Awesome Author Interviews

Larada Horner-Miller Website

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Larada Horner-Miller

Interview With Author Larada Horner-Miller

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a retired middle school teacher who taught literature, language arts, Spanish and computers. I co-manage our family ranch in southeastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico.

I have written seven books, three cookbooks and narrated and published three audiobooks.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Was It A Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry. It is the first in a three-book series of poetry I gathered from notebooks and sketch books back to the 1980s.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have really gotten into dictating my poetry I found using Scrivener.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Tony Hillerman, Shakespeare and Mary Oliver have really influenced me.

What are you working on now?
I am formatting in Vellum my new poetry book, Was It A Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry. I am also re-releasing my first book, This Tumbleweed Landed and I am learning AMMO Click Ads Testing from Steve Pieper.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I do a free giveaway and stack promotions at a variety of vetted websites—Fussy Librarian, etc.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t wait! I wrote my first book then put it away for twenty-five years. Do it now!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write two crappy pages a day.

What are you reading now?
Julia Alvarez’s How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent

What’s next for you as a writer?
Books #2 & #3 in my poetry 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?
My Bible, Alcoholics Anonymous, Mary Oliver’s Devotions, and one of Tony Hillerman’s books.

Author Websites and Profiles

Larada Horner-Miller Amazon Profile

Larada Horner-Miller’s Social Media Links

Author Interview Series

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Patrick Vansciver

Interview With Author Patrick Vansciver

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written six books, three about ADHD, as well as coloring books that both my grandchildren and adult children enjoy. Currently, I’m working on an exciting children’s book. Additionally, I have an art book about drawing portraits due to my experience in painting and selling artwork for many years.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is about my love of art. I want people to understand the great masters I have by learning to draw anything they could think of, especially the human figure in portraiture. I’m in the process of finishing that book and will be offering it on this site.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have ADHD and hyper-focus problems. I’ll be getting a book and continuously losing sleep day upon Day until it’s finished exhausted.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve read all the classics that I could find, especially the works of CS Lewis. I’m currently reading The Scarlet Letter; it’s heartbreaking.

What are you working on now?
After finishing the art book, I would like to finish my children’s book, I was writing it simultaneously.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I promote my books on many different websites, Awesome Gang and of course Amazon

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Right about the things you love.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
In high school, I had a difficult art teacher who was a great artist in her own right. She told me to “draw what I really see and not what I think I see. People do not stick figures.” she taught us to develop our style and refused to show us how to draw anything. She would place something in front of us and say draw.

What are you reading now?
The Scarlet Letter in a book about the Palestinian conflict.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I really want to finish my children’s book, but I struggle with it, trying to bring it to a 5th-grade level.

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 Holy Bible and the works of CS Lewis, but I haven’t read.

Author Websites and Profiles

Patrick Vansciver Website

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Cathy J Dubie

Interview With Author Cathy J Dubie

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
After several years working as a technical writer for the government, I was able to quit and devote my time to writing the stories in my head and in my heart. And there are a lot of them! I’ve had 2 historical romance novels published, as well as short stories and poems. I like reading different genres, and that’s reflected in my output as well.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Summer and 16 is the title. It’s loosely based on my own 16th summer, which I spent at a lovely lake. I’ve had different versions over the years, but finally nailed it down.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I need to have a clean desk when I write. Clutter is definitely not allowed!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Can’t pin it down as I’d have to say all the authors of the books I’ve read have influenced me in some way.

What are you working on now?
Another young adult novel.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Something I have yet to discover.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get that first draft done, then get out the scissors. Having it critiqued can help, too.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You can’t just write to popular trends. Your heart and soul must be in it.

What are you reading now?
A thriller, Predator by Wilbur Smith.

What’s next for you as a writer?
at some point I want to finish a mystery series I began writing a few years ago.

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 difficult question. Something practical about edible plants or how to survive, the complete works of Shakespeare in one big tome – that should take a few years. also the complete Sherlock Holmes.

Author Interview Series

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Sean Murphy

Interview With Author Sean Murphy

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m founder of the non-profit 1455 Lit Arts and direct the Center for Story at Shenandoah University. I’ve been publishing fiction, poetry, reviews (of music, movie, book, food), and essays on the technology industry for over twenty years. I’ve appeared on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and been quoted in USA Today, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Forbes and AdAge. I was a longtime columnist for PopMatters, and my work has also appeared in Salon, The Village Voice, The New York Post, The Good Men Project, Writer’s Digest, Memoir Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, and many other publications. My poems have been widely anthologized, including the collections Revisiting the Elegy in the Black Lives Matter Era, This Is What America Looks Like, Lo-Fi Poetry Series: Poet Sounds, and Written in Arlington: Poems for Arlington, VA.

I was previously the writer-in-residence at Noepe Center for Literary Arts at Martha’s Vineyard, and in 2017 founded the arts non-profit 1455. My memoir PLEASE TALK ABOUT ME WHEN I’M GONE was released in 2013. My novel NOT TO MENTION A NICE LIFE (2015) was followed by my first two collections of non-fiction, MURPHY’S LAW, VOL. ONE and VOL. TWO (2016, 2017). My chapbooks THE BLACKENED BLUES (Finishing Line Press) and RHAPSODIES IN BLUE (Kelsay Books) were published in 2021 and 2023. My next poetry collection, KINDS OF BLUE (Kelsay Books) and his collection of short fiction THIS KIND OF MAN (Unsolicited Press) both published in 2024. He has been nominated four times for the Pushcart Prize, twice for Best of Net, and PLEASE TALK ABOUT ME WHEN I’M GONE was winner of the 2022 Memoir Prize.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
This Kind of Man offers an unvarnished look at life in 21st-century America, excavating the complicated, tender, wild truth of what it is to be a man across generations and relationships. We see that our received notions of manhood and masculinity are inculcated—from the beginning and by design—to ensure willing participation in a system where the overwhelming majority are excluded from the start. We witness the way these dysfunctions are handed down like inheritance, and how every cliché, from fighting to drinking to intolerance of dissent and distrust of others, is a carefully constructed trap, preventing solidarity, empathy, and love (for others, for oneself).

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’ve been writing long enough that I’ve figured out to have a regular, unbreakable routine is either an incredible privilege or the sign of dangerous OCD. As such, I prioritize writing and fit it in whenever I can, and it’s always easier when a particular piece or project is going well and nothing else matters until it’s complete!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
While I would hesitate to draw any flattering comparisons between myself and these two masters of the short story, I believe This Kind of Man is in the vein of both George Saunders and Tim O’Brien (thinking especially of In Persuasion Nation and The Things They Carried), as it seeks to take an unflinching look at people in crisis, describing the ways this world has pushed them to some type of breaking point. Several of these stories take place in so-called flyover states, so I feel obliged to send a loving shout out to the great Breece D’J Pancake, who wrote so indelibly about Appalachia.

What are you working on now?
I’m polishing off my fourth collection of poetry; I have another book of short stories I’m about half-way through with, and I’m also outlining and drafting a follow-up memoir.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
No writer can be aloof to a social media presence; I’m at seanmurphy.net, I blog at bullmurph.com, and you can find me on Twitter and Instagram at @bullmurph.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
First and foremost: read and write all the time. It’s the most basic and ostensibly simple advice, but it’s crucial. I meet aspiring writers all the time who talk about what they want to do (or will do) “eventually.” Writing material that aspires to connect in a meaningful way with a broader audience involves hours and years of hard, often unfulfilling work. Don’t quit your day job, but treat your writing like it’s your life. Seek to execute sentences and scenes you haven’t encountered, even in books you admire. Work toward cultivating a unique style and ways to convey familiar -and unfamiliar–themes with honesty and originality. Turn off the television, shut off your phone, and understand the real dirty work that results in quality writing involves lots of long, lonely hours. If you aren’t feeling it with all of your being, how can you hope to engage a potential reader? Above all, trust yourself and love yourself: writing is necessarily a solitary endeavor, but you are connecting yourself with a community of special human beings who have made our world demonstrably better. Celebrate the idea of contributing something of yourself to that tradition.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I think often of this amazing quote, courtesy of V.S. Pritchett:
“Sooner or later, the great men turn out to be all alike. They never stop working. They never lose a minute. It is very depressing.”

I’ll say, as someone who has been writing (with varying degrees of success and consistency) over more than two decades, there’s literally something from any writer’s observations of what works for them that I can identify with, understand, or seek to emulate. I also know this type of dedication, discipline, and focus is not limited to artists; mastery involves an almost impossible combination of obsession, passion, respect (for the subject; for the self), ambition, and not lastly, balance.

What are you reading now?
I’m greatly enjoying my friend Whitney Collins’s forthcoming collection RICKY & OTHER LOVE STORIES (Sarabande).

What’s next for you as a writer?
Write, read, write, read, so on and forever.

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?
MOBY DICK
CATCH-22
INVISIBLE MAN
THE COLLECTED POEMS OF Czesław Miłosz

Author Websites and Profiles

Sean Murphy Website

Sean Murphy Amazon Profile

Sean Murphy’s Social Media Links

Ben Berwick Amazon Profile

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Ben Berwick

Interview With Author Ben Berwick

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Howdy! My name is Ben, I live in the UK, I sell bathrooms for a living, and for my sins, I follow Formula 1 motor racing. I love sci-fi, especially Star Trek, and I am a huge fan of most things Disney too. I have published two books, and currently have a third in the hands of my publisher.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Fontana & Istilor, which sort of bubbled up out of nowhere. It’s the story of Michael, a young man propelled into a crazy situation, where he is transformed into, of all things, an anthropomorphic meerkat! He faces a fight on his hands to get home, and he finds himself dealing with a secret family legacy on his way.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know about *unusual*. I will often imagine scenes in my head, as I walk to and from work, and I’ll try to put those scenes to paper when I get home. Needless to say, what I imagine, and what I put down on the page, do not always match!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
As a kid, I read a lot of Roald Dahl. His books were captivating and magical to me. The likes of James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory… they were all wonderful stories. As an adult, I have thoroughly enjoyed David Weber’s Honorverse books, and the Old Man’s War saga from John Scalzi crackles with feisty energy. Peter F. Hamilton’s sci-fi works have a brilliant, epic feel to them, and I highly recommend Becky Black’s ‘Shoot the Humans First’.

What are you working on now?
I recently finished the sequel to my debut book, The Awakening. This is now with the publisher, so soon will come the time to go through edits and such. Beyond that, I am looking to follow up on Fontana & Istilor, and I have a couple of projects rattling around in my brain.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I turn to social media for a lot of promotional work, though I have a website, www.meerkatmusings.co.uk, where I talk of my books (among a lot of other stuff!).

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Try to enjoy what you write. If you are not entertained by your own words, you can’t reasonably expect someone else to.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
‘Show, not tell’. Let the actions of the characters show the reader the events, and let the characters tell the story.

What are you reading now?
I’m looking to start the Illyria series, by Armin Shimerman.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am looking to write a third part – perhaps a conclusion – to The Awakening. I have also toyed with developing a Roman-era story into a more polished book, and my daughter wants me to develop a dragon story.

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?
Oooooooh… good question. I’d probably take Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, and Shoot the Humans First by Becky Black. Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch, is a compelling read too.

Author Websites and Profiles

Ben Berwick Website

Ben Berwick’s Social Media Links

Hamidatu Kandey Alhassan Amazon Profile

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Hamidatu Kandey Alhassan

Interview With Author Hamidatu Kandey Alhassan

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Writing has always been a love, though I didn’t always take it seriously. I started with feature articles for Ghanaian blogs, then ventured into running my own (though it’s no longer active). Now, with ‘The Stumble with Doom’ as my debut novel, I’m determined to tell more unique stories from my vibrant city, Accra.

Born and raised in Ghana’s capital, I’m a proud graduate of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (now the University of Media, Arts and Communication). As a single mom and restaurant cook, I juggle my passions with the realities of life. But my dedication to writing burns bright, and I’m eager to share more of Accra’s soul with the world.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My friend’s playful challenges, throwing random ideas my way, birthed the germ of ‘The Stumble with Doom.’ When the world faced a new threat, I poured that creativity into the pages, resulting in my current book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My characters are keeping me company—a little too well, maybe? Writer’s block? I never heard of her!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
For fiction, I will say Peggy Oppong’s “No roses for Sharon and “Lemon suitcase.”
For non-fiction, it is “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen.
Then “The Ancestral Sacrifice” by Kaakyire Akosombo Nyantakyi

What are you working on now?
I’m writing a heartwarming children’s story that explores themes of family, love, and finding your forever home, and my other project is a supernatural thriller that explores unconventional relationships and the complexities of human nature.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
For promotion, I’ve been focusing on social media strategies. While I haven’t used any paid services yet besides Awesomegang, I’m actively building an online presence.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Be yourself.”

What are you reading now?
My manuscripts. But I’ve gotten “So Long a Letter” by Mariama Ba to read!

What’s next for you as a writer?
While self-publishing has been a valuable experience, I’m now setting my sights on the world of traditional publishing. Let’s just say, I’m ready to graduate from the self-made stage.

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. “You can be the happiest woman in the world” by Dr. Aidal Qarni
2. “Between the world and me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
3. “The monk who sold his ferrari” by Robin Sharma
4. “In the Chest of a Woman” by Efo Kodjo Mawugbe

Author Websites and Profiles

Hamidatu Kandey Alhassan’s Social Media Links

Kacie Taylor Amazon Profile

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Kacie Taylor

Interview With Author Kacie Taylor

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I love to read and write romance. I’ve written five books, but four are no longer available for purchase because I want to update them.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is a clean Historical/Western romance called Amazing Grace, the first in a series called The Bailey Saga. I recently started reading this genre and had some great ideas for stories involving mail-order brides and adventures going west. I only read/write clean romance.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to work on multiple stories at a time, even though it might not seem very productive. But if I’m having a block with one story, it’s nice to be able to jump to another to keep creative juices flowing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
As I said, I recently started reading historical/western romance, and some of the authors that inspired me are Cat Cahill, Jovie Grace, and Lacy Williams.

Others romance authors I enjoy include Lynn Shannon, Clara Pines, Maggie Dallen, Tara Grace Ericson, Martha Keyes, Nichole Van, Sally Britton, and Edie James.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on the next books in The Bailey Saga, which I plan to be a 15 book series, as well as a contemporary romance about neighbors who fall in love (untitled).

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still trying to figure that out!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read. A lot. Especially the genre you want to write. And don’t worry too much about your first draft. It will need work, but that’s what editing and second drafts are for.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?

What are you reading now?
I just finished Second Chance Serenity by Jessica Ashley. It’s the third book in a series. I think I like the first one (Pages of Promise) the most so far.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Since my first four books were fantasy romance, the other genres I’m working on are totally new for me, so I hope to grow into them and be able to have a different enough voice to distinguish one from another, but not too different. I want readers to be able to tell their reading a Kacie Taylor book no matter which genre it is.

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?
Dang. Can’t I just bring my ipad and Kindle app? I guess if I had to choose, I’d bring my scriptures, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Adjacent But Only Just by Nichole Van, and Work of Art by Mimi Matthews

Author Websites and Profiles

Kacie Taylor Website

Kacie Taylor’s Social Media Links

Marco Santucci Amazon Profile

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Marco Santucci

Interview With Author Marco Santucci

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, for starters, I grew up in Ottawa Illinois, moved to California at 21 (1986) escaping my reality that I was born female with a male brain. Twenty years later I became the man I am today, though that is another book called “Tattered Edges” one of the three I have written so far. I’ve experiences spirit activity my entire life.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
DARKLANDS PARANORMAL (The Chronicles) came from the real stories of being a paranormal investigator tapping into the Other Side with a digital recorder never expecting the phenomenal success that I attained, even recording death. The recorded communication I experienced with many spirits over time and the technology of QR codes made it possible for me to share in story form the things ghosts will say!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Habits? Only where my writing ideas come from, which is my dream journal.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell- The Blood Gospel

What are you working on now?
My fourth book is untitled at this moment, but will be my first book labeled fiction, but still will be peppered with truth. This one will also include real audio clips but instead of ghosts, these fewer recordings are of either aliens or time travelers. Thats the real part!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Hopefully you! Otherwise there has been little success for such great (true) stories.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Try to always take the time to write down any and all great phrases that fall from your brain.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Life is what you make it.

What are you reading now?
Nothing at this time, I’m focusing writing my 4th book.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Getting Tattered Edges to screen.

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?
None. I would write my own.

Author Websites and Profiles

Marco Santucci Website

Marco Santucci’s Social Media Links

Lewis Clements Amazon Profile

Author Interview Series

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

Faye Hall

Interview With Author Faye Hall

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Faye Hall is the author of fast-paced, suspense-filled, sensual, historical romance stories.

She takes her characters on a unique journey of scandal and seduction through the historically rural setting of Queensland, Australia.

Faye was born and raised in the sugarcane farming areas of North Queensland, Australia. She tries to incorporate the tales of local history, and the struggles and adventures of her own family, into each of her stories.

Faye lives in North Queensland with her husband and 5 of their 9 children.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Stolen Desires was actually inspired by my grandfathers life when he came to Australia – trying to leave one’s past behind and start anew across the oceans, only to have one’s past find you.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure it’s unusual but I write lots of notes and quotes, even little sections of dialogue. They don’t belong to any story as such, but I keep them and look back on them at least once a year until a story forms from them.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I take inspiration from so many places, from romance books written by Amanda Quick, to crime novels written by Agatha Christie.

What are you working on now?
I’m actually having a small break from committing to any writing projects whilst my mother is in hospital with terminal kidney failure, but I still try to jot down the odd note here and there. While I’ve been dealing with family matters, I’ve been going back over and re-reading some completed manuscripts and trying to do some basic edits.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I tend to rely on my personal website and the publishers website quite heavily, but I also use Facebook and X quite a lot.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be prepared to fail and get up and keep trying.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To write the stories you want to read, and a bad first draft is better than a blank page.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading several of my own manuscripts and trying to get them ready for publication.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m not sure…I’ve recently released 2 books of poems and ditties I wrote when I was still at school, but I really want to get back to romance. Hopefully, once my family life settles a bit, I should be able to release the first book from my next series ‘Blemished’ – a collection of stories with heroes/heroines that have been physically scarred and are searching for love.

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?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Scandalous by Amanda Quick
Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Author Websites and Profiles

Faye Hall Website

Faye Hall Amazon Profile

Faye Hall’s Social Media Links

Author Interview Series

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

Lewis Clements

Interview With Author Lewis Clements

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am 74 years old, a father of four, grandfather of ten.
My passions are sailing, motor racing and travel.
I have been a company director since age 21 and since retirement
I have written one book and I currently have two on the go.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The title of my book is K2.
My inspiration was watching politicians stand up and lie their back teeth out to the British public and thinking that the public believe them.
I am very concerned about the way the world is going because it is shifting in favour of global corporations and the various populations are being taken for a ride and being treated like second class citizens.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t particularly use any type of formula, I put pen to paper with what comes straight out of my head, formulaic process for me leads to mundanity.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always enjoyed Lord Denning as he writes in a very straight forward fashion and leaves out the flowery bits.
Dick Francis and Frederick Forsyth are also a particular favourites.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on another book that has a similar theme to K2.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Its a voyage of discovery in this department, I am a first time author and learning how to use the internet, its various tools and online resources as I go along.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Unless you are a celebrity with an established name, do your own thing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Before you get into a motor vehicle, before you engage gear, engage your brain.

What are you reading now?
I am reading “A Starseed Odyssey” by Lisa Snopek.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To hop[fully sell some books and make some money.

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. Lord Denning- A family story.
2. Chris Bonington- Quest for adventure.
3. Francis Chichester – The lonely sea and the sky.

Author Websites and Profiles

Lewis Clements Website

Lewis Clements’s Social Media Links

John Smith Amazon Profile

Author Interview Series

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

John Smith

Interview With Author John Smith

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
John Smith is a talented author whose literary talent has attracted the attention of readers around the world. Born and raised in New York City, John always dreamed of becoming a writer, even when his professional path began in corporate finance.

After earning a degree in finance and successfully launching a career in investment banking, John felt his true calling lay in the world of words. He decided to leave the corporate world and devote himself to literature.

With his first book published on Amazon, John won the attention of readers with his vibrant style and ability to create compelling stories. His works, often described as a mixture of thriller and psychological mystery, quickly became bestsellers, attracting millions of readers around the world.

Today, John Smith continues to write books that capture the imagination and leave readers delighted. His work is widely acclaimed for both his masterful storytelling and his ability to build suspense until the last page.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Rapid Muscle Mastery: 10 Ways to Build Your Body Fast. I was inspired by the idea of helping others with fitness and training. Effective muscle growth is now a sought-after area. That’s why I decided to help other people by revealing my ideas in this book.

Author Websites and Profiles

John Smith’s Social Media Links

Tisha Thompson Amazon Profile

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Tisha Thompson

Interview With Author Tisha Thompson

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write under the name of T’Angella (tea-an-gel-la) and I’m from the exotic island of Jamaica but reside in Florida, USA. I have Bachelor of Science degrees in Business Administration and Fashion Design that I’ve received from two prestigious schools in the US.
I like to read and learn, and I’ve gained knowledge in various subjects and topics. Because of this, I had decided to become an author to give information so that others can improve their knowledge also.
I’m a very innovative and creative person, and my books are written so that adults and children will enjoy reading them while still learning. I like to read, watch various sports, play tennis and also design t-shirts. I sell my one-of-a-kind t-shirts on Amazon under the brand T’Angella Couture.
I’ve written 4 books that you read and 18 different types of journals.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
WHAT I LEARNED FROM WATCHING THE TRUE CRIME ID CHANNEL: In this incredible world that we live in, one thing that is very relentless is …EVIL… which … victim. ARE YOU NEXT? And what would you do?

I like watching the ID channel and learning what to do and what not to do so that I can protect myself if I were ever in a predicament.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King. I’m intrigued by some of the books he has written and I would wonder how he came up with his plots.

What are you working on now?
Not writing anything new right now because I’m focused on marketing what I’ve already written.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Doing ads on Amazon and promoting my books with them.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing. Even if you have writer’s block, (like I’ve had from time to time) stop and think of what you want to write and then go back to it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You’ve failed if you never tried (or something like that).

What are you reading now?
Don’t have time to read books because I’m busy reading about marketing my books 🙂

What’s next for you as a writer?
Waiting for my next inspiration of what book to write.

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. The bible
2. BECOMING A VIRTUOUS WOMAN DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR WOMEN
3. WHAT I LEARNED FROM WATCHING THE TRUE CRIME ID CHANNEL: In this incredible world that we live in, one thing that is very relentless is …EVIL… which … victim. ARE YOU NEXT? And what would you do?
4. HOW NOT TO LOSE WEIGHT THIS YEAR

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Debbie Regan Cleveland

Interview With Author Debbie Regan Cleveland

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Debbie has been a published author beginning in high school when she was selected to be the student reporter for an area Massachusetts newspaper, The Lowell Sun. She was a columnist for her college newspaper, and just about everywhere she was employed, she used her writing skills in newsletters and marketing pieces.

Grandmother’s Trunk Press, her company, grew out of Grandmother’s Trunk, her consignment shop full of antiques, collectibles, unique items, and vintage clothing. Debbie published brochures and booklets as part of promoting the shop. She also was invited to write feature articles for trade antiques periodicals.

When she and a fellow dealer launched New England’s first Vintage Clothing Show and Sale, they published a companion newsletter, The Vintage Gazette, reporting on the vintage clothing market and East Coast Vintage Clothing Shows.

Debbie worked full and part-time in public libraries for 20 years. At one point she was the Local Store Marketing Coordinator for 13 corporate McDonald’s restaurants, using her ideas and promotional skills when introducing new products and new stores.

For several years she was the owner and webmaster of Framingham.com, one of the first community websites in the U.S. and still online. She is a long-time volunteer at the Framingham History Center and blogs about being a senior citizen on her blog 50plusses.com.

She enjoys shopping at thrift and consignment and vintage shops, especially looking for interesting photographs and ephemera. She has created some books and digital products using her finds. You can find them on Etsy and Amazon.

For more information about her books, go to GrandmothersTrunk.com.

For more information about Debbie and her children’s book How Shadowchaser Got His Name see Author Talk podcast on YouTube: Celebrating the release of “How Shadowchaser Got His Name: A Cat Tale ” (youtube.com)

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
How Shadowchaser Got His Name was inspired by my children’s childhood and a life-like stuffed animal – a cat. One night this cat chased shadows out of my son’s room in a fun way so that my son could go to sleep.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I jot down ideas in my phone, notebooks, and my computer so that I don’t lose them. Sometimes I just use bullet points. I enjoy writing long hand.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Dr. Suess for his use of words and illustrations. I also like the George and Martha books.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a sequel to How Shadowchaser Got His Name. It will be about how Shadowchaser gets into a lot of trouble and so does his little boy Sam.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Facebook and my website GrandmothersTrunk.com. I also have a blog: 50plusses.com.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up, but don’t be stubborn about accepting advice and revising and revising your work. Take lots of writing classes or webinars. I learned things from every one I enrolled in. have your work proofread by multiple people.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Get lots of ARC readers is one. Another was from a book designer who said for authors not to be shy about putting your name on the cover: use a bold color and font.

What are you reading now?
I like mysteries. I recently read The Mystery Guest by Nina Prose and I’m reading The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz. I also recently read Table for Two by Amor Towle.

What’s next for you as a writer?
The sequel to my children’s book and a non-fiction book about buying and owning a cabin.

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 by Jane Austen, Gone with the Wind, War and Peace, the Bible.

Author Websites and Profiles

Debbie Regan Cleveland Website

Debbie Regan Cleveland Amazon Profile

Debbie Regan Cleveland’s Social Media Links

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mark demeza

Interview With Author mark demeza

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Mark wrote his first novel draft when he was 17 years old. It’s still lying in a box in a dusty loft. Untouched. Like many other aspiring authors, he fell in step with a ‘steady’ career and income, and the yearning to write gurgling away in the pit of his stomach.

When a gap presented itself in his busy life, he started to write short stories and was lucky enough to have a good number published or recognized in competitions.

In May 2022, a convenient break in his career appeared and, at the same time, he discovered the dreadful truth about his Jewish ancestors’ plight under the Nazis in the Netherlands. So he embarked on his first full length novel, The Thirteenth Child, a piece of historical fiction, but with the experiences of his ancestors permeating every word.

Patiently supported by his wife and daughter, watched indifferently by their black and white cat and often distracted by his ADHD, he completed the novel, and it was published in January 2024. Suitably encouraged, he started the sequel, which is to be released later in the year.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Thirteenth Child

I recently discovered that 11 of my Dutch Jewish ancestors were transported and murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I use different methods for writing my drafts, depending on my mood – typing, handwriting and dictation.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Dickens, Hardy, CJ Sansom, Robert Harris

What are you working on now?
The sequel to The Thirteenth Child

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Written Word Media and Facebook

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep going – there will be highs and lows
Make sure your writing methods are the ones that work best for you and are not just those recommended by your favorite author.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
See above

What are you reading now?
Conn Iggulden

What’s next for you as a writer?
The sequel to The Thirteenth Child

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 Expectations
Atonement
Far from the Madding Crowd
Anything by CJ Sansom

Author Websites and Profiles

mark demeza Website

mark demeza Amazon Profile

mark demeza’s Social Media Links

Josiah Akhtab Amazon Profile

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

Josiah Akhtab

Interview With Author Josiah Akhtab

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been writing since I was fourteen years old and I have over fourteen works written (no, not one work per year). My first novel, The Jake Matthews Saga: Ascension, took me about ten years to write starting in high school until I was just about finished in college.

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and my hobbies include Martial Arts, Calisthenics, Reading, Hanging out with my girlfriend, writing poetry or reviews for my blog, and posting content on social media.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is The Adventures of Fleeting Grace which centers around a girl of Moorish descent adopted by European parents that dies at thirteen and becomes a tangible spirit. She ends up with a magical cape and sneaks into the kings’ castle where she discovers a portal that takes her to other worlds for a series of adventures.

What inspired this novel is still a mystery to me as the idea was conceived when I was in college. It was one of those ideas that stuck around persistently and I couldn’t get it out of my head so I decided to get it down on paper and thus, The Adventures of Fleeting Grace was born.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No unusual writing habits to speak of here. The only thing to note is that I’m a streaky writer meaning sometimes I can write all day (literally) and sometimes the last thing in the world I want to do is write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Most notably, authors like Stephen King, Pierce Brown, V.E. Schwab, Leigh Bardugo and Rick Riordan have been big influences on me over the years. Rick Riordan was the author that started it all for me with his Percy Jackson and The Olympians series.

I remember reading it in high school and being completely captivated by the world-building and series of adventures the characters embarked on. The emotion, the struggle, and turmoil made everything seem so real and it was super easy to get lost in the story. It was then I decided to be a writer myself, so I can do the same for others as Rick Riordan did for me.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a short story called Headhunter which centers on a war veteran trying to live a peaceful life but somehow gets dragged back into the fight, this time a covert one.

The Adventures Of Fleeting Grace, my latest novel, is also in the works and set to come out this Christmas, making the perfect gift for those who are looking for something to read on their family vacations or that perfect read to end the year on.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I promote my books mainly through instagram or my blog site. I’ve paid some people to review books in the past and it has helped in getting the word out there about my work. Mostly, I’ve just asked people to review my novel and that has worked as well.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Remember that you are not only marketing your book but yourself as well. If you want people to know about your work, they need to know about you too. Too many authors believe that you can just produce a work and make money with it while maintaining complete anonymity and that’s not true.

You have to step into the light and let the world see who you are and, if the people like you, they will surely like your work.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve heard, when it comes to writing, comes from Lee Child when he said “ignore all advice”. There should be one mind working on your novel, yours. When you let other people give their opinions you risk having someone else’s influence injected into your writing.

What are you reading now?
What I’m currently reading is a bit tricky. However, the book series I’m totally invested in is The Grand Game by Tom Elliot, a LitRPG series that focuses on a single player’s rise to power and his role in ending a centuries long war between factions.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Nothing except continuing my writing journey and trying to market myself as much as I can. My goal is to inspire young minds with the power of words and I won’t stop until it is fulfilled in the greatest capacity possible.

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 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
Models by Mark Manson
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
IT by Stephen King

Author Websites and Profiles

Josiah Akhtab Website

Josiah Akhtab’s Social Media Links

Laraine Stephens Amazon Profile

Author Interview Series

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Laraine Stephens

Interview With Author Laraine Stephens

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
After thirty-five years as a teacher-librarian, I decided that it was time to throw off my pink twinset, tartan skirt, string of pearls, sensible shoes and 400 denier tights to find out what life was like on the other side of the bookshelves. I was going to write historical crime fiction! I traded in my copies of the Dewey Decimal Classification and bought an ergonomic chair, typewriter and desk. I now have a six book contract with Level Best Books and will see my fourth in the Reggie da Costa Mysteries, published in July.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is ‘Lies and Deception’ and has been ‘inspired’ by the plethora of scams that invade our daily lives. Fake websites, identity fraud, romantic scammers, fake ‘friends’ on FaceBook, text messages telling us to click on the link, emails and telephone calls purporting to be from banks, energy providers and the Tax Office, are but some of the hurdles to navigate to keep our money (and our mental health) safe.
When I researched confidence men from the past, I found that scam artists and swindlers were alive and well back then, giving me a wealth of examples on which to draw to create my latest offering in the Reggie de la Costa Mysteries, ‘Lies and Deception’, which is set in Melbourne in 1925.
In my latest novel, Jasper Fitzalan Howard is found stabbed to death in his room at The Hotel Windsor. Initially, the police identify him as a wealthy investor and a cousin of the Duke of Norfolk. However, while investigating the murder, Reggie da Costa, The Argus’s celebrated crime reporter, uncovers a web of lies and deception surrounding Howard’s carefully constructed façade. Jasper Howard is not whom he seems. Swindling wealthy businessmen whilst blackmailing their wives, Howard has attracted many enemies, giving Reggie a host of suspects for his murder.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
It’s true that you solve so many problems in your writing when you put your mind elsewhere. I love to think about plot lines and characters when I walk. I solve problems, recognise the viability of whether a character would act in a particular way, think up red herrings and come up with good ideas as I let my mind relax. It’s easier than staring at a screen or having your fingers hover above a keyboard, waiting for inspiration. As I walk, I send myself messages so that I don’t forget these thoughts, and then I transfer them to a notebook to be considered later.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve been a reader all my life. I discovered Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in high school and was intrigued that not only was there a mystery to solve, but that the world of Sherlock Holmes was brought to life: the hansom cabs, the gaslit cobblestone streets, the opium dens and the grit of working-class London. Despite studying the classics at university, I relaxed by reading Agatha Christie’s mysteries, enjoying the puzzle of ‘Who dunnit’. Since those days I have embraced, Val McDermid, Ian Rankin and Peter Temple, amongst many others.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on ‘The White Feather Murders.’ There are many examples from the past of communities being affected by anonymous and vindictive poison pen letters. I decided to take that idea and give it a twist.
When the Poison Pen column in The Truth newspaper shames five members of the public, exposing their hypocrisy and lies, it barely raises a ripple of interest. But when three of them end up dead, each clutching a white feather, The Argus’s senior crime reporter, Reggie da Costa, feels compelled to investigate why someone wants them dead. Can Reggie unmask the Poison Pen and bring a murderer to justice?

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I love giving author talks, speaking about the historical background to my novels. Unfortunately, it can be very boring listening to an author recount the plot of their book and so I offer them a different slant, which I hope will keep them engaged. It’s a two-way street with questions coming from the audience asking about my ‘journey’ to publication and the sources of my inspiration. I have addressed Rotary and Probus groups, book clubs, University of the Third Age groups, been interviewed on community radio and spoken at libraries. Whether it’s the best method for promotion, I can’t say, but it’s certainly the most enjoyable.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Here’s what I have learned:
Read in the genre you’re writing and learn what works and what doesn’t. Join a writers’ group, one which offers workshops and support services. You need objective appraisals of your manuscript, not the advice of friends and family. Be prepared to write numerous drafts before you submit. Leave your final draft for a few weeks then come back and read it with fresh eyes. Once you’ve sent it to a publisher and it’s rejected, that’s it, folks! If a publisher asks for three chapters, a 200 word biography, a 500 word synopsis, that’s what you send. Keep versions of cover letters, synopses, etc. and adapt them to suit submission requirements. Think outside the publishers you know. I started with Australian ones, then branched out into the United Kingdom, then to the USA. My main recommendation is to persevere.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When it comes to reviews, remember that the reviewer is writing for the intended reader, not the writer. You must develop a thick skin and, if you can’t cope with criticism, don’t read reviews.

What are you reading now?
‘A Line to Kill’ by Anthony Horowitz.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m thinking about the plot for Book #6 and I like the idea of a psychopath exhibiting mind control. After this one, I’m considering whether to retire Reggie da Costa, senior crime reporter for ‘The Argus’, wearer of immaculately cut suits and owner of flamboyant cars and move on to World War 2 Melbourne. But I’m going to need a bigger wardrobe and an even larger garage if he stays.

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 take the ‘Tony Hill’ series by Val McDermid for that psychological edge and start again at book #1. I know, I know, it’s more that 3-4 books but technically, it’s one series!

Author Websites and Profiles

Laraine Stephens Website

Laraine Stephens’s Social Media Links

John Pendleton Amazon Profile

Author Interview Series

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

THOMAS ANTTI

Interview With Author THOMAS ANTTI

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Known as a self-taught technical writer for understanding people’s personalities that led to the author of more than 60 personality study files, 30 Internet business guides, and a dozen user manuals. There are more than 10 years’ experience working with and writing such personality authoring tools as Personality Scoring and Analysis Manuals and can be regarded as an outstanding writer and editor, especially by peers and clients.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Having an interest in Psychology and Sociology led to exploring the behavior and personality of men and women.
The college years resulted in a degree in psychology at Roosevelt University located in Chicago.
With this knowledge further research continued to develop a new science revealed in a book.
This book known as “The Most Helpful Book Ever Published” took ten years to prepare and a lifetime to master so it could be made very easy for others to comprehend.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Approach the writing documentation about people’s personality with an eye on what the user needs to know most and organizing it so that the user can find the information he or she needs to learn with a minimum of effort. Write about people’s personality so that users can understand information quickly and easily. Nobody has much patience or time for having to learn something by clicking through five or six topics to find what is being searched. It is suggested to organize the training topics logically to find the key points, so that related information is grouped together and easy to understand. Information should be written plain and simple with a comfort in mind for the user to achieve a quality comprehension. Material should be made simple to understand by including good examples so that the user doesn’t have to struggle comprehending all the points mentioned in the corresponding instruction. Examples should be carefully selected to relate in a way where users are likely to comprehend better so they can understand the topic immediately to take the labor out of the learning process for an unusual writing habit.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Hemingway, all authors really, but mostly any book or author on the topic of Psychology or Sociology. Any work of literature about people.

What are you working on now?
Currently, and over the past two decades a media host service that publishes the opinions of expert authorities in many fields publishing articles, e-letters, and books, devoted to hosting audiences with the best information from the most knowledgeable sources anywhere. The goal is to help others gain better health, wealth, and knowledge for
a terrific future.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Mail ads or using Website platforms of all sorts to accomplish the goal needed for getting the word out. Podia is a good place to establish a community workplace to bring people together to expose works of literature. Mostly it is interesting to keep watching what new
platforms will emerge to help everybody.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If possible, try to write with the users comfort in mind so that they can start just about anywhere reading a material with no specific order to still achieve a quality comprehension. Also, write the material where readers don’t have to read the whole book ever so that they can only read the sections that pertain to their interests. Try to reduce the labor of reading and learning. The inventions of mankind aren’t always close to nature. Be gentle with the human element.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read the many fascinating sayings as much as you can. Example: Give a man a fish and you can feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. (Chinese Proverb)

What are you reading now?
Anything on the Internet that provides a way to communicate better to audiences. Chat rooms, book promotion tools, etc. Exploring the internet for new ways to communicate
to people is always fascinating. Ways to reach out and express information. Very exciting.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Trying to help people understand their personalities. Hoping to promote the concept of exploring who we are in ways that are easy for everyone to understand
through, books, videos, audio tutorials, etc. Writing tutorials is a good way to achieve this goal to help everyone in the future.

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: Title: Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Content: This one-volume desk reference contains 28,000 entries condensed from the flagship 32-volume Encyclopaedia Britannica.
This encyclopedia work of condensed literature to provide as much knowledge in a variety of topics in as many areas as possible. Chance favors the prepared!

Author Websites and Profiles

THOMAS ANTTI Website

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John Pendleton

Interview With Author John Pendleton

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a former newspaper editor who enjoyed a 39-year career in journalism and public relations.
Based in the English holiday resort of Skegness in Lincolnshire, England, I edited a series of local newspapers, most recently for Johnston Press.
I have written four novels, “The Men in the Marsh”, “Hector’s Revenge”, “Ill Winds” and “All For Blood”, and “Skegness Past”, a mainly photographic record of my home town.
I am married to Wendy and have two grown-up children, Colin and Trudi, and four grandchildren. My interests include politics, reading, angling, tennis and going to the gym.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, “The Men in the Marsh” begins with the dramatic events of October 12, 1984, when an IRA bomb exploded at the Grand Hotel, Brighton, in a bid to assassinate UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The idea of the novel came to me because of my own experience in 1984 when I left the Grand Hotel myself minutes before the bomb went off. My fictional story concerns a young entrepreneur who also left the hotel just before the explosion. It traces his life, loves and politics, leading up to dramatic events which have haunting echoes of his 1984 experience.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do nearly all of my writing in the lounge at home with the television on in the background. Having the competition of the TV forces me to concentrate hard on the task in hand and stops my mind wandering.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Trollope, D. H. Lawrence and Evelyn Waugh have influenced me greatly.

What are you working on now?
I am concentrating at present on promoting “The Men in the Marsh”, but have a number of ideas for future novels swirling around in my head.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have found Facebook and other social media sites to be a good way of promoting my books but am also building up an extensive network of personal contacts.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t be discouraged by rejections from agents and publishers. Be persistent but always have the consolation of the pleasure which writing brings you.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best way of maintaining interest in your writing is to write another book.

What are you reading now?
“A Word Child” by Iris Murdoch.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I think it will be something in the genre of mystery romance.

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 Complete Works of Shakespeare, “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom” by T. E. Lawrence and Homer’s “The Iliad”.

Author Websites and Profiles

John Pendleton Website

John Pendleton’s Social Media Links