Featured Interview With Rick McCann

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a simi-retired Merchant Mariner that has been on the water professionally since I was 17. Started out in the US Navy then after my hitch was up, I sailed deep sea then moved ashore to sail for the Cape May Lewes Ferry in Cape May, NJ. This is my hometown and I still live here today with my wife and our 2 Labs. So far, our 5 children have provided us with 5 beautiful grandchildren to spoil and love.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My interest in books took hold while out to sea, as there wasn’t much to do on any down time. This is where the snippet of an idea that I could write a book began, but soon life got in the way of most of my dreams such as owning my own airplane and living on a Caribbean Island were replaced with many ours working and raising the family. As the kids got more independent and time restrictions eased, I began writing Standard Operating Procedures and policy manuals for my employer which brought back that little orphaned idea that I could write a book! It didn’t hurt that a lot of people had told me that I should write a book, of course the book I wrote isn’t the book they wanted me to write! About 20 years ago I started to put pen to paper but found that the only time I could really write was while on vacation, which is why it took 20 years to go from idea to publication. Of course the last 5 years were spent looking for an Agent/Publisher with an awful lot of rejection emails thrown in. So on October 10th 2021 my book, Two If By Sea was published!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors to read are Tom Clancy, Dale Brown, and Stephen Coonts. Which all relate to my favorite genre to read is the Thriller/Suspense genre. I believe that the above three have combined to inspire my writings so far.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My 20 year quest to bring Two If By Sea to publication was rewarded on October 10th 2021. It is a mystery/suspense/thriller set in a contemporary maritime theme that keeps you on the edge of your seat and the pages turning. The characters come to life, and you are rooting for some while loving to hate others, but never do you lose interest in their ordeals they must live through. The plot has many intertwined sub-plots that all begin with the captain of the ship taking a few precious moments to watch a sunset that brings back her childhood memories. This moves to more involved areas that take international terrorist, Columbian drug cartels, most of the ABC agencies in Washington DC to try and keep a nuclear disaster from happening on the shores of the USA. There is budding romance and relationship conflicts in the lives of the characters that add to the overall complexity of the situation they find themselves.

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Rick McCann’s Website

Featured Interview With Jo Squire

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My parents were adventurous and I grew up in a few places. The years in Kenya took my heart. I now live in Australia with my 3 dogs. I’ve always loved wild creatures and the outdoors.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My father read us a lot of books ad my love for fiction came from that. I started writing just before we moved to Africa when I was 9 years old.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’m not really a genre reader, though I like literary books with lovely descriptions of the outdoors and peoples relationship to the natural world. So many book and authors have inspired me. I hardly know where to start. Delia Owens, Seth Kanther, H.D.Thoreau, Thomas Moore and so many more.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Black Ivory is about a young wildlife biologist, Lou who is trying to protect the elephants that she studies. It’s also about Lou understanding herself and her own motivations. Who can she trust or dare to love despite her misgivings? The book is a novel but I have woven true incidents into the story from my years in Africa. I’ve been told it’s extremely realistic. It took me almost 10 years to write as I’m a full time vet. My aim to get the sequel written within the next 2 years though!

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Jo Squire’s Website

Featured Interview With Hemu Aggarwal

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hemu Aggarwal, artist, writer, and poet, was born in
Veraval, Gujarat State, India. She earned her Master’s
Degree (MFA) in graphic design from the City University
of New York. She came to the U.S. in 1966 for higher education.
Hemu has written several newspaper and magazine articles,
but this is her first attempt to translate hundreds of letters
and write a book.
She is an artist by profession. After graduation, she worked in graphic design firms in New York City for about ten years. She designed many album covers of famous singers,
such as the Beatles, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck,
Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, Mantovani, and many hip-hop artists, including Grandmaster Flash and the Furious
Five, and The Sugarhill Gang. In 1980, she established her creative design firm, AQ Graphic Inc., in Rockland County, N.Y. She ran it successfully for over 25 years

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been reading books for many years. Written about 10 years ago.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Kazuo Ishiguro, Stieg Larsson, John Grisham,

Favorite genre: Science fiction, Mystery and Murder stories, Biography.

Can’t think of an author who inspires me.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I am a new author who has just published a book.
The Forbidden Letters. A True Story.

The book includes 216 of the 500 century-old letters found in an attic. It tells the story of a young couple’s life, married when they were still teenagers, but lived apart intermittently for eight years. The letters describe their love for each other, the agony of separation, taboos of the times, and the hardships endured by women in a joint-family system. Crossing cultural, country, gender, and age boundaries, you take on a tumultuous 100-year journey from India to America, shedding the shackles of a joint family and allowing the next generation the freedom to chart their destinies.

A journey that starts in 1922 and finishes in 2022!

The Forbidden Letters, A True Story. Paperback, 400 pages. Now available on Amazon.com.

Visit my book page: https://www.facebook.com/theforbidden…

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Hemu Aggarwal Facebook Page

Hemu Aggarwal Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Matthew Donald

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
While I was born in Ft. Wayne, IN, my family moved to Fairview, TX when I was six months old, so I definitely don’t consider myself an Indiana resident. Honestly, I don’t consider myself a Texan either, as we moved to Colorado when I was only eight and the only characteristic I keep from my Texas youth is occasionally saying “y’all” to people. So while my early years were in Texas, my formative years were in Colorado. I have my own place in Centennial, CO right next to Southglenn Mall. It’s a wonderful location. Yep, my roommate and emotional support animal Lyra, a 3-year-old female pearl cockatiel. She’s so sweet and cuddly, but very timid and really only likes me. She is slowly starting to warm up to a few of my friends, though!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Pretty much right away. I read so many picture books when I was a kid, then kept moving up and up as I got older. I remember constantly going to my library in high school and just checking out whatever books looked interesting in the sci-fi and fantasy sections, and let me tell you, there were some real bangers there, as well as some stinkers of course. The inspiration that I got just from opening up your standard dorky fantasy book and seeing the obligatory world map was wild. I’d see something like “Northguard’s Keep” and I’d be like “Whaaaaat?! Who’s stationed there? What are they protecting? Who are they defending against?” So many questions! I miss that wonder I felt back then sometimes.” When I was six years old I won a contest at my school where we had to finish the sentence “It would be great if…” and I wrote a poem about how it would be great if I were an author. Since then I’ve dabbled in a few smaller writing projects, before seriously starting when I was thirteen. One of my first big stories was the first of what would be many versions of my story Megazoic, of which the final version ended up being my first published book. You like dinosaurs? You like sci-fi? How about them both together? Go check it out, available on Amazon or my website. Cheap plug!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I really enjoy the natural wonders described in fellow Colorado author T.A. Barron’s books, and the old school style fantasy he writes around them. I also enjoy the world-building of J.R.R. Tolkien, the wild sci-fi concepts of Michael Crichton, and the creativity of Greg Farshtey’s young reader books for various LEGO properties such as BIONICLE and Exo-Force. Also I know it’s cliche, but come on, J.K. Rowling’s plot and characters are amazing. There’s a reason her books are as popular as they are. Sci-fi and fantasy, particularly those aimed at younger audiences. While there are plenty of wonderful books for adults, I tend to find them more dry and lacking the wonder or fun of books for younger folks. I also really enjoy books with a good sense of humor. About the only non-speculative fiction books I read are comedy books. If there are books that combine both though, those are my absolute favorite to read. As well as the aforementioned authors, I get inspiration from all sorts of sources such as movies, video games, and television. I particularly like works with good production design, and have a soft spot for those more “toyetic,” if that makes sense. My friend shows me these Japanese shows with people in suits fighting each other with crazy weapons clearly designed to sell toys, and I quite enjoy them. More than anything though, I’m inspired by my friends and family who support me the whole way and work so hard to help me accomplish my dreams. This isn’t a solo game.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I have a book coming out August 16th, 2022 called Teslanauts. It’s a young adult sci-fi that takes place in the early 1920s after the world is still reeling from the effects of WW1. Seventeen-year-old Raymond Calvert learns his father, missing in action since the war, worked in a secret government organization led by Nikola Tesla that helps the world in the shadows using advanced electrical dieselpunk-style technology called volt-tech. Ever since the war showed the horrors humanity was capable of, the Teslanauts keep their technology secret, and erase the memories of those who learn of it that aren’t part of the organization. Raymond joins the organization in hopes of finding his father, getting involved in a world full of mechs, automated machines, disintegrator rifles, and lightning-armed biplanes, just as a new volt-tech organization formed from the remnants of the defeated Austro-Hungarian Empire makes itself known. Called the Oberschock Federation, they are financed by a mysterious American benefactor and plan to restart the war to regain their country’s glory, but the benefactor has their own plans for them. Raymond learns that his father might have had something to do with Oberschock, and rushes to learn what happened while the Teslanauts do everything they can to avoid war breaking out across the battered world once more. This book is based off an idea I’ve had since I was in college, and I’m thrilled that it’s the next idea I’m showing off to the world after my previous Megazoic books. It’s the first of a five-part series, and I can’t wait to show it to y’all. There, see? My inner Texan has resurfaced once more.

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Matthew Donald’s Website

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