Awesome Author Interviews

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
William James Dorsey better known as Dorsey (Born November 8, 1984) in Delaware is currently a Network Security Video Systems Specialist and has experience in Data Security, Photography, Modeling, Protective Services, Design and Information Technology. Ordained by United Life Church with a Graduate Certificate in Information Security and a Bachelor’s Degree in Technical Management he is both a member and avid supporter of Equal Rights for People of Color and the LGBTQ+ Community.

Dorsey; after being placed in foster care and group homes, was eventually raised by his grandmother. His father left his mother who had been abusing Dorsey for years. On his own at 15, he had lived and traveled many places, dealt with homelessness, depression and learned that family is not just biological or blood, it can be composed of those around you who support you.

Notably Dorsey has also worked with several creative artists such as poet and author of &BlackIssues M. James Cooper, Bryan Mell of StanleyCooperWebb Photography, vocal Artist Verse Mega, Designer Janelle of Janelle’s Printz and Kodi Seaton of idockrocks

So far I have written Three (3) children’s books and One (1) Self Help Book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
So my latest book that I have written is called Unapologetically Gay: Volume 1 Relationships by William James Dorsey. So this book was inspired by a change in my life, well being and psyche I would have to say. I came to terms, accepted and then celebrated being a disabled, gay, black and educated man. Epiphany strikes at the most oddest of times really and once I accepted my self and got to know myself I decided to write these stories based on my life experiences as well as the experiences of those around me that I was either directly or indirectly a part of.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
One of my most unusual writing habits is when I tend to write notes on several different notepads and post its. Then later like puzzle pieces I have to go back, organize and combine them to create a final document.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Authors well let me see ok I have always liked James Baldwin, an up and coming author M. James Cooper, Sun Tzu and Lewis Carol.

What are you working on now?
Well right now I am working on revisions to my Volume 1 book so that I can get it published with an ISN outside of Amazon.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I like my website Http://StanleyCooperWebb.Com

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t rush it and just let it flow. I find that when I have writers block if I do a hobby or whatever I think of during that time of writers block it normally helps a lot.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Everyone’s story is worth hearing and telling.

What are you reading now?
Currently I am not reading anything as I try to complete my revisions on Volume 1 and prep Volume 2 in the same mannor.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I would like to be on a major book tour and see if I could possibly write a stage play.

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?
Well by name I do not know but by subject definitely a survivalist guide, an medicinal medicines guide and a handymans book.

Author Websites and Profiles
WILLIAM DORSEY Website
WILLIAM DORSEY Amazon Profile

WILLIAM DORSEY’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.
Hello! My name is A.M. Pierre, and I’ve loved story-telling my whole life. As a child, my favorite toys were story-related. Even when I was playing with Legos, my favorite part wasn’t building the models but acting out stories with them afterwards. I have published two novels and am publishing one ongoing serial story.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is My Future Lies. It’s a Sci-Fi Time Travel re-imagining of The Man in the Iron Mask. Honestly, the very first spark for this story came while I was listening to The Beetles. I started thinking about the line “the girl with kaleidoscope eyes” – what would that look like? Maybe like swirling rainbows? What would cause that? Contacts? Why would she have rainbow contacts? And those questions led to the creation of Isabeau, a time-traveling rainbow-eyed warrior, and the rest of the story evolved from there.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. There’s plenty of unusual things in my life, but my writing habits are disappointingly pedestrian.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve always loved James Herriot. Even though he’s a nonfiction writer, his pacing and voice definitely helped mold my own writing style.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on Time Stopped on a Tuesday, which is an ongoing serial story on Kindle Vella, and I’m also working on Typhoon, which is the second novel in the Shard Trilogy.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m new to this game, so I’m still learning that. If you have any suggestions, I’m all ears 🙂

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read as much as you can from as many different authors as you can. Then write, write, and write some more. Take criticism in stride and don’t defend yourself – even if the critic is 100% wrong (for example, they say “I didn’t like that the writer never mentioned X after page 100” and you’re screaming internally “I mentioned X on page 132 and 144 AND 186! Are you blind?!”). Just because a sentence is beautifully written doesn’t necessarily mean it belongs in your book.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“If you’re beta readers tell you something isn’t working, they’re probably right. If they tell you exactly how you should fix it, they’re probably wrong.”

Also, from an agent: “Most books I read start too slow, end too fast, and have a boring middle. Don’t be like that.”

What are you reading now?
I’ve been reading a mishmash of things. I’m re-reading The Scarlet Pimpernel for the first time in years. I’m almost finished with a detailed behind-the scenes book about the making of the BBC series Sherlock. I’ve just started a history of Queen Victoria’s reign. And I recently bought an anthology of a couple dozen classic adventure stories and novellas that I’m working my way through.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hopefully more novels, more readers, and more opportunities to grow as an author.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Only 3 or 4? Yikes. I think I’d cheat and bring a few of those big hard cover multi-novel collections – you know, the ones in the discount section of Barnes & Noble that contain things like “the complete works of William Shakespeare”, “the best sci-fi novels”, or “all the novels of James Herriot.” Or I could go the more practical Dwight Schrute route – Physician’s Desk reference, only not hollowed out 🙂

Author Websites and Profiles
A.M. Pierre Website
A.M. Pierre Amazon Profile

A.M. Pierre’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

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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.

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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a spouse, mother, leader, lawyer, talent management professional, technology enthusiast, Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, and now both a writer and consultant. After law school, I pivoted into a leader of Talent Management, Information Technology, Customer Service, Project Coordination, and Order Management. For over ten years, I shaped Experitec’s Talent Management program by creating strategies for peak performance to become an exceptional workplace recognized as a three-time Gallup Exceptional Workplace and four-time St. Louis Post Dispatch Top Workplace.

My purpose is to help people live exceptional lives and I believe workplaces can and should contribute. I just wrote my first book The Exceptional Life R-Evolution to share key insights, learning, and practices to help individuals in any role, location, and place evolve to peak performance.

I am now the owner of Evolving to Exceptional (launched in October of 2021) which provides training, resources and tools for individuals, and partners closely with workplaces to evolve them from good to exceptional! I am very excited about this new business and its potential to positively impact the world.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I felt a nudge to write this book after all the challenges we experienced in 2020. I had three small children (twin 9 month old girls and a 4 year old boy) when the pandemic started and struggled my way through the year being a VP in business and a mom at home. As I moved into 2021, I felt a strong pull that something in this world needed to change. I believe there is a better way to live – a way that allows us to live an exceptional life. And I wanted to help more people do so.

An exceptional life is not a perfect life – no such thing exists. Nor is it a life without challenge, struggle or pain. Rather an exceptional life is one that brings us more peace, joy, happiness and success as a result of the challenges, struggles, and pain we experience. By evolving our performance we can truly live our best possible lives. I truly hope every person on earthy will do so!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I love writing – I have always loved writing. I tend to jump around in my writing a lot and not write linearly.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
All of them! I love reading and read at least four books at once. I have truly been moved by authors like Marcus Buckingham (Frist Break all the Rules), Brene Brown (all of her books!), Cy Wakeman (Reality Based Leadership), Shawn Achor (Happiness Advantage), and hundreds of other books I’ve loved and enjoyed!

On the fun side of reading I also love sci-fi and fantasy books – Harry Potter was a favorite growing up!

What are you working on now?
I am also currently working on two additional books – Learning to Cherish Myself and a series for children Uniting the Universe! The first, is a book about a journey to learn not how to love but to truly cherish myself in a new a different way – a way I had never learned before and I hope to help others learn as well. The second, is a book about children tasked with uniting the universe that is breaking a part – it will be very science based but also have spiritual and life principles that will help children better understand themselves and the world. This will be a series of books!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website www.evolvingtoexceptional.com will have everything I do related to business. I also have my personal site www.jessicatietjen.com for some of my more personal views and writings.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just do it! Make the time, dive in, and let the book come through!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If it doesn’t hurt, you aren’t growing.

What are you reading now?
The One Minute Millionaire and The Power of Now

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will be writing the next few books. I will also be growing my consulting business to help give me more perspectives on the challenges facing business and to help more businesses become exceptional.

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?
Gone with the Wind, The Untethered Soul, How to do the Work, Harry Potter

Author Websites and Profiles
Jessica Tietjen Website
Jessica Tietjen Amazon Profile

Jessica Tietjen’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

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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.
Hi, I’m Mark Holloway, a debut indie fantasy author based in the UK.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My current book, The Soul’s Aspect, is my first ever book and is the first in a planned series.

I started writing The Soul’s Aspect early 2020 because I had been in a reading drought, really struggling to find a book that scratched the itch I had been feeling. At some point I just decided that if I couldn’t read the book I wanted to, I would write it instead.

More than anything, I was craving a coming of age story where things can actually go wrong. I was bored of reading stories where plot armour is so thick around the characters that there’s just no tension anymore, and this seemed to be a particular issue around coming of age stories. Not to mention that these types of stories are usually reserved for the YA audience, and I wanted something that felt a bit more mature.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
To a fault, I’m not an over-planner. I like discovery writing, where I just noodle around with words on paper first, writing scenes that come to me, before I figure out the key plot points. Usually, I have a start and an end goal, but much of the route on the way is open for me to work around.
This often means I have to stop and rework large pieces of text, but I find it’s made the writing process feel more organic like my story is growing up a trellis of my own creation.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Robin Hobb, Patrick Rothfuss and Jeff Vandermeer are huge influences for me, each for different reasons.

Hobb’s character work in fantasy is second to none, and I’ve still yet to experience anything else like it. All her characters feel real, and even the stupid mistakes that they make, the ones that have you screaming at the page, feel justified, and right for that character.

Likewise, Rothfuss’ prose is a delight in the genre, and particularly here, I’m referring to the Easter eggs hidden throughout his work, be that the seven words spoken in dialogue, or my personal favourite, the sneaky use of iambic pentametre used in certain, symbolic scenes.

Lastly, Vandermeer inspires me to be creative with my prose. Reading the Southern Reach trilogy was like a bucket of water thrown over me, with so much rich, beautiful, densely packed with terrifying language.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on the sequel to The Soul’s Aspect, as well as working with a producer on an Audiobook version of The Soul’s Aspect.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I mostly stick to Instagram as I like to have a closer connection with readers, and it feels like more of a community. I’m also pretty active on Reddit, helping to moderate a writing group focused on the fantasy genre. Mostly, I think the important thing in marketing and promotion is honesty and symbiosis.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Take your time. Debut indie authors are unlikely to make a huge splash with their first book, and those that do have often paid through the nose to do so. Don’t fret if the numbers seem small, just focus on writing, and build yourself a small community that can be genuinely interested in your work.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t let your first foray into writing be The Great Novel. Write small, short stories first so that you can hone in on the mechanics and get feedback.

What are you reading now?
I don’t read while I’m actively writing, for fear of accidentally absorbing other people’s ideas into my own work and being overly influenced. That being said, next up on by TBR is Kirstoff’s Empire of the Vampire.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
How to Survive on a Desert Island
How to Build and Sail Small Boats – Canoes – Punts and Rafts
Cursed Child (makes good tinder)

Author Websites and Profiles
Mark Holloway Website
Mark Holloway Amazon Profile

Mark Holloway’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

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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.
I am originally from a super small town in PA. We only had one stoplight as I was growing up! I went to college at West Chester University before getting my MBA and having a successful career in the banking industry. I left that career to become a business coach and after finding myself going through the trauma of divorce, I shifted to become a highly trained and certified confidence and transformation divorce coach. I am so passionate about helping others through the trauma of divorce so that they don’t just survive, they trhive! I’ve written one book and also published a journal!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Divorce Bucket List. After going through my own traumatic divorce experience, where I nearly ended my own life before diving into self-development to truly heal, rebuild and thrive, I decided to use my experience to help others get through divorce as well.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to write the way I speak, so my writing style often seems like I add extra details in!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
GRANT CARDONE – 10X!!!!!!! Also, Mel Robbins, Amanda Frances, Rachel Hollis, John C. Maxwell, Gary Vee, and way way way too many others to name!

What are you working on now?
I am working on releasing an online course to help others forgive, rediscover themselves and rebuild through and after divorce.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Word of mouth with genuine desire to help others!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get ready to learn a LOT about the publishing world! I had no clue how much went into writing but it’s worth it, just go do it!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
That failure doesn’t exist, you can always get up and try again!

What are you reading now?
I love reading thrillers and nonfiction self-help books. Currently, I am reading Ready Player Two!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a few ideas in mind! All around helping people through divorce in different areas. I am considering a tell-all about my experiences in my previous coaching career too – it was very interesting!

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?
10X by Grant Cardone, Probably a thriller of some sort, and a journal to write in!

Author Websites and Profiles
Jennifer Harris Website
Jennifer Harris Amazon Profile

Jennifer Harris’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

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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.
I’ve been writing since I was very young (I’m not young any more!) but I needed another career so I became a clinical psychologist, an occupation I enjoy that’s let me make a living and learn a great deal for many years. I am publishing my seventh book very soon (10/08/21). It is my second published novel; the first was Indigo Rose. I have a number more in the drawer. I have published five psychology books. The most recent is Emotions of Menace and Enchantment: disgust, horror, awe, and fascination.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The book that comes out on 10/08/21 is A Beautiful Land, a novel that was inspired by my wish to understand more deeply some of the human dimensions of ethnic violence. It also explores guilt, including guilt in the context of motherhood and the appropriation of another’s child. The book has multiple settings, but one is a threatening but also protective forest.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t have any habits (I’m aware of) that are particularly unusual other than taking advantages of even the smallest block of time (think ten minutes) to continue with a manuscript I’m working on. I’ve learned to dive in–no pencil sharpening or desk organizing. Perhaps one unusual habit is my preference for a messy environment when I write. I think of it as creative chaos.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Many…from William Faulkner to Dostoevsky to Ann Patchett (Bel Canto), Kazuo Ishiguro, Claire Messud, and probably most profoundly, Toni Morrison. There are many others, including poets.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a new novel.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m trying to figure that out. Using social media to promote books is new to me and I can’t say I enjoy it that much.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Try to turn off the internal critic and editor completely while you are writing. There will be abundant opportunity to make good use of those voices later in the writing process. But first, just let yourself write. Immerse yourself in the process and enjoy it. I quit writing for a long time as a young woman because my perfectionism paralyzed me. It was wonderful to get past that.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
hmm….that question requires more thought

What are you reading now?
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett. Next up is Kindred by Octavia Butler.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’d like to write a novel with a more experimental or exploratory form.

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’d probably take books exploring the nature around me in great detail.

Author Websites and Profiles
Susan Miller Website
Susan Miller Amazon Profile

Susan Miller’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.
I am an award-winning American writer who has worked as a copywriter, journalist, and strategic communicator for more than 30 years. Before retiring from teaching, I taught classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for 20 years.

Before writing fiction, I contributed to five nonfiction books, including “Beyond Generation X: A Practical Guide for Managers,” the American Ambulance Association’s “Public Relations Handbook,” and “Forget Us Not: Armenian Genocide Commemorative.” I’ve also scripted a documentary produced with PBS.

I’m also the president of Copywrite, Ink., a 30-year-old writing services and strategic communication firm. He is married and has two children. My son is currently pursuing a degree in college and my daughter is a student-athlete in high school.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“50 States: A collection of short short stories” grew out of an effort to transition from commercial writing exclusively to commercial writing and fiction. It started a project to write one story a week for 50 weeks, which gave me a self-imposed deadline to write and share my work every week.

The idea to place each story in a different state evolved naturally. When I had finished the first five stories or so, I noticed each was in a different state and each touched on a different state of mind. Since I wasn’t interested in confining myself to any specific genre, it made sense to stick with the inspiration.

I’m glad I did. Some of the stories would have never materialized without following what amounted to creative intuition. It was fun and challenging, especially reading how people reacted to each new story as I shared it online every week.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When it comes to fiction, I’m mostly a morning writer who likes to sit down at my computer in my home office with a cup of coffee and quiet. It’s the same place I’ve developed advertising campaigns and written articles for decades.

What was a little different about writing 50 States was that my self-imposed deadline would force me outside my comfort zone. Sometimes, to finish a story, I would thumb draft copy on my phone between my daughter’s softball games, type pages on a Bluetooth keyboard after propping up my tablet on another sports chair, or even write bits of prose on napkins and Moleskine notepads.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
This is always such a difficult question for me because so many authors and books have touched me. I just know I answer differently every time someone asks!

In terms of the work, I think Earnest Hemingway and John Updike have been especially influential to me in their quest to write straight, honest prose about people. As teachers, Joyce Carol Oates and Walter Mosley had a profound impact on my writing.

There are also dozens of other writers who were indirectly encouraging. Beyond writing some amazing books, I found their work made me want to write fiction. A few of them include Peter Heller, James Lee Burke, Nora Neale Hurston, Aric Davis, and S.A. Cosby.

What are you working on now?
I currently have several fiction projects in the works. Most notably, I’m writing more short stories that either intersect with or build on those found in 50 States. Initially, I intended to publish a second book called 50 Threads, which would carry on the idea of 50 States.

However, I also want to give myself room to let things evolve. I’m also writing longer fiction, with stories that exceed my 3,000 word limit on short-short stories, along with a novel. Since I tend to treat these projects like a gardening project, I’m not sure which project will come to fruition first.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Having worked in advertising and marketing all my life, I knew taking a grassroots approach to 50 States would be a special kind of challenge. As an indie publisher and author, you have to be willing to work at it every day because each small success has the potential to become a big success.

Every day, I look for opportunities to increase the exposure for 50 States: book reviews, book promoters, advertising ideas, bookstore outreach, etc. I’ve found Amazon and Goodreads to be especially supportive, and I’ve had a fair amount of success reaching out to select indie bookstores before traveling to a new area with my daughter’s softball team.

Every small success leads to something new. In fact, I was referred to Awesome Gang while pursuing a different opportunity. Wow. I was happily surprised what an excellent service this site is doing for authors.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be prepared to roll up your sleeves and work after your book is published, maybe even harder than you did writing it. Book marketing is different from other campaigns because it’s more akin to a political grassroots campaign than a commercial campaign. It requires a hands-on, personal approach and a resolve not to take anything personally.

Reviewers will pass on your book. Bookstores will ask you to jump through hoops and then decline to stock it. Readers will praise you in person but never leave a review on Amazon. Some promotional opportunities will seem like a dream come true but amount to nothing.

You can’t focus on any of those challenges. Instead, stick to what you know — you wrote a book worth reading — and every small success that comes your way. If you can keep with it, then success will start to happen. I’ve had some fantastic reviews from respected editors, including Kirkus. Sometimes it takes several calls, but I’ve placed signed copies in at least one bookstore in every city I visit. Sales are steady as more people are introduced to it. I feel very blessed that these small victories are turning into something big.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
50 States would have never happened had I not taken my friend Geoff Livingston’s advice to work for myself first for a change.

So many writers out there want to finish something but never find the time to do it because they are too busy working on other people’s projects or have taken on other people’s obligations. Don’t get me wrong; I’m as active with my business and community as ever. But I finally learned after all these years that one of my dreams had to become the priority.

If you want to finish your book, put yourself first for a change. For me, that meant locking out every Monday morning for fiction first. My ability to become immersed in this work has become an inspiration to keep going and growing as an author.

What are you reading now?
I have four books going at any given time: one on my phone, one audiobook, one that I read with my daughter, and one nonfiction I read at lunch. These books generally toggle back and forth between classics, literary fiction, thrillers, mysteries, history, science fiction, romance, fantasy, young adult, and speculative fiction.

Keeping that in mind, my list looks like this at the moment: “The Guide” by Peter Heller, “Coyote Blue” by Christopher Moore, Willa of Dark Hollow by Robert Betty, and A Swim In A Pond In The Rain by George Saunders. About that last title. Wow. If you are a writer, you have to read it. Saunders is a fantastic teacher.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve scaled back how many commercial clients I will work with at any given time so I can continue to pursue writing fiction. So this is it. I’m working, writing fiction, and learning (sometimes the hard way) how to best market books. Aside from all that, I’m having a great time meeting some wonderful people who share a passion for reading and writing great work. What’s better than that?

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?
This question makes me chuckle because it’s going to reveal a different side of me. Being completely transparent, I would choose Red Rising by Pierce Brown, Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Stand by Steven King, and Dune by Frank Herbert.

I chose these books because they are among a dozen or so that transformed a kid who couldn’t read in the third grade into a life-long reader, writer, writing instructor, and author. Pierce Brown’s book is the exception. Red Rising is included because it would have been among those other titles had he written it when I was younger.

Author Websites and Profiles
Richard Becker Website
Richard Becker Amazon Profile

Richard Becker’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest 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.
I’m an author and machine learning researcher in Silicon Valley. My two novels are both speculative fiction centered on young women, but beyond that they have little in common! My debut novel is climate fiction, about near-future California ravaged by wildfires and a rising sea, and it’s really a character study of a female software engineer displaced by climate change. My second novel, coming out in a few weeks, is a dark retelling of Cinderella.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Pretty Deadly is my (very) dark retelling of Cinderella. I came up with the idea after reading a number of books pitched as dark fairytale retellings and not finding them dark enough! I wanted something brutal, with a true antihero (or even villain) in the role of the fairytale’s princess. I wanted to put the agency firmly in the hands of the protagonist, but make the reader wonder whether that’s a good idea. Pretty Deadly answers the question, “What if Cinderella were a psychopath?”

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I edit while walking around! In order to type quickly enough for drafting I have to sit and type with both hands, but while editing I think much more clearly holding my laptop and pacing in my kitchen, correcting typos and flagging sentences as I spot them.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have too many influences to possibly name them all, but honestly I grew up deep in mid-aughts YA, and that shaped me. Those books often wouldn’t fly now–full of saviors flying in from outside, instalove, and other things that I see as problematic today–but I loved them. They made me believe in the fantastical and made me want to be a writer myself.

What are you working on now?
My next projects are both more fairytale retellings. First, there’s Snow White, but gay and violent (I guess violence is a thing I want to see added to fairytales in general!). I submitted it to PitchWars; we’ll see where that goes. And my writing group is currently reading my asexual/aromantic take on Beauty and the Beast. I love this one a lot, but I’m a bit worried that people won’t take to a classic love story without the romance.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve found success with Amazon ads for sales on Amazon, and for in-person sales the thing that has worked best is communicating very directly with local bookstores. There’s not tons of volume that way, but it’s so satisfying to see my book on a shelf and then to hear from the store that it sold and they need to order more!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My best advice is nothing new: keep writing. Remember that your first draft (and even best draft, probably) isn’t done, and that your publisher will assign an editor who will make it even better. I’m always astounded by how much my work keeps improving right up until publication day!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what you want to read. This doesn’t mean you’ll be published or successful–your markets may not match the market–but it does mean you’ll have lots of fun.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading Beloved by Toni Morrison, which is very heavy. When I needed something lighter, I picked up Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson, but that’s not really any less intense! Usually I try to read two or three books at a time.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hopefully I’ll have some exciting news soon about one of my completed manuscripts! I’m also hard at work drafting the sequel to Pretty Deadly, which I’ll submit to my publisher sometime next year, assuming all goes well. And I’m going to be writing the foreword to a rerelease of a classic novel that I can’t yet reveal, which I’m very much looking forward to.

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?
Oh, this is so hard! I’d want one of my comfort books from childhood, maybe The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, a more recent favorite like Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, and then something really long and detailed. Honestly, maybe Ministry for the Future would be a great way to round it out! Or perhaps The Overstory, which is similarly involved.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kelsey Josund Website
Kelsey Josund Amazon Profile

Kelsey Josund’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Colorado gal who spent a decade in corporate America and decades more as an entrepreneur. Once driven to hit the top of any organization I deemed worthy, motherhood shifted my priorities to focus on the family. I just published my first book in 2021.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It’s called Lady and the Tribe, How to Create Empowering Friendship Circles. Over a period of 15 years, I “let myself go”. I’m not talking about the typical weight gain and yoga pants seven days a week, although that happened too. Over those years I let go of my own preferences, activities and friendships and found myself with a very busy life, yet something was missing. As my kids were about to launch into their adult lives, I no longer knew who I was outside of my role as MOM. I discovered what was lost was deep, meaningful friendships. My journey back to wholeness and resilience is documented in my book Lady and the Tribe.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so other than it took me just over two months to write the entire book. My goal was 500 words per day. I didn’t get 500 in every day, but on a weekly basis I averaged more than that.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
For the most part, I read for personal and professional growth and not for entertainment. I have read many books on success and the law of attraction.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a “Tribal Record” scrapbook. A place to document memories, retreats and adventures. A guidebook of sorts with group activities and bonding moments.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am pretty new to this. I am still figuring that out.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write about something you are passionate about and universal energies will line up to assist you! Don’t wait for everything to be perfect, start today!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Don’t take anything personally.” Don Miguel Ruiz & the Four Agreements

What are you reading now?
The Goddess in Every Woman

What’s next for you as a writer?
Visit as many womens’ groups as possible to spread the message of connection.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A Course in Miracles, The Stand, Tuesdays with Morrie

Author Websites and Profiles
Brenda Ridgley Website
Brenda Ridgley Amazon Profile

Brenda Ridgley’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

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Author Interview Series

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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Businessman and Author. For most of my life i dealt with my personal development by attending specialized seminars and certificates on self-improvement and psychology. In recent years I have been writing books on self-improvement, personal development and love so that i can spread my knowledge around the world,help people to change their life and urge them to see their life for another angle. I have written a self book and i prepare new self book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name is : How To Improve Your Self-Love

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, i have not. I always have inspiration to write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Tolle Eckhart , ¨” For a new life ”

What are you working on now?
I prepare new non-fiction book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I prefer the kindlepreneur and facebook.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
To write in order to help other people

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Love yourself first, so you know what you deserve.

What are you reading now?
Self improvments and psychology books.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To write many improvments books.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Books that they will make me have positive thoughts.

Author Websites and Profiles
Steve Janson Amazon Profile

Steve Janson’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

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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.
I am a freelance photographer and writer based near Kamakura, Japan where I have lived for many years (if one includes 20 years in Tokyo). My special interests are: Japanese gardens, Japanese festivals and cuisine

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My newest book, due out late October 2021 is The Shikoku PIlgrimage – Japan’s Sacred Trail, published by River Books. It took more more than 20 years to complete the entire trail of 88 temples in Shikoku even though I live on a completely different island, over the years I have visited Shikoku many times and was finally able to put the book together with a variety of images for each temple.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to write long in the first draft then chop chop chop into more bite-sized text, which is almost always required for photo captions.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Bill Bryson, Paul Theroux, Pico Iyer and Bruce Chatwin

What are you working on now?
I am working on a new book devoted to Japanese gardens: Hidden Gardens of Tokyo, to be followed by Hidden Gardens of Kyoto – hopefully. Prior to the pandemic, visiting the most famous gardens in Japan had become a trail with busloads of tour groups, noisy visitors that rather spoiled the entire atmosphere, so I set out to find gardens that are either not publicized, off-the-beaten-track or the temple monks were simply not interested in turning their place into a tourist attraction. GREAT!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Author events on Zoom, at present I am scheduled to give about 5 more Zoom events, mostly with branches of Japan Society around the world.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep on keeping on!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“If you find something to do in life that you love to do as your life’s work, then it doesn’t feel like you are working at all, but rather a pleasure.”

What are you reading now?
I am addicted to spy novels, especially John Le Carre

What’s next for you as a writer?
More gardens, gardens, gardens

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 Anatomy of Restlessness, Bruce Chatwin
The Enigma of Arrival, V.S. Naipaul
Neither Here nor There, Bill Bryson

Author Websites and Profiles
John Lander Website
John Lander Amazon Profile

John Lander’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

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Author Interview Series

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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written one book and intend for it to be a series. I reside in Kansas and have my whole life. I love dogs, which is what my book is about.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Leroux Goes To Nana’s is my latest book. It was inspired by my dog and my grandma aka nana. I lost both of them last year and it hit me really hard. They were both such beautiful souls and I need to keep their spirits alive so others get to enjoy them still.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
not really

What authors, or books have influenced you?
De de Cox inspired me. We became friends through our dogs actually.My dog Leroux had a huge social media following and when she passed away I was talking to DeDe a few months later and she encouraged me to write my book.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working the next book in my series about Leroux.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I usually just use facebook because everyone who followed Leroux followed her on there, and yes she had more friends than me.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just follow your dreams and keeping working towards your goals because they are always achievable with determination.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Do something that scares you.

What are you reading now?
All of De de Cox book’s, trying to catch up on those.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hoping to continue my series of children’s books, get in some interviews to promote it and hopefully get some book signings going.

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 my book” Leroux Goes to Nana’s” only because I would want to be connected with my dog and grandma, they were both my support system and the book makes me feel closer to them every time I read it.

Any of Caroline B Cooney’s books. I loved her series with the face on the milk carton and could read them over and over.

Author Websites and Profiles
Samantha Wylie Amazon Profile

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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.

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