage and honor-based abuse. She was also presented a picture at age fourteen of the boy she was supposed to marry. Her story is so similar to mine, but I admire her because she founded a charity to help countless other victims and she has my full admiration and respect for doing that. I wish Karma Nirvana had been there when I needed help at age eighteen.

What are you working on now?
I’m not working on any more books currently as I just finished “Forced to Marry Him: A Lifetime of Tradition and the Will to Break It”. I’m still at that phase of being amazed that I did this – finished my book and published it. This is a huge accomplishment for me, and I’m so happy to have told my story.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Twitter a lot, and Instagram. I’m still learning about how I can promote my book, and realizing that my work is just beginning. Just because I finished my book, does not mean that I am done.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just believe in yourself that you can do it, and stay patient with the process. It can be a long path to getting your book out there, and it may seem that it will never happen, but it will.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Your story needs to be told”.

What are you reading now?
I wish I had time to read right now! There are many books that I have unfortunately read only fifty percent of, and I need to go back and finish those.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m not sure what is next for me. I don’t know if I have a sequel to write about, it really depends on how this book is received.

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 two books on survival, books about strong women, and perhaps a book of prayers. I need to start finding those books now. I have a pretty good idea about the books on strong women, but I need to do my research on books on survival. As far as a book of prayers, I also need to research that – I’m not sure if the bible has prayers in it, I guess I need to start reading the bible because I should know that!

Author Websites and Profiles
Davinder Kaur Website

Davinder Kaur’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

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