Awesome Author Interviews

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am Greek polyglot with an international background. I have completed my undergrad studies in Germany and I currently live in London. “With Endless Love, Me” is my first book, and it is my hope that people will find a small part of themselves in the protagonist.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
As mentioned in the first question, the title is “With Endless Love, Me” and it is the story of a Greek student in Germany who suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and slowly emerges out of the darkness of depression. It has the form of a diary, and inspiration for this is the fact that I used to keep a diary myself when I was a teenager. I have always been fascinated by mental health, which I believe is as important as physical health. Unfortunately, mental illnesses and especially BPD are depicted in a stereotypical, even grotesque, manner, especially in the movie industry; for instance, no matter how good the movie “Fatal Attraction” is, which illustrates a woman with obvious BPD traits, it does no justice to people who suffer from it. I thought it would be nice to see the perspective of a person who has to live with such a disorder, and I tried to balance and underline the traits (or “modes”) of this personality disorder. My therapist has helped me a lot on that score. I wrote this book during obscure times, when I suffered myself from depression when I was 25 years old; however, it is basically a fictional story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have written quite a few of books, most of them are curiously enough comedies, but “With Endless Love, Me” is the one I decided to get published and constitutes by far not a comedy. I could say that I have developed a style, which is direct and childish in an innocent, almost jejune manner, as if the protagonist is writing to or confiding in an unknown friend, who could be anybody, in order to give a kind of a directness towards the reader, to create a feeling of togetherness. I also tend to create stories about new adults, millennials that is; my generation in other words.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The list is never ending. From Kundera and Bruckner to Dostoevsky, and Virginia Woolf to Joyce. I have read a lot in my life and wish I had time to read more, but I have to concentrate on my studies and job now, so I have no free time to spend on reading. That being said, the last book I read was in summer, during my vacations, “The Idiot,” which I have read in the past, too, when I was very young.

What are you working on now?
Lots of ideas, but no time currently! I have also some ideas about a comedy/parody, but it is more suitable for a screenplay to be honest. Let’s see!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I trust my publisher, and I think he knows how to promote our books. I am not the kind of person who likes talking about himself or promoting his work, so I just leave this to the professionals. I just like writing and I am trying to do this in a way as good as possible.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I am a new published author, but certainly not a “new” one, as I am writing for the last ten or twelve years. Basically, if I really had to give a piece of advice, it would be rather cliché and pedestrian: “Do not stop writing, read a lot, develop your style, certainly do not publish your first story, and wait till you be mature enough to initiate a publishing process.”

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As I said before, I do not really like talking about my writing books to people, hence I rarely get advice or comments. This is not good, but I got some good advice from my first editor, who liked my work in any case, and received some comments which helped me meliorate the text’s style. But unfortunately, I have nothing concrete to tell you!

What are you reading now?
I am very much concentrated on my academic and professional life at the moment. Does “Principles of Corporate Finance” by Brealey count? I have a list of books for summer though.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I just took the first step, so really, I want to enjoy the moment as much as possible, and I will figure something out for the next one soon.

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 is really tough. I guess:
1. Gone with the Wind
2. Catcher in the Rye
3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
4. Sense and Sensibility

 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Vesela Nikolova Flamburari and I was born on January in 1967 at the town of Dobrich (on the Black Sea), Bulgaria. I was born in the family of a teacher and a sculptor. I graduated from Academy of Theater and Film Arts in Sofia with a degree in actress and the National University in Sofia with a degree in Culturology. I am a member of the Union of Bulgarian Writers. I have a large number of Bulgarian and international awards for children’s literature. So far, I have published eighteen (18) books in the genres of children’s and teen fantasy, children’s literature and fiction for the little ones. According to my stories, there are TV series in the Bulgarian National Television, and radio programs in the Bulgarian National Radio. I participated in the initiative of the National Television, for Bulgaria’s favorite children’s book – “The Big Writing” (under license from the BBC “The Big Writing”) – and I reached the sixty-fifth (65) place among authors and books children from all over the world and from all times.
I was chairman of the jury for the National Prize for Children’s Literature “Petya Karakoleva” and the International Children’s and Teen Literary Competition “Stefan Gechev”, organized by the National Agency for Bulgarians Abroad. For several years in a row ,I was a member of the jury for the National Awards for Contribution to Children’s Book Publishing “Konstantin Konstantinov”. I was also a member of the jury and of the National Children’s and Youth Competition “Longing for Growing Creativity”, organized by the Human Library Foundation. After all the above, I must add that I have very dark brown eyes, long brown hair and I like to laugh, sing and believe that the sun shines for everyone.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Instead of publishing the name of the last book I wrote, I will tell you more about my first book in English this year, and this is the book Mine, Magic, and the White Beaker (this is the first part of my Trilogy Tales from the upper earth ”)
I also have a whole odyssey about writing the book. I come from the town of Dobrich (there is in The Black Sea). As a child I sang in the Representative Children’s Choir of Dobrich. The choir was one of the four children’s formations that represented our country abroad in these days, we traveled outside the Iron Curtain even… We went with my friends every summer a month vacancy at the children’s camp “Ifkata”. The building of this camp was the fence of the Palace of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter – Maria – in Balchik (on the Black Sea). Then, for several years in a row, the Palace stood locked, closed, but mysterious and overgrown with greenery. I entered it secretly, just as Mina enters, through holes in the fence. I was walking and dreaming. The camp was not just a vacation! No… Every day we had rehearsals for singing, solfeggio, piano. It was a great school. This is the way that the school for gifted children “Seven Muses” appeared in my book.
Years later, my husband, Dr. Vasileios Flamburaris, and I were walking in the Palace and saw a large pink lizard. The lizard stood on a rock and the three of us looked at each other for a long time. Then the book itself appeared as if by magic…

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a solid and not so solid place to write … The solid is a very student desk-library at home. But also like to write on cafes, because the noise of people focuses me. Yes, I know both places are not exotic. My workplace, like a school, is not something strange, but simply something useful.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have learned from many authors of literature for children and young people. I can give as an example some of them, such as: Homer, Euripides, Shakespeare, Gianni Rodari, Dora Gabe, Donald Bisset, Carl Sandberg, Valery Petrov, Ray Bradbury, John Tolkien, Nikolai Raynov, Svetoslav Minkov, Pamela Travers, Louis Carroll, Ran Bosilek, Angel Karaliychev, Clifford Simak, Beatrix Potter, Nikola Rusev, Joan Rowling, Philip Pullman, Tuve Janson, Astrid Lindgren, Boris Aprilov, Evgenios Trivizas, Rada Moskova and others.

What are you working on now?
I am writing a new novel in the fantasy genre. A novel for children and teenagers. My new novel is about Europe before the wars of the twentieth century. Two children fall into the era of Belle Époque and Art Nouveau. The novel is called “At Midnight from M Station.”

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
A very important part of a book’s life is its presentations to an audience. This is really a presentation, not the premiere of the book. The premiere is an one-time act that brings together the author and his fans in one evening, which is dedicated only to the new published book. The presentation of a book or author, in turn, can happen all the time. Whenever there is a desire and a need. An author may be a contemporary, but he may also have been a long-established classic. Of course, when an author is alive, meeting him and his work at the same time could be very interesting .As long as the author takes care of the interesting presentation of his books… This is especially true of children’s literature, because anyway the most book presentations are organized for children.
Such meetings with children and their parents can also be organized with the help of Skype and Zoom. As for the platforms on the Internet, I think they are all appropriate.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes,a lot of such advice, so I organized it in a practical course in creative writing of children’s literature.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Advices are so much and varied, but the most important thing is when will have a writer the character and patience to listen and consider them.

What are you reading now?
I am reading a fiction book for children and adults and some of literary theories.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to write new books. This is my method and my strategy ,to do the best job.

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?
Gianni Rodari’s Grammar of Fantasy, Mircea Iliade’s The Myth of Eternal Return, Joseph Campbell’s Creative Mythology, Clarissa Pincola Estes’s Running with Wolves, and Joan Harris’s Five Quarters of an Orange. And then I’ll have to swim back for at least five hundred more books from my library that I really can’t live without them.
Email: vesela_flamburari@yahoo.com

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am originally a kindergarten teacher. I loved my work like a king in his realm. I never thought I would be a writer even though I enjoyed writing. All I had ever written was on-the-spot imaginary stories for children that I plan to publish some day, random blogging and posting my self-written quotes on Facebook and my website. Writing Emit Eht harshly landed me into publishing world with blunt force.
Emit Eht is my first speculative science-climate fiction and visionary romance.
I also published ‘Roo Molly Roo’ a children’s picture storybook which I now plan to convert into a series soon.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my book is ‘Emit Eht’. It is ‘Time’ spelt in reverse and wants readers to know that simply by readjusting our perception of ‘Time’ we can solve many real mysteries of the world. The inspiration to write ‘Emit Eht’ came to me rather strangely. One day I was meditating when images of Earth starting flooding my mind like some animation video. They were so shocking that for next several days I was dazed just trying to figure out their meaning. I was filled with an urgent desire to share those images and their meaning with the world. This desire was so great, so compelling that I couldn’t do anything else. I resigned from my job and started writing Emit Eht. Indeed, Emit Eht is part fiction-part truth. Shocking truth. As readers and writers, we all know how closely connected fiction is with reality and reality with fiction.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes. When I am writing I feel like I am stoned. Literally stoned! The thoughts about the story drown me so completely I start living in it. In such a state of mind, I usually don’t feel hungry, sleepy or tired. The slightest sound of music (which I normally love to listen) or television will disturb me and everything else like eating, sleeping or even visiting the washroom seems like unpardonable waste of time. And it is a beautiful beautiful feeling! I am actually missing it now that the book is finished.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
A long time ago, a baby was born into a poor rural family. His mother died while giving him birth and he was denounced by his father as ‘unlucky’. He was taken care of by a wet nurse but she too died within six months. He lived liked an orphan with nothing and nobody to look after him. He never got a home, a school or formal education and on growing up followed some ascetics who lived in nearby forest who taught him to read and write. This child, on growing up, wrote a book that is to this day one of the greatest books in History and Literature. The book was Ramayana (written in 1631) and the boy was Tulsidas. I always thought, if someone in those circumstances could write, why can’t I?

What are you working on now?
Right now, I am working on ‘Maya- The Simulation Game’. This is my second science fiction novel about a computer prodigy girl who is really just like a hard cold computer who sees the world very differently. The difference between her artificial world and the real one and the secrets that she discovers forms the central theme of the story.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Winning reader’s hearts is usually the simplest, the most difficult and the best method for promotion. Readers don’t care which publishing house published the book, when and how. They love good stories and love whoever wrote them. Give them good stories and they are yours with heart and soul. Connecting to readers is therefore my best method and Awesome Gang one of the best websites to help me do that.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I am a new author myself and very much in need of advice.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Whatever you want to do, you can do it. Now do it.

During my publishing phase I was very doubtful of myself and even scared. This advice came to me in my dreams one night. I woke up and couldn’t believe what I had heard. I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget it. I have to admit, it is one of the best advices I have been given.

What are you reading now?
‘The Wife Upstairs’ since it is based on Jane Eyre and I am a huge fan of anything ‘Jane Eyre’.

What’s next for you as a writer?
After being inspired by reading Emit Eht, some of my readers have requested me to become motivational public speaker and help people learn modern meditation method that actually works. But before I enter into that, I have over 30 children’s stories to publish and it is quite a lot.

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 Epic of Gilgamesh, Mahabharata, Iliad, Odyssey and a dictionary because these books are so complicated and extensive the solitude of the deserted island will be ideal to read them and ponder over their mysteries, literary beauty and intellect.

Author Websites and Profiles
Ratna Srivastava Website
Ratna Srivastava Amazon Profile

Ratna Srivastava’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a talk show host, a former singer because I lost my voice due to excessive smoking. I’m a writer, I’m a animal lover. I have done an audio documentary on youtube about saving the dolphins in Japan.
I’m a PETA Advocate. I’m a UN activist. I love water and swimming maybe because I’m an aquarius.
I have done over 10 audiobooks and my latest one is called ( You Can Do It)
It’s all about empowering people and launch them into the unknown with grace and power. The power that they have inside themselves is their inner Voice.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
You Can Do It.

Ahm. I was inspired by so many metaphysical books that helped me move forward as a person.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Universe has got your back.
The 5 second rule.
The Power of now.
The Book of Joy
Book by 14th Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Abrams

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m on a virtual book tour.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well for me it’s easy because I own 5 Radio stations and many podcasts. So the word spreads like wildfire.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write only about what you know and what you are passionate about.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.”― Mark Twain.

What are you reading now?
Angel Numbers: The Message and Meaning Behind 11:11 and Other Number Sequences
Book by Kyle Gray

What’s next for you as a writer?
To keep learning. Because when we stop learning we perish.

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 Walk to Remember.
Novel by Nicholas Sparks.

And numerology books.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kris Kourtis Website
Kris Kourtis Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember, working in PR as well as ghost writing. And, as Lucy Lyrical, I’ve written songs, stories and poetry. I had great encouragement to write a novel by a friendly publisher and my first novel was published in 2018 by Starhaven Press.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
THREE WOMEN was inspired by my theatrical upbringing (both my parents were actors) and my marriage to an American Sicilian in New York City. I loved my Sicilian in-laws, especially Grandma who was charismatic, resourceful and a little alarming. Her story of coming to America certainly inspired the book. My own mother moved from Sheffield to London and I liked the parallels of these two inspirational women who left their homes to pursue their ambitions.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m a bit of a pit pony. I work every day, keep a time-sheet and have lists and notebooks and post-its to capture ideas and plot out stories. That’s probably not that unusual. As I sit at my desk for hours, I do get cold but don’t like to stop to change so just grab layers and forget what I look like. This can result in some strange reactions when I take the dog for a walk with odd socks, one legwarmer and a silk scarf over a tea-stained tracksuit.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
It’s a mixed bag. I love James Kelman as much as I love Charles Dickens, but I’m not sure if you’d see their influence in my writing. My writing is very female-centric and I appreciate writers like Ann Patchett and Elena Ferrante. I’m as influenced by films and music as I am by the written word – and I am addicted to attending lectures about feminism, philosophy and psychology. Aspects of what I learn do influence my characters’ choices.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a second novel … you’ll be the first to hear about it when it’s ready. In the meantime, because a novel takes a long time to edit and revise, I’m writing micro-short monologues and working with actors to record them. You can check the podcast by searching for Minilogues on Spotify.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still learning. Facebook was helpful for gathering support for my debut novel. Reviews are hard to get and I was delighted that THREE WOMEN was featured as Book of the Week on BookBlast. That helped with sales.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be ready. You may get an opportunity – in fact, I believe you probably will – so have your ducks in a row and your manuscript perfected when asked. Too many writers share their material before it is ready or get a request for a ‘full’ without having something great to show. Put the work in, get advice and keep at it. Talent is just the starting point. It’s a proper job so treat it like one.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I was in a nervous panic about how my book would be received and, in a conversation with my son, was moaning, ‘what if it’s terrible?’ He said ‘Mum, people read rubbish every day.’ It let me off the hook. My book will not appeal to everyone – some people will just not get it. But if I look along a bookstore shelf there are many books that don’t interest me either. Write the book you want to read and hopefully someone else will want to read it too.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading ‘Looking for a New England’ by Simon Matthews about music, film and TV in the 70s. I’m also reading ‘Pit Ponies’ by John Bright – both good background for material I’m writing. I’ve just started ‘Flights’ by Olga Tokarczuk. Reading is one of the only ways to improve your own creating writing.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Book two is with an editor at the moment so I know there’s a draft three that I’ll need to work on. And I’ve got an idea for book three that I’m researching (hence the pit pony fascination). In the meantime, I’m working on season two of Minilogues – writers should get in touch if they want to collaborate with me on 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?
What a terrific question. I think I’d bring a copy of ‘L’invitee’ by Simon de Beauvoir with a French/English dictionary. I could try and improve my French which I’ve wanted to do for decades – and it’s a book I admire so much. I’d bring something funny, anything by Caitlin Moran. And then something to remind me of home and my sons like Nicholas by Rene Goscinny and Jean-Jacques Sempe. I read that so many times to them – and there are a lot of laughs in there too. But the most important book would be a blank notepad with a pen that never runs out of ink.

Author Websites and Profiles
Lucy Tertia George Website
Lucy Tertia George Amazon Profile

Lucy Tertia George’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
The author, Brian Brady, demonstrates his love for storytelling throughout this book. As an upcoming writer, he hopes to achieve a measure of literary success as he debuts oh, what a tangled web. When we look at the background of this one-of-a-kind individual, we learn that Brian is a former police officer. As such, Brian had the occasion to encounter some of the state’s most dangerous criminals and was fortunate enough to be part of teams that have worked on a number of complex cases, leading to the arrests of those criminals.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
oh, what a tangled web
This book becomes a testimony to some of the real experiences that took place with Brian Brady over a thirty-five-year career in police work. The stories and their details will allow you to experience the actual atmosphere as they have been written from a first-hand point of view.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
https://www.goldengatetales.com/

Author Websites and Profiles
Brian Brady Website
Brian Brady Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written four books as of today, Three are based on my life as Hotel concierge and VIP bodyguard, The fourth is an interactive childs book which I hope to turn to a cartoon

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Diary of a divorced dad , Its around the events of when I got divorced and realised that I would be alone. All the events are true and I think you will envoy this bitter sweet journey,

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to write for fun, Light-hearted and easy to read, I would like the reader to start the book and struggle to put it down, If my books make people smile I am happy

What authors, or books have influenced you?
T think your taste changes as you get older ,

What are you working on now?
the follow up to divoced dads diary, Its come to great reviews so I hope to have part two out in the summer

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
awesome gang of course, getting your book out to be read is hard , keep trying every event and lets hope one day it will work for all of us

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t go mad with free books to friends and family, They will promise to put reviews and never do, half don’t even read the books

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you believe in your book don’t stop trying, to promote

What are you reading now?
true stories of celebrities and how they found fame

What’s next for you as a writer?
To enjoy my work, watch the titles grow and maybe one day have that best seller that is turned into a tv show

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?
Jungle book, George best my story, , lord of the flies

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have owned a painting company for 30 years and have four daughters. My youngest is 25 now. Hard to believe how quick they grow. This is the third book I have written but the first I published.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Johnny’s Soul
People who kill multiple people and never really pay for their entire crime.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not that I’m aware of

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King & Donald Trump (pre presidency)
The Bible has had an incredible influence on my life.

What are you working on now?
An adaption of the two saints in the book of Revelation.
I may rewrite my first book also

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I created my own website and bought the naming rights. I would rather start with something I can control.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t expect others to help you. I was amazed how many people said they would and never came through.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be as wise as a serpent and as harmless as a dove

What are you reading now?
I like writing books but i’m not much of a reader.
Currently I am reading about the two NFL championship games and the draft for the Miami Dolphins

What’s next for you as a writer?
Sell the book I just published

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible
The history of sports in America
Picture book

Author Websites and Profiles
Craig Hollenbeck Website
Craig Hollenbeck Amazon Profile

Craig Hollenbeck’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m retired and discovered how much I enjoy writing nine years ago. To date I have published 17 novels and several novellas. My husband and I travel throughout the western U.S. and took a few cruises. When I do cruise, I love reading mysteries and watching science fiction movies. That’s when I decided to combine the two genres in my books. I write under the pen names of A. Nation, N.A. Nation, and Alene Nation depending on the genre.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Entity. I decided to add another episode to my Domino Sagas which take place in the future as we settle Mars. This story leans to the young adult but throws a ‘what if’ that many can think about. What if in the deep crater on Mars a specie thrives. A life form that we don’t recognize as life. Of all the trouble this teen gets into, now she discovers something new.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I sit down at my laptop after breakfast, promote my books, and pick a subject to write about for my newsletters. I enter the nanowrimo events and enjoy racking up 50-80,000 words within a month. I have two great people who edit and catch details. By 4:00pm I take a rest and leave the evening to relaxing. I watch mysteries to get a few ideas.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Agatha Christie for the mysteries and Isaac Asimov for the science fiction. There are many others I have read but these two are the best.

What are you working on now?
I’m still waiting to hear from my editors so in the meantime, I’ll write a little in my next cozy mystery, Mystery Along the Colorado River. Since I can’t travel abroad with this one, the MC will go to a place I know about the land and the people.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesomegang is good, but I’ve found Justkindlebooks is also a good one. Most of the time I just post on my book pages on Facebook.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read as much as you can not only to follow storyline but to watch how the grammar flows. Then read some more.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read, join FB groups on your genre

What are you reading now?
I’m in between books right now and hope to start another this summer.

What’s next for you as a writer?
See my books climb to best sellers

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?
Two Agatha Christie’s books and two of mine, A Witch Comes a Haunting and The Cruise

Author Websites and Profiles
Alene Nation Website
Alene Nation Amazon Profile
Alene Nation Author Profile on Smashwords

Alene Nation’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hey there, I’m Addison Myers, but you can call me Addy! I’m an author who writes fantasy, sci-fi, and contemporary romance-based fiction, and I also fancy myself an artist who occasionally draws my characters and the places where they live, work, and play.

Currently, I’ve only written one book titled Me and My… Teacher?!, however I plan on publishing many more novels in the future.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest work is called Me and My… Teacher?! It’s a story about a Japanese high school student who gets trapped in a storage room with his beautiful young social studies teacher and, through a series of unlikely events, he winds up getting married to her!

I’m an avid reader and watcher of Japanese manga and anime respectively, and I wanted to write a story centered around the tropes commonly found in these works. One of the most famous clichés is the main character finding himself locked in the school’s storage room with a girl, which leads to awkward moments and, on occasion, some rather damaging rumors. Those circumstances weren’t dire enough for me, though, so I somehow wound up developing a rather outrageous plot for this novel!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’ve got a nasty habit of just writing several chapters of a book without planning anything out. I usually regret it, since it generally leads to a lot of tedious editing later on, but it sure was fun in the moment!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The funny thing is, I rarely read published books by other authors. Most of my reading occurs on fan fiction sites, blogs, forums, and other places like that. Honestly, I’ve found that some of the stories on these places are far more interesting than what few novels I’ve read, and a few are technical masterpieces as well.

What are you working on now?
The question is, what aren’t I working on? I’ve got so many stories with premises or even entire plots that I can’t keep track of them all! However, I’m thinking about doing a fantasy novel set in a magical world, and I might even make the main character a non-human just to mix things up! I’ve got a section on my website dedicated to voting on what my next work should be, so check it out if you’re interested!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
That’s what I’d like to know! I’m new to the publishing world, so I’ve got no idea what I should be doing to get my book out there! However, based on the research I’ve done, using social media, getting your own website, and making good use of promotion sites like AwesomeGang (thanks, guys!) is a good start!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t just learn how to write well on a technical level. Grammar, sentence structure, diverse synonym use, and the like are vital to a good book, but I’d argue that a compelling plot, interesting characters, proper worldbuilding, and well-structured relationship dynamics are all far more important. People don’t want an essay, they want something that will entertain them.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Work hard and trust God. The former bit of wisdom might not always pan out the same for everyone, but if you keep at it then you will make a better life for yourself. As for the latter, I’m a steadfast Christian, and I’ve never had a moment where trusting in the Lord didn’t ultimately benefit me in some way.

What are you reading now?
Random stories here and there. I’ve been getting hooked on sci-fi stories on Reddit as of late. Some of the posts over there are absolutely riveting, and they’ve taught me a lot and given me some really interesting ideas for my own work!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to work hard on my next book, and the one after that, and so on until I can make writing into a living. My ultimate goal is to get to the point where my books are bringing in enough passive income that I can turn my writing from a career into a hobby, which I feel would be much more enjoyable, and would allow me to publish more free content instead of having to charge for it.

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’m not sure exactly which books I’d bring, but you can bet they’d all be survival guides! I’ve got plenty of outdoors experience, but I’m no survivalist. I’d keel over within a week without some sort of outside help, so I’d bring books on how to find and collect water, how to identify edible plants, and how to build a proper shelter.

Author Websites and Profiles
Addison Myers Website
Addison Myers Amazon Profile

Addison Myers’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I written several stories but only published one. I like to create romance stories and humor so I tried combining both. My first ebook (How I Met Nikki) was written for myself at the beginning, but now that I reread it, I think it’s a story worth sharing and I hope it’ll bring a smile to the readers face.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
How I Met Nikki is a book that was inspired by several video games like Huniepop, Va-11 Hall-A and Katawa Shoujo. The name of the Heroin (Nikki) is directly from the game Huniepop and her personality is also based on this same character; she still have many differences with the original one though, she’s way more innocent.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to but a lot of suspension points and not enough comas. I’m trying to improve those points every time I write. I use online services make the text cleaner and more readable.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I don’t read much but there’s an author of which I never skip a book; NisiOisiN. He’s the author of the famous Monogatari Series and I love the equilibrium between story, humor and interesting characters. If I ever become a novelist, I would like to make something as funny as his work.

What are you working on now?
I began to work on another romance. I don’t know if I’ll ever publish it to be honest since I only write when I really want to. Sometimes I find ideas and just can’t go to sleep before writing them, this is how I began writing How I Met Nikki and this is how I began to write this new romance too.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have no idea. It’s my first time publishing a book and I’m totally lost. I love the feeling of knowing that you don’t know anything and can only improve.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write your ideas, always. Who knows when this weird idea you had will taking a nap on a table after a party. Install an app on your phone to write them and don’t delete any unless you’re 100% sure it’s bad.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just do your best. As long as you did your best, you’ve won a bit even if you failed, you did your best after all, you can’t have any regrets with that. Oh, and try to be happy too, that’s important.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading Spice and Wolf, Kubikiri Cycle and rereading the Monogatari Series.

What’s next for you as a writer?
That’s an excellent question, I sadly have no real answer to it as I don’t know. Maybe I’ll continue writing, maybe not, we’ll see what the future brings to us.

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?
Kizumonogatari, Spice and Wolf, The Lord of the Rings and Durarara! probably, if possible the whole set of book if not, just the first ones. But I would probably prefer a smartphone to call for help…

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in the north Georgia mountains on a small farm. After high school I attended the University of North Georgia and moved the metro Atlanta area. After college I landed a career in public safety. I came out to my parents at an early age and even though we had some rough times we we are now extremely close. This is my first novel and I am glad to share it with everyone.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is called The Vanishing. It is inspired by my own experience and struggles with religion as a homosexual. For a time I felt abandoned and it felt like my god had vanished but as I grew and transformed over the years I found a new way of looking at things that broadened my perspective.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to try to use a version of peoples names that I know in my books. The main characters brother in this book Pierce is play on my actual brothers middle name “Pierce”.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I found Terry Goodkind first and I loved the sword of truth series. I next moved on to the wheel of time series by Robert Jordan and more recently Brandon Sanderson.

What are you working on now?
I have two books on the back burner right now. One is about an unusual necromancer who is struggling to harness her powers. The other is more of a romance novel with a fantasy spin.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Twitter is always a good place to start. I am also starting separate facebook page.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would say never give up. I have read so many books over the years and they have always been my constant companions. If you can do that for even just one other person then you have made a difference in this world.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When you are at your lowest its ok to take a breath but remember you have to get back up and then fight like hell.

What are you reading now?
Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to take the feedback I receive from this book and then use that to make my next book even better.

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 is tough! I would bring Wizards Fist Rule by Terry Goodkind, The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, and the Bible.

Author Websites and Profiles
Joshua Cain Amazon Profile

Joshua Cain’s Social Media Links

Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I sort of always knew I would be a writer. In elementary school, I was always the first to fill up my notebooks with ideas and random doodles, then in middle school I had a really great Language Arts (middle school for “English”) experience with a great teacher. When high school rolled around and I was the only one who liked our super strict, harsh grading English teacher, it clicked. I always had a story in the works, but my zombie novel was the one that I really felt needed to be published.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
This Just In: A Zombie Novel was inspired largely by college. I took a lot of journalism classes, became obsessed with Joseph Campbell’s hero journey, and learned how to write characters who had personality and flaws.

The funny thing is that I wasn’t a huge zombie geek when I came up with the idea. My dad and I were at a Tim Horton’s drive thru at like 7 in the morning, talking about how I’d never been big on zombies. I casually said what I would do if I ever wrote a zombie novel, then one day I started doing just that. Warm Bodies, Shaun of the Dead, and John Dies at the End were big inspirations for me.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like allowing my rats to run around on my desk while I write

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Isaac Marion
Craig DiLouie
Sam Stall
Kevin David Anderson

What are you working on now?
When I started talking to people about publishing my book, they convinced me to write a series. I have book two of the series plotted out, but now I actually have to write it.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Write down the steps in Joseph Campbell’s hero journey and use it to plot out your book. Also, don’t bother with chapter breaks until the whole thing is done

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t let people stop you from writing

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read as much as you can

What are you reading now?
I have an incredibly packed bookshelf, but I put everything in the order I want to read it. Currently it’s The Turn of the Screw, but after that is The Babysitter.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Next is more writing. I have to flesh out the characters in my sequel and really get to know them

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?
Night of the Living Trekkies (I’ll never get tired of that), God is Disappointed in You (it’s never wrong to have some kind of Bible), The Magicians (hopefully I could have all 3 books), and John Dies at the End (again, series)

Author Websites and Profiles
Lisa Fedel Amazon Profile
Lisa Fedel Author Profile on Smashwords

Lisa Fedel’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been tutoring, teaching and author since 2010. I will be going 4 emergency cert for day to day subbing and special Ed. I have been on tv for my 30 books. I would love to get more guest speaking opportunities on my books, plus tv and radio appearances. I have taught in School district of Philadelphia and IU8. I have taught k-12 as a substitute. I used to work for the census, nrcs, and FAA. This year looking forward getting back into the long term sub role or starting teaching role period.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Project management strategies of America, these were old college projects, I wanted to turn into a value of knowledge for PMI, ACIPS and so forth.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
no i do not

What authors, or books have influenced you?
robert frost, edgar allen poe have had many more.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on the 29 other books to get in publishing shape even thought I have had them done personally my self they still need work.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I do through facebook, linkedin, twitter and so forth.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would tell them to never give up and always pursue their dreams.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You need to write to the best of your ability and see open-mindedness not to know it all.

What are you reading now?
I read amelia earhart books.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to become a best selling 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?
I would take my project management book, history, physics and healthcare books because they will make a readers eye open with interest. They will want to buy.

Author Websites and Profiles
Thomas Kielbasinski Website
Thomas Kielbasinski Amazon Profile
Thomas Kielbasinski Author Profile on Smashwords

Thomas Kielbasinski’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in Williamstown, in Australia. My rather eclectic career included service as a national industry leader, corporate senior executive, business owner, semi pro-footballer, actor and media commentator. I was elected to the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia during unprecedented times in the 1990s, giving my books added authenticity.

There’s a political story everywhere. As a political insider, I recognise the tribalism, the warped egos, the ruthless power and the lonely insecure life of a politician, therefore writing thrilling character driven stories about this exotic, mysterious world.

I am presently writing three series.

The Democracy Trilogy provides insight into the ruthless nature of the politics and the politicians doing whatever it takes to get what they want.

The Referendum Series examines the social dilemmas within a community with government seeking to hear from the population via referendum. Contemporary issues are examined, such as First Nation rights in Forgotten People, euthanasia in Kill Bill, and water rights in The Mallee.

Jack Hudson MP is a 10 book series beginning with Horrible People and follows the power struggles and personal challenges of a novice member of parliament’s career seeking to reach the ultimate leadership role of Prime Minister.

I live above a pub, opposite a church with his wife in the small bayside village of Williamstown, overlooking Melbourne, Australia.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Forgotten People is the first of the referendum series and addresses the very important issue of Aboriginal Sovereignty in Australia which has never been ceded.

Australians want to listen to Aboriginal voices but unless the issue of sovereignty is addressed there will always be angst between the First Nations and the colonialists.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write every day, usually in the afternoons for around five hours or 2,000 words, whatever comes first. I complete a 15-20,000 word structure plan before starting and then work on a new chapter every day.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am interested in all books and have followed the popular authors such as Archer, Baldacci, Childs, Grisham, Patterson and others. Australian authors I follow include Harper and Hammer. Of course the classics have influenced me such as Chekov and I enjoy delving into Shakespeare.

What are you working on now?
I have various titles in different stages of development and the current writing project is the first episode of the 10 episode series of Jack Hudson MP called Horrible People.

It’s Jack’s first entry into politics and the horrible people that influence his days.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best method of promotion for independent writers is building a subscriber list. It is something indie writers need to do and it requires constant collation.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Bum Glue – sit down and write, its the most productive and learning method.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Join writers groups and listen and learn from others who work the words.

What are you reading now?
Survivors by Jane Harper.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Completing the Jack Hudson series within three years. It will be difficult to achieve but that is the plan.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Complete works of Shakespeare.
How to build a boat.
Cultivating food on a desert island.

Author Websites and Profiles
Richard Evans Website
Richard Evans Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written 3 books and self-published 2, all in the Fabric series.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Fabric Day Two In Limbo – a culmination of sci-fi books and tv, films and experiences in life

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Writing at 5am – works for me, less distractions

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Tolkien, Rowling, Shelley, Shakespeare believe it or not

What are you working on now?
Editing Fabric Day Three – Potential Crossroads

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Honesty and believing in oneself…

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing, keep on getting creative

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be yourself in life, don’t imitate

What are you reading now?
The Hobbit

What’s next for you as a writer?
Not sure – a brand new topic, perhaps

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 Quran, Lord of the Flies, lord of the Rings, Dracula