Featured Interview With Jessica James

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised and currently in Gettysburg, Pa., in a pre-Civil War house. I have a stray cat that adopted me and a new rescue dog that was supposed to be a “foster” project but is now part of the family.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been writing all of my life — mostly as a journalist. It wasn’t until I was in my 40s that considered trying my hand at fiction writing.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My absolute favorite author was Vince Flynn and I now read Kyle Mills who took over the Mitch Rapp series. Kenneth Roberts, who wrote Northwest Passage, was one of the earliest influences in my writing.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is an epic Civil War Trilogy that has won a lot of awards and is often compared to Gone with the Wind. It took me more than 10 years to write it.

Here are some of the comments I received about it:
“My house is a mess, my sink is piled high with dishes and my husband ate watermelon for dinner because I could not put down Shades of Gray. Could. Not. Put. Down. Honestly, this book completely captivated me and left me emotionally drained. I loved it!!!”

“I’ve not been much of a reader and was given Shades of Gray. I’ve read it five times and fall in love every time I read it. Because of you I have developed a love for reading.”

“It is now 1 a.m. cause I couldn’t put down my I-pad with your delicious novel. Thank you for the pleasure you afforded this 81 year old.”

“Wonderful, fabulous book! I seldom reflect back on a book, but this one has haunted me since I finished it at 2 a.m.”

“Could hardly work or sleep until I read the last page.”

“Lost a lot of sleeping reading this one. Too good to put down! Made me laugh. Made me cry. Awesome book!”

“Bravo! One of the best books I have read on the Civil War. Absolutely could not put it down. Please do not stop writing.”

“I can’t remember having such a heavy heart and crying so much since reading Gone with the Wind. Thank you!”

“Loved. Loved. Needs to be made into a movie.”

“I’m not usually one for Civil War era books, but I’ve got to say you really got me on this one. I LOVE it!”
“Oh my, I let the world go on around me and could hardly put it down. Every free moment, every break at work. LOVED IT!!!”

“I was completely lost and spellbound by the realistic story. Without hesitation I must say this now ranks equally with Gone With The Wind.”

“Though a male I liked it, and recommended it to my wife.”

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Jessica James’s Website

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Featured Interview With Clay Hutto

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I write literary novels, mostly serio-comic in nature. Before becoming a full-time writer, I worked for newspapers and magazines and taught writing courses at various colleges and universities. I have the obligatory MFA in creative writing degree. I grew up mostly in Oklahoma and I’ve also lived in Hawaii, California, Texas, Wyoming, Washington state, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Tennessee, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts (a consequence of having a father in the navy and I moved fairly often as an adult). We have two dogs and three cats cohabitating with us. I reside in the Pacific Northwest and I enjoy the frequent drizzle.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started reading before first grade. The first books I remember enjoying were a set of children’s encyclopedias that were color coded by subject (black for science, red for history, blue for literature, etc.) Throughout grade school I was a voracious reader of adventure, sports, history, and popular book series like Encyclopedia Brown and the Hardy Boys. In junior high I started reading literature, starting with Dickens and Twain. In college I continued reading classics, branching out to Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Joyce, Faulkner, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald. Because I loved books, especially fiction, I wanted to emulate my favorite writers so I began writing fiction at an early age. In grade school, a friend and I co-authored the “Buddy Boys” adventure – ten pages of juvenilia. In high school, I wrote a 32-page short story (my girlfriend typed the manuscript) and it was derivative and immature but I learned a lot. In college, I won a campus literary contest. After graduation I started working in journalism and didn’t write any fiction again until I attended a MFA program in my late twenties. That experience was so disappointing that my desire to write fiction faded and I focused on journalism and teaching until fifteen years ago when I dedicated myself to writing fiction.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Dickens was my first favorite author. I read three of his novels (“Great Expectations,” “David Copperfield,” and “Oliver Twist”) while I was recuperating from a broken leg I suffered while playing baseball. I started reading Twain soon after. As I matured, I read more challenging fiction: Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Hemingway, Flannery O’Connor, George Eliot, Hardy, Orwell, Tolstoy and many other classic authors. I almost exclusively read literary novels although occasionally I sample a popular writer.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest novel is entitled “The Replacement.” It’s about the comic adventures of an itinerant college instructor and struggling writer. The protagonist, Dale Smith, is married to his second wife and has a precocious step-daughter. Dale often takes temporary teaching positions and in effect replaces another professor who is on sabbatical. The story is set a few months before the year 2000, or the “pseudo-millenium” as Dale puts it because the real millennium doesn’t take place until 2001. The novel satirizes some academic types and also explores certain themes such as the aesthetic differences between memoir and fiction, the nature of racial identity, and how writers can be exploitive of other people when they write their books. “The Replacement” is the ninth novel in a series I’ve unofficially called “A Writer’s Life.” The nine novels dramatizes the protagonist’s professional and domestic life. Each novel can be read as a single, stand-alone work although each novel leads to the next book. The series will end with the tenth novel, which I’m now revising. I tend to be a fast writer. “The Replacement,” 435 pages (6 x 9 format), took three months to write the first draft. It took six months to revise and refine. I started “A Writer’s Life” in 2006 (although I didn’t know at the time it would turn into a series) with the coming-of-age epic, “The Adventures of Audie Dale Smith” So it’s taken 16 years to complete the series. Not bad progress considering there are 10 novels and a three are quite long. The titles of the novels are in chronological order: “The Adventures of Audie Dale Smith;” “Town Hall;” “Wyo;” “Two States of Mind;” “Dale & Vanessa;” “On the Edge;” “A Literary Apprentice in a Rainy Land;” “Two Families;” “The Replacement;” and soon to come “Remembrance and Revelation.”

If you enjoyed this writer’s interview, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors to learn about. 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 get exposure to new readers submit your book to our book promotion service.B

Featured Interview With Sophia Lambton

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised (and live) in London. I have a cat called Luca who is King of the Universe.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
1) Probably eight. 2) Around eleven.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Vladimir Nabokov, James Joyce, Stefan Zweig, Marcel Proust. They all inspire me, and so do many films and tv series.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest (and first) book is the first instalment of a saga. I seem to have trouble scribing standalone novels. Anyhow, it’s centred on sororal twins in 1930s (eventually 1940s) London, who couldn’t be more different and mistakenly believe each other to be soulless. It plays with strange, addictive bonds of all stripes.

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Sophia Lambton’s Website

Featured Interview With Shannon Matter

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I live in the beautiful, supernatural province of British Columbia, Canada.
Love to travel and spend time in nature. Spiritual woman with a love of exercise and healthy living.
Little bit rebellious, my music and books have some strong messages for humankind. Every human has so much potential and too many humans aren’t reaching for or using all their potential, so I like to assist with bringing that out in people or helping them realize their own inner power by listening to my songs or reading my writings.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
We had a book reading train on the wall in my grade one classroom. The wall was chalkboard size and we could put pushpins into it.
For every book we read and did a small report on, we got to add another train car to our train.
My Mom helped me and every night I read a book and made a report. My train went across the entire wall. Some kids had 10 train cars or so, but most of the kids had only a few train cars.
Looking back I can see how much I loved reading and why I became an author.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Barbara Hand-Clow
Patricia Cori
Graham Hancock
David Wilcock
Taoist writings
Anything non mainstream about Egypt and the Maya
North American and South American Native and Aboriginal Literature

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Streaky the Comet, Book Three is a page turner.
Streaky is a loving, happy comet usually but he gets himself into some trouble in this book so he has to access all his inner bravery and fight with a new friend to save himself, his friend, and some other beings.
Its best to read the whole series.
Book Four will be on Amazon Kindle by late autumn/early winter 2022.

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Shannon Matter’s Website

Shannon Matter Facebook Page

Shannon Matter Twitter Account