Awesome Author Interviews

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Im a new author from Europe. So far I have written 3 books and working on the next ones now. I adore human psychology, therefore it is the main topic of my books

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Loved and Wanted series of books.

I’m a dating coach for the western men who dream about marrying exstern european women. So, on the first sessions I was always asking them why they decided to look for Ukrainian or Russian lady. What is wrong with their local women, I questioned myself. In fact, western women lost the natural femininity and turned to unisex human creatures, as my clients love to say. This inspired me to write a book for western women, so they could empower their inner femininity and allow themselves to be loved and wanted. As money and career will not make women happy. My goal is to help them to achieve happiness and love.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to eat some snacks, but its not good for my shape. hehe

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love book of Michelle Obama

What are you working on now?
Book series about Narcissism

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Im searching for it now

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up! And believe in yourself!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Nevermind”

What are you reading now?
Untamed of Glannon

What’s next for you as a writer?
Awesome book sales!

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 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
by Stephen R. Covey
2)Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment
by Steve Harvey
3)The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts
(5 Love Languages)
by Gary Chapman

Elena Miro’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Vallean, but Val is fine. I am graduate of Jacksonville State University where I earned by BA in communication and minor in biology. I love journalism & freelance writing about as much as I love being an author. I have written a total of 7 books including anthologies and short stories with more in the works.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Adventures With Liyah presents: Colors At First Sight
I was inspired to write this book because of my daughter and the desire to want to encourage kids to learn, take adventures and not be hesitant to try new foods etc.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think I have any unusual writing habits, maybe where I sometimes write maybe in the living room, closet, kitchen or in the car….where ever the juices hit me I like to get to it. Wait an unusual habit is I love writing in google docs on my phone. Like my story on working to release, the whole thing was written off of my phone. Even my latest release was done directly from my phone even down to illustration proofs.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am honestly inspired about a lot of authors almost all of them I would say because everyone is unique and their hustle to market their themselves and their books is truly inspiring. I use to be a big fan of Wahida Clark, but then I got a chance to do some work for her once, and her passion about her writing and to excel seemed just like mine and I noticed as authors we are all hungry and I love seeing that hunger.

What are you working on now?
Well currently I am working on a book I have titled “Love On Thin Ice” which relates to the urban fiction/romance genre that I love. As well as book number two for my children’s book series Adventures With Liyah.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best method of promoting is networking and social media. I once interviewed someone and they said word of mouth is the best way to get things out and I have grown to witness that that is true.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be yourself and do not compare yourself to other authors. Your vision is your own and everybody might can’t see what you have in mind. Just put it out and trust it to do well.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I ever heard was to start back writing. Do not let what occurred cause you to bury your talents.

What are you reading now?
Honestly right now, I am reading a different book every night to my daughter, but they are all children’s books. Last nights read was “Hug the Pug” which was a cute little story.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Honestly, I hope to do a book tour this upcoming year as well release the books I am working on towards the end of this year or maybe the start of next year, and continue to blossom from there with the hopes of more opportunities arising for me. I want to do some tv and movie scripts.

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?
It is completely bias, but I am taking the books I wrote, my series that I first released, but have to re-release because a revamp is needed. One I have them back now and two because sometimes as the author you get so caught up in writing that you don’t get to read your own work.

Author Websites and Profiles
Vallean Jackson Website
Vallean Jackson Amazon Profile

Vallean Jackson’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is William Becker. I wrote my first actual book when I was 12. I self-published it under a fake name when I had no idea how to write or edit. It’s called “The Watching.” That was my first work. I ended up writing another work called “The Things Hiding Within” which ultimately went absolutely nowhere. My first book that was actually published under my real name was called “Weeping Of The Caverns.” Weeping took a lot of elements from “The Watching” and morphed them into something readable. That book came out when I was 15 and it was followed up with my second novel, “Grey Skies.” I’ve published a few short stories through my website since, but otherwise, I’m working on a third novel

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent release came in the form of “The Egg.” As simple as it may sound, it’s literally about a girl giving birth to an egg. It explores themes of childbirth, abortion, maternal instinct, and obsession. It was actually inspired by a trip to Michael’s around Eastertime. We found a giant toy egg and I asked my friends, “what if someone gave birth to this?” It was a painfully simple concept that turned into something really cool.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write 600 words a day, rain or shine, motivated or not. If I miss a day, I add 600 words to the next day, taking my total up to 1200 words. I only take breaks on weekends, but this makes me actually much more inspired and motivated to get stuff done. Even if I have to write in the bathroom in between classes, I always find time to write. It’s very hard for me to understand people talking about not being inspired or finding time to write. If you want to write, you find a way. That’s coming from someone who is taking 16 college credits and is in four different clubs at my university.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
“We Need To Talk About Kevin” and “Of Mice and Men” have shaped my way of describing things. Some people find it painfully overbearing and longwinded, but it’s given me some good abilities at creating pictures.

What are you working on now?
A couple of things. I’m gearing up for my final short story release of 2020. I’ve released two short stories so far this year, “The Egg” and “Seventh Circle.” “For We Are Many” will be my final work of the year. I think I’ll take a break from all of my promotion and whatnot during the first half of 2021, then maybe release a short story compilation and something film related.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I try everything, but my Instagram has gotten me decently far.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Write every day. Don’t be scared of promoting yourself or showing other people. Even if you suck, the best way to stop sucking is to practice and show other people.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“You can’t lose the game if you don’t play” is probably one of the most impactful things I’ve ever heard. It might sound dumb, but it keeps me from getting involved in a lot of drama and petty garbage.

What are you reading now?
I’m about to start “Everything’s Eventual” by Stephen King. I bought the book when I like ten years old and absolutely hated everything about it, and that’s coming from someone who has always had an intense love for horror. I put off Stephen King for my entire life after I read half of “The Stand” and the first handful of stories from “Everything’s Eventual.” I decided on a whim to read “Elevation” and fell in love, so I decided to revist some of his back catalogue and review it on Goodreads.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Write and then die.

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 1100 page H.P. Lovecraft collection would be the first and most important book. I could spend years reading his work and interpreting it and never get sick of it. Sure, he was a racist prick, but his work is immaculate in every sense of the work. I would love to try reworking some of the stuff or building the mythos. I can’t think of any other book that I would enjoy as much. Maybe the first few “Bone” graphic novels.

Author Websites and Profiles
William Becker Website
William Becker Amazon Profile

William Becker’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is my 23rd book, my 8th novel. My day job is as a college adjunct instructor gypsying around the several campuses where I work, although because of the pandemic, I’m now doing all my teaching from my basement on my laptop.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
MEDIAN GRAY, which, on the black/white color scale is the exact middle. The biggest inspiration for the book were my own young days working in NYC during the early 1980s. The city was a crazy, scary, exciting place for a young person and, in a way, the novel was something of a response to all the scary, exciting craziness I was witnessing.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not especially. I’m not one of those write-every-day types. In fact, I’m not particularly disciplined at all except when I have a due date. I’m pretty good about making due dates. My corporate experience (I was corporate for 29 years) cultivated a skill for turning in work on short turnaround times. Helped me develop the ability to do a lot of work in my head so when I actually had the time to sit at the keyboard, I could bang stuff out.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh, it really depends. Different authors have influenced me on different things. On MEDIAN GRAY, I would say Evan Hunter’s Ed McBain novels and George V. Higgins’ work. On my first novels, a series set in WW II, John LeCarre’s was a style I was trying to emulate.

What are you working on now?
Nothing in particular. There’s a crime story I’ve been working on for quite some time, and now that my semester has started up and it’s all got to be done remotely because of Corona I don’t have a lot of writing time. I do have a film project on a low simmer and am waiting to see what happens with that.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I actually haven’t done much of it and am pretty inept at self-promotion.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m very reluctant to offer advice because I find we all find are own way. I’ve never had a plan, have fallen into some opportunities, chased in mercenary fashion after others. I suppose the only advice I’d feel comfortable giving is one of attitude. Take your writing seriously, but don’t take being a writer too seriously. As my first creative writing teacher told me, don’t do this for the money because you probably won’t make any. Don’t do this to become famous because, again, probably not going to happen. That only leaves doing this because you can’t NOT do it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
A few years ago I went back for my MFA to better qualify me to teach. One of my instructors there gave a piece of advice I often repeat when a discussion about do’s and don’t’s and supposed “rules” comes up: “You can do anything…as long as you do it beautifully. Of course, you can get yourself into a lot of trouble that way, too.”

What are you reading now?
Nothing. Once my semester starts, I’m too busy reading papers. I’m teaching 5 classes at 3 different institutions.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Oh, I don’t know. There’s that crime book I’d like to finally finish. I have a mystery romance done under a pen name submitted at a couple of places. I’d like to see if this film project takes off. Other than that, for the next three months it’s about reading 50-60 student papers each week.

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?
Hmmm, that’s a toughie. Ernest K. Gann’s memoir FATE IS THE HUNTER is something I’ve read a bunch of times and have always enjoyed, maybe because I’m terrified of flying and envy someone who truly seems to have loved it. Steinbeck’s EAST OF EDEN because I love the organic structure of it. Salinger’s CATCHER IN THE RYE. Evan Hunter did a book called STREETS OF GOLD which so echoed my own family’s immigrant experience that maybe that might be my 4th.

Author Websites and Profiles
Bill Mesce, Jr. Amazon Profile

Bill Mesce, Jr.’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a mother of two living in Georgia. I’ve always loved writing but haven’t had the luxury of being able to write creatively since I was in high school. Once I graduated, I went on to ghostwrite articles for various websites and blogs, but it just wasn’t much fun. I finally took the plunge and put all of my energy into becoming an author, and it’s been a blast. I have written two books. One was a truly terrible romance that I won’t even mention, but my newest book is something I really care about.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is The Halfling Rises, and it’s my first official novel. One of many, I hope. Honestly, I’m not even sure what inspired it exactly. I just love all things fantasy related, and the novel poured out of me. I sat down to start a new book after I had published the unmentionable romance and decided I wanted to write a genre I cared a little more about. I started with a captive princess character, kind of like a Rapunzel scenario, and it escalated from there.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have to have my earbuds in when I’m writing. They do nothing for blocking out sound and I’m not listening to anything through them, but if they’re not in my ears, I can’t focus.

I don’t know if this counts as an unusual habit, perhaps it’s more of a negative side effect, but I keep forgetting to eat! I’ll write all day and realize I skipped breakfast and lunch. It’s gotten to where the kids bring me snacks while I’m working.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Wow, this is a loaded question. Robert Jordan is hands down my number one favorite fantasy author, there’s not even any competition. I grew up reading The Wheel of Time and I think I’ve re-read that series probably 5 times or more over the course of my life so far. I don’t doubt that I’ll continue to re-read it. I’m also a fan of Terry Brooks, Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss and George R. R. Martin.

I feel like I take a little from Anne Rice in my prose. I like a little poetry in my writing, and she’s a master at that.

Philippa Gregory is my favorite romance author, but I am a little obsessed with the Tudor era of England’s history, so her books really scratched an itch for me.

What are you working on now?
I just finished the first chapter of the second book in The Eva Chronicles, a sequel to The Halfling Rises. It’s currently called The High Priestess and I think that title is going to stick, but I’m waiting to see what the book is about.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This is my first go-round with book promotion, so I hope I can answer this better in the future.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t get discouraged. There are so many roadblocks waiting to trip you up and slow you down, but persevere. No matter what.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I saw a meme recently, actually, and I guess it’s probably great advice because I think of it from time to time, especially as I’ve been going through the process of publishing a novel I care so much about. It took the word ‘fear’ and laid it out so it read Face Everything And Rise. I think that’s probably a great way to live every day.

What are you reading now?
I’m not reading anything. I’ve been worried about starting a book while I’m writing. I guess I’m afraid it will confuse me, somehow. But, I have Chase the Dark by Annette Marie in my kindle app that’s next on my list.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Once I finish The Eva Chronicles, I plan to dip my toe into urban fantasy and see what I can do there.

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?
Swan Song by Robert McCammon – my all-time favorite book. IT and The Stand by Stephen King – they’re super long, so it’ll take me some time to go through them. The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff – I think keeping the tao state of mind would make island living a little more tolerable.

Author Websites and Profiles
Livia Lance Website
Livia Lance Amazon Profile

Livia Lance’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My latest novel, BURN ME OUT, is my second published novel and my fourth published book-length prose work. My previous novel, THIS ROUGH OLD WORLD, was published in 2017. I’ve also published the story collections THE ALTAR IN THE HILLS (2014) and THE CASTLE-TOWN TRAGEDY (2016).

Besides prose, I’ve been writing comic books for many years, and have written roughly one-hundred individual, published comics.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
BURN ME OUT is a crime novel that was inspired n large part, about things I’ve been dealing with over the last few years: desperation, depression, hiding the most significant part of yourself from everyone (especially those you love because hurting them is the last thing on earth you want) and a deep, aching desire to matter and be recognized for it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have set writing days and I write as much as I feel is necessary on those days. I used to have set times every day I’d write but I found it was actually detrimental to the process because I was forcing myself many of those days. Now, I have set days where I may work for six or seven hours straight and then I don’t write for four days in a row. It gives me some distance from what I’ve written so I can reevaluate it with fresh eyes and it gives the ideas time to germinate in my imagation.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
That answer will change over time, of course, but for the last six or seven years, at least, it’s been Gil Brewer. The majority of his career is largely compacted into less than a decade, but he was of the first generation of paperback original authors and an absolute giant of noir. From 1951 to 1960, he wrote about thirty novels and hundreds of short stories, and they cover just about every aspect of crime and mystery fiction that I love. His characters struggle with themselves and the problems they’ve (usually) created for themselves and they rarely have happy endings, but even knowing they’re doomed, they don’t give up or give in. They’re not good people, usually, but they’re very human. That’s something I tried very hard to do with BURN ME OUT.

What are you working on now?
I just finished the first draft of a western novel. I’ve written close to a dozen western stories published in various magazines, but this is my first full-fledged western novel.

I am also shopping two crime novels I’ve finished in the last year, looking for publishers.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Twitter and Facebook are my go-tos. There are plenty of folks who are happy to share things that look interesting with their friends and acquaintances. The trick is to make them want to share.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read – a lot. I’ve talked to many people who say they want to write, but claim they don’t really like to read. I don’t know how they expect that to work. You can’t be a writer and not love the written word. Exposing yourself to many different people’s ideas and styles will not only give you inspiration, it’ll give you an idea of what works and what doesn’t – both for you, and in general. I’ve read books that had great ideas, but poor execution, and I’ve read books that were excellently written but the idea was boring or perhaps simply not for me personally. Learning what works for you as a reader is a critical part of discovering what kind of writer you want to, and can, become

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just write. It doesn’t matter how good or bad the first draft is. The first draft is just you telling the story to yourself. It’s not set in stone and you can always change anything you like after that first draft is done.

What are you reading now?
Tragg’s Choice, a novel by Clifton Adams about a man who became a legend in his own lifetime and finds he isn’t a big enough person to live up to his own legend.

What’s next for you as a writer?
A long round of editing on the western novel (laughs).

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Oh, gosh. That’s a tough one.

I’d bring Eiji Yoshikawa’s MUSASHI, as it’s one of the best historical novels I’ve ever read. I’d also bring Gil Brewer’s THE VENGEFUL VIRGIN, Harry Whittington’s A MOMENT TO PREY, and the first volume of the collected short works of Louis L’Amour.

Author Websites and Profiles
Brandon Barrows Website
Brandon Barrows Amazon Profile

Brandon Barrows’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in northern New Jersey with my wife. We have two daughters and five grandchildren. All of them live in neighboring towns,

I’ve been writing fiction for over 20 years ad I’ve been self-publishing for over 10 years. I write sci-fi and fantasy fiction but only satiric or humorous stores. Nothing serious. I believe there is too much serious genre fiction being written and I’m trying to rectify that situation.
I also write non-fiction books about fiction writing, self-publishing and book marketing. In addition,I lecture on those topics in schools, libraries and on webinars

Currently, I have 22 books on Amazon, both fiction and non-fiction

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The title is Book Marketing Fundamentals. It was inspired by my previous book, How to Self-publish and Market a Book. What happened was this: after that book was published, I realized there are authors who have a published book, but are looking for marketing help, hence the new book.
The self-publishing book was inspired by the writing groups I belong to. In them, I noticed how inexperienced writers struggle to understand the publishing process. That inevitably leads to website searches and the internet is loaded with scam artists looking for these inexperienced authors. My books are designed to educate those writers and hopefully to alert them and protect them from the scam artists

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I love mind-maps. I have a half-dozen software programs and I’ll make a new mind-map for almost every problem I come across. I also mind-map my novels before I start to write the first draft. I create three mind-maps: one for the characters and one for the plots. The third can be described as a graphical synopsis. I’ve learned that if I can make the third mind-map, I understand the story well enough to write it.
I mind-map non-fiction books also, starting with the table of contents complete with sub-headings. I manipulate these items to ensure the contents present a compelling and understandable presentation. Why? Because it’s a lot easier to move idea bubbles around than it is to manipulate the written sections and sub-sections.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My fiction has been strongly influenced by the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and by Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Happily, I’ve never recovered from the experiences of reading those two books.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I’m developing Book Marketing Fundamentals into a series of videos that will ultimately become a class on the Udemy site. I’m also working on developing a workshop based on How to Self-publish and Market a Book. It’s scheduled to be initially given on the Savvy Authors site in December.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think getting book reviews are the best marketing tactic I’ve come across.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
For fiction writers, my advice is to know the ending before starting to write the first draft. My reasoning is this: everything in the story must move the reader closer to the climax. Therefore, you can’t move the reader toward the climax if you don’t know where or what the climax is.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write scenes, not words. I don’t use a word goal such as wiring a thousand words a day or twenty-five hundred or whatever. When writing the first draft, my goal is to write one scene a day and I don’t care how many words it is.

What are you reading now?
The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
The Undercover Goddess by my friend and fellow author Karen Cavalli

What’s next for you as a writer?
I haven’t decided whether I’ll write another non-fiction book (Mind-mapping a Book) or a sci-fi novel or a few short stories. Whatever it turns out to be, I won’t start it until sometime next year.

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?
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Catch-22, Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore and anything by Bernard Cornwell.

Author Websites and Profiles
Hank Quense Website
Hank Quense Amazon Profile
Hank Quense Author Profile on Smashwords

Hank Quense’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
A romantic at heart, I write sexy and heart-warming contemporary romance, featuring thought provoking plots and strong main characters that are relatable and recognizable to modern day women.

I draw on personal experience of the settings depicted in my novels, to provide a more authentic experience for my readers.

My romantic sub-genres include Medical Romance with flying doctors, sassy nurses, and brooding surgeons; Magical Realism featuring witches, gypsies, and supernatural detectives; Modern Romance showcasing secret billionaires, and sexy rockstars; Paranormal Romance with vampires, and ghosts; and Romantic Elements wrapped up in women’s literature and humor.

I am a proud mother and foster mother. I have also been, among other things, a circus performer, portrait photographer, primary school teacher, cake artist, nanny, tour guide, and wedding and event planner.

My goals in life are simply to finish raising happy, imaginative, and inquisitive children; to make a real and tangible difference in the lives of others; and to keep writing novels for as long as I possibly can.

I make my home in the isolated desert, surrounded by red dirt, striking mountain ranges, and endless clear blue skies. It is this stunning landscape that features as backdrop for many of my novels.

When I am not writing, you can find me hanging out with my boys, reading, or planning my next adventure!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My books are always inspired by the same thing: stories that I want to read. Romances that I would like to experience, in settings that I can relate to as a modern woman.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not unusual exactly, but two things that I always do when writing is make a playlist of songs that will fuel the emotions of my characters, and have lengthy (in my head) conversations with my characters.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Milly Johnson is my favourite author, hands down. I will read any of her books time and time again, and pre-order them without needing to read a blurb first. She makes you feel good and reading her is like having a nice long chat with a dear friend.

What are you working on now?
I am simultaneously working on a first book in a new series, featuring rockstars; the second book in my Outback Doctors series; and a feel good chick lit novel featuring an Indigenous Australian.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Mostly, I rely on my own author website and social media pages.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Find your voice, don’t ever let someone talk you into changing. Your voice is what makes you unique. Yes, there will be those that do not like it, but there will those that do. Stay true to you and you will find your loyal readers.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just do it.

What are you reading now?
Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have releases due out every month for the next twelve months, after that, more writing!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Goddess of Spring by PC Cast.
The Family Nobody Wanted by Helen Doss.
The Birds and The Bees by Milly Johnson.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kathleen Ryder Website
Kathleen Ryder Amazon Profile

Kathleen Ryder’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written one novel that was published by Prospective Press last week. I write, create and produce children’s television for Disney, Warner Bros., Universal, NBC, Amazon, BBC, Netflix and Apple. The PBS series, Molly of Denali, for which I was Story Editor received a Peabody award. I’ve also been a film executive for Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment as well as several major Hollywood studios. I began my career in entertainment as an actor in Chicago where Iappeared at Steppenwolf and the Goodman Theatre. I was a member of the Second City National Touring Company and the Fine Line comedy duo, which appeared at the Comedy Store, The Improv and The Motown Revue with Smokey Robinson, an NBC series for which I was also a writer. I lives in Topanga Canyon in the Santa Monica mountains outside of L.A. with my wife and two cats.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
LADIES OF THE CANYON, a psychological thriller, was inspired by the classic Bette Davis film, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? and the novel, DAY OF THE LOCUST with a little bit of SUNSET BLVD. thrown in. I’ve always been fascinated by the dark side of Hollywood and felt the themes it inspired were still relevant today, given how people are still obsessed with fame and its trappings.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Only that I have to maneuver around my two cats for my fingers to reach my keyboard.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love the writing of Ian McEwan, especially his early work, George Saunders and Joyce Carol Oates.

What are you working on now?
A novel set in the funky subculture of antiques and collecting, yard sales and flea markets. There’s an interesting world in that milieu that no one has mined yet.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Goodreads is the best. I’m new to the world of publishing, given that LADIES OF THE CANYON is my first novel so I’m not too familiar with other resources.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Persistence. It took almost a year to write my novel, another few months to rewrite it, months to find a literary agent and then almost a year to find a publisher. I never gave up and am still working on promoting it by going online and finding websites that will review it or interview me. You can’t rely on publishers to hawk your book as they have so much on their plates.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Writing is rewriting.

What are you reading now?
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. It’s funny, sad, occasionally disturbing and totally unique. I love novels with flawed characters.

What’s next for you as a writer?
See, “What are you working on now?” above.

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 Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe, the film reviews of Pauline Kael and We Need to Talk About Kevin.

Author Websites and Profiles
Douglas Wood Website
Douglas Wood Amazon Profile

Douglas Wood’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
LADIES OF THE CANYON, a psychological thriller, is my first novel, published last week by Prospective Press. It’s about the dark side of Hollywood where I live and work, centering on the twisted relationship between an aging child star and the young actress she takes in to her decaying mansion. Here’s my short bio: Douglas Wood writes, creates and produces children’s television for Disney, Warner Bros., Universal, NBC, Amazon, BBC, Netflix and Apple. The PBS series, Molly of Denali, for which Wood was Story Editor received a Peabody award. Wood has also been a film executive for Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment as well as several major Hollywood studios. He began his career in entertainment as an actor in Chicago where he appeared at Steppenwolf and the Goodman Theatre. He was a member of the Second City National Touring Company and the Fine Line comedy duo, which appeared at the Comedy Store, The Improv and The Motown Revue with Smokey Robinson, an NBC series for which Wood was also a writer. He lives in Topanga Canyon in the Santa Monica mountains outside Los Angeles with his wife and two cats.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
LADIES OF THE CANYON was inspired mostly by the film, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? but also by SUNSET BLVD. and the novel and film, DAY OF THE LOCUST. I find psychological horror much scarier than traditional supernatural novels.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a spectacular view of the mountains from my office window, but I keep the blinds drawn so as not to distract me. And of course, sometimes I have to come up with clever means to reach my keyboard because one or both of my cats feel like they have something to contribute.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Joyce Carol Oates, George Saunders and Ian McEwan are three of my favorite authors and have influenced my writing.

What are you working on now?
A novel set in the world of antiques, collecting, garage sales and flea markets– it’s an interesting subculture that no one has really explored yet.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Goodreads. And my website: https://writewoodink.com/novel.html.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write something you’re passionate about as opposed to what you think might sell. Writing is a long process and you have to make sure you look forward to spending long days with your characters and their world.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Writing is rewriting.

What are you reading now?
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. It’s funny, disturbing and incredibly well-written and

What’s next for you as a writer?
See “what are you working on now?”

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?
Collected works of Edgar Allan Poe, the reviews of Pauline Kael, and We Need to Talk About Kevin.

Author Websites and Profiles
Douglas Wood Website
Douglas Wood Amazon Profile

Douglas Wood’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a tech geek and new mom with an avid love of video games, chocolate, and new technological advancements. A few months ago a close family relative was diagnosed with stage four cancer and a few days ago she died. Throughout the process of her transition, I realized that I didn’t want to be on my deathbed with a google drive filled with unpublished work, so I went full YOLO.

In the last three weeks I’ve written and published six salacious novelettes as Deiri Di and have been getting my less adult science fiction novels up under a different pen name.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Communilingus.

Communication is so essential to us as a species. It is the driving force behind our evolutionary success as well as our own personal failures. We succeed when we communicate well. For a healthy and robust romantic life, we need good communication as well as… other skills.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to launch a video game on my additional monitor that essentially plays itself while I write. Occasionally I’ll switch over and make slight adjustments, but it make me giggle to have the little characters running around playing themselves while I work on creating new worlds. I usually create new characters for each of the books hero/heroines and have them running around as I write about them.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My writing influences are drastically different than the racy content that I write.

Issac Asimov was one of my early reads as a child and his I,Robot series of stories left a strong mark on my brain. Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game is another. Mercedes Lacky with her Mage series made me cry and gave me my first exposure to love outside of the gender normative structure. Anne McCaffrey’s Pern, Ship, and Rowan series were more favorites.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on two things.

As Deiri Di I am working on the next novelette in the Cryo Crisis romance series. It’s called Raptimax (Rapture+Climax) and is about a competitive gymnast who in a moment of adrenaline fueled passion, finds herself entangled with an alien in a drop suit closet. The character Sierra has made an appearance in the other books as an antagonist and I wanted to provide her perspective and give her a chance to show herself for who she truly is.

Under my other less naughty pen name, Siobhan Shiva, I’ve just published my first dystopian science fiction novel. It is called Every Nowhere and should be out on amazon in a few days. With that pen name I’m also working on a new LitRPG, but that will take a lot longer than any of the works in my Cryo Crisis universe. It requires a lot more math and a lot less quick and steamy fun.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Keywords!

I’ve barely done anything to promote my work so far other than careful use of keywords. Readers who are looking for steamy work are finding my stuff. This author interview is one of the first actual promotion efforts I’ve done.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do your research.

Look at your genre before you publish and take the time to research keywords that will bring the readers that you’re looking for. Never stop learning.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
YOLO.

Stop thinking about it and do it. If you fail you learn. If you succeed, you also learn.

Do it.

What are you reading now?
A LitRPG about a soldier that is put into a monster’s body.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to keep writing.

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?
An army survival manual, a book on boat building, and a book on edible plants and animals for that area. I read far too quickly to be satiated without wifi.

Being stranded on a desert island by yourself sounds miserable. Now, throw in a marooned hottie who is determined to woo me while working with me to save us both – yes please, more please.

Author Websites and Profiles
Deiri Di Website
Deiri Di Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an award-winning author of two previous books, Mind Waves, the first book in the Mind Hackers series, released in 2016 by The Wild Rose Press, and Charmed By Charlie, released in 2017 by Boroughs Publishing Group. The second book in the Mind Hackers series, Cross Waves, is currently up for preorder (special ebook price of $2.99 on Amazon until its release) and comes out Oct. 19. Last year, I wrote a contemporary rom-com that finaled and won it’s category in the Stiletto contest. You can see more about all the awards my books have received here: https://amandauhl.com/awards-honors/.

I am drawn to the paranormal, because I am a bit paranormal myself. I was born at home in a 150-year-old house that is rumored to be haunted. I had several ghostly experiences myself while growing up. As I got older, I discovered I had the knack for predicting the future and telling people about themselves —whether through dreams, palm-reading, hand-writing analysis, Tarot readings, and even hypnosis (which happened quite by accident)! I call this my “hidden” talent because I don’t get paid (I have a full time corporate job) and I don’t do it on a regular basis. Because I’ve had numerous bizarre, real-life experiences, I am able to channel these incidents into my paranormal books, which are set in contemporary times. Readers often ask me if the world I have created is real.

When I’m not reading or writing, my two favorite pastimes are searching for beach glass (I have quite a collection) on the Lake Erie shoreline and riding my bicycle through the beautiful Cuyahoga Valley National Park with my husband and three children. I hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre, which has come in handy as I record my own audiobooks, and a Masters in Marketing.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, Cross Waves, is part of a paranormal romance series called Mind Hackers. The contemporary fantasy world the book is set in was inspired in large part by my day job, where I manage communications and training in a cyber security department for a large corporation (I have since moved onto the data area. Not quite sure that will inspire anything:) Cross Waves took four years to write and publish and just received it’s first review from Reader’s Favorite and it’s five stars. The reviewer said “…. a fascinating and irresistible paranormal romance. From the beginning, the conflict between Geneva and Rolf held me spellbound, and I couldn’t put the book down until I found out how their dilemma was resolved.” https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/cross-waves. I worked hard to keep the reader guessing with this book and hope they enjoy it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I work strictly from my iPad and don’t own a laptop. I like the ease and convenience and I take it with me everywhere. Because I have a challenging day job, I need to use every spare minute to write. The tablet gives me that convenience.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many authors I have read and enjoyed through the years. I started out as a pre-teen reading historical fiction by Georgette Heyer, Marion Chesney and Mary Balough. As my “psychic talents” developed so did my interest in the paranormal and I became a BIG fan of Jayne Ann Krentz, especially her futuristic romances written under the pen name, Jayne Castle. I also enjoy Christine Feehan’s dark vampire romances. I’m happy to say I’ve gotten the chance to meet and talk to both of these authors in the last couple of years.

On the lighter side, I love Sophie Kinsella, especially her attempt at writing a light-hearted paranormal called “Twenties Girl.” I hope they turn that one into a movie.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a new paranormal series called “Healing Kiss.” I have completed the synopsis and will start writing the story shortly. Here’s the blurb:

To save her dying sister…
Lillian Milano has an extraordinary ability. She channels energy from the powerful to heal the sick. But her gift puts Lillian and those she loves in danger from an organization that will stop at nothing to experiment on her. When her sister Hannah becomes dangerously ill, Lillian discovers the one person with enough vitality to save her sister’s life is computer genius and billionaire Tristan King. But being near him threatens to destroy the walls she’s built around her heart.

She strikes a bargain with a billionaire.
Tristan doesn’t believe in the supernatural or in Lillian’s gift. He doesn’t trust easily and is wary of emotional entanglements with the opposite sex. But his mother’s autoimmune disease is slowly killing her, and he’s tried everything to find a cure, even channeling his money into experimental drug companies. Maybe something Lillian does can help? Fine, he’ll play her game. He’s not heartless. But as the pair work together, they soon find out the stakes are much higher than either Lillian or Tristan anticipated. So high, the choices they make will either destroy their lives or heal their hearts.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best tools for promoting my book have been my newsletter and my author Facebook page. I also run a private Facebook group called Amanda’s A Team, where active readers can get access to inside news and giveaways and help promote my books.

Newsletter —> https://amandauhl.com/social-media/
Facebook Author Page —> https://www.facebook.com/amandauhlauthor
Amanda’s A Team —> https://www.facebook.com/groups/1968453683426411

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up! Creativity takes courage, and publishing a book is not for the weak. There is a lot of competition for reader’s attention. Like running a marathon, you need to practice and train and continue to hone your skills. Join a writers group, make friends of other writers, find a critique parter, enter your work in contests, incorporate feedback, and above all, keep writing, In the end its not about the prize, it’s about the journey.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stephen King offers great advice in his book, “On Writing.” He says if you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. He also says you have to keep writing even when you don’t feel like it. And you must overcome self-doubt, which plagues all artists. Says King, “If you write (or paint or dance or sculpt or sing, I suppose), someone will try to make you feel lousy about it, that’s all.”

What are you reading now?
I am reading Jane Austen’s “Persuasion,” which I can’t believe I’ve never read before. It’s fantastic. I’m also reading a Chicken Soup for the Soul book called, “Listen to Your Dreams.”

What’s next for you as a writer?
I signed with a literary agent in January and am looking forward to exciting new ventures.

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?
Hmmm…just three or four? Oh, boy. I’d have to take the Bible, and some classics like Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Lucy Maud Montgomery’s “Anne of Green Gables.”

Author Websites and Profiles
Amanda Uhl Website
Amanda Uhl Amazon Profile

Amanda Uhl’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Prior to North of Hell i have written 7 books that i have never published because i haven’t been convinced of their quality. They were not good enough and did not add anything of value to any potential reader. And since a writers mission is not only to make people think but also offer perspective, i believe that my only published book has the potential to stand up to those standards.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book ” North of Hell” was inspired by a woman. I was in a casual professional meeting, in a coffee house in Casablanca, Morocco. And the character of the book named “K” ,as she wanted to stay anonymous, eavesdropped on our conversation and joined it. We happened to have a mutual friend so we met again and she told me her story. I, then, decided to make it a novel, with her permission of course, and here we are today. Never underestimate the power of DOING things and then figuring out what to do with them.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know what could be considered unusual, as every artist has his own quirks and habits. I like to write in a very short window, right between starting to feel sleepy and actually sleeping. I would do that every day throughout the writing process, because i believe that sleep is the thing that brings your subconscious on the surface and that that’s a great way to leverage that power. I do the same for painting or for my creative consulting work. So i would write every day for 30-45 minutes and then review and correct first thing in the morning until my work is finished.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Charles Bukowski was a big influence for me, i loved his raw style and honest critic of himself and of others. Dostoievsky is a big one for me as well, because of the genius with which he can balance holistic writing and detailed naration. Dr. Jordan.B.Peterson, stands above everyone else, because he not only is an influence as an author but also a role model and father figure, if by some miracle he reads this, i thank you from the bottom of my heart.

What are you working on now?
Letting the idea of writing a second novel roam in my mind until i come up with anything of substance.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesome Gang is my first experience in promoting any book. I love their process so far, let’s see how that goes ..

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If anybody can convince you to stop writing, just stop writing. Being an author is not only a “Job” or “Activity”, it’s a state of being. Like no one can ever convince you to stop breathing or walking, no one should be able to convince you to stop writing if you’re an Author. Just write …

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Better be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener at war” Dr. Jordan.B. Peterson

What are you reading now?
The Godfather by Mario Puzo

What’s next for you as a writer?
I don’t know but i can’t wait to know.

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?
Beyond good and evil by Friedrich Nietzche
Women by Charles Bukowski
The brothers Karamazov by Fiodor Dostoievsky

Author Websites and Profiles
Oussama Berrahal Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Yorkshireman through and through, and after travelling to various wonderful and exotic places around the world, I have decided that the place where I live is actually one of the best spots on earth. This is how I got into walking, to experience the beauty of my own backyard at first hand. That this then turned morphed into a book was almost a natural process.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
54 Degrees North was released in August 2020. I had done a couple of long-distance walks but wanted something close at hand but found nothing that inspired me. Alfred Wainwright, who of course devised the official Coast to Coast, always said that you should go your own way, so you could say that I was inspired by the great man himself.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
That’s an interesting question. In a word, yes. I have young children at home so often find it difficult to write there and tend to go to my old university to use their cafes and other facilities. They must be wondering why I seem to have been studying there for so long and when and if I’m ever going to leave!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I would say authors such as Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams are the authors I grew up with, and I think their dry humour has rubbed off on me which I try to inject into my writing. I am also a big fan of Bill Bryson and always make sure I grab his new releases as soon as they are out.

What are you working on now?
I’ve just completed another walk along the Cleveland Way, which follows the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, and wrote about it as I went along. I found some fascinating things along the way, including a secret laboratory 3000 feet underground where someone is building something called a low-pressure negative ion time projection chamber, which is obviously a time machine even though they say it isn’t. I’m hoping to have it published before Christmas.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
That’s a toughie. I’m quite new to this, but I have to say how impressed I am with the awesome gang. The whole process was easy from start to finish and took a surprisingly short time to do.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just go for it. They say that we all have a book within is, and I have always felt that I had one in me. Now that I have completed my first one, I feel that I have lots of books in me, and wished I had started earlier. So I would have to say my one piece of advice is to just go for it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
One of my university lecturers gave me the best piece of advice that I had ever heard, and although it wasn’t strictly related to writing, it actually relates to anything. He said that if you want to change the world you should start with yourself, which I found quite profound.

What are you reading now?
I’ve just started The Body, by Bill Bryson. My mum bought me it for Christmas but I just haven’t had time to read it, but I am making an effort to read a few pages each evening. To be honest, it isn’t much of an effort as it is very easy reading.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a couple of ideas but I’m not sure which one to take up. I’m going to finish my book about the Cleveland Way and then try something completely different. One of them is a bit close to the bone, though. My son was ill for a very long time and I know there is an amazing story to tell there, but I’m not sure if it is just too soon. We’ll see.

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?
Ha Ha! Well, The Body, of course, because I have just started it and I would like to finish it. Other than that, Bram Stokers’ Dracula would be essential, as I read it a long time ago but would enjoy the luxury of being able to read it again. Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 would definitely be in my bag, as it is one of the funniest books I ever read, and finally, assuming we are going to be on this island for quite some time, I reckon J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, which I could read again and again.

Author Websites and Profiles
Paul Amess Amazon Profile

Paul Amess’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile