Awesome Author Interviews

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a nineteen-year old college student who basically spends too much time either watching Netflix or reading (and I don’t mean the classics like all the good English majors – YA is my heartthrob). I published my first novel at fourteen and haven’t stopped since. Thus far, I have six published novels, two of which being gender bender fairytale retellings. Fun stuff, I’m telling you.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Hourglass and it’s a fairytale retelling of Peter Pan. My newest writing genre has been fairytale retellings and I thought Peter Pan was a perfect match for what I was wanting to write – a gender bender of a classically male-oriented fairytale, with some creepiness thrown in.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I act out what’s happening in my book. Which makes it super awkward at school when my roommate’s around. I think she’s scared of me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Basically anything that’s well written. I’m a sucker for beautiful writing so if it’s gorgeous in any way, it’s inspired me.

What are you working on now?
More retellings! Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, and Frankenstein to name a few. 😉 (I know, Frankenstein isn’t a fairytale…but it’s awesome.)

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t know if I have a proven method of promoting my books but what I’ve found to be most rewarding is just engaging in conversation with my readers. I love, love, love, when readers reach out to me and we can talk not only about my books but about anything at all. Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook are my favorite things ever because of that.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. Yeah, I know that seems obvious, but seriously. It’s easy to get into the whole publishing world, get intimidated and frustrated and just back out. But you have to learn that publishing is a slooowwww business and that things take time.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Probably what I just mentioned above – in better terms of course. I remember a day when I came so close to giving up all my writing and publishing goals. I had just received some pretty harsh rejection letters from publishers I had high hopes for. My mom sat me down, looked me in the eye, and told me not to give up on anything that I really wanted in life. She said if I wanted it bad enough and worked hard enough that it would eventually come.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading The Ring and the Crown by Melissa De La Cruz. Very fantasy and very fun.

What’s next for you as a writer?
That’s an interesting question because it’s something I’ve been wondering about. As a new adult and a college student it feels like everything is changing so why not my writing? I know I still love YA and scifi, but who knows what I might end up writing when I actually grow up (nineteen is not an adult, let’s be read here).

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, God.
Um.
Okay, so I’d take the Bible.
And Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (Yep, I know, from the Bible to crazy romance YA…).
Little Women

Author Websites and Profiles
Pauline C. Harris Website
Pauline C. Harris Amazon Profile

Pauline C. Harris’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I recently exited the rat-race after spending eight long years as a financial analyst in corporate America. The first few years were interesting and exciting, but I quickly began to recognize the treadmill for what it was. I spent several years plotting my escape by eliminating debt and building an asset allocation model. I communicate many of the strategies and philosophies that have guided me in my writing – I have two published books at this time.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Individual is Rising: 2nd Edition – Liberty, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Asset Allocation, and Education Reform for the Coming Reset

I have been analyzing macroeconomic trends for more than three years now and my analysis suggests, convincingly, that the global financial system is on the verge of a “Great Reset”. One has to go back in history to observe how the financial system has evolved to truly appreciate how much systemic risk now exists, but a quick glance at sovereign debt levels and western demographics is enough to warrant concern. In short, governments all over the world have promised way too much, run up way too much debt, and they are now stuck printing vast amounts of currency in an effort to meet obligations. The end result will be the eventual destruction of the current monetary system and implementation of a new one.

This book spends a fair amount of time presenting the economic analysis that has led me to this conclusion complete with historical data and supporting examples. The book goes on to present specific strategies that individuals can implement to help reduce their personal financial risks, and possibly even position themselves to prosper as the Great Reset plays out. All of these strategies are logically presented and backed by philosophic and economic principles.

I was motivated to write this book because the major problems with the global financial system are not covered by the mainstream media thus most people are completely oblivious to them. Much of the conventional wisdom in personal finance actually increases exposure to the systemic risks that people face unnecessarily. It is my goal to communicate these risks as well as potential solutions because it is clear the powers-that-be are not going to do so.

I have been working on this book for the better part of the past three years, and I have extensively updated and expanded upon it over the past four months.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I typically get one hundred or so words written each morning before my black lab begins to whine and nudge me with his nose. I then spend two minutes asking him to let me work before I give up and take him for a walk out on the nature trail. Most of my writing is accomplished between 9:45 and noon after Boomer’s walk each morning.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am heavily influenced by the late Austrian School economists – Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, Henry Hazlitt, and F.A. Hayek. I am also greatly influenced by Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” and “Outwitting the Devil”.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working to promote the 2nd edition of The Individual is Rising while learning marketing techniques.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have found that running a free Kindle promotion on Amazon and submitting the book to online directories for exposure that week is the most powerful method to generate exposure.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Whether you are right or wrong, make sure you are interesting.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The obstacle is the path.

What are you reading now?
Family Fortunes by Bill Bonner and Swords into Plowshares by Ron Paul.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hopefully a glass of wine.

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?
Assuming the books are for leisure and contemplation rather than survival:

“Way of the Peaceful Warrior” by Dan Millman
“Hormegeddon” by Bill Bonner
“Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand
“Walden and Other Writings” by Henry David Thoreau

Author Websites and Profiles
Joe Withrow Website
Joe Withrow Amazon Profile

Joe Withrow’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Texas-born, California-bred TV writer/producer who’s known I was meant to be a writer since at least the second grade. I’ve got the wife, the kid, the dogs and a really fantastic life that took a few decades to stumble into sideways.

As for how many books I’ve written, it’s at least three, start to finish, but the longest of them was the least publishable, and languishes in a drawer even now. I’ve published two. The first was a novella called The Villain’s Sidekick that got me back into my lifelong love of prose after several years churning out scripts (which was a great way to learn about economy of words and actually finishing something I could be proud of). It’s about a supervillain’s henchman called HandCannon with a machine gun arm, a steel jaw, an estranged ex-wife and an adorably precocious 6-year-old daughter. It’s all set against the backdrop of my hometown, Houston, Texas, and has been favorably compared to Walker Percy and Elmore Leonard. The brief prequel–which is either a long short story or a novelette, depending who you ask–is called The Eternity Conundrum and is a sort of parody of all those mega-event crossover comics that Marvel and DC seem to put out several times a year now. But it’s also a very small story about what you do when everyday life gets in the way of your big crazy plans for world domination.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Right now I’m churning and burning on a full-length sequel called Citizen Skin, which covers both fallout from the events of Villain’s and a whole host of new problems, enemies, and shenanigans. It alternates POVs from chapter to chapter between HandCannon and a young woman he meets in the first book. They’ve both been forced by circumstance to become unlikely badass heroes and save, if not the world, at least their little corner of it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
All my writing habits are unusual. I don’t have a particular time or place that I write, though I try not to wait for inspiration to strike because that’s just begging for trouble. With the life that I have–a full-time job, a family, a rare desire to be social and a frequent desire to be entertained–I find I need to grab the few free moments I get to write my butt off. It’s taken two years since publishing Villain’s to get a draft of this sequel almost finished, and from then it’s just the uphill battle to edit and make it coalesce as a coherent story. When I still smoked and drank, I probably had more rituals around my writing, but now I just need some food in my belly, a tall Arnold Palmer and my nicotine gum nearby and I’m good to go.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The book that may have been the biggest influence on my becoming a writer was Peter Benchley’s Jaws, of all things. Which is funny because I don’t even think it’s that great of a book; one of those cases, like The Godfather, where the movie infinitely improves on the text and elides the more purposeless subplots (not to mention the shark POV). But I read it when I was 8 years old, precisely because I’d seen and become obsessed with the movie. And I immediately started writing my own version in a spiral notebook with a lavender cover. Beyond that, the writers who’ve most influenced me in terms of storytelling, style, and sheer creativity are Hunter S. Thompson, Philip K. Dick, Jim Thompson, James Ellroy, Don Delillo, William Gibson and John Brunner. All great idea men, world builders, character generators, and most of them have terrific senses of humor that leaven the heaviness. Even the most serious story, if it’s 100% humorless, just seems alien to me. Also, shout out to Austin Grossman, author of Soon I Will Be Invincible, who demonstrated that you can write a genuinely great book about superheroes, of all things.

What are you working on now?
In addition to trying to finish Citizen Skin, I’m writing a series of HandCannon origin stories called 12 Angry Steps. It’s kind of about his road to both supervillainy and addiction recovery (something we have in common) told in twelve stories spanning various periods of his life. A sort of Twelve Labors of Hercules for a perennially down-on-his-luck antihero. When I set out to write Villain’s Sidekick, I thought it would be a one off short story, but I’ve become unexpectedly obsessed with this guy and telling his life story. He’s the classic marginalized second or third-tier bad guy, the kind of character Rob Liefeld (ugh) would have created for Image Comics back in the ’90s. My whole inspiration was to take a half-forgettable character like that and get inside his head, find his point of entry as a relatable, empathetic human with hopes and fears and a diabetic cat he has to take care of. Who is that guy when he goes home to his sad apartment at night? And even when I get to write my next epic that doesn’t involve HandCannon, it all takes place in the same universe, which is something I’ve loved to do with all my stories, always, equally inspired by comic book multiverses and Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t know. Villain’s is an Amazon exclusive, so it’s usually about setting up a timed promotion–either free or discounted–and then spending as little money up front on promo sites as I can get away with to see who I can get to bite. I’ve used Awesome Gang several times now, and while I don’t have any system of measurement for how successful it’s been for me, I keep coming back because the name’s so damn memorable and I like you guys.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write! Write every day. Write all the time. Write way more often than I do. Then, when you have something you’re even vaguely satisfied with, share it with a swath of trusted friends and confidants who you know will be brutally honest in the most gentle way. Know that nothing’s as great the first time you write it as it can be once you’ve edited it heavily a time or two. And know that nothing’s as terrible as you think it is at your lowest self-doubting moments. Unless, of course, you’re really just not a writer and you don’t have what it takes to get better and better at this. In which case, don’t waste anyone’s time, least of all yours. There’s a lot better, more productive things to do with your life than sit by yourself alone in a room with just your thoughts for hours at a time, so if you’re going to do it, you better be all in.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I don’t know if it counts as advice, but there’s something we say in recovery that I’ve latched onto as a personal mantra: Give yourself a break. It comes in very handy during those dark moments of the soul when you feel like you deserve a good beating for some mistake or another. Forgive yourself. Don’t ignore your mistakes, but find the value in having made them and move on. I know I’m talking more about life than writing here, but you can probably see how it applies to both (and really, for a writer, what’s the difference?).

What are you reading now?
I’ve been reading Garth Ennis’ Preacher, a comic from the ’90s about a rough-and-tumble man of the cloth from Texas who gets possessed by an embryonic soul that was born of a union between an angel and a demon. He’s got a badass, gun-happy girlfriend and a best bud who’s an Irish vampire, and they’re trying to track down God, who’s taken a leave of absence from Heaven. It’s dark and crass and smart and soulful and poignant and hilarious, often on the same page. It’s being turned into a series for AMC by Seth Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg, of all people, and they may just have the perfect sensibility for it. Definitely worth a look. Also, Matt Fraction’s Sex Criminals, Greg Rucka’s Lazarus, and Kurt Busiek’s Astro City have all been high on my reading list.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Fame, fortune, relapse. No, just taking it day by day, getting through this next one and getting on with the next. Trying to tackle the ideas and stories right in front of me before a new idea comes along and tries to take over. It’s what used to happen to me all the time, when I wasn’t finishing things. I’d start something I thought was going to be great then step away and get mired in life and lose focus, interest and heart. Trying not to let that be part of the pattern anymore. No longer living under the illusion that I have all the time in the world to do the few things I want to get done in this life.

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?
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonatham Lethem. A warm sweet funny thrilling book that turns the hardboiled detective genre on its ear by making its sleuth an OCD and Tourette’s-suffering half a basket case, years before Monk was on the air.

White Noise by Don Delillo. My first exposure to serious literary fiction that still managed to be playful, frequently hilarious, and very science fictional even though it took place in some approximation of “our world.” Also a terrific meditation on fame, infamy, legacy and the neverending inevitability of death.

A Scanner Darkly (or maybe Valis) by Philip K. Dick. Like the flipside of White Noise, a great exposure to science fiction that took place in a reality just a few steps removed from our own, a piece of genre fiction wrestling with questions of identity, addiction, truth vs. reality, and other concepts every bit as heady as any more high-minded literary work.

Planetary by Warren Ellis, because it’s possibly my favorite complete run of a comic book series of all time. Ellis is contending not only with some of those aforementioned big ideas, but with the tropes and ideas and characters of a century’s worth of our most societally ingrained pulp myth and genre fiction. It’s full of big wild ideas, comedy, tragedy, uncertainty, apocalyptic anxiety and a kind of angry optimism, as if hope on its own were something we need to be willing to fight to the death for.

Jaws, because I’ve always thought I should maybe reread it. You know what? Screw that. Will there be a DVD player on this hypothetical island?

Author Websites and Profiles
Stephen Brophy Website
Stephen Brophy Amazon Profile
Stephen Brophy Author Profile on Smashwords

Stephen Brophy’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
At the age of 10, I had to “a-ha” moments. First, I was addicted to the Sweet Valley High series, and my favorite character was the twin who wanted to be a writer. It made me shout “I wanna do that!” Of course, when I started telling people that I wanted to be a writer, the consensus was a pat on the back and the question “How about something a little more practical? After all, you have to eat.” That led to the second, I wanted to be a teacher. I figured that it was a relatively geographically mobile job since I had already been hit by the travel bug and many in my family teach.

Yes, the frustrated writer became a teacher. (I know…it’s cliched.) I taught for more than a decade at every level from elementary to university, but the writer in me didn’t give up that easily. I found a way to combine the two with my first book, SUCCESS SKILLS FOR MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, in the days before the modern self-publishing revolution. Later, my interest in entrepreneurialism led a chapter contribution in CONSCIOUS ENTREPRENEURS.

Flash forward about 3 years, and the advent of online education/teaching along with my passion for motorsports led to an opportunity to work as a motorsports reporter/photographer. I traveled the country for events and even moved to North Carolina.

After returning to Southern California, I gave up writing for a couple of years until another “a-ha’ moment that led to the creation for TRIANGULATING BLISS. While I was drafting it at a frantic pace, my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The drafting of that novel was one of the last experienced we shared. He passed 8 weeks after his diagnosis.

In the months that followed, I worked to get my life in order and part of that was addressing the need to write. I started doing copy writing for major international and internet companies. From there, I began to start ghostwriting non-fiction books for a variety of clients. On a whim, I submitted my first foray into flash fiction to an online magazine. Not only did it get published but also I was asked to become a contributor.

From there, I pitched to a publisher after someone mentioned that they were looking for someone to write a wine book. Given that wine is another passion of mine, I seized the opportunity and was awarded a book contract for WINE FOR BEGINNERS.

While all of that was going on, I compiled a collection of flash fiction stories over the course of 6 months that would become FLASH 40: LIFE’S MOMENTS. My sister passed unexpectedly just months after my dad. Writing remained my focus as a way of dealing with one of the worst years of my life. now, my writing is a way of celebrating the magic of everyday living, even with all of the curve balls.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest release is TRIANGULATING BLISS. I affectionately refer to it as my “Bliss Baby”. After decades of denying the notion of writing fiction, I was leaving a restaurant with a childhood friend one night. We had been talking about how our lives were “off” from what they were meant to be. As I crossed through the doorway, the idea hit: What if you could walk through a random door and suddenly walk into the life you were meant to be living? It was truly a light bulb moment. I told my friend about the idea and said that it would make a great story.

The idea remained with me through the night and teased me for a couple of weeks. Then, I decided it needed to be written. The kicker was a little voice told me that I had 30 days to do it. It seriously made no sense and seemed melodramatic. I guess I like a challenge and set off writing it on October 1, 2013.

The voice made sense 30 days later. I was only about 80% done drafting and had hit a wall with a scene that I was dreading to write. I had stepped away from it for a couple of days, when my dad went to the ER. By the next morning, doctors had found 2 tumors in his brain. Three days later, we found out that he had advanced cancers throughout his body.

Miraculously, dad returned home after brain surgery. While he was at home, I finished the initial draft of Bliss. I’d share with my dad what was on the daily writing agenda and then how it actually played out. (The characters often took the story in unexpected directions.) Unfortunately, my dad never got to read the novel draft.

In the two years that it took to bring Bliss to the world, it continued to develop in unexpected ways. I created the Bliss Challenge in honor of the character of Lois. Her wish to be a fairy godmother of sorts, led me to dedicate 10% of the proceeds from the novel and later 100% of the proceeds from the companion guide, THE BACKDOOR TO BLISS, to help fund wishes for children facing medical challenges.

Originally, the novel was a single piece, but I found myself drawn to the stories of many of the characters in Triangulating Bliss. When beta readers began asking about the same things, I decided that the MYSTIQUE OF LIVING series would further fill out the tales of the “Bliss Triangle”.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know how unusual it is, but my writer’s mind never seems to shutdown. I carry a notebook for random thoughts and inspirations. My house is filled with scraps of paper with all types of notes as well. If there’s a surface that can have a sticky note attached to it, there’s often one there. I have a bad habit of having tons of Word documents and browser tabs open at once, and books tend to pile up as if on their own around me. So, my unusual writing habit actually may be that I have to regularly stop writing and straighten up the aftermath of my obsession.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There have been many through the years. The earliest influence was in my pre-teen years with the SWEET VALLEY HIGH Series which made me realize that I wanted to be a writer.

When I was working on my M.A. in English, I didn’t want to do the more “traditional” literature for my thesis, so I decided to focus on Magical Realism. Little did I know that decision in 2004 would come full circle a decade later. That’s the niche I truly love.

Currently, I am interested in authors that write a mix of supernatural, visionary, romance, and mystery like I do. Most recently, I have been studying (and enjoying) the Color of Heaven Series by Julianne MacLean and the Pelican Pointe series by Vickie McKeehan. I stumbled upon their work a few months ago and found it interesting to see that there is a growing genre of books like TRIANGULATING BLISS that mix elements of the supernatural, paranormal, romance, mystery and contemporary fiction, without all the vampires, werewolves, and such.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I am finalizing the release of TRIANGULATING BLISS and finishing up WING DOG: SOUL PUP which I refer to as a Magical Mutt Memoir about one of the true furry loves of my life. If you like The Art of Racing in the Rain, Marley & Me, or A Dog’s Purpose, it will be a heartwarming read.

Additionally, I am working on TRIANGULATING SELF (MYSTIQUE OF LIVING Series, Book 2) which is Phil’s story to be released in 2016 as well.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best method I have of promoting my books is taking the ‘typical’ social media approach a step further. Most authors believe that a posting about a book will automatically sell it. That’s rarely, if ever, the case. The truth is that the best promotions for my books have come from reaching out to people from social media contact and becoming ‘human’ instead of just an online presence. It doesn’t take much – just a personal touch. When someone knows you as a real person, they become the best promoters around and spread the word for you, often in unexpected and delightful ways.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
From the creative side, I would say that writers and new authors must read, read, read, and read some more. The only way you improve your writing is to constantly be absorbing the written word and analyzing what does and does not work.

On the business side, you have to think of yourself as a business person. The sad truth is that the success of a book is 90% and 10% written product, no matter how well-written the piece is. You need to study the business of publishing and marketing. Things change quickly, and it can be overwhelming. Get a game plan together early on regarding what you want from your writing and publishing and work on it consistently by taking small steps each day. In truth, there’s never a “day off” for an author promoting his or her writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best tidbit that I have ever heard is the quote from Joseph Campbell that ended up in TRIANGULATING BLISS: “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” In other words, always be willing to jump when opportunity presents itself because the worst that can happen is that you get a NO in response. There’s really is no power in the word unless you give it a bigger meaning. No just means that the path you were pursuing wasn’t the way to go, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t, shouldn’t, or won’t be able to do what you hope. It simply means that you need to find a different approach or be open to another opportunity

What are you reading now?
I am reading a variety of things (as usual). For my writing business, I am currently reading CONTAGIOUS: WHY THINGS CATCH ON by Jonah Berger. At the end of a busy day of writing and promoting, I like to curl up with a guilty pleasure in the form of a romance of some sort. I like biographies and autobiographies as well, especially travel-related.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m continuing on with my ghostwriting as well as continuing to grow my fictional library through both the MYSTIQUE OF LIVING Series and other pieces.

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?
Yikes! My bibliophile heart stopped at the thought of just 3 or 4. Let’s see….
1. The first would be some sort of survival guide. I’m good at roughing it but not that good.
2. A Bible: Not because I’m overly religious, but because there are plenty of stories and material to ponder. Plus, there’s some sentimentality to it. I spent the first 9 years of my life in a church school, and it was my dad’s favorite reading (and he was even a bigger bibliophile than I am).
3 and 4: I’d have to feed my “girly” side with one or two HEA type novels that include characters I really like and enjoy. What can I say? I’m a closet sucker for those stories.

Author Websites and Profiles
Janelle Jalbert Website
Janelle Jalbert Amazon Profile

Janelle Jalbert’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve always been a voracious reader. In high school one of my English teachers encouraged us to enter a writing contest. Being an avid writer, I went home and started cranking out as many short stories as possible that met the word count requirement. After college, I collected twelve of these and more recent ones into a collection. My best friend from high school did the same. That was in 2009, and I have not published a traditional book since then. However, I’ve written 10 short stories since then, and I’ve been self-publishing them individually as ebooks. So the answer to that question is literally, “one and a second on the way,” but if you google me you’ll find over twenty individual titles attributed to me, many of them available on the web for free.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent short story is called “The Flying Kite.” Although I have been loose with the facts and changed names and dates to avoid copyright violation, this story was inspired by actual events. Adjacent to where I work is a basement littered floor to ceiling with “antiques” (aka junk). Among the wreckage is a shelf of National Geographic magazines dating back to 1924. They’re fun to peek through. In one 1970s issue, I read the story of a man who set out to walk from the northernmost foothills of the Andes in South America to the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego. His wife joined him on part of the trip, but died in an accident. The interviewer asked if he intended to continue, and he said yes. Internet searches, trips to the library, and perusals of future issues turned up nothing for me in the way of a followup or resolution to this story. Naturally, as a fiction writer, I took it upon myself to invent the rest of his story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so, no. I’m fairly geeky so I use some obscure tools like GitHub, Markdown, and Calibre for my writing, but these digital days, I don’t think that’s all that unusual.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
That’s easy. Atlas Shrugged. Fahrenheit 451, Music of the Spheres, Ender’s Game, Slaughterhouse Five, Lord of the Flies, The Crucible, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, The Jungle, The Miracle Worker, Free Culture. I’m sure there are more but I have not read them yet! I usually like “modern classics,” that is, 19th and 20th century writers like John Steinbeck and Walt Whitman who managed to lodge themselves in history books and win Pulitzers and Nobels. More recently, I’ve discovered Steven Pinker and a slew of short story authors like Nancy Huddleston Packer, Julie Orringer, and Jhumpa Lahiri.

What are you working on now?
I have one short I’m actively working on. “Poinsettias” came as an anecdote about a real person. Two more, “Courthouse Wedding” and “Shelter” are ideas related to my wedding. One is based loosely on my actual wedding, the other inspired by a dream. Those will put me at 13 new short stories. Once I get to 12, I plan on publishing them as a collection, probably in the fall of 2016. I’m also kicking around some ideas about the Civil War, so I’ve started reading up on my history and trying to become a subject matter expert so I can write some historical fiction about that.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
To be honest, I haven’t quite figured that out yet. The internet is changing far faster than it’s possible to learn. The coolest website I’ve gotten on since Amazon and Facebook is definitely Goodreads.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Find a good day job. Harsh advice, but that’s what I’ve got for you. If you aspire to be a writer, you’re probably imagining yourself in a villa in the south of France pounding away at a typewriter, with an agent begging you for a manuscript so you can tour the world giving speeches and book signings. For me, writing is a business, a very low-paying side job. I don’t do it for the fame or the money, but to create a legacy. No one will remember the products of my day job, but that’s where I get the capital to run my side business without a handout from anyone. The products of my side job (my stories) are how I hope to be remembered. Sure, I dream of that villa too, but I’m willing to take the long road to get there, so that hopefully, that will be me at 60. But as a young person, I have to focus a lot of my time on a valuable career, and throwing myself headlong into that writing dream means begging for recognition and waiting for a big break. If you want total creative control, then get your non-writing life in order, use it to fund your writing life, and learn to market and manage yourself as a small business owner.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Make a list of everything you want now, and then spend the next twenty-five years of your life getting it, slowly, piece by piece.” ~ de Niro’s character from “The Score.”

What are you reading now?
That’s a very quickly moving target. Right now it’s Simon Singh’s “Fermat’s Enigma.” Sunday, it was Gerald Brittle’s “The Demonologist.” By the time this interview is posted on line, it will probably Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis.”

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to keep cranking out short stories, probably until the day I die. I have some story ideas relating to the Civil War, about five so far. I’ve been reading many books on the topic lately, trying to become a subject matter expert before tackling those ideas. That might come to fruition as a kind of “special issue” or themed collection, I don’t know. What’s imminent is taking my 10 newest stories, getting to 12, and releasing another collection, probably called something simple like “Gingerbread and Other Stories,” or “The Gingerbread Collection.” Not sure yet. I guess I’d better start thinking of a title!

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?
Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged,” John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden,” Steven Pinker’s “The Better Angels of Our Nature,” and David Deutsch’s “The Fabric of Reality.”

Author Websites and Profiles
Victor Davis Website
Victor Davis Amazon Profile
Victor Davis Author Profile on Smashwords

Victor Davis’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
What to say??? I find it easier to write a 600 or 700 page novel than complete a bio! So, about me. I’m British born, but have lived the expat life for many years, quiet a few of those in the south of Spain, but mostly I have been living in Africa: South Africa, Kenya and Uganda. So the dark continent tends to touch my writing a little.
Currently I have six books published, Traffik: The Stolen Girls (an Amazon UK bestseller) the story of four girls stolen from their homes and trafficked into Spain where they are forced onto the streets. A story of friendships through adversity, degradation and woe, faith and redemption.
Peninah’s Passion, is my first published book, and is an interracial action romance with a spicy twist.
The Fountain of Saba is my third novel, and although an African adventure type novel also explores the history of Ethiopia, the Solomonic line of emperors, myth and legend, a touch of romance, jeopardy and religion. This is the first book in a trilogy.
Tokoloshe, followed shortly, the second part. Set again in Africa (Zimbabwe mostly) it continues the exploration angle from book one but adds a super natural twist as the protagonists are stalked by the Tokoloshe, a mythical being from Zulu superstition (and a creature that many in southern Africa swear exists).
My fifth novel, The Red Trade, returns once more to Africa, but is more a tale based on fact. Again I travel down the path of human trafficking but highlight the growing trade in human organ trafficking, and the despicable trade in albino children for Muti Killings. If you want an insight into the real conditions and practices of rural Africa, then this is a book that will both shock and enlighten.
Gondell’s Quest is my departure from the path that I know best. A fantasy saga, and by far my longest book to date topping more than 200,000 words (well over 800 pages). The story of an unlikely and unwilling hero who is thrown by a long forgotten family heritage into the war to end all wars. Young Gondell is the Keeper, a title that he doesn’t want, but cannot escape. Destiny awaits him.
In the pipeline… so many works in progress, two books of historical fiction, Crusader, the story of the second crusade to the holy land, and Empire, following the rise of the Persian Empire from Cyrus to Xerxes.
Another fantasy offering, Non Plus Ultra.
The Third part of the trilogy to follow The Fountain of Saba and Tokoloshe… Cryptid (half written)
And finally, a book that is due to be published by the end of 2015: Harvester 7, the introduction to a science fiction trilogy.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Gondell’s Quest, and my inspiration I have to admit is The Lord of the Rings. I remember reading somewhere that Tolkien had commented that he felt the urge to write a ‘really long book’, I have also felt that urge.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not that I can think of, except that I usually write through the night rather than during the day.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jeff Long – The Descent. I’ve seen some really dreadful reviews, but I think it is wonderful.
Wilbur Smith. An African writer, and one of my all time favs.
And of course, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

What are you working on now?
Undecided at the moment… I will probably finish Non Plus Ultra next.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Believe in yourself, and never give up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As above, self belief and stubborness.

What are you reading now?
Dune

What’s next for you as a writer?
To finish all of my work in progress books, before I get sidetracked by new ideas.

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?
LOTR, The Descent and the Bible

Author Websites and Profiles
Andy Lang Website
Andy Lang Amazon Profile

Andy Lang’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
For most of my life I was a struggling actor. I am currently working out of my home, on commission, for a newsletter publishing company. I have been married twice. My first, which ended in divorce gave me my beautiful daughter Shannon. I lost my second wife of ten years to cancer in 2012. Now 63, I currently reside in Northern California with my Yorkie-Poo Toby.

this is my only book. It was originally a script that came out of a drama workshop I attended in Hollywood in the late ’70s.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Inside Out- One Actors Nightmarish Journey of Incarceration
As an actor I was part of an experiment where I had an opportunity to teach an acting workshop to the inmates of a Federal prison. My book came out of the thought of what would happen to someone in that same situation that six months later ends up back inside as an inmate. Where he now has both friends and unforgiving enemies.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Anything that I have ever written, including I have always formulated the basic story line in my head, before writing a word. The original script that my book is based on, as well as the book itself, was written in about a month. Once I start, I find that it writes itself.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am a bit old school when it comes to writers.As an actor I have read my share of plays so Shakespeare,Tennessee Williams,and Arthur Miller are my favorites. As for book authors I loved
Philip Roth, Kurt Vonnegut and Stephen King.I loved “Carrie” and was hooked ever since.

What are you working on now?
I am busy marketing inside Out, but have a great idea that I’m still mulling over. It concerns the “Moral Majority” and their connection with the “aids” breakout in the ’80s.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have no idea. This is all new to me. I have learned a lot since my book appeared on Amazon for the first time. I did just start on Twitter however, and already have over 800 followers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Dreamers rarely rule the world but they can change it. At 63 I can only say never give up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Love thy neighbor as thy self

What are you reading now?
Zoo. I got into the TV show and decided to go to the source.

What’s next for you as a writer?
As I stated I am ruminating an idea that concerns the “Moral Majority” and their connection with the “aids” breakout in the ’80s. i never did think it had anything to do with monkeys.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The complete works of Shakespeare.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jack Kearney Amazon Profile
Jack Kearney Author Profile on Smashwords

Jack Kearney’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in northeast Ohio where I write sci-fi, fantasy and suspense novels, and a few short stories. Mostly I write stories I think I’d like to read with characters that are interesting enough that readers want to find out what happens to them. I also spend time teaching and training at the karate dojo my wife and I founded, building a Japanese garden in the back yard, and taking walks in the woods with our dog I have three novels in print, a collection of short stories, and a co-authored children’s book. I continue to work on my next book and seem to always have several stories in various stages of completion.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Foxworth Terminus. I decided to look at what might happen to a secret government attempt to increase someone’s paranormal powers if that experiment was more successful than anyone imagined. This has been a common theme in science fiction. My unique twist was that the experimental subject would become so powerful that he was viewed as a threat by his own government. More important to the main character was what effects his sudden change had on his friends and girlfriend. Not all of it was pleasant.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to have a few too many ideas floating around at once and take notes so the ideas don’t get lost but try very much to stick to a single work until it is done and then set it aside to ferment while I work on another idea. After sometime I dig into that story again and revise and improve it. This goes through numerous revisions until I think I’ve got it ready to see print. Not sure if this is all that unusual but it’s what I do.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Louise Penny when it comes to mysteries.
Robert Heinlein and Gregg Bear for science fiction.
J.R.R. Tolkien for fantasy.

What are you working on now?
I recently began a draft of a sequel to War Party and got that to a point where it needed a rest. Since a number of readers have requested a sequel to Shepherds, that is nearly ready to begin.
In the meantime, while those ideas ferment, I’m doing a revision on my epic fantasy novel.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far I’ve found twitter and FaceBook work pretty well. There are a number of other sites that produce some results but not always at a profit for indie authors.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, write, write.
And then rewrite until you’ve go the best book you can do. Get beta readers and have them nitpick your work until it is free from typos and grammar errors. Then publish.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Heinlein’s 5 rules for being a writer.

What are you reading now?
The Murder Prospect, recommended by a friend.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish the fantasy novel and get going on the sequel to Shepherds.

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 Lord of the Rings
Stranger in a Strange Land
How the Light Gets In

Author Websites and Profiles
J Drew Brumbaugh Website
J Drew Brumbaugh Amazon Profile

J Drew Brumbaugh’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
J. Kent Messum is an author & speaker who always bets on the underdog. He lives in Toronto with his wife, dog, and trio of cats. His first novel Bait (August 2013, Penguin Books) won the 2014 Arthur Ellis Award for ‘Best First Novel.’ His second novel Husk (July 2015, Penguin Books) was recently optioned for an international TV show by Warp Films in the UK.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is called HUSK, a story about the near future where the world’s wealthiest 1% can cheat death by uploading their consciousness on to computer servers and become immortal. This digital ‘afterlife’ leaves a lot to be desired and they yearn to live again naturally. As a result, they hire ‘Husks’, beautiful people they can rent, using their bodies for periods up to three days.

Inspiration for the novel came from ideas surrounding transhumanism and the increasing wealth gap in society.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m a night owl and a binge writer. I don’t adhere to any particular schedule when writing, though I always seem to create fiction after sundown.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a big Cormac McCarthy fan. Other influential authors include Thom Jones, Denis Johnson, Dennis Lehane, Chuck Palahnuik, and Craig Davidson. Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’ was a major influence on me to pursue writing as a career.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on two new novels and a few additional ideas for future novels.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I find word of mouth tends to be the most reliable. People really listen to the recommendations of their friends and trusted peers when it comes to books. I also find Twitter and Facebook quite good for promotion and connecting with your audience.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
When pursuing your goals, there are three things I believe writers need to remember above all else: Patience, perseverance, and maintaining your sense of purpose.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t write linearly. A story is meant to be read from front to back, but not necessarily created that way.

What are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading ‘Griftopia’ by Matt Taibbi. A fantastic and frightening read about the greed and gluttony of America’s financial institutions.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My aim is to keep churning out novels, hopefully at least one every couple of years. I have no shortage of ideas or inspiration for stories at the moment.

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?
For a desert island I’d bring ‘Any Human Heart’ by William Boyd, ‘Blood Meridian’ by Cormac McCarthy, and probably ‘Emergency’ by Neil Strauss

Author Websites and Profiles
J. Kent Messum Website
J. Kent Messum Amazon Profile

J. Kent Messum’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
When I stop to think about this question I believe it is because, like most writers, I am conceited enough to think that my opinions and observations about people and events may be interesting enough to write about in a book. I want it to be interesting enough for others to read and enjoy, or to hate; but interesting enough even for my readers to consider and form their own opinion about something that may not have occurred to them previously. Once I have chosen the main topic and major characters then I think about the beginning and the end of the book. Along the way I will stick in obstacles and situations to provide characters with problems that must be resolved before the final conclusion and, wherever I can, I try to add an “ambush twist” to keep readers guessing or surprised.
When I’m writing a new story I always check over the work of the previous day/week first of all.

To date I have written four books.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
So What Do I Do? is my latest book. It is the third book in my So What! series and is the result of the second book, So What’s Next!, having a character in it called Hereward Grimes. He is a local civil servant who has devious intentions about selling some of the school’s playing field area. The third book is a lot more sinister than the more gentle second book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to write near a window where I can see the sky and a large ash tree, which usually has several birds singing in it. I have a bottle of fresh water available on my desk and classical music playing in the background.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Just a few: George Orwell, Charles Dickens, H G Wells, George Eliot, D H Lawrence, Thomas Hardy, Tolstoy, John Wyndham, Brian Aldiss, Ray Bradbury, Frank Herbert; and more recently Vera Brittain and Margaret Atwood.

Books: 1984, Coming Up For Air, Animal Farm, The Road To Wigan Pier, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, The War of The Worlds, The History of Mr Polly, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Day of The Triffids, Fahrenheit 451 … I’ll stop there!

What are you working on now?
A science fiction book for children aged about 8 to 12.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still looking for a winning method I suppose. My least favourite part of “producing” a book is all the marketing/promotion side of things, gaining reviews, blog tours, author interviews, freebies and so on. What I really want is for my books to do the talking for me and leave it at that. But it’s a real world out there, so… I have had a few free promotions that resulted in hundreds of downloads, which gets an authors name “out there” of course. My books seem to attract a lot more positive reviews than negative ones so I feel I am doing something right. It all takes time I suppose – unless you’re a celebrity from TV, movies, sport etc.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice to aspiring writers? Well I suppose first of all make sure that you read lots of other authors’ books, and not necessarily in the genre in which you write. You can often be inspired by other topics or styles that way but remain aware of not to copying another author’s way of telling a story. It’s important to find your own “voice” for the tale you have to tell. I think it is also important to keep on writing, writing, writing – something every day if possible. Even if it seems like you’ve written rubbish or it feels unsatisfactory because you can always brush it up, edit it later, discard it entirely for something better you’ve thought of; this useful exercise often gets the inspirational juices flowing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As above keep on writing (and reading) trying to find your own style.

What are you reading now?
I recently finished Frederick Forsyth’s “The Odessa File” and have just started reading Ian Rankin’s “Knots and Crosses”. I love their clear, no nonsense style which is so full of hidden meaning.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m doing lots of book reviews through Goodreads and re-writes of “Ants in Space”.

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 two Charles Dickens’ from above plus War and Peace and Proust because I still have not got round to it!

Author Websites and Profiles
G J Griffiths Website
G J Griffiths Amazon Profile

G J Griffiths’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have always been passionate about helping others both personally and professionally. This has translated into assisting others in many ways through my business ventures as well as from charitable work with Rotary International and other organizations over the years.

My current passion involves helping others through martial arts and self-defense training. Not only do people benefit from the obvious physical skills they acquire, but other skills that can help in their daily lives. Skills that are honed and developed include improved concentration and focus, fortitude, confidence, persistence, awareness, and respect – both for themselves and others. Martial arts training can reduce your stress and provide you with a more secure, happier and greater level of personal safety that allows you to enjoy a better quality of life.

Teaching children is of special importance to me, since I firmly believe that kids need to be happy and stress-free, and that comes from their having a greater sense of personal safety that comes directly from their training. The measurable progression inherent in martial arts training is important for everyone, but especially children in terms of building their self-esteem and confidence so that they are unafraid to try new things and tackle projects.

I currently have been studying the martial arts for over 20 years, and in that time have trained hundreds of men, women and children of all ages in self-defense. I teach regular classes in the Korean martial arts of Hapkido and Taekwondo 3 days a week to both children and adults. In addition, I conduct self-defense seminars for small groups, perform consulting and speaking engagements on various topics including school safety bullying. I am currently working on my next book geared towards college student safety.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Self-Defense Survival Guide was influenced by a seminar that I gave to a group of local realtors a couple of years ago. They approached me during Realtor Safety Month and asked me if I would do a self-defense seminar for them. It seems that more realtors have been getting attacked and robbed/raped/killed when showing homes to prospective home buyers that were not near other homes. I created a simple syllabus to teach them the basics of self-defense including the necessary mindset, their body’s natural weapons, target to strike on their attacker as well as discussed the physical situations they could find themselves in. Of course, there were very specific techniques taught as well such as how to escape from grabs and chokes, defend against punches and kicks and other relevant material.

After the seminar I realized that the course that I created was perfect for an introductory course on self-defense, so I decided to use that as a starting point, and proceeded to expand on the information contained within the course to create a book with over 200 detailed color photographs and a companion web site with videos of the techniques in the book being performed. That way, anyone who buys the book also essentially buys me in the form of video training that can be accessed anytime, anywhere there is an Internet connection so that the material can be reviewed as many times as needed to become comfortable with it or whenever you need a “refresher!”

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I usually do my best writing late at night, but as long as it’s quiet and I’ve got a keyboard the words just flow out…must be because my mom was a librarian! I read so much as a child and that got me started on a love of the written word. I probably read 1000 books before I hit high school!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have a few favorite authors including Robert Heinlein, Clive Cussler and Robin Cook. However, any author that makes me stay up late to keep reading is what I like – just keep me turning the pages. My favorites are Science Fiction and Action/Adventure books.

What are you working on now?
My latest book that I am currently in the midst of writing is called “Staying Safe At College And On Campus” and is geared primarily towards college students. With the increasing number of attacks and violence on college campuses across the country, I felt the time was right to write a book geared specifically to the college student and others who find themselves on large campuses.

The book is applicable to anyone that works or spends time on large complexes such as medical campuses, large airports and office campuses, or any other complex spread out over a large area with multiple buildings.

The book touches on a wide variety of topics that are essential to helping you stay safe while on these types of complexes, again – primarily college campuses. Topics include bullying and cyber-bullying, basic self-defense, women’s safety concerns, personal safety, alcohol responsibility, dorm room security, sexual and physical harassment, ATM safety and much more.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Since I’m a fairly new author, I’m still working on figuring out what works the best. I would say that you must rely on some consistent, paid promotion in order to keep your book in the public eye in order to keep the sales coming in. Author Marketing Club is an excellent source of information for authors, as well as AwesomeGang.com!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep writing…you can always go back and edit what you write, but if you never put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, you won’t have anything to work with. It doesn’t matter if you write stuff that you don’t like – edit it until you do, or hire someone else to edit it and make it sound better. Admit you aren’t perfect – and that’s OK! Just keep writing…or typing!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice is that you must never give up when pursuing your dreams. My personal motto is “Persistence is the key” because if you persist in your endeavors, you will eventually achieve them. Learn from your mistakes, adjust and keep moving forward. Eventually you will reach your goal provided you have a clear vision for what your end result looks like. If you don’t, figure it out now before another day goes by so that you know when you achieve it!

What are you reading now?
ebooks – “The Inner Circle”, “Interception”, and “The New Space Race” trilogy by Kevin George – excellent! I’m almost done…

printed book – “Psycho-Cybernetics” by Maxwell Maltz, MD, FICS

printed book – ‘Beach Money” by Jordan Adler

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will continue writing books in my “Survival Guide Series.” I have ideas for several more and will keep churning them out and marketing them in the coming months and years ahead. I may take a stab at fiction and write a science fiction or action-adventure book. I have ready so many that I think I could put out something good…I just need the inspiration/idea 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?
“Opening The Energy Gates Of Your Body” by B.K. Frantzis
“Kuk Sool Won Vol 1” & “Kuk Sool Won Vol 2” by Suh, In Hyuk
“The Dead Sea Scrolls” by Millar Burrows
“Fingerprints of the Gods” by Graham Hancock

Author Websites and Profiles
Pete Canavan Website
Pete Canavan Amazon Profile
Pete Canavan Author Profile on Smashwords

Pete Canavan’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My journey to publication started in the mid-90s. One evening while I was reading, I thought how simple the structure and dialogue was in this particular novel. You can write, you can do this, a voice urged inside my head. Let me tell you, I almost fell off my chair. But the words rang true for me. So, I decided to act on this truth, and took a writing course—Writing your Novel—where I met a great couple of like-minded would-be writer gals. Together we started a writing support group, and I wrote my first novel—a paranormal romance. This manuscript caught the eye of an agent, but I was hardly ready, and I see that now. What I needed to do was to hone my craft and get better and better with the process of writing. And that takes making lots of mistakes at the expense of your ego. In other words: lots of rejection, rejection, rejection! Ouch!

Perseverance paid off in the end because I finally got published in 2012, and since then have had two young adult books published – The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, and Legend of the Timekeepers.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Legend of the Timekeepers is the prequel to my young adult time travel series, The Last Timekeepers. Originally, I had planned to write the prequel as a novella and give it away for free on my website, but I soon realized that my characters had far too much to say! So I decided to take a page out of George Lucas’s book and flesh out enough background information to create a solid foundation for my series.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I used to light a stick of incense before I sat down to write, but somehow got out of doing it. I want to get back into this habit/ritual again. I found that it set the tone for the day and kept me on a schedule, plus it was a way to be grateful for the time I had to write. Gratitude is everything in this business!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Loved Stephen King’s memoir/craft book called ‘On Writing’, as well as ‘The Emotion Thesaurus’ series by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.

What are you working on now?
I’m diligently working on the second book in The Last Timekeepers time travel series tentatively called, The Last Timekeepers and the Dark Secret, and I’m over half-way through the first draft. I’ve planned for a total of ten books, plus the prequel for the whole series. Yeah. I know. Big plans. I’m sweating bullets.
I’m also signed on with literary agency, Walden House (Books & Stuff) to represent another young adult series I’ve created about teens with psychic abilities entitled, Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls. Recently, they have contracted me for an adult novel—a paranormal romance with a Beauty and the Beast undertone to it, so I’m guessing I’ll be one sweaty and busy gal!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The jury is still out on that one! Promotion is one of the hardest things for an author these days, so the best thing ANY author can do is use the know-like-trust principle. People buy from people they know, like, and trust. You have to get out there whether through social media sites, blogging or reviewing other author’s books and engage with people. In the end, it’s all about cultivating human relationships and how you make people feel.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never stop investing in yourself. Invest in the best. That’s in yourself, and in your readers. Your readers deserve the best of what you have to offer them. Surround yourself with the best possible team. Never stop learning. As you grow, so will your readers, so be prepared for this. Oh yeah, and never give up. That’s a given and should be part of any author’s credo.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Buck up, Sharon.” I’m not kidding. This is my kick in the pants when I’ve lost my writing mojo or life gets me down.

What are you reading now?
Disenchanted by Leigh Goff, published through Mirror World Publishing.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Getting back in the writing saddle after a roller coaster of a summer. I’ve had two re-releases of my books since my original publishing company closed up shop last February. Talk about frustrating! I’ve also had a lot of family issues this year, so I’m looking forward to spending some time with my characters. Sigh. I’ve missed them terribly!

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?
Since I’ve read only the first four of the Outlander series written by Diana Gabaldon (they’re so thick!) I’d probably take the next four in the series! The books are so meaty, the plots divine, and the characters are fantastic!

Author Websites and Profiles
Sharon Ledwith Website
Sharon Ledwith Amazon Profile

Sharon Ledwith’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Elizabeth J. M. Walker has always loved books and writing. She Dreamed of Dragons is her first novel. She currently lives in Ontario, Canada with her other half and their two cats.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is She Dreamed of Dragons. It was inspired by TV talent competitions! But the book the also about accepting others’ differences and is set in a fun fantasy world.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Unfortunately no…I wish I had something more interesting to write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was a teen the first YA fantasy I fell in love with was the Song of the Lioness Quartet and The Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce. I think Pierce has influenced a lot of current authors who write about strong female heroines in fantasy settings. Some of my other favourite YA/MG authors that I find inspiring are Kristin Cashore, Maureen Johnson, Sarah J. Maas, Rainbow Rowell, Eoin Colfer, and J. K. Rowling.

What are you working on now?
Many things! I’m working on a teen vampire comedy, a contemporary/dance story, a contemporary teen story about zines and other things, and several more fantasy stories too. I should probably get off the internet and go work on those now…

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I guess I use Facebook the most.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read a lot. Write what you want to write and not what you think you should write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I went to a Tamora Pierce reading and it’s where I got some of the above advice and have always thought it was one of the best writing tips I had heard. I’m paraphrasing because this was over ten years ago now….But she said you should write what you want to write, to write what you love to write – because you’re going to be the first person who reads it and you’re going to be the person who spends the most time with it – so make sure it’s something you actually love and not just something you think you should be writing.

I was definitely struggling with that at the time, so it really stuck with me.

What are you reading now?
I just finished Fangirl by Rainbow Rowel and loved it.

Now I’m reading:
Warhorse by Michael Morpurgo
Songs for the Lost by Alexander Zelenyj

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hopefully more books finding homes.

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 complete collection of Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales. And…I can’t decide what else to bring. There are too many favourites to choose from! Oh no wait, the smarty-pants answer: a book about how to survive on a desert island and another one about boat building with limited supplies. In between my hunting and foraging for edible food and boat building I will take breaks to read fairy tales.

Author Websites and Profiles
Elizabeth J. M. Walker Website

Elizabeth J. M. Walker’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an author, Twitter-er, and Slayer of Vampires (only the ones that sparkle). I’ve written 7 books. My novel ‘Arena Mode’ is Kickstarter’s most-funded science-fiction series of all time, and has received personal endorsements by some of the most influential writers in comic book history. In addition to writing novels, I’m a regular contributor to Comic Book Resources, Verily Magazine and CBS Man Cave. Recently I’ve also become an ambassador at Millarworld, the comic book company responsible for ‘Kick-Ass’, ‘Wanted’, ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’, and other upcoming comic/movie crossovers. My editorials can be seen in the back of new Millarworld titles each month. I live in the Toronto area where I spend most of my free time reading, napping and attempting to stay warm!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent novel FINAL EMPIRE is the conclusion to the Arena Mode Saga. I was inspired to write the ending of the trilogy after receiving so much positive feedback and support from my Kickstarter campaign. The story is filled with action and adventure, and I believe serves a satisfying conclusion to the characters journeys through all 3 novels.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I paste sticky notes on my walls sometimes when I’m mapping out a story arc. Also I stay up WAY too late and have become a night owl, lurking at my computer till the wee hours of the morning. I don’t know why, but I seem to get my best ideas at 2am.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve been influenced by so many types of writing, anything from comics, short stories, novels to movie scripts. This probably accounts for why so many people have told me the action in my novels jumps off the page, like they are watching a movie in their head. That is the biggest compliment. Some authors who really influence my style are Stephen King, Joss Whedon, Neil Gaiman, Michael Crichton and Mark Millar.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a new series, one with a teenage female protagonist. It will be more of a fantasy/adventure story and have some mystical elements. I’m excited for everyone to see what it’s all about! It is a new challenge for me to be moving to another genre, and I’m excited to dive into this new project.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve had a lot of success on Kickstarter as a platform to launch my books. As of now Arena Mode is the #1 most funded science fiction books series in Kickstarter’s history. I am also very active in social media, so I’m interacting daily with people across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and my own website. I also have connected with a lot of new readers on Goodreads and enjoy that website as well!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, write, write. Every single day!! There are so many obstacles in an Author’s path, you must find time to sit down and focus, no matter WHAT. There will always be knocks at the door, dogs barking, phone calls from your Mother……but when it comes to writing your next book there’s no room for excuses – just sit down and write!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Writing is tough, its a job. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it! I try to remember that and keep at it, even on days when I’m not feeling up for it.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading “The Magicians” by Lev Grossman right now. Its very interesting. I’m also reading “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” by Laini Taylor which I’m really enjoying.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m excited to have FINAL EMPIRE launch. Its thrilling to see the conclusion to the Arena Mode trilogy emerge, and find out what the reaction is to end of story for the characters. Up next I will be starting my new series, and will be shifting gears a little bit while moving into another genre, and having a female protagonist.

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?
Hmm…this is a tough question! I would probably bring different genres of books to keep me entertained. Definitely I’d bring “1984” by George Orwell, “Game of Thrones” by George RR Martin, and the graphic novel “Kingdom Come” by Mark Waid. Also “Jurassic Park” by Michael Chrichton and maybe Stephen King’s book “On Writing”.

Author Websites and Profiles
Blake Northcott Website
Blake Northcott Amazon Profile

Blake Northcott’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in 1980 in Durban South Africa, and grew up on the south coast of England. When I was 18, I moved to rural Wales to study Maths at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth before qualifying as a teacher in 2004. Since then, I have been gainfully occupied trying to convince teenagers that maths isn’t evil and failing to back to the real world.
I now live in a cottage by a river and write novels and blog articles, in the spare time I create by not sleeping properly. I have two cats – Ocean and Terminal Curiosity – who like to help. They aren’t very good at it.

I write fantasy and fiction books, and to date I have completed seven novels – five of which are from the Black River Chronicles and available on Kindle.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
‘The Winter That Follows’ was the last book in the Black River Chronicles to be released. It is the story of a group of people who have survived a time known as ‘The Summer of Fire’ and are forced to pick up the pieces of their lives after losing friends, family and in some cases everything else. It bridges the gap between two of the other chronicles Summer of Fire and The Freetown Bridge which are tales of heroic daring and world saving. The Winter That Follows is a chance to follow some of the characters including Iona Pringle, widowed during the war, who discovers she is pregnant even though motherhood had never been part of the plan; a pair of con-artists Tollie & Sylas, who join an army for a quiet life and a band of greenskins who go shopping for a homeland.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to write in my PJs, (I don’t know if this is unusual) and I have specific playlists of music for when I’m writing – they tend to combine fantastical celtic type music such as Heather Dale and Gaelic Storm, with gentle evocative tracks and songs that tell stories. I write on my laptop mostly – and when I can I use a website called writtenkitten.net that tracks your word count and rewards every hundred words with a picture of a kitten.

I have a few of tricks for getting over writer’s block. Eating a whole bag of marshmallows is the first one. House work is another. Taking a shower is often a fool proof method for havinga anew idea but if all else fails, I go for a walk and refuse to let myself come home until I have an idea of what to write next.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
As a child, I was influenced to become a writer by the book Little Women by Louisa May Allcott. As a writer, I have an odd collection of influences. Richmal Compton, the author of the Just William taught me how to create sympathetic characters through voices as well as description. Sir Terry Pratchett and Ben Aaronvitch have both shown me that it is possible to create a fantastical world and then write about it as though it were completely normal. Conversely, reading Stella Rimmington’s novels have taught me that you can just as well fictionalise real-life experience.
On a completely different level, Scepticism Inc by Bo Fowler, Lambs of God by Marele Day & The River Midnight by Lilian Nattel have inspired me to take my stories and run with them wherever they lead.

What are you working on now?
I’m am currently working on a novel called ‘Ratatatat’, part of my Black River Series. It is the story of a con-man who recruits four street kids to help him with what he hopes will be the scheme of a life time. They put together an impressive deception that takes them to the heart of the city’s rich and powerful. They start accruing a fair fortune and it seems that they might just pull it off – then it starts pulling back.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I tweet ALOT and that seems to work. Other than that I tend to go for free social media – Facebook, Tumblr, WordPress for example, but then I’m not a master of promotion and being a cheap stake do it all myself.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t write to be popular, write because you can’t stop yourself. Be original but don’t try too hard to be clever, relax and enjoy yourself. Make your characters real, and in someway sympathetic – even the bad guys. Everybody has good and bad qualities, and unless you’re writing a story for very young children, all your character should have this as well.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Iris Murdoch once said ‘Don’t start writing until you can’t believe your luck’. She’s absolutely right. Your best writing will grab you and shake you and force you to put it down in words, you’ll read it back and think to yourself ‘did I really write that?’

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading ‘Brother Cadfael’s Penance’ which is the last in a series of twenty historical detective novels, set in the twelfth century during the English Civil War. The main character Br. Cadfael is a very unusual Benedictine Monk with a talent for solving mysteries. I love the way that Ellis Peters, the writer, has incorporated the language of the times into her writing without making it incongruous or difficult to read. It makes it really evocative and absorbing.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m currently working to collect enough votes to get Ratatatat published through a company called ‘Something Or Other Publishing’ – which asks authors to gain 1000 votes for their story.

Cheeky promo link: http://soopllc.com/blog/book-ideas/ratatatat-lilian-surgeson/?doing_wp_cron=1438803904.3990669250488281250000

No doubt, once I’ve finished the manuscript for Ratatatat and edited to within an inch of it’s life, I’ll go back to working on ‘The Fireborn Road’ – another Black River tale that is currently half told and waiting for further enthusiasm.

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 Hat Full of Sky – Terry Pratchett
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – JK Rowling
Little Women – Louisa May Allcott
Scepticism Inc – Bo Fowler

Author Websites and Profiles
LG Surgeson Website
LG Surgeson Amazon Profile

LG Surgeson’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 Indonesia in 1980.

I was educated at the local state school until graduation in 1998 and continued to study in Hospitality University. I was then employed by a financial company in Jakarta, where I began to receive many awards related with customer satisfaction. Having been working the same routine for years, I started to write a novel to kill the time. Finally, my first novel “Etzhara” was published by the biggest traditional publisher in Indonesia and made me one of the best young writers under thirty at Khatulistiwa Literary Award in 2009. Feeling confident with the writing skill I have, I published the second novel in the same year by another traditional publisher in Jakarta. I then began to receive many invitations to attend book signings, talk shows, radio interviews, and other literature activities. This second novel made me an overnight success.

Feeling secured in terms of financial and social life, I felt something was missing. The turning over point of his life had occurred when someone handed me a novel by Paulo Coelho “The Alchemist” and a motivational book by Rhonda Byrne “The Secret”. Those books really changed my perspective about life, and that was when I decided to let go of the glamorous life of Jakarta and hit the road. I was 30 at the time. That year, I self-published a collection of poetry in the United Kingdom. This poetry collection was made during the most troublesome moments of my last 10 years of life, when dark clouds enveloped me. Anger, anxiety, emptiness, guilt and lost love coalesced into a single, unbearable emotion.

With all the savings I got from the previous job and book royalties, I traveled to Bali and worked for a timeshare company. Three months was all I needed to understand that it was not what I wanted. I then changed course to a publishing company as an Editor in Chief. As much as I loved dealing with words, my passion to see the world kept haunting me. Finally, I decided to travel to Australia and Thailand for 8 months. It was between 2011 and 2012 when I tried to fit in with a new life; working from farm to farm, hitchhiking from place to place, and volunteering from school to school. I went all around Australia and returned to Bali with tons of stories to tell.

During my journey in Australia, I had written two other novels and got rejected from several publishers in Indonesia because the content was not sellable. Therefore, I translated to English and self-published them with a USA publisher. This huge change made me an international author. However, this achievement did not stop me from pursuing my literature obsessively. I am now working freelance as a ghostwriter, copywriter and scriptwriter.

I am based in no place, as I am still in search for a place called “home”.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Unseen Face. The book was inspired by someone’s testimony who experienced such tragedy.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to write at night because it’s quieter and easier to get inspiration.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Paulo Coelho “The Alchemist” and a motivational book by Rhonda Byrne “The Secret”

What are you working on now?
I just finished reedit my last novel The Unseen Face, and now I’m focusing to find way to take my book into a movie screen.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Social media, do doubt, has a big role in promoting my books. And I think it’s quite an effective way to communicate with the readers worldwide.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just be yourself. Don’t try to be someone you are not. I mean use your own writing style, and don’t be afraid to speak up your mind.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Life is short, so take the most of it!

What are you reading now?
Travel magazines

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to be a well known, international writer. And my ultimate goal as a writer is to see my works play in a movie screen.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would definitely bring my journal to keep track everything. And then, a dictionary of multiple languages, and a bible (not that I am a religious person but there’s quite a lot to read in there).

Author Websites and Profiles
Joannes Rhino Website
Joannes Rhino Amazon Profile
Joannes Rhino Author Profile on Smashwords

Joannes Rhino’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have actually written dozens of novels, but so far I have only published my first one. “Next Stop: Nina” is my debut novel, and I’m really excited by how well it has been received so far. I’m very thankful.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Next Stop: Nina” is the name of my latest novel. It was inspired by the doubts that always swirled in my head about my dad’s suicide. He killed himself on the first day of my fourth grade summer, and I always wondered if there was something I could have done to stop him. That desire to go back in time originally gave me the idea for the book, then I was inspired by many other things along the way for other aspects of the story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am an insomniac, so oftentimes I write in the middle of the night.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Many authors and books have meant a lot to me. With non-fiction, I adore Quinn Cummings. With fiction, I’ve been really influenced by “The Virgin Suicides” by Jeffrey Eugenides, many books by Alice Hoffman, and Michelle Richmond. Stephen King created two of my favorite female fictional characters, Carrie White and Selena St. George.

What are you working on now?
I am finishing up my next novel, and my first children’s book, which is a holiday tale, is scheduled to be published this winter.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am not sure yet. I’m still discovering and learning so much about book promotion. I prefer writing, but I know that promoting one’s books is necessary. So I set aside time each day to try different things to help readers find my books. I have yet to determine the best method.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Commit to writing each day. Even if you only write 500 words, it’s a good idea to not go long without writing. When you need to take a break, that’s fine, but, on an ordinary, weekly basis, commit to writing every day.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Before you speak, think -Is it necessary? Is it true? Is it kind? Will it hurt anyone? Will it improve on the silence?”

What are you reading now?
“Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter” by Randy L. Schmidt and “Small Things” by Joe DeRouen

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am working on a few projects at the moment, and I can’t wait to share them with you!

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?
Good question. That would be “Pet Sounds” by Quinn Cummings, “The Virgin Suicides” by Jeffrey Eugenides, “The Story Sisters” by Alice Hoffman, and “Carrie” by Stephen King.

Author Websites and Profiles
Robin Raven Website
Robin Raven Amazon Profile

Robin Raven’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an author, musician and song writer. I have played in several bands, performing live and recording music. I have a degree in Learning Disability nursing and a post graduate diploma in autism. I live in Dunfermline, Fife, with my wife, teenage daughter, older son and golden retriever.
The Homecoming is my first novel. It has taken many forms, and as my writing improved, over the years I revisited the novel and redrafted it about 5 times until I felt it was ready to be unleashed in the published form.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The homecoming. It was inspired by a love of all things Greek, her islands, people, landscapes, sea, light and ambience, all of which are important themes and symbols in my writing. At its basic level it is a love story, most of us are products of love stories, our parents love story, without which we wouldn’t be here.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like listening to classical music when I write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Most of Anita Shreve’s books, Sabastian Faulks and William Boyd.

What are you working on now?
I am writing my second novel and hoping it won’t take as long as The Homecoming.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have used social media and other author’s advice. This is my first book so I am still learning.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read, Read, Read, and then write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Happiness is not getting what you want but wanting what you have got.

What are you reading now?
Midnight in St Petersburg by Vernora Bennett.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Write my second book.

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?
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks.
Fortunes Rock by Anita Shreve
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Author Websites and Profiles
Dougie McHale Amazon Profile

Dougie McHale’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account