Featured Interview With Blue Tapp

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up all over the U.S. My family moved nearly every year when I was a child; I went to 13 different schools. My dad wasn’t in the military… just a rolling stone, grass is always greener kinda’ guy. I was shy, unattractive, didn’t dress the right way, we were poor… blah blah blah… so it was difficult. I struggled with low self esteem and depression. God has healed me from all of that. Now I am strong, unafraid of change or failure, don’t care what anyone thinks, and incredibly happy. So it all turned out okay 🙂

Boy do I have pets! I have 42 chickens, 7 ducks, 2 rabbits, 2 cats and a livestock guard dog. We are homesteaders so we’ve got lots of animals and plan to get even more… goats, pigs, maybe alpacas and cows. Our homestead is called Hermit’s Way Homestead, and is in Blue Eye, Missouri, 30 minutes southwest of Branson on the Arkansas border. We grow our own food and raise our own meat. We’ve got a very funny YouTube channel about our homesteading adventures.

I have run a successful website development company, Blue’s ArtHouse Graphics & Web Design, since 1997. When I started my business, websites had only existed for six years. So I’m definitely an old-timer in the web design field and it has changed a LOT in the past 25 years. I’ve grown with it and stay very busy. It pays the bills comfortably and then some. My husband, Craig, worked for Boeing for 37 years and retired in 2021, then we moved across the state to start up our homestead. I have no plans to retire; I still love my job and who wouldn’t love working in their pajamas?

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always been an artist since I was old enough to hold a pencil. I love to work with pen & ink, pastels, charcoals, and photography. I’m also a musician and singer. I play guitar, mandolin, flute, Irish whistle, sing and write music. I was even in a band for a while. So I’m a total artsy fartsy girl. When I learned how to read and write, of course I started writing stories. It was just the natural thing for me to do.

I began devouring books the moment I learned how to read; books were my escape. Discovering classic literature in high school lit a fire in my soul. I spent ten years in college studying Literature and then Rhetoric & Composition. I have an A.A. in Fine Arts, B.A. in English, M.A. in English Literature, and finished coursework for a Ph.D. in Rhetoric & Composition (dropped out before finishing my disertation due to family issues). I took many creative writing classes in college and submitted an anthology of short stories as my Masters Thesis. One of them was published in a college periodical.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I was an avid reader of classical fiction until my 40s. During college my favs were Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, Herman Melville, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Ambrose Bierce, Flannery O’Connor, all the classics. I also loved sci-fi greats like C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Ray Bradbury, and Kurt Vonnegut.

Something shifted in my 40s and I stopped reading fiction. I think I had finally read enough about worlds created in the minds of other writers. Now I wanted to read about what was REAL… biographies and other nonfiction works. I wanted to spend my time improving my soul, not just my mind, and got more into Bible and philosophical studies. Today I read works by the mystic saints like Teresa de Avila, and books about the working of the Holy Spirit including books by Kenneth Hagin, and Paul Haglin.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My first full length book, “My Demon, My Jesus,” tells my extraordinary story about demonic oppression as a child and my struggle with suicidal depression as a young adult.

When I was 30 years old, I attempted suicide by swallowing a handful of sleeping pills. It worked. I died and my spirit left my body before I was brought back to life in the hospital. I am here today because God saved my life. He sent four angels who helped me call for help before I died.

However my battle with depression was far from over. I spent the next three years addicted to prescription medication under the care of a psychiatrist. But pills cannot cure depression.

Again God miraculously healed me. I am now completely free of depression and medication. God has shown me how to live an amazing life of joy and victory. ”My Demon, My Jesus” describes my healing process. I believe others who suffer from depression can follow these same steps to reach true lasting healing.

Then in 2019 I began experiencing astonishing visions where my soul traveled to heaven to pray for the world with millions of other saints. Today the visions continue weekly and God has taught me so much through them. He loves and cares deeply about each one of us and wants us to know Him intimately. I was being called to join with the saints in praying for our world, for a great awakening that would draw all people to God.

One of God’s charges was that I write everything down, every vision in detail. As I did this I realized that there was a connection between the visions and my own life journey, from my early experiences of demonic oppression and suicide to eventual miraculous healing through the love of Christ. I began to understand that my visions about God’s love for us were also a message to others struggling with depression. My own story of God’s healing could be used to help others learn how to seek God’s healing presence through meditative prayer.

So I told it all… from a demonically oppressed disturbed child who also fell in love with Jesus and prayed to become a Christian at six years old…to a suicidally depressed young adult who overdosed on sleeping pills and was brought back from death in the hospital…to years addicted to prescription drugs…to miraculous healing, victorious life, and divine visions.

My healing was miraculous. But it was not instantaneous. It was a process of learning how to think in a healthy way, how to shift my thoughts and spirit life from defeat to victory. My prayer is that my journey will help others climb their way out of the trap of poisonous thought patterns and prescribed drug addictions. There are so many of us out there fighting this battle…

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Blue Tapp’s Website

Blue Tapp Facebook Page

Blue Tapp Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Jonathan Faia

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Fullerton, California about 30 minutes outside of Los Angeles. I still live in Southern California today.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I became fascinated at a real early age with books. I was reading books like, The Outsiders and To Kill A Mockingbird at around 10 years old. I love visiting the public library as a child and it just seemed so peaceful in there it was hard not to be wrapped up in books.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love Beat Poetry. I’m a big fan of Kerouac, Ginsberg and lately a lot of Bukowski. I’m inspired by the raw emotion found in those authors. They took real experiences and put them to paper. They lived every word they wrote.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, Love Letters From Barstow explores all aspects of love while reminding others of the hope and resilience needed to navigate through complicated relationships and the pain of heartache. Shared in the spirit and rhythm of the Beat Generation, these poems delve into the emotions and failures that follow a man as he examines his depths amid an internal struggle to balance his sanity with his conscience while battling the sanity in life.
Figuratively illustrated by the long, lonely road from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Love Letters from Barstow shares empowering poems that reflect on love, heartbreak, and one man’s limitations.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Jonathan Faia’s Website

Jonathan Faia Facebook Page

Jonathan Faia Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Barbara Goss

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Western New York, and I still live here with my husband of 31 years as well as my cat, Molly.
I’ve written 54 books since 2015 and am still tapping them out. I mostly write sweet historical westerns, but recently wrote a WW1 romance book called Tatianna. All my books are available in audiobooks as well for those who can’t see well, or just like to listen while doing something else. My fansite is welcome to any readers who enjoy my writing, I also have a website. I enjoy chatting with the readers.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started reading when I was very young. My grandmother would sent me books she picked up church rummage sales. She introduced me to Bambi, The Bobbsey Twins and others.

When I was in 5th and 6th grade our school had a large collection of books about famous people’s lives as children: Booker T. Washington, Dolly Madison, Abe Lincoln, and many others. I read all 36 of them.

I love reading because it takes me to wonderful places. While I’m there I forget any problems I have and live through my characters. I love to hate the villains and love the hero and heroines.

I prefer sweet books with a lot of romance and adventure. I write Christian books that are not preachy but the stories aways leave a faith message

There came a point (way to late in life) when I said, “I can do this,” and wrote a book and it was published by a large Christian Publishing House with a contract to write three more. Then I discovered self-publishing and preferred it. You can work at your own speed, you aren’t restricted by what you can and can’t write and the books get published quickly.

I’m not happy unless I’m in the middle of writing a book so I hope I can write for years to come. Grace Livingston Hill was my inspiration. I read all 100 of her books. I need to catch up to her.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Grace Livingston Hill was my favorite author, and I also liked Lavyrle Spencer. My favorite genre is, of course, romance especially ones that take place in the old west. Those were such exciting times. I don’t read contemporary romance because it’s too close to real life. I like the fantasy of reliving the past.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone of writing romantic westerns for my latest book. Tatianna is part of a series called “Already Home,” and is being run by Barr26 Publishing. There are 6 books in this romantic WW1 series, So far my reviews are excellent so I guess it was a successful switch of genres. The audiobooks come with a song written and song by Rick Barr, “Already Home.” The series was collaborated by Michele Pollock Dalton,

Tatianna agrees to write to the service men being sent overseas and one out of the many letters stood out. It was from a man named Ryan, Through letters (which I share with the readers) the friendship turns into something deeper. When the letters from Ryan stop, Tatianna worries. Will they ever meet? Fall in love?

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Barbara Goss’s Website

Barbara Goss Facebook Page

Featured Interview With BetteLou Price

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
BetteLou passed over to the Lord in 2020. We wrote together during our tenure as authors. I, her husband, Wayne, continue to write using her name as my pen name since she was the romance lover. We grew up in sleepy towns in rural Connecticut. We travelled America in a long, full size motorhome with twin daughters and a tolerant cat. Moving numerous times, we often wound up in resort areas; the last one being Aspen, Colorado. Our love of God bloomed during those difficult years financially. In her latter years, we discovered writing romance and the prophetic in the same book fit our style perfectly. Our current work titled A Second Chance to Hope is the latest. We lived to the end of BetteLou’s life in Tillamook, Oregon, a small dairy and logging community on the West Coast close to the waters of the Pacific ocean. I still live there.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
BetteLou always loved to read as far back as she could remember. Her mother always read to her as a child. I was a slow reader and poor in all forms of English in school–reading, writing, grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, the whole thing. I was laughed at for not understanding the difference between there, their, and they’re. But one miraculous day I woke able to do it all. I scored straight A’s and B’s all through high school! Authorship began to fulfill Wayne’s cries to God of wanting to be significant.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
BetteLou loved historical romance while Wayne dove into inventions and prophecy. So many books it’s impossible to count. Wayne’s inspiration comes from his deep faith while BetteLou loved caring for her family. Both of us found inspiration from rivers to oceans and camping with the critters in nature.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
A Second Chance to Hope is set in Colorado with hot air balloons and an opulent resort vacation house in the mountains taking equal shares of romance, God, and the vagaries of life.

Hope O’Leary fell for his cologne, leather with a hint of wood smoke, even before encountering his strong presence and masculine authority. However, unwelcome sparks fly when she unveils the source of her glowing personality and physical beauty.

A seemingly harmless childhood trauma sabotages Neal McGrath’s unbridled attraction to her. The match made in proverbial heaven is driven to breaking until Jesus Christ speaks eight words of divine intervention. The expected happily ever after ties up love and hope in unexpected ways.

One reviewer, an advance copy reader said: “I like the way she kept God in it. I enjoy love stories like this one.”

BetteLou’s sickness and our inexperience pushed the writing and publishing of this book into far too many years. The next one with my wife’s indomitable presence on full display should be ready near Christmas 2022. This book comes with my sincere prayers for you to enjoy and be touched by a little bit of heaven. ‘Till later… Wayne, and BetteLou.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

BetteLou Price’s Website

Featured Interview With Paolo G. Grossi

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Milan. I moved to London in my twenties and never went back.
Beside writing and reading I love Opera and the Arts in general. Every time I find myself in NYC I must pit stop at the Met or the Frick Collection.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always had a passion for writing but my career took me somewhere else. During lockdown I started writing The Tiergarten Tales to occupy the time and here we are, a year later, book published and selling well.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Mary Renault, Madeleine Miller, Stephen Fry, Edmund White and Patrick Gale. For history the best remains Lady Antonia Fraser. Her biography of Elizabeth I is rather the perfect history book.
The main inspiration for me is Mary Renault.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Tiergarten Tales is a collection of ten stories set in Berlin in various moments of history. It’s boys and men, their love stories but also troubles and pain as most stories are either before or after big historical upheavals.
LGBTQ+ Historical Fiction is a niche genre but there are quite a few aficionados and the feedback has been largely positive.
I am soon to publish my second book. It will be a full novel set in fifteenth century Italy and modern Florence.
It’s a tale about talent, the envy and resentment it can cause among less gifted but equally ambitious people.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Paolo G. Grossi’s Website

Featured Interview With Gregory Tharp

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Greg Tharp has 20 years of experience as a librarian. He previously served as a member of the State of Connecticut Library Advisory Council on Library Planning and Development. He is a member of the American Library Association, Massachusetts Library Association, ARMA International, IACCM, American Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, and Boston Bar Association.
Tharp holds a Paralegal Certificate from Boston University, a Master’s Certificate in Acquisitions and Contract Management from American Graduate University, an Advanced Certificate in Archives Management from Simmons University, a Master of Library Science from Southern Connecticut State University, and a Bachelor of Science from Sacred Heart University where he was elected to Phi Eta Sigma and received the Passion for Learning Award. Tharp also holds a Certificate of Professional Librarianship from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and is a Second Degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Mi Guk Kwan.
Additionally, he received acquisitions training at Defense Acquisitions University, Federal Acquisitions Institute, and the University of Virginia. He also received human resources training at HR University and legal training at New England Law Boston.
Tharp has authored journal articles on commercial government contracts in the Contracting Excellence Journal, the National Contract Management Association Journal of Contract Management, and has presented on commercial government contracts at the Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Symposium and has written a book on commercial government contracts published with Elivia Publishing. He has also co-authored an article on Chinese academic libraries in the Library Hi Tech journal and has presented on virtual reality in academic libraries at the Library Research Seminar VII.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always enjoyed books and writing.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I don’t have a favorite author or genre. My writing is inspired by reading a variety of business books.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
This book will be of interest of those in the field of contract management in the United States government, the private sector, and internationally. This book is relevant to scholars and academics as well as both American and international policymakers, those working in the field of contract management, and those seeking to join the field of contract management. It will be useful for people interested in contracting with the United States government and in designing and implementing acquisitions and or contract management policy both in the United States of America and internationally. Lastly, it will be useful for people in a wide variety of industries, countries, and regions internationally and in the United States of America already contracting with the United States government or interested in contracting with the United States government in understanding how to terminate commercial contracts for convenience using United States of America procurement regulations.
A concise overview of the recommendations for usage of termination for convenience provisions, commercial government contracts, and cost recovery in commercial items contracts. Topics discussed include the Federal Acquisition Regulations System (FAR) as promogulated by the United States Congress, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and the A201 commercial contracting standard as promogulated by the American Institute of Architects. Applicability of termination for convenience in commercial government contracts to sole source acquisitions and intelligence community acquisitions are also discussed. Net present value clauses, cash flow, and United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are also discussed within the context of United States government contracts terminated for convenience.
Purpose, design/methodology/approach, findings, and originality/value are also discussed as it relates to both recommendations for the usage of termination clauses in commercial government contracts terminated for convenience and as it relates to both recommendations for the usage of termination clauses in commercial government contracts terminated for convenience and as it relates to cost recovery in commercial government contracts terminated for convenience using United States of America procurement regulations.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Gregory Tharp’s Website

Featured Interview With Simon Rose

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m the author of The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse, The Heretic’s Tomb, The Doomsday Mask, The Time Camera, The Sphere of Septimus, Flashback, Future Imperfect, Twisted Fate, Parallel Destiny, the Shadowzone series, and the Stone of the Seer series. I’m also the author of The Children’s Writer’s Guide, The Time Traveler’s Guide, The Working Writer’s Guide, The Social Media Writer’s Guide, a contributor to The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction and have written many non-fiction books with Crabtree Publishing, Beech Street Books, Weigl Publishers, and Capstone.

I offer a number of services for writers, including editing, coaching, mentoring, consulting, manuscript evaluation, and writing workshops. I’ve provided substantive and copy editing services for many other writers over the years. This has been for novels, short stories, fiction, nonfiction, biographies, inspirational books, and many other genres. I also offer copywriting services for business, including website and social media content. Full details can be found on my website at simon-rose.com. I’m the founder of Children’s Authors and Illustrators on Facebook, served as the Writer-in Residence with the Canadian Authors Association, am a member of the Calgary Association of Freelance Editors, and served as the Assistant Regional Advisor for SCBWI Western Canada.

I offer a wide variety of presentations, workshops, and author in residence programs for schools, along with virtual author visits. I’m an instructor for adults with the University of Calgary and offer a variety of workshops and writing courses for both children and adults.

I’m originally from the UK, but have lived in Western Canada since 1990. I’ve always had pets and currently have a dog and a cat, who always seem to keep me busy.

You may follow me on Twitter or Instagram, or connect on Facebook and elsewhere on social media.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I probably had a fascination with stories at an early age, whether picture books, novels, or comic books. However, I didn’t take writing seriously until I was an adult, as I mention in my next answer, when my children were quite small. I began to submit stories to publishers more than twenty years ago, with my first novel for young adults being published in 2003.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
It’s probably easier to tell a story of how I first became interested in being an author. When my children were small, I started reading children’s books again for the first time in many years. Some of the books were wonderful and I wished that I could write something similar. However, some of the books were very poor and I was surprised that they’d ever been published. This made me wonder if I could write stories of my own. I started thinking that I should write fairy tales and picture books for younger children, but after reading the first three Harry Potter novels, I realized that I wanted to write for the age group that those books are aimed at. I wasn’t interested in writing about the same things, such as magic, wizards, and imaginary creatures, and instead focused on themes that I was interested in, such as science fiction, fantasy, time travel, history, comic books, ancient mysteries and civilizations, superheroes, other dimensions, and the paranormal. The novels that have been subsequently published have mostly been in these genres.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Stone of the Seer is an exciting historical fantasy series for young adults, primarily set during the English Civil War in the mid-seventeenth century. The Stone of the Seer, is the first book in the series. At Habingdon House, Lady Elizabeth Usborne, Kate, and Tom discover a magical black stone, mysterious ancient manuscripts, and the tempus inpectoris, an incredible time viewing device. They are also in grave danger from Daniel Tombes, who has a fearsome reputation as a witchfinder.

In Royal Blood, the second book in the series, Lady Elizabeth, Kate, and Tom move to London in the middle of the Civil War, experiencing the great political changes taking place at the time, including the trial and execution of Charles I. They are also still under threat from Tombes, who is also in the city. The story has many twists and turns, and I doubt if any of the readers will expect the novel’s cliffhanger ending.

I’m hoping that Revenge of the Witchfinder, the final novel and the conclusion of the story, will be published later this year. After that, people will be able to buy all three books in the series.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Simon Rose’s Website

Simon Rose Facebook Page

Simon Rose Twitter Account