Vinny O'Hare

Interview With Author Don McClure

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Dare to Evolve is my first book.
I am an advocate for sustainable alternatives. They give me HOPE. Our history of improving human existence for the most part has been in dissonance, making decisions mostly for acquiring money rather than opting for less harmful alternatives. Coal for heat and electricity, oil and gas to power automobiles, chemicals to control insects and weeds, our propensity for continuous conflict. All of these choices have created a space where our health and well-being are in peril. I see great challenges facing us that are unprecedented in my lifetime. With these challenges come great opportunities. I believe that no matter what our circumstances, we have the ability to add value with our talents, our enthusiasm, our knowledge, and our caring. All the while asking: do I need to change my mind to enable a better aligned solution.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Dare to Evolve
Asia Suler’s book Mirrors in the Earth inspired me. My daughter gifted it to me. She has a section that starts with a quote and then follows with much inspiration.

The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The blueprint for healing our Earth exists within us, a seed that is its own perfect outline for what is possible in our lives and in this world. Within it are the original instructions for how to grow, and give, our gifts to the planet. When we release overbearing expectations that we place on ourselves, the pressure of needing to be complete in our formation, we give this seed inside us a chance to unfurl.

It may feel challenging to sprout in the climate of the world today, but the seed inside of you was specifically designed to be ignited by the fire of this time.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Had to develop. Used the book “The way of the Fearless Writer” by Beth Kempton to eventually find my voice.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
See above, plus See No Stranger and Sage Warrior by Valarie Kaur. There are other books mentioned in Dart to Evolve

What are you working on now?
Marketing

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
https://www.daretoevolve.us/

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Persist and contue to learn.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Energy flows where attention goes

What are you reading now?
Crows Calling by Bruce McConnell

What’s next for you as a writer?
Continue to proved hopeful solutions and work with others to enable alternatives

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?
See no Stranger, Mirrors in the Earth, The Global Brain, How Yoga Works

Author Websites and Profiles

Don McClure Website

Don McClure Amazon Profile

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Interview With Author Wendy Jensen

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello, I’m a veterinarian that has written four non-fiction books and one novel. I am an animal advocate and I practice homeopathy.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
But I Already Said Goodbye is my novel about my animal advocacy work.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I love writing outside and with a pencil and paper!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Kingsolver, Carr, and Hahnemann!

What are you working on now?
A book of poetry.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Join a writing group which encourages positive feedback. It’s very supportive!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what you know.

What are you reading now?
Octavia Butler

What’s next for you as a writer?
Getting my poems out there.

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?
A repertory on homeopathy, an Ozecki book and a Proulx book.

Author Websites and Profiles

Wendy Jensen Amazon Profile

Wendy Jensen’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

Facebook Profile

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Interview With Author Taylor Thornburg

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Taylor Thornburg is Midwestern through and through, born in mid-Missouri, grown up in eastern Nebraska, and now working and writing in Chicago, IL. His debut novel, Agathe, 6:00 pm to 7:27, exemplifies the sharp contrast between his background and subject matter: idyllic Midwest against the dramas of modernism and extremes of melodrama.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Agathe, 6:00 pm to 7:27 is Taylor Thornburg’s first and latest book. This book was inspired by the films of Alain Resnais, Agnes Varda, Richard Linklater, and Ingmar Bergman. Its central preoccupation is of Bergman, that of human connection. Its execution follows the non-linear narrative experiments of Resnais, the play with time compression brought forward by Varda, and the delicate but deep dialogues of Linklater.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Taylor Thornburg has two unique writing habits. Namely, he prefers to write first thing in the morning just after making coffee, sometimes before the sun rises, and at least 500 words. Then he writes everything by hand before transcribing it in totality on a digital platform. He writes in the morning and transcribes and edits at night after the work has had time to sit.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Taylor Thornburg’s biggest influences have been the Japanese surrealists, Yoko Ogawa, Hiromi Kawakami, and Haruki Murakami who charmed him into writing serious literary fiction as an adult. After the Japanese surrealists, the modernists Hemingway, Faulkner, and Woolf influenced form. Postmodernists like Nabokov, Pynchon, and Krasznahorkai have encouraged him to take additional creative and daring liberties with form and content.

What are you working on now?
At present, Taylor Thornburg is finishing a hybrid-memoir, editing a second manuscript, outlining a third manuscript, and beginning research on a second non-fiction piece.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best promotional method for Taylor Thornburg has been word of mouth.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Writers should utilize social media to build connections, communicate, network, build relationships nationally and internationally, growing an underground and independent circuit for exchanging literature and ideas. The mainstream infrastructure cannot support daring or novel ideas as these ventures are rarely immediately profitable at scale. Therefore, writers must put effort into creating real community to keep their literature living and their literary lives active.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice ever given to Taylor Thornburg is this: write as often as you can, every day if possible, workshop everything written with two or three trusted readers, take the advice that the trusted readers offer, and, to publish, show up again and again and again no matter how many doors close. Submit through the discouragement. The most successful writers are the most persistent.

What are you reading now?
Taylor Thornburg is currently reading Thomas Pynchon’s latest, Shadow Ticket.

What’s next for you as a writer?
As a writer, Taylor Thornburg looks forward to launching his first regional book tour, expanding his network of friends and associates, and then returning to Chicago to continue 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?
Stranded on a desert island, Taylor Thornburg would bring the Torah, the Autobiography of Malcolm X, Philip K Dick’s Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, and a copy of Playboy February 1970 featuring William Burroughs

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Author Interview Series

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Interview With Author Marc Swift

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello, I’m Marc Swift, a British author, eco builder and beekeeper living in the mountains of central Portugal. I’m also known as The Beekeeper Writer. After many years managing large construction projects and various entrepreneurial endeavours, I decided to step away from that world to build a simpler, more creative life centred around family, storytelling and nature.

What began as bedtime stories for my daughter Leila has now grown into a four book children’s universe called Leila’s Light… a series of imaginative, eco conscious adventures that encourage children to think independently, laugh often, stay connected to the natural world and question everything.

So far, I’ve written four completed books in the Leila’s Light series, with several other story projects quietly taking shape in the background. Each story blends humour, emotion and moral curiosity with rich world building designed for both children and conscientious adults to enjoy together.

My mission is to show that art, imagination, creativity, nature and truth can live side by side, and to help inspire young storytellers to do the same.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Leila and the Whispering River, the third adventure in the Leila’s Light series. It continues directly from the ending of the second book, where certain choices set off a chain of events that ripple across time and reality. The story explores how actions and intentions create consequences, sometimes in ways the characters could never imagine.

It was inspired by the real landscapes around us here in the mountains of Portugal, the rivers, forests and quiet natural places where imagination feels alive. Many moments in the book draw from real experiences that my daughter Leila and I have shared, then weave into fantasy through her ideas and my storytelling.

Beneath the adventure, it is about curiosity, friendship and listening to the world around us, not just with our ears but with understanding. It also plays with ideas of time and cause and effect, how one small moment can echo far into the future. Leila and the Whispering River celebrates that delicate bridge between truth, nature and imagination.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
If there is anything unusual about my writing habits, it is probably how closely they are tied to nature and daily life. I rarely sit at a desk for long. Most of my ideas come while walking by the river, tending the bees, or working outdoors. The rhythm of nature seems to bring the right words forward, and I often stop to make quick notes before they disappear again.

A lot of my ideas are bounced back and forth between me and my daughter Leila, and together they tend to grow organically, scene by scene, as if the characters themselves are alive. I often imagine them standing there, waiting for me to write the next part of their story. Sometimes it feels as if they already know what they are about to say and what they are going to do. I feel their energy, and, as strange as it may sound, it is almost as if the characters have a soul of their own. The dialogue often comes as feelings rather than words… The characters show me what to write, rather than me inventing it. I am not sure if that is normal, but it works for me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I wouldn’t say I have been strongly influenced by many authors, but I have certainly been inspired by a few good ones. One that comes to mind is Sara, Book 1 and 2 by Esther and Jerry Hicks. I first read them with my daughter Leila, and what struck me most was the way they explored the law of attraction and positive thinking through a simple and engaging story. The books spoke about friendship, morals, humour and self-discovery in a way that children could genuinely understand and apply to real life.

What I liked most was that they had real substance. They offered something useful, not just entertainment. Leila and I could read them together and come away having learned something meaningful about how thoughts, choices and perspective shape the world we experience, or choose to experience. Those books were among the very few I found that balanced imagination and genuine wisdom for children. They reminded me that a story for a child can still carry depth and purpose, and they became the catalyst for my creative energy to begin writing.

What are you working on now?
At the moment I am completing Book Four of the Leila’s Light series, and I am also working on a few other books. In fact, there are four new titles in development, but I will keep those a surprise for now. What I can say is that each story in the Leila’s Light series grows naturally from the last, while also standing on its own to explore new ideas, imagination, awareness and the choices we make. The stories are filled with mystery, humour and a deeper look at truth, and how truth can often be hidden in plain sight.

I am also preparing to launch The Young Storyteller Quest very soon. It is an international project inviting children aged seven to twelve to write their own stories for a chance to see their work completed, illustrated and published. It is an inspiring way to give children a creative voice and to show them that their imagination truly matters.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have found that the most genuine way to promote my books is through connection rather than conventional advertising. I use my website, thebeekeeperwriter.com, as the heart of everything. It brings together my books, my eco projects and the story behind both. It gives readers a place to explore the worlds of Leila’s Light, discover the values behind Mel da Terra honey and follow new projects as they develop.

Social media has also played a helpful role, especially through Instagram and YouTube, where I can share creative videos that bring our parodies and projects to life. These platforms act as a visual bridge to show what The Beekeeper Writer is about and what our community is building together.

Connection and communication have been the most rewarding forms of promotion. Parents, teachers and readers who connect with the message of Leila’s Light often share it with others, and that kind of growth feels genuine and meaningful to be part of. I believe that if a story carries genuine meaning, it will find its audience naturally. My focus is always on quality, creativity and truth, rather than chasing numbers or following corporate trends

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m not sure I am the right person to ask, as I am still a new author myself, starting a new chapter in my life. Everyone has advice to give, and I am still learning every day. But from what I have discovered so far, my advice would be to write honestly and from a place of curiosity. Do not try to copy what is already successful or what you think people want to read. Write the story that only you can tell. The truth behind your words is what people will feel, even if they do not realise it.

Do not wait for the perfect moment or setting. Begin where you are, even if it is with a notebook on your knee or a few lines written before bed. The more you jot things down and make notes, the clearer your mind becomes, and sometimes stories, dialogue or even whole characters appear in dreams. The imagination has its own way of speaking if you give it the space to.

Publishing and success are wonderful, but they should never come before the joy of creating something meaningful. Believe in your story, even if nobody else does yet, and let it grow naturally in its own time.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I have ever heard is to live truthfully and create from that place. Someone once told me that when you do what you genuinely love, you stop chasing approval and start attracting purpose. It stayed with me because it applies to everything, including writing, beekeeping, building, and the way you treat people.

Another piece of advice that has guided me is simple. Do not wait until you think you are ready. None of us ever feel completely ready, and if we wait for the perfect moment, we may never begin. Every book I have written started with uncertainty, but once you take that first small step, the next one always appears.

I also believe strongly in karma, that the energy you give out, whether through kindness, honesty or creativity, always returns in some form. One of my mentors once said to me, just look at your end goal and put one step forward and then the other, and eventually you will get there. I use this as both a real life experience and a metaphor.

And perhaps most of all, learn to appreciate what you have, what you can do, and the people around you… Especially your loved ones, family and friends. Appreciation is the foundation.

What are you reading now?
At the moment I’m not reading as much as I would like to, as most of my time is spent writing and finishing the next book in the Leila’s Light series. When I do read, I tend to reach for books that help me think more deeply about creativity, energy and the way we see the world. I enjoy anything that encourages awareness and appreciation, whether it is fiction or not.

I also read a lot of practical material about nature, bees and sustainable living, which all find their way into my writing in one form or another.

What’s next for you as a writer?
My focus now is on completing the next chapters of the Leila’s Light universe and continuing to bring these stories to readers who care about imagination, awareness and kindness. I want each book to feel like a small world of its own, where children and adults can explore, laugh and think together.

Beyond the books, I am excited to see The Young Storyteller Quest come to life. It is something I feel deeply passionate about, helping children discover their voice and showing them that their imagination truly matters. I hope it will become an ongoing event that grows each year, creating a community of young writers from many different places.

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 could name many books and give a philosophical reason for each, but if I were to be truly stranded on a desert island, I would choose ones that could be of real use and meaning.

The first would be a thick notebook. It would give me the chance to write as much as I wanted in complete peace and quiet, with no distractions. I could record my thoughts, sketch ideas and perhaps even start another story surrounded by nature itself.

The second would be a survival guide specific to that region, something that teaches practical skills, what is safe to eat and how to forage in that particular area. I have always believed that knowledge is as important as creativity, especially when survival depends on it.

My third choice would be Sara, Book 1 by Esther Hicks, because it reminds me to stay focused on good thoughts, positivity and the energy we create through what we think and feel. In a place of isolation, I think that would be one of the most valuable lessons to keep… to remain calm, grateful and creative, no matter the circumstances.

Author Websites and Profiles

Marc Swift Website

Marc Swift’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

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Author Interview Series

To discover a new author, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors around. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring!

If you are an author and want to be interviewed just fill out out Author Interview page. After submitting we will send it out in our newsletters and social media channels that are filled with readers looking to discover new books to read.

If you are looking for a new book to read check out our Featured Books Page.

Interview With Author H Chris Ransford

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in different countries and have been privileged to be able to absorb quite different standpoints. At university, I studied physics which seemed the best way of bypassing surface appearances, overcoming biases and affects, and getting closer to the essence of things, to their truths.
I was a Tutor and Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne and at Monash University (Australia), a guest academic at KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) in Germany on a DAAD scholarship, and I also hold a French ‘Grande Ecole’ degree (INPG/Phelma).
I earlier published “The Far Horizons of Time: Time and Mind in the Universe” (de Gruyter 2015), “God and the Mathematics of Infinity” (ibidem Press 2017, distributed outside Europe by Columbia University Press) , “In Search of Ultimate Reality: Inside the Cosmologist’s Abyss” (ibidem Press 2020) and ‘You Are Fundamental’ (ibidem Press 2022). I also occasionally publish peer-reviewed articles and/or Conference papers on themes of eschatology and ultimate meaning, including a chapter in Szymon Wróbelʼs Anthology “Atheism Revisited” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
In our modern societies, time is at a premium and many non-specialist people tend to adopt a part of their worldviews from the say-so of scientists – yet I sometimes read outright errors in popular science books, typically stemming from a lack of cross-fertilization between the sciences that may be relevant. These errors are not without consequence, as they may quite negatively impact people’s views of themselves and their place in the universe. I wrote that book to correct, on the basis of incontrovertible yet little-known modern physics, explained at a pop science level, the idea peddled by some public-facing scientists that we are of no consequence, mere meaningless temporary structures in a meaningless universe – and accordingly, my new book is called ‘The Science of Destiny’.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to write short books. Time is at a premium for everyone, and I would not presume to tax people’s time more than I have to in order to make a point as clearly, as convincingly, yet as succinctly as possible.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many. In nonfiction, wonderful authors like Paul Davies or John D. Barrow all but established the genre of serious nonfiction, at a time when there was nothing bridging the gap between serious textbooks and books meant for the general public. Then the whole genre of serious nonfiction blossomed, and many authors appeared on the scene – including Roger Penrose, Sean Carroll, Brian Greens, David Darling, João Magueijo and so many others – including quite recently Zoë Schlanger, Nonfiction authors and serious publishing houses have also become more daring in what they say – people like Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer or DW Pasulka and others have helped push the envelopes of public discourse with themes that, no so long ago, would have been deemed out of bounds.
In fiction, Stephen King is a guilty pleasure. I like to experiment and try a variety of different authors, and thereby often discover gems (The Unconsoled, by Kazuo Ishiguro, springs to mind, as does Perdido Street Station by China Mieville, Robert McCammon’s The Listener or Alain Fournier’s The Lost Estate – and so many others.)

What are you working on now?
I just moved to Washington DC and I’m still all caught up in the myriad details that an intercontinental move entails. My immediate next project will probably be contributing something to the next Dialogo Conference – a conference run by a Romanian University whose purpose is to find common ground between science and spirituality, to which I have contributed a few times in the past.

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

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be yourself.
That is the be-all and end-all, really.
I’m reminded here of Stephen King, who was asked by a college student at the beginning of his career, ‘Why do you only write horror? Why don’t you write something more seriously literary?’ To which Stephen King had replied: ‘What makes you think that I have a choice?’

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never outsource your thinking, and always do your own homework.

What are you reading now?
A few years ago I had written a 130 page short nonfiction book on this very theme of nonlocal consciousness, in which I explore how theoretical physics actually fully supports the reality of nonlocal consciousness.
I have just finished Dan Brown’s ‘The Secret of Secrets’, whose theme is nonlocal consciousness. I am impressed how debates and serious scientific and/or philosophical issues can be framed within fiction, and thereby become exposed to a much wider public.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Noel Gallagher, of the rock band Oasis, once opined that every artist, every creator had a limited set of things to say, sing, or contribute, and that after that their well must run dry.
His later career belied that opinion: people grow, reinvent themselves, explore new paths.
If I believe that I can contribute meaningfully to some public debate, or shed an unexpected light on some old chestnut, I will definitely try and do so.

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 seldom re-read books, so this is a bit of a tricky question. If I bring new books, I might be disappointed, and books I’ve already read would definitely risk turning into a case of ‘What else is new?’
But I would most definitely bring the OED or Webster’s Unabridged dictionary. Trawling through their pages and discovering long-forgotten, wonderful old words is a signal pleasure.

Author Websites and Profiles

H Chris Ransford Website

H Chris Ransford Amazon Profile

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Interview With Author Holly Thorton

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a mother of four, an entrepreneur, and a writer living in San Antonio, Texas. My work is centered on helping families navigate the challenges of loving someone who struggles with alcohol. The Hardest Help: Supporting a Loved One Through Alcoholism is my debut book, though it is the result of years of lived experience, research, and a deep desire to create something practical and supportive for others. This guide is designed to help families steer their loved ones toward recovery using the methods I lay out, while also protecting their own well-being.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is called The Hardest Help: Supporting a Loved One Through Alcoholism. It was inspired by my journey with my late husband, who battled alcoholism. After losing him, I realized how many mistakes I made simply because I did not know what really works. If I knew then what I know now, I believe my husband might have had a different outcome. Families are too often told to wait for “rock bottom” or to detach, but I wanted to offer a better way forward with tools that truly help while also protecting your own peace.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I often write in bursts, usually late at night or early in the morning when the house is quiet and I can really sit with my memories and emotions. I also use journaling as a way to process raw thoughts before shaping them into chapters.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Memoirists who are unflinchingly honest about pain and healing have inspired me most. Authors like Glennon Doyle and Cheryl Strayed permitted me to write my own truth by sharing theirs with vulnerability and strength.

What are you working on now?
Right now, I am focused on launching The Hardest Help and connecting with readers who need it. I am also beginning early work on a second project about resilience and rebuilding after loss.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best method for promoting my book is https://thehardesthelp.com/

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write the book you wish you had when you were going through your hardest moments. Do not worry about pleasing everyone. Focus on the person who needs your words the most.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Your story is not just for you. This reminder keeps me going when sharing feels vulnerable.

What are you reading now?
I am reading Untamed by Glennon Doyle again. It is a book I return to for courage and grounding.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to expand my work into speaking and teaching, continuing to build resources for families who are navigating addiction in a loved one. My next book will likely explore how to rebuild life, hope, and identity after tragedy.

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 would bring “Untamed” by Glennon Doyle, Wild by Cheryl Strayed, for its courage and honesty, and the Bible for comfort to make it through the experience.

Author Websites and Profiles

Holly Thorton Website

Holly Thorton Amazon Profile

Holly Thorton’s Social Media Links

Goodreads Profile

Facebook Profile

Twitter Account

Pinterest Account

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Author Interview Series

To discover a new author, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors around. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring!

If you are an author and want to be interviewed just fill out out Author Interview page. After submitting we will send it out in our newsletters and social media channels that are filled with readers looking to discover new books to read.

If you are looking for a new book to read check out our Featured Books Page.