Awesome Author Interviews

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve ‘hidden’ in books for as long as I can remember. As a child, you could always find me with my nose in something – reading. I’d read the breakfast cereal packet if there was nothing else around!

Words have always fascinated me and I love how a book can transport me anywhere.

I live in New Zealand with my partner and our two dogs and my goldfish! My son just left home recently and took the cat – I’m still not sure who I miss the most 😉

I work as a Registered Legal Executive during the day and sing in a band at night. In between, I write books.

I have three releases out at present:

– Private Love in a Public Place

– Catch

– The Fan

I’m currently completing final edits on my fourth book which I hope to release in the next few weeks.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
RETURN TO ALA MOANA BEACH was a book inspired by a competition. The only two requirements were that the story had to include Memorial Day and a returned serviceman.

I live in New Zealand, so I had little clue what Memorial Day was about, but I thought it might be similar to our ANZAC Day, which is a day when we honor our returned servicemen and those who have fallen defending our freedom. I quick check of google and I was right.

I found images of the Lantern Festival at Ala Moana Beach while I was doing my research and I instantly fell in love with the romantic images of the flickering lanterns on the water. I was hooked!

I enjoy writing about the ‘darker’ side of human nature, so I began to wonder how a man would feel if he had returned home, but not quite the hero he hoped to be. Ty Carter was born… Ty basically just sat me down and told me his story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I love writing in bed. Sunday’s are my favorite days for writing, because I don’t get out of bed (except to grab breakfast and lunch) until 4 or 5pm. Absolute bliss and I get so much writing done.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I think my interest in the dark side of human nature stems from reading Flowers in the Attic by Virginia Andrews. I read a number of her other books, post Flowers, in my early to late teens and all dealt with dysfunction of some nature or another.

Steven King has always terrified me: Carrie, Cujo, Christine and The Shining are works that will always be with me. Having said that, I’m an eternal optimist and I do believe in the power of love. I think that’s why I am still drawn to love stories and romance novels.

More recently, I have discovered Jodi Picoult and I’m quietly devouring her back list.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on book two of the Private Love series: “Public Love in a Private Place” which follows the love affair between my rock star, Julian MacAvoy and his PA/manager/babysitter, Mags. I love these two characters and I’m really looking forward to sharing more of their journey with the fans of Private Love.

Music (like words) is a huge part of my life and I love having the opportunity to combine these two passions.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I love my website – not only because it was created especially for me by my partner and his sons, but also because I think it expresses my brand beautifully.

I’m also a fan of Facebook – I love the way it brings so many people and so many ideas together in one place.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, write, write. And if you don’t want to write, give up now! Truly, this is one of the hardest things I have ever done, but it’s also one of the most worthwhile.

You also need to find yourself a great support group who believe in you and understand what you’re talking about. Relatives and other friends start to ‘glaze over’ when you talk story arc and character development. Some even want to have you certified as insane when you tell them your characters talk to you…. 😉

Find a tribe who understand – that’s been one of the most important things for me.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Butt on chair and fingers on keyboard – just write – every day.

What are you reading now?
Share Me by Olivia Cunning

Sing you Home by Jodi Picoult

Resisting Nick by Kris Pearson

What’s next for you as a writer?
Just building my list of completed works. I’m enjoying the freedom of indie publishing and the challenge of making each book better than the last.

What is your favorite book of all time?
That’s too hard… *pouts*

I always think that there are too many to choose from so I’m not even going to try to answer that question.

Author Websites and Profiles
Toni Kenyon Website
Toni Kenyon Amazon Profile
Toni Kenyon Author Profile on Smashwords

Toni Kenyon’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Ryan, and I’ve never known how to talk about myself. I’m an author and a musician living in Jeffersonville, Indiana with my wife, Lisa. People and social situations make me nervous; I don’t party, and I don’t have many friends. I’ve battled severe behavioral inhibition all my life. It’s a very misunderstood struggle.

I finished my first book when I was about 15, and I’ve written four more since then, along with many short stories, poems, and songs. I’ve always liked making up stories, and I’ve never felt lost for inspiration, but I focused heavily on music for the first 20 or so years of my life. Almost all of my energy went into writing songs, though stories were always slipping out. When I reached a point of deep frustration with my attempts to make a career in music happen, I started to think more about making a real try at publishing a novel.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is The King’s Eagle, and it was inspired by all kinds of things. After writing and reading a lot of heavy, philosophical stuff, I wanted to take a break and write something light and fluffy. The King’s Eagle didn’t turn out to be light and fluffy because – apparently – I don’t have that in my repertoire, but that was my original intent. It all started when I got heavily into roleplaying online. After a difficult period, I was jobless and spending a lot of time playing video games and reading. I love Transformers, and I developed an itch to find a Transformers game I could play online. Thus, I discovered MUs – MUDS and MUSHes and the like – and I got involved in text roleplaying in these MU communities and in creating my own games. This really got my creative engines working, and I started thinking about all these story ideas I has baking in my head and which one would be the most fun to try and tackle first. Originally, I was going to write a generic fantasy story about dragon riders, but I decided against dragons because so many other people have written about them. I chose giant birds instead, because I love birds, and the story just started to fall into place. It outgrew my desire to write something simple, and I quickly found myself deeply engaged. I even created a language for my story – Imnura, the language of Emnor – and that has been a whole endeavor of its own – and a wonderful one. So online roleplaying was a big inspiration. Also, I was reading The Book of Lost Tales Vol. 1 by J.R.R. Tolkien (as compiled by Christopher, his son) while I was writing The King’s Eagle, and that strongly influenced my voice in the story. I was also feeling very cooped up and unwell, and focusing on writing was a way to expand beyond that. Lastly, I was taking daily walks back then, and there were frequently rabbits feeding and playing in the area where I walked, and I found that peace very inspiring, too.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure what a usual writing habit would be. I don’t type with my feet or anything. I like to write in total silence, and I write best very early in the morning. Insomnia is a big motivator for me, I guess. I like to act out parts of my stories while I’m writing; maybe that’s unusual. A lot of that happens in the shower. In fact, I think almost all my story ideas are born in the bathroom. Is that unusual?

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Tolkien has got to be number one on my list of influences. He was the first author I really remember loving. I love the way he describes landscapesaz. He liked to take walks, too, but he had much more interesting terrain to explore than I have behind my apartment complex. He went all over, and you can really tell. You can feel how much he loved the uncultivated world through his writing, I think. Frank Herbert has also been very influential not just on the way I write but on my whole personal philosophy in general. The Dune series and Fight Club are two books that really made me think about the way I understood the world – and how I wrote about it as well. I also love Joseph Conrad, Dante, Milton, Sylvia Plath, Nabokov, and Petrarch. And Neil Gaiman, too; his Sandman series is amazing.

What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m writing a book called Graveworld. The next book I publish, however, will be Melidora, which is in my editor’s hands. I’m also translating Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland into my conlang, Imnura, for a large project honoring Lewis Carroll and Alice. That has been a very time-consuming task, as it’s the longest translation I’ve ever done, but I’m really enjoying it. And, of course, I’m still writing and recording music.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m terrible at self-promotion. I mention The King’s Eagle on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr all the time. I also have a TKE Facebook page and an Imnura blog. That’s all I’ve got going to spread the word at the moment – with the exception of this interview.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read. Read all the time. Read everything; don’t just read one genre. Read everything you can. Read Harry Potter, Animal Farm, The Silmarillion, Greek myths, the Bible, Hellboy comics – everything. Read things that you don’t understand so you’ll be forced to look things up. A lot of people say that they don’t have time to read, and I find this ridiculous. I just don’t accept it. Lots of people who are really busy find time to read. You can do it, too. In fact, you have to read if you seriously want to write. Trying to write when you don’t read is like trying to learn to speak without ever hearing anyone say anything. It’s not impossible, but, when it does happen, we call it a miracle. Also, keep a dictionary of interesting words. I found that very helpful.

This might be good to say, too, though it’s going to sound a little bitter: writing a story is the easy part. Making a career out of writing involves 5% writing and 95% whoring yourself out to promote Brand You. If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably find that process demeaning, but you have to do it. When it comes to marketing, there is just no place for people with scruples or dignity. You have to sell your soul.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I don’t know that I can narrow the list down to a single quote! I’ll offer a few.

“One of the greatest gifts you can give anybody is the gift of your honest self.” – Fred Rogers

“This is your world. You’re the creator.” – Bob Ross

“Never be complete. Stop being perfect.” – Tyler Durden in Fight Club, paraphrased

“The universe is quite big, and almost none of it has anything to do with humans.” This is from the book Atheism Explained by David Ramsay Steele. I’m an atheist, and I see this quote in a theological context as well as a broader, social one. One of the things I love about going for walks is the feeling of being part of something that is larger than myself. I don’t want to be wrapped up in myself all the time: I find myself boring. I like knowing that, in comparison to the billion-year history of life on Earth, my life has amounted to practically nothing. I know that seems depressing, but it calms me. It helps me realize that I put a lot of pressure on myself, and that, if I put it there, I can take it off, too. Seneca said, “Our fears are more numerous than our dangers, and we suffer more in our imagination than in reality.”

What are you reading now?
The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller. I picked it up because it seemed to tell a story that is similar to the one I am telling in Graveworld. I’m also looking forward to reading The Lightcap by my friend Dan Marshal, and Sisyphus Shrugged by Robert Peate, whom I’ve known for many years. They are next on my list once I’m finished doing a million things at once.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan on publishing Melidora this year. I’m also going to be releasing a corrected edition of The King’s Eagle on August 31, the year anniversary of the first edition’s publishing. I’ve written a sequel to Melidora, but I’m going to sit on it for a bit. I’m not sure about it. I’m not really a serial writer, I don’t think – at least not yet. I would love to tell more stories set in and around Emnor some day, though.

What is your favorite book of all time?
I can only pick one? Oh, man. The Lord of the Rings is my go-to answer. I also love Heart of Darkness. It’s hard not to say The Divine Comedy, though. You know? And Paradise Lost. I guess I can’t name just one.

Author Websites and Profiles
Ryan Z. Dawson Amazon Profile

Ryan Z. Dawson’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

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

I’m C.M.J. Wallace, and I’ve been reading books since about the time I learned to talk. Somewhere along the line, I realized that I wanted to write, and after taking a few stabs at it throughout the years I buckled down and began scribbling the Rift series in 2008, using rudiments I’d penned in 1992. To date, I’ve completed four books in the series (Sing the Midnight Stars, Flight of Shadows, This Darkling Magic, and This Strange Magic).

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
This Strange Magic is my latest book, and it flowed from the first three. I’d originally planned for Rift to be a single book, but it burgeoned into an entire series without my permission.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have no unusual writing habits, but I do find that it goes better when I have coffee-flavored Nips at my side as a panacea. (They’re a hard candy that I highly recommend to anyone with even a modicum of tendency toward a sweet tooth.)

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen R. Donaldson is hands-down my greatest influence, closely followed by Pat Conroy. Their prose is beautiful, rich, and evocative, filled with language that creates wonderful imagery.

What are you working on now?
I’m writing the fifth book in the Rift series and am outlining the sixth, and I’ve started writing an unrelated fantasy novel that’s intended to be a stand-alone book…but you saw how that went.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I haven’t found a good method for promoting my books. People tout Facebook and Twitter as wonderful tools, but unless you already have a huge friend base–at least in my experience–those sites aren’t much good, nor is Kindle Boards. I’d be happy to hear from anyone who can gainsay me and has made a success of their books by using those sites. Please tell me how! Goodreads has actually been the most lucrative site so far, allowing me to give away my books for greater exposure.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I advise new authors to develop a thick skin and not give up. Self-publishing and -marketing are tough, uphill battles, and it’s easy to get discouraged.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t pay attention to bad reviews of your books; everyone, even J. K. Rowling, receives them. Believe in yourself and keep writing!

What are you reading now?
I’m reading Bronze Gods by A. A. Aguirre and Once Bitten by Stephen Leather.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Once I’m finished with the Rift series, I’m going to revisit the unrelated book I mentioned above and start plotting the book after that, which will be ???

What is your favorite book of all time?
Hmm…favorite book of all time… I’m probably in the same boat with a lot of other people on answering this one. It’s too hard to choose. For sheer laughs, I’d have to say William Goldman’s The Princess Bride.

Author Websites and Profiles
C.M.J. Wallace Website
C.M.J. Wallace Amazon Profile
C.M.J. Wallace Author Profile Other Bookseller

C.M.J. Wallace’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

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

My first novel was published a few months ago by HarperCollins – amazing. It spent 7 days on the kindle uk free bestseller list at no.2 in erotica and around the no. 50 mark in kindle store overall. My mind shorts out when I think of all the people who must have downloaded it. Many reviews on Goodreads in a very short time. Some wonderful, others not so much…

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
‘Out of the Shadows and into the Darkness’ by Senta Holland, published by HarperCollins. It is the story of Senta, a thirty something Londoner, who travels round the world to find the lover of her dreams. this is made more difficult and more exciting by the fact that Senta lives and loves in the dark and sometimes heart breaking world of BDSM, and the man she’s looking for is her dream Dom.

This book is very real, authentic, raw. It is also written in a literary style that goes beyond the usual ‘romance’ books (and indeed many reveiwers have said that it should be classed as ‘literature’).

‘It’s not a novel, it’s an experience…’

The book was inspired by love.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if it is unusual but I’ve written almost all my books mostly in coffee shops. I feel inspired by sitting among other people who are also writing something. My ideas flow more smoothly and easily than when I am alone. I do edit alone though, that’s a more left brain activity and much much easier than getting out the original material.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Too many to list.

What are you working on now?
My next big novel – with a cast of thousands, 4 different perspectives and at least 4 huge volumes. Diversity!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Goodreads is the best website for me. Best method is to be on it all the time (if you can…)

Do you have any advice for new authors?
No. I can tell you what I do: I write at least 5 days a week. And I allow myself to write ‘badly’. No idea if that works for you, though.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t listen to other people’s advice. When people give advice, they don’t talk about you, they talk about themselves. Don’t let yourself be held back by other people’s fear. Go as you far as you can go. What are you waiting for?

What are you reading now?
‘The Bride Stripped Bare’ by Nikki Gemmell

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am writing a completely different book now – about the big public issues in society rather than a love story about two people . But ultimately, the same themes come up: freedom, dreaming, identity.

What is your favorite book of all time?
‘The Waves’ by Virginia Woolf

Author Websites and Profiles
Senta Holland Website
Senta Holland Amazon Profile

Senta Holland’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

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

I am an English horror author. I have so far written two books, a novel called ‘Beneath’ and a collection of short stories. I live in the English countryside with my wife and little boy.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called ‘Dark County’ it is a collection of short horror stories all set in the countryside, or as I prefer to call them ‘Ten Tales of Rural terror’. The inspiration for this book was two fold, the fact that it is a collection of short stories came from the fact that I had just finished and published my first novel and wanted to do something different, doing a short story collection gave me the opportunity to write stories of many kinds and styles.

The second inspiration was living, and having lived all but the first seven years of my life, in Lincolnshire. For those who don’t know it it is a large, mainly agricultural county on the east coast of England. It is a beautiful, but bleak place. The county itself inspired the stories.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I suppose the most unusual thing is my lack of habits. I don’t write everyday, I don’t write in the same place each time, I write at any time of day.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are many authors who have influenced me. Stephen King is a big influence on the genre as a whole I feel, and me personally to a degree. Also the late James Herbert was a big influence on me. I am also a fan of Clive Barker and H.P. Lovecraft.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on my second novel, it is called ‘The Wilds’ and it is a change of direction from my first novel, which was about the supernatural, this is about a very real threat. I don’t wan’t to go into to too much detail yet, but the inspiration for the story is the reports of big cats living in the English countryside.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use social media a lot to promote my work, in particular Facebook and Twitter, these two seem to have got the best results for me so far. Also my own website is very helpful, though I need the social media to get people there in the first place.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
patience, do not rush things, or pressure yourself into doing things to quickly. Take your time and enjoy what you are doing, that is the main thing. Also get your books professionally edited, that is a big one, I didn’t do it with my first edition of my debut novel and got a lot of comments about my spelling and grammar. Since then I have had the book edited and my latest one too, and those negative comments have stopped.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what you know- I don’t take it to mean that you should only write about things within your life, I take it to mean that you should research as much as possible.

What are you reading now?
I am reading ‘The Twelve’ by Justin Cronin, the second part of his Passage trilogy.

What’s next for you as a writer?
After finishing my next novel, I will be starting on my third, I already have the story as I wrote it as a screenplay a few years ago. Then I would like to try and get the film made. I would love to direct.

What is your favorite book of all time?
That’s a tough one, there are so many books that I love, but I suppose I would have to say ‘The Stand’ by Stephen King, just for it’s epic scale.

Author Websites and Profiles
Kit Tinsley Website
Kit Tinsley Amazon Profile

Kit Tinsley’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi! I am a budding UK novelist, studying towards and B.A in English Language and Literature, when I am not writing, editing or reading. I currently five book in a series out now on Amazon, called The Forever series.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book out on Amazon is called The Ties That Bind. It is the fifth book in The Forever Series. A major book in pushing the series forward to where I want it to go.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My little netbook in bed on one of those fold up trays with legs? Far more comfortable then sitting at my desk with the laptop!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love most Paranormal Romance books – both Adult and YA. I love Kim Harrison and J. R. Ward.

What are you working on now?
The latest book I am working on is the eight installment of The Forever Series and the working title is called “Secrets”. It is a different perspective than the previous seven, as it follows the thoughts of all the characters now, not just the female lead. It’s shocking!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Twitter and Goodreads.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Fulfill your dream! Whether you self publish or find a publisher to represent your work, it is worth it to see your books out there being read!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up!

What are you reading now?
Shadow Rising by Yasmine Galenorn.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am going to start a new YA series over the summer, now that I have a break from University. It will be a totally new direction for me so looking forward to the challenge.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I adore this book and have a well thumbed paperback copy of it, as well an updated eBook. I love Scotland and I their history and this is a fantastic story.

Author Websites and Profiles
Eve Newton Website

Eve Newton’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

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

My name is Roxanna Rose and I am a California native with a deep connection to my Ulster heritage. Fascinated by myths and legends from cultures around the world, I enjoy creating young adult, fantasy & paranormal novels steeped in their mysteries. “Desires (A Legacy Novel)” is my first published book. Reading is one of my favorite hobbies and my home library has far exceeded its shelf capacity. I am a lover of nature and keep my home a safe haven for my “other species neighbors.” Living in the country has allowed me to keep the land a pesticide free “safe zone.” They seem to know this because during the last dove hunting season I had approx. 40 doves sitting on the ground in my backyard (I live on 17 acres) and they stayed there until the season was over. I divide most of my time between my writing, my career as a veterinary technician and wildlife rehabilitator, and socializing feral cats.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My current work is called Desires (A Legacy Novel) and it is based on Celtic legends. My cover art is by fantasy artist Julie Fain and the interior Celtic artwork is by Celtic artist Jen Delyth. My love of storytelling based on Myths & Legends has inspired the writing of nearly all of my books. When I read the legends full stories begin to form in my mind.

You can find out more about me and my book and links to all the various reviews, as well as, any other sites with which I am associated at my website:

http://www.take2creativestorywriters.com

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Since my best writing is done when the weather is stormy, but I live in sunny California I have to trick my imagination. I darken the room, put a fireplace DVD on my office TV, and I put a rain storm CD in my computer. Instant winter, even when the temperature is 100 degrees outside. Add a Starbucks latte and I am in full on imagination mode.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have been influenced by so many writers. Here is just a short list:

Jeaniene Frost Sherrilyn Kenyon

Maria V. Snyder Nalini Singh

Melissa Marr Becca Fitzpatrick

P.C. & Kristin Cast Veronica Roth

Gillian Summers Lynsay Sands

Richelle Mead Cassandra Clare

Kami Garcia Margaret Stohl

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on “Malevolence (A Legacy Novel), which is the second book in the series. The final book in that series will be Sacrifices (A Legacy Novel), although there may be a couple of novellas thrown in because readers are asking for them. I am also working on a fantasy titled “She Who Watches” that is based off of a Native American legend from the Pacific Northwest.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have had a lot of success with Goodreads and my own personal website is really starting to take off, as well.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never stop writing! If it is truly in your blood you really won’t be able to stop yourself.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never stop writing! If it is truly in your blood you really won’t be able to stop yourself. (I believe in recycling.)

What are you reading now?
I am currently read “Beautiful Darkness” by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I can’t believe it took me so long to find out about these books, they are fantastic.

What’s next for you as a writer?
This year it is all about the writing, but by next year I plan to be on the road doing promotions, conventions, and book fairs.

What is your favorite book of all time?
I can’t possibly answer this question because if I did it would mean I was…dead. Since I am obviously still alive (at least I was the last time I looked in the mirror) the “of all time” hasn’t come yet. I still have plenty of time to read a lot more books. Ask me this question again later, you know…when I’m dead.

Author Websites and Profiles
Roxanna Rose Website
Roxanna Rose Amazon Profile
Roxanna Rose Barnes and Noble

Roxanna Rose’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 Dan. I’m an author and musician living in Portland, Oregon. I also have a career in IT, in which I resolve escalated technical issues for a non-profit in the education sector. I just wrote my first book, a dystopian cyberpunk novel.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest and first book is titled *The Lightcap*. One of the plotlines in the book involves a device (the Lightcap) that is touted as a way for employees to experience less stress from their workdays. You put on the Lightcap when you come to work, then take if off when you leave for the day. You remember nothing that happened while you were wearing it, so there’s no way a bad workday can cause anxiety. The idea was inspired by a really bad day at work, fittingly enough.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so. I typically sit at the kitchen table and write. Sometimes I’ll go to a coffee shop, but the cost of doing that can add up.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
L’Engle, Asimov, Clarke. Those were huge influences on me as a kid. Later in life, Stephenson, Gibson, Kafka, PK Dick. Outside of scifi, I loved the Harry Potter books. Even though they’re YA, I found the character development to be rich and the world building very thorough. I am in awe of Rowling’s ability to create thousands and thousands of pages of enthralling material.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on marketing *The Lightcap*. I’ve never done this before, so I’m learning as I go. I’m also working on my next book, a zombie apocalypse novel told from the perspective of a preacher’s kid.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I hang out on Facebook, Goodreads, and Kboards quite a bit.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Your book won’t write itself. Write even when you don’t feel like it. You’ll thank yourself later. Take pride in your work and don’t let people read it until you’ve had *someone else* edit it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Even if you are the worst writer in the world, at least you’ll have the evidence.” -Padgett Powell

What are you reading now?
Sisyphus Shrugged, by my friend and editor Robert Peate. (http://www.sisyphusshruggedbook.com)

What’s next for you as a writer?
A zombie book and then a sequel to *The Lightcap*. I don’t have anything set in stone after that, though I’ve got a number of ideas written down that have some potential.

What is your favorite book of all time?
This is always such a hard question to answer! I’m going to go with *1984*. I’ve read at least 20 times and it never gets old.

Author Websites and Profiles
Dan Marshall Website
Dan Marshall Amazon Profile

Dan Marshall’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have published two books, A CHILD IS TORN: INNOCENCE LOST and FACELESS which is due out next week in EBOOK and Paperback about 3 months later. I presently am in the process of writing my third novel STOLEN.

I had my first book published at age 59 finally achieving a dream of mine since childhood.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
FACELESS is my second novel . It is a murder mystery which is the continuation of the lives of characters from my first novel. It is about a serial killer that has rendered two teenagers mutilated and everyone in town seems to be under suspicion even the town’s favorite clergy. A PRIEST.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I WRITE FROM BED; I suffer from Chronic pain and spend a lot of time laying down.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
NORA ROBERTS, DEMILLE, GARDNER, FOLLETT

What are you working on now?
STOLEN: The third in the series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I travel the social media sites and go anywhere and everywhere I think will help.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up your dreams.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up your dreams.

What are you reading now?
Stephen White: BEST REVENGE

What’s next for you as a writer?
Just keep on dreaming.

What is your favorite book of all time?
I would say that may be THE JESTER by Patterson, so different from all his other novels. But I love Follett and JD ROBB. SO MANY BOOKS…SO LITTLE TIME.

Author Websites and Profiles
dawn whidden Website
dawn whidden Amazon Profile

dawn whidden’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written two books and I’m currently working on my third, which is a sequel to my first book, Sound Bites.

I started writing around the age of ten due to my obsession with R.L. Stine murder mystery novels.

About five years ago, I landed a few freelance writing jobs for music and fitness columns, and started writing my first novel shortly thereafter.

I had a literary agent for a few years, but after many unsuccessful publishing attempts, I decided to release the books on my own last year. After learning how to market them, my first novel became an Amazon Kindle Top 100 Bestseller in 3 different categories. It was incredible.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel, Finding Mia, was inspired by several great books I’d read, and many great people I’ve had in my life. It focuses on bipolar disorder, and I had to conduct extensive research about the subject for the book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I only write at night. I find it easier when the sun is down and I have no distractions.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jen Sincero, Jodi Picoult, Chuck Klosterman, Janet Fitch. And many, many more.

What are you working on now?
My new novel, Love Bites, which is a sequel to Sound Bites. It is set to be released Fall 2013.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I did a book blog tour and found it to be the best marketing tool out there.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up. Keep writing and building a following. And don’t let bad reviews get you down, we all get them 🙂

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.

What are you reading now?
You are a Badass – a hilarious inspirational book by Jen Sincero.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing Love Bites and learning new ways to market it. I’m starting to do radio shows and partner with indie book stores in my area.

What is your favorite book of all time?
White Oleander by Janet Fitch.

Author Websites and Profiles
Rachel K. Burke Website
Rachel K. Burke Amazon Profile

Rachel K. Burke’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, hello there! My name’s Helen J Beal, I write contemporary literary fiction and I have published three novels and a book of short stories. I write engaging, enjoyable books that are often quite quirky and unconventional. My short stories in particular take readers on some exotic flights of the imagination!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Riding a Tiger – I was inspired to write it as I found myself inordinately interested in the piracy phenomenon in the Gulf of Aden (Somalia) and wanted to tell a character-driven story that didn’t just paint the Somalis as criminals but tried, through privileged Westerners’ pairs of eyes, to understand a little more about how their country operates and what they are born to. The title was inspired by me stumbling across a corporate story at work, that is, in fact, an old Chinese adage – but you’d have to read the book to find out how it fits with a story based around a continent which has lions, not tigers!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write underwater. Ok, seriously – I suspect not. I write as and when I can. Sometimes I can assign serious chunks of time to writing and treat it like a job, getting to a desk and knuckling straight down to it. Other times I fit it in where I can – on trains, planes, in hotel rooms. Writers are such an eclectic bunch and many do have foibles. A couple of my favorite stories would be that Dan Brown hangs upside down when he has writer’s block and I think it’s Barbara Taylor Bradford who gets all dolled up and sits down at the start of the day with a chilled glass of champagne to kick her off (I rather like the sound of the last one, but am not so keen on the first). Oh – wait! I do have a pair of (pink and grey knee-length striped) writing socks. When I first started out I didn’t feel ready to hit the keyboard until I had donned them. I’m not so bad now but I’m more likely to be found writing in pajama bottoms or my Pilates kit that anything suitable for twinning with champagne.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like quirky, funny books. I studied English Literature and Language at the University of London and was taught to read when I was three so have devoured a fair few books in my time, but key authors would be: Douglas Adams, Douglas Coupland, Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver and Nuruddin Farah. The books that hit the top of my favorites lists are: Life of Pi (Yann Martel), ‘The Extinction Club’ (Jeffrey Moore), ‘Flight Behavior’ (Barbara Kingsolver), The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern), Amsterdam (Ian McEwan), Bird Brain (Guy Kennaway) and East of Eden (John Steinbeck).

What are you working on now?
I’m working on two novels and a book of short stories at the moment. I am focusing on my concerns around overpopulation, conservation and the current mass extinction event for the novel and short stories and the other novel is inspired by a disturbing recurring dream that I have and so is a thriller – new territory for me, but fun to explore.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m a big fan of Goodreads – the first thing an author needs to do when promoting their books is create social proof, i.e. get some decent reviews online. Friends and family may be able to help, but it’s always going to be more effective and ethical long-term from people who don’t have a vested emotional interest in your success. Goodreads runs an excellent giveaway function which has attracted a good deal of readers to my book and resulted in some very positive, encouraging and helpful reviews.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing – you’ll get better with every book, and if readers like your work they’ll want to come back for more material so the more you have, the better. Also, don’t try to do everything on your own. Writing is a job and a career – it may not be your first or primary income stream, but be professional. Hire editors – this is the most important thing an author can do in my mind if they are not being traditionally published and being provided with these services. Second, hire a cover designer.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just write. One of my favorite authors is the comedy thriller writer Janet Evanovich. She has published an excellent non-fiction book on writing called How I Write. She said: “If you want to be a writer, just write.” – it’s the advice she gave herself and it seems to have worked out pretty well for her!

What are you reading now?
I recently discovered Barbara Kingsolver following an abortive attempt at The Poisonwood Bible several years ago. We chose Flight Behavior as our book club read this month and I was instantly hooked – I suspected I might be as I have long held butterflies in high regard and conservation is top of my agenda at the moment. As a result, I am now steadily working through her back catalog – I loved Prodigal Summer too and now I’m on her non-fiction book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle which is about how she and her family tackled a project to only eat locally grown food for a year. There is so much wisdom in there.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, I’m very pleased to be able to refer to myself as a professional writer now so it remains to build on that and keep on writing! I hope to publish my three new books in the spring of 2014 and then will try to decide which of the many other projects I have slated to work on next! I don’t suffer from a deficit of ideas, which is both a good and a bad thing.

What is your favorite book of all time?
That would be Life of Pi.

Author Websites and Profiles
Helen Beal Website
Helen Beal Amazon Profile

Helen Beal’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m the author of SCOT ON THE ROCKS and JACK WITH A TWIST. My third novel, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE, will be published by St. Martin’s in 2013. My work’s also appeared in the New York Post and Publisher’s Weekly. You can find me at brendajanowitz.com or on Twitter at @BrendaJanowitz.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My third novel, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE, comes out July 2nd. It is about three generations of women with a culture all their own. When Hannah finds herself spending the summer with her glamorous grandmother, a widow six times over, at her sprawling beach-front Hamptons estate, she learns that there’s more than one recipe for happiness.

A story of mothers and daughters, grandmothers and grandchildren, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE is a quirky story about correcting the mistakes from your past and trying to create a future for yourself.

The novel that will be free on Amazon Kindle from June 12-16 is my second novel, JACK WITH A TWIST. It’s a fun romantic comedy about a woman planning the wedding of her dreams all while litigating the biggest case of her career…. against her fiance! (Hilarity ensues.) It was inspired by planning my own wedding! Although my own wedding planning wasn’t quite as eventful.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
One of the things I’m most often asked about the writer’s life is my writing schedule.

I’ve heard all about this mystical “writing schedule.” In fact, I hear all the time about writers who have one– they wake up every day at 5 am and write until 7. Or they sit down and don’t get up until they’ve written 1,000 words. Or they go to writers colonies and hammer out entire books in the span of a month.

I envy those writers. I really do. I wish I could have such discipline. But I don’t. Because the thing is, the thing that no one ever wants to hear, is that I don’t have a writing schedule. What I do is write whenever I can and as much as I can. Simple as that.

My life is filled with little kids running underfoot, and carpools, and figuring out what to put on the table for dinner. (Wow, I sound really glamorous, don’t I!?) I try to make the most of those times in between. The few hours I have between dropping my son off and nursery school and pick up. Whatever precious time I get if and when the kids nap. A quiet evening here or there when the kids are in bed and my husband’s stuck at work.

I wrote my entire first novel in the space in between. When I got home from work early, when I had time on weekends, on lunch breaks. I’d edit while riding the subway downtown, on the bus crosstown, on the Long Island Rail Road on trips to see my family. And it worked. Sure, it took longer than if I’d been writing every day until I hit the 1,000 word mark, but that wasn’t my life. So I fit the writing into the life I had then. And I still do the same– I fit the writing into the life I’ve got now.

EB White said “A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.”

Words to live by.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many books! So many authors!!

Some of my favorites are: Emily Giffin, Jennifer Weiner, Julie Buxbaum, Allison Winn Scotch and Elinor Lipman.

What are you working on now?
My third novel comes out July 2nd, so I’m working on promotion for that novel. I’m also working on my fourth novel, but I’m only 2/3 done. Don’t ask me what it’s about! I generally only figure out what a book is truly about after I finish a first draft.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I wish I had the answer to that! I just try to get out there as much as I can. Blog chats, Facebook, Twitter…. anything that I think will help get my name out there.

My favorite part of promotion is visiting book clubs. If you’d like to read one of my novels for your book club, contact me and I’ll visit or call in!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing! It’s so easy to get discouraged or feel like you don’t have the time to write. But like anything else that is important in life, you have to work at it and make the time for it.

Edit! Editing your work is almost as important as the writing itself. Sure, you’re telling your story, but it’s also important to consider the way that you tell it. You want your writing to be tight, elegant and polished. It can only get to be that way through careful and thorough editing.

Develop a very thick skin. You’re putting yourself out there when you write and not everyone is going to love what you do. But that’s okay! You’re not writing to please everyone out there. You’re writing because you have a story that you want to tell. So start getting used to criticism and then see tip #1—keep writing!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Some of my favorite writing quotes:

“A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.” EB White

“You fail only if you stop writing.” Ray Bradbury

“My ideas usually come not at my desk writing but in the midst of living.” Anais Nin

What are you reading now?
I’m reading (and loving) AND THEN I FOUND YOU by Patti Callahan Henry and THE YEAR OF THE GADFLY by Jennifer Miller.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ll be working on promotions for Book 3 and finishing up Book 4!

What is your favorite book of all time?
The Great Gatsby, hands down.

Author Websites and Profiles
Brenda Janowitz Website
Brenda Janowitz Amazon Profile

Brenda Janowitz’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Sometimes I feel like the old expression…Jack of trades and master of none. Many long years ago I graduated college with a BS in Nursing. I’m currently a school nurse in a small K-12 school which pays the bills but writing fuels my soul. I am a Life Coach and Motivational Speaker as well as a Mother, Grandmother, and cycling enthusiast. In my spare time I enjoy reading and what I call porch gardening and just spending time outside. I also have what’s called a zipper head…the term for someone who has had surgery for Chiari I Malformation, a condition where the brain doesn’t quite fit into the skull. I currently have one published book and one on the publisher’s editing table that I hope will be released by the end of the summer.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I first started writing after my youngest daughter got married and my nest was officially empty. I was actually excited about the prospects of my life without the sense of fulltime responsibility for my daughters but I realized that not all women feel that way. I had just completed my Life Coaching training and had always wanted to write so it seemed like the perfect time and the perfect subject. My first attempt was writing a book of exercises designed to help women find themselves. It was a great concept. The only problem was…it was dry and boring. It seems like every chapter started out…find a quiet place…make a list…blah…blah…blah. One day as a fluke I named my nest Bertha and the rest as they say is history. Bertha became quite a character in lime green spandex and high-heel sandals and she quickly took over my writing and my life. Those boring chapters became fun stories about Bertha on a soapbox and I assure you…she is anything but quiet!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I wrote most of Bertha-Size in long hand in my journal but have since transitioned to writing on the computer. I usually write early in the morning when I’m fresh…I’m just not very creative at night.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
All of Og Mandino’s works but especially…The Greatest Miracle in the World. He wrote self-help embedded in a delightful story which greatly influenced how I write. Esther and Jerry Hicks and the teachings of Abraham impacted me greatly and there is a lot of Law of Attraction principles in Bertha.

What are you working on now?
As I mentioned, the Bertha sequel is awaiting edits but I have started a novel which is also about personal transformation.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Oh…I’m the hesitant promoter! For me I’d have to say that it’s making connections on social media…doing interviews like this as well as radio interviews.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Take time for yourself. It’s so easy to get into a frantic mindset that it all has to be done today that we forget to do the things that nurture us. And from experience…don’t quit your day job until you have a steady writing income that will support you. Yeah…that was messy!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Don’t be like the Spaniards and kill all the Indians.” I’m not sure where she got this…probably made it up…but I remember my Mama telling me that when I was in high school. Basically she was reminding me to be kind to others that life isn’t about…conquest.

What are you reading now?
Reveal…A Sacred Manual for Getting Spiritually Naked by Meggan Watterson

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m thinking breakfast…oh wait…that wasn’t the question. I’m excited about the Bertha sequel (as yet unnamed) and there may be a third book to follow as well as that novel that’s been bugging me for several years now. I’m also ready to expand the coaching and speaking aspects of my career.

What is your favorite book of all time?
The Greatest Miracle in the World

Author Websites and Profiles
Jane Carroll Website
Jane Carroll Amazon Profile

Jane Carroll’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been oozing around for a while as a journalist, writing award shows in Hong Kong, attending machine gun shoots in Kentucky, and interviewing white supremacists in South Carolina. Along with my best friend from high school, Katie Crouch, I’m co-author of the Magnolia League YA series from Little, Brown, and with my wife, Amanda Cohen, I’m co-author of “Dirt Candy: A Cookbook,” the first graphic novel cookbook. On my own I wrote “Satan Loves You,” “Occupy Space” and “Tales from the White Street Society.”

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “Tales from the White Street Society” which is a collection of short stories about 19th century men of science investigating the supernatural and beating it to death with shovels. It’s got all the casual cruelty and racism that science loves and steampunk so often ignores.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I give dictation to a small monkey who writes the first draft for me. But that is the only point at which monkeys are involved.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
It’s not a direct influence, but if you like George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman series you’ll probably like “Tales from the White Street Society.”

What are you working on now?
I just sold a novel to a traditional publisher and I’m currently up to my monkey in the first draft. It’s coming out in June, 2014 and that’s all I’m allowed to say.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Craigslist. I’ll put up an ad promising that I am a 19 year old college student who wants to meet an older, married gentleman for no strings attached sex. They book a hotel room and then I make them buy copies of my books in exchange for not showing the pictures to their families.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Craigslist. All the way.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Stop teasing that bear.”

Seriously, it could have been a lot worse if I’d continued.

What are you reading now?
I just finished my annual re-read of “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott. Such a depressing book.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More monkeys. Oh, and Ryan Dunlavey and I have a comic book adaptation of “Little Women” coming out next year.

What is your favorite book of all time?
“Pacific Vortex” by Clive Cussler. I read it when I was 12 and thought, “I can do this!”

Author Websites and Profiles
Grady Hendrix Website
Grady Hendrix Amazon Profile

Grady Hendrix’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
The Green Line is my first completed novel and it took me nearly a decade to get it from idea to publication.

I have spent a lifetime searching out creative outlets. I started as a dancer, but life as a struggling artist gets exhausting and I was starting to feel OLD at 24, so I began investigating re-entry into the mainstream. That’s when I decided to try law school. I always loved writing and school and though I wasn’t sure I would enjoy being a lawyer, I thought it would be fascinating and I just hoped that I’d figure out my path as I went along. After school I joined a litigation group at a major Chicago firm. It wasn’t a great fit though and I headed next to an Intellectual Property firm. That was a better fit but as I began having kids, the pull to get out became stronger. I had spent years drafting story ideas on my way to work and fantasizing about writing a book. Toddlers who needed me created the perfect excuse to make my exit. Working on this first book, THE GREEN LINE, allowed me to keep my mind focused on something both intellectual and creative. It’s lead me in a whole new direction and I feel like I’ve finally found my niche.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Green Line is a legal thriller (or suspense thriller or mystery-thriller, according to some reviewers) that is set in Chicago in 2004 at the height of the economic boom and during a time when Chicago was known nationally as the “murder capital”, having reached 600 murders in 2003. The story was inspired by my own experiences in firm life, my sometimes frightening experiences on Chicago’s public transportation, and my research into a disturbing yet legal maneuver that is widely used in the “war on drugs.”

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if it’s unusual, but my writing location varies widely from day to day. Sometimes I’m at the library, sometimes in bed, in the kitchen, outside. And when things are going well, I tend to pace a lot!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I began writing I knew that I was aiming at a commercially accessible book that would be plot driven and fast-paced. I’m a big movie buff, I love action movies, and I wanted a story that was very visual. I read Grisham’s The Firm twenty plus years ago, and it was one of those books that I didn’t want to put down because there was such tension. I knew I wanted to do that. I also read a lot of Michael Crichton in my twenties and his too were very suspenseful, but they also taught me about things that I knew nothing about–like genetics or environmental science, etc. I really hope that The Green Line also succeeds in bringing more widespread awareness to a legal issue in the same way.

What are you working on now?
The response to The Green Line both before and after publication has made me realize that my focus should be on a sequel of sorts. There are characters here I’d like to play with more and I created openings for things to continue into another book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
It’s really too soon for me to tell. I think the most helpful strategies I’ve used so far were to get professional reviews before publication and to have a real launch date that’s publicized.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do a lot of peer review and critique of work before putting it out there. Try to get an agent and a publisher before going the indie route. Even if you don’t succeed in landing a rep or a deal, you will learn a lot about the industry and potentially a lot about your work.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just keep writing. This is not easy especially when we’re writing a first, because we look for external validation that we have some talent before pressing forward. And then when it’s out in the world, there’s such pressure to focus on sales and marketing. It’s not an easy balance, but I’m trying!

What are you reading now?
I’m reading Midwives–which is good. I’ve also downloaded several free ebooks lately, so there’s a big backlog. And I’m rereading a few books on the middle east, in particular The Reluctant Fundamentalist, because my next story focuses on a Pakistani and so I’m in research mode, gathering information about the culture. I also saw that the movie is coming out, which made me want to re-read it. Like I said, I love the movies!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m doing a few book signings this summer around Chicago and I’m doing several book club meetings–both locally and via Skpe. I think that will be a lot of fun. And beyond trying to do something nearly every day in my work toward marketing my book, I’m trying hard to nail down my structure and story for book two. I hope that I can complete a draft this year. That’s not exactly a fast pace, but certainly better than the eight + years I spent on The Green Line!

What is your favorite book of all time?
It’s very difficult to say because my memory is horrible. I can barely remember what I read last month, let alone a few years back. But Memoirs of a Geisha would be up there. I read that many years ago and I still remember that it was one of those books that I never wanted to end and I was sorry to say goodbye to the character.

Author Websites and Profiles
E.C. Diskin Website
E.C. Diskin Amazon Profile

E.C. Diskin’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon. A reluctant housewife. It’s hard to justify not loading the dishwasher when I sit at the table all day right next to it, typing away. If I ever hit it big I’ve decided the first thing I’m going to do is to hire a live in maid. I think his name should be Luke. But Drake or Jake could work too.

I’ve written two books: The Universe is a Very Big Place and my newest book, The Witches of Dark Root.

The Universe is a romantic comedy about a young woman who leaves her life as a carnival worker behind and tries to find love and normalcy in the real world. As you can probably guess, it doesn’t work out quite the way she planned and she is confronted with one crazy misadventure after another. The Universe, she learns, has a sense of humor, and it all seems to be at her expense.

The Witches of Dark Root is a bit deeper and darker. It is about a woman named Maggie who was raised to take over her mother’s coven in Dark Root, Oregon, the ‘most haunted place in the Pacific Northwest’. But Maggie has other dreams for her life and leaves Dark Root to find her own way. Now seven years later she is called back.

The story is primarily about Maggie’s relationship with her three sisters and her mother. It just happens to be set against a backdrop of witchery and magic. I love this book because Maggie is a very real character. She is filled with hopes and dreams, but also anger and apathy. She, like many of us, isn’t clear on what she wants until the very last page. And even that is a surprise!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Witches of Dark Root just came out on Kindle yesterday (June 4) and should be available in paperback early July. What inspired me to write this was that I was missing my sisters. A decade ago I moved away from them and have been thinking of them a lot lately. I have been remembering the times we had as children, both the good and the bad. I had a big hole in me that only my sisters could fill. So I wrote about four sisters instead.

People have asked me if the characters in the book represent myself and my sisters and the answer is no. We are not witches. Unless you ask our husbands. They might have other ideas. But really, while the girls may not be like my sisters, the feelings that comes up through their interactions: jealousy, envy, love, forgiveness, are all very real and very relatable to anyone who has grown up with a sibling.

I’m very proud of this book and how much of my soul I poured into it. I’m hoping others like it too.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wouldn’t say unusual, but maybe compulsive. I write all the time, even when I want to relax. I can’t even sleep anymore because stories enter my head and refuse to go away until I get up and play them out on paper. Sometimes they are complete crap. But sometimes there’s a gem in there. When I finally have that stroke from sleep deprivation I just hope its all worth it.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Fannie Flagg. I read Fried Green Tomatoes at Whistlestop Café when I was in college and this changed the way I looked at books forever. I even copied her style a little, showing characters how they are now and how they were before and how it all ties together. I also add humor into everything I write. I can’t help it. It’s a coping mechanism I’ve passed along to all my characters.

What are you working on now?
I picked up a manuscript I started several years ago called Mama’s Not Home. It’s a book my writing group told me was too depressing, so I put it down. Now I’m back on it and I love writing it. Yes, there are sad parts, but there is also lots of humor and humanity in it. And hope. I’m big on hope. And it’s not that depressing, I swear. You will just have to judge for yourself when it comes out in 2014.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m really digging Goodreads right now. Also, I write a (mostly humorous) blog about my life. I have a following because of that. It’s all about relating to people.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write. Don’t listen to what others say or that voice in your head that says you can’t do it. Just move your fingers across the keyboard and write whatever is in your head. Some of it won’t be good, but that’s okay. Because some of it will be amazing.

Also, finish what you start, even if you think it’s not your best work. Then show people. Every story needs a home. Some people will get it and some won’t . That’s not your problem. Just keep going.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It’s non-writing related advice but here it goes: Love is a gift, not an expectation.

An old boyfriend told me that. Yeah, I was probably being a bit too clingy, but in that moment I got so much. And this is a message I try to infuse in all my stories. Unconditional love is what can save us. It’s also the hardest thing in the world to accomplish.

What are you reading now?
I’ve been working on On the Road. What a great read. Loving the feel and buzz of the book. I tried not to read it too much when I was writing because I tend to write like the authors I’m reading. But now that I’m on a bit of a writing break I can pick it back up.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More books! I have two written. Hoping by this time next year to have two more done. It’s an exciting time to be a novelist.

What is your favorite book of all time?
I’m a sucker for a good love story. To me, Gone With the Wind was the greatest romance of all time. Scarlett was such an interesting character and though I didn’t always like her, I willingly followed her story for a million and a half pages. And I was just fifteen when I read it. When a book is that good it sticks with you for life.

Author Websites and Profiles
April Aasheim Website
April Aasheim Amazon Profile

April Aasheim’s Social Media Links
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Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
WILLIAM MCNALLY is a former executive, husband and animal advocate based in the mountains of Dahlonega, Georgia. Drawn to dark and thought provoking stories, he released his first book, Four Corners Dark in 2012 and recently followed it with his second, Beneath the Veil.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Beneath the Veil. It was inspired by many things including politics, family and creepy little towns.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Nothing too unusual….early morning with lots of coffee.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Richard Matheson, Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, and many others. Any writer who has an edge and makes you think what if….

What are you working on now?
My next book is called The Knights of Moonshine. A book about three friends who plan to spend a weekend drinking and hunting but end up being hunted themselves. It’s a love story.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Visit me online at williammcnallybooks.com for updates and events.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you love.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Not sure…I haven’t heard it all yet!

What are you reading now?
The Woman in Black

What’s next for you as a writer?
The second draft of The Knights of Moonshine.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Tales of Mystery and Imagination.

Author Websites and Profiles
William McNally Website
William McNally Amazon Profile
William McNally Barnes and Noble

William McNally’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a middle grade/teen/YA authorcurrently living in Japan. I’m a travel nut–I love exploring other countries, and the mythologies and cultures I experience have gotten incorporated into my stories. Right now, in Japan, I write cultural and travel articles for our local military magazine, in between working on novels.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have a new teen/YA adventure fantasy coming out July 1st called MUKADE ISLAND. I’m not sure where this idea came from, it started with a dream, I think. I wrote the first draft last November and it’s developed into a great beginning to a series called The Island Chronicles.

The current book I have out is a middle grade fantasy called FOUR FIENDS. This book incorporates a ton of Chinese, Greek, Polynesian, Japanese, and even some American myths.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, I’m nutty in the fact that I get up between 4:30 and 5 in the morning to crank out stories before I head to work.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
C.S. Lewis is probably my greatest influence. I loved the Harry Potter series and I’m a big Lord of the Rings fan. I also enjoy Neil Gaiman and I’m a big fan of Ken Follett.

What are you working on now?
I am attempting my first “adult” novel called Night at the Basking Iguana. It’s about a woman’s worldwide search for a very elusive restaurant. And all the adventures she experiences on her quet to find it.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think social media is actually the best. Facebook and twitter are my preferred social networks. I also try to post on Goodreads. I’m exploring new ways of marketing every day, which is half the fun of self-publishing (or half the misery, depending on how you look at it. :P)

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write and read every day.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Actually, the same advice I just passed on. You have to write and read every day. I started up a blog review site at www.nikki-bennett.com so I could really focus on reading other indie author. And I try to write every day, whether it’s promotional stuff, an actual novel, or an article for a magazine.

What are you reading now?
Right this second I’m reading Ugly Stick, a YA indie book by Joy Givens.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I just want to keep learning more about the self-publishing business and get more books out there! FOUR FIENDS and MUKADE ISLAND are both the first book in a series, so I figure I’ve got plenty of writing ahead just to complete both of them!

What is your favorite book of all time?
I’ll have to go back to my childhood and say Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls.

Author Websites and Profiles
Nikki Bennett Website
Nikki Bennett Amazon Profile

Nikki Bennett’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account