Awesome Author Interviews

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a home-based Freelance Writer/Author (and single mom) residing in sunny Tucson, AZ. I’ve written and self-published one non-fiction book “When Love Is a Lie” and am currently in the process of publishing the companion book to that book, “The Narcissist Recovery Workbook”.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My self-published non-fiction book entitled “When Love Is a Lie – Narcissists, Psychopaths, & Our Codependency to the Relationship Agenda” is based on the story (told in bits and pieces) of my 13-year relationship with a narcissist boyfriend. The book explains and demystifies the narcissistic personality disorder and also provides the thought-process I finally used to let go and mentally break free from the pain and the nonsense.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
The only thing that I find unusual about my writing habit is my inability (or unwillingness) to ever take a break! I will literally sit and write for 12-hour stretches without even looking at the clock. However, when I find myself struggling with a word or revamping the same paragraph over and over and over, it’s then that I realize it’s time to get up and out.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Although I do most of my reading online, I love to browse around used bookstores for anything metaphysical that discusses Universal Law, law of attraction, etc. Eckhart Tolle (“The Power of Now” and “A New Earth”) is truly an amazing author in that area as are Melanie Beattie (“Co-Dependent No More”) and Marianne Williamson (“A Course in Miracles”). I also recently finished a great book about the spiritual power of the written word called “The Right to Write” by Julia Cameron and it immediately motivated me to add 100 additional pages to my already-published Kindle.

What are you working on now?
I am simultaneously finishing up the workbook companion to “When Love Is a Lie”, writing – with my son – a non-fiction memoir about my son’s struggle with mental illness (almost done), and slowly plugging away at my first fiction novel about the end times.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I believe that creating an optimized website around the topic of the book (at least for non-fiction) is the best way to market a self-published piece. The site should contain current articles or blog posts, interesting images, a bio, pictures of the book, social media connections, and links to Amazon and other places where your book is for sale. I love keyword research, website statistics, and that helps me figure out exactly what people type into Google search to find things. Then, I base everything I write relative to promotion on all that information. It works every time.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write every single day and write about what you know.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write every single day and write about what you know.

What are you reading now?
“Manifesting Change” by Mike Dooley

What’s next for you as a writer?
To finish writing and publish all of these books that I’ve started.

What is your favorite book of all time?
To name just one would be impossible because if I love a book, I’ll love it forever and there have been hundreds. I guess I could say that whatever book I am reading and enjoying at the moment is usually my favorite.

Author Websites and Profiles
Zari Ballard Website
Zari Ballard Amazon Profile
Zari Ballard Author Profile on Smashwords

Zari Ballard’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a laid back kind of guy, pretty easy going. I love traveling and seeing new places, and hate spending my entire days in front of the TV. i have been writing all my life, though I’m sure a lot of writers say that. I’m a humanist, agnostic and politically independent. Which is typical of me because I always try to see the issue from both sides of the fence and find common ground somewhere in the middle. I also am a huge fan of Ghostbusters and Star Trek.

I have written 6, including two novellas. I have self published two of the six, though I’m making plans for a third sometime in the future. It takes me close to a year to get the books in proper shape, usually other people have to read it at least three times. Me probably double that amount.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, “Say It Ain’t So”, is inspired by a Weezer song by the same name. It’s actually in the story, at a pivotal moment. That, and I thought it made a wonderful title and fit the story very well. Once I began editing it for publication I kept looking up copyright laws, I was so worried about that because while writing it I had no intention at all of sending it out into the public, I just wrote it as the story demanded it. Turns out, I could mention the song and band name but that was it, and since the title is pretty generic I was okay with using it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have no set writing schedule, which honestly bugs me something fierce. I get mad at myself! Pretty silly, I’m sure, but i have a huge issue with self discipline. I wish i had a set writing time every day, but for some reason I am just a mess in such matters, so I sit down to write whenever I can.

I also tend to listen to a lot of music while writing, and usually it’s stuff that fits the tone and feel of what I’m writing, just like a film soundtrack (actually, I kinda make my own fake soundtracks to the books, geekiest thing I probably do).

I also write with a typewriter connected to a computer via a USB port, which is probably weird to some people I’m sure. The typewriter allows me to work slower, so I’m doing more thinking and being careful with my words-among a lot of other valid reasons.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Many. I actually have a stack of them sitting on my writing desk. The first novel I ever read was The Gunslinger, by Stephen King. I was huge on King back in the day, then it was Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger. That novel blew my mind at the time, I was a junior in High School and Holden’s story really showed me that a novel could speak to a person without having to be in a universe where dragons or zombies exist, it could be something far more relatable. I think ever since I read that in some way i’ve been trying to follow the same path.

I was also greatly influenced by hunter S Thompson and Jack Kerouac. i pair the two of them because they’ve influenced me in similar ways. They’re both literary rebels, extreme and loud and alive and I was enraptured in their tales. I wanted to venture the world beside them, and I think in many ways their high powered writing made its way into my work.

There are so many I think I’d be here all day….but really I try to draw influence from everything I can get my hands on. Even the worst novel in the world can teach you something.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on short stories, with the hope of sending a few out to some publications. I also have a handful of early stuff i’ve posted online that I want to drastically revise so that they’re not so embarrassing (and maybe post a few more new things).

Next year I’ll be editing my third novel, and hopefully still working on the short stories. The idea is that having something published will be a feather in my hat, because i want to go the hard, long way. I don’t want to stay in self publishing, as great as the indie author community is, i want to make my way to the bigger pond.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
From the experience i’ve had, it’s Goodreads. I have a lot of other indie authors who read and review my book and i do the same for them, and once the reviews started coming in, people started to take notice. I would just go to all the groups I participate in, and just start posting all over the place. There are many people who are far more stern than me, they shove their books down people’s throats. Some of them get more readers, but I think a majority of people are pushed away. DON’T BE LIKE THAT.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you really, really want it, then be prepared to work yourself to the bone. You have to draw blood. No matter which choice you make, indie or major publishing, it is a battlefield not for the timid or scared. But if you love doing it and want it out there in people’s hands badly enough, all of the hard work will be worth it.

In other words, fight hard and never quit. Never, EVER quit.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Even if its crap, get it on the page”.
I wrote that in bold permanent marker on a three by five card and posted it on my wall, I love it so much. Just get it down, and don’t worry about how it is until later.

What are you reading now?
A collection of 50 short stories from the late 1800s to the 1950s, and….Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace, which is killing me at the moment. It’s a work of genius but….maybe too much genius for my taste.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Walking further down the road i’ve been on the past four years. I’m studying english in school, writing and reading in my spare time, trying to learn all I can about the craft. Itching towards more and more exposure, and hopefully, someday, major publication.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Just ONE? That’s impossible, just thinking about it my brain melts. I’ll try and write a small list of them, how about that?

The Catcher In The Rye – JD Salinger

The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald (easily everyone’s favorite)

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – Hunter S. Thompson

On The Road – Jack Kerouac

A Farewell To Arms – Ernest Hemingway

Dubliners – James Joyce

One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest – Ken Kesey

The Dead Zone – Stephen King

Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut

Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
Ok so that’s more than a few, I couldn’t stop myself.

Author Websites and Profiles
J.C. Henderson Website
J.C. Henderson Amazon Profile

J.C. Henderson’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Controversial novelist Nicholas Black is the author of several fiction and non-fiction works.

As a security consultant in Mexico, Central America, Spain, France, and Northern Africa, he also served in the coveted French Foreign Legion while he was on the run from the Federal Government for refusing to cooperate with a murder investigation.

At one time, Mr. Black was alleged by the US Federal Government to be an “arms trafficker,” as well as a member of a group of men who, “…carried out contract killings.” There are many far-fetched and fancy rumors surrounding Mr. Black’s past.

He now trains and fights in Mixed-Martial Arts. As an expert in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, and other combative tactics, he trains both professional fighters, security teams, and law enforcement in the art of armed and unarmed combat/unconventional warfare.

Whenever he isn’t throwing punches, he’s probably working on his next novel.

Find him on Facebook: Nicholas Black

email him directly: nicholasblack60@gmail.com

Other books by Nicholas Black:

Nicholas Black’s How-to Series:

How to Write a Fiction Novel in 30 Days or Less!

How to Publish a Best Seller on Amazon.com!

How to Fix Your Credit in 45 Days or Less! (with Nigel Peterson)

Fiction:

Purg I: Fallen Angel

Purg II: The Fourth Angel

Purg III: Burning Heaven

Purg IV: Falling Shadows

See Jack Die

See Jack Hunt

How My Gay Uncle F’ed Up Christmas: The Legend of Sodomy Cat

The Messenger: The Story of a Contract Killer

Three Wise Men

Burning Heaven (Part III in the Purg Series)

Chasing Darkness (with Jill Falter)

Chasing Daylight (with Jill Falter)

Non-Fiction:

The Last American Mercenary

Walking Ghost: Welcome to Terrorist University

Soul’s Harbor: True Adventures of Medic-13

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My Latest book is “How My Gay Uncle F’ed Up Christmas” and it was inspired by my friend Heath, who told us the most incredibly fantastic story about his family, and that inspired the book!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write at odd hours, no real pattern. I only write when I feel like getting a chapter knocked out. And then it’s fun, and doesn’t feel like work.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Dean Koontz, Harlan Coban, Stephen King, of course:)

What are you working on now?
We are working on the Pilot for “See Jack Die” and for “Chasing Darkness,” by Jill Falter. Our next project is the Pilot for the TV series of “How My Gay Uncle F’ed Up Christmas.”

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still looking for that one. Free promotion sites are nice, but they don’t move the needle for books sales, for the most part. It’s just about exposure.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read “How to Write a Novel in 30 Days or Less” it will save your life!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t play leap-frog with a unicorn.

What are you reading now?
Texts mostly, and some rude emails from my ex-girlfriend.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Converting the “See Jack Die” series to Television.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Fight Club!

Author Websites and Profiles
Nicholas Black Website
Nicholas Black Amazon Profile

Nicholas Black’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was an English major at Yale during the Crazy Seventies. After graduating, I had to get a job, so I thought that it would be a practical thing to do to get a PhD in Economics. Actually, I was planning to revolutionize Economics by making it more realistic psychologically. I was about twenty years too early for that. Today it’s a popular research area. Still, I do think of Economics as the “dominant mythology of our age.” The Epilogue of Freedom’s Sunset gives some hints of where I think the mythology has been most damaging.

I’ve adapted two Shakespeare plays in two bookscurrently on Amazon, My Night with the President, and the screenplay, Dean. The first is based on The Taming of the Shrew and the second on Hamlet. It was really fun digging down into Shakespeare’s construction of those plays. I could almost hear the actors’ voices.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My readers tell me that Freedom’s Sunset, my latest book, captures the yearning for freedom of young people everywhere. The first draft was written in a few weeks in June 1990 after Gorbachev’s historic visit to Minnesota, which I witnessed. It was an incredible time–the people of Minnesota cheered for Gorbachev’s dream of freedom and democracy for the Soviet Union. When I revised the manuscript in 2013 I was able to add an epilogue that brings the historical narrative to its chilling conclusion.

People the world around yearn for freedom. It is within their reach if they will only reach for it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Writing itself is a pretty unusual habit.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I wrote my senior thesis at Yale on Thomas Pynchon, who had just published Gravity’s Rainbow. I got a reviewer’s copy from the publisher. I was an “intensive English major” so I had very high literary standards at that time. Even though Gravity’s Rainbow was technically brilliant I concluded that it did not fulfill the standards of the great literary classics for character development. I’ve been unable to read a Pynchon book since then.

In high school I was heavily influenced by Hemingway. In college reading Joyce’s Ulysses was an epiphanal moment.

I’ve been reading a lot of Walt Whitman recently.I’ve enjoyed a couple of Ian McEwan’s novels. I admire Stephen King’s novellas, can’t get through his long books. I’m also reading a biography of Andrew Jackson, as the country desperately needs someone like him to lead reform of our banking system.

What are you working on now?
I’m in marketing mode right now.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m trying the freebie method for now.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Carpe diem!

What are you reading now?
Leaves of Grass, biography of Andrew Jackson.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Maybe a novella.

What is your favorite book of all time?
The Bible is the greatest literature that I know of.

Author Websites and Profiles
Elliott Middleton Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
“How Long You Should Wait to Have Sex” is my first novel, but I have written over 20 film and television scripts leading up to that. Some of the scripts were re-writes of other people’s work, some we original ideas that I had, some were original ideas that producers had, some were based on pre-existing books or remakes of movies.

I’ve written both on spec and for hire, and in that world, I learned to write project that I was passionate about as well as projects that I wasn’t passionate about. Both types of projects involve challenges. When you’re not passionate, the challenge is obvious, but the solution is to find some angle that you can get excited about. When you are passionate the challenge is less obvious, but it’s still there. When you care a lot for a project, it can cause you to feel precious and proprietary about every little word, joke, or sentence. So I’d say that the hardest part of being passionate is letting go of some of the moments that you love, when they are not helping the story along. Sometimes (often) this can include deleting parts that you may consider to be your best work.

In the film business, many writers gripe that they are forced to kill the best parts of their script because the producer or financier (i.e. their boss) has asked them to do so. Sometimes these changes can improve a script, and sometimes they make it worse. But one thing most screenwriters would agree with is that writing a book is liberating. You are no longer constrained by the mandatory hour and a half to two-hour length of a movie. You are no longer constrained by having to get in and out of scenes quickly because the audience has become “so A.D.D.” You are no longer constrained by budget and schedule, the way you often are on a movie project.

All that said, I pride myself on having learned to cut as much extraneous business as possible and get to the point, which is a skill I learned through screenwriting, which also shows up in my book.

For me, though, one of the most gratifying things about moving from screenwriting into book writing is that I no longer have to wait for a “greenlight” before audiences can see my work. Of all the over 20 scripts I’ve written and rewritten, for hire and on spec (some of which I’ve sold or optioned), almost none of them have been made. For the first time, the only person who has to greenlight my story is me. Thank you technology!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“How Long You Should Wait to Have Sex” was inspired by a lot of dating, which culminated into one situation which may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. After losing my virginity as a fairly young person, I immediately assumed that if you had sex with someone it meant something. I’m sure that assumption came from two things: 1) That it was true of my first couple of (read: formative) experiences, and 2) I always felt more into a guy after we had sex, so I assumed that he must feel the same way. In researching this story, I found out that that is actually the opposite of the truth.

It turns out that women have attachment hormones, which release into their bodies during sex, which causes them to feel closer to a person after sex, while men have hormones that cause them to feel more attached before the sex– which is why they will literally do any horrible thing in their efforts to sleep with a woman– and then often seem to check out immediately after the deed is done, because the hormones that were driving him are released during sex. This isn’t to say that a man can’t have sex and be attached to a woman at the same time, but only that his attachment feelings are completely unrelated to whether or not sex is taking place. He is attached to a woman when he feels a deeper admiration for her, regardless of whether that admiration is based on her looks, her brains, or her general thoughtfulness and personality. Bottom line, his attachment is not based on the sex.

But back to the story at hand… I guess I had had enough situations where I felt differently about a guy after having sex with him, and enough situations where he felt differently about me, too—but not in a good way—to where I wanted to find out the answer to this question. The final guy that inspired this book was someone who I had gone out with a bunch of times, and had realized was really a good match for me on an intellectual level. I thought we had fun together, we liked to do a lot of the same things, we had similar backgrounds and similar ideas about our futures, and I also thought he was cute. I didn’t want to have sex with him anytime soon, because I was really enjoying getting to know him, and I didn’t want my vision of him to be blurred by the sex… But after several dates, despite my own lack of readiness, I got drunk and somewhat accidentally fell into bed with him. In my own opinion, it was premature. I knew that I did not feel ready to take that step yet, but I lost control of my control when I drank too much to drive, and couldn’t just go home when I wanted to call it a night. Sometimes, it’s hard to stop kissing without just getting up and leaving, so things escalated, as I waited to sober up.

Anyway, after that, things did change, and before too long, he faded out of my life. I regretted the sex, again, mostly because I did not hold myself to my own standard of waiting until I really felt like it was the right thing for me to do. But I also felt like he did not get a chance to get to know me in the way I had wanted him to. I had seen our potential, and I think he was close to seeing it, too, but he wasn’t quite there yet. So I mentally flogged myself for betraying my better instincts, and then I wrote this story about what would’ve gone differently if I could go back in time and wait longer. In real life, you don’t get a do over, but in fiction you can.

Obviously, everything had to change in the story line for dramatic effect. Characters in the book are invented people doing invented things, but the emotion underneath it—the sentiment of what a woman goes through in her mind when she sleeps with someone in a time span that may or may not be “too soon”—is what I really wanted to capture in the book. I knew that the feelings I had known were relatable to a lot of women, so I made up a story that revolved around those feelings.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Who doesn’t?! One thing that people don’t seem to understand is that I treat writing like a real job. I sit down at my desk every day, first thing in the morning, whether or not I feel like writing, and I sit in front of my work until I start to write something. Then I stay there all day, like any other worker bee. If people call me up and tell me I should go to lunch with them, because I work at home and can make my own schedule, I try to politely explain that this is still a job, and the schedule that my boss (i.e. me) has made for me, dictates that I work during work hours. Truth be told, I’m not always that polite about it, because it sort of angers me when people don’t take what I do seriously just because I’m not getting paid an upfront salary for it. My theory is that if you go to lunch today, why not go to lunch tomorrow? Hell, why not have a glass of wine with lunch, since my time working for myself doesn’t matter? Hey, you know what, why don’t I just get drunk, while I’m here taking a leisurely lunch on a Tuesday? That’s what writers are supposed to do, right? Be drunks?… Anyway, my point is that approaching it any other way can be a slippery slope toward talking about what you’re writing, instead of actually sitting down and doing the work. So I try to prioritize the work. And when the workday is over, then I can go drink myself into oblivion like a good writer should!

I also have some interesting cures for writer’s block. Here are two of my favorites:

1) I go get some exercise. This keeps me in shape, and it clear up my brain. The endorphins get you thinking outside the box, until you’re not so attached to doing things the way you had originally planned. Writer’s block is really just fear. It can be fear of writing something that sucks—which is kind of stupid, because you can always rewrite it into something that doesn’t suck. Or, when it comes to rewriting, it can be the fear that you won’t come up with something that works better than what you have—which you will if you just go get some exercise, and stop holding your mind to the constraints of what you already have on the page. Sometimes we become unnecessarily attached to thoughts that we’ve already put to paper. We want so badly for them to be correct, so even when they are getting in the way of your story’s advancement, we fear changing them, because that’s like admitting that we were wrong. And nobody likes to do that. But as soon as you can let go of everything you’ve already done, your mind will open up to the possibilities that you hadn’t yet considered, and exercising helps it do that.

2) I take a nap. Same theory as to why this works. Basically, your mind enters a less judgmental state when you sleep, and you wake up in a daze, in which you’re not thinking straight, which is great, because some of your most creative and original thoughts are bound to come when you’re thinking crooked.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m not gonna lie, the success of “50 Shades of Grey” influenced me to write a novel… but then I read it, and I couldn’t get through it because I didn’t like the characters or the situation, so I can’t say that the book itself influenced me—at least not its content.

As far as authors that I can’t put down and hope to be compared to, Sophie Kinsella’s books always give me that feeling of absolutely needing to know what happens next! That’s what I enjoy in a book. I like page-turners, that get to the point and don’t dwell too much on the poetry of the scenery. I also learned a lot of interesting tricks from reading Anna Maxted’s “Running in Heels.” There is a twist on page 100 that is only possible because she writes in the first person point of view, and it really surprised me and made me think. And I’ve read almost all of Peter Leftcourt’s books, because he’s also a screenwriter, and his fast-paced sensibility speaks to my own. Basically, I enjoy books that feel like they should be movies. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, since after all, I did like movies enough to think that I should try to make my career out of them.

I don’t know if it has influenced my writing, because it’s in such an incredibly different style than mine, but the book I’ve read the most often is “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho. I just love the message in that book!

And as a kid that books that formed me where first Judy Blume, then the “Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton (“We’ll do it for Johnny!”), and finally Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye,” which I related to as a free-wheeling, independent teenager, and Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises,” which I lived out, by following his path through Paris and Spain, in the summer between high school and college.

What are you working on now?
I have several books in the outline phase, meaning that I know the gist of the storyline, but still need to work out all the details and write the actual books.

One is called “Happily Whatever After” which starts as the story of a woman who gave up a promising career as a fashion executive to become a stay at home mom and wife with three kids. Before long, she feels unappreciated for all that she does, and she wishes she had never gotten married. Much like in “How Long You Should Wait to Have Sex,” he wish comes true, and she wakes up in an alternate universe where instead of getting married, she became a powerful career woman with no familial obligations. At this point, we also enter into her husband’s point of view, which is that of a man who is over-worked as he tries to provide for a family that he almost never gets to spend time with. In the alternate universe, since his “alternate” wife has just left him, he suddenly becomes a single-dad, and gets more time with his kids that he bargained for. Through experiencing the alternate versions of their lives, both parties begin to recognize some ways in which they’ve gone wrong in their original situations… This is the book most likely to come out next.

I’d also like to write a prequel series of short stories about Samantha Harper as a teenager that depict how she got to be 30 years old, and still doesn’t know how long she’s supposed to wait to have sex. This series would be more about her sexual formation and sexual misadventures in a new dating world where she no longer has the excuse that she’s a virgin when she wants to hold out for sex. It’s a very confusing time for a girl. And it lasts a lot longer than it should.

Of course I’m also still working on film and television scripts. For example, I just finished a first draft of a comedy pilot about a young narcoleptic woman, who is living two versions of her life at the same time. One is a dream and one is real, but since she doesn’t know which is which, she has to live both of versions of her life like they’re real.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Freebies are amazing. I’ve gotten more reviews and built a presence on more websites from giving away books than anything else. There are several websites that are nice enough to spread the word for you when you’re doing a free promo, and they are very good at what they do! There’s this one (Awesomegang.com), of course, which offers this great opportunity for us to post our author interviews. BookGoodies.com posted an interview of mine that turned into a fair amount of sales, and I was grateful to them. AutorsMarketingClub.com has one of the most comprehensive lists of who to submit to when you are doing a free promotion, and they make it really easy to submit to whole bunch of websites in one place. (That site is where I discovered all the other one’s I’m mentioning in this answer). And based on a friend’s recommendation, I experimented with placing an ad on BookGorilla.com, which actually garnered me the most free downloads ever. I had to pay to be on BookGorilla, but it actually seemed worth it. I blogged about my successful experience with that ad here: http://moniquesorgen.tumblr.com/post/59319353362/results-of-my-latest-free-kindle-promo-experiment

The other most powerful tool I’ve used is in-person word of mouth (i.e. just talking to people about my book), coupled with business cards for the book. I’ve noticed that the ratio of business cards I give out to book sales I make is incredibly high. Unfortunately, the price of the business cards isn’t much less than my profit on each book sale, so I’m not sure that the cost ratio is much better on this than giving it out for free. Then again, a paid sale can get you on more top 100 indie sales lists, like Christiana Miller’s list: http://yearoftheindie.blogspot.com/ …so maybe it’s worth the money, because being on her list (even at the bottom, as I have been) does lead to more paid sales.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Amazon Select seems to be the best game in town at the moment. I hope that changes, because monopolies aren’t good, but in all the research I’ve done and with all the writers I’ve spoken to, and with all the blogs I’ve read, the profits from your other sources pale in comparison, and Amazon treats you like crap if you don’t go exclusive with them for digital. Honestly, they don’t treat you that well if you do go exclusive with them either, but it’s better. What I’m basically saying here is it’s an abusive relationship, and you’ll be the victim… Recommendations don’t get a lot better than that!

Also, write more books. I’m just now working on my 2nd and 3rd books, but if you look at the numbers, those with more books sell more other books. (I hope it’s obviously that by “more books” I mean “more good books,” no one is telling you to sacrifice quality for quantity here.)

Also, be honest with yourself. If you don’t love writing, take the pressure off, and do something else. There’s probably more money in it anyway.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Just do it!” – Nike. Just kidding. Although that is good advice, and I’ve pretty much followed it my whole life, significantly predating the ad campaign. So I guess it goes back to my parents who always advised me to follow my heart. Yes, they were hippies.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading a fascinating non-fiction book called, “Bargaining with the Devil: When to Negotiate, When to Fight,” by a Harvard Law Professor named Robert Mnookin. It breaks down a lot of recent historical situations and analyzes if war or negotiation was the better approach considering what the parties know before, during, and in hindsight.

I’m also reading, “The Elegant Universe,” by Brian Greene, because it’s supposed to be a simple explanation of String Theory, but frankly, I’m struggling with that one—maybe quantum physics is over my head, no matter how simply it’s explained! Talk to me in three years, hopefully I’ll have conquered it around then.

And, I just came out from under my rock and finished my first Janet Evanovich book. I noticed that she has a lot of the top bestsellers in some of my categories, and I wanted to see what she was all about, so I read, “Plum Lovin,” which seems to be part of a bigger series about Stephanie Plum, and I’m pretty sure the one I picked up is somewhere in the middle. I thought she was a very good writer, with a simple and elegant style, but the story itself was a little predictable to me, and the solutions to problems where a little too easy for my tastes. Still, the writing was strong enough that I would give her another shot, for sure.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Santorini, Greece. Anyone got a free ticket to spare? (For non-joking answer, see question, “What are you working on now?”… not that this answer is a joke. Seriously, who wants to buy me a ticket to Greece?)

Also, I imagine I’ll be spending some time responding to your comments about some of the more controversial things I’ve said in this interview. Or maybe I should just apologize in advance… I’m sorry. I was wrong. It’ll never happen again. (How many times have I had to write that on the chalkboard?)

What is your favorite book of all time?
I’m not a fan of picking favorites because I think it’s insulting to all the great books you couldn’t pick, when you had to pick just one. But if I am really pressed to pick just one, I would have to pick, “How Long You Should Wait to Have Sex,” because so far in my life, it’s the only one I can personally be proud of. That said, I won’t be offended if your favorite book of all time is the one you’ve written. Would I expect you to like my children more than you like your own? No. So it’s basically the same thing.

Author Websites and Profiles
Monique Sorgen Website
Monique Sorgen Amazon Profile

Monique Sorgen’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 Carmen Gross, but my pen name is Carmen Stevens. I was born in Fargo, North Dakota, in March 1992. I currently reside in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, where I attend college full-time and make time for promoting my book, which I recently self-published on Amazon. I love reading, writing, acting, serving in my church, law, movies, music, shopping, and spending time with my pets, friends, and family. I have written only one book, which I consider my magnum opus-my “great work”.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first and latest book that I just published is titled “Anne”, and it centers on a young, arrogant, orphaned girl who dreams of true happiness in her life, but must endure various hardships in order to attain true satisfaction. She must also get past her deeply ingrained fears and ever-inflating ego, which stems from her rough, loveless past as a homeless orphan and the need for self-preservation. Anne makes many wrong, selfish choices throughout her life, which only pushes her dream of happiness further away and makes her life worse than it ever was before.

I’ve had many inspirations for this book of mine. First, two of my three sisters write like I do, and I think my older sister was especially influential. She wrote many books as we were growing up, and I even had the chance to read a couple of them. As for my younger sister, she piqued my interest in writing again after I had stopped for a while. I may have only one book, but I wrote various autobiographical stories as I grew up that I submitted to county fairs, and also some fan fiction. I’ve had other inspirations for my book as well. Charles Dickens inspired me with his strong, poignant stories and memorable characters, such as in Oliver Twist. However, Lynn Austin, my favorite author, has probably been the most influential author. Her historical fiction novels are so rich in detail and her writing so vivid that I tried to make my book like hers. But I think the primary reasons why I wrote this novel are because I felt the need to write-both because I loved it and I think God gave me that gift to use it, and also because I felt the need to write something that contained the themes of world peace, love, and goodness. I began writing this book when I was seventeen, and back then my eyes had just begun to open to the kinds of things the world had been experiencing;certain events it experiences that shake it so negatively to the core and change it for the worse. I wanted to put this book out there to express to people that we must treat others as we ourselves wish to be treated, love each other, believe in peace and strive to live in harmony with the things that God has given us.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have this red binder that contains many, many notes on the story of my novel, as well as the notes of the historical research I had to undertake for the book. I filled every page completely of notes; it’s crazy to look at. You’d probably laugh if you saw it. Sometimes my writing is big and messy on the notes and sometimes it’s extremely small. Very funny.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
As stated previously, the authors Charles Dickens and Lynn Austin have really influenced me. I think I took something from every one of Dickens’ books that I read, I mean, I took an element or writing tactic. Though I think Anne is very much like Estella from Great Expectations, of course I didn’t plagiarize that character. But Dickens was a great influence. And I want to be just like Lynn Austin sometimes. She’s a terrific author.

What are you working on now?
Currently I am busy promoting my book in any way I can. I try to set aside at least two hours a day promoting, even when I have homework and other obligations.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I find WordPress to be excellent, as this is where my blog is located. I also have a facebook page that I dedicated to my book. As far as promoting methods go, I have researched various methods for promoting self-published books and I am going off that list of methods whenever I have time for promoting-making a book trailer and promoting that, enrolling my book in KDP Select, talking about the story on social media networks, etc.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write often, and don’t give up. And whether you self-publish or take the traditional route, hard work combined with patience is essential.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Oh, I’m not sure. I’ve heard quite a bit of this kind of advice through my lifetime. The best are sayings like good things come to those who wait, never give up, you reap what you sow. If you’re an author, it’s good to remember those particular sayings.

What are you reading now?
I have the habit of reading a few novels at once, because when I get bored with one, I pick up another. Right now I’m reading three novels: Utopia by Sir Thomas More, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, and Secrets of the Heart by Al Lacy. The one I’m reading primarily is Secrets of the Heart, which is an exciting, Christian historical fiction page-turner that is a joy to read.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I guess I’ll be exercising my promotional methods until more people know about my book, and then if people like the book enough, I may write a prequel or sequel, since I have some ideas for additions to the story.

What is your favorite book of all time?
I don’t have one favorite book, but several: The Sound of the Fury by William Faulkner, Lynn Austin’s Refiners Fire trilogy, Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, Light in August by William Faulkner, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and others.

Author Websites and Profiles
Carmen Gross Website
Carmen Gross Amazon Profile

Carmen Gross’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Chris F. Fotheringham is an independent journalist who has reported and edited for newspapers in Missouri, California, Idaho and Nevada. A 1976 graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia’s School of Journalism, the former high school English teacher lives in Mesquite, Nevada, where he established a manuscript editing website, www.chrysolinnpress.com, and wrote the mystery, “Murder by Modem.” His novel, “Let Us Be! A mining Saga: Is the Gold Worth the Water?” was published in 2013.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It has been a long, circuitous and bumpy road to publishing my seminal novel, “Let Us Be! A Mining Saga: Is the Gold Worth the Water?” My alleged obsession with recording the historical importance of modern-day gold mining in northern Nevada started in the mid-1980s. A woman named Dee McBride, who just died a few months ago, stood up against a mining company to prevent the virtual ghost town of Tuscarora, Nevada, from being wiped off the map by an open pit mining operation. From a journalist’s standpoint, this was a juicy David and Goliath story that I dug my teeth into. It took time, but Ms. McBride won her battle to save Tuscarora. This victory, however, did not stop international mining conglomerates from converging on northern Nevada’s vast ocean of no-see-um gold ore. Over the years, my appetite whetted, further research enabled me to see a bigger picture and realize the historical importance of what is happening to the social fabric of America’s rural West. After many years failing to sell this story as an investigative non-fiction book, I turned to fiction to better tell the truth. So, my first novel is a melding of fact and fiction to create what I like to call a work of “faction.”

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think I am much quirkier than most writers. I’m told I can be somewhat unnerving to others in my company as I tend to stare off quite a bit. That’s because I do a lot of “writing” away from the keyboard. The main habit that I stick to is to write on a strict schedule, which includes spending the first early-morning moments re-reading/editing what I wrote the previous day. This is my way to regain focus and stay on track.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Robert Penn Warren/”All the King’s Men”

F. Scott Fitzgerald/”The Great Gatsby”

Marc Reisner/”Cadillac Desert”

Wallace Stegner/”Beyond the Hundredth Meridian”

Mark Twain/”The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”

Charles Dickens/”Great Expectations”

What are you working on now?
I am committed for a few more weeks to self-marketing my two self-published novels, “Murder by Modem” and “Let Us Be! A Mining Saga: Is the Gold Worth the Water?”

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am a self-published writer but a self-marketing klutz. Like a lost sheep in a foggy meadow, I’m willing to pick up whatever scent I can follow. So, I post my free book promotions on any website I can find in hopes of gaining some traction somewhere. I’ve only been involved in marketing long enough to have the sense that even though I know my target, I’m not sure where I’m aiming.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Now that I proudly qualify as an old-timer, I advise new authors (no matter their age) to “sponge” off what other writers share about what they have learned along the sometimes tortuous struggle to achieve writing success. It’s rare that I pass up the chance to read a Q&A with a good interviewer probing the mind of an established writer. I always learn something I can use. CSPAN’s “Booknotes” is a must watch.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
In a profoundly transformative one-on-one discussion I had with an accomplished “old-timer” twenty years ago, he told me, “You have to learn to trust the writing process.” He added, “Part of that process is to find someone who you trust to read your work, and be willing to listen to what they say.”

What are you reading now?
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” — again, which I always do before digging in deep for my next serious writing adventure. For me, reading this book always gets my juices going big time.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am quite literally excited as all get-out to write the opening scene of my new novel about baseball, hoping to capture the essence of why the game, and all of life that swirls around it, so stirs the soul. My goal is to tell a story that will change the thinking of somebody who says, “baseball is boring.”

What is your favorite book of all time?
Hands down, the book that best captured my attention and influenced not only my writing life but also my world view is Robert Penn Warren’s “All the King’s Men.”

I must add, however, each time I re-read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” I learn something new about how to improve my own writing.

Author Websites and Profiles
Chris F. Fotheringham Website
Chris F. Fotheringham Amazon Profile

Chris F. Fotheringham’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The book I just finished is called “The Little Things and Such”. It was inspired by a box of motivational poems and life quotes that I have collected for more than two decades. I created a photocopied version of this idea years ago and gave them away for free. Some good friends encouraged me to reformat the photocopies and to add reflection questions for each of the poems.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a second “Little Things” book. It will be called “The Little Things and Such One More Time”.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Stay positive and do something everyday to promote your book.

 

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have two other books I want to finish and self publish.

Author Websites and Profiles
Roger Edwards Website

Roger Edwards’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was raised in the Amazon Basin of Peru, South America as the child of missionary teachers. After graduating high school, I got a BA in English in British Columbia, Canada. I paid for this degree by planting hundreds of thousands of tree-seedlings on cut-blocks in BC and Alberta.

After graduating college I moved to North Carolina, but continued to spend my summers in the world of industrial reforestation as a crew leader and, eventually, a camp supervisor. I met a woman, married her, and moved back to Canada to put her through school. We had a son, but after moving back to North Carolina in 2008, she chose to end our marriage.

I was devastated, and turned to writing-as-therapy in a way I never had before. I wrote a memoir (unpublished) entitled “Anatomy of an Effup,” in which I explored the disintegration of my marriage. Then I wrote a short book of experimental theology. After that, I got into writing for film. To date, I’ve written around fifteen short films, and seven feature-length screenplays.

My second feature-length, “Killing Harper,” is at this writing a quarter-finalist for the 2013 Nicholl Fellowship. The Nicholl is put on by the Academy of Motion Pictures (the Oscars people), and is the most prestigious screenwriting competition in the world. Needless to say, I’m quite pleased.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is a short story collection entitled “IMMORTALITY (and other short stories).” It was inspired by a talk Ray Bradbury once gave at Point Loma University, in which he said something to the effect that everyone’s trying to write the next great American novel, and it’s just too much pressure. Instead, he suggested, why not try writing a short story a week for a year? At the end of the year, you’ll have fifty-two short stories.

I took the Ray Bradbury challenge, and at the end of the year had written forty-six short stories (I got sick a couple times and missed). I picked my favorites, wrote a few more, and after editing them all more times than I want to think about, ended up with the twenty-two stories that make up this collection.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read like a mad Hessian bibliophile, trapped in a burning library. I suppose I’m influenced fairly strongly by post-WWII American authors, but there’s a lot to be said for some of the Russians, and there is quite a bit of really good stuff being written by my contemporaries. Who was it who said you’ve got to steal from as many other writers as possible? That’s pretty much my modus operandi.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently heading back into rewrites on my latest feature-length film script. It’s tentatively entitled “The Founder,” and it’s about a teenage computer-genius who hijacks an untested time machine and finds himself in a post-apocalyptic future where what little technology remains is under threat, and his is the most hated name on the planet. I’m pretty excited about it.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write all the time. When you’re not writing, re-write. When you’re not re-writing, read. There are no shortcuts. Excellence only happens at the far side of a whole lot of work. You are not the exception.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write like you think.

What are you reading now?
“The Stand,” by Stephen King.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m always thinking about the next film script. As far as prose goes… I’d like to tackle a novel. Kicking around a few ideas, still. We’ll see what sticks.

Author Websites and Profiles
Josh Barkey Website
Josh Barkey Amazon Profile

Josh Barkey’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in Athens, Greece in 1968. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to do two things in my life: to become a lawyer and to write. I feel very lucky as I managed to do both of them. I always remember myself writing something but to actually try to publish something of my own was rather a stressful though for me. So I started by translating books of others. I have translated four books from English into Greek, all of them were books by a very talented authoress that I simply love, Jennifer Lash. London Tube seven stations seven stories is the first book of my own.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The title of the book is London Tube seven stations seven stories. As you can understand from the title I was inspired by the London tube. I was fascinated by it from the very first time I used it when I first came here as a tourist. Since then I read a lot of books about its history and the thought of how many people use it in a daily basis and how it could affect so many lives in different ways all through the years made me think about writing the stories.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I think that like most writers I prefer to be alone, to have piece and absolute silence in order to enter my imaginary world and start putting it on paper. I prefer to write at night. I always keep a notebook with me scribbling down thoughts and ideas that I might find useful later.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Literature has always been a passion of mine, so I guess I have been influenced by many authors. It is very difficult to write specific names, I guess I was influenced by each one in different ways. Some of them that really helped me in my attempts to write are: of course Jennifer Lash because by translating her work I got the strange feeling that I was sharing her thoughts and ideas. Another one is the Greek author Karagatsis who is one of my favourite writers. Of Charles Dickens whose sensitivity and tenderness have really influenced me. Jonathan Coe with his unparalleled imagination. Jack Kerouac because of his way of describing the road trip to freedom. Costas Tahtsis because of the strength of his emotions in his books.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a historic novel that combines Eastern and Western history. I am also writing on a weekly basis different articles mainly about history and culture in the blog Imerologio Apodimias ( Diary of Immigration). And I am also writing texts for the programmes of an amateur theatrical company.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have always thought that the best promotion for anything but especially for books is a good critic from someone who has read it to his friends. In nowadays with the development of technology these opinions can travel really fast by facebook, twitter and other social websites. Facebook for me it is a very good way to advertise my book.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing indifferent of any negative thoughts, fears, obstacles etc. If you feel that you want to express your feelings through writing, just do it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
There was always be somebody out there to read your thoughts.

What are you reading now?
The wooden walls by Maria Lambaridou Pothou, it is a book about the Hellenic- Persian wars in 480 BC.

What’s next for you as a writer?
When I will finish the historic novel, I would love to write something more contemporary, I have plenty of ideas that haven’t been shaped yet.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Difficult question, there are so many. I am trying here to name only a few: A tale of two cities by Charles Dickens, On the road by Jack Kerouac, To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee, Sergios and Vachos by Karagatsis, The third wedding by Costas Tahtsis, House of spirits by Isabelle Allende, Martin Eden by Jack London.

Author Websites and Profiles
Evi Routoula Amazon Profile

Evi Routoula ‘s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started writing as soon as I learned to string letters together to make words. I wrote my first “novel” when I was eight–it was a 200-page treatise on what my life as an adult would be like, down to the rose-shaped details on the hand-carved white-wood furniture in my imagined third daughter’s bedroom (out of eight kids total–so glad that part didn’t happen!), and the fact that no one would be allowed to wear shoes in the house. I was going to buy a million acres and build houses for every kind of animal I liked–dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, you name it–and rescue them from all the shelters in the world so they could live happily ever after in the houses I built for them.

My parents thought I would become an actress because I was always acting out my favorite fairy tales and making them call me by various character names–Cinderella, Dorothy (from The Wizard of Oz) and Aurora/Sleeping Beauty were big favorites. However, aside from having no real talent for acting and a serious case of stage fright, my real aspirations at a young age were to become Miss America and follow that with the discovery that I was, in fact, a princess and in line for the throne. Any throne. Barring that, a career as a prima ballerina would do.

Instead, I continued writing and earned a degree in Creative Writing/English Literature from the University of California at Riverside, which I almost immediately packed away in favor of starting a family and pouring my energies into raising my three children. It wasn’t until years later, when the youngest was finally old enough to fend for himself a bit, that I decided to pick the writing back up in a serious way, and that’s when I finally joined Romance Writers of America (RWA) and got down to business. There were some false starts in the first year or two, but when the big publishing industry shift really got rolling, I decided the time was right to take control of my career and indie publish.

Since then, I have published three (short) novels, two novellas and a short story, with another novella coming in the next month or so, and I have the usual pile of other manuscripts under the bed. Whether any of those will see the light of day is still up in the air. While indie publishing is a LOT of work, I am very much enjoying the process and being in control of my career. I’ve met an incredible cast of fellow authors whose support has been invaluable. This journey has been amazing so far and it is just beginning.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Cupid’s Mistake, which released in February 2013. It’s a sequel to Unwrapped, a friends-to-lovers Christmas story which came out over Christmas 2012, and features Allison Kelly, the best friend to the heroine in Unwrapped, Mia Patterson. Allison’s story really came about after my friend and beta reader finished reading Unwrapped. She loved Allison and thought she needed her own story. I agreed, and Cupid’s Mistake was born.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My writing style is often a mess. I will write the beginning, then the end, then work back to the middle, work forward to the middle, and hope they meet up. I rarely work straight through in a linear fashion. I’ll also write a bunch really fast–for example, I’ve written a 110,000 word novel in less than a month–but then I’ll take weeks off from writing at all. I’ve tried every plotting method known to writer-kind, but none of them really work for me. I’m a “pantser,” which just means I write by the seat of my pants, letting the story unfold as I go along, rather than to an outline or any sort of formalized plot. Usually I start with either just one character or a particular scene, which as often as not doesn’t make it into the final version of the story.

I’ve heard authors talk about their characters taking over a story and refusing to do what the writers want, but I always thought that was just exaggeration or a fun part of the writer’s story. Until I wrote my third published story, Pearls of Pleasure. That story was supposed to be a lighthearted, super-sexy romp, and instead turned into a rather dark, emotional book. My characters, David and Gwen, were a married couple, and they just flatly refused to go along with the course I’d originally planned for them. I had no choice but to let them lead the way!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh, my gosh, so many writers and books have influenced me, I couldn’t possibly list them all! Like all writers, I’m a voracious reader, though I haven’t had as much time for reading as I would like lately. I still squeeze it in as often as I can, but it never feels like enough.

My earliest favorites included the Louisa May Alcott books, the Nancy Drew series and Trixie Belden series, a lot of “children’s classics” like Alice In Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Gulliver’s Travels, Treasure Island, and of course all the Disney fairy tales, as well as the darker Grimm’s Fairy Tales versions. I was always reading as a kid, and that never really stopped. When I was nine, my family moved from an area I loved, where I felt very happy and comfortable, to one where I felt like a very unwelcome, very lonely alien. Books saved me during my first years in that place.

A pivotal moment in my reading history happened while on vacation when I was eleven or twelve. My grandparents had a vacation cabin in the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, and I was visiting for several weeks. I loved my grandparents to distraction, but there was absolutely nothing to do at that cabin but watch the grass grow or the ripples spread in the lake from the fish darting past–something I would love now as an adult–and I was bored out of my mind after the first week. And probably being a pretty big brat about it. My grandmother, who I’m sure was desperate to shut me up by then, grabbed the biggest book she could find off of her shelf and thrust it beneath my nose with the firm commandment to, “Read!” The book was The Proud Breed by Celeste de Blasis, and it opened my young eyes to the world of women’s fiction and romance novels in a big way. All my grandmother remembered about that book was that it was a history of California–and it was. Sort of. But mostly it was a romance between Tessa and Gavin and in parts was pretty explicit! My grandma kept asking me what I was giggling about.

After that, I went through both my mother’s and grandmother’s collections of romance novels pretty quickly and started collecting my own. I read the rest of Celeste de Blasis’s books immediately, followed by the works of Johanna Lindsey, Jude Deveraux, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Danielle Steel, and many others. I branched out into other genres and read Sidney Sheldon, Stephen King, Dean R. Koontz, Patricia Cornwell, and on and on. Then I found Nora Roberts, my all-time favorite romance author, as well as her JD Robb series.

The next most pivotal moment came about because of a Christmas gift my mom wanted to send my oldest daughter–the first two Harry Potter books. The books were just gaining traction in the US at the time, and all I’d heard about them were some wild ravings about witchcraft and other hysterical craziness. I told my mom to send them but that I wanted to read them first, just to see what all the fuss was about and to make sure they were appropriate for a ten-year-old. I was hooked and have been the biggest Harry Potter nerd on earth since then. My family and I are involved in the fandom both online and in real life and go to LeakyCon (a Harry Potter fan convention) every year. I love-love-love those books and everything about them.

Every book and author I have ever read has influenced me in some way, and I am so grateful to all of them for their blood, sweat and tears. I would not be the person, or the writer, I am today without their stories, each of which still lives in my head and in my heart.

What are you working on now?
I have a couple of projects going right now, the first of which is due to be released within the next month or so. It’s a contemporary romance novella called Deluge of Desire and is the story of a young couple, Tracey and Adam, who have been together since their freshman year in high school. They went to college together and have been living together since their sophomore year at UW-Madison in Wisconsin. They’re very committed to each other, but now they’re out of school and in the real world, navigating jobs, bills, and grown-up life for the first time. Adam wants to get married ASAP–and has in fact been proposing with varying degrees of seriousness to Tracey since they were fifteen–but Tracey is determined to make something of herself first. This story explores the difficulties of being in a long-term, committed relationship but having different timeframes for the whole marriage-and-babies question. Society’s views and women’s ideas about previously traditional roles have changed so much over recent decades–I was interested in how young couples deal with those pressures while trying to be true to their relationships and their hearts. It’s short, so it doesn’t get too deep, and it’s a romance, so clearly it has a happily-ever-after ending, but it was a fun story to write. I hope readers will find it an enjoyable escape.

Next up is my final Pearls book (Pearls of Passion, Pearls of Wisdom, and Pearls of Pleasure are available now), Pearls of Persuasion. It’s the story of a New York debutante whose family loses everything in the crash of 1929 and how she copes with going from being a society princess to a destitute young woman responsible for the care of her very ill mother. Finding love is the last thing on her mind, especially when it involves the son of a very wealthy family who made off with several of her family’s treasures when they had to sell them at auction.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Ah, promotion! The bane of many a writer’s existence. It’s so hard to go out in the world and do the “please buy/love/review my book” dance. I’d much rather stay safely in my writing cave and live in my stories, but promotion is a necessary part of the business.

I don’t have a particular method or website I can point to and say, “Do this and it always works!” I wish I did. I try different things all the time–different places to advertise, giving away free books, doing signings, etc. But for me, I’ve found it easier and much more satisfying overall to build relationships with people instead of trying to “sell” to them all the time. It’s a turn off to me as a reader when other writers do that, and I’ve been known to unfollow people on Twitter whose streams are full of nothing but “Buy me, buy me, buy me” messages all the time. My philosophy is engage me as a person, chat with me, get to know me a little, and then I will be more than happy to buy your book and promote you, so I try to follow that in my own business. Yes, writing is a business, and yes we need sales to stay in business and to be able to continue writing instead of working at the local fast-food place, but we’re also people and fellow readers. We should respect that as writers and remember how it feels to be treated as a dollar sign rather than as a person. Just don’t do it.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Learn your craft but don’t get so involved in classes and workshops and how-to books that you forget to write. Bind the shoulder critic with duct tape and stuff him or her in a deep, dark well. Just write.

Find a few people you trust and whose opinions you respect–fellow authors and readers–to be critique partners and beta readers (not the same thing!), and listen to their advice. Don’t despair over finding those people. Building those relationships and finding the ones that work takes time. Invest in the process and in them–these are people who, if you are lucky and do it right, will be with you throughout your career. They are your biggest supporters and most helpful mentors.

If editing and grammar are not your strong suits (or even if they are, really), hire a professional, whether you are seeking traditional publication or putting out your work yourself as an indie author. (And if you are going the traditional route, hire an entertainment lawyer with experience in publishing contracts to negotiate for you when you get offered a contract!!)

If you cannot afford a professional editor, find someone with strength in that area and trade services with them–they will edit you and you will make their indie book covers or whatever. Work it out. But never put a book out there that hasn’t been through several pairs of eyes, no matter how great your own editing/revising skills may be. As writers, we are simply too close to our work to see it clearly. Other people will always find things we’ve missed, and it is far, far better to hear about it from a friend or colleague than in a scathing review on Amazon.

Learn your business. It’s ultimately your job to run your career. For business savvy, I recommend reading Dean Wesley Smith’s blog religiously. He is strongly pro-indie, but he gives great advice on all aspects of publishing, no matter which path you are seeking, traditional or indie. Also read his wife’s blog, Kristine Kathryn Rusch. They each have years and years in the industry and are extremely smart individuals.

You will get bad reviews. Accept that now. It’s part of the business, and part of being a professional is knowing how to handle them, which means licking your wounds in private and ranting to your best friend–not in print, and never online. In public, you suck it up, put on a smile, and continue writing. Never, never, never, ever engage a reviewer unless it’s to say thank you, and even then, just don’t. Remember a review is just that person’s opinion and has nothing to do with you personally, no matter how personal it might feel to hear that someone hated your book. Someone will always hate your book, it’s just the nature of the beast, but just remember that they are not your reader. Move on. Your readers are out there waiting, and your readers will love your work. You will find them, it just takes time and dedication. Don’t give up.

But the biggest piece of advice is always WRITE. Write, write, write. If you don’t have a book to put out there, nothing else matters, even if you have the most brilliant marketing plan in the history of forever. Write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Loosely, “You can’t fix a blank page,” a quote that has been attributed to Nora Roberts and translates to WRITE. Write the thing out, then go back and fix it when it’s done. But WRITE.

What are you reading now?
I just finished The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (AKA JK Rowling) and really enjoyed it, which was a relief because as much as I loved the Harry Potter series, I wasn’t a huge fan of her first post-Harry book, The Casual Vacancy. My Kindle is chock full of books I can’t wait to get to next, from authors like Jami Davenport, Anthea Lawson, Kristine Cayne, and Christine Fairchild.

What’s next for you as a writer?
The next two things I’d like to tackle are getting my books into print via CreateSpace and Lightning Source, and on audio with ACX. I’m not very techie at all, so it’s taking me longer than I would like to figure those things out, but I’m hoping to have the print editions done by the early part of next year and the audio by next summer. I also have a couple of super-short story ideas I’d like to submit to some magazines and anthologies, but I want to publish Pearls of Persuasion and Deluge of Desire first, then see where I stand. My writing projects list is about twenty deep right now. I make my own book covers and have them all ready to go for all twenty-plus stories, so they’re really itching to get written.

What is your favorite book of all time?
That’s an evil question–there are so many awesome books out there! But Harry Potter, hands down. And please don’t ask me to rank the series, because I just can’t do it! LOL I love them all.

Author Websites and Profiles
Chantilly White Website
Chantilly White Amazon Profile
Chantilly White Author Profile on Smashwords

Chantilly White’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in Ann Arbor in Michigan, the youngest of 5 kids and obtained my Nursing degree from the University of Michigan. Once I graduated I spent 10 years working in Pediatric Intensive Care in Texas and Virginia and then I married an Australian and we moved to Australia in 2005. I continued my career in Nursing looking after critically ill kids and special needs babies before taking a break to start a family. We now have 2 lovely young daughters, and I have moved into the world of writing children’s books – with a special focus on books for girls, hoping I can create books that provide strong role models for kids in general – but in particular for girls.

So far I have written 2 books – “Smiley Riley and the New Neighbor” and “Smiley Riley and the Mystery of the Lucky Bracelet” – and I am in the process of writing my third.

In addition to the reading books – each children’s book I have written is accompanied by a coloring book and a tracing book. These books are aimed at allowing children to engage with the stories in their own way – by coloring the pictures the way they’d like them to be and also to get some valuable fine motor practice (drawing, coloring, tracing).

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “Smiley Riley and the Mystery of the Lucky Bracelet”. This is the second book in the “Smiley Riley Adventure Series” and a continuation of the story about Smiley Riley, her lucky bracelet, her friends, her family and her adventurous nature.

The inspiration for my books is my eldest daughter – who I saw naturally develop into such a positive role model for her friends and those around her. It made me realize how important strong, positive, courageous, role models are for children – and I think especially for girls. There are more visible role models than there once were – but we need more and I think we need more in books. So it inspires me to create a role model in a book – that can help kids read, and inspire them to be great.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have been known write whilst breast feeding my youngest daughter!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Having a mother involved in education who was also an avid reader, I was exposed to a lot of books as a child. The books that I was most influenced by were 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, Mary Poppins, James and Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, any fairy tale, anything by Roald Dahl, Doctor Seuss and Shel Silverstein.

What are you working on now?
I am working the 3rd and 4th books in the Smiley Riley Adventure Series. I am also spending quite a bit of time promoting my books and blogging on the Smiley Riley website (as Smiley Riley). I have also been spending time working with my illustrator to create some new illustrations that we will be using on our website and other promotions.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I try anything and everything to promote my books and the characters that I have developed. I have a website – www.smileyriley.com, a facebook page facebook.com/smileyrileyadventures – and I use bookgoodies, goodreads, twitter and pinterest. I am also tapping into my network of friends, family, schools and libraries. One of my books is being used in a local school’s “bounce back” program which is focused on the importance of values, manners, strong friendships and how to handle bullies.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you have an idea in your head for a book or a story, and it keeps coming back, even nagging at you – then it is probably telling you it needs to come out and be told.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Listen – and when you have listened enough, listen some more!

What are you reading now?
I am currently reading “A Games of Thrones – A Clash of Kings” by George RR Martin. I am about half way through and I am really enjoying it.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Continuing with the Smiley Riley Adventure Series and seeing where it takes me.

What is your favorite book of all time?
This is very hard to pick. I love the entire Harry Potter Series (I have read each book 2-3 times), I love The Inkheart Series, Innamorati by Midori Snyder, Lord of the Rings, The Princess Bride, Chocolat, The Da Vinci Code and Angelology.

Author Websites and Profiles
Katie McLaren Website
Katie McLaren Amazon Profile
Katie McLaren Author Profile on Smashwords

Katie McLaren’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Born and raised in New England, I joined my family’s business after graduating from Brown University in the 80s. A true romantic, my life is defined by following my heart and pursuing my dreams, which is why I’ve become a novelist. I write from the heart, believing in true love, love at first sight, and finding that one person in life you’re meant to be with.

My debut novel, Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love, is emotionally inspired by my own personal life experiences. Sand Dollar has won numerous awards, including being the winner of the Beverly Hills Book Award, the bronze winner of ForeWord Reviews Book Of The Year Award, a finalist in the International Book Awards, and a finalist in ForeWord Firsts debut literary competition. With a rating of 4.5 stars on Amazon, the book has received rave reviews, many of which compare me to my favorite author, Nicholas Sparks. Whether or not I ever achieve that kind of success, touching the lives of others through my writing has been the single most gratifying thing I’ve ever done.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love. The concept is based on an experience I once had while snorkeling with my soul mate in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean. Ignoring the captain’s warning not to touch anything in the sea, I dove down to pick up a lone sand dollar at rest on the ocean floor. As I held it out to her, the sand dollar exploded in my hand, disappearing in the water around me. Shortly after returning home from paradise, our relationship came to an abrupt end, as she disappeared from my life, seemingly forever.

I wrote the book because I wanted the world to look at sand dollars through my eyes. For me, the sand dollar has come to represent life, and how fragile life is. Just like the sand dollar, life holds no promises. Seemingly solid and secure in our hands, the blessings we have in our lives today are easily shattered tomorrow. The lesson learned: never take your loved ones for granted. And if you’re ever lucky enough to find that one person in life who makes you love more than any other person could possibly make you love, you treat every day together as if it were your last. You cherish every moment.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
After watching the movie THE NOTEBOOK nine years ago in the theater, I remember thinking to myself, I could do that. I could write a love story like that. In fact, most of us probably could. That’s because we all have experienced the loss of a loved one at some point in our lives. And for far too many of us, and for whatever circumstances, the one we loved was “the one who got away.” I’ve had one, and chances are, you’ve had one too! Sand Dollar tells of such a love – a love gained, a love lost, and through it all, a love that just won’t die.

What are you working on now?
If I told you I’d have to kill you — just kidding. 🙂

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Websites like these that recommend your eBook on the same day(s) that your eBook is promoted at a lower price on Amazon and/or other sites.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The road to being a successful author is paved with rejection. Nevertheless, it’s possible to achieve your dreams as long as you give it your all and don’t give up. Most authors don’t get a literary agent on their first manuscript, so keep writing. Sue Grafton couldn’t get a literary agent until her fourth manuscript, and Nicholas Sparks didn’t get one until his third.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing more books.

What is your favorite book of all time?
The Notebook.

Author Websites and Profiles
Sebastian Cole Website
Sebastian Cole Author Profile on Smashwords

Sebastian Cole’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My heart belongs to Chicago. Grow-up there. I live in Atlanta with my husband. We will be celebrating our 14 year anniversary next month. Hobbies include eating popcorn on a daily basis and staring at my treadmill. My mother is my biggest fan and my friends motivate me to continue on this journey of being, not just an author, but a storyteller. Oh yes….I have four books in print and I write in the Clean Fiction genre. I refuse to lace my work with explicit sexual themes or profanity. I esteem my readers. I know they are looking for a good story and I strive to not leave them disappointed in my books or me, for that matter. For me, writing is about making a connection with the reader. Reaching the heart and mind.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
AQUA BLUE. My hubby and I were driving through a rural part of Tennessee when I couldn’t help but notice the dirt roads, the old and barely able to stand gas stations, the carts that lined the roadway where goods had been sold and the one small car sales lot that had cars that were probably older than it.

Everyone seemed to be at the same starting point.

As I watched a few individuals travel along the sidewalks, I wondered what it would be like for them to escape a place such as that and travel to a major city, like New York. The story took off in my head from there.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. However, I do find my best source of inspiration comes from movies that either make me laugh or cry.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Bible. I don’t know how else to put that. It has sold more books than any bestseller in history. I will never come close to that, but, I am determined to never allow my writing goals or style to go against my Bible-based conscious.

What are you working on now?
I’ve been staring at my computer screen and trying to peck away at my next novel, Precious Blue. Thinking about finishing up my first non-fiction title.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am finding that websites that focus on digital books, do best. Readers are looking for good reads, but with this economy, they are looking for good bargain books. The two have become intertwined.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
No journey can start unless you put two feet on it and start walking. Being an author is a journey. You start by writing. You continue by writing with passion.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t give up. Don’t give in and believe in your dreams.

What are you reading now?
Who has time for that? Thankfully, I am heading for a much needed vacation. I plan to download a few books while I’m enjoying the full rays of the sun. Haven’t quite decided which books I will be getting, but I’m sure they will be great.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Five years from now, I hope to see a book written by me on the New York Times, on the book shelves of women, as a download for many and a favorite by those who love a good read.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Did I mention the Bible? Okay, and maybe, Drowning Ruth.

Author Websites and Profiles
Marian L. Thomas Website
Marian L. Thomas Amazon Profile

Marian L. Thomas’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve always written stories to entertain myself, ever since I was a little girl. Right after my second child was born, it hit me that, dude, I’m outnumbered! I didn’t want to completely change who I was, so I decided to focus on my writing as a way of reminding myself that I had my own separate identity, that I was still a unique individual.

I spent a year working on how to write short stories, and I love how it’s improved my novel-writing skills. I cranked out several dozen, and some of them have been published.

Then I returned to novels, got picked up by a small press, had that go pear-shaped, got into indie publishing, started writing in a new genre, and got a series picked up by an awesome small press. This year has been absolutely amazing as far as having previously written books all coming together to get published–either as indie works or through my small press. As of January 1st, I had three published books. To date, I have seven, and by the end of the year, I’m scheduled to have nine books released under two pen names (and in two genres). I’m sure I could be more excited somehow, but it would probably involve Johnny Depp asking me to sign his cheekbones or something.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book hasn’t quite come out as of the date of writing. Its title is TRAITOR SAVANT, and it’s book two, or the second seal, in the Seals of the Duelists trilogy I’m working on. It’s complete, and I have some ARC copies out to early reviewers, but mostly I’m just sitting around, wriggling in excitement for release day: September 20th.

The series takes place in a vast and multicultural empire where not every culture is happy with its lot. My magic system is based on jujitsu, in which I hold a black belt. Major themes deal with family, friendship, loss, finding one’s own path in an imperfect world, emotional struggle, and even a little romance. The writing, themes, and worldbuilding in my first book was kindly compared by a reviewer to Guy Gavriel Kay’s style, which I admire and enjoy.

Obviously I don’t want to give spoilers to anyone who hasn’t yet read the first book, REBEL ELEMENTS. While the first book deals with external threats (and some internal ones), TRAITOR SAVANT deals more with internal threats of various sorts–and in an empire as large as the Waarden Empire, there’s plenty of room for all kinds of internal threats. It also explores not one, but two, other styles of magic, so for those who love to read about magic, book two will be a special treat.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’ve started using voice recognition to write my novels. Both of my arms suffer from tendinitis. After writing for a few hours a day, every day, they get pretty sore. So I’ve started using the basic voice recognition system that comes with my Windows 7. I got a nifty headset from Amazon that works amazingly. I love how I can program character names, places, and any other fictional terms into the speech dictionary–essential for any fantasy writer! It took me a bit of practice to change the way I think while I’m composing, but after I got the hang of it, I was writing faster than when I was clickity-clacking with my fingers. Which is saying something, considering how fast I usually write. I’m very excited about this transition in my writing, because it means I can actually go faster without any pain! Thanks, Technology!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
All of them. At first, they just made me happy. Then, they made me want to be like them. Then, they started showing me their tricks and skills at spinning excellent stories. I pay attention to the way books are written, all the way down to the punctuation and sentence structure. Once you become an author or an editor, there’s really no going back to the way you used to read books.

That’s not to say I don’t have my personal favorites, though. I cannot get enough of Lois McMaster Bujold’s worldbuilding in THE CURSE OF CHALION. I rarely read books more than once, but I’ve read that one a dozen times. Her magic/pantheon system blows me away with its elegant simplicity. Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera series also made my brain very happy with his political and battle maneuvers. And I cannot fail to mention the esteemed Terry Pratchett, whose ability to portray real-life issues through the medium of humorous fantasy continually amazes me. Humor is hard for me, but he has a way with his characters that always brings me back for more.

What are you working on now?
I’m in the early planning stages for the final book in my Seals trilogy, PRODIGAL STEELWIELDER. It will conclude the story of my main character, Bayan, and his friends, allies, and enemies. It’ll be truly epic fantasy, with the big booms and the impossible solutions and the final twist of pure awesome. I’ll be writing it during this year’s NaNoWriMo. Well, dictating it, to be more accurate.

I try to plan out my novels pretty thoroughly ahead of time, so that I can just power through the rough draft. That’s the most boring part of writing a book for me. I much prefer editing what already exists. It’s pretty dull writing thousands of words every day when you know basically everything that’s going to happen.

But at least once in every book I’ve written, some brainstorm strikes me while I’m hip deep in writing, and I realize that I need to add something I hadn’t thought of before. Once I invented a brand new character on the spot. Another time, I had to kill two more people off. I even had a minor character tell me halfway through that she kissed a girl and she liked it (no cherry chapstick was harmed in the writing of that book). I just never know what my brain is going to come up with next, but it’s always a fun bit of chaos when it strikes. I have to scramble to fit my new ideas in, but in the end, I’m always glad for it.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still determining what resources are out there. I have a major promotion coming up beginning September 20th, when REBEL ELEMENTS goes free for four days in celebration of TRAITOR SAVANT’s release, so that’ll be a big test to see if I’ve found some reliable sites and methods of getting the word out. If not, I’ll keep looking.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Oh, we always do. I see so much advice touted as The Only Way To Succeed, and plenty of it would be completely wrong for me, so this is what I think:

Research shows that mastery of a skill set comes with about 10,000 hours of practice. For authors, that translates to around a million words written while focusing on improvement with every new writing project. You have to earn it. Put in the time, focus, learn from all kinds of sources–classes, your own reading, editors, beta readers, and practice what you learn in your next project. Keep improving. Find your individual voice. Learn to write for your target audience. Accept critiques with gratitude–they tell you whether your message is getting across or not. No one likes a diva author, and they only put up with them when they have to, so don’t be the problem.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Never stop writing.” As if I could, though. Too many stories banging around in my skull. Seriously, I come up with entire series at once. If I don’t get my own personal clone army soon, most of these books will never get written. I wish I could just hire people to slam out rough drafts for me according to my notes, and then I can edit and polish them. Can that be a thing? I want that to be a thing.

What are you reading now?
I’m actually editing something. I’m a content editor at a small press. It’s a wonderful paranormal romance. Not your usual–this one has immortals with a cool twist. And though it’s the author’s first book with a publishing house, she’s dedicated to improving it, and she has a great handle on her worldbuilding.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Good question. I’m published in two genres, and I’m seriously starting to contemplate trying a third. Dare I try…romance? I’m jotting down concepts to see if I have what it takes to give it a serious go. I want to write about a location, an upscale resort hotel that attracts vacationers as well as business conferences, to get a full range of guests. Every book would have a new set of visitors, but maybe some of the same staff. And in this resort of possibilities, people would find unexpected romance while they were doing other things. I already have two basic plot nuggets that I’m just panting to get intimate with. Rawr!

What is your favorite book of all time?
That would be THE CURSE OF CHALION, by Lois McMaster Bujold. The worldbuilding and characterization is out of this world. The culture is based loosely on medieval Spain, which is something you don’t see often in fantasy. The magic system, as I said, is perfectly planned and easy to understand. The damaged hero, Cazaril, is one of my favorite characters of all time. And the plot twists! So many really good parts in that book! It’s just brain candy all around. If you haven’t read it, run, don’t walk, to the nearest bookstore or online market and nab yourself a copy. Just typing this makes me want to read the book again. Totally fangirling right now.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jasmine Giacomo Website
Jasmine Giacomo Amazon Profile

Jasmine Giacomo’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a gal who loves my family, my cats, horses and travel. Castilian Heat is my first book and was inspired by my several travels to the miraculous country of Spain. The passion of the regional population touched me on an emotional and spiritual level; it is the people of Spain that inspired my first novel – and the character of Cruz Terran

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Castilian Heat was inspired by both my own incipient Irish eccentricity (as mirrored in the heroine, Sheila Donahue) and by the Latin culture in Spain (and that influence on my fiery hero, Cruz Terranova). Because I love a sense of danger and, believe it or not, the old campy James Bond movies, I added a touch of adventure and international intrigue to this romance tale.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, my writing habits are a bit out there. I write in great spurts, not with any kind of regulated daily discipline. I work best when I’m living life fully with my children, cats and horses and then transferring that passion when the feeling hits me to write. I’m not one of those prodigious writers who sit at a computer 15 hours a day — I’m a ‘binge writer’ — which I believe is just as viable as the obsessive compulsive writer to scroll out words daily.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve been influenced by novels raging from Gone With The Wind, Pride and Prejudice and Madame Bovary, all the way to The Bridges of Madison County. Also, by one film – An Affair to Remember, with Cary Grant. I cry every time I see that movie.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently outlining and doing research for my sequel to Castilian Heat, as the story lends itself to a series. Because of my ancillary interest in the ancient Roman Empire, I’m also toying with a romance novel against the backdrop of Imperial Rome, and the tyrant Caesar, Caligula. A film that sticks in my mind as a romance with this same venue is The Robe with Jean Simmons and Richard Burton. Plus … I loved Rome when I went there back in 1996.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m so new to the business, I have no favorite website, but twitter and Goodreads have been very helpful.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I suppose if I’m in any position to advise new writers (as I’m a new writer myself) is to stay passionate about your story and the people you populate in it. Stay excited, stay motivated. Write when you can – but always with the vision that one day you will complete your book and publish it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever heard for everyone and I pass it on now is from Winston Churchill: Never, never, never, never quit.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading Lady Chatterly’s Lover.

What’s next for you as a writer?
What’s next is really trying to promise this first novel, Castilian Heat, as well as working on the sequel. I’m also committing myself to reading at least one book a month, in different genres, not just romance. In this way, I feel I can broaden my style and knowledge, versus restrict myself to one genre and its parameters.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Favorite book of all time – that’s easy: Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Did you know she won the Pulitzer for it in 1936? Hard to beat Scarlett and Rhett Butler against a backdrop of the Civil War.

Author Websites and Profiles
Monica Hart Website
Monica Hart Amazon Profile
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a TV news producer and I’ve so far written two books. I live in Godalming in Surrey, England and I love reading, writing and drinking wine. Not necessarily in that order!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Strangely enough my original title for Three Way was ‘Sex Friends.’ I wanted it to be a sort of sequel to Sex Lessons, my first book. I knew the main character would be different from James Kennedy but I liked the characters in Sex Lessons and wanted to carry on some of their journeys.

The genesis of Three Way and the reason it was going to be called Sex Friends was because I thought the story was going to be about two people who basically had sex outside of a relationship. But whenever they began seeing each other as a couple, things would always go wrong. As I got further into writing it I realised this wasn’t the story that was coming out. I didn’t want to force it to become something it wasn’t, so I went with it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write on days off sometimes getting my target of 2000 words a day sometimes less, occasionally more. I normally write in my front room, laptop on my lap. I put on a movie soundtrack to get me in the right place emotionally, then I write for as long as I can. Again, it changes every time I do it. Sometimes it’s a couple of hours, sometimes it’s a whole afternoon. Whenever I have some time and I’m by myself. I have quite a long commute into work so I listen to soundtracks on my iPod whilst thinking about my story and it’s almost inevitable inspiration will come. I use Evernote to log my ideas.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Nick Hornby, David Nichols and Nick Spalding are absolutely my genre but I love reading more serious stuff as well. Books like The English Patient and Middlesex.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on my third novel which I’m about 30,000 words into. This is quite different to the my first two books and it’s got a cracking story. Just have to find time to get it finished.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Goodreads Giveaways have worked really well for me and having my own website and Twitter also seem to yield results.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write your book all the way to the end, don’t keep going back to the beginning to polish those first few chapters. Polishing is much easier than writing but resist the temptation.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Once you’ve finished your book, celebrate, pat yourself on the back and then leave it alone for at least six weeks. Don’t read it, think about it or look at it. After six weeks, sit down and read it from start to finish. Firstly you’ll see a lot of the mistakes, secondly it’s one of the most surreal experiences you can have as a writer. I find myself thinking ‘did I really write that?’

What are you reading now?
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared

What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep writing my third novel and also I’m working on a TV series which I’m pretty excited about.

What is your favorite book of all time?
The English Patient. Beautiful, soulful and a great story.

Author Websites and Profiles
Daniel Grant Website
Daniel Grant Amazon Profile

Daniel Grant’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.

It would be easy to say that Ted Lazaris has led a charmed life; but the fact is that, along with some amazing bits of luck, Ted’s considerable success is due to a lot of plain, hard work.

“I’ve worn a lot of different hats,” says Ted when asked about his experiences. “I’ve worked in retail sales, the medical field as an anesthesia technician, in the printing industry, and I have even owned my own business, among other things.”

But the “hat” that Ted enjoys best is that of a novelist. “I like to think of my books as modern day fables for the young and the young at heart”, he says about “Dragon Man, The Adventures of Luke Starr” and “Dragon Man and the Poseidon Encounter”, his two published novels.

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Ted grew up playing in the woods near his home. By his own admission, he wasn’t too interested in reading when he was a boy. “I was the kind of kid that spent as much time as I could outside,” he explains. “Nevertheless, I did enjoy reading Dickens and Twain,” he adds.

When asked about the source of inspiration for his books and about his fertile imagination, Lazaris responds that both his writing and his ideas probably had their roots in an event that happened during his early childhood.

“I was 8 years old,” he recounted, “and, being a boy that loved to play in the woods, I climbed a very tall tree. Somehow I lost my grip and I fell. During the fall, it seemed to me that time was suddenly suspended—as if it had come to halt. I saw a bright light and a voice that seemed to emanate from it that assured me I was not going to die.”

That singular experience imbued in him wonderment at the unseen and undiscovered mysteries of life.

Ted’s life again gave signs of apparently being charmed when at 17, while disposing of cardboard in an incinerator, shotgun shells that had been inadvertently thrown into the fire went off with a terrific blast, spraying pellets and shrapnel in every direction.

“They told me I should have been killed in the blast,” Ted remembered. Yet, it was evident that something or someone was working overtime to protect him and inform him of important happenings in his life because some years later another incident signaled that another important event was going to happen.

His life had followed an apparently normal course for Ted: he got a job, he married and had children; but then, one day, when he was 27, he suddenly woke in the middle of the night. Again he saw a blindingly bright light before him. “What’s wrong,” his wife asked, alarmed by the way he’d sat up.

“Someone in our family has just died,” he responded. The next day, a phone call informed him of the very sad news: his aunt, with whom he had been very close, had died. But the most astounding part was that she had died on the night, and at the very same time that Ted had awaken to see the blinding shaft of light.

That wasn’t the last time Ted had such an amazing experience. A couple of years later, as he was driving in downtown Milwaukee accompanied by his wife, the image of his wife’s younger brother suddenly appeared before him. Shaken by the sight, Ted had to pull over to the curb.

“What’s wrong, Ted?” his wife asked.

“We’d better go to your mother’s house,” he answered quietly.

Upon arrival at his mother-in-law’s home, Ted and his wife were informed that her younger brother had died of a gunshot wound.

The years after that occurrence passed uneventfully. Ted worked at various jobs and he and his wife went about the chores of any normal family: raising kids, working diligently, buying a home.

Yet, once in a while, strange things would happen. “One day,” Ted remembers, “I saw a white feather falling from the sky. It fell right in front of me. My mother had recently had surgery; I suddenly had the intuition that something had happened to her.” He said to his wife, “I think my mother has just died.” And, in fact, it was true: his mother had just passed away.

Ted’s incredible luck and extraordinary intuitions might have remained just a curiosity in his life but for the fact that one day, while out shopping, he was drawn to a book he saw on the shelf of a store. It was L. Ron Hubbard’s “Scientology: A New Slant on Life”.

Giving in to a compulsion to buy it, he took it home and placed it on his nightstand; “But,” he recalls, “I did not open it or attempt to read it.”

Then, during the nights of the following days, he began to experience unusual flows of perspiration, as if he were racked by anxiety. As if to relieve an unexplainable impulse he began to write. The result was the first of his two marvelous Dragon Man fables.

“The strange thing about this is,” he says musingly, “I never aspired to become a novelist.” Yet, as they say, the rest is history because Ted Lazaris is now the proud author of not only one, but two refreshingly entertaining books which have been not only well received but have been optioned by executive producer Mario Domina, President of Thunderball Films, who will develop screenplays from the published works as a Feature Franchise.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
DragonMan – Face Of The Unknown

War Of The Worlds

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write at any time of day in any place.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
H.G.Wells

What are you working on now?
Another DragonMan novel

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Using a lot of the free sites out there, to promote my book when it’s a free giveaway.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Take your own advice.

What are you reading now?
Lew Hunters screenwriting 434.

What’s next for you as a writer?
At this time I’m working with Thunderball Films LLC. Trying to get my novels I up on the big screen.

What is your favorite book of all time?
War Of The Worlds

Author Websites and Profiles
Ted Lazaris Website
Ted Lazaris Amazon Profile