Awesome Author Interviews

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an academic, educated at Cambridge and have done a lot of writing, but to date only one fiction novel. I have others planned and expect to have a second release by next year.

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

It is about the further adventures of the Artful Dodger from Dickens’ Oliver Twist, when he returns to England as an adult. The demons of his past plague him as he tries to find his way in a rapidly changing Victorian England with limited training for ways in which he can make a living, which naturally leads to the familiar world of crime in which he grew up. However, maturity and experience have brought him to a place in his life where he wishes for somthing better.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Writing itself is an unusual habit, but my oddest quirk is that I like to write in the early morning hours when I am still half asleep.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Charles Dickens, Douglas Adams, Bill Hicks, T.S. Eliot, Anthony Trollope and many in the Historical Fiction field.

What are you working on now?
I have a certain fascination with Alaric I who was king of the Visigoths until the year 405. Little is known about his personal life, so I’m having to dig deeply to find out details of history before I start to fill the blanks with artistic license.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think that one’s own blog or website is the most important for promotion. All the rest are merely to drive traffic to the source of information.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Edit properly. You cannot see your own typos, so get at least one other pair of eyes to read through and red pen them.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
My favourite piece of advice came from a film about Cassnova. “Be the flame, not the moth.”

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading a few books for review. I’ve just finished a charming story called The Saltwater Ghost by Shiela Jane.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will be getting to work on Alaric as soon as I finish some promised reviews. I’ve sent out several review copies of Jack Dawkins and can only wait for their results, some of which are not expected until July.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens. Can you tell?

Author Websites and Profiles
Charlton Daines Website
Charlton Daines Amazon Profile
Charlton Daines Author Profile Other Bookseller

Charlton Daines’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My writing journey started in Australia about 10 years ago when I enrolled in a “How to write a novel” course. 20 minutes into the course I knew I’d found my calling.

I’ve writen several books since then – fantasy and children’s.

The Windflowers Trilogy.

Book 1, Ferrasium.

Book 2, Golden Scarab.

NB: Book 3, Pyramidion due for release soon.

Witch-Hunt Series.

Book 1 : Lodestone.

NB: Book 2, Witch-Sniffer due for release soon.

Prophesy and Pirates.

Not currently scheduled for release.

Children’s Fiction.

Hieroglyph.

Selected for 1 of 5 NZSA min-mentorships. 1st in series. Publication details not yet finalized.

Tails. 1st in The Silver Wishes Series.

Due for release 2015 Copy Press

 

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Lodestone (Witch-Hunt).

The research on witches was fascinating. I love poring through reference books.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Others describe me as “prolific!”

I can multi-task on several projects at once without mixing up the characters or plotlines. I “see” my stories as mind movies.

My writing fuel consists of liberal doses of coffee (espresso stovetop – life is way too short for bad/ instant coffee), chocolate (love most flavours – not a chocolate snob), and when needed –wine!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read many different genres, but my first love is fantasy.

Standout is Juliet Marillier (Sevenwaters Series, Fox Mask etc). She has a way of placing her characters into impossible and opposing situations, creating nail-chewing dilemmas.

The first fantasy I ever encountered was The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R Donaldson. This story had a profound effect on me by opening up the world of fantasy.

What are you working on now?

Hieroglyph. Children’s novel. Did Ancient Egyptians visit Australia?

Work in progress – Masquerade. A dark romantic fantasy. Romeo and Juliet had their share of obstacles, but at least they were the same species!

Pyramidion, Book 3 of The Windflowers Trilogy.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I tend to focus more on writing than promoting in the hope readers who love one of my books will read the others.

Sites I’ve found helpful include: Awesome gang / Book Goodies / World Literary Café / Author Marketing Club.

My own site is

WendyJScott.com

Please drop by for a visit, I love hearing from readers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Writer’s write! Focus on writing the best book you can for your readers. Revise. Revise. Revise! Get it professionally edited. Deliver quality.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Always be yourself … unless you can be a unicorn.

Dream … believe … do …

What are you reading now?
The King’s Champion by Cas Peace.

Caressed by ice by Nalini Singh.

(Lucky me. In April I get to meet this NY Times bestselling author at a world building workshop).

What’s next for you as a writer?
Transforming my Amazon ebooks into print via Createspace.

What is your favorite book of all time?
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

This book has so many layers – just wonderful.

Dr Seuss – Sneetches on the Beaches.

Author Websites and Profiles
Wendy Scott Website
Wendy Scott Amazon Profile
Wendy Scott Author Profile Other Bookseller

Wendy Scott’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Helloz. I am soon to be known as The Homeless Author. nah, despite my 9th grade education and my impossible mission to find a job I have written 4 incredible books! Ok seriously…..

I am from Wisconsin (aka We’ll Hire Anyone but David State) I am a crazy basketball fan. love to read..and a bunch of other things I’m sure you don’t care to know about. I love to joke around and make jokes, so don;t take anything I say on any site serious.

I write mostly humor books. I am a christian so they each have some christian theme to it.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Dozani Gang. I usually work on multiple books at once, but this was the last to publish.

What inspired it? Boredom! I’m not really sure what inspired it, I get the oddest ideas from the strangest thing. I could be looking at a frog and get inspired to write a novel about a gay president…strange.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do most of my writing between 1-5am….is that unusual?

What authors, or books have influenced you?
John Grisham’s…umm every book of his.

What are you working on now?
finding a job to pay for……oh, I’m working on a book called The Teenage Suspect. It’s about a girl who;s best friend kills the girl her boyfriend cheated on and blames her for the murder. My first legal thriller.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
begging, crying, harrassing people in streets.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Me give advice for new authors? ha why not get Tiger Woods to give relationship advice?

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up….why? because it’s the only advice I’ve received that didn’t cost me money!

What are you reading now?
John Grisham’s the Last Juror. Gpoosebumps Invasion of the Body squeezers.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More books. I have a somewhat controversial series coming that may have me banned from every christian religion. Should be fun!!

What is your favorite book of all time?
The Hopeless Christiantic…cheap plug.

Author Websites and Profiles
David Santos Website
David Santos Amazon Profile

David Santos’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a 46 year old (birthday in 1 week!) IT Skills trainer here in Cavan Ireland which is a of the landlocked counties in the middle. I don’t surf. I can’t swim. I dream of the ocean. Maybe that’s why I wrote a novel about Hurricane Katrina and the rain and the gales and deluge it wrought, because of some subconscious hankering to get wet!

Misisipi is my first full-length novel.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“MISISIPI”

I started off writing a book about a broken marriage. It was pretty much a two-hander with the twist that one of the two (the wife character) had long since absconded and the story was centered around her husband traveling to where he thought she might be and having an ongoing head-space conversation with her as he did.

I had written pretty much all of the inner-discussions in loose form and I was teasing out what exactly he was supposed to find at the end of journey. I guess I must have secretly suspected that the novel in its current form was going to be quite a dour, serious, literary affair because I stumbled upon a SALON article about Hurricane Katrina and specifically the events (actual and reported) inside the Superdome and BAM I had this mental image of my female character walking up to the entrance of the Superdome as the Hurricane was bearing down and she was covered in blood and demanding to be let in. I just thought, “Wow! I want to know how she arrived at this point”

From then on, the novel began to re-calibrate itself around the Katrina events. The same basic jumping off point of the husband seeking his wife remained as did the examination of their inter-personal dynamics but now it was a mystery set against a more substantial context.

It took 4 years to write from conception to completion.

And yes, I know I spelled “Mississippi” wrong. There’s a very good reason for that!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write when I feel like it. I don’t write when I don’t, even once taking a year from doing any writing or thinking about the book in the middle of the 4 years. I am very very undisciplined!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like strong characters in well-thought through plots. Stephen King was a good tutor for both of those things when I was a teen and dreaming of being a writer.

To be honest, these days I look at books and view them through the prism of their mistakes such as sloppy climaxes, inconsistent character behaviors etc. To that end I tried to write MISISIPI such that I would not be annoyed if I was the reader. That may not have been a good move but that’s what I did.

What are you working on now?
Nothing. I have some ideas percolating but I have not put pen to paper since I finished MISISIPI. I’m a big one for head-planning and getting the story coalesced in my mind before I begin to set it down (says he AFTER only 1 book!)

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Tell me, you – please! I am officially the worst person at promoting this thing!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write every book like it’s your first. Write every book like it’s your last.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Every sentence has to make sense, that’s the whole point of a “sentence”.

From the Oxford dictionary: A sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense, contains a main verb, and begins with a capital letter.

There is no point writing a view of a sunset or the fury of storm or the first kiss of your lovers if the actual description you construct with your sentence uses an analogy, simile, metaphor or something else that sounds gorgeous but makes no sense whatsoever.

I was very guilty of such vagaries in the past until I got beat up by the Common Sentence Police.

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

Just started it

What’s next for you as a writer?
Do whatever you tell me I should be doing for correct book promotion!

I’m still waiting….

What is your favorite book of all time?
A Simple Plan by S. Scott Smith. Brief, slight, simple and yet extremely effective as a thriller and a character study. Whatever happened that guy by the way? “The Ruins” and then – nothing.

Author Websites and Profiles
Michael Reilly Website
Michael Reilly Amazon Profile
Michael Reilly Author Profile Other Bookseller

Michael Reilly’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a writer out of the small town of Kingston, Washington, just west of Seattle. I currently have one short story that’s been published and one novel which I just self-published on April 1st. I volunteer at the local PAWS facility, taking care of cats looking for homes. I also enjoy movies, anime, video games and long walks in the woods or on a beach. Obviously, I’m not particularly good at telling people about myself (hence the line stolen from every generic personals ad ever written.) I have a fairly dry sense of humor, which is also fairly black. My chosen genre is horror and it tends to show as I’m likely to smirk, smile or outright laugh at things that would generally be considered inappropriate. For example, I was recently part of a discussion about medical malpractice, one person brought up what she had learned in culinary school about illnesses and the legality of responsibility if people get sick from their cooking. Another person replied to that by saying people’s lives and cooking are still two seperate issues. My response to her response was “Not if you’re talking cannibalism.”

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book (which is also my debut book) “The Unknown Neighbor” was published on April 1st, 2013. What it’s about, and what inspired it, is the idea of what about the people who live next door to the guy who goes crazy, goes to his other neighbor’s house and murders the entire family? Suddenly they have to live with the thought that their lives could have ended that night instead if the murderer had just turned left instead of right when he left his house. It’s fairly psychological as the main character, Carla Carvine, tries to deal with the impacts of her friends being murdered and being a murderer, on top of her own paranoia, fears and desire to ensure the safety of her family.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t particularly have any writing habits I would consider unusual. To be honest I don’t really have any writing habits. I sit down any point during the day the mood strikes me and start writing. It can be anywhere from a 500-word scene to 4,000 words a day. I don’t get up at 8:00, write from 9:00 to noon, edit in the afternoon and then spend time with the family. I’m not a particularly structured person like that. When I’m working on a piece, though, I do like to try and make sure I get at least a little bit done every day. I do like to listen to music when I write, which is something I’ve seen debated on a few websites, but otherwise, the answer to the question posed, is no.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Whew, the list is too long to fill out. King, Koontz, Crichton, Lovecraft, and Matheson are classic authors in my chosen genre (horror, see above) and deserve to be mentioned. Most recently, through their blogs, I’ve been heavily influenced by J.A. Konrath and Robert Lee Brewer. Both are excellent sources of information about the business of writing and I probably wouldn’t be published today if not for their attempts to point fellow writers in the right direction.

Really, I almost feel like this is a trick question. A better one would be, “What author’s or books haven’t influenced you?”. The only answer to that would be writers you haven’t read or heard of, because if you really want to be a writer, and you read as a writer, you learn something or pick up something from every book you flip through. It may be a new word you didn’t know, it may be an example of how NOT to do characterization, it may be the specific way a writer uses grammar in ways that are completely wrong and yet somehow it works. So I think if you’re trying to be a writer and you have a book you’ve read which hasn’t influenced you in some way, you’re just not taking your task seriously enough.

What are you working on now?
I have two more novels I’m working on at the moment, and I’m considering a short story collection. My goal is to try and have two more books published by the end of the year. One of my works, a novel which is currently carrying the title of “Class 5” is already pretty close to having it’s first draft finished, so it may even be out by summer if I can keep a good pace on it. “Class 5” is more a typical action horror story as opposed to the psychological trauma of “The Unknown Neighbor.” It really started as a short story. A typical latch-key kid. Home alone while his parents work late, he locks up the house, turns off the lights and climbs into bed. One of his cats jumps up to join him. Then another cat. Then a third. Then he freezes in place as he remembers, he only has two cats, not three… It turned into a novel as I reached the end and found myself asking “What next? What next?”.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Really, I don’t think there is one best method or website. It’s about how much effort you put into it over the whole ordeal of promoting. Robert Lee Brewer’s blog has a month of posts from a few years ago that were all about building your platform as a writer. Every day lists a different task for you to do towards that end. (Even now, I haven’t done all of them and some I haven’t done as completely as I should, resulting in more of a soapbox than a platform, but it does seem to be working.) It ranges from signing up on Facebook or Twitter, to starting a blog, following other people’s blogs and responding to other people’s tweets. It’s about getting yourself out there as much as you can in as many different ways as you can. My own blog post from this week lists the different ways I’ve promoted myself and my book even before it was published.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be realistic. Don’t expect your book to jump from just published to best-seller overnight and don’t expect to be sitting on a beach in Aruba just because you’ve published a book. The news trumps up stories about authors who hit it big with their first book and have million dollar deals. I look at it as, when enough people play, somebody’s going to hit the lottery. That’s just one person that made it big. For every one of them, there are thousands of authors who get little to no advances on the books companies purchase and then there are probably tens of thousands who’s books were beneath the notice of the publishers. It also applies to self-published novels. Don’t expect to be buying a house with the profits of your first book after it’s only been out for a month.

Getting hyped up over ideas of becoming rich and famous doesn’t do anybody any good. The dreams distract you from the real reason people make a living as an author, and that is by sitting down and writing more. Finished your first book? Great, here’s a slap on the back, crack open a cold one, maybe go out to dinner. Tomorrow, start on your next.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Another hard question to answer. I’ve been given lots of good advice over the years, along with some bad advice. Probably the best advice I’ve ever had though, is a line out of Stephen King’s book “On Writing.”

“Put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn’t in the middle of the room. Life isn’t a support-system for art. It’s the other way around.”

What are you reading now?
I’m actually between books at the moment, been looking for another one to catch my eye. The last book I finished, though, was “Turner” by Karl Drinkwater. An excellent horror story, with a lot of nods to many of the classics and one I would recommend to just about anyone with an interest in the genre.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing. As I said I have two more novels I’m working on as well as several short stories. On top of that is the work of advertising and promoting. I’m really giving this a solid attempt in the hope that I might eventually be able to support myself off of just my writing. I have no misgivings about the effort and time that’s going to take, multiple books and probably years down the road, but I’ve started, and it’s a path I plan on walking until something better comes along or something drives me from it.

What is your favorite book of all time?
An easy last question. Jurassic Park, hands down. I’ve been a dinosaur nut ever since I was little and this book delivered beautifully. I actually read it when I was only in sixth grade, which seems to shock a lot of people and I remember, even then, telling everyone who would listen what a great movie it would make. It’s stained, faded, and held together with duct tape and is one of the few books I would probably never get rid of.

In fact, I might just go read it again…

Author Websites and Profiles
Shaun Horton Website
Shaun Horton Amazon Profile

Shaun Horton’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an author of Christian fiction, living in the St. Louis area. I’ve written four books, who of which are now out of print.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is INVASION OF THE NINJA. It’s inspired by the old 80s ninja movies that I watched when I was younger.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to work late into the night when I should really be sleeping. LOL. Seriously, I don’t write everyday, like most authors say that we should. I’ll start on a project and just work on it until it’s finished.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I would say that Frank Perretti and RA Salvatore have had the most individual influence on me. As of late, I’ve been reading more indie fiction, like AP Fuchs and David L. Kilpatrick.

What are you working on now?
As INVASION OF THE NINJA prepares for its “official” launch date of April 22, I am beginning to plot its sequel, Klandestine Maneuvers.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve been blogging more at http://jeffreyallendavis.wordpress.com.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep following your dreams.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
We don’t really know if we’re “good” until we have strangers reading and reviewing our work.

What are you reading now?
“Identity” by Ted Dekker.

What’s next for you as a writer?
INVASION OF THE NINJA and KLANDESTINE MANEUVERS are rewrites of previously published works from several years ago. Book Three of the series, tentatively titled GATEWAY TO THERA, will be next. I plan a series of around nine books, along with a few unrelated projects.

What is your favorite book of all time?
The Bible, of course. I prefer the ESV.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jeffrey Davis Website
Jeffrey Davis Amazon Profile
Jeffrey Davis Author Profile Other Bookseller

Jeffrey Davis’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m and indie author, my first two contemporary romance, Finding Pride & Discovering Pride, books are available now. My third in this four part series, Returning Pride will be released this July. I’m currently working on book four, Lasting Pride.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Returning Pride, I love this series.

Have you ever visited a place where the people are so friendly, you just wanted to stay and not return home?

Nestled in the rolling hills on the coast of Oregon, Pride is the perfect setting for this series. The series follows the less than perfect Jordan family, Todd, Lacey and Iian, and the people they grow to love. Lasting Pride discovers the exciting adventures of family friend, Ric Derby, and the path that leads him and Roberta, the woman sworn to protect him, to the safety of Pride.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, I just sit down and type, okay I can type really fast.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I think that anything I’ve ever read has influenced me at one point. But, I’ve always had a special liking for Nora Roberts.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently editing Returning Pride and writing Lasting Pride.

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

I have a great blog where I highlight other Indie Authors. I do interviews, book reviews, and promotions.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Edit, edit, and edit. Don’t be afraid to ask others to help. The more eyes, the better.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Edit, edit, and edit.

What are you reading now?
I’m helping other indie authors out with editing and reviewing. At any given time I can read up to 3 books at a time. I just finished Progress by Amy Queue. My review is up on my blog at Pride Series

What’s next for you as a writer?
Once I finish this four part series, I have a few other books (series) in mind.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Gone with the Wind.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jill Sanders Website
Jill Sanders Amazon Profile
Jill Sanders Author Profile Other Bookseller

Jill Sanders’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started writing fiction seriously in 2007, although I have a drawer full of early efforts. I began to enter competitions and 2008 was a wonderful year for me with the publication of my first book, A Night in the Manx Museum, lots of shortlists and a win in the Fantasy Section of the UK Authors Opening Pages competition with Manannan’s Magic. I also won an International Competition with Kilmainham Dawn, a piece of flash fiction, and was asked to read my work at the West Cork Literary Festival. Since that time I have concentrated on writing, marketing and publishing. My current works are all on Kindle. They are as follows:

A Night in the Manx Museum – a children’s adventure for ages 5-9. This is used in local schools.

Ghost Diaries 1: Gigi’s Guardian – a light hearted romp through Swinging Sixties London.

Manannan’s Magic – romance and magic set at the time of the Viking invasions in 800AD.

Five Lamps and Other Stories – a collection of 13 stories, including some prize winners.

Stories for Seven Year Olds – three children’s adventure stories including magic carpets, a robin who could not fly and a lost Chinese dragon.

I also write non-fiction, as a swimming teacher and former senior manager. These books are:

Easy Time Management – saving time at home or at work

Learn to Swim (even if you are terrified) – I specialise with beginners.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Duval and the Infernal Machine. This is historical crime fiction. I read History in university and specialised in the period of the French Revolution and the first Empire. This book, the first in a series, introduces Alain Duval starting work as a police agent, under the notorious Fouché. Heinvestigates the bomb attack on Napoleon Bonaparte in 1800.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
What is unusual? Writing in my nightdress and dressing gown? Drinking lots of tea? If this is unusual then I’m guilty!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Anne McCaffrey, Patricia Kenealley, Tom Clancy, Peter Tremayne, Annemarie Selinko and a host of classics authors such as Jane Austin.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on:

the Duval series. The next will be either Duval and the Empress’ Crown or Duval and the Windmill at Naveau.

the sequels to Manannan. Niamh of the Golden Hair and Emer’s Quest.

a tale of the First World War, Wakes Week.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Kindle Select free promos.

Goodreads Giveaways (for hard copy books)

A list of promotion sites including Awesome Gang!

I have had a lot of help from authors on the Awesome Gang Facebook page.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Enter competitions – find out if you can write. If you can- go for it!

Use a good online free editing programme.

Sell your books through Kindle Select

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As above

What are you reading now?
Anna Pitt’s 101 Ways to Live Cleaner and Greener for Free

What’s next for you as a writer?
Building my fan base, writing, writing, writing!

What is your favorite book of all time?
Either Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonsflight or Patricia Kennealey’s The Throne of Scone or Désirée by Annemarie Selinko. They are all ‘comfort reads’ for me and I return to them time after time.

Author Websites and Profiles
Michele McGrath Website
Michele McGrath Amazon Profile

Michele McGrath’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I think I am a bit of a gypsy, a nomad. British by birth, international in my heart, I am not entirely sure where I live, not permanently that’s certain.

I was living in Greece at the time when the severity of the Greek economic situation hit. I had a holiday letting business built up over the previous seven years, which dried up over night. One day income was normal, the day after the riots were shown on TV worldwide I was in trouble, no money and no future.

My primary thought was to ensure stability for my daughters GCSE years and so the decision was made to return to England and re-start the psychotherapy practice that I had left behind.

As I was packing a story came to me. “The Illegal Gardener.”

I had never written before.

In fact I am dyslexic and have incredible tactics to avoid putting pen to paper. I offered the story line to a writer friend who simply said write it yourself.

Six weeks later the book was finished and published and sales were immediately through the roof. I continued with the move back to England unsure if the level of sales of “The Illegal Gardener” was flash in the pan.

That was July of 2012 and since then I have written a series of four books all of which are receiving incredible reviews and are selling better than I could have ever imagined. The fifth is in progress. The psychotherapy practice had not be set up as, since the first book was publish, I have been writing full time.

I now have the luxury of dividing my time between England and Greece.

 

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have just published book four in The Greek Village series, “The Gypsy’s Dream” and it has already reach number 27 in Literary Fiction on Amazon.co.uk.

Each book in the series follows a different person from the same greek village, so each time you return to a familiar setting, the warm sun, but a fresh story line, a new character to discover.

The Gypsy’s Dream see’s a young girl from England mistakenly turning up in the village having taken the wrong boat whilst trying to get to the island where she had lined up a job. She has not budgeted for a detour and she is now in the village without even enough money for food let alone to find her way to her true destination.

The inspiration was my own life, my first visit to Greece was on holiday. I returned home after the week was up only to walk through the pouring rain, from the bus to the travel agents and book a return ticket back the very next day. This time staying, finding a job, renting a flat and making Greece my home.

With no Greek and, initially, no friends it was a crazy and uncertain way to live but the Greek people reached out at every turn, there kindness made all physical hardships pale into insignificance. Their kindness is my inspiration.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I am not lost in the act of writing, the next books story line come unbidden into my head and I get so excited about what is to come I am driven every day.

I am currently writing book five of The Greek Village series, working title “The Art of Being Homeless”.

But when I am not working on this my mind is taken up with a new idea. I have just returned from Nepal and a story line has come home with me about the Gurkha’s, their families, their children. Every minute not writing book five I am researching Gurkha life at the moment.

It makes for very exciting days that do not have enough hours in them.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Being dyslexic I am not as widely read as I would like. I have tended towards the classics. As a child, living for some time in Yorkshire, I knew the moors well and I grew up reading the Bronte sisters and immersed myself in their passion.

Thomas Hardy became the next obsession, his focus was a different moor but he drew me in with his capacity to put you in the moment, see the surrounds, hooking me.

As I became more worldy I was very sad when I realised I had read all Antony Trollop had written, his humour cannot be surpassed, so British.

Now I will read any genre but I do not hesitate to put a book down unfinished if it does not grab me, there are so many authors to be discovers, books to be read, there is no point in taking time to finished something you do not love.

Books that have stood out to me in the last few years – How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran , I am the Cheese by Robert Cormier and The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. I am sure there are more but these are the ones that come to mind.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on Book five of The Greek Village series, working title “The Art of Being Homeless”, which has a plot very close to my own heart.

Michelle, just about to turn fifty, has worked in one profession all her life meets up with a boy who does not wish to see his youth pass by as he sits day after day in his first office job. They are travelling to the village together, she to meet her friend who lives there, hoping for some advice on her threatened career, he to face his father to tell him he has walked out of his job. They have much to learn from one another but a chance event creates ripples neither expected.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Apart from Amazon I have made some great friends on Facebook who seem to enjoy the series. It is not an ‘author’ page, it is a personal page that anyone who wants to become my ‘friend’ only has to ask. We talk about each others holidays, we share pictures of Greece. My ‘friends’ there are my backbone and I am grateful to know them.

If I had more time I could find more ways to promote my books, but it is catch twenty two (another good book) if I am promoting I am not writing and if I do not write I have nothing to promote.

The result is this gives me my excuse to spend very little time marketing but all my days writing.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
“See it as a job”. Do not get too precious about what you have written, take the feed back seriously but not personally, use it to improve yourself but not to upset yourself.

Get yourself a good cover, it is what attracts the reader initially and always look to the next book you will write rather than hanging onto the last one as an object too precious, of which to let go. Once it is in the public domain it is no longer “your book”, it is the readers book.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Take the time to meditate twenty minutes a day – if you cannot find twenty minutes then you need to mediate for a hour to work out why not. (Meditate = think, reflect, ponder.)

What are you reading now?
I am reading a few books. Thurdays in the Park by Hilary Boyd, The Crimson Petal and The White by Michel Faber, One Minus One by Ruth Doan MacDougall and Nancy Pearl and Write Compelling Fiction by L.J.Martin.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am very keen to begin the first of two books about the wives of the Gurkha’s. I have just returned from Nepal where I have a friend who is a lawyer for the Gurkha’s and he introduced me to some very interesting people. Gurkhas, their families, all have a tale to tell, a life beyond our imaginations, a rural way of living that I thought was all but gone.

What happens when a retired Gurkha decides to move to England and can only take one wife? Which does he take, wife one, two or three? How do the other wives feel? What happens to the children? Will he missed Nepal, his old life?

It is going to be a passionate book about human resilience – we are extraordinary beings.

What is your favorite book of all time?
This is a tough one. The book I have read the most times is Wuthering Heights, it says so much about the complexity of human nature.

Remains of the Day blew me away and still comes to mind as a favourite. Again it is reflective and observant.

But then so too are A Picture of Dorian Grey and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

Nope, sorry, I cannot pin it down to one. Oh yes I can – it is the one I am going to write next – always!

Author Websites and Profiles
Sara Alexi Website
Sara Alexi Amazon Profile

Sara Alexi’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Linda David; I’m a single mother of 2 and have written 2 books so far, and counting.

I currently work as a college lecturer in childcare, and was born in Cyprus in 1967 to parents who both hail from the Caribbean island of Nevis. I’ve also lived in Germany as well as St Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies.

I’ve always enjoyed reading and was encouraged to do so from a very early age, and that is partly what inspired me to write. Even today, I can remember the excitement and wonder I used to experience as a child when reading fantasy and adventure stories, and I hope that through my writing, I will be able to inspire and encourage other children’s interest and pleasure in reading as well.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Hidden Realms of Firestone is actually a sequel to my first book. I’ve always enjoyed school stories, all the old Enid Blyton tales from my childhood as well as the more recent Harry Potter series.

I used to wish I could take part in all the exciting goings-on at these schools and wanted so much to be part of that world.

I love both fantasy and sci-fi stories, so I decided to combine both and write my ideal story – I even loosely based the main character on myself as a child. Having said that though, I do believe there’s still a little bit of Agathea Fulstropp in me today!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really – I just sit down and write whatever comes into my head. The story just unfolds naturally. Funnily enough, I’m not the kind of person who writes well in complete silence – I find it difficult to concentrate. I need the TV on for company and I’m learning not to let it distract me completely.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Just the ones I’ve already mentioned. I also like Stephen King’s books, though I don’t write for that genre. I love the way he sometimes incorporates characters from other books into the stories he writes. He also had a book out where he wrote himself into the story as himself and interacted with his own characters – genius!

What are you working on now?
That would be the sequel to book number 2! It’s just that the story isn’t quite finished yet. I guess I’ll stop when there’s nothing left to write. My main character hasn’t been at her new school long enough to develop and grow, so I’ll be sticking with her until I feel that has been achieved. And besides, I’m dying to know how her thoughts and feelings are going to change towards her friends as well as her current enemies! I’m also curious as to whether she’ll develop any romantic interests, so I can’t stop now!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m no expert when it comes to book promotion, so I do the usual social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. I’ve got my own website and am trying to train myself to blog more regularly. It’s hard though – half the things I start writing for my blog ends up not being published on the site at all. I much prefer blogging as one of my characters – they’re much more interesting than me, and have a lot more to say.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you know and write when you feel inspired. If you’re anything like me, that’s when you’ll produce your best work! Also, don’t give up! My first book was written, on and off, over a period of about 10 years! That’s mainly because I had young children and was studying at the same time. My second, because I was more motivated and focused, and I knew it could be done, took about 15 months.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
That you can’t please everybody and that you should be aware that, no matter how brilliant you think your book is, it won’t be everybody’s cup of tea!

What are you reading now?
I’m ‘re-reading’ The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King. There are approximately 7 books and I’m enjoying it this time around as much as I did the first, second and third time I read them! I do have a lot of books on my Kindle waiting to be read, especially from other Indie authors, but every couple of years, I seem to be drawn to some of my old favourites.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Just to keep on keeping on! I’ll continue to write as long as I have a story to tell and I enjoy telling it!

What is your favorite book of all time?
The Dark Tower by Stephen King (surprise, surprise!). I think it will take something very special to top that.

Author Websites and Profiles
Linda David Website
Linda David Amazon Profile

Linda David’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a mother of four, author, and blogger that is determined to make writing a career. Being an Indie Author, has given me the freedom and option to write from my heart; without being restricted by others. My writing has given me a voice and a chance to touch others. I am committed to touching just one person a day through my writing, with the desire for them to inspire others through the sharing process of my writings.

I have written two books so far, and currently working on my third book. My first book taught me self-discipline and a lot of other lessons along the way. My first book didn’t do well but I didn’t put my all into the book either. I wrote for others pleasure with any sense of direction. That book was in the fiction category. I learned that fiction writing wasn’t for me. I tried to convey too many points from various genres of writing categories in an effort to inspire others, but the book was a slump.

It took me a few months to bounce back and realize that I have control over my own writing. Having control over my writing allows me to write from the heart, which lead to a switch over to the nonfiction category. This category has served me well and look forward to putting more quality reading materials out to inspire the heart and soul others around the world.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The title of my latest book is entitled, The Difference From The Rich & Poor: Their Secrets To Inner Happiness.

I was inspired to write the book partly because of my educational background, but the other portion came from my commitment to inspire others. There are a lot of books some that are written well, while others are not written so well; although they attempt to sell people a hope, dream, and a prayer. I believe that too many people are reading those books praying on a miracle and are setting themselves up for bigger disappointments.

For a person to truly have what they desire, I believe that they have to find that desire within themselves. In order for that to occurs, requires them a discovery of self-exploration.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I believe that my most unusual writing habit involves me watching garbage television shows. There is something about watching reality shows that allows me to focus better on my writing, than anything else. I usually will lock myself in my room with caffeine and the remote.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I don’t have any particular author or list of books that have inspired me. I have read a lot of different types of books and try to keep an open mind.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on another nonfiction book, which I believe will be a series from my last book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I love Awesome Gang’s website right now. Not only am I allowed to promote my book on this site, but they refer you to other sites as well. I think this is a wonderful resource for new writers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice to new writers is to be committed to your writing, if you are serious about writing. Do a lot of research about writing techniques, marketing, and never attempt to create your own book cover.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I have ever heard was writing is not for everyone. I love challenging someone else’s perceptions about something that they are not willing to try.

What are you reading now?
I am currently reading, After the Storm, by Bonnie McCune, Carlene Havel, Gay N. Lewis, Penelope Marzac, Kimberly B. Jackson, & Trinity Hart

What’s next for you as a writer?
To continue writing in the nonfiction category and creating an online magazine tailored to Independent Writers & Writing

What is your favorite book of all time?
My favorite book of all times is, Animal Farms.

Author Websites and Profiles
Dominique Mahon Website
Dominique Mahon Amazon Profile

Dominique Mahon’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I like to say that my debut novel, Discovering Ren, is the first book I’ll admit to. There were others, including a handwritten serial adventure featuring members of my high school clique, written and distributed around the lunch table, but I don’t count them.

Right now, I’m working on the second book of my proposed trilogy. Each novel centers on one of the main characters in the Isis/Osiris/Horus myth, in that order. The third book is already taking shape in my head.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
As I said, the inspiration for my series is an ancient Egyptian myth, one of the oldest stories known to humankind. I just wish I knew what the title was! I woke up in the middle of the night with the title for the first book in my head, so I’m waiting and praying for the same thing to happen with this one.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I love to write in bed. That’s where I do most of my pleasure reading and most of my creative writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are really too many to list – John Donne, Will Shakespeare, Sam Coleridge, Jane Austen, Wilkie Collins, EM Forster, and contemporary authors like Jim Butcher and Katie Macallister. I nurture a sweet spot for JK Rowling, too. My current WIP is at its structural essence a thriller, and I recently discovered Will Adams’s books. I’m enjoying them a lot.

What are you working on now?
The sequel to Discovering Ren is primarily told from Max Ambrosine’s POV. His voice came to me in first person, although the previous book was in third. In this story, he’s challenged to take up his rightful place as king of the underworld, but he doesn’t want to sacrifice his mortal life with his family, until a murderous ghost escapes into waking reality and starts killing magicals.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve found, as have countless others before me, that I have to use a variety of methods to promote. I rely on FB principally, but I also have a Twitter account and I belong to several LinkedIn writing groups. I’m a member of ACFW, and I use their email loops for certain announcements. Plus, I’m gathering a list of web sites and blogs like this one that garner readers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
It’s hard, hard work. I’m lucky in that I am not trying to make a living off of my novels. My kids and I would starve. There are lots of new ways to get your writing out in the world, but it seems like everyone is looking to squeeze more and more out of the author, on whom the whole pyramid is resting. Like the rest of society, the gap between rich and poor authors is widening, and the “middle class” (midlist authors who sell decently well but aren’t blockbusters) is disappearing entirely. SO, be honest about what you hope to get out of the writing and selling experience.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Find out what professional authors do, and then do that. Brilliant advice.

What are you reading now?
Will Adams’s The Alexander Cipher and The Exodus Quest. I’m one of those freaky people who can read more than one book at once.

What’s next for you as a writer?
After my current WIP is finished, I’ll start doing the research for a top-secret project while I write the third book in my trilogy. All I’ll say is that my new project will be unrelated to the previous three, and it will be a historical.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It’s just so brilliant, and I read it whenever I need a lift. A close second is EM Forster’s A Room With a View.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jennifer Eifrig Website
Jennifer Eifrig Amazon Profile

Jennifer Eifrig’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 grandma who likes to read and write smut, otherwise known as erotic romance. But I’m also a daughter, mother, sister, aunt, friend and author. After my soul mate of seventeen years passed away I retired from Disney, and moved in with my daughter and her family. I have my own woman-cave and I share it with four cats whose main goal in life is to get as much cat hair onto everything that they can. They’re doing a fabulous job!

For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to be a writer. I didn’t actively pursue getting published until my family encouraged me. Just to get them off my back I submitted Cupid’s Arrow, which I wrote under my real name Debbie Wallace, to Whiskey Creek Press and that book was on the publisher’s best sellers list for two consecutive months! After that there was no looking back for me. My publishers are Ellora’s Cave, Total-E-Bound, Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, The Wild Rose Press, and Liquid Silver Books. I also have several self-published books with Smashwords. To date I have 19 published ebooks, some offered in print.

Today I spend my free time between family and writing. I enjoy traveling, especially cruising. I’ve been to places like Alaska, Croatia, Spain, Italy, Greece, Bahamas, and some day hope to make it to Ireland. I love chocolate (who doesn’t?) sweet iced tea, and good coffee.

I like hearing from readers. You can reach me at: tory.richards@yahoo.com

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book just came out yesterday! Surrender to Desire is the second book in a trilogy that covers the Evans brothers. A Perfect Fit was book number one. Both are stand alone romances. Inspiration came from a reader who begged me to write about the Texas brothers, who also happen to be identical triplets!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Other than sitting in my recliner with a lap top on my lap, and usually two cats crowding me for attention? No:)

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The first romance I ever read was Rosemary Rogers, Sweet Savage Love. I was about sixteen I think. Then I went on to read a ton of Barbara Cartland books. But my all time favorite author is Katheleen E. Woodiwiss. The Wolf and the Dove and The Flame and the Flower are my favorites of her books. It broke my heart when she passed away.

What are you working on now?
Several things. I just finished up a WIP that still needs a title, where the hero is a Navy SEAL. I also started the third book in the Evans brothers trilogy, Burning Hunger. I still need to do some serious edits to The Mating Ritual.

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

Smashwords

Publisher’s Websites

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up. If you believe in yourself than someone else will, too. Keep writing! And expect rejections, we all get them. Just don’t take them personally. Remember, it’s just one person who didn’t like your book. It’s going to happen.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Love your editor. They can be your best friend or your worse enemy. Their job is to make your work the best it can be.

What are you reading now?
Nothing at this time.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Just to keep writing. I have a lot of unfinished work, some as old as forty years, that I can work on. Work that was done on a manual typewriter:) If I squint hard enough I can still make out the words.

What is your favorite book of all time?
The Wolf and the Dove by Woodiwiss.

Author Websites and Profiles
Tory Richards Website
Tory Richards Amazon Profile
Tory Richards Author Profile Other Bookseller

Tory Richards’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is my second book, but first work of fiction.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
YOUR GIFT TO ME was inspired by mulitiple deaths of family and close friends–all three occured within two days time. I incorporated my background as an Air Force spouse of thirty years and my experience as a former freelance columnisit for Stars and Stripes newspaper in Europe.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I must have music to set the mood for various scenes in fiction; in non-fiction, I prefer silence.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The authors who influenced YOUR GIFT TO ME were (the late) Shelby Foote, Rick Bragg, W.E.B. Griffin, and Rebecca Wells (to whom I’m distantly related).

What are you working on now?
My primary mission is promoting YOUR GIFT TO ME throughout the Deep South. I also write book reviews and other non-fiction feature articles for newspapers and magazines.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Our website is www.YourGiftToMe.net but we also have a very active Facebook page: www.facebook.com/YourGiftToMe.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Study the craft of writing. Find a writing group, go to conferences, go to seminars where published authors speak on their experiences. If you ever get an opportunity to have line edits done on your manuscript–do it. Don’t be afraid your writing isn’t good enough. The only way it will improve is from professional feedback. When you have finished your manuscript–or think you have–perfect it once more, and hire a professional editor

 

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
After the manuscript has been edited, do not suffer from the dreaded fear of submission!

What are you reading now?
I’m reading Ann Hood’s novel, “The Obituary Writer.”

What’s next for you as a writer?
If there is a third book, it will most likely be another work of historical non-fiction.

What is your favorite book of all time?
My all-time favorite book is a stunning contemporary memoir, “In the Sanctuary of Outcasts” by Neil White.

Author Websites and Profiles
Bonnie Bartel Latino Website
Bonnie Bartel Latino Amazon Profile

Bonnie Bartel Latino’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in the Midwest and reading was my main entertainment activity. But I also started writing at a a young age, spending one summer during high school typing on a manual typewriter the story of children living in The White House.

I am not sure how many books I have written as I have several first drafts of books and some partial drafts. At the moment I have 12 fiction and nonfiction ebooks on Kindle (3 of which have paperback versions) and 2 paperback-only books on Amazon.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest published ebook is the Rebecca Stone mystery CAST THE FIRST STONE (with the follow-up short story ebook TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE). The Wharton School figures in the plot, and I have an M.B.A. from Wharton. Plus Rebecca is a newspaper reporter, as I once was, and I do live in Los Angeles, where the stories are set.

In addition, I often share information online about getting help for PTSD, and CAST THE FIRST STONE has a non-combat trauma PTSD subplot.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wouldn’t call this unusual — but I do frequently write scenes in my head so that, when I sit down at the computer, the scenes are ready to be “typed.”

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read a wide range of fiction and nonfiction books. I particularly like P.D. James, John Le Carre and Martin Cruz Smith. Of course, I also love Agatha Christie.

What are you working on now?
I am in the midst of writing or revising several books. One new project is a YA short story — PINKY SWEAR — that is a prequel to my women’s friendship novel MRS. LIEUTENANT. The short story takes place at Ft. Knox six years before the novel and features a teen girl who grows up to be one of the four POV women in MRS. LIEUTENANT.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
More and more I focus on utilizing Amazon’s opportunities to promote my books. I even wrote a nonfiction ebook about this — TOP TIPS FOR HOW TO MARKET YOUR BOOK ON AMAZON AND FACEBOOK.

Having said that, I am starting to pay much more attention to Goodreads. This is partly because Amazon acquired Goodreads and partly because Goodreads is a site composed of BOOK READERS! In fact, through April 24th, I have listed 10 copies of my teen book HOW TO SUCCEED IN HIGH SCHOOL AND PREP FOR COLLEGE as a Goodreads giveaway. This is the first time I am trying out this promotional opportunity.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you truly want to write, then do so . And if so, be willing to revise and revised and revise. On top of that, you must be willing to learn as much as possible about book publishing and promotion in the age of the Internet.

While there are many opportunities to promote your books, there are not endless hours in the day. So you must be selective about where you spend your time promoting in order to have time to write.

It can be very frustrating juggling these two hats, and I sometimes have to remind myself that “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

The most important advice: Never give up! Keep learning and moving forward.

Oh, yes, and have an open mind to advice, but do not take everything you are told as the absolute truth. Evaluate for yourself what you learn and be willing to be flexible! If something doesn’t seem to work for you, try something else.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Do not take negative reviews personally. Frequently these negative reviews are actually about the person writing them and not about you or your book.

What are you reading now?
I read several books at once. The two main ones at the moment are: THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG by Muriel Barberry and the thriller MOSAIC by Gayle Lynds.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to finish PINKY SWEAR, finish the comic thriller HOT POTATO, work on the spy thriller TERMINAL LEAVE, start writing CIA SPY GUY (sequel to my ebook CIA FALL GU), and revise 2 or 3 more Rebecca Stone mysteries plus work on several other projects.

What is your favorite book of all time?
I love so many books, but I have to say that recently I read for the first time Harriet Beecher Stowe’s UNCLE TOM’S CABIN — and I think the book is just brilliant. I was blown away by how the author used an enthralling fiction story to reveal the evils of a slave society. A very powerful story!

Author Websites and Profiles
Phyllis Zimbler Miller Website
Phyllis Zimbler Miller Amazon Profile

Phyllis Zimbler Miller’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a kids book author. I write about the Goops. The Goops are original characters that were created in 1904 by Gelett Burgess to teach kids manners. Each Goop is named after the naughty habit of a child. For example Bawlfred cries all the time, Nevershair will never share his things and Gablia talks far too much. There are 52 Goops in total, 26 boys and 26 girls. I am writing a series of books about each Goop called Goop Tales Adventures. Each Goop goes on a fantasy adventure to somewhere beautiful in the world. So far I have written five Goop Tales including:

Nevershair Goes To Outerspace

Messalina Goes To Africa

Bawlfred Cries an Ocean

Nibolene Falls In A Doughnut Hole

Piejam Goes To The Fairy Pools

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Piejam Goes To The Fairy Pools. This is a Goop adventure tale about Piejam who is a boy Goop that loves to eat all sorts of sweets including pie and jam. His adventure ends up taking him to the Fairy Pools in Scotland. All of my Goop Tales adventures have the Goop going to some incredible place in the world. When I first saw photos of the real Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye I was enchanted. They are so incredibly beautiful I thought why not create a Goop Tale at the Fairy Pools.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I gather photos that I love and I let the photos inspire the Goop Adventure Tale. All of my book images are real photographs of exotic places around the world. As I find great photos I save them and when I am ready to write a story for the Goops I place all the photos together and piece together a story.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read so many books, mostly in the self development department. Those books always inspire me to what is possible but I try to have a really clear head when writing. I don’t want my writing to be influenced by anything but my imagination.

What are you working on now?
The next Goop Tale Adventure of course. It is called “Wonty and Whynotte Melt An Iceberg”. Wonty and Whynotte are two naughty little Goops that always say “I won’t” and “why not?” and they end up at the bottom of an iceberg.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Right now it is Kindle. I have started putting all my books on Kindle and using the kdp select promotion program but that is just the beginning. I have lots of plan to contact kids websites and put my books up on other epublishing platforms.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just start. All of us can get into our heads very easily and over think the process. What I have found is that if I just start writing without self editing I am the most productive. You can always edit later but it is a discipline just to get words out of your head without editing. My best ideas come when my thoughts are free flowing and uninhibited.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t think, just do!

What are you reading now?
Inner Vegas: Creating Miracles, Abundance and Health. It is all about psycho-kinesis and the power of the mind. We are so much more powerful than we realize and we can harness that we can manifest miracles.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Continuing on with my Goop Tales Adventure Series. The Goops are my passion and I will always write their stories.

What is your favorite book of all time?
That is hard to say. I tend to read a lot of books and then move onto the next one. I don’t have favorites.

Author Websites and Profiles
Maria Calanchini Website
Maria Calanchini Amazon Profile

Maria Calanchini’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started playing piano in my early teen years, joined a Texas (The Bitter Creek Band) band in 1976. Then hit the road and played for 2 years all over the U.S. and have played and loved music ever since. Picking up the fiddle later, I put my passion into developing my unique style. I’ve written down some essential tips. I teach and performs in Texas.

I’ve been writing ever since I learned to write. I’ve got 2 books published. One contemporary short stories series, called Very, Very Short Stories and a practice guide for fiddling titled 10 Fiddle Tips.

My new series, Very, Very Short Stories(for the busy reader)is several short tales told by me.. It’s seven very gripping short stories that will have you wanting more. Don’t worry. I plan on three more Very Short Stories books. Look for more on the way!

Look for a music theory method coming out in early spring.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my newest book is Very, Very Short Stories (for the busy reader).

The inspiration came from reading too many long short stories. I decided to see if I could put all the elements of a good short story in as few words as possible and still leave the reader with the feeling of reading a good tale.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t really have any unusual writing habits, except I can’t start without a cup of coffee. I usually write early in the morning. I’ve got to have some tunes playing for background noise.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
One of the biggest influences in my life is J.R.R. Tolkien. I starting reading The Hobbit in high school and it changed my perspective on storytelling. Some contemporary writers are, The Kite Runner author, Khaled Hosseini. I like a lot of the old science fiction writers, Issac Asimov, Robert Heinlein.

What are you working on now?
I working on the second book of the Very, Very Short Storied series. I’m also working on a contempory look at music theory. Being a musician for years, I’ve learned and want to share, what NOT to do.

I’m also working on a novel. It’s a a unique perspective looking at the events of the 3 days prior to the Resurrection. It’s about what’s going on in Peter’s mind for those three days.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I promote my books on Amazon, Smashwords, iTunes and of course my website, mikespearsbooks.com

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The advice I have for new authors is to not to let others discourage them. Keep working. Don’t ever, ever give up. Be persistent. Be tenacious. Be yourself.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever heard was: Don’t Give Up! If you follow this advice, you’ll make it. You can do anything!

What are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading a lot of Internet Marketing books. I’m revisiting the Lord of the Rings series.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To continue to produce meaningful work. To change the world.

What is your favorite book of all time?
My favorite book of all time? Hmmm. That’s tough. I’d probably have to say Papillon by Henri Charrière. Very interesting book.

Author Websites and Profiles
Mike Spears Website
Mike Spears Amazon Profile
Mike Spears Author Profile Other Bookseller

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Lovely to meet you guys. I’m a wife, mother of three who lives in Cheshire, UK. I’ve been an international banker in emerging markets, interior designer and fitness instructor. From the age of four I’ve adored reading. My first story won a gold star when I was seven and that’s when it all began. Five years ago I decided to follow my dream to write a novel. My first book fell at the last hurdle, the Friday marketing meeting, with three publishers. At the time I was devastated, but out of heartache opportunity knocked. E-Publishing was taking off in the United States and I avidly followed the journey of Bella Andre and Gemma Halliday.

In April 2012 I self published my first book, a contemporary romance. To date it’s been downloaded over 250,000 times across thirty continents. Books two and three of the series are selling well and book four is due out at the end of the month. I also write a paranormal series. Book one is no #8in the paranormal witches & wizards category in Amazon.com. Book two is selling well and book three is due out in May.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Since I write in two categories, my recent contemporary romance is called Run Rosie Run, book three in The Ludlow Hall series.

My latest Paranormal is Dirty Little Secrets, book two of The Vampyre Legal Chronicles.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write very fast, get the story down. And then spend weeks editing, carving out the characters, the structure.

And I work on four or five books at a time.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Without a doubt the late Georgette Heyer – the woman nails characters in a way few authors manage, even today.

JR Ward and Christine Feehan are my paranormal go to girls. Again, because they nail the characters.

What are you working on now?
Book four of The Ludlow series is in final edits, nearly ready to send out to my betas. I have two more to write in the series.

Book three of The Vampyre Legal Chronicles will be ready in four weeks.

I’ve a stand alone adventure romance I’m re-writing.

Another contemporary romance series, an off shoot from The Ludlow Series outlined.

And a big paranormal series that’s been in the works for four years coming next year, if I can settle down and get on with it. The world-building is a challenge since it’s set in a Paranormal urban future.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Kindle Books and tips run by Michael Gallagher. And Ebookbooster are excellent. Bookbub is expensive, I haven’t tried it yet, but most authors seem to do well there. I also have a street team, run by fans of my books. They’re amazing.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get three completed works under your belt before you launch book one. The buzz and excitement is such that it’s hard to work creatively. And for God’s sake do not spam readers. They hate it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
From the wonderful James Scott Bell. Ignore the five star reviews and ignore the one star reviews. In fact, ignore all reviews and keep writing.

What are you reading now?
JR Ward’s latest Black Dagger brotherhood novel. Nora Roberts, The Witness. And Dale Amedei’s The Anvil of The Craftsman – that’s going to be a movie – I predict!!

What’s next for you as a writer?
To keep writing, to find readers and repeat!

What is your favorite book of all time?
War and Peace. And The Grand Sophy.

Author Websites and Profiles
CC MacKenzie Website
CC MacKenzie Amazon Profile

CC MacKenzie’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello! I’ve been writing since I was nine years old, starting with comic books. It’s best for all involved that no one ever sees those. I’ve written several plays, including a full-length that was performed in a small Chicago theater a few years back. I’m training for my black belt in Thai kickboxing, despite my asthma. I once jumped out of an airplane, despite having hated roller coasters as a child. So I seem to do things despite myself.

I’ve launched two e-book series in the past several months, Earths in Space and RIP. I wrote lots more before those, but most of that should probably remain hidden. Some of it might get dusted off later, though.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is the first RIP novelette, and it’s titled “Touch.” Here’s the series blurb, for context:

Opening yourself up to a whole new world can leave you vulnerable — but it’s the only way to grow. That’s what Rip Cooper has to do when he learns he can perceive ghosts with his five senses as if they were flesh and blood people, and he’s just as solid to them — in fact, the only solid thing to them. This young loner has to overcome his fears and kill dead people to prevent them from corrupting the living. He works alongside an impure angel and his ex-best friend’s ex-girlfriend as they teach him how love can conquer fear.

End blurb.

I was thinking about ghosts one night, and I thought, hmmm, what if they weren’t intangible…and what if they were solid only to one or a few people? Because those are natural thoughts to have, right?

Toward the beginning of the book, you’ll come across a skeleton structure of a historic church. That’s inspired by an actual historic church in Hanover County, Virginia, called Polegreen Church, and it, too, is commemorated by a frame structure. I was there listening to paranormal experts discuss ghosts, and that got me thinking. (Let me be clear: Rip is not me. I can prove it, too, using my total inability to perceive ghosts.)

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do that thing people say you shouldn’t do — I start editing before I complete the first draft. It’s a confidence-booster, basically. The first draft is always terrible, and I hate having page after page of garbage. By doing a little editing up-front, it will be less depressing later on.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Joss Whedon’s screenwriting has been a big influence. In fact, my series are structured almost as television seasons with standalone episodes that build into larger arcs. Plus, his stuff is so much fun. It’s infectious.

Jim Henson sparked my imagination in the first place. I owe much to him, without ever having met him.

Oh, you want book authors? Well, I suppose they’re all right, too. I particularly enjoy the writing styles of Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, J.K. Rowling, and Douglas Adams. They’ve all got a great sense of fun.

What are you working on now?
More Earths in Space and more RIP. The first Earths contains the first two novellas of the series, and the first RIP is just the first novelette. The next volumes will be bigger. The second Earths in Space will have four new novellas, and the next RIP will reprint the first novellete and contain four new ones. (Think of the first RIP as sort of a kickstarter program.) It’s too soon to set release dates, but work continues on both series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve only been published since late December, so I’m still in the “trial and error” stage. So far, I’ve learned that trial and error is not a viable long-term strategy, though it is better than not taking any shot at all.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just entertain us. Don’t set out trying to create the next great masterpiece, and whatever you do, don’t write the next Finnegan’s Wake.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Yoda once said, “There is no try. There is only do or do not.” Who am I to argue with Yoda?

What are you reading now?
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I’ll let you know what I think when I finish it thirty years from now. I’ve read over a quarter of it, and it’s great so far, even if it does have far too much detail. The character seem to sing, or maybe the muscial is influencing my reading experience.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Earths in Space and RIP will keep me busy for some time, but I’m also hoping to get back into playwriting as soon as I find the time. The day runs out of hours much too quickly.

What is your favorite book of all time?
I’ve always had a soft spot for “To Kill Mockingbird,” and I think I know why. Naturally, it’s because I’m a Superman fan. Atticus Finch is the essence of Superman, just without the powers.

Author Websites and Profiles
Daniel Sherrier Website
Daniel Sherrier Amazon Profile
Daniel Sherrier Author Profile Other Bookseller

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

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