Awesome Author Interviews

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
As my co-author puts it “I am the foremost researcher and historical guru for our trilogy “What She Knew.” “Fateful Night” is book one and was released May of 2013. She and I have finished book two, “Darkest Day,” and are currently working on book three. You can learn more about them at our website www.kandtproductions.com.

I am originally from California (desert region, with mountains), spent nearly 20 years in the panhandle of Texas (again, desert region only without the mountains), moved to Atlanta, GA (trees and flowers everywhere) and have recently moved back to the desert. I miss living in the post card of Atlanta, but I don’t miss the humidity.

I’ve been married for 32 years! Woo Hoo! And, to the same man!! That’s an accomplishment, and not because of our present times. If you knew my hubby, then you’d know why. LOL! No, all joking aside, he’s a great guy and my biggest supporter! He always believes in my writing, even if I doubt at times.

We have two grown sons; both of them are perfect in every way, except for the parts that take after their dad, lol!! One serves our country in the Army, is married to a beautiful woman and has three beautiful children. Our other son is in College. He has one degree in Modern Languages and is pursuing his Engineering degree. Needless to say, we are so very proud of the wonderful young men our sons have turned out to be. We also have one pupple (puppy/people) living at home with us, Digby. Now, he really is perfect in every way!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Darkest Day. It is book two in the What She Knew Trilogy. I was really roped into writing this with my co-author, KR Hughes. I do most of the research and she does most of the writing. We make a great team, I do have to admit that. We came up with the premise for the trilogy over dinner one evening out. Because of an advanced writing class she was taking for published authors, she was given an assignment to write about something that had never been writen about. We naturally went to “what if” questions and I thought of Marilyn Monroe and her supposed suicide. I came up with “What if she had lived, and what she knew saved JFK from assassination?”

She loved the idea and she asked me to help her with the research and plot line. I thought how fun!! After we had written what is now chapter two of book one, she presented it to her instructor. Her words were, and I quote “if you don’t make this into a novel, you are an idiot! It has best seller written all over it.”

Well, needless to say, we didn’t argue with her. We set about writing. Now, with two of the three books published, we couldn’t be happier that we did.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, I don’t think I do. I do prefer doing my research and writing in public places though. It helps to have some background noise and no dogs wanting out or husbands around asking questions.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Agathat Christie is my all time favorite author. I have loved all her books, even those that she penned under another name. I also enjoy Dan Brown and have been likened to him in my writing style.

What are you working on now?
I am working on book three of the What She Knew Trilogy. I am really excited to be working on this book. After writing book one, Fateful Night, book two, Darkest Day, came together much faster and just seemed to flow. Now, working on book three, I have high hopes that it too will come together easily.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have several websites that I love for promoting my work. Awesomegang.com is, of course, one of the top ones. Ereadernewstoday.com is also a great way to get the word out about your books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep writing! It doesn’t matter what you write, just write. You cannot perfect your craft if you don’t practice. Then, have as many beta readers as possible review your work! It will really pay off in the long run.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To be generous and share what I have learned with other authors. Also, to promote others as if their work was my own. You can never be too generous!

What are you reading now?
I’m reading only research material for our third book. Just not enough hours in the day to read for pleasure too.

What’s next for you as a writer?
After we are done with the third book of the trilogy, we plan on writing a series of books that involve our main character from the trilogy. It should be fun!!

What is your favorite book of all time?
From my childhood, it is all of C.L. Lewis books! As an adult, I would have to say any of the Agatha Christie books are great, but my favorite one is “Murder on the Orient Express.”

Author Websites and Profiles
Tamy Burns Website
Tamy Burns Amazon Profile

Tamy Burns’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
After graduating from Loyola University of Chicago, I worked for twenty-seven years in the setting of private dental practice, raising my four children, while secretly harboring a love for writing. I indulged that side with a blog which was actually the seed for my first book, Living The Dream On A Box Wine Budget, collaborating with my very good friend, Petrina Collins. It features mainly a humorous, though occasionally introspective, look at family life. We have since published a second book, NUMB. I live in St. Charles, IL with my husband and anywhere from one to three children, as their single lives dictate. I desperately hope one day to be an Empty Nester…

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Petrina Collins and I worked together on a second book, NUMB, which is a complete departure from Living The Dream. NUMB is a novel that tells a darker story of one woman’s unusual and quite illegal method of coping with stress. NUMB has recently been published on Amazon. The inspiration for NUMB actually came from our shared fascination with murder (which, quite honestly, terrifies both of our husbands). We drew from our combined personal experiences of working in the dental and pharmaceutical fields as well my growing up the daughter of a Chicago Police Sergeant to develop the characters and plot for the story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wish I could say I have unusual writing habits because that would make me sound much more interesting, I think. I know some writers say they get up early and write for a certain number of hours. Others write a certain number of words a day. One writer I’ve met only writes when inebriated. That doesn’t work so well for me, but he’s found tremendous success with that method. I basically just write when I have the time and I write until I run out of plot line or I just can’t think anymore. Then Petrina and I have a meeting to work out the story progression and direction of characters, plot, etc.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The authors I am most inspired by are the ones who decided to start writing later in life. I love their courage in taking the risk and never giving up the dream. I’m inspired by anyone who does that, regardless of the field. It’s so easy to think that it’s too late to start something new, but I say life is too short. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, so why not go for it? If nothing comes of it, at least you gave it a shot.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on a sequel to NUMB, which I hope will be ready for publishing by Spring 2014.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well, I’m still learning, to be honest. There are so many great websites to help new authors and books. I have to honestly say that social media, like Facebook and Twitter, as well as websites specifically aimed at promoting authors and books, such as Pixel of Ink, Kindle Direct Publishing, EReader News Today, and of course, Awesome Gang have been wonderful to work with and really seem to get the word out about new books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Since I still consider myself to a new author, I find I’m always in search of advice! What I have learned, though, is to research the world of writing and publishing. The internet has been a great source of information for me. What surprised me the most was how much I didn’t know – even just terminology. Every time I thought I knew something, I’d come across a term I wasn’t familiar with and find out how much more I needed to learn.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Probably the best advice is to let objective people read your work. That is a hard thing to do because you’re really putting yourself out there and opening yourself up to criticism, which no one likes. But, it is so important to not take critiques personally. They are important. I remember when my son, a filmmaker, was starting grad school and had his first film shown to his class, he said he felt so exposed. I reminded him that it was important to hear constructive criticism, to which he replied, “I know, but it still hurts and I’m fragile. I wish I could just make movies and not have anyone see them.” The truth is, that when you let others see something that is so deeply personal, something that you created, you can’t help but feel like you’re standing naked in front of the world.

What are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith, which it has been revealed, is really J.K Rowling, and I’m enjoying it very much.

What’s next for you as a writer?
What’s next is to buckle down and work on my sequel to NUMB so that it will be ready to publish early 2014.

What is your favorite book of all time?
That’s a tough question because I like so many different books. I love humor, suspense, non-fiction. I’d say the book I most enjoyed reading in recent years was Devil In The White City by Erik Larson.

Author Websites and Profiles
Casey Quinn Website
Casey Quinn Amazon Profile

Casey Quinn’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Alice Reeds and I love reading and writing. It all started back when I was around eight or nine years old, therefore it only took me eleven years to finally write a complete novel (that actually took me around ten months). I self-published my first novel, Into the Unknown, just a few days ago.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The title of my book is “Into the Unknown” and is the first book in a Trilogy that I’m working on. There are a few things that inspired me, actually. It all started during the last week of December 2012. I was walking down the street while listening to a song by David Guetta and suddenly the idea for a book hit me. Throughout the next days I was thinking about that idea, developing it and so it slowly grew and grew.

Another thing that inspired me was the idea of altering human genetics in order to make them stronger or faster. Of course I had no exact idea how that works so I had to do a decent job of researching it, which was harder than it might sound like.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m an owl, meaning that I like to do things at night and be up till late into the night, and therefore I enjoy writing during the night as the silence helps me to concentrate and gives me new ideas, and I know that might sound just a bit crazy.

Also I created myself special playlists containing songs that I thought would match whatever chapter I was working on as it really helped me to really feel whatever my protagonist was going through, which was very helpful for writing it down.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am a big fan of everything that is dystopian, so I guess that Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Awaken by Katie Katvincky definitely gave me the first idea of wanting to write a dystopian book.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m trying to inform the world about my book but soon I’m going to start working on my second book for my trilogy.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think goodreads.com is a very good page to promote books as it’s a page for book lovers and writers.

Another good method is having a blog, one that maybe already existed a while so that people already knew it as it gives you a bigger chance of people seeing your book and getting interested it.

Surely, if you are an author that has an agent and who’s book was published by an actual publisher there are people who will do all this for you, but as self-publisher I think those two are good places to start.

Also I think placing your book on amazon and smashwords is a very good step into the right direction

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The most important thing of all would be to simply keep on writing, even if one day you think your work is bad, just keep on writing as tomorrow your opinion might change or you might get another great idea. Just keep on writing.

After putting your work out there, the best you can do is spread the word. Tell your friends about it, post it on web sites on which you think you could find people who might get interested in it and don’t think your book will immediately be a New York Times bestseller. No matter how good your book might be, it’ll take time till people will know about it so be patient.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice was probably to not expect anything to happen, as in not to think that immediately people will love your book and you will be the next JK Rowling. You have to be patient and work hard. And also to be aware that there will be 3 types of people out there: ones who love your book, ones who absolutely hate it and ones who just don’t care and/or don’t know about it.

What are you reading now?
Right now I am reading “Prodigy” by Marie Lu, the second book in her Legend series. I very much enjoyed the first book so I have high expectations for Prodigy.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Definitely start writing the next book for my trilogy, keep on working and improve my writing, because in this life you’ll get nothing for free.

What is your favorite book of all time?
I would say “Awaken” by Katie Kacvinsky. It was the first dystopian book I’ve ever read and it made me fall in love head over heels with dystopian novels.

Author Websites and Profiles
Alice Reeds Website
Alice Reeds Amazon Profile

Alice Reeds’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Christian and that certainly influences my writing style. I write end-times fiction and as a “watcher at the wall” current news events and their relation to the potential fulfillment of Biblical prophecy will drive the tone and tenor of my writing. I have written and released four fiction books – “Dead-Ringer” being the most recent, with the three books that make up the Wayfarers Trilogy: “Walking Dreams” “Five Feet From the Cabin Door” and “Jacob’s Trouble” hitting the market place in 2010 and 2011. I enjoy using real locations in my writing and will most often base my characters on people that I have known or at least encountered in real life. Regarding characters, Jesse Same of “Dead-Ringer” is the exception to that rule. I’ve never known an Elvis impersonator!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Dead-Ringer” is my most recent release. To be truthful, the inspiration came out of the blue with no prior forethought. Certainly, the events taking place in the world over the last 18 months, the overall zeitgeist and tone of the culture drove the writing. This is a story of a man named Jesse Same who lives in the quaint upstate New York village that was the birthplace of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” author L. Frank Baum. Jesse makes his living as an Elvis Presley impersonator. He’s gifted – or cursed depending on your point of view – with prophetic dreams and experiences as the U.S. and the world crosses the Rubicon. Aside from his faith in Christ and his dreams and visions, Jesse has a strong desire for a particular piece of information that since his early childhood he has been seemingly stonewalled in his attempts to gain. Jesse is one of my most favorite characters yet and I’ve never met anyone like him. Again, the inspiration came out of the blue!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Unless getting up early and drinking lots of coffee would be considered “unusual”, I guess I would say “no.” I’m most creative in the morning and I do like to write with Indie Rock music in my headphones.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m influenced by the Bible, Stephen King, Joel Rosenberg, and the team of Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.

What are you working on now?
I’m at work on a novel called “The Sleepwalkers.” It takes place in the autumn of 2013 and is based on actual news events of this time. This is a very difficult write as the world situation is as fluid and obfuscated as it is crazy. The story will deal greatly with the alternative news media, YouTube, and popular culture.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I like Twitter, Tumbler, and Indie Author News to name my favorites. I think I might also like this new site I discovered called awesomegang.com as well. My website is also helpful in promotion. The thing is, just keep putting it out there. Being an indie author is tough and there are millions of us.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, write, write, and write. Write what you love, because if you fake it – it’ll show. Listen to constructive criticism but do your best to shrug off that which is destructive. Follow your heart, keep your hopes high but expectations low. Hopefully, your results will far exceed your expectations!

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

What are you reading now?
Other than scripture and multitudes of news websites, nothing in the way of books. I’m more focused on output at the moment.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Releasing the a revised and omnibus edition of the Wayfarers Trilogy and finishing The Sleepwalkers. After that, it’s in God’s hands.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Well, it would be “books”. After the Bible, I’d say it’s a tie between the “Left Behind” series and Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” series.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jim Yackel Website
Jim Yackel Amazon Profile

Jim Yackel’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started writing when my daughters were in diapers and my husband (because he loves me and wanted me to stay sane) signed me up for a continuing education course called Writing For Fun and Profit. The instructor loved an article I wrote and suggested I send it to Byline magazine. Two weeks later, I got a check in the mail. I remember looking at my husband and saying “Writing is easy!” The joke was on me. I wrote short stories for years after that and rejoiced when someone offered me free copies when he/she included one of them in an anthology or magazine. It took a long time before I tried to write a novel. I didn’t think I could do it. And I couldn’t on my first or second tries. But eventually, I got there and I wrote quite a few mysteries that “almost” sold. I kept writing cozies when there wasn’t a market for them until I finally got smart and looked at what editors were actually buying. And that’s when I found urban fantasy. I LOVE writing about supernaturals with magic and special powers. I’ve written for a long time now, weaving writing time between kids and the stuff of Life. I now have 5 e-books online and 5 series of novellas (I still love writing short). I also love kids, and I love to cook. My kids have moved out of the house, but I still cook big pots of soups and big skillet meals. I’m learning to freeze more food and scale down portions…but I’m not there yet:)

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is Shadow Demon. I wanted to write a book that involved witches, gargoyles, and werewolves all teaming together to fight one, powerful enemy. And I wanted the warlock they’re facing to be so strong and so cruel that he makes a demon look nice.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I went to a writing conference once to hear Mary Higgins Clark as the featured speaker, and at that time, she said that she stays in her pajamas until noon every day until she gets her page count done, so that she’s not tempted to avoid writing by doing household chores or taking off to meet a friend. I liked that advice. Once I’m dressed, I can think of every little thing that needs done around the house. But in my pj’s, I plop my fanny in my chair and write. Of course, if a friend drops in before noon, she’d better be a true friend. Because I don’t look pretty.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was in middle school, I read every James Fenimore Cooper novel about Natty Bumpoe and the Mohicans. Later, I went through my Agatha Christie phase. She led me to Nancy Pickard and Elizabeth George. I love their use of language. I studied how they put books together and developed characters when I started writing mysteries. And then I found Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, and Faith Hunter and started on the slippery slope of writing urban fantasy.

What are you working on now?
I just finished two novellas to put in my Babet & Prosper Collection II. Out of all the things I write, Babet and Prosper have to be my favorites. There’s something about River City as a setting with magic and voodoo that floods my mind with ideas. Now, I’m in the “start up” phase of plotting the third Enoch and Voronika novel in my Fallen Angels series. I like writing those novels. They’re more serious with more angst than I usually write. Enoch feels that he’s messed up and has to redeem himself and hopefully, someday, save Caleb so that they can go Home together. But the more time he spends on Earth, the more he becomes fond of mortals and good vampires, so he’s torn.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I love to write. I’m not so good at marketing. So I’m just now starting to feel my way with promoting. I’m a slow learner, and it’s finally dawned on me that I can write all kinds of books that I love, but if people don’t find them, what was the point? I want readers to find my work and characters, and–if I’m lucky–love them as much as I do. I’m having some luck at twitter, and I’ve learned a lot from Rachel Thompson and Lindsay Buroker’s blogs. I write a blog myself, but it’s more about sharing writing tips. I belong to a writers’ group that I love, and I’ve learned so much from the feedback we give one another that I wanted to share. I’ve learned a lot from Goodreads, too. The members are such passionate readers that their comments about what they like or don’t like about books fascinates me–and they encourage authors to promote their own works. It’s been a real eye-opener for me.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If they’re like me, they write because they’re addicted to it. First, I’d say Write the best book you can write. But more than anything else, just write. You can study craft books and techniques and study markets, but when it gets down to it, you learn by doing. So just do it. And you’ll get better the longer you work at it. If you can, get some honest feedback. Critiques hurt at first, but you learn from them. You don’t have to agree, but they make you look at your book through someone else’s eyes. Then, I’d say Study the markets and, once your book’s ready, get it out there. And once you do that, understand that no one will find it if you don’t let them know it’s there. So give it a good shot at finding readers. Don’t let it just sit there and disappear.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I went to our local library to hear Kurt Vonnegut speak, and a young guy stood up and said, “I want to be a famous writer. What should I do?” Vonnegut said, “Don’t quit your day job or marry rich.” True words of advice.

What are you reading now?
Prince of Thorns, by Mark Lawrence. It’s dark with a hero who’s more of an anti-hero, at least, so far. Not my usual read, which is why I chose it. I like to go outside my comfort zone once in a while.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve overextended myself. When I first started writing urban fantasy, I just wanted to see what might work. So I wrote Fallen Angels, but realized that it’s not a true urban fantasy because I combine a detective plot with the vampire plot. So I wrote Wolf’s Bane–and thought I was going for a straight urban fantasy style, but readers have commented that it’s not your typical urban fantasy either. So maybe I don’t do typical very well, and that’s my problem. Then I wrote Empty Altars and combined my love of Greek and Norse myths with an urban fantasy feel (I hope). But I wasn’t sure about any of those, so I started playing around with novellas. Now, I need to focus on two or three things and close out the others, or I’ll be spread too thin.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Okay, this sounds lame, but I’d have to say the Harry Potter series. I loved everything about it. And then Pride and Prejudice. How’s that for a combination?

Author Websites and Profiles
Judith Post Website
Judith Post Amazon Profile
Judith Post Author Profile on Smashwords

Judith Post’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m known as “Florida’s History Detective.” That’s because I write historical nonfiction, historical fiction, and biblical mysteries with a Florida setting. Not that all my books are set in Florida, but most have a Florida tie. No matter the genre, I love to find obscure, little known, or hidden snippets of history and bring them to my readers in a compelling manner.

I’ve written eight books. The first five were published by traditional publishers. I started self-publishing in 2012.

I’ve always written (most of my career was spent in marketing), but didn’t pursue writing as a full time career until 2001. That’s when I was hired as a freelance writer for a South Florida magazine. I was later picked up as a special correspondence for the Sun Sentinel, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, newspaper. I wrote for them for four years; it was a wonderful experience and I loved it.

It was an article I wrote for the Sun Sentinel that led me to write my first historic nonfiction book Small Town, Big Secrets. After that, one project led to another. I love to research and am always finding fascinating stories that I file away to work on as a future project. I’m always working on two to three projects at a time.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Three of my books were published within the last year. The Cloak, a biblical mystery and the first in the Shea Baker series, was the first. I was inspired by the story in scripture where a woman touches the hem of Jesus’ cloak and is instantly healed. I wondered how the world would react if The Cloak came back in contemporary society and was made available to heal the world?

Out of Mind, Out of Sight (historic nonfiction) is the second book. This is the history of the Florida State Hospital, Florida’s first mental institution, at Chattahoochee, Florida. After 135 years, and still in existence, this is the first book to be written on the subject. I discovered that it didn’t have a written history by accident, when I was researching an unsolved 1948 double homicide. One of the characters surrounding the murder was sent there in 1932 and remained there for 42 years. Amazing.

The Tree and the Carpenter is the third book. It was a story I had written years ago, but decided to publish as an e-book. I’d always wondered about the man who made the cross on which Jesus was crucified. What was he like? Did he know who Jesus was? Did he know that the cross would be used for his crucifixion? After contemplating these questions, I decided to write a story about this man, Eshram, and how the experience affected his life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Sometimes when I can’t sleep, I write. I’m sure this isn’t unusual to serious authors because many times our creative juices flow then. I also like thinking and creating in the shower. Don’t know why, but sometimes I get my most inspired thoughts there.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love to read and do so every night on my tablet. I don’t have a favorite genre, author, or book. I simply read everything that interests me from autobiographies to murder mysteries, from biographies to romance.

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

The Spear of Destiny is the second in the series of Shea Baker biblical mysteries. Again, I’ve taken scripture and brought it into contemporary society. This book is about the spear that pierced the side of Jesus (it is believed that spear is infused with the power of God) and is now believed to be in South Florida. It’s said to be in the hands of neo Nazis who are waiting for the opportune time to raise the fourth Reich. The chase is on to find the spear.

Who Killed Leno and Louse? is my second project. This book is a novel based upon the true unsolved double homicide in 1948 of Italian sculptor Leno Lazzari and his wife Louise. When I say fact is stranger than fiction, I mean it in this book. I took all the facts from the case and put the reader right into the scene so they could get to know the murder victims, the suspects, and the investigators. This has taken me 10 years to research, and even today I’m finding more info.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Marketing is key to an author making his/her book known, and it isn’t an easy task. Using all the social media available is a huge part, but also booking yourself for speaking engagements is very important. That way readers can see and hear you and are more apt to buy your book because of the personal connection.

Since I write in a broad range of genres, I am booked as a speaker for a variety of topics. In fact, sometimes I make more money from my speaking engagements than I do from selling books. But the books are my entre’ into speaking.

Recently, I sold a large number of books after my Free promotion on KDP Select. I’d heard that others had this success and wanted to try it. But I believe the key to the success there is to make sure you promote your Free days on the free book blogs.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing, keep putting your work and yourself out there. There’s no magic formula to success and it takes a long time for most of us. If you believe you should write and it’s one of those compelling belly ache things, then go for it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Do what you love.

What are you reading now?
I usually read several different kinds of books at a time. Right now I’m reading: Bone Blind (Abigail Padgett), The Sins of the Mother (Danielle Steel), and Nikola Tesla (Sean Patrick).

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will finish up The Spear of Destiny and Who Killed Leno and Louse? Then I will start on the third Shea Baker biblical mystery, The Twelfth Stone. After that, I have some ideas of where I want to go, but leave open other possibilities that might come along.

What is your favorite book of all time?
J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy, The Lord of the Rings.

Author Websites and Profiles
Sally J. Ling Website
Sally J. Ling Amazon Profile
Sally J. Ling Author Profile on Smashwords

Sally J. Ling’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My latest work is Doubt, Book 1 of the Among Us Trilogy which will be released on November 13, 2013. Among Us is a book series about a group of outcasts (online gamers) who band together to investigate who or what is behind the catastrophic events happening around the world. My previous novel, Almost a Turkish Soap Opera, was adapted into a screenplay and later produced into an award winning feature film and web series and was my directorial debut. My other works include: Gathering Dust – a collection of poems, Salha’s Secrets to Middle Eastern Cooking Cookbook published by AR Publishing Inc. and Teach Yourself Great Web Design in a Week, published by Sams.net (a division of Macmillan Publishing).

I have been scribbling poetry, short stories, cartoons ever since I was in Kindergarten. In grade school, I started making my own satirical audio shows, based on my cartoon stories, which focused on a multicultural, multi-generational family’s every day trials and experiences in Canada. The stories were based on my own family life where two different cultural traditions always made for drama at home between my parents, my aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins. I recorded the weekly shows on my ghetto blaster at home, acting out the voices of all the characters. I shared the audio cassettes with friends and family who enjoyed them so much, they encouraged me to make more. This creativity developed into my desire to participate in theatre and drama in highschool and later in community theatre. Along the journey, I had to get a real job to pay the bills so I endeavoured into the land of the Internet when it was still basically text based discussion boards. Excited about the potential opportunities to broadcast independently, I became an early pioneer of web designers where I explored the opportunities to stretch my creative wings on the World Wide Web. It wasn’t long until Sams.net, a division of Macmillan Publishing, approached me to write a book about web design. I took on the offer and in less than 8 months, I was officially published. I remember being so proud to see Teach Yourself Great Web Design, with my name on the cover, sitting on a book shelf at my local Chapters store. Since then, I have published the novel Almost a Turkish Soap Opera which was adapted into an award winning feature film and web series and also my directorial debut.

So now someone asks me how I would label myself? In short, I am a web designer/project manager by day; and a writer, filmmaker, blogger and mother by night. I continue to enjoy learning about other cultures and languages. I entertain myself by watching my favourite Turkish soap operas or TV series online either dubbed in Arabic or subtitled in English.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I wrote the first chapter after I woke up from a dream with a vivid image of the beginning of the end of the world. It was so clear in my mind that it frightened me. The only thing that gave me hope was that in the same dream, there was a group of young people who risked their lives banding together to try and save the world. Perhaps my dream was inspired by what I’ve seen in the news where young people around the world are fighting back against their governments’ oppressive policies. This wave of ‘Truth Seekers’ is evident with the recent “Arab Spring” and other youth led revolutionary protests and peaceful activism against governments who resort to terror and bloodshed to suppress their voices. The book is also a tribute to Aaron Swartz, an internet prodigy who was ‘behind some of the Internet’s defining moments, soaring to heights that many developers only dream of–CNN‘ and an activist. His activism led him into hot water with the FBI when he was arrested and later indicted by a federal grand jury ‘on charges of wire fraud, computer fraud, unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer and recklessly damaging a protected computer’ [wikipedia]. His fight for the truth and justice was ended when he was found dead in his apartment on January 11 2013. His father Robert Swartz said, “[Aaron] was killed by the government, and MIT betrayed all of its basic principles.”

At that time, I was shaping out who would be the hero of my story and I decided that I wanted someone like Aaron, intelligent beyond his years, courageous and a seeker of truth and justice. My book Doubt is a tribute to Aaron’s memory and also an inspiration for all young people to uphold Aaron’s determination that all of us can use our talents to help make the world a better place. I also was inspired by Harry Fear’s fearless coverage of the conflict in the Middle East. Both Aaron and Harry are real truth seekers which were my main inspirations for the main character Harry Doubt.

“[Aaron] used his prodigious skills as a programmer and technologist not to enrich himself but to make the Internet and the world a fairer, better place.” – Remember Aaron Swartz

I have taken this same theme of Truth Seeking and applied it to the fictional story ‘Doubt’.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
A hard part about writing the book was juggling writing, filmmaking, my full time job and motherhood all at the same time. It is always challenging to get the kids in bed by 8 o’clock every night so that I can have some alone time to focus on writing.

In order for me to get my creative juices flowing is to listen to music or watch my favourite TV shows on Netflix. I can’t write in pure silence and I’m not sure why.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favourite authors are Anita Daimant- author of the Red Tent, Khaled Hosseini -author of The Kite Runner, Amy Tan – author of The Joy Luck Club, Cassandra Clare – author of the Mortal Instruments series, Kelley Armstrong – author of Omens, Malka Marom -author of Sulha, George Jonas -author of Vengeance.

Here are more favourite authors:

Cid Andrenelli – The Burqa Master

Owen Choi – Tendrils of Life

LGA McIntyre – Lies of Lesser Gods series

W.B. Miller – Kyrathaba Rising

Khaled Talib – Smokescreen

Kathleen McMahon – Descent

What are you working on now?
I’m working on book 2 of the Among Us Trilogy. My developmental editor Josefina Rosado and I are busy storyboarding the story. But alas, the book launch for book 1 keeps slowing us down.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Promoting my books is usually either from my blog http://www.anne-raevasquez.com or from the official book website http://www.amongus.ca .

I personally don’t like promoting although I know it is an evil necessity. I tweet a lot and have fun twitter conversations. My developmental editor is going to help me reach out to schools and groups to gain their interest. I will also be doing a book launch and virtual book tour.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Believe in yourself and your work first and foremost. If you don’t believe, no one else will either.

Talk about your work even before you start writing. Talking and sharing, building your online presence will help build your audience. There is no point launching your book if no one is following you or interested.

When you are finished your final draft, send it out to professional editors. Find a reputable one who charges a reasonable rate.

Don’t stop writing. When your readers like your work, they will be hungry for more.

Enjoy yourself. Life is too short not to.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“There are rules to the game but I don’t believe that we need to be bound by them. If it feels appropriate to follow the rules, then by all means, follow them. If it feels better to break the rules, be creative and do it.”

This is the advice I give to myself all the time.

What are you reading now?
The Chamber, Twin Worlds trilogy Vol.I by Dominic H. King – When an unstoppable evil force known only as ‘the Reaper’ seeks to break into Kal’s world, his life becomes intrinsically linked to that of Daine, a ruthless female assassin. Boy and girl must face challenges both together and apart if Kal is to save his father who lies in a chamber far away, and Daine is to discover why she has been called away from everything she has ever known.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to eventually make the Among Us Trilogy into a feature film just as I did with my first novel Almost a Turkish Soap Opera.

I also plan to to take a few months off to hibernate and do nothing but bake, cook, eat, sleep and watch my favourite Turkish soap operas and Sci/fi TV series on Netflix.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Vengeance by George Jonas – this book was made into a feature film by Stephen Spielberg. The movie version was called “Munich.” The story is from the point of view of Avner, an ex-mossad agent who revealed the secret assignments he and other agents committed on behalf of their country.

Author Websites and Profiles
Anne-Rae Vasquez Website
Anne-Rae Vasquez Amazon Profile
Anne-Rae Vasquez Author Profile on Smashwords

Anne-Rae Vasquez’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 Dimitrios Spyridon Chytiris. I was born in Corfu island, Greece in 1982, studied in Vella Academy in the city of Ioannina and returned to Corfu after finishing my military service in the Greek army in 2008. I have always loved reading and writing, usually poetry and some short stories. It was only a month ago that I decided to start publishing some of my work and share it with the world. So far three of my books have been published; all three of them being very different from the other and belonging in different genres. “The Songs of the Gods” is a collection of poems I wrote and I really love. The second book “Exodos” is a translation of the Exodic Acolouthy (Funeral Service) from ancient Greek to English, written in the 7th century by Saint John of Damascus. The latest book is called “Amelia’s Adventure” and it’s a children’s book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is “Amelia’s Adventure”. My youngest sister never liked reading books and that for me was very strange since I cannot imagine anyone not liking reading books. All these beautiful stories that one never gets to know and experience and live through the magic of text and paper. I just cannot understand it. So I decided to start writing a short story, something that my sister would surely like, with princesses and knights and magic and dragons, in order to seduce her into reading, bringing her in that marvelous word of books. The short story had a will of its own though and instead of a short story it became a 224 pages book. My sister felt wonderful and loved “Amelia’s Adventure”, so my inspiration was her lack of interest in books and my desire to show her the beauty of reading.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I cannot say I have unusual writing habits but I do want to have my space when writing, being alone in the room is essential and if I am alone in the whole house is even better. I prefer not to write on my desk though, I use a net book or a laptop and either choose to sit on a bed or on the floor.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I think my poetry is greatly influenced by Arthur Rimbaud, I just love all of his work; the pictures he fills his poems with, the language and originality just fascinate me.

What are you working on now?
There are many stories lurking in my head waiting to take form. Currently I am doing some research about a sci fi story that keeps popping in mind, but first I would like to write a prequel to “Amelia’s Adventure” because it seems only natural to me to explain some things that are mentioned in my last book, and writing a prequel will actually make them more solid. And honestly it’s a great story that should be told with more details.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Goodreads is a great website for people who are truly interested in books and reading. People joining Goodreads are not there my chance, they are there because they know what they want, they love books and they want to find more great stories to excite them and travel with them. So there is where I try to promote my work by posting my book links but more importantly by participating in groups and conversations because above all interaction with readers and writers is the most important thing when promoting your work.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I am a young author myself so I am not sure what wisdom I may have on the matter but I do have one thing to say: Do not be discouraged by anyone, try hard and write because you love writing. I do not think there are many writers that can say they wrote a book and became successful and recognized within a day or two. If I am not mistaken Harry Potter was rejected eleven times before it was published. So do what pleases you and be honest to yourself and love what you do and with a bit more effort success will come.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t write to impress people, write for you and people will get impressed by you.

What are you reading now?
I am currently reading “Storm of Swords” by George R.R. Martin.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Well I am very new to publishing so my goals are not so up there right now. I would like for people to get to know my work and build an audience. That requires a lot of time and effort especially for an independent writer. And of course I want keep on writing more books and stories.

What is your favorite book of all time?
My favorite book of all times is “The Lord of the Rings”. I just love Tolkien’s world, I think he set the example for all fantasy writers.

Author Websites and Profiles
Dimitrios Spyridon Chytiris Website
Dimitrios Spyridon Chytiris Amazon Profile

Dimitrios Spyridon Chytiris’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve published two books, and will be publishing a third this fall. My debut novel is The Day After Yesterday (contemporary fiction). Early this year, I published Ashes (suspense), the first in a two-book series that concludes with Reckoning, to be published in November.

When I’m not writing, I enjoy reading, and also watching movies. In fact, I also write movie reviews for the Horrorview.com site, and next year will be publishing a movie review book tentatively titled The Nerd Girl’s Guide to Cinema. My other favorite hobby is cooking, and I particularly enjoy the holiday time, when I make big feasts for my family and friends.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Ashes is the first in a two-book suspense series. In the opening chapter a Los Angeles federal building is bombed, and Jennifer Thomson, a young woman who works as an admin, is the last person to make it out of the building before it collapses. The whole world is watching her last-minute escape, and this makes her into the icon of the event. Jennifer’s life is overturned not just by the trauma of the attack, but by survivor guilt and her unwelcome celebrity, so she moves to a small town in British Columbia to start life over.

One of the people watching her escape from the building is Sean Kincaid, a former covert government operative who’s been in unhappy retirement for the past few years. Jennifer’s plight moves him and, when his request to rejoin his agency is denied, he decides to go rogue and not just find those who perpetrated the bombing, but to bring them to Jennifer so she can mete out justice personally.

The federal building attack had its inspiration in events like Oklahoma City and 9/11. I didn’t want to write about those incidents specifically, but about the effect an event like those (or any catastrophic event, like a natural disaster) could have on a survivor, particularly in this era when the media is so ever-present and intrusive.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Because I’m juggling family life and a day job as well as writing, I find it’s best to adhere to a fairly strict schedule. Between the schedule and a steady diet of coffee, I meet most of my goals! I also limit my distractions, so I’m still only on Season 2 of Breaking Bad.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many! Stephen King, for his world-building and characterization. Larry McMurtry, also for his strength of characterization. Ray Bradbury, for the fine art of not over-explaining to the reader. Margaret Atwood, for her descriptions and imagery. I’m sure there are dozens more I could list.

What are you working on now?
Reckoning, the sequel to Ashes, is in the final stages of preparation for publishing in November. After that I’ll be concentrating on my movie review book, and also helping other independent writers by copyediting and proofreading their work.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Promotions with Ereader News Today and BookBub have done very well in terms of sales. I also reach out to a lot of bloggers to request reviews for my books – while those reviews don’t always translate into immediate sales, they do help generate visibility and good will. I’m always happy when someone shares their opinions on one of my books with their friends and followers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Understand that independent publishing is a long game. It will take a long time to get notices and to make decent sales, but if your book has merit, in the end you will get some success. Maybe not enough to quit the day job, but enough to encourage you. Be patient. Be understanding and respectful of your readers and reviewers. Be professional. Take the high road. And above all, keep writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Always have another set of eyes review your work. Beta readers will help you refine your book and get rid of any elements that don’t work (and strengthen the elements that do work). Editors and proofreaders will fine-tune the book and ensure that you are putting your best, most professional content out there.

What are you reading now?
I just finished yet another re-read of Stephen King’s The Shining. Not sure what’s up next – I need to consult the to-be-read shelves!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m very much looking forward to the publication of Reckoning, the conclusion of my two-book suspense series. It’s quite a ride, and I think those who’ve read Ashes will really enjoy its sequel.

What is your favorite book of all time?
It’s so hard to narrow it down, but one candidate is Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and the White.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kelly Cozy Website
Kelly Cozy Amazon Profile
Kelly Cozy Author Profile on Smashwords

Kelly Cozy’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
We are a mother and son writing team, my son Charles is the creative mind who comes up with all the story ideas and together we flesh it out until we have a great story. So far we have written 2 books in the Kai’s Journey series. Book one is published and the second is set to publish very soon. We have written two short stories. One is titled The Curse of the Red Eyed Witch, by CharlesSiefken and the other is titled Hiding in Plain Sight by Wendy Siefken.

These two shorts were enetered into a contest last year and were published this year. Charlie takes care of the creative side and I take care of the marketing side.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of our latest book is Kai’s Journey, A New Beginning. This is the second book in the series of Kai and Clover series. This all started from a character in a video game my son saw a few years ago. It wasn’t even a main character and it blossomed from there.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Everywhere Charlie and I go, we take a notebook. We write ideas down that strike us for either a current story we are working on or a new story idea. I use it to also come up with marketing ideas as well. We talk to each other about story lines and ideas no matter where we are. That can get you into a bit of trouble when you are talking about how to kill off a character in a restaurant.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
For Charlie it is Christopher Paolini and for me it would have to be Terry Brooks the most.

What are you working on now?
We are working on Book three of Kai’s Journey as well as a couple of new ones we have going. The Chimera Effect and Fallen Angel. Both are futuristic but one takes place on earth while the other takes place in outer space.

The Chimera Effect has to do with what if we created a hybred of species to basically do all the stuff we don’t want to do or that is illegal to do.

The story line Fallen Angel has to do with a ship that has an Artificial Intellegence in it that fails in her mission to protect her crew on a mission so is sentenced to float in space as a derelict. a couple of generations later a pirate ship finds her and the adventure begins.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
That is something that time will tell. So far its been going to sites like facebook and joining groups where we particpate, help promote others and along the way ourselves. We have joined sites like Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, We have a blog that we did interviews of other authors on that was a really good way to get our name out there. Right now we are going to different sites like this and placing ads in them to see if this will help broaden our reach. Since we are YA book authors we can’t go to each and every school out there to tell our story so we have to find other ways.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing, keep learning and what ever you do, never respond to a negative review. Learn from that review and ignore any negativity in it. Most of all, never give up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Dont give up.

What are you reading now?
Charlie is reading Dark Warrior Rising by Ed Greenwood and I am reading Dragonwand by Dan Peyton. Dan’s book is still in the editing phase and I am a beta reader for him. He is a wonderful writer and I really love his stories.

What’s next for you as a writer?
We hope to move up to the next level of being an author and thats to keep publishing books. We hope to continue to learn about this great business of publishing, marketing and promoting.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Charlie’s favorite book of all time is Eragon by Christopher Paolini and mine would have to be Jubal Sackett by Louis Lamoure.

Author Websites and Profiles
Wendy Siefken Website
Wendy Siefken Amazon Profile
Wendy Siefken Author Profile on Smashwords

Wendy Siefken’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
How many books have I written? I’ve started around 12 but only written one. For around ten years I toyed with the idea of writing a novel. During that time I mainly wrote short stories and had a little success with those so one day I decided to take the plunge and complete a novel. I guess I’d always been intimidated by the size, but fate played a hand in the end. I’d gone to Eastercon and from that I got introduced to the editors at Angry Robot. At the time I hadn’t finished the novel but they agreed to look at my early chapters and then later they asked for the whole ms. That spurred me on and although in the end they didn’t take it, it gave me a good understanding of what it takes to write something that big.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My novel’s title is Unbound Brothers. It came from an unusual place. I’d always had (still have) a love of science fiction and wanted to write in that genere. One day my two year old son said, ‘Ethan my brother, me love my brother’, and I suddenly had an image of a much older disabled person saying the same phrase. That gave my my character, the disabled brother’s brother, and also fuelled some emotion content, guilt. I then wrote from the seat of my pants and the connections kind of grew as a I wrote. There’s a neat link between my brothers and the alien’s encountered in the novel and it’s all worked out pretty nicely. People seem to like it and the comments have been good so far.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure I have any unusual writing habits. I set a routine, writing mainly at night after my family has gone to bed. I’ll write a chapter and then do a quick edit. Once the ms is finished, I’ll sent it out to some writing colleagues and a crit group. This normally lets me see the way the novel’s working, where improvements can be made, what doesn’t work etc.

I was going to say that writing without an outline might be considered unusual, but many writers do it that way. For my next I have a rough outline, but I like to see where the imagination and characters take me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I guess it’s an obvious list; Arthur C Clarke, Larry Niven, David Brin, Philip Jose Farmer, but there’s also Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Frederick Forsyth, Wibur Smith… In fact there are too many to mention. I like the fast page turning found in thrillers and try to combine that with the science fiction tropes I like.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a new novel, The Narrows. It’s a huge sprawling mix of SF, fanatsy and steampunk tropes set in an artificial construct. I’m about 20 thousand words in and hopefully it’ll be ready to send to publishers some time next year.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
As I’ve only just self published Unbound Brothers this is kind of new to me. I joined some forums, UK Kindle users forum, Kboards, they had some great help sections and generally good advice. I joined Goodreads, which got me some exposure and I found some sites that did reviews and interviews, Underground Book Reviews, The Indieview, and not forgetting Awesomegang, of course. It’s been a learning curve because traditional publishers help push their products, advertising, promotion etc, where if you do it yourself, it falls on your shoulders. It’s a lot of work but in the end it all helps.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. And then write some more. Once you’ve finished a piece put it away in a drawer and then a month later read it again. Edit it, edit again and then send it out. Don’t be upset with your rejections, it’s part of the job. Take on board critisism. But in the end it’s all a matter of not giving up. If you keep going you’ll get some acceptances and you can build from there.

Another tip is go to the conventions in your chosen genre. meet people, form friendships and don’t be afraid to introduce yourself. You’ll be surprised by how many invitations to submit you’ll get.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t give up. A well known SF author read one of my stories that had been accepted by a small press webzine. He put me politly but firmly in my place indicating that I should have sent the story out to majior magazines. He had some simple advice – keep going, and he was right.

It’s easy to give up. And many good solid writers do give up because it’s hard to get past the guards at the gate. But with each knock back you learn a little, some editors even give you some advice (although not many). Keep going, using the things you learn and you’ll get better.

What are you reading now?
Proxima by Stephen Baxter. It’s a hard nosed planetary romance, which so far has been excellent.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m intending to submit my new novel, The Narrows, to major publishing houses. My ambition is to land that contract.

What is your favorite book of all time?
What sort of a question is this? I can’t possibly give you one book, so here’s a small list; Lucifer’s Hammer, Mote in Gods Eye both by Niven and Pournelle, Ringworld by Larry Niven, The Riverwolrd series by Farmer, Clarke’s Rama books, The Fountains of Paradise, City and The Stars, House of Suns and Century Rain by Reynolds, Hamilton’s Pandora’s Star and Judas Tree.

A book which particularly touched me was Pat Frank’s, Alas Babylon, it just felt so real. Then there’s Lord of the Flies, To Kill a Mocking Bird and it goes on. I doubt many people can name just one book as their favourite.

Author Websites and Profiles
Rob Rowntree Website
Rob Rowntree Amazon Profile

Rob Rowntree’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Michael Makai is the author of “Domination & Submission: The BDSM Relationship Handbook.” He is an unapologetically atypical White Knight Dominant with over thirty-five years of experience in both D/s relationships and the BDSM lifestyle.

He was born in Japan and raised in Hawaii and California, where he worked as a waiter and bartender to pay his own way at the University of California, Riverside. He has lived all over the United States, and spent ten years living in Europe in the Rheinland-Pfalz region of Germany, near the Franco-German border. He currently resides near Wichita Falls, Texas.

Mike spent twenty years on active duty in the United States Army, serving in a wide variety of positions, to include paratrooper, Ranger forward observer, NATO liaison officer, research development test & evaluation NCO, military doctrine instructor, and NCO academy school chief.

In addition to being an author, Mike’s civilian vocations have included bartender, freelance writer, magazine publisher, web site designer, internet service provider, small business consultant, banker, stock market day trader, marketing director, graphics designer, and online retailer.

Mike’s hobbies and preferred pastimes include koi ponds, music, alpine skiing, beaches, martial arts, travel, foreign languages, and Scrabble.

His kinks are eclectic.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Domination & Submission: The BDSM Relationship Handbook”

I wrote it after decades of fielding questions from people outside of the lifestyle, and serving as a mentor and guide to many within the lifestyle. After all, they say “write about what you know.”

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Hmm. I often agonize for hours over a single sentence. Does that count? I also like to inject my quirky sense of humor into my writing… sometimes more successfully than others!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Douglas Adams, Stephen King, Douglas Hoffstadter, Mark Twain

What are you working on now?
Mostly just PR. I also host a weekly Blog Talk Radio show called Domination & Submission Radio. http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj6f2O5YvmctqV5ISsWmnOA

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
A bit too early to tell. The book’s only been out a few days, but Goodreads and You Tube have been kind to me so far.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Just write every day, without fail. Sure, some of it will be crap, but that’s what the delete key is for.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Always listen to experts. They’ll tell you what can’t be done, and why. Then go and do it.”

What are you reading now?
Beta reading a soon-to-be-released novel called “Becoming Stone” by my friend, LB Shaw

What’s next for you as a writer?
Book tour

What is your favorite book of all time?
“Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid” by Douglas Hoffstadter

Author Websites and Profiles
Michael Makai Website
Michael Makai Amazon Profile

Michael Makai’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a woman of a certain age-73-and I’ve written and published about 55 romances, a couple of memoirs and two kid’s books. After many adventures and several divorces I once again live in the small coal mining town where I was born.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest published book is actually a trilogy called RUNNING WILD. The books are romantic comedy, and one (ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT) is about phone sex. I never actually worked that job myself, but I had a dear friend who was ordered on bed rest when she was pregnant, and she did it very successfully.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I go to Focusatwill.com, and have classical music playing really low while I write. It helps.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Nancy Warren, a fellow romance writer, is always an inspiration. We talk almost daily, and thrash out plot problems and bounce ideas off one another. I read voraciously, incessantly, and from nearly every book I learn something.

What are you working on now?
I’m writing the second book in a series based in the Canadian Prairies around 1896. The first, A Lantern In The Window, came out of stories my mother told me.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am sooo bad at promotion. By the time I hear about a hot new method, it’s yesterday’s news. So I write the best books I can and I pray a lot.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read. Read some more. Write. Write some more. The more you do a thing, the better you get at it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write quantity. Let the Universe do quality.

What are you reading now?
Birthdays of a Princess, by Helga Zeiner. Read one of her others, Section 132, and found it gripping, disturbing and honest. Also well written.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More in the Lantern Series. A Christmas story. Getting the last sentence of the last book down before I graduate.

What is your favorite book of all time?
A Course In Miracles.

Author Websites and Profiles
Bobby Hutchinson Website

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
After a long career as a comercial artist and muralist, after raising three children, after a bout with arthritis, I turned to writing. Writing was my second love after painting, until I wrote my first novel in 2008, Secure the Ranch. Once I completed my first book I was hooked. I write murder mysteries one after the other, in first person, G-rated but with plenty of adventure and suspence. My protagonist, Josephine Stuart, drives a red truck similar to mine, lives in Aromas, California and paints murals for a living. Like Jessica Fletcher, wherever her newest mural job is, someone is murdered. Josephine is quick to judge, makes mistakes, but is willing to put herself in harms way in the name of justice. The books feature serious investigations with a light side.

My second book in the Josephine Stuart Mystery Series is “Read My Lipstick.” The third book is “Shaking in Her Flip Flops.”

My fourth book, “Cuckoo Clock Caper” was recently published by Cozy Cat Press.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
As we speak, my fifth book in the Josephine series is about to be published. “Beetles in the Boxcar” will be available sometime in November 2013. Like my other books, it is a murder mystery. This story is my favorite because

four different love-stories evolve and bloom as Josephine searches out Joey Gianelli’s murderer.

I live near Coastal California agriculture (salad bowl of the world) and drive by lines of vacant boxcars everyday. I won’t tell you what goes on with those cars, but my book will tell you.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know how unusual my habits are, they just happened. I attended creative writing classes where the teacher recommended writing an outline before jumping into the writing pit. I tried and tried to do the right thing, write that stupid outline, but like Josephine, I had to do it my way. My method of writing is to sit down at the computer and write a sentence and then expand on that sentence for 60,000 to 100,000 words. It works for me–not to say that it is easy. The fun part is that I don’t know what is going to happen or who dun it until it happens. I think I keep my readers guessing as well.

Typically, I clean, shop and garden my brains out during the day until I am exhausted. Then I sit down at the computer for a couple hours, at least six days a week.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
As a dyslexic hyper-active child I didn’t read much until I was twelve. At that point I discovered Nancy Drew and read every one in the library. I like JA Jance mysteries and many others.

About ten years ago I read Janet Evanovich’s books. What a hoot! I discovered that mysteries could be fun.

Josephine is somewhere between Nancy and Janet.

What are you working on now?
I am ninety three pages into my next Josephine mystery. She is painting a mural at the roller rink when a car crashes through the wall, smashing into the front office plus the man sitting at his desk. Everyone including the police think it was a senior who hit the gas instead of the break. Josephine was the only witness. She knows that it took great skill to hit, run and disapear in the wink of an eye. Not a senior trait.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have a blog where I promote my books, other authors and artists and causes I care about. I use lots of pictures and not too, too many words. I know that people are busy and looking for “short and sweet.” I love posting interviews because people are so interesting. It’s a wonderful way to get to know them better.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you write one page a day–in one year you will have a book. Once I figured that out, I was able to write my first novel. I think persistence is the key to sucsess. It helps to know how to spell–but I’ve done pretty well so far with spell-check. Write about what you know and write often, but only if you enjoy writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you love what you are doing you will never work a day in your life.

What is your favorite book of all time?
I can’t decide between To Kill A Mocking Bird, and The Thorn Birds–in both cases, nothing about actual birds, both wonderful stories.

Author Websites and Profiles
Joyce Oroz Website
Joyce Oroz Amazon Profile

Joyce Oroz’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
After many years writing and editing for various newspapers, I wrote my first novel, Between Lives, as a requirement for a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Pittsburgh. I finished that program in 2007, but it took until September of 2013 to get the book published. I am in my 60s, which shows it is never late to start publishing. In addition to my work in newspapers, I have taught high school, written grant proposals for the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, and written grant proposals and edited books as a freelancer.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The novel is titled Between Lives. It was inspired by my obstacle-fraught search for work after I lost my job at the Akron Beacon Journal in the withering economy brought on by the attacks of September 11, 2001. I learned that all the rules had changed; that older workers were not just undervalued, but not at all valued; and that the world cared not one whit about what I knew or had accomplished. Only a few years before, I had been sought after as a journalist, but, as I reached my 50s, I was abandoned by my industry. Between Lives is a story about that time and the problems than an increasing number of older Americans have encountered, especially since the crash of 2008.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
At the moment, I do most of my writing when I am a substitute teacher. I much prefer interacting with the students, but some teachers prefer that a sub hand out a worksheet and collect it at the end of the period. In some cases, such as when I am called upon to sub for a math, science or French class, that’s really best for the students. I do like to experiment with writing structures, not always with happy results.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
John Steinbeck, Roger Kahn, Ernest Hemingway and Alice Adams have all had some influence on my writing. I think The Grapes of Wrath is the most perfectly construction novel in American literature, and I think Kahn’s The Boys of Summer is the definitive book about transformation from one career to another. Because I worked for so long in newspapers, I think I have adopted a journalistic voice. I think my sentence structure is fairly simplistic, as a result.

What are you working on now?
I always have a few short stories working, but most of my energy right now is devoted to a novel about a man battling depression, alcoholism and the deterioration of his marriage and professional life.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have only recently started to promote my novel, so I’m not certain what works and what does not. But I have promoted my book on Facebook and LinkedIn, but that’s a fairly small audience, limited to people of my acquaintance and in my professional world.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t become discouraged when people you respect don’t like your work. That is more easily said than done. I presented the first 100 pages of this novel to a writing workshop class at Pitt and, while my classmates liked it, my professor had harsh words for it. I was devastated and had to put the work aside for several months before I could go back to it. The whole time I failed to write, however, I thought about what my professor had said and realized he was 100 percent correct, so I went back to it with a vengeance when I was able to.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It came from my sixth-grade English teacher: “Write, write, write; and read, read, read.

What are you reading now?
Two books of nonfiction, one about the Roosevelt clan and another titled Army at Dawn, by Rick Atkinson, about the beginning of U.S. involvement in the European Theater in World War II.

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

What is your favorite book of all time?
Probably The Boys of Summer.

Author Websites and Profiles
Earl McDaniel Amazon Profile

Earl McDaniel’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Books or manuscripts? I finally shelved my first book last year, and wrote my current one, which is coming out November 29th.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My upcoming book is called The Complete Guide to Being Evil, and it was *grimaces* inspired by a dream. It was way more coherent than my dreams usually are, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it after I woke up. So I wrote it down, then realized I had a rough outline for a book, and it all came from there.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I *have* to write my first draft on paper, by hand. The blank screen terrifies me, and eats up my creativity. The notebook is what I started with, it smells good, and I love it. I remember when I first started writing more often than an hour or two in my free time. I was in middle school, and in the classes I didn’t care for, I’d just start writing, and my hand would start going at a furious pace. After a few weeks of it, I got a huge, purple bruise where the pen rested on my middle finger. That place now bears a thick callus that has never waned.

Some authors say they won’t write by hand ever again since typing is so much faster, but I do first drafts much faster by hand, since if I was sitting at a computer I’d be sitting there doing nothing for the greatest portion of the time.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
CS Lewis, first and foremost. Then JRR Tolkien, Harry Potter, Jim Butcher, Terry Pratchett, Brandon Sanderson, and Rachel Aaron. The last two have great information for writers on the internet.

Harry Potter is the series that got me into reading and The Chronicles of Narnia deepened that love. I fell in love with Lewis’s adult books and read them all several times. I’m about due to read LotR for the third time. Dresden Files were the only urban fantasy I read before writing my own (don’t worry, I’ve caught up a bit now). And Terry Pratchett inspired the humor I used (though mine is a more American humor than British).

What are you working on now?
I’ve started outlining two different novels. I’m not certain yet which I’m going to pursue first. There’s another urban fantasy, set in the same world but a different series from The Complete Guide to Being Evil. It’s about a mage employed by the government to hunt down and kill “dangerous” magi. He finds out, though, that they’ve been lying, and they’ve been sending him after every mage they find. Working title: Mage Assassin.

The other one is a heroic fantasy about a girl who sees her parents murdered by dragons in the collateral of a war starting up. She runs and hides in the woods, and when she’s starting to starve, she sees a dragon land to lay its eggs. She tries to break into one, but it won’t break, so she rolls it around with her, waiting to eat the hatchling. But when it hatches, they bond, and she raises it instead. Working title: From Unbreakable Eggs.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The jury’s still out on that one, since I’m awaiting my release date, but so far I’ve found a few people ready to buy my book on Goodreads, just by joining some book clubs that fit my genre.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write a lot. Every day until you finish a book. Edit that first book for a while, learn how to edit. Then shelve it, take a few weeks off writing, and start something better. You can’t implement everything you’ve learned about writing into that first book, and the basic plot and characters are probably flawed in some way you can’t yet see.

It’s okay not to write every day if you need a break for a few weeks. But those breaks should primarily take place between projects, so you don’t have to relearn everything about your book before working on it again. If you’re struggling with something you’re in the middle of, figure out what the problems are, then go take a walk for an hour. A little blood flow does a brain good.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
That’s really hard. I assume you mean writing advice. I guess the one thing that stands out the most for me is Rachel Aaron’s triangle of productivity. Know what time of day you produce the most, where you produce the most, and what you’re going to write before you write it. When those three meet, you’re at your most productive, and can write 2-5X more per day.

If you’re talking about the best life advice, it’s that when a deer crosses your path at night, slow down. There’s probably another deer behind it (they don’t travel alone). That advice has saved me from wrecking into two deer so far.

What are you reading now?
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. It’s awesome.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I believe I spoke about the books I’m working on? On a larger perspective, I have three different series I’d like to work on, as well as a MG trilogy.

What is your favorite book of all time?
The Great Divorce by CS Lewis. The idea is really interesting, and backed with the clarity of writing it’s just phenomenal.

Author Websites and Profiles
Laura Stephenson Website
Laura Stephenson Author Profile on Smashwords

Laura Stephenson’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t creating characters and scenes in my head, even if not on paper. With twenty-one books out on Amazon, Smashwords, etc. some say I’m a prolific writer, but my books are the product of years of work. And I’m a genre hopper. I write in everything from classic fantasy to thrillers, suspense, romance, and even horror. *grins* As V.J. Devereaux, I also write erotic romance.

I’m also admin to a 2500 member writers group that I created so Indie writers wouldn’t make the same mistakes I did.

Happily married, I’m companion to two dogs, four cats and an African clawed frog named Hopper.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My last book was also my first horror novel – Shades. It was inspired by a recurring nightmare of being in a cellar, and by a corporate training session with one of my bosses. That was a different kind of nightmare.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I create soundtracks for each book, and I prefer to write late at night or early in the morning. If I’m in writing mode there’s a sign I put on the door of the house – Warning Novelist at Work – and woe betide the person who knocks.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I started out with Jules Verne, but the authors who most influenced me were J. R. R. Tolkien, Harper Lee and Anne McCaffrey. All of which changed the way we look at the world.

What are you working on now?
I have a WIP that’s part of my historical/paranormal Servant of the Gods series, but it doesn’t have a title yet.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
There are a number of websites – this one, Pixel of Ink, E Reader News Today, and Bookbub. However, the best promotion is to be present on genre sites. Don’t promote, get to know people

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Apply seat to chair and write. Don’t worry about how good or bad it is – fear is the biggest stumbling block for writers. That and trying to write ‘the perfect novel’. After you write the first one, write the next. Get professional cover art and professional editing for book one.

Keep writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
*grins* Stop listening to other people.

What are you reading now?
1491 – it’s about the time before Columbus. Fascinating stuff. Forget everything you learned in high school history class. (I’m researching for another book.)

What’s next for you as a writer?
A prequel to my The Coming Storm series, a sequel to Nike’s Wings and/or Song of the Fairy Queen. A short story for an anthology… And whatever the muse inspires. *laughing*

What is your favorite book of all time?
Pick ONE?! Not happening. There’s too many!

Author Websites and Profiles
Valerie Douglas Website
Valerie Douglas Amazon Profile
Valerie Douglas Author Profile on Smashwords

Valerie Douglas’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My first 23 books were traditionally published through Harlequin and Dell. Even though they were category romance, they pushed the boundaries and dealt with original topics. I wanted to write something totally different, so I switched to mainstream suspense with my Denver After Dark series. It’s edgier and more graphic and much more fun to write. The first book After Midnight won the Best Indie Suspense Novel of 2013 and was named a Readers’ Favorite. The second book Cries in the Night was just released and has received great reviews. These books are all written under my name.

Under the pen name of Bob Kat, my husband and I also write a young adult time travel suspense series called CUL8R (See You Later). The first book OMG (Oh My God) was named Best Indie Young Adult Novel of 2013. The second book BRB (Be Right Back) just won the top prize as a Readers’ Favorite of 2013. The third book BION (Believe It Or Not) was just released. We’re having a great time researching and writing this series and are currently working on RIP about the ghosts in the Stanley Hotel in 1911.

Also under my name is a New Adult series called Scandals: Baby Daddy is about five 20 somethings who find out they have a shared relative who has died and left them a legacy. The question is, do they want to give up the lives they have for this new and shocking family.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Cries in the Night is the 2nd book of the Denver After Dark series that is centered around 3 brothers, one a cop, one a firefighter and one a paramedic. Cries in the Night is about the firefighter who works hard and plays harder. He becomes involved with a Victim’s Advocate who works for the Denver Police Dept. Someone is out to kill her, and his protective instincts kick in. But the secrets from her past could be even more dangerous.

My father was a firefighter, and he loved his job more than anyone else I’ve ever known. I’m impressed by the commitment and fearlessness with which they approach even the worst fires. I was a Victim’s Advocate in Colorado and dealt with all the types of issues my heroine does in the book. It was a subject I’d never seen in a book and felt it not only put her in the center of the action, but also as a target for a psycho.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am not a morning person. I can’t put together a coherent sentence before noon, so I do all my writing at night. My creative juices don’t start flowing until around seven or eight at night. I work until one or two in the morning or until the voices in my head stop. Another odd thing is that I have to have the TV on. There’s something about the noise and the dialogue distract my logical (left) brain so my creative (right) brain can work. I heard Mozart’s wife would read aloud to him while he was creating his music for the same reason. It may not work for everyone, but it works for me (and Mozart!)

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My love of reading started with Marguerite Henry and Walter Farley who wove wonderful stories about horses. I graduated to Phyllis Whitney and Mary Stewart who created classic books. During my years as a romance writer, I admired Janet Dailey and Sandra Canfield for their compelling characters. Currently, I love the edgier suspense novels by Karen Robards and Linda Castillo, and of course Sandra Brown. The uniqueness of all of these authors have combined to create my own eclectic style. I believe the most important part of any book or film is the characters. If you don’t care about them, nothing else matters.

What are you working on now?
I really excited about our New Adult series Scandals. The first book Baby Daddy will be released in November, 2013. The story centers around five 20 somethings who have grown up in different states and under different circumstances discover they have a shared relative who death may change their lives forever. But first they must solve what they believe is his murder. Each of the five adults will have their own book, but the first one, Baby Daddy is about Killeen whose athletic scholarship is threatened when she finds out she’s pregnant. Her ex-boyfriend had jetted off to Europe and she’s got less than three weeks to find a new place to live and a job. When she is presented with four new brothers and sisters, they must all learn to deal with each other and their unconventional connection. They each view this change in their lives through different filters and the path to acceptance isn’t always the clear one.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Promoting an e-book is so much more work than having your publisher do it for you. You are suddenly a new item on a shelf that already has millions of items, and the trick is how to jump out and be noticed. Social media is important, as well as being active on readers’ and writers’ boards and blogs. I’ve entered several contests (all of which my books have either won or placed in the finals) and I’m lucky to have already gathered some loyal readers from my traditionally published books. There doesn’t seem to be an easy answer as to why some books break out from the pack and do huge sales, while other, equally good or better ones remain unheralded.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing and be patient. Writing is hard work. One of my favorite sayings is, “A goal is a dream with a deadline”. Always have a dream, but make sure you have a goal.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be open to criticism. If one of your beta readers tells you they have a problem with something in your book, then consider changing it. Remember, you won’t be there to explain troublesome passages to every reader who buys your book. Don’t throw the reader out of the story on unnecessary or awkward details.

What are you reading now?
I just finished the new Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich books and I’m currently reading a new writer’s book as a beta reader. After that it’s an Amanda Hocking book that I’ve had on my Kindle for a few months. I’m looking forward to Linda Castillo’s new book that will be out soon.

What’s next for you as a writer?
RIP (Rest in Peace) is our next project, and we’re having fun researching the Stanley Hotel and its ghosts in 1911. It’s a beautiful hotel that I’ve visited several times. I was lucky enough to go on a ghost hunt with the real Ghosthunters Jason and Grant several years ago where we explored the underground tunnels in total darkness. If that doesn’t make your skin prickle, nothing will.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Wow, I’ve read so many books that I couldn’t name just one. I remember reading Larry McMurtry’s Moving On many years ago. It is the only book that when I got to the last page, I went back to the beginning and read it all the way through again. I love the Twilight series and anything by Amanda Hocking because those two authors are so great at characterization. And of course, there’s Gone With the Wind that is an amazing book.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kathy Clark Website
Kathy Clark Amazon Profile

Kathy Clark’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was one of the few people born in the capital of the United States – yep right in DC itself. Maybe that’s why I think everything from zoos to museums should be free!

Now I live in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia surrounded by clear lakes, hills (we call them mountains) and forests.

My husband Parker and I OD’d on the Mother Earth News. That explains the chickens on the front porch, the canning supplies strewn around my kitchen and the vegetables piled in bushel baskets on the back porch. It has nothing to do with my allergy to housekeeping. When inspiration hits you have to ignore the dust and go write!

I’m working on my third book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
All the books are titled In His Footsteps which is also my website – http://inhisfootsteps.com – with a different focus for each book. The first is In His Footsteps: How I Gave My ToDo List To God and Got More Done, More Sleep and Less Stress. It’s for women like me who have more to do than day to do it in.

The one I think of as second is on marriage – God as marriage counselor. It’s still in process, just like our marriage. My editor and I are letting it rest – another word for ignoring it in hopes it will write itself.

The one that just came out is In His Footstep: The Mission Years – How We Sold All We Had And Followed As God Created Miracles and New Hearts. It’s about senior missionary service. You know those wonderful people who go around helping and inspiring and serving in their retirement years? So do we, and we weren’t them. Fortunately, God took over and we were stunned as we watched one miracle after another take place in spite of ourselves. He is amazing!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
um no. Unless you count getting up at 4:30 AM and writing until 6:30, then going back to bed for a short nap until the alarm goes off at 7:15 an unusual habit.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Judy Blume with Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird and Orson Scott Card’s Speaker For The Dead. They all write compelling stories infused with compassion. That’s what I aim for. I have a note on my file of edits that says, “Write it with Love.”

What are you working on now?
I’m back at work on the second book of what I thought of as a series of three – although they can be read out of order.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still figuring that out. I speak to groups – church and service groups – and that sells books. And I’ve done two Kindle promotions that catapulted me to best seller status in a couple of categories. But then it dropped off after a couple of months. I don’t know how people find the time to both write new books and promote their finished books but I’m trying to figure it out.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Join a critique group. If one or two people suggest an improvement, take it or leave it. If three people do, you better listen. A good critique group will pull your best writing out of you and make your book a joy – after all the pain of rewriting, of course.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Not to decide is to decide. When I’m putting off making a decision I remind myself that something is going to happen if I do nothing and so by not deciding I’ve basically decided to let that happen. Usually that gets me going.

What are you reading now?
Three books. I just finished a light Christian romance for my relaxing time. For business I’m reading Perry Marshall’s 80/20

What’s next for you as a writer?
It’s either finish that second book or end up with a very clean house – which is what I do to avoid tackling that editing process. I’m hoping for (no wait, DECIDING on) option 1.

What is your favorite book of all time?
The Bible. I started reading it in second grade especially when I was upset or sad. It always made me feel better. Still does.

Author Websites and Profiles
Margaret Agard Website
Margaret Agard Amazon Profile

Margaret Agard’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I spent twenty years in the USAF, mostly because I lost track of time. I then worked for various agencies around the Washington DC area until I came to my senses and retired- well, quasi retired- and moved out to the Shenandoah Valley. It’s nice out here. No traffic.

I’ve written lots of books, most of them worthless, and if there is a God in Heaven they will remain out of the sight of men until the Seals of Judgment are broken and evil can be unleashed. Two of them are not worthless; at least, they’re readable, which, actually, is a conclusion better left to readers. One of those is published; the other is in search of a publisher.

I have two story collections of various things that have been published over various years at various EZines. I put the collections together to ensure the stories didn’t get lost in the ether.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book is “Partholon,” which is an adaptation of an Irish legend about the first men and how they died of plague. It came out of those weird anthrax letters which showed up a few weeks after the 9/11 attacks. The letters bothered me; they seemed so random and small, especially in light of what had just happened, and I couldn’t help thinking they were some kind of a set up. The story grew from there.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, I don’t gargle Jim Beam while standing on my head, if that’s what you mean. I’m a straight-out writer: I see the entire story, beginning to end, and I sit down and write until it’s done. Then I write it about fifteen more times until it’s readable.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ray Bradbury, hands down the most influential. I have stolen his style, constructing the same type of meandering sentences that cram so much between the first letter and the ending period. I’m also a big fan of Michaela Roessner’s “Vanishing Point. “She didn’t explain anything that was going on in the crazy world she constructed, just wrote it as it stood and banked on the reader to follow the logic. I love that. She really respects her readers.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on the sequel to “Partholon,” tentatively called “Tu ath,” continuing the Irish legend theme. It’s set five years after the events of “Partholon” and, hoo boy, is it crazy. It’s actually done. I’m just cleaning it up and hope to have it to my editor, Jayne Southern (affectionately known as the Dragon Lady), within the next few months. The less opportunity I give Jayne to yell at me, the better I sleep at night.

I’m also working on two sequels to two other unpublished series, which remain unpublished because I want to ensure I have the sequels ready to go before initiating; a memoir about the German family I never knew I had (I was adopted by an American family when I was 18 months old), until three years ago when they contacted me out of the blue; and a YA novel about a mythical southern creature called the Cryman. And I’m working on the garden and laying in a supply of wood for the winter.

Busy busy busy.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Beats me. I am a very lazy promoter. I just am. The problem is my attitude: I don’t write to get published; I write because I can’t not. That means I’m spending the majority of my time hunched over the keyboard, either giggling or cringing depending on what shows up, and pretty much consider a well-crafted sentence the be-all and end-all of writing.

I know, I know, that’s a real 20th century attitude but I can’t help it, I’m a 20th Century kind of guy. 19th Century, more accurately.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Finish it. Just. Finish. It.

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

What are you reading now?
Edward Rutherfurd’s “The Forest.” I love grand sweeping stories that encompass thousands of years and characters and pages. So, yes, I’m a big Neal Stephenson, Alastair Reynolds, and George R. R. Martin fan, too.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish the sequels. Just. Finish. Them. Then publish the series, either through Rebel E Publishers or on my own.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Don’t laugh, but it’s “The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come,” by John Fox, A truly dreadful title, I concede, but it’s the saddest, most heartrending tale I ever read about loss and how events out of your control shape your life. I read it when I was 12 and was just struck through. I still have a copy of it and try to read it on my birthday.

Author Websites and Profiles
D. Krauss Website
D. Krauss Amazon Profile
D. Krauss Author Profile on Smashwords

D. Krauss’s Social Media Links
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