Vinny O'Hare

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
When I was twenty-one I took a job teaching English and coaching football at a small Catholic high school in Southern California. It was intended to be stopgap, temporary employment until I decided what I really wanted to do with my life. Within a year I was hooked on the coaching and found I had the wherewithal to manage a classroom full of high schoolers, and even transmit knowledge. Forty-two years later I retired.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“The Top Out of View” is my latest published work, a book of poems trying to capture the essence of the high school football experience. If you find the idea of poetry and football incongruous, all I can say is if poetry is an effort to capture human authenticity in action, football qualifies as a suitable subject.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Veronica Eden is the author of dark new adult romances + reverse harem romances with spitfire heroines and irresistible heroes. She loves exploring complicated feelings, magical worlds, epic adventures, and the bond of characters that embrace us against the world. She has always been drawn to gruff antiheroes, clever villains, and the twisty-turns of morally gray decisions. She believes sometimes the villain should get the girl and is a sucker for a deliciously devilish antihero. Veronica Eden is the pen name of romance author Mara Townsend. When not writing, she can be found soaking up sunshine at the beach, snuggling in a pile with her untamed pack of animals (her husband, dog and cat), and surrounding herself with as many plants as she can get her hands on.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest release is Unmasked Heart, a dark new adult arranged marriage romance. I was inspired to write this story because I wanted to tell a tale of mistaken identity and play with the power dynamics of the mafia through a ritzy New Year’s Eve gala between two people in an arranged marriage.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Lately I’ve been obsessive about making spotify playlists for each character in my book to get into their head/voice as I write!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
JK Rowling, Jude Devereaux, LJ Shen, Leigh Bardugo, Renee Ahdieh

What are you working on now?
A dark new adult high school bully romance series following four different couples.

What are you reading now?
Currently reading Steel Princess (Royal Elite Book 2) by Rina Kent! It’s got me on the edge of my seat!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Coming up in 2020 is a 4 book dark new adult high school bully romance series and a standalone paranormal reverse harem romance with a witch and three accidentally summoned demons ready to do her bidding.

Author Websites and Profiles
Veronica Eden Website
Veronica Eden Amazon Profile

Veronica Eden’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Born in Britain, now living in France. I have written two books, the first being Flight of Destiny, the second being Adventures of Death, Reincarnation and Annihilation.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Adventures of Death, Reincarnation and Annihilation
Set in a variety of settings and time periods, the past, the present and the future, the book explores the inevitable unknown that lies before us all “death”. Death can be arrive in a multitude of forms. One theme is the last living being. The book took me in a variety of directions, horror but also science fiction. There are are also elements of humor.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not that I know of

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Rupert Thompson author of The Five Gates of Hell, Dreams of Leaving, This Party’s Got to Stop.
Roald Dahl

What are you working on now?
A very dark story called “I am the priest killer”

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Twitter a lot

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep going, don’t get put off, by any rejection. Start with short stories and then move on to full length novels.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To promote my latest book and try to finish I am the priest killer

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Dreams of Leaving
War and peace
some Roald Dahl

Author Websites and Profiles
Francis H Powell Website
Francis H Powell Amazon Profile
Francis H Powell Author Profile on Smashwords

Francis H Powell’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written two full-length novels, with the third ready to go. I also have two short story series’: the Twisted Family Holiday Collection series; and the Christmas Town series—book four was released December 5, 2019. I have other short stories, some in anthologies, others stand alone. In total, there are fourteen unique works on my Amazon page—thirteen with independent publishers and a biographical football anthology, in which I had others contribute. I edited one of the football stories and was a ghost writer for my high school coach. I have countless others in online venues.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest published work is book four of the Christmas Town series: The Christmas Town Calls. My granddaughter came to me before book one (just after Thanksgiving, 2014) and asked why I hadn’t written a book about her and the grandkids. I looked at the Christmas tree and the town beneath it, and then had her accompany me to inspect it. The series was born.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t have any unusual habits, except maybe doing a lot from my spot on my bed with my laptop.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite authors are Dean Koontz, Dan Brown, and John Grisham–so I’m sure they’ve influenced my writing, thought not consciously.

What are you working on now?
I waiting on one more review for “The Institute,” which is a thriller that pits a group of youth against some evil men to save their friend from an evil psychiatric hospital where he has been sent. The first three including Reader’s Favorite and Kirkus reviews have been exceptional with quite flattering comparisons by Kirkus. After I have the next review, I’ll decide how to proceed, perhaps I’ll try an agent to get into one of the big five publishers.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m not sure what’s best, but I use Facebook a lot paid and not. But as far as getting the books out–free promos are best. I get a lot of hits but no money…so?

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing. You’ll get better and better, even if you think you’re great, you’ll get better.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Trust your voice.

What are you reading now?
Dan Brown’s Digital Fortress.

What’s next for you as a writer?
We’ll see what happens with The Institute. If all goes well, full steam ahead…

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Lightning-Koontz; Da Vinci Code-Brown; Client-Grisham; Bible-New Testament

Author Websites and Profiles
J.R. Wirth Amazon Profile

J.R. Wirth’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
A writer from rural Maine, the strange wheels of life have brought me to live in La Serena, Chile. I’ve written several books. My science fiction trilogy, “The Slinger Trilogy” is on amazon as well as my coming-of-age zombie story, “The World Without Crows.” I’ve just finished the sequel to that called “The World Without Flags” which is available now on pre-order!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My last book is called “The World Without Flags.” I really have no idea what inspired it. My inspiration usually comes to me in several distinct bursts. It’s never one idea, it’s like a dozen that come together for a book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if it’s unusual, but I try not to talk about my writing. At least not until it’s ready to be published or read.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Many books have influenced me, but when I think of good prose, I usually think of Raymond Carver, Ernest Hemingway, and Cormac McCarthy. It’s difficult because for me each book has its own parents, so I might think that the next book’s prose should be more like Margaret Atwood or Ursula K. LeGuin.

What are you working on now?
I’m planning a fantasy book now.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think Goodreads is an excellent place to find readers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be disciplined and keep moving forward. Writing is a craft learned over time. You’ll probably have to write a thousand pages before you write one good story.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you want to write, read.

What are you reading now?
Some good ole Terry Pratchett and a book on Darwin’s Finches.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan on sticking to writing fantasy for a little while, although I might take a break to finish the World Without Trilogy.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
100 Years of Solitude
Dune
The Confederacy of Dunces
The Silmarillion.

Author Websites and Profiles
Ben Lyle Bedard Website
Ben Lyle Bedard Amazon Profile

Ben Lyle Bedard’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hey folks, I am Srijit Mondal.
Speaking about myself , I’m a 20 year old from Kolkata, West Bengal. Other than my writing career, I pursue a bachelor’s degree in Statistics from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. An IYMC pre-finalist and scholar, mathematics, literature, data and the human mind amuse me and leave me in awe. My books have won me wide acclaims including nomination in “Top 100 Innovators in Education”, an esteemed award presented by the GFEL in 2019. Recently I’ve got a nomination for “Author of the Year 2019” from Ne8X Litfest and “Best Debut Author” from Star India Awards 2019.
I have published four books till now, three mathematics books and a book of Bengali poems.
Of the three Mathematics books ,my first book ,the first edition of “Mathematical Tricks” was a Bestseller for a long run of 87 days also spending time in Amazon India’s “Hot & New Releases” , selling over 500 copies in 6 months all over the world.The second edition of the book is also out now and is doing equally well.
My second and third book “201 Mind Boggling Problems In Mathematics” and “1001 Objective Problems In Mathematics” has also been favorites to various educational institutes and students preparing for various entrances. These books as the names suggest, covers some “out of the box” problems delicately designed covering a vast range of topics from set theory, algebra, geometry to almost everything.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book, “Uro Bhabnar Jonmostup”, is an outcome of the experiences of life faced by young minds. As the title suggests, the book is a collection of poems and a few short stories curling up from random thoughts on almost anything and everything – social dogmas, love and emotions, friendship, intellectualism and many more. The book has got positive criticisms from writers and intellectuals and has been an Amazon India “Hot New Release” selling more than 100 copies in a month of its release.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have been a hardcore booklover since my childhood gobbling anything from comics, fantasies, literary pieces and the craving has just increased with age. Writers and what went inside their mind always fascinated me but I never thought I’ll be one.
I remember writing my first poem when I was 16…too late may be but better late than never…haha.
First idea of mathematics book came just from the love for the subject and the poetry book is a collection of what me and my co-authors have written over the past few years
, I never plan and write. I generally write when I’m idling may be…suddenly some thoughts come and I jot it down .
Even for mathematical things, it’s like I’m solving a problem and I find it great and useful…I take a note, some shortcut or some useful formulae…it’s just that way. Later on I find a place to add it in the draft.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Well, its hard to pin point some particular authors or books which have influenced me…there are a lot of them.
Yet some special Mathematics books are there like “Finite dimensional Vector spaces ” by P R Halmos, Mathematical Circles, Arthur Engel’s “Problem Solving Strategies ” and a lot others.
In literature, books by Nicholas Sparks, Dan Brown and a lot others don’t fail to amuse.

What are you working on now?
I have a poetry book (this time in English) coming up, a collection of around 100 poems on varied topics. It’ll be out in a month or two. I wish to go for a crime fiction and a book on Life Lessons. Let’s see

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have an obsession towards “Organic” reach. But I still have my own marketing strategy. Facebook ads and aiming proper groups related to the books helps the most. Also Quora is another useful site alongside a lot of sites that review books for free.
For paid promotion I choose promotion either in newspapers or through Amazon paid ads.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Naturality and uniqueness. Do something unique, don’t copy others. Have your own style because that style will later on become your signature, will speak for you. And yes, take the risk of self-publishing your book if traditional publishers are not taking up your book. Self-published books with quality writings and proper publicity are nowadays beating a lot of traditionally published books. So believe in yourself and go for it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Not to look back and learn from failures is what we always hear from our elders and teachers.
But one of my teachers once said me a beautiful line, “Fail…and then use these failures to build your staircase…climb up and you’ll see its the strongest staircase to success”.

What are you reading now?
A voracious reader…I’m gobbling up a lot of books presently…there’s The ABC Murders, The Fault in our Stars, Inside Chanakya’s Mind, Kargil: The Untold Story and a lot of others.
I’m three-fourth way through and will be finishing up soon.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I wish to go for a crime fiction. It has always been a dream to be someone like Agatha Christie…marvelling readers with the strangest mystery and crime plots. And a book on Life Lessons is also what I’m thinking of. Let’s see

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Umm…let me think…
Well firstly I would like to have an Atlas so that I can at least try to find my way out…haha.
Other than that I would love to take Paradise Lost, Brief History of Time, Brief Answers to Big Questions and Life 3.0

Author Websites and Profiles
Srijit Mondal Website
Srijit Mondal Amazon Profile

Srijit Mondal’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a writer based in Brooklyn. I’ve written two books with a third on the way. My debut novel is, “The Sorry Tale of Mr. Khan” and “The Mistaken Path” is my second one. It’s actually out right now.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is, “The Mistaken Path” and it was written when I was a young teenager. It took me two years to write, from ages 12-14. Nothing in particular inspired it, but I was influenced by television and what was one tv and movies at the time.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to listen to music while writing and it seeps into my subconscious a lot. That’s about as quirky as it gets.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m definitely influenced by Thomas Hardy. I read, “Jude the Obscure” and was blown away. I was amazed at how he was able to write about women in the way he did. He did them justice. I had no idea how they longed for freedom back in those days.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on my third novel called, “For the Love of Lisa.” It’s a modern story about a woman looking for love and living in the big city.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t have one yet, but this site seems to be very author friendly.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Promotion is key to your success.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Do what you love and let it kill you.

What are you reading now?
A biography of Tom Jones

What’s next for you as a writer?
I hope to make, “For the Love of Lisa” as a three part series. I want to see where my character goes and what she goes through.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
“Eva Luna”, “Complete serial killer guide”, “Jude the Obscure”, and the fourth, I’m not sure.

Author Websites and Profiles
Trisha Chiriboga Website

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written a grand total of…(drum roll)…One!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures is a book with poems, pr (umm, I guess it’s all in the title). I never thought of myself as a writer, but certain events in my life made writing a necessity. Along with songwriting and composing, it was a way for me to organize my thoughts and make sense of it all. I’m happy to say that it did.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do some of my best writing when I am running or hurting. Often, that is the same time…
Ideas come to me when I’m running or cycling. I suppose it’s the way that exercising relaxes the mind and gets the creativity flowing. A lot of my poems have an environment/nature theme, so when I’m out, I’m looking around and taking in all the beauty and ugliness in the world.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I grew up reading early Sci-Fi books, Verne, Asimov, Bradbury, Niven, to name a few. Then came Tolkien, Lewis, Orwell, Huxley, Wyndham, and Vonnegut.

What are you working on now?
My first book: Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures is in it’s final production phase and should be available in January 2020. I did take some of the works from that book and created a free eBook, so that readers could get an idea of what I’m all about (psst…it’s on my website). Some of the poems deal with loss and struggle, others with ego and human nature. Observations of places and the environment are included, and then some of my illustrations with very short stories round out the book. A lot of it has a humorous tone, and I admit I do have an odd sense of humor.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m totally new at this so it’s been quite the challenge as a new author to reach readers who hopefully will want to read what I have written. I started with a website, then LinkedIn, Goodreads, AllAuthor, and the like. I think the main thing is to participate in some of the great discussions out there.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Being a new author myself, I would say just do it. If you think what you have written has merit and people will enjoy reading it, then publishing your book in any way is worth it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I read this in a Bear Grylls book and it stuck with me:

“Commitment is doing what you said you would do, long after the mood that you said it in has gone.”

What are you reading now?
I just finished re-reading Ready Player One (Ernest Cline) and starting to read some of Greg Bear’s novels.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am currently working on a series of short stories in the style of early Science Fiction, when imagination was king and not overshadowed or disproved by technological facts. I’m also including some post-apocalyptic tales. Can’t have enough of those…

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
There are a few books that I have read many times:
Klondike: Pierre Burton
Alive: Piers Paul Read
The Chronicles of Narnia: C.S. Lewis
Does the entire collection of Calvin and Hobbes count as one?

Author Websites and Profiles
Leon Stevens Website

Leon Stevens’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been writing for long time, but as a perfectionist did not wanted to publish. Finally, I got rid of this habit. I published two books in Polish language and one in English – compilation of stories “Losers”.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Stories in my compilation – Losers, are inspired by many different things. Sometimes I was using personal experience (but NO, I did not kill anyone), sometimes from real events, but mostly all is made up. The main theme comes from describing and average person with lots of problems.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Nothing unusal here. I brainstorm the ideas, make a plan of whole plot, and start to write. The only unusal thing is that sometimes events described by me on pages of the book, manifest later somehow in my own life.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like prose of Philip Roth, Amos Oz and Haruki Marukami.

What are you working on now?
I am working on few projects, ordered by clients. I’m writing in my native language. I am also trying to complete my second novel.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Newbie in this area, so can not advise much.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Try to read as many books as you can. Keep a daily journal. Also I recommend to sign up for creative writing classes or to find a mentor.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write, write and write. And write.

What are you reading now?
Sociology book.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Completing my novels, and publishing them one by one.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
“Martin Eden” by Jack London. The rest would be survival books, quite handy in such environment.

Author Websites and Profiles
K. E. Adamus Amazon Profile

K. E. Adamus’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been writing for the better part of 30 years, and seriously writing for at least 20 of those. I have “officially” written 2 books, one of which published that I don’t talk about, and the other available for pre-order now, available 2/1/2020. I have the lore and storyboards done for the next five in the Seven Seals Archive series, and most of the content written.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Embersoul; Book One of the Seven Seals Archive. This is my passion project. I have been developing these characters and this world for over twenty years, and can tell you every detail all the way back to the creation of all things. Each of these characters are representative of me in some way. The real inspiration came from using these characters in years of games of Dungeons and Dragons with my friends and really feeling them flesh out into reality. I have been storytelling and DMing for a very long time, and it was time to put life into characters that have been as real as life to me.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so. My process is pretty simple, I write until I feel the burn, then break for a while. I am a hybrid of explorer and architect, I plan key points in the plots and then let the characters guide me from there. If I had to pick one “unusual” habit, I would say that on most occasions I will write many of a characters chapters in a row before I start the next characters POV, and edit them in place later.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Hugh Howey strictly for his business sense and success as a self-publisher. GRRM, JRRT, Sanderson, Jordan, Crichton, Bret Easton Ellis, Barker, Jacqueline Carey. R.L. Stine, RA Salvatore, Mark Manson, Me.

What are you working on now?
Now begins the marketing phase for Embersoul. After I have a good foothold on promoting, I will be continuing work on Book 2 of the Seven Seals Archive.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I wish I knew!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The work doesn’t start until after you are ready to publish. If you don’t want it enough, you’ll fail. You could write the best words ever put to paper, but without all the insane amounts of legwork you need to do to get off the ground such as marketing, networking, promoting, etc, then you won’t make it anywhere. Read Mark Manson’s “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck.” He has the best advice for entrepreneurship I’ve ever heard. If you give up when it gets hard, you may as well give up now. This won’t be handed to you, it is a full time job getting noticed and read.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You’ll never succeed if you never fail. We learn from our failures more than our successes.

What are you reading now?
The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker

What’s next for you as a writer?
HBO or Netflix series or bust!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Embersoul by A.J. Morrison (No seriously, I enjoy my writing a lot, even though I’ve memorized it at this point.)
Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady just because it’s almost a million words.
GRRM or JRRT

Author Websites and Profiles
A.J. Morrison Amazon Profile

A.J. Morrison’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Greetings to you, great and terrible fan of fantasy, good literature and just a random visitor to my blog! My name is Sergey Katz, I was born in 1974 in Moscow, and now I live in Israel. I have been working in the hi-tech industry for more than 15 years, successfully generating new ideas. Right now I fully completed 3 books and working on two new ones 😉

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My last book is part of Changing World series and called “The Fast Flow”, the whole idea behind series is to create always changing game world (the book is LitRPG genre) and make everyone gamer’s, NPC’s and even Gods feel pressured by all this changes. I really want to make this world alive and make reader dive deep inside and feel he is part of action.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Writers are not born — unlike the children of millionaires — they become. So it was with me: once I got tired of keeping my “savings” in my dreams: overwhelmed with ideas and voices in my head, I decided to pick up a pen and try to pour everything on paper. As it turned out, it is not only cheaper than making an appointment with a cool psychiatrist, but it is much more fun! The first book was an experimental product, and although the beginning was hard, then it was impossible to stop me. You probably know this when something carries you away so much that you confuse day and night, you have a phone with an iron, you drink hastily sour milk, or you forget to comb your hair. Writing sclerosis is even more difficult than domestic sclerosis, but while the rest are looking for a second sock all over the house, I sit in one and obsessively write a new interesting chapter. No, I’m not cold.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Well, I do like a lot of different writers starting with awesome Roger Zelazny “The Chronicles of Amber”, continuing with unbelievable Andrzej Sapkowski “The Witcher”, one of my first fantasy loves Dragonlance Chronicles and much more.
I also adore Detective writers like Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and Rex Stout.
In my Adult years I read a lot of Sci-fi and historic books too.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m in the middle of first book at new LitRPG series, which will be totally different from everything I wrote till today. The world setting is very … how I will say it unexpected 🙂 Really hope I can pull this idea, and even more hope for readers to like it.
Same time I’m working on story line for 3-d book in Changing World series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Till now everything was done via Amazon, but now I’m ready to try all new way’s.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes! Don’t stop. to become a good writer you have to write and improve yourself. Readers will find you. Some will like your story some not, and this is great! More feedback’s you get better you can become. Always and I mean it always ask for feedback and reviews.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Everything is easy if you do it in chunks.

What are you reading now?
Dan Sugralinov “The Final Trial”

What’s next for you as a writer?
I wan’t one of my books to become a movie or TV series.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Really have no answer for this one. Hope I will never be in this situation. 4 books is nothing :))))

Author Websites and Profiles
Sergei Katz Website
Sergei Katz Amazon Profile

Sergei Katz’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a nature lover, engineer, musician, and health addict. So, I have written 15 books on a variety of topics. To find out more visit my book page here https://www.rickmckeon.com/bookstore.html

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Plant Based Health & Wellness. It is the story of my personal health journey over the past couple of years as I recovered from some pretty serious health issues. The amazing difference that adopting a plant based lifestyle has made for me also inspired me to start a free monthly newsletter called The Journal of Plant based Health & Wellness.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t have a strict writing regimen. I just write when I feel like it . . . which is all the time.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Recently my focus has been on health, so my heroes are Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr Michael Greger, Dr. Michael Klaper, Dr. Pam Popper, and John Robbins. OK, there are many more, but you get the idea.

What are you working on now?
An ongoing project is my monthly newsletter called The Journal of Plant Based Health & Wellness. I’m not a doctor, so it takes me a whole month just to produce the next feature article. Also, I am working on a book titled The Keys to Radiant Health: Diet, Lifestyle, Stress Management, and Detoxification. I’m really excited about this one, and think it will help many people.

At the same time I am working on some instructional books (with accompanying video lessons) for guitar and banjo playing, and getting back to playing some rest home gigs.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesome Gang of course! But I also belong to a lot of Facebook groups and use AMS to promote on Amazon.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
What we believe about ourselves determines our actions. For some reason I have always had an inferiority complex. This has held me back in so many ways (personally and professionally). I think that new authors need to believe in themselves and hang in there. There is no such thing as failure, you just haven’t reached your goal yet. Success is on the way!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Treat others as you would like to be treated.

What are you reading now?
Everything related to health and music.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My health books are just a vehicle. I want to get out and do more speaking to promote healthy living. Also, I want to get out and give the gift of music to the elderly as small residential rest homes. Both of these things are a privilege and a blessing.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
How to Build a Raft
How to Cook Bananas
Navigation 101

Author Websites and Profiles
Rick McKeon Website

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
So far, I’ve written one full-length novel, a couple of novellas, and published a collection of my short stories. I’m a little bit of a lot of things: a gamer (tabletop and RPG!), a runner, a voracious reader of ALL sorts of fiction and non-fiction, a gardener, and an outdoor adventurer, among other things.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Vale Sevin Versus the Darkholm Succubus. And honestly, it was inspired by about half a dozen different conversations with friends about the different videogames we were playing. Vale Sevin isn’t based on anything in particular, but I had this idea for a gritty fantasy world where this group of adventurers are just trying to earn some coin but also get laid a lot, and the world of Viridia was born.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can’t consistently stick with one writing tool. I have to shake it up from time to time–if I’m writing in Word and I get stuck, I switch to writing on pen and paper for a little bit. Or if I’m taking lots of notes and outlining on pen and paper and it’s just not coming together, I’ll move everything over to a whiteboard. I continually cycle between writing on paper, whiteboard, laptop, desktop PC, and my phone.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read a *lot* so it’s hard to pinpoint specific influences. I’d say Ursula K. LeGuin is a huge influence on me, though. And Patrick Rothfuss.

What are you working on now?
Currently I’m working on the first book in a new series called Temptation Rock. The first book, Heart of Temptation, is about two sisters and their lifelong best friend and their fight against the forces of darkness. It doesn’t sound like a romance, but it absolutely is! Sort of a contemporary western romance-meets-Buffy the Vampire Slayer story, but the three women are all in their 30s, tired of everyone’s B.S., and fully in love with their own bodies. They do NOT mess around!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still trying to figure that out! Maybe Awesome Gang? 😉

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Stick with it, no matter what. Perseverance is the number one trait of any successful author out there. KEEP GOING!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever heard was to keep going.

What are you reading now?
I’m beta reading a couple of novels for friends and they are both DELIGHTFUL. I’m so excited for these books to be out there in the world.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing more books! I plan to do a couple more Vale Sevin novellas this year, along with the second Temptation Rock book.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Does a Kindle with a solar-powered rechargeable battery pack count?? No way I could pick only four!

Author Websites and Profiles
California Dawes Website
California Dawes Amazon Profile
California Dawes Author Profile on Smashwords

California Dawes’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Though I have written freelance articles for newspapers and magazines for many years, this was my very first book – and it was moreorless accidental! I have been a top management corporate executive for 45 years but it is only now, having retired, that I am free to pursue my lifelong passion for Native American heritage and history.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Red Road Across the Great Plains” emerged organically out of a life-changing, solo voyage of discovery that I drove two summers ago, across the Native American & Western Frontier heritage of the blood-soaked Great Plains. On my return, I realized I had such a wealth of notes that it just begged to be turned into a book!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Nope! I just wait for inspiration to strike – sometimes, it takes 45 years!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Dee Brown and a whole passel of insightful writers on Native America. I have included a select bibliography at the end of my book.

What are you working on now?
Just trying to get the word out there about my book. I am doing this not for my own ego or financial gain, but to spread the word about these exceptional people and their true story.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Waiting to find out!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Its one of the toughest and steepest mountains you can possibly climb, but it is worth it! If you have a worthwhile story to tell, there are people out there willing to hear it. The only, tiny, hurdle is getting to them!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just do it!

What are you reading now?
Red Road Across the Great Plains! For the 20th time!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Ummmm….I am actually waiting for the next inspiration strike!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
“Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown
“Rendezvous Series” by Will Blevins
“The Inconvenient Indian” by Thomas King
“Crazy Horse, the Strange Man of the Oglalas” by Marie Sandoz

Author Websites and Profiles
Chandra Lahiri Website
Chandra Lahiri Amazon Profile

Chandra Lahiri’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 proud Portuguese-American, born and raised in Northern New Jersey. After I graduated from my alma mater, Montclair State University with a Biology degree, my wanderlust and passion to explore inspired me to move to the Caribbean, where I obtained my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at Ross University in Saint Kitts. It wasn’t too long after that I found myself exploring the world of alternative medicine, completing certifications in Canine Rehabilitation and Veterinary Acupuncture. I am an Endometriosis survivor and currently live and practice in Jacksonville, Florida where I spend a lot of my time with my loyal rescue mutts, Stella and Jackson.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Release Your Inner Beast, my experience with endometriosis and the desire to help others.

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

Author Websites and Profiles
Carla Rodrigues Website
Carla Rodrigues Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi everyone! I’m an Australian writer of romance in all its forms. I’ve had 10 books published now, ranging from sweet to steamy, fantasy to contemporary.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent novella, published on 20 Dec 2019, is Truckie Needed, book 3 in the Seeking Satisfaction series. I had so much fun writing the first couple of books in this series, in which a woman (a different character in each book), puts up an ad for something, and ends up in a relationship with the men who answer, that I really wanted to write another one, but I had heaps of trouble thinking of something suitable. In the end it was a good writer friend of mine who gave me the idea, and my muse just took off with it!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think my ‘habits’ are unusual in anyway, though this year there hasn’t been much ‘habit’ to speak of. Life has become incredibly busy, meaning that my writing habit is more a writing ‘whenever-a-spare-moment-arises’ type of situation.

What are you working on now?
For the first time in a long time, I’m not actively working on a story. The end of this year has resulted in a few upheavals for my extended family, so while there are still ideas spilling about in my head, they haven’t yet made it onto paper. Fingers crossed things will ease in the new year and I’ll find a moment to get something down.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Ah – I struggle with this so much! I’m really still learning. I love doing interviews, they are by far my favourite way to promote my books, though as to which method is the best way I’m still not sure.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing. I say this a lot. The more you write the better your writing will become, and the higher your chance of getting published. Oh, and don’t be afraid to let things go. Some stories just aren’t right for the time, but it doesn’t mean you can’t go back to them later and revive them, and by then you’ll be a better writer, too. This is what happened with the very first book I published, ‘A Faery Dream’, I first wrote the story in my early twenties, but it really wasn’t any good, and I knew it. Ten years later I started writing another story, and got that published, and it wasn’t until I went back over my old stories that I realised just how similar they were, except ‘A Faery Dream’ had all the rubbish left out, that hadn’t worked the first time round.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Same as the advice I’ve given above! lol. I can’t think of any better advice. You can’t publish if you don’t have a story.

What are you reading now?
I’ve recently finished Home to Me, by LaVerne Clark. What a beautiful story! It made me cry, several times, the main male character is just so sweet and caring, truly the perfect gentleman, but he does let some doubts creep in at one point which *almost* breaks the heroines heart. Being a romance, of course all is saved in the end, but LaVerne takes the reader on a wonderful journey to get there. Loved it!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m really not sure what the coming year will bring for me. I have a couple of old stories I keep saying I’ll revive and publish, so I really hope I get some time to do that, but of course there are always new ideas clamoring for space, and not enough time to do everything.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Only 3 or 4? That is so hard! I’d want something practical. ‘How to survive on a Desert Island in 10 easy steps’. (Imagine if that was a real book!). But I’d also want something to transport me away from what would probably be a pretty harsh reality once the excitement wore off. So thinking along those lines, Two of my favourite stories include ‘A Good Night’s Sleep’, by Stephanie Simpson, and ‘Skipping out on Henry’ by C. L. Ogilvie.

Author Websites and Profiles
Heather Kinnane Website
Heather Kinnane Amazon Profile

Heather Kinnane’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Valerie M. Quinata (1960 – )

I was born and grew up in Akron, Ohio, and spent most of my life in the Midwest. My love of reading began in the 3rd grade and my fate was sealed three years later when I took first place in a reading contest and won…you guessed it, a book! If there was an Olympic medal for reading, I would take gold, having mastered the ability to read anywhere, while walking, sitting, standing, or lying down.

The memoir remains one of my favorite genres and my goal has been that writing about my life experiences would benefit more than me. It wasn’t until I was given a diagnosis of breast cancer in 2016 that writing became a necessity as I processed through the challenges of a serious illness. Three years later, I was compelled to pull together all of my individual writings and create a story about healing from cancer.

I have written 2 books. One is the beginning of a series called Gifts of a Warrior – Book One is titled, Heal the Sick. I have also released a book of free scripture art that highlights encouragement.

I work with my own art as well as with the work of artists who provide license-free photography, so my scripture art is always free, downloadable and ready to us as wallpaper on your cell phone or printed off in any form you wish. Where possible, please keep my watermark or reference the piece as originating from Giftsofawarrior.com.

The process I use involves documenting the work of identifying spiritual challenges, addressing them in partnership with the Holy Spirit in a loving, forgiving way, and using the Word of God to heal.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Part of my experience involved the use of scripture art and the creation of a blog where I posted my daily devotions, usually including scripture art that matched my passage for the day. During a lazy Christmas holiday, I began organizing three years’ worth of scripture art. The process took a few days and I realized that each day, at the end of the reviewing and cataloging process, my mood was so much better – the peace, joy, calm and positivity practically radiated off of me and stayed with me until the next day. It didn’t require meditation, only the brief process of reading scripture and enjoying the visual art of each piece. That’s when I learned the power of viewing and reading visual images of scripture each day.

As a result, I created the book, Meditations on Encouragement, a book of scripture art that features passages that highlight the presence of God in our lives as a protector, encourager, and someone who is FOR YOU, who wants you to know He is not a force – He is THE force, and His Word is powerful in your life.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a family, so my writing takes place around 4:00 a.m.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite book of all time is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. As a child with a challenging family life, this heroine, who spoke her truth relentlessly and experienced her faith in God in a way that was real for her; not pious, not fake or forced, but full of authentic struggle and reverence, illustrated a path of freedom for me. She wrestled before God with her issues – beautiful writing and a perfect mix of mystery, romance and spirituality.

What are you working on now?
My next piece is about generational impacts involving poverty, criminal behavior and historic oppression. There are forces that try to shape our lives based on generational issues and the Holy Spirit has lead me to and through some pretty wild processes to get to the bottom of family issues with poverty, including a family murder….

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am learning that right now, and appreciate the work that Awesome Gang does to help authors get their books out!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Honestly, nothing else matters until the book is written.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write the way you speak – no one ever had talker’s block.

What are you reading now?
Bad Feminist, Roxane Gay
Undaunted, Christine Caine
The Empathetic Life of Rebecca Wright, Shan Inmon

What’s next for you as a writer?
Learning how to promote my books, writing the next book and investing in a kick ass Mac setup with a huge monitor so I can create more scripture art!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
Bible
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy, Douglas Adams

Author Websites and Profiles
Valerie Quinata Amazon Profile

Valerie Quinata’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a graduate of the Clarion West science fiction writing workshop and an active member of Science Fiction Writers of America. I have recently returned to the United States after living overseas for 35 years. I have published 25 books and about two dozen stories in magazines and anthologies. My books include novels, short story collections, and memoirs in numerous genres.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is a novel called The Senescent Nomad. It’s about an aging writer who decides to abandon his apartment and set out on the road full time in a camper van after his kids have grown and gone. He meets fascinating people and has numerous adventures on his way to a science fiction convention to which he has been invited.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know. Is it unusual to write for long hours seven days a week? That’s what I do. I don’t let anything except family emergencies interfere with my writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jack London, Jack Kerouac, J.R.R. Tolkien, Harlan Ellison, Roger Zelazny

What are you working on now?
I’ve just finished a number of short stories and now I am working on a sequel to The Senescent Nomad.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I learned from numerous mentors that the best method to promote your writing was to get busy on the next book. That’s what I do. I keep busy writing.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write whatever your voice tells you to write whether you think it will sell or not.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
What I just said above. Write from your heart. Don’t focus on what you think will sell, but rather on what you have to say that no one else can say.

What are you reading now?
The Armageddon Rag by George R.R. Martin. A masterpiece from his pre-Game of Thrones days.

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

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I don’t know. I have a few thousand favorites. It would be tough to trim them down.

Author Websites and Profiles
John Walters Website
John Walters Amazon Profile
John Walters Author Profile on Smashwords